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  • Pain Perdu – childhood memories

    Pain Perdu – childhood memories

    As a kid, having Pain Perdu on a Sunday morning was the greatest treat ever! Took me a long time (way into my adulthood) to find out that Pain Perdu was the French name to what in my country  “Uruguay” they call Torrejas and in America is known as French Toast.

    The original Pain Perdu is supposed to be made with cream and not milk and special bread is used, depending on where you read about it, or where you grew up.

    Well in my house, we made it with regular sandwich bread and as far as my memories go, it was the best :-). Of course since then I have tried different variants, types of bread, with and without syrup, etc……. but kind of still holding on to my childhood memories.

    Here is how my mum used to make it:

    • In a shallow bowl, beat up a couple of eggs
    • Add about 1/3 cup of cream or milk
    • Beat up until combined
    • Grab 4 slices of sandwich bread
    • In a frying pan, add a large patty of butter and while it melts……
    • Drench each slice of bread nicely in the egg/cream mixture
    • When butter is nice and hot (but not burning), add the bread and cook on each side until it’s nice and golden.
    • Place on a plate and give it a nice dusting of powdered (confectioners) sugar

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    And voila, that is what my family called Pain Perdu!

    One of my family favourites nowadays is making a hole in the middle of each slice of bread and cooking an egg in the middle for a Egg in the basket Pain Perdu variety!

  • Choripan with homemade Chimichurri

    Choripan with homemade Chimichurri

    If you are ever in Uruguay, you must have a Choripan!  The word comes from joining the work Chorizo and Pan together (Sausage and Bread).

    The best ones are usually found in street carts (i.e type of food truck), but of course you can find it in any local restaurant! But, a choripan would not be complete (in my books) if it doesn’t have a good helping of chimichurri to go with it.

    Here in Florida my options of Chorizos are not what I would buy in Uruguay, but they are still pretty good. Today I used an Argentinian brand that is easily accessible in my local grocery store Mr. Tango 

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    You might want to have your Chimichurri ready made and use it when needed, but today I made it whilst I cooked the sausages (25 minutes in my air fryer at 390 Deg F)

    Started by picking fresh parsley from my backyard, but of course store bought is more than acceptable :-).

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    Chimichurri Ingredients:

        • 1 cup olive oil
        • 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
        • 1 cup finely chopped parsley 
        • 8 cloves of garlic minced
        • 1 tablespoon red chili flakes
        • 2 teaspoon dried oregano
        • 2 level teaspoon coarse salt
        • 1 teaspoon of black pepper

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    Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl and then keep in the fridge in a tightly sealed container.

    Now comes the best part, putting this delicious Choripan together.

    Choose your favourite bread, today I used some fresh Cuban bread, but a nice french baguette, nice soft bread roll, or your favourite bread, will all work,  just make sure the bread is kind of light, so you don’t end up eating more bread than sausage.

    Your sausages should be done by now if you started cooking them whilst making the Chimichurri!

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    Slice your sausage in half, I used 1 1/2 sausage as the bread was larger than usual.

    Season your bread to taste, butter, mayo or whatever rocks your boat, then place your sausage and top it off with a nice heaped tablespoon of Chimichurri (or a bit more if you are a Chimichurri lover)!

    Buen Provecho!!!!!

     

  • Lemon Blueberry Blueberry Cheesecake Cake

    Lemon Blueberry Blueberry Cheesecake Cake

    If you are a lemon blueberry lover, this is the perfect cake for you! Full of lovely lemony flavor mixed with blueberry, totally heavenly.

    I am not taking credit for this recipe as my daughter suggested this link Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cake in July and I followed it step by step. This time I enhanced it a bit as I am a lemon lover so gave it a little bit more of a lemon flavor!

    So feel free to click on the link and follow it or below is the same information, with my little twist.

    Ingredients:

    Blueberry Cheesecake:

    • ¾ cup fresh blueberries – I used a 1 cup
    • 16 oz. cream cheese- room temperature
    • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
    • 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
    • 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk- room temperature
    • 1/4 cup sour cream
    • 1/4 cup heavy cream

    Lemon Blueberry Cake:

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 Tablespoons corn starch
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 2/3 cup unsalted butter-room temperature
    • 1 and 1/3 cups granulated sugar
    • 2 eggs + 1 egg white
    • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 2 teaspoons lemon zest – I used 2 tablespoons
    • ½ cup milk
    • 3 Tablespoons lemon juice – I used 4 tablespoons
    • 1 ½ cups blueberries- fresh (if use frozen do not thaw)
    • 3–4 teaspoons of flour- to toss the blueberries

    Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:

    • 12 oz. full-fat brick style cream cheese- softened
    • 1 cup unsalted butter-softened
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 3 ½ –4 ½ cups powdered sugar – I only used 3 1/2 cups 
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract – I replaced the vanilla extract with lemon juice
    • 1 Tablespoon lemon zest – I used 2 tablespoons

    For garnish:

    • lemon wedges
    • fresh blueberries

    Instructions

    Blueberry Cheesecake:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease 8-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Wrap springform pan in double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil to prevent water from leaking in during the baking in a water bath.
    2. To make the cheesecake pulse blueberries and cream cheese in a food processor, then transfer the mixture in a mixing bowl.
    3. Add sugar and flour and beat until smooth and creamy. Mix in vanilla.
    4. Add eggs, one at the time mixing after each addition just to combine, do not over mix.
    5. Finally mix in sour cream and heavy cream. Pour the batter into springform pan and smooth the top, then place in a roasting pan. Pour boiling water in roasting pan halfway up the side of the springform pan and make sure no water drip on the batter and bake 40-45 minutes or until the center has set.
    6. Remove springform pan from water bath, then run a thin knife around the cake and cool to a room temperature, then place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight to cool completely.

    Lemon Blueberry Cake:

    1. Preheat oven to 350 F, butter and lightly flour two 8-inches round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper circles.
    2. Sift together 2 cups flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt and set aside.
    3. Stir together milk and lemon juice and set aside to curdle.
    4. Beat butter and sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
    5. With the mixer running on low, add eggs one at a time and mix after each addition.
    6. Add vanilla extract and lemon zest and mix to combine.
    7. First add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then add half of the milk mixture, then 1/3 of the flour mixture, then remaining milk mixture milk, and finish with the flour mixture. Mix to combine after each addition, but do not over mix.
    8. In a small bowl, gently toss blueberries with flour to coat, then gently fold blueberries into batter, being careful not to break the berries.
    9. Divide batter evenly between pans, smooth the top and bake for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

    Cream Cheese Frosting:

    1. Mix the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until no lumps remain. Do not over beat before the sugar was added or may end up with a runny frosting.
    2. Add vanilla, salt and lemon zest and mix until combined.
    3. Gradually add powdered sugar until desired sweetness and thickness is reached. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat until smooth.

    Assembling the Cake:

    Place one layer of cake onto serving plate and top with thin layer of lemon cream cheese frosting. Place blueberry cheesecake layer and top with thin layer of frosting.

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  • Homemade Chicken Liver Pate w/ Honey Bourbon and Black Pepper

    Homemade Chicken Liver Pate w/ Honey Bourbon and Black Pepper

    Pate in general is something you either love or hate! Thankfully I was brought up in a household with a huge love for it, have tasted the most fabulous Fois Gras (duck liver pate), to the simplest store made Liverwurst.

    At home, I just make my own and experiment a lot with flavours such as adding orange or cranberry to it, cracked black pepper, truffled salt and various alcoholic elements such as port, cognac, whiskey, etc.

    So last nights venture involved black pepper and honey bourbon!

    As you will see, it’s very simple and quick to prepare and then it just involves a day of patience for it to set nicely :-).

    Ingredients

    • 8 oz of chicken livers (aprox 227 grams)
    • 1/2 thinly sliced medium onion
    • 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 tsp of salt
    • 1 tsp of cracked black pepper
    • 1/4 cup of water
    • 1 1/2 sticks of butter (aprox 180 grams)

    You will also need

    • 1 tablespoon of honey bourbon or alcohol of choice
    • Ground black pepper

    Directions

    In a pan, add the chicken livers, onions, garlic, bay leaf, salt and pepper and sauteed it all for aprox 1 minute. Then add the 1/4 cup of water and let it simmer for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

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    Now it’s time to get your food processor out or a good blender will work too.

    Drain any remaining liquid from the pan and place all the contents in the blender and give it a few pulses until it’s coarsely pureed.

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    Then, with the food processor still running, add the butter a bit at a time until the mixture looks nice and silky smooth.

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    Then add the bourbon and give it a little taste, here you can adjust your salt and pepper and add some more if necessary.

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    Pull out your ramekins or whichever mold you have ( I used a mini bread mold as well as a ramekin), line it nicely with some cling film and sprinkle some black pepper on the bottom.

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    Fill your containers and wrap the film around it and place in the fridge for aprox 24 hrs until it’s sets nicely.

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    Once 24 hrs are over, it’s time to enjoy this delightful spread! Serve it on crackers or a slices of fresh bread and my favourite thing to do is to top it with some delicious onion marmalade!

    Hope you enjoy it and bon appetit…

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  • Scones with Goats Cheese, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Chives

    Scones with Goats Cheese, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Chives

    Scones are one of my all time favourite childhood tea time jewels!

    In those days, it was a must to have them clotted cream and jam (if you were in the UK of course), or butter and jam when no clotted cream available!

    Well, now as an adult I prefer savory scones, bacon and cheddar, rosemary, etc….but today I will pay a rendition to the perfect combination, great for entertaining!

    Would love to hear your feedback on this great combination.

    Ingredients:

    • 2 cups of flour
    • 4 tsps of baking powder
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1/3 cup of butter at room temperature
    • 2/3 cup of milk
    • 1/3 cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
    • 1/3 cup of crumbled goats cheese
    • 2 tbsp of chopped chives

    Directions:

    In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients, then add the butter followed by the milk and mix together until the dough comes together. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, goats cheese and chives and fold dough until mixed well.

    Roll the dough out to aprox 3/4 ” thickness and cut into 1 1/2 ” (diameter) rounds or you can always cut them into triangles or shape of choice.

    Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in oven at 450 Deg F for 12-14 minutes.

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    Enjoy!

     

  • Holiday Alfajores

    Holiday Alfajores

    My wonderful sister Paola Rubini shared with me a fabulous recipe which I have now turned into a Fabulous Holiday Season treat!

    The traditional Alfajor is made with Dulce de Leche, but I happened to come across some scrumptious Speculoos Cookie Butter, I thought, why not! Got this one at Trader Joes, but Amazon has it as well and can always be replaced with Biscoff Cookie Butter that can be found at your local stores most of the time (Publix).

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    Ingredients

    • 7 oz of Flour
    • 2 oz  of Corn Flour
    • 1/2 oz of dark chocolate powder
    • 3.5 oz of sugar
    • 1 stick of butter
    • 1 egg
    • 1 full tsp baking soda (more heaped than level)
    • Grated rind of 1/2 an Orange and 1/2 a lemon
    • 5 tsp of water
    • Splash of Rum
    • 2 x 24 oz of dark or milk chocolate morsels
    • 2 sheets of Parchment paper

    Directions

    Whip butter with sugar until nice and creamy, add egg, orange and lemon rind.

    Add dry ingredients, flour, corn flour, baking soda, mix well and then finally add the water. You should have a really sticky dough at this stage.

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    Place dough between 2 pieces of cling film and roll it out to about 1/4 of an inch and put in refrigerator for at least an hour. This will make handling the dough and cutting the individual cookies a little easier.

    Preheat oven to 350 Deg Farenheit

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    Cut cookies with a cookie cutter (aprox 2″ in diameter), and place on some parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes. Put on a cookie rack and let them cool off.

    In a bowl mix the Cookie Butter with a splash or 2 of rum and microwave for 30 seconds to make it a little smoother, you will need to work quickly as the cookie butter hardens quite quickly, another idea is to place it between 2 pieces of film roll it out and cut with same cookie cutter to size and then place between to pieces of cookie.

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    Fill cookies with flat side facing out.

    In a bowl, place the 2 packets of chocolate morsels and microwave in 30 second intervals, stir in between until nice and smooth.

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    Dip each cookie sandwich into the chocolate, cover all over, remove from chocolate gently with a fork and place on parchment paper and let them set.

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    And here you have it, my version of Alfajores turned into a fabulous treat for the upcoming Holiday season!

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  • Spaghetti Squash Chicken au Gratin

    Spaghetti Squash Chicken au Gratin

    You probably think that the title does not go with a Lean and Green meal, but you will be surprised. All you need to do is choose your ingredients carefully and voila, you have a delicious dinner full of flavor and guilt free!

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    So let’s start by preparing your spaghetti squash before we move on.

    Slice in half and remove all the seeds. Brush with a little olive oil and a light sprinkle of salt, poke a few holes on the bottom and place on a baking dish lined with parchment paper in a 400 Deg F oven for aprox 30 minutes.

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    Remove from oven and when not too hot to handle, lightly remove spaghetti squash with a fork and set aside.

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    Now it’s time to put this lovely dish together, for this you will need, this recipe makes 3 portions!

    • 2 cups of spaghetti squash
    • 1lb of chicken breast cut into small cubes
    • 2 slices of turkey bacon cooked in a pan until nice and crunchy ( do not add any fat) and then chopped into small pieces
    • 1 cup of low fat mexican cheese (divided in 2)
    • 1 green chilli minced
    • 2 garlic cloves minced
    • 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro (you can leave it out if you don’t like it :-))
    • 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk (or low fat milk)
    • 1/8 cup of lite ranch dressing
    • Salt and Pepper to taste

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    Grab your favourite pan and cook the bacon till nice and crispy, remove and use same pan to saute the garlic and chicken and cook for a couple of minutes.Add the green chilli and cook for one more minute.

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    Now we add the almond milk and lite ranch dressing and cilantro and cook until it starts thickening a little bit.

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    Add half of the cheese (1/2 cup), quickly mix it all together and wrap it up by adding the spaghetti squash and 3/4 of the chopped bacon (we will use the rest to top off this dish). Add an extra pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

    Now it’s time to preheat your oven to 350 deg F.

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    Divide your mixture into 3 oven proof dishes and top with remaining cheese and reserved bacon or you can also use one large one if you want to of course. Bake in oven for 10 – 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

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  • Palmini Beef Lasagna

    Palmini Beef Lasagna

    I discovered this entire variety of pasta and rice replacement called Palmini! I had tried the rice, angel hair, Linguini variety but I was yet to experiment with the Palmini Lasagna sheets.

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    So here we go, yet another quick simple and easy, low carb lasagna packed full of flavor.

    Ingredients:

    • 12 slices of Palmini Lasagna (4 per layer)
    • 6 slices of zucchini
    • 4 slices of steak tomatoes
    • 1 tbsp of goats cheese
    • 5 oz of 96% lean minced meat (aka hamburger meat in America)
    • 1/2 tbsp of low fat cream cheese
    • 1/4 cup of low fat shredded mozzarella cheese
    • 1/4 tsp of salt
    • 1/4 tsp of black pepper
    • sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional)

    Directions

    Rinse the palmini lasagna well as per package directions. You will be using aprox 1/3 of the contents.

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    Use a small container that is oven proof in order to layer your lasagna without it going all over the place. Spray lightly with Pam to avoid the lasagna sticking.

    Cook your beef lightly, add a dash of salt and pepper, red pepper flakes and stir in the cream cheese. Set aside

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    Dust the rest of the veggies with the rest of the salt and pepper.

    Start layering your lasagna, 4 slices of palmini lasagna at the bottom, followed by 3 slices of zucchini and 2 slices of tomato, then top with half of the beef, followed by sprinkling the goats cheese.

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    Repeat process and finish off with one layer of the palmini lasagna and finally top it of with the shredded mozzarella and a dusting of grated parmesan cheese. Oh and as I am a red pepper flakes lover, I added an extra sprinkle on the top as well 🙂

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    Bake in 425 deg F oven for aprox 30 minutes or until nice and golden.

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    This recipe is 1 portion full of lean and green goodies :-), but tonight I shared half of it with my sons girlfriend and got her full seal of approval.

    Bon Appetit!

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  • Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna for One

    Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna for One

    Here is a simple and quick recipe to make a single serving of a Zucchini lasagna! Not only is is easy but it’s also healthy so it’s a win win 🙂

    Ingredients

    • 4 oz of lean ground turkey (you can use lean ground meat, chicken or pork)
    • 1/4 lb of sliced zucchini (lengthwise)
    • 6 thin slices of tomato
    • 1/4 cup of basil finely chopped
    • 1/4 cup of low fat shredded mozzarella cheese
    • 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (if you do not like spicy food leave this out)
    • 1/4 tsp black pepper
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 4 oz of low fat cream cheese
    • Dusting of grated parmesan cheese

    Directions

    Slice the zucchini lengthwise (about 6 slices), sprinkle with a bit of salt and set aside. Using a mandolin will ensure you have slices the same size and not too thick!

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    In a pan, add your ground turkey, rest of the salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and cook for a few minutes, add the cream cheese and set aside. Now it’s time to put this baby together!

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    I used my banana bread baking dish, but you can use anything you have on hand that is not too large so it keeps its shape.

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    With a paper towel, pat your zucchini dry and start by placing 3 zucchini slices at the bottom, followed by 3 slices of tomato, 1/2 of the chopped basil, now add half of your meat mixture and repeat the process.

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    Finish it off by sprinkling the mozzarella and a light dusting of parmesan cheese.

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    Place in a preheated oven at 425 deg F for 20-25 minutes or until nice and golden.

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    Remove from the pan and place on your favourite dinner plate. Now it’s time to dig in, enjoy!

  • Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps – The Lite Way

    Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps – The Lite Way

    Buffalo chicken flavour is something delicious for most of us, so why not have some of that wonderful flavour in a nice and lite version that will allow you to tickle your senses guilt free!

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    Ingredients:

    • 4 oz of cooked diced chicken breast
    • 1/4 cup of low fat greek yoghurt
    • 1 tbsp of Franks Red Hot Wings Sauce
    • Dash of salt and pepper
    • 1 Celery stalk diced – aprox 1/4 cup
    • 1/4 cup diced red or green peppers
    • 1/2 tbsp lite crumbled blue cheese
    • 4 large Lettuce leafs ( I used butterhead but you can use whichever you prefer)

    Directions:

    In a bowl, mix the yoghurt, Hot Wing sauce, salt, pepper, celery, peppers and blue cheese.

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    Then add the chicken and mix well.

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    Grab your favourite lettuce and peel off a 3 or 4 nice large leaves.

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    Divide Buffalo Chicken mixture between your leaves, and enjoy this sinful meal full of flavor!

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  • Guilt Free Shrimp Pasta

    Guilt Free Shrimp Pasta

    Yes, you are reading this right, this is a guilt free fabulous shrimp pasta dish!

    Last week I introduced you to Palmini Rice, well today we are moving over to Palmini Pasta.I found it at my local Publix but you can always order it from Amazon and they come in cans and pouches.

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    Ingredients:

    • 1 cup of well rinsed Palmini Angel Hair Pasta
    • 1/2 cup diced tomato
    • 1/4 cup roughly chopped basil
    • 1/4 tsp of salt
    • 1/4 tsp of pepper
    • 1/8 tsp of red pepper flakes
    • 1 garlic clove minced
    • 1 tsp non fat yoghurt
    • 1/2 lemon
    • 7 oz of peeled shrimp
    • Drizzle of olive oil x 2

    Directions:

    Thoroughly rinse your palmini angel hair pasta and set aside.

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    In a preheated pan, put a drizzle of olive oil and saute the garlic and tomatoes, add the pasta and mix. Stir it around for 3 to 4 minutes (pasta will start getting a nice golden color. Toss the basil in.

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    In this case I had used a large pan, so pushed the pasta to the side and  drizzled a little bit more of olive oil and placed the shrimp. Add the Squeeze of 1/2 lemon and let them cook away.

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    They cook really quickly so under minute per side will do and then integrate the pasta. Season to taste (add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes), I used the above measurements but you can be your own judge :-).

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    Add some extra basil and the yoghurt to give it a creamy touch and believe it or not, you would never know you are not having a lovely pasta dish!