A Great Dessert Treat!

Since I already posted a David dish, let's keep on with the theme.

Now, onto dessert.

David is a true North American. Loves his junk food. When I found in the International section of our grocery store, marshmallows (not the Spanish weird version), he went crazy! We usually had to go to the American store to get them but now, easy access to the goodies. I am not a big fan, but a few roasted on the firepit in the summer sure are good!

He loves his rice krispies squares, and since I refused to make them, he went at it. And did pretty good! He is now the rice krispies squares maker in our house :)

As he has now offered for me to bring some at work and to take some pictures for my blog, here is the recipe:


Rice Krispies Squares

Ingredients:

1 bag of marshmallows (about 40)
6 cups of rice krispies
3 tbsps butter

Now, for this recipe, I was present and took the pictures :)

In a large pot, at low heat, melt the butter.

Add the marshmallows.

Mix until they start to melt.

And until they have fully melted.

Add the rice krispies and mix well.

Transfer to a dish that has been buttered.

Using waxed paper, shape the marshmallows.

Let cool off, cut into squares and enjoy!

There you have it:

Another great recipe by David :)

Honorary Post: David can cook!!! :)

Sorry for the delay in posting. I was having trouble with my Google account and I couldn't upload images anymore. Problem resolved, time for posting! :)

As many of you know, David, my husband, is not a cook. Ok, mind you, he can now fry an egg, do an egg sandwich, is the expert on waffles and shakes. But, don't you dare ask him more than that! Of course, he is a great helping hand when needed and since I get home pretty late at night, he helps with the prep required for dinner.

The other day, he prepared a whole meal for us on a Friday at lunchtime. I had bought some marinaded pork knuckles (inspired by my trip to Eastern Europe, which I really need to post here!) and since they need to cook for a good 2 hours, David was my lifesaver. He accomplished this recipe by himself, and followed my instructions perfectly. My husband is now a cook!

Roasted Pork Knuckles

Ingredients:

2 marinaded pork knuckles

4 potatoes

1 brocoli

4 garlic cloves

1/2 cup of white wine

1/2 onion

oil

salt and pepper

Since David cooked, he did not take pictures of the process but it is pretty straight forward. One thing at a time! ;)

Preheat your oven at 180C.

Take the knuckles and place them in an oven dish.

Peel the potatoes and dice them.

Slice the onion and garlic.

Surround the meat with the potatoes, onion and garlic.

Add some oil, salt and pepper and mix well together.

Cook for about 1 1/2 hour - 2 hours.

15 minutes before it is done, add the slice brocoli to the dish.

And here is the result!

It was so delicious and it felt great to eat such an amazing dish made by David.

A Little Piece of Canadian Heaven

As some of us Canadians miss our national roots, here is a little piece of our Canadian heritage :) Tire d'érable / Maple Taffy :)

Maple Taffy, for the non canadian ones reading my blog, is boiled maple syrup until it reaches a caramel texture. It is then served on snow and using a wooden stick rolled in order to make a lollipop.

Obviously, this sweet is usually served in the Spring time when the maple syrup production is in full gear. Maple syrup is made for the starch that the maple trees store during the winter period and is converted into sugar when the sap rises in the Spring. You collect the maple "water" making a hole in the tree and after a evaporation process, you get maple syrup. If you keep the boiling process going, you get taffy and if you continue, the taffy turns into sugar. Each one of these natural sweets is simply amazing :)

Here is a picture of my mother actually in a maple grove.

So here goes my maple taffy recipe. Bear in mind that we live in Madrid. Snow is made out of crused ice. Still tasted great :)

Maple Taffy

Ingredients:

1L of maple syrup


In a saucepan, heat maple syrup until it forms bubbles. Cook for a few more minutes.

If you live in a wonderful country where you have snow, go outside and get a recipient of it. If not, crush some ice and fill a recipient :)

Using a spoon or a saucer, pour some taffy forming a line.

Wait until it cools down slightly and using a wooden stick, form a lollipop.

And there you have it. Natural Canadian flavor straight from your kitchen and super easy to make :)

Enjoy :)

Glazed Duck

I really enjoy duck. It is probably because we have French heritage in Quebec that duck is such a common dish that can be found at typical Quebec / French restaurants. Since I found a whole one at Christmas time at the supermarket at a really good price, there was nothing stopping me :) I have already posted about the cider / beer duck legs so here a recipe for a glazed duck

Glazed Duck & Spinach Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 whole duck
4 oranges
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 potatoes
3 cups of chicken or duck broth
200grs frozen spinach
salt and pepper


Pre-heat oven at 160 degrees.

In a oven pan, place duck and salt and pepper. (You can see the neck on the picture which I used to make the duck broth to baste it).

Baste the duck with about 1 cup of broth and the juice of 2 oranges.

Cook the duck brest side up for 1 hour.



In the meantime, prepare the glaze. Mix together the honey, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and the remaining orange juice.

Heat a pan and simmer the glaze until it becomes thick.

After the first hour of cooking, remove the duck and flip it over.

Baste with more broth.

Cook for another hour.
 
Glaze the duck and return to the oven to brown.

Remove some of the juices from the pan and reserve.

Peel and dice the potatoes.

In a large pan, heat some of the reserved duck juices.

Add the potatoes and cook.

Flip the duck around and glaze.

Return to oven to brown.

When the potatoes are starting to roast, add the frozen spinach.

While the duck is browning and the potatoes cooking, use the remaining duck juices and broth to make a sauce (using a roux).

The potatoes should be fine by then. Just look how amazing those look :)

Remove the duck from the oven and admire your masterpiece :)

Let rest for a few minutes in order for the juices to spread and start slicing.

Serve the duck with the potatoes and the gravy.

Enjoy :)

Pre-Christmas Dinner Part 2:)

Ok, on to part 2: the main dish.

This is a dish my mom often makes and always is a crowd-pleaser. You cannot go wrong with this dish and it's great when entertaining: oven baked. And best of all: Red and green coloring for Christmas!

Pollo alla Fiorentina

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts
breadcrumbs
2 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup red wine
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup of round rice
1/4 cup black olives
2 packs of frozen spinach
1 pack of ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
butter
oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven at 180C.

Coat the chicken breasts with seasoned breadcrumbs (I usually put oregano, basil, parsley, garlic powder and black pepper).

In a large pan, heat some oil. When ready, add the chicken.

Remove from the pan and set aside.

Combine the marinara sauce (tomato sauce with garlic, same seasoning as the breadcrumbs, garlic and a bit of sugar cooked during 15 minutes) and red wine.

Remove part of the mixture (about 1 cup) and set aside.

Add the broth, rice and sliced olives.

Bring to a boil and transfer to the oven dish.

Arrange chicken on top.

Cover with foil and cook for about 25 minutes in the oven.

In the meantime. squeeze the excess water from the spinach and combine the parmesan, ricotta, eggs and spinach together.

Mix well.

Remove chicken from the oven and place the spinach mixture on the sides of the dish.

Add the remaining marinara wine combination on top. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top and bake for another 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve.

Doesn't it make for an awesome presentation :)

Enjoy :)

Pre-Christmas Dinner Part 1:)

Since our good friends come from Galicia, they usually go back home to spend Christmas with family and friends. This year, as we stayed in Madrid for the Holidays, we decided to have our Christmas Dinner and gift exchange with them 2 weeks before Christmas. I wanted to make something special and I think it was :) They all loved it!

On the menu:
Jamon and brie melted on garlic bread
Smoked salmon, mayo, honey mustard, pesto bites
Onion soup
Pollo alla florentina
and dessert was brought by our friends

With the rushing from the dinner activities, I only took pictures of the main dishes: the soup and the chicken. My Mom gave me the idea of doing the chicken dish as the colors are Christmasy :)

Onion Soup

Ingredients:

4 onions
2 liters of meat broth (I made mine using beef and pork bones)
3 tbsps flour
salt and pepper
16 mini toasts
Thyme
1 cup gruyere cheese (I used mozzarella)
2 tbsps butter


Slice the onions.

In a large pot, add the butter and heat. When ready, add the onions.

Sweat them until they start turning brown.

Add the flour and mix well.

Add the meat broth and cook for about 1 and 1/2 hours. (sorry, forgot to take a picture).

Pour the soup into individual oven proof bowls.

Top them off with the mini toasts and grated cheese.

Broil in the oven until the cheese melts and starts browning.

This soup is one of my favorites in the winter. Nothing like a warm onion soup to make you feel like you take on a cold day!

Enjoy :)

Let's have some sausages!

I have had this recipe saved up for a few months (ashamed look here) and, as I am trying to catch up on my blog, here it goes.

My bisnonna (great grandmother)'s recipe for tomato and meat pasta sauce always calls for some italian sausage in it. I just love the taste of the chucks of meat mixed in with the pasta and decided to give it a twist.

Spinach and Sausage Linguini

Ingredients:

6 sausages (italian or flavored)
1 cup of frozen spinach
500 grs linguini
1 green onion
2 garlic cloves
3 tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
2/3 cup meat broth
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
oil

In a large pot, bring some water and salt to a boil.

Cut the onion, garlic and tomatoes.

Grill the sausages.

In a large pan, heat oil. When ready, add the green onions and garlic.

Sweat for a few minutes.

Add the tomatoes (peeled if you prefer).

After a few minutes, squish the tomatoes forming a paste.

At this point, the water should be boiling so add the pasta and cook it.

Add the white wine and reduce.

Add the thawed frozen spinach to the sauce.

Add seasonings (you can add oregano, basil, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper) and meat broth.

Slice the sausages and add them to the sauce.

The pasta should be ready by now, drain.

Add the sauce to the pasta pot.

Add the parmesan cheese and mix well.

And there you have it!

Enjoy :)