Oriental-Style Chicken Salad and Rice Noodle Salad

One of my best friends once gave me a cookbook called The Cuisine of California by Diane Rossen Worthington. It has turned out to be quite the gem. Every recipe I've made out of it has been really delicious. The other day I was craving the oriental-style chicken salad. I still haven't found the right rice wine vinegar for the dressing (I use a rice vinegar meant for sushi, which is okay, but I believe there's better kinds out there) but the dish tastes wonderful anyways. Since I had leftover dressing I used rice noodles instead of chicken the next day to make a rice noodle salad. Rice noodles only take about 4-5 minutes to cook so it was a really quick dinner to make. 

Serves 6-8
For dressing
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon peanut butter
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of Chinese hot mustard (haven't searched for this ingredient yet)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons hot pepper oil (didn't use this, although I'm sure the heat would add a nice touch)
1/4 cup sesame oil


3 cups chicken stock or water combined with 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pounds chicken breasts, boned
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1 medium European cucumber, julienned
2 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro


1. For dressing: combine all ingredients except the oils and whisk well to combine. Slowly whisk oils into dressing until combined. Set aside.


2. In a medium, deep skillet or a large saucepan, bring chicken stock or enough water to cover chicken to a simmer. If stock doesn't cover chicken, add water to cover. Add chicken breasts and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on size, or until just tender.


3. Cool chicken in liquid. Drain chicken and remove skin. Shred by tearing meat into long, thin pieces (or slice with a knife, if desired). Reserve in a medium serving bowl. 


4. To toast sesame seeds, place in dry medium skillet over high heat. Shake until seeds turn light brown, about 2 minutes. Remove immediately from skillet. Reserve. 


5. Add cucumber, green onions, and 1 tablespoon cilantro to bowl with chicken. Add dressing and mix well. Taste for seasoning. Garnish with sesame seeds and remaining cilantro. 


May be prepared up to 8 hours ahead through step 3 and kept in refrigerator. Toss with dressing just before serving. 

Chocolate in London, Paris and Zurich

Wow, what a week! Within one single week I tasted chocolate in London, Paris and Zurich. Not bad, huh? But I'm pretty sick of chocolate now (I never thought I'd ever say that!).

Last weekend I was in London and was able to stop by the shop Melt in Notting Hill. It was a very cute shop with a small selection of chocolates and chocolate bars. Perfect, as too large a selection makes me suspicious as to the freshness of the products. I bought the dark chocolate bar with mint (which never left London), the dark chocolate with sea salted caramel bar (which didn't make its first night back in Basel) and the dark chocolate bar with orange (which I just took a nibble of and presumably will disappear within 24 hours). As the name suggests, these chocolates melt in your mouth, creating a very smooth and fresh feeling. Very tasty and definitely worth another visit the next time I go to London.

When my sister was in Paris a few weeks ago she bought me a bar of dark chocolate with orange from Jean-Charles Rochoux, a shop I had recommended to her from my last trip to Paris last fall. It was so delicious that I decided to stop by the shop again this past Wednesday while I was on a work trip to Paris. And I was not disappointed. I bought a chocolate bar filled with praliné and caramel and topped with almonds as well as a selection of little chocolates. All were very tasty and fresh, but my favorite was the raspberry one called "maraba". Raspberry and dark chocolate are a couple wed in heaven. Mmhmm. 

When I found out that the Salon du Chocolat was to take place for the first time in Zurich at the end of March I knew I would have to go visit. That's exactly what I did yesterday. There was a small number of exhibitors from Switzerland and other European countries, most of which I'd heard of before, such as Sprüngli, Cailler, Honold, and Beschle. After snatching free samples of chocolate Luxemburgerli and dark chocolate truffles from Sprüngli (and they taste so much better fresh!) I went to the Beschle stand, a chocolatier from Basel. I'd only ever tried their chocolate here and there and was excited to have the opportunity to try some different flavors at their stand. I tried dark chocolate and ginger, white chocolate and lassi, white chocolate with blueberries and almonds as well as dark chocolate with rosemary and lemon thyme and dark chocolate with pistachios and fleur de sel. The latter two were my favorite and I bought a bar of each. Normally I don't care for chocolate that has flavors usually found in savory dishes, but the rosemary and lemon thyme chocolate was really delicious and fresh-tasting. A palate-cleanser.

Brioche French Toast with Pears & Walnuts in Gingered Maple Brandy Sauce

Only when I have company do I ever make something special for breakfast. Yesterday it was Denis Cotter's Brioche French Toast with Pears & Walnuts in Gingered Maple Brandy Sauce from his book For the Love of Food, the second breakfast recipe I've tried from the cookbook after buttermilk pancakes. Absolutely delicious! Although the lime mascarpone was yummy, we didn't feel it added much value to the dish. We were perfectly happy with the toast and the pear sauce. 

For the lime mascarpone

100 g/ 3 1/2 oz mascarpone

100 ml/ 3 1/2 fl oz double cream, whipped to soft peaks

finely grated zest of 1 lime

For the French toast

2 eggs

100 ml/ 3 1/2 fl oz milk

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 vanilla pod, interior pulp only (I used vanilla extract)

4 slices brioche

about 15g/ 1/2 oz butter

For the pears and walnuts in gingered maple brandy sauce

50 g/ 2 oz butter

2 medium pears, cored and thickly sliced lengthways

1 piece of stem ginger in syrup, thinly sliced (I just used ground ginger)

3 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp brandy

1 tbsp chopped walnuts

First prepare the lime mascarpone: beat the mascarpone to soften it and fold in the whipped cream and lime zest. 

Make the French toast: whisk the eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla together in a large bowl. Soak the brioche slices for 1 minute in this egg mixture.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ gas mark 4. 

Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Remove the brioche slices from the egg mixture and place 2 of them in the pan. Cook on one side until golden, then turn and repeat with the other side. Repeat with the remaining slices, adding a little more butter if necessary, and arrange on an oven tray.

Place the tray in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Make the pears and walnuts in gingered maple brandy sauce: in another frying pan, heat 15g/ 1/2 oz of the butter over medium heat and sauté the pear slices in it for 5-7 minutes, turning them to color all sides. Add the ginger, maple syrup and brandy, and continue cooking for a further minute.

Remove from the heat and add the walnuts and the remaining butter to give the sauce a pouring consistency. 

Serve 2 slices of toast per portion, topped with the pears, walnuts and sauce poured over. Add a dollop of the mascarpone and serve. 

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I love the combination of sugar, nuts and cinnamon. That's exactly what makes this sour cream coffee cake delicious. I was flipping through The Essential Baker looking for inspiration for an afternoon cake to serve my friends and came across this recipe. I hadn't had coffee cake in a while and it sounded easy to make so I went for it. It did turn out to be very easy and quick to make. And it tastes really good! Guess what's for breakfast tomorrow...

6 ounces (165 g/ 12 tablespoons/ 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350°F (177°C). Generously butter the inside of a 9 1/2-inch (26 cm) round spring-form pan. In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until it's fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and cream together well. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the sour cream and vanilla and blend together thoroughly. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the salt and toss together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 stages, blending thoroughly after each. 

For the topping, combine the walnuts, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl and toss together to blend thoroughly.

Transfer half of the batter to the prepared pan. Use a rubber spatula to spread it evenly. Sprinkle half the topping over the batter in the pan. Transfer the remaining batter to the pan and spread it out evenly over the topping. Sprinkle the remaining topping over the batter. Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a rack. 

Moroccan Chicken

I have a new favorite recipe that is easy and delicious. I love recipes that let you just throw everything into one pot et voilà! The recipe is Chicken with caramelized baby onions and honey from the Moroccan part of Claudia Roden's cookbook "Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, & Lebanon". I serve it with couscous: 1 part couscous to two parts water. Put the water into a pot, add salt, freshly ground black pepper and a swig of olive oil. Once it boils, remove from the heat, add the couscous and let it soak up all the water. This takes about 5 to 10 minutes. 

Serves 4

1 pound shallots or baby onions

1 onion, chopped

4 tablespoons sunflower oil (I used olive oil)

good pinch of saffron threads

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 chicken, cut up in 6 or 8 pieces

salt and black pepper

1-11/2 tablespoons clear honey

To garnish: 1/2 cup blanched almonds or a handful of sesame seeds (optional)

To peel the shallots or baby onions, blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain, and when cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and trim the root ends (I just peeled the shallots by hand). 

Sauté the chopped onion until softened in the oil over a medium heat in a pan or casserole large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer. Stir in the saffron, ginger, and cinnamon, then put in the chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper, and turn to brown them lightly all over. 

Add about 1 cup water and cook, covered, over a low heat, turning the pieces over, for 15 minutes, or until the chicken breasts are done. Lift out the breasts and put them to one side. Add the shallots or baby onions and continue to cook, covered, for about 25 minutes, or until the remaining chicken pieces are very tender. During the cooking, turn the chicken pieces and stir the onions occasionally; add a little water, if necessary. 

Lift out the chicken pieces and set to one side. Stir the honey into the pan. Check the seasoning. You need quite a bit of pepper to mitigate the sweetness. Cook, uncovered, until all the water has evaporated, and the onions are brown, caramelized, and so soft that you could crush them, as they say in Morocco, "with your tongue". 

Return the chicken pieces to the pan, spoon the onions on top of them, and heat through. A few minutes should be enough. Serve, if you wish, sprinkled either with blanched almonds fried in a drop of oil until they are lightly golden, or with toasted sesame seeds.