Amuse Bouches

I have had a very fussy days the past few weeks but gratefully things are starting to subside again. Just enough time for me to gasp (& to visit your blogs, apoligies for my abscense) before the shaking and rock & rolling schedule start again.

December is finally here :-) my favorite month for a lot of reasons: my birthday, gifts, Christmas, snow, partying, celebrations and a plenty of pigging out here and there. And speaking of festivity here's the latest menu of the cocktail party I prepared for hubby's "farewell party" in the office. Here's some figures: It took me 4 hours to prepare them,there were about 80 people in their branch who feasted on this and it only took them 30 minutes to gobble them all up.

*Amuse Bouche

Also called an amuse-gueule, is a single, bite-sized hors d'ouvre. The term in French literally means "mouth amuser", for bouche means mouth and amuser is "to amuse" or "to please"

Amuse Bouches Menu

Mini-Pizza of Prosciutto
Quiche Lorraine
Tomato & Mozzarella Tart
Onion Tart
Pissaladiere
Lamb Turnovers
Italian Sausages Brioche
Salmon and Guacamole Duo
Melon Soup and Jambon Parma
Goat Cheese and Tapenade in Verrine
Warm Fava Beans and Spicy Chorizo Salad

I am sending some of this Warm Fava Beans Salad over at Srivalli of Cooking for all Seasons, this month's host of My Legume Love Affair, an event created by the charming Susan of Well Seasoned Cook.

Warm Fava Beans and Spicy Chorizo Salad

150 grams fresh fava beans
1-2 chorizo, sliced thickly
2 to 3 tablespoons of spicy olive oil
1 big onion
salt, pepper
2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
3 tablespoons of sherry wine vinegar
some more olive oil

Start by cooking your fava beans until they are tender. Set them aside. In a casserole put some olive oil and grill your chorizo until they are brown, set them aside. On the same oil sauté your onions until they are wilted. In a bowl toss your onion, fava beans and chorizo together. Mix the vinegar, salt, paprika and olive oil together. Pour them on your salad.

Toulouse Style Sausage and Beans

Whew, It's been a while I haven't been babbling about my kitchen and my life! The truth is my digital camera is pretty much clogged up already with all the recipes I wanted to upload here, but unfortunately my time is kinda tight. There is definitely a lot of things that's been going on here lately. And well to cut to the chase, were moving.

And this isn't just a ten or twenty kilometers moving but a big cross-country adventure. It's been months that we've been cooking this up and mind my words this isn't really easy. Counting all the stuffs we have to keep and give up plus all the paperworks I'll sum them up in one word, "exasperating"!

Like this one afternoon that we needed to do my daughter's ID photo, I don't know how do professional photographers succeed in making them behave in front of the camera because mine doesnt..well if you don't believe me, see it for yourself :-)

all the pose but the right one....

I'm sending off a big helping of this delicious Sausage and Beans to SRA of When my soup came alive this month's hostess of that fabulous monthly My Legume Love Affair an event created by the talented Susan of Well Seasoned Cook.



Toulouse Style Sausage and Beans

Ingredients:
1lb of dried white beans
1lb of pork sausage from Toulose
4 tablespoons of duck oil
1/2lb unsmoked bacon
1 onion chopped
1 red pepper chopped
2 garlic cloves
5 big tomatoes, peel and chopped
some thyme and laurel leaves
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Procedure:
Soak the dry beans overnight in cold water.Then cook them for about one or two hours in your pressure cooker or until they are tender. In a pan put your duck oil and fry your Toulouse pork sausages, then add your chopped bacon. Set them aside, on the same pan sauté the garlic, onion, pepper and tomatoes. Put the cooked beans, sausages and bacon, cover and let it simmer for an hour. Add the thyme, laurel, salt and pepper. Put them in baking dish and continue cooking in the oven at 200°celsius for about thirty minutes or until it becomes thick and sausages golden brown.

RICEing from the dead

Fried rice with Champignons

We just moved into our new house. Yay!

New address, new furnitures, new decorations. Bring out your champagne glasses and let's jubilate this occasion! But wait, stop and rewind.

We just moved into our new house.

Well, that was a month ago. It's a stale news. I know, my long hiatus deserves an explanation, right? Let's put it this way, internet disconnection for a month (would you believe that?) and a sudden busy schedule (juggling my new-found part-time job, some online projects on the go and driving lessons brushing up) left this kitchen dead. So many times I attempted to revive it but in vain.

But miracles do happen. After our overwhelming schedule we thought of offering ourselves a much deserved weekend pause in the beautiful region of Lozère. Two days of spectacular landscape, promenade in the wild forest gathering mushrooms and sleeping in an impressive 16th century Rural Gite in the mountain helped a lot in bringing back my pep to cook and write again. And the bonus part, my internet connection is finally back! Yay!

I miss you all guys! I have a lot of catching up to do.

I'm sending off a serving of this Mushroom Fried-rice to Simona of Briciole, the lovely host for the fifth helping of "My Legume Love Affair", that savory and sweet vegetable event brainchild of Susan of Well Seasoned Cook.

Mushroom Fried-rice

about 2 cups of yesterday's left-over cooked rice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 onion sliced
half a teaspoon of salt
some freshly ground pepper
1 cup of fresh champignon or mushrooms chopped (you can use different kinds)
half a cup of sliced zuccini (you can use any other vegetables of your preferance)
1 egg beaten

Start by warming up your rice in the Microwave; It is preferable to add your rice hot and not sticking to each other. Warm up your wok or your pan. Put a little bit of oil and put your beaten egg and slide it on all sides of the pan to make a thin omelette. Put it aside. Pour the rest of your olive oil, add the garlic and onion. Once they change in color add your chopped mushrooms and other vegetables. Continue cooking. Your pan should be very hot. And lastly add your rice, salt and pepper. Decorate it with your thinly sliced omelette and some tomatoes.

The big French Rural Gite where we stayed, reserved only for us.
Wasn't that fabulous!

Warning. All that glitters are not gold.

Mushrooms may look friendly and delicious on your plate but it could be poisonous. Guessing Game: which among the following mushrooms is edible? Go down to know the answer.

Specimen 1

Specimen 2

Specimen 3

Specimen 4

Answer: Specimen 3

Saffron Milk Cap Mushroom


My other Rice Recipes

Bagoong Fried-rice (Shrimp Paste Fried-rice)