VGL: Recipe for Chicken, hummus & chorizo

Ever wonder what to do with all the hummus that you buy or make?  A chef found an answer!
Somewhere in my dining travels I had delicious dish with an interesting twist: hummus and chorizo.  My dish was a baked fish served atop a mound of warm hummus that was garnished with chorizo (and it's delicious oil).  I just had to try this at home....

Today we had baked chicken legs but you can use anything: chicken breast, pork chops, fish etc.
Season your meat/fish as usual and cook
Just before your meat/fish is done, warm up the hummus on low heat..
Now, slice a piece of chorizo (I used slightly less than a 1/2 stick) and cook until crispy (it doesn't take long at all).
Remove chorizo from frying pan; reserve the flavored oil.

Get your plates ready:
Spoon some of the chorizo oil onto the center of each plate
Place a dollop of the warmed hummus in the middle of the plate (over the chorizo oil)
Carefully place the chorizo bits around the hummus
Gently arrange your meat/fish atop the hummus and enjoy!

Serve with a side of salad and a few of the vanilla cookies for dessert!  Oh la la!
Fifi

Recipe: Vanilla Cookies

I have no desire to bake while I am in France - why would I when there is a great bakery on every corner (sometimes there are two bakeries on every corner!)...however....

All those Vanilla Beans!

While we were in Grasse having lunch, we were offered a bundle (and I mean a bundle!) of vanilla beans for 20Euros ($25) - too good an offer to pass up especially since I could smell the vanilla without opening the packaging!  On the ride home thinking of what to make, I thought of cookies.  A stop at the supermarket before heading home to pick up just a few things...

This recipe will make about six dozen 2-inch cookies.
In one bowl:  3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
                     1 1/2 Tablespoons Baking Powder

In mixer bowl:  9oz softened/slightly melted butter
                       2 cups "sugar in the raw" (less sweet than white sugar)

Evening cup of tea & cookies

On the side:  3 Egg Yolks
                    2 Eggs
                    1 teaspoon lemon (or orange) extract
                    4 Vanilla Beans (ready to be cut and 'seeded')
                    1 cup almond flour
                    Almond, walnut or any nut for toppings (optional)
                    1/4 cup "sugar in the raw" for topping (optional)
                    Baking Sheet, Plastic Wrap

1.   Blend the flour and baking powder, set aside.
2.   MIXER: Mix sugar and butter until very well blended slightly fluffy
(I did not have a mixer here, so I used a whisk and really gave it a go!)
3.   Add the eggs slowly and mix well into the butter-sugar batter
4.   Add the lemon extract, mix well into the batter
5.   Scrape the "seeds" from the vanilla pods and blend into the batter
(place the de-seeded pods into your sugar bowl for a flavored treat!)
6.   Slowly, slowly add the flour/baking powder and the almond flour.
(A little almond flour, a little regular flour, etc etc etc)
7.   When the flours are fully incorporated into the batter, set aside.
8.   Cut three large pieces of plastic wrap; place equal amounts of batter onto each
9.   Wrap the very soft batter loosely and gently pat down to make a flattened package.
10. Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
11. When ready to start baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees
12. Unwrap the firm dough and lightly flour both sides and the rolling pin
13. Gently roll the dough down to a 1/4" thickness and begin cutting out the cookies
14. Use all the dough, as you get scraps, roll them into a ball, flatten out and cut more cookies
15. Place a nut atop each cookie and sprinkle with the tiniest bit of sugar (Optional)
16. Place on baking sheet and bake, middle rack, 14-15 minutes
Made too many cookies?  Freeze them! Share them!  Give a gift of freshly baked cookies!

Enjoy!
"Fifi"

Travel Spotlight: Barcelona

     Last weekend we travelled to Barcelona, Spain with friends.  It was quick flight from Nice, France - barely an hour and we were approaching the Spanish coastline.  We flew on EasyJet Airlines and the roundtrip flight per person, from Nice (France) to Barcelona, was 73euros (just under $100 roundtrip).  The City of Barcelona is well serviced by mass transit into the city: direct line buses to city-center or train.  We took a taxi since we were 4 passengers and the short 15 minute ride was quick and easy.
     Having been to Barcelona a few times, it is normally our preference to stay near the far end of La Rambla

Torre Agbar

close to Placa Catalunya; close to the action, but not in it.  Our hotel on this visit was the EuroStars Cristal Palace (www.eurostarscristalpalace.com).  Each couple had a lovely room with a terrace each affording a different view.  We looked north to the mountain of Tibidabo where a massive cathedral stands overlooking the city and there is also a turn of the century amusement park (featured in the movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona) .  Our friend's had a view eastward of Torre Agbar, a 38 story skyscraper located in the new tech center of Barcelona.  The modern styled rooms were very clean, centrally located near Placa Catalunya, La Rambla, easy walk to Gothic Quarter and the old town.  A pleasant stroll down La Rambla are kiosks filled with souvenirs, fresh flowers and more restaurants than one can count.  The food market in Barcelona is a busy one:  hams, produce, candies, bakeries, fish mongers, spices and more are beautifully showcased and their low prices prominently displayed!   Our 2 day "Hop On/Hop Off" bus tour ticket provided a great overview of the city - highly recommended. (http://www.grayline.com/tours/barcelona/hop-on-hop-off-barcelona-city-tour-1-or-2-days-5885_5/)
     At the Palau de la Musica Catalana, we attended a Flamenco Show - what a performance!  First,

Exterior of Palau de la Musica Catalana

entering the Unesco World Heritage building was a feast for the eyes; the architecture was beautiful.  The interior design could easily compete with any performance - until the were lights dimmed and the stage was filled with the hypnotic sounds of the guitar, followed by the passionate songs and finally, the mesmerizing footwork of the dancers.  The entire program left everyone spellbound until the finale when a male dancer brought the audience to its feet with cheers and deafening applause after a performance that defied human ability.  Wow! (Palau de la Musica Catalana www.palaumusica.org)
     No trip anywhere is complete without a review of food:  great, great, great!  We could not get reservations to our favorite restaurant (7 Portes) because it was fully booked during our entire 4 day visit - that tells you something about the place!  We happened upon a seaside restaurant in Barceloneta "Restaurante Salamanca" (www.gruposilvestre.com) and it was fabulous!  Filled with locals and tourists alike, this famous seafood restaurant has been serving up incredible dishes since 1971.  We had tapas for lunch one late afternoon and on our last afternoon happened upon another "new" favorite: The Grill Room (http://www.grupandilana.com/es/restaurantes/grill-room).  Located in the Gothic Quarter, we dined there last year and loved it.  This year we loved it even more:  the menu of the day (starter, main, dessert and wine) was 10Euro50cents including tax and tip ($12 and we always leave an "extra" tip for a total $13!).  Fabulous, Fabulous, Fabulous!
     Time to come home and sort through all the photos....enjoy the video!
"Fifi"

A Sunday Afternoon in Antibes

Last Sunday it was an absolutely splendid day - bright blue skies, sheer marbled clouds above and a gentle breeze filled with calm of a Sunday afternoon.  A short drive into the town of Antibes with plenty of parking available - during the week it is not such an easy thing to find!  The streets were quiet, only few cars were on the road. The wide sidewalks, shaded by magnificent trees, were dotted with a older couples strolling hand in hand, ladies, of a mature age, hair perfectly coiffed and beautifully dressed, holding on to one another as they whispered  the day's gossip followed by young families either going to, or coming from, a Sunday meal with mother.  It was a quiet type of day, larger stores closed for employees to be home with family and friends and smaller shops open for a few hours until mid-afternoon.  Restaurants open for a lunch soon closing to hurry home to family...for me, reminiscent of my childhood in old New York City.

Without any discussion between us, we knew what the midday meal was to be: crepes.  Our favorite place for crepes - it's been our favorite for over 8 years.  We've gotten to be regulars at "Creperie du Port" and are always greeted with a big smile followed by an aperitif  "on the house".  From the very beginning we requested the French menu (as opposed to the English written one) even when we had no idea what we reading.  It must have made an impression.  I have always ordered the same crepe; it's almost a joke!  Not a sweet crepe, but a buckwheat crepe stuffed with spinach and cheese, topped with an egg and garnished with a dollop of butter.  That's been my pick - for my husband, his favorite is a buckwheat crepe with mushrooms, ham, cheese and topped with an egg and, a dollop of butter.  The crepe covers the food groups of carb, protein, dairy and veggie - and deliciously done!  We started the meal with a sparkling hard apple cider, served in a cup - it's how it is done in Normandy, the northern part of France.  Different, interesting and we just go with the flow!

Dinner having been served, and the cider been depleted, it's time for dessert.  This is a sweet crepe that is so well known.  The menu offers so many choices....but I have my favorite: sweet crepe stuffed with banana slices, topped with melted dark chocolate and freshly whipped cream.  (I take my without the whipped cream - gotta count calories somehow!)  Now, one of the many choices my husband has tried, is the "Trois Pommes" - three apples.  A sweet crepe, stuffed with apples (#1), with apple ice cream (#2) and topped with calvados (apple liquor #3) and set on fire!  Wow - what a presentation.  In the photo you can barely see the blue flame that eventually burn off.  After a meal like that, it's time to stroll it off.  Join me for a Sunday stroll through Antibes...

Fifi

Recipe: Pomme au Feu (Baked Apple)

This has got to be the easiest, most delicious dessert ever!  My husband had this dessert in a local restaurant in Antibes and I could not wait to get home to try it out myself.  The dessert looked simple enough: an apple that had been baked, smelled like apple pie, and had the consistency of home made apple sauce.  I searched around for a few recipes on line and then came up with my idea as follows:

Serves 1  ( for more servings, just increase the recipe per apple!)
Prep Time:  15 minutes
Bake Time: 35 minutes
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1 GOLDEN DELICIOUS APPLE
(these are best, the skin is firm but not hard and the inside is deliciously tender)
Core the Apple - need to remove the center core & seeds all the way down

1 Tablespoon of Sugar in the Raw (don't over fill the spoonful, in fact, just under a full Tablespoon!)
(don't use white sugar, it is too sweet)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon (again, slightly less than a full teaspoon)
1 Tablespoon of butter (I used lightly salted)
Honey for drizzling (optional)

Blend the sugar and the cinnamon
Dice the butter (keep each Tablespoon of butter separate per apple if baking more than one apple!)
Place the cored apple onto a square piece of aluminium foil (use individual sheets for extra apples)

Stuff a few cubes of butter into the cored apple, spoon in the sugar/cinnamon, finish with the rest of the butter
Wrap up the apple but leave a tiny gap at the top for the steam to escape while baking.
Place on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes/375 degrees  mid-oven rack
After 25 minutes, open oven and pour or squeeze/drizzle a little bit of honey into the foil opening over the apple core - (carefully spread the foil open a little bit to help get the honey into the apple center)
Continue baking for 10 minutes
If you don't want to add the honey, just bake for the 35 minutes

After baking, remove tray from oven and carefully open the foil and with a spatula or very large spoon gently place the apple on the plate and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

From start to finish it is less than an hour - this dessert baked while we were having dinner - and it smelled wonderful!  Best served warm right from the oven!