Cod en Papillote with Tomatoes and Olives

Posted on July 2, 2017 by missamateurchef

The name of the dish sounds a lot more fancy than it actually is—ingredients are simply wrapped into a paper parcel and then baked.

En papillote translates to “in parchment.” When ingredients such as fish, seafood and vegetables are sealed in a parchment paper parcel with herbs or other seasonings, it creates an aromatic, moist heat where the protein cooks in its own juice as well as the essences from other ingredients.

Ummm… So easy and so delicious!

The only thing to remember is to seal your parcel well, so that none of the delicious juices can escape!

Ingredients:

- Parchment paper
- 2 cod fillets
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 6 large, pitted olives
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 teaspoons dry white wine
- 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs

Directions:

Heat oven to 240°C
Place the fish fillet on the parchment. Season with salt and pepper.
In a small skillet, warm 1 tbsp oil over medium heat. Sauté sliced garlic until golden.
Remove skillet from heat; stir in tomatoes and olives. Divide tomato mixture among fish.
Top fillets with wine, butter and thyme sprigs.
Bring the edges of the baking paper together and fold over twice to enclose. Twist and tighten both sides with string to form a sealed parcel.
The parcel should look like a giant sweet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake

Posted on April 30, 2017 by missamateurchef

Moist, flavorful and delicious- a classic combo that everyone loves!

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs (at room temperature)
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain Greek yogurt, room temperature
lemon zest and juice from 1 lemon
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

Lemon glaze

2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180deg C and slightly grease a 9″x 5″ loaf pan with butter.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Set aside.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients using a spatula just until smooth. Be careful not to over-mix.
Toss fresh blueberries together with one tablespoon of flour. This flour coating will help prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of your loaf while baking.
Add the flour coated berries to the batter and fold gently to combine.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Cool bread in the pan for about 20 minutes, then move to a wire cooling rack with a baking sheet below (to catch the glaze you’re about to add).
Prepare glaze by simply whisking together the melted butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla; then pour glaze over the loaf. Allow to set a few minutes.

Cherry Cream Cheese Danishes

Posted on April 12, 2017 by missamateurchef

This, friends, is the moment we’ve been waiting for- spring is finally here! Beach vacation, sunshine, and sandal season are right around the corner. As the day gets longer, it’s the time to get outside and enjoy the warm weather (instead of working in the kitchen). For a quick springtime snack, light and easy is the name of the game. With this recipe, you can pull off some bakery-worthy pastries at home in just 30 minutes. Perfect for any time of the year, but I swear: they just taste better in spring!

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry (thawed)
1 pack Cream Cheese (8 ounces), softened
4 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
1 cup canned Cherry Pie Filling
Icing sugar for garnishing

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Take out a sheet of puff pastry and thaw for 10min.
Cut the sheet into 6 equal pieces.
With a knife, score ½” border around the edge of each piece of puff pastry. Use a fork to make five or six pricks into the area within the border (this will stop the center of the dough from rising).
In a bowl, mix together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.
Spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of mixture into the middle of each piece of dough and spread around evenly.
Add about 6 cherries into the middle of the cream cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

Crumbliest Scones

Posted on March 27, 2017 by missamateurchef

These are essentially British, delicious and simple to make… Get baking and fill your home with the smell of freshly baked scones!

It is no secret that I have always wanted to open my own cafe. And this is the sign that I will put up at the storefront when a batch of scones are hot and ready (Yes! I stole the idea from Kripsy Kreme’s neon sign!!).

Ingredients (serves 8):

Plain flour, for dusting
1.5 cups self-raising flour
40g butter, softened and cubed
3/4 cups milk
1 cup dried fruit, e.g. cranberries/ raisins (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200°C. Sift self-raising flour into a large bowl.
Rub butter into flour using your fingertips, until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Make a well in the centre. Add milk and mix until mixture forms a soft dough. Add in dried fruit if any.
Knead gently until smooth (don’t overwork the dough or scones will be tough).
Pat dough into 2cm-thick. Cut out 8 rounds using a 5cm round cutter.
Place scones onto baking tray, 1cm apart. Sprinkle tops with a little plain flour.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and well risen.
Serve warm with jam and cream.

No-peel Apple Cream Cheese Tart

Posted on February 11, 2017 by missamateurchef

Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I am a BIG sucker for apple tarts. Indeed, I like all sorts of apple desserts- apple turnover, tarte tartin, apple strudel, etc etc… As much as I like these aromatic pastries filled with the unmistakable scent of cinnamon, I seldom make them on my own because I hate peeling apples!!! So you can probably imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon this no-peel apple tart recipe. ♥

Happy baking everyone!

Pastry:

250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
70g icing sugar
125g unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
Beans for baking

Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon

Topping:

3 apples (cut into 8 -12 slices each)
4 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 160C fan.
To make the pastry, mix the flour and icing sugar in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until crumbly.
Mix in the egg yolks, roll into a ball. If the pastry is still too dry, add 1-2 tbsp water until it comes together.
Place the pastry in your tart pan and, using your fingertips; evenly press the pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of your pan. Gently pierce the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork. (This will prevent the pastry crust from puffing up while it bakes.)
When ready, place the tart pan on a larger baking pan and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 13 – 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.
Beat cream cheese using a hand mixer until smooth. Add sugar gradually until incorporated. Add eggs (one at a time) until thoroughly combined.
Add the remaining ingredients and beat until well blended and smooth.
Carefully pour the filling into the pre-baked tart shell and then bake the tart for about 30 – 35 minutes or until the filling is set. Transfer tart to wire rack to cool and start making the topping.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the apples to the pan and sprinkle with 2 tablespoon brown sugar. Sauté the apples, frequently stirring, for 6 to 8 minutes until they just begin to turn tender. (Be careful not to overcook at this stage as the apples may become puree!)
Sprinkle the apples with the remaining sugar and add cinnamon. Toss the mixture gently and cook over medium heat for an additional 1-2 minutes until the sugar begins to caramelize, and the apples are crisp-tender.
Arrange the apple slices in an overlapping spiral pattern. Pour the remaining caramel sauce on top of the apples.
Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving!

Dutch Baby with Blueberry Compote

Posted on November 13, 2016 by missamateurchef

I’ve always been amazed by how many different breakfast food you can create using just milk, eggs, and flour; here is one of the more interesting examples.

Oh, did i mention that everything comes together in about 30 blessed minutes?

Ingredients:

Batter:

3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup whole milk (warmed)
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Blueberry compote:

1.5 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
Grated zest and juice of a lemon
Powdered sugar,for dusting

Vanilla Ice Cream (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 220°C.
Combine eggs, flour, milk, salt, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth.
Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
Place butter in the skillet, as soon as the butter has melted, add batter to the pan.
Transfer the skillet to the pre-heated oven.
Bake pancake until puffed and golden brown all over, about 15-20 minutes.
Lower oven temperature to 150°C and bake five minutes longer. It will deflate as soon as it’s removed from the oven.
Dust pancake generously with powdered sugar and top with 2-3 scoops of vanilla ice cream. Serve with blueberry compote.

For the blueberry compote: Combine the blueberries, sugar, 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and zest in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes.

Skillet Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

Posted on June 1, 2016 by missamateurchef

The dish sounds like something you can find in the menu of some fancy restaurants. By deglazing the pan with a combination of chicken stock, cream and a little bit of whisky… everyone can turn those pan drippings into a fantastic sauce, no culinary school degree required!

Ingredients

2 bone-in pork chops (1 1/4 inches thick)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 apples and onions, cut into wedges
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whisky
8 small fresh thyme sprigs

Methods:
1. Preheat oven to 240°C. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Cook in hot oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from skillet.
2. Add apples and onion to skillet; cook until browned. Remove from skillet
3. Add broth to skillet, stir to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet, cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Whisk together cream and mustard; add to skillet, cook and stir constantly, cook for 2 minutes or until bubbly.
5. Remove skillet from heat, and stir in bourbon. Add pork, turning to coat, and top with apples, onions, and thyme.
6. Bake at 240°C for 15 minutes or until liquid is just beginning to bubble. Let stand in skillet 5 minutes before serving.

Lemon Meringue Tart

Posted on May 1, 2016 by missamateurchef

When life gives you lemons… make lemon meringue tart!

Ingredients:

Pastry

250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
70g icing sugar
125g unsalted butter, cubed
2 egg yolk
Beans for baking

Filling

5 eggs
140g caster sugar
150ml double cream
2-3 lemon (to produce about 100ml lemon juice and 2 tbsp lemon zest)

Meringue

2 egg whites
Half cup of sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 160C fan.
To make the pastry, mix the flour and icing sugar in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until crumbly.
Mix in the egg yolks, roll into a ball. If the pastry is still too dry, add 1-2 tbsp water until it comes together.
Wrap the dough in cling film, chill for at least 30 mins.
While the pastry is in the fridge, make the filling. Beat all the ingredients, except for the zest, together. Sieve the mixture, then stir in the zest.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of a $1 coin, then lift into a 23cm tart tin. Press down gently on the bottom and sides, then trim off any excess pastry.
Stab a few holes in the bottom with a fork and put back in the fridge for 30 mins.
Line the tart with foil and fill with dried beans. Bake for 15 mins, then remove the tart tin from the oven, discard the foil, and bake for another 20 mins until biscuity.
When the pastry is ready, remove it from the oven, pour in the lemon mixture and bake for 30-35 mins until just set.
Leave to cool, then remove the tart from the tin.
In medium bowl, beat egg whites, salt and vinegar with electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Around 6 min in total, do not underbeat.
Spread the meringue on top of the filling with a spoon, starting from the outside edge of the crust.
Brown the meringue with a blow torch.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on April 24, 2016 by missamateurchef

My husband, like many other men, was not a big fan of desserts. He’d always said to people that he didn’t have a sweet tooth, but a salt tooth. Given the choice between a decadent chocolate cake and a simple pack of potato chips, it would be the savory latter every time. But then he discovered something better than sweet, something better than salty, which was the two of them combined together – salted caramel. Everything has changed since then… From Pierre Hermes macarons to Häagen-Dazs ice-cream, he orders everything with salted caramel. The salt-sweet combo is somehow so surprising and compelling; two very opposite flavors, instead of overshadowing one and other, tingle away in conjunction…

It’s his birthday today so I’ve made him these salted caramel cookies to celebrate!

Dear C, you are the salt to my caramel, milk to my cookie, gin to my tonic… best to my friend and love of my life…Happy birthday! I can’t wait to grow old with you ❤

(Yield 2 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, unsalted, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/4 cup caramel sauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoons sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat the oven at 180 deg C.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with hand mixer until fluffy (about 2 minutes).
Add in vanilla extract and egg, beat until incorporated, pour in caramel and beat until incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula from time to time.
In another bowl, combine all the dry ingredients including flour, baking powder and baking soda.
Slowly add the sugary mixture to the dry ingredients.
Add in chocolate chips. Stir until they are evenly mixed.
Place dough in the refrigerator for an hour.
Line baking sheet with silicone baking mat.
Scoop dough into a 1 tablespoon size cookie scoop and place the dough onto the prepared cooking sheet.
Place about 2 inches apart. Flatten the dough balls slightly.
Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes, until edges are slightly golden brown.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, and then transfer to a cookie cooling rack.