Impress your holiday guests this year with crisp, delicious and full of juices roasted duck. This recipe is very simple and easy to make. The best way to serve it is with mashed potatoes.
Whole Roast Duck With Apples And Cranberry Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 (2 kg, or more) duck
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 20 g butter (or 2 Tbsp olive oil)
- 1 onion
- 2 sticks celery
- 2 apples Granny Smith
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry duck with paper towels. Season inside and outside with salt and pepper.
- Peel and finely chop the onion.
- Cut celery into thin slices.
- Peel, core and cut apples into small cubes.
- Heat olive oil or butter in a frying pan. Add onion and celery and sauté for 3-4 minutes until golden. Season with some salt and pepper.
- Add apples and cranberries. Remove from the heat.
- Add bread crumbs and mix well.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Stuff duck with prepared stuffing. Secure skin underneath with skewer or toothpicks.
- Rub the skin with olive oil and place it into the roasting pan with the breast side down. Roast for one hour.
- Baste all over every 15-20 minutes with juices from the bottom of the pan.
- Flip the duck over and continue to roast for another 20-30 minutes. Cover wings and legs with foil if it gets too brown.
- The duck is done if the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted in the thickest part of the leg. Remove from the oven and cover the duck with aluminum foil for at least 10 minutes.
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This post was posted in Main Dish
Cranberry Cake
This homemade cranberry cake is perfect for the winter season. Its bright red color brings holiday spirit to your family dinner or friends party. Easy to make and delicious!
Cranberry Cake
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 220 g granulated sugar
- 115 g melted butter
- 150 g all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 380ºF. Grease and flour a cake pan.
- Beat eggs and sugar with mixer until slightly thickened.
- Add melted butter and mix well.
- Stir in the flour and baking powder.
- Add the cranberries and stir gently.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool. If desired, dust with confectioners sugar.
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This post was posted in Desserts
Turkey Broccoli Lasagna with White Sauce
My family always looks forward to have Turkey Lasagna after Thanksgiving. If you don’t have leftover turkey, you can use chicken instead.
Turkey Broccoli Lasagna with White Sauce
Ingredients
- 9 lasagna noodles uncooked
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup cottage cheese divided
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 3 cups fully cooked turkey sliced extra thin
White sauce
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1 shallot chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 cup milk 2%
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 3 cup mozzarella cheese grated
- 1/2 tsp pepper ground black
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Prepare pasta according to package direction. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan, add onion and garlic, cook until tender, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the salt, pepper and flour, simmer until you see bubbles. Mix in the milk and cream and bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 1 minute.
- Stir in mozzarella cheese, black pepper and white wine.
- Remove saucepan from the heat and set aside.
- Spread a generous 2 spoonful of cheese sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan and cover with 3 cooked lasagna noodles.
- Follow with a layer of sliced turkey, broccoli, cottage cheese and more sauce and repeat to make another layer.
- On top of the last noodle layer, cover with remaining of the sauce.
- Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
- Bake covered for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.
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This post was posted in Main Dish
Pumpkin Soup
French recipe for a silky and smooth Pumpkin Soup with two main ingredients. Healthy, colorful, and easy to make. If you have a blender, you have to try this recipe as soon as pumpkins are in season.
To impress your guests, serve this soup in individual pumpkins.
Pumpkin Soup
This soup is delicious and silky even without any cream. I add very little, just to make it look beautiful.
Ingredients
- 2 leeks (white part only)
- 1 medium pie pumpkin or sugar pumpkin (about 1.5 kg)
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Some heavy whipping cream or sour cream (optional)
- Some fresh herbs (cilantro, green onion, parsley) to garnish
Instructions
- Wash and chop the leeks.
- Wash the pumpkin and cut it in half horizontally. Scrape the inside of the pumpkin clean with the spoon or ice cream scoop (you can use the seeds for another recipe).
- Peel and cut into regular cubes.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Cook and stir leeks until they are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add pumpkin cubes and cook for 5-7 more minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Transfer the veggies into a large pot. Add just enough water to cover them, and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper. Simmer about 15 minutes until the pumpkin is cooked.
- Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Add a little more boiling water if the soup is too thick. Taste for flavor, and feel free to add more salt or pepper.
- Serve hot, with sour or heavy whipping cream and fresh herbs.
For a special presentation:
- Cut off the top of a small pumpkin and scrape the inside.
- Before adding the soup, heat the pumpkin for few minutes in the oven, then add the hot soup and serve immediately.
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This post was posted in Soups
Roasted Pumpkin Wedges
Roasted pumpkin wedges are a simple and healthy dish that pairs well with fish and meat. This recipe is easy as pie and requires just basic ingredients like pumpkin, salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil and some fresh herbs.
Roasted Pumpkin Wedges
Ingredients
- 4 wedges of a big pumpkin
- 1 clove of garlic
- salt and black pepper
- Some olive oil
- Some fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro or scallions)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 390F (200С). Line your baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Wash the pumpkin thoroughly, cut into two parts and remove seeds with a spoon.
- Cut the pumpkin into wedges. Keep in mind that this kind of pumpkin doesn’t need to be peeled. Season the wedges with salt and pepper. Next, mince or grate finely some garlic. Coat the wedges with a mixture of olive oil and garlic.
- Place the wedges on the baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes (depending on the kind of pumpkin and wedges size). When the wedges are soft, remove from the oven. Make sure they are not overdone.
- Sprinkle the roasted pumpkin wedges with fresh herbs and they’re ready to be served!
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This post was posted in Main Dish
Roasted Sweet Mini Peppers
Mini Bell Peppers look so cute and perfect and tastes delicious, either roasted or raw. Normally, I’m not a big fan of bell pepper, but can’t say “NO” to this colorful bag with sweet mini bell peppers. These mini peppers add flavor and texture to a variety of dishes. You can serve it hot or cold, with meat or fish, or just eat it as a snack.
Roasted Sweet Mini Peppers
You can use a regular bell pepper for this recipe, but don’t forget to add some more time when cooking.
Ingredients
- 600 g mini bell peppers
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- some olive oil
- some green onion or any fresh herbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cut the stems off the mini peppers, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Cut the half peppers into the strips. Spread the mini peppers onto the baking sheet, coat it with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove mini peppers from the oven and garnish with fresh herbs before serving.
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This post was posted in Main Dish
Chickpea Salad with Feta Cheese
The chickpea Salad with Feta Cheese is a very simple salad, composed of canned chickpeas and feta. The tomatoes and bell peppers are not necessary, but provide more flavor and vitamins, as well as a vibrant color.
Chickpea Salad with Feta Cheese
The feta cheese is already salty enough, so salt the salad lightly.
Ingredients
- 400 g (1 can) garbanzo beans drained
- 150 g feta cheese cubed
- 15 cherry tomatoes, or 2 medium tomatoes sliced
- 1 bell pepper cored and sliced
- 1/2 red onion cut into thin slices
- 1 clove garlic pressed
- Fresh or dried herbs (cilantro, chive, dill) chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon (juice only)
- 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- In a salad bowl, mix the chickpea, feta, tomatos, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and herbs.
- Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with freshly pressed lemon juice and olive oil. Serve right away or keep it in the refrigerator.
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This post was posted in Salads
Tabbouleh Salad
Tabbouleh salad has been a fundamental part of Middle Eastern cuisine for many years. The main ingredients are bulgur, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil, the rest ingredients are fresh or marinated vegetables, olives, raisins and spices. This salad is very flexible, fell free to add more or less of any spices of your choice.
Tabbouleh Salad
Tabbouleh Salad can be served as a main course or side dish.
Ingredients
- 200 g couscous
- 200 ml boil water
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 tomatoes
- 1 english cucumber or 4 small ones
- 1 onion
- 1 bell pepper (any color) (I used 3 mini bell peppers)
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley
- 1/4 bunch Fresh mint
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Few drops tabasco sauce (optional)
- 1 large lemon
- 6 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the water and 1/4 tsp of salt to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover tightly with a lid and remove from heat, let steam for 5 minutes. Cool it down.
- Cut tomatoes into small pieces.
- Peel and cut cucumber into small cubes.
- Peel and thinly chop onion.
- Remove seeds from bell pepper and cut into small cubes.
- Finely chop fresh parsley and mint.
- Place the chopped vegetables, herbs and bulgur in a mixing bowl. Add Tabasco sauce. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Mix gently. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
- Transfer to a serving plater or serve it as a castle (using a ring)
- Or in a glass.
- Or as stuffed tomatoes.
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This post was posted in Salads
Greek salad
This Greek salad is one of my favorite things. No matter how much I make, it seems to always disappear.
Greek salad
Ingredients
- 4 tomatoes
- 1-2 cucumbers
- 1 bell pepper (any color)
- 1/2 red onion
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 tsp dry oregano leaves
- 100 g greek Kalamata olives pitted
- 100 g feta cheese
- 1/2 lemon
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Cut the tomatoes in quarters.
- Slice the cucumbers in half long ways (remove seeds if desired) and cut 1/4 inch slices, starting at one end, so that you end up with bunch of half moon shapes or the letter “C”.
- Remove the core and seeds from the bell pepper and cut into strips.
- Peel the onion and cut into perfectly thin slices.
- Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, bell pepper and olives in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper and dry oregano. Mix.
- Top it with sliced feta cheese. Squeeze the lemon on salad and drizzle with olive oil.
- If you like to serve your Greek Salad in individual cups, you can cut the vegetables into small cubes.
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This post was posted in Salads
Profiteroles With Vanilla Ice Cream And Chocolate Sauce
Profiteroles – French cream puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce. Chocolate sauce on this profiteroles is the “live jazz”. Don’t let the long recipe scare you, it is very easy and worth all the time involved. It is a great dessert you can impress your family and friends with.
Profiteroles With Vanilla Ice Cream And Chocolate Sauce
For chocolate lovers, use chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla.
Ingredients
Dough
- 200 ml water
- 1 pinch salt
- 100 g butter
- 120 g sifted flour
- 3-4 eggs
Filling
- 800 g chocolate or vanilla ice cream
Chocolate sauce
- 250 ml milk or heavy cream
- 300 g dark chocolate (60% cacao)
Instructions
The dough
- Preheat oven to 390 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium pot, add water, butter and salt. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
- Add sifted flour and mix well.
- Mix until the dough comes away from the walls and forms into a ball.
- Add the eggs, one by one and mix well. (If the eggs are large, use only 3 eggs.)
- The dough should become smooth and shiny. Return saucepan back on the heat and keep mixing for about 30-50 seconds, to dry out the moisture. Remove from the heat.
- Transfer the dough to a piping bag to pipe specific shapes (size of the walnut is the best). Space the puffs slightly apart on the baking sheet, because the dough will rise.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the puffs are puffed and golden brown in color. Do not open the oven while baking. Remove from the oven, let it cool completely and carefully transfer to a flat surface.
Filling
- Cut puffs in half. Place one small scoop of ice cream ball on the bottom of each puff.
- Replace the top. As soon as you done, place them in the freezer, until they are ready to be served.
Chocolate souce
- In a small, saucepan bring milk to boil, remove from the heat and pour the liquid over the chocolate. Allow it to sit for 1 minute.
- Mix it until the mixture is smooth.
- Remove the profiteroles from the freezer. Arrange 3 puffs per plate. Drizzle each serving with chocolate sauce and Voilà! 😉 Bon appetite.
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This post was posted in Cafe gourmand, Desserts