Mailänderli swiss cookies

Mailänderli is a typical Swiss (Christmas) cookie, very simple to bake. My grandmother used to have a big box full of all kind of self made cookies that she kept in the freezer. Every time there were visits she would serve them with coffee. As a child mailänderli were my favourite cookies and now my children love them. They also love baking them!

Today is a special day because my first niece, Nathalie, is born! I live far away and won't see her till Christmas so I baked a few cookies in her honor! Welcome baby Nathalie!

Ingredients and steps:

- 125 gr butter
- 125 gr sugar
- 250 gr flour
- 3 eggs
- grated zest of one lemon or tangerine
- a pinch of salt

In a bowl, mix 1 egg and 1 egg yolk with the sugar. Add the flour, mix well and add the lemon zest, the butter and a pinch of salt. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to the thickness you want to have the cookies (about 5 mm) and cut into the desired shapes.

Place the cookies on a baking tray and brush them with and egg yolk. Bake on a preheated oven at 200 degrees C for about 10 to 12 minutes. Let them then cool on the baking tray.

Delicious Honey Mustard Baked Chicken



This honey-mustard baked chicken is easy to do and it is absolutely delicious!!! I found this recipie  in the last cooking book I bought, I have already had it twice this week and can't wait to have it again!

 

Ingredients and steps:

- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 large chicken breasts, cut in half
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp frshly ground black pepper
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar (other vinegars are also fine)
- 3 tbsp chicken stock
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 1 cup water
- oil

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees (400 degrees F)

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes.

Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes.

Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Remove the onion and garlic from the pan and reserve for later use.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add the chicken to the hot pan. Cook for 3 minutes or until browned. Then turn the chicken and cook for 3 minutes.

Add the rosemary and thyme to the pan.

Combine honey, vinegar, stock and mustard and stir the mixture into the chicken.

Return the onions and garlic to the pan and stir well.

Place the pan in the pre-heated oven and cook for about 30 minutes. After 30 mintues check to see if the sauce has become to thick, if it has, stir some water.

Turn the chicken breast and cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is nicely browned. I like to to put it under the oven grill for a few minutes.

Place the chicken on a serving platter and top with the sauce.

Swiss Style Apricot Tart

A sweet treat today! Last week we arrived to the family holiday house in the south of Switzerland, in the region called Ticino for a well deserved holiday. My uncle and aunt were waiting for us to handle over the keys of the house and they had baked a delicious apricot tart for us. It was the same tart that my grandmother  used to bake, she did it sometimes with apricot, sometimes with prunes and even with cherries. We used to eat it as main dish for dinner, not as desert. 

Of course I immediately asked for the recipe and here it is! It is so easy and the result is good,

Ingredients and steps:

- puff pastry or short crust pastry

- about 100 gr ground hazelnuts ( enough to cover the pastry)

- about 800 gr Apricots

- 3eggs

- 250 ml cream

- 2 bags vanilla sugar (about 16 gr)

- optional: sugar to taste

Place the pastry in a baking dish. Cover the whole surface with the ground hazelnuts.

Half the apricots and place them on the pastry.

In a big bowl, mix the eggs, the cream and the vanilla sugar and pour over the apricots.

Place in the a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes.

You can replace the apricots by prunes, cherries, apple or any fruit you like. 

Spice-rubbed salmon

This is a really easy and quick recipe that can be prepared in 15 minutes after a busy work day! It's tasty and very healthy!

 



Ingredients and steps:

- 2 salmon filets
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp garam masala or curry powder
- 1/3 tsp ground ginger
- 1 small onion, sliced in rings
- oil

Combine all the ingredients for the rub and spread the rub on the flesh side of the salmon filets.

Place the fish in a pre heated oven at 230 degrees (450 F) and cook for 8 minutes.

In the meanwhile saute the onion and add on top of salmon when ready.

I served it with brown rice and broccoli.

Chicken biryani

Chicken biryani is a very popular dish in India. The rice is cooked separately from the thick sauce, the curry and the rice are then brought together and layered and the final dish is dry or minimal moist.

It is not really a difficult dish but it does take some time to prepare, but it's worth it because it is delicious!

Ingredients ans steps:

Chicken marinade:

- 300 gr chicken
- 3 cups of yogurt
- 4 (medium) garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp hot red chili powder (more if you like it hot)
- 2 tsp sweet red chili powder
- 2 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 3 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
- 1/2 onion, sliced and fried
- salt
- 1 tbsp oil

 

Place the chicken in a bowl. Add the salt, garlic and ginger, mix well and let it rest for a few minutes. Add the yogurt, turmeric powder, hot red chili powder, sweet red chili powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder,  mint leaves, onion and oil. Mix well and set aside to marinate for at least a couple of hours. I usually prepare this marinated the night before to allow all the flavors to blend.



 

Fried onions:

 

- 4 onions, sliced

 

Saute the onions at medium-high heat until golden. Set aside.

 

 

The rice:

 

- 4 cups of rice

- about 3 tbsp caraway seeds

- about 3 tbsp cumin seeds

- 1 bay leave

- 5 cloves

- 10 green cardamons

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 1 tbsp oil

- salt

- 7 cups of water

 

 

Fill a pan with about 7 cups of water and add all the ingredients except the rice. Bring to a boil and add the rice, cook for 3/4 of the usual time and strain. Set aside.

 

Chicken:

 

Fry the marinated chicken at high heat for a few minutes till nice brown. Set aside.

 

 

 

Rest of ingredients:

 

- about 10 tbsp mint leaves, chopped

- about 10 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

- Some Ginger, in julienne or crushed

- Some saffron

- Some milk

 

 

Prepare all the ingredients we will need for the layering. Chop the coriander leaves, the mint leaves, dissolve the saffron in some milk, mince the ginger. 

 

The layering:

 

Start with a a layer of chicken. Spread a layer of rice over it. Sprinkle with some ginger, saffron dissolved in milk, coriander leaves, mint leaves, some cardamon powder, some fried onions.

 

 

Start again by adding the remaining chicken, the remaining rice, ginger, saffron dissolved in mild, coriander leaves, mint leaves, cardamon powder and fried onions.

 

 

 

Cover and place in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes.

 

 



 



Shiitake mushroom cakes

Steps and ingredients:

- 100gr shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 3 spring onions, sliced
- 4 eggs
- 150gr cream cheese
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dry sherry
- cayenne pepper
- puff pastry, in squares

Slice the shiitake mushrooms and the spring onions.

In a bowl, place the eggs and cream cheese. Mix well. Add the soy sauce, dry sherry and cayenne pepper, mix well.

Place the puff pastry on the baking tray.

Place the shiitake mushrooms and the spring onions into the puff pastry. Add the eggs, cream cheese mixture to it.

Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 25 minutes at 200 degrees.

Pad Thai

Ingredients and steps:

- 250 gr rice noodles

Cook the noodles according to package instructions.

For the sauce:

- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- Juice of 1/2 lemon

In a wok (or large pan), place the sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce and lemon juice.Melt all these together over a low heat.

The vegetables:

- 1 pak choi, cut in pieces
- 3 spring onions, sliced


When ready, drain the noodles and add them to the wok. Mix well and add the pak choi and the spring onions. Cook for about 5 minutes.


The toppings:

- 3 eggs
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 shallot, minced
- coriander, chopped


In a pan, saute the shallot and the garlic till soft (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs, once the eggs begin to set up, stir to scramble.


Put the noodles, pak choi and spring onions in a bowl, add the eggs and coriander and enjoy!

Enchiladas Hondureñas

This has to be my favourite Honduran dish. I don't really know why but what they call enchiladas in Honduras is quite different from what they call enchiladas in Mexico. I recently found a place where they sell real corn tortillas here and since then I'm just enjoying the original flavors of Honduras and of my youth. It does take some time to prepare but it is all worth it!

Ingredients and steps:

For the meat

- 300gr minced meat (ground beef)
- 1/2 an onion, diced
- 1/2 green pepper, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- about 4 tbsp cumin
- salt and pepper

Mix all well, cover and leave it for a few hours.

For the sauce

There are different ways of doing the sauce, I like this version the most

- 3 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp sweet chili powder
- 1 cup chicken broth
- pepper, salt if needed

Fry the red pepper for 5 minutes. Add the onion and saute for another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and fry at medium-high heat for again 5 minutes. Add the sugar, cumin, chili powder, and half of the chicken broth.

Put the mixture in a blender. When ready, strain the mixture into to the pan. Let it cook at medium-low heat for a few minutes.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients:

- 2 potatoes
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cabbage
- dry cheese (queso seco). If you cannot find any, Parmesan will do.
- corn tortillas
- oil

Cook the potatoes and the eggs. When ready, cut the potatoes and slice the eggs.

Finely shred the cabbage.

Shred the cheese.

Fry the corn tortillas until crispy and set them aside.

In a large pan, fry now the meat at high heat until cooked through.

Putting all together:

Take a tortilla. Add the meat, some potatoes. Add the shredded cabbage, the egg and then the sauce. Cover with queso seo (or Parmesan cheese).

Gazpacho (cold spanish soup)

It's summer again so time for Gazpacho! It is so good, so healthy and so easy to do! Gazpacho is a typical cold spanish soup, it is served in the hot summer months. I don't know anyone that does not like it!

Ingredients and steps:

- 2 slice white bread, shredded
- 3 or 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 red pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove (or more if you like garlic!)
- 1/2 cucumber, roughly chopped
- 1/2 a green pepper (optional), roughly chopped
- about 4 to 5 tbsp good olive oil
- about 1 tbsp vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups of water

Put the bread, all the vegetables and the olive oil in a blender and blend. Strain the mixture into a pitcher to get rid of the skin of the tomatoes and paprika and get a smooth mixture. Add the water, the vinegar, salt and pepper. And that's it!

If you want to eat it immediately, add some ice cubes in the blender so that the gazpacho is nice fresh. But ideally leave it for a few hours in the refrigerator and serve nice cold!

Toppings:

- some finely chopped green pepper
- some finely chopped red pepper
- some finely chopped red onion

Chicken with satay sauce and noodle salad

When I try I new recipe, I often love it the first couple of times I do it but after a while I get bored with it and never do it again. That is certainly not the case with this one and that's why I want to share it with everyone! I found this chicken satay and noodle salad recipe in a Jamie Oliver cooking book and I can't get enough of it!

Ingredients and steps:

Satay sauce:

- coriander
- 1 red pepper
- 1/2 a garlic clove
- 3 full tbsp peanut butter
- soy sauce
- about 2 cm ginger piece
- 1 lemon - the zest and the juice

Put the coriander, red pepper, garlic, peanut butter and the soy sauce in a food processor. Add the peeled ginger, the zest of the lemon and the lemon juice. Add a bit of water and purée the ingredients till you get a nice paste.

Put half of the satay sauce in a nice bowl. We will be using the rest to marinate the chicken.

Chicken:

- about 2 to 4 chicken fillets

Put the rest of the satay sauce in a baking dish, put the chicken on top and mix well. Drizzle some olive oil and salt over the chicken. Place the baking dish in the oven under a hot grill for about 12 minutes. Turn the chicken half way.

Noodle salad:

- 250 gr noodles
- 1/2 a red onion, chopped
- 1/2 a hot red pepper (or more if you like it hot!)
- about 4 tbsp coriander
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 lemon
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp fish sauce

Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Add all the ingredients. Note: sesame oil has a very distinctive taste; it really adds a special touch to dishes but be careful not to put to much!

Dhal Soup (red lentils soup)

This recipe is for my brother and for my sister. Because we all love Indian food so much. Because my sister is a vegan and always needs new ideas of healthy and easy to prepare meals. Because my brother needs to cook nice, tasty and healthy meals for his pregnant wife!

A delicious dish that even my kids love!

Ingredients and steps:

- 25 gr butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp kurkuma
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin

Saute the onion and the garlic for a few minutes, till soft. Add the garam masala, kurkuma, paprika powder, chili powder, cumin and fry for about 30 seconds.  I always prepare all the spices in a plate in advance so that they are ready to go in the pan in one time and I don't need to stress!

- 3 skinless tomatoes, diced

- about 300 gr red lentils



- juice of half a lemon
- about 1/2 l vegetable broth
- 1 can coconut milk
- salt and pepper

Add the tomatoes, the lentils, the lemon juice, the vegetable broth and the coconut milk. Bring to a boil and let it cook at medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Taste to make sure the flavor is right and add salt and pepper if needed.

Most of the time we serve it with home made naan breads.

Flan d'Onion

Ingredients and steps:

- 800 gr of onions, sliced. I usually use shallot because it has such a nice sweet taste.
- 60 gr butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp flour
- 20 cl milk
- 10 cl crème fraiche
- 1 tsp mustard (de Dijon)
- some muscat nut
- salt/ pepper
- puff pastry

Saute the onions in the butter for a few minutes. Add some water to it and let them cook till they are completely soft, about 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary.

When ready, add the flour and mustard.

Mix the milk and crème fraiche and warm it in a pan. Add the egg yolks to it and then add the onions.

Add the salt and pepper and the muscat nut.

Place the puff pastry in a cake shape and add the onions. Bake it for 25 minutes and a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees. Serve with a nice salad.

Albondigas (Spanish meatballs)

This recipe is from my mother and my Spanish grandmother, it is a typical Spanish dish. My mother used to cook it often when I was young and still does when we gather with all the family in their house in Spain because everybody likes it (except my sister who is a vegetarian then!). Real comfort food!

Ingredients and steps:

For the meatballs:
- 300 gr minced meat (I use 100% ground beef)
- 2 white bread slices
- 1 cup of milk
- 2 tbsp parsley
- 1 egg
- 1 or 2 tbsp pine nuts
- salt/ pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- flour
- 4 tbsp oil

Cut the bread in peaces and let it soak in the milk for a few minutes, till completely soft.
In a large bowl place the minced meat, add the soaked bread, the garlic, the parsley, the egg, the pinenuts and salt and pepper to taste.

Form the meat balls with your hands and roll them in the flour.

Fry the meat balls in a large frying pan for about 10 minutes at medium high heat. When they are nice brown, place them in a large pan.

 

For the sauce:
- 1 or 2 carrots, sliced
- 1/2 a green paprika, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp red paprika powder (sweet)
- some flour
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 to 3 cups vegetable broth (enough to cover the meatballs in the pan)

In the frying pan where you fried the meatballs, saute now the onions and the green paprika for about 5 minutes.

Add the onions and green paprika to the pan with the meat balls. Add the red paprika powder, the bay leaves, the carrots and the broth and let it cook at medium-low heat for 30 minutes. If you want to thicken the sauce, add a tbsp of flour that you have previously mixed with water to make a thin paste.

 

 

 

And that's it! Serve with tagliatelle or with rice.

 

 



tagliatelle with zucchini

This is the easiest way to make my kids eat vegetables! The kids love it, the parents love it, it's a win-win situation! It is therefore frequently served in our house!

Ingredients and steps:

- 2 zucchinis
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 onion finely chopped

Fry the onions and garlic for a few minutes, till soft. Add the zucchini and fry at medium heat for about 10 mn.

- 2 to 3 tomatoes, skinless, diced
- 1 tsp sugar
- a cup vegetable broth

Push the zucchini a bit to the side of the pan and add the tomatoes in the middle. I always add a pinch of sugar when I fry tomatoes, it gives them a nice sweet taste. Let it cook for about 5 mn.

Add the vegetable broth, mix well and let it cook at medium heat for about 15 mn.

- tagliatelle
- olive oil
- parmesan cheese or grana padano chees

In the meanwhile, prepare the tagliatelle according to instructions. Add some some olive oil to avoid that they stick toghether, add the zucchini and cover with a lot of parmesan cheese or grana padano!

Guacamole

Ingredients and steps:

- 2 avocados
- 1/2 red onion, minced
- 1/2 a red chili
- 1 (small) ripe tomatoe finely chopped
- 3 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
- 1/2 a lime or lemon juice (I like both)
- salt/ pepper to taste

Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the onion, chili, lemon juice, coriander, salt & pepper and tomatoes. Mix everything and done! Always nice to serve with tortilla chips.

Much of the guacamole has to be done to taste, so try and adjust the amounts to your preferences.