Wednesday 5 December 2012

A Real Dessert

I don't usually like to write about things I make at work but I'm just tickled pink with my new dessert and it seems like everyone else is too. If you know me then you know that I'm not a huge fan of sweets, in fact I pretty much don't ever feel the desire to go out and buy a cookie or a piece of cake or any other baked goods. To me a dessert needs to have different elements, it needs to be sensual and sorry but cakes and cookies just don't turn me on.

So what different about this? Let's start with what's in it. The base is a jaconde which is essentially an almond sponge cake. The sponge cake is topped with dried black mission figs that I poached in wild flower honey, vanilla and water until the liquid was thick and syrupy. Next is the custard and I'm not talking about that powder stuff you get in a can, this one is the real deal made with eggs, egg yolk and milk. I added sheet gelatin to the custard once it cooled a bit so that it would set and hold it's shape but still be melt in your mouth creamy. The final layer is a crunchy sweet crumble made out of what most people consider a mistake... burnt white chocolate. Yup that's right all you need to do is throw your white chocolate chips on a cookie sheet and bake them for about 10 minutes until they're golden brown, run them through a food processor and voila!

There you have it 5 different elements, the soft spongy cake, the syrupy sweetness of the honey, the chewy figs, the creamy custard and the crunchy white chocolate crumble.

I'm bettin a cookie doesn't sound so good now does it ?

Monday 3 December 2012

Turks and Caicos National Dish

I recently had the unbelievable pleasure of travelling to Turks and Caicos Islands in the caribbean. Their national dish is conch, you know those giant shells that so many people seem to have and that they insist on showing you how you can blow into it to make a horrendous horn sound, ya you know the ones. Well as it turns out they are actually one of the best things I've ever eaten ugly as they are. You can find them used in almost any dish and believe me I tried quite a few different dishes as it became my new food obsession especially since really how often am I going to be able to go to the caribbean to enjoy it this fresh!

Anyway I have to say my favourite was the conch salad, that bad boy you see in the picture was our lunch caught by the crew on our snorkelling trip. It's basically a conch ceviche with peppers, onion, salt and lime juice (sorry I didn't get a picture of the salad because I was too busy making sure I got my  fare share). The conch meat is a nice and firm white meat, not at all chewy or slimy and does not have an overly potent 'fishy flavour'. The fresh flavours and the fact that it was served cold hit the spot perfectly in such a warm climate. I had conch salad from 3 different places on our trip and this was definitely the best.

I also tried the conch fritters which where my second favourite conch dish though depending where you go they could be a little on the heavy side and sometimes too greasy for my taste.

My third favourite was the cracked conch, it was battered and deep fried and served with a dipping sauce. Like the conch fritters it really depended on where you ordered it as some was overly battered and the conch was lost or in other places it was served with a cocktail sauce that was really more like ketchup. I definitely say go to Da Conch Shack if you're looking to order this.

All in all eating conch was definitely one of the highlights of my trip, yes I really am that much of a food geek :)

P.S. It does not taste like chicken...

Sunday 2 December 2012

Vegetarian Quesadilla

Here's a  little bit of a twist on a good ole family fave. Quesadillas are one of my boyfriend's favourites. As he's not much of the adventurous type when it comes to dining out or trying new things quesadillas are pretty much his go to food at any restaurant and he considers himself quite the "quesadilla connoisseur".

I made these quesadillas vegetarian and packed full of vitamins and nutrients. I started out with an organic spelt and chia seed wrap and layered it with black beans that I sauted with onions, garlic, peppers, chipotle chili powder and cumin. I added some cooked quinoa to the black beans, spread it out on my wrap, topped it with aged cheddar and grilled it on my panini grill.

Once the quesadilla was grilled I served it up with some arugula that I tossed with a bit olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper as well as a hand cut fresh salsa and homemade guacamole that whose recipes will be a post all there own.

Voila! Dinner is served:)