Strawberries with Lime

September 28, 2010 | Filed Under Desserts/Sweets, Fruits, Strawberries | 8 Comments

Keeping things simple, over the summer, I put together this easy dessert, snack, sweet-tooth filler (whatever you want to call it) several times. Sweet, light and cool, it was the perfect food to eat during the heatwave weather we had (By the way, we’ve now entered the Fall/Autumn season and it’s still unseasonably warm). This Strawberries and Lime dish was also perfect to make during the hot weather, since it didn’t require a lot of energy.

If strawberries are still available near you, try this recipe. The lime zest makes it taste extra special.

Paz

Strawberries with Lime
serves 4
Sweet Paul

One big bowl filled with strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
finely grated zest from 2 limes

Mix all and serve room temperature.

Mango and Coconut Sago Pudding

September 8, 2008 | Filed Under Desserts/Sweets, Guest Bloggers, Mangoes | 33 Comments

Please help me welcome this week’s guest blogger, Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything at Least Once. Thanks for being here, Haalo!

Paz

Every Monday I have a date with New York – a slice of that lovely city photographed by Paz. So I thought to start this post I’d share a photo of my city, Melbourne at night, taken at the banks of the Yarra River.

When Paz asked if I would guest post while she recovers I immediately had to say yes. Paz is one of those truly lovely people, a friend to all, she’s always there with a cheery word and encouragement.

So for this post I thought I’d make something with her favourite fruit which has just come back into season here – Mango!

While it is perfectly acceptable to just indulge in the fruit in its unadulterated form I really needed to do something more. Various ideas were floated but ultimately I wanted something simple and uncomplicated that wouldn’t compete with the fruit but rather compliment it.

So I turned to a forgotten ingredient -

Pearl Sago or Pearl Tapioca or Tapioca Seed – it is known by various names but refers to virtually the same product. Sago comes from the Sago Palm while Tapioca is made from cassava.

Sago itself has a neutral flavour but does work as a carrier of flavour and as a textural element. To complete the dish, another friend of mango comes into play, coconut cream to bind it together.

The end product, a lusciously delightful Mango and Coconut Sago Pudding!

Mango and Coconut Sago

Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once

½ cup pearl sago

1 cup coconut cream

1½ – 2 cups water

½ cup sugar

1 mango

Prepare the mango:

Cut the cheeks from the mango – slicing close to the central seed.

Using a large metal spoon, drag it around the edge of each cheek to scoop the flesh out in one piece.

Cut each cheek into small dice.

Remove the skin from around the seed and then scrap off as much of the mango flesh as you can – collect this in a bowl and then mash to form a puree. This will be used as a topping.

Make the pudding:

Put the sugar, coconut cream and 1½ cups of water into a saucepan and place over a gentle heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and then add the sago.

It’s important that you don’t allow the mixture to boil as that will cause the coconut cream to split.

Keep stirring to ensure the sago doesn’t form clumps. The sago will swell and the mixture will become quite sticky as the starch is released – if it becomes too thick, just add a little more water.

The sago is cooked when it becomes translucent. When you see this happening, gently fold through the diced mango.

The pudding can be served from cold to hot – my preference is to serve it warm.

Pour the pudding into serving glasses and top with the reserved mango puree.

Thanks again to Paz and we all hope to see you back at the helm very soon!

Queen of Puddings

August 18, 2008 | Filed Under Baking, Blog Anniversary, Desserts/Sweets, Guest Bloggers, Puddings | 28 Comments

Please help me welcome this week’s guest blogger, Elizabeth of The House in Marrakesh and About New York. It is especially fitting that she’s made a tasty dessert because today happens to be the three year anniversary of The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz. Yay! So, we can celebrate with her delicious-sounding Queen of Puddings. Help yourself, everyone! Thank you, Elizabeth!

Paz

Photo from DeliaOnLine.com

I am honored to be a guest blogger for chef Paz!

Some while ago, we were discussing our favorite dessets. We like dessert!

In these days of increasing food prices it is good to be thrifty. What better way to use of stale white bread than a delicious

Queen of Puddings?

Also called Queen Pudding, this dish, based on a 17th Century version, was created for Queen Victoria by her chefs at Buckingham Palace. You can tell Chef Paz and I like to be in important company! This is a great favorite with my family and is easy to make.

Serves 6-8

You need:

2 cups stale white breadcrumbs (you can make these in your blender from any stale loaf)

1 tbl sp castor sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp grated lemon rind

2 1/2 cups milk

60 gm butter

4 eggs separated

1/4 cup raspberry jam

3/4 cup caster sugar (extra)

2 tsp crystal sugar

Method:

1. Combine breadcrumbs, castor sugar, essence and rind in large bowl.

2. Heat milk and butter in pan until almost boiling, stir in to bread mixture; stand 10 mins

3. Stir yolks into bread mixture, pour into shallow ovenproof dish (five cup capacity).

4. Bake uncovered in moderate oven about 35 mins until set.

5. Carefully spread top of pudding with warmed jam.

6. Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form, gradually add extra castor sugar, beat until sugar is dissolved.

7. Spread meringue over pudding, bake in moderate oven about 10 mins or until lightly browned.

Serving Suggestion: Recipe best made before serving, not suitable for freezing or microwaving.

Kaiser Pancakes (Kaiserschmarren)

January 27, 2008 | Filed Under Austrian Cuisine, Breakfast, Desserts/Sweets, Friends, New York Times, The Flyng Apple blog | 25 Comments

This Sunday’s New York Times has an article out on dining in Austria, and our friend and fellow blogger, Angelika of The Flying Apple is a major part of the article. She recently opened her own restaurant, which she has blogged about on her site.

Quite some time ago, she sent me an Austrian cookbook (recipes from the Austro-Hungarian Royal Kitchen). I hadn’t been able to try out any of the recipes, although I’d picked up the cookbook to look for something to make after recently watching The Sound of Music (which takes place in Austria). I never had time to prepare my Austrian meal.

With news of Angelika’s article in theTimes, I had to prepare something Austrian in her honor. For a Sunday morning, I decided to prepare the Kaiser Pancakes. The ingredients were readily available to me, except for plum purée. I bought blueberry preserves to use as a substitution for the plum puree. However, by the time I’d finished making my pancakes, I was starved and couldn’t wait to eat my food. I forgot all about the preserves. Next time.

Anywho, my Kaiser Pancakes didn’t turn out badly at all. In fact, I loved them. It tasted really good. As I closed my eyes and savored the taste of my pancakes, I imagined I was part of the royalty enjoying my meal. My imagination lasted, until I had to get up and wash my own dishes.

Congratulations, Angelika on a very nice article and all your accomplishments.

Best,

Paz

Kaiser Pancakes (Kaiserschmarren)

Imperial Austrian Cuisine by Renate Wagner-Wittula

Ingredients:

6 eggs

200 g (7oz) cake or pastry flour

50 g (1 1/2 oz) sugar

250 ml (8 fluid oz) milk

pinch of salt

40 g (1 oz) raisins

butter

confectioners’ sugar (powdered)

plum purée

Preparation:

Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Thouroughly mix the yolks, sugar, milk and flour. Whisk the egg whites, add a pinch of salt and continue whisking until stiff. Now, carefully fold into the egg yolk mixture. Melt butter in a large pan, pour in the mixture and sprinkle in raisins. Let cook on one side for a few minutes, turn over and tear into pieces with a fork. Now let finish cooking (ideally in a buttered pan in a preheated oven(. Be especially careful not to overcook the pancakes, otherwise they will dry out. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve with plum purée.

Happy Anniversary! Happy Birthday!

August 19, 2007 | Filed Under Blog Anniversary, Desserts/Sweets | 30 Comments

Lady Fingers and crema pasticcera

Happy Anniversary! Happy Birthday to my blog! Today marks the two year anniversary when I first posted on this blog. Unbelievable. I never thought I’d ever develop an interest in cooking and then have the nerve to blog about it. Time sure flies when you’re having fun, learning new cooking tips, finding awesome recipes and meeting fellow food bloggers and making really good friends.

Sometime ago, I was talking to Simona of Briciole (one of the blogs I love!) about the different ways of making tiramisu. This is one of the first desserts I prepared and blogged about. Even to this day I still can’t believe that I actually made tiramisu because until then, I always had to go to a restaurant to order it. While I like to make tiramisu, I can’t prepare it often because one family member has a low immune system and can’t risk eating it because of raw eggs ingredients.

Simona suggested making a simple dessert of Lady Fingers and crema pasticcera, which doesn’t include raw eggs. This was something she used to make often as a teenager, so she shared her recipe for crema pasticcera and the dessert with me.

After I prepared the crema pasticcera, I dipped the Lady Fingers in coffee and then layered it with the crema (instead of the mascarpone mixture, which contained the raw eggs). Instantly, I had a delicious dessert! Thank you Simona! I had fun making this dessert. It was very easy to prepare and everyone enjoyed it.

According to Simona’s research on alternative Tiramisu recipes:

1. A number of people use crema pasticcera instead of the raw egg mixture to make Tiramisu, but they add mascarpone to it.

2. Other people use crema pasticcera and don’t use mascarpone, but they add whipped cream to the crema (we call the mixture crema chantilly) .

3. Ladyfingers and crema can be used to make zuppa inglese, but then you would need alchermes to moisten the cookies, not coffee.

4. However, some people make zuppa inglese using coffee to moisten the ladyfingers ( which is what I did).

Thanks to everyone who stops by here and leaves a comment. It would be no fun without you. For the past couple of months my food posts have diminished. I have a different schedule that doesn’t allow me to cook and blog much, neither have I been able to stop by other blogs as I previously did. In the near future, I hope to get up to speed again and blog about my cooking adventures more often. I certainly have a lot of recipes to try out and share!

Paz

Crema pasticcera in the pot

Crema Pasticcera

Briciole

2 extra-large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
500 ml milk (slightly more than 2 cups)
3 strips of lemon peel about 3” long and 1/2” wide (using a potato peeler to cut the strips makes it easier to avoid cutting the white part of the lemon)
3 tablespoons pastry (or unbleached) flour
Pour the milk into a pan, add the lemon peel and warm up to well below boiling point.
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is white and bubbly.
Sift the flour over the egg mixture and beat briefly until it is incorporated.
Remove the lemon strips from the milk.
Add the milk to the eggs and mix with a wooden spoon.
Pour the mixture into the pan and set it to very low heat, stirring at least every couple of minutes. When the froth on the surface disappears completely, crema starts to feel thicker. From then on stir almost continuously.
When crema reaches boiling temperature, cook for 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat and stir to bring down the temperature.
While the crema cools down, stir it every now and then to prevent the formation of a film over it.