Chocolate caramel fingers

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL FINGERS (United Kingdom)

I have had the chance to live in England for one and half year and after the experience fell so in love with the country, that have returned many, many times to visit and get to know other areas that in this beautiful country.  One of the things  that I always want to eat when I'm there is a good Chocolate Caramel Finger.  They are  everywhere, in every pastry shop you will find them and of course they also have them in the supermarkets.  They are very rich but delicious.

Here is my recipe:

INGREDIENTS

125 GRAMS OF BUTTER ( ABOUT 4 OZ.)
50 GRAMS OF GRANULATED SUGAR ( 2 OZ.)
175 GRAMS OF SIFTED FLOUR

FOR THE FILLING

125 GRAMS (4 OZ.) BUTTER
50 GRAMS OF GRANULATED SUGAR ( 2 OZ.)
2 TABLESPOONS OF GOLDEN SYRUP  ( this is an English brand of syrup,
In the USA you may use KARO)
150 ml. ( 5 fl .oz.) CONDENSE MILK

CHOCOLATE TOPPING

125 GRAMS OF MILK CHOCOLATE
15 GRAMS OF BUTTER

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the flour and stir until the mixture is well blended.  Roll out or with your hand pat down the mixture into a square pan..  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C. for about 25 minutes or until golden.  Cool in the pan.
Place the filling ingredients in a saucepan and stir until it is all dissolved .  Bring to a boil and cook stirring for 5 or so minutes.  Cool and then spread over the cookie  part or biscuit mixture and leave to set.
For the final topping melt the milk chocolate  in a sauce pan over low heat.  be careful not to burn and add the butter.  Place the chocolate topping over the caramel and let stand till firm.

Lemon Curd , a Favorite of Great Britain

Growing up in Spain, one year around the age of 12 I took an extra curriculum class at the school.  The class was of the English language.  I already  spoke English at home but because I was only speaking it at home I remember having difficulty with spelling so my mom thought that it would be good for me to take it.  Well,  the teacher was a young woman form Spain who had learned the language in England.  She spoke with a traditional British accent and one day she shared with us a recipe she got I guess from her visits to England. I don't know what exactly made me try to make this myself at such a young age, but the matter of the fact is that I remember following this recipe to the letter and was amazed at my own results. Ever since my love for Lemon Curd remains true!

INGREDIENTS

4 Lemons

4 Eggs

Half cup of butter

1 1/2 cup of sugar

Grate lemon rinds and squeeze the lemon juice of the four lemons and strain it then. Mix and beat the eggs till foamy.  In a double boiler combine the lemon juice with the butter and the sugar until it is all melted and dissolved.  Then add the eggs but first make sure to strain these, then stir vigorously  until the water is boiling and the curd is smooth, thick and creamy, about 20 minutes. It will be very hot but do not let it boil or the eggs will curdle.

Pour the curd into small, hot, clean jars and allow to cool before covering like you would jam and storing in the refrigerator.  It will keep for 8 weeks.

Chicken breast in sweet fig sauce

 

 

 

My neighbor gave me these beautiful figs and I immediately thought of the wonderful dish that my husband had in Madrid this Summer.  It was roasted strips of beef with this rich fig sauce.  I then thought to recreate my own recipe with chicken breast but of course you could use pork loin or beef.

 

 

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAUCE

 

1/2 pound of fresh figs

1/4 cup of Balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup of white wine

1/8 cup of soy sauce

1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. of fresh ground pepper

1/8 cup of honey of Agave nectar

1/2 cup of water

 

Peel and cut into squares the figs.  Add all the liquid ingredients and bring to a boil. Then continue cooking at medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes till the water has evaporated and figs have a deeper rich color.

 

In a separate pan add one Tbsp. of olive oil and one Tbsp. of butter.  Sauté a chopped  medium onion and three cloves of garlic till golden. 

 

Place onion and fig sauce in a blender and blend at high speed till all ingredient become a soft paste.  Add a little bit of water if sauce becomes too thick.

 

Take two or three chicken breasts and clean and fillet in half.  In  a shallow pan add a couple tsps. of butter and olive butter.  Place seasoned  breast (seasoned with  salt, pepper and garlic) and grill quickly both sides till golden brown. Add 1/4 cup of red wine  Then place in a baking dish and pour sauce over chicken and finish baking on a 350 degree oven for about 20, to 30 minutes.

 

Serve with potatoes or rice and your favorite vegetable.

 

 

 

Healthy Italian Pizza

EASY PIZZA DOUGH

3 cups of flour ( use bread flour)

If you would like to make this a part whole wheat recipe, use half whole wheat flour.

1 1/2 tsp of active yeast

1 small tsp of salt

1 large Tbsp of Olive oil

1 cup of warm water

Mix and knead ingredients in a mixing bowl for about 5 to 10 min. 

Then place in a pre-greased in olive oil bowl. Cover with a clean cloth or plastic and place in a warm oven to rise  for an hour.

 After the one hour, it should have at least doubled or more in size.

Punch down and put over a flour surface and knead for a couple of minutes. Then shape into two round or rectangular pizzas if you would like thin crust.  If you prefer a thicker pizza , then use the whole amount for one pizza.  Cover and let rise for half an hour.  Then cook in a 400 degree oven for 5 min. Take out and brush olive oil over crest, a little tomato pizza sauce and them fresh tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, onion, Italian style turkey sausage ( all ready cooked and minced) cover with shredded Mozzarella cheese. Add mushrooms, and grated Provolone cheese. Add sliced black olives.
You are ready to place in a hot 400 degree F oven till it is brown and cheese is bubbling.

Enjoy!!

ZUPPA TORTELLINI (Italy)

Zuppa Tortellini has become one of our family favorites.  Not too long ago I was shopping at my local supermarket and they were having a special on turkey sausage and fresh cheese filled tortellini.  My son was with me so I had him try the  Zuppa Tortellini soup they were  offering to encourage shoppers to buy the products. He is 10 years old and I'm always looking for healthy food that he will eat for dinner. He loved it so I did buy that day the two products,  but later I  bought different ingredients and made it my own recipe, which we all love even more. Here the recipe!

INGREDIENTS

One package  of fresh tortellini ( cheese filled)

One package ( one pound) of fresh italian sweet turkey seasoned sausage

One medium size bag of spinach

One small glass of white wine

One can of chicken stock or chicken bouillon

6 cups of water

salt and dry basil to taste

Couple of TBSP of olive oil

Optional one large peeled tomato

Garnish with  grated Provolone cheese

In an open deep pan put the olive oil and brown the sausage, removing it from its cases. brown in lumps and then add the wine. Add the stock and water and then add salt and basil.  Once it starts to boil add the tortellini and the bag of spinach and the optinal tomato.  Once the tortellini is tender ( do not over cook) you may then serve in bowls with the grated provolone.

As you see this is a very simple version and easy to make recipe of Zuppa Tortellini!

Fish Cake ( Pudin de Pescado)

This recipe is one that came to me through my mother. Where she learned it or started to make it, I do not know but I remember it as being always delicious and always accompanied by white rice and a tomato sauce on the side.
I know my mother always tried to use her leftover to create other dishes so many times if there was leftover fish we would have this but other times I know she would start out with fresh or frozen fish. You can use any type of white fish ( cod, tilapia, whiting,etc.) and if you would like to make if special you can add boiled shrimp.
The recipe is as follows:

Four fillets of any white fish ( Pollock, Whiting, Cod, Flounder,etc.)
One medium onion
Two large cloves of garlic
Two or three medium carrots
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil and butter to saute cooked fish and veggies
three or four eggs beaten
2 to 3 cups of milk

In a large frying pan add about 2 TBSP of oil and 2 of butter. Saute the diced onion, minced garlic and chopped carrots. When tender and brown add the boiled fish all crumbled. Then add salt,pepper to taste and the Worcestershire sauce. Add the bread crumbs to this mixture and cook for another five minutes or so.
In a bowl mix the eggs and milk well beaten with a pinch of salt. Add the the mixture of the fish.
In a oven proof dish already buttered and pour the fish batter and place in a hot oven of 350 degrees to cook till its done or till when you place a toothpick in it, it will come out clean ( approx. time of cooking is about 30 min.)

Serve with some white rice and a sauce mixture of half mayo and half catchup.
Enjoy, its healthy and delicious!!

German potato salad (Kartoffelsalat)

In southern Germany this coarse cut potato side dish is served with vinegar and oil. In northern Germany mayo is added, but how did this recipe become widespread when potatoes were not part of the old German diet.
Potatoes (Kartoffel) got to Germany by a long route first from the Spanish from South America to Spain, and then they slowly spread throughout Europe. The Spanish first thought they were truffles! Maybe because they were dug from the earth like truffles are. The Italians were the first to try cultivating the potato,but with little luck. The word Kartoffel comes from the Italian word Tartufolo (truffles). Since the leaves were poisonous the potato got a bad reputation as something to avoid.
Potatoes also got the reputation for causing lustful thoughts, so many avoided these "fruits of the devil" even if they were hungry! The first cultivated potatoes were not very good either. They were very small and sometimes bitter. It took some cross breading to get the potato as we know it today. In it's modern fashion it is only about 250 years old.The first potatoes were planted in Germany in the mid 1500's but It became something only the peasants grew on their land and ate as cheap sustenance for many years.

Ingredients
Four to five potatoes (you may use one pound of new potatoes leaving skin) boil potatoes till medium soft.
One small yellow or white onion
One small red onion
Eight to ten strips of bacon cooked and cut into pieces.
Kielbasa sausage, one pound
1/4 cup of chop green onion
Salt and pepper to taste
One tsp of mustard sead
Olive oil
Malt vinager if desired, about one TBSP

Boil potatoes, till medium soft, then cut into medium size pieces. Place into large open pan diced onions oli and sausage, when golden add the potatoes. Mix well and season. Cook till golden brown. Add then bacon and stir . Finally add if desired the vinager and green onion. Serve hot as is or with some favorite cheese .