Roasted Eggplant and Tomato

End of August. I spent all morning in the kitchen, cleaning and putting everything in place. A devil-like pile of clothes that needs some ironing is currently making me The Eyes, so I've decided to take a deep breath... and a break. I'm home alone for dinner tonight, so I made something light and easy.

Slice 1 tomato and 1 eggplant. 

Place them in layers in an ovenproof dish. Cover them with cheese and season them with salt and pepper. Sprinkle everything with olive oil.

Put the dish in the oven and turn it on to 180º. When the cheese is golden.brown you can turn off the oven: it's done.

Meanwhile, toast a couple of slices of bread and use them to make the sandwiches. Today I used thinner slices, but thick ones from home-made bread are delicious, too.

There are many ways you can present it: either alone or on a slice of toasted bread, as a starter; or between two slices, as if it were a sandwich.  

Enjoy!

Almond treat

This is one of my dad's favourites, so whenever I do it it always reminds me of [my first] home. Recently, my dad - who is as handy in the kitchen as I am changing a flat tire - has tried different varieties: with walnuts instead of almonds, with walnuts and almonds, with any kind on nuts with or without almonds... I must confess I prefer the original version. The walnut gives it a touch of bitterness which I can set aside for my Monday mornings.

Beat 3 eggs, 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of milk. Heat the mixture in the oven until it thickens. When it gets a creamy texture, add 1 cup of almonds in their skin [believe me: the taste of the skin is important for this treat]. 

Divide it in little individual bowls like the one in the photo. Sprinkle the bowls with sliced toasted almonds. 

Let it cool and finally it's ready to eat.

Enjoy!

Monkfish rice with prawns

Did you know that the monkfish is a great source of Vitamin D and Selenium?

In a pot put 3 garlic cloves, 1 onion, 1 bay leaf and olive oil and when it softens add water. Season it with salt and hot sauce to taste. 

Add the monkfish and let it boil for about 5 minutes. When it is done, take it out. 

Boil the prawns in that water. After 5 minutes, add the rice and when it is done, add the monkfish back and serve.

A nice and simple tomato and onion salad goes really well with it.

Think green: Kale soup

Boy, I'm feeling like such a little piggy. I admit it: I have put on A LOT of weight these holidays. Two weeks ago we've decided to go on a little 1-week gastronomic roadtrip and try regional food for lunch AND dinner. So for the past week I've been having nothing but soup, fruit and lots of greens and just the occasional meat - ok, ok, the sausage rolls and the roast don't count; oh, well, I couldn't get away, could I?

For lunch we did a wonderful kale soup.

Boil an onion, 4 potatoes and 4 garlic cloves. 

At the same time, boil previously shredded kale with half a teaspoon of baking soda. 

When the onion, potatoes and garlic cloves are done, use a soup blender . 

When the kale is done, add it to the soup and season it with salt.

It's also nice with a couple of slices of spicy sausage.

Enjoy!

Watermelons: bite size!

I guess you could call them Gourmet Watermelons

Summer. I love it: the sun, the heat, the need for greens and fruit, the smiles...

Today this was my dessert: freshly picked watermelons from my parents' backyard. I took a photo of them next to my iPhone so you can see how SMALL they really are. And they were delicious on the inside, too. 

Sausage meatballs and tomato and mozzarella salad

No matter how much work and passion I put into a home-cooked meal for my friends, what really matters is if they enjoyed it at the end.

So, for a better chance of success, always try to know what they like or dislike - and most importantly, if there are any ingredients they are allergic to. 

This meal is easy and quick to prepare and if your friends like sausage, they will most certainly love this.

Take the amount of sausage you want to use and boil them. You can choose any kind, but do try to check which types of sausage your friends like. I've used 2 different kinds here, as you can see. 

Take them off the water and let them cool. 

Take all the meat out of the skin and mash it with a fork. Do it separately for each kind of sausage.

Then roll the mashed meat into small meatballs.

Pour just a little bit of olive oil into a pan and fry the meatballs.

At the same time, prepare a simple SALAD. Start by choosing some nice tomatoes.

Then add buffalo mozzarella cheese and a pinch of salt and finally pour some olive oil. Give it a toss and it's ready to go.

Enjoy!

Chuck Roast - the unsuspected stranger

If I may say so, I might have lost a couple of pounds this morning, after sweating so much to make everything just about right. And I don't mean just the end product: I don't know if the same happens to all of you, but there's something about trying to cook at my mom's house that is somewhat nerve-wrecking. Well, it might be her saying "Don't you want me to put some olive oil in it?" "No, mom, this recipe doesn't need olive oil, thanks anyway" "Are you sure?" [Imagine a loooong pronunciation of that "u" sound in the last word, with some very disapproving and scary eyes. Got it? Yes, that's it.]

How I did it? With a bit of a juggle here, a bit of a distraction there, you know: the usual. 

While I sliced the onions and garlic cloves much to my darling mom's distress ["Don't you want me to do that for you?"], I asked her to bring me the hot sauce because I "didn't know where it was". 

Then I added a generous pinch of salt and some of the hot sauce [2 coffee spoons will do the trick]. 

I noticed my mom's questioning eyes while I added about 5 spoons of margarine into it, but that was ok: I knew the end result would convince her. 

Finally, I poured a bottle of beer. You can pour wine if you want to, but I tend to find beer provides a lighter and sweeter taste to the meat and potatoes, which I prefer.

Then it was time to take care of the meat: two big pieces of veal chuck, cut in smaller pieces. I placed it all in an oven-proof dish.

Then I poured some of the dressing [just a little bit, because the potatoes I was going to add later would need to be drier rather than soggy to roast well]. Then I asked my mom to open the oven [pre-heated to 180º] and place the dish there.

By then, my mom was even more excited than I was, so I invited her to do the part I dislike the most: cutting the potatoes. So, after about 45 minutes of cooking to 210º and turning the meat over and over so it could get that beautiful "sun-tanned look", she [yes] added the potatoes, with a little more of that juice - again, not too much: you can start adding it later, when the potatoes start getting a delicious golden colour.

I let it cook for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, giving it a little turn every 20 minutes. 15 minutes before I turned off the oven I cooked rice [just water and salt] and asked my mom to prepare a lettuce and onion salad [in a salt, oil and vinegar dressing] - that is one thing I will never do as well as her, no matter how hard I try to get the portions right.

This was the result:

Except for the veal, it's not an expensive dish. It might take a while to cook, but as soon as you taste the flavour you'll know why I say it's worth it. Besides, it's a nice and easy one to make for the whole family. If you try it, do say how it all went.

Enjoy!

Oh. my. god.

My mom was curious after I told her about one of my recipes, so I'm making a chuck roast for my parents tomorrow. 
At their house. 

Prepare for a storm!

Poached eggs in tomato sauce

This is one of those recipes that remind me of lazy days in the summer. My mom is lucky to do it with eggs from my grandmother's chickens and with tomatoes from her garden. As I live far away, I buy all the ingredients at the local supermarket. The taste is a bit different, of course, but the result is a big, juicy memory for prize.

Slice 2 garlic cloves and 2 onions and cook them in a hot pot with olive oil until they become soft. 

Then add the tomatoes. You can add the quantity you desire, depending on the number of people you are serving. I usually use about 6 tomatoes for 2. But don't forget: use only really ripe tomatoes. 

Keep cooking for a couple of minutes, add a pinch of salt, and then open the number of eggs you want to serve into the pot, so you can poach them - 1 per person is usually enough. Let it cook for about 15 minutes and this savoury dish without meat is ready to eat!

I always serve it with french fries or chips, which I dip in the sauce or use to carry it to my mouth. It's also great with bread slices or toasts!

Enjoy!

Marie biscuit cake - Quick and Easy for a surprise visit

This is one of those cakes you cake do quickly whenever you have surprise visits and which you can have over a nice cup of tea or coffee. 

Besides, it's great for kids, too. Oh, they'll tell you how much they love it!

Simply blend the margarine with the sugar with the help of a fork. There are no recommended measurements here. You can add more of one or the other to taste. 

Then add an egg yolk [or 2, if you're doing a bigger cake]. 

Then prepare a cup of coffee and add some water to it in a bowl. I usually use Nespresso Ristretto, but any other will be fine. 

Then you can start layering: dip the Marie cookies in the coffee, and put them on a plate in a "flower shape" [a circle of 5 to 6 Marie cookies plus 1 in the middle]. 

Spread the margarine/sugar/yolk mixture over the cookies with the help of a fork. Then dip more cookies in the coffee and put them on the others. Then spread the margarine/sugar/yolk mixture. Then... oh, well, I think you can guess what you'll do by now.

I usually serve it with just the margarine/sugar/yolk on top. You can sprinkle with anything you or your visits like: fruit bits, shredded almonds, chocolate chips... The choice is yours. 

Enjoy!

Almond Pie

This is one of the pies my mom used to bake when I was a kid. I loved the fact that it always made my friends' mouths water whenever I took one to a school party. It still is a party favourite. 

Mix 200g of flour, 100g of sugar, 125g of butter or margarine and 2 eggs. Then spread the mixture in a baking pan - preferably one with a removable bottom. 

While it bakes in the oven, prepare the topping in a cooking pot: melt 125g of butter or margarine with 100g of sugar and 4 tablespoons of milk. Then add 150g of sliced almonds and a couple of minutes later take the mixture out of the heat. 

When the pie is cooked, take it out of the oven and coat it with the topping. Put the pie back in the oven until it gets golden. 

Enjoy!

My Mac and Cheese recipe

I look for warmth everywhere. In my friends' smiles, in fun holidays, in a strong thank you, in delicious meals. If I'm lucky, sometimes I find a meal that feels like a big hug.

Boil about 250g of elbow macaroni in salted water.

While the macaroni is cooking, melt 2 generous tablespoons of butter (or margarine) with 2 tablespoons of flour. Pour 1 mug of milk and stir. Then add about 40g of parmesan powder and keep stirring. Finally, slowly add 150g of cheddar cheese and stir until it completely blends. Add the boiled elbow macaroni and stir again.

Pour into an oven-proof dish. Coat it with about 10 to 20g of parmesan powder. Some people use bread crumbs but I prefer the cheese.

Turn on the top part of the oven: you only want to make the mac and cheese golden and crispy. I usually let it stay for about 10 minutes, checking from time to time so it won't burn.

Enjoy!

Chicken Tikka, my way

I just love Indian food: the colours, the spices, the aromas, the flavours. In fact, some of the best memories I have include a couple of really fun dinners with friends at an Indian restaurant, which always come back to me whenever I have Indian food. Since there isn't any Indian restaurant nearby, all I can do is try and cook Indian-inspired food at home.

Pour 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a hot pan. Add 2 onions, roughly sliced. When they start to become golden, add a generous amount of tomato sauce - I prefer it seasoned with onion and garlic -, and stir. After a couple of minutes, add 3 teaspoons of curry and a pinch of salt. Finally, add the chicken breasts, cut in pieces. Let it cook in medium heat for about 15 minutes.

In a bowl, pour a yoghurt and the same amount of water. Add it to the pan and stir. Let it cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve with basmati rice.

Raspberry Mousse

With such a luscious colour and great health benefits, raspberries are usually a great ingredient for a trendy surprise dessert when you invite your friends over. And after the usual "Is this strawberry?" it's always fun to see their impressed expressions when you say "oh, no!, this is a special raspberry mousse".

First you mash 150g of raspberries. Then beat 200ml of cream and add 100g of sugar. Soak 3 gelatin leaves in cold water. Heat the raspberries in a pan and add the soaked gelatin leaves, mixing until they dissolve completely. Take the mixture out of the heat and incorporate the cream.

Divide it in individual bowls and leave on the fridge for a couple of hours. When it is set, decorate with raspberries and mint leaves.

Your friends with love it!