Dutch Baby with Apples

This is one of my favorite breakfasts and it uses ingredients that I usually have in the house.  I used to make a dutch baby without apples but this one is so much better.  Also, you could use a cast iron skillet if you have one but I just use a non stick frying pan.  My pan has some kind of rubber of silicone or something on the handle but it is oven safe, make sure the pan you use is oven safe because this recipe calls for a high oven temperature.

I adapted this recipe from Cookin' Canuk's Blog.

1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
a dash of each ground nutmeg and ginger
2/3 cup milk
2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter
3-4 large apples (peeled and cut into thin slices)
*I used Cortland but any kind are good
3 tbsp brown sugar
confectioner's sugar
lemon juice

Preheat oven to 500.
In the oven safe pan, melt the butter.  Add the brown sugar and apples and allow to cook, mixing occasionally until they are nicely caramelised.
While the apples are cooking make the batter. Combine the first seven recipe ingredients and mix with a hand mixer until smooth.

When the apples are ready, pour the batter over them and put the pan in the oven.  Turn down the temperature to 425 and allow to cook until the pancake puffs up and the edges are browned, about 15 min.

Remove from oven and serve, apple side up.  Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and lemon juice.

Enjoy!

Palmiers

I love palmier cookies, they taste great and look pretty.
The best thing about them is that  they are so easy to make!
They only take two ingredients.

1 package puff pastry dough
1 1/2 cup sugar

Roll the dough out on a flat surface.
spread the sugar all over the dough.
Roll the two sides of the dough into the middle (like a Torah scroll).
Cut the log into slices about 1/4 inch thick.
Place the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes,
flip each cookie over and bake for another 5 or 6 minutes.

Allow to cool and Enjoy!

Roasted Chicken and potatoes

I wanted an easy one pot dinner a few nights ago so I improvised and came up with this!

1 medium onion, sliced
5 red potatoes, unpeeled, chopped
1/4 cup wed wine
Montreal BBQ Chicken spice
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Cayenne pepper
Honey

4 chicken legs, thigh and drumstick attached (you could use other parts)



In a Dutch over or roasting pan, combine the onion and potatoes,
season with a little Chicken spice, salt and pepper, add the wine.
Place the chicken on top,
season on either side with Chicken spice and cayenne pepper.
Drizzle with a little honey.


Cover and Bake at 375 for 1 hour.
Uncover and continue baking another 30 minutes.


Enjoy!

Crepes

Growing up, my mom and my grandmother used to often make crepes for breakfast.  We used to eat them with all sorts of toppings like fruit, chocolate, whipped cream, peanut butter, condensed milk, syrup or anything else you could imagine.  There is an expression in Russian that says "to mother in law's house for crepes" It basically means that they're too complicated to make so you go to your mother in law so she will make them instead of making them yourself.
I don't find them so difficult or complicated to make so I make them myself!

This recipe is adapted from "Desserts By The Yard".

3/4 cup and 2 tbsp flour
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons heavy cream

 Combine all ingredients until smooth and allow batter to sit for a while.
Heat a pan, add a little butter or oil and about 1/2 a cup of batter.
When the top part of the crepe is dry, flip it and cook for another 20-30 seconds.

Flip onto a plate and enjoy with the toppings of your choice!

Maple Glazed Salmon and Vegetable Risotto

I wasn't in the mood for any meat for dinner and I remembered that I had some salmon in the freezer, I wanted to try something different so I looked thought my favorites on Foodgawker and came up with this maple salmon recipe.  I realized that I had all the ingredients in my house so this was a great recipe to try.

I only had a small salmon fillet, enough for two people so if you're making this for a group you should increase the amounts.

Maple Glazed Salmon:

1/6 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 salmon fillet, enough for 2 people

Combine first five ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag,
marinate the salmon for at least 15 minutes, or longer.
When ready to cook, preheat the broiler, put the salmon in an oven dish,
(I covered my bowl with foil for easy cleanup).
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and broil for about 10 minutes or until fish is cooked through.


After I decided on the salmon, I was planning on making mashed potatoes as a side dish
but I felt like having something a little more nutritious.  I found the basic recipe on this blog 
but I usually like to add extra vegetables for the extra nutrients, that's why I added corn and peas.

Risotto:

1 tbsp oil
1/2 a leek (only the white and very light green part) finely sliced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup Calrose rice
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock (maybe more or less)
1/2 cup canned corn nibblets
1/2 cup frozen peas
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat up the oil in a pan, add the leeks and mushrooms and sautee until slightly cooked.
Add rice and 1 cup of stock and allow to simmer until liquid has been absorbed.
I usually taste a grain of rice several times during the cooking process to see when it is ready.
Add more vegetable stock, half a cup at a time until the rice is fully cooked.
When the rice is cooked, add the corn and peas and mix to incorporate.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
If you like, grate the cheese on top when serving.

Grapefruit Cookies

These cookies are really amazing, they melt in your mouth!
My mom says : They look like a cloud, they taste like a cloud!"
I've made them many times with lemon instead of grapefruit and now I decided to try something new.
The recipe came from Tina Phan's Blog and I changed it from lemon to grapefruit.

Before baking.

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp grapefruit zest
1/6 cup fresh grapefruit juice
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar for coating

Preheat oven to 375.
cream margarine and shortening together until smooth.
Add sugar and continue mixing.
Add grapefruit zest and juice and flour in several additions until well blended.
Dough should be easy to work with. 

Prepare cookie sheet with parchment paper on top,
shape dough into small flattened balls each about the size of a tablespoon.

Bake about 10 minutes until edges are slightly browned.
Allow to cool completely before rolling in powdered sugar.

Yum!

Paella

Paella is a Spanish rice dish that is usually made with seafood such as fish or shellfish and meat such as sausage, chicken or beef.   I don't eat shellfish or mix fish with meat so this time I decided to use sausage, next time I think I will try a salmon paella recipe I came across while looking for this one. 
This recipe was adapted from Look Who's Cooking Too blog.

1 beef sausage, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
5 medium mushrooms, chopped
7 cocktail tomatoes, chopped
pinch of safron soaked in a little hot water
tsp paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 cup calrose rice
1/2 cup white wine
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 can corn nibblets
handful frozen peas
Lemon wedges to serve with

Star by sauteing the sausage, add the onion, then the mushrooms and zucchini.  When these are pretty well cooked add the tomatoes, allow them to cook until melted.  Add the rice, wine, water and spices.  Cover and allow to simmer without mixing until the rice is cooked.  The main difference between paella and risotto is that risotto is creamy because it must be mixed constantly while cooking, paella is kind of crispy because it is cooked without mixing, I couldn't resist mixing it so I did so a couple of times during the cooking process.  When the rice is very close to being cooked, add the corn and peas.

Serve the paella with lemon wedges to squeeze over it when eating!