Amaretti biscuits - Italy

Amarettis do not require a lot of ingredients and are so delicious that I recommend you to double to quantities. You can then keep the biscuits in a box for several days.

For about 30 biscuits
Preparation time: 20 mi
Cooking time: 10 min
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
- 2 egg whites
- 150g granulated sugar
- 175g powdered almonds 
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 50g powdered sugar  

1.   Preheat your oven at 200°C/400°C degrees.
2.   Beat the egg whites for 2 minutes and add the granulated sugar. Contniue beating for about 2 minutes until firm.
3.   With a spatula, slowly mix in the powdered almonds and almond extract.
4. With your hands, make irregular balls, looking like rocks, and roll them in the powdered sugar. Use about 1/2 table spoon of dough for each biscuits.
5. Lay the biscuits on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for about 10 min, until they are lightly brown. Let cool and serve.

Cheese Puffs for any occasion

I was reading a French cooking magazine and there was a full section about 'gougères', which are cheese puffs. The beautiful pictures tempted me.

The base recipe can be sweet or sour and is pretty simple. So while my daughters where napping this afternoon, I made a batch. We'll probably eat it in front of the Super Bowl with our friends tomorrow, if they can last until then...

For about 15-20 puffs

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 25 min

Difficulty: **

Ingredients:

-115 g flour

-20 cl water

-75g butter

-salt and pepper

-75 g shredded cheese - ideally 'comté' if you can find it, or sharp cheddar or swiss cheese

-3 eggs

-1 egg yolk (optional)

-a bit of nutmeg

1.  In a saucepan, cut the butter into pieces, add the water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil.

2.   When the water is boiling, remove from the heat and add the flour at once. Stir very well with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball. Let cool a bit.

3.   Add the eggs one by one, stirring well between each egg. 

4.   Add the cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

5. Preheat your oven at 400°F / 200°C. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a pastry bag or simply 2 teaspoons, place little mounds of mixture on the baking sheet.
Optional: Brush each little puff with egg yolk.

6. Bake for 25 minutes.

I'm back with delicious recipes!

After another baby (a sweet little girl), I'm back and decided to share even more delicious recipes so you can cook like a chef without being one (yes, I love Ann Burrell's show Secrets of a restaurant chef). Well, okay, I'm not a professional cook but I know what works in the kitchen and in the plates!

Today I have a friend coming at home for afternoon coffee, and I made Meringues. They are quick and easy, if you beat the egg whites long enough, this is the secret!

I hope you'll take some time to read my blog and cook some of my recipes. I'll start posting pictures of each step, so it's even easier for you!

Cheers!

Mini Pizzas With Rosemary - Provence

Enjoy the taste of Provence with mini-pizzas: easy to make!

For about 2 small pizzas
Preparation time: 10 min + resting time 2 hours
Cooking time: 30 min
Diffoculty: *

Ingredients:
-300g flour

-3 tbsp. olive oil
-15 cl lukewarm water
-1 pack of dry yeast + 3 tbsp. lukewarm water
-1 pinch of salt
-100g plain yogurt
-1tbsp sour cream
-1 bunch of rosemary sprigs

1.   Prepare the dough: in a small bowl, mix the dry yeast with 3 tbsp. of lukewarm water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt. Add the olive oil and the lukewarm water, and then add the yeast.
Mix well and knead the dough during at least 5 minutes. Put the dough back in the large bowl, cover with a clean cloth and let rise during 2 hours.

2.   When the dough doubled in size, flat it down with your hand and make several small pizza shapes. Place them on a baking sheet.

3.   Pre-heat your oven at 425°F/250°C. In a bowl, mix the sour cream and the yogurt, plus salt and pepper. Wash and dry the rosemary. Spread the cream on the mini pizzas and sprinkle the rosemary. Add salt and pepper, and put in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the pizzas are golden and crispy.

4.   Enjoy with a dry white wine.

How to make Pistachio Biscotti

This is a super easy recipe and these cookies are delicious with tea or coffee. You can replace the pistachios with almonds for your Biscotti. They can be kept several days in a box on your countertop, if they last this long...!

For about 30 cookies
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
- 300g (2 1/2 cups) of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 50g (1/3 cup) very finely ground almonds
- 150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk + 1 egg white
- 100g (2/3 cup) coarsely chopped pistachios - or almonds


1. Preheat your oven at 180°C / 350°F.
2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, sugar, and salt.
3. In a bowl, beat the 2 eggs with the egg yolk. Stir this mixture into the flour preparation.
4. Add the pistachios.
5. Manually knead the dough until it forms a ball.
Note: if you notice that your dough is too dry, add water (very little at a time) until the dough holds itself to form a ball.
6. Cut this dough into 4 pieces. Shape them to form 4 cylinders which you will flatten a little (to make oval biscotti).
7. Place the 4 pieces on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Brush them with the egg white.
8. Bake for about 20 minutes.
9. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, wait until the dough pieces cool slightly (5/10 min) and cut them into slices.
10. Place the biscuits back on the baking sheet and continue baking for 10 minutes, until golden and crispy.

Let cool and enjoy!