Throwback Thursday - Nougat

Nougat History

"Cremona, 25th of October 1441: Bianca Maria Visconti married Francesco Sforza. The wedding, which allowed Sforza family to dominate the Duchy of Milan for over half a century, is strictly related to the birth of nougat. According to the legend nougat was made for the first time in occasion of the wedding feast and it had the shape of the Torrazzo, the bell tower of Cremona cathedral. It can be stated that “torrone”, the Italian word for nougat, etymologically derives from “Torrazzo”."

http://en.flamigni.it/passions/nougat-history/

Throwback Thursday - Cupcakes

Cupcakes

The history of Cupcakes -

"The cupcake evolved in the United States in the 19th century, and it was revolutionary because of the amount of time it saved in the kitchen. There was a shift from weighing out ingredients when baking to measuring out ingredients. According to the Food Timeline Web, food historians have yet to pinpoint exactly where the name of the cupcake originated. There are two theories: one, the cakes were originally cooked in cups and two, the ingredients used to make the cupcakes were measured out by the cup. 

In the beginning, cupcakes were sometimes called "number" cakes, because they were easy to remember by the measurements of ingredients it took to create them: One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, four eggs, one cup of milk, and one spoonful of soda. Clearly, cupcakes today have expanded to a wide variety of ingredients, measurements, shapes, and decorations - but this was one of the first recipes for making what we know today as cupcakes."

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring07/ayers/history.html

Quick Tip Tuesday - Garlic

Quick Tip Tuesday

Today's quick tip is by the brilliant chef, Gerard Craft.

"After working with garlic, rub your hands vigorously on your stainless steel sink for 30 seconds before washing them. It will remove the odor."

Milu Monday - Milu's Magic Squares!

Milu's Magic Squares

Ingredients:

• 250ml sugar
• 125g butter or margarine
• 4 extra-large eggs
• 500ml cake flour
• 10ml baking powder
• 250ml milk
• 1 lemon (grated zest only)
• 30ml icing sugar (for dusting)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 160°C
• Cream the sugar and butter or margarine very well, until white and fluffy
• Add the eggs one by one
• Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture
• Add the milk and lemon zest, mix well
• Grease a baking tray with butter or margarine and dust with flour
• Spoon the mixture into the tray and bake for 15 minutes
• Remove the baking tray from the oven and leave to cool 
• When it is well cooled, cut the dough into squares
• Dust the squares with the icing sugar 

Serves 4 - 6 

Witty Wednesday - Bacon Love

Some food humour for today!
Bacon Love!

Milu Monday - Spinach and Feta Chicken Breasts!

Spinach and Feta Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

• 1 clove garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
• 100g spinach (boiled and chopped)
• 30ml olive oil
• 100g feta cheese (chopped)
• 5 chicken breasts (approximately 350g each)
• 50g butter (cut into 5 blocks)
• Pinch of paprika (for sprinkling)
• 3ml cornflour
• 30ml water
• 15ml chopped fresh coriander

Marinade Ingredients:

• 2 lemons (juiced)
• 30ml olive oil
• 3ml paprika
• 1 clove garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
• 2 small fresh chillies (chopped)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C
• Fry the garlic and spinach in the olive oil for a few minutes
• Remove the pot from the heat and mix in the chopped feta
• Butterfly the chicken breasts: cut two-thirds of the way through the middle of each breast to create a pocket
• Fill these pockets with the feta-spinach mixture
• Using a toothpick, close up each breast
• Mix all the marinade ingredients together
• Place the breasts on a baking tray
• Pour the marinade over and leave to marinate for approximately 30 minutes
• Place a small block of butter on top of each breast
• Sprinkle with paprika and place it in the oven
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes
• Once baked, place under grill for a further 10 minutes, or until golden brown
• Carefully remove the chicken  breasts from the sauce and place them on a serving dish
• Pour the sauce from the chicken into a saucepan 
• Dilute the cornflour in the water and pour into the sauce
• Place the saucepan on the stove and allow to simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly to form a gravy
• Pour the gravy over the breast and sprinkle with coriander to garnish.

Serve with savoury rice and a Portuguese salad

Serves 5

Throwback Thursday - Pasta

Some pasta history for today!

Quick Tip Tuesday - Lemon French Toast!

Here is a great recipe to make your french toast deliciously interesting!

Lemon French Toast

Ingredients

• 4 slices toast
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice and zest from 1 of the lemons
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon lemon emulsion
• 2 tablespoons Butter with Canola Oil
• 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Mix, milk, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon emulsion along with eggs until well blended.
2. Dip each piece of bread into the batter and turn over so both sides absorb the mixture and it has time to soak in.
3. Heat skillet to medium, place 1 tablespoon butter in pan and place bread into pan and cook on each side until lightly crisp, then cover it for another minute or to until center of toast is cooked through.
4. Spread butter on top of each slice and dust with powdered sugar.

- http://www.createdby-diane.com/2013/03/lemon-french-toast.html

Milu Monday - Prawn Soup!

Prawn Soup

Ingredients:

• 25 small prawns
• 1,5 litres water
• 2 fresh green chillies (chopped)
• 5ml salt
• 30ml olive oil
• 1 onion (peeled and grated)
• 5ml paprika
• 250ml cake flour
• 20 croutons (for serving)

Method:

• Remove the prawn heads and shells
• Keep the prawn meat to one side
• Boil the prawn shells and heads with the water, chillies and salt for about 30 minutes to make a stock
• Remove the pot from the stove
• Remove the prawn heads and shells with a slotted spoon
• Allow to cool slightly and blend
• Heat the olive oil in a separate pan and fry the onions and paprika until the onion is golden
• Add the prawns and fry for 5 minutes
• Place the flour into a separate frying pan and brown over a low heat, stirring continuously
• Transfer the flour to a bowl and dissolve the flour in 300ml of the prawn stock
• Place the remaining stock on the heat and add the diluted flour mixture
• Stir well to avoid clots
• Stir the prawn mixture into the stock and simmer for 5 minutes
• Taste for salt

Serve with croutons (add 5ml of fresh cream to each bowl if desired)

Serves 6 to 8