Christmas magic

Christmas is magic. I still remember the surprise in my kids’ eyes when they discover that Santa ate almost all the cookies left the night before by the tree, drank the Cognac & the milk (what a weird mix by the way ! Only Santa can do that !), the reindeers bite into the carrots … and all of them being so messy leaving crumbs and dirt everywhere … My mother knows how to make sure the magic is there for our Christmas lunch, she is the best when it comes to delicate food, table decoration, flower composition … well, you can be sure that all will be just perfect if you come over to her house. This year, we celebrated the 25th at her house with the rest of the family and I wanted to share with you some pictures of the magic…

Christmas Almond Sugar Cookies

Baking Christmas cookies is tradition on the 24th, we usually do plenty. I have to fight to make sure my daughters, son &   husband don’t eat them all once out of the oven … then, I try to keep some for the family and the rest for Santa of course ! After many tests, I finally came up with my perfect recipe, both for the cookies and for the frosting. The cookies themselves are very tasty and not rock solid (we care about Santa’s teeth 🙂 ) and the frosting … humm, delightful, the right amount between the butter, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. The frosting dries well enough for you to pack them in treat bags to offer to your loved ones on the 25th. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !

Easy Walnut cake

This time of the year of perfect to bake cakes with all kind of nuts and dry fruits. They are the perfect match for your morning cappuccino or your afternoon tea. Last day, I didn’t have any dry fruits in the pantry but lots of walnuts so I did my quick and easy walnut cake recipe (You can also replace with hazelnuts or almonds). What I like about this cake is that it’s not dry and you can well taste the walnuts, crunchy in every single bite: yummy !

Verrine: Lentil & Foie Gras

Last week, I cooked lentils for dinner and I decided to use the left over to create little “verrines” as appetisers for my family coming over for the week end. I simply mixed the rest of the lentils, add a bit of sour cream, and with a final touch of Foie Gras on top: delightful ! I serve it cold but you can also decide to serve it warm and add the Foie Gras at the last minute.

Dried Tomatoes, Olives and Mozzarella Muffin

If you know me or following my blog, you may have already noticed that it is not the first time I try salty muffins. I like them as they are easy to make and you can try out so many flavours. Those ones are vegetarian, “Italian style” with dried tomatoes, green olives and mozzarella (You can also add a tsp of hot spices if you like). They are really good, still warm, just out of the oven. As the batter has to chill at least an hour in the fridge, you can prepare them in advance and add them in the oven just before serving ! Easy 🙂

Bacon-wrapped dried plum

Prunes with bacon ? Some of you may think it’s a strange combination but it actually goes very well one with another, the sweetness of the dried plum with the crunch salty bacon … Give it a try and you will see, it takes 5 minutes to prepare, 5 minutes to cook, and 5 seconds to be eaten !

Apple and Raspberry Crumble Pie

As Christmas is approaching quickly, this dessert looked like one I could make for Xmas Dinner. I have adapted the recipe from the “Hey, cakes!” delightful blog,  swapped the cranberries for raspberries and added more chocolate (what can I say ? I am a chocolate fan ! ). The pie lasted only 3o minutes outside of the oven before someone came and took a slice … I must say this pie is delicious while still warm, and would go perfect with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream … but hey .. let’s not push it …

Maya’s yogurt cake : easy recipe for children

I must have been around 9 years old when I did my first cake all alone, and it was a Yogurt cake. Last Sunday, my daughter Maya was in cooking mode, she loves cooking and baking, it is in her DNA and I wouldn’t be surprise if she decides to pursue her career as a Chef ! (how cool could that be! 🙂
When I told her she could make a cake all on her own and I wouldn’t be there to supervise, she was over the moon. We read together the recipe and the directions, but then she did it all on her own. She was proud & happy … so was I 🙂
The cake was a success.  That is why this recipe is called after my daughter, Maya. 

Mini BLTs

Mini bites and finger food are my favourites when you have friends coming over for an evening drink. Because, there is nothing formal, people can grab whatever they prefer and keep on “chit chatting”  with one another. But of course, each time we decide to do so, I like to have so many different kind of finger food on the table  that  I usually end up all afternoon in the kitchen but it is worthy, people love it ! This time, nothing fancy but the traditional BLT (Bacon Lettuce & Tomato) sandwich that I have adapted to mini bites, much easier to eat. 

Madeleines: lemon or chocolate ? … Both !

My youngest son is a big fan of Madeleines. They are his favourite breakfast, snacks, after dinner … If you don’t know madeleines, they are very small sponge cakes in a shape of a shell. You can find the madeleine moulded pan in any specialised kitchen store and if you don’t have any, a (mini) cupcake pan would do ! The great thing with Madeleine is you can make them out of any flavour, sweet or even salty kind. This time I choose to do lemon madeleine. But then, my daughter wanted to have chocolate ones, so we did both 🙂