Private dinings

While I have been away from this blog, I did two private dinings.
I have been doing this service with both European (mainly French and Italian) and Japanese cuisine, of which consists of three course menu (amuse bouche, starter, main and dessert) for minimum four people, or several sharing plates for six people or more.

Regrettably, I always miss to take pictures through the entire courses (of course I have to be a cook rather than being a photographer...) that I am always disappointed (and blame on myself) for not being left with good pics...

As an example, here are some of my sample menus which I have recently done:

<Party menu>
 Sharing 4 kinds of canapes, soup, main, and dessert for 7 people

Canape1:  Prawn cocktail
Canape2: Roquefort (French blue cheese), walnut, and fig with honey sauce on endive (chicory) leaf
Canape3: Smoked salmon with dill cream on endive leaf
Canape4: Mushroom pizza
Soup:  Chestnut soup with tomatoes and chorizo
Main:  Slow roasted shoulder of Lamb
Dessert:  Gateau chocolat


<Italian three course menu>

Pre starter:  Caprese (plum tomato, Buffalo mozzarella, and basil leaves)  pintxos style
Starter: Home made orechiette with broccoli and anchovy
Main: Baby chicken (poussin) Diabola
Dessert: Bavarois with pine nut praline

Some of pictures that have luckily been taken are:

Prawn cocktail
(canape 1)



Canape 2 (Roquefort, Fig and walnut , and 3 (Smoked salmon with dill cream)

Mushroom pizza

Gateau Chocolat (birthday version) : I do cake delivery within my area. For more information, please contact kitchen.momiji@gmail.com)

Caprese

Will continue with more pics in future!
Many thanks for reading/viewing...

Corn bread

I assume that it is originally from the US as it is called 'bread' whereas being more like a cake (just as a cake made with banana is called banana bread there).
In fact, I experienced to taste the corn bread for the first time in the US, at a hotel in a casino town somewhere near Palm Springs.
I was so delighted to have the 'bread' which has been baked in a muffin mould at beginning of a dinner.
Since then, I have tried so many recipes and finally, I have made my own recipe which I have been successfully present texture that I really want!

And here it is...


<Corn bread recipe>

Ingredients:
100g Butter
60g Sugar
2pcs Eggs
100ml Milk
130g Plain flour
100g Corn meal (fine), not corn flour
4g Baking powder

Preparation
- Butter the loaf tin and dust flour.
- Preheat an oven at 180 degree.

1. Mix butter and sugar well until the colour gets pale in a bowl either with a plastic spatula or a whisk.
2. Sift flour, corn meal and baking powder all together.
3. Add eggs one by one into 1 with whisk.
4. Mix in 2 into 3 with a whisk.
5. Add milk.
6. Pour in into the loaf tin and flatten it with plastic spatula, and let the air out by dropping the tin few times lightly off to the worktop.
7. Bake for about 35 min. (time depending on the oven)

No special skills are necessary but mix the ingredients!
This is good for a breakfast as it is not too sweet...

Staying in Brussels

My trip to Brussels was full of fun!

It was mainly a gormandise exploring, Midi market tour, did some cooking classes, my friend's son's 1 year old birthday party (from Chinese Dim Sam to Vietnamese noodles and nice cakes from Japanese run 'a real' French style patisseries..etc.. ) and I did some Sashimi salad and Swiss rolls...

I have never seen this big cabbages!

This Midi market has a varieties of food from vegetables to meat and fish, it is not like Borough market in London which has been established a sort of stylish atmosphere that tourists would be interested in but more likely that local people visit for a bargain grocery shopping which is much cheaper and  more fresh than you buy from the local supermarket.

One of the following Metro station can be used to access to the market: Midi, Clemenceau or Delacroix

The market opens on Friday and Saturday if I rememeber correctly...

Here are two very impressive cake shops I have been introduced by a local friend:

1. Patisserie Sasaki

Traditional French style patisserie which is run by a Japanese Patissier.

My friend ordered a birthday cake from this shop which has been an communication issue that they had made not a croquem bouche but a cake that some little choux buns are piled up on top of puff pastry based cake.

Although she was a bit disappointed for not being provided with what she exactly wanted, it was very delicate flavoured  lovely cake just as I expected..!! (the photos on the top was the one)

2. Les Tartes de Francoise

It is more like a new style concept cake shop which has no display of products but the list which you can pick whatever you like out from the rack of the kitchen.
Cakes there are light, less sweet and simple that big piece can easily fit to your tammy;)
The cake in the picture is for a tasting! a piece of cake for a tasting!!!

It was an airy cheesecake with coffee flavour, just simple, no frills cake.

Pattisserie Sasaki
Avenue de Franciscaine 10, 1150

MON-SAT 1000-1830

SUN/Holiday 0800-1300

Close on WED

Tel: 02.779.0568

Les Tartes de Francoise

www.tartes.be

Av de l’hippodrome, 75
1050 Bruxelles
Tel : 02 640 88 41

Fax : 02 644 95 30

MON-SAT 0900-1800

SUN 0900-1600