SWISS FOODBLOGGERS PICNIC - 10 JUNE 2007

The kind and joyful San of "Dans La Cuisine Des Frangines" from Geneva (Switzerland) had the good idea to organize a picnic for all the foodies from Suisse Romande and around (neighboring France)...

That's how, last Sunday, I met up with a group of foodiebloggers and readers in the magnificent "Domaine De Penthes", a park with an old manor house (originally a 14th century fortified mansion). The place could not have been more idyllic for a first meeting as we had a plunging view over Lake Geneva.

~ Catherine, her husband and two children, Aurélie (San's sister). ~

~ Estèbe's cheese (Bleu De Termignon from Savoie in France) and San's "Feta And Dried Tomato Bread". ~

Originally, we had our rendez-vous at 13h00. But as Geneva had been hit by an immense and long-lasting thunderstorm (~3 hours) in the morning that stressed us to the highest point (especially San), because we did not know if our event might have to get cancelled due to the weather's whims! I remember being woken up by strong rumbling, lightning and gallons of water falling from the sky and thinking to myself, with my heart beating, "Oh, no not TODAY!!! What are we going to do?!?...". But, fortunately, the Gods were graceful enough to offer us sunshine and (steaming) canicular heat!

~ Laetitia, Lily and Bebop. ~

~ My plates: 1st plate has Corinne's "Salmon Tart", Claude-Olivier's "Thai Spicy Beef Salad", Damien's "Marinated Red Mullet Fish", Laetitia's "Chinese Dumplings" and Rai's "Gorgonzola And Pear Puffs". 2nd plate has my "Savory Cheesecake", ?'s "Chickpea Salad", San's "Feta And Dried Tomato Bread" and Corinne's "Goat's Cheese And Artichoke Tart". ~

So, I met my dear American friend Rachel of "Ugly Fruit" at the Gare De Cornavin (train station) and we took the bus V (see TPG company infos) till the stop "Penthes. We were some of the last bloggers to arrive. There, we discovered many smiling faces and a real feast that was waiting to get greedily eaten. Kiriel of "The Papillon Pantry", another enthusiastic foodie friend from Australia came a little later...

~ Kiriel's "Mediterranean Stuffed Bread" and Corinne's "Goat's Cheese And Artichoke Tart". ~

Apart from San, her sister Aurélie and us three, there was also Bebop (and her husband) of "Plaisir Des Papilles", Marie Flo of "Ma Nature 2" (from Haute-Savoie in France) , Ptinutz of "La Page De La Noisette", Lily of "Gnocchi Et Cie", Catherine of "Sans Sucre Ajouté" and her little family, Claude-Olivier of "1001 Recettes" (from Canton Fribourg, FR), Damien of "Un Monde De Saveurs" (from Sion in Canton Valais, VS), Laetitia of "Au Bout Du Monde", Estèbe of "Top Slurp!" and finally Corinne, an assiduous blog reader (and her husband and two children).

~ Bebop's "Cherry Boats", Claude-Olivier's "Amarula Cream And Tonka (Fava) Cheesecake" and Lily's "Carrot Cake". ~

The main attraction that day was, of course, the beautiful food which was brought in quantities. Everything looked and tasted delicious! I really had a lot of pleasure tasting everybody's dishes/specialities. It was ever so marvellous to get to know people through their food!

~ Rai's "Champaign Cupcakes" and detail. ~

After a lot of thinking and going through my books as well as surfing on the net, I finally decided upon making a "Savory Cheesecake" with gorgonzola, parmesan, ricotta, mascarpone, cream cheese and topped with my famous "Caramelized Onions", a German "Partybrot (party bread)" with "Israeli Hummus" and a batch of "Fudgy Blondies" with white chocolate chunks and pecan nuts (recipes soon to come). I must say that I was really satisfied with my choice and with the way my creations turned out (very well)...

After having eaten and iddly chatted with one another, the thunder was again threatening us. We all started to pack and, unfortunately, our little group splitted and too the way home (too early...).

~ My "Israeli Hummus", "Savory Cheesecake", "Partybrot" and "Fudgy Blondies. ~

In conclusion, that picnic/potluck was a real success and I really had a lot of fun taking part in it. I got to meet many great and interesting people, and tasted their gorgeously fabulous food and wines (Mont De Vuilly, mmmhhhh. Thanks Claude-olivier!). What more could you ask?!?... My only regret is/was that I didn't get to speak to all the bloggers (some not at all). A pity! Anyway, I hope that it will not be our first and last meeting, so I guess that I will have the chance to speak with everybody on the occasion of our next foodie picnic, which I hope will be very soon!!!....

THANKS SAN FOR ORGANIZING THAT EVENT, THUS GIVING US THE CHANCE TO MEET OTHER FELLOW FOODIEBLOGGERS.
A WONDERFUL AND FRUITFUL EXPERIENCE!

If you want to read more reports, then here are the links:

• Bebop
• Corinne and family
• Claude-Olivier
• Damien
  
• Kiriel
• Marie-Flo
• San
  

WONDERFUL FOOD

All those who know my blog might have understood that I am always in awe in front of my food and that I have to capture it's soul and beauty whenever I can (all the time, in fact)!

I really enjoy photographing my food, in it's natural form, before it gets prepared and transformed as it always results in marvellous raw images that perfectly translate the spirit of each item...

A big (1.2 kilos) and extremely tender "slab" of ostrich meat (fillet) from Namibia.
Bright yellow bananas...
Black sticky rice (pulut hitam) from Indonesia (see infos)...

And what about you, do you also love the way food looks before it has been washed, cut and cooked?

PROFITEROLES

In the past, I remember not liking desserts that were made with cream puff pastry/choux pastry. I just didn't find them very uninteresting taste- and texture-wise...

I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I always found that they tasted like cardboard and that the pastry was quite dry. But, since I've started making my own, I changed my mind and really crave those little baked wonders!

Before I got to that The King Arthur Flour (see link) recipe, I never got very good results, because the other recipes had the tendancy to give sagging puffs that ressembled omelets. Now, my cream puffs are always perfect and keep their shape.

Those "Profiteroles" (see infos) are extremely delightful and highly satisfying. On the outside, the cream puffs are crispy and their center is smooth and elastic. Flavor-wise, the butter is very omnipresent and makes them all the more delicious. And that chocolate sauce smothered all over them is ever so gorgeous!

A real treat that is simple to make, yet very delicate, distinguished and effectful!

~ Profiteroles ~
Recipes by "The King Arthur Flour".

Makes about 16 cream puffs.

Ingredients for the cream puff pastry:
1 Cup (240g) Water
8 Tbs (125g) Unsalted butter
1/4 Tsp Salt
1 1/4 Cups (158g) Plain white flour
4 Eggs (~53g)
For the chocolate sauce:
1/2 Cup (105g) Castor sugar
1/4 Cup (23g) Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 Cup (165g) Light corn syrup
1/4 Cup (60g) Milk
2 Tbs (30g) Unsalted butter
1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 220° C (425° F).
2. Put the water, butter and salt in a saucepan and bring the mixture to a rolling boil.
3. Remove it from the heat and add the flour all at once.
4. Stir vigorously.
5. Return the pan to the burner and cook over medium heat, stirring all the while, until the mixture forms a ball (about a minute).
6. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool for 5 to 10 minute.
7. Transfer the dough to a mixer and beat in the eggs one at a time.
8. Beat at least two minutes after adding the last egg.
9. Form the choux paste into whatever shape you desire.
10. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 190° C (375° F) and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
11. Turn off the oven, open the door a crack and leave the pastry inside to cool for 30 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven too cool completely.
For the chocolate sauce:
13. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, corn syrup and milk.
14. Stir to blend.
15. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a full boil.
16. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.
17. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the butter and vanilla extract.
18. Keep stirring until the butter has completely melted.
19. Drizzle this hot sauce over the cream puffs and eat straight away.

Remarks:
After the 5 to 10 minutes of cooling, the pastry will still feel hot, but you should be able to hold a finger in it for a few seconds.
After having incorporated the eggs and beaten the mixture, the paste will become quite fluffy.
To shape the choux, use either a spoon or a pastry bag (to pipe).
Instead of using corn syrup for the sauce, you can either replace it by golden syrup, honey or "mélasse à tartiner" (only in Switzerland).
The sauce can easily be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week and reheated before serving.

Serving suggestions:
You can slice the cream puffs in half and fill them with either whipped cream or or a scoop of your favorite ice cream (I recommend vanilla or walnut ice cream) and then drizzle the "Chocolate Sauce" over them.

WEEKEND CAT BLOGGING #105

This week, the kind Sher and her two cheeky little kitties, the mighty Upsie and the sweet Sundance at "What Did You Eat?" (USA) are happy to announce that they are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #105!

To submit your kitty picture(s), you can either leave a message in their blog's comment section (with your permalinks) or contact them via e-mail without forgetting to give all the needed informations.

Two nicknames that would fit Fridolin very well are "Mister Feet" or "Daddy Long Legs".
He is such a funny looking cat when he proudly lies in his basket with his legs sticking out...
He usually makes his holier-than-thou zen face that makes him look like a professor on acid and always likes to hold on the side of the basket with his cute and delicate little feet.
Extremely sweet!

LIGHT EFFECTS

In nature, everything that surrounds us is wonderful, but I believe that what makes those things even more beautiful is the way light plays with the landscapes, trees and mountains, in order to create breathtaking sceneries. It is as if they gain a new and changing dimension every minute of the day, depending on how they are lit or not...

Where I live, every single ray of sun or dark cloud gives a different personality to my beautiful Salève and Jura mountains. They are a bit like a chameleons that adopt the colors of their environment.

I never get tired of looking at them!

A thundery, yet sunny day...
Morning mist hungrily licks the Salève...
A rainbow, like a jewel in the sky...
After the rain, everything is clear...
A breathtaking sunset...
Early Spring, the clouds play with the disappearing sun in a mandarin-colored sky...

DIM CANDLES

I particularly enjoy the warm, mystic, peaceful and intimist atmosphere that surrounds candles. Their light is really soothing and seems to be propice for introspection...

At home, you can be sure that every single weekend dinner is bathed in candlelight. Nothing is better than to eat gorgeous food and drink fine wine while listening to Blues music when the room is dimly lit by the orange glow of candles. A perfect and unique dining experience!

Isn't it just simply wonderful?
Candles

The days of the future stand in front of us
Like a line of candles all alight----
Golden and warm and lively little candles.
The days that are past are left behind,
A mournful row of candles that are out;
The nearer ones are still smoking,
Candles cold, and melted, candles bent.,
I don’t want to see them; their shapes hurt me,
It hurts me to remember the light of them at first.
I look before me at my lighted candles,
I don’t want to turn around and see with horror
How quickly the dark line is lengthening,
How quickly the candles multiply that have been put out.

~ By Constantine P. Cavafy ~

IN LOVE WITH TEX-MEX FOOD

Since the day I discovered Tex-Mex food (see infos), I have become addicted to it and now need my regular dose of tortilla-wrapped specialities, otherwise I would suffer too much!

Of course, it goes without mentioning that everything has to be homemade from A to Z. The industrial stuff which you find in stores is just not comparable. For example, a bought tortilla (see infos) will never be as authentic and scrummy as the ones you make with your little hands, because they have no soul as nobody put their heart into the task and the ingredients used will always be of dubious quality.

Real tortillas (plain flour or "masa harina" ones) are very smooth, yet bread-like and their taste is uniquely delicious. When it comes to their store-bought cousins, they are quite disgusting, I must say! Those tortillas are strangely foamy and rubber-like, shine in an an eery way and have no fragrance nor flavor (maybe just the one of bad hydrogenated oil). Eeessshhh!

In conclusion, make your own Tex-Mex food if you want your tastebuds to dance to the sound of Mexican beats and be as wild as a Texas cowboy!!!

MUY CALIENTE!

Don't they look appetizing?
With those, you can't go wrong...

If you want do do a real "Fiesta Latina or Americana", with lotsa fine and "dirty" (= extremely yummy and scrumptious in my language!) food (tortillas, burritos, guacomole, salsa and much more...), I recommend you to visit this page of my blog:

My Tortilla recipe can be found here.

RHUBARB COBBLER

During the warmers days, I love to prepare seasonal baked fruit desserts that I usually eat as the main dish, for supper...

At the moment, we can still buy rhubarb (not for much longer, though), so I naturally chose this wonderful vegetable (no, it's not a fruit!) in order to make this lovely speciality.

A cobbler (see infos) is an old-fashioned traditional English and American baked cake-like dessert that generally contains fruits. It's name derives from the verb "to cobble" which means "to patch" something roughly. You can quite understand why it got called in this way when you know that it is a kind of patchwork combining fruits and cake dough that are hastily put together without much of a fuss. The dough of a cobbler can either be poured on top of the fruits or just simply used as a crust that will be covered with fruits. To be honest with you, there's not much difference as both ways give a very similar result...

This "Rhubarb Cobbler" is absolutely delicious! It is very light terxtured, fluffy, slightly caramelized on the edges, crispy on it's top and has a smooth/moist center. The spices add the right tinge of flavor needed, thus not being overpowering, but just mingling delicately with the rhubarb and balancing it's singular taste in the most perfect way. Every spoonful of this treat is gorgeously wicked and extremely comforting, and that submerging taste of butter sends you straight to another dimension. Amazing!

Another great recipe that was taken from a book I cherish very much: " The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook"...

~ Rhubarb Cobbler ~
Recipe by The King Arthur Flour and adapted by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums

Makes one cobbler for 2-4, or 8 wedges

Ingredients for the cake:
1 Cup (128g) Plain white flour
1 Tsp Baking powder
2/3 Tsp Salt
2 Eggs (~53g)
1 Cup (210g) Castor sugar
2 Tbs (30g) Unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbs (30g) Milk
For the rhubarb topping:
3-4 Cups Rhubarb, chopped
1/2 Cup (100g) Castor sugar
1 Tbs Lemon juice
1 Tsp Vanilla extract
2-3 Tbs Amaretto
1/4 Cup (62g) Water
1 Tsp Ground cinnamon
1/3 Tsp Ground ginger

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 190° C (375° F).
2. Grease a 23 x 23cm (9 x 9 Inch) square pan.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
4. Beat together the eggs and 1 cup sugar, until the mixture is pale and frothy.
5. Then, add the butter and milk.
6. Mix energically until well blended.
7. Add the flour mixture, stirring just to combine.
8. Pour the batter into the greased pan.
For the rhubarb topping:
9. In a medium-sized saucepan, simmer together the lemon juice, sugar, vanilla extract, Amaretto, water, cinnamon and ginger for 3-4 minutes.
10. Add the rhubarb and stir to coat with the syrup.
11. Pour this hot fruit mixture over the batter in the pan.
12. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the cobbler, until skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Remarks:
You can make this cobbler with many different fruits, alone or in combination (strawberries, peaches, apricots, cherries, pears, plums, blueberries, etc...) as long as you keep the same quantity as with the rhubarb.
If you choose other fruits, you might want to change the spices and flavoring used for the topping.
Whatever fruit you use should be peeled, cored and cut into bite-sized pieces. Berries just need to be hulled...

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot/warm or even at room temperature with unsweetened condensed milk/evaporated milk (my favorite, see infos), whipped cream or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

WEEKEND CAT BLOGGING #104

This week, Amar and Luna at "CatSynth.Com" (USA) are happy to announce that they are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #104!

To submit your kitty picture(s), you can either leave a message in their blog's comment section (with your permalinks) or contact them via e-mail without forgetting to give all the needed informations.

Fridolin and Maruschka truely enjoy one another's company despite their "weekly idiotic fights" that drive me bananas.
They usually stay together all day long and sleep for hours without moving.
They never stay alone for too long.
Whether they are in their basket or on the bed, those two little fluff balls have to cuddle in a sweet way that never fails to make me coo over them...
Don't they look cute?

"MY DESKTOP PIC" MEME - FOND D'ÉCRAN

The very kind Oum Kalthoum at "1001 Saveurs" (France) has tagged me with the "My Desktop Pic" meme...

As desktop picture, I always use beautiful photos with sceneries that make me dream and transport me in another world.

~ The Canadian Rockies ~

Isn't it a peaceful and wonderful place? I'd really love to visit North America (USA & Canada). It's a dream I have since I'm small...

I tag the following people:

• Mingoumango at "La Bouche Pleine" (France)
• Mounet at "Cerises Et Clafoutis" (France)
• Sher at "What Did You Eat?" (USA)
• Zorra at "Kochtopf" (Spain)