February 16th, 2011
- Preparation time : 30 mn
- Cooking : 15 mn
- Cost : medium
- Wine : dry white wine such as Chablis (10°C), Reuilly (12°C) or Pouilly-Fuissé (13°C)
Ingredients : 8 servings
- 16 utlra-fresh scallops
- 50 gr butter slightly salted
- 30 cl milk
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
- 30 gr grated Gruyère cheese
- 1 egg yolk
- 10 cl dry white wine
- 50 cl fish aroma
- 25 gr flour
- 20 gr of bread-crumbs
- 2 tablespoons of flat parsley
- nutmeg
- salt and pepper
Step 1
In a pan, bring to a boil 50 cl fish aroma with dry white wine. Remove from heat and add scallops for 1 mn. Then remove the scallops with a skimmer and drain them. Slice the scallops in two.
Step 2
In a pan, mix 25 gr melted butter with flour on low heat. Stir and cook for 2 mn, then add the milk and bring to a boil, on high heat. Remove from heat.
Step 3
Salt and pepper to taste. Add 2-3 pinches of freshly ground nutmeg, crème fraîche, grated Gruyère cheese and egg yolk, stir vigorously to get an homogenous mixture.
Step 4
In another small pan, melt the remaining butter on low heat for 2 mn. Do not make it brown.
Step 5
Preheat the oven 210°C. Wash 8 scallop shells and lay them on a baking tray. Fill each shell with 2 tablespoons of sauce. Cover with slices of scallops and top with some additional sauce.
Step 6
Mix the bread-crumbs with chopped parsley. Drizzle over the scallops. Top with melted butter.
Step 7
Bake for 10 mn. Serve immediately.
February 15th, 2011
- Preparation time : 15 mn
- Cooking : 6 mn
- Cost : cheap
- Wine : syrupy white wine such as Jurançon (12°C)
Ingredients : 4 servings
- 1 pineapple
- 50 gr butter
- 50 gr honey
- 4 scoops of vanilla ice-cream
- sesame seeds
Step 1
Cut the pineapple in order to have some large slices (tips : have a look to “how to cut a pineapple” in Tricks category, on this website).
Step 2
In a pan, mix butter with honey on high heat. Cook for 2 mn, until the mixture gets slightly brown. Brown the slices of pineapple, 2 mn on each side.
Step 3
Lay the slices of pineapples on plates. Top with 1 scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Drizzle some sesame seeds over and serve immediately.
February 14th, 2011
Meringue is a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar. Some meringue recipes call for adding a binding agent such as cream of tartar or the cornstarch found inconfectioner’s sugar. Meringues are often flavoured with vanilla and a small amount of almond or coconut extract. They are light, airy and sweet.
There are several types of meringue, the sweetened, uncooked beaten egg whites that form the “islands” of Floating Island (also known in French as île flottante), the partly cooked toppings of lemon meringue pie and other meringue-topped desserts, and the classic dry featherweight meringue. Different preparation techniques produce these results.
- French meringue is the method best known to home cooks. Fine white sugar is beaten into egg whites.
- Italian meringue is made with boiling sugar syrup, instead of caster sugar. This leads to a much more stable soft meringue which can be used in various pastries without collapsing. In an Italian meringue, a hot sugar syrup is whipped into softly whipped egg whites till stiff. This type of meringue is safe to use without cooking. It will not deflate for a long while and can be either used on pies and Baked Alaska, or spread on a sheet and baked for meringues.
- Swiss meringue is whisked over a bain marie to warm the egg whites, and then whisked steadily until it cools. It is then baked.
And for Halloween, you can have some ghost meringues …
- Preparation time : 5 mn
- Cooking time : 2 hours
- Cost : cheap
Ingredients : 500 gr Meringue
- 5 egg whites
- 340 gr white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Step 1
Preheat the oven 80°C.
Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Set egg yolks aside. In a bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, adding little by little some sugar (170 gr).
Step 2
When they have doubled in volume, keep beating with the electric mixer and slowly add 85 gr white sugar and vanilla extract.
Step 3
Drizzle the rest of the white sugar over the mixture and mix again. The batter should be stiff.
Step 4
Fit a piping bag with a 3/8-inch (1 cm) round tip. Pipe the batter onto a baking sheet covered with wax paper.
Step 5
Bake for 2 hours.
February 12th, 2011
- Preparation time : 5 mn
- Cost : cheap
Ingredients : 6 servings
- 1 litre chocolate ice-cream
- 1 litre vanilla ice-cream
- 3 bounty bars
- 6 tablespoons Amarena syrup
Amarena syrup is made of Morello cherries.
Bounty bars are coconut bars covered with milk chocolate.
In 6 glasses, place 1 scoop of chocolate ice-cream and 1 scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Lay some slices of Bounty bars over and top with 1 tablespoon of Amarena syrup.
Serve immediately.
February 10th, 2011
- Preparation time : 15 mn
- Cooking time : 15-20 mn
- Pause : 1-2 hours
- Cost : cheap
For this recipe, you will need 6 ovenproof glasses (“verrines” in French)
Ingredients : 6 servings
- 20 cl coconut milk
- 20 cl concentrate sugar milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 100 gr flaked coconut
- 1 lime
Step 1 (Custard tart 1-2)
In a bowl, mix the eggs with egg yolks. Then add concentrate sugar milk, coconut milk and flaked coconut, and mix again.
Step 2
Wash the lime. Grate 1/2 of the lime to get some lime zest. Press the lime to have some lime juice. Add lime juice and half of the lime zest to the mixture and mix.
Step 3
Preheat the oven 160°C. Pour the mixture into 6 glasses (2/3 of the glass). Place the glasses in an ovenproof dish half-filled with water and bake for 15-20 mn (according to the size of glasses). Remove from the oven and let the glasses cool down for 1-2 hours.
Step 4
Just before serving, top with the rest of the lime zest.
February 9th, 2011
- Preparation time : 15 mn
- Cooking time : 8 mn
- Pause : 2 hours
- Cost : medium
Ingredients : 6 servings
- 250 gr red berries : blackberry, raspberry, strawberry
- 15 cl milk
- 15 cl liquid cream
- 60 gr white sugar
- 50 gr brown sugar
- 2 gelatine leaves
- 1/2 vanilla pod
Tips : you can use frozen berries, they are delicious and easy to cook.
Step 1 (Panna Cotta 1-4)
In a bowl, soak the gelatine leaves with water for 10 mn.
Step 2
In a pan, mix the milk with liquid cream, brown sugar and 1/2 vanilla pod you have previously cut lengthwise. Bring to a boil and cook and low heat for 5 mn. Remove from heat.
Step 3
Drain the gelatine leaves. Add them to the pan and stir.
Step 4
Pour the panna cotta in glasses, up to 2/3 from the rim. Cover with a clingfilm and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Step 5 (Red berries)
In a pan, mix white sugar wih water. Stir and then add the red berries. Cook on medium heat for 3 mn (5 mn, if you use frozen fruits). Reserve.
Step 6
Just before serving, top the panna cotta with red berries. Serve immediately.
February 7th, 2011
- Preparation time : 15 mn
- Pause : 20 mn
- Cost : medium
- Wine : white wine such as Pouilly fumé (10°C), Sancerre (12°C) or red wine such as Saint-Pourçain (14°C)
Ingredients : 6 servings
- 400 gr extra-fresh salmon
- 1 apple (Granny Smith)
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 30 gr redcurrents
- 1 shallot
- salt and pepper
Step 1
Remove the skin from salmon. Slice the salmon and then, dice it in small cubes.
Step 2
Wash the apple . Do not remove the skin. Remove the core and dice the apple
Step 3
In a bowl, mix salmon and apple with lemon juice, olive oil, redcurrent and chopped shallot. Salt and pepper to taste.
Step 4
Pour the preparation in glasses. Cover with a clingfilm and refrigerate for 20 mn (minimum).
February 6th, 2011
- Preparation time : 20 mn
- Cooking time : 35 mn
- Cost : cheap
Ingredients : 6 servings
- 1 shortcrust
- 1,5 kg apples
- 1 orange
- 100 grpowedered almond
- 40 gr white sugar
- 20 gr flour
- 2 egg yolks
- 20 cl milk
Step 1
Preheat the oven 210°C. Line the base of the shortcrust with baking parchment in a round mold. Stick the pastry with a fork and then fill it with baking beans. Place on a baking tray and bake blind for 10 minutes.
Step 2 (Almond cream 2-3)
Peel the orange to get some orange zest. In a pan, bring milk to a boil with orange zest.
Step 3
In a bowl, mix the egg yolks with sugar until the mixture gets white. Add the flour and mix again. Pour in the pan and mix delicately with the milk until it boils again and forms a cream. Remove from heat and add powdered almonds.
Step 4
Wash, peel and cut the apples in quarters. Remove the core. Then slice each quarter.
Step 5
Spread the almond cream over the shortcrust. Lay apple slices over and bake for 25 mn.
February 6th, 2011
- Preparation time : 20 mn
- Pause : 4 hours
- Cost : cheap
- Wine : Banyuls (12°C)
Ingredients : 6 servings
- 6 fresh figs
- 3 dried figs
- 250 gr Mascarpone
- 3 eggs
- 125 gr white sugar
- 12 biscuits à la cuillère (sponge biscuits)
- 20 cl dark coffee
- 10 cl white Banyuls wine
- 6 tablespoons flaked coconut
- a pinch of salt
Banyuls is a wine from Languedoc-Roussillon.
For this recipe, use Biscuits à la cuillère, which are soft and and sweet sponge cakes.
Tips : if you want, you can use frozen fruits instead of fresh fruits.
Step 1
Wash the fresh figs and slice them.
Step 2
Dice the dried figs in small cubes. In a bowl, soak with 5 cl Banyuls wine.
Step 3
In a large bowl, mix mascarpone with 5 cl Banyuls. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with sugar, until the mixture gets white. Then add it to the mascarpone and mix delicately with a spatula.
Step 4
In a bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, adding a pinch of salt at the end. Then mix it to the mascarpone : with a spatula, stir downward toward the middle of the mixture and back up the sides of the again, constantly turning the bowl, until the mixture is even.
Step 5
Soak the biscuits à la cuillère in dark coffee for a few seconds. Lay 2 biscuits in the bottom of 6 glasses. Lay slices of fresh figs vertically, along the border of the glass. Fill the center of the glass with one layer of mascarpone and one layer of fresh fig slices. Repeat until you have filled 2/3 of the glass. Cover with a clingfilm and reserve in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
Step 6
Just before serving, mix the dried figs and Banyuls with an electric blender, in order to have a purée. Top the glass with one tablespoon of this mixture and drizzle with flaked coconut. Serve immediately.
February 6th, 2011
Biscuits à la cuillère or “Biscuits de Savoie” are light, soft and sweet sponge cakes roughly shaped like a large finger.
Eugène Grosbot, who was the Carlton Chef at the beginning of the 20th century, created this delicious biscuit. In order to have a soft texture, he mixed the dough with a wooden spoon (“cuillère” in French) very delicately. These biscuits are used in pastry for tiramisu or Charlotte recipes. They are also delicious for a snack, with tea or coffee !
These cakes should not be mixed up with “boudoirs” and “biscuits roses de Reims”.
Boudoirs are crispy biscuits, with a finger shape, drizzled with white sugar.
Biscuits roses de Reims are from Champagne region, in the north-east of France. It is the second culinary speciality after Champagne ! It was created in the 1690′s and Maison Fossier is the place to go in Reims, to get the best biscuits. It is a light and pink biscuits, you can eat with Champagne.
