Banana Milkshake

Since I still had a few bananas that were actually starting to get a little brown already, I decided to make a milkshake out of them. Actually, banana shakes taste sooo much better with overripe bananas as they're much more aromatic. I prefer eating bananas when they're still a tiny bit green, but this is what I make out of my overripe bananas:

Ingredients (2 glasses):

- 3 bananas

- about 300ml milk (depending on your taste)

- 2 tsp vanilla sugar

Directions:

Now this is easy: throw everything into a blender and blend until you have a nice milkshake!

I just love milkshakes and smoothies and the vanilla sugar makes them even more delicious....
Enjoy!

xx Allison

Curd Cheese Rolls

Ah, childhood memories... My mum used to make these sweet little curd cheese rolls all the time when my sister and I were younger... They were our favourite! They're not just bread rolls but they taste really fresh and a little sweet thanks to the curd cheese and the sugar. I think they're great for breakfast or just as a little snack and they're reeeally delicious!

Ingredients (ca. 10 bread rolls)

- 225g curd cheese

- 90g sugar

- 9 tbsp milk

- 9 tbsp oil

- 450g flour

- 2 tbsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Mix the flour and the baking powder and stir well.

2. Mix the curd cheese, the sugar, the milk and the oil in another bowl and stir. Then, add the flour/baking powder mixture.

3. Knead the dough and form little bread rolls.

4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes on 200°C.

And that's it already! It's such an easy recipe, you could bake them while you're preparing breakfast and you can keep them for about 2 days. You just have to try this recipe! Have fun!

What used to be your favourite dish when you were little?

xx Allison

Spaghetti With Tomatoes And Mozzarella

This is one of my favourite recipes ever because a) it is super simple, b) it takes 10 minutes to make, and c) it is super delicious!
I love tomatoes and mozzarella and in combination with the pasta it is to die for! This is great when you don't have a lot of time or you just don't feel like standing in the kitchen for hours (which, honestly, I don't feel like very often...) Sooo, let's get startet!

Ingredients (2-3 servings): 
- 250g spaghetti
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 50ml cream
- parmesan (depending on how much you like)
- olive oil
- basil
- salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Start with cooking the spaghetti (they are going to take 8-10 minutes until they're al dente)
2. Meanwhile, dice the onion and the garlic. Heat some olive oil in a pot and roast the onion and the garlic until the onions are slightly translucent.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes, then add the cream, grate the parmesan and add that, too. You can use however much you like, but personally I find it tastes better with a bit more parmesan.
4. Add salt and pepper.
5. Now you can mix the pasta with the sauce in a bowl and add little chunks of mozzarella. Leave it for a minute so it can melt into the sauce a little.
Sprinkle a few basil leaves over the pasta and you're done!

When I was younger I made this almost every day for a few months just because it is such an easy dish and it tastes amazing even though it's a super quick recipe. Basically, this is how I started cooking! Now that I've improved my skills a little bit, I often go for something a little more challenging, but I still love this recipe... Gabriel absolutely loves it, too, so I make this a lot when he comes over for dinner.
Anyways, you should definitely try it out, I hope you like it!

What was the first dish you made when you first started cooking yourself?


xoxo Allison

Strawberry Crumble

Today I am showing you another sweet recipe. Well, what can I say, I just have a sweet tooth! For spring I really love fruity pies and tartes, so this strawberry crumble is exactly what I like! I made some eggnog whipped cream to go with the crumble which was also delicious!

I always find it hard to find a pie recipe which is nice for the summer, too, because I actually prefer ice cream when it's hot... but this strawberry cruble actually works really well!

Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

- 350g strawberries

- 1 orange

- 130g sugar

- 90g butter

- 150g flour

- 1 tbsp starch

- 150ml cream

- 4 tbsp eggnog

- 3 tsp vanilla sugar

Directions:

1. Dice the strawberries. Squeeze the orange.

2. Cook the orange juice, 40g sugar and the starch and stir until it has a creamy consistency.

3. Now, add the strawberries and simmer for 5 minutes, then take the pot off the heat.

4. Meanwhile, knead the flour, the remaining sugar and the butter until you have nice crumbles. Let them cool for 10 minutes.

5. Grease the baking dishes, fill them with the strawberry mix and add the crumbles.

6. Put in the oven for 30 minutes on 180°C.

Meanwhile, whip the cream, add the eggnog and the vanilla sugar and gently stir.

Done!

I hope you like this recipe!

xx Allison

Sweetpotato Wok

I had never tried sweetpotato before, so I was pretty excited to try this recipe. I love Asian food and this dish is great with noodles or rice! Plus, it does not have a lot of fat and is perfect with only 220 calories per serving now that bikini season is coming up ;)

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

- 1 sweetpotato

- 300g mushrooms

- 1 leek

- 1 small ginger tuber

- coriander

- 1 garlic clove

- 150ml vegetable stock

- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce

- 4 tbsp soy sauce

- salt and pepper

- sesame oil

Directions: 

1. Dice the sweetpotato, slice the mushrooms and the leek. Chop the ginger, the garlic and the coriander.

2. Heat the sesame oil in a wok or large pan. Roast the sweetpotato for 6-7 minutes, then add the mushrooms and the leek and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the stock, the chili sauce and the soy sauce. Season with garlic, ginger, salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes.

4. Sprinkle with coriander before serving.

Done!

This is such an easy recipe and it tastes so good! Have fun trying it out!

xx Allison

Crêpe With Caramelised Red Wine Oranges

Today I'm going to show you a French classic - the crêpe. It is one of my favourite desserts and I actually love having crêpes for dinner, too! Since spring has finally arrived, I thought I would pair the crêpe with some delicious juicy oranges. And to make it a little more exciting I caramelised them and cooked them in red wine. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients (2 crêpes):

- 2 heaped tbsp flour

- 2 eggs (size medium)

- splash of carbonated water

- splash of milk

- 1 tsp sugar

- 1 pinch of salt

- 2 oranges

- 50g butter

- 40g sugar

- splash of red wine

Directions:

1. Peel one orange and make sure to also remove the white skin. Slice the orange. The slices should not be too thin as they will fall apart easily in the pan later. Squeeze one orange.

2. Heat the butter in a pan. Once it's melted, add the sugar. Stir until it has a nice and creamy consistency.

3. Add the orange juice and a splash of red wine. The mixture should have a dark orangy colour.

4. While the sauce is cooking, make the dough for the crêpes. Put the flour and the eggs into a bowl, add a splash of carbonated water and stir well. You don't need too much water, the dough should be just creamy enough. Now, add a splash of milk, a tea spoon of sugar and a pinch of salt.

5. Put the orange slices into the sauce. Let them cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, put one ladleful of the dough in a bigger pan and smooth it with your ladle. The crêpe should be rather thin. Turn it after 1 or 2 minutes, depending on how hot the pan is, then bake it for about 30 sec to 1 minute on the other side. 

6. Serve the crêpe and the oranges. Done!

As someone who loves both crêpes and oranges, this recipe is definitely something for me! I also find it great for the hotter seasons of the year, since the oranges give a little more lightness to the crêpes (I usually like my crêpes with Nutella... I know... But it just tastes so good!) 

I hope you like the recipe, have fun trying it out!

What is your favourite dessert for springtime?

How To Organise A Dinner Party Without Stress

Now, I am not the most organised person in general, but when it comes to dinner parties I want nothing to go wrong. From the food to the decorations, everything has to be perfect. And even if everything is not too expensive, I still want it to be delicious and nice looking.

In order to have a nice dinner party, you need to start planning and preparing quite early because you don't want to be all stressed the night of the party. That's why it is good to serve foods that can be prepared in advance.

What I like to serve as a starter is Italian antipasti. Olives filled with almonds or garlic, roasted red pepper, zucchini or mushrooms in olive oil, roasted aubergines filled with mozzarella ...

All of these little goodies have to be pickled in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic at least one day before being served, so that the day of the party you can focus on the main course. If you serve a cold dessert like crème brûlée or ice cream that needs cooling, you can prepare that in advance, too.

Here I have created a dinner party plan for you to follow:

Two days before the party:

Make sure you have all the ingredients for your dishes, drinks and any decorations you need for your table. If you are planning to have professionally made flower arrangements, make sure they'll be ready on time!

If you are going to serve any cold foods like antipasti or a cold dessert, prepare those.

Work out a concept for any decorations or seating.

One day before the party:

If you are going to serve any foods that need to be bought the day of serving them (e.g. meat or fish), pick those up.

Put any drinks that need cooling in the refrigerator – you might forget that later in the flurry of the party.

The day of the party:

Set the table and arrange your decorations.

Try and prepare as much as you can before your guests arrive (e.g. chop vegetables)

Tips for being a good hostess

• Don't try too hard!

You don't need to impress anyone - Its just a fun get-together with a bunch of friends! If you have a more formal dinner, still try and be yourself. Nobody likes a tense hostess.

• Don't keep your guests waiting for too long!

You should try and start making your main course the second you serve your starters (e.g. preheat the oven, boil water...) That way, you can spend a little more time with your guests because you won't have to wait after finishing the starters.

As a basic rule: Prepare as much as possible in advance!

• Be attentive!

Make sure your guests' glass is never empty for more than two minutes, except if they refuse, obviously ;)

• More is more!

Always make sure to have enough food. You will always want to have some leftovers just in case any of your guests asks for a second serving. If you have cooked too much, don't worry, you can always freeze your leftovers and heat them again.

I hope this was helpful to you, enjoy your dinner party!

xoxo Allison

Tomato And Goat Cheese Bruschetta

What I love about this bruschetta recipe is that it is super easy but absolutely tasty! As it takes only 10 minutes to make, it is the perfect little snack.
I added goat cheese to the usual tomato bruschetta because I think it gives a nice twist to it and tastes delish!
Ready? Let's get started!

Ingredients (4-6 portions) :
- 4-6 slices of baguette (you can use any kind of bread if you don't have a baguette)
- 2 tomatoes
- 1/2 onion
- 1 small garlic clove
- fresh basil
- fresh thyme
- 3 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic cream (if you don't have balsamic cream, just mix balsamic vinegar with a little honey)
- 1/2 tsp honey
- salt and pepper
- goat's cheese roll

Directions:
1. Chop the tomatoes, the onion and the garlic, put them into a small bowl.
2. Add the olive oil, balsamic cream, honey, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir.
3. Heat some olive oil in a pan. Once it is hot, put in the baguette slices. Roast each side for about 1 or 2 minutes.
4. Take the pan off the heat, put one slice of the goat's cheese roll on each slice of bread. Wait for another 2 minutes.
5. Once the cheese has melted a little, add about one tsp of the tomato mixture to each slice of bread.
Enjoy!

Quick tip:
If you don't like goat cheese, you can use mozzarella cheese instead. It tastes just as good in combination with the baguette and tomato!

I hope you'll have fun trying out this recipe, tell me in the comment section below whether you liked it!

xoxo Allison

Afternoon Deliciousness

 I just wanted to quickly share a few pictures of my delicious espresso. This is not the original way to have an espresso, I like to add a splash of milk, a few ice cubes and a tiny bit of caramel syrup. Cold coffee drinks are just perfect for hot spring days like today, the weather is absolutely great in Paris, the sun is shining and it's about 25°C... Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with my "iced caramel espresso latte" to attend ;)
Au revoir!
xoxo Allison

Olive And Red Pepper Risotto

Doesn't that look just delicious? Today I decided to make risotto, one of my all time favourite dishes, and since I had some leftover olives and red peppers in olive oil and garlic from a dinner party I had on Thursday, I decided to throw those in and go for a mediterranean style. It was really good and my boyfriend Gabriel loved it too, even though he's usually not a big fan of rice.
It is super easy to make (takes 45 min, though), which is also a big plus.
Now, enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients:
- 350 g risotto rice
- 1 onion
- 100 ml white wine
- 1,3 l vegetable stock
- parmesan
- olives in olive oil
- red peppers in olive oil
- 1 lemon
- rosemary, salt, pepper

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a pot, stir in the chopped onion and cook for about 2 minutes until the onion is softened.
2. Add the rice and cook another 2 minutes. Stir constantly until it looks slightly translucent.
3. Add the white wine and wait until it has almost completely cooked into the rice, then add one ladle of the vegetable stock. Keep stirring and gradually adding ladles of the stock until the rice has a creamy consistency. Allow each ladleful of stock to be absorbed by the rice before adding the next! This will take 20-25 minutes.
4. Now, add the chopped olives and red peppers, the rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook 10 more minutes.
5. Once the rice is cooked, take it off the heat and add the parmesan. You can add as much as you like. (The risotto will have a thicker and more 'oozy' consistency the more parmesan you add)
Grate the peel of the lemon and add it to the risotto, squeeze one half of the lemon and add the juice.
Now you can let it sit for one or two minutes so it will get even creamier!
That's it!

You should definitely try this! It is an amazingly easy dish which will take your mind to the mediterranean sea...
Enjoy!

Hello!

As you may have guessed from the title of my new blog, it is all about cooking! Since I really enjoy trying out new recipes and inventing my own, I thought I might as well share them with you so you can try them as well and tell me what you think - it'll be like cooking with friends!
I am a vegetarian, so this blog is going to be a meat and fish free zone! I believe that a healthy diet is very important which is why i use lots of fruits and vegetables.... and also just because I really think they taste delicious!
I am half french and half english so you can probably imagine that my style of cooking is full of variety. I also love Asian and Italian food, I like trying new things and I'm a huge fan of cupcakes, macarons and anything sweet...
Now, I hope you enjoy this blog! Feel free to send me an e-mail to allisonfiolet@aol.com for any suggestions for improvement or recipe requests!

xoxo, Allison