• 1 red bell pepper (4 tbsp. once diced)
• 4 tbsp fresh chives
• 10 oz fresh crab meat
• 2 inch stick celery finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 tsp Kosher salt – can substitute with 1/8 tsp. table salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper

• 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs (for coating)
• 3 tbsp clarified butter

To start the crab cakes, pre-heat the oven to 325° degrees Fahrenheit.

Next cut the ends off of the pepper and remove the insides. Now brunoise the peppers (which basically just means to cut them into small even size pieces). Then finely dice the chives.

Place the crab meat into a medium bowl and break it up checking for any pieces of shell. 
Then add the breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, chives, red pepper, salt, pepper and mix well.

Now divide the mixture up into equal portions, then form into little cakes. 
Make sure to squeeze them a bit so they don’t fall apart while cooking. You can make the cakes, up to this point, a few hours ahead of time and store in the refrigerator, until ready to cook.

When you are ready to cook the crab cakes, sprinkle the breadcrumbs onto a plate and roll each cake in the breadcrumbs to coat.

Heat a non-stick fry pan over high heat and add the clarified butter and heat until it just begins to smoke. 
Add the crab cakes and then turn the heat down to medium and let cook until golden brown on the one side. Meanwhile spray a baking tray with non-stick spray and set aside. 

Once the bottom of the crab cakes are golden, flip and transfer to the baking tray. Then place into the oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

These delicate crab cakes are fantastic and can be served either as a light lunch or an appetizer.

Enjoy!

For the buns:

1/2 cup milk
1 egg beaten
35g butter
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (stronger the better)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 block yeast (I use cubes of yeast for 1kg of flour so it amounts to 1/4 of a cube so hope this makes sense?)

For the filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 tbsp cinnamon
35g butter
1/2 cup raisins

First I cream the yeast in a bowl with a little bit of the sugar and place it into the warmed milk and leave for ten minutes.

Whilst waiting for the yeast In a bowl I added the flour, sugar, salt. I cream the butter a little and then add it to the flour mixture along with the milk and beaten egg and bring together firstly with a knife and once starting to bind I get my hands in there and bring it together into a nice ball and onto the work surface to knead for a good 8 minutes until stretchy and the dough has a nice sheen to it. I then place the dough into a bowl covered with a tea towel. I then placed a bowl of hot water into the bottom of the oven and the put the dough on the top shelf and left to rise for an hour minimum or until doubled in size. I then knocked it back down on the work surface and rolled it out into a rectangle(not too sure on size but not too thick and not too thin) I then melted the butter and brushed the surface of the dough just leaving the far edge furthest away from you free of butter. Then I mixed the sugar, raisins and cinnamon together in a bowl and sprinkled this all over the dough right up to the edges but still leaving the furthest edge clean. Then starting from the closest edge to you roll up tightly working away from you. Once tightly rolled cut into 12 equal slices and place on a greased baking tray and cover and put back in the warm oven to rise. Once they have risen again take them out of the oven and preheat the oven to 180c and place in the oven for approx 15-20 minutes or until the tops just start to go golden. I then dusted the top of them with caster sugar and ate warm with a cold glass of milk….yummmmm 

Ingredients and directions to follow.

Ingredients and directions to follow

This soup was so tasty last time I decided to try it again but with the addition of cream this time instead of sour cream. Still just as tasty and the cream did make it much richer. This is certainly a meal in itself as it was very filling.

Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Bakingbites

Ingredients

10 tbsp(140 grams) butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups (200 grams) sifted all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
Nutella, approx. 1/3 cup

Directions

First I sieved the flour baking powder and salt into a bowl and combined and set to one side. Then I placed the cubed softened butter into a mixing bowl and the caster sugar and using a fork I mashed the butter into the sugar until mixed well and then stirred quicker to make the mixture light and fluffy and pale in colour.  Then I cracked three eggs into a bowl and beated lightly and spooned this mixture bit by bit into the butter and sugar mixture beating thoroughly to incorporate well. Then I stirred in the flour mixture and vanilla using a knife to fold in carefully until fully mixed. I then greased twleve individual cup cake tins and spooned a heap of the mixture into the tins to approx 3/4 full. Then with a teaspoon I topped the cakes with a small dollop of nutella and using a toothpick I swirled the nutella around to make sure you have the cake mixture and nutella evenly spread on top. I pre-heated the oven to 180c and placed in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

4 eggs

4 tbsp grated cheddar cheese

1/2 red pepper de-seeded and sliced

1tbsp oil

salt and pepper

1 tomato halved

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Chopped fresh parsley for decoration

Directions

Firstly I cut the red pepper in half and removed the seeds. Then I sliced into thin strips and set aside ready for frying. Then I cracked four eggs into a bowl and added the four tablespoons of cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and whisked thoroughly. Then I heated the frying pan until hot and added one tablespoon of oil and added the pepper and fried until soft for a couple of minutes. Next I added the egg mixture to the pan and cooked on medium heat making sure to push the egg mixture with a spatula to the middle so the liquid comes to the sides and cooks right through. This process ensures the top is cooked properly and no raw egg rermains. I cooked like this for approx five minutes or until the bottom of the omelette is golden and then I flipped to cook for just one minute on the other side. For serving I sliced a tomato in half using a zig zag line around the tomato. Then I sprinkled a little salt and balsamic vinegar onto the tomato. Finally I chopped some fresh parsley and sprinkled onto the omelette.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

For the cajun spiced chicken:

2 chicken breasts without skin

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp chilli powder

3 cloves crushed

3 cloves garlic minced

2 tbsp flour

small knob of unsalted butter

1 tbsp oil

For the roasted peppers:

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

salt

1 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp oil infused with garlic and chilli

3 garlic cloves

1tbsp lemon juice

1tbsp lemon zest

2tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

1/4tsp salt

1/4tsp pepper

For the pasta:

250g of dried pasta

1 tsp olive oil

salt

To garnish:

2 sprigs of parsley

Chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

For the chicken:

Firstly I trimmed any excess fat and sinue from the chicken breasts and set to one side on a plate and covered. In a large bowl I combined the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, basil, chilli, cloves, thyme and garlic and mixed thoroughly. I then took one of the chicken breasts and dipped it into the bowl rubbing the spice mixture all over the skin ensuring completely coated. Then I did the same to the other chicken breast and covered them both with cling film and put in the fridge for an hour.

Once they had marinated in the cajun spices for an hour I heated a frying pan and once very hot I added the oil and butter. When the butter had melted I placed the two chicken breasts into the pan and fried each side until golden and cooked right through approx 5 minutes each side on a medium heat. Once they were cooked I sliced into thick strips and wrapped in tin foil to rest and keep warm ready for the pasta and sauce.

For the sauce:

Firstly I put four cloves of garlic in a crusher and scraped this into a bowl. Then I grated the zest of a lemon into the bowl with one tablespoon of lemon juice. Then I finely chopped some fresh tarragon and placed this into the bowl. Next I added the mayonnaise, mustard, oil, salt and pepper and whisked well until the sauce was combined well and looked nice and glossy. Then I covered the sauce with film and put in the fridge until ready to add to the pasta and warm through.

For the peppers:

I took one whole red and green pepper and washed and dried then placed sliced in half and placed on a baking tray and put under the grill to burn the skin ready for peeling. Once the skins had turned black and blistered I placed them in a tupperware tub with the lid on to steam for ten minutes. Once they had cooled a little I removed them from the tub and peeled all the skin from the peppers and deseeded. Then I placed the halved peppers onto a tea-towel and pressed the towel down onto the peppers to dry and flatten. I then placed the peppers onto a baking tray and sprinkled with salt and drizzled with oil on both sides. Then I sliced the peppers into strips whilst still on the baking tray and placed into the oven to roast for approx 30 minutes.

For the pasta:

I filled a deep saucepan half full with cold salted water and brought to the boil. Then I added the pasta and stirred thoroughly adding one teaspoon of olive oil to prevent sticking. I let this boil for approximately 7 minutes or until the pasta is soft but still very slightly firm. I then drained the pasta making sure to reserve half a cup of the water the pasta was cooked in. I then placed the pasta back into the saucepan and added the water and the tarragon sauce and stirred well making sure all the pasta is coated with the sauce. I then placed the pasta and sauce back onto the heat to warm through ready to serve.

I spooned the pasta evenly onto the middle of the plate making sure it’s layered well for the chicken to sit on top. I then removed the foil from the chicken and placed three slices of chicken on top of the pasta and sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley and placed a sprig of parsley on the centre piece of chicken.

I then took the roasted peppers from the oven and layered them criss cross on the side of the plate just resting on the edge of the pasta.

Tonight I wanted to fry some steaks and top with a fresh tarragon sauce. A friend of ours recently came back from a trip to France and was kind enough to bring me back some fresh tarragon so what could be better than topping some lovely fried juicy steaks with a tarragon, lemon and garlic sauce.

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp oil infused with garlic and chilli

4 garlic cloves

1tbsp lemon juice

1tbsp lemon zest

2tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

1/4tsp salt

1/4tsp pepper

Firstly I put four cloves of garlic in a crusher and scraped this into a bowl. Then I grated the zest of a lemon into the bowl with one tablespoon of lemon juice. Then I finely chopped some fresh tarragon and placed this into the bowl. Next I added the mayonnaise, mustard, oil, salt and pepper and whisked well until the sauce was combined well and looked nice and glossy. Then I put the bowl into the fridge to chill until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

There are so many different varieties of soups that the list is almost endless but in my opinion you still have to go some way to beat the good old traditional tomato soup. It’s simple to make and yet full of goodness and always warms you up ready to face another cold day here in Moscow –  ok it’s not quite got to that level just yet but you have to be prepared you know.

Ingredients

1 finely chopped white onion

3 finely chopped clove of garlic

4 inch piece of celery finely chopped

1 medium carrot peeled and finely chopped

5 medium tomatoes cored and quartered

1 tbsp tomato paste

Pinch finely chopped fresh basil

Pinch of salt, pepper and sugar

1 cup of chicken stock

1 heaped tbsp sour cream

Parsley leaf for decoration

Firstly I finely chopped one white onion and set to one side in a bowl. Then I finely chopped 3 cloves of garlic and put in the bowl with the onion. Then I took a 4 inch piece of celery and finely chopped and added to the bowl. Lastly I then chopped one medium carrot and placed this into the bowl.

I then heated two tablespoons of oil in a deep saucepan and once very hot I put all the vegetables in and fried for about ten minutes or until soft and beginning to lighten in colour. Once the vegetables were soft I stirred in one tablespoon of tomato paste ensuring all the vegetables are covered. Then I took out of the fridge five medium size tomatoes and cored them and cut into quarters and added to the saucepan with a pinch of salt, pepper and sugar. I simmered this for approx ten minutes until the tomatoes started to go mushy. Then I poured in one cup of chicken stock, a few chopped basil leaves and turned the heat up to bring it to a boil for three minutes and then put it to simmer for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened completely.

I then set this to one side to cool for fifteen minutes and then blended to make nice and smooth. If you have a hand blender you can keep it in the saucepan but I had to transfer mine to a blender in stages. Once I had blended all of the tomato soup I put it through a fine sieve to take out all the skins and seeds of the tomatoes. You can always skin and de-seed the tomatoes to begin with but I find this quicker and easier and it’s always best to put the final mixture through a sieve anyway. Once I had sieved the soup I placed it back in the saucepan and onto the heat to heat through and added a knob of butter right at the end once it’s come to a boil. At this stage you could always stir in a little cream but all I had was some sour cream so I stirred in a good heaped tablespoon of sour cream just before serving. I then poured into a bowl and garnished with a leaf of parsley and served with some black bread.

Enjoy!