Pear Tarte Tatin Parcels

Tarte tatin, be it pear, apple, peach or banana is one of my favourite desserts ever. I love the generous amount of flaky pastry, bittersweet caramel and slow cooked fruit!  Instead of going the traditional route of making a large pastry, I thought personalized little parcels would look a lot more impressive. Also, you get more of the amazing buttery pastry this way!! Although the dessert looks sophisticated, I promise that if you follow the steps exactly you will absolutely nail it!

I made these a couple of hours prior to serving them. They taste amazing fresh out of the oven or at room temperature!

Ingredients:
2 firm pears
4 star anise
1/4 cup room temperature butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 package good quality puff pastry

Method:
Preheat oven to 425.

Meanwhile, peel, trim and core your pears (try to do it with a small melon baller). Press the star anise into the core of the pear so that it holds. Place the pear core side down and cover with puff pastry. Trim the edges off with a knife. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and leave it in the fridge while you prep your caramel.

Place the lemon juice with the butter. Meanwhile, Put a thing layer of sugar in a non-stick ovenproof pan and set stove temperature to medium high. When the sugar starts to melt add another layer of sugar. Don't stir the sugar. Instead, slowly move the pan around in a circular motion using the handle. Repeat until the sugar is finished. When the sugar melts to a sort of light cola colour, turn off the heat and add the butter and lemon. Use a spoon to softly swirl the butter around. Continue to move the pan around so that the butter gets fully incorporated.

Place the Pears pastry side up and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Remove from oven and let cool for two minutes. With a palette knife, carefully remove the pear pastry and serve pastry side down with ice cream!

Roasted Tomatoes

I had a friend over for lunch today and wanted to make some very rustic, tasty and light foods. I served my go-to dishes- roasted salmon, baked veggie medley, salsa verde... but I wanted to add a kiss of summer. Foraging through my kitchen for inspiration, I spotted some tomatoes I had purchased the other day and... Eureka!

I love roasted tomatoes. Even when they're baked through they look like little presents, tidily holding all these beautiful juices that are released to the cut of your knife. What adds dimension and depth is the extra virgin oil and herbs that I lovingly bathe my tomatoes in before putting them in the hot oven...It's just divine.

You can serve this as a side or as an appetizer with some fresh baguette!

Ingredients:
10 tomatoes, washed and halved (preferably with their tops in tact)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic smashed or grated
1 teaspoon finely chopped basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme (you can do all four, just one or another mix of fresh herbs..whatever you like!)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup feta cheese

Method:
Place oven setting on broil.

Meanwhile, mix herbs, garlic and olive oil together.

Place tinfoil on a baking tray and rub a teaspoon of oil on it so that the tomatoes don't stick. Place the tomatoes close together, sprinkle with salt pepper and drizzle with the olive oil mixture, making sure to get the herbs and garlic on the tomatoes as well. Reserve any left over oil for finishing.

Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until your tomatoes soften and brown on the edges. This time may vary in your oven so check every five minutes. When they're done,  turn oven off, sprinkle generously with feta and return to the oven for 1 minute. Remove and spoon any extra oil on tomatoes. Serve hot or room temperature with fresh bread!

Chicken Marbella

I'm the first to raise my hand and admit that "I do not enjoy fruit in savory meals". However to every rule there is an exception and this, my dear friends, is mine.

I would never have ordered or attempted to make chicken marbella. Our union was a happy accident as I was over a friend's home for dinner and it was served as the main course. Although the chicken looked delicious, I was skeptical because of the  prunes... But let me tell you- it was DEEEEEELICIOUS! I mean it totally rocked my palette. There was so much going on! The tangy sauce and salty capers were totally offset by the sweet prunes that literally rendered down to these delicate pillows of ooey gooey goodness. Agh. On top of that she made a kale salad with raisins...again I didn't know how I would feel about that but i LOVED it!...(post to follow).

I had to make this recipe for myself and it was so so so so so so so good! Also, I've ben telling my friends how much I love it and they're also quite shocked because they know how strongly I feel about the incompatability of fruit in savory dishes.. But It's now totally flawed.

I'd like to conclude with the wise words my mother said when having me eat something new and or foreign "How do you know you don't like it if you don't try it" ?! ...

Ingredients:
2.5 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast cut into chunks
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 head of garlic peeled and pureed
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup capers with a teaspoon of juice
2 tablespoons dried oregano
4 bay leaves
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup freshly chopped Italian parsley

Method:
Salt and pepper chicken. Place in a baking dish with prunes, vinegar, oil, garlic, oregano, capers and bay leaves. Cover and marinate in the fridge overnight.

Preheat oven to 350. Pour white wine over chicken and sprinkle the brown sugar over all the chicken. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover, baste the chicken and bake 30 minutes longer or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Blueberry Cake

Uncle Bert celebrated his birthday this Tuesday and in honor of our beloved uncle's birthday we celebrated with good eats and blueberry treats! I had my entire menu planned and decided I would run out and buy a pie. However, I felt like it was a bit of a shortcut and wanted to present my uncle with a lovely meal that I made from start to finish.

I know he likes desserts with fruit and since I didn't have enough time to make pastry for pie I made a blueberry cake! This cake is amazing. It's deceptively airy and moist. The batter amounts to very little but rises perfectly and completely envelopes the blueberries in a bed of cakey goodness. The outer parts of the cake develop this wonderful golden brown crust which adds a welcome texture. For a bit of drama, it's recommended one adds powdered sugar. As much as I like the aesthetic, I'm not a fan of the extra sweetness and decided to forgo the additional calories. Even though it would have looked more whimsical with the snow-kissed powdering, I think it looks pretty lovely without it too!


Ingredients:
1.5 cups FRESH blueberries (don't use frozen)
1 cup flour + extra for dusting blueberries and cake pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick or 1/2 cup butter at room temp + extra for prepping cake pan
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar

Method:
Preheat oven to 350.

Meanwhile prep your 9" spring form pan by rubbing it all over the base and sides with a small amount of butter and then dusting it with flour. There should be a faint layer of dusted flour. Nothing that clumps.

Mix flour with baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Toss blueberries in about 1 tablespoon of flour making sure to sieve off any excess flour.

Beat butter on med-high speed for two minutes until airy and fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla. Beat until well Incorporated (about a minute more). Add the eggs one at a time and beat on med until well blended.

Reduce the speed to low and mix in the flour. DO NOT OVER MIX. Once everything is just blended it is ready. Even if there are bits where the flour is still showing, you can fold it over with a spatula by hand. Batter will be a bit more on the cookie batter side than the runnier side so don't be alarmed.
Transfer batter to spring form pan and even out- it doesn't have to be perfect. Add the blueberries and bake for about 50 minutes or until it starts to brown lightly and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes than remove from the pan- gloves may be necessary as the pan may still be hot so take caution.

Serve alone or with icing sugar or better yet- ICE CREAM!!!

Garlic and Herb Roast Chicken

This dish is so beautifully easy. Put it this way, I made this whilst staining the my 10 foot long picnic table with my husband! It's really so simple. The best part about this chicken is its crispy skin! There's so much crispiness! The reason being that I cut the chicken down its back so that all the skin is exposed when cooking.

I place 15 cloves of garlic and a halved onion under the chicken while baking and the end product is butter soft garlic and onion that envelopes your mouth with a velvety texture and sweet flavour that is literally to die for..well maybe not literally, but close enough!

Ingredients:
1 broiler chicken (I always buy Kosher because it's brined and is the juiciest chicken)
1 onion
15-20 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon herbs de provence
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Preheat oven to 400. Meanwhile, cut the chicken down its back bone (you can use good kitchen scissors or a very sharp knife). Salt and pepper the chicken to your liking. Add herbs de provence on the bottom side and generously on the skin side.  Place the garlic and onion in a contained circle and drizzle with a teaspoon of oil. Place the bird on top so that it tents the contents. Sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil.
Bake for one hour. Once the skin gets to the perfect golden brown colour, reduce the heat and cook until it's done. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with garlic and onion as well as the drippings!

Some sort of poached egg concoction...

Warning: If you're one of those people who eat each component of your meal separately, don't attempt this at home!

This isn't the type of thing to eat bit by bit, you need a little bit of everything to have the perfect bite! You see I think eating a meal is like an orchestra, it's completely the sum of its parts. Sure a trumpet sounds good alone, as well as the violin etc. However, when you listen to all the instruments in unison, what you get is something richer- a one dimensional sound that comes to life. The same can be said for food and with this dish in particular, a little piece of everything = a bite of heaven.

You have the:
1. toasted english muffin that provides crunch
2. poached egg that streams with a rich luxurious yolk
3. chilis in oil for a layer of heat
4. pickled mushrooms to cut through everything with a punchy tang
5. pea shoots which ground every bite with a welcome earthy note
6. shaved parm cheese that adds saltiness

You should really try this at home! It's completely delicious!

Ingredients:
1 English Muffin
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon Italian peppers in oil
5 pickled mushrooms, sliced (get the Italian kind)
1/4 of a handful of pea shoots or microgreens
A couple shavings of fresh parm
1 teaspoon vinegar

Method:

Bring water and vinegar to a very low simmer, just so it starts to bubble a second or so apart. Crack the egg in a ramekin. With a whisk, start stirring the water to create a whirlpool effect and gently drop egg from ramekin one at a time. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until whites are a soft firm around the yolks. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel.

Meanwhile toast one half of the english muffin. Place egg on top of english muffin. Top with chilis, mushrooms, pea shoots and cheese.

Afternoon Tea

I was never the little girl who had afternoon tea parties with imaginary friends, teddy bears and snacks. I was far less refined and preferred playing street hockey or tackle football with the boys. So maybe a part of me is making up for my lack of girlie childhood experiences with newfound obsessions. I just love tea parties- they're dainty, pretty and provide me with an excuse to have another meal between lunch and dinner:)

The other thing I like about afternoon tea is that you can pre-pare everything in advance. It really allows you to be a guest at your get together if you take the time beforehand!

There are a couple secrets to having a perfectly whimsical tea spread:
1. Invest in a tiered dessert tray- it naturally divides your scones, sandwiches and fruit
2. Have a selection of teas- herbal and non herbal
3. Buy cute serving plates, tea pots and teacups

I served scones with fresh jam, smoked salmon, chicken and egg salad sandwiches. I will share my treasured chicken salad with you, which is my mothers PERFECT recipe.

Chicken Salad:

2-4 tablespoons full fat hellmans mayo

2 skinless/boneless chicken breasts

1 whole celery rib + 1 celery rib finely diced

1/2 chicken bouillon cube

1 whole onion +1 tablespoon finely diced onion (as fine as you can without making it into a paste!)

1 tablespoon relish

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Place one rib of celery, chicken, chicken bouillon cube and one onion (quartered) in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer gently until the breasts are cooked. Remove from pot and let cool. Shred the chicken into stringy pieces (quite time consuming, but worth it!). 

Meanwhile, place your your diced onions in a strainer with a teaspoon of salt and rinse under cold water. Drain. 

Mix two tablespoons of mayo, relish, diced celery, diced onion, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and blend well. Taste. Add more salt or mayo if needed