Vanilla Scented Chouquettes

Chouquettes are the humble, no fuss, relatives of the more stylish Profiteroles, (or as they are known in the US, Cream Puffs); as they are made from the very same dough – Pâte à Choux. Éclair pastries are also made from this dough. Unlike both, Chouquettes are not filled with any cream and are meant to be eaten as a simple snack, soon after baking, or at least on the same day.

Breakfast Egg Muffins

I often make starch-free breakfast egg muffins, as an easy way to serve eggs for breakfast. My usual go-to recipe is my roasted vegetables version (recipe can be found HERE). However, this time I didn’t have prepared roasted vegetables at hand, so I decided to make do with fresh vegetables. I ended up with the following colorful, flavorful and nutritious breakfast egg-muffins.

Caesar Salad

Caesar salad became an American classic salad almost one hundred years ago, though it was actually created in Tijuana Mexico by Caesar Cardini, an Italian-American restaurateur. The combination of fresh Romaine lettuce leaves with a dressing made of coddled egg, garlic, Worcester sauce, Parmesan cheese and olive oil, was original and fresh, and the salad became known world wide.

Spaghetti with Goat Cheese, Prosciutto and Walnuts

This tasty and easy to make dish I have for you here, is perfect for a quick lunch or light dinner. Once you gather the ingredients it takes minutes to assemble and serve the dish.

Meringue Nests with Meyer Lemon Curd

Continuing with the meringue theme, here is another easy and tasty recipe that is just perfect for festive entertaining. This impressive dessert can be made ahead and assembled just before serving. It is light, flour-less, and wonderful when served after a heavy meal.

Eggs with Scallions, Cherry Tomatoes and Mini Peppers

Eggs cooked with tomato sauce are known in many cuisines. In most recipes, the tomato sauce is heavily spiced and cooked for 15-20 minutes before the eggs are added. While very tasty, the dish can be quite heavy, especially if served for breakfast.
Here is a quicker, and in my humble opinion, fresher and tastier, version.

Baked Portobello Caps with Pesto, Prosciutto and Poached Eggs

Layers of tasty ingredients, baked in a large mushroom cap and topped with a poached egg – what can be better for a weekend brunch?

American Buffalo (Bison) Steak Tartare

4th of July weekend was dedicated mainly to BBQ, and it feels like it’s time for the very opposite of BBQ – Steak Tartare.

Yogurt and Beet Greens Poached eggs

Poached eggs with yogurt is a familiar dish all over the Middle East, especially in Turkey. There are quite a few variations for the sauce itself, but in all of the recipes I have come across, the eggs are poached separately in water and only then are added to the sauce.

This recipe is different, as I’ve decided to use the yogurt itself as the poaching liquid for the eggs.

Colorful Potato Salad

Most potato salads are, how shall we put it politely, “aesthetically challenged”… They are pale and heavy, with way too much mayonnaise and in many cases, too much sugar.
Here is a lighter and more colorful version, inspired by a Russian potato salad, named “Olivier” after the Belgian chef who created it when working in Moscow. The original salad contained many rare and expensive ingredients, so later on more down to earth versions were created. The majority of these versions contain a large amount of cold cuts and canned peas and carrots, and even though they are more colorful than the average potato salad, they are still quite heavy.

Orange Coconut Chocolate Squares

Orange flavored dough + coconut meringue topping + bits of dark chocolate chips in the middle = perfect combination.