Buche De Noel.

1933

Merry Christmas everybody.

Hope you all are enjoying your holidays with family and loved ones.

Well today we had Mansaf for lunch but unusually dessert wasn’t Knafeh as usual, since it’s Christmas and my brother’s birthday is after tomorrow i decided to bake a lovely Buche de Noel or Yule Log as some call it.

After a quick search in several pages I did my own version, same ingredients of Cherry Cake but added cocoa powder and omitted the lemon juice, turned out really good.

1957

Ingredients and method:

* 5 eggs ( used 6 cause they were small)

* 1 cup sugar.

* lemon zest,vanilla and 2 tsp baking powder.

* 1/4 cup vegetable oil.

* 1/2 cup cocoa.

* 1 cup flour.

* whipping cream.

* any kind of filling you like like coconuts,crunch,strawberries,blueberries…e

* Separate eggs whites from yolks and beat well till stiff and white.

* beat all other ingredients well till creamy.

* fold in the egg whites slowly till all mixed together.

* pour in a greased rectangular baking tray ,cake layer must be thin.

* bake in a medium hot oven for 30-35 minutes.

* while still warm flip the cake on a clean kitchen towel sprinkled with icing sugar then roll it and leave to cool.

*unfold cake then fill with cream and blueberries like i did today then roll it back.

* now cut ends and put it alongside the roll so as to look like a bark

* top it with cream and leave to cool

1958

Now make some gananche ( half cup of heated heavy cream with half cup of chocolate chips ) put it on top of the roll and make lines .

* Decorate with icing sugar and any Christmas decorations available.

1934

Pavlova

Hello everybody.

I know it’s been such a long time since i posted in my blog, well actually catering and taking orders took lots of my time and effort but I’m back again people, with new recipes more professional photos and lots of enthusiasm and love.

Will start with this festive full of love Pavlova that i took with me to a friend this morning, topped with cream berries and strawberry sauce.

Pavlova,a meringue based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, crisp crust ,soft light inside ,origin of this is debatable between Australia and New Zealand but formal research indicates New Zealand as the source.

Ingredients and method :
* 6 egg whites (at room temperature)
* 1 1/2 cups sugar.
* 1/2 tsp lemon juice.
* 1/2 tsp white vinegar.
* 1 tsp vanilla.
* 2 table spoons corn flour.

* whisk egg whites till frothy white and stiff. (6-7 minutes)
* add sugar gradually then rest of ingredients.
* on a piece of wax paper drop the mixture in a heap circular shape and try to make peaks.
* bake in a low heated oven for 1 1/2 hours.
* keep the pavlova in the oven till it cools completely.
* beat 1 pack of fresh cream with a pack of whipping cream or sugar till it double in size.
* top cream over pavlova then add fruits like strawberries, kiwi,pomegranate or berries then serve immediately.

Gingerbread Cake.

Hello everybody.

Christmas time is always full of new challenges for me, so many recipes to try and lots of creative ideas and decorations.

Since we have lunch guests for Mansaf ,thought I’ll try this cake. it’s very popular but I never did it before and was very happy with the result . Both elegant and delicious , moist and full of flavors.

Ingredients and method:

* 1/2 cup butter.نص كوب زبده

* 3/4 cup brown sugar 3/4 كوب سكر بني

*1/2 cup molasses. نص كوب دبس تمر

*2 tsp ginger powder ملعتين صغار زنجبيل

*2 tsp cinnamon ملعقتين صغار قرفه

*pinch of nutmeg رشه جوز الطيب

*pinch of salt. رشه ملح

*1/2 cup vegetable oil. نص كوب زيت نباتي

*3/4 cup milk. 3م4 كوب حليب

*3 large eggs. 3 بيض

*1 tsp vanilla.ملعقه فانيلا

*3 cups flour.3 كوب طحين

*2 tsp baking powder.ملعقتين باكينغ باودر

* 1/2 tsp bicarbonate .نص ملعقه بايكربونات

Mix flour with all spices and baking powder and bicarbonate. تخلط البهارات والباكينغ باودر ولبيايكربونات مع الطحين
Beat butter and brown sugar well تخفق الزبده والسكر جيدا
add molasses then oil.يضاف الزيت والدبس
add eggs and vanilla.يضاف البيض والفانيلا
add milk alternatively with spices and flour.يضاف الحليب بالتناوب مع الطحين
bake in three medium sized pans.في فرن متوسط الحراره تخبز العجينه في عده قوالب او صينيه واحده حسب الرغبه
leave to cool before stuffing.تترك لتبرد تماما قبل الحشي

Cream:الكريما

*1 pack cream cheese.علبه جبنه كريميه

*1 pack heavy cream.علبه قيمر

*2 envelopes whipping creamمغلفين كريما باودر

*1 tsp cinnamon.ملعقه صغيره قرفه

Beat cream cheese well then add all other ingredients and beat till double in size .تخفق الجبنه اولا ثم تضاف باقي المقادير وتخفق جيدا
add cinnamon.
cool in fridge till stiff.تبرد جيدا قبل الحشو

Ginger cookies:بسكوت الزنجبيل

*3/4 cup butter.3/ 3 كوب زبده

*1/ 2 cup brown sugar.1/2 كوب سكر بني

*1/2 cup molasses.1/2 كوب دبس

*1 egg.1 بيضه

*1 tsp ginger.1 ملعقه زنجبيل

*1 tsp cinnamon.ملعقه قرفه

*1/2 tsp baking powder.نص ملعقه باكينغ باودر

*2 cups flour.كوبين طحين

*Beat butter and sugar then add molasses.تخفق الزبده والسكر جيدا

*Add egg and spices.تضاف البيضه والبهارات

*Add flour and baking powder.يضاف الطحين والباكينغ باودر

*Knead well till you get a stiff easy to manage ball.تعجن جيدا لتصبح كره ماساء

*Roll and shape as you wish .ترق على سطح مرشوش بالطحين ونشكل حسب الرغبه

*Bake for 10-13 minutes max.تخبز في فرن متوسط لمده 10-13 دقيقه

When cake is completely cooled ( i usually wrap each one in nylon wrap and freeze it for couple of hours) assemble with cream layers and decorate with cookies.

Chocolate Hazelnut Caramel Thumbprints.

Hello everybody.

Testing new cookies for Christmas orders, came across this recipe the other day and thought it’ll be a good choice and i was right.

Elegant crispy from the outside cookies , so easy to make and you can always make many variations of them. I mean you can envelope them with either hazelnuts or almonds and fill them with caramel or Nutella , all really tasty for sure.

Ingredients and method:

* 3/4 cup butter.

* 1/2 cup sugar.

* 1 large egg separated.

* 1/2 cup flour.

* pinch of salt

*1/2 cup cocoa.

*2 tablespoons cold water.

* 3/4 roasted finely crushed nuts.(hazelnuts or almonds)

* caramel or Nutella

* beat egg yolk,butter,sugar and salt till creamy.

* add flour and cocoa knead till you form a ball.

* form small balls then press them with your thumb a bit in the middle.

* beat the egg white and coat cookies with them.

* roast and crush finely the nuts then coat cookies with them as well.

* bake in a moderate heated oven for 13-15 minutes.

* when cooled add a little bit of caramel in the thumbprint.

I also made super easy coconut Maltesers balls but this time I roasted the powdered milk till golden , added a caramel taste to them .

Ingredients and method:

*2 cups dry milk powder.

* 2 cups coconut.

* 1/2 cup icing sugar.

* 1 pack cream.

* 1 tablespoon butter.

* 3 packs Maltesers.

* Note: I added some orange zest,goes well with it.

* Mix all ingredients together till they’re like a paste then cover each Maltesers ball with it and roll into a ball .

* cover with coconut and leave to cool in the fridge.

To fill the box for today”s order I added some rock cookies and lemon crinkles I made yesterday, turned out a beautiful colorful Christmas gift.

Almond Tuilles.

Hello everybody.

Today’s order was various, both salty and sweet stuff. One was za’tar puffs and cheese cookies the other was chocolate,ginger crinkles and sable.

Sometimes when the order is for a close friend I love to try something new for testing and feedback,today I did these super easy crispy thin almond cookies. So east to make though you must be careful baking them, next time i’ll swirl them when hot to give them a nicer shape.

Ingredients and method:

3 large egg white.
1 tsp vanilla.
3/4 cup sugar.
1/3 cup vegetable oil.
1/4 cup flour.
1/2 cup chopped or slivered almonds.

*Beat egg white till all white and stiff .

*Add vanilla.sugar ,oil and flour.

*Fold in almonds slowly, don’t over beat or mix.

* Grease a biking tray well with oil then some flour. ( very imp to grease well cause cookies tend to stick)

* add a tablespoon of batter then flatten it with back of spoon into circles.

* In a 180 degrees heated oven bake cookies for 10 minutes or till golden.

* leave to cool , you can swirl them while hot but you have to be very careful not to break them.

cool elegant gift !

these were the morning order, za’tar puffs and cheese cupcakes.

orange marmalade a small gift for my friend.

crinkles and sable.

Merry Christmas everybody.

Stuffed Turkey.

Hello everybody.

Today we had a big festive lunch, stuffed turkey with all accompanying dishes.

Recipe from my sister which turned out very good, turkey was very moist and well done, I soaked it yesterday in brine containing salt,pepper corns, cinnamon stick, cardamom, rosemary and vinegar.

This morning I dried it very well then stuffed it with sauteed onions and bread ( whole loaf of toast without crust edges) then I added lots of butter between skin and flesh with spices and salt.

spices,butter and bread stuffing.
Wrap the turkey very well with foil paper and bake for 4 hours, begin with very high heat for the first half hour then lower it to medium or a bit less for remaining time. Remove foil last half hour so that it’ll be roasted and golden.

golden and done.

Along with it, I made potato gratin, rice with spices and meat on top, veggies, corn salad, butter sautéed red cabbage with cloves and rocca apple cranberry salad.

potato gratin.

sauteed red cabbage.

rocca apple cranberry salad.

A big success thank God.

Peanut Butter Snickers Chocolate Chips Cookies.

Hello everybody.

Today’s order is for a group of lovely teachers as a small giveaway, they ordered five different cookies for each.

Made the usual three kinds of crinkles, rock cookies and these cute little heart shaped ones of peanut butter and chocolate chips but added Snickers chunks in them, so yummy and cute.

Though teachers really deserve more than this but I hope love and cherish for their efforts are tasted and felt in my cookies, God bless all teachers around the world.

Ingredients and method:

* 1/2 cup butter ( reduce it a bit if using heavy chocolates, I used chocolate chips and 4 small Snickers bars)

* 1/2 cup peanut butter.

* 3/4 cup brown sugar.

* 1 egg.

* 2 tablespoons milk.

* 1 tsp vanilla.

* 1/2 small spoon baking soda.

* 1/2 tsp baking powder.

* 1 3/4 cups flour.

* 3/4 cup chocolate chips or crushed ones of any kind.

* Mix butters and sugar well till creamy then add egg,vanilla,milk.

* add flour,baking soda and powder then last thing add the chocolates.

*Shape into balls then flatten them a bit,usually I use a coffee cup bottom.

* bake in a medium heated oven for 10-13 minutes or till bottoms are golden.

* cool then keep in cookie jar or tightly closed tin.

These will sure put a big smile on a child’s face specially with a hot chocolate in a cold day 🙂

aren’t these cute?

packing process.

lovely gift indeed.

Fruit Cheesecake Cookie Cups and Apple Cinnamon Rolls.

Hello everybody.

I’m so excited today cause me and my friends are invited to a special early dinner at our lovely neighbor’s house and she’s making a traditional Carcissian dish called chips and basta, I’ll write you details about it later tonight.

As usual I told her dessert is on me, I wanted to do something new, colorful and lively so after a bit of searching did these cute kind of tarts and since I have some apples in the fruit basket is did some apple wheels or rolls.

Ingredients and method of fruit tarts :

* 3/4 cup butter.
* 1 cup sugar.
* 1 egg.
* 1 tsp vanilla.
* 2 cups flour.
* 1/2 tsp baking soda.
* 1/2 tsp baking powder.
* 2 tsp cornstarch.

For the filling :
* 1 pack cream cheese.
* 1/2 cup icing sugar.
* 2 tablespoons cream.( قشطه)

* mixed fruits for topping.

* beat butter and sugar till creamy then add all other ingredients till you have a thick dough.
* in a cupcake pan add a spoonful in each paper then press well with higher edges ( this quantity made 24 cups)
* bake in a medium heated oven for 10-15 minutes.
* remove and leave to cool.
* meanwhile beat cream cheese with sugar and cream then top over each cupcake.
* decorate with fruits as you look like.

As for the apple wheels, I did same dough for cinnamon rolls or Nutella tree, the added brown sugar and cinnamon to a rectangular spread-ed dough, lined up sliced apples the rolled and baked them.

Hope our host will like them,I’m sure we’ll have fun and eat delicious food.

lovely outcome.

apple rolls.

Yemini Mendi and Digestive Log.

Hello everybody.

Planning to cook this dish a month ago or actually since my cousin posted it in my group,this is a traditional Yemini dish usually bought ready here from several restaurants.

My husband bought a pack of ready mixed Mendi spices and I added a bit of the spices originally in the recipe, I also used local chicken that my husband brought from the farm.

I also made this super easy dessert cause I have some cream left from yesterday’s cupcakes thought I’d use them, you simply stack plain digestive biscuits with cream in between,I added some coconuts also , then you cover all with cream, leave to cool completely then top with chocolate ganache all over and decorate, looks a lot like Christmas Log Cake and looks very elegant , a nice idea for Valentine tomorrow right?

Ingredients and method of Mendi:

* Marinade for chicken:

* Ketchup.

* olive oil.

* salt,pepper,coriander,cardamon,cloves.

* bay leaves.

* copped onions and garlic.

* Marinade chicken pieces in all these for two hours then cover and leave in a medium heated oven 1 1/2 -2 hours then roast till golden.

* Rice:

* saute some sliced onions and garlic till golden.

* add one grated carrot.

* wash the rice and add it on them.

* add same spices as above then add add water and leave to simmer till rice is done.

*Note: use basmati rice or long .

* When rice and chicken are done arrange all in a deep serving dish then heat a piece of coal till very hot and red then add some oil on top and place it in the middle of rice chicken dish and cover for 15 minutes so as to give a smoky flavor to the whole dish.

* serve with roasted raisins,Tabasco and green salad.

smoked chicken and rice.

fumed charcoal.

original recipe in Arabic.

yummy biscuits log.

stacked biscuits and cream.

Happy New Year :)

Hello everybody.

Waited till now to write my post so as not to ruin the surprise, I baked a beautiful birthday cake for my lovely cousin requested by her sweet sister-in-law,I also made an Apple Pecan Pie as a gift from me. Happy Birthday dear doc and Happy New Year to you and all your family, love you all.

As for our new year’s eve, we had a small special candle lit dinner at home , very early so as not to eat heavy late at night then ended it with our usual coffee with chocolates, typical family celebration, we’ll watch T.V for the rest of the night.

Dinner was steaks with sauteed veggies, cheese pastries, mixed green salad with lentils pomegranate and feta cheese and a new dish which was extremely delicious “Italian Mushroom Risotto” got these dried mushrooms from my cousin living in Rome, soaked them in water then sauteed them with onions and butter then cooked the rice with mushroom soaking water, really yummy yummy.

Ingredients and method of Apple Pecan Pie:

* pie crust.( same as apple pie)

* filling:

* 3 big peeled chopped apples.

* 3/4 cup chopped pecans.

* 1/2 cup sugar ( brown or regular)

* 1 tablespoon starch.

* 1 tablespoon cinnamon.

* 1 tablespoon butter.

For the crumble:

* 1/2 cup finely chopped pecan.

* 2 tablespoons butter.

* 3/4 cup flour.

* 1/2 cup sugar.

* spread pie crust in special pie pan.

* mix filling ingredients together and add on crust.

* mix crumble ingredients in food processor till crumbly .

* add on top of pie filling.

* bake in a medium heated oven till golden from sides. (30-40 minutes)

Enjoy your night everybody and wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR <3 <3 <3

always a delight !!

Apple Pecan Pie.

lovely family candle lit dinner .

cheese pastries and lentil pomegranate salad.

By the way Italians believe that eating pomegranate and lentils at new year’s eve is a good omen,the more you can eat the more money you get, so we’ll see what will happen next year !

Mushroom Risotto.

Great end to a nice dinner <3

What to cook today?

day by day cooking ideas

Christmas

Buche De Noel.

Like this:

Pavlova

Like this:

Gingerbread Cake.

Like this:

Chocolate Hazelnut Caramel Thumbprints.

Like this:

Almond Tuilles.

Like this:

Peanut Butter Snickers Chocolate Chips Cookies.

Like this:

Fruit Cheesecake Cookie Cups and Apple Cinnamon Rolls.

Like this:

Yemini Mendi and Digestive Log.

Like this:

Happy New Year :)

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