Tarragon Chicken in White Wine and Cream Sauce

This time of the year is all about food, and I love it!

We were invited to our friends’ house for a potluck lunch and I wanted to make something with white wine, so I dug through Nigella Lawson’s cookbook and I found this awesome recipe. I modified the recipe a little bit, I sort of just worked with what I had, but it turned out great.

The photo might not be the most appetizing, but that was the best I could do while rushing out the door!

TARRAGON CHICKEN in WHITE WINE AND CREAM SAUCE (serves 4)

- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped (replace with marjoram if tarragon isn’t available)
- 2 full chicken breasts sliced into thin fillets
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup cooking cream (15%)
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 Tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped (or marjoram, if using that)

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the tarragon and onions. Fry for a few minutes, just until soft.

2. Add the chicken and cook until golden.

3. Add the white wine and salt. Bring to boil, cover and simmer for at 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Add the cream, white pepper and fresh tarragon. Bring to boil. Let it boil for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce thicken. Check for salt.

5. Serve hot with white rice or plain boiled pasta.

I really love this recipe. It has a deep rich flavor, and although might seem heavy, it isn’t.

Bon appetit!
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Mousse au Chocolat

Today I discovered that the most delicate and divine things indeed come in the smallest of sizes!

When I was over at my friend Marie’s house for a cup of tea, she also offered me a little cup of her mousse au chocolat with fresh orange zest on top. Wow! The velvety feel and taste of the chocolate is indescribable!  And the orange zest just adds to the perfection. Just wow. Hats off Marie.

Continue for the recipe.

My Mother’s Coq au Vin

My mother isn’t a huge fan of the kitchen (I take after my father), but whatever she cooked (and she cooked everything) she cooked very well. She makes the best Niçoise salad, the best pasta in the oven, and absolutely the best coq au vin! This is her recipe as told to me over the phone.

COQ AU VIN (serves 4)

- 1 kg chicken (I used a chicken thigh, one chicken leg and two drumsticks)
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Flour with salt and pepper to coat the chicken with
- 1 cup pearl onions (baby onions) peeled
- 250 g whole mushrooms, the fresh white kind
- 2 carrots cut into thick circles
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1.5 cups chicken broth (I use Campbell’s No Salt Added)
- 1 bottle of red wine
- Salt, black pepper and bay leaves
- 1 tsp mixed dried Italian herbs
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch

METHOD

1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a big deep pot. Coat the chicken in the flour Brown the chicken on both sides. (10 to 15 minutes)
2. Add the carrots, mushrooms, onions and garlic to the pot. Cover it and let everything saute for a few minutes. Grab the pot by both hands and shake it it every now and then.
3. Add the chicken broth and wine. Add the bay leaves and the dried herbs. Adjust the salt and pepper. Bring to boil then simmer for minimum 45 minutes. 4. After 30 minutes of simmering, dissolve the 1 Tbsp of cornstarch in a 1/4 cup of the hot liquid from the pot. Once totally dissolved, pour that into the pot. Let everything continue simmering for 15 minutes.
5. After 45 minutes of simmering, uncover the pot and raise the heat to medium, this way some of the liquid will evaporate.

That was easy, no?! And I guarantee you, so damn good!

I served it with white rice, but you can also have it with a side of Oven-Roasted Baby Potatoes with Rosemary and Olive oil.

The Best Pasta Alla Bolognese

Does this photo need any narrative introduction?

I think not. So let’s get down to business.

Ingredients (serves 4):

- 1 whole packet of spaghetti or linguine pasta, cooked according to packet instructions
- Generous glugs of olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
-  300 g lean ground beef
- 1/2 jalapeno chili, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots in julienne form
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tsp salt (or more, adjust to taste) and 1 tsp black pepper
- 600 ml tomato sauce (passata di pomodoro)
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp of tomato paste dissolved in 1/4 cup of hot water
- 2 Tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

1.  Heat the olive oil in a wide pan (the biggest one you have). Add the onions and garlic. Fry until translucent.
2. Add the ground beef. Fry until cooked.
3. Add the jalapeno chili, carrots, thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Put in the grated cheese, too. Bring to boil. Simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
5. Add cooked spaghetti or linguine to the pan and mix well. You can add the sauce to the pot of cooked pasta if your pot is larger than the pan.

Serve hot with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

 

 

 

Easy Asparagus Quiche

This is an old favorite revisited. My good friend Peggy taught me this asparagus quiche recipe when we used to be neighbors, and she used to love doing it, and we used to love devouring it! Unlike Peggy, I don’t have the immaculate skill of working with dough, so oftentimes I just skip the dough and just work with the filling. We’re after the cheese anyway, right?

Asparagus Quiche

Ingredients:

- 4 eggs
- 1 cup of 35% cooking cream
- 1 cup of mixed shredded cheese (I used an Italian mix of mozzarella, provolone and parmesan)
- 2 heaped Tbsp flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- A bunch of fresh asparagus, boiled until half tender

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Whisk the eggs in a  bowl. Add the cream. Mix well. Add the flour, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add the cheese. Mix well.

Pour mixture in your baking dish. Line the asparagus fashionably on top.

Bake for 35 minutes.

EASY & IRRESISTIBLE!  (And totally fattening I know!)

Chicken Marsala

I bought a bottle of dry sherry because I wanted to try a garlic mushroom recipe that I am planning on making for our housewarming party next week. The mushrooms turned out fantastic, but I am left with almost 700 ml of sherry in my fridge! While thinking of dishes that I can do with sherry, the all-time favorite Chicken Marsala came to mind. I haven’t actually made it before, so I improvised with the sherry, the fresh thyme that I have in the fridge and of course, fresh mushrooms. The verdict: BUONISSIMA!

Chicken Marsala (for 2 hungry bears):

- 2 chicken breast halves sliced into 6 thin slices
- 1/4 cup flour with 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1 cup sliced fresh white mushrooms
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup dry sherry
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Coat the chicken slices in the flour.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the butter and olive oil on medium heat and fry the chicken on both sides until it turns white o golden, but not too golden.

3. Add the mushrooms and cover the pan so that the chicken continues to cook and the mushrooms soften and let out their juices. (7 minutes)

4. Mix the dry sherry with the thyme, black pepper and salt. Add to the pan. Cover and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked the sauce thickens (because of the flour). (10 minutes or so)

5. Turn off heat before all the liquid evaporates. You want the thick sauce, believe me! The flavor is all there.

There you go!

Serve with white rice.

Léa’s Tiramisù (che tira sù!)

My dear friend Léa underestimates her cooking abilities, so through this post I want to convince her that what she had us try tonight was an excellent homemade tiramisù! The photograph might not do it justice, but keep in mind that this was taken with a phone camera after one hell of a Japanese curry dinner!

Ingredients:

- 500 g mascarpone cheese
- 150 g sugar
- 3 eggs
- Ladyfinger biscuits
- Strong coffee (you can make it with instant coffee or espresso)
- Unsweetened dark cocoa for dusting

Method:

In a bowl, mix well the cheese with the sugar and the eggs.

To start the layering, dip the ladyfinger biscuits (one by one) in the strong coffee and then make a layer at the bottom of your serving dish. Top this layer with a layer of the cheese mix, and repeat until you have three layers of biscuits ending with a layer of cream. Finally, sprinkle dark unsweetened cocoa powder on top and chill for at least 8 hours before serving.

How To Put Together A Lebanese Breakfast

I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t start my day with an unhappy stomach. And to avoid getting my stomach upset at me, I need to feed it cheese, olives, zaatar, and the like. (See photo above for an illustration of what pleases my appetite)

The above photo might seem a lot of work for just yourself or your and your partner, you’re right, so why not host a breakfast for your friends?! We often invite friends over for dinner, for cheese and wine, cake and tea, but rarely for breakfast. Breakfast doesn’t have to be only croissant and coffee or eggs and bacon, right? If you’re open for new ideas and flavors, try putting together a Lebanese breakfast which will take you less an hour to prepare, and you’ll have the above gallery of deliciousness to be proud of!

So where do you start? I provided below a shopping list of the ingredients you’ll need (most of them can be found in any supermarket, not necessarily a Middle Eastern grocery store) and you can prepare everything on the morning of, an hour or so before.

Your shopping list: labneh (strained yogurt), halloumi cheese, kashkaval cheese, feta cheese, zaatar, green olives (preferably Lebanese), haleweh (I prefer the plain kind), ful(fava beans), pita bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, and mint. For drinks, usually black tea is served with sugar, something like Tetley black tea.

What to do with what you bought:

- Labneh: spread it around in a plate and pour olive oil on top

- Halloumi cheese: grill it until golden or simply slice it and arrange it in a plate

- Kashkaval cheese: slice it and arrange it in a plate

- Feta cheese: crumble it in a plate, add diced tomatoes and then sprinkle around 3 Tbsp of olive oil on top

- Zaatar: put 3 Tbsp of the dried herb mix in a bowl, add 3 Tbsp of olive oil and mix well

- Green olives: drain them and serve them in a bowl

- Haleweh: crumble it in a bowl

- Ful: pour the canned fava beans and their water into a pot, bring to boil, simmer for 15 minutes. You can mash the beans with the spoon you’re using to stir, as much as a spoon can mash the beans. Before turning off the heat, add diced tomatoes (2 tomatoes), the juice of 1 lemon, 2 crushed garlic cloves, and  1 tsp of cumin. Adjust salt after tasting. Serve warm.

- Tomatoes, cucumbers and mint: slice them in a nice way and present them in a plate.

Tips: Eat with pita bread only, no need for forks and knives. The tea is ideally had with sugar and make sure to prepare a big pot of tea because your friends will want refills. Be generous with olive oil on the labneh and feta cheese, and try to find a good quality olive oil ( I personally like Maison Orphée.

Confetti’s Blueberry Cheesecake on Yummly!

I am ashamed to say this, but I only found out last week that, in the summer, Confetti’s Blueberry Cheesecake recipe was shared on Yummly.com! Is this an exciting discovery or what?!

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the rather popular recipe that I tried around a year and a half ago, which goes like this:

BAKED BLUEBERRYCHEESECAKE

Ingredients:

For the crust:

- 2 and 1/2 cups digestive biscuits, finely crushed
- 1/4 cup butter, melted

For the filling:

- 900 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 and 1/2 cup caster sugar (or just give the granulated sugar a quick buzz in a food processor)
- 1 Tbsp cornflour
- 1 and 1/3 cup double cream or whipping cream or creme fraiche
- 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of white chocolate, melted
- 1 cup blueberries, dusted with a little flour

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Mix the crushed biscuits with the butter and press gently onto the base of a spring-form pan.

Mix all the ingredients for the filling together except the blueberries. You might have to beat the mixture with an electric beater for a minute.

To prepare, pour half the cheese mixture over the biscuits then throw in the blueberries scattered on top. Then, pour in the other half of the cheese mixture. Smooth the surface. Place in the oven for one hour and 15 minutes. Then, let it cool on your kitchen surface, and then refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Fresh Berries Fruit Salad With Rose Water

I don’t know what I like more about this salad, the colors or the taste!

Rose water (and rose oil) has been used since the times of the Greeks, Romans and Phoenicians. It is now used in cooking and in preparing desserts. I adore rose water, especially in the famous Lebanese dessert Layali Loubnan. It has such a light yet apparent flavor, perfect for fresh desserts and milk-based puddings.

In this recipe, I joined the volatile strawberries with the delicate rose water to create a fresh and thirst-quenching dessert.

Fresh Berries Fruit Salad With Rose Water

- 2 cups fresh strawberries, halved
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1 Tbsp rose water
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp orange  blossom

Wash the berries and put them in a bowl.

In another small bowl, dissolve the sugar in the liquid ingredients.

Pour the sweet water over the fresh berries. Refrigerate for an hour. Best served cold.

Try it and let me know what you think!