Recipes

Cream-Filled Apricots

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Cream-Filled Apricots

Cream-Filled Apricots

  • Prep overnight +

Recipe By:Swede
“A great addition to any dessert offering.”

Ingredients

  • 1/2# (1 1/4 c.) dried whole apricots
  • 1 1/2 c. sugar
  • 2 c. water
  • 2 t. lemon juice
  • 8 oz. soft cream cheese or marscapone cheese
  • 1/2 chopped, unsalted pistachios (opt.)

Directions

  1. Rehydrate apricots in water to cover, 4 hours or overnight; drain.
  2. Simmer water and sugar until thickened slightly, about 10 min.
  3. Add apricots.
  4. Simmer until tender, about 20 min.
  5. Stir in lemon juice and simmer 1 min. longer.
  6. Remove apricots with slotted spoon.
  7. Cool to room temperature.
  8. Continue to simmer liquid to syrup consistency, 5-10 min.
  9. Spoon portion of cream cheese into opening of each apricot.
  10. Arrange on platter.
  11. Drizzle 2-3 T. of syrup on apricots and refrigerate until syrup sets.
  12. Sprinkle with pistachios and serve.

Moules a la Sauce Catalane

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Moule a la Sauce Catalane

Moules a la Sauce Catalane

  • Prep  20 min.

  • Cook  10 min.

“mussels in saffron sauce”

Ingredients

  • 1 doz. mussels per guest
  • 1/2 t. saffron, ground
  • 3/4 c. wine +
  • 3/4 c. water
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1 onion, minced and sauteed
  • 1 red pepper, diced and sauteed
  • butter
  • 2 T. flour + 2 T. butter (roux)
  • sea salt and white pepper

Directions

  1. Steam mussels in water, wine and garlic, until open.
  2. Drain mussels and reduce juices.
  3. Keep mussels warm.
  4. Discard garlic, or mince and saute.
  5. Add roux and sauteed onions and red pepper.
  6. Add more wine to taste.
  7. Add sea salt and white pepper to taste.
  8. TASTE and ADJUST
  9. Serve mussels in bowls with sauce poured over them or remove from shells and serve in individual dishes, topped with buttered bread crumbs.

Ensalata dels Pimientos

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Ensalata dels pimientos

Ensalata dels pimientos

  • Prep  15 min.

  • Cook  15 min.

“Red Bell Pepper Salad. Source: Antonio Hidalgo (and his mother)”

Ingredients

  • 2 or 3 red bell peppers
  • olive oil
  • red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1/4 c. bermuda (or sweet) onion, chopped

Directions

  1. Roast peppers on grill, under broiler in oven, or over gas stove flame, until skin is blackened.
  2. Put hot peppers into paper or plastic bag until well steamed and cool to handle.
  3. Peel peppers, washing them clean.
  4. Cut peppers into long 1/4″ wide slices and arrange half in shallow dish.
  5. Add a little oil, salt and pepper, half of the onion and half of the garlic.
  6. Add rest of pepper, onion and garlic.
  7. Add a little salt and pepper
  8. Add just a little vinegar, to taste.
  9. Let sit overnight.

Tarte aux Fraises

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Tarte aux Fraises

Tarte aux Fraises

  • Prep  30 min.

  • Cook   45 min.

  • Ready In   4 h

Recipe By:Swede
“French strawberry tart”

Ingredients

  • tarte shell, baked
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/4 c. sugar
  • 3 T. flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
  • 1 t. vanilla extract
  • 1 c. hot milk
  • 1 c. heavy cream
  • 1 to 1 1/2 qts. fresh, whole strawberries
  • Glaze:
  • 1 c. red currant jelly
  • 1 T. hot water
  • 1 T. Kirsch

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake tarte shell, about 20 min. then cool.
  2. Beat egg and yolk and sugar until thickened and pale yellow.
  3. Add flour and salt and beat until well blended.
  4. Beat in gelatin and vanilla.
  5. Slowly pour in hot milk, beating constantly.
  6. Cook over medium, stirring until smooth and thick; do not allow to boil.
  7. Pour into large bowl and cool in fridge.
  8. When custard is cold, whip cream and fold it into the custard, beating gently.
  9. Pour into shell.
  10. Arrange berries on custard, stem down so that all of the custard surface is covered with berries.
  11. Spoon warm glaze over berries.
  12. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Creme Catalane

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Creme Catalane

Creme Catalane

  • Prep 15 min.
  • Cook 30 min.
Recipe By:Swede
“Catalan version of creme brulee”

Ingredients

  • 1/2 liter milk
  • 1 egg plus 2 yolks
  • 75 g. sugar
  • 15 g. corn starch (2 level T.)
  • 1 stick of cinnamon
  • 1 skin of a lemon
  • 1 vanilla bean

Directions

  1. Boil the milk.
  2. Steep the cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon skin in boiling milk for 15 min.
  3. Work together the eggs, sugar and starch until whitening of the mixture.
  4. Pour, whipping rapidly, the boiling milk into the egg mixture.
  5. Put creme over low heat and mix regularly with a wooden spoon until bubbles appear.
  6. Creme should thicken slowly.
  7. Transfer to a bowl and serve cold.
  8. Or transfer to individual custard dishes and melt sugar on top with a hot custard iron or a torch.

Dill Kott (roast lamb with dill sauce)

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Dill Kott

 

  • Prep  5 min.
  • Cook  3 h
Recipe By:Swede
“Boiled lamb with dill sauce”

Ingredients

  • small leg of lamb (or shoulder)
  • salt
  • dill
  • butter
  • flour
  • sugar
  • 1/2 t. vinegar
  • 1 egg yolk

Directions

  1. Boil lamb in water with salt and dill (trim fat really well) for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
  2. Cut into pieces for serving.
  3. Put stock in bowl and remove fat.
  4. Make gravy with butter, flour, stock, sugar.
  5. Add vinegar and dill, then taste.
  6. Put yolk of egg in a small cup.
  7. Add a little hot gravy to the egg yolk and mix.
  8. Put egg mixture into gravy and heat.
  9. DO NOT LET IT BOIL.

Salade Tiede

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Salade Tiede

Salade Tiede

  • Prep  10 min.
  • Cook  1 min.
Recipe By:Swede
“Warm salad with salmon. Source: La Pardalere, Banyuls-sur-Mer”

Ingredients

  • smoked salmon (lox)
  • avocado
  • creme fraiche

Directions

  1. Warm creme fraiche in small saucepan.
  2. Arrange sliced salmon and sliced avocado on individual plates.
  3. Pour warm creme fraiche over the salmon and avocado.
  4. Serve immediately.

Tarte aux Pommes

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Tarte aux pommes

Tarte aux pommes

  • Prep 1 h
  • Cook 1 h
Recipe By:Swede
“French apple tarte. Use Tarte Pastry recipe for crust.”

Ingredients

  • tarte pastry
  • 4 Granny Smith Apples
  • 1 T. water
  • 1 t. sugar
  • 4 Granny Smith Apples
  • 1/4 c. apricot preserves
  • 1 T. water

Directions

  1. Make apple sauce by boiling 4 peeled and diced apples in 1 T. water and sugar, then mashing. Cool.
  2. Place pastry in tarte pan and add applesauce. Cover with peeled and sliced apples.
  3. Bake at 400 F. about 45 minutes.
  4. Remove tarte ring and bake 15 min. longer.
  5. Glaze with jam and water or cover hot tarte with vanilla sugar.

Pate Brise

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Tarte pastry (Pate Brise)

Tarte pastry (Pate Brise)

  • Prep 5 min.

  • Cook

Recipe By:Swede
“Use this recipe for tartes. Source: Dieppe Cookery School.”

Ingredients

  • 250 gm flour
  • 125 gm butter (1 stick + 1 T.)
  • 15 gm sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 1 egg
  • 3-4 T. water

Directions

  1. Mix flour, sugar, salt.
  2. Make well in middle and add egg and butter.
  3. Mix with hands or cut with two knives.
  4. Add water as needed to make ball of dough.
  5. Fridge for 1 hour, then roll.

Baked Endives with Ham

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Baked Endives with Ham

Baked Endives with Ham

  • Prep 15 min.
  • Cook 40 min.
Recipe By:Swede
“Belgian endives wrapped in ham and smothered in cheese.”

Ingredients

  • 4 Belgian endives
  • 4 slices ham
  • bechamel sauce
  • 2 c. shredded emmentaler cheese

Directions

  1. Trim endives, removing outer leaves.
  2. Boil in salted water for about 20 min., until cooked through.
  3. Drain well, then wrap each with a slice of ham and put into a baking dish.
  4. Cover with bechamel sauce and shredded cheese.
  5. Bake at about 200 C. for 20 min., until cheese is bubbling and browned on top.