girls dinner & dessert

Does hosting a dinner party make you nervous? If so, then I think you and I should start a support group called 'I'm a nervous freaking hostess.' I love the idea of hosting a dinner party, but then when it actually comes time to consider possible menu options I freeze up, panic, and call off the whole idea. What is it about having people over that sets of the panic alarm? These are my friends, they aren't going to judge me if the salmon is slightly overcooked or if I don't have six matching sets of silverware, or if the apartment is a little bit dark because I still can't get my act together, or my German, to call the electrician. And heck, I cook dinner almost every night, and generally make enough food for leftovers, so what's the difference in adding a bit more and inviting a few friends to join us?

As I see it, the major dinner party issues are

1) what to cook

2) the timing of everything your cooking so that it all finishes cooking at the same time

3) how to be a good hostess while also managing the kitchen, which ultimately comes back to #1 & #2

Anyway, this week I composed my panicked self, made way too many to-do lists, and invited five friends over for dinner. Zach was in Miami all week for work, so I took his absence as an opportunity to have a girls dinner. These are my nearest and dearest friends here and I still made-lists and a time line for what to cook when. I constantly need to remind myself that when I am the guest I am just happy to be out, in someone else's home, surrounded by good friends, so much so that I certainly don't question what they are serving. Heck, serve me up some spaghetti with tomato sauce and I'll be a happy dinner guest.

Spaghetti and tomato sauce and dessert, that will be my go-to dinner party menu. I love thinking about and making desserts for a crowd. If the spaghetti doesn't appeal to you, then well good, because you'll have more room to eat dessert. I was debating between two desserts for this little fête; that decadent chocolate cake from Thanksgiving, and coffee flavored meringues with ice cream and fruit. As you can see from the picture, I chose the meringue. It just seemed appropriate for a girls dinner, a light little treat after a savory dinner.

I had never made meringues before and so I was a bit intimidated and concerned that I wouldn't know when my egg whites were 'peaky' enough or when the batter silky enough, but it all came together with ease, so much so that this recipe will go on my 'quick & easy dessert' list. The color of the batter after adding the sugar and espresso was beautiful; the creamy white of an oyster silk wedding dress. These would actually make a wonderful dessert at a wedding, perhaps a wedding where the bride and groom were tired of cutting cakes or a wedding at which either the bride or groom is gluten-free.

Coffee Meringues

Nigella Lawson, Nigella's Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home

meringues

makes 8-10

- 4 egg whites

- 1 cup superfine sugar

- 1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar

- 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

- pinch of cream of tartar (I didn't have any so didn't use it and as it turned out, didn't need to)

- chopped hazelnuts for sprinkling on top (optional)

Preheat the oven to 275ºF/135ºC

Combine the superfine sugar, brown sugar and espresso powder and cream of tartar if using. If the mixture is at all clumpy (mine was) use a sieve to get out the lumps.

Whisk the egg whites in a grease free bowl (I used my kitchen-aid mixer with the whisk attachment). Whisk until they are beyond foamy and soft peaks have started to form. You should be able to lift the whisk out of the bowl and leave behind peaks that stand on their own. Once you've gotten to that point you are ready to add in the sugar mixture. While continuing to whisk add 1 tablespoon of the sugar mixture at a time until you have added all of it and the meringue is shiny and the color of oyster silk.

Line a lipped baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon out the meringue into large dollops, about 2 heaping soup spoonfuls, to give roughly 2 inch diameter meringues, aiming to create 8-10 (I had 11) in total. Using the backside of a spoon or a spatula, pull the meringues upwards as you go, giving them height and that meringue 'sweep'. Sprinkle the meringues with some of the chopped hazelnuts.

Place the meringues in the oven for about 40-45 minutes, until they are dry on the outside, but still gooey in the middle. They should be fragile to the touch. Take them out of the oven but do not remove them from the baking sheet. Once the meringues and the baking sheet have cooled to room temperature, remove them and pair them with some ice cream and fruit and enjoy!

* these are a great dinner party dessert because they can be made up to the night before and stored in an airtight container. I made them the morning of and just left them on the counter. They were delicious and a bit hit!

Don't worry, I didn't default to spaghetti and tomato sauce this time around, and we didn't just eat dessert. I was able to gather my wits about me and cook a sensible and yummy dinner. One of my favorite chicken recipes was the star the meal, but the accompaniments of polenta, green beans and a salad with Ali's tarragon-shallot dressing were all yummy, and relatively easy to make.

Chicken Marbella is a wonderful dish for a dinner party, because all you need to do is marinate it for as long as you can, ideally overnight, and then transfer it to a baking dish and stick it in the oven for an hour. Polenta is an especially apt side to chicken marbella, because it sops up all of the leftover sauce and takes on the flavor of cooked prunes and olives. Polenta can be a bit hard to time, but I recommend making it a couple of hours before you plan on serving it and when it is done, transfer it to a double boiler (with a top or plastic wrap), and it will remain soft for up to a few hours and will be ready to serve when you are. Green beans are a bit tough considering they only take a few minutes to make, but those few minutes are right before you want to eat them, so they pull you back into the kitchen and away from your chatting guests, but only for a minute. And then the salad...easy to wash and prep and make the dressing while the polenta is cooking. This tarragon dressing adds a little something extra to your basic oil and vinegar dressing, which is perfect for a dinner party.

Now that I've shared some dinner party ideas with you, hopefully making your next party a breeze, you could share some with me? I'm always eager to hear about dinner party go-tos, especially if those dishes can be cooked in my mini-Euro oven (I actually measured it the other day, its about 16" x 16.5").

In the end I realized there was absolutely no need to get worked up about dinner...but then again, maybe if I hadn't, it would have been a flop. Either way we had a really nice evening, full of chatter from Jessica Simpson (did you see this) to Rush Limbaugh and all of those crazy 'sluts' who take birth control (if you haven't watched the John Stewart segment on the Rush issue then I highly recommend it - click the 'sluts' link).

shönes Wochenende (nice weekend) !

red pepper & fennel soup

Every morning I stir oats into water and almond milk and let them warm until they've absorbed all the liquid, and then I sprinkle them with a healthy amount of cinnamon and a few raisins and sliced almonds, and then wander to our table oats in one hand and a mug of hot tea in the other. I sit down and while the tea steeps and I slowly start eating my oatmeal, I stare out the window at the building across the street, watching my neighbors partake in their morning routines. I like to call it being neighborly, but really I'm just being nosy.

Anyway, my breakfast routine is really besides the point, except the point I was trying to make is that I have a breakfast routine. I eat and do the same thing every morning. I love it. And that makes me wonder why I don't have a similar lunch routine. In fairness I'm not always home for lunch, but when I am I never really know what to eat. I don't love lunch. That was until I made this red pepper and fennel soup. It's taken twenty nine years for me to realize that I love warm food for lunch. Maybe it's because warm food is the anti cold-cut, a food item I have shunned since before I can remember. Or maybe it's just because lunch, like breakfast and dinner, is also a time for comfort and warmth. Either way, this red pepper and fennel soup, will be my new lunch routine, hopefully on a rotation with a few other soups that I've yet to discover (lentil? cauliflower? pea?).

Roasted red pepper and fennel make a wonderful pair. Somehow the sweetness of the pepper manages to both dampen and highlight the licorice flavors of the fennel. It is a subtle soup, with no one flavor overpowering the rest. It also takes to spices really well. As the leftovers were dwindling I started experimenting with a few shakes of cumin and a bit of paprika, and found I liked that taste even better than the original. I also started added leftover quinoa to the mix and like that too. Really, I guess, I just like this soup and I trust you will too.

Besides a few tablespoons of olive oil to warm up the pan and get the saute going, this is truly a vegetable based soup (the bread is for the croutons).

Beware of the immersion blender! A couple of years ago when I was busy prepping for dinner at our apartment, blending a gazillion cloves of garlic, I decided to stick my thumb in and unstick the garlic from the blade...and then god knows why, I pushed the on button with my thumb still in range of the blade, and voila thumb soup. No not really, but I did need a little medical superglue on my thumb. Considering I have the shortest thumbs known to man (someday I'll show you...maybe) it's a good thing I didn't slice the top right of. Anyway...so I was sure I was the only person who was stupid enough to turn it on when my finger was still in it, but then my friend's older sister told me she did the same thing, and she has the scar to prove it. So with that warning, I say, don't stick your finger near the blade.

Red Pepper and Fennel Soup

adapted from Food and Wine

- 6 large red bell peppers

- 3 tablespoons olive oil

- 6 large carrots, coarsely chopped

- 2 medium fennel bulbs, coarsely chopped

- 1 medium leek, white and tender green parts, coarsely chopped

- 1 small spanish onion, coarsely chopped

- 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

- 1/2 cup dry white wine

- 1 teaspoon fennel seed

- salt and ground pepper

- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

- a tablespoon or two of cumin (optional, to taste)

garlic croutons

- 6 or so thick slices of bread

- olive oil for brushing

- garlic clove, sliced for rubbing

Heat the oven to 450ºF.

Slice the peppers in half and arrange on a baking sheet, round side up. Place in the oven and roast until skin turns brown and begins to separate from the flesh. Remove from the oven and place in a plastic bag and allow to steam for 15 minutes. This will make it easier for you to remove the skin from the pepper. Once cool enough to handle peel the peppers, discarding the skin.

While the peppers are roasting, heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottom pot (I used an 8qt pot). Add the carrots, onions, leek and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occassionally until the vegetables are softened but not brown, about 10 minutes or more. Add the peppers, white wine, fennel seeds and 4 cups of water and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 40 minutes.

Once soft either use an immersion blender right in the pot, or transfer the vegetables to a blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and cumin if desired. Stir in the parsley and if the consistency is too thick you can thin it with a bit of water. Garnish with garlic croutons and parmesan cheese.

garlic croutons - brush your thickly sliced bread with olive oil and put it in the oven to toast until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and rub with a garlic clove that has been cut in half. Slice and serve.

*quinoa is also great with this soup - either in it, or with a bit of soup served on top.

Oh, and this is my new favorite snack/lunch...avocado on toast or cracker with salt and pepper. I could eat an entire avocado without even blinking...the same goes for a chocolate bar, which unfortunately is not source of 'good' fat, but I'm still able to convince myself it's healthy as long as it's dark chocolate. Speaking of healthy, if you are planning on spring cleaning your diet, this soup would be a great addition, perhaps a substitute for that chili you've been eating all winter long.

The weather has been phenomenal this week. I've been outside as much as possible, taking long walks just to feel the sun on my face. I'd forgotten how much I like walking around the city and exploring new neighborhoods. Forget the trams, I'll walk! Snow is apparently headed our way next week (ugh) so you can be sure I'll be sitting on a bench near the lake with my face in the sun all weekend long.

Frühling Financiers

Frühling kommt! That means 'spring is coming'. My German classes are slowly beginning to pay off, although I will admit that I used google translate just to make sure I had gotten that right. I guess confidence will come with time and a lot more practice. Anyway, the deep freeze seems to be over, thank goodness, and it's actually warm-ish out (when you have a deep freeze, anything over freezing is considered warm, but today it's actually 50º). I was beginning to think I'd never go outside again, that my pom-pom hat would be a wardrobe stable forever and that I'd never wear sandals again. Alas, I can feel the sun on my face, and it feels heavenly. The deep freeze seemed to have hit the blog as well, so my apologies if you were visiting in the hopes of finding some Haus warmth and goodies.

I've had this financier recipe on my 'to-bake' list ever since we got back from our trip to Paris. We went to the boulangeries to buy baguettes, but it's impossible to just by baguettes, so we often left with other goodies, like pain au chocolat, brioche, madeleines, and financiers. All weekend there were goodies spilling out of my purse and thankfully there were some delicious treats hidden in the bottom of my purse that I didn't discover until we were already back in Zürich on Sunday night. Hidden in that little brown bag were two madeleines and three financiers. I sampled both for breakfast on Monday, and although both were worthy of a return trip to Paris, the financier really caught my attention. The perfectly crisp exterior gave way to a moist and flavorful almond interior and I knew after the first bite that I had to find a worthy recipe that I could make at home.

Here are the authentic Parisian madeline and financier. I'm surprised they made it all the way back to Zürich. I think we were so stuffed after a weekend of delicacies and baguettes that by the time Sunday night came around we were unenthused by any baked goods.

Almond Financiers with Strawberries

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

* My one suggestion is to weigh the ingredients. A cup of almond flour is not an accurate measurement as some flours can be lighter or denser than others.

* I don't have financier molds so I used mini cupcake molds.

ingredients

- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter for buttering financier molds

- 1 cup (140g) finely ground almonds

- 1 2/3 cup (210g) confectioners sugar

- 1/2 cup (70g) all purpose flour

- pinch of salt

- 3/4 cup (185g) egg whites (5 to 6)

- 3/4 cup (185g/6oz) unsalted butter melted and cooled

- sliced strawberries for top

Preheat oven to 450ºF/230ºC

Using a pastry brush thoroughly butter the molds. Place the molds or cupcake tin in the freezer to resolidify the butter, which will make it easier to unmold the financiers.

In a large bowl combine the almonds, sugar, flour, and salt. Mix to blend. Add the egg whites, mixing until blended. Follow with the 3/4 cup butter and continue to stir/mix until incorporated. The mixture should be fairly thin and pourable.

Spoon the batter into the molds, filling them almost to the rim. Top each with a strawberry slice or two. Place the molds/cupcake tin on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake until the financiers just begin to rise (about 7 min) then reduce the heat to 400ºF/205ºC. Continue baking until the financiers are a light, delicate brown and begin to firm up (another 7 min). Turn off the oven heat and let the financiers rest in the oven until firm (another 7 minutes). Timing might be less depending on your mold/tin - just be sure to check for rise-browning. Mine were about 5-6 minutes instead of 7.

Remove the financiers from the oven and allow them to cool in their molds for 10 minutes. Enjoy for breakfast or with your afternoon coffee!

In our house these were a breakfast treat, but they would be great at any time of the day. These were so good, actually one of Zach's favorites, that I think I will keep them on a fairly steady rotation, and will certainly make a batch when we have guests.

Hopefully this post marks the end of the blog freeze. It's time to start browsing cookbooks and revisiting my 'to-bake' list. With spring approaching I'm feeling the need for a little less baking and a bit more spinach, so perhaps I'll finally get my act together and post some lunch/dinner recipes (always harder to photograph).

1º banana bread

You know how every once and awhile you just need to get something off your chest? Perhaps you call it whining, but I prefer to call it venting. Please excuse me while I vent for a few short little sentences. IT IS FREEZING. For the last week it hasn't been above 15º F. Today the low is 1º F, yes ONE degree. I'm sitting at our dinning room table, fully outfitted with a cashmere sweater, thick wool knee socks, a scarf and a blanket. I refuse to go outside. The last time I went outside I thought I'd lost my nose and toes to frostbite. And that was just from walking next door to German class, literally NEXT door. Okay, I'll stop venting and using capitals, but I just want you, my dear readers and friends, who live in The States and have been enjoying unseasonably warm weather, to know that while you frolic there are those of us who freeze.

Since I refuse to go outside I've had to limit my cooking to ingredients we have in our pantry, and on our countertop. Behold the rotting bananas! It didn't take long before they were mashed, mixed into a buttery dough, poured into a loaf pan, and baked with the company of chocolate chips, until moist and fragrant. In my world there is no such thing as banana bread without chocolate chips. The two go together. I always leave out any nuts that recipes call for and take it upon myself to substitute a healthy amount of chocolate chips. I've tried a variety of banana bread recipes in the past, but this one turned out especially well. Maybe the bananas were just ripe/rotten enough, or perhaps I baked it for the perfect amount of time, or maybe the cooking gods felt bad for me and my frozen toes and made me an offering of a perfect banana bread. Generally when I bake a cake, Zach and I can get through about half of it and then we get bored with it or we just feel like we've eaten too much cake, but with the banana bread we had to fight for the last piece, which wasn't really a fair fight since Zach wakes up earlier than I do and was able to eat it for breakfast. I'd make some again right this minute if the bananas on our counter were brown and mushy instead of yellow and hard.

The last time I posted I was complaining that it was grey and not snowing. HA! Well now it's sunny and there is snow on the ground, but it's absolutely frigid. I can't decide which is worse....grey and a bit warmer or sunny and freezing. Either way, both seem to call for bread with a dot or two of extra butter.

Banana Bread

adapted from Mark Bittman 'How to Cook Everything'

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

8 tablespoons / 1 stick / 113 g butter at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork until smooth

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2-1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC and grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Mix the dry ingredients (flours, salt, baking powder) in a bowl

Cream the butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy in texture. Add in the eggs one at a time and then the mashed bananas, mixing until just incorporated.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients, mixing just enough to combine. Gently stir in the vanilla and chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45-60 minutes (mine took exactly 60) or until top is browned and cake tester inserted in the center comes out fairly clean. Because of the bananas, this bread will stay moister than most. Be careful not to over bake this bread. Cool on a wire wrack for 15 minutes and then flip the loaf out.

Now I have to figure out what I comb through our cupboards in search of edible dinner items. Hmmm. You can only eat so many gerkins.

If it's warm where you are (over 32ºF) please spend some time outside for all of us shivering in Switzerland.