No! Not snow! And on February 25. It belongs in the mountains.

Frank and Genneive Hill. Glad to have you join us!

Peggy in a white mink stole.

Robin in the white mink stole.

Michelle, Robin and Bob.

Tommy, Cristi, Peggy and Genneive are watching the Oscars.

Did someone say food? Check out these Stuffed Dates with Gold Flakes.

Genneive’s Bleu Cheese Tarts. Wonderful!

Look at all of this great food!

Pot Roast.

A great party! Thanks again, Michelle and Lyle! Next year?

Have you “Liked” us on Facebook yet?! SO many GIVEAWAYS of AMAZING prizes plus exciting announcements are ALWAYS made first on Facebook!

Below is one of the SIMPLEST recipes to EVER hit this blog… and that’s saying something as generally EVERYTHING Phoodie does is VERY EASY and super basic to make!

DELICIOUS to the point that you will drop to the floor and wail as that will seem like your only option. Yup, so yummy that it HURTS!

Annnnnnnd the SKY’S THE LIMIT with the different varieties you can create! Chicken and asparagus Fig, Pancetta and Blue Cheese, White Chocolate and Crushed Macadamias…….

Ingredients

Makes 4 x 15cm square tarts

1 x 30cm square store bought puff pastry

4 pieces roasted eggplant (store bought or home made – am going to do a seperate post on how to make the perfect roasted veges!)

8 strip pieces roasted capsicum (store bought or home made)

4 teaspoons grated parmesan

4 tablespoons ricotta

4 heaped teaspoons labne (I buy labne that is stored in oil that has been flavoured with sumac and za’atar, so I don’t need the final three ingredients on this list. If you also find this and buy it you can copy me!)

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon za’atar

1 teaspoon sumac

Method

1) Cut pastry sheet in half and then in half again, so that you have 4 squares.

2) About a centimetre or so from the edge, score a square within each square.

3) Transfer to a baking paper lined tray and paint each square with either the oil from your labne or just plain olive oil

4) Layer each square with eggplant, capsicum, parmesan and ricotta.

5) Place into 180 deg cel oven for about 15 mins or until pastry puffs and turns a dark golden brown colour.

6) Remove tarts and place on wire rack.

7) Add a dollop of labne to the top of each tarts, drizzle in oil (from labne container or just olive oil) and a sprinkle of za’atar and sumac!

ENJOY!

Step by step snaps

The Pastry

The Topping

The Labne, Za’atar and Sumac

EAT ME!

May 1st, often called May Day, just might have more holidays than any other day of the year. It’s a celebration of Spring. It’s a day of political protests. It’s a neopagan festival, a saint’s feast day, and a day for organized labor. In many countries, it is a national holiday. When I think of May Day, I think of cheese tarts and Maypoles:

Bringing in the May

May Day is a day that in medieval England, people would celebrate the start of spring by going out to the country or woods — “going a-maying”—and gathering greenery and flowers, or “bringing in the may.”

Another English tradition is the Maypole. Some towns had permanent maypoles that would stay up all year; others put up a new one each May. In any event, the pole would be hung with greenery and ribbons, brightly painted, and otherwise decorated, and served as a central point for the festivities.

May Day was also a time for morris dancing and other dances, often around the Maypole. In the 19th century, people began to braid the maypole with ribbons by weaving in and out in the course of a dance. Other later traditions include making garlands for children and the crowning of the May Queen.

Richmond Maids of Honour

Rumor has it that these delectable little curd cheese tarts were named after the maids of honour who served at Richmond Palace in the 16th century. True or not, they taste wonderful made with crisp puff pastry and a filling of squidgy cheese and lemon curd.

Source: MamaFami

PASTRY
Source : Chef Anuar

INGREDIENTS:

160g butter
80g castor sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
a pinch of salt
1/2 egg
250g flour

METHOD:

1. Beat butter and castor sugar till well combined. Add in egg, vanilla and salt.
2. Add in flour and mix till a soft dough is formed.
3. Keep in the regfrigerator for about 30 minutes.
4. Press into the tart shells moulds and prick some holes onto the pastry.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown in a preheated oven at 180 C

FILLING
Source : Chef Alex Goh

INGREDIENTS:

250g Philadelphia Cream Cheese
60g castor sugar
20g butter
1 egg (grade B)

METHOD:

1. Cream the above ingredients. Place in the piping bag.
2. Pipe the filling onto the tart shells.
3. Place a bit of blueberry pie filling on top and using a toothpick, make a pattern on top.
4. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, using the bottom heat only.

Served on the Memory Bar:

Tomato Soup with creme
4 TBSP (1/2 stick) of butter
2 TBSP olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cried thyme
4 cups of vegetable broth
1 can 28 ounces of tomatoes
1 can 28 ounces of fire roast tomatoes

In a saucepan melt butter, oil, add onion, garlic cook but not brown.
Stir flour and cook for 1 minute.
Add remaining ingredients simmer for 30 minutes.
Blend, puree soup

Tofu Shooters
Dipping sauce: Mix 3 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
toppings: grated radishes, grated ginger, hot pepper flakes
Slice 1 package of firm tofu and place in small cups, add few drops of sauce and use toppings as condiments.

Cucumber rounds creme fraiche and dill
for the homemade creme fraiche: Mix 1 cup whipping cream mixed with 2 tablespoons buttermilk in a glass jar. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Stir and refrigerate. It lasts a couple of weeks in the fridge.

Apples and Caramel, I call it caramel, but it is doce de leite (portuguese) or dulce de leche, anyway, here it is how I make it:

I empty 1 can of sweetened condensed milk in a canning jar. Close the lead and cook inside the crockpot on low for 8 hours. Add enough water to completely cover the can. If you do not have a crockpot, put the closed canning jar in a large pan with 4 quarts of water; bring to a boil, then simmer at low heat for 1.5 to 2 hours. Let it cool. Keep refrigerated if you manage not to eat the whole thing.

Tiny Cheese tarts and pesto
Fill tarts 3/4 full with aged sharp cheddar and pesto

For pastry:

1 cup butter

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add flour and mix well. Make 48 balls; place one ball in each cup of a mini tart pan. Use your fingers or a tart tamper to press out into a tart shell.

Pesto Recipe

In a food processor or mixer blend

1/4 cup walnuts

3 cloves garlic

1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves

Mini chocolate cake with frosting and raspberry coulis

I have been making this recipe that came in a Hershey’s Chocolate can for over 15 years, but I have made a few changes. It is the recipe I use for making cupcakes and the mini cup cakes.
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup Cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
6 Tbsp. oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup skim milk
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line mini baking pan with paper cups or spray. In a Bowl, stir flour, cocoa and baking soda and sugar. On another bowl, mix milk, vinegar, oil and vanilla, stir. Add liquids to dry ingredients; whisk until blended. Pour evenly into pans, Bake 20 minutes for cupcakes, 18 minutes for the mini cup cakes, or until wooden pick inserted comes out clean.

Raspberry coulis: cook 12oz of raspberry with 2/3 cup sugar for 4 minutes.

Frosting: 1 can condensed milk, 1 oz package of cream cheese and 1 cup of butter, all at room temperature. Blend for 4-5 minutes, refrigerate until ready to frost.

So who cares if I have only 4 cheese tarts?  And that the pastillas are not my beloved Goldilocks? My poor brother and sister-in-law had reportedly canvassed 4 different outlets and came up empty handed.  I’m not complaining.  The pastillas produced in these parts taste differently, presumably because of a difference in the ingredients.  And cheese tarts are almost unheard of.  The one time I got lucky in California, they tasted and felt different once I had started eating one.  I am smiling as I type away thinking of all these good memories associated with Goldilocks.  I love, love, love their goodies — having grown up with them.

I remember when I was younger, birthday cakes were either Goldilocks or Jonis.  A quick scan through Google shows that Jonis is still around, but they don’t seem to have a website.  I used to love their butter cake slice and macaroons… My Dad even used to bring us to their head office somewhere in Manila to order our birthday cakes.  I remember how much of a treat that was to go through this thick photo album they had where you were supposed to pick the design.

My birthday falls 5 days ahead of my brother, Abril’s, so we usually had two cakes or a joint cake whenever we had a birthday party.  Memories brought on by simple joys.. =)

The magazine where I found this recipe fails to point out that Reblochon cheese is next to impossible to find in the US.  I went to Whole Foods to find this cheese and the cheese man (?) wished me luck.  He pointed out an alternative that had “Reblochon”, literally in quotes, on the label.  I subbed half of this “reblochon” want-to-be with some Fontina cheese to mellow out the flavors.  Changes in green.

Source:  Food & Wine

2 medium fingerling potatoes

4 slices bacon

1 1/2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced (1 small red onion sliced into rings)

All-purpose flour, for rolling

1/2 pound cold all-butter puff pastry

1/4 pound Reblochon cheese, rind removed and cheese thinly sliced (“Reblochon”) and 1/8 pound Fontina thinly sliced

1.  In a small saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil.  Cook over high heat until tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes.  Drain, then peel and thinly slice crosswise.

2.  Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes; transfer to paper towels.  Cut the slices in thirds.

3.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Pour off the bacon fat in the skillet and add the oil.  Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until softened and browned, about 15 minutes; add water as necessary, 1 Tbs. at a time, to prevent scorching.  Transfer the onion to a bowl; season with salt and pepper.

4.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry to an 11-inch square,  Using a plate as your guide, cut out four 5-inch rounds.  Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheet and prick them all over with a fork.  (I did not have time for rounds and simply cut the dough into 4 squares which saved a bit of time.)

5.  Bake the rounds in the center of the oven for 8 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden.  Using the back of a fork, deflate the rounds and bake for about 4 minutes longer, until the pastry is set.  (I found that I had to prick a few holes in the dough after the second bake to keep the puffs down.)

6.  Top the pastry rounds with the onion, potato slices, bacon and cheese.  Bake for about 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the pastry is browned.  Transfer tarts to plates; serve hot or warm.

::blueberry cheese tarts::