You’ll need just some nice chicken breast (of course, free range is always better), some frozen veggies (I used the kids’ version from Coop, with carrots shaped as cute animals), some butter, crème fraîche (optional) and, the secret ingredient – Jamie’s thyme, lemon and bay salt grinder.

You need to wash the meat, pat it dry, rub it with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle it with a generous amount of the salt mentioned above. Preheat your grill pan for a few minutes, until really hot. Put the meat on the grill and well…let it cook thoroughly, a few minutes on each side (depends on the thickness of your chicken breast), until well done (do NOT ever eat raw chicken!). Meanwhile, in a pan, melt the knob of butter and add the frozen veggies. Add a splash of water, cover and let simmer for 8-10 minutes. When done, season to taste and, should you feel like it, add a tablespoon of crème fraîche for extra creaminess.

So, there you have it. For even more healthy ingredients, serve this with a salad and well…enjoy your healthy New Year!

These days it’s been about soups for me. I’ve been wanting to make a nice mushroom cream soup for ages but somehow it eluded me. However, I stumbled upon the new YummySoup! App in the new Mac App Store and been importing recipes all day long today. So here’s the recipe for a hearty, filling, yummy soup, which I also find rather healthy. It is after all just mushrooms, potato, onion and a bit of cream. The sautéed mushrooms on top are optional if you want to skip theme, but I think they add texture and butteriness and yum!

What you’ll need (serves 2-3):

300 grams button mushrooms

2 small potatoes

one small onion

500 ml chicken stock (homemade if you have it, I used Knorr Marmite de Bouillon, which I find really good and not too salty either)

2 tbsp olive oil

100 ml single cream

Method:

Finely dice the onion, chop the mushrooms in quarters – leave a few aside, peel and dice the potatoes. Put a pot on a medium heat, add the olive oil (and, if you feel less light and healthy, a knob of butter) and then the onion. When it becomes translucent, add the mushrooms and potatoes. give a little stir. Add the stock and let simmer for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, chop a bit more finely the remaining mushrooms (I set aside about 8 for 2 people) and sauté them in a bit of olive oil and butter (I only used butter, hehe ).

When the veggies are cooked through, purée them with an immersion blender. Add the cream, season with salt and pepper. Serve with sauteed mushrooms on top and, if you wish, a bit of sour cream. Freshly ground pepper on top gives it a nice little kick.

All in all, easy, yummy and quite healthy. Voilà

P.S. My pictures were dreadful, the light wasn’t good at all. Sorry

Si e bun rau, va spun. Dar s-o luam cu inceputul. Mazi a organizat toata tarasenia, urmarita si sfatuita indeaproape de Florin, apparently mare fan de Indian stuff. Parte la intrunire am luat eu, “scuza” cum ar veni, insotita pe final de F, care n-a mai prins decat un espresso, ca noi rasesem tot in prealabil, Easy Peasy & the lovely husband, Elena & the lovely husband ajuns tot la final, Florin, Madalin si, evident, Mazi.

Ce-am mancat? N-am nicio idee. Stiu insa ca pana si Indian-averse Easy Peasy s-a sacrificat si a numit orezul cu miel si stafide si alte minuni (gosht  biryani pe numele sau) o minunatie culinara. Era bun, adevaru’ e. Cel mai mult mi-a placut faptul ca, fiind noi multi si curiosi nici n-am mai apucat sa aruncam ochii pe meniu, iar Kumar, master chef, ne-a recomandat si gatit o gramada de bunataturi numai bune de share-uit. Recunosc, cel mai mult mi-au placut aperitivele (but that goes for me si la mancarea normala, daca as putea sa primesc numai aperitive si desert la o masa, I’d be totally satisfied). Au fost pe masa urmatoarele: rulada de pui – murgh kathi kebab , chiftelute indiene cu ceapa si sos de menta – pyaz bhaji, pateuri cu mazare si cartofi – delhi wala samosa, pui pane picant – murgh pakora. Nici n-as sti sa spun care mi-a placut mai mult, picante nici prea prea, nici foarte foarte, aromate si delicioase.

Felurile principale nu s-au lasat mai prejos, incepand de la kashmiri roganjosh – cotlete de miel cu sos de ceapa si rosii din care, sadly, n-am mai apucat deloc, dar toti ceilalti l-au laudat intens, murgh makhani – pui cu sos de rosii si smantana, murgh madras - pui cu nuca de cocos, rosii, sos de caju si condimente indiene, aloo gobhi masala - conopida cu cartofi, sos de ceapa si rosii, jhafrani pullao - orez cu sofran, nuci si fructe uscate, murgh madras – pui cu nuca de cocos, rosii, sos de caju si condimente indiene…daca a mai fost ceva, sa-mi fie cu iertare, mie mi-au scapat.

Aaah, era sa uit, Elena a luat lamb vindaloo, nerecomandat celor cu inima slaba, din care am gustat cu totii, dar eu personal mi-am simtit tot tractul digestiv de picant ce era. Kumar zice ca asa mananca la ei copiii…personal cred ca am scos fum pe urechi…

Daca am ceva de reprosat e ca n-a mai prea ramas loc de deserturi si tare as fi vrut sa stiu ce mananca indienii la partea de dulcegarii, ca sa zic asa. Dar n-am suferit prea mult in lipsa, recunosc. Compania a luat nota 10. Am vorbit si am vorbit si am vorbit si iar am mai vorbit…cel putin pana spre 12 noaptea cand eu personal nu am mai rezistat si am cedat and called it a night. Am trecut prin toate subiectele posibile si imposibile de la vacante in locuri exotice la mancaruri pe care cu siguranta nu le-am incerca niciodata. All in all, a night to remember si, pentru cine poate, to repeat. Aproape ca-mi pare rau ca m-am mutat )

Bottom line: for great Indian food, Agra Palace e cu siguranta un loc nimerit, iar daca aveti si compania pe masura, you’re in for a hell of a night

P.S. Thanks, fellow bloggers, pt ca m-am putut inspira la voi pentru numele preparatelor de la Agra. Altfel ar fi fost vorba de o postare cu bla bla 1, bla bla 2, etc., toate bune

So here is the recipe for my main course during the romantic dinner I mentioned some time ago. I took my inspiration for pan frying the duck breast from the Crazy Mother Cooker and improvised a lot as I went.

Step 1: preparing your potatoes. I found in Coop some super cute Charlotte baby potatoes that only needed to be washed well, seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil and popped in the oven for about half an hour. If you want to, you can add some duck fat to the whole mix, which gives amazing flavour, but I forgot I had some on hand.

Step 2: the duck breast. Since this recipe serves 2, you will only need one decent sized duck breast (300-400 grams I think). It is best to take out the meat from the refrigerator 15-20 minutes before cooking it (around the time you pop your potatoes in the oven) so that it gets to room temperature.

Step 3: pan frying. Score the skin on the duck breast in a criss-cross manner, this will help render the fat. Try not to score the meat underneath (I did in one or two places, it’s not such a big deal, but try to avoid that as it may dry your meat). Massage the meat with salt and pepper. Heat up a non stick frying pan and do not add any kind of oil to it. You’ll see, the duck has plenty of its own. Put the breast skin side down in the heated pan, cover with a lid and let it fry for about 7 minutes. Please, open the window, there will be some smoke involved. After 7 minutes or so, uncover the pan and wonder where all that fat came from .I know, it still amazes me too. Flip the breast and cook for a further 4-6 minutes (depending on how pink you want it to be). Take the breast out and put it in a tupperware dish, or any dish covered with tin foil. Let rest for about 10 minutes. Try not to skip this step, even if you’re really hungry, because it will make the meat really melt-in-the-mouth.

Step 4: plate up. Slice your breast diagonally, obtaining nice little even slices. Set it on two plates. Add the potatoes to the plate. Serve with Spicy Cherry Jam you find in the Fine Food Section of your Coop or blueberry jam, rose jam, cranberry jam, fig jam…well duck marries well with most types of jam anyway so you’re good. The spicy one I had from Coop has an extra kick from some kirsch and spices, but I am sure It will be amazing without it too.

And voilà, not difficult to make, festive and tasty.  Bon appetit!

The dough is not too sweet, maybe because they can also be iced or filled and then they would’ve been too sweet. We just rolled them in sugar and dug in. And I chose to have one or two with some Nutella, which were fabulous.

What you’ll need:

100 milliliters milk

1 large egg

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

40 grams sugar (if you serve them plain, I’d add a tablespoon or so of sugar, or better yet, vanilla sugar)

200 grams all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons yeast

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

vegetable oil (for frying – ideally, peanut oil is best for frying)

Method:

Place ingredients in the bread maker in said order (of course, without the vegetable oil ). Set the bread maker to the dough setting.

When the cycle is done, take the dough out and punch it down. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Roll the dough to 2-3 centimeters thick.

Cut rounds with a dough cutter, or just with a glass if you don’t have a donut cutter (I didn’t). Let them rise for another hour or so until very light. Preheat the oil to about 190 degrees Celsius and fry the doughnuts a few at a time, about a minute on each side. Drain on kitchen paper and roll in powdered sugar, or maybe fill with custard, ice with chocolate or whatever else you fancy.

Dig in and enjoy. Do not think about the calories though, they’re too delicious

P.S. Notice the nice composition my lovely boyfriend made? With the cup holder and everything…he’s just great!

So I went to the bakery and got croissants. Then I went “Aux Gourmets” and bought fresh ciabatta, apricot jam (with some armagnac in it), fresh jambon. At the market I got tangerines and pears for a lovely tart and pumpkin for Kürbiscremesuppe (thanks, Ionuca!). And olives with harissa paste. And parsley, for free! You just have to love the market in the morning.

Everything is cold but the light was amazing, I even got to see the sunrise…everyone’s not quite  awake yet but the pastries are still warm from the oven, the fruit and veggies are right from the producers, it’s a gourmet’s paradise…It’s why I wouldn’t want to move from Neuchâtel, it’s so great to be in a small city sometimes, to meet people you know, to get recognized by the baker and get the perfect crisp buttery croissants…

Then come back home and make this little treat for the lovely boyfriend who is still unaware you had even left the place. Strong black tea on the side and there you have it: the perfect Saturday morning. I hope you have a great weekend, enjoy the nice weather while it lasts…

You don’t make this every other day.

It looks fancy and yummy but it really isn’t that difficult to make.

It’s best to be able to make at least 2 out of 3 courses in advance. You want to spend your evening in the dining room, not in the kitchen.

The other guest at the table also likes whatever he/she’s going to be served.

Anything goes with champagne!

So my starter was just that: easy to make, though it looks complicated, light, elegant and above all, YUM!

What you need to know (that I didn’t) is that you make sure to buy as whole slices of salmon as you can find. If you can, go buy it and have the person selling it cut it into as robust (but fine at the same time) slices as possible, if not try to buy a package where the fish looks as whole as possible. You need slices, but you need your slices to stay together and not shred (like mine almost did).

So, you’ll need: smoked salmon – about 60 grams for 2 people as a starter – (see above), 100 mls of creme fraiche (or sour cream I suspect works well too), fresh dill, 1 lemon, freshly ground pepper, one avocado (be careful, not too ripe!).

The recipe comes from Table for Two, French Recipes for Romantic Dining – a book that I really like because it has great recipes for all seasons, labeled accordingly.

The method is quite simple: you separate (carefully!) the salmon slices. You-ll need a few pieces of plastic wrap prepared, about the size of your slices. Also, prepare your avcado – my luck was that I had two on hand, because one of them was waaay too ripe although it looked fine in the store. It was ugly and full of spots, you don’t need that. You need an “almost there” avocado, firm enough to be cut into slices. Cut the avocado in half, take the pit out and with a spoon, carefully remove the flesh from the skin without ruining its shape. Then, cut it in thin slices. In my opinion, if you have an avocado you had bought for guacamole but it’s not ripe enough…it’s exactly what you need for this recipe. You need to lay one salmon slice at a time on the plastic wrap (or, if you’re into sushi, maybe you have those special rolling mats – I don’t). Spread a teaspoon of creme fraiche on top, trying not to put too much as it will burst when you roll it. In the middle, put one or two avocado slices and a sprig of dill. Squeeze lemon juice over it and sprinkle some pepper. Now, we’re ready to roll. Carefully roll the salmon slice with the help of your plastic wrap. Then, use the same plastic wrap to…uhm…wrap the temaki tightly and make sure you’ve closed both ends. Repeat with all other salmon slices. Put them in the refrigerator for about one hour or until ready to serve.

When serving time comes, unwrap your temaki and, with the help of a serrated knife, cut it in 2 or 3 equal pieces. This sounds harder than it actually is. If your knife is sharp enough and the salmon have been in the fridge for enough time you’ll be just fine. Serve them on a plate standing, with some crackers or toast on the side. I had forgotten to buy toast

So there you have it: one of the easiest and yummiest starters I’ve ever made.

Stay tuned for the rest of the romantic dinner!

So I looked in the fridge for whatever veggies were inside. I had some chicken stock made a few days before so I thought I would use it. And I got cookin’!

2 small potatoes, 1 chopped onion, 3 celery small stalks, 5 small carrots and half a bell pepper later…I peeled and chopped my veggies (fine chopped the onion) and put a pan with a lug of olive oil in it on the stove. Put in the onion first and let it become translucent. Then in went the other vegetables (I had some broccoli too, but, having had some unfortunate colour experiences in the past when I couldn’t bring myself to eat mud-coloured soup, I decided to pass) and about 1 liter of the stock, as well as a Knorr Marmite little pot (my stock wasn’t “strong enough”) and…let it simmer for 30 minutes.

I checked the potatoes and the carrots to make sure they were cooked through, then in the blender they all went and whizzed up real good. I put the soup back in the pan, added a bit (please, don’t ask how much, I’ll say a “lug” again!) of single cream and preheated my oven to 220 degrees. Seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme and tasted. Mmmmm, goodness in my pot!

Put in the preheated oven some pre baked buns I had on hand and served alongside the soup, not forgetting to add a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of pepper.

It was the best breakfast…ever!

Anyway, I got the recipe from the lovely Tartelette who makes the at Christmas time every year. Her recipe yields 35-45 truffles, but I needed 48, that is why some of them ended to be half the size of the others, since I was running out of ganache. But, all’s well that ends well and I managed to get all the truffles I needed. They are extremely rich and hopefully we’ll manage to finish them soon because I don’t really know what their “shelf life” is.

So here it goes, you’ll need:

250 g dark chocolate (I used 50% cocoa but I would recommend a higher percentage since mine turned out to be quite sweet)

115 g butter, softened to room temperature

2 large egg yolks

125 g powdered sugar

cocoa powder, for dusting (there’s a whole debate here, some people find that unsweetened cocoa powder is too bitter, I found it to perfectly balance the sweetness of the ganache. If you like them sweeter, use sweetened cocoa, like Nesquick or even powdered sugar. But I would definitely recommend the regular cocoa.)

Method: I was desperately in a hurry when making these, therefore they are not nearly as cute and round as Tartelette’s. But they were tasty anyway. Also, I found that 2 hours outside on the balcony (at what was probably -2 degrees) did what overnight in the refrigerator was supposed to do. So I managed to finish my truffles on time.

What you’ll need to do: gently melt the dark chocolate (broken into pieces) on a bain marie or just over very low heat. When it is smooth and melted, add the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Incorporate well. Add the egg yolks and the sugar, whisking until everything is well blended in and the mixture is smooth. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours in the fridge (or one hour on the frozen balcony).

When the batter is firm, take a teaspoon and scoop out balls of ganache that you will roll in your hands to form pretty truffles. Put them on a tray, on a baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate again, overnight (or 2 hours on the frozen balcony). Do not skip this step, because the cocoa powder will just blend in instead of just dusting the truffle. Believe me, I tried!

Finally, put a few tablespoons of cocoa powder in a shallow dish. Roll each ball of ganache in the cocoa powder until fully covered. I also wanted to try dipping some of them in white chocolate but ran out of time. Some prefer them rolled in nuts or shredded coconut, but my audience didn’t like any of those two. So I was left with the same old, same old cocoa powder. I don’t think I would’ve had the time to prep anything else anyway.

These are best kept refrigerated, because at room temperature they tend to soften really quickly. However, for tasting I’d say they should be out of the fridge for at least a few minutes.

And voilà: chocolate decadence in a few pretty truffles. Enjoy!

But this is more about the dinner we had on the 25th of November, when, unlike a lot of people, we did not celebrate Thanksgiving (no pilgrims in Romania or Switzerland) but 48 months of being together. Yep, 4 years. It’s been quite some time and I’m happy to be able to say that although feelings have changed in their speed and roller-coaster ride-iness, although the craziness is maybe a little less crazy (but just as passionate) I feel that we have gone the distance (a small one, mind you) quite well. So here’s to that

As it was a special occasion, I needed to make something special to eat, right? So after twisting and turning and reading all my cookbooks 50 000 times, I decided on the following menu:

Salmon temakis with avocado and dill

Pan fried duck breast with spicy cherry jam and roasted baby potatoes

And crème brulée with tonka bean sugar topping

Now, of course I’ll post the recipes for every one of these, as well as for the dark chocolate truffles I am going to photograph now. So stay tuned, there’s yummy recipes coming