How to chop onions by Gino D'Acampo

Make sure the volume is on and even chopping onions will become a pleasure listening to Gino's voice.

Pancakes

Pancakes I hear you thinking, yes pancakes but my Dutch way :-). Before I give you my recipe what's going to be difficult because I don't measure things, I will tell you that in The Netherlands where -shouldn't you know by now- I have been born, there are typical 'Pannenkoeken' (pancake) restaurants. It sounds a bit bizar but I searched on the internet some typical Dutch pannenkoeken restaurants so you have an idea how they look from the out and inside. The outside wasn't too difficult, but the inside was...they are nowadays so modern, so a picture of a man with a pile of pancakes but you have to look at the tablecloth ;-)

For +/- 6 pancakes:

Shopping list

About 300 grams of flour (plain)
Real butter
Almost half a liter of Milk

2 large Eggs
A pinch of salt
For the topping:
Sugar (which you prefer)
Syrop (stroop in Dutch)
Apple* (cut in small pieces or rings)
Sultana's (rozijnen in Dutch)*

I always siff the flour in a bowl then I add 2 large eggs and start stirring with a whisk, then I add milk until I have a smooth substance. And then and don't forget it because your pancake wouldn't taste as nice as it should be add a pinch of salt.

* If everybody likes their pancakes with apple and/or sultana's, it's easier to add them to the liquid, if not then  when frying the pancake, add some apple/sultana's, then put some more liquid on them to cover them.

Take a frying pan (best is to use one which you use for eggs but...any will do besides a fish one) melt some butter and then pour some of your mix so that it covers the whole bottom of the pan.
When you see that the pancake starts to get dry, put some more butter in the pan and turn the pancake. You can throw them up high towards the ceiling, but I can't.
Then just fiddle around with the pancake knife to see if it's ready....it doesn't take long!

According to taste put some syrup or sugar (whatever you fancy) on top of it and I say 'eet smakelijk'!

Tip....the first pancake is never the best, so give that to ........ (fill in the blancs) :-)

Amuse Buche variety

This is a variety I thought about myself. It doesn't have much to do with cooking but it's different to spoil your friends. There are lot's of possibilities for this 'apéro snack' and this was mine.

Shopping list:
1 Pack of Blini's

1 Pot of guacamole (or make it yourself when the avocado's are available)
1 Pot of aubergine mash
1 Pot of taramosalata (no typo here officially it's with an o).
100 Gram of serrano or parma ham

For garnishing I have used black olives (well to be precise I have used 1) and some parma ham. Just think what you have in your cupboard or fridge and use that (tomato, pepper, cucumber, herbs,....)







Toast the blini's in the toaster first. I have put the aubergine mash on top of a little bit of parma ham.

The picture tells you the story. Try it and your friends will be impressed.

Amuse Buche with salami

Our daughter worked hard in the kitchen as well on a Sunday morning and she created her own style of Amuse Buche with salami.

Shopping list:

1 Cucumber
1 Salami
1 Tin of black olives

The idea is to layer all the ingredients which need to have the same size to start with salami, cucumber, salami, olive.

Amuse Bouche with Salmon

It doesn't happen often that the whole Au Bellefleur team is working at the same time in the kitchen. But Sunday morning we all worked very hard on our own dishes.
Let's start with the Amuse Bouche with smoked salmon for 6 persons.

Attention: this dish has to refrigerate overnight.
Shopping list:

80-100 gr. smoked salmon
2 shallots
1 stick of celery
Horseradish
3 Table spoons of double cream
1 Lime (use half a lime)
(Sea) salt ...just a pinch
Cyenne or paprika powder (garnish)


In a food processor or blender just mix all ingredients, then transfer them to a small bowl, cover it and refrigerate overnight. This was the result!

Crème Brûlée

There are many crème brûlée recipes, with or without some fruit as a surprise to the dish. Inspired by John Burton Race recipes, here's the one we serve in http://www.aubellefleur.com

Here's enough for 4 persons

Shopping list:

4 Egg yolks

180 gr. Caster sugar

2 Vanilla pods (or vanilla essence)

140 ml Milk

350 ml Double cream or Crème fraiche

Optional: raspberries to place underneath

Put the egg yolks and half of the sugar into a bowl.

Split the vanilla pods in two and scrape out all seeds into the egg yolks and whisk until smooth.

Add the milk, whisk in the cream (or crème fraiche) and pour the liquid into ramekins.

They need to refrigerate for 1 hour before you can cook them.

Pre-heat the oven to 150 degr.C.

Fill a shallow roasting tin with water to a depth of 2.5 cm, place on the stove and bring to just below the boil.

Put the ramekins into the water and place the tin into the oven.
This will take about 1 hour to set.

When they are cooked, remove from oven and roasting tin, because they need to cool down.

When they are cold, pre-heat the grill to its highest setting, sprinkle the tops with the remaining sugar

and when you see that it's caramelizing under the grill...it's ready to serve immediately.

If you make crème brûlées regularly, it's worth to buy a blow-torch, that saves you the hustle of the grill.

Why not putting a drop of Cognac in yours!

Mousse au Champagne with red berries

This dessert is a winner even if I say so myself and I haven't met anybody who didn't like it.
For 4 persons this is what you need.

Shopping list:
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 dl Champagne or sparkling wine
2 tablespoons of Pineau des Charentes or sweet sherry
4 tablespoons of white granular sugar (basterdsuiker)
A tiny little bit of nutmeg
A tiny little bit of cinnamon
2.5 dl double cream
Red/black berries, fresh is always better but otherwise buy a frozen mixed pack of red/black fruits (remember if frozen to defrost a few hours before using it).
Choco sticks or something else for decoration

Whisk the cream with (normal) sugar until it gets the thickness of porridge.
Mix the lemon juice with champagne, pineau or sherry, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon.
Stir until the sugar has disappeared.
Add little by little the cream and stir.
Divide the fruit in 4 'verrines'.
Add the mixture of the mousse.
Decorate with some chocolate sticks.

All together it will take you about 10 minutes to make this desert, however, you can beat the cream earlier and stall it in the fridge until needed.  But only the cream!!!! Not with the mixture because it will be flat as a pancake ;-)