Delicious Tuna and Smoked Salmon Pate is an amazing appetizer served with fresh or toasted bread.
Tuna pate with smoked salmon
Ingredients
- 160 g tuna in water drained
- 5-6 slices smoked salmon
- 160 g mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 onion chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh dill to taste
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine together mascarpone cheese and tuna, mash it with fork.
- Add chopped dill and minced onion, salt and pepper.
- Add finely chopped smoked salmon and stir together.
- Transfer to a small dish and garnish with chopped fresh dill or with thin slices of salmon. Cover with food plastic wrap.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours.
Notes
Lemon Cake
I’ve always had a sweet tooth. Whether it be a plain piece of dark chocolate or a decadent caramel cheesecake, I can’t remember the last time I turned down dessert. My mouth waters every time I see or think of this Lemon Cake. Each time I’m at Starbucks, I know what I will be ordering. I can’t guarantee this Lemon loaf tastes exactly like Starbucks, I personally think it’s better. You tell me. 🙂
Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup yogurt (I use Greek yogurt)
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
Icing
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
- Combine eggs and sugar.
- Add lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract.
- Add vegetable oil and mix.
- Gradually add greek yogurt and mix until combined.
- Stir in baking powder.
- Slowly add flour. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and quickly cover the pan with aluminum foil, and return to the oven, for the last 10 minutes, to prevent excess browning.
- Cool the loaf in a pan for 15 minutes. Remove from pan to wire racks to cool completely.
- Whisk confectioners’ sugar with lemon juice until smooth. Spoon evenly over the loaf and let sit for about 30 minutes.
Salmon in Puff Pastry
Who says you need to make a special dough for amazing appetizers? Thank goodness for puff pastry! It is so easy to use and you can buy it in the freezer section at any grocery store. I want to introduce you to this delicious puff pastry packets that are filled with salmon, sour cream and herbs. And can be served with any green salad of your choice. It’s great for brunch, lunch, or light dinner. This will definitely be on my holiday table this year.
Salmon in Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 200 g fresh salmon skinless, boneless
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Some fresh dill finely chopped
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add finely chopped onion cook and stir until tender.
- Cut salmon into small cubes. Season with salt and pepper, add sour cream, cooked onion and fresh dill. Gently mix.
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Gently roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/2 cm. Using 8 cm round cookie cutter carefully cut out circles.
- Place pastry rounds on a flat surface, divide salmon mixture between them and spread one tea spoon over pastry, leaving a 1/2 cm border all around.
- Brush pastry borders with water. Top with pastry rounds and press edges together firmly to seal.
- Place the pastry packets on baking sheet and brush with egg yolk.
- Make a small hole in the middle of the top of each lid. Use a paring knife to score the top of the pastry as desired. Be careful not puncture through.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden.
Watermelon Rind Jam
Throwing away watermelon rinds? You can make jam from them. Sweet tooths will be delighted! Leave a little pulp on the rind; this will give the jam a beautiful, appetizing color.
Watermelon Rind Jam
Ingredients
- 1 kg watermelon rind
- 1 litre boiling water
- 500 ml water
- 1 kg sugar
Instructions
- Wash the watermelon and cut it into wedges. Remove the rind, leaving some red flesh.
- Using a vegetable peeler, remove the green skin from the rind.
- Cut into small pieces.
- Pour boiling water over the rinds. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Drain the water and let the rinds cool.
- Place the sugar in a small saucepan, add 1/2 liter of water and, while stirring, bring to a boil.
- Pour this syrup over the crusts and cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 2 to 3 hours.
- Return to the heat and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool.
- Return it to the heat a third time and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Let it cool.
- Check that the jam is ready. The pieces of watermelon rind should become almost transparent, a reddish-amber in color. A drop of jam should retain its shape and not spill onto the plate. If necessary, reboil the jam until it reaches the desired consistency.
Bread Kvass
A traditional Russian bread kvass is a fermented and carbonated beverage in which the main components are Rye bread, yeast, sugar, water and raisins. In Russia kvass is used in some cold recipes such as okroshka.
Bread Kvass
Ingredients
- 3 l boiled water room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 10 slices Rye bread
- 3 Tbsp raisins optional
Instructions
- Slice Rye bread.
- Position a rack in the upper third of an oven and preheat the broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet. Broil the slices until dark brown, turning them over only once, about 3-4 minutes per side.
- In a large bowl, mix together active dry yeast, sugar and water. Place bread and raisins in 3 Mason jars and fill the jars with water.
- Cover the jars with lid or plastic wrap and let it stand on the countertop for 6-8 hours at room temperature, stir the mixture occasionally.
- Carefully remove the toasted bread and raisins and discard them. Using a strainer pour the kvass into empty jars or plastic containers and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Serve chilled and ENJOY!
Chunky Guacamole
The secret to perfect guacamole is ripe avocados. If you prefer a smoother guacamole, use a blender. Personally, I prefer avocados crushed with a fork with finely cut tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.
Chunky Guacamole
Ingredients
- 3 ripe avocados
- 1/2 lemon (or lime)
- 2 small tomatoes
- 1/2 oignon
- 2 cloves clove garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 pinches cayenne pepper (or chili powder)
- Fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Slice the avocados in half along its length and dispose of the seed and skin. Crush the flesh of the avocado using a fork. Drizzle with the lemon juice.
- Chop the onions, tomatoes, and cilantro. Crush the garlic.
- Mix all the vegetables and avocados together. Salt, pepper, and add the cayenne pepper.
- Put the guacamole in a bowl and serve along with tortilla chips or sliced vegetables.
Okroshka (Cold Slavic Soup)
Okroshka is a soup, mostly served in summer and always served cold. The ingredients are diced and then mixed with kvass. The ratio of chopped vegetables to kvass is similar to that of cereal to milk. There are tons of different okroshka recipes, but every okroshka must contain green onion, radishes, cucumber, potatoes, boiled eggs and dill.
Okroshka (Cold Slavic Soup)
Ingredients
- 4 hard boiled eggs diced
- 2 boiled potatoes peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 medium english cucumber peeled and cut into small cubes
- 8 slices (300g) bologna finely diced
- 6-7 radishes thinly diced
- 1/2 bunch dill finely diced
- 1/2 bunch green onion finely diced
- 2 l kvass
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- sour cream for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Chop all ingredients.
- Now is the time to turn the salad into a soup. Pour the kvass over the chopped vegetables and mix gently. Add salt and pepper according to taste.
- Let the veggies soak all the flavors for about 2-3 hours in the refrigerator before serving. Serve cold with sour cream. Okroshka will taste even better the following day.
Almond Flour Banana Bread
This banana bread gets its amber color and caramelized taste from brown sugar and the taste is amplified by the almond flour. This is not gluten-free recipe, you need to add a little of all purpose flour too.
If you don’t have almond flour or brown sugar, you can try our famous Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread.
If you are looking for gluten-free recipe, try our Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins.
Almond Flour Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 very ripe bananas
- 200 g brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 200 g almond flour
- 100 g unsalted butter melted
- 80 g all purpose flour
- 2 pinches salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 100 g chopped walnuts
- 60 g chocolate chips (60%)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180C). Grease a large bread pan and set aside.
- Mash bananas with a fork and mix them with brown sugar.
- Add eggs and mix well.
- Add melted butter,
- and almond flour.
- Then add all purpose flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well.
- Add walnuts
- and chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into bread pan and bake for about 55 minutes.
- Banana bread is ready when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Sauce
After trying to make this chocolate sauce at home, you will never go back to store-bought syrup again. No weird preservatives or ingredients like the ones in the store. You will need two ingredients to make this delicious sauce.
Watch this quick video to make your mouth water.
Chocolate sauce
Ingredients
- 125 ml milk or heavy cream
- 150 g dark chocolate (60-70%)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan bring milk (or cream) to boil. Remove from the heat and pour the liquid over the chocolate. Allow it to sit for 1 minute. Whisk to combine.
- The sauce will stay loose while its hot. But you can always reheat it. Spoon the chocolate mixture into a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Heat the sauce for about 3-4 minutes stirring constantly or until it has become liquid again.
Berry Charlotte Cake
This is a famous French dessert made of ladyfinger biscuits, light mousse and topped with fresh fruits. My Berry Charlotte Cake is very easy to make, although it seems like not. The only downside to a charlotte is that it is not always easy to assemble the ladyfinger in the spring form.
Berry Charlotte Cake
Ingredients
- 500 g berries raspberries, strawberries or blackberries…
- 50-70 g sugar
- 500 ml heavy whipping cream ( 35%) very cold
- 8 g gelatin
- 24 Ladyfingers
For decoration
- 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
- Fresh berries
- Fresh mint optional
- whipped cream optional
Instructions
- Rinse and drain berries, add sugar and puree until smooth.
- Pass the puree through a fine sieve, to remove all tiny seeds.
- You will need about 1/2 cup of puree for dipping the ladyfingers. The rest pour into the saucepan.
- Add 4-5 Tbsp of cold water to gelatin, and set it aside.
- Place the saucepan with berry mixture over medium heat on the stove (don’t boil), remove from the stove and add gelatin. Whisk well until the gelatin is dissolved. Let it cool to room temperature. …
- Pour the very cold heavy whipping cream into a large bowl and whisk, until the cream reaches the soft peaks stage. Do not over beat!
- Once the berry puree is completely at room temperature, gently fold it into the whipped cream and set it aside.
- Line the inside and walls of a springform pan with parchment paper or plastic wrap. …
- Measure the length you need.
- You can trim off one end of each ladyfinger.
- Dip one side of the ladyfinger in the puree mixture. Let the excess syrup drip off, then line the ladyfingers (dipped side needs to be inside) in a tight ring, cut side down, around the spring form pan.
- If you having trouble fitting the last ladyfinger in, you can cut it in half.
- Pour the berry mousse into the springform. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
- Carefully remove springform walls and plastic wrap. Transfer cake to the plate.
- Dust with cocoa powder.
- Garnish with some fresh berries, fresh mint, whipped cream and shredded chocolate.
- You can decorate with ribbon, but don’t forget to remove the ribbon before cutting the cake. 🙂
