Savory crepes filled with broccolini cheese soufflé

I have certain preconceptions, must admit it. That feeling of “haven’t seen it but don’t like it already” – I’ve tried going against that, but it didn’t work out... and I think it is worse now that I’m older - I’m more intolerant.

I read something the other day about Clint Eastwood’s new movie (hey, Mark, more imdb links for you!) :). Angelina Jolie is on it, so I won’t even bother - no time to waste. If the Oscar buzz involving her drives me nuts already, watching all that “talent” in action will do me no good.

But I’m not a bad person. I also have “haven’t seen it but like it already” moments. Or, in this case, “haven’t eaten but love it already”. :)

And what a great recipe this is! I slightly changed the filling and was really pleased with the result. Running late and starving, I pulled the crepes out of the oven the minute the filling puffed and firmed – that’s why mine don’t have a gorgeously golden crust like the ones Leila made. It's OK: I’ll solve that next time, when I make the crepes filled with hearts of palm soufflé. ;)

Savory crepes filled with broccolini cheese soufflé

Crepes:
125g all purpose flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk
300ml milk
generous pinch of salt
oil for brushing the pan

Filling:
225g broccolini florets
salt and freshly ground black pepper
45g unsalted butter
45g all purpose flour
300ml milk
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
120g cheddar, grated – I used yellow mozzarella from here, made with cow’s milk (it looks like Monterey Jack cheese)
fresh oregano leaves, to taste
4 tablespoons parmesan, finely grated
4 eggs, whites and yolks separated

Start by making the crepes: sift the flour in a large bowl and make a hole in the center. Add the egg, egg yolk, salt and a few tablespoons of the milk. Whisk well. Gradually add the remaining milk, whisking between additions, until you have added all the milk and the batter is smooth (it will be a rather thin batter).

Heat a 22cm non-stick frying pan over medium heat and brush it lightly with oil. Pour 3 ½ tablespoons of batter into the pan, swirling to cover the bottom completely. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until golden; flip the crepe and cook for further 1-2 minutes. Slide crepe onto a plate. Repeat process with remaining batter, coating the pan again if necessary – you’ll get 8 crepes.

Now, the filling: cook the broccolini florets in a pan of salted, boiling water for 1 minute. Drain, cover with cold water and drain again*.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then add the flour, stirring constantly; cook for 1 minute.
Remove the pan from the heat and gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Put the pan back over heat, add the mustard, mozzarella, parmesan, salt and pepper, whisking until the cheeses melt. Remove from heat again and set aside to cool completely.

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF; lightly brush a non-stick large baking sheet with oil.

Add the egg yolks to the cooled cheese mixture and mix well. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until firm peaks form. Carefully fold in the egg whites into the cheese mixture, then add the broccolini florets and oregano leaves.

Divide the filling in the center of the open crepes and fold them to encase the soufflé. Place the crepes in the prepared sheet, sprinkle with the extra parmesan (I forgot!) and bake for 15 minutes or until the soufflé is puffed and golden and the crepes are crisp.
Serve with a simple salad.

* I steamed the broccolini florets until al dente

Serves 4

Tangerine meltaways

You know when something gets stuck on your mind and it’s impossible to let it go? After watching this movie – one of the most beautiful films ever – the soundtrack kept playing in my head for weeks.

The same happened when I saw Jen’s lime meltaways - I had to make those. HAD TO. But I was out of limes (and I swear I’d not used them for caipirinhas). :)
I did have tangerines, though, so my citrus meltaway craving had a happy ending.

I used this recipe and, even though the cookies turned out good, I thought they were better off without the icing.

Tangerine meltaways

Dough:
¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (140g) icing sugar, sifted
zest of two tangerines
3 tablespoons fresh tangerine juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1¾ cups (245g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt

Glaze:
1 tablespoon fresh tangerine juice
3 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
½ tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
icing sugar, extra

For dough: sift together flour, cornstarch and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and icing sugar until smooth. Stir in tangerine zest, juice and vanilla. Add sifted ingredient and mix to incorporate. Divide dough in half; shape into logs, wrap in baking paper and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 160ºC/325ºF; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Slice logs into ¼-inch (5-mm) slices and place on a prepared sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes and allow to cool – they won’t turn golden.

For glaze: Whisk together juice, icing sugar and melted butter. Pour glaze over cookies to cover and allow to set, about 1 hour. Sprinkle with icing sugar.

Makes about 24 – I got 32

White chocolate and pecan spice friands for Sugar High Friday

Or, “the poor little friand that stood alone”. Because the friand on the photo was the only one I could remove from the pans – all the other 6 got stuck! :(

I’d just received the book by mail and quickly looked for a recipe calling for spices (because of this month’s Sugar High Friday). I’d been meaning to try friands for ages and thought I’d found a great excuse for that (as if I needed an excuse to bake...) :D

My brand new small brioche pans seemed perfect to prepare such precious treats. Too bad it didn’t turn out as I had planned. I did butter them beyond generously, but...

These friands tasted amazing and were tender. I wish I’d gone the simple way and used my muffin pan.

This is my entry for this Sugar High Friday, a sweet and delicious event created by Jennifer and this month hosted by the talented and lovely Anita, who has become a book author!

White chocolate and pecan spice friands
from Little Cafe Cakes

100g unsalted butter, room temperature
100g white chocolate, chopped
1 cup ground pecans
6 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups (210g) icing sugar
½ cup (70g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice

Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Grease well – very, very well – 10 individual cake or muffin pans.
Place butter and white chocolate together in a bowl and microwave on medium for 1-2 minutes, mixing in 30 second intervals, or use a double-boiler – you want the ingredients to melt, but do not let the butter burn.
Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until just combined.
Spoon mixture into prepared pans; they should be just over ½ full. Bake for 25 minutes.
Let stand in pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Makes 10 – I halved the recipe and still got 7

Chocolate shortbread fingers and gifts from Berlin

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a clickaholic – every time I read something online I click, and click, then click and click again. I go, link after link, and sometimes I don’t even remember where I started. :)

I was listening to Billy Idol’s “Sweet Sixteen” this morning on my way to work – absolutely love that song – and, after googling him, then the song, I ended up here. I did not know about that artist and was really intrigued by his bio and work.

That’s how I met Silvia, a lovely Brazilian blogger who lives in Berlin. I clicked on Technorati, then clicked on one blog that had linked mine... And we became friends.

All the delicious treats you see on the photos were sent by her, all the way from Germany. Isn’t it amazing? You, my blogger friends, will end up spoiling me pretty bad... :)

Silvia, my dear, thank you so much for the gifts!! I loved each and every one of them! xoxo

Another result of my clicking mania was finding this recipe – Jen posted it a long time ago and I urge you to try it, too. These cookies are wonderful and I’m sure you have all the ingredients in your pantry.

Chocolate shortbread fingers

1 ½ cups (340g/3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons (370g) all-purpose flour
4 ½ tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder
heaping ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (200g) superfine sugar
granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 160ºC/325ºF. Butter/spray a 30x20cm (12x8in) rimmed baking sheet and line with parchment paper, letting it hang over the long sides. Sift together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

Beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. If you don’t have superfine sugar, process granulated sugar in a food processor for 15 seconds. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Spread dough into baking sheet. Chill dough in refrigerator or freezer for about 15 minutes or until firm. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake for about 20 minutes or until firm – mine took 35. While still hot, cut into 10x2.5cm (4x1in) pieces. A pizza cutter works wonderfully for this. Sprinkle top of shortbread with granulated sugar, covering completely. Cool completely in the pan.

Makes about 20 (I cut mine a bit shorter and wider than Jen’s)

Parmesan potato bread

Daylight Saving Time started on the weekend here and I’m so sleepy... I love this time of the year – the feeling of longer days, especially on the weekends, is fantastic – but the first week is a tough one. :S

A slice of this insanely tender bread – one of Nic’s wonderful recipes – is certainly a great way of starting one’s day, even if the sun hasn't come up yet.
The cheese flavor is very subtle, so spread some butter, jam, Nutella or whatever strikes you fancy. Next time I make this recipe I’ll sprinkle some parmesan over the bread before baking it. Yum!

Parmesan potato bread

224g/8oz baking/russet potatoes
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (240ml) milk (low fat is fine), room temperature
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup (120ml) water
4-5 cups (560-700g) all purpose flour – I used 4 ¼ cups
1 cup (100g) Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg + 2 tablespoons water (for egg wash)

Peel potatoes and cut into even chunks. Boil potato pieces in a small saucepan until tender. Drain cooking liquid and completely mash potato (a ricer works well here) until smooth. Transfer potato to a large mixing bowl and stir in butter and milk, mixing until well combined.
Stir active dry yeast and sugar into the potato mixture. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, until mixture is slightly foamy. Add in salt, water and 3 cups (420g) of flour. Mix until smooth, either stirring with a wooden spoon or using the dough hook attachment on an electric stand mixer. Stir in parmesan cheese and gradually add in additional flour in ¼ cup (35g) increments until dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. If using an electric mixer, continue to knead at medium speed for about 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. If mixing by hand, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate. Divide in half, shape into long, oval loaves and place on a baking sheet generously sprinkled with cornmeal or lined with non-stick baking paper (if using regular baking paper, brush it lightly with butter or oil) – you can made small slits on the surface of each loaf.
Cover with a clean dish towel, and let rise for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF.
Stir together egg and water with a fork and lightly brush mixture over the risen loaves.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until bread is a dark golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. An internal read thermometer inserted into the center of each loaf will read 90-93ºC/195-200ºF.
Transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool.
Cool completely before slicing.

Makes 2 large loaves