Chicken Thighs with Apple Cider Cream Sauce

As the weather gets warmer, and spring is around the corner, the switch towards lighter and fresher main dishes in only natural. The following dish is a good example of that.
Chicken thighs cooked with apples and cider is one of my favorite combinations; the light sweetness-tartness of the apples, and their crispy and fresh texture, are a perfect match for the chicken.

Broccoli, Potatoes and Cheddar Soup

While the weather is somewhat improving, it’s still cold enough to think of a hearty soup, yet, not one as heavy as one would want on an extremely cold day. Having a vegetarian, cheese-based soup, seems like the right soup to choose.

Pan Roasted Scallops on Creamed Spinach

Creamed spinach is a classic side dish, which originated in France around 1800. The tasty combination of cooked spinach and creamy sauce, remained popular in many countries, where different versions for the basic dish were created. In the States, it is mostly offered in many steakhouse, aside a grilled steak, other grilled meats, or chicken. However, it is also delicious as a bed for seafood,  as I have done here.

Meyer Lemon and Spiced Rhubarb Coulis Heavy Cream Cake

Rhubarb season is here: the fresh stems are bright red and full of flavor, and just beg to be used in many ways.  At the same time, I also found some beautiful, extra fragrant Meyer lemons – so, it made perfect sense to pair them both into one tasty cake.

Vanilla Cake with Apricot Jam and Chocolate Frosting

 

Whenever I want to bake a quick tasty cake, a heavy cream based one would be one of my first choices, as it requires only a few basic ingredients, and it can be mixed in a short time, in one bowl. Another important reason for choosing this type of cake is that it has a wonderful rich texture and flavor, that can be easily altered with just a few spices or ingredients.

Banana, Marzipan and Dried Cherry Cake, with Chocolate Glaze

 

Cherries and almonds pair wonderfully well together, so, when I was planning on baking a banana cake, flavored with my homemade marzipan, it was an easy decision to add dried cherries to it. Belgium cherry beer, that I also had at hand, was the perfect way to enhance the cherry flavor, and give the cake a lighter texture.

Fresh Cranberry, Orange and Almond Cake

 

As I still had some orange marmalade, from last weeks’ chicken dish, I thought it could be a good idea to use it in a cake. With Thanksgiving around the corner, and with lots of fresh cranberries at the store, it was a no-brainer to mix these two ingredients into one tasty cake.

Spiced Sugar Puff Pastry Twists, with Spiced Whipped Cream

Buttery, sugary and crispy puff pastry twists, are quite irresistible. At the same time, they are very quick and easy to make, and require only few ingredients.

Chicken Thighs with Creamy Lemon, Saffron and Capers Sauce

Pairing chicken and lemon is one of my favorite combinations, and I’m always looking for new ways of using both together. This time, I had a creamy chicken dish in mind – one that would be cooked fairly quickly, and served over pasta.

Dried Fruit and Ginger Heavy Cream Cake

Noticing I somehow accumulated quite a few small quantities of different dried fruit, I decided the best way to use them was in a cake.

Lemon and Lavender Posset

Reading about Posset – a lemony dessert that is prepared with only three ingredients – I got very curious, and decided to find out more about it. I’ve discovered that there were many versions for this dessert, and that it also had quite an interesting history.