It’s my party I’ll be late if I want to – Lemon and poppyseed meringue cake

Posted on June 4, 2015 by petitedecadence

Yet another birthday has come and gone. And while last year I was rebellious and decided to celebrate with and overdose of nutella in my birthday party dessert, (as is proper in any birthday party, anywhere, ever) this year I indulged instead in a mile high cake. Because I’m piling on the years, I figured it’s only fitting to pile on the size of the cake. This cake, with it’s polished and big look, has many steps to it, but it’s actually very easy and quick to make, (compared to other -cup- cakes I’ve made) so it was a great choice for a hectic day, in which I ran all across the city since morning and only started to prepare a full make your own grilled cheese bar about 1 hour before the guests arrived. My lateness, and the unpredictable may weather, resulted in what looked very much like an english tea party, instead of lunch. But who’s complaining? You can hardly beat a late lunch with rainy weather, flowers and cake. And gin and tonics instead of tea, of course! Tempted to do the same? Read more for the recipe! Continue reading →

Fun in the sun – Amaranth fish tacos with mango sauce

Posted on March 31, 2015 by petitedecadence

It’s already been 8 days since spring officially started, and oddly enough I spent most of my weekend curled up with a book and a glass of wine, reading by the window because there was hardly any sun, and it poured cats and dogs most of saturday and all of sunday. Not that I’m complaining, rainy weather is my favourite kind. In my opinion, summer is a month (or two) too long here in Mexico. But spring is my second favorite. Because spring means seafood, rosé and sunny terraces. And light dresses and a friendly sun, not a scorching-I-feel-menopausic-one. And that’s exactly why I prepared this recipe for the weekend, because it’s the perfect meal to enjoy on this time of the year. It’s fresh, mexican, delicious, and healthy.
I’ve raved about amaranth as a substitute for breading before, right here, and this time I won’t do it again. Instead I’ll rave about the colourful, yummy combination that’s purple cabbage, with avocado, cilantro and different favoured tortillas. But as if all of those together weren’t enough, why not top it off with a scrumptious spicy mango sauce? Still not enough? Then a second, creamy labneh and cilantro dressing will make absolutely everyone happy. You can dress your tacos with either of the sauces, or as one of naughty guests did, mix them both in the same taco! However you eat them, make sure you have plenty of tortillas, because you’ll probably end up having one too many tacos. (As is usually the case with tacos, of any kind)
Recipe after the jump.

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Cucurbita maxima – Halloween Pumpkin Chutney

Posted on October 3, 2011 by petitedecadence

This time I’ll rant to you about something that’s happened to all of us. (I hope, unless I actually am crazy, as my family repeatedly likes to remind me). I walked into the supermarket about a week ago and dia de muertos/halloween euphoria had begun. And my supermarket mounted right on the entrance a huge display with the best looking, bright orange, smooth, with-appropiate-stem, shiny pumpkins they could find. And I knew the prettiest ones were carving pumpkins, but I could not resist. Yes, its true. I brought home an ingredient solely based on its looks. I know, I’m shallow. I could have gone for its uglier, paler, bumpier sister, the squash. But I didn’t, even though it’s flesh is softer and tastier. (Because what really matters is on the inside! *cough*men*cough) And my reward was 20 minutes of hand-pain after trying to get its lovely shell off. (Does this happen to men that only go out with models?) But in spite of its hard, not-as-strong-tasting flesh, the result was great. The resulting chutney is tangy, spicy and sweet, and very strong flavored. Great to combine with meats. AND you can actually serve it on halloween, on a dish made from itself. (But trust me, you should bribe your grocer into peeling it for you, as my hands will tell you). I’ll probably come back with the recipe for the meat to serve it with, but meanwhile, on to the recipe.

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