Panna cotta

photo Olivier Vigerie

The small sister of Tiramisu is called Panna cotta (cooked cream). Is the easiest dessert ever, the classic version tastes vanilla. I use to play some combinations with different fruits coulis, in summer blueberries, raspberries, peaches… in winter I like to use tropical fruits as mango, pineapple and passion fruit.

Stollen

Stollen is a traditional German pastry made up of a brioche base with dried fruit, spices, citrus zest and marzipan. Stollen is symbolic of the Christmas period and even if the town of Dresden claims to be the only authentic place to produce it, Stollen is made and appreciated all over Germany and Alsace. Actually this delicious cake is made, eaten and loved also in my restaurant..

3 important tips for a perfect Stollen:

1)   mix fruits and sliced almonds; leave overnight to macerate with rum and spices

2)   Dough should rise twice, first time alone in a big bowl, second time in his final shape with garnish inside (second rising is very important because will give the air to your cake)

3)   After second rising, put your Stollen on a very hot oven plate (not a rack) in a preheated oven 180°C (this will boost the cake)

Ekte Geitost (one of the 2 things that I love about Norway)

What is Ekte Geitost ? is a Norwegian goat cheese, it has a light brown color and the taste…is wonderful, I really can’t explain how good it is! We don’t have nothing like that here that I could compare. My mother is Norwegian, so since I was a little child I use to go to school in Italy with my Ekte Geitost sandwich.. nobody wanted to have a taste because of his color, I was a little bit offense about that but at the same time I didn’t run the risk of a snack robbery!

ostehøvel

Norwegian goats

Unfortunately you can find Ekte Geitost only in Norway, so if you’ll have the chance to visit this beautiful country don’t miss the opportunity of a taste of it with your personal ostehøvel! Its good on a nice piece of whole bread, with a little bit of butter (I said little!).

me in the perfect norwegian nature

The other thing that I love about Norway is nature, I have never seen a nature like that before. Waterfalls everywhere, beautiful mountains and unforgettable fjords!

working goat and me

Last time that I went there to visit the Norwegian part of the family I had also the chance to meet some new friends..

happy sheep and me

Gâteau à la banane

J’adore ce gâteau, il est moelleux, épicé à la gingembre et à la cannelle, les bananes utilisées sont fraiches et savoureuses.. bref c’est un vrai bonheur !

Mexican dinner

Margaritas

Me

Monday is the only day that my restaurant is closed, so yesterday night I went with my American friend Jacklyn to try a Mexican restaurant in the 5 arrondissement, near Notre Dame.. it was great! Is the first restaurant (out of Mexico) where I could find real Mexican food, with perfect margaritas and cute decoration that made me feel in the countryside of Oaxaca, just for one night!

Quesadilla de fromage y guacamole

Enchiladas verdes

Pastel de elote flambée au Tequila

Jacklyn, the vegan pastry chef of a vegetarian restaurant in Paris

It was good!

Gingerbread in Paris

Yesterday I had a big order of gingerbread man, trees and stars. The customer will decorate by herself the biscuits and she will put half of them on her huge Christmas tree and the other half will become a plenty of Christmas gifts. Great idea!

When she came to pick up her cookies she brought me a lot of small bells, their sound make me think about Santa’s reindeers…

..on their way to Santa's house

Yesterday evening I couldn’t find my bells anymore.. someone stole them! Finally the postman this morning brought me some postcards from Paris and I realized that my gingerbread man was pretty tired to spend all his life in the kitchen or on a Christmas tree.. he wanted to see the the Ville Lumiere, do some shopping and have fun like anybody else!

Place Vendome

Place de la Concorde

La Tour Eiffel

He didn’t come back (neither my bells), I imagine a hungry tourist found it and… you know when you are so good and crunchy everybody wants to give a bite! Bon appétit..

Espresso cookies

my coffee in the garden

These small cookies are made with Colombian grounded coffee…  the smell is rich and round, you won’t be able to let the cookies cool down without having a taste! I use to eat them for breakfast with a hot coffee.. best things are often so easy!

flour and coffee

Preheat oven to 180°C. Beat 125g soft butter with 50g caster sugar. Add 150g flour, ¼ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt, 2 tbsp grounded coffee, 45g grounded almonds. The dough should be soft. Arrange equal amounts of cookie dough on the prepared baking tray (the shape should be a smashed ball) and bake for 15 minutes. Leave the cookies to cool on the tray.