Brownie Cupcakes

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt

1. Over medium heat, melt together the chocolate and butter until smooth and combined. Remove from heat,

2. Stir in the sugar. Then add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Finally, stir in the flour and salt until well combined.

3. Spoon batter into 12 lined muffin cups. Bake about 20 minutes in a preheated 180C oven.

Sausage Roll

400 g ground pork
200 g ground beef
300 g “pate brisee” (dough)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1~2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch salt and pepper
Pinch four spice powder
1 egg
Butter

1. Melt some butter in a frying pan. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until onion is tender.

2. Mix together the ground pork, beef, salt & pepper, four spice powder and onion mixture until well-blended. Place mixture in the fridge for a few hours to allow flavours to “blend”.
Prepare the dough. Roll it out on a piece of wax paper. Lightly beat the egg and brush it onto the dough.

3. Place meat mixture onto the dough and shape it into a log. Wrap the dough around the meat mixture, brushing exposed sides of dough with egg as you wrap.

4. Place the log onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake 45 minutes-1 hour in a preheated 400F oven, or until the meat is fully cooked.

5. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before slicing log into slices.

French Crepes

These are so easy to make, I'm not sure why I used to be in awe of crepes.

6 eggs
500 g flour
1 L milk

1. Whisk together all ingredients until batter has no lumps. For best results, allow the batter to sit about an hour.

2. Heat a nonstick frying pan and wipe some oil (using a paper towel with cooking oil on it) on the pan. Spoon some batter into the pan and spread it thinly so it covers the surface of the pan. The batter will brown very quickly and it will be very easy to flip the crepe once one side is brown. Flip the crepe over and brown the other side as well.

3. For sweet crepes, serve the crepes with a selection of jams, sugar, and Nutella; for salty crepes, serve with a selection of cheese and cold cuts.

Strawberry "Soup"

This is a really simple, refreshing dessert or snack for summer.  I first tried it in a restaurant in a small town in France and later re-created it at home.

1-2 pounds of strawberries, washed and cut into pieces

approx. 375 mL plain yogurt, to taste

1-2 Tbsp sugar, to taste

1.  Mix all ingredients together in blender, Vorwerk, or food processer.  Chill and enjoy.

Lemon Butter Fish

3-4 filets of white fish

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup butter

3 cloves of garlic, minced

the juice of one lemon

fresh parsley, to taste

basil, to taste

salt & pepper, to taste

1.  Heat olive oil in microwave until hot.  Add butter to oil and stir until melted completely.

2.  Add garlic to lemon juice and let sit 2-3 minutes.  Add to oil mixture.  Add parsley, basil, and salt & pepper.

3.  Place fish in an oven-proof dish, and pour oil mixture over fish.  Place in a pre-heated 180°C oven and bake until fish is cooked through.

Chocolate Banana Cake

We were invited to a birthday party, so I was asked to make a cake as a dessert.  I found this recipe on the internet, and it turned out really well.  It was a big hit at the party.

2 cups granulated white sugar

1 3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup mashed bananas (about 2-3 bananas)

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

200 grams (8 ounces) chocolate, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 Tbsp icing sugar (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9x13 pan

2.  Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

3.  Whisk together eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.

4.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir or whisk until combined.  Pour into pan and bake 35-40 minutes.

5.  Place chopped chocolate in a stainless steel (or heatproof) bowl.  Set aside.

6.  Heat the cream and butter in medium saucepan just until boiling and immediately pour over chocolate.  Stir until smooth.  Allow to cool slightly, then add the icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Spread it on the cooled cake, and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookies

My family in France capital H hates peanut butter. Turns out a lot of French people feel that way. They've been teasing me quite a lot about my enduring love for peanut butter, so the other day, I decided to make them some cookies.

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1. Mix shortening, peanut butter, sugars, and egg thoroughly. Blend dry ingredients and blend into shortening mixture. Chill dough.

2. Roll dough to 1 1/4 inch balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten balls criss-cross style with a fork dipped in flour. Bake 10-12 minutes in a preheated 350°F oven.