Oreo cheesecake

Base

140 g Digestive biscuit

110 g Oreo biscuit

50 g Sugar

90 g Soft butter

A little Cinnamon

Orange zest from half orange

Crush the biscuits finely and then add the butter, sugar, cinnamon and orange zests and process until well combined. Press the mixture on the bottom of a greased pan to evenly cover the base. Place in the fridge while making the filling.

Cake mix

370 g Cream cheese

150 g Sugar

2-3 pcs Eggs (2 large or 3 small)

80 g White chocolate

A little Orange zest

½ tsp Vanilla essence

A little fresh Vanilla

170 g Oreo biscuit

To make the filling, use electric beaters to beat the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla essence in a medium bowl until the mixture is light and creamy. Now add the melted chocolate and the crumbled oreo biscuits. Alternatively you can put whole biscuit in the cake, as seen on my other photo.

Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan and bake in a water bath at 130 c for 2 hours. Gently baking is key to a perfect cheesecake.

A good way to check if the cake is done, is to take the cake’s core temperature. The ideal temperature is between 70 to 72 degrees C. Once the cheesecake has been removed from the oven, it needs to chill thoroughly, ideally overnight.

Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients for 6-8:

Mix 3 cups oatmeal with 2 tsp baking powder, a pinch of salt, 1/3 cup brown sugar and cinnamon to taste. Then mix 3 eggs (or 4 egg whites) with 1/2 cup plain yoghurt, 1 cup milk and a little vanilla. Mix dry and wet mix and add a handful of raisins, dry cranberries (or chopped dates…) and chopped pecans (or any other nut of course) 

Pour into lightly buttered (or spray for a lower fat version) baking dish and bake for 25 minutes

Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

1 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons asian fish sauce

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons of calamansi or lemon juice

Plenty of freshly ground black pepper

2 stalks lemon grass for stuffing

2 pcs spring onions, for stuffing

How To

Marinate the whole chicken in fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, calamansi juice and black pepper.

Let stand marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours.

Stuff the chicken cavity with lemon grass and the spring onion

Cook chicken on rotisserie grill or in oven until golden brown

If in regular oven, start with 190 C for 10-15 mins, then reduce to 170 C and cook until done.

Baste with liquid during roasting. Check that juices run clear by lifting and tilting the chicken and look at the juices running from the cavity. If they are clear, the chicken is cooked.

Let the chicken rest a few minutes before cutting.

Citrus Soy Marinated Beef

For the sauce, in a small bowl, mix ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce with 3 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 or 2 chopped spring onions and 2 cm finely grated ginger. Check the taste of the sauce, if it’s too salty, add a bit more juice.

Take 500 g good beef tenderloin and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. (or a good flank steak)

Sear it in a little oil in a hot pan from all sides for a few minutes from each side, keeping it rare on the inside. Depending on the size of the meat, you have to roast it in the oven for a few minutes now.

Use a thermometer if you are not sure, 55 C for rare beef, around 60 C for medium.

When done, remove the beef from the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes before marinating it with the sauce. Let it marinate for at least 20 minutes then slice it thinly, keeping all the sauce on the plate. Serve it as an appetizer together with other salads.

French Toast Club Sandwiches

Ingredients for 4 (3 little triangles each, probably not enough, i know)

9 slice of Toast bread, some peanut butter and strawberry jam, 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, a little vanilla flavor, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder, 2 tablespoon sugar
vegetable oil or butter, fresh fruits, icing sugar, maple syrup, honey…

How To
Mix the eggs with milk well until smooth. Season with Vanilla, cinnamon and sugar. Heat a nonstick pan or a griddle and grease with a little oil or butter
Spread peanut butter and strawberry jam on each slice and make a triple decker sandwich. Cut each in 4 nice triangles. Briefly soak the bread in the milk-egg mix and then gently fry them from all sides until golden brown.
Serve with fresh fruits, honey, maple syrup, berry compote…

Goat cheese and tomato tart 

Ingredients no need for quantities, it doesn’t really matter here

puff pastry (frozen is perfectly fine)

goat cheese, crumbled (or feta, blue…)

sliced tomatoes (sauteed onions and garlic would be a nice addition)

fresh herbs of your choice (thyme, basil, mint, parlsey…)

olive oil

salt, pepper

method

let the puff pastry defrost and roll it out lightly

prick the inner part a few times with a fork

use it whole or cut it out in the shape you like

now put the cheese on it, followed by the tomatoes

leave a bit space on the edges, so the pastry can rise nicely, like in my photo

now sprinkle the tomatoes with herbs, salt and pepper and drizzle with a bit olive oil.

now pop the tarts in the preheated oven, 190 C, for a bout 20 minutes

or until the pastry is golden brown, also from the underside.

Lamb Loin Tagine

Ingredients for the Lamb Loin

0.800 kilograms (1.76 lb) lamb loin, cleaned of all fat and skin, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander, salt and pepper to taste, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander

For the Tagine

1 small onion, finely diced, 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped, 2 cm ginger, finely chopped, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon green chili, finely diced, 1 large carrot, diced, 1 cup chick peas, cooked, 1 large zucchini, diced, 1 small red bell pepper, diced, 1 small green bell pepper, diced, 6 pieces dates, pitted and coarsely diced, 3 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, salt to taste, a few threads of saffron, 2 cups peeled tomatoes, chopped, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, 10 pieces lemon slices, grilled, fresh coriander sprigs (to garnish)

Preparation:

Lamb Loin: 

Season and marinate the lamb loin for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 2 hours. Heat a frying pan with a little olive oil and sear the lamb for 2 minutes for each side. Transfer to an oven at 140 C and roast the loin for another 5 minutes. Timing really depends on your oven. Remove from the oven, cover it and let it rest for a few minutes before carving.

Tagine:

Heat the olive oil in a shallow pot and sauté onion, garlic until a soft, but not brown. Add ginger, chilli and other ingredients and simmer all until the vegetables are soft and the sauce has slightly thickened. Check seasoning. Arrange the lamb slices on top of the vegetable tagine and garnish with some toasted sesame seeds, fresh coriander and the lemon slices.

Involtini Alla Romana (stuffed beef rolls braised in tomato sauce)

Ingredients

1 small onion, 1 medium sized carrot , 1 celery rib, 2 gloves of garlic, 1 sprig fresh thyme, 4  large beef scaloppini from beef round, salt, black pepper, 4 slices prosciutto, seasoned flour (paprika, pepper), ½ cup red wine, 2 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes, nutmeg, gloves powder to taste, some olive oil

Method

Finely dice the vegetables. Sauté the vegetables in olive oil for a few minutes. Lay the beef flat out on a table and top with a slice of prosciutto, followed by a spoon of the cooked vegetables. Now roll the scaloppini up and secure them with a toothpick. Season with a bit of salt and dredge in the seasoned flour. Sear the beef rolls in hot olive oil from all sides, then add the rest of the vegetables. Now add the wine and cook for a few minutes to reduce the liquid. Then add the chopped tomatoes and seasoning. Simmer slowly for 1.5 hours or until beef is tender. Remove the toothpicks and serve with your favourite mashed potato recipe and some green vegetables.

adapted from the book: “rome at home” by suzanne dunaway