Pavlova - a great summertime dessert

Pavlova is an Australian meringue dessert named after Anna Pavlova, the famous Russian ballerina. The dessert is composed of a meringue base, which is light and crisp on the outside with a soft and marshmallowy center. In the traditional pavlova the base, which represents the dancer’s tutu, is topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. In the pavlova roll the meringue is rolled into a swiss roll with the whipped cream and fruit on the inside. This is a very light and refreshing “cake” with very little carbs and lots of fresh fruit. It makes a lovely summertime dessert. In this example I have used mango, I also use raspberries, strawberries and blueberries as filling. This recipe is adapted from "The Australian Women's Weekly Best Food Collection".

Recipe

4 egg whites
1/3 cup fine granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1 pint of heavy cream - whipped with about 1 teaspoon sugar
1 large mango cut into thin slices

Heat oven to 325F. Grease a swiss/jelly roll pan and line with parchment paper. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; add sugar gradually to egg whites, continue beating until sugar dissolves. Fold in vinegar, cornstarch and vanilla extract. Spread the mixture onto the parchment paper, sprinkle coconut. Bake for about 20 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. Invert meringue onto a rack covered with a piece of parchment paper. remove the piece of paper lining the meringue and allow to cool.
Spread the whipped cream onto the cooled meringue, line with mango or other fruit. Roll meringue firmly. Slice and serve.

Birthdays

Two weekends ago we celebrated my husband’s and son’s birthdays - hence it was a big baking weekend for me. I made a strawberry almond cake for my husband and my son wanted his birthday cake to be an interpretation of the banana cream pie. I also made a 14th century Italian dessert for my son’s English class project on Romeo and Juliet – we found a recipe for a cinnamon custard tart that sort of worked – well it did not look pretty but tasted quite good.

Strawberry Almond Cake

This is a very light cake - I adapted the recipe from the Encyclopedia of Desserts by Emma Codrington and Michael Raffael. I use more ground almonds,and half the amount of sugar. It is a great cake for people who are watching the amount of refined carbs they consume but love a sweet treat.

4 oz butter - 1 stick
2 oz sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
4 oz flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 oz ground almonds
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 pint heavy cream whipped with 1 tsp powdered sugar
1 pint strawberries - sliced

Grease two 7 inch cake pans. Heat oven to 350F. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the 2 eggs. Add in the flour and almonds and fold into the butter mixture. Divide the mixture into the 2 pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes, cool the cakes.
Sandwich the cakes together with half the whipped cream and strawberries. Decorate the top of the cake with remaining cream and strawberries.

Fine dining at a Venerable Philadelphia Institution – Le Bec-Fin

In honor of the triple celebration of two birthdays (my husband’s and son’s) and Mother’s Day we treated ourselves to lunch at Georges Perrier’s Le-Bec-Fin. Le-Bec-Fin which translates into “Fine Palate” is one of the finest French restaurants in the country – it used to be a Mobil 5 star restaurant until April this year (08) when it changed to assume a more relaxed atmosphere and added on an a la carte menu. The main dining room is a magnificent space with large triple crystal chandeliers and comfortable chairs around rich cream clothed tables with fresh cymbidium orchids. My husband and I opted for the 5 course “menu degustation” or tasting menu while our children chose to get items off the a la carte menu. We began the meal with a chilled white asparagus soup that was accompanied by a green asparagus salad. The soup was smooth, velvety and delicious with the spears of green asparagus providing a snappy crisp freshness. This was followed by a light and tasty pan-seared tuna dish garnished with a spring pea puree and a honey and hibiscus sauce. The next course was especially memorable and exquisite – seared diver’s scallops served with a lobster emulsion and topped with micro-greens. Roasted organic duck breast with morels and fava beans provided a flavorful robust main course that went beautifully with the Montrachet Pinot Noir we had chosen. Our children enjoyed the playful cone of fries with different dipping sauces, the very lovely mushroom ravioli with ivory sauce and the seared scallops with lobster emulsion that was also the special for the day. The shrimp tempura with sweet and sour dipping sauce that they also ordered was not a hit with anyone – we all felt that the shrimp needed some acidity like lemon to bring out the taste. The best and final part of the entire experience at this restaurant must be the dessert cart. A double-decker cart loaded with the most delectable and beautiful desserts is wheeled to the table and you get to taste as many of the offerings as you like. I tasted the silky smooth flourless chocolate cake, the chocolate and raspberry cake, a bit of the lemon tart, and candied pineapples with crème anglaise. My husband opted for the pear cake, the hazelnut dacoise and some of the super-light vanilla soufflé. The choice was simple for our children, chocolate and more chocolate – they had the chocolate and raspberry cake and the signature chocolate cake which, is a chocolate covered, chocolate and espresso cake sandwiched with chocolate ganache and topped with chocolate ruffles. The dessert cart was certainly a wonderful end to a very delightful meal. This is the perfect restaurant for a special celebration.

Weeknight dinner

On weekdays breakfast is usually a very hurried affair, cereal, toast or a fruit smoothie, with each of us eating at different times. So at our house dinner is the most important meal for us as family to eat together and catch up on the day. We try to do this most evenings. I usually cook a couple of extra dishes on Sunday evening that takes us through to Tuesday and then I get something simple together, on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, when I get home from work. Friday is our dinner out night.
So here is my dinner from last night (Thursday) – I had some chicken tenderloins, in the refrigerator, fresh basil and grape tomatoes. I sautéed the chicken tenderloins in olive oil with red pepper (chilli) flakes and garlic, then I poached the grape tomatoes in olive oil with garlic and made some basil pesto. I combined the chicken with the grape tomatoes and served it with whole-wheat pasta and the pesto. I served this with a green salad.

Recipes

Chicken Tenderloins with Grape Tomatoes, Basil Pesto and Whole Wheat Pasta

~1½ lb of chicken tenderloins or breast (sliced into strips)
1 pint of grape tomatoes (cut tomatoes in halves)
5 cloves garlic – minced coarsely
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp chilli flakes
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
8oz whole wheat pasta (linguini/spaghettini)

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a skillet. Add chilli flakes and half of the minced garlic to the skillet, sauté for about 30 seconds, then add chicken, salt, fresh ground black pepper and thyme and allow chicken to brown. Remove chicken from skillet, turn heat to low. Add remaining EV-olive oil to skillet, add rest of garlic and grape tomatoes, salt and pepper – allow tomatoes to poach/simmer in oil until they get soft and begin to break down. Combine chicken with tomatoes and toss into cooked whole wheat linguini/spagettini with basil pesto.

Basil Pesto
2 cups basil leaves
1 garlic clove
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup EV olive oil
Salt to taste

Pulse basil leaves, pine nuts and garlic, add olive oil in batches while blending. Finally add parmesan cheese and salt to taste.

Saturday Supper

This Saturday I prepared dinner that is reminiscent of a typical supper in many homes in Durban, SA - usually a chicken or lamb curry, rice and salad. My lamb curry was a little different in that it had carrots and peas in addition to the more traditional potatoes. I served this with Basmati rice, raw tomato chutney and a carrot, radish and grape tomato salad. For the appetizer I sautéed shrimp in olive oil, with lemon, garlic and thyme. Dessert was simple; store bought dulce de leche ice-cream with sliced strawberries.

Recipes

Lamb Curry with Peas, Carrots and Potatoes


Ingredients
2lb lamb shoulder – cut in small pieces
1 medium onion – diced/chopped
3 large plum tomatoes – diced
fresh ginger-1tsp minced
garlic (~ 2 cloves) - 1tsp minced
2 dry red chillies
2 tsp curry powder
1tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
1 cinnamon stick
2-3 pods of cardamom
1tsp fennel seeds
Salt
2Tbs canola oil
1 large russet/Yukon gold potato, skinned and cut into 4-6 pieces
½ cup of baby carrots
¼ cup of frozen peas
Cilantro/coriander leaves

Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. When oil is hot add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, fennel seeds and dry red chillies to the pan – allow to fry for about 30 seconds, then add the onions. Sauté onions until translucent, then add the curry powder, ground coriander and cumin and stir for about 1 minute. Add chopped tomatoes, ginger and garlic. Mix all the ingredients in pan then add in the lamb and potatoes. Add then salt, stir and cover pan/skillet with a lid and allow to cook for about 15 minutes. Add carrots to the pot and cover. Reduce heat to low and leave to simmer for about 10 minutes, then add peas. Continue to simmer for about 5 minutes. The curry should develop a thick gravy – if it begins to dry out, add ¼ cup of water and let simmer. Garnish the curry with chopped cilantro. Serve with Basmati rice.

Carrot, radish, cucumber and grape tomato salad


2 large carrots skinned/scraped and grated
½ small red or Vidalia onion sliced thinly
3-4 radishes thinly sliced
1cup grape tomatoes halved
1small Kirby cucumber / ½ English cucumber – sliced thinly

Dressing
Juice of half lemon/lime
Salt and black pepper

Mix all of the ingredients.
Season with a little salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Raw (Patche) Tomato Chutney


1 large ripe tomato or 2 ripe plum tomatoes – Jersey tomatoes are the best here
½ red or Vidalia onion finely diced
1 Thai green chilli chopped finely
1 Tbs finely chopped mint leaves
Salt to taste ~1/4 tsp

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Allow to stand for about 10 minutes for flavors to meld before serving.

Shrimp with lemon, garlic and thyme butter sauce


1lb large shrimp – cleaned de-veined and with tail on
3Tbs butter
2Tbs extra- virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 large lemon
2 cloves garlic – minced coarsely
handful of fresh thyme

Clean shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Season shrimp with salt and black pepper. Heat EV-olive oil and 1Tbs butter in large skillet (12inch) over medium heat. Add garlic and 1 sprig of thyme to oil, sauté for a few seconds – do NOT brown garlic or else it will turn bitter. Add shrimp to the skillet – sauté until they turn pink. Add rest of thyme to pan. Squeeze ½ lemon over shrimp. Remove shrimp from skillet. Add remaining 2 Tbs butter and juice of ½ lemon to skillet – once butter melts, remove from heat. Pour lemon- butter sauce over shrimp. Serve with garlic toasts.

Dessert: Ice cream with sliced strawberries