(not so) calm week
For a calm week, last week was everything but calm!!! :))
Two friends of mine came for a lunch on friday, we had mini zucchini and parmesan omelets, a romaine lettuce salad with a tarragon citronette, the tarragon chicken and its divine sauce, with white rice... And some chouquettes for dessert. They loved it....
On saturday, I did a Spanish dish, Tumbet (baked layered vegetables). What the recipe name does not disclose, is that before layering and baking the potatoes, eggplants and green capsicums... You have to fry them! And it takes forever.... Before baking the tumbet, you ad the tomate sauce on top... Then in the oven it goes, for 20 minutes... The end result is delicious, but not worth the hours of frying (neither the smell)... Before giving my final judgment about this dish, i'll try a different approach, and actually bake the vegetables individually, with a small brushed coat of oil, to get some crispiness before layering and baking again as a whole. I think it will by lighter (in calories), easier, faster and odorless... We'll see... "recipe-story" to follow....
Sunday morning I did Oeufs en cocotte: oven baked eggs, with cream, chives and cheese. They turned out perfect!! I was very happy, because I already tried to make them a few times, but they always had something that could be better... Overcooked, undercoked, too much cream, not enough cheese, unattractive... This time it was spot on! Yay!!! :)) I served them with slices of artisanal olive bread.
We went to a farmers market afterwards, and I found Purple Bell Peppers... What a gorgeous color... Strangely enough,... The green, red, yellow and orange capsicums are the same color inside and out,... These organic purple ones had a wonderful color from the outside,... But they were white inside. We ate one of them raw... And I roasted the others in the oven, peeled them (the color was gone!) and marinated them in olive oil and hot pepper flakes. It's delicious on a slice of bread.
On monday, I tried to modify a classical Lebanese cake called Sfouf. It's an anise flavored cake with a hint of orange blossom water. It has an attractive yellow color and is topped with sesame seeds... I made them in mini muffin size... They are a real hit, and too cute to resist!
I also made some Croustilles aux Champignons (crunchy mushroom appetizers) for my catering menu… It was delicious, and definitely a keeper! :)
