Happy Mother’s Day – 3!!!!

The last post from the series “Happy Mother’s Day !!!” and the time for the grand finale – THE DESSERT.

What else goes better for this occasion than a delicious, smooth, silky and amazingly flavourful creme brulee? Plus, during my last trip to Pittsburgh, I went into Penzeys and found some little treasures – vanilla from Mexico and Madagascar. Of course, I had to buy some vanilla plus all kind of other spices (luckily, I didn’t get checked at the airport, otherwise I am sure I would not be allowed to bring all the powders back home).

creme brulee
6 egg yolks
500 ml heavy cream
80 gr sugar
2-3  vanilla pods split and scraped

Pre-heat the oven to 150C.
Mix the egg yolks the sugar in a bowl. Heat the cream and  the vanilla to just below boiling then leave for 30 minutes to infuse. Reheat  and whisk the cream into the egg mixture. Strain the custard into ramekins.
Cover the ramekins with aluminium foil and place them in the oven, in a  roasting tin, filled half way with water.

Cook in a bain marie  for one hour or until set. Refrigerate for few hours before caramelizing the top  surface of the custard.
To serve sprinkle sugar  over the custard. Caramelize it with a blow torch.

So if you wonder why the entire Mother’s Day series, here is the reason:

http://www.goosto.fr/recette-de-cuisine/theme/menu-fete-meres-recettes-simples-rapides-10040780.htm

Happy Mother’s Day – 2!!!!

The second recipe is a pasta dish. I made it specifically for mother’s day  because it is a dish that reminds me of spring, of freshness and of tenderness –  in a word it reminds me of  my mom. She is the sweetest, the most gentle and most caring person  I know.

asparagus and green peas pasta

A bunch of purple or green asparagus
70 grams green
peas
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion
2-3 garlic cloves
200 ml cooking cream
thyme
salt
pepper,
100 grams sun dried tomatoes
spaghetti or any other type of pasta for 2 persons

Boil the pasta according to the instructions.
For the sauce,  start by chopping the onion and the garlic. In a large pan saute the onion in 2  tablespoons of olive oil, add the garlic and the thyme once the onion starts to  soften.
Add the asparagus cut in few cm pieces. Fry it for 2-3 minutes, than  add the green peas , saute for 2 minutes and then add the cooking cream. Let it  simmer for few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
When the sauce is  done, mix it with the pasta. Serve it with sun dried tomatoes, plenty of  parmigiano and roasted pine nuts.

Happy Mother’s Day!!!!

Mother’s Day – there are so many different days when people across the globe celebrate mother’s day. If you ask me  we should celebrate mother’s day every single day. I love my mommy (well, I am an adult now and I should snap out of the mommy stage, but no matter what, I know I will always be her little girl),  but sometimes I forget to tell her that or to be nice to her. 

A while ago, I’ve been asked to cook something special for Mother’s day, so my next three posts will be inspired by things that remind me of mum.

The first dish – the appetizer, the amuse bouche, the entrée – the little thing that incites your taste buds, that make them tingle with pleasure and ask for more food, is one of my mum’s best dishes ever – liver pate. I am the biggest sucker for liver pate, I know a lot of people hate it, but since I was a kid I loved to eat it – like a lot. I would normally eat a few centimeters thick pate slice with a transparent slice of bread.

The recipe is pretty simple, quite healthy and very, very tasty.

chicken liver pate

450 grams chicken liver

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions

3 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons cognac or port (less if you want to feed kids as well)

thyme

2 bay leaves

100 grams butter (you can reduce the quantity a bit, if you want to reduce the calories 🙂 )

1 teaspoon fresh coarsely ground pepper

salt

In a large pan saute the onion in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, add the garlic and the thyme once the onion starts to soften. Add the cognac or port wine once the onions are done. Set aside.

Meanwhile,  boil the chicken in water with the bay leaves, salt and pepper. When the liver is soft and cooked through, drain it and add it to the onion mixture. Cook for few more minutes, until the liver infuses with the onion/cognac/thyme aromas.

Pour the mixture in a blender, add the butter and mix it throughly until you get a smooth, silky paste. Place the liver paste in serving bowl and pour some melted butter on top of it. Place it in the fridge. The butter prevents any oxidation of the liver paste (I hate that part – when the liver turns dark).

Serve with cranberry jam, olives (Kalamata – my favourite ones), fresh paprika, tomatoes or whatever other combinations you like .