Chocolate & Vanilla Marble Cookies

On Saturday evening I had my family over for supper! We ate “la raclette” with a wonderful bottle of red wine. Afterwards we all had the opportunity to enjoy chocolate and vanilla marble cookies.

I borrowed the recipe from my cookie book “Irrésistibles Biscuits” by Josée Robiatille.

Here is my modify version of their recipe,

 

Chocolate & Vanilla Marble cookies

¼ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 ½ cups of flour

A sprinkle of salt

½ tsp of baking powder

½ cup of butter at room temperature

½ of sugar

1 egg

1 ½ tsp of vanilla

1. Melt the chocolate in a “bain-marie” and let cool
2. Cream the butter, add the vanilla and the egg
3. Gently sift your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well

4. Separate your dough into two equal parts.
5. Take half your dough and add your chocolate and blend well
6. Roll out each dough onto a wax paper and chill at least 1 hour
7. Remove the wax paper and twist the chocolate and vanilla dough together
8. Cut the cookie dough into ½ an inch slices and place onto a cookies sheet
9. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until slightly brown.

      Enjoy them! 

                                  

Simple and yummy!

See you guys next week…Cheers

"Terre et Mer"

If you love sea food and beef, this meal is for you!

I must say that I experimented in the kitchen once more, and like the French would say "Ça porté fruit"!

For appetiser I made a “Sweet Chilli & Orange Sea Food” dish as for the main course I made “Un filet Mignon avec sa sauce au vin a l’ail”.

I must say that my husband and I ate very well last night! I hope will enjoy creating this in your own kitchen and adding your own colour to my recipe.

“Sweet Chilli & Orange Sea Food”

2 oranges

1 small onion

3 garlic cloves

1 tsp of fresh chopped ginger

¼ cup of sweet and sour chilli sauce

¼ to ½ cup of orange juice
1 tsp of soya sauce

¼ tps of crushed chilli flakes

10 scampi (uncooked)

1 fresh piece of “Pangasius” or your favourite white fish

½ cup of old cheddar cheese

In a jar mix in; 1 orange zest, thinly chopped garlic and onion, fresh chopped ginger, sweet and sour chilli sauce, orange juice, soya sauce and the crushed chilli flakes. Place the lid on top and give it a shake!

Take your uncooked scampi and remove the shells, clean your scampi and place into a medium sized bowl. You can now chop your fish into one inch cubes, combine with the scampi and add the sweet chilli and orange sauce in the bowl. Once incorporated gently mix together and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, begin grating your cheddar cheese and rest aside. Cut your oranges into ¾ inch slices, placing them into the bottom of your ramekin bowls. Cover your oranges with the sea food and cover the whole with cheese. Place into the oven at 375F and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until cooked. Then turn on the broiler simply to turn the cheese into a golden brown and serve.

Now, how about that? YuM, YummY YUMMO!

I would like to share with you a really great red wine! Some of you might already have had the opportunity to enjoy it, as for those who haven't it’s a must!

I present you all, the "Brouilly"

 

 “Un filet Mignon avec sa sauce au vin a l’ail”.

 

 For this recipe you will need the following...

2 filet mignon
4 garlic cloves
1 small onion
pepper & salt
1/4 tsp of steak spices
1/2 tsp of Tyme
Brouilly or your favorite red wine






  

In a hot pan melt in some butter and sear the meat (one to two minutes each side).

Just like in the picture...

Once your meat is seared, unglazed your pan with the “Brouilly”, you will need approximately ½ cup.

Simmer gently 30 seconds or so, simply to absorb all those flavors.

Remove the meat from the pan and place onto a tray into the oven at 400F for 5 to 10 minutes all depending how you enjoy your meat.

Meanwhile, remove the liquid from your pan; add butter and let it melt. Incorporate the onions as well as the garlic into the butter until lightly brown, return the liquids into the pan and whisk gently.

There you have it! A scrumptious “Sauce au vin à l’ail”.  Remove the meat from the over, cover with aluminum foil and let sit for 10 minutes. (This allows the juices to retract themselves into the meat.) Once your 10 minutes is up, plate and serve with a generous spoonful of sauce. Yum!

Here is what I suggest to accompany this meal.

Julie’s homemade Orange Couscous & Caramelized Baked Veggies

For the couscous you will need

-          Half an orange zest

-          A fresh squeezed orange

-          1/3 cup of Raisins

-          One grated carrot

-          Pepper to taste

-          1 Garlic clove

-          1 tsp of grated Ginger

-          Fresh coriander (opt)

-          Of course you will need couscous

Procedure: It is simple! Mix in all these ingredients together and serve and there you have my homemade couscous!

Now for my Caramelized Baked Veggies you will need

2 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

½ of a Brocoli Rapini head

¼ of a Cauliflower head

½ of a white onion

4 tbsp of the Sweet Chilli & Orange sauce

Kalamata olives (to taste)

Parmesan reggiano

Wash and cut vegetables into bite size pieces. Place vegetables on to a cookie sheet that has covered been covered with a wax paper bottom. Drizzle sauce onto vegatbles and cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until lightly brown. Then spread the kalamata olives and parmesan reggiano cheese to the veggies and bake till the cheese is lightly brown.   

Well thats it folks, see you all next week!

Cheers et Bonne Appétit mes amis!

A little bonus for this week

Alright so I decide that it could be nice to add a little bonus recipe for three.

Week three's recipe is coming this Saturday (Jan 19th,2013) ...so come on by!

This recipe is a simple and delicious!

 I named it "The mid-day sandwich"

Cooking Simplicity at its best

A smoked maple ham sandwich with thinly slice Cortland

apples, covered with smoked Gouda & old cheddar cheese with a hint of mustard.
You will need the following ingredients

·         Your favourite bread

·         Cortland apples

·         Smoked gouda

·         Old cheddar cheese

·         Smoked maple ham

·         Dijon mustard

·         A dab of mayo (optional)

All you need to do now is assemble it all together and voila you have your very own delicious mid-day sandwich!

Enjoy!

It is a "Petit pêché Mignon"!

So this week I thought I was going to do something extremely fancy and then I thought to myself, why do something complicated when I can do simple! I am not saying that I won't try and do something out of the box but for this week it will have to do. Life is throwing enough curves balls at me, therefore simple it is!

Cooking food lately has been like a new revelation. I get excited thinking about cooking, going to the supermarket, cooking itself and when the final results comes along...YUM! I am thrilled to share with you all this weeks’ recipe. Made and invented by "Moi”!

So here is week two... "The petit pêché mignon"

Strawberry & Banana Crêpe Stuff with Cream Cheese Covered

by a

Orange Dark Chocolate Coulis. 

 



So here is how I made this delectable and SIMPLE recipe! You will need the following ingredients 

(This recipe serves for two).

Prepare a head of time

1 fresh package of strawberries

1 Banana

1/3 of a cup of cream cheese

1 Orange Zest

 · Rinse and cut strawberries into quarters            

        (6 strawberries )

 · Use half of a Banana per person and cut them into small slices. 

 · Use half of the cream cheese and spread onto the bottom of each crêpe. (You can also put the quantity you enjoy)

 · Zest of one orange and put aside for topping 

 

 

Orange Dark Chocolate

To do the coulis you will need the following ingredients

130g of Dark chocolate orange

1/4 cup of cream 

You will need to make a Bain-Marie, if you don't have one, you can create your own. For those of you who are not quite sure what a "Bain-Marie" is, check out my pictures below. Basically, it is a pot of simmering water with a glass or metal bowl place on top of your pot. This process helps the chocolate cook slowly and prevents it from burning. That does not mean you should not be vigilant, it can happen, trust me!

Useful tip: The water must not touch the bottom of your bowl; you want a soft bubble during the whole process.

So with that in mind, add your orange dark chocolate and cream in a bowl. Then place your bowl on top of a simmering hot pot of water. Whisk gently but constantly. When creamy and smooth pull aside and serve on top of the crêpe.

 

Crêpe mixture 

You can use your favourite one that you make on Sunday mornings for your family. The most important detail is simply this, you have to make them thin or else they will break and not be able to fold onto themselves. You can also use my recipe but I must say that I do everything with my gut, therefore I don't measure anything. This is only approximately what I make, adjustment can be made if need be. Tip: If to thick add milk and if it is to thin slowly add a little flour.

3 eggs (we absolutely love eggs around here! You can put 2 eggs if you like but you might need a tad more milk)

2 cups of flour

1 cup of milk

¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp of vanilla

½ an Orange Zest

1. Whisk eggs until they are frothy or foamy
2. Add vanilla, milk, oil and orange zest to the eggs
3. Slowly incorporate the flour in the mixture by whisking

When the mixture is fully homogenised it is ready to be cooked. Prepare the stovetop oven on high and let your pan get hot, then bring down the temperature to an 8 or 7 (a little over medium).

Cook the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until lightly brown and serve.

The making of…"The petit pêché mignon"

Place your crepe on the bottom of your plate, then lather with cream cheese. Add the strawberries and bananas and fold the crepe onto it self. Drizzed with the orange dark chocolate, sprinkle with orange zest on top of the crepe and “voila”, you have a delectable dish to serve to your family and friends!

Bonne Appétit mes amis!

 

My husband enjoying our lovely breakfast!

First recipe of the year...Caramelized Apple Tart!

For the first recipe of the year I made a delicous "Caramelized Apple Tart " !
The recipe comes from a canadianne chef named Ricardo! Awh it was delicious! I have to say that I am so very sorry for it went out so quickly that I didn't have the chance to take a picture! I will however post the recipe so you can enjoy it as well! I solomely swear to remember to take pictures of my next recipies to come!

Here is the link to the recipe I made http://www.ricardocuisine.com/recipes/201-caramelized-apple-tart-
I copied the reciped from his page for you to try at home, therefore all rights belong to him. I just think he is so neat and I wanted to share his cooking!

When I made his recipe I had to make a couple of changes; you see I am allergic to almonds and I also did not have Calijo or Calvados on hand. I decided to replace the almonds by oats and the calijo by a Pinnacle Ice Cider. Pinnacle Ice Cider a wonderful and delicous product of our region, take a sneak peak at their web page http://www.domainepinnacle.com/en/products.html  It is so yummy!

I also was able to served 12 pieces of tarte instead of 8 pieces. I must say that the supper I served was a 4 course meal, therefore a smaller piece wasn't a problem! Anyhow I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Here is my revised versions of Ricardo's recipies!

Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 20 min
In the fridge: Overnight ( I made it in advance)
Servings: 12

Ingredients

Crust
•  375 ml (1 1/2 cups) rolled oats
•  60 ml (1/4 cup) flour
•  125 ml (1/4 cup) oats
•  125 ml (1/2 cup) brown sugar
•  125 ml (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
Filling
•  1 package 250 g cream cheese, at room temperature
•  10 ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
•  125 ml (1/2 cup) sugar
•  180 ml (3/4 cup) 35% cream, whipped
Caramelized Apple
•  125 ml (1 cup) brown sugar
• 30 ml (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

•  1.25 liters (5 cups) Cortland apples, peeled, cored and cut into 10 segments (about 4 apples)
•  60 ml (1/2 cup) Pinnacle

 

2013 Objectives

Okay so here are my personal challenges for 2013 ...

1. Photograph a new dish that I will cook once a week, then publish it right her on my blog! Exciting!!!

2. Run a marathon of 5km 10km in June 2013- Challenging!

3. Take guitar lessons for at least 3 months- can't wait!

4. Plan a trip to Europe for the end of this year 2013 or the beginning of 2014...hum, where to go that is the question?

So I will be posting something yummy very soon this week!
Come check it out :)

Have a great evening!
Julie