Chocolate Pistaccio Biscotti & an increasing waistline

dont get me wrong here. i am not complaining about my job. being a food editor comes with a lot of rewards. a free cookbook on my desk every now and then, a house filled with hungry people (who all love my sparkling personality and not - Godforbid! - the champagne bottle & steak on my table) , flirting costermongers, glam days dressed in an apron and a spatula in hand - pretty much: welcome to cupcake heaven and roastbeef bliss.
but apart from being a food editor there is such a blunt thing as life. and life comes with things like a bikini to fit in. comes with dresses that cost so much that my credit card caught fire when i paid for them. life as a food editor comes with an increasing waistline. it's steak and brownies on your ribs. and woe is me when that zipper is stuck partway.
the week i was working on biscotti recipes for my radioshow i had buttons exploding on my summerdress. life as a food editor can be such a bitch!
at least at the end of the day you can bite into a decent chocolate biscotti (cover with chocolate icing, dont miss!) which can be blissfully satisfying. they are nourishing enough to serve as a proper dinner. - zipper, go explode! i am so keeping that job!



RECIPE:

310g flour
25g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
320g chocolate chips
230g pistaccios (unsalted!), shelled
4 large eggs
310g sugar
ready made chocolate glaze

preheat the oven to 180 °c, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

pulse flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, 1/2 of chocolate chips & pistaccios in a mixer until chocolate chips have the size of small peas.

in a bowl attached to standmixer whisk eggs with sugar until you end up with a fluffy mixture, switch to paddle add flour-mixture and rest of chocolate chips, beat until just combined.

turn dough out on a lightly floured surface, divide into 3 parts, shape into a 40m long, about 7-8cm wide and 1,5 cm high log. sprinkle with a little sugar if you like.

bake for 30-40 minutes in the middle of the oven (rotating the sheets after 15 min) until the log is kinda crispy. let cool on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes.

place logs on cutting board. using a serrated knive, cut into 1-1,5cm wide slices. put slices cutting side up on baking sheet, then bake for another 12-15 minutes until biscotti are crunchy. let cool on a cooling rack.

glaze with chocolate glaze, let cool a bit. then serve with icecream or coffee.

they keep in an airtight container for about a week (yeah, like as if...)

raspberry lemonade

happy times demand happy drinks. summer is here! the raspberries are simply irresistible and days are best spent outside - hang on the porch (ok, it's a balcony only but a girl can always dream...), read a book. share a laugh. have a sip. raspberry lemonade is perfect for this.

easy as pie & a big hit with my peeps! - all the naughty ones mix it with a drop or two of vodka or white tequilla. i am not the one to argue, it's just that it's only lunchtime over here...


RECIPE

about 250g fresh or defrosted raspberries
juice of 10 lemons
550g sugar
1,5 cold and/or sparkling water
fresh peppermint, to garnish
crushed ice, to serve

mix raspberries, lemonjuice & sugar in a pot and mix very well. you want to punch out all the juice ouf of those raspberries. then strain through a sieve, making sure you get the last drop of juice. then add cold (sparkling) water, mix.
put crushed ice in glasses, then fill up with sirup and garnish with peppermint.



more lemonade bliss over here at smittenkitchen. deb is doing an AWESOME watermelon lemonade.

beet crostini with smoked trout

so i am not a big fan of beets. chances are you are not a fan of beets, either. beets are the geeks among the veggies: horrible taste but oh so healthy (low bloodpressure! aphrosidiac!). blimey, just the word "beetrot" makes me think of hours in front of an unfinished plate back then when i was a kid. "beet is good for you" is what mother said. and i wasnt allowed to leave the table until i had at least 2 or 3 tablespoons of her beetsalad. the salad was delicious, dont missunderstand me - she made it with a zingy vinegar and added some onions. simple but delicious, just like all the best recipes in this world.

but beets & i - we never really made the dream team.
but then. beets are pink. and what's pink will make it onto my table.
i tend to use the lazy-version of beets and buy them already cooked. so all you really have to do is chop them up or grate them - and you are all done. the only thing you have to figure out is how to hide the beet in your dish, so you wont have all your beet-haters at your table start a riot.

so this one is a perfect recipe for a quick snack when guests arrive but still fancy enough to write home about. you could even turn it into a proper meal when you use larger pieces of bread and top it with more smoked fish. doesnt cause no riot and nothing - and that's a promise!



RECIPE

1 baguette, cut in slices & toasted

2-3 large, cooked red beets
2 apples (take a sweet, red peeled apple), cored
1 generous pinch of fennel seeds
salt & pepper
2-3 smoked trout filets (or smoked salmon), cut in pieces
some fresh thyme, to garnish

180g creme fraiche
about 4-5 tablesppons of horseradish cream (or use half as much freshly grated horeradish)

using a kitchen-mixer grate the cooked beet & apple. season with fennel seeds, salt & pepper. set aside and let marinate for about an hour.

mix the creme fraiche with the horseradish, adding just about enough hoseradish so you get a nice & slightly hot taste.

arrange toasted baguette slices on a board, then top with beet-mixture and top with pieces of smoked trout, then drizzle some horseradish-creme fraiche on top. season with some pepper & garnish with fresh thyme. serve asap!

butter revelations

Honestly. I never thought it was possible. ME. CUTTING.BACK. ON.BUTTER? Not using the whole stick? Standing there with soft butter & knife in hand and then thinking: nah, i guess that's enough?
I guess there is a first time for everything and here i go and present you a buttercream recipe with less than 400g of butter. i mean: 300g is ok, too - innit? it's just a divine and über-creamy buttercream i graced those simple chocolate cupcakes with. because i am all nuts and going crazy about the first arrival of domestic berries i popped some frozen raspberries into those cupcakes and they make a juicy surprise when you bite into the cupcake.

Maybe you'll even take them as my excuse for not posting in soooo long. when all of you have been such sturdy soldiers... coming back to my blog just to find out what a lazy blogger-bum i was. i promise i will be back more often in the next few weeks. cuz i missed ya all!


RECIPE
adapted from this adorable post by cannelle et vanille

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

adapted from "Magnolia Bakery Cookbook" by Jennifer Appel and Alyssa Torey

225g butter, softened
220g sugar
100g brown sugar
4 eggs
170g dark chocolate, melted
250ml milk (try not to use the full fat one cuz it's too heavy)
1 tsp vanilla
220g flour
1 tsp baking soda
about 25 frozen raspberries

In an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and the brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the melted chocolate and mix until well incorporated. Scrape the bowl. Add the vanilla and half of the milk. Add the flour and baking soda, mix and finish with the remainder of the milk. Mix until well incorporated. Scoop into baking cups, add 1 frozen raspberries to each cupcake and bake at 175 C° for about 20 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack.




VANILLA BUTTERCREAM


150 grams of egg whites
300 grams of granulated sugar
300 grams of room temperature butter
seeds of 1 vanilla pod
cake decoration


In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together egg whites and the sugar lightly. Place over a water bath until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch. Bring bowl to the electric mixer and whip until stiff peaks form and the bottom of the bowl feels cool.

Add butter, a tablespoon at a time while whipping. It might look like it is curdling at one point but continue to whip until it comes together. Add vanilla seeds and mix until incorporated. Transfer to icing-bag & frost cupcakes generously & sprinkle some cake deco over it.

savoury filled bread (feeds a bunch)

i have a thing for comfort-food. chips. hearty stews. omelettes with ketchup. mac&cheese with bacon. just bacon. bacon with pasta. bacon in a salad with creamy sauce. bacon with a fried egg. it just feeds ya, doesnt it?
so does this savoury filled bread. it's a good thing for parties or a hearty lunch, brunch or dinner or just something really nice to serve when your best friends come over with a box of beer.


the good thing about this one is that you can fill it with pretty much everything that sits in your fridge & you desperately wanna use... leftover cheese... leftover veggies... sundried tomatoes that sat in oil for ages... ham or salami or whatever you got. fill this bread with whatever leftovers you got and it will be a hit with everyone.


RECIPE

1 ready made pizza dough (about 580g, 38x25cm)
1 zucchini, finely cut lenghtwise
3 tablespoons basil pesto
10 slices parma ham
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled
5 sundried tomatoes
250g grated cheese such as gruyere, parmesan etc...
freshly ground pepper
1 bunch of basil, chopped
olive oil, to brush



heat oven to 180 c°.
first grill the zucchini in a splash of oil in a pan & set aside to cool.
roll pizza dogh onto a flat surface and spread with the basil pesto, arrange parma ham leaving a 5cm border on each side. Arrange peeled eggs in a row in the middle, put tomatoes in the small space btw eggs, then top with grilled zucchini and top generously with the grated cheese, season with pepper & top with fresh basil. Roll dough up and form a roll. arrange roll into a circle and make sure you bring both ends together and tuck dough together nicely so the filling doesnt run out while in the oven. brush with olive oil, then bake in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes until dough is light brown & crispy.


PS: make sure you serve when still warm. you want that cheese to be all goey and running through your fingers when you eat it.

i moved!

hiya all. i moved.
please update your urls and find me under onceuponacakestand.com
thanks for dropping by
*m

horseradish-dip with pumpkin & thyme

so i have this new addiction. it started a while ago... one fine day when i was having a very early first glass of white wine around lunch-time-ish with a good friend in berlin. he felt like a "little snack" as he called it, then pulled out this glass out of the fridge and opened up a packet of crackers. it was this soft horseradish mousse, enriched with some pumpkin that tasted just divine on that salty little cracker. "the little snack" turned into lunch as i pretty much finished the whole glass (i am such a greedy guest, its not even funny...).
back home i had to come up with an idea. they dont do horseradish dip with pumpkin where i live. so i started to potter around in my kitchen - thinking about what to mix together to end up with that supersoft dip.
it didnt take much as you can see in the recipe below. you can substitute the pumpkin with fried mushrooms (but make sure you cut them into tiny little bits), add other or no herbs... really whatever would make you happy when sipping a glass of white wine.





RECIPE

200g cream cheese
100g horseradish mousse *
2-3 tablespoons of finely cubed pumpkin
a splash of white wine
2 tablespoons of finely plucked fresh thyme
freshly ground pepper, to taste

salted crackers, to serve

heat some olive oil in a frying pan and add the finely cubed pumpkin. cook over high heat until they start to soften a bit, then add the white wine, reduce heat & cook until pumpkin is soft. set aside and let cool a bit.
mix the cream cheese & the horseradish in a bowl, add fresh thyme, season with freshly ground pepper, then add the pumpkin & mix well.
put in a nice serving dish & serve with salted crackers.

put in a preserving glass, this keeps in the fridge for about a week.

*horseradish mousse is a very soft mousse made of horseradish & some sort of soft cheese. if you can't find it in the shops, simply substitute with freshly ground horseradish or some horseradish out of a tube or glass (you might wanna reduce the amout, though...)

white wine soup

consider this post a proof, that a fancy-schmancy soup doesnt take much. not much talent. not many ingredients. really just a pot where you throw in a couple of things. stir. mix. serve.



even when doing the fancy stuff i like a homemade soup to be a little chunky and rustic. so dont overmix with your blender. if the finely cut onions remain little chunks, they'll just add a wonderful crunchy texture and are juicy and lovely when you bite into them.


RECIPE
enough for 4 people as a starter

1 tablespoon butter
1 white onion, finely chopped
3 dl white wine (use the good stuff!)
3 dl vegetable broth
3 dl cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
salt, pepper, bay leave
some finely chopped chive or parsley, to serve

melt the butter in a pan and glaze the onions until shiny and soft. add bay leave and stir. deglaze with white wine, then add veggie broth & cream. let soup come to the boil. mix cornstarch with a little white wine and add to the soup. stir until you end up with a smooth and creamy soup. mix with blender until you have the desired texture (i like it a little chunky but do as you like it best).
garnish with some finely chopped parsley or chive. serve with crusty bread. tuck in.