Fish, sea food and ...

I bought a record 2 weeks ago and I'm still listening to it almost non-stop! How sick is it?!
I don't care... music is good and so are the lyrics... and if you're wondering what I'm talking about or are one of the few that I didn't bore with my new addiction, it's a band called Mumford & Sons which I discovered while looking for a CD to buy in Saturn.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KCg_QEHtkY)

The weather has been awesome the past week, sunny, no negative temperatures and today... well today was warm, 13°C! You could almost think that it's Spring and believe it is! But I don't and I won't. Winter is lurking... besides, Spring doesn't start before March 22nd, right?! :)

This WE I felt like having a gourmet dinner and on Friday evening I was looking for inspiration. It came when I went out for a walk with a friend and that we decided to have fish for dinner. We went to the Viktualienmarkt and there scallops and trout called for our attention.

Here it goes for tonight:


Walnut-crusted trout
(recipe taken from www.epicurious.com and slightly modified)

• 1 large rainbow trout, skin left intact (cut open in 2)
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 tsp grated garlic
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  
• 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 egg white, beaten to blend
• 1 Tbsp argan oil

Combine walnuts 1 tablespoon flour in processor. Grind walnuts finely; transfer to plate. Place remaining flour on another plate. Sprinkle fish with garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Chill for 2 hours. Bring out of fridge, dip into flour to coat; shake off excess. Using pastry brush, brush flesh side with egg white. Place fillet, egg white side down, onto walnuts; press to coat with nuts. Transfer to waxed paper-lined baking sheet, nut side up. Pour over argan oil in a thin filet. Cover with baking sheet in a papillote style and cook in a pre-heated over (180°C) for 15 minutes. Remove cover, turn grill on and roast for about 5 min until nuts turn golden.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pecan-Crusted-Trout-with-Orange-Rosemary-Butter-Sauce-1663#ixzz0gqopbLAp

Coquilles St Jacques in cream

1 3/4 cups water

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 small onion, chopped

Bouquet garni (see Mom's Tip)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 pound very fresh scallops

8 ounces mushrooms, washed and chopped

6 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Coquilles-St-Jacques-109410#ixzz0grOaihwh

1 3/4 cups water

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 small onion, chopped

Bouquet garni (see Mom's Tip)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 pound very fresh scallops

8 ounces mushrooms, washed and chopped

6 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Coquilles-St-Jacques-109410#ixzz0grOaihwh

(adapted from epicurious.com)

• 1 cups water
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tsp thyme + 1 tsp oregano
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 pound very fresh scallops
• 8 ounces mushrooms, washed and chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the water, wine, onion, herbs, and lemon juice to a boil in a saucepan. Add the scallops, cover, and simmer on very low heat until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove the scallops with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the mushrooms to the scallop poaching liquid and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Strain, discarding the onion and reserving the liquid and mushrooms separately.

Cut the scallops into 1/2-inch-thick slices. If too long, cut in half horizontally.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and whisk in the flour. Do not let it get dark. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of the scallop liquid and mix until blended. Over very low heat, blend the flour mixture into the scallop liquid. Add the cream and simmer and stir until blended and thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the scallops and mushrooms, and stir.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Coquilles-St-Jacques-109410#ixzz0grPfsFwR

The desert and pictures will follow soon :)

Crèpes time!!!!

I'm really lame at keeping this blog freshly updated! Hmmm... Will I be forgiven if I share my crèpes recipe. I should rather say 'galette' as tonight I've made salty ones. Thanks to my friend Lulu who inspired me actually... Merci Lulu ;-)

As I left work, I decided to head to the supermarket. My mental shopping list consisted of:
- Milk
- Cheese
- Mushrooms
and OF COURSE Nutella!

The plan was to make galettes as well as crèpes but when I arrived home I realized that Nutella wasn't in my shopping bag and therefore decided to make only galettes! I could have used melted Milka squares but for some reason I didn't! And no, I'm not on diet! I love food so much that I can't go on diet!

The funny thing with crèpes and galettes is that you can be very creative when it comes to filling or spreading them. Here's how mine turned out:


Crèpes (salty dough):
(makes 12 medium crèpes)

- 2 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup flour
- 1 Tbsp crème fraîche
my personal touch consists of adding:
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- Salt

In a bowl, mix together eggs, milk and spiced until homogeneous then incorporate flour while mixing until smooth.
Let rest for 30 minutes before pan-cooking.

Fillings:
- Tiger shrimps
- Grilled vegetables: bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms
- Quark with herbs
- Cream cheese or any spreadable cheese you fancy
- Grated Gouda cheese
- Camembert and/or goat cheese

These are the ingredients I used tonight but you are free to use other stuff. I personally combined two of these each time which I spread or lay over my crèpe before rolling it. Once rolled, I placed the crèpes in an oven-dish. I poured a tomato-ricotta sauce over half of the crèpes, the second half nakes and then covered all with grated cheese in order to gratinate the crèpes in a 210°C pre-heated oven.

Enjoy alone or with friends! I have mine alone... snif, but my friends on the Island gathered to enjoy theirs and we spent nearly 1h speaking over the phone about our crèpes :)

Yummy soup!

It's really hard to post on a regular basis! I didn't think it would be this hard actually, 2 weeks ago when I decided to start! Hmmm... no, i'm not giving up.

I'd love to post the dinner menu of last Saturday, but I won't.. at least not tonight! And why? well, because it took me a bit more than 3 hours to get it ready, so that also means it'll take me auite some time before I finish typing everything, but also because it's 21:51 and that I'd like to go to bed early... for once! But... mmmm... it was SO good! And yes, I have the intention to keep the suspense going on! ;)

So instead of posting the recipes of that so yummy dinner, I'll share with you the one of the delicious soup that I have made tonight:
Carrot & Shrimp Soup

3 carrots
1 potato
1 celery stick
80g fresh shrimps
1 tbsp cream cheese
1 cup milk
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dill
Salt

Peel and cut the vegetable. Place in a pot, cover up with salted water and cook.
Mix the vegetables in 1/2 cup of their cooking water, add cream cheese, milk, ginger, pepper and dill. Mix until smooth and velvety!
Add shrimps and bring to simmering point for not more than 5 minutes over a low heat stove.
Serve warm with fresh bread.