Ceviche is a wonderfully impromptu seafood dish.  Any mix of seafood (Pacific Halibut, Yellowtail snapper, shrimp, scallops, etc) is marinated in lime juice and the acids cook the seafood.  There is no strict science to the proportions.  It doesn’t even require heat!  Although the citric acids from the lime don’t kill bacteria the same way fire does, with fresh fish from a reputable purveyor there’s no need to worry.  If you are a bit leery, the seafood can be briefly boiled before marinating.

Remove skin and bones from fish and cut into squares.  Lightly salt the fish.  (If you prefer, boil a few cups lightly salted water.  Add cut fish and other seafood such as shrimp or scallops whole for a minute.  Immediately follow with an ice bath.)  Cut the whole seafood.  Combine all with lime and lemon juice.  Four to Five limes and four to five lemons should be enough to cover.  Let marinade for at least two hours.

Following the marinade, drain excess liquid and add remaining ingredients such as avocado, cilantro, chili peppers, salt and pepper to taste.

Pour 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of Pernod over ice in a glass like our “Glass for a Friend”, available through the boutique.  Top it off with still mineral water.  The proportion of Pernod to water should be around 1:4 or 1:5 to mellow the potency of the Pernod.

Ingredients

1.5kg/3¼lb leg of lamb, cubed
2 tsp ground coriander seeds
2 tsp ground ginger
pinch saffron
2 tbsp olive oill
18 shallots whole, peeled
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 cinnamon stick
600ml/1 pint lamb stock
2 tbsp flatleaf parsley, chopped
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
1 preserved lemon, rinsed, inner pulp removed
110g/4oz medjool dates, pits removed
1 tbsp clear honey

Method

1. Place the lamb in a bowl and add the ground coriander, ground ginger, saffron and one tablespoon of the olive oil. Mix well and leave to marinate in the fridge, covered, for 24 hours.
2. The next day, heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy-based pan with a lid. Cook the lamb until browned all over (you may need to do this in batches). Remove the lamb from the pan and set aside.
3. Fry the shallots in the same pan until lightly golden then add the garlic and return the lamb to the pan.
4. Stir in the plain flour and add the tomato purée and cinnamon stick.
5. Stir in the lamb stock and bring to the boil. Cover tightly and simmer gently for 1½ hours, or until the lamb is tender.
6. Add the parsley, coriander, lemon rind, dates and honey, stir well to combine and serve with a bowl of cous cous.

For the chocolate filling:

8 large egg yolks
1 cup confectioners sugar sifted
2 tablespoons white creme de cacao
2 tablespoons Kahlua
2 teaspoons Cognac
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Dutch-Processed cocoa power
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cups heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

For the marshmallow fluff meringue:
3 Large egg whites
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of cream of tartar
teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup of marshmallow fluff

For the graham cracker crust:
3 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
cup (1stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°F
To make the crust: Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and granulated sugar until will combined.  Press into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan.  Bake the crest until starts to brown and become crisp, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

To make the filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and confectioners’ sugar together in a large bowl until they are thick and the color of butter.  Beat in the Cognac, crème de cacao, Kahlúa, vanilla, and salt.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat and whisk in cocoa powder until smooth.  Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate, and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.  Let cool slightly, then gradually beat into the egg mixture.

Fold the softly beaten heavy cream into the chocolate mixture just until combined.  Spoon the chocolate cream over the graham cracker curst, smoothing it evenly with a spatula.  Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

When ready to serve, make the meringue: Using an electric mixer set at low speed, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the salt and cream of tartar and beat at medium speed until soft peaks form.  Beat in the vanilla.  Add the marshmallow Fluff to the egg whites a little at a time, beating constantly until stiff peaks form.

Carefully cut the S’mores into 15 large squares.  Place each S’mores on a dessert plate.  Top each with the meringue in a large dollop.  Use a small kitchen torch to carefully burnish the meringue until tipped with golden brown.  Serve immediately.

Chocolate Sponge Cake:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 eggs, separated

A pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup (heaped) cocoa powder

1. Preheat the oven the 325F and butter a circular cake tin with baking paper. Mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in one bowl.

2. Beat the 6 egg yolks in a separate large bowl and mix in the sugar.

3. Fold in the flour/cocoa mixture alternately with the water in roughly 2-3 additions each.

4. Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form, then fold this gently into the batter.

5. Pour batter into the tin and bake roughly 45-60 minutes. Check to see if the cake is ready by inserting a metal skewer into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Take the cake out of the oven and allow to cool.

6. Once cool, slice in half, and add a layer of chocolate buttercream. Place the top half back on, and layer another level of buttercream on top. Don’t worry too much about adding a layer of buttercream to the side of the cake, or about how the cake looks. Once you top it with the macaroons and fruit, it doesn’t matter what the bottom half looks like!

Chocolate Buttercream:

Ingredients:

3 egg whites

1 cup sugar

300g butter, room temperature

200g good quality dark chocolate, melted over hot water bath (I used 80% Green & Black’s)

1. Hand whisk the egg whites until foamy. Mix in the sugar, and place mixture over a water bath. Keep whisking by hand until the mixture turns whitish, is piping hot and the sugar has dissolved.

2. Remove from water bath and mix with an electric mixer on high speed. Keep mixing until the bowl starts to cool down.

3. Add butter, one tablespoon at a time at first, then two tablespoons at a time. Make sure to incorporate the butter properly into the mixture each time you add butter.

4. Add melted chocolate and incorporate completely.

5. Layer chocolate buttercream onto cake as described above, making sure that the top layer is quite thick. Again, it doesn’t have to look pretty as that’s what the macaroons will do.

6. Place the macaroons one at a time all around the cake to form a circle, as seen in the pictures. Add fruit to the middle and decorate with daisies or any flowers my happen to have lying around.

Keep refrigerated and serve cold.

Recipe  from Mowielicous

We’re back from the holiday and thankful to have finished off that leftover turkey.  With the weekend coming this recipe seemed like the perfect simple dish to freshen the palette after rich holiday feasting.

Via Donna Hay

This is one of our favorite cook books, as you can tell by the worn cover…

This is the delicious recipe served at the birthday party mentioned below: Bon Appetite!

"Off the Shelf. Cooking From the Pantry" P. 96-97

"Onion, Anchovie and Olive Tart" p. 97