Posted in French, tagged mussels, summer on August 16, 2011 - 05:46 | Leave a Comment »
I’m a sucker for most things shellfish… bar oysters; I’ve got to draw a line somewhere!
The reason why I don’t eat shellfish often is that J doesn’t like it; and I usually get belly ache after eating them (most likely due to the restaurant’s bad handling of the shellfish).
I rarely cook shellfish at home, but when I heard the local supermarket (grocery store) was having a sale on seafood, I had to have (more…)
Posted in French, Mediterranean, Vegetarian, tagged French, Italian, vegetarian on February 16, 2011 - 01:39 | 2 Comments »
I’ve eaten polenta on numerous occasions, and it’s always been so bland and tasteless. When set and cut into pieces, it’s boring, and when soft, it brings back bad childhood memories of being forced to eat disgusting semolina with a splat of jam. Urgh… UK school dinners (or more correctly lunches) in the 80’s.
Polenta was one of those things that I thought I just hated. That was until J ordered vegetarian polenta at The Olive and Grape for lunch. Two things were weird – he went for a vegetarian dish, and it was polenta?!? (more…)
Posted in French, Pastries, Snacks, tagged butter, cinnamon sugar, French, palmiers, pastry, puff pastry on January 17, 2011 - 01:01 | 1 Comment »
I had a batch of puff pastry I made a while back, and it was time I needed to use it up. I decided to make delicious buttery palmiers with cinnamon sugar. They are quick and easy to make and everyone will love them.
Use store-bought, ready-rolled, butter puff pastry for a quick cheat. They are perfect for general snacking or afternoon tea. (more…)
Posted in Breakfast, French, Pastries, tagged butter, croissant, French, pastries on May 16, 2010 - 16:02 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve been spoilt, so spoilt that I’ve tasted fresh croissants in France. And once you’ve tasted the real deal in France, nothing will ever come close in comparison. So, if you ever happen to be visiting France, do NOT, I repeat do NOT try their fresh croissants. Otherwise, you’ll suffer a life-long torment in searching for the perfect croissant again.
Most people are daunted by making croissants, but not I – the more challenging something is supposed to be, the more motivated I become. It’s true that making croissants at home can take a little time, but apart from the initial mixing of the dough, it’s not that labor intensive. (more…)
Posted in French, Pastries, tagged goat cheese, low-calorie, quiche on May 10, 2010 - 01:48 | Leave a Comment »
Here’s the slimmed down version of quiche, as promised.
To slim down quiche, I use unbuttered filo- (phyllo-) pastry for the crust, I also use half water and no-fat milk/unsweetened milk substitute to the egg mix. I don’t particularly miss (more…)
Posted in French, Snacks, tagged butter, cheese, French, hostess gifts, shortbread on April 17, 2010 - 10:39 | Leave a Comment »
I made these cheese sables on Valentine’s Day and received the best compliment from J. He said “these taste just like my Uncle’s….” Now, this may not mean much to most people, but J’s uncle used to own a patisserie in the Netherlands for many many years.
These cheese sables are buttery, cheesy, crispy and delicate, suitable for general snacking, nibbles before dinner, or with an aperitif.
The recipe is so simple, yet the results are absolutely outstanding. Make sure you use the highest quality European unsalted butter you can find/afford for this recipe, you will really taste the difference. I used vintage aged Gouda, which is a cheese that’s pretty (more…)
Posted in Chocolate, Dessert, French, Pastries, tagged chocolate, coffee, creme patisserie, dessert, pastry on April 14, 2010 - 22:57 | Leave a Comment »
Profiteroles (cream puffs) have never been a favorite dessert of mine. I blame it on my experiences with choux pastry when I was younger – the slightly salty flavor and texture made me wanted to vomit. Since then, (more…)
Posted in Cakes, Chocolate, French, tagged cake, chocolate, French on April 10, 2010 - 10:43 | Leave a Comment »
This recipe for chocolate lava cakes is not for the faint hearted – they’re pretty deadly! I made them one Christmas for dessert, and even for chocolate lovers, like us, one small ramekin would have been plenty.
The dessert has a light chocolate-sponge encasing a pool of liquid chocolate. Depending on how long you cook the cakes, you either get a huge pool of liquid chocolate or a very moist cake. (more…)
Posted in French, Pastries, tagged cheese, eggs, French, pastry on April 10, 2010 - 01:09 | Leave a Comment »
Spinach & pine-nut, Lorraine, ham & broccoli, roasted red pepper and goat cheese are all flavors of quiche that I love.
Quiche is more often than not, loaded with saturated fat. Take the rich-buttery crust, which is then filled with a custard base with far too much cream, full-fat milk and to top it off tons of cheese.
I tone down the fat in my quiche by using a mixture of unsweetened soy milk and water; I also use very strong mature (sharp) cheese, if required – that way, you only need a tiny bit. (more…)
