The first fresh scallop since eight month ...

Today we drove to France to go shopping at the Match Supermarche. They have a good selection of fresh fish and seafood which can not be found in Germany (not in the area where we live). So much nice food - duck breast, magret de canard du sud -ouest (thinnly sliced smoked duck breast), bloc de foie gras (duck liver), scallops, prawns, Riesling wine from alsace ...
We bought some fresh scallops with corail and raw tiger prawn. This ones were shortly pan fried at low heat. As a side dish I prepared some vegetables (fennel, shalotts, bellpepper, zucchini) with garlic and thyme.

Some new fish recipes

Today I tried out two new recipes I found in a cooking magazine. The one of both was nothing new. Asian style stir fried vegetables (spring onion and bellpeppers) and tuna cubes.

The other dish was more exciting. It is a bed of vegetables (fennel, carrots, leek) placed on a piece of backing paper. A Tilapia filet is placed on top, salted and peppered. Fresh thyme, a bay leaf and sliced green olives are placed on top. Then some splashes of lemon and olive oil. Afterwards the packet is folded and sealed. The whole thing goes for around 25 minutes to the oven. I can only say: absolutely simple to prepare and delicious ... :-)

First Asparagus with Sauce Holloandaise

Fresh asparagus was offered at the vegetables section at the supermarket. I know - it is not season for asparagus in Germany, but we gave the asparagus a trial. Don't ask me from where it is imported. However, it turned out to be delicious. Sweet and not bitterish.
The Sauce Hollandaise was prepared according to a recipe from the German magazine "Der Feinschmecker". This sauce is a little bit tricky to prepare. Easily the beaten egg can coagulate in several of the preparation steps. If this happens one can dispose the sauce. Luckily it doesn't happened.
While writing this post we are waiting for the mango puff pastry to be backed. Hmmm ... looking forward to the dessert ... ;-)

Happy New Year 2008!

Happy New Year 2008 to everybody reading this blog!

We had a very nice new year dinner. As a starter I prepared beef tatar (according to a recipe of Johann Lafer) with a layer of creme fraiche with lemon and mustard and cives. It was very tasty. The main was mediterran style pork filet with bell peppers and zucchini. Cooked with lots of olive oil, garlic cloves, rosmarin and thyme.

Steamed Salmon and Vegetables

Today I prepared steamed salmon with different vegetables (sellery, tomatos, carots, potatos) and a white sauce (roux, fish fond, Noilly Prat, cream, creme fraiche, mustard). A simple, but healthy and delicious dish.

Sushi and Sashimi ...!

Today I had one day on leave to celebrate Helens' birthday. We gave a new asian restaurant nearby a trial. They serve chinese, thai, and japanese food. We gave the sushi, sashimi, and maki rolls a try. It was delicious and I was surprised about the freshness of the fish. It is not very easy to find such a quality in our area (far away from the sea/ocean). We are now very happy to found a sushi/sashimi place ... ;-))

Steamed Fish with Vegetables and Herbs

Yesterday we got our new WMF steamer and sauteuse. It is wonderful kitchenware. Today I immediately tried steamed vegetables and fish. The result was very delicious. We put the fish filets on a bed of potato, sellery, carrots, tomatos with a bunch of fresh herbs (parsily, dill, cive). The preparation is quite simple and quick.