Dear Readers,

New Year, New Blog!

Follow me on my new cooking blog My Kitchen Notebook  for new recipes.

Thanks for your patience,

Zazacook

I wish you a very Happy New Year and fun with new culinary adventures in your kitchen!

This morning, it smells so good in my kitchen! It smells ginger and honey, wow!

Thanks to Andrea from 4Pure for challenging us to make a Ductch Sweet Bread, called ontbijtkoek (literally translated breakfast cake) .

We had a choice between Peperkoek Cake -(pepper cake) this spiced cake is an integral part of the breakfast table in Holland-,  Kruidkoek or Sugarfree Peperkoek.

I chose the first one. It is often spiced with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, succade (candied citrus peel) and nutmeg. I just used ginger powder (1 teaspoon) as a spice, add honey (1 teaspoon) and orange extract (1/4 teaspoon).

The result was perfect! This bread is surprising; with unsalted butter is so good!

I've never made a Dutch Sweet Bread before this challenge.

As soon as I have guests for breakfast, I am sure to make this fantastic bread again.

Recipe: Gingerbread Spice Blend

• 6 tablespoons (40 gm) cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons (10 gm) nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon (5 gm) cloves
• 1 teaspoon (5 gm) cardamom
• 1 teaspoon (5 gm) ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon (5 gm) ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon (5 gm) ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon (5 gm) ground anise
• 1 teaspoon (5 gm) ground

Original recipe : Peperkoek cake

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) cane sugar syrup
• 1 cup less 2 tablespoons (220 ml) lukewarm water
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) (½ oz) (15 gm) ground gingerbread spices
• 1¼ cup (300 ml) (8¾ oz) (250 gm) brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 cups (480 ml) (8¾ oz) (250 gm) whole-wheat flour
• 1¾ teaspoons (8 gm) baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 and line a 30cmx12 cm (12“x5“)  baking tin with parchment paper.

Measure all the ingredients.

Put the egg, syrup, water, spices and brown sugar in a bowl. Whisk until everything is dissolved.

Add the whole-wheat flour and the baking powder into the bowl and mix all the ingredients with a wooden spoon until the flour is wet. It doesn’t matter if there are some lumps left.

Pour into the baking tin and bake in a preheated moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 oven for 70 minutes.

To check if the sweet bread is done, stick a wooden skewer or toothpick into the middle. If it comes out clean the sweet bread is ready.

Take the cake out of the oven, allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes

After the 5 minutes take the cake out of the pan and let the cake cool down to room temperature before serving.

Enjoy your breakfast!

Chocolate Crinkles are chocolate flavored cookies covered in confectionners' sugar.

This recipe is so simple! You will need approximatively 20 minutes to prepare them, 12 minutes to cook. Don't forget to pop the dough into the fridge for 4 hours.

These Chocolate Crinkles are a good idea for your kids' snack, or for a party with friends! And for Christmas or New Year's Eve is a perfect dessert :)

Ces Crinkles au chocolat sont des biscuits au chocolat couverts de sucre glace.

Cette recette est vraiment simple à faire! Vous avez besoin de 20 minutes pour les préparer, 12 minutes de cuisson. Sans oubliez de laisser la pâte au frigo 4 heures.

Quelle bonne idée pour le goûter de vos enfants ou une fête entre amis. Et pour les fêtes de fin d'Année, c'est un dessert parfait :)

Serving : 72

Ingredients :

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup confectionners' sugar

Directions :

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt: stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough and chill for at least 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. / 175 degree C. Line cookie sheets with parchement paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. You can use a number 50 size scoop. Coat each ball in confectionners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake in preheated oven to 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Enjoy!

Ingredients :

• 80 gr de chocolat en poudre (cacao non sucré pour pâtisserie)
• 420 gr de sucre en poudre
• 125 ml d'huile végétale
• 4 oeufs
• 2 cuillerées à café d'extrait de vanille
• 170 gr de farine
• 2 cuillerées à café de levure chimique
• 1/2 cuillerées à café de sel
• 70 gr de sucre glace

Directions :

1. Dans un récipient, mélangez ensemble le chocolat en poudre, le sucre, et l'huile végétale. Ajoutez les oeufs un à un, en les incorporant bien à la pâte, puis ajoutez la vanille. Dans un autre récipient, mélangez la farine, la levure chimique et le sel. Puis versez ce mélange farine/levure au mélange chocolat/sucre. Couvrir avec un film plastique et laisser refroidir au frigo au moins 4 heures.
2. Préchauffez votre four à 175 degrés C. Préparez une plaque recouverte de papier sulfurisé. Formez des boules de 2 cm et demi. et plongez les dans un bol de sucre glace avant de les placer sur la plaque de cuisson.
3. Enfournez pour 10 à 12 minutes. 

Bon Appétit!

Sources : allercipes.com

Luisa from Rise of the Sourdough Preacher was our November 2014 Daring Baker hostess!. Luisa challenged us to make 6 small Paris-Brest. What a beautiful challenge!

This French pastry was created in 1910 to commemorate the Paris-Brest bicycle race that begun in 1891. Its circular shape is representative of a wheel.

I've never made Paris-Brest.  My husband was so glad to hear that it was our challenge this month. He loves this pastry.

Thanks Luisa to challenge us to make this pâtisserie..

These Paris-Brest are so scrumptious, that I want to make more.

The vanilla flavored crème mousseline, was delicious and light. My husband and my kids would like a Paris-Brest, praline flovored. So next time, I will make the pâte à choux, and they will make the praline flavored crème mousseline. Personnaly I do not like Praline.

Pâte à choux Ingredients

• 1/3 cup (80 ml) water
• 6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (100 ml) whole milk
• 1/3 teaspoon (2 gr) salt
• 1 teaspoon (4 gr) caster sugar
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) (2-2/3 oz) (75 gr) cold butter
• 3/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons (200 ml) (3.5 oz) (100 gr) cake flour
• 3 medium eggs, beaten
• two handfulls of silvered almonds
• egg for brushing

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350 degre F./180 degre C./ gas mark 4 and sift the flour.
2. In a nonstick saucepan pour in the milk, water, sugar and salt. Add the butter in small pieces and put on medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon and bring to a boil. Add the flour in one shot to the boiling liquid. Stir vigorously with a wooden spatula. Cook on the stove on a very low heat for a few minutes, until the dough becomes firm, smooth and homogeneous. The dough must be dry and detach from the bottom of the pan easily.
3. If you have a standup mixer pour the mixture into its bowl. With the K beater stir the mixture on low speed for a few minutes, until it cools down a little. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well on medium speed. Before adding the next egg make sure that everything is well blended. This way, the air will be incorporated into the dough and when baking it will make puff the Paris Brest which won't deflate out of the oven.
4. If you don't have a standup mixer proceed mixing the eggs directly in the pan where you cooked the dough, after alllowing it to cool down. Work the egg with the wooden spatula until all the egg is incorporated before adding the next one.. The dough should be smooth, like a thick cream.
5. Cover the baking sheets with baking paper or a silpat mat. If you use baking paper you can trace some circles of 4 3/4 inches (12 cm) to help you out piping the circles. I use a silpat mat that already is specially designed to help out piping, that could be helpful too. To pipe  the Paris-Brest use a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch (10 mm) plain nozzle and pipe two circles, the outer one of the diameter of the circle you drew. Pipe a third circle on top, using the star-shaped nozzle. If you don't have one use a fork to trace some lines on its surface, this will help the choux pastry to rise properly. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with silvered almonds.
6. Bake in a moderate oven  350°F/180° C/gas mark 4 for about 23-25 minutes, in a static oven. To get rid of any moisture in the oven you can keep the door slightly open. This way the dough will dry out completely during baking. The Paris-Brest should be golden brown, with an uniform color. Let cool completely on a rack before slicing and piping with the crème mousseline.

Praliné Ingredients

• 1/3 cup (80 ml) (2 oz) (60 gr) whole almonds
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) (2 oz) (60 gr) whole hazelnuts
• 6 tablespoons (2¾ oz) (80 gm) caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) water

Directions:

1. Put the sugar into a non-stick pan, over medium heat. Add water and bring to a boil.

2. When the sugar reaches 250°F/121° C (without thermometer you will need to reach the stage at which the sugar begins to boil and the syrup starts to become more and more dense), add the nuts all at once. Mix well with a wooden spoon to coat all the nuts in the sugar. At this point, the sugar will start to sand, i.e. crystallize again. Continue to stir. The sugar will melt a second time, this time caramelizing

3. Once all the nuts caramelize, remove the pan from the heat.
Pour the entire contents of the pan on a heat-resistant silicone mat or on a marble slab lightly oiled with vegetable oil.

4. Let cool completely. Break into smaller pieces and grind with a mixer until you have a thick paste.

Crème Mousseline Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
• 2 egg yolks
• ¼ cup (60 ml) (2 oz) (55 gr) caster (superfine) sugar
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) (2/3 oz) (20 gr) cake flour, sieved
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (135 ml) ( (4.4 oz) (125 gr)  European-style butter, made from cream, with 83% fat content
• 3 oz (80 gr) praliné 1 vanilla pod, sliced open length wise

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan bring the milk to a boil with the vanilla pod. Put aside and let cool for about 10 minutes. In a bowl whisk the eggs yolks and sugar until they become white.

2. Add the flour and whisk until all mixed through.

3. Mix half of the milk in the egg, until all uniform. Pout into a small pan and put on medium heat. Cook until the cream thickens, stirring the cream continuously. When thick transfer into a bowl and cover with cling film touching the cream. Let cool.

4. In a bowl mix the softened butter with the praliné. Add to the cooled cream until homogeneous.

Storage & Freezing Instructions/Tips:
The baked Paris-Brest can be kept for several days in an airtight tin or can be frozen. The cream must be eaten on the same day, due to its un-pasteurized egg content. The praliné keeps several weeks, stored in a glass jar in the fridge.

A chicken Stir Fry is perfect for busy week-ends. My 16 y. old son is a Junior in HIgh School. He is fortunate enough to be taking Culinary arts this year, learn new techniques and bring home new recipes. So Sunday, he showed us how to make a Chicken Stir Fry.

It's easy to make, so fast and excellent. When it was ready, my son said "Mom, it's ready to eat, but not ready to take a picture". So no picture today!

Next time, I will add chunks of pineapple to give more flavor.

Un poulet sauté aux légumes est parfait pour nos week-end bien occupés. Mon fils de 16 ans est bien chanceux de prendre des cours de cuisine à l'école cette année, d'y apprendre de nouvelles techniques et d'apporter de nouvelles recettes à la maison. Aussi dimanche, il nous a montré comment faire un poulet sauté aux légumes.

C'est vraiment facile, rapide à faire, et excellent. Quand le dîner fut prêt, mon fils dit : "Mom, it's ready to eat, but not ready to take a picture.". Aussi je n'ai aucune photo aujourd'hui.

La prochaine fois, j'ajouterai des morceaux d'ananas pour donner un petit gout d'ananas un petit peu plus prononcé au plat.

Ingredients :

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 pds chicken breast (4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves), cut into strips
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2" pieces
• 1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced

Sauce :

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons pineapple juice
• 3 teaspoons cornstach

Directions :

1. Pour oil into wok or skillet, coating bottom and sides. Heat on medium-high for 2 minutes.
2. Add chicken and stir fry for 10 or 12 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan.
3. Add carrots and cook for about 2 minutes. Add broccoli and cook for about 1 minute. Add peppers and cook for about 1 minute.
4. Add sauce and cooked chicken to vegetable mixture.. Cook about 10 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice..

Ingrédients :

• 3 cuillerées à soupe d'huile
• 500 gr de cuisse de poulet, coupées en lanières
• 2 carrottes, coupées en rondelles d'un cm
• 1 petit broccoli, coupé en morceaux (en supprimant le bout de la tige principale)
• !/2 poivron rouge, coupé en dés
• 1/2 poivron vert, coupé en dés

Sauce

• 100 ml de sauce soja (soy sauce)
• 6 cuillerées à soupe de jus d'ananas
• 3 cuillerées à café de maïzena

 Directions :

1. Versez l'huie dans un wok ou une grande poêle. Faire chauffer a feu moyen pendant 2 minutes.
2. Ajoutez le poulet et le faire frire pendant 10 à 12 minutes. Enlevez le poulet de la poêle, le reservez..
3. Ajoutez les carottes et faire cuire pendant 2 minutes. Ajoutez le broccoli et faire cuire pendant 1 minute. Ajoutez les poivrons et faire cuire pendant 1 minute.
4. Ajoutez la sauce et le poulet cuit dans le wok ou la poêle. Cuire 10 minutes ou jusqu'à ce que la sauce epaississe. Servez avec du riz.. 

Since I've been working in an Elementary School, I haven't been as organised as usual. September and October were a little bit crazy!

Today, I would like to share with you a recipe that my 12 y. old daughter learned in Middle School during cooking class : Garlic Cheese Biscuits. Sarah has made this recipe a bunch of times, it's my turn to make these Biscuits :)

This recipe is very easy to make and its great to eat with almost any meal.

Ingrdedients :

Dough :

• 2 cups Bisquick baking mix
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Topping :

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 
2. In a large mixing bowl combine Bisquick, milk, and Cheddar cheese with a plastic spoon, and beat vigourously 30 seconds until a soft dough forms. Do not overmix!
3. Spray a cookie sheet lightly with vegetable spray. Drop Biscuit dough by heaping tablespoons onto a cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
5. While biscuits are baking, put butter in the smallest mixing bowl. Cook on "high" power setting for 1/2 to 1 minute until the butter is melted (in the microwave). Put a piece of waxed paper on top of bowl to prevent splatter!
6. Stir garlic powder into melted butter.
7. Brush butter mixture on top of biscuits. Serve warm.  

I can't believe it. It's almost time for a New School Year!  My son and my daughter are so excited. They are ready to go back to school. 

It's still the summer. The weather is perfect to eat outside. I want to share with you this quick and healthy salad, perfect for a summer day. You just need 10 minutes to prepare it.

Bring out your best olive oil and vinegar. 

Bon appétit!

Ingredients :

• 1 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup green pepper
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 1 small red onion
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Tbs vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Directions :

1. Arrange in a shallow bowl cherry tomatoes, green pepper, red onion.
2. Drizzle with oil and vinegar.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the feta cheese.

This is the dessert that I love to make with my husband. Because he always makes the caramel by himself at the perfection.

I've made this mousse lots of time. I love this dessert, it's incredibly delicious, so light and airy. Definitely my best mousse that I've ever eaten.

Preparation : 20 minutes + cooking 15 minutes

Serves : 8

Ingredients :

• 1 liter milk
• 3 big eggs (or 4 small)
• 150 gr (5,3 oz) (2/3 cup) granulated sugar
• 80 gr (2.80 oz) (1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons) flour
• 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar for the caramel
• 100 ml water for the caramel

Directions :

1. In a large bowl whisk together flour and sugar. Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Dilute the dough with some milk.
2. Bring the remaining milk to a boil in a big saucepan over medium heat.
3. As soon as the milk is boiling, pour it immediately in the bowl and mix well.
4. Pour the mixture in the pan, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. As soon as it boils, remove from heat. Cooling the custard and mix from time to time to avoid that forms a crust.
5. Meanwhile heat the granulated sugar (6 Tablespoons) and water (100 ml) in a 2-quart heavy-duty saucepan over high heat, without stirring, until the  mixture comes to a boil.  Brush around the inside of the pan with a damp pastry brush at the point where  the sugar syrup meets the sides of the pan to prevent the sugars from  crystallizing. Do this two times. Cook the mixture over high heat, without  stirring, until it turns amber colored, about 6 minutes.
6. Fold the caramel into the cream gently, until evenly combined.
7. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Blend the eggs into the mixture with a wooden spoon.

Serve cold.

Fast and easy cheesecake! If you like lemon and mascarpone, it's a great dessert for you.

You don't have to cook the dessert, just put it in the fridge to firm up.

Thanks to FERRAN ADRIA, a great Spanish Chef, for this lovely recipe.

EL Bulli, located in the small town of Roses on the coast of Catalonia, about two hours north of Barcelona, was among the best retaurants in the world before he closed in 2012. Adria's creations are designed to surprise and enchant. He was referred as "the Salvador Dali of the kitchen" by the Gourmet magazine. As his experiments are often associated with Molecular Gastronomy.

Enjoy making this dessert! You can serve it with blueberries or raspberries. 

Serves 8 to 10

Preparation : 20 minutes

Plus 8 hr chilling

Ingredients :

• 1 1/2 cups mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup prepared lemon curd
• salt
• About 20 whole graham crackers

Directions :

1. Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, allowing 4 inches of overhang. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the mascarpone with the heavy cream at medium speed until smooth and just firm: do not overbeat. Fold in the lemon curd and a pinch of salt.
2. Spread a 1/4 -inch-thick layer of the lemon cream on the bottom of the pan. Arrange a single layer of graham crackers on top, breaking them to fit. Repeat the layering with the remaining lemon cream and crackers, finishing with a final layer of cream. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
3. Uncover  and invert the cheesecake onto a platter. Remove the plastic wrap.