Finishing the foyer and a good tart

The kitchen was not the only room that I remolding in my place, in fact I built a new room. A foyer was incorporated in the house. Before that, I only had a laconic and solitaire entryway front door in a horrible 7,2 sq ft porch.

You know, it's really hard to undo a bad first impression. A foyer is a terrific opportunity to make a statement about who you are and what your house is like so you have to make it count. So I demolished the porch walls and build up new walls with a large window. Is almost finish they are painting the walls and I am thinking in decoration, right now. And I bought these beautiful vases and those beautiful skinny dry branches with a delicate wood detail. What do you think? Isn’t it beautiful?

As long as they don’t finish the paint I was seeking for some ruled out photos that I pretend save in CD, Don’t ask me why I would do that, if I ruled up once , but definitely is me .

So, I found a folder from my husband’s birthday and I saw my roasted red onion tart.

I was inspired for one recipe (Roasted red onions) that I found in Donna Hay’s book; Off the Shelf; Cooking from the pantry. I discover and bought this book in my last vacation, and was love at first side. Her recipes are seldom difficult. In fact, they are simple. But she inspires beauty in her creations

Donna Hay is an Australian-based food stylist, and one of the best-known names in cookbook and magazine publishing in the world. Donna Hay inspired a new trend in cookbooks; clear close-ups of food. This focus on the food has made her cookbooks bestsellers, for although the recipes may seem simple, the mouth-watering photos.

. Selling over 3 million copies worldwide her books are renowned for their fresh style, easy-to-follow recipes and inspirational photography. She was named one of the ‘Magnificent Seven' cookbook authors by the judges of the Gourmand World Cookbook Award in January 2007.

Roasted Red Onions & Cheese tart

Pate Brisee

(Savory dough pie)

350 g all purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

220 g unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into small pieces

¼ to ½ cup ice water

In a food processor, place the flour, salt, Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour ¼ cup water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched. Add remaining water, if necessary. Do not process more than 30 seconds.

Turn the dough out onto your work surface and gather it into a ball. Roll in foil; refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours before using.

For fast preparation: Put the dough in the freezer for 40-50 minutes before working with it.

For the roasted Onions

Ingredients

6 medium red onions, peeled and halved
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Arrange onions, cut sides down, in a baking pan or on a broiler pan

Sprinkle with a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Pour over the balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or so, turning them (with tongs or a wooden spoon) and basting half way through cooking. When the onions are ready, they should be deep purple in color.

For the cheese filling

100g Taleggio cheese, fontina, or similar semi-soft cheese, chopped

200g cream cheese

2 eggs yolk

Mix all ingredients and spoon on crust pre baked for about 10 minutes. Top with onions and bake about 30 minutes in Pre heat oven (220C)

Spanakopita

Remolding kitchen is not an easy job. I confess that I am exhausted with the noise and dust. If, are you planning make an remolding, keep in mind that you don’t have a cooker for a few weeks, or, worst, for month. In my case I think is a month now. And I really miss cook and blogging.

In the other hand, this week, I had a serious problem with my internet line. So, without internet I started to watch photos, which I pretend transform in little pictures for decorated one of the walls of my new kitchen and I found Spanakopita’s photo. I made one for my husband’s birthday, and I made equal Peter’s recipe. If you don’t know Peter´s blog Kalofagas you must know, is full of delicious Greek recipes But I do not made, like him, the dough, I just bought. The recipe is easy and delicious

Spanakopita

12 Phyllo sheets

500gr. ricotta cheese
3 large eggs
500 gr. feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh dil
2 bunches of scallions, sauteed in oil (softened)
3 bunches of spinach, washed, blanced, drained (or 3 boxes of from frozen spinach)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix all of the above ingredients and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, reserve.
2. Lay 6 phyllo sheets in the pan, lightly brushing each with oil or melted butter before adding the next layer. Brush all the edges first since that is where drying will begin.
3. Spoon the spinach mixture over the top of the phyllo and carefully spread evenly to within about 1/2 inch of the edges
4. Lay 6 more phyllo sheets on top, brushing each one with oil or melted butter before adding the next layer.
5. Cover and chill for about 30 minutes to set.
6. Bake until golden, about 30-minutes.

Rocket,nuts and pistachios savory cake

Savory cakes, here in Argentina, are not ordinary as in Brazil. The most Brazilian family has a good recipe, mostly done in a blender. So, I want to do something different

I was a little bit tiered of tarts and pies (remembering, at those moment I baked 8 pies and tarts….afff!!) and knowing that I had rocket in my fridge I began to search a recipe in my stuffs and I found this in La cuisine naturelle, a recipe compile edited to Manor La placette

. The cake was really good tasty and keeps fresh for several days.

Rocket, pistachios and nuts savory cake

• 150g flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1 Tsp (tea) baking power
• 1 Tbs (coffee) salt
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 100g gruyere cheese (grated)
• 100g rocket
• 50g nuts
• 50g pistachios
• 12,5 cl milk
• 8 cl olive oil

Method

• Pre heat oven
• Meanwhile
• In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, milk and oil and whisk until the batter gets a smooth but thick texture, add grated gruyere
• Cut the rocket, nuts and pistachios and add to the previous mix
• Pour in cake pan, and bake for 30 , 35 minutes

Etiquetas de Technorati: Rocket,pistachios,nuts,"savory cake"bake,veggie

Brocolli, blue chesse tarte

I've been busy all week. Spending time in checking my Christmas tree stuffs

I don’t know why, but all year happen the same thing, the rice lights insist in don’t work, and every year I've wasted my time and money on buying new ones. But Christmas is my favorite holyday and is once time in the year. So, I do those things with joy.

I’ve been planning Christmas’s eve dinner, Christmas brunch and shopping too.

And testing new recipes.

One of them is this tart made with philo dough and filled with blue cheese; broccoli and sprinkle with Sardo cheese. I love the texture, crunchy outside and creamily fill inside .And the most important, it was approved by my husband :)

Broccoli, blue cheese tarte

Ingredients

80 grams philo dough, which you can buy or substitute for puff pastry

350 grams broccoli

1 small chopped onion

200 ml cream

2 eggs yolk

Thread of olive oil

50 grams blue cheese

30 grams grated sardo cheese for sprinkle; you may use Parmesan too

Directions

Pre heat the oven

Put a thread of olive oil in a skillet and take to the heat. Add the chopped onions and

cook until the onions stay transparent. Then add the broccoli washed and clean, cut in small pieces. When the broccoli be hard green and tender, retire from de heat. In blender, measure cream; eggs and blue cheese. Mix on high speed for 2 minutes. Check the salt and pepper .Reserve

Put three layers of philo dough on a damp towel. Sprinkle with some melted butter (just a little bit) and then sprinkle 1/4 of the breadcrumbs to make a second layer. Take a round or rectangular pie pan .Put on the three layers of pilho dough Pour the broccoli and onion mix and put the blended mix over. Pour on top grated sardo cheese. Bake in medium temperature (180ºC or360ºF) for 15 or 20 minutes.

Chicken tart and champignons

I have pretty memories of my childhood, mostly of the vacations that we passed with my maternal grandparents in the beach. My grandmother always liked plants and in her garden she always had flowers, fruit-bearing (the white best plums that I have eaten were those of the tree of her garden) trees and aromatic herbs, until today to their 94 years old, what gives her more pleasure is to take care to her plants and flowers. There she has rosemary that has pretty flowers, a laurel tree, oregano, parsley that I use whenever I leave there and I cook. Nothing better that the coolness of the pulled up products of the earth. She also knows a lot of mushrooms and in their time she preserves it with olive oil although I remember it. Unhappily I didn't learn more with her about mushrooms, which they were eatable and which not. I am more familiar to those that are finding easily in the markets. And when is possible I prefer them fresh. And the only thing that I learned is that they should be firm and without stains.

At home we ate more chicken than meat; I know is an incongruity once we live in a country that produces bovine meat, but I prefer fish and chicken to the meat. Then, taking benefit of my fresh mushrooms I made this chicken tart and champignons that came very well for our dinner.

Chicken tart and Champignons

Use a puff-pastry or some recipes like this

Filler

½ Kg. of chest of cut chicken in very small cubes

½ onions

100Very small grams of fresh cut champignons

3 Tablespoons of oil, I use sunflower oil

2 Tablespoons of wheat flour

100 Ml of milk

1 Egg

1 Tablespoon cream cheese

Parsley

Salt

Black milled pepper

Sweat the onion and when it is transparent puts the chicken and the champignons.

When they are cooked put the flour and mix well, when it begins gild, add the milk so thickens to put the cheese and the egg.

Retire of fire and to sprinkle with the chopped parsley

Correct the salt and sprinkle with some pepper

Stuff the tart (the filler and the crust should be cold) it takes to the oven until this gilding.

Caramalized onion, spinach and blue cheese Quiche

Yesterday I observed that it dawns earlier and the first buds are appearing in the plants, it would seem that the spring is almost, almost in the air. Thinking on that and in fresh vegetables, that I thought of making a tart with vegetables and I remembered of this tart that toward a lot that I not made. This tart is one of my best recipes of salted pastries, it was retire of Cordon Bleu book, they have a stupendous mixture of flavors. And it is perfect for a brunch or a hot first plate

For the crust

200G of flour

1 coffee spoon salt

100 G cold butter

1 Egg lightly beating

1 Tablespoon cold water

Mix with the thumbs the flour with salt and the butter until it resembles each other to grated fine bread. Make a crown and in the center put the water and the egg until obtaining a homogeneous mixture. Cover with a paper film and take to the refrigerator during at least 20 minutes. Stretch out and put in anointed pan of 24 cm for 3,5 cm. And take another time to the refrigerator

For the filler

2 Tablespoons of oil vegetable

500G onion cute in fine rings

1 Tablespoon of dessert of sugar

100 Ml red wine or Port wine, as suggested yesterday, speaking with Daniel

50 G of butter

250 G of frozen or fresh cooked spinach

A tiny piece of nutmeg

200Grs of blue strong cheese, roquefort, stilton or Gorgonzola

200ml butter cream

4 Beaten eggs

Fry the onion in the oil during approximately eight minutes until this transparent one. Increases the heat and put the sugar allow to caramel for more 5 minutes and adds the wine and allow to boil until evaporate. Reserve.

In a saucepan heat the butter cream, don't boil, I used 0% fat. Put the cheese cut in squares to melt. After melting, wait to cool and to increase the eggs. Mix well

Put 50 g in butter in a fry pan and fry the spinach, season with salt and nutmeg. Wait until cold

Mix the spinaches with the mixture of heavy cream and cheese and if it is necessary correct the salt

Fill putting the onions and at once up the cream mixture of spinaches, heavy cream and cheese. Bake until be golden

I hope you enjoy.

Tarte Pasqualina

The pasqualina is a tart coming from the kitchen of Ligúria in Italy.

You toward in Easter, but now is used in all the times of the year Is a very, healthy tart and whit low calories. It can eat up cold or heat and it is taken very well in the pic nics. Here in Argentina, it is one of the ordinary pastries, I believe that tart arrive here for the Italian high immigration that Argentina had. My husband is of Italian origin and this it is one of his salted favorite pastries

Pasqualina Tart

A recipe of your favorite crust

400g of sewn spinach

2 tablespoons of soup of oil

50g of grated (the traditional one requests ricotta, but I prefer with grated bread) bread

5 Eggs

30g of grated Parmesan or grated pecorino

1 Onion

½ sweet red pepper

2 Cloves of garlic

A pinch of salt and pepper

Sweat the onion, the sweet pepper and the garlic. Sauté until this soft one and put the cooked an cut spinach, it picks up a little more and retire of the fire. One with grated bread and Parmesan (or pecorino) Mixes with two eggs.

Put the filler on the mold and make three holes in the mixture of the filler.

Insert the eggs in them and sprinkle the eggs with salt. Put the other part of the crust and close carefully for not ruining the eggs.

Bake in pre heat oven. During 45 to 50 minutes. The temperature of 220 C