Zucchini Ship

The kick in this recepie is the smoked cheese. Smoked cheese is any cheese that has been specially treated by smoke-curing. It has a yellowish-brown outer "skin," which is a result of this process.

Ingredients:
4 zucchini
300 g cooked sweet corn
200 g sour cream
1 egg
smoked cheese
salt, pepper

Cut zucchini in half, remove seeds and cook for 4-5 minutes in boiling water. Cut down the grain of the sweet corn. Mix egg with sour cream, add sweet corn, salt, pepper and fill in the zucchini. Add grated smoked cheese on top and bake on 200°C until it is nice red.

Dorie's Perfect Party Cake - Daring Bakers

Finally time has come to post my first DB challenge! I have baked it already at the begining of March as I could not resist. I did not make any changes on the flavour as I love lemons. Yummy! I wanted to buy the right sized baking form but I have not found, so I had to use a bigger one, that is why the sponge is not that thick. I can not wait for the next challenge.


I also had the idea to bake all challenges you had in the past. It is quite a big list, but I am gonna go for it and only then will I feel like a real Daring Baker.

Stewed Apple

I love apples stewed with some cinnamon and clove, especially when it is really cold.

Ingredients:
2 apples
500 ml water
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 cloves
1 piece of cinnamon stick
1 pinch of salt

Peel apple, cut in cubes. In a pot add bring everything together to boil and cook for 3-4 minutes. Let it cool.

Crème Brûlée

The time has come to prepare my first Crème Brûlée, that for sure was not the last.


Ingredients:
500 g heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
5 egg yolks
60g sugar
cane sugar for the caramel top

Preheat oven to 150°C. Pour cream in a pot and scrape the vanilla bean out into it. Put the pod into the pot and gently bring the vanilla cream mixture to a boil over a low heat. Whisk frequently. When the cream starts to steam, remove. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Add hot cream to the egg mixture. Divide mixture in 6 ovenproof forms and chill over night.

Pour simmering water into an ovenproof dish about halfway up the sides of the forms with the cream in it. Bake for about 35-45 minutes. Cool for 3 hours in the fridge. Before serving sprinkle cane sugar and burn to caramelize.

My favourite soup

We call this soup lace soup, in Hungarian csipkeleves. I searched and only found a lace soup with beans, but this is different. It is made of potatos and home made pasta. I love it since my childhood. Acutally it is served luke warm, because that way it is a lot tastier.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoon flour
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
6 small potatoes
1 bunch of parsley
1 small paprika
3 tablespoon oil
paprika powder
pepper
2 bouillon cubes (if you have home made)

Knead a dough out of flour, egg and salt. It should be quite hard. Coarsly great dough.
Heat oil and fry grated dough so that it gets some colour. Sprinkle paprika powder on it and pour 1 liter water into the pot. Add bouillon cube, paprika, parsley, pepper, salt. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until pasta is almost cooked. Add sliced potatoes and cook for another 15 minutes. Serve luke warm. It tastes even better on the second day.

Celebration Bread: Walnut&Poppy filled Braided Bread - Bread Baking Day #08

This time the theme was celebration breads for the Bread Baking Day #08 hosted by Wild Yeast. I decided to bake a combination of my braided bread and the Hungarian beigli, however the walnut filling is prepared differently. The last photo was taken when it was already


Ingredients:
600 g flour
50 g sugar
70 g butter
5 dl milk
20 g yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the poppy filling :
250 g poppy
180 g sugar
40 g wheet groat
250 ml milk
2 packs vanilla sugar
lemon zest
For the walnut filling :
250 g walnut
180 g sugar
250 ml milk
2 packs vanilla sugar
lemon zest
40 g breadcrumbs

Warm milk a bit. It should be lukewarm.
In 1 dl milk add yeast, 3 tablespoon flour.
To the rest of the milk add sugar, salt.
Mix flour with yeast mixture and work on it for 30 minutes.
When it is nearly ready add cooled melted butter.
Leave for an hour in a warm place.
Prepare poppy filling: Cook milk, add with sugar and wheet groat mixed grated poppy and let it cool down. Add lemon zest.
Preapre walnut filling: Warm milk with sugar, vanilla stir in with breadcrumbs mixed walnut. Put aside an after it is cooled down add lemon zest.
Half dough, roll out and smear filling on it. Roll it up and braid (see below). Use some melted butter to keep the parts together. Bake for 1 hour on 160°C. Smear an egg on top so that it gets nice red.

Chocolate Ice Cream with Caramel Crumbs and Sherry Strawberries

I have never made chocolate ice cream at home until yesterday. It is a dream. I used as basic the recepie from Pierre Hermé. I had the idea to add some crunchy caramel crumbs with almond and some hot sherry strawberries as garnish. Mmmm...creamy, smooth and tastes like heaven!


Ingredients:
140 g dark chocolate
3 egg yolks
110 g sugar
500 ml full fat milk

3 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 handful of almonds
strawberry
sherry
1 tablespoon cane sugar

Chop chocolate. Whisk sugar with egg yolks, add milk and beat for 3 minutes.
Stir over medium heat until it is 85°C and gets thick. Do not cook it!
Pour it over chopped chocolate immediately. Mix well.
Beat over icy water for 3-4 minutes.
Prepare in an ice-cream maker according to directions.

Melt sugar, add butter and pour on a baking sheet, add almond on top and let it cool. Chop in a blender and add to the ice cream half time before it is ready.
For the strawberries melt cane sugar, add berries, and sherry, let it cook.

Salad with Goat Cheese filled Prosciutto

Except my mom and me nobody else likes goat cheese in my family. Once I had the idea to combine it with prosciutto and fry. It tastes fabolous. Since then they love this combination. I used french fresh full fat goat cheese, with min. 50% fat in dry matter. I served with field salad and port wein dressing.

Simply cut prosciutto in half, pack a piece of goat cheese and fry in olive oil. Serve immedately.

Rhubarb Clafoutis

This is a baked French dessert that is typically made by baking fresh fruit and a batter, somewhat similar to pancake batter.


Ingredients:
600 g rhubarb
3 tablespoon olive oil
90 g sugar
1 pack vanilla sugar
3 eggs
100 g flour
170 ml milk
2 tablespoon cane sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
powder sugar for serving

Smear olive oil in 6 forms. Cut rhubarb in about 2 cm thick pieces and mix with cane sugar and corn starch.
Whisk sugar, vanilla sugar, eggs and flour. Stir in milk in small portions and pour batter on rhubarb. Bake for 35-40 minutes on 180°C (air circulation). Serve hot with powder sugar.

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Soup with Chili

Its smooth and silky texture warms you on a cold spring day when it is snowing outside. I have another pumpkin soup recepie posted, which is quite similiar in the preparation.

Ingredients:
1 hokkaido pumpkin
1 onion
2 carrots
1 sweet potato
1 tablespoon oil
700 ml beef bouillon
salt, pepper
1/2 teaspoon coriander
dried chili

Preheat oven to 200°C.
Cut pumpkin in half and scoop out seeds.
Cut peeled carrots, sweet potato and pumpkin in chunks.
Place pumpkins, carrots, sweet potato on a cookie sheet and roast until soft to the touch, about 40 minutes.
Heat one teaspoon oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion, vegetables, spices and bouillon after cooking it for about 10 minutes puree it and cook it for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Fry thin slices of sweet potato in oil and serve it on top of the soup.

Sugar High Friday #41: Sweet Gifts - White Russian Cake

I invited my parents for Easter so I thought to surpise my mom with this cake. First of all this was long time my favourite cake as I child, so it was obvious for me that I am gonna surprise her with this and nothing else. When I was younger I did not want to learn to cook from her and this made her really sad, because she is a passionate baker. Meanwhile she knows that I have a food blog and she is kinda proud of me to see how many dishes and cakes I have already made. She was very happy about the cake, but most of all happy to see me because we live thousand miles away and meet only three times a year. My dad also enjoyed a cake, he loves everything with a good chocolate cake. Mom said it was even better than what she does. I would say they taste the same. I asked my mom why it is called that way, but she also did not know the answer. I have made two long versions and one small for her. This is my entry for the Sugar High Friday.


Ingredients:
18 egg white
600 g sugar
600 g grated walnut
1 pinch of salt
4 packs of vanilla sugar

18 egg yolk
300 g powder sugar
3 packs of vanilla sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder
100 g dark chocolate
250 g butter

Bake 3 layer, each out of 6 egg white, 200 g sugar, 200 g walnut and 1 pack vanilla sugar. Beat egg white with a pinch of salt, vanilla sugar and sugar. Stir in grated walnut. Bake for 20 minutes on 160°C.
Add powder sugar, vanilla powder to egg yolk, coco and mix until well. Over steam add chocolate into it, stir occasionaly and leave it there for about 30 minutes. After it is cooled down add butter.
Smear cream on each layer and decorate as you like.

Stuffed Pork Spare Rib and Easter Ham

On Easter Sunday morning according to the Hungarian tradition we eat ham, eggs and braided bread. I also prepared some stuffed pork rib, which I have learnt from my mom. If you remember my home grown garlic, here is a fresh photo, that I shoot in the morning.

I found some cute baby leek, which I also served, and I almost forgot to mention the freshly grated horseradish which is a must with smoked, cooked ham.

Despite the snow, the Easter Bunny found its way.

It is snowing even now!Ingredients:
1500 g pork spare rib
6 slices dried white bread
4 eggs
1 bouillon cube (if you have homemade)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
5 tablespoon oil
3 bunch of parsley
1 carrot
1 handful of peasSalt pork 4-5 hours before.
Soak bread in water squeeze after it is soft. Chop carrot and precook, at the end add pea and put aside. Add eggs, salt, pepper, bouillon cube to bread and mix with a handmixer. After add oil and chopped parsley and mix with a help of a wooden spoon. Stir in precookd veggies.
Make a slit and fill pork spare ribs (without bones). Bake for 90 minutes on 160°C. Pour some water under and smear some oil on top.

TGRWT #10 - Pineapple and Blue Cheese

This is the second time that I participate on TGRWT. Last time we had to combine parmesan with cocoa. As I love soufflés, I had the idea to prepare a blue cheese soufflé with ananas foam. It is a lovely combination! Unfortunatly before serving the soufflé has lost its volume, but it was really delicous. Great combination!



Ingredients:
4 egg white
20 g sugar
1 pinch of salt

250 ml milk
20 g butter
60 g sugar
45 g flour
4 egg yolks
150 g blue cheese

ananas juice
200 ml cream

ananas
cane sugar
butter and sugar for the forms

Preaheat oven to 180°C.
Take 4 tablespoon milk aside and birng the rest to boil.
Mix sugar, flour, butter and 2 tablespoon milk and add to the warm milk. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add blue cheese. Let it cool for 20 minutes, after add egg yolk.
Beat egg white for 10 minutes with a pinch of salt, for another 10 minutes with sugar.
Carefully mix the two mixture and fill in buttered and sugared soufflé forms.
Bake for 20 mintues.
Melt sugar, add chopped ananas and caramelise. Pour some ananas juice over and let it boil away. (In my case I had no time because I had to serve it fast, so I had some ananas pieces with some syrup was also yummy.)
Add sweetened ananas juice and cream to a cream maker. Serve it on top of the soufflé.

Easter Eggs

Late today afternoon we painted the Easter eggs. In the morning I wanted to collect some leaves for decoration, but surprisingly we had snow, a lot of snow.
Traditionally we colour the eggs with onion peels and use some herbs and leaves to decorate. On the photos you can check it out. After eggs are prepared, cook water with onion peel and cook eggs for about 10-15 minutes. Before getting them out add some vinager (20%) and peel them out of the thights. Smear each either with lard or oil.

Phemom invited me to the Art you eat #2, for details click here. Happy Easter!

Asparagus Risotto with Zander

Zander

I bought some green asparagus and actually I wanted to cook a soup, but than I decided to make a risotto because it goes really well with zander. I served some sugar loaf salad with port wein dressing along with it. For the dressing I mixed, sherry vinager, port wein, red wine vinager, grape seed oil and some milk. I use milk instead of cream, just to save some calories.


Ingredients:
500 g asparagus
1 shallot
5 tablespoon olive oil
250 g risotto rice
200 ml white wine
500 ml bouillon
50 g freshly grated parmesan
50 g butter
saffron
4 pieces of zander
rosmary
thyme
butter
salt, pepper

Peel asparagus, slice and cook in some salted water.
Heat olive oil, add chopped shallot and rice. Mix until rice is well covered with oil.
In a separate large saucepan bring the bouillon to simmer and add asparagus water to it, and keep it hot.
Add wine, increase heat to medium, and stir constantly. When the wine has been absorbed, add a little of the hot bouillon.
Add salt and pepper.
Once the stock is absorbed, add a little more; repeat this process, stirring constantly, until the rice is cooked through.
Add some saffron.
After third portion of bouillon add asparagus.
Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the butter and parmesan melt.
Season with salt, pepper.
Salt zander. Heat butter, add chopped thyme and rosemary. Fry fish.