Easter chocolates and starter

What’s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine?

This weekend is quite specific because it is Easter weekend, great for two things:  eating chocolate more than usual and 4 free days. This year, I have decided to do my own chocolate. I have already tried last year but my only memory regarding this cooking experience is long, too long. So this year, I decided to try it again, it was still long but the result was really great. Indeed, this year I have bought high quality dark chocolate from Callebaut and I bought a magic powder: Mycryo. I discovered this powder on “Cooking mumu” website. And I can confirm that is right the chocolate are shiny and beautiful. I am really glad of this chocolate experience and I will share with you the recipe which is quite inspired from L’Atelier Chocolat de Pâques (Larousse).

The second recipe that I would like to share with you it is an impressive starter for your Easter banquet: salted macaron with dried tomatoes. I decided to try macaron for the first time 2 years ago. The first time I was quite frightened because everybody said that is difficult. One more time that is not really difficult it is just long. I now manage to do sweety macarons (French Chocolate and Guava Macarons, Rasperry Macarons), I have decided to launch myself on the salty one. Moreover, I wanted to use my tomato chutney, that I have received in my surprise cooking box from Récréation Gourmande. I have opted for plain cream hull (the colour of almond). The experience was tasty and it was a success. Let’s try it for your Easter starters.

Happy Easter and see you next week with a new lunch box recipe.

Childhood recipes...

What’s cooking in Pauline-Cuisine ?

Last week, I went to a street market with a friend, it is an amazing place to be because you can buy any bowl of fruit for only £1, the game is to find the merchant that will give you the must heavy bowl for this price. I have enjoyed the experience and I have bought vegetables and fruits. The only problem with these fruits and vegetables is that you need to use them quite quickly, there are not like the one that you bought in English supermarket.

I have chosen to buy apples because I was in the mood to do an apple pie. So, I have baked a thin apple pie with nuts. I have only used few apples, so I decided to bake the apples with sultanas in the oven. I remembered eating it when I was a child and I remind that it was really tasty because the apple is smooth inside not as compote but almost. I baked these apples and I found again this a little taste of my childhood, so nice, so delicious :) Try this quick recipe and don’t hesitate to post a comment.

I was in mood of cooking my childhood best food this week, so I decided to try Goat cheese and ham puff pastry. It is a quite easy thing to find ready to eat in France but it is not as common as in London. Except for lunch at Waitrose. But I was fed up to eat them because there are full of white sauce and they didn’t contain enough bacon and cheese on it. For the first time, I decided to do a Goat cheese and ham puff pastry for a dinner. It is quite easy to do, I have done my own light white sauce, and I suppose it was the part the most longer of the process to cook this recipe. The taste was wonderful; I like the mix of goat cheese and cured ham. I have done a big goat cheese and ham puff pastry and I have served it as a main course with a salad with walnuts.

I wish a good week and tasty edible experience.

See you next week with a recipe for your daily lunch box.

Quiche, quiche, quiche....

Whart's cooking in Pauline-Cuisine?

This week,  I was a little bit lazy, so I didn’t spend a lot of time in my kitchen. Nevertheless, I have kept trying to eat healthy food, so I have opted for quiches. This week, I will share with you one of my new quiche recipes: quiche of leeks.

Since several weeks, one of my colleagues eats quiche of leeks that came from a famous French bakery in London. That quiche always smells really good. So I decided to give a try in doing mine at home.

I did a first one but I was not convinced by the taste :(, so I did a second try with my quiche basis and grated cheese. The second try was a success and it was really tasty. The quiche of leeks is not the fastest quiche to make because you need time for cooking leeks but that worth it and it is a great alternative to the quiche Lorraine.

I really enjoy making and eating quiche, so I have built a large choice of recipes. If you are like me or if you want to cook something good in a few minutes, let’s have a look to my various quiches recipes: salmon quiche, quiche with Roquefort and walnuts, courgettes quiche, quiche with leeks and goat cheese or a quiche with spinach and goat cheese.

Amazing choice !! and the value added of those quiches is that you can easily freeze them for eating later. So, it is not rare that during the weekend, I cooked several type of quiche or a lot of small of one type and I froze them for eating all along the month. The tip is to cook the quiche in an individual portion, that is better when you de-freeze them and re-heat them on the microwave or in the oven.

Enjoy your quiche experience!

See you next week with the recipe of the light version of a traditional French dessert: Crème brulée.