Katsu Curry

Posted in Mains by

Time for something savoury, don’t you think? This dish was inspired by my neighbours, a wonderful Japanese and Chinese couple, who are sadly moving very soon. Last week they invited us round for a delicious leaving apéro – my does she know how to cook – I was in Japanese finger food heaven. One of the highlights were the pork panko meatballs. I don’t know what it is about panko, but when it comes to breaded meats – panko breadcrumbs win, 200% of the time. Your good old classic breadcrumbs are lame in comparison.

Determined to try make something using the panko breadcrumbs, I ended up attempting a Japanese classic – chicken katsu curry. Not too bad for a first go. Sorry for the picture – definitely not a stunner.

Chicken Katsu Curry

katsu curry

adapted from bbcgoodfood

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Citrus and Berries Vol. II

Posted in Dessert by

After the success of my previous citrus and berries dessert I couldn’t get enough of the curd – I had a craving which I needed to satisfy. Almost as though I were pregnant… HAHA… definitely not the case. Anyways…. I have also never made a pavlova. What a great excuse to make both – pavlova topped with lemon curd. Sounds like pure perfection to moi.

This is actually the first time ever that I have attempted to make meringue. I was determined to make it early on during the day so if it failed I still had enough time to  quickly pop to the shops and buy replacements…… sadly sunshine and birthday bubblies kidnapped any sense of time I had and suddenly dinner was only 2 hours away. And no meringues to be seen. AAAHHHHHH. I took a deep breath, one last sip of bubblies, found this extremely helpful guide guide and switched into my Emergency Room efficiency mode. My meringues were saved.

Mini Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Berries

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Citrus and Berries

Posted in Breakfast, Dessert by

Happy Summer to you all!!! I hope you are all soaking up some sun and working on the tan;-) And so sorry for not posting….. this seems to follow my last years trend of not posting during this time of year either…. work and life just seem to have sucked me in and kept me farfar away from WordPress. Slowly I am having withdrawal symptoms -.-. Time to catch up. And what better way to begin the new recipe season than with a delicious french citrusy inspired dessert? Yes, I know my last post was about the Champagne Region and now I’m talking about France again… you must think I am french crazy. So. Not. True. But, quite frankly, they do know how to enjoy life with excellent cuisine – the wine, the ham, the endless fruit markets, not to forget the daily fresh baguette, the seafood and of course all the pâtisserie mmhhhmmmmm. My current favourite français dessert: Tarte au citron +/- meringuée. NOM. I cannot get enough of that goodness!

When recently invited to an Apéro Riche in the Basque Region, I, being me, immediately offered to bring a dessert, with Tarte au citron on the back of my mind. Admittedly, a Tarte is not the best for a standing dinner, but, nevertheless, I was determined to make lemon curd play the lead role. What did I end up with? A sharp lemon curd topped with a refreshing berry coulis and wild berries. The guests loved it. Let me know what you think:-)

 Lemon Curd with Berry Coulis

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Champagne is ALWAYS the answer

Posted in Mains, Starters by

What better way is there to enjoy a warm Summer’s evening than with a delicious salad and a refreshing glass of Champagne? Transfer this scenario to the actual Champagne region in France. Now we are talking! This past weekend I was lucky enough to take part in such a road trip to this specific region and oh my was it amazing. Cycling through vineyards around Épernay with the most beautiful views, beginning the day with bubblies, exploring Champagne cellars, ending the day with bubblies, what more does one need for a Saturday? For all of you haven’t managed to make a brief escape in this direction: plan it and add it to your bucket list. Once you do go, don’t fill your car with too much of the golden bubbly goodness, as it’s cellar life is only 3 years after sale. So, if you have a lonely bottle at home sitting in the corner waiting for that special occasion, which you bought just under 3 years ago, it’s high time to invent that special occasion and indulge! And if I live in your proximity, don’t forget to invite me.

Below you will find a salad which, in my eyes, is a perfect accompaniment for a glass of your favourite Champagne. Apologies for the picture, it does not do the dish justice at all.

Proscuitto, Basil, Mozzarella and Fig Salad

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The British

Posted in Cake / Cupcakes, Dessert by

This post is dedicated to all recent Cupcake & Prosecco indulgers (because birthday cupcakes win over birthday cakes). Thank you again for making the event what it was and for eating so many cupcakes! You know who you are ;-). And I think you enjoyed it, as did your taste buds. Especially The British, they seemed to go down very well. So did The Classic, but that recipe is already published.

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about: The British =  Apple Crumble Cupcakes (obviously…… the most British dessert ever), adapted from an Apple Crumble/Streusel Cake recipe. As almost always, the secret ingredient is cinnamon, lots of it. But you need to make sure it is good quality. For example, if you happen to live in London ❤ and surroundings, Whole Foods stocks the best! Now, once you have succeeded in finding such cinnamon, everything you bake will be heavenly, including this cake/these cupcakes. Enough blabbing, below you’ll find the cake recipe which can be easily changed into cupcakes. One quantity of the ingredients makes 20-24 cupcakes. Good luck and dig in!

Apple Streusel Cake (or Cupcakes)

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adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days

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HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY!

Posted in Cake / Cupcakes, Dessert by

HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY to me!!! It’s like I have two birthdays worth celebrating annually from now on – exciting:-) I cannot believe a year has passed since I spent hours with my other half in my tiny flat in Chelsea trying to figure out how to best take a picture that would adequately represent the medical gourmet. Good times.  Good memories. Didn’t turn out too bad right?

In celebration of this day – a small sweet treat for a spring and late summer culinary sin which reminds the palate of Christmas. Served with bubblies, obviously. No birthday of mine could go without!

Apple and Red Currant Crumble Bars

Apple Currant Crumble Bars

adapted from the Hummingbird Bakery

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Strawberry Hazelnut Tart

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HAPPY WEDNESDAY! And happy beginning of spring. It has finally arrived here; the riverbanks are full of very very white people enjoying the first few warm beams of sun.

In Switzerland, spring brings about the same discussion year after year: Strawberries. Suddenly supermarkets start selling them in the craziest amounts, as though they grow around the corner. The same questions arise every year: Where do they come from? Should we be supporting this terrible berry import business? Should we be buying fruits when they aren’t “in season”? Yes, this discussion even manages to steal the local newspaper’s headlines, year after year….. What I don’t understand is why we don’t object to having, let’s say, mango or papaya all year round. Now those fruits definitely don’t grow around the corner. Ever. Not even when they are “in season”. Having passion fruits all year round is fine as well, but dear god – importing strawberries – how dare we!!

Personally, I love strawberries. If the supermarket sells them and they taste of more than water, I will buy them. ALL OF THEM. With the following result: A tasty, light, spring-summer dessert or teatime treat. NOM.

Strawberry Hazelnut Tart

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adapted from bbcgoodfood

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Swedish Cardamom Buns/Rolls

Posted in Breakfast by

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

I hope you all spent the past few days indulging in ridiculous amounts of chocolate eggs, hot cross buns and tasty roast lamb. If not, don’t worry, you still have one day left to catch up;-). And congratulations to everyone who successfully completed Lent yesterday – now go and do or eat whatever you have been painfully missing out on these past 46 days!

This year’s Easter has been, apart from spending some of the days surrounded by IV-drips, syringes and wounds, all dressed up in scrubs (yes – some people actually have to work on bank holidays), an unhealthy brunch crawl for me. Nothing wrong with brunching 4 days in a row is there?

For the final brunch of the lot I decided to bake something slightly different than your usual, with a Scandinavian touch – Cardamom Rolls. NOM! As I already mentioned in a previous post – Cardamom is the new Cinnamon. If I haven’t won you over yet, I’m sure baking these will. I’m also sure half of you have been invited to yet another an Easter brunch for today, said they would bring something and popped into M&S for some hot cross buns. If so – tut tut tut – freeze your bought buns and make these! Everyone will love them!!

Swedish Cardamom Rolls

Cardamom Rolls 1

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Duck Breast with a Cassis – Thyme Sauce, Homemade Spätzli, Sprouts, Cinnamon Poached Apples and Cranberries

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Apologies for my failing at posting – I spent the last few weeks lost in Asia. Burma to be precise. Correction – Myanmar as they now call it (which is actually disliked by most locals). WOW, what a beautifully, diverse and extremely interesting place. A country with over 130 ethnic groups, multiple different climates, unique landscapes, thousands of pagodas (I am completely “pagoda’d” out by this point, I might even start having nightmares about them…), welcoming people, Buddha!, and so much more. Definitely worth a visit. Of course I ended the trip, like every trip to south east Asia, on a high in Bangkok – also a city worth visiting if you have not yet made it to that corner of the world. The sunset and nighttime views from the various sky bars are priceless.

However, after all this dining on asian food, I started craving a hearty homey dish. Honestly, I never thought I’d need a break from asian food, how wrong I was. So, after having arrived safely on Swiss soil, I decided to satisfy my craving asap. And this is the result. Delish – craving successfully satisfied.

Duck Breast with a Cassis – Thyme Sauce, Homemade Spätzli, Sprouts, Cinnamon Poached Apples and Cranberries

Duck, spätzli, cassis sauce

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Lemon Drizzle Cake

Posted in Cake / Cupcakes by

One thing I missed extremely during my time in London was the winterly weekend getaways to the snowy Swiss alps I am used to from my childhood. Finally I have them back!! Since the season started I have spent every free day in the snow. The fresh mountain air and the relaxed ambiance are irreplaceable. There is no better way to finish off a long day on the slopes than with a piece of fresh cake and a cup of hot chocolate (with the obligatory generous splash of some sort of Alcohol, Amaretto in my case) – pure bliss. Here is a lemony classic I personally love – even if you think you are drowning the cake in lemon, use all of the lemon sirup to drizzle!

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon Cake

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