Flan with a twist

This a unique dessert, it's kind of like a flan but has the texture of creme brulee without the crunchy crust.  While it bakes, the bottom sets like a flan, the middle is like a brulee and the flour rises to the top and forms a thin cake crust. Pretty cool, I think :)

4 eggs, separated

500 ml of milk, warm

115 gr of flour, or 5 heaping tbls

3 tsp of pure vanilla extract

150 gr sugar or 1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of butter at room temp

1 tbsp water

How we make it...

Preheat oven to 340 F and butter and flour a 9" cake pan.

Using your mixer beat the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and water until light and creamy, 2-3 min. Add in the butter and beat on high for an additional minute.

Add in the flour and incorporate in mixture. Slowly whisk in the milk until a smooth.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.

Fold in the egg whites into the mix until absorbed.

Pour into cake pan and bake for 40-45 min. 

Once cake is ready, turn off the oven and leave the cake in the oven with the oven door open, allowing cake and oven to cool together.

Once the cake is full cooled transfer to a plate and sprinkle with icing sugar and store in the fridge.

 This is best served cold and dusted with icing sugar and if you'd like some cinnamon.

Have your pancake and eat it too!

 In general I try to eat a protein rich breakfast which is usually eggs prepared in a variety of methods, boiled, over easy, omelets, salads, etc.  However, sometimes I like having a little something sweet with my coffee in the morning. This recipe is a great way to enjoy a protein rich breakfast with a sweet pancake:) It's not going to make you feel heavy or like you have a lump of starch  sitting in your stomach, which is how I feel if I have regular pancakes. It is super simple to prepare and I bet ya you have all the ingredients at home right now. I like to add a tbsp of coconut flour but you don't have to. Coconut flour is high in fiber, protein and healthy fats.  I also like to chop up some walnuts to add some extra healthy fats which will help you feel full as well.

What you will need:
Makes 4-5 small pancakes

2 eggs
1 ripe banana (with spots on it)
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract (optional)
1 tbsp of coconut flour (optional)
1 tbsp or so of chopped walnuts (optional)

In a bowl, whisk your eggs, mush your banana, add it the vanilla and coconut flour (you can also just blitz it all in your blender). Add in your walnuts. Heat a pan over medium heat (or your griddle)  and spray with some coconut oil (or use about a tsp of coconut oil, if you don't have spray). Cook your pancakes, just like you would cook any regular pancake.
You can drizzle some honey or maple syrup if you choose, but the banana makes it sweet enough on it's own.

Frozen Birthday Cake Project

This past weekend I worked on a Birthday "Frozen" themed birthday cake for our neighbours' daughter's birthday party. I did the bottom tier chocolate and the top vanilla. The cupcakes were vanilla and chocolate  with vanilla butter cream icing. Here are some pics.

Guilt free Kung Pao Chicken

If you have tried some of the recipes on the blog you would have noticed that I love the combination of sweet, sour, salty and spicy.  One of my presents for Christmas was the Paderno Spiral Veggie Slicer...Yey! So now, I am trying to spiralize everything! LOL
This dish is quick and awesome and best of all guilt free! I added some vermicelli noodles to make it more filling for hubby. I used the breast meat from a store bought rotisserie chicken. You can make this with chicken thighs as well.

What you will need...

2-3 chicken breasts (depending on size), sliced in bite-size pieces

1 tbsp of coconut oil/grape seed oil

2 medium zucchini spiralized or julienned

1 medium carrot spiralized  or julienned

1 medium pepper, sliced thin (can be yellow, orange, red)

1/2 pkg of vermicelli noodles, cooked (optional)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 inch piece of ginger,  peeled and grated 

1/4 cup of roughly chopped unsalted, dry roasted peanuts 

For the sauce...

3 tbsp of tamari soy sauce (or low sodium soy sauce)

2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp of hoisin sauce

3 tsp of honey or agave syrup

1 tbsp of red chilli paste (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

4 tbsp of water

4 tsp of arrow root powder (or corn starch)

How to make it...

Whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside

In a heavy bottom skillet or wok, heat the oil to medium-high heat and brown the chicken, about 5 min. Take out and set aside in a bowl.

Reduce heat to medium and  fry garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 min. 

Add in the the pepper and carrot, reserved chicken and sauce and cook for about a 1-2 min.

Add in your zucchini noodles and vermicelli and cook an additional 2-3 min.

Sprinkle with peanuts and enjoy!

Sensational Seafood Bisque

Every time we go to visit my in-laws for the Christmas Holidays, I secretly hope that my mother-in-law will make this seafood bisque for us. She is a foodie, like my hubby and I, so it  is really nice to share food adventures. This past Holiday she shared her recipe with me and I can't wait to make this for date night! The bisque is not hard to prepare and can be done with any firm white fish or just with combination of the seafood I have listed. I usually have a combination of frozen cod, shrimp and/or baby scallops in my freezer so it's a great way to put it to use. As for the lobster, I get it when it's on sale and keep it in my freezer for special occasions.  This time we made it in a casserole, which is more family style and will feed 4-6 people. You can also make it in individual(medium) ramekins and serve it that way. If you choose to do it in  the ramekins you can cook the whole batch and then freeze them and pull out individual servings as needed. Serve with crusty bread on the side.

Here is what you will need...

1 stalk of celery, finely diced

1 medium carrot, finely diced

6-8 oz of mushrooms, sliced (I like to use crimini)

1 red bell pepper finely diced

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1 tbsp of oil

4 cups of homogenized milk (or you can use half and half if you like it richer)

1/2 cup of flour

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 tsp of paprika

salt and pepper to taste

4 tbsp of dry white wine or sherry

1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley, plus some for garnish

2 medium sized lobster tails (uncooked)

10 medium size shrimp cut up (uncooked, peeled and tails removed)

12 small scallops 

1(1/3 lb) medium sized fillet of cod (or any other firm white fish)

How to prepare it...

 In a pan heat the oil over medium heat and saute the carrots, celery and mushrooms until soft, 5-7 min.

Add in the red pepper and shallot and cook for another 3-5 min.

Get your yummy seafood ready by cutting it into bite size pieces (pretty much everything but the scallops).

Butter a medium size casserole dish or individual ramekins and spread out the seafood. If you are using ramekins put equal amounts of scallops, shrimp, lobster etc in each ramekin.

Now, it's time to get started on the roux...

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium-low heat; stir in the flour until smooth and bubbly.

 

Gradually stir in milk/cream, stirring constantly. Continue to cook over low heat,  stirring constantly, 

until thickened and bubbly.

 

Add in your spices, season with salt and pepper and add in the wine/sherry.

Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Spread the cooked veggies over the seafood.

 Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Pour sauce over seafood mixture.

 Using a knife, gently slide knife through so that cream sauce gets evenly spread out through the seafood. If you'd like you can also sprinkle some extra cheese on top.

Put in the oven and cook for 45-50 min. 

To check if your bisque is ready, at 45 min insert the tip of a knife in the middle of casserole and leave for 5-10 seconds. If the blade is warm/hot to the touch you know that it is ready.

Voila!

Mushroom and Pork Ragu

Over the Holidays we spent a lot of time with family and got the chance to prepare some of our favourite meals for them. This particular recipe is a total comfort food for Craig and I (Desi:). We make it for the two us and have leftovers or it's a great, relatively inexpensive dish for company. You can serve it over gnocchi (here I did it over spelt gnocchi), polenta or pasta.

Here is what you will need...

8oz of mushrooms (I used a mix  of crimini, enoki and shiitake,but you can use any mushroom you prefer)

3 tbsp of olive oil + 1/2 tbsp of butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 1/2 cups of dry white wine

1 lbs pork tenderloin, cut into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes

1/2 inch thick piece of double smoked bacon, chopped

3 sweet/mild italian sausages, casings removed

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 medium carrot,  peeled and finely chopped

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped

1 28oz can of San Marzano crushed tomatoes

2 cups of chicken broth

1 tbsp of dried summer savory or oregano

1 pinch of chilly flakes

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp of chopped fresh basil

1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

How to prepare it...

Heat 1tbsp of olive oil and the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add your chopped mushrooms and garlic.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sautee for about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of wine and simmer until mushrooms are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. About an additional 5 minutes.

 Set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in heavy bottom large pot over medium high heat.

Sprinkle pork tenderloin with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add to pot and brown, about 5-6 min.

Using a slotted spoon transfer pork to a plate. Pour off the fat and turn heat down to medium. Add chopped bacon and fry for 5-7 minutes until fat has rendered. Remove all but about 1 tbsp of the fat. Add sausages and cook until brown, breaking up into small pieces using the back of your spoon, about 3-5 min.

Add in your onion, celery and carrots. Cover pot and cook vegetables until soft, stirring occasionally, about 8-10 min.

 Add in the remaining 2 cups of wine, bring to a boil and scrape off any browned bits. Simmer until all the wine is absorbed.

Add in the reserved pork, tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaves, chilly flakes and summer savory/oregano. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 

1-11/2 hours.  Add in your cooked mushroom about 45 min into the cooking process. If the ragu gets dry add in 1/4 cup of chicken stock or water as required. You don't want the ragu too watery.

Serve over gnocchi sprinkled with chopped basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.