Fattoush salad

Look no further! This is the perfect salad: fresh cucumber, ripe tomatoes, tons of fresh parsley and mint, crispy homemade flat bread croutons and a tangy lemony garlicky dressing… Yes, it is. Perfect.

Here's how you can make Fattoush.



INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
for the salad
- 1 small head of romaine salad
- 1 cucumber
- 1 large handful of cherry tomatoes
- 1 sweet green pepper
- a bunch of flat leaf parsley
- a bunch of fresh mint
- 1 loaf of Khoubiz or any flat bread like a pita (click here for a recipe)
for the dressing
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 big clove of garlic
- a pinch of salt (to taste)


RECIPE:
- this recipe is so simple! Just chop all the salad ingredients (except the bread) and arrange in a serving bowl

- break the flat bread into bite sized pieces and toast them until crispy and sprinkle over the salad

- prepare the dressing: combine all the ingredients in a bowl and using a stick blender, mix until emulsified, pour over the salad and toss

- Enjoy!

Lemon-raspberry funfetti cupcakes

Those cupcakes are so cute and delicious!

The perfect fruity combination of tangy lemon and fresh raspberries, topped with a light cream cheese frosting and fun multicolored sprinkles make for the ultimate party cupcakes.

Making these cupcakes will make you and anyone who eats them a happy happy bunny!


INGREDIENTS (24 cupcakes)
for the cream cheese frosting
- 2 lbs confectioner sugar
- 2 x 8 oz packages of cream cheese
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 stick of butter, softened at room temperature

for the cupcakes
- 2 1/4 cups of AP flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- zest of two lemons
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- multicolored sprinkles


RECIPE:
start with the cupcake batter
- preheat your oven at 375F
- in the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment add the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar

- mix in the butter, sour cream, water and lemon juice

- add the two eggs one at a time until smooth, add the lemon zest and vanilla then gently fold in the fresh raspberries

- line a cupcake tray with paper liners and fill 2/3 up with batter

- bake at 375F for 20 minutes until soft and lightly springy to the touch

- let cool completely before frosting
prepare the frosting
- while the cupcakes are cooling down, cream the room temperature cream cheese with the butter, lemon juice and vanilla until blended

- add the confectioner sugar 1/4 cup at a time, until all mixed in and smooth

- fill a piping bag with the frosting (or a freezer bag of which you cut a corner), and gently frost each cupcake in the pattern you like

Note: to help with filling the frosting in the piping bag neatly, place the bag in a tall glass and spoon the frosting in
- top your frosted cupcakes with multicolored sprinkles and enjoy!!

Pork chops Piccata

Here is the step-by-step pictorial how-to for the pork chops Piccata in the Nov'11 to Nov'12 photo-recap post :)


Dredge 4 pork chops with seasoned flour (salt and pepper, and for a little extra oomph and if you have it powdered loomi), and brown them on both sides in 2 tbsp of melted butter. The taste of butter makes a real difference here, so I really would not recommend oil.


Set the browned chops on a plate and add a finely chopped shallot in the same pan (with remaining butter and brown bits and juices) and cook until soft. This step will start to deglaze the juices from the pan.

Then add a half-glass of white wine (I used Pinot Grigio, which I also drank with the meal afterwards) and the same amount of chicken broth, a finely chopped clove of garlic and a half a cup of capers.

Once the pan is deglazed and the shallots and garlic are soft, put the chops back into the pan and cook all the way through (about 7-8 minutes).
At this point, the liquid will combine with the flour and thicken the sauce. If the sauce gets too dry before the pork is cooked, add a little chicken stock, 1 tbsp at a time. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon (fresh) into the pan right before plating.


Serve with starch of choice. I used a store-bought mix of quinoa and wild rice, but mashed potatoes, fresh pasta or plain rice would be fine too. If so inclined, you can also serve with green veggies such as green beans. I think that would work well with this dish.
Sprinkle a few parsley leaves and voila!



Bon appetit!

Alsacian-like lemon and speculaas spices scented Christmas cookies

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday of the year. I just love everything that is remotely related to Christmas, the presents, mistletoe, holly, fragrant trees and decorations!

Inspired by an Austrian friend of mine, Bianca, I decided to bake Christmas cookies. Being french, I opted for an Alsacian recipe (lemon scented cookies); but because I have lived in the Netherlands for over five years now, I tweaked the recipe by adding Speculaas spices in the mix! Enjoy!

05 December 2009

Ingredients (makes about 15 cookies)

For the cookies:

• 250g flour
• 1/2 pack of baking powder
• 70g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp of Speculaas spices
  
• zest of 1 lemon, finely ground
• 1 egg yolk (use the white for the icing, see below)
• 2 tbsp of creme fraiche (thick cream)
• 100g butter, cubed 

For the icing:

• 125 g icing sugar
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp lemon juice 

Pre-warm the oven at 180°C.

Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Add the sugar, spices, vanilla extract, salt, lemon zest, egg yolk and creme fraiche. Stir thoroughly, and incorporate the butter. Knead well; you should have a nice smooth dough (albeit a little crumbly).

Roll the dough on a flat surface, to a thickness of ~1/2 cm. With cookie-cutters (I used heart-, star-, flower-, tree- and angel-shaped ones), cut out the dough in as many cookies as you can. If there is leftover dough, make a ball out of it, and roll it down again until all the dough hass been cut out.

Place the cut-out dough on a baking paper sheet, and bake for ~15 minutes. Once cooked, let the cookies cool down completely before icing them.

When the cookies are cool, mix all the ingredients of the icing, until you obtain a thick white smooth paste. Ice your cookies with a spoon, using the back of the spoon to smooth the icing. Apply as many coats of sugar icing as you please (I used three coats). Let the icing dry completely before manipulating the cookies.

Happy Christmas!!!