Couronne Bread Ring

In general, I bake all my bread myself but I barely blog about it. Mainly because I change my recipes all the time and never write down what I did.  However, I have to show you this one. It really deserves to be here. Just because it is so pretty and also easy. I made the very simplest bread dough and let it sit over night. The next day I followed the directions on this webpage and this is how it looked.

Couronne Bordelaise

Dough
460 g/16.22 oz bread flour or all-purpose flour
300 g/10.58 oz water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon yeast

Directions


Go to this webpage for directions with video

Chicken Marbella

This is a recipe that I have to pass out whenever I make the dish. It is a great party dish, easy to prepare for a crowd, and I love it because of its simplicity and wonderful sweet-sour taste.
The chicken gets incredibly juicy and tender and the prunes and olives add a sweet and sour taste. The chicken is brined over night and the next day simply finished in the oven. It couldn't be easier. It can be served cold or warm.

Chicken Marbella
(source: unknown)
serves 8

To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in the cooking juices before transferring the pieces to a serving platter. If the chicken has been covered and refrigerated, reheat it in the juices, then allow it to come to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of the reserved juice over the chicken.


12 boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 head garlic, peeled and chopped
¼ cup dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
½ cup pitted green olives with pimiento (small size, or chop larger ones)
½ cup capers with a bit of juice
6 bay leaves
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white wine
¼ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped (optional)


1. In a large nonreactive (glass or stainless steel) bowl, combine chicken, garlic, oregano, pepper, vinegar, oil, prunes, olives, capers, and bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange chicken in a single layer in shallow baking pan, and spoon marinade over it. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and pour in white wine. Bake 35-40 minutes, uncovered, basting frequently with pan juices. Place in a bowl, sprinkle with parsley. Best served at room temperature. Can be made ahead (a couple of days); this dish improves with age!

Notes
Don't skip on the sugar

Gluten Free Brownies

Nowadays many people have gluten allergies and it is hard to find a treat without gluten that doesn't taste "different" or  involves ingredients that you don't have at home.
When I saw a picture of these brownies on David Lebovitz website I thought that those brownies looked absolutely mouthwatering. I tried them and seriously, they are really good.
They are juicy, chewy, easy to make, and you wouldn't think that they are gluten-free unless you know it.

Gluten-free Brownies
(David Lebovitz)


You can use salted or unsalted butter for these brownies. If you use unsalted butter and want to add some salt, use 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt. I also like to add 2 to 3 tablespoons of roasted cocoa nibs along with the nuts for added chocolaty crunch.
Use very low heat for melting the chocolate and butter. A good trick is to add the butter to the pan first, which melts faster than the chocolate, so you don’t burn the chocolate. You can use a flame-tamer if you’re concerned but I always melt it right over the lowest heat possible and never have had any problems.

Ingredients
6 tablespoons (85g) butter, salted or unsalted (see headnote)
8 ounces (225g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
¾ cup (150g) sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, natural or Dutch process
3 tablespoons (30g) corn starch
optional: 1 cup (135g) nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped


1. Line the inside of an 8-inch (23 cm) square pan with foil so that it goes up the sides to the rim. Lightly grease the foil with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350º (180ºC).

2. Melt the butter and chocolate (and salt, if using) in a medium saucepan over very low heat on the stove top, stirring constantly until smooth.

3.  Remove from heat and stir in the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time.

4. Sift together the cocoa powder and corn starch in a small bowl then stir them into the chocolate mixture. Beat the batter vigorously for at least one minute, until the batter is no longer grainy and nearly smooth. It will pull away from the sides of the pan a bit.

5.  Add the nuts, if using, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

6.  Bake for thirty minutes, or until the brownies feel just set in the center. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from the pan and slicing. Storage: The brownies can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days, or frozen for at least 1 month. Troubleshooting: If the finished brownies are crumbly, that means you didn’t beat the batter long enough in step #4. You can use the brownie bits to fold into just-churned ice cream.

Corn Chowder

Like most of Cooks Illustrated recipes this soup is a little bit more time consuming than other recipes, but the result is so incredibly delicious that you shouldn't hesitate a minute to invest the extra time. You will be rewarded with a sweet and aromatic soup, not a flour and cream heavy kind of soup, but light and full of sweet corn flavor. You will get the best result if the corn for this soup is very fresh and juicy.

CORN CHOWDER

From Cook's Illustrated.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Starting our Lighter Corn Chowder recipe with sautéed bacon lent our base a sweet smokiness. Dialing back on the dairy allowed the fresh corn flavor to come through. To make up for the body that our Lighter Corn Chowder lacked after losing most of the dairy, we pureed a portion of the chowder in a blender. Highlighting the corn was the ultimate goal of our Lighter Corn Chowder recipe. To do this, we made a homemade corn broth using the juice from the cobs after stripping them of their kernels. (less)

SERVES 6
Be careful to remove only the part of the corn kernel sticking out of the cob; cutting deeper will pull off fibrous material. Yukon gold potatoes can be substituted for the red potatoes, minced chives for the basil. Depending on the sweetness of your corn, the finished chowder may need to be seasoned with sugar.

INGREDIENTS
8ears corn , husks and silk removed
3tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion , chopped fine
4slices bacon , halved lengthwise then cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2teaspoons minced fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
1/4cup all-purpose flour
5cups water
3/4pound red potatoes , cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1cup half-and-half
Sugar
3tablespoons chopped fresh basil

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Using chef’s knife or corn stripper, cut kernels from corn; transfer to bowl and set aside (you should have 5 to 6 cups kernels). Holding cobs over second bowl, use back of butter knife to firmly scrape any remaining pulp on cobs into bowl (you should have 2 to 2 1/2 cups pulp). Transfer pulp to center of clean kitchen towel set in medium bowl. Wrap towel tightly around pulp and squeeze tightly until dry. Discard pulp in towel and set corn juice aside (you should have about 2/3 cup juice).

2. Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion, bacon, thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened and edges are beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, gradually add water and bring to boil. Add corn kernels and potatoes. Return to simmer; reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes have softened, 15 to 18 minutes.

3. Process 2 cups chowder in blender until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Return puree to chowder; add half-and-half and return to simmer. Remove pot from heat and stir in reserved corn juice. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and up to 1 tablespoon sugar. Serve, sprinkling with basil.

Tomato-Strawberry Salad

Since tomatoes are at their peak right now biting into a ripe, juicy one doesn't require much convincing. Nevertheless, pairing it with strawberries seems a little bit unusual.
This salad is a more sophisticated take on the classic caprese. Ripe strawberries balance the tomato and creamy mozarella. The dish is finished with crushed red peppercorns and basil. This salad is a knockout on the platter, however this dish depends entirely on the quality of the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 4

1/2 lb of fresh mozzarella

16 small sweet strawberries, hulled

16 grape tomatoes, halved

sea salt to taste, freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

4 fresh basil leaves, shredded

METHOD:

1. Drain the mozzarella and cut into 8 round slices.

2. Cut the strawberries and tomatoes in halves and place them in a bowl.

3. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

4. Add extra virgin olive oil.

5. Mix the salad gently.

6. Serve the salad with freshly cracked pepper and drizzle the olive oil on top of the mozzarella cheese.

7. Garnish with fresh basil.

8. Enjoy with a French baguette.

Jamie Oliver's sexy Fig Salad

One of the first recipes I have ever made from Jamie Oliver is this salad. Ever since then, I make it when I can get a hold of fresh and juicy figs. It's a perfect summer dish, filling, yet light and so pretty. 

Fig Salad
(Jamie Oliver)

I love this salad. Apart from being a great combination, it always seems unbelievably effortless, which is the kind of recipe I like. The constant success of this is due to the common-sense marriage of salty Parma ham, milky buffalo mozzarella and sweet figs, which obviously need to be of a good quality. The best figs to use are Italian and the best time to buy them is June to August when they are in season. Greek figs are a good second-best and are in season from September to November. The best figs always seem to be those that are about to split their skins. Use green or black figs – it doesn’t really matter.

Yield : Serves 4
Ingredients

Salad:
4 figs
4 slices Parma ham or prosciutto
4 slices buffalo mozzarella
A handful green or purple basil, leaves picked

Honey and lemon juice dressing:
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon good honey
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions

For the salad:

One thing I do is to criss-cross the figs but not quite to the bottom – 1 fig per person is always a good start. Then, using your thumbs and forefingers, squeeze the base of the fig to expose the inside. At this point you’ll think, ‘Oooh, that looks nice, I think I’m quite clever...’ or at least I do. More importantly, it allows your dressing to get right into the middle of the fig. All these little things really help to make a salad special. Simply place the figs in a dish, weave around 1 slice of Parma ham or prosciutto per fig, throw in some slices of buffalo mozzarella, rip over some green or purple basil and drizzle everything with the honey and lemon juice dressing. As far as salads go, it’s pretty damn sexy.

For the honey and lemon juice dressing:

Mix everything together in a bowl and season to taste.

Notes
PS: It’s a good idea to have some spare bread on the table to mop up the juices – always a treat.

Blueberry-Mango Soup

Thick fruit soups are a typical Swedish treat and can be served hot or cold, depending on the season. This recipe was created by famed Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson, Executive Chef and co-owner of Aquavit in New York City. His cardamon-spiced version  can also be used as a sauce over ice cream or fresh fruit. 

Blueberry-Mango Soup
(Marcus Samuelsson)

Ingredients:

6 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (or less)
3/4 cup mango purée
1 cup Muscatel, ice wine or honey wine
Preparation:

In a saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cardamom. Over medium-high heat, bring mixture to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar dissolves, about 7 minutes. Slightly cool blueberry mixture and transfer to a blender container. Purée.
In a bowl, combine blueberry purée with mango purée and wine. Strain mixture through a fine sieve. Cool well.

To serve: Ladle soup into shallow soup bowls or dessert dishes. Garnish with fresh blueberries, thin melon and/or mango slices, and lemon zest curls, if desired.