THE KITCHEN BATTLE

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2011-12-31T11:38:00.009+01:00

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Battle 20 - Sis: Pasta "Camilla style"

2009-08-09T15:26:00.014+02:00

Summer is at its best in Switzerland and the garden is getting full of tomatoes. As the battle theme was Jamie's recipe challenge, I thought an Italian dish would be a good idea. Jamie is such a good ambassador for Italian food, isn't he?

This recipe is a mix between cooked and raw ingredients. To me, some ingredients such as Parma ham, Rucola salad or basilico are much better raw. It's why it's made of cooked pastas with a creamy tomato sauce and top with raw 100% Italian ingredients.

Pasta "Camilla style"

Ingredients for 2 persons

- 150g "Penne"

- 5 tomatoes

- 0,5 dl cream

- thyme, basilico

- 3 slices Parma ham

- 50g fresh rucola

- a few slices of Parmesan (Italian cheese)

- a pinch of sugar

- salt

1. Prepare the tomato sauce. Boil the 5 tomatoes for 2 minutes. Let them cool down and peel them. Take the seeds out. Cut them in small pieces. Put them in a pot with the thyme, basilico and a pinch of sugar. Cook the tomato sauce during one hour on a low-medium heat until it's getting thicker "sauce like". Add the cream and cook again for 15 min.

2. Boil the penne in hot water for 10 min.

3. Add the penne to tomato sauce and mix well. Serve in 2 plates and top each with some parma ham slices, rucola and parmesan.

To fit with this funky dish, I'd propose to listen to that !! BIG CITY life vs little village life, what do you think Bengt?!

Honnestly, I sometimes miss this BIG city life..but never for long ;-)) (Except the skateboard thing+the easy city biking, hahahaha !)

Battle 20 - Bro: Tagliatelle Tomato-Chanterelle

2009-08-08T23:06:00.002+02:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am happy to introduce you my new kitchen! A gas kitchen! Very cool. It looks like a subwoofer, don’t you think???

I am still a bit on my way to unpack my stuff, and haven’t given food much attention those last days, I must admit. But listening to the gas speakers and looking at the August summer weather outside the window, I imagine the following recipe (try it and let me know if it works, I will only be able to cook it for real this week-end…).

Tagliatelle tomato-chanterelle, for 2 persons:

- 400g of fresh tagliatelle (check out battle 10 for the homemade recipe)
- 4 nice tomatoes
- A basket of chanterelles (200g?)
- ½ Shallot
- 2-3 table spoon of cream
- Thyme

Peel the tomatoes and empty them. Filter what you take out and save that juice. Cut the tomatoes in cubes. Brush the dirt from the chanterelles, cut them in small pieces.

In a hot pan, roast the shallot dies, and add the mushrooms and the juice saved from the tomatoes. Add salt and pepper and let it cook slowly for 3-4 minutes. Add some thyme and the cream, adjust the spicing. Add the tomato cubes for the last 2-3 minutes of cooking, just to warm them (while boiling the tagliatelle). Ready!

As simple, powerful and poetic as the music of Mono… Like it Jamie?

Battle 19 - Sis: Chicken Taboulé

2009-07-25T17:43:00.006+02:00

Hello!Helloo!!Hellooo!!! I'm back in the battle after one month off;-) Everyone needs vacation in Summer, right?! And to start with a real holiday dish, I mean refreshing, full of garden herbs et qui sent le Sud, I propose you a chicken taboulé! Basically, instead of couscous, you use your last grilled chicken leftover (without skin);-)

Chicken taboulé

Ingredients for 2 persons

200g chicken (full chicken left overs or chicken breast)

3-4 tbsp olive oil

Lots of garden herbs (thyme, chive, parsili, ..)

30g pine nuts, grilled

Salt from Guérande

1. Chop very finely the chicken. Add the garden herbs, olive oil, grilled pine nuts and salt. Mix well. It's done! And it's delicious with a glass of Pinot noir... from Valais, of course ;-)

And while tasting this dish on a sunny terrace, listen to Heidi Happy (the name is great, isn't it?!)

Next battle topic: Jamie Oliver's recipe challenge

Battle 19 – Bro: Best match for Pinot Noir

2009-07-12T16:11:00.007+02:00

I have tried to think of seasonal products for this recipe supposed to be enjoyed with a glass of Pinot Noir. And right now, in many gardens and all shops, you find this absolutely amazing fruit named cherry... Juicy, tasty, colourful, pretty, the cherry is the Marilyn Monroe of all fruit and veggies sections in supermarkets.

From there, I imagined that it could be nice to serve cherries with lamb, meat that is traditionally cooked with dates, mint or apricots in Arabian countries. I haven’t prepared a tagine, but just a juicy piece of lamb (“Lammeculotte”), that I have roasted in the oven with “couscous spices” and cherries. Very easy, very class, perfect with Pinot Noir, you should try it!!!

As background music, I would suggest to play: “The Fleet Foxes”.

Relax, Honey, I am cooking tonight! :-)

Lamb and cherries, for 2 persons:

- A nice piece of lamb (meaning a piece that is best when “bloody”), 300-400g.
- 250 g of cherries.
- Couscous spices (event. replace it with Garam Masala, which is easier to find).
- Meat-thermometer.

Pre-warm the oven at a temperature of 120°C.
Cut all cherries in two, and take the stones away. Place them on a plate that can go in the oven, spice them a little.
On a very hot pan, roast shortly the lamb on all sides, in order to close well all pores of the meat. Place that piece on top of the cherries, spice it with the rest of the spice-mix and put the plate in the oven. That’s pretty much it!

The lamb is ready once the heart of the meat reaches 70-75°C. Wait a few minutes before slicing it. Dress on plates with a few slices, topped with cherries. Add salt and pepper.

My Pinot Noir that day was from Fernand Cina, Salgesh, Switzerland. A great winemaker producing excellent wines at very reasonable prices. Thanks!!!

Battle 18 – Bro: Flower Power

2009-06-29T23:42:00.006+02:00

Great to be back in the battle, with that summer theme « flower power »! However, with warm sunny days, I have lately spent a lot more time in than out, and my kitchen hasn’t been used a lot. Currently, I’m out at the famous Roskilde Festival, one of the biggest music festivals in Europe.

Of course, who says « festival » definitely also says « flower power »… At these events, everybody suddenly becomes friendly, helpful, attractive and tolerant. This happy breeze can actually last during a few days, and it feels so good! But, of course, at the end, everybody gets tired, useless, dirty and close-minded again.

However, the dream is on, and it’s time to enjoy it before that soufflé comes down. So, my flower power tip for the festival: go straight to the west camping canteens, and choose the Burger de Luxe, that you can get for 60 Danish Crones, and 20 minutes queue. Delicious warm bread, double juicy burger, cheese, and everything. Top it with 4 cold Tuborg. Join a group of other joyful innocents, and bite in the steaks! Finally, pull your temporary friends to the concert of Mono! Dejligt, ikke?!

The next battle will happen in 10-15 days, Cam being on the road! Personally, at the end of the week, tired of beers and burgers, I might get tempted by a good wine and a more elaborated dish. Therefore, theme for next battle: "best match for Pinot Noir"! Ohooo, fancyyyyyy !

Battle 18 - Sis: Flower Power

2009-06-23T20:01:00.008+02:00

3 hours to wait in Dubai airport...perfect time to finish writing this post! Before leaving Switzerland, the garden was getting so colourful that I could not resist to use those beautiful flowers in recipes ;-) Here is the outcome!!

Rose and almond cream

Ingredients for 2 persons

1 tsp corn starch

1 tbsp sugar

1 egg

1 dl milk

0,5 dl rose water

0,5dl cream

1 tsp vanilla sugar

1 tbsp almond purée

1. Mix in a pan the egg with sugar, corn starch, milk, rose water and cream. Heat it slightly until it starts to thicken. Take it out of the heat and add the vanilla sugar. Let it cool down and finally add the almond purée.

2. Serve with fresh strawberries and decorate with colourful flower petals.

Well, and during that looooong 24hrs trip, I can finally discover all the new music you gave me, Bengt! And there is one band I particularly love: The Handsome Furs.

Open battle: it's all about painting

2009-06-23T15:36:00.005+02:00

We could not resist to show you this! This is a late contribution we got for the Open Battle. Isn't it so fine and elegant? It's really like a Chinese painting....Congrats Zoé!!!

Next battle theme: FLOWER POWER!! And the deadline is already..tomorrow! You better be quick, little bro;-)

OPEN BATTLE: OUR TOP 3!

2009-06-05T01:05:00.000+02:00

Wow, that was not easy to pick our TOP3 out of the recipes we got! Congrats and thanks so much to everyone who took part in the challenge!!! We hope that you'll be as creative as you were for the next open battle ;-)

We got recipes from all over the world and so are our winners ;-)

Val, from China

We absolutely loved your super colourful and creative salad. On n'a qu'une envie: la croquer au plus vite!!!

Shanghai Summer Delish

Ingredients for 2 persons

- 180g of rice vermicelli

- 15 cherry tomatoes (cut in half)

- 10 asparagus (cut in 3 cm bits)

- 1 can of straw mushrooms or 15 straw mushrooms (boiled and cut in half)

- a handful of coriander leaves

- 3 stems of spring onions (cut in 3cm bits)

- 15 ready made longxia or crawfish deep-fried in oil and chili

- 30g of minced pork

Sauce: 3 tablespoons of Chinese vinegar, 3 coffeespoons of sugar, a few drops of soy sauce

1- Soften the vermicelli for 5 mn in boiling water, strain and leave to cool in the fridge.

2- Deep fry the crawfish with their shell in oil with chili peppers for 5mn. Leave to cool

3- Boil straw mushroom (unless you use canned ones), then cut in half. Cut cherry tomatoes in half as well and put aside.

4- Boil the minced pork for 5mn in salted water, strain and leave to cool.

5- Cut the asparagus in strips of 3 cm, boil in salted water for 5 mn, strain and leave them to cool.

6- Cut spring onions in strips of 3 cm and put aside.

7- Peel the shell off the crawfish except for 2.

8- Mix all the above ingredients evenly with the vermicelli.

9- Mix the ingredients of sauce until sugar has melted, add in salad and stir.

10- Sprinkle coriander on top, and decorate with the two unpeeled crawfish

Inspirational music; Jungle Drum by Emiliana Torrini

Mofo, from Greece

With your picture&recipe&music, you made us directly travel. That's what we loved! We could almost see the white houses with a wonderful view on the sea;-) We litterally had a short escape in Greece... loved it just before holiday :-)

Tsatziki: (how it’s REALLY done)

1 litre of real Greek yoghurt

1 cucumber

1 table spoon of lemon juice (fresh lemon, not concentrated)

½ table spoon of Greek virgin olive oil

2 fresh cloves of garlic

Salt, pepper

Chop the cucumber carefully into squares ■.

Add it to the yoghurt with ♥.

Squeeze the lemon juice into the yoghurt. Mind not to get seeds into the yoghurt.

Crush the garlic into the yoghurt.

Add the olive oil, salt and pepper.

Always let the Tsatziki get ready in the fridge at least 8 hours before enjoying it. Taste! maybe you’ll need to add more garlic, salt and/ or pepper…

To drink: Cold Greek Retzina wine, preferably the brand of Malamatina (in the image). Add some drops of soda bubbily water.

Retzina has been made for at least 2000 years. Its unique flavor is said to have originated from the practice of sealing wine vessels, particularly amphorae, with Aleppo Pine resin in ancient times. Before the invention of impermeable glass bottles, oxygen caused many wines to spoil within the year. Pine resin helped keep air out, while at the same time infusing the wine with resin aroma.

JAMAS! (Clic to take a trip!)

Supa, from Germany

The picture was really cool and original!We know that we have readers asking all the time for a potato salad, so Gé;-), here is the recipe for THE perfect potato salad (à en faire tomber un viking, dixit B.)!!And it looks yummy!!

Potatoe salad with pesto!

For 2 persons you need:

500 gr potatoes

a bunch of basilicum

2 garlic cloves

salt

black pepper

one hand full of pine nuts

5 tablespoons of sherry vinegar

10 tablespoons of olive oil

parmesan cheese

Boil the potatoes, peel them and slice them. Afterwards let them cool down.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in the blender to get a pesto. Mix pesto and potatoes and put the salad in the fridge for 2 hours.

When eating it on a sunny summer day, while having a bbq in your garden, listen to something hearty, like "Give it away" from the Red hot chili peppers.

Enjoy!

TODAY 8AM

2009-06-02T22:12:00.003+02:00

(Une parenthèse)

Entre coquelicots et vignes...

A breathe of fresh air on Valais Wine Path...

SUMMER SALAD!!!

2009-06-02T18:29:00.005+02:00

Em, em, we are still deliberating about the kitchen battlers and the recipes we got ;-) By the end of the week, you will discover the winners....suspense, suspense...

Till then, here is the sister's version of a Summer salad. It's full of aromatic plants (mint, basil, chive and parsil), and there is a pink touch with strawberries and beetroot chips!!

To go with this funky touch, don't miss my alumni colleague and accessoirement our national hip-hop king: Stress!

Battle 17 – Bro: COOKIES

2009-05-25T23:50:00.003+02:00

I’m sorry, but I am not a cookie baker. JE SAIS PAS FAIRE DES BISCUITS! It’s been a week that I have been trying to create cookies, and let’s be honest, let’s see my kitchen as it is; no cookies are being baked there, not by myself…

ALORS QUOI!? I feel like Roger Federer in front of Rafael Nadal in a French Open Final, I feel like the English football team in a world cup tournament. I feel like Benjamin Netanyahu visiting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I feel like “it won’t work”!

Frustrated, I sit on a stool, open a beer, and listen to the loud Crystal Antlers. It’s all I would recommend to Roger, David, Benjamin or Mahmoud. It won’t work, that’s it, punkt schluss. And if Federer proves me wrong by pulling the famous silver cup over his head in two weeks, I promise to get back to you with my own cookies recipe!

However, until then and for beginner cookie makers like me, I could recommend Pierre Hermé’s chocolate cookies, a recipe that you can find on the blog la tartine gourmande. They are easy and delicious. Or this old recipe for Danish almond cookies, that my girlfriend stole to her mother, who herself had stolen it to her mother, who we don’t know if she created it or stole it from somebody. But this secret is as secret as the Lisbeth Salander 1991 säpo secret report, and I won’t allow myself to openly write it here…

So I let you with my sister’s cookies, who’s Florentines are absolutely outstanding. After she sent a box of those to me during my military service, half of the division wished to marry her! And if Swiss army is good at something, it might be at cookie tasting… Enjoy, and please pardon me…

Battle 17 - Sis: ALPINE COOKIES

2009-05-24T18:58:00.008+02:00

In between "Nusstorte" and "Florentins", those walnut cookies are nice for coffee/tea time, listening to the British songwriter Polly Scattergood...

Alpine cookies

Ingredients for 20 small squared cookies

For the cookies dough:

- 210 g flour

- 85 g powdered sugar

- 25 g almonds

- 1 egg

- 125 g butter

For the caramel-walnut topping:

- 100 g walnuts

- 3 cl water

- 55 g sugar

- 1,25 dl cream

- 25 g honey

- 30 g butter

1. One day before, prepare the dough (500g in total): Mix well the butter until soft. Then add one by one the egg, the powdered sugar, the almond powder and finally the flour. Mix very well and keep the dough in fridge.

2. Take 100g (out of 500g) of dough. Roll the dough to about 2mm thick and place it on a squared baking pan. Place it in the oven at 180 degrees for 12 minutes until slightly golden.

3. Prepare the Walnut topping. Combine in a pan the water and sugar and prepare a sirup. Then, add the cream, honey and butter. Cook it on medium-high heat until obtaining a thick and brown caramel. Mix well that caramel with walnuts and top the baked dough.

4. Place in oven again, and bake the cookies at 230 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

5. Let the cookies cool completely.

6. Cut them in small squares.

P.S: Use the rest of the dough for baking tartlets for instance. You can keep the dough at least 2 weeks in fridge.

Open battle: SUMMER SALAD

2009-05-24T10:06:00.004+02:00

Dear Kitchen Fighters,

Incredible! The fiftieth and fifty-first cook just joined the coolest Facebook kitchen; let’s celebrate it with an open battle!

The theme that we would like to propose you is SUMMER SALAD!

Send us your craziest, greatest, and most delicious recipe by the 31st of May, including an image of it and the music tip that boost your imagination!

We look forward to publishing on the blog recipes from all over the world!

Until then, let your kitchen rock, and enjoy sunny spring days!

Send your recipe, image and music link to:

kitchenbattle@gmail.com

Battle 16 - Sis: TOMATO CUBES

2009-05-17T16:47:00.004+02:00

When it come to aperitif, I'm always in ;-) Around here there are more than 500 wineries and aperitif with white wine is more than a tradition! From 17h on, villages' bistrots are getting full of people gathering to have a glass of white wine as an afterwork.

To fit to white wine, I prepared those "sérac (kind of fresh cheese)-tomato cubes" picks, a fresh and healthy snack!

Tomato cubes

Ingredients for 2 persons

4 tomatoes

basilico

thyme

1 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp vinegar

0.5 tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

3 sheets of gelatine

1. Boil the tomatoes 3 minutes. Cool them down and peel them.

2. Put in a pan the tomatoes with olive oil, vinegar, basilico, thym and sugar. Cook them for about 30 minutes on medium heat until, you get a concentrated tomato sauce. Mix finely this sauce.

3. Filter the sauce and put again in the pan. Warm it slightly and put the 3 sheets of gelatine, until they are completely melted.

4. Let the mix cool down in a small squared baking pan and put it in fridge during 3-4 hours.

5. Once the mix is solid, cut small tomato squares.

6. Put them on tooth picks in association with serac, mozarella or other fresh vegetables..

Next battle topic: cookies !!!

Battle 17 – Bro: ELECTRO APERO

2009-05-17T16:00:00.002+02:00

Aaaaaaah! L’apéro! It kind of means appetizer but simply sounds much better… Apéro, something that, we, Swiss, are good at! A little drink, with a little something to eat, around 12ish, or around 6ish, one hour before attacking a real meal… Typically, there in the Alps, it consists of a glass of white wine, with some cheese, a few slices of dry meat, and a piece of rye bread… Maybe the best apero, but, in Copenhagen, away from any view on the mountains, things must be done differently. For apero, you’d more have a beer or a cocktail, while listening to electro music!

So, why not, after all, trying this package: kind of a martini-gin with an apero-stick, listening to Giana Factory, a Danish pretty band, playing a cool electro-pop-rock music.

2 Cocktails:

- 2 shots of Gin
- 1 dl of Dry Vermouth
- The juice of a lemon
- Eventually a teaspoon of brown sugar (not for me, maybe for her!)
- Ice cubes

Throw all this in a shaker, shake it, poor it with style in two glasses!

2 Apero-Sticks:

- 2 cherry tomatoes
- 2 olives
- 1 slice of bacon (cut in two)
- 2 cubes of mozzarella, or eventually goat cheese
- Oregano

In a pan, cook the tomatoes in a bit of olive oil and salt during 8 minutes.
Roast the two half slices of bacon (not too much), and pack a cube of mozzarella and a bit of oregano within each of them. Finish roasting the bacon, which will also warm the cheese a bit.

On bamboo sticks, pick a tomato (confite), then an olive, and a bacon-mozzarella cube.

Serve the sticks with the cocktail, and keep on shaking your head in rhythm with the subwoofer!

Battle 15 - Sis: CARACHOCO SPREAD

2009-05-13T19:42:00.003+02:00

I bet dear brother that you could eat a whole jar "à la petite cuillère" ;-) Imagine your home made danish bread, just out of oven, still a bit warm...and you spread this Chocolate-Caramel on it..it's melting...mmhhhh...

CaraChoco Spread

Ingredients for 3 small jars

Caramel sauce:

- 40g sugar

- 8cl cream

- 30g butter

- a pinch of salt

Chocolate spread:

- 120g dark chocolate (70%cocoa)

- 200g condensed milk

- 120g butter

1. Prepare the caramel sauce. Melt on medium heat the 40g sugar until light brown. Add the cream and mix well. Finally, out of fie, add the butter, mix it till well melted. Let cool down.

2. Prepare the chocolate spread. Melt on very low heat the dark chocolate, the add the condensed milk. Finally, add the butter and mix well.

3. Combine the caramel sauce with the chocolate spread and fill in 3 small jars (sterilised in hot water).

Battle 15 – Bro: DANISH HABITUS

2009-05-13T18:00:00.002+02:00

I had difficulties finding a funny idea for this battle turning around food that can be eaten between bigger meals… However, I realised how much these snacks could be culturally interesting!

The French would define it as a “goûter” (tasting) expressing their frustration about the reduced size of that meal; the Swiss-French would call it a “quatre heure” (“a 4pm”) respecting their love for precise timing, and an hour later the British would probably say “tea-time”, thinking of their traditional way of drinking tea, eating small cakes and talking politely with Aunt Petunia about the Queen’s new robes…

But what about the Danes? The Danes have a habit of eating the weirdest snacks! The most popular of them is, believe it or not, hotdog and chocolate milk!!! You get this package for a good price around every street corner…

Celebrating this fragment of Danish habitus, eating a sausage and drinking “Cocio”, I would like to push forward the absolutely outstanding image of this brand that proposes chocolate milk in the coolest glass bottles. The old Cocio logo, the fantastic match of colours, the shape of the bottle, is fascinating! I would definitely classify a Cocio bottle as a great example of Danish design, I love it, hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!

Conclusion: the Danes are maybe not best at fine food, but they save the situation with their amazing sense of style.

More about Cocio here, more about Denmark there. Bon appétit!

Next battle theme: Apéro!

Battle 14 – Bro: A KIND OF COQ AU VIN

2009-05-10T19:51:00.010+02:00

It happens that I feel the need of tasting an old tradition, something that grandmas would find normal, but that today became more extraordinary than sushi. This old-school way of cooking, I’m afraid, slowly disappears… It’s a shame! How would life be without tripe, tongues, and boudin? Boring! So let’s save our grandmas’ recipes, let’s sometimes cook stuff during hours!

At my grandma’s home, wine had a central place. It came in many sauces, in many dishes, and it always was on the table. Rarely fancy, this wine was a day-to-day wine that helped people go through life. And this is the wine I’d like to live with as well… A good glass of wine that makes you happy, that makes your dinner even better, the true and simple way of drinking wine. High or low the price of the bottle can be, drinking wine should remain a humble, simple, pleasure! Ok, ok, long story made short, I propose you to try this easy version of coq au vin…

Coq au vin, ingredients for 2 persons:

-600g of chicken in pieces, with bones and skin (could also be legs)
- 2-3 dl of red wine
- 1 carrot, in slices
- 2 branches of celery
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 branches of thyme
- 100g of bacon dies
- 1-2 slices of old bread cut in dies
- 1 pear cut in dies

Some hours before cooking your chicken, marinate it in the wine, add the carrot, the celery, the clove of garlic cut in 4 and the cloves.

Take the chicken pieces out of the wine, and roast them in a pot before adding the wine again (including everything that was in) plus the bay leaves and the thyme. Let it cook slowly during 1 hour. Add a little wine if it gets too dry.

Grill or roast the dies of bread in order to make them crusty.

Roast the bacon and add it in the pot 5 minutes before serving.

Add the pear in the pot 1 minute before serving. Adjust salt and pepper at that time.

Top the chicken and its sauce with bread dies when dressing the plates.

Serve it with seasonal vegetables (for example fresh green peas at the moment), a piece of a good fresh bread to dip in the sauce, and of course, a glass of red wine! Santé!

And if you are looking for even more melancholy, try the beautiful songs of Paul O’Reilly…

Battle 14 - Sis: VITELOTTE POTATO PUREE

2009-05-10T11:50:00.005+02:00

Have you heard already of Vitelotte? This is a type of potato, an old species actually which has been replanted a few years ago... The funny thing about it is that it is naturally...purple!!!

My grandma used to prepare her home-made potato purée, always with the "Rôti" brown sauce, topping it;-) I loved it so much and was always asking for a second serve ;-)

Vitelotte Potato Purée

Ingredients for 2 persons

300g Vitelotte potatoes, peeled

milk

butter

rosmarino

salt from Guérande (a French region)

1. Boil the potatoes for 30-40 min, until very soft.

2. Mash them finely in a bowl, add the butter and milk.

3. Finally, spice it with salt from Guérande and chunks of rosmarino.

Serve it with an overcooked meat, such as "Ragoût" or "rôti", with the brown sauce...

And to be totally in the old time atmosphere, you have to listen to this or that. Grandma used to be a big fan ;-)

Next battle: Jam, Nutella, Honey&Co: Goûters Gourmands...

Battle 13 – Bro: QUICKEST HOMEMADE BREAD

2009-05-08T20:13:00.007+02:00

Finally, here is the chance to share the recipe I always use to prepare homemade bread! It is not mine, and I won’t tell you where it comes from. But it is incredibly simple, and it gives good results. It is something that you can do just before going to bed in 3 minutes, and the bread will be ready to be placed in the oven in the morning when you get up…

Ingredients for breakfast bread for 2 persons (approximate, your instinct will help!):

- 3 dl of water (not too cold)
- 10g of fresh yeast
- White flour
- Other flour
- Seeds you like, olives, whatever you fancy
- Salt

In a big bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water, and add 2-3 tablespoons of salt. Add some white flour while mixing with a spoon. Stop adding white flour when the mix is still liquid. Start adding other flours and seeds (anything you like, so that the bread doesn’t stay too white) keep on mixing with a spoon. The mix should never get too hard, you should just be able to mix it with a spoon only (it’s the goal of this quick recipe). As soon as you reach this “limit” consistency, your bread is ready! Cover the bowl with transparent film, and put it in the fridge over night.

Bake it as you like, small breads, or larger flat breads. For example, just place big spoons of the mix beside each other on baking paper. Eventually top them with seeds, or salt, etc… Turn on the oven (200°C), you can already put your breads in the cold oven. If you do 2 rounds, you can of course also start the 2nd round in the warm oven.

As soon as the tops of the breads take colour, they should be ready. (Just apply the old trick to knock-knock them. If they sound empty, they are ready!)

It’s not easy to describe this process that is in itself approximate… But try it! In reality, it’s simple, and your instinct will guide you correctly! It could become something you’ll do with closed eyes three times a week!

Finally, early morning, while baking bread, why not listening to the smooth Mélanie Pain (…)?

Theme for next battle: “IN GRANDMA’S POT”

Battle 13 - Sis: CRANBERRIES & PECAN BREAD

2009-05-07T11:19:00.000+02:00

This is my favourite snack when I am going hiking. With a good cheese from Valais and white wine like a dry Amigne from R. Papilloud, in Vétroz Switzerland, it can make a nice aperitif in the wineyards... You can of course change the dried fruits and nuts you want to put in the "farmer bread", at your own convenience and taste!

Cranberries and Pecan Nuts Bread

Ingredients for a 400g bread

250g flour

1dl milk

8cl water

10g yeast

0,5 tsp salt

50g pecan nuts

100g dried cranberries

1. Melt the yeast in the mix water-milk.

2. Combine flour and salt, add the mix water-milk-yeast and mix well.

3. Finally add the pecan nuts and cranberries. Knead well.

4. Let raise till the bread doubles size. Then put it on a prepared baking sheet.

5. Put in the cold oven and heat it at 220°c.

5. Bake for about 35-45 minutes in total.

6. To check if it's ready, you can knock knock on the bottom of bread. If well baked, it sounds "empty".

I am undoubtly going to prepare that pic-nic for tomorrow's big event in the Swiss Alps: the final of Cow Fights! The cows we have in our area are called cows from Hérens, and they are very musculous and impressive but also the kindest animals at same time. So, I won't come up with any music today but with that short movie !

Battle 12 – Bro: FISH LIKE IN THE SOUTH

2009-05-04T21:35:00.005+02:00

I must admit that I never was a huge fan of fish. But, when barbecue's season arrives, I always dream of South, and grilled fish… Between the age of 9 and 15, it even was the only way of eating fish that I actually liked… Grilled fish, with an olive oil-lemon sauce… Try it! And while cooking and tasting, take a trip to Lisbon by clicking here!

Fish like in the south, ingredients for 2 persons:

For the fish:
- 2 fishes (some with white meat like mackerels or sea-breams)
- 2 handfuls of vegetable dies (for example a mix of tomato, pepper fruit and celery. Use the rest for a salad!)
- A tablespoon of olive oil.
- Thyme

Mix the dies with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Stuff the fishes with this mix, and oil a bit their skin with the back of the spoon, eventually close the fishes with a toothpick. Grill them on both sides, enough to make the skin crusty.

For the sauce:
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- The juice of a lemon
Whip the olive oil, the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Just before serving, try to make it light as an emulsion!

Serve this sauce on the hot grilled fishes, close your eyes, and listen to the see my friend! Ahaha!

How is life is the sun ???

Battle 12 - Sis: XINJIANG LAMB

2009-05-03T14:27:00.009+02:00

What a perfect theme you launched dear brother ;-) The whole week-end was warm and sunny, perfect time to do the first bbq of 2009! We prepared some lamb picks, a specialty from Xinjiang Province in China. It was accompanied with freshly picked letuce and herbs salad..

Can you imagine the nice dinner we had on small green lake side?!

Xinjiang Lamb

Ingredients for 2 persons

300g fat lamb meat, cut in small pieces

oriental mix of spice (like "couscous" spice mix or "ras el hanout" or "Xinjiang" mix or Garam Masala instead)

salt

picks

freshly picked letuce

fresh herbs (basilico, chive, mint,..)

radishes

oil

vinegar

1. Prepare the salad and salad sauce (I guess no explanation is needed;-)

2.Prepare the Xinjiang lamb picks: put on every pick a dozen of small lamb cubes

3. Grill the lamp picks on the barbecue until golden, about 3-4 minutes.

4. Put the spice and salt just before the lamb is completely cooked. Cook for 1 more minute

They are from Neuchâtel, they are called "A Virtual Friend". To listen to the trio, click here!

Next battle theme: "home made" bread...

Battle 11 - Sis: FRESH STRAWBERRIES&YOGURT ICE CREAM

2009-04-30T21:15:00.001+02:00

Hello strawberry! Miam, miam, I love those bright red berries, announcing the Spring and synonymous of vacation or romantic pic-nics... I could eat kilos of them, just freshly picked, pure! My favourite are Gariguette, but pretty hard to find in Switzerland... Also the wild strawberries are delicious and can be found around here in the mountains, but later in the season, in July and August.

I came up today with an easy recipe, using mainly fresh strawberries but with a little touch of freshness...yoghurt ice cream! Such a nice mix!

Fresh Strawberries with Yoghurt Ice cream

Ingredients for 2 persons

400g fresh strawberries ("Gariguette" or "Mara" if you can find them;-)

2tsp sugar

600g yoghurt

120g sugar

8 cl water

1 orange (zest)

1. Prepare the ice cream: make a sirup with water and sugar. Then, mix well with the yoghurt and zest of orange. Put in the ice cream maker for 30 minutes.

2. Prepare the strawberries. Purée 150g of strawberries with 2 tsp sugar to obtain strawberry juice.

3. Cut the 250g fresh strawberries left, top with the strawberry juice and one scoop of yoghurt ice cream.

To accompany this pop and fruity dessert, you can listen to that !

Battle 11 – Bro: STRAWBERRY CARPACCIO

2009-04-30T20:57:00.008+02:00

I was surprised to already find Danish strawberries at the supermarket… I wonder in what kind of home they have been growing!? Anyway, do you know that Strawberry is probably the most emblematic Scandinavian fruit? When the season comes, you can see huge strawberry fields full of strawberry pickers who come to the welfare countries for a month or two. Let’s wish them good working conditions and fair salaries!

Strawberry is amazing, maybe best when served simply. That’s why (and also because, as you know, I’m a bit lazy), I would propose this recipe:

Strawberry Carpaccio, for 2 persons:

- 250g of Strawberries
- The juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
- 6-10 leaves of mint (chiselled)
- 2 teaspoons of olive oil
- Black pepper

Slice the strawberries and marinate them during 45 minutes in the brown sugar and the limejuice.

Place the strawberries slices as a carpaccio on flat plates (with the marinade). Dispatch the mint over them and add a teaspoon of olive oil on each carpaccio. Spice it with black pepper, and a light touch of “fleur de sel”. (Maybe, try to replace mint with basil? I'll try!)

With this, I would recommend to listen to Sometime around Midnight from The Airborne Toxic Event. It will give you the same big smile than the one you get when biting in a juicy strawberry! (These guys are great, go see them if they are around!)

Theme for next battle: Barbecue!!!

Battle 10 - Sis: PUMPKIN SHRIMP PASTA

2009-04-27T19:31:00.013+02:00

Wow, I am such in a rush for that battle, had a super busy week-end;-) So, I am coming up with a recipe I made some time ago already, while still living in Shanghai. China is the paradise for pasta as in every street market, you can find some "ready to use" pasta sheets for only one yuan! They also prepare some very tasty Asian ravioli...Mmmhh...Miss those!

Pumpkin Shrimp Pasta

Ingredients for 2 persons

150g "Asian ravioli" pasta sheet (do you get me?!)

12 large shrimps

150g pumpkin

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

Chives

0,5dl cream

salt, pepper

watercress

1. Prepare the ravioli filling: cut the pumpkin in small pieces and boil them for 20 minutes until soft. Purée the pumpkin with the ginger.

2. Cut finely 6 shrimps out of 12. Mix them with 5tsp of pumpkin purée.

3. Finally, add the chives, finely cut, to the filling.

4. Prepare the Asian ravioli: Cut roundish (10cm diameter) pieces of pasta. In the middle of each one, add a tsp of shrimp-pumpkin filling. Make then "mezze lune" shapes.

5. With the pumpkin purée left, prepare a sauce by adding 0,5 dl of cream, salt and pepper.

6. Grill the 6 left shrimps 30 seconds on each side, add a bit of salt and pepper

7. Finally, boil the Asian raviolis 3 minutes.

8. Dress on a plate the Asian ravioli, top with the pumpkin sauce, grilled shrimps and fresh watercress

Next battle theme: soooo strawberry!

And...Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!!! the new Röyksopp album is out!!! But no live planned in Switerland for Summer festivals, bouh:-(

Battle 10 – Bro: LEMON-ASPARAGUS TAGLIATELLE

2009-04-26T20:46:00.008+02:00

Ok, for once, I’ll make it short, and focused on cooking only. Here is a very spring recipe for fresh tagliatelle, with a lemon-asparagus sauce, a combination I love!

Ingredients for 2 persons:

For 400g of homemade tagliatelle (you can buy a pasta “laminator” for about 30 €, it is a nice kitchen object, and very fun to use!):
- 150 g of white flour
- 150g of semola di grano duro
- 3 eggs (not cold, should be taken out of the fridge a few hours before)

Mix all these ingredients until you get a nice, smooth, paste. Laminate it into tagliatelle.

For the Lemon-Asparagus sauce:
- 450g of green asparagus
- 1 lemon peeling
- 1-1,5 dl of cream

Peel the asparagus if necessary, cut them in 3-4 cm long pieces, and boil them during 3 minutes.

In a pan, cook during 3 minutes the cream and the asparagus, add the lemon peeling, and adjust with salt, pepper, and a touch of paprika. (You can eventually replace cream by mascarpone, in which you can mix a bit of lemon juice.)

Cook the tagliatelle al-dente, mix with the sauce, and enjoy this very sunny plate of pasta!

Music? Reggae mood in the kitchen (so much sun), with this classic from Max Romeo, I Chase the Devil (last night at Vega, The Whitest Boy Alive played a very cool remix of it!)

Battle 9 - Sis: BANANA PANCAKES

2009-04-22T09:00:00.014+02:00

This one is for you, sweet love...

...

We could close the curtains

Pretend like there is no world outside

And we could pretend that all the time

... "Banana pancakes" from Jack Johnson

It's a Sunday morning, we can lay in bed for hours...then prepare banana pancakes together for the most perfect brunch;-) Meanwhile, listening to that...

Banana pancakes

Ingredients for 2 persons

For the pancakes

80g flour

1 egg

1dl milk

2cl cream

0,5 tsp baking powder

0,5 tsp baking soda

a pinch of salt

For the roasted bananas

2 bananas

2 tbsp butter

20g sugar

half a lemon (juice)

1 orange (juice)

ginger, freshly grated

granada seeds

maple syrup

Prepare the pancakes :

1. Mix well the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

2. Beat the egg and add the milk.

3. Add the liquid to the pancake mix. Leave for 1 hour.

Prepare the roasted bananas :

4. Cut each banana in 4 pieces.

5. Heat the pan and melt the butter. Add the bananas and roast them a few minutes. Once they are slightly golden, add the sugar and caramelize the bananas.

6. Finally, add the mix of orange juice, lemon juice and ginger. Make this fruit juice reduce until the bananas are nicely coated. Reserve.

7. Reheat the pan with some melted butter. Cook some roundish pancakes until soft and golden.

7. Serve it as a "mille-feuille", topped with granada seeds and maple syrup. mmhh, yummy!

Battle 9 – Bro: HOMEMADE FLAVOURED CREAM CHEESE

2009-04-22T01:00:00.002+02:00

The beauty of breakfast in bed is, I think, a legend. Here is why:

The point about breakfast in bed is, ideally, to get breakfast before getting up. Right? This leaves you different solutions:
1) Place your bed in your kitchen, between the fridge and the coffee machine (unfortunately, my kitchen is far too small).
2) Ask your mom to prepare it (I personally must have asked about 2500 times, on very tactical days, with the nicest voice, without success).
3) Ask your older sister (but she never let me finish my questions).
4) Ask your dad (it actually never crossed my mind, I will try next time).
5) Ask the reception of your 4 stars hotel (but I have never slept in such place).
6) Or, or, of course, ask your sweetheart, after having done your best to give her/him the most romantic good morning kiss (in my case this worked twice in a 3 years long relationship). However, I gave up after our second time, and here is why:

I realised, after over 20 years fantasising about that moment, that breakfast in bed was an incredibly unpractical way of eating breakfast… That precise day, I wasn’t very awake, which is kind of normal in such a situation, and I started by putting salt instead of sugar in my coffee (to make it easier, my girlfriend had put a little bit of each in two very good looking, but very similar recipients). Kindly, she prepared me another coffee. Still in bed, I started to spread jam on a slice of bread, the abdominal muscles hurting in this half laying half sitting position. But the slice scandalously escaped from my hand; I let you guess on what side it landed! Finally, I used my two hands to carefully take it off the blanket, when my cup of coffee, dangerously left alone in balance on the unstable madras, fell on the white sheets…

I washed the sheets and never asked for a breakfast in bed again!

However, if you are still up for trying it, here is something you could serve, at low risk, on fresh bread and with a good coffee:

Cream cheese on white sheets, ingredients:

-Cream cheese
-Your favourite Jam (I used blackcurrant)
- Honey
- Sambal Oelek

Prepare 3 homemade flavoured cream cheese by mixing it with jam, honey, and chili. (2 sweets, one salty is a good european compromise, I would say.) Coffee, bread, and that’s it, get back to bed!

The great advantage of cream cheese is that it sticks to the knife, it doesn’t fall off the bread, and is therefore a perfect solution for a safe breakfast in bed!!!

And listen to the relaxing music of Little Joy while enjoying this moment of pure happiness…

As I just started biking again, next battle theme will be: PASTA!

Battle 8 – Bro: HAPPY DRINK

2009-04-19T13:50:00.003+02:00

Sunday, sunshine, I WANT to enjoy it… Problem: I was out late last night, I woke up at 12.30, with hangover.

HAPPY DRINK is the solution !!! Fresh, full of vitamins, and made in less than 3 minutes! Ok, I make it short for once; I really want to spend the afternoon outside! ;-)

Ingredients for two small glasses, or a big one (almost a breakfast!):

- 1 banana
- 1 kiwi
- ½ avocado
- The juice of ½ a lemon
- 1 dl of plain yoghurt
- 1 dl of water
- 2-3 teaspoons of brown sugar (or according to your taste)

Get up, play the song “If you kiss the police man” from the Dutch band “Daily Bread”, turn up the volume, it’s 1pm, the neighbours won’t complain.

Cut the fruits, put them in a bowl with the lemon juice and the sugar. Put the bowl in the freezer; go take a shower.

A towel around your waist, keep on shaking your head on that music, and blend the fruit-mix with the yoghurt and the water. Serve with crushed ice and a straw!

Lalala! Yeah! Oh! Yeah! Go-go-go!!!

Battle 8 - Sis: BANANA ICE CREAM

2009-04-19T12:22:00.005+02:00

Have you ever thought of snowboarding in one of the top Swiss resort and then, enjoying a concert? In less than 6 hours? Well, yes, it can be experimented in Crans-Montana during Caprices Festival! And when one of the band is Nada Surf, it perfectly fits with the snowboarders public! Result: a PERFECT DAY !!!

That was happening yesterday and you can have a look here...

Hum, hum, and what could I eat after one day snowboarding + one hour spent jumping ;-) at concert? Banana ice cream!!!!! Yeahh, so nice at 2am ;-)

Super easy banana ice cream

Ingredients for 2 persons

300g banana (about 5 bananas)

2tbsp honey

100g greek yogurt (or "crème fraîche")

Granada (for the colour;-)

1. Purée in a blender the three ingredients and put in ice-cream maker or in freezer.

2. In case you put it in freezer, every hour, toss the ice cream in order to make it creamy.

3. Serve with granada seeds on top

Next Battle: Breakfast in bed...

Battle 7 – Bro: SPRING BITE

2009-04-16T20:32:00.003+02:00

The asparagus is a wonderful thing. It sounds like spring, it tastes like spring and it doesn’t exist out of spring… This is fascinating, this respect of the season, almost unique nowadays. Asparagus definitely deserves her title of queen.

On the other hand, spring, in Copenhagen, is king... So, to marry this royal couple, I had to bring the queen out on sunny streets to meet her king. And that’s how, asparagus, now to take away, got a hot-dog shape! (Denmark is the country of the pølse vogn, kind of little wagons selling amazing quantities of sausages in the streets all year round.)

Ingredients for 4 Spring Bites:

- 250g of green asparagus
- 140 g of bacon (thin slices)
- Four hot dog “baguettes” (complete bread if possible)
- 4 tablespoon of sour cream (or “blanc battu”)
- Lemon juice, black pepper

Mix the sour cream, the lemon juice and the black pepper, to make a kind of a dip sauce.

Peel the bottom of the asparagus; boil them 2-3 minutes depending of their size.

Prepare small packages of asparagus (the length of a hot dog sausage), wrapping them within 1-2 slices of bacon (keep the nice tips out). Fry these on a pan until the bacon is well coloured all around.

Warm or toast the baguettes, make a hole in the middle, add a spoon of sour cream inside it. Slide a package of asparagus wrapped in bacon down the bread.

Bring those down on the street, around the corner, by the basketball field. There, biting in your asparagus, listen to the very fresh arabo-french hip-hop of La Gale…

Theme for next battle: SMILE-BANANA !

Battle 7 - Sis: "SHANGHAI STYLE" ASPARAGUS SALAD

2009-04-16T19:25:00.009+02:00

Spring is a great time when it comes to food... After the long and cold Winter we had in the mountains, it’s great to find again fresh fruits and veggies! Among them, the Queen of april is the asparagus and it is even growing in my region :-)! Did you know we were growing asparagus in Swiss Alps?

And as I used to live in Shanghai (and am kind of addict to their food!), I decided to prepare a salad with an Asian touch!

«Shanghai Style» asparagus salad or "Queen *A*" salad

Ingredients for 2 persons

Salad

200g asparagus tips

2 oranges

8 slices of smoked meat (duck or beef)

fresh ginger, grated

fresh mint leaves

caramelized Chinese walnuts (or just normal grilled walnuts)

Salad sauce

3 tsp vegetable oil

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp vinegar

1. Prepare the salad sauce: mix well the three ingredients and keep the sauce in the fridge till serving.

2. Boil the asparagus tips in salty water for 2-3 minutes. Take them out and cool them down in very cold water in order to keep their nice green colour.

3. Peel the oranges and slice them in order to only keep the orange "meat"

4. Mix well the oranges, asparagus tops and smoked meat. Top with fresh grated ginger, fresh mint leaves and caramelized Chinese walnuts.

5. Just before serving, top the salad with the sauce.

As this recipe reminds me my good time in Shanghai, I am listening to that band, the New Pants. I absolutely love the first song, Fashion1983, definitely My generation ;-) and one of those super peachy* melody!

Battle 6 – Bro: SEDUCTIVE BURGERS

2009-04-13T23:07:00.013+02:00

No, I won’t propose you a version of the famous Curry Wurst... Not that I don’t like it, but more because I wouldn’t really eat one out of the borders of Berlin, or even anywhere else than Curry 36 (U-Bahn Mehringdamm). So, spending time in the German capital city, I was thinking that I hadn’t proposed an easy subject…

But suddenly, as I was trying a pair of very trendy red jeans made in LA, the package squeezed in these pants, I felt very male and dreamt about a good burger… I am not talking about fast food crap, I am talking about a real nice homemade burger. And ladies, I am telling you, if you want to make a man happy, don’t search any further, a burger and you’ll get anything out of him.

By experience, I could even say that, find it sad or not, a company could announce 10% of dismissals the same day than the canteen would serve burgers, and 90% of the male employees would still consider that day as a good day. You follow me?

Here is a version that I would propose for a romantic burger night (ingredients for 2 persons) :

- 400g of beef minced meat (3x80g for a man + 2x 80g for a strong woman)
- 5 slices of cheese
- 5 small homemade breads (a good recipe will come!)
- 1 yellow sweet pepper
- Ketchup with curry powder mixed
- Miracle whip with sambal oelek mixed
- 1 tomato
- 1 cucumber
- 5 leaves of salad
- Aceto balsamico
- Oregano
- ½ Onion

Mix the meat, the ½ onion and a bit of oregano. Make 8 portions of 80g and shape the burgers.
Roast pieces of sweet paprika on the pan, and put them aside in a bowl with a bit of balsamic vinegar.
Roast the burgers shortly on one side, add salt and pepper, flip them and put a slice of cheese on the already roasted size. Cook it according to your preference.
Toast the breads.
Build the burger in that order:
Bread-Whip-Burger-Cheese-Pickled Pepper-Salad-Curry Ketchup-Bread.

Cook one round after the other, in order to eat the burgers as fresh as possible!

Eat the tomato and the cucumber slices beside this, as they would fall off anyway.

As a drink, I would recommend a delicious German Lager Beer called Augustinus, apparently from one of the oldest German brewery. Fresh but tasty, I thought it was a perfect spring beer!

Finally, the American folk of Alela Diane (try The Rifle) will perfectly accompany these romantic burgers! Cheers!

Battle 6 - Sis: CHICKEN CAM' NUGGETS

2009-04-13T14:24:00.006+02:00

As I am definitely much more into slow food than fast food, curry-ketchup was really not my favourite topic;-)Anyway, i came up with a "slow food" version of the "Chicken *** Nuggets". Believe me or not, it is definitely much better with "real" chicken! And try once making your own ketchup from fresh tomatoes, it's surprisingly...delicious and easy!

It turned out that finally I loved this topic and had a lot of fun making those recipes! Thanks Mr. Colin Bengt!

Chicken Cam' Nuggets

Ingredients for 2 persons

For the curry chicken nuggets

300g chicken breast, in small pieces

1 egg

100g breadcrumbs

2 tsp curry

1 tsp salt

vegetable oil for deep frying

For the home made ketchup (2dl)

500g fresh tomatoes

30g oignon, chopped

half a clove of garlic, minced

6cl vinegar

1,5cl honey

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp paprika (or curry, or chili)

0,5 tsp salt

1. Prepare the ketchup: Boil tomatoes for a few minutes and then remove skin and seeds. Keep only the tomato "meat" (you should obtain 320g of tomato "meat")

2. In a pan, heat the chopped oignon and garlic till they turn golden. Add the vinegar, honey and sugar and give a boil.

3. Finally, add the 320g tomato "meat" and cook for about 45 minutes on medium heat.

4. Mix the ketchup and add some seasoning as you like (paprika, chili, salt, pepper, curry)

This home made ketchup can be kept 3 days in the fridge only.

1. Prepare the curry chicken nuggets: Beat one egg in a bowl. In a second big bowl, mix the curry, salt and breadcrumbs.

2. Dip your small pieces of chicken first in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs mix.

3. Deep fry 1.5 minute the chicken nuggets in vegetable oil.

During that cooking time, I was discovering "Mirror Mirror", the new album from Ghinzu. And it is REALLY good!

Next topic: Asparagus... as it is the Queen in April.

Battle 5 - Sis: SWISS MUESLI

2009-04-08T20:27:00.001+02:00

This is a slightly different version from the original Bircher muesli which is a must in Switzerland!
I think the first time I heard of «Swiss Muesli» was on a trekking path in...Nepal! Anyway, everywhere in the world, this has been one of my favourite breakfast.
Here is the recipe to bake your home made muesli, a mix of cereals and nuts, which can be kept several months in a box.
Before serving, you just add a bit of vanilla or plain yogourt and some fresh season fruits like strawberries or raspberries.

Swiss Muesli

Ingredients for 750g muesli

250g oatmeal
50g Dinkels
80g mixed nuts and seeds (like almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds,...), smashed
150g Pecan nuts, smashed
1 tsp cinammon
120 ml honey
80 ml cranberry juice (or apple juice or grape juice)
3 tbsp vegetable oil

100 g dried cranberries

1. In a jar, mix well the oatmeal, dinkels, nuts, seeds and cinammon.
2.In a separate bowl, mix honey, cranberry juice and vegetable oil.
3.Pour the liquid mix over the oatmeal, dinkels, nuts and needs and mix well till the cereals are coated.
4.Spread the muesli on a baking sheet and place it in the oven during 50 minutes at 150 degrees.
5. Let the muesli cool down and once it’s at room temperature, add the dried cranberries.

It’s ready! You can keep your home made muesli mix during months in a box.

Hum, hum and what about the song? I can’t really come up with anything else than this beautiful song from Anthony and the Johnsons because I have just been listening to it ALL the time for 2 days. Can’t wait to see their concert at Montreux jazz Festival, July 15th!!

Click here!

Battle 5 – Bro: SWISS SOUP OF COMPROMISE AND IRONY

2009-04-08T18:37:00.004+02:00

Swississime was the theme of this challenge. I then decided to concentrate my opinion about Switzerland in a dish, but, for once, not necessarily through cheese or chocolate.

So I have thought of Switzerland, and its three different main “communities”: the boring Swiss-Germans, the French-speaking alcoholics, and the exuberant Swiss-Italians. Finally, after a short analyse, I spotted a link between these three social groups: conservatism! Conservatism, meaning it had to be a soup…

The Swiss-Germans, the majority, would bring potatoes and leeks. The Swiss-French would add a bit of white wine (chasselas), and finally, the Swiss-Italians would refresh this soup with olive oil, red pepper, and herbs such as oregano!

And, after all, this soup would turn to be a delicious compromise…

Ingredients for 2 persons (for a main course):

- 6 potatoes
- 2 leeks
- 1dl of dry white wine
- 0.25-0.5 dl of olive oil
- Dies of bacon
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 red sweet pepper
- Grilled seeds and fresh herbs

Cut the leeks (reserve some green rings for decoration) and the potatoes, throw them in a pot and cover them with bouillon. Boil until the potatoes are cooked.
Add the wine, the garlic and the olive oil. Blend well. Eventually adjust the consistency of the soup with bouillon or wine. Add the fresh herbs and black pepper. Blend again.

Top the soup with grilled dies of bacon, grilled seeds, dies of red pepper and a few rings of crude leek. Serve with homemade bread! And if you consider yourself as a Swiss extremist: spread a mix of butter and Cenovis on your slice…

Absolutely no question about what music to listen to while tasting this healthy soup: Züriwest and their live song I schänke Dir mis Härz…

Oh weird, weird Switzerland, “Je t’aime, moi non plus”….

I am going to Berlin for the next three days, and therefore the theme of next battle will be: Curry-Ketchup :-)!

Battle 4 - Sis: SPRING RISOTTO

2009-04-05T17:37:00.009+02:00

This used to be one of our favourite dish after a long day spent in the mountains. Mmh, those after-ski were sooooo cosy!

Spring Risotto

Ingredients for 2 persons

200g wild green asparagus

100g carnaroli rice

1dl dry white wine

2 tbsp olive oil

2-3 dl vegetable stock

2 tbsp mascarpone (or cream cheese)

80g hazelnuts, chopped

30g old Valais cheese, grated + some fine slices

1. Prepare the asparagus by breaking off discarding the tough ends and cut into short pieces.

2. Bring a pot with water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus tops for 2 minutes and bases for 8 minutes.

3. Remove the asparagus tops to ice water in order to keep a nice green colour.

4. Mix well the bases with 2 tbsp mascarpone in order to make an asparagus puree.

5. Start preparing the risotto: in a pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil on medium heat. Add the Carnaroli rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring until nicely coated.

Add 1dl of white wine. Slowly stir, allowing the rice to absorb the wine. Once the wine is almost completely absorbed, add 1dl of vegetable stock to the rice. Continue to stir until the liquid is almost completely absorbed.

Stir often to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of stock at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed and until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite (18-20 min in total).

6. Add the asparagus puree, 80g choped hazelnuts, 30g old Valais grated cheese and haf of the asparagus tops to the risotto.

7. Serve immediately and decorate with the asparagus tops, some slices of old Valais cheese and grilled hazelnuts.

Hum, hum, and what am I listening to while cooking that "after-ski" risotto?

Actually, almost every artist coming to the next Caprices music festival, soon taking place 10 minutes from my home! (who is the lucky one on that, little bro?!)

Have you heard already of that super cool event? Imagine a large music festival featuring artists as Duffy, Nada Surf, The Young Gods,... at 1500m, in a ski resort...

It's starting in 10 days, and this should not be missed;-)

Btw, next theme for the battle: Swississime!!!Good luck!!!

Battle 4 – Bro: FRESH GOAT CHEESE RISOTTO

2009-04-05T17:30:00.003+02:00

Fancy, romantic, simple, risotto can have many faces! It is a really fun dish to play with, according to whom you will serve it: yourself on a lonely night, a big group of friends coming over for the football game, or a date you can’t disappoint.

With risotto, you’re an all time winner, a James Bond from the kitchen: you don’t miss the target, you beat the bad with class, you kiss the girl at the end…

This version has got tomatoes, black olives and goat cheese!

Ingredients for 2 persons (for a main course):

- 200g of Carnaroli rice
- ¾ of a peeled tomatoe can (or 4-6 fresh tomatoes during the right season)
- A dozen of black olives (cut)
- 100-150g of fresh goat cheese in pieces (something soft, like a “buche”)
- Half a glass of red wine
- Thyme, olive oil, salt, pepper

Prepare something like 1 litter of bouillon (you probably won’t use it all), boiling water, salt, thyme and the red wine. Keep it warm while you are preparing the risotto.

Heat a big pan, and steer the rice in a bit of olive oil during one minute. Than add a little bit of the bouillon and the tomatoes, steer until the rice absorbs this liquid. Add a little bit of bouillon, steer, when absorbed add bouillon, etc, until having an al dente rice. Than add a bit of thyme, the olives, and 3 quarters of the cheese. Steer slowly, let the cheese get creamy. Adjust with salt and pepper.

Serve this risotto in deep plates, with the rest of the goat cheese and thyme as topping!

NB: You can never leave a risotto alone on the fire; you have to keep on steering during the entire process. Use this chance to listen the whip, a band from Manchester whose female drummer won’t let you loose the rhythm!

Battle 3 – Bro: ORANGE JUICE

2009-04-01T19:04:00.005+02:00

I have been thinking about these bloody oranges… I had ideas, but nothing really brilliant, new, or at least worth writing here… I thought of an orange sauce I had recently served with a duck. It wasn’t bad, but kind of a classic.

I also imagined a brownie that I could cut to build a little sandwich with a spicy slice of caramelised orange in the middle… That was maybe a way to follow, but seriously, I didn’t feel like starting baking brownies after this stressful day at work, and the sun was shining.

So I went skateboarding for two hours (don’t imagine great stuff, am a beginner, and not specially talented). I came home, sweaty but happy, and saw these same oranges waiting to be “pimped”. And, you know what? I just felt like pressing them and have a glass of fresh juice… Holly Molly, this was so good! This was so great! THIS WAS SO PERFECT!!! So here we go, I couldn’t keep that secret for myself: a recipe for making the most perfect orange juice…

And if these vitamins are not enough for boosting your positive energy, try this local and very orange Setting Son, in particular his song Spring of hate.

Ingredients for 2 persons:
- 4 nice oranges

Press the oranges, pour the juice equally in two glasses, and enjoy, oh my god, enjoy!!!

Ok Sis, destroy me on that one if you like, but keep your guard up for the next challenge!

THEME FOR BATTLE 4: CARNAROLI !

Battle 3 - Sis: VITAMIN CUPCAKE

2009-04-01T13:57:00.005+02:00

It’s “pop”, it’s “flash”, it's full of vitamins, it’s like my favourite morning smoothie but turned into a cupcake!
Made of orange, carrot and ginger, this cupcake could be the star of your next Sunday brunch in Copenhagen little bro…Mmh, this reminds me those awesome brunchs you prepare in Denmark….yum, yum, yummy! 'Miss them a lot ;-)
Let’s stop dreaming and check out what is in that recipe…

Vitamin Cupcakes

Ingredients for 8 cupcakes

1 orange
150g carrots
1 large egg
4cl cream
90g sugar
8cl vegetable oil
130g all-purpose flour
0.5 tsp baking powder and 0.5 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
pinch of ground cinnamon
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1. Grate the orange to get the zest. Then, peel orange and take out the white skin in order to keep only the orange meat. Then, cut some small orange cubes.
2. Peel, rinse, then grate carrots coarsely.
3. In a large bowl, combine fresh orange cubes, grated carrots, egg, cream, fresh rated ginger, sugar and vegetable oil.
4. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
5. Fold flour mixture into the carrot mixture.
6. Scoop out into cute cupcake papers.
7. Bake at 180 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting with a Hint of Orange and Ginger

160g Philly cream cheese
30g butter
50 g sifted powdered sugar
1 orange zest+ fresh ginger, grated

Mix well all the ingredients and top the cupcakes with the frosting. Decorate with some orange zests.

**************************************************
What about listening to this (can't stop, The Red Hot Chili Peppers) while tasting your freshly baked vitamin cakes? You will for sure start the day with much energy and feel happy for the rest of it :-))

So, what's the next challenge, little bro?

Battle 2 - Sis: MARINATED RAW FISH WITH ASIAN PESTO

2009-03-29T20:24:00.005+02:00

Spring is at our doors and that made me want to prepare a very fresh dish! I opted for a mix of marinated raw fish, with an Asian style pesto made of coriander and fresh ginger. It’s super easy and healthy… plus divine with a glass of Petite Arvine, like the one from brothers Bétrisey in St-Léonard, Switzerland. Mmmmhhh…

Marinated raw fish with Asian pesto

Ingredients for 2 people

100g super fresh salmon filet
100g super fresh tuna filet
3 tbsp light soy sauce
3tbsp sesame oil or olive oil
1tbsp Japanese vinegar
a pinch of wasabi powder
a pinch of fresh ginger, grated
a pinch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Asian pesto
Fresh coriander leaves
Fresh ginger, grated
Olive oil

Prepare the fish: slice salmon and tuna filet.
Prepare the marinade: mix light soy sauce, oil, Japanese vinegar, wasabi, fresh coriander and fresh ginger.
Marinate the sliced fish in that mix for about 1-2 hours.
Prepare the Asian pesto by chopping very finely the fresh coriander leaves. Add the ginger and a bit of oil to make it look like a pesto.
Place the raw marinated fishes on a big plate and top with some Asian pesto.

P.S 1: Last but not least, it’s time to wash all I needed to make my recipe and dishes ;-( hate that!
How to get the necessary energy to get the job done? Just listen to the Ting Tings! Then you are ready to make the washing up, with a BIG BIG smile!

P.S 2: Little bro, get ready for the coming battle… Topic? ORANGE!!! Make it “pop”, fruity and colourful!

Battle 2 – Bro: SmokedSalmonSmoothie

2009-03-29T14:15:00.006+02:00

This Battle’s theme was “poisson d’avril” which is the name we give in French to April fools, but it literally means “April’s fish”.

A fishy smoothie can sound like a joke, but try that one: it’s delicious, and still funny!

Beside this, while preparing the drink, I would suggest to let your kitchen rock on "Scanners" and their “lowlife”. The time of the song should be long enough to make a great “amuse-bouche” ready!!!

Ingredients for 2 persons:

For the salmon smoothie:
- 2-4 slices of smoked salmon (depending on their size)
- 150g of plain yoghurt
- Lemon juice
- Black pepper, chilli powder

For the chive foam:
- A handful of fresh chive
- 50g of plain yoghurt

Pre-cut the salmon before throwing it in the blender, add the yoghurt, and spice it with lemon juice, pepper, and a touch of chilli powder. Blend well! (All this in rhythm with Scanners.) Pour this smoothie in SMALL glasses, keeping one centimetre “free” for the topping.

Rinse the blender; throw in it the pre-cut chive, and the second wave of yoghurt… Blend, blend, blend, until it turns into light foam!

Top your drinks with the chive foam. Don’t wait before serving!

Am I a fool?

Battle 1 – Bro: CHOCOLATE RABBIT

2009-03-25T19:58:00.007+01:00

Easter soon there, chocolate rabbits start running over Swiss supermarkets… And I’ll miss that up here in Copenhagen!

But frustration always being a fun thing to fight, I thought I would ignore this instant of blues by cooking another kind of chocolate rabbit. Here is a recipe for rabbit medallions on thyme-chocolate leaves.
And for the sound, who else than CALLmeKAT and Sweet you to dance a slow with your favourite pot, licking the rests of that cacao you’ve just melted there….

Ingredients for 2 persons:

For the thyme-chocolate leaves:
- 50g of dark chocolate (70-80% Cacao)
- Thyme (dried or fresh)
- Black Pepper
- Two pieces of baking paper (30x30cm)

For the medallions:
- 350g of rabbit medallions
- Thyme (dried or fresh)
- Butter

Start by making the chocolate leaves, for example the night before, while your dinner is cooking. Slowly melt the chocolate in a small pot. Add the thyme and a little bit of black pepper. Let it infuse during a few minutes. Empty the infusion on a piece of baking paper, cover it with the second sheet, and press the chocolate between the papers, under a chop board, in order to make a regular, 2mm thin, piece of chocolate. Let it harden during half an hour in the fridge. Cut chocolate leaves in it, not bigger than the size of the medallions. They should just give a little thyme-cacao touch to the meat!

Roast the medallions in butter on a pan. Salt, pepper, thyme, 3 min. on each side, don’t dry them!

Serve the medallions very warm, and place a chocolate leaf on each of them! Be creative for the garniture, this is up to you!

Alternatives: Prepare chocolate leaves with rosemary or red-hot chilli flavours! Replace the medallions by a “gibelotte”, if you have time for that, and use small chocolate leaves as topping.

THEME OF BATTLE 2: POISSON D’AVRIL (sorry English speakers…)
Deadline is Sunday the 29th, 10pm… Don’t be the fool!

Battle 1 - Sis: CHOCOLACINO

2009-03-25T19:36:00.003+01:00

Chocolate, wide topic...so I decided to prepare it as simple as possible, to keep the product "raw", just adding a little Italian..and Asian touch! It's a hot "5 spices" chocolate (little souvenir from Shanghai), topped with foamed milk, as a cappucino. To be served with mango and strawberries bamboo pick, to dip with gourmandise in the hot chocolate...

Chocolacino

Ingrédients for 2 persons
- 60g chocolate Valrhona 70%
- 2,5 dl water
- 25 g white sugar
- 12g cocoa
- 1 large pinch of "5 spices" (mix from Shanghai Wuning Lu Market)

- 1dl milk

- half a mango
- a few strawberries

Warm the water and melt in sugar, cocoa and the pinch of 5 spices. Once the mix is homogeneous, melt the chocolate and whip strngly.
Prepare some fruit cubes and put them on the bamboo pick.
Serve the hot chocolate topped with foamed milk.

To be tasted voluptuously, listening to : Yumeji's theme, bande originale de "In the mood for love"

Let's get it started!

2009-03-22T17:53:00.002+01:00

So, what? what about "kitchen battle"?
It's the story of one ingredient, taken as a pretext to challenge each other twice a week...
we? brother and sister, one living in Copenhagen, the other secluded in a Swiss alpine village, hum hum...

Let's start the very first challenge: it's all about chocolate, king of the Swiss gastronomy:

Sweet,
Bitter,
Gourmet,
Love and hate,
Le Chocolat, it's complicated...

Deadline to give back one recipe, one picture and one song related to the ingredient: Wednesday, March 25th.

Good luck, little bro!

THE KITCHEN BATTLE

Test

Battle 20 - Sis: Pasta "Camilla style"

Battle 20 - Bro: Tagliatelle Tomato-Chanterelle

Battle 19 - Sis: Chicken Taboulé

Battle 19 – Bro: Best match for Pinot Noir

Battle 18 – Bro: Flower Power

Battle 18 - Sis: Flower Power

Open battle: it's all about painting

OPEN BATTLE: OUR TOP 3!

TODAY 8AM

SUMMER SALAD!!!

Battle 17 – Bro: COOKIES

Battle 17 - Sis: ALPINE COOKIES

Open battle: SUMMER SALAD

Battle 16 - Sis: TOMATO CUBES

Battle 17 – Bro: ELECTRO APERO

Battle 15 - Sis: CARACHOCO SPREAD

Battle 15 – Bro: DANISH HABITUS

Battle 14 – Bro: A KIND OF COQ AU VIN

Battle 14 - Sis: VITELOTTE POTATO PUREE

Battle 13 – Bro: QUICKEST HOMEMADE BREAD

Battle 13 - Sis: CRANBERRIES & PECAN BREAD

Battle 12 – Bro: FISH LIKE IN THE SOUTH

Battle 12 - Sis: XINJIANG LAMB

Battle 11 - Sis: FRESH STRAWBERRIES&YOGURT ICE CREAM

Battle 11 – Bro: STRAWBERRY CARPACCIO

Battle 10 - Sis: *PUMPKIN SHRIMP* PASTA

Battle 10 – Bro: LEMON-ASPARAGUS TAGLIATELLE

Battle 9 - Sis: BANANA PANCAKES

Battle 9 – Bro: HOMEMADE FLAVOURED CREAM CHEESE

Battle 8 – Bro: HAPPY DRINK

Battle 8 - Sis: BANANA ICE CREAM

Battle 7 – Bro: SPRING BITE

Battle 7 - Sis: "SHANGHAI STYLE" ASPARAGUS SALAD

Battle 6 – Bro: SEDUCTIVE BURGERS

Battle 6 - Sis: CHICKEN CAM' NUGGETS

Battle 5 - Sis: SWISS MUESLI

Battle 5 – Bro: SWISS SOUP OF COMPROMISE AND IRONY

Battle 4 - Sis: SPRING RISOTTO

Battle 4 – Bro: FRESH GOAT CHEESE RISOTTO

Battle 3 – Bro: ORANGE JUICE

Battle 3 - Sis: VITAMIN CUPCAKE

Battle 2 - Sis: MARINATED RAW FISH WITH ASIAN PESTO

Battle 2 – Bro: SmokedSalmonSmoothie

Battle 1 – Bro: CHOCOLATE RABBIT

Battle 1 - Sis: CHOCOLACINO

Let's get it started!

Battle 10 - Sis: PUMPKIN SHRIMP PASTA