Monday 6 April 2015

Rosemary Chicken

Wonderful, delicate and moist chicken, representing a new flavour I haven't tried before. I strongly recommend preparing such dinner. We all fell in love with sweet potatoes! They are so soft, sweet and filling! And they make a perfect couple with rosemary.
What's more, rosemary gives the entire dish a unique taste and wonderful smell all around the house from the oven :)
Changed into easier version, recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients:
  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 500g od sweet potatoes
  • salt, pepper
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • 2 twigs of rosemary
  • 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar



Preparation:
  1. Wash chicken breasts cut out the fat and bones. Cut every breast into 2 thinner slices.
  2. Take a bowl, put them inside and season with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of oil, leaves from 1 rosemary twig, 4 tablespoons of balsamic oil and mix thoroughtly. Set aside for at least 15 minutes.
  3. Start preheating the oven to 220C.
  4. Wash and peel sweet potatoes, cut into halves.
  5. Take a casserole, put sweet potatoes inside, season with salt and pepper, add olive oil and rosemary leaves from another twig. 
  6. Add chicken (with its marinade). Pour 1 tablespoon of honey on the chicken and add some more rosemary or seasoning if needed/desired. 
  7. Bake for around 20-30 minutes, till potatoes are soft and chicken cooked well.
  8. Serve for instance with green salad mix.
  9. Bon appetit! :)

Saturday 4 April 2015

Coffolate Shortcake

A very tasty shortcake, perfect for an Easter table. I have never tried such shortcakes, as my family was used to such Easter shortcakes (which are, indeed very tasty too), but this year I decided to try something new and I am not dissapointed. Try, try, it is worth it ! :)
Recipe, slightly changed, comes from this website.


Ingredients (for a 20x30cm baking pan):

Bottom:
  • 170g of flour
  • 80g of potato starch
  • 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 50g of sugar
  • 150g of cold margarine
  • 1 egg
Top:

  • 200g of cherries
  • 25g of milk chocolate

Frosting:
  • 125ml of 36% cream
  • 1 teaspoon of instant coffee
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom
  • 30g of margarine
  • 200g of white chocolate


Preparation:

Bottom:
  1. Take a bowl, sieve flour and potato starch inside. Add sugar and margarine (cut into cubes). Knead or mix well. Add egg and knead again till well combined.
  2. Make a bowl, cover with cling film and put in the fridge for an hour.
  3. During that time, prepare the kitchen surface, to roll out the dough.
  4. Start preheating the oven to 160C.
  5. Take the cake out and roll out. 
  6. Put in the baking pan, on the entire bottom + 1cm sides.
  7. Using a fork, make holes on the entire bottom.
  8. Put in previously preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes till gold.
  9. Cool down.
Frosting:
  1. Take a pan, put cream inside, add coffee and cardamom and heat, till it all dissolves. Stop heating, add butter and chocolate, stir till it all melts (if it is hard - heat it up a little bit).
  2. Pour it on previously cooled down shortcake bottom and put in a cold place for an hour so that it stiffens.
  3. Put pieces of cherries in any pattern desired, decorate.
  4. Melt remaining milk chocolate and distribute all over the shortcake.
  5. Store in room temperature.
  6. Bon Appetit! :)

Sour-Sweet Shortcake

There are sometimes recipe on the Internet, which - when you see them - you know - they are going to be just awesome :) And this is a perfect example of such situation. This is a perfect combination of sour orange jam and sweet white chocolate with some more ingredients that will make you forget about calories ;) 
I do recommend! 
The recipe, slightly changed, comes from my favourite website.


Ingredients (for a 20x30cm baking pan):

Bottom:
  • 170g of flour
  • 80g of potato starch
  • 50g of sugar
  • 150g of cold margarine
  • 1 egg
Top:
  • A jar of orange jam
  • a handful of dried apricots
  • 100g of almond flakes
  • optionally - 4 tablespoons of orange liqueur
Chocolate frosting:
  • 150g of white chocolate
  • 5 tablespoons of 36% cream


Preparation:

Bottom:
  1. Take a bowl, sieve flour and potato starch inside. Add sugar and margarine (cut into cubes). Knead or mix well. Add egg and knead again till well combined.
  2. Make a bowl, cover with cling film and put in the fridge for an hour.
  3. During that time, prepare the kitchen surface, to roll out the dough.
  4. Start preheating the oven to 160C.
  5. Take the cake out and roll out. 
  6. Put in the baking pan, on the entire bottom + 1cm sides.
  7. Using a fork, make holes on the entire bottom.
  8. Put in previously preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes till gold.
  9. Cool down.
Top:
  1. Distribute the orange jam (mixed with 2 tablepoons of liqueur if used) all over the bottom (probably not entire jar, but half or so).
  2. Put apricots, in any pattern desired (I did the chequered pattern).
Prepare the frosting:
  1. In a pan, melt 100g of chocolate with 5 tablespoons of 36% cream (and 2 tablespoons of liqueur if used). When done, add the remaining chocolate and stir till it melts. Put aside to let it cool down a little.
  2. Distribute the frosting on a cake (any pattern desired, again) and sprinkle with almond flakes.
  3. Bon Appetit!

Easter Yoghurt Muffins

Basic, classic, elegant. This is one of the most useful recipe, for all occassions. So today, as an Easter Muffins I want to present them - yoghurt muffins with a nice, delicate lemon taste and a raspberry surprise inside. 
I realize that the biggest surprise are the wrrapings, and some of You probably crave for them ;) They come from the website of one of the most known producent in Poland and you can find them and many others here. Have fun and Happy Easter! :)
The base, slightly changed, comes from this website. 

Ingredients (for 24 smaller muffins) all of them need to be room temperatured.

  • 250g of natural yoghurt (but not a "0% fat" one)
  • 150g of margarine
  • 4 eggs
  • lemon zest from 2 lemons
  • 300g of flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • a pinch of salt
  • 250g of sugar
Filling:
  • Raspberry jam

Preparation:
  1. Take a pan, melt butter inside. Let it cool down.
  2. Start preheating the oven to 170C.
  3. Prepare muffin cases and keep handy. 
  4. Prepare a big bowl.
  5. Put yoghurt inside and mix it with cool melted butter. Add eggs and lemon zest. Beat.
  6. Now add sieved flour, soda, salt and sugar. Stir only till all the ingredients mix.
  7. Fill the muffin cases with dough till their 3/4 height.
  8. Put in the oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes, till you reach a dry toothpick.
  9. Take them out and using a syringe with very thin 'needle' like ending and inject the jam inside.
  10. Remove the excess of the jam that starts coming out from the muffin.
  11. Let the muffins cool down.
  12. Prepare the icing, for example from this recipe and decorate the muffins.
  13. When done, you can dress up your muffins using this wrapping. Remember to cut it out precisely and laminate, before using :)
  14. Bon Appetit! :)