Chocolate is happiness overload – Cookies, cookies, cookies.

Posted on September 26, 2012 by petitedecadence

So I’ve got everything I love: my (very soft and lovable) dog is sitting beside me, it’s raining outside, I’m listening to Stacey Kent, and I’ve got a glass of insanely good wine right next to my computer. Does it get better than that? Mmmm…yes. I also just ate some of the most chocolatey-rich-gooey-intense-cookies I’ve ever made (Can’t say the best ever because that doesn’t really exist. All home made cookies are equally great in the eyes of god just for being cookies. Ahem) with a glass of cold milk. There really is nothing that could top that right? Except maybe two chocolate cookie recipes all in one post. Yup, two. And they couldn’t be more different from one another. Let me tell you about the first one. It’s a a recipe of my own which I can dare to call the perfect cookie to accompany your espresso. A rich in cocoa chocolate shortbread topped by a thick layer of white chocolate, the ideal combo of sweet and chocolate-y, just what you want after a long sip of good dark coffee, right? And not only that, they’re lovely looking AND easy to make. And they keep for more than two weeks. (can’t tell you how much longer because I’ve never actually been able to have shortbread lying around uneaten for that long). Just what you need when you have company over for coffee, trust me. And the second recipe: double chocolate cookies which are gooey inside, crumbly outside, warm from the oven and have to be had with a glass of really cold milk? Yes, a dozen please. That recipe comes courtesy of Kim at Strawberry Ginger, a great blog with tons of delicious recipes. This double choc recipe is one of the best I’ve tried, or at least they turned out really well for me! I highly recommend warming them slightly in your toaster oven before eating them, the chocolate chips will melt blissfully in your mouth. But enough talk about chocolate, go read the recipes.

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Rustic is love – Oatmeal and rye bread

Posted on September 17, 2012 by petitedecadence

Some flavors are incredibly easy and almost everyone likes them. Think vanilla ice cream, ham and cheese, croissants. They’re the superstars of every kitchen/store because we’ll never tire of them and because we’re used to them. The same goes to people, design, fashion, decor, and pretty much everything else. But then there’s the other side of flavors, the unpopular, frowned upon by some and grossly overlooked ones. Like strong mustards, fennel and stinky cheeses. While they may go very high on our foodie-enjoy-almost-anything lists, the majority of people will pick a croissant over a whole wheat bagel any day. Oftentimes I do as well. But when you think about it, it’s really those things that you enjoy because of their strong characteristic flavors that really stick in your mind. And when they’re combined in your plate in such a way that their strengths don’t fight but compliment each other, then you’ve got what I think is a real ingredient experience. Such is often the case with rye breads or pumpernickel, for instance. It might not be ideal for a way-out-there sandwich or for any other recipe involving a lot of actual cooking….but if you’ve got some fresh bitter arugula and a good slice of cured ham lying around…..heaven. This bread turned out to be one of those things…a strong, earthy, moist, compact affair which in the company of some roasted sausages and maple syrup might make you squeal in delight (or you can just smile, if you’re the strong silent type). I tweaked the recipe I found at food.com to include wheat oats and maple syrup…and then I made dinner rolls which turned out suprisingly well for rye; a good hard crust and incredibly soft inside, the ideal roll for scooping up some mushroomy sauce or a jus left from your dinner steak. (Not that I ever scoop up sauce with my bread. ever. Yeah right) Read more for the recipe.

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Fancy schmancy – Grilled manchego and snow pea sandwich

Posted on August 22, 2012 by petitedecadence

There really isn’t much I can say to sell you on this recipe…it contains the words grilled and cheese in the title, so I don’t really need to make an effort, do I? Everyone knows that those two words are heaven in a sandwich, guaranteed. Even if it’s just two slices of buttery grilled bread with gooey cheese in between and nothing more. But I took it upon myself to make a melt-in-your-mouth grilled cheese using wheat thins. (Not the crackers, the flat bread) I know, wheat thins don’t even count as bread, at least not in my book. But they make excellent shells for grilled cheese, because they’re so thin they become crispy and deliciously buttery. And if you pair them with semi cured Manchego de oveja*, snow peas and wilted arugula with a generous dab of dijon mustard….well…need I say more? I know, imported spanish cured cheese seems a bit fancy for wheat thins…but it’s seriously an amazing combo! Or maybe it was the peas. Or the arugula. Or the butter. Or the fact that I served them with sweet corn cobs grilled in parsley butter. Take my word for it, whatever it was, you’ll want to try one! Read more for the recipe.

*For those who don’t have it around, Manchego de oveja is a DO spanish cheese made from the milk of sheep originally from the La Mancha region, hence the name manchego. It varies in hardness according to the time it’s been cured. You can read more about it right here.

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Did you say summer? – Almond milk oatmeal and other detox recipes

Posted on August 16, 2012 by petitedecadence

I know, I’m shameless to show my face around here after over a month of sudden unexplained disappearance, but it was summer! Which means I did nothing productive or worth mentioning for the last month except lounging around, gossiping with friends and eating and drinking. And boy did we eat. And did we drink. And did we not do any physical activity! And now it has all taken it’s toll on me, since on Monday I woke up feeling as if small balls of play doh were running through my veins. But fear not, detox week came to the rescue! And since I can’t cook and share with you anything fancy for my return, I’ll gladly share a couple of my recipes here! (And when I say detox, I don’t mean starve yourself while you drink nothing but cayenne water and pepper, lose 15 pounds in two days and then gain 30 back in one week. Oh no. I don’t do that. What I mean by detox is more in the line of eat insanely healthy and give your body a rest of processing greasy/hard to digest/non-natural foods)

A couple of days of fruit smoothies and juices, (with soy/almond milk) then add oats and nuts and eventually vegetables (about the 4th day) and then gradually move back to your normal diet by eating small portions of fish, rice and goat cheese (since it’s easier to digest). Totally worth doing this, plus, if you’ve got good fruits it’s also delicious! (Like the almond milk oatmeal which is so good it has officially replaced my standard oatmeal) Read more for the recipes.

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Shameless pleasures – Baked eggs w/ creamy goat cheese sauce

Posted on July 4, 2012 by petitedecadence

Some things are just shameless pleasures. Not guilty, just shameless. Think of buying overly expensive shoes that you’ll use only three times a year (I never do that. I swear.) or watching three movies on the same sunday. Or having a scone….and then having another one. It’s that tiny instant in your head of ohwellwhocares that lets you do this kind of thing and precisely that little voice in my head which yesterday said “It’s ok, you’ve had breakfast, but that was way back at 7 am, and look at the terrace now, it’s so sunny and summer-y, wouldn’t you like to brunch out there? Of course you would….now go do it” And I of course, being extremely obedient, did. It’s not like I ate a whole dish of baked eggs at 11:30 in the morning on my own right? Oh. Wait. It totally is. Butwhocares. This dish is so delicious I’d gladly do the same every other day of the week. Besides, baked eggs are something I always forget, and I shouldn’t because they’re so easy and good and healthy (that’s of course when you don’t bathe them in cream) and easy to mix and match with whatever ingredients you have in the fridge…. Anyway, here is my shamelessly delicious recipe, with loads of cream, cheese, tomato and basil. Read more to find it.

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