all the recipes

pogos
pogos

A POGO is a sausage covered in batter and then fried. Pogos (or cornsdogs) were invented by Germans in Texas in the 1920's. Pogos are as good as they are surprising, you can eat them as a treat during a cocktail-dinner, served alongside other easily held finger foods (my guests loved them). The regular version of pogos uses hotdogs, but I...

01.05.2015
maple fudge speculoos squares
maple fudge speculoos squares

A maple fudge recipe to continue with my Belgian-Canadian inspired culinary experiments, following the mussels and fries poutine recipe a few days ago, it was time to switch to a sweet recipe… something very, very sweet ! I combined (and crushed) the spicy ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and anis biscuits from Belgium called speculoos with...

22.04.2015
easy & quick white tzatziki & green tzatziki
easy & quick white tzatziki & green tzatziki

This is the easier & quicker way to make an almost traditional tzatziki recipe, relatively white like the common version, made with cucumber and yogurt. A simple recipe that (almost) everyone knows and, a modified version of the tzatziki recipe with avocado and green pepper based version with a few changes. The question was how to create...

15.04.2015
greek easter tsoureki buns
greek easter tsoureki buns

The traditional Easter bread served in Greece is traditionally braided, with a red-dyed hard-boiled egg inserted in the middle and then baked. Like many yeast breads, these easter breads require two risings, so plan your timing when making them. My reinterpretation results in smaller individual portions like muffins or cinnamon-buns. The ball of...

08.04.2015
brunch-bites for robot-kids
brunch-bites for robot-kids

"The robot-kids are coming over and bringing along their non-robotic parental units. They're good kids, they don't say much or even look up much. They're watching their mobile phone screens and staying connected and texting and/or updating their statuses". . . I could just send them a text message to get their attention...

02.04.2015
lemon-lime & geranium sorbet
lemon-lime & geranium sorbet

A sorbet is always a nice way to end a heavy meal or even as a refreshing pause before a main dessert (if you'll be having that too). It is quite easy, especially if you have an ice cream maker to churn and aerate the mixture, instead of doing it by hand, but either way is fine and will give good results. The difficult yet beautiful way of...

28.04.2015
mussels & fries poutine
mussels & fries poutine

Or rather when Belgium meets Quebec… This my friends was freaking amazing ! A readaption of the typically simple and delicious mountains of mussels in their shells (cooked in white wine, beer and sometimes cream) with a side-order of fries and mayonnaise like we eat in northern France and further north-east in Belgium (where it originates)....

20.04.2015
hay-roasted leg of lamb
hay-roasted leg of lamb

The first time I tasted matcha (green tea) ice-cream, probably around 20 years ago, it was heavenly. It felt as if I was tasting the cream made from the cow's milk as well as the grasses it fed on in order to create this milk. This is the idea behind my hay and twig roasted leg of lamb. A lamb prepared in a traditionally Greek manner but...

12.04.2015
scallop and shrimp wonton tartlets
scallop and shrimp wonton tartlets

The outdoor market had pretty lovely seafood so I obviously bought some. The tartlets were prepared with a more exotic and Asian flavour, because of the wonton wrapper shells, holding it all together. Mixed in with some julienned vegetables, some coconut milk and coriander and ginger root too ! An explosive flavour that is addictive…...

06.04.2015
salty potato balls
salty potato balls

These salty potato balls are more a method or just a fancy trick so stop giggling ! Anyways, these potato balls are round, salty, airy, crispy, resembling a small hummingbird's nest or a miniature ball of string. Everyone has a tea strainer (or two) lying around so here's a new way to use it. I used regular potatoes, you can perhaps try it...

01.04.2015
belgian-style spanish stew
belgian-style spanish stew

It’s time for my favorite Spanish stew, but with a Belgian touch. This is one of those comfort foods I absolutely adore and that I can eat for several days (because I make a lot) and it gets just gets better and better with time. A stew that is usually made in Spain in order to feed many family members all at once, combining veal (I used...

25.04.2015
fried apple rings
fried apple rings

Spring is finally here and we've spent most of the winter eating apples and oranges. Here's an idea for a simple apple snack before the spring and summer seasons provide us with other fruits that we've missed. My mother used to make these for us as a healthier version of a dessert or snack. Just peel, core, slice and coat your apples...

18.04.2015
red quail eggs for easter
red quail eggs for easter

One regular chicken egg is equal to five little quail eggs ! This year for Orthodox Easter, I wanted to dye eggs red again, but not just any eggs but little speckled quail eggs. Why ? Two reasons ! To use them as garnish on my mini-tsoureki breads and second reason, to eat less eggs than I usually do around this time of year. The envelope of red...

09.04.2015
easter chocolate and hazelnut cheesecake
easter chocolate and hazelnut cheesecake

Easter & chocolate . . .  For kids, it's all about the chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies, chocolate everything, the more the better ! We're all familiar with cheesecake, whether baked or non-baked, with or without a cookie crust, with or without a topping. But "kadaifi filo" pastry dough (unfamiliar to some) is like...

03.04.2015
baby lettuce salad spears
baby lettuce salad spears

SALAD for COCKTAIL HOUR - no forks required PLEASE ! Smarten'up and stop grinning… I know it's not really a recipe ! But it's fresh it's crisp, it's wholesome. Not a whole serving of salad, no salad bowl needed nor a fork to eat it with. Just salad spears, lightly coated with some slightly sweet, slightly tart, light...

31.03.2015