Today we’ll do another good recipe from Blogchef…

I particularly like it because the beef stays tender and moist, because it contains yummy vegetables and because the sauce is delicious!

Ingredients:

- 750g / 1,65 pounds steak sliced into thin strips

- 3 tbsp cornstarch

- vegetable oil

- 2 cloves of garlic, minced

- 1 red bell pepper, I sliced it in thin strips too

- 1 green bell pepper, also in thin strips

- 1/2 onion, in slices

Ingredients for the marinade:

- 1 egg

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 3 tbsp water

- 1 tbsp cornstarch

Ingredients for the sauce:

- 4 tbsp water

- 4 tbsp sugar

- 3 tbsp ketchup

- 1 tbsp vinegar

- 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes

- 2 tsp cornstarch

Cooking instructions:

In a bowl, mix the ingredients for the marinade together with the beef. Marinate for 15 minutes.

Then mix the ingredients for the sauce in a separate bowl.

Add the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch to the beef, and deep fry in a wok in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Remove all the oil from the wok except a couple of tablespoons. Add the garlic and fry for a few seconds. Add the peppers and the onion and stir fry as well, until you reach the desired level of “softness” for the vegetables. It should take less of 5 minutes though, or else the vegetables will disintegrate. Set aside the vegetables.

Remove all the oil from the wok and pour the ingredients for the sauce in it. Heat until it boils and remove from the heat.

Add the beef and the vegetables into the wok and coat them with the sauce.
I served it with some white rice,

Enjoy!

I was introduced to alfajores by my Uruguayan and Argentinian family. These cookies exist in both a home-made version and an industrially manufactured version. Oddly enough, both versions have practically nothing in common.

Me, I like the home-made version, not only because it reminds me of my grandma and my aunts, but also because it has an unique gustative experience, impossible to replicate in a factory.

Home-made alfajores consist of a sandwich of two crumbly, fragile cookies with a generous layer of “dulce de leche” in between, and rolled in grated coconut.

Dulce de leche deserves not a post, but a monument. If you like the flavour of caramel you will become addicted to this stuff. I can guarantee you that.

There are two ways of preparing dulce de leche: the first method is slowly simmering milk with sugar and stirring regularly until it forms a dense paste. The second method is the one I’m going to explain here; it can’t be easier but it requires a bit of time. If you live in the USA you can forget about this altogether and simply buy a can of Nestlé LA LECHERA dulce de leche.

To my utter delight, my first attempt at making alfajores was a great success. I used a recipe I found on an Argentinian culinary blog.

While I was trying the alfajores I closed my eyes and I was instantly back in my grandma’s kitchen in Montevideo, savoring every particle of dulce de leche in it.

Ingredients for the dulce de leche:

- 1 400gr/14 ounces can of Nestlés sweetened condensed milk

Ingredients for the alfajores:

- 200 gr/1.5 cup flour

- 300 gr/2 cups cornflour

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 200 gr/ 5.3 ounces margarine

- 150 gr/0.8 cup (a little bit more than a 2/3 cup) sugar

- 3 egg yolks

- 1 tbsp cognac (brandy)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 tsp grated lemon skin

- dulce de leche

- 1 pack of grated coconut (you will not need much)

Cooking instructions for the dulce de leche:

Put the can of condensed milk in a cooking pan with enough water to cover the can entirely. Bring to boil.

The water will evaporate slowly, keep an eye on it and add more (hot) water whenever necessary, in enough quantity to keep the can fully submerged at all times.

I only remove the can from the water after 3 hours because I like the dulce to be thick, but my mum only keeps it for about 2h. No rules here, it is a question of trying and finding out which texture and flavour (more or less concentrated) you like more.

Now, this is very important for your safety: LET THE CAN COOL (until you can grab it with your fingers without burning yourself) before opening it.

Cooking instructions for the dualfajores:

In a bowl sift the flour, the cornflour, the baking soda and the baking powder.

In a separate bowl, mix the margarine with the sugar. Incorporate the egg yolks one by one while you keep on mixing. Then add the sifted (dry) ingredients. And finally add the brandy, the vanilla extract and the lemon skin. Mix well.

No need to knead. Spread the dough on a flat surface which has been sprinkled with some flour until the dough is 0.5 cm/0.2 inches thick, using a rolling pin.

Cut circles with either a cookie cutter or a glass. I used a champagne flute because the alfajores should have a diameter around the 4cm/1.6 inches.

Cover the oven baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the cookies on it.

Bake for 7 minutes at 160°C / 320°F. Then turn the cookies upside down and bake for another 3 minutes. The cookies should not get a golden colour, they are supposed to be ‘pale’. Get them out of the oven.

Bake the rest of the cookies using the same method.

Now take a cookie and delicately (because they are fragile) spread a good layer of dulce de leche on it. Top with another cookie to form a sandwich.

Spread a bit of dulce de leche on the outer rim of the alfajor.

Pour the grated coconut on a dish and roll the sides of the alfajor (as it was a wheel) on the coconut. The coconut should stick to the sides.

Now serve and enjoy!!

Great with mate, mate cocido/with milk, tea, coffee, milk…

This quiche is chock-full of tasty ingredients such as ham, cheese, cream…And because it includes broccoli as well I tell myself that it is surely healthy too (eheum)…

Ingredients:

1 roll of ready-made puff pastry

1 broccoli, cut in florets

3dl – 1 cup cooking cream

3 eggs

100g – 3.5 ounces grated Emmental cheese

50g – 1.75 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

100g – 3.5 ounces Serrano ham in tiny strips

Cooking instructions:

Pre-heat the oven at 180°C – 356°F.

Cook the broccoli in boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain well.

Spread the puff pastry over the baking tin and spread the broccoli on top of it.

Mix in a bowl the eggs, the cheese, the cream, and the ham. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Pour this mix onto the broccoli.

And that is it my friends! It really can’t be easier…

Put the quiche in the oven, let bake for 40 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!!

Yes, I know, it has been a while since I posted, apologies for this. It so happens that mama came to visit us, and in between visiting and shopping, we also did some sewing and cooking.

Lately, whenever we spend time together I’m trying to absorb as much as I can from her domestic-tasks-wisdom. It is just great to learn those age-old tricks that she has accumulated through observation of the elder women in the family, friends and years of trial-and-error experiences. Every time I learn these tricks from her I feel so privileged…

Now, my friends, I feel that I have to share this goodness with humanity by explaining here her recipe for the Spanish tortilla de patatas, another book-case example of how a couple of good, yet simple ingredients can produce the most flavourful, amazing result.

This specific tortilla, the first pictured above, was without contest, the BEST tortilla I ever ate. Ever, ever, ever!!!

Hubby even said that it was so tasty that ‘no meat’ was needed with it, which coming from him it is a HUGE compliment, even more so because he had never said this about a dish before.

The second picture is from another tortilla I made later on, to which I added some strips of Spanish chorizo. Notice how the tortilla is gooey and soft  inside, this is the proof that you did not overcook it and that the tortilla will not be too ‘dry’, mmmmm…

Ingredients:

- potatoes, we used a bit over 1kg /2 pound, Nicola variety (hard)

- eggs, we used 6

- olive oil, we used about 6dl – 2 1/2 cups of the cheapest extra virgin variety (no need for fancy stuff)

- 1 small onion

- salt

The amounts can vary depending on how large is your frying pan, the one I used measures about 30 cm/11.8 inches, and the content (onion, potatoes and hot oil) represented about 2/3 of the volume of the pan.

Cooking instructions:

While this dish is not difficult at all to prepare, it is not easy to get the PERFECT tortilla: it can turn too hard, too salty, too dry… Therefore I’m sharing my mum’s tricks, which guarantee that absolute perfection. I’m also giving indications that will allow you to check whether you are on the right track or not. So here we go…

Peel the potatoes, wash them, chop them in very small dices, sprinkle some salt on top.

Chop the onion as well, in very tiny pieces.

Fill about half frying pan with the oil, put it on the stove. Remember that the volume of the oil will increase as it heats up, so do not fill the pan beyond two thirds of its volume.

When the oil is hot add the potatoes and the onion, which should be almost fully submerged in the oil (add more hot oil to the pan if this is not the case or else reduce the amount of potato and onion).

Trick #1: Do use the onion, because its flavour is slowly released in the oil, which in turn is partly absorbed by the potatoes, giving them a ’sweet’ flavour.

Trick #2: Do not fry the potatoes (until they get a hard crust). Instead cook them slowly in the oil at low heat, and turning them every now and then until they break easily when poked with a spoon. They should actually start becoming mushy. Then drain the onion-potato mix, but keep the oil in a container as it can be re-used for other tortillas or dishes.

Break the eggs in a bowl, add a bit of salt and whisk slightly.

Trick #3: Do not whisk the eggs for too long because this would make the tortilla ‘hard’.

Add the drained potatoes and onion to the eggs and mix well. At this point, if the potatoes and onion are not fully ’submerged’, add more whisked egg and mix again.

Now, because we noticed that the potatoes had ’shrinked’, we decided to pick a smaller non-stick frying pan, in order to obtain a tortilla of 2cm/0.8 inches of height.

So we put this smaller pan on the stove at medium heat, we added 2 tbsp olive oil, and when it was hot, we poured the egg-onion-potato mixture in it.

Trick #4: At this moment it is crucial not to overcook the tortilla or else it will be hard and dry. The result you are looking for: slightly golden outside and gooey inside.

In a couple of minutes the bottom of the tortilla hardens and becomes loose, you should now turn the tortilla upside down -carefully- with the aid of a plate. Cook the other side a couple of minutes more and then serve.

In Spain we eat the tortilla cold, hot, in a ‘tapa’, in a ‘montadito’ or in a ‘bocadillo‘ (in between a baguette cut in half in the length). We can eat it half-morning, for lunch, before and during dinner. Sometimes alone, sometimes with a salad, with other tapas or with cold cuts. My favorite: together with some slices of ripe tomatoes drizzled with virgin olive oil, salt and oregano.

Now, if this is not absolute HEAVEN…

Here goes my gratitute to the Greeks, for the invention of the feta cheese.  It goes well with so many vegetables, and the humble spinach is not an exception.

Today’s recipe is based on David Lebovitz’s and it is lovely!

Ingredients:

- the recipe called for filo dough, which I didn’t find, so I ended up using 2 packs of brick dough

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 400g/14 ounces frozen spinach, thawed

- ground black pepper

- 400g/14 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

- pinch of nutmeg

- 1 egg

- optional: some fresh chopped mint

- melted butter

Cooking instructions:

Heat the oil in a skillet, at medium heat,  add the onions and stir until they become translucent.

Add the spinach, and some pepper, stir. Cook until the liquid in the skillet has dried up.

In a bowl, mix the spinach, the feta cheese, the nutmeg, and the egg together.

Lay one filo sheet (mine were round) on the counter, double in half, brush the surface with melted butter. Then, set 1tsp of feta-spinach filling on one corner of the dough. Take the sharp corner and fold diagonally over the filling to encase it in a triangle. Continue folding the dough together with the filling towards the opposite corner. Repeat with the rest of the filling.

Preheat the oven to 180°C-350°F. Put the triangles on a baking sheet, bake for 10 minutes, until the bottom is golden, then turn and bake for another 10 minutes.

There you have it! Crispy, golden triangles with a deliciously salty filling, best served warm.

Enjoy!!

As it turns out, hubby’s favorite dessert ever is lemon pie. Being the devoted wife I am (sometimes), I’m searching for the ultimate lemon pie recipe.

A couple of weeks ago I tried Fanny’s recipe, it tasted really nice, however the texture of the lemon curd turned quite runny and neither hubby or I were really fond of the meringue. That is why that version never made it to the blog

Today I made my second attempt. I used Fanny’s pâte sucrée, as I had frozen what was left over, and the lemon curd recipe from StoneSoup, which is extremely easy and extremely fast to prepare.  Finally, I decided to omit the meringue.

The result was absolutely delicious! And the curd has a really nice, firm texture.

Ingredients for the pâte sucrée:

- 300g – 10.5 ounces butter

- 190g – 1.5 cup icing sugar

- 60g – 1/2 cup ground almonds

- seeds from 1 vanilla bean

- 2 eggs

- 500g – 4 cups flour

- 1tsp fleur de sel

Ingredients for the lemon curd:

- 1 400g – 9.4 fl oz. can of sweet condensed milk (Nestlé’s)

- 1/2 cup – 125ml lemon juice

- 3 egg yolks

Cooking instructions:

Cream the butter until soft. Then mix in the icing sugar, ground almonds and vanilla seeds. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the flour and salt, to obtain a crumbly texture.

Form 3 balls with the dough, each weighting approx. 365g (13 oz.), press them down, wrap with cling film and either freeze or refrigerate them overnight (or do what I did: use one ball and freeze the other two).  Line the baking tin with the dough, prick the bottom with a fork to avoid irregular swelling while in the oven.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 175°C – 345°F.

Mix all the ingredients for the lemon curd together.

Top the tart crust with the lemon curd, bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy!

What can I say, I have a weakness for Asian cuisine…This, combined with my Spanish penchant for tapas explains why I absolutely adore dumplings, sushi, and all bit-size delicacies from the Far East.

This recipe derives from David Lebovitz’s…In his Parisian blog he explains about food and French cultural habits (which more often than not clash with the American’s), quite hilarious at times…

Ingredients for the dumplings:

- 1 pound (500g) minced pork meat

- 1 pound (500g) raw, peeled, clean shrimp

- a handful of chopped cilantro

- 2 tbsp fish sauce

- 3 tbsp cornstarch

- 1 egg

- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

- 2 tbsp grated ginger

- won ton wrappers

Ingredients for the dipping sauce:

- 1 tbsp grated ginger

- 1 tbsp grated garlic

- 2 tbsp fish sauce

- 1 tbsp rice vinegar

- 1 tbsp brown sugar

- 1 tbsp sesame oil

Cooking instructions:

Mix all ingredients except the wrappers. Put a teaspoon of mixture in each wrapper, gather the ends up, press firmly together and turn them to ‘close’ the dumpling.

The recipe said to use a bamboo steamer to cook the dumplings, but mine is really tiny and I was too impatient, so I stir-fried the dumplings instead of steaming them.

Serve with some greens, white rice, the dipping sauce and sweet chili sauce.

Enjoy!!

Brownies…these little sinful squares, warm from the oven, with tiny bits of creamy chocolate oozing from inside are absolutely GREAT. The credit goes to the Gastronomers Guide.

Come on, let’s sin together…

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup  flour (85g)

- 1 tbsp cocoa powder

- 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (150g)

- 1 stick butter, plus some to grease the pan (115 g)

- 1 tsp instant coffee (I used regular ground coffee and it was fine – coffee intensifies the aroma of the chocolate)

- 2/3 cup granulated sugar (150g)

- 1/4 cup brown sugar (55g)

- pinch of salt

- 3 large eggs

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (90g), chopped, or chocolate chips (I think the chips will work out better)

Cooking instructions:

Preheat the oven. Butter a pan.

Sift the flour and the cocoa powder.

Melt the butter “au bain Marie”, then add the chocolate and the coffee powder. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from heat, add the vanilla extract and let cool.

Mix in a bowl (or in the kitchen aid) the eggs, the sugars and the salt until frothy. Add the butter-chocolate mixture, the flour-cocoa mixture and the chocolate chips.

Spread batter in the buttered baking pan.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs (if toothpick comes out clean the batter is overcooked).  The recipe said to let cool completely before cutting the brownies, but I didn’t (too impatient) and they were gorgeous, with the chocolate chips melted until soft and creamy…

Enjoy!!

So far, my all-time favourite Thai dish. Sweet, sour, spicy and salty at the same time. Shrimps, noodles, egg, vegetables and sauce in perfect harmony. Impossible not to love it!!

I base myself on a recipe from Chez Pim. Yum, yum, yum.

Ingredients:

- 1 pound peeled, clean shrimp (500g)

- 13 ounces rice stick (375g)

- 3.5 ounces beansprouts (100g)

- 2 handful peanuts, grilled and roughly ground on a mortar

- 2 eggs

- 3 garlic cloves, chopped

- 2 tsp dried shrimp paste (how can an ingredient stink so much and still give such an amazing flavour?)

- 1/2 cup lime juice (I’m not so fond of tamarind) (125ml)

- 1/2 cup sugar (125g)

- 1/2 cup fish sauce (125ml)

- (dried) chili to taste, chopped

- vegetable oil

- coriander, chopped

Cooking instructions:

Fill in a cooking pan with water, when it boils add the noodles and a bit of salt. Let cook during 3-4 minutes, drain. It should not be too soft or else it will turn all mushy when mixed with the other ingredients in the wok.

While the noodle are cooking, prepare the sauce by mixing the fish sauce, the lime juice, the chili and the sugar.

Heat a large wok over high heat, when it becomes smokey add a splash of vegetable oil.

Add the garlic and the shrimp paste, let the oil infuse with these flavours for one or two minutes.

Now add the noodles and toss. Then push the noddles to one side of the wok and crack the eggs open on the open space. Let the egg set for 15 seconds and then toss everything all together.

Add the shrimp, the peanuts, the beansprouts and the sauce. Toss everything together again, leave for 5 minutes, remove from the heat. Sprinkle with a bit of coriander, and ta daaaaaaa! There you have it, a dish of pure glory.

Enjoy!!

This is my second favourite salad all time…An incredibly surprising combination of flavours, and some lettuce and tomato to justify it.

There are 1001 variations of the Caesar salad, but I adore this one, a variation of Barefoot Contessa’s…What about you? Do you have a favourite salad? Do you know any tasty variations of the Caesar salad? I’d love to hear about it…

Ingredients:

- Romaine lettuce, washed and sliced

- tomatoes, peeled and sliced in chunks

- some olive oil, salt and ground black pepper

- bacon, in small cubes

- 1 yolk

- 2 tsp Dijon mustard

- 15 canned anchovy fillets

- 2 garlic cloves, chopped

- 125ml lemon juice

- 2 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

- 180 ml olive oil

- 125g grated Parmesan

- optional: some extra Parmesan to serve

Cooking instructions:

Preheat the oven at 400°C. Put the tomatoes in a baking tin, toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Put in the oven for about 20 minutes, until soft.

Cook the bacon in a skillet on medium-low heat, for 15 minutes.

Mix in a food processor the yolk, the mustard, the garlic, the anchovy fillets, the lemon juice, the salt and the pepper.  While still blending, pour down the feed tube the olive oil, slowly, and finally add the Parmesan and pulse 3 times. There you have it, your own delicious dressing!

On each plate, put some lettuce, some tomatoes, bacon, add the dressing and if desired, toss some extra Parmesan.

Enjoy!!