Tartiflette, a delicious cheesy potato dish made with Reblochon from the Haute-Savoie region of France, sounds like a traditional dish that came into being centuries ago to fill the stomachs of ruddy and hungry mountain people in the Alps between France and Switzerland.

Who would believe that this is actually a recipe created in the 1980’s by the Union Interprofessional Reblochon (the cheesemaker’s association) to promote the sale of Reblochon, an essential ingredient in Tartiflette. It originated in the valley of Aravis, home of reblochon cheese, with Thônes at its production center.

At the root of the name Reblochon is the word ‘reblocher’ which actully means ‘to pinch a cow’s udder again’. This comes from a practice that goes back to the 14th century when landowners would tax mountain farmers according to the amount of milk their herds produced. The farmers reverted to not fully milking the cows until the landowner had measured the yield. Once that was accomplished the farmers would ‘reblocher’ = pinch the cows udder again = milk the rest of the milk, receiving a much creamier, richer milk which was then used to make cheese.

In the 16th century the cheese also became known as ‘fromage de dévotion’ = devotional cheese, because the Thônes Valley farmers offered the cheese to the Carthusian monks in return for having their homes and farms blessed.

Reblochon which has a nutty earthy flavor, is a soft washed-rind, smear-ripened cheese traditionally made from raw cow’s milk. The round cheese is approximately 14 cm wide, 3–4 cm thick, weighs approximately 450 grams and contains 45% fat. When ripe the orange-colored rind is covered with a fine white mould. The best period to eat this cheese is between May and September when it has been aged six to eight weeks. But in modern times is it eaten throughout the year, particularly in the winter.

The name Tartiflette comes from the Savoyan and Provençal word for potatoes: tartifles.

But the most interesting fact of all is that the Savoyans or Savayards as they are called in French, first heard of “their” traditional dish Tartiflette when it started appearing on ski resort menus as a dish that “conveys the friendliness of the mountain people along with authenticity and the image of the soil of the mountain”.

So let’s hear three cheers to the Union Interprofessional Reblochon for creating such a delicious promotional dish – you coulda’ fooled me!

In my version below I have added leeks to make it even more ‘earthy’! This dish with its delicious simple combination of potatoes, bacon and melted cheese is easy to make, hearty and warming on a cold day after a walk, skiing, snow-shoeing, a sauna or even after having done nothing but cooking it.

We like to eat it with green salad done up with a strong vinaigrette – our favorite is estragon/tarragon – but it will go with all types of winter salads, especially those flavored with walnut or hazelnut oil.

If you cannot find Reblochon you can use a similar Italian cheese also from the Alpes region: Rebruchon or Reblò alpino.

Tartiflette made with potatoes, leek, onions, bacon and Reblochon cheese

Ingredients:

• 750 grams/ ¾ pound of potatoes (preferably the waxy boiling kind)
• 200 grams/ 6 oz of bacon cut into bacon-bit size
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 leek, peeled, washed and sliced thinly
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled
• 1 Reblochon cheese of approx. 450 grams/ 15 oz
• 1 TBSP butter
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 60 ml / ¼ cup white wine (optional)
• 1 tsp of thyme, fresh and chopped or dried
• Salt & ground pepper

Putting it all together:

Preheat the oven to 350° F / 180° C.

Peel the potatoes, wash them and place them in a pot of water. When all the potatoes have been peeled, pour out the water in the pot and replace it with fresh water just covering the potatoes, add salt and bring to a boil. Lower the temperature and boil lightly for approx 15-20 minutes. The potatoes should just be starting to get soft. Pour off the water, rinse once with fresh cold water and lay the potatoes on a cutting board. Wait a few minutes and slice the potatoes as you would for fried potatoes.

In the meanwhile, fry the bacon bits in their own fat over medium heat– only adding a little olive oil if they look like they would otherwise burn. Remove them from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Wipe down the frying pan to remove any burnt bacon bits and return to medium heat. Add the butter and the olive oil and melt it. Pour some of this fat into a casserole dish (taking care not to burn yourself) and use it to coat the casserole dish.

Return the frying pan to the heat source and add the whole clove of garlic, the onion and the leeks. Cook the mixture stirring often until the onions are soft – about 5 minutes. Add the white wine if using and stir-fry until most of the wine has evaporated (about 4 mins.). Add the thyme and mix well. Remove the pan from the heat. Remove the garlic clove, chop it and stir it into the leek/onion mixture.

Now start assembling the Tartiflette: cover the bottom of the casserole with about 1/3 of the potato slices. Lightly salt and pepper the slices, sprinkle with half the bacon bits and then cover with ½ the leek/onion mixture.

Add another 1/3 of the potato slices, lightly salt and pepper, cover with the rest of the bacon and the leek/onion mixture. Cover this with the rest of the potato slices. Press down to pack it in and make a level surface.

Take the Reblochon, unwrap it and scrap some of the skin off with a paring knife and lightly cut out the red wax label if your brand has it. Cut it in half across its width and then cut the ½ again so you can better fit it into the casserole.

Place the cut sides down on top of the last potato layer, they should just about cover the surface. Press down and grind some fresh pepper over the top.

Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes, grilling the top carefully if your oven has that option for the last five minutes.

Remove from the oven, let it sit for 5 minutes and serve it with a salad as mentioned above.

Yum….. and…(I want)..more!

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Michele Cranston is the heart, soul and creative mind behind the popular marie claire cookbooks of the past 10 years that all center around “real and simple” food.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, 14th February 2013, Ms. Cranston’s 10^th marie claire book will be available from Murdoch Books – it is titled: marie claire 10 years of great food with Michele Cranston.

In this 385-page gorgeous book, Michele and her team of editors, designers, food, stylists and photographers have put together a compilation of 250 of her favorite recipes from the last 10 years and previous books.

Michele has added her personal comments on the inspiration for the recipe, why it is a favorite, what memories it conjures up, in form of hand-written “post-its” added to the photography pages.

The book design is delightful, the photographs concentrate on the food and definitely reproduce that glossy magazine feeling even on mat paper. The layout is clean with light backgrounds and discreet designs; the recipes are sorted by seasons and each season into 2 sets of recipes.

The recipes are simply explained and easy to make. They offer a good variety of relatively everyday ingredients and appeal to all levels of cooking ability.

The usability of such a large and heavy book has been greatly improved by the double cloth covered rubber band that holds both the book together when stored on the shelf, as well as holding the page open when using a recipe. The addition of notepaper and post-its in different sizes and colors including three preprinted ones titled: favourites, quick & easy, special occasions are a blessing for “navigating” within the book, say if you were planning several courses and needed to quickly flip back and forth.

The tasty recipes include all classic types of ingredients in all food categories, a handful of drink recipes are also included. Although simple they are made more appealing by the luscious photograph and the flavor combinations. I particularly like the use of spices in the recipes. All those who looked through the book, quickly found a few recipes that appealed to them.

I cooked two dishes from the book:
The first was a fish dish of which there are plenty of recipes to choose from in Michele Cranston’s cookbook:

spice-crusted fish

Fish filets receive a paste of ground roasted spices are then fried to create the crust and spend the last 5 minutes in the oven – served with mashed potatoes and lemons slices our tasty meal was ready from start to finish in just 35 minutes and would have been perfect for a dinner party too. Added plus: it looked almost exactly like the picture in the book!

The second was more of an appetizer but made a main meal for three to which we added white asparagus salad with tarragon vinaigrette and crusty bread:

layered ricotta bake

I halved the recipe so it would fit into my stainless steel terrine and used goat ricotta as I am lactose-intolerant and it worked just fine. It was firm but moist, had a pleasant blend of fresh flavors and was simple and the most time-consuming was the baking time of 1 hour. Minus: it looked nothing like the beautiful terrine in the picture unfortunately but rather very white und not very appetizing. But the most important thing was: it tasted delicious!

The bottom line:

Who is this book for?
Everyone! No limitations, anyone would love it as a present and to have on the cookbook shelf and often even on their coffee table. The completeness of the types of ingredients used leaves little to miss amongst the 250 recipes chosen.

Any criticism?
Yes. My lady friends and I found the font size and type used in the recipes very difficult to read especially in the ingredient part, we had go move in very closely, in poor lighting we would have possibly had to use a magnifying glass.

marie claire – 10 years of great food with Michele Cranston is a perfect gift for Valentine’s Day or any other occasion. It is a tresure for people who like to cook and delight in a multitude of simple, real food recipes for every season accompanied by luscious food pictures all in one book.

Publication date: 14th February 2013

Murdoch Books, Hardback, £ 25.00

P.S. I received this cookbook from Murdoch Books UK with the media release letter – all comments are mine exclusively and were not remunerated or influenced in any way.  

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Oh winter sun there you are!!!

You have been hiding for weeks and weeks. Bogging me down with grey, making me weary, with dark thoughts and a muddled mind. Sending me out aimlessly along my days, shuffling and head down instead of looking up and skipping along with a smile.

But today you rose glorious!! Putting a shine on everything, rooftops, cars, construction sights even the door of a lifeless closet takes on new depth and dimension. The birds, the trees seem to sing your praises, I know I do!

Yes, even the prison behind our house welcomes the warmth you bring to its walls.

Please stay glorious winter sun to shine on my soul and ease my mind.

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Neil Perry’s introduction to his upcoming new cookbook Easy Weekends is honest, personal and suits the book to a T!

His hope in writing this lovely cookbook was “that this book helps you cook, inspires you to buy quality ingredients and makes you want to cook for your friends and family.”

Yes thank you Mr. Perry – it does!

The over 100 different recipes for Friday night, Saturdays and Sundays – a daring division – range from Eastern to Western culinary influences and are typical of multicultural cooking in Australia. And that variety is what makes the book most attractive in my eye. There is fish, meat, vegetable, dessert, cake and even a recipe for making Pimm’s from scratch.

The vision of this cookbook to be a guide for those who like to get together on weekends and cook, including helpful notes and a good dash of honesty – works. The photos are simple and unpretentious; they perfectly suit the book, radiating the atmosphere of “normal” weekend cooking situations with good cheer and dirty dishes. The food looks delicious without seeming over-styled.

I cooked two recipes from the book to ensure its “cookability”, one sweet and one savory meat dish.

Spiced pork braised with prunes and apricots – page 57 – a nice braise with fruit to compliment the meat – it was good and the mixture of ingredients was simple and pleasing – I needed to only “tweek” the sauce with some cornstarch to bind it – but that can happen with any recipe since it depends really on the meat. I served it as recommended with soft polenta, which fitted perfectly with the polenta soaking up the fruity sauce.

The sweet dish I made was the Greek-style custard tart – a Greek breakfast cake that we had driven an extra 20 minutes daily to pick up fresh from the bakery oven when vacationing in Rhodos a few years ago. A cake I have been wanting to make since then but hadn’t found an approachable recipe for. Well here was my chance and it was well worth the wait. The semolina filling is to die for and the combination with the puff pastry and cinnamon sugar was perfect. This is not a light affair, but it is delicious warm as a breakfast/brunch dish or for afternoon coffee when you are only planning a light dinner.

Easy Weekends is a down-to-earth, hands-on cookbook for hearty eating well balanced with a variety of lighter appetizers and fish or seafood-based salads, vegetable dishes and all types of desserts.
It covers most meats (beef, pork, lamb, no veal), poultry with chicken and duck, and a good selection of fish and seafood. Egg dishes include i.e. poached egg variations and breakfast pancakes. The desserts and cakes are simple to make and you can choose from luscious creams, ice-cream, tarts, puddings and fresh fruit combinations.

The cookbok offers several complete menu suggestions or special occasion combinations:

• Summer celebration menu for 12
• Spring feast menu for 8
• Asian banquet menu for 8

So, any criticism you ask?

Well if you are the sort of person who likes tight and precise organized food categories in your cookbook this may not be the book for you.It tends to go back and forth between all courses and styles since the classification division is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
However, since I like to cook extemporaneously and “trawling” through cookbooks letting my fancy be tickled, is my thing – the order be damned. If this is your approach too, you’ll love it.

I let my foodie husband take a look at the book to get his reaction and he spontaneously said what he liked most was the international mixture of dishes represented in one cookbook. He thougth the recipes semmed simple and easy to make. It is a book he would readily use on his own as a less-experienced cook.

The bottom line:

This book is a great book to give as a gift as it is perfect for friends, families or large groups that get together and commonly decide what they feel like eating for the weekend. It is also perfect if you just let the pictures and recipes inspire you as to what to cook for a food-focused weekend in larger groups. And it will be avaibale as of Valentines Day! hint, hint….

It is furthermore helpful for less experienced cooks seeking more confidence and new dishes.

As Neil Perry says: “Nothing in life is more beautiful to me that sharing a meal with the people I love, it is what I live for.”
Yes it is and it is well reflected here.

The author’s suggestions on becoming a better cook are also worth taking note of: “If you enjoy it, simply cook more often and take notice of what you do. Every time you cook you can learn something – everyday. If you can be bothered jot it down.”

He concludes with: “Happy cooking is about memory, love, happiness and life.”

And I say: amen to that!

 

Notes from the Media Release by Murdoch Books UK:
Easy Weekends, by Neil Perry, Publication date: 14^th February 2013, Hardback, £20  

P.S. I received this cookbook from Murdoch Books UK with the media release letter – all comments are mine exclusively and were not remunerated or influenced in any way.  

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Is breaking your traditions a good thing or a bad? Does it show adaptation and a willingness to embrace change or do we miss it like a part of us that has been broken off?
For most of the last 10 years on New Years Eve my husband and I have reveled in our hotel picnics and sleepovers with a view. It was always our little end of the year getaway (usually only 20 minutes drive to a nice hotel in our own city of Frankfurt – yes we have tried all those worth staying at and having any type of skyline view), we would cook up and buy delicacies for our hotel room picnic the day before: such as lobster salad, spicy Asian beef and glass noodle salad, pâtés, cheeses, tiny cornichons, crunchy baguette and the perfect wine and champagne. Pretty linen, plates and cutlery yes all the trimmings were added to the food in our special picnic bag cooler that looks just like a travel bag. (sneaky I know!)

Arriving at the hotel on New Year’s Eve afternoon we would go to the spa to have a sauna, swim and relax, then a nice nap and MTV’s greatest hits on TV.

We’d later set up our picnic on the windowsill looking out onto the festively decorated city. Sitting on our comforters on the floor we would simply enjoy the delicious food and each other’s company while waiting for the awesome fireworks in the stillness, comfort and luxury of a warm hotel room far from the noisy boisterous crowds below. Blissful!!

But this year since our move back into the City, we have our own apartment with a view and don’t need to spend the money for a luxury hotel room. This also means we have more time in our own 4-walls to cook and serve warm food! A new option not available with hotel picnicking.

While contemplating the fireworks and the Frankfurt skyline we reflected on the waning year 2012 that for us was one filled with trials and tribulations and suddenly we smiled. We appreciated what we had and decided to be more content with that and to not always be searching for the next thrill. Let’s call it our New Year’s resolution and the beginning of a new tradition? Who knows!

But now, enough reflection, let’s talk about food!!

So here is what we cooked for 2 to celebrate the arrival of the New Year 2013. The recipes are farther below.
We did have leftovers for the next day, which therefore makes this a good menu for 4 persons.
All of the courses are also perfect for other special occasions. Enjoy – we did!

The Menu:

1) Trio of 12 French Oysters:

St. Vaast – L’Harmonie – a very fresh oyster with very little oyster taste and an easy “sucker”

Omaha Beach – L’Extase – a very intensive tasting oyster – but no fishy taste – perfect

Cancale – Le Charme – a lovely “fishy” oyster – not salty but with a good fish aftertaste

2) Baked Stuffed Mushrooms – filled with fresh soft herb cheese, finely chopped mortadella and pistachio mustard.

3) Crab-filled Pici Pasta Dough Ravioli with Tarragon Al Limone Sauce

4) Individual Pavlovas with Jellied Cherry Sauce

The Wines:
We served a very tasty Muscadet Sevre et Maine from Chateau de la Jousseliniere 2011 – (a jewel at only 6,50€ a bottle) with the oysters and mushrooms and a velvety 2008 Gevrey-Chambertin “Les Evocelles” from Gerard Quivy which we brought back from Burgundy and will be even more delicious in 2 years – with the ravioli.

With Dessert:
Fresh brewed espresso accompanied the Pavlova dessert.

You can find all my adapted recipes below with their originals links where relevant.

Baked Stuffed Mushrooms with Fresh Herb Cheese, Mortadella and Pistachio Mustard

• 18 fresh medium-sized brown mushrroms
• ½ package about 80 grams/3 oz of herbed fresh cream cheese such as Boursin or Bressot
• 1 slice of Italian Mortadella – finely chopped by hand
• 1 ½ tsp of pistachio mustard – I get mine from the Senf Galerie in Frankfurt
• ground pepper

Mix the filling ingredients together well with a spoon.
Clean the mushrooms from outside with a damp paper towel and remove the stems, use them for something else or discard. Carefully scrape out the mushroom caps with an espresso spoon if stem parts remain, if necessary.
Place the caps on a pizza baking tray that has holes (this allows the juice of the mushrooms to drip down making them less wet – make sure to put foil on the tray below) or on a baking sheet covered in baking paper.
Fill the caps using an espresso spoon making little peeks with the filling.
Bake for 16 minutes at 180° C / 325° F – then without opening the door bake, turn off the oven and let the mushroom sit for another 10 or 15 minutes – serve immediately.

Crab-filled Ravioli with Pici Pasta Dough

These crab ravioli can also be made with wonton wrappers from the freezer. We prefer making pici pasta dough according to my friend Giulia Scarpaleggia from Jul’s Kitchen’s recipe as it is a specialty from Tuscany and the dough is perfect for all “noodles” dishes. We use the dough for pasta, ravioli and it makes great lasagne too!

Ravioli Pici Pasta dough

½ portion of pici pasta dough (recipe for full portion here)

We usually separate the dough into 2 balls while kneading. This means that 1 ball or ½ the dough makes roughly 24 ravioli which equals 48 x a 6 cm/2.3 in disk cut-out. The other half of the pasta dough is used to make pasta with.

Crab filling for ravioli

• 200 grams / 7 oz of crab craw meat (approx 10 cooked claws and arms)
• 2 sprigs of fresh chopped dill
• 1 TBSP freshly-grated ginger
• 1 TBSP freshly-grated horseradish or 1 tsp prepared
• 1 stalk of chopped lemongrass – only soft parts
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 1 spring onion finely chopped
• ½ clove of garlic finely chopped – germ removed
• salt & ground pepper
• 1-2 pinches of ground chili flakes
• 1 tsp of ginger oil
• juice of ½ lime
• 2 kaffir lime leaves crumbled (optional)

Make the filling:
Combine the crab filling ingredients and let marinate in a cold place for 1-2 hours or overnight.

Filling the ravioli:
Roll out the ½ portion of pici pasta dough thinly (like wonton wrapper or ravioli thickness) cut out rounds for tops and bottoms, working 20 for 10 ravioli at a time and rerolling when necessary. Cover the dough with a clean dishcloth in between is it is too dray.

Fill a small bowl with tap water, have a cake fork and a tray laid out with a floured dish cloth at the ready.

Place 2 rounds on a clean board or plate, dip your finger in the water and run it around the edges of the dough circles, this will stick the disks together to seal them before crimping. Now use a small espresso teaspoon to heap some filling (try to let the filling drip some of its liquid off or drain the filling if it is too wet) in the middle of one disk. Place the unfilled disk on top the wet sides to one another. Press the edges to seal and use the fork to crimp the edges together all around the disks. This will seal them and make a nice pattern. Lay the finished ravioli on the floured dish towel. Continue in the same way until all ravioli are filled.

Use immediately or covered with a second floured dish towel and keep in a very cool place until using – these will keep 1 day if they are kept dark and very cold.

To cook the ravioli:
Bring a big pot of water to a boil – add salt – now slip in the ravioli no more than 12 at a time. Let the ravioli boil for about 3-4 minutes just until they rise to the top of the water. Remove the pot from heat and put the lid on and let the ravioli steep for 5 minutes max. If possible served immediately in deep bowls or plates with the sauce and cook the next 12 and serve.

Or place the ravioli in the sauce to stay more while you make the second batch.

Al Limone Sauce with Tarragon and optionally with seaweed
Al Limone Sauce – is definitely my favorite pasta sauce. This variation with tarragon is excellent also for fish dishes such as filet of sole. You can also add chopped seaweed to it for a tasty and crunchy contrast to the pasta or with crab or other seafood ravioli.

• 70 grams/5TBSP/ 5 oz butter
• 200 ml/ 6.7 fl oz cream
• 1 organic lemon – washed and juiced
• zest from ½ lemon
• other ½ lemon cut into pieces after juicing
• 1 whole peeled garlic clove
• salt & pepper
• chopped tarragon removed from 4 sprigs
  optional: 70 grams / 2.5 oz fresh green seaweed / kelp / wakame  – roughly cut into medium-sized pieces

Make the sauce:
Melt the butter over medium-heat in a saucepan. When half melted add the lemon peel pieces and the garlic clove, Stir until all butter is melted.
Add the cream and stir until well combined. Simmer for 4-5 minutes but do not boil.
Add salt and ground pepper.
Remove from heat and add lemon juice and zest stirring continually. Return to heat and bring back to a simmer.
Turn off heat and add chopped tarragon and seaweed if using.
Add the pasta and serve with crusty bread to wipe up the delicious lemon sauce!

Individual Pavlovas with Jellied Cherry Sauce

To make the individual Pavlovas I used this recipe from Get the Good Stuff   and served them with my Jellied Cherry Sauce.

Jellied Cherry Sauce

• 1 kilo of washed and pitted fresh cherries I had frozen during cherry season.
• 250 grams / 1 1/4 cups of jamming sugar (2:1)
• 1 tsp of Agar-Agar
• scraped seeds from 1 vanilla bean
• 1 tsp of organic orange zest
• 1 TBSP of Cointreau or Demi-Sec

Stir everything together. Let sit covered for 10 minutes.
Bring slowly to a boil, boil and stir for 3 minutes.
Turn off cover and cool until serving.

Guten Apettit with yumandmore!

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Happy New Year 2013 from yumandmore!!

This is the view from my balcony in Frankfurt am Main Germany at 00:03 on Jan 1st 2013 – I have added some links and images to various images and links of what we and others were eating, doing, and seeing around the world at the same time!

I used Thinglink to create this interactive image!

#nye2012 #nyefood #nyedinner #frankfurtammain #silvester

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I have wanted to make an entremet composé for so long – but I was chicken.

I am not a good baker – not for lack of enthusiasm it just doesn’t come naturally to me like cooking does.

But this year I decided I needed a Christmas dinner highlight – elegant, pretty and of course delicious!
Here are some Wiki entremet tidbits:

Its history:
Dishes that were intended to be eaten as well as entertain can be traced back at least to the early Roman Empire.

And in today’s context:
For modern pastry chefs, Entremet typically refers to a multi-layered mousse-based cake with various complementary flavors and varying textural contrasts.

Yes that was me, the modern pastry chef – well not quite but I was willing to give it a whirl.

I googled and cross referenced, I looked into all my French cookbooks including consulting Julia Child a good source of basic kitchen wisdom and this is what I came up with.

A log of pistacchio chocolate joconde filled with white choclate mousse and fresh raspberry gelee covered in a layer of antique green marzipan and decorated with red marzipan stars.

Elegant, decadent and art deco – what’s not to love?

It was a highlight of Christmas day 1 and with the leftover joconde, mousse and some strawberries cooked up with agar-agar a perfectly pretty little dessert on Christmas day 2.

And you know what pleased me most about it? It wasn’t that hard to make! The main thing you need is courage and patience. I even learned how to make and roll marzipan into cake coverings and cutouts!

I found that my stainless steel terrine form (for making pâté ) was perfect for this experiment, it was easy to fill, the top made a perfect “cutter” for the cake layers. Everything fit snuggly and by turning it over in its form I could put the pressure on the right places to keep it tightly in form.

Alas I am not giving you a recipe here – I am giving you inspiration to find exactly what type of entremet you want to make.

I halved some recipes and added powdered chocolate to others – making it up as I went along and letting my creativity lead the way.

And in the end this to me sounded like the perfect way to end 2012 and encourage 2013 to make a fresh start!

I will definitely make another entremet for New Years Eve… let’s see…… peaches, cherries, strawberries, pineapple, mango??? What will it be??? Guess you’ll have to wait to find out!

Celebrate my dear Friends, Followers and Readers! And thank you for your trust, love and encouragement through the rainbow of emotions and tribulations that were my year 2012.

Love and hugs,
Karin@yumandmore

Here is some of the entremet inspiration I found online:

http://mushitza.blogspot.de/2012/06/melissa-raspberry-entremet.html

http://www.cannellevanille.com/custard/stephane-glaciers-delice-dete/

http://www.chefkoch.de/forum/2,35,118135/Marzipan-ausrollen-der-absolute-Horror-Gibt-s-einen-Trick.html

http://www.bravotv.com/foodies/recipes/white-chocolate-cherry-amp-pistachio-entremet

http://bossacafez.blogspot.de/2010/07/desserts-i-made-iii-pistache-noisette.html

http://bicilthebaker.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/pretty-in-pink/#more-301

http://www.1000foodblogs.com/entry/502816

http://thesweetspot.com.my/?p=1945

http://recettes.de/entremets

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When I flew to Lebanon in 2006 for the first time I was frightened.

I didn’t know what to expect. Would there be violence as so often depicted in the media? Was I at risk? Could I go out onto the streets alone as a woman or at night?

When I arrived in the night at Beirut airport filled with all these questions and doubts, I was lucky to share the hotel shuttle buswith an experienced reporter from USA Today stopping over in Beirut on his way back to Iraq. We started talking and I told him of my uneasiness. He smiled and told me not to worry Beirut was safe and offered to show me around the city the next evening.

The next day I held my business meetings in the hotel and looked out from my hotel window at the Lebanese world and Beirut below me, but wasn’t yet ready to go out on my own.

As the sun was setting over Beirut, my journalist guide R. took me on a quick taxi tour of Beirut and then we went to Nejmeh Square and followed the shoeprints of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri while R. told me about the current status of the UN Security Council investigation and gave me an overview of Lebanese history in the last 200 years along the status of the various Middle Eastern factions.

I was fascinated; the more I found out, the more I wanted to know.

We ate at Al Balad restaurant my absolute favorite in Beirut so far, where I have returned often with my husband when he visited and with my German colleagues when I was again in Beirut to work at the airport for a week.

I loved the wonderful meal and sitting outside so that I could take in all the hustle and bustle going on around me. Men, women, children, old and young, speaking in a variety of languages that I could not comprehend but that was music to my ears. As exotic as the smell and taste of the delicious food I was eating.

After a mocca we continued on to Gemmayzeh or Gem as the younger crowd likes to call it by taxi, wandering along looking into the windows of bars and clubs, the laughter and pulsing music spilling onto the street into the still warm air, invigorating me and making me want this night to never end. A drink in R.’s favorite bar listening to the expats around us tell their (tall) tales of excitement, bravery and wonder, was the perfect atmosphere to wind down a long day.

Back at the hotel lying sleepless in Beirut, I closed my eyes and let all the images, sounds and smells pass through my mind like a colorful video in fast forward. I finally drifted off, anxious for the next day to arrive and my first walk alone around Beirut.

On that walk I felt brave and insightful and I wasn’t afraid to take up my camera to capture the images on buildings, monuments, ruins, churches and mosques, of war and peace, scars of violence and reminders of new life and hope sprouting from the buildings like thorny plants in a desert.

On my second visit a few months later, I proudly took my husband and/or my staff through the streets and nightlife of Beirut, discussing history and current events feeling at ease in this city that had before so frightened me.

We shopped, ate, danced and discussed with the locals in French, English and sometimes even in German. We felt accepted by this multinational atmosphere people were pleased that we were interested in their stories and their cultures.

I want to travel through Lebanon, to the fishers on the coast, to the shepards in the mountains, I long to taste the honey, the cheese, the pinenuts, the lamb, the hummus and the zataar, learn how to bake bread, and laugh with others while trying to speak with hands and feet.

Oh Lebanon my secret love, I really miss you!

With this post I am entering the

Taste Lebanon Food Trek Giveaway  generously offered by Taste Lebanon and the accomodation by the world class and traditional Pheonicia Hotel

P.S. Here is a recipe I made for the Taste Lebanon monthly mingle in 2010 Bulgur and Apricot Cake “Simone” with Orange Anis Sauce

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I have been in need of comfort lately.

Much more than usual, the events in Connecticut and the ensuing discussions throughout the US have shaken me to the bones.
I long for comfort food, family dinners in pretty decorated dining rooms, some chatter with my husband and child and a sense of normality in such confusing and heartbreaking times. All the soul-searching and discussions have left me famished.

No cookies or cakes, chocolate or pies will do. All the holiday sweetness seems sticky and still leaves a deep hunger in my belly.

I need something that will warm from inside, be fragrant while cooking to sooth my senses and satisfy my taste buds so that I may once again sigh with pleasure amidst my sadness.

Comfort food that brings the promise that the trials of this difficult year will soon end and make room for new hopes and projects

Lentils – yes lentils always comfort me. Hot or cold, in stews or salads, red, Puy, green or Beluga black – I love lentils and the delicious comfort they bring.

So versatile, so wholesome, full of nutrients and so steady through time – lentils have been part of the human diet for some 13,000 years. No wonder they play an important role in Jewish mourning tradition: lentils being the food of mourners along with boiled eggs since their round shape symbolizes the cycle of life from birth to death.

I came across the word akrasia* (or acrasia) yesterday in a novel and when I looked it up it was such a fitting word for these times. It means: the state of acting against one’s better judgment. Even in the bible the word is used in Matthew 23:25 to describe hypocritical religious leaders.

Yes I believe we have been hearing and seeing many people acting against their better judgment, for political, economic, polemic, religious or dogmatic reasons. This is a sad state of affairs in my opinion, one currently afflicting the world far and wide.

Yes I needed the comfort of lentils yesterday, I hoped they would work their magic and they did. The mixture of fruit: ripe pears and dried apricots, root vegetables: carrots, celeriac, leek and topinambur, spicy smoked sausage and exotic garam masala was perfect – tart and sweet, thick and crunchy, warm and smoky and not too spicy. It was like a big warm tummy hug!

When the sun rose heavy and red this morning I was no longer frightened, I was ready to accept the unthinkable and move on – pledging to myself to do my part to make the world a better and safer place wherever and whenever I could. My belief in humanity was restored in my heart and in my soul.

So today I am sharing my thoughts and my comforting recipe with you my dear Readers! May we all continue to seek and find our better judgment and act accordingly to keep our sense of balance and humanity.

Savory and Sweet Lentil Stew with Chorizo Garam Masala, Chorizo, Pears & Apricots

If you want to make a vegetarian stew, leave out the sausage, increase the amount of vegetables and add a ¼ tsp of smoked paprika instead.

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 1 red onion, peeled and diced
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 5 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 leek, peeled, washed and cut in thin slices
• 1 slice of celeriac (celery root) peeled and cut into small pieces
• 5 medium-sized cherry tomatoes – or 3 small normal-sized tomatoes
• 2 topinambur/Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 6 dried apricots cut into small pieces
• 2 ripe pears, washed and cored, cut into small pieces
• 100 grams of Chorizo or other spicy smoked sausage
• 1 cup of Beluga lentils, washed and drained
• 1 TBSP of ground garam masala
• leaves from 3 springs or thyme and 1 small sprig rosemary finely chopped
• zest of ½ organic orange
• juice of 1 orange
• ¾ liter / 3 cups of vegetable broth or water plus 1 large vegetable bouillon cube or
• Olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Putting it all together:

Soak the Beluga lentils for 30 minutes before cooking. Then rinse, drain and remove any stones.

Wash, slice, cut and chop all your ingredients as stated above – all the fruits and vegetables should be no bigger than bite-size.

Heat some olive oil in a large casserole medium-hot and then add all the fruit and vegetables. Stir fry until well combined about 3-4 minutes. Add the Chorizo sausage and stir-fry another 3 minutes. Add the drained lentils, the orange zest, herbs and the garam masala and stir for 2-3 more minutes taking care that nothing burns as it makes the spices bitter – turn down the stove or remove the casserole from the heat in between and stir if your stove is too hot.

Add the orange juice and stir for 2 more minutes. Now add the broth, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the balsamic vinegar and stir again. Simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes to thicken the stew depending on how liquidy the stew is.

Check the doneness of the lentils, carrots and the topinambur, if they are too crunchy for your taste, recover and simmer some more, add a bit of water or broth if necessary.

Serve in bowls with crusty bread.

When I looked up *akrasia I came across a discussion between Socrates and Aristotle to this regard which I have quoted from Wikipedia as it sums it up very well and is food for thought:

Socrates attests that akrasia is an illogical moral concept, claiming “No one goes willingly toward the bad”. If a person examines a situation and decides to act in the way he determines to be best, he will actively pursue this action, as the best course is also the good course, i.e. man’s natural goal. An all-things-considered assessment of the situation will bring full knowledge of a decision’s outcome and worth, linked to well-developed principles of the good. A person, according to Socrates, never chooses to act poorly or against his better judgment; actions that go against what is best are only a product of being ignorant of facts or knowledge of what is best or good.

On the other hand, Aristotle took a more empirical approach to the question, acknowledging that we intuitively believe in akrasia. He distances himself from the Socratic position by locating the breakdown of reasoning in an agent’s opinion, not his appetition (appetite). Now, without recourse to appetitive desires, Aristotle reasons that akrasia occurs as a result of opinion. Opinion is formulated mentally in a way that may or may not imitate truth, while appetites are merely desires of the body. Thus opinion is only incidentally aligned with or opposed to the good, making an akratic action the product of opinion instead of reason.

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What do you take to a Christmas pool party that will not shrink like a violet in the chlorine air and which is small enough to lay out on a pool basin rim?

Most participants are bringing champagne, juice, cookies, Lebkuchen (German gingerbread), chocolate Santas and other typical Christmas-y treats but I am always starving after our advanced aqua fitness session especially since it finishes at 9 pm and sweet just won’t do it.

I have had quiche on my mind for the party for a while but since we usually celebrate by standing in the pool after the session, slicing a quiche with knifes, bringing plates and cake forks just is too much hassle.

I have made wonton wrapper lasagna before and it was simple, fun to eat and delicious, so why not wonton wrapper mini quiches?

I Googled and was inspired by 2 recipes from which I gleaned the basics and added my own twist:

Peas and Crayons’ “Get Your Quiche On” and Not Eating Out in New York’s “Crispy Mini Quiches”

Having recently put a package of wonton wrappers in the freezer for just such occasions or to make soup with wontons stuffedwith leftovers, I was sold!!

Most of the relevant recipes use one wonton wrapper per quiche – I like making sure things don’t fall apart especially when fingers are still a bit wet – so I use two.

These mini quiches can also be an elegant and perfectly-sized holiday appetizer served with a bit of winter salad such as lamb’s lettuce, drizzled with honey walnut dried apricot vinaigrette.

For my quiches I used onions, fresh mushrooms, yellow bell pepper and a big tablespoon of soft goat cheese. I seasoned the filling with lemon zest, fresh thyme, salt pepper and nutmeg. I sprinkled the filling with some racy grated Rugiola sheep’s milk cheese (lactose-free) from Italy before pouring in the egg and (lactose-free) cream mixture.

You can then bake them and serve immediately or take them out after 18 minutes and re-bake them for a further 8 minutes just before they are served.

If you are transporting them to another location remove the baked quiches from the muffin tin after 5 minutes of cooling by carefully running a knife around the rims to release the crust and using a large soup spoon to scoop them out in one piece.
Cool on a rack before packing – this will firm them up for transportation and make the crust even crunchier. Oh and they taste delicious cold too!

Thanks to my inspirers and please find the exact recipe with my twist below.

Wonton Wrapper Vegetarian Lactose-Free Mini Quiches

Ingredients:

• 100 gram / about 10 medium small fresh brown mushrooms
• ½ red onion, finely chopped
• ½ yellow bell pepper, cleaned and finely chopped
• 4 small halves sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
• zest of ½ lemon in 2 portions
• leaves removed from 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• salt & pepper
• 1 pinch of chili flakes or 2 if you like it spicier
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• approx. 100 grams / ¾ cup of largely grated sheep milk cheese or other lactose-free cheese
• 24 wonton wrappers – I used frozen
• oil or cooking spray to prepare the muffin pan
• 3 eggs
• 200 ml / 6.5 fluid ounces
• 1 TBSP of fresh goat (cream) cheese
• salt & pepper
• 1 pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch of Italian seasoning (optional)

Putting it all together:

Remove the wonton wrapper from the freezer, unwrap to thaw.

Preheat the oven to 180° C / 350° F

Clean, slice and cut the mushrooms into small pieces.

Heat the olive oil in the frying pan on medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onions, peppers, dried tomatoes, half of the thyme leaves and ½ of the lemon zest. Fry to lightly brown but not dry out, stirring to combine. Add salt and pepper , the chili flakes. Stir and remove from heat – cool until use.

Oil or spray a muffin pan including the surface between the cups. Fill each muffin cup with two wonton wrappers place one over the other with the corners facing up in opposite directions to create a crown. Repeat until all muffin cups are covered.

Using a soup spoon place one tablespoon of filling into each wonton wrapper filled cup. Now use your fingers to place a helping of grated cheese (about a large pinch) onto each filled cup – the filling and cheese should come to the top of the cup – not higher.

In a large bowl, use a wire whisk to mix the eggs, goat cheese and the cream. Add the rest of the lemon zest and the thyme leaves, salt and pepper, another pinch of chili if you like it spicier, the nutmeg and the Italian seasoning if using. Mix well.

Use a small soup ladle to fill the egg mixture evenly among the filled cups. It is exactly enough to fill 12.

Place the muffin pan in the middle of the preheated oven and bake for 18 minutes.

As mentioned above you now have 3 options:

1)   If using immediately: cover with foil and bake for 5 more minutes then turn off the oven and remove the foil and let the quiches sit in the oven for another 5 minutes. Cool for a few minutes then run a knife around the cups and use a soup spoon to remove the quiches to the plates. Serve with a side of salad.

2)   If using later on the same day: remove the quiches from the oven after 18 minutes – about 15 minutes before serving return them to the preheated oven for 8 minutes. Cool for a few minutes then run a knife around the cups and use a soup spoon to remove the quiches to the plates. Serve with a side of salad.

3)   If transporting them: cover with foil and bake for 5 more minutes then turn off the oven and remove the foil and let the quiches sit in the oven for another 5 minutes. Cool for a few minutes then run a knife around the cups and use a soup spoon to remove the quiches to a wire rack to cool completely before packing and transporting them.

Whatever option you choose: ENJOY!!!

P.S. I love training at Aqua Fitness Team in Frankfurt am Main – and thank all the great trainers and my teammates as well as boss Vanessa with this post! Thank you everyone for making keeping fit fun!

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