Banana Pancakes

Banana pancakes

makes about 15-18 silver dollar pancakes

9oz. buttermilk (I used buttermilk because I had that on hand. Regular milk should work fine.)

2 extra-ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 tspn vanilla
8 oz. flour
2 heaping Tbspn brown sugar

2 tspn baking powder

2 tspn cinnamon 

1 tspn salt

1. Combine buttermilk and banana in a bowl.  Mash and whisk thoroughly until most of the banana chunks have incorporated into the milk.  Add the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla and combine.

2. Add dry ingredients and mix until smooth.  Batter will be thick.

3. Oil lightly a medium hot skillet and cook the pancakes.   

Caramelized banana "sauce"

Please note that the amounts in this recipe are approximate.

4-5 extra ripe bananas, cut into slices on the diagonal

2 heaping Tbspn brown sugar

1-2 Tbspn cinnamon

1 tspn ground cloves

1 - 1 1/2 tspn freshly grated nutmeg

juice from half a lemon

butter, for pan

raw cacao nibs (if you can't find cacao nibs, feel free to sub with crushed pecans or walnuts)

1. In a bowl, lightly combine chopped bananas, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and lemon juice. When bananas are coated by the spice combination, set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan on medium high (to high, depending on your stovetop), melt a generous pat of butter to coat the bottom of the pan. Don't go easy on the butter!  

3. Add the bananas to the pan and allow to fry for about 5-8 minutes, until the liquid has reduced into a thin caramel consistency.

4. Remove bananas from pan, arrange over pancakes, pour sauce from pan on top, and garnish with cacao nibs.

Enjoy!

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Roasted Lamb with Pistachio and Petals

I am so going to make it! I just love good lamb dishes and this recipe look just perfect! 

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Roasted Lamb with Pistachio and Petals

1 bunch each. mint, cilantro, parsley – all large stems removed
4 springs of rosemary – leaves plucked off from main stems
1 bulb of garlic
2 tbl fennel pollen
¾ cup olive oil
2 tbl freshly ground black peppercorn
sea salt

1 medium size leg of lamb, boned

The night before season prep;
1. In a food processor add all the herbs along with 5 cloves of garlic and ¼ c of olive oil to form a paste.
2. Roll out the lamb and spread the fennel pollen, peppercorn and 3/4 herb paste.
3. Roll the leg up loosely with twine.
4. Spread remainder of the paste around the outside and cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. 1 hour before roasting remove from refrigerator so that it can come up to temp.
6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
7. Halve remainder of garlic cloves, with a small knife puncture wholes throughout the roast and stud it the garlic cloves.
8. Salt the roast liberally and shower it remainder of olive oil.
9. Place in oven- after 3o minutes lower oven to 325 and continue roasting till an internal temp of 120 degrees is reached.
10. Remove and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.
Serve with pistachio sauce and petals, we used borage.

Pistachio Sauce

2 c. pistachios, chopped course
1 c. chopped herbs
1/3 c. sherry vinegar
1 c. olive oil
sumac and salt to taste

-Chop pistachios, add vinegar, mix well.
-Add oil, adjust seasonings.

Asparagus and Ricotta Tarts

• 1 sheet sheet ready-prepared butter puff pastry, thawed
• ¾ cup (150g) fresh ricotta
• 1 cup (80g) finely grated parmesan
• ⅓ cup chervil leaves
• 1 finely grated lemon rind
• sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 2 bunches asparagus, trimmed
• olive oil, for brushing
• chervil sprigs, to serve
• lemon wedges, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (390ºF). Cut out four 12cm x 6cm rectangles from the pastry sheet and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Score a 1cm border on each rectangle.

   Place the ricotta, parmesan, lemon rind, chervil, salt and pepper in a bowl and stir to combine. Spoon the ricotta mixture onto the pastry and top with the asparagus. Brush the pastry borders with the oil. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Serve with the chervil and lemon. Serves 4.

Brioche french Toast

I am always looking for new ideas for my breakfast, I am not really eggs and bacon kinda girl and I don't care for cereal that much either. I would very much prefer to have a fruit platter, yogurt, oatmeal  maybe, something light and healthy, but when I came across this recipe I just can't wait to make it as soon as I am back to US in my own kitchen. 

Brioche french Toast, stuffed with Marscapone and Marmalade

For batter:
1 cup crème fraiche or sour cream
2 cups milk
6 eggs
1 oz brandy or…
2 TSP vanilla
½ cup sugar
2 tsp salt
Orange or lemon zest
Nutmeg

For toast:
6 slices bread 1” thick, with pocket cut from small hole on one side
6 oz mascarpone
8 oz marmalade

Combine all ingredients and whisk together until well-combined.

With jam and cheese in piping bags, fill each piece of bread, being careful to not over-fill, and keeping the ingredients within the pocket and away from the opening.

Dip each slice in batter and allow to soak thoroughly, then drain well.
On a hot griddle, begin by searing the opening, ensuring that it has cooked shut before continuing to cook until golden brown on both sides. Serve immediately.

{Photos by Karen Mordechai via Sunday Suppers}

Macarons

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a great weekend! I've been having a great time visiting my hubby, walking a lot, sightseeing and trying awesome food.

Lately, macarons have become one of my favorite deserts. They are perfect size mini treats; great for my after dinner tea ritual. 

STRAWBERRY MACARONS

Ingredients

1. 50g ground almonds
2. 140g icing sugar
3. 2 large egg whites
4. 1 tbsp caster sugar
5. Pink food coloring paste
6. 3 tbsp good-quality strawberry jam

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan170°C/gas 5. Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2.  Sieve the ground almonds and icing sugar together into a large bowl. Put the egg whites into a separate bowl, and using an electric hand whisk, beat to soft peaks. Add the caster sugar, and whisk until glossy. Fold into the almond and icing sugar mixture, along with a very small amount of the pink food colouring. Mix until just combined and evenly pink – the mixture will reduce as the air bubbles in the meringue burst.
3. Put the mixture into a disposable piping bag, snip off 1cm from the end. Pipe small blobs (about 1 heaped teaspoon each) onto the baking paper, spaced apart, so you have about 50 in total. Set aside for 10 minutes to dry – this is important as it gives the macaroons the correct texture. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn the whole sheet of paper over – the macaroons will be stuck so won’t fall off. Bake for another 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.
4. Peel off the baking paper from the macaroons, then sandwich 2 together with a tiny blob of strawberry jam in the centre. Repeat to give you 25 in total.

Tuscan chicken salad

Hello darlings, how's everybody's weekend going so far? I've been busy getting ready for my trip to Korea, I have only a few days left  before I can see my dear hubby again. 

So I've been on a health kick lately, working out a lot and eating healthy. Forget about big meals, processed food, sugars and soda. I am loving the way my body responds to good food. I did lose some weight in a last couple of months and pretty happy about it. By no means did I "need" to loose weight, I am pretty slim, but I felt like with the crazy job hours and moving half way across country - I stopped taking care of my body like I used to and put on a few. So now, I am back into toned shape, gained muscle in all the right places and my body works like a clock, thanks to routine exercise and healthy food. 

Today I want to share with you one of my favorite lunch salads. I won't get into right proportions and all, just adjust it to your taste.

You will need grilled chicken breast (skinless and boneless), fire-roasted peppers, grilled asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, julienned carrot, cleaned button mushrooms sliced. For the dressing I like to use a mix of Extra Virgin olive oil with a little champagne vinaigrette and lemon zest. Don't forget to add lots of italian herbs, black pepper and sea salt. Normally I would also add fresh basil, but mine died  couple of days ago so had to do without it. Let it "sit" for a couple of hours in the ice box before eating. Bon Appetite! 

Lemon Curd Cupcakes

Awww... cupcakes... Who doesn't like them? Yummy little treats that are so much fun to make. I'm not so into sweets and one cupcake can totally satisfy my craving so that's why I don't make them often. But lately I am on cupcake kick and decided to share a few recipes with you guys.

LEMON CURD CUPCAKES

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

Lemon curd and seven minute frosting (for recipe click "Read More")