Grilled Chicken Breasts

Grilled Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts, each cut into two halves.
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
• 4 medium garlic cloves, mashed and finely minced
• 1 scant teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne
• dash black pepper
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce.

How to:

1. Wash the chicken breasts and pat dry.  place them into a large resealable plastic bag.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, oregano,  minced garlic, salt, cayenne,soy sauce and black peppers. Pour mixture into the plastic bag containing the chicken.
3. Seal the plastic bag and shake gently to ensure that all the chicken is in contact with the marinade.let it marinade  for one hour or so.
4. Heat your skillet, grill your beautiful chicken breasts for 4 minutes on each side.
5. Garnish with some minced parsely.
6. Buon appettito!

petti di pollo grigliati

Ingredienti:

• 2 petti di pollo , tagliati a metà.
• 4 cucchiaini di olio d'oliva
• 1  cucchiaino di origano secco
• 4 spicchi d'aglio,  finemente tritati
• 1 cucchiaino di sale fino.
• 1/8 cucchiaino di pepe di Caienna terra
•  pepe nero q.b
• 2 cucchiaini di salsa di soia.

Procedura:

1. Lavare i petti di pollo e asciugare.
2. Mescolare l'olio d'oliva, origano,l'aglio tritato, sale, pepe di Caienna, salsa di soia e pepe nero. Mescolare per bene.
3. Versare la marinata sopra il pollo e lasciate marinare per almeno 1 oretta
4. Scaldate la griglia oppure une bistecchiera, cuocete  il pollo  per 4 minuti su entrambi i lati.
5. Guarnire con un po 'di prezzemolo tritato.
6. Buon appetito!

Roasted Tomato Tart

And yes, it is official, summer in FINALLY ending!
Tomatoes now are ripened and gorgeous... so let's make a tart that is easy, quick and really smells and tastes       great.. so let's get baking.

Roasted Tomato Tart

You will need:

• 1 sheet puff pastry.
• 8 tomatoes halved lengthwise
• 2 teaspoons Extra virgin olive oil.
• 3 teaspoons thyme ( fresh or dried)
• 2 garlic cloves ( smashed)
• 1/4 cup Parmiggiano-reggiano cheese or ( Roomy cheese if you are in Egypt) 

How to:

•  Thaw puff pastry slightly, if frozen, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with approx 2 teaspoons of parmesan cheese and roll out pastry until it is 1/8-inch thick and cheese is firmly pressed into the dough. Add a bit more cheese if necessary to prevent sticking.
• Slice tomatoes into 1/8-inch thick slices (or as thin as you can make them) using a very sharp knife. Use a paper towel to blot up excess juice if your tomatoes happen to be extra juicy. Place tomatoes in a single layer on pastry, overlapping the tomatoes very slightly at the edges and leaving a 1/4 – 1/2-inch border around the sides of the pastry.
• Top with remaining cheese (or a bit less, as you prefer), thyme and garlic and add a generous sprinkle of both salt and pepper.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until pastry is puffed and golden. Thaw puff pastry slightly, if frozen, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with approx 2 teaspoons of parmesan cheese and roll out pastry until it is 1/8-inch thick and cheese is firmly pressed into the dough. Add a bit more cheese if necessary to prevent sticking.

Further info. for my Egyptian readers:

- Puff pastry= Mille feuille pastry ( عجينه ميل فو ي )

Crostata con Pomodori

Ingredienti

• 1 dose di pasta sfoglia
• 300 gm di pomodori
• 1 mazzettino di basilico
• 50 gm di parmigiano o pecorino grattugiato
• Olio EVO q.b
• sale e pepe q.b.

Preparazione

1.

Stendete la pasta sfoglia ed usatela per rivestire una teglia imburrata ed infarinata, oppure usate della carta forno già nella confezione.

2.

Lavate, asciugate i pomodorini e tagliateli a fettine sottile distribuiteli sopra la pasta. Lavate, asciugate e tritate il basilico, e spargetelo sopra i pomodori.

3.

Cospargete il formaggio sulla crostata aggiungendo un filo d'olio.

4.

cuocete in forno caldo a 220ø per almeno 25 minuti, finché la superficie risulterà dorata

Consigli

Servite la crostata finché è ancora ben calda.

Easy Baklava

It's the month of Ramadan, and cooking is my only possible and joyful way to ease my day.
As a mother of two kids and a doctor as well, it is so hard to stay home  WITHOUT coffee! why without coffee? because we are fasting, all muslims are. We eat at nine p.m.

Anyway, back to the baklava.. An easy, quick and delish typical eastern dessert.

Ingredients

I used half this recipe for this pie dish.

• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 pound chopped nuts
• 1 cup butter,melted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9 inch pie dish.
  2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
  3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
  4. Make syrup while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla .
  5.  Simmer for about 20 minutes.
  6. Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon syrup over it ( syrup should be THICK). Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Enjoy!

No- Bake cheese cake

Did I mention that it is EGGLESS as well ????

Look , it is really the easiest , yet fancy dessert I've ever made .
A friend , recommended it and ... no , let's get baking! ooops! I mean refrigerating :)

first , add your softened cream cheese plus your powdered sugar and  mix. 

Soften gelatin in cold water, pour 50 ml  of cream in a saucepan, heat it over low heat, add the drained and squeezed gelatine and stir until it is dissolved. ( no photo , hate me ? )

Add your cream-gelatin mix to your cheese

Now whip your cream 

Mix your cheese mix with your whipped cream very gently 

  Now , after you mixed your whipped cream with the  cheese mixture .. add everything to the prepared springform pan lined with your cracker-butter base. 

And this is what happened after I left it four hours in the fridge :)

 you will need :

200 g fresh strawberries 

80 g of butter
1 vanilla bean
250 g Philadelphia Classic cream cheese 
15 g of gelatin in sheets or 1TB powdered gelatin .200 g  graham crackers or whatever butter cookies of your choice
200 ml fresh cream ( whipping cream or heavy cream )
100 g icing sugar.


Preparation :

1-Cut the butter into cubes, melt it over low heat, chop the crackers, mince them in a blender and, with the apparatus in motion, pour the melted butter. Pour the mixture into the bottom of a round  springform Pan  16 cm in diameter ,press it with the back of a spoon and cool in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
2. Soften gelatin in cold water, pour 50 ml  of cream in a saucepan, heat it over low heat, add the drained and squeezed gelatine and stir until it is dissolved. Slit the vanilla bean length wise in, picked out the seeds with the help of a spoon and mix in a bowl withClassic and Philadelphia with 80 g of powdered sugar, until mixture is soft and creamy.
3. add your gelatin mixture into your cheese one .4.Whip the remaining cream, then add the whipped  cream to the cheese mixure , stirring with a movement from below upwards and spoon the mixture over the biscuit base. Let  the cheesecake to harden  in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, remove from the mold and complete it with raspberries , strawberries or whatever berries of your choice.. 

For the strawberry sauce click here . Versione Italiana :

Ingredienti

• 200 g di lamponi
• 80 g di burro
• 1 baccello di vaniglia
• 250 g di frutti di bosco misti tra fragoline, mirtilli, ribes rosso
• 1 limone
• 250 g di Philadelphia Classico in vaschetta
• 15 g di gelatina in fogli
• 200 g di frollini al cioccolato
• 2 dl di panna fresca da montare
• 100 g di zucchero al velo

Preparazione

1.    Tagliate il burro a dadini, scioglietelo su fiamma bassissima, spezzettate i frollini, tritateli nel mixer e, con l'apparecchio in movimento, versate a filo il burro sciolto. Versate il composto ottenuto sul fondo di uno stampo rotondo a cerniera di 16 cm di diametro foderato con carta da forno, compattatelo con il dorso di un cucchiaio e raffreddatelo in frigorifero per 15 minuti.

2.       Ammorbidite la gelatina in acqua fredda, versate mezzo dl di panna in un pentolino, scaldatelo su fiamma bassa, unite la gelatina sgocciolata e strizzata e mescolate fino a che si è sciolta. Incidete il baccello di vaniglia nel senso della lunghezza, prelevate i semini con l'aiuto di un cucchiaino e mescolateli in una ciotola con Philadelphia Classico e con 80 g di zucchero a velo, fino ad ottenere un composto soffice e cremoso.

3.       Montate la panna rimasta, amalgamate la gelatina al composto precedente, unite la panna mescolando con movimento dal basso verso l'alto per non smontarla e versate il tutto sopra la base di biscotti. Lasciate solidificare il cheese-cake in frigorifero per almeno 4 ore, toglietelo dallo stampo e completatelo con i lamponi frullati con lo zucchero al velo rimasto e con il succo di mezzo limone, e con i frutti di bosco lavati e asciugati.

1.

Foolproof Easter Bread

  

    OMG ! Couldn't find white eggs in all Bologna supermarkets , was really disappointed and so were my kids .. So I kept looking for a foolproof way to dye my DARK eggs ..and I DID IT !
Well guys, you hard boil your eggs and then put your different dyes in your mugs and- here is a trick- cracking the shell, and then steeping the egg in a flavored tea or food colors .  The batik-like marbling effect is more prominent when teas with high levels of tannin are used; the duration of the coloring  will influence both the color of the marbling and the degree to which the tea  flavor penetrates the egg.

Back to this easy Easter Bread .. found the recipe on allrecipes and was happy with the results...

Ingredients ( for two loaves ) :

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom ( I used orange peel instead )
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 6 tablespoons butter, cubed
• 4 eggs
• 3 hard-cooked eggs
• vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cold water

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, cardamom and salt. In a saucepan, heat milk and butter to 120 degrees F-130 degrees F. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add 3 eggs; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.( the dough will be sticky )  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 60  minutes.
3. Dye hard-cooked eggs; lightly rub with oil. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough into thirds. Shape each portion into a 48 cm  rope.
4. Place ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; bring ends together to form a ring. Pinch ends to seal. Gently separate braided ropes and tuck dyed eggs into openings ( or put them in the middle after it is baked as I did ). Cover and let rise until doubled, about 20 minutes.
5. Beat water and remaining egg; gently brush over dough. Bake at 375 degrees F  ( 180 c)for 28-32 or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate leftovers. 
6. you can reheat it in the microwave later , then spread some butter and jam on it .. Yummmmy! 

Quick Vegan fried Rice

Today, I came home late from work, my son finished school at one so I really had something like one hour max. to make lunch ... a full meal actually. All in one plate plus a piece of grilled meat and you are DONE!

Ingredients:

•     3 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil .
•     1/2  medium red onion, chopped
•     1/2 cup chopped carrots
•     1/3 cup chopped bell pepper
•     1/3 cup peas
•     2 cups white or brown rice, cooked according to package directions.
•     3 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste.
•     1 Tb tomato puree
•     1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
•     1/4 teaspoon black pepper, to taste
•    Cayenne pepper (optional)

Chop your veggies

Saute your onion

Add your carrots, peas and some chopped ginger if you want 

Add your chopped bell pepper

 

Add your tomato puree and Now ladies and gentlemen ...It's    time for the king of this plate soy sauce !

 

Then bring a big pan , add some olive oil and fry your cooked rice a little, add your veggies , fry them together and  Enjoy !!



Directions:


1. Preheat your  wok , I don't have any so I used a pot. Add onion ; cook until the onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add remaining vegetables ( carrots,  bell pepper, and peas); you can also add some chopped fresh ginger , I did ! cook for 5 to 7 minutes.

3.Add you tomato puree and soy sauce, cook for a couple of minutes. Mix in cooked rice,cook for several minutes, mixing every so often.

Makes: 2 cups,  Cooking time: 20 minutes

4 Steps Orange Muffins

     

My 4 steps Orange Muffins :

 First preheat your oven to 180 c , 350 F and prepare and line your muffin pan with 12 muffin  liners .
 

 1-  Add 2 C All-Purpose  flour sift them with  2teaspoons Baking powder +1/2 teaspoon of  Baking soda + some candied orange peel +pinch  of salt+ 1/2 ts cinnamon , set a side

      2.    Add 1 Tablespoon orange zest + 1/2 cup granulated  sugar and try to rub them together with your finger tips
                                                       then add to this 1/4 cup brown sugar.

          3-  Then add to your sugar- orange mixture, 2 eggs  and 1/2 cup cooled melted butter and whisk.

                        4- Add to your liquid  ingredients 2/3 cup  freshly squeezed orange juice... and whisk 

  Gently fold your  dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and mix  until just combined, do not over mix !

                                               Pour into 12 muffin cups. bake for 20 minutes .

                     You can't imagine how rich, moist  and.... OK let's see this photo.. it talks.!

 

I'd like to hear from you when you make these :)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, white sugar and grated orange peel. Stir in orange juice, 1/2 cup melted butter, eggs and chopped nuts.
2. Pour into 12 muffin cups.
3. Blend 1 tablespoon melted margarine, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on top of each muffin. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.

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Enjoy !!

Easy Herb Pull Apart rolls

        Who doesn't love the smell of homemade bread in a beautiful morning!!!

I guarantee you, once those babes come out of the oven , you won't wait even till they cool...:)
smell great ,taste even better......Let's get Baking.

Inspired from Allrecipes 

Ingredients:
1 packet of active dry yeast
1 cup of warm water
1/4 cup of melted butter
2 cups of flour..to begin with,then you will add more while the dough is being kneaded. I used about 3 1/2.
2 tbsp of sugar
1 1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of thyme
1/4 tsp of oregano
1/4 tsp of dill

Directions :
1. Combine yeast, warm water and sugar in a mixer bowl.
2. When bubbles start to form around the edges of the bowl, add melted butter, flour, sugar, salt, thyme, oregano and dill.
3. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and turn to speed 2. Mix for 1 minute or until everything is well blended.
4. Continue to mix at speed 2 and add flour in 1/2 cup increments for about 2 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
5. Place the dough in a bowl and cover it. Place the bowl in a warm place and let it rise for about an hour or until it doubles in size.
6. Now punch the dough down.
7. Flour your work surface and rolling pin, and roll the dough into a small disk.
8. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and divide each piece again into 6 equal pieces and roll those pieces into 36 small balls.
9. Put three balls into each greased muffin pan, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until it doubles in size.i LEFT THEM IN THE FRIDGE OVERNIGHT.
10. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
11. Bake for 15-20 minutes,brush them with melted butter, and then cool on a wire rack.IF YOU COULD :)
ENJOY!!!