Blue cheese and onion souffle – Homemade Crackers

Posted on June 29, 2011 by petitedecadence

Today I spent most of the morning sitting in traffic. This is not a remarkable thing in Mexico City, I know. But it doesn’t happen all that often to me, I try to stay away from known problem areas and rush hours. And yet today…the reason was so crazy that I shall let the pictures speak for themselves:

See that bus? It’s driver chose to go, all the way from the leftmost lane, to that side street. Which is under construction. Meaning about 1 car per hour goes through it. And so we waited, me thouroughly amused by the fact that these things actually happen in this city, for about 20 minutes (I am not exaggerating) until there was enough space on the side street for the bus to let us pass. But don’t think that was it! See that white building? That’s the way home. But as I pass the Oh-I-So-Not-Care bus and approach that glorious traffic-free path homeward…behold:

Oh yes. It’s stuck. And I’m behind it. This truck took about 10 minutes to get itself out of the jam it was in. And meanwhile, I have a huge line of cars behind me, honking, of course, because that apparently helps the truck slim down and fit better wherever it’s attempting to get itself into. Sigh. But all this chaos just gave me a horrible urge to get the groceries home and make something to eat with the homemade crackers I’d prepared yesterday. (Recipe in the next post, promise). So here it is; Red onion and blue cheese souffle!

Which together with a simple green and tomato salad totally made me forget I live in Mexico City.

On to the recipe?

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Retrouver l’equilibre

Posted on June 27, 2011 by petitedecadence

I’m at a point in life where everything is uncertain; the future looks scary. And this is the first time this has ever happened, because I’ve never been one to worry about the future. I’ve always believed that life gives us what we need just at the right moment and in the right amount; never more and never less. And I’ve always believed that this is the perfect way of things, the flow of life. But in the chaos that has been my life lately, I’d forgotten about all of this. And it’s not forgetting something like a fact, you know, like “I forgot the capital of Russia”, but more of a “I forgot what it feels like to know what the capital of Russia is”. And so today, after a week of feeling like a yo-yo underwater, I’m remembering that feeling. I’m placing my faith back where it belongs; in life. It’s not an easy feat, that’s for sure, but as everything else in life, it takes time, it takes dedication. As the french would say, Retrouver l’equilibre. So here is, growing along with me, and in this re-found feeling, the herb garden I’d been planning to make for some time now. Because nothing needs balance in life like taking care of someone or something, even if it’s just a small basil plant!

A balancing process:

(I could eat paint. It makes me so happy)

So. Soon to come a salad recipe born from all this? For sure. And chicken with rosemary and potatoes with oregano.

Earl Grey Square Cookies

Posted on June 24, 2011 by petitedecadence

Everyone loves cookies right? I don’t think I’ve ever actually met someone who doesn’t. At least some kind of cookie. Either crunchy, chewy, healthy, sugary, buttery…there’s a cookie for everyone. Me, I’m not hard. I love them all. (except possibly any cookie with aniseed. I just think it’s one of those flavors that ruins everything else) And I really love these. I’d been wanting to make tea cookies ever since I tasted them on a teashop in Switzerland, and since I tried out a matcha cookie batch with a couple of friends last week, I decided to give a try to earl grey. The recipe is my own invention after the fiasco with the matcha cookies, and apparently a good one, because out of the 40-something I made only 5 remained after an afternoon of tea with my friends from school. (Who, I think is worth mentioning, are forever on a diet).I used earl grey from a huge tin my mom bought a couple of years ago and we just cannot seem to finish it, probably because we keep buying more, but I’m pretty sure you can use the stuff in the teabags. Anyhow, on to the extremely easy recipe.

Earl Grey Square Cookies
(Own recipe)

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup icing sugar
2 tsp. earl grey, finely ground (you can do this with your fingers)
125 g. butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 egg

Directions

In a mixing bowl, mix together the earl grey, salt and flour. In the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and beat some more, until lighter and fluffier. Switch to the paddle attachment and add, in two or three steps, the flour mixture. As soon as it’s all incorporated, add the egg and mix until just combined. (do NOT overmix). Place your dough in the work surface and finish giving it shape, until you can turn it into a long log, about 4 cm thick. (If it’s too soft you can stick in the fridge for a bit) Place the log of dough on a long rectangle of wax paper, and covering it with it, flatten the sides against the work surface until they are square. (You can use a big knife, or a pastry scraper, to help you flatten the sides) Place the dough, still wrapped in the wax paper, in the freezer for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 360ºF.

Remove the square log of dough from the freezer and using a paring knife, cut slices of about 1 cm (or a pinky finger) and place them directly on a baking sheet. Let the sliced cookies rest for 5 minutes, and then bake until slightly golden brown.

Serve with hot tea and milk.

Lentil and mushroom soup

Posted on June 23, 2011 by petitedecadence

So today started as pretty rough day, even though the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was raindrops, the wet bark on the trees outside my window, and a lot of birds. (My favorite sight to wake up to). I slept virtually nothing and had an appointment with my acupuncturist, aka my torturer. Anyhow, after muscle therapy, a nerve block, needles and laser therapy, I left nauseous, dizzy and barely able to stand up, with an apple in my hand kindly provided by one of the assistants. Once back home, I crashed on the floor in my room and dozed for about two hours, and then came back to consciousness with one thought in my mind; I need a pick me up. And so, seeing the pouring rain outside my window, got a strike of inspiration, and a chance at feeling better. This soup, due to the lack of vegetables in my fridge, has an onion base with a lot of broth, but its compensated by the delicious buttery and milky mushrooms you’ll add at the end. The result is very light, creamy, delicious smelling lentil goodness.

Lentil and mushroom soup
(Own recipe)

4 tbsp. olive oil

3 scallions, chopped (save a few stems)

1 1/2 red onions, chopped

2 shallots, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 cups lentils

12 cups hot chicken broth (If you’ve got stock, go for it)

2 tbsp. butter

2 cups diced mushrooms

1/2 cup milk

Fresh thyme

Fresh oregano leaves

Heavy cream for serving

salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large and deep saucepan. Add the chopped scallions and red onions, along with the whole stems from the scallions (you’ll be taking these out later). Cook over med-low for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and see through. Add the shallot and cook for another three minutes, stirring to keep them from burning. Add the tomatoes, stir and add the broth. Bring to a full boil and then reduce the heat to med-low. Let cook for 10 minutes, remove the scallion stems, and using the blender, puree all the solids. Return to the saucepan and once its boiling again, add the lentils. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover, and cook for about 35 minutes, until the lentils become soft.
Meanwhile, in a separate frying pan, heat the butter until it begins to bubble. Add the mushrooms (make sure they are dry if you washed them) and thyme. Cook until browned and the butter smells like heaven. Add the half cup of milk, and stir until you get a first boil. Remove from heat and set aside, or if your lentils are ready, incorporate. Turn off heat. Serve with a spoonful of heavy cream and a pair of oregano leaves.

Soft cheese – basil bread

Posted on June 21, 2011 by petitedecadence

So typically I went to the supermarket and bought TONS of basil with the idea that I was going to make pesto to mix with a huge roll of goat cheese that’s been sitting in my fridge and top it with roasted cherry tomatoes – sounds good, I know! – only to forget for the following five days to buy any pinenuts or cherry tomatoes and find the goat cheese mostly gone into eggs and sandwiches. So I turned this absolutely great recipe from Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day into a cheese-basil bread, hence giving a great use to my soon-to-rot basil. The original recipe is a delicious alternative with onions baked inside the dough and rolled with cheese. Delicious. But this time I added the cheese inside as well, skipped the onions and added the basil. The result is a delicious looking, mildly flavored bread which is great for sandwiches, or as rolls to accompany a meal. Recipe after the jump.