Pascal Brodnicki: Show, Cookbook & More

A few months ago I was chatting with one of my relatives in Poland about cooking shows. As I found out in Poland they have some of the same cooking shows such as ones with Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver that we here in North America know well, they are translated into Polish. But they also have their own celebrity chefs that I have never heard about such as Pascal Brodnicki. Pascal who?

This is a young man, who came from a half Polish background, his dad is Polish and mom is French. Born and grew up in France, then moved to Poland as a teenager and then went back to do his culinary training in France. A lot of moving... Now he has a very successful cooking show "Pascal, po prostu gotuj" (the name of the show translates to "Pascal, Simply Cooking"), teaching Poles how to cook delicious food from around the world.

My relative in Poland send me his cookbook because here in Canada it was nowhere to be found. It is a well made book, with beautiful illustrations of all the recipes, each one with personal note from Pascal. The recipes all look easy to prepare, and I can imagine that most people will actually try them.

After going through his book I got in touch with Dominika, my aunt that send me this beautiful gift, to ask her a few questions. Are all those foreign ingredients that Pascal is using such as ginger, lemon grass, Kaffir leaves; are they all readily obtainable in Poland? I know here in Canada, sometimes its hard to get them. She assured me that at least in Warsaw they are easy to acquire, there are huge oriental markets with everything under the sun plus smaller markets also carry a lot of diverse products.

Having gone through Pascal's book I was really looking forward to seeing his show. This past weekend I had a chance to spend some time at my parents place who have a satellite with Polish programs. The entire family gathered in front of the TV, including my dad who never watches food shows. In this episode he was preparing a sweat-sour soup with shrimp, Thai curry chicken, and coconut pancakes for dessert. We were all entertained to no end; we laughed at his candid mispronunciation of Polish words, and his endearing French accent while speaking in Polish. He captivated us with his sense of humor, love for food, and ease with which he made food not only look good but from where I was sitting taste delicious.

I don't mean to sound like I'm making fun of someone with an accent. I, myself, have an English accent when I speak Polish and I mispronounce Polish words all the time, sometimes changing English words to Polish, other times I just use wrong words at the wrong time. My husband also speaks a bit of Polish, although his Grandfather described it as "good Polish for someone who can't actually speak Polish". I have truly enjoyed Pascal's show, not only for his recipes, but because he is comfortable with who he is in front of the camera, and to some degree it reminds me of myself. In addition I love the fact that he has a large fan base (including some in Canada) and is successful due to his love of food and sharing it with the Polish public and his friends.

Now that I have watched one show, I was craving more. What to do when what you want is not available on regular TV channels? I went to the biggest online video website I know, YouTube. I did find a few video that are posted on line, however they are very poor quality. I guess I am out of luck and need to stick to reading his book and checking out what's new on his website and blog.

I wish him all the more successes in the future.

Click here for my recipe, Pot Stickers with Bok Choy and Cashews.

Mexican Chipotle Mussels

Authentic or not authentic, this Mexican recipe for mussels is delicious and healthy. It reminds me of a time a few years ago when my husband and I were just dating. We were about to go on our first trip together, to the Mexican Mayan Riviera.

In anticipation of our trip, Lawrence made Mexican chicken breasts with chipotle sauce for dinner, it was an amazing meal. It was divine. This was the first time I ever had chipotle peppers and they came from a can with that delicious tomato-esque adobo sauce. "Wow, these peppers are so good, I love spicy food", I thought to myself. He only used a few peppers and threw out the rest, not knowing what to do with the remains of the can. I loved this recipe so much that the next day I decided we should enjoy a similar tomato-chipotle sauce with mussels. We went back to the grocery store and bought another can of chipotle peppers. This time I was in charge of making dinner. Not knowing how many peppers he used the day before I decided that half a can should be a good amount. Wow! That meal was amazingly spicy. Nevertheless, it really was delicious, although unbelievably hot, burning our mouths to no end. The problem was that it was so good, that we could not stop eating. We took a number of breaks, had a few coronas and just kept eating some more.

That was a very memorable dinner that we often think about with fond memories. Since then I have learned a lot about chipotle peppers. First of all, they are very spicy, so use them with caution. Any recipe with chipotle peppers, or any spicy peppers, use as a guide and add peppers gradually to control the amount of heat. Also it's important to remember that they will add an extra 10% of heat once their full flavour incorporates into the dish. Its best to taste whatever you are cooking after 10 minutes to determine if there is need to add more. One last tip, the unused peppers and sauce can be frozen in a plastic bag until they are needed again. Next time you need them, just break or cut off a piece.

I often make mussels because they are easy and take minutes to cook. This recipe from start to finish takes less than 30 minutes and that includes making the sauce. Mussels are also a good ingredient to add to a regular meal routine as its important to eat fish and seafood on a weekly basis. In this recipe I make the sauce, I often try to do that, its much healthier than purchasing them; they often are high in fat, additives and sodium. This a delicious recipe, perfect for a novice cook, and speaking from my own experience great for a quick and delicious date at home. I really enjoy eating this mussel dish as a main course, this recipe is very satisfying however if served in smaller quantity could also be a wonderful appetizer.

Click here for the recipe.

A wonderful accompaniment to it would be cilantro roasted bread, similar to a garlic bread. A delicious spread of butter or olive oil combined with a touch of cilantro and salt and pepper, distributed on fresh crusty bread and broiled for a few minutes until warm and slightly golden.