Carpaccio de Saint-Jacques with ripe mango

Carpaccio is a dish of raw meat, thinly sliced and often served as appetizers. In short, it needs neither stove nor oven! All you need is a very good knife to make sure that your sliced meat, fish or crustaceans can be as thin as possible.  Among the many Carpaccio recipes that I like is that one with Saint-Jacques and so here is one recipe that I tried, mixing it with ripe mango, green and red bell pepper. 

 

Ingredients
5 fresh Saint-Jacques

1 riped mango   

1/2 lemon
15 cl. of olive oil

Red and green bell pepper
 salt and pepper

Preparation:
Cut delicately  the Saint-Jacques in  very thin slices.

Cut mango into thin slices. If possible make sure that it isn’t thicker than the Saint-Jacques.

Cut your green and red bell pepper in cubes (or in thin slices if you want). It will serve as great toppings and will give crunchy texture to your plate.

Add some lemon zest and sprinkle it with olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper.

Put in the fridge for about 20 minutes before serving.

And there it goes: your fresh Saint-jancques carpaccio with mangoes!

Pot-au-feu: Grandma's recipe

This is another traditional, almost grandma's recipe that generations love in France. It is called 'Pot-au-feu'.  It is a dish of  boiled beef cooked over very low heat for a long time in a broth flavored with vegetables and a bouquet garni. Often the broth is served seperately from the vegetables and the beef.

Ingredients (serves 4):
- 500 g lean beef
- A bone marrow
- 4 leeks
- 4 carrots
- 1 stalk of celery
- 2 onions
- 1 clove garlic
- 5-6 potatoes
- 1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf)
- Salt
- Black peppercorns
Preparation:

Lemon meringue Pie

This recipe for lemon meringue pie has been tested by many. The secret of this pie is its tasty lemon cream. With this recipes, you will also lear how to make a sweet dough or what the French called: "pâtes sablées". 


This recipes is for 6 servings.

Pastry (pie crust): 

200g of wheat flour and chestnut flour 50g (or 250g of wheat flour)  

100g soft butter

100g sugar

2 egg yolks

A few ounces of water

A pinch of salt

Lemon Cream: 
150 ml lemon juice (2-3 lemons depending on size)
Zest of 2 lemons untreated
100g sugar
80g soft butter
2 whole eggs + 1 yellow
10g (1 tablespoon ) cornstarch (cornflour)

Meringue: 
3 egg whites
1 pinch salt
80 g sugar

How to do?

Cake with Olives and Cured ham (Cake aux Olives et jambon)

Cakes are commonly known to be sweet, fluffy and creamy but this recipe that I am sharing is not a cake for dessert! Cake with Olives and cured ham is something I discovered while living in France. A good recipes for apperitif (before dinner) and during diner time, even for picnics!

Heres the ingredients and how to do:
250 g flour
250 g cured ham
150 grated cheese
100 g green olives (seeds removed)
4 eggs
20 g butter (melted)
10 cl olive oil
10 cl milk
1 sachet baking powder
pepper

How to do:

Menudo from Asia

One must have heard of the word 'menudo' in the 80's. For many, it's more of a rock band; a group of young men from Mexico who bombarded the different continents of their music. But in the Philippines, Menudo is a well known food that people in the Philippines love to eat. it's a must on the table for festivities, wedding and other special occassions. This meal is also a symbol of the country's history; having been a colony of Spain for more 300 years.
There is also a menudo recipe known from Mexico but I guess the Philippines version is the best!

How to do:

Menudo recipe: the Asian way!

Filipino Menudo Recipe Ingredients

2 cups pork loin, cubed
1 cup pork liver, diced
1/2 cup potatoes, diced
1/4 cup chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1/2 cup green and red bell peppers, diced
2 tbsp lard
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 white onions, chopped
1/2 cup red tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce
salt, pepper and paprika to taste

Roses de Sables: a quick, easy and so delicious dessert!

One of my old time favorites that I love to make is the ROSES DE SABLES. I learnt it from a French friend who love chocolate to bits. If we translate this recipe's french name literally, it means "sand roses". It's because of it's shape which is that of a bunch of flower petals and it's texture, which is crunchy and soooo delicious! It's a very easy recipe that people of all ages love. It's simple with main ingredients as corn flakes and dark chocolate. Try this out and tell me what you think!

For the Roses des Sables you will need :

French dessert: Banana and Coconut Tart

Ingredients:

banana and coconut tart for 6 persons:

For pastry/dough:
70 grams caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1 pinch salt
120 grams. soft butter
200grams flour

Tart Filling:
5 beautiful and not too ripe bananas
25 cl. Pot of liquid cream
3 eggs
100g caster sugar (it could be muscovado)
50 g of pulp dry coconut (bud-bud ng niyog in Tagalog)

How to do: