Schinken-Käse-Quiche mit Champignons

100g cold butter, 75 g walnuts, 50 g rye flour, 100 g flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg, 5 eggs, 125g baby spinach, 500 g brown mushrooms, 1 small bunch scallions, 2 tablespoons oil, 200g crème fraîche, 100g blue cheese, 150 g cooked ham, thinly sliced, 1/2 bunch of chives
 

Brush a springform pan (24 cm diameter) with a little bit of butter. Grind coarsely the walnuts. Mix rye and wheat flour, nuts and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Add 100 g butter into small pieces and 1 egg. Knead a dough, and then roll it out on a floured surface and put in the springform. Refrigerate.
Wash the spinach, wash and halve the mushrooms. Cut into rings the spring onions. Heat oil in a large skillet. Fry the mushrooms, add the spring onions and the spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Place everything in a colander and drain.
Preheat oven (electric oven: 200 ° C/ fan 175 ° C). Mix the Crème fraîche with 4 eggs, add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Dice the cheese. Cut ham into strips. Distribute the mushroom mix, ham and cheese on the dough. Pour over the egg mix. Put it in the oven on the lower rail for 35-40 minutes. Wash chives, shake dry and cut into rolls. Take the mushroom pie from the oven and serve. Sprinkle with chives.

Upside down Plum and Chocolate Cake

I think you can try it with any fruits: peaches, apricots, pears or apples...

180g butter, 50g brown sugar, 10 plums, halved and stoned, 275g cups sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 4 eggs, 225g plain flour, 50g cocoa, 100g almond meal, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius and spray a 22cm springform pan with spray oil and line it (base and sides) with baking paper. Melt 20g of the butter, and paint it onto the base of the lined pan with a pastry brush. Scatter the brown sugar evenly over the base of the pan, and place the plum halves, cut side down, on top of the sugar, leaving a 1cm border from the sides of the pan (to avoid sticking).

In a stand mixer, beat together the sugar, vanilla and 160g butter until light in colour and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one. Combine the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Beat into the cake batter in two batches until just combined.  Spoon the cake batter evenly over the plums in the pan, and smooth out the surface with a metal spatula.  Tap the pan on the bench to remove any air pockets. Place the springform pan on a cookie tray, then bake the cake on the tray in the oven for 65 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove the  cake form the oven and allow it to cool in the oven for 15 minutes before inverting it onto a serving plate

Indian-Spiced Lamb with Spinach Lentils, Salsa and Yogurt

I found this recipe in an Australian magazine, and I tried with pork instead of lamb, because the lamb is a rarity this days...
Of course you have to cook it longer, but apart from that, the rest is easy to make.

1.5kg piece of boneless lamb shoulder, 1/3 cup store-bought curry sauce, 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, minced, a piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated, 4 cups of baby spinach leaves (or regular spinach leaves torn into bite size pieces), 400 g can of lentils, rinsed and drained, 1/4 of a cucumber finely chopped, 1/2 cup thick Greek yogurt, 1 cup parsley leaves, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved, 1/2 small red onion, finely sliced, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Lamb: Preheat oven to 475° F. Using a small sharp knife, score the bottom side of the lamb at 2cm intervals. Rub the lamb with the curry paste and season with salt and pepper. Place the lamb, skin side down, on an oven tray lined with parchment paper (or foil). Roast for 20 minutes. Turn and roast for another 20 minutes. (This makes the lamb medium-rare, if you like your lamb well done, add a few minutes per side).

Salsa: Toss to combine the parsley, tomatoes, onion, salt and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.

Cucumber Yogurt: In a small bowl stir, cucumber pieces and yogurt together until well blended. Season with salt and pepper. Be generous with the pepper.

Spinach Lentils: Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for 30 seconds until just wilted. Add the lentils, stirring, until heated through.

Slice the lamb and serve with spinach lentils, salsa and yogurt.

Brunnenkresse Suppe

Another German recipe from Lecker.de

1 bunch watercress (about 250 g), 1 bunch of parsley, 2 onions, 200 g potatoes, 3 tablespoons canola oil, 500ml vegetable stock, 300 g whipped cream, salt, pepper, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 200g whole milk yogurt

Wash the watercress and parsley, dry shake and chop them. Peel the onions and potatoes. Dice the onions and the potatoes.

Heat the  oil and sauté onions and potato cubes in it, then pour in broth and cream. Simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes, add the watercress and parsley to the soup.

Let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes. Puree the soup and season with salt, pepper and a little lemon juice.
Finely crush the caraway and fennel seeds in a mortar. Mix the yoghurt with the spices and season with salt and pepper. Serve soup, garnish with some spice yoghurt.

Motopony - Daylight's Gone

If you watch enough Tv series, you hear a lot of music, and sometimes you discover a hidden jewel...

Here are Motopony - Daylight's Gone from Lucifer OST

Chicken and Mushrooms with Taleggio Polenta

Discovered this recipe on Rachael Ray website, tried it, it's delicious.

Don't let the sauce to reduce too much, it will be great with the polenta.

Polenta: 750 ml chicken stock, 200 gr stone-ground cornmeal, Salt and pepper, Freshly grated or ground nutmeg, 150 gr ripe Taleggio cheese
Chicken: 50 gr package dried porcini mushrooms, 1 cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 2 tablespoons butter, 350gr mushrooms, sliced, 2 large shallots, halved and thinly sliced, 1 rib celery with leafy top, finely chopped, 4 cloves garlic, sliced, 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped, 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped, 1 rounded tbsp. tomato paste (a fat squirt from a tube), 250 ml dry white wine, 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped 

In a large saucepan, bring the stock to a boil. In a bowl, whisk the cornmeal and 1 cup cold water into a paste. Add the cornmeal to the boiling stock and cook over low, whisking occasionally, until thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Add the Taleggio; stir until the cheese melts. Cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, simmer the porcini mushrooms in the stock and 1 cup water until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil, two turns of the pan, over medium. Season the chicken liberally; cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Add the butter to the skillet. When the butter foams, add the mushrooms. Season and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned, about 4 minutes. Add the shallots, celery, garlic, rosemary and thyme; stir until the shallots soften, 2 to 3 minutes . Add the tomato paste and stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, add the porcini to the skillet, then add the mushroom cooking liquid, leaving any sediment behind. Slide the chicken back into the skillet and simmer until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the parsley. Pour the polenta onto a serving platter; top with the chicken and mushrooms.

Dreamstime 06

After three months of no sale, somebody wanted this Labyrinth picture from Prague.

Thank you :D