Baguette Wellington

Beef Wellington is a preparation of beef tenderloin coated with pâté (often pâté de foie gras) and duxelles, which is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked. The origin of the name is not clear, although it is commonly accepted that Beef Wellington is named after Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, a Brittish general that defeated Napoleon at Waterloo (Belgium), bringing an end to the Napoleonic era of European history.

My recipe today is a variation of this traditional British dish (which some indicate would be inspired by the French Boeuf en crôute): I have used pork tenderloin, and wrapped it in a French baguette dough. I do not know what Napoleon would think of this recipe that is named after his defeater, but I am sure that he would take his hand out of his jacket to pick one piece of this Wellington baguette.

Grilled grapefruit with mascarpone

I am doing a cooking course at a culinary school, and one of our first activities was to create different desserts which involved grilling fruit. Fruit is perfect for the grill because it is so easy to prepare and the heat of the grill whether, induction, electric, gas or charcoal, will add fantastic flavor to any fruit. The natural sugars in the fruit will caramelize over the fire, concentrating the flavors by reducing the water. The process is also very simple: you will need sliced fruit, and some melted butter to prepare the most basic grilled fruit. Hard fruits like apples, and pineapples are the easiest to grill since they hold their shape and texture while cooking. Softer fruits like peaches, or plums will become too soft if overcooked. You will need to be more attentive of this kind of fruit,and if you are preparing them on a charcoal grill, I suggest you using aluminim foil to keep the fruits from falling through the grilling racks.

With many fruits you can simply cut them in half and, with most fruits you can leave the peels on. This helps hold them together whether you eat the skin or not. It is best to grill fruit over medium heat on a very clean cooking grate. To keep the fruit from sticking to the grill, lightly brush them with melted butter. You can also try marinating the fruits in a combination of your favorite spices and your favorite alcohols. A mixture of rum, brown sugar, cinnamon, honey, vanilla,… Let your imagination run wild and you’ll find what a great addition grilled fruits can be!!!

Grilled strawberries. I am not going to lie to you: The best part is grilled cake.

Quick apple pies. A fried told me it is not a good idea try fliping them on the air

The name for this potato salad in Spain is “ensaladilla rusa”, or Russian Salad. It seems that the original version of the salad was invented in the 1860s by Lucien Olivier, the chef of the Hermitage, one of Moscow’s most celebrated restaurants. The exact recipe — particularly that of the dressing — was a jealously guarded secret, but it is known that the salad contained grouse, veal tongue, caviar, lettuce, crayfish tails, capers, and smoked duck.

There are many versions of this Spanish recipe, and all of them are delicious! You could add some chopped pickles, green olives, shrimps or red peppers.

Somewhere below the rainbow… there’s a cake!

According to the Bible, after Noah’s flood, God put the rainbow in the sky as the sign of His promise that He would never again destroy the earth with flood (Genesis 9:13–17):”I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh”

In Spain it has been raining non stop for the last month, so I thought it might be a good idea to remember that promise… and that He would have mercy on us with curly hair that needs to be straightened every day

Easter eggs

If painting is not your thing or let’s say it is, but your skills are secret yet to the world, you might want to try this technique to decorate hard boiled eggs this Easter: lend a personal touch to your decor by dressing your eggs in a paper napkin pattern that catches your eye! When properly stored (3-4 days in the fridge), these easter eggs can be safely eaten afterwards. I suggest you using them to prepare these delicious hard boiled egg cookies, which are my sons’ favorites.

You can even use this idea to decorate other recipes, such as these brownies baked in eggshells

Finally, if you want other Easter ideas, please check here for past Easter recipes I have published in the blog!

Happy Easter!

Separate printed top layer, discard lower sheets.

Lay a piece of the napkin over the egg and brush with egg whites until smooth

Cut off excess napkin and let the eggs dry

Hugh, I made this bread for you with every beet of my heart

So, Valentine’s day is approaching, and I have heard that on this day you are supposed to offer a gift to the one you love. Since I seem unable to find Hugh Jackman’s address, I will share here his gift, just in case he is reading me

To prepare this bread loaf I have used this kit that Doodlecook gifted me. It includes a silicone tin, a heart doodle shaper, a squisher, instructions and enough bread mix to make your a cocoa bread loaf. Although as I said before, the kit comes with a bread mix (all natural ingredients) I decided to prepare my own dough, using boiled beet water to dye the dough.

If you do not have this kit, and still want to prepare this kind of bread loaf, I would suggest trying this technique I have seen for cakes, I think it might work for breads as well (although I believe you will have to freeze the bread shapes) Alternatively, you might use a normal tin loaf, combined with one of these molds, and follow the recipe below.

Happy Saint Valentine’s day!