Very simple puff pastry apple tart recipe with minimum ingredients and maximum flavor. You don’t even need a mold for it. Sour apples work the best. I use brown sugar, it gives the apples that caramelized taste. Can be served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or cold with some powdered sugar on top.
Puff pastry apple tart
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 3-4 apples Granny Smith
- 1-2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 30 g unsalted butter
- confectioner’s sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 380 degrees F. Place the dough on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Poke all over with a fork.
- Peel the apples, core and cut into wedges. Slice the wedges thinly and arrange the slices on the pastry, overlapping as you go. Dot apple slices with butter.
- Fold the edges of the pastry.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the pastry is golden and apples are tender.
Boursin™ Stuffed Mushrooms
Tasty and very easy recipe with only 2 main ingredients that you can find in every store: mushrooms and Boursin.
Boursin Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 30 small mushrooms (Cremini or Button Mushrooms)
- 1 block Boursin™ Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese
- freshly ground black pepper
- Some fresh herbs (cilantro, green onion, parsley) finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Wash and dry mushrooms. Remove stems. (You can use them for another recipe),
- Place mushroom caps on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Fill each mushroom’s hole with 1-2 tsps of Boursin™.
- Bake about 25 minutes until mushrooms are golden and cooked through.
- Sprinkle the baked mushrooms with fresh herbs and they’re ready to be served!
Homemade Hummus
With or without tahini, homemade hummus made from scratch only takes 5 minutes to make. No needs to cook the chickpeas, just open a can and mix with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil! This delicious healthy snack can be serve for any occasion with pita bread or garden vegetables.
Homemade Hummus
Ingredients
- 1 can (400 g) garbanzo beans (chickpea)
- 1 lemon
- 2-3 cloves garlic chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp tahini (sesame paste) optional
- 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
- A few pinches chili powder (or paprika)
Instructions
- Drain garbanzo beans, keep half of the juice.
- In a food processor, place the chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, salt, black pepper, tahini, chili powder and 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Mix until smooth. Add 1 or 2 Tbsp of the juice from the can (or water) to give a desired texture to the hummus.
- Transfer hummus to a serving bowl, drizzle with the rest of the olive oil and sprinkle with chili powder or paprika.
Baked Feta (Psiti)
Baked Feta (Psiti) is a traditional Greek dish. It is very easy to prepare at home and will become one of your favorite appetizers.
Baked Feta (Feta Psiti)
Ingredients
- 200 g feta cheese (in one block)
- 2 pinches oregano
- Some chili pepper flakes
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Place the feta in an oven-proof dish. Add the oregano and chili pepper flakes followed by the olive oil.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Serve hot with fresh bread or pita.
Lemon Shells Stuffed With Ice Cream
Refreshing chocolate and lemon treats, served in the natural lemon shells. If you wish to serve them in a la cafe gourmand style, use small lemons, surprise your friends.
Lemon Shells Stuffed With Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 6 lemons
- 1 (300 g) lemon sorbet
- 1 (300 g) chocolate ice cream
Instructions
- Cut off the top of the lemon. Hollow out each lemon by using a teaspoon. Remove juice and flesh, but be careful not to puncture the lemon skin.
- Spoon some lemon sorbet into shells and press firmly with teaspoon. Fill the rest of the lemon with chocolate ice cream.
- Place stuffed lemons in the freezer with the hats on top. You can serve this fancy dessert in as little as one hour, or when the lemon shells are completely frozen.
Ham And Cheese Quiche
The Quiche is a French open faced pie. Amazing dish which can be served with tossed salad, roasted potatoes, bouillon ( broth ) or just by itself.
Ham and cheese quiche
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all butter puff pastry
- 3 eggs
- 150 ml cream
- 150 g ham
- 70 g shredded cheese
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- On parchment paper, roll puff pastry out to larger than the size of your baking dish circle. Transfer to a pie plate. Using a fork, prick the surface of the dough to keep it from puffing up.
- Pop in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the crust starts to turn light gold. Remove the pastry from the oven, pressing the center down with a fork, if it puffed up a bit.
- Cut ham into small cubes and spread on top of the dough.
- Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Pour evenly over the cheese layer.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a tooth pick comes clean.
Course: Main Dish
Juicy French Style Pork Tenderloin
I lived in France more than 10 years. My husband is French but neither he or his parents have heard of this dish. The French don’t even suspect that this dish is called French style meat, but Russians eat this meat and know that it truly is “French style meat”.
Juicy French Style Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 6 pork tenderloin chops
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1-2 onion
- 200 g cheese shredded
- 5-6 Tbsp mayonnaise
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F. Line medium baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Place each piece of meat between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with the flat side of meat tenderizer until about 1/4 inch thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Lay the meat out on the baking dish. Peel and cut the onion (half-moon). Arrange the onion on top of the pork. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Spread mayonnaise all over the meat.
- Bake for about 40 minutes until golden brown.
Fresh whipped cream with blackberries
Treat yourself with this mini dessert that is perfect for any occasion. It takes minimum time to make and looks fabulous. Fruits can be fresh or frozen, don’t worry : it will taste the same. This fresh whipped cream with blackberries will be perfect with a cafe gourmand!
Fresh whipped cream with blackberries
Ingredients
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream very cold
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp cocoa powder
Instructions
- Whip heavy cream fluffy, until soft peaks form, but not too firm.
- Equally divide washed fruits into prepared glasses. Using the piping bag or small spoon, equally spread the cream into the glasses. Refrigerate if not serving it immediately.
- Before serving, dust it with cacao powder.