Ensaimada from Mallorca by Blogger Martine

What do you have for breakfast? Blogger Martina from Mallorca, Spain, has just sent me an email with a delicious picture of an ensaimada, the typical dessert of her land. Mallorca Isalnd is off the Spanish coast in the Mediterranean.
She says: "we have it every day for breakfast, or with coffee, or for celebrations. In these occasions, it is filled with cream, "nata", "angel's hair", almond cream ... "
It used to be made at home, its ingredients are: floure, water, eggs, sugar, lard (called saïm in Mallorquín, the local dialect, which gives its name to the dessert) and yeast, but nowadays all local pastry shop make fresh ones everyday.
They can also be ordered in a cafe until 11 am or Noon.
The ensaimada can only be found in the Isla de Mallorca, it is not available in Spain or elsewhere. If you want to know more about Ensaimada from Mallorca, this unique pastry has a whole website at its disposal!
Martine says that Mallorca Island's people are much like Corsica's, the French island off the Cote d'Azur, in the Mediterranean. While in Provence 10 days ago, we had a delicious Corsica lunch ...
Travelers buy them at the airport as well when leaving Mallorca, and it is a common sight to see them holidng round boxes in their hands.

Today, January 30, is Santa Martina, so let's celebrate Martina's day with her! I bet she is having Ensaimada!

Crab Cakes for dinner- and a cool deck to savor them

Meet Fran, Charly, and Roxy!

Fran, Charlie (and Roxy!) invited us to savor home made crab cakes during our stay in the Bay Area. Charlie not only enjoys eating well, but is an excellent cook. The crab cakes really tasted ... crab, which is of course how they are supposed to taste, but too often crab cakes taste like bread crumbs, or egg, or whatever binder ingredient has been used ... I asked him to share with us his recipe.

Mix 1 lb of crab meat, some chopped spring onions, chopped cilantro, 3 Tbsp of bread crumbs (use plain), 4 Tbsp mayonnaise in a bowl. Be gently! Season with sea salt and ground peeper to taste. Add 1 large egg beaten, and mix very gently with a wooden spoon. Divide into eight same size portions and shape like the picture above shows. Put on a sheet of wax paper, cover, and let chill at least 30 minutes. Take out of the fridge and and put 4 Tbs flour on a soup plate and carefully dredge the crab cakes in the flour, on both sides.

Heat the oil to 375 F in a large frying pan where the eight crab cakes can be fried.

Place very gently the crab cakes one by one in the pan, fry until brown.

Once they are brown on one side, turn one by one and fry on the other side. Remove, place on paper so that excess oil is absorbed and serve immediately.

We had these delicious crab cakes with a home made Chipotle and Chili Sauce and a side salad.

Tomorrow I'll tell you what Charlie had prepared for dessert!

Photo du Jour - Colorful Canal

A tranquil scene in le Somail, along the Canal du Midi.

Photo du Jour - YES!

...but no, I can't tell you what It was.

Taken in Paris. Has anyone ever seen this sign and knows what It is?

Photo du Jour

No words necessary.

Saturday Dinner

After a marathon cleaning session Saturday morning (boring boring boring - but there was so much dog and cat hair everywhere it had to be done), I spent the afternoon doing what I love most - cooking!

Dinner for my husband and me and a friend:
- arugula, sliced red onion and tomato salad
- an "updated" Coq au Vin made with white wine
- dark chocolate brownies with vanilla and cinnamon laced whipped cream

Definitely a laid back, Saturday night dinner menu!

The "updated" Coq au Vin recipe is one that I've made several times and I think it is fabulous! Really fresh and full of bright, tangy flavors.
It's from an article in last April's Food and Wine magazine entitled Updating Coq au Vin. I've played with all of the recipes and think they're versatile and delicious.

Zesty Braised Chicken With Lemon and Capers
serves 4

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs with skin (6 ounces each)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 large peeled garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 cups Sauvignon Blanc
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• Four 1-inch strips of lemon zest
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained
• 1 bay leaf

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust with flour. In a large ovenproof skillet, melt the butter in the oil. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook over high heat, turning once, until browned, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a large plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.
2. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the stock, lemon zest, thyme, capers and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up. Transfer the skillet to the oven and braise for about 45 minutes, until the meat is tender.
3. Return the skillet to the stove and boil until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Discard the thyme, bay leaf and lemon zest, if desired, before serving.

Onions (Allium)!

In my local market ONIONS are plenty!
Onions can be eaten raw in salads, they combine wonderfully with tomatoes; they can be pcikled ("pearl onions" are pickled, scroll down and read post on raclette ); they give cooked foods a distinct flavor, most sauces have onions (or shallots, see tomorrow's post), you can make onion compote (see recipe in my website http://www.aworldinapan.com/ ), or an onion quiche; and last but not least, they have been used through history by different civilisations, for their effectiveness against some illnesses ...

Pictures show several types on onions: Upper left, Cevennes Onions, a mild onion I use in some preparations (see Fennel compote), the common onion, a "passe-par-tout", that adapts to your needs, the red onion ... and below, fresh onions. I use the green leaves of these onions for some preparations too (in France, they discard them!) ... Dry onions can be stored for a long time in a cold dry place. Enjoy!