Vintage Mondays - Lemon Walnut Macaron Cake

So, how are you going to start the new year? Any new traditions or are you sticking to old ones? I find this the best celebration of the year, because a new, filled with hope, potencialy exciting new time is opening up. That is always reason to celebrate!

Let´s take a look at food first, of course.
It turns out I made a lot of recipes from blogging friends that were a hit. I don´t post them unless they´re part of another recipe, because I usually don´t see the point in posting the same thing when it´s already been done so well.
You won´t be dissapointed with any of these: Gooey Chocolate Coconut Bars, Pistachio Lemon Loaf Cake, Arroz Rojo, Ricotta Spinach Frittata, Broccoli Spinach Soup, Carrot Risotto, Minestrone, Capirotada, Fig Jam with Grand Marnier, Candied Oranges, Chocoflan, GF brownies, Harvest Rice, Chili Chocolate Slow roasted pork, Clementine Pork Adobo

Plum Hazelnut Yogurt Cake - gluten free

I love my gadgets, the cherry pitter, the melon scooper, the different microplane graters, garlic press and a few more that make some cooking steps easier, very in sync with these modern times when we don´t have time but crave old-fashioned cakes, and have a million ideas and recipes and try to find something different to post, because really, there are no more cooking secrets. Everything is out there.

A few days ago I made a very nice discovery while making this cake. I used the apple corer to core plums. Do you all use it for that? Maybe it´s even sold for plums, but the truth is that it was one little useless gadget for me.

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

After enduring a Christmas Eve so hot it ended inside the pool, I´ve been dodging the kitchen like the plague. At some point it´s said to have been 44ºC, that´s 111ºF. Wether it was true or not, it felt like the day from hell that will haunt us from now on. Oh yes, this christmas day will be remembered because of the weather.

Holidays during the summer are great, because they´re exactly that, holidays. Life happens outside so the atmosphere is inevitably festive, the days are long, you get some presents and eat good food. A few extra days off, sort of a pre-summer vacation.

Now it´s time to think about the next stop in the calendar, the last one. But first I will tell you about the tart I made for our sweltering gathering on Monday night. 

And before that, I will tell you that too many frozen margaritas during such a hot night does not bode a nice and happy rise the next day. Just saying.

Ham and Cheese Stuffed French Toast

If I ever were to celebrate Christmas with a breakfast or brunch, which I don´t, something like this ham and cheese stuffed french toast would surely be on the menu.

French toast is for me a very rare occasion kind of thing. It seems like an overload, but in the end it´s all a matter of making a small sandwich and eating a normal portion. Moderation people.

Savory Crêpe Cake #SundaySupper

My Christmas will be spent tomorrow at my father´s house. We celebrate the 24th at night, Christmas Eve, or Nochebuena as we call it. It will include appetizers, a turkey with corn and prune stuffing, quince and mustard sauce, salads, a lemon cheesecake and an apple pudding, the last two made by me.
Those recipes are not family ones, except for the turkey, and that is my father´s area, that´s why I have no Christmas recipe for you. Though I´m hoping I´ll be able to take good pics and post about it in the coming weeks. 

This Savory Crêpe Cake is the heritage recipe I choose to share with you as we gather around our Sunday Supper table today.

Bea of Galactosemia is our host, and she choose this Home for the Holidays theme. As usual, the list of recipes will blow your mind away, and isn´t it wonderful how they are all a part of our family´s way of celebrating?

Cheez-it-ish Crackers

These are the kind of crackers that you want to have in a tin and just grab distractedly during the day. You might just do it all the time which is always a problem considering they´re basically a cheese short crust, full of butter. But then, the simple flavors are usually the best.

Today´s recipe for our French Fridays with Dorie group are these little, crunchy, cheesy crackers. I think they deserve a star, so I literally gave them one. No, really, aren´t they as cute as a star? Christmas silliness. Sorry.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Squares

I spent a fairly large part of my weekend getting my kitchen supplies in order. 

Do you buy compulsively or are you the list making type, the kind who has a plan? Judging by my endless boxes, jars, packets of whatever nut, flour, dry fruit and spices can be found, it´s fair to say I do not plan much. Which makes for a hard-to-maintain-order in the kitchen.

So a few things got done. I toasted and skinned hazelnuts and walnuts, arranged my molds in two new shelves under my stove, got rid of old ones that were missing parts, the same with plastic containers whose covers are never where they should be, arranged my food magazines and cookbooks in a new shelf I got for them, and cleaned up my freezer.

Finnish Pulla (Cardamom-scented sweet bread)

Festive breads is something that´s always on my end-of-the-year bucket list, but sadly for them, they hardly ever get made. Blame it on the hectic month of december, which here includes hot days and almost there summer vacations.

So I´m glad I made today´s Tuesday with Dorie recipe. The contributing baker is Beatrice Ojakangas. Now, if you never heard of her it´s fine. But if you never made her quick danish dough recipe you really should. Really. No kidding. You should make danish with her recipe, it´s amazing.

Vintage Mondays - Chocolate Mint Mousse Pie

Do lawyers deserve all the jokes they get? Decide for yourself.

My Szechuan Pork was featured in The Kitchn and my Brown Sugar Cheesecake in Foodista. Such a compliment from them. 

Did I tell you that I put some water and sugar to make syrup on the stove, forgot about it, went for a walk, then dashed to the supermarket to buy some groceries and then got home to a cloud of smoke? Smoke so dense by then, that I started coughing and had to open windows everywhere. Not that they were much help, since the day outside was hot and humid, not a leaf moving from the lack of wind.
My poor steel jar was left looking like this. The syrup crept to the top and when I poked with a spoon the jar was completely filled. I mean, it was like I had filled it with black, hardened foam. So cleaning it took a while. A big while. Like a few days. Hot water and soap, let it rest, hot water and soap, let it rest, scrub it, hot water and soap, let it rest, scrub it...you get the idea.

A day of silence

Mushroom Cheese Strudel #SundaySupper

The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary has the world in shock and grieving. The impotence of it all makes it terribly heartbreaking. It is just unacceptable. This post was written before that, and in no way reflects what I´ve been feeling for the last days. 

The need to be there for others and help and comfort is bigger than ever. In whatever way we can. Those families are in my prayers and thoughts every day.

I could pretty much live on drinks and appetizers. There´s nothing more tempting than finger food. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. That´s the appeal of buffet tables too. Oh, if I could only open my fridge and have that kind of food every day.

But I´ll settle for today´s virtual drinks and appetizers´ pre-holidays celebration. The Sunday Supper table, hosted by Conni, is full of little nibbles and comforting things to drink. Though I´ll pass on the latter, since it´s 100º outside and a cup of hot buttered rum sounds like a sentence not a pleasure.

People, the food and drinks are so amazing I really, really wish this was happening right now at my house. And about that spiked eggnog, I will remember it in a few months.

So of course I made an appetizer. Crackly phyllo dough filled with mushrooms and cheese. Good at room temperature, so you don´t even have to worry about that.

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Sour Cream Pecan Ripple

The month of December is passing by rather smoothly, given that it´s usually ridiculously hectic. Not so much for me. But everybody is running, in a hurry, with endless lists to tackle, buying, organizing. 

Here, since we´re almost starting the summer, it coincides with the end of school year and most people´s vacations. Put that together with Christmas and New Year, not to mention the need to do things like go to the dentist or every doctor you didn´t go to during the year, or the urgency to redecorate your living room before you leave for the beach, and you have a recipe for disaster. And crankiness. 

Why is it so important to cramp everything you didn´t do in a year during the last month? Beats me. And it happens every year. Add very hot days to the mix and the results can be quite agitated.

Chicken, Apples and Cream à la Normande

This is the type of dish that you´d probably get taught the first day in a french cuisine 101 course. It has that kind of feeling.
The name a la normande has me riding a horse, full armor, across the french countryside. Arriving at the castle, a pot, or cauldron of this would be a nice meal to have waiting. I´m pretty certain I lived in the Middle Ages in another life. Almost sure of it.

The recipe is very simple, even with the dredging in flour, a step needed to get a thicker sauce in the end. A walnut sized ball, equal parts butter and flour, called beurre manie, will do the trick also. Very french.

It calls for chicken breasts, and that´s definitely easier to work with. But I would´ve prefer thighs, because, well, I always prefer the thighs. So much more flavorful.

Pistachio Butter Crescents

First of all, my deepest thanks to all of you who took the time to leave a comment in my last post or sent me an e-mail. I wasn´t planning on posting such a personal, and long, post, but it kind of wrote itself. A few words and suddenly the whole thing was there, waiting to be shared. So thank you, thank you, thank you. My days are so much richer since I started blogging.

Second of all, focusing on today´s post, I can´t believe this is my fourth cookie post in a row! What has gotten over me? Holiday spirit? I didn´t even know I had a lot of it. I haven´t decorated a christmas tree in years, don´t even own one. The horror, I know.
At least I baked you some buttery, nutty, melt-in-your-mouth cookies.

Vintage Mondays - Spicy Ginger Cardamom Cookies

This is a very personal post. It´s kinda weird to write to strangers whom I consider good friends (that´s all of you who read this). Because food blogging does that, it creates a suportive community.

I personally feel that every word that is written, wether it´s a happy one, sad, hilarious, whatever, is worth it if it reaches that one person who needs it.

Like the story about the boy who was picking sea stars that were stuck in the sand and throwing them back into the ocean so they would live. A man passing by saw him and asked what he was doing. The boy told him. And the man said `Why do you bother? There are millions of sea stars and saving one won´t make a difference´. The boy picked up another star and threw it back into the water. He turned to the man and said `To that one star, it made all the difference´.

Chocolate Whoppers #SundaySupper

Every once in a while there comes a recipe that is everything you hoped for.

Even though you expected to be dissapointed due to the ridiculous high expectations that grew from reading so many these-are-the-best comments everywhere, or the fact that at one time there was a famous restaurant in NYC during the 80´s that couldn´t keep up with the demand, or when you read that this fabulous lady customized her famous brownies from those famous cookies, yes, you prepare yourself for a bit of a letdown. 

Which never happens. If you haven´t already come upon these cookies you´re in for a treat. Lucky you.

White Chocolate Mint Almond Cookies

I´m finally joining the Chocolate Party this month. The secret ingredient is mint, not hard to guess; it´s a combination I find incredibly flavorful and versatile. Not to mention its undeniable holiday spirit. This little blog had already gotten into the minty spirit with these chocolate mint cookies and white chocolate tea cake. Both amazing, amazing, amazing.

At the time I made the above mentioned cookies, which have dark chocolate in them, I had started with a different idea. The one that I finally pulled off today. A basic chocolate chip cookie with almonds, mint and white chocolate chunks. At that time all I baked was a very greasy cookie, that spread horribly and had you screaming `where´s the mint?´.

Creamy (no cream) Cauliflower Soup

I like to be surprised in the good way I was with this soup. I don´t eat cauliflower much and when I do it´s usually roasted with spices. To make a soup with it was never on my list; I always had some other more interesting recipes to make. With more flavor and body.

I never would´ve tried it on my own, and I like to cook with groups, in this case French Fridays with Dorie, because of that. It happened with these brownies too. And I´m happy it will happen with many other recipes. Because it will.

It´s a simple recipe. A tablespoon of butter and another of oil. Add some onions, celery, garlic and thyme. Cook until quite softened. Add cauliflower and stock and cook that until vegetables are very tender. Salt and pepper of course. Blend until completely creamy. That´s it.

Caramelized Fruit with Brown Sugar Ice Cream

This dessert was the highlight of one of those great days, which I might even call perfect.

I woke up to a glorious morning, one with a clear blue sky, warm, sunny, a light breeze and most important, a dry day. Mid-morning I met my standing Sunday breakfast date, a friend who walks his dog and then meets me for some coffee and whole wheat croissants.

And being a Sunday there were no work-related issues to attend to, no phones ringing or things to check off a list, not that I´m a list maker but still.

My kitchen was as tidy as it can be, given the fact that I´m a hoarder of all things food related, from ingredients to gadgets to appliances; and I´m not including cookbooks, magazines, recipes and blogs here because that is a post for another life. Well, it turns out they were pretty organized too.
I had already gone to the supermarket and it was overflowing with fresh cherries, pineapples, plums, peaches, apricots, which then were overflowing my fridge. I was even having a very good hair day.

Fusilli with Capers, Cherry Tomatoes and Warm Red Onion Vinaigrette

I have two home remedies that work almost every time: going out for a walk and taking a shower. Whether I have a headache, am cold or too hot, very happy, need perspective, angry or whatever good or bad mood that particular day brought, doing one of those things usually works.

Water has a soothing effect, and it changes my mood if it´s not good, or expands my happy feelings. I know there are books written about the properties of water, so I´m not surprised. Another habit I have is going out for a walk. Sometimes I walk for an hour or more. No power walk, not at all. This is my way of connecting with myself. As weird as it sounds it even works when I walk amongst others, along crowded streets.

Bill Granger´s Fresh Cherry Tart #SundaySupper

I like the trend of the last decade (or more) where tv food shows emphasize laid back cooking. No aprons, a bit of a mess, not even the need for professional training. It´s about lifestyle and charisma.

Today we´re bringing our favorite celebrity chefs to the table for Sunday Supper. The lovely Tammi, from Mommas Meals dared us to inspire ourselves in a famous face in the food world and go into the kitchen. 
I have to say, if you´re somewhat interested in the subject you´ve come to the right place foodie!

We have a few good food shows here, but for today I choose a recipe by Bill Granger, a perpetually grinning Aussie that makes food seem so fresh and effortless. He and Nigella always make me believe I want to be eating exactly what they´re cooking. The power of television. 

Chocolate Port Bundt Cake #BundtaMonth

The problem with rainy days during hot months is that you´re either dressed for the rain or dressed for the very warm day. So you either get wet or very cranky due to an overload of clothes. I probably choose the worst of both worlds, overdressed and not a drop of water, since it stopped raining shortly after I left my house.
I know, I´m having very complicated issues today. So bear with me while I tell you about this bundt marvel I baked.

The theme for this month´s Bundt a Month is booze. Let´s say it´s my favorite theme by far. I love booze in cakes. Love it in an almost obsessive way. The proof is in the posts, remember this orange rum cake, or my lovely chocolate kahlua mini bundts, the spiced red wine velvet cake, toasted hazelnut loaf cake, or a late harvest citrus cake. Oh, and the lemon almond cake. Just to name a few.