Fruits

Pear   And   Apple


Pear and Apple  Pie

Fine lining paste is the pastry for my fruit pie. This pastry can be used for cooking savoury pies too.
Today I used a combination of fresh pear and apple as the pie's filling. 

This pear and apple pie is so delicious but light, you can have second helping without feeling guilty.  Have the recipe a go, make the pastry and you will have fun; enjoy the pie.

Pear And Apple Pie

A sliced of The Pear and Apple Pie

Recipe

Fine lining paste:
(New Larousse Gastronomique)
300 g butter
500 g plain flour
1 egg
2/3cup water
50 gr sugar
1 teaspoon salt
 (I made a quarter of this quantity for my pie)

Method:
Spread the flour in a circle on the board, make a well in the middle and put in the egg, butter, water, sugar and salt. 
Mix these ingredients together and
incorporate the flour little by little.
Knead lightly, roll the paste into a ball,
wrap in a cloth keeps in a cold place, until ready for use.





The Filling:
Peeled and slice a pear and an apple thinly

1cup  sweet custard 

The preparation and Cooking

the filling, custard, (apple, pear rub in lemon juice)

place the thin pastry on a baking sheet, put the custard on it
spread it into a circle, place the apple and pear on top

sprinkle the fruit filling with caster sugar, then gather the pastry
in to enclose the filling, brush the pastry with egg wash

 the pie had been baked in a hot oven 185 degrees C for 30 minutes

Transfer the pie on a serving plate, dust with icing sugar to serve.  It's a delicious light pie.

Until next time

Susy

Lettuce

Chiffonade of Lettuce

Chiffonnade is a method of cutting vegetables or herbs, in strips/julienne or in ribbons.

Today I cooked meat roll in quick bread dough, garnished with chiffonnade of lettuce cooked in butter.  I used iceberg lettuce, I cut it finely-in ribbons, wash - rinse and dry, and I cooked in butter.  It's simple and delicious.

Chiffonnade of Lettuce Cooked in Butter -  Served on Cos Lettuce Leaves

 Meat Rolls Slices Garnished with Chiffonnade of Lettuce Cooked in Butter

Cooking the Chiffonnade of Lettuce

Melt 25 g of butter in a hot pan - don not burnt the butter

Add in the chiffonade of lettuce.

Cook and season with salt and pepper

Cook it until the liquid has evaporated

You can serve the chiffonade of lettuce cooked in butter to garnish other meat dishes.

A simple meal can be the best.

Until next post

Susy

Sauté

Sautéed  Mushrooms

Mushrooms can garnish for a variety of dishes.  But you can cook and serve the mushrooms as the main dish. To make it better served with a garnish.  I cooked sauté whole mushrooms, and sauté sliced mushrooms with anchovies. The two cooking will go very well with carrots and serve them as a vegetarian dish.  I baked carrot timbale to garnish the mushrooms dishes.  Have some crusty bread or cheese bread to go with it if you wish.

Carrot Timbale, Sautéed Sliced Mushrooms and Sautéed Whole Mushrooms

A Very delightful vegetarian dinner.  Sauté sliced mushrooms with anchovies, and whole mushrooms garnished with carrot timbale.  I cooked cheese flatbread to go with the dishes,  so delish!

Cheese Flat Bread

The Recipes

Sautéed Whole Mushrooms

1 cup button mushrooms, clean and stalked
1 cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled or without
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and white pepper to taste
Some chopped chives
Juice of a fresh lemon
Method
In a hot pan sauté the mushrooms and the garlic in oil, toss them around
Cook the mushroom for a few minutes until they cook evenly
Add in salt and pepper, and squeezed the fresh lemon juice
Cook in higher heat, until all the liquid, are absorbed
Add in the chopped chives, shake the pan to mix
Transfer to a serving dish, keep aside.



Sautéed Sliced Mushrooms

2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1 garlic, chopped
1/2 cup two fresh herbs - mint, thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
15 g butter
3 anchovies, chopped
Freshly ground pepper and a tiny salt
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Method
Sauté the garlic and anchovies in oil and butter
Add in the mushrooms, cook for 3 minutes
Cook in higher heat, add in the lemon juice
Toss and turn the mushrooms, add the salt and fresh pepper
Add the mix herbs the last, and transfer into a serving dish





Baked Carrots in a Pot or timbale

2 cups grated carrots (125 g peeled raw carrot)
1/2 cup mix kinds of cheese, tasty cheese and Parmesan or Ricotta/Parmesan
1 egg
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter/olive oil
Salt to taste
Mix the ingredients together
Spoon the mixture onto buttered pot/timbale
Bake in hot oven 185 C for 20 minutes until crusty on top.
Keep in the pot/tin for 5 minutes before turning out.

Happy Cooking!

It has been a great weekend for me, very, very busy.  I wish you all to have a good Monday tomorrow, and enjoy the rest of the week.  Have a great Week!


Until next time.
Susy

Blosoms

Blossoms  And  Blooms


It has been a glorious day today, a beautiful sunny day.  My nectarine tree is blossoming too early, I thought; however, I love it.  The buds of some orchids are getting larger, soon they will open up.  To add to my collection, a new beautiful large flowering cymbidium orchid, creamy peach colour. It has eight stalks, and some of them are in full bloom, it sits in the living room to brighten up the place. 

Now I will take you to my garden in the back yard.  The fragrance of flowering Jasmines is so beautiful. My roses are springing with shiny young leaves, and the hydrangeas are having new leaves - lime green, so fresh. In my vegetable patch,  my cabbages are growing beautifully; also, my potted cabbages are doing well, I will have more than enough to do new recipes in the coming spring.

New flowering annual plants are ornamental cabbages that are looking very pretty right now, I hope they will grow larger and fuller.

Blossoms in the Backyard

Potted cabbage, cabbages and ornamental cabbages

Cymbidium Orchids are Budding and also in Bloom.

The New Cymbidium Orchid

Have a great weekend to you all, and thanks for visiting my blog.

Cooking and recipes are coming soon. 

Stay Tuned

Susy

Toppings

Toppings For Cakes

Toppings for the cakes can be whipped cream with sugar, frosting, chocolate cream, plain icing, buttercream and also chocolate ganache.

The ganache is delicious and very easy to work with.  Make the ganache, leave it to cool to thicken then spread it over the top of the cakes, a large slab or small cubes.

Mini Muffin with White Chocolate Ganache Topping

This time I am using the chocolate ganache for the topping of my mini muffins.  Another good thing about ganache topping is that you can transport the cakes somewhere and it is not easily damaged.  The ganache stays in shape and does not melt.

Mini Mandarin Muffins with White Chocolate Ganache Topping; Garnished
with Glazed Orange and Glazed Shredded Peels

To Make White Chocolate Ganache

White Chocolate ganache for Topping

60 g double Cream, melted and hot

Add in 125 gr of white chocolate-broken into small pieces

Leave it for a few minutes, and then stir until it becomes smooth

Refrigerated for a short while, mix it now and then to thicken up

When it is thicker, you can start to use it to spread on top of the cakes

(you can add in liquor at this stage)
I put some of Grand Marnier on this white chocolate ganache

white chocolate ganache is smooth
and warm.

double cream
broken white chocolate in pieces

white chocolate ganache is covered in
muslin cloth to cool

white chocolate in the hot melted
double cream

Putting the ganache for the topping of the mini muffins

A Platter of Beautiful Mini Mandarin Muffins
with White Chocolate Ganache Topping and Glazed Citruses

I have been making the best of oranges from this season.  I enjoy the flesh of the orange fruit for a salad and the peels I glazed them and also to make candies.

It has been a very productive time in term of my kitchen's activities.

Until next post.

Susy

O O

One Omelette

They say that you must have breakfast like a prince, lunch like a king and dinner like a pauper.  I do like that saying.
To start the day, it is good to have breakfast, life can be so busy; however, it is no need for rushing.  Having a good lunch is a must, so it can last until dinner time without snacking.  I am always looking forward to dinner, the meal for the end of the day.  It has to be something special, at least time to spend with the family to catch up at the dinner table.

A light meal at dinner time and nutritious is not very hard.  Have an omelette, it is quick to prepare. I had this perfect omelette in France for lunch.  It was so good, served with a salad green dressed with creamy light mayonnaise.  I think you can have egg dishes at any time, it is suitable for breakfast, lunch and also for dinner

I remember vividly this is the omelette that I had at the Loire Valley.  It was cooked perfectly.

Omelette is Garnished with Salad Green, Dressed in Creamy Mayonnaise

One Omelette

2 eggs
1/2 tablespoon of butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
Saucepan size 20 cm
Beat the eggs lightly, season with freshly ground pepper
Heat the butter in the frying pan and add the eggs.  Cook over high heat.  Mix with a fork.
Shake the pan so that the omelette is evenly cooked.
Fold it over once and turn it upside down with one quick movement on to a warm dish
Garnish the omelette with a salad.

Cooking The Omelette

Perfect Cooked Omelette

It was not presented this way at the Loire Valley (Val de Loire).  I always have more salad, so I need the extra dressing on the plate.  It's a tasty omelette, soft in the middle and cooked evenly.



Two eggs per omelette to serve for one person, you need ten gram of butter only to cook it.

Necessary steps how to cook the perfect omelettes
(New Larousse Gastronomique)

Step number 1: The flame must be very high

Step number 2: Use an absolutely clean frypan, in which nothing else is ever cooked

Step number 3: Beat the eggs lightly and at the last moment.

Step number 4: Do not use too much butter or fat

Step number 5:  Have confidence in yourself

Until next post.