Chocolate chip cookies (Round… I don’t remember)

I haven’t posted a recipe in while and I was given the opportunity recently to present an all time favourite. So I decided to post a chocolate chip cookie recipe. This recipe was developed after a lot of tries (if you know me, you’d realize that I have tried a lot of cookies; I mean look at me) and I ended up with one that is flawless and to my liking.

This recipe yields cookies that are soft, chewy, a bit crispy on the edge (but not always) and amazing. Also for the first time, I had a friend film the whole thing with my camera and I edited the video into something nice (to watch) with a beautiful piece I found online. This piece of music is jazz, and is titled Relaxing cafe music for cooking. You can listen to it here:

Here is the recipe:

You will need:

3 cups of all purpose flour (375 grams)

3 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

3 vanilla sachets

2/3 cup of soft brown sugar (130 grams)

2/3 cup of white, crystalline sugar (130 grams)

250 grams of unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

200 grams of white chocolate, cut in pieces (you can use white chocolate chips if you want)

200 grams of dark chocolate, cut in pieces (you can use dark chocolate chips if you want)

Here is how to make them:

1. In a large bowl, add the sugars and butter and cream them together.
2. Add the vanilla and mix well.
3. Add the eggs one by one. After each addition, mix well to combine.
4. In another bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and a good pinch of salt. Mix them together.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold the mixture well.
6. Add the chocolate chips and mix well.
7. Cover the dough with cling film and set it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (best is two hours)
8. Preheat your oven, top and bottom, no air at 175 degrees.
9. Prepare a cookie tray and use oven paper so the chocolate doesn’t stick
10. Using a teaspoon, scoop out pieces of dough and roll them into balls.
11. Place them on the tray with 3 cm apart on all directions. Your cookies will spread.
12. As soon as they are in the oven, lower the temperature to 170.
13. Bake blindly for 10 minutes and 30 seconds.
14. Let them cool for 10 minutes before biting into them.
15. Devour them and enjoy!

Here are also some useful tips:

• Bake one rack at a time in your oven. That rack should be in the middle shelf to ensure that the cookies bake uniformly.
• Use top and bottom resistance in the oven with no air. This will ensure the cookies are not dry.
• Use the best quality of chocolate you can get. This is not a paid advertisement. The chocolates I used are personal choices.
• You can swap the dark chocolate with Milk chocolate if you choose so. You can also (in the case of the top cookie recipe) use only one kind of chocolate.

Until next time,

The digital cook

Tomato patties

In the summer sun, tomatoes around the Mediterranean are at their best. They are juicy, fragrant, soft and full of flavour. Here is a recipe that employs the Mediterranean cuisine at its finest. Tomato patties. I first had them in Greece as a student and they are the ultimate food with yoghurt and ouzo! I took inspiration from this recipe found here:

https://www.huffingtonpost.gr/entry/ntomatokeftedes-to-keftedaki-toe-kalokairioe_gr_5d456f57e4b0acb57fcd0c88?utm_hp_ref=gr-homepage

which is in Greek.

Let’s get going!

Serves 2-4 people

You will need:
5-6 ripe tomatoes (see notes)
5 tablespoons of sour trahana/tarhana (see notes)
2 slices of stale bread
2 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
1 small fresh onion, finely sliced
small handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
small handful of parsley, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 gloves of garlic, finely minced
½ teaspoon of baking powder
1 tablespoon of olive oil, plus extra for cooking
1 teaspoon of mixed dried herbs
pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

Let’s make it.

Grate the tomatoes from the coarse side of the grater in a bowl. Salt them with a teaspoon of salt, mix and let them rest for 10 minutes. In a food processor, place the trahana and the stale bread and blitz until very fine. Place the mixture in a large bowl and add the yoghurt, mint, parsley, onions, garlic, baking powder and a tablespoon of olive oil. Drain the tomatoes and add them to the mixture. Season with salt, pepper, mixed seasonings and chilli if using. Mix them all together using your hands, cover with cling film and let it rest in the fridge for at least two hours, preferably overnight.

The next day, make small patties the size of golf balls, pat them down and make them not too thick. Add 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan over medium heat and fry the patties for 5-6 minutes each side. Tilt the pan and baste with the hot olive oil every so often to cook the inside and keep them moist.

Drain the patties on a plate with kitchen paper and serve with yoghurt and ouzo!

Enjoy them with good company! Cheers!

Note:

1. Once you grate the tomatoes you will be left with the skin. Don’t throw it away. Instead, finely chop it and mix it with the rest of the mixture.
2. Trahanas or tarhanas is a pasta made with sour milk and bulgur and then dried in the hot sun. You can replace it with flour if you cannot find any. You might need to adjust the recipe for the flour. You don’t want the mixture to be too runny or too dry.

 

Until next time,

The digital cook

 

 

Lemon cake

Summer is here and lemons are in season. I will give you a very nice recipe for lemon cake topped with lemon glaze and caramelized lemon slices. You can omit the caramelized lemon slices if you wish although I see no reason why you should do that. They are delicious. Sour and sweet, tangy with an amazing taste!

Let’s get going!

Serves 10 – 12 people

You will need:

3 large eggs
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup Greek yoghurt 2%
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
Zest of six lemons
Juice of two lemons
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the glaze
1 and a half cup of icing sugar
Juice of 1 lemon

For the caramelized lemons
1 lemon cut into thin slices
1 cup of granulated sugar
Juice of a lemon
¾ of cup of water

 

Let’s make it!

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Butter a medium sized pan with a detachable bottom and dust it with icing sugar. In a large bowl, beat vigorously the eggs with yoghurt and the vegetable oil using a hand whisk until smooth and unified. Add the oil and whisk again until combined. Add the lemon zest and juice and mix again. Using a fine sieve, sieve the flour and baking powder in the mixture. Add the salt and using a spatula mix it gently until barely combined.

Empty it in the prepared tin and place it in the oven. Lower the temperature to 175 degrees Celsius and bake for 45 – 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Rest the cake for about an hour and then take it out of the pan to cool completely.

In the mean time prepare the glaze by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl. Adjust the lemon juice and icing sugar to your liking to make the glaze as thick or runny as you like it.

For the caramelized lemons, place the water, lemon juice and sugar in a large pan over high heat. Once the sugar has melted, lower the heat to medium and add the lemon slices. Cook them for 15 minutes shaking the pan occasionally. Take the slices out and lay them on an oven paper to dry out.

Once the cake has cooled completely, glaze it and decorate it with the caramelized lemon slices. Serve your lemon cake with a cup of tea or an ice cold coffee. Enjoy it with great friends!

 

Until next time,

The digital cook.

Flour-less chocolate cake

So, it’s been almost a year since I posted. This has to do with many things that I have been currently trying to juggle. However, as many of you might notice (those who follow me on Instagram or Twitter) I haven’t stopped cooking and baking. So today I will share with you a recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay for a flour-less chocolate cake. This one I had it flavoured with orange and cinnamon, whilst the chef uses fresh mint. As my friends are not fan of mint I decided to make it orange and cinnamon instead.

Let’s get going!

Serves 8 people

You will need:

3/4 cup of granulated sugar
130grams of icing sugar +3 tablespoons
220grams of dark chocolate + 20grams extra
105 grams of butter, room temperature
5 eggs
350ml of double cream
7 drops of orange extract
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Let’s make it!

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Lightly grease with some butter an 18 cm round cake tin with a detachable bottom. Dust it with flour and shake of excess. Make sure that no part of the tin is left uncovered.

Layout a baking paper on a hard cold surface, like your kitchen counter. In a pan over medium heat pour the granulated sugar. Shake the sugar occasionally (DO NOT STIR) and allow it to melt into caramel and become dark amber in colour. Once it is done, pour it over the baking paper carefully. Immediately dust it with the cinnamon and let it cool down. The caramel will start to solidify. Leave it to cool down and create a caramel-y window pane. Do not touch the caramel with your fingers right now. It is extremely hot!

When the caramel is firm and has cooled down, break half of it into very small shards using a pestle or a rolling pin. The rest, break it into bigger shards and save them for decoration later.

Using a bain-marie melt 220grams of dark chocolate. Add the butter and keep stirring until all is melted and combined. Take it off the heat and set it aside to cool off.

In another bowl, beat 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks with 40 grams of icing sugar until thick and fluffy. Fold in the chocolate mixture using a spatula as to not knock out the air from the eggs. Then fold in the small shards of caramel.

In another bowl beat 3 egg whites with 90 grams of the icing sugar to a meringue. Add the sugar in thirds to ensure a glossy and stiff meringue.

Fold a third of the meringue into the chocolate-egg mixture, and then carefully fold the rest of it in two parts into the mixture. The whole cake mixture should be light, fluffy and airy.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake has risen and the centre is no longer wobbly.  Set it aside to cool. It will sink a little bit due to the fact that it has no flour but don’t worry about it.

Meanwhile, prepare the topping. In a clean bowl beat the cream with the rest of the sugar and the orange extract until stiff and it holds its shape.

Take the cake carefully out of the tin an top it with the cream. Scatter the larger shards of caramel on top and grate 20 grams of good quality chocolate.

Until next time,

The digital cook

 

Baked Okra

Baked okra

Blah blah  blah thoughts blah blah blah introduction… On with the recipe. Okra is in season now. This is a very healthy, vegetarian meal and if you omit the feta cheese is vegan as well. Full of nutrients and prepared and made in less than 40 minutes. Let’s make it.

Serves 2

Time needed: 40 minutes including preparation

You will need:
1 kg of fresh okra, the tops cut off and then cut lengthwise
8 cloves of garlic sliced
2 medium sized yellow onions cut in semicircles
1 red bell pepper cut in strips
1 yellow bell pepper cut in strips
2 chilli peppers no seeds cut into strips
8 cherry tomatoes cut in half
pinch of cumin
pinch of coriander seeds
4 tablespoons of olive oil
200 grams of feta cheese (optional)
Balsamic vinegar
Salt, pepper

Let’s get going!

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Celsius. Get a large bake tray and place a baking paper over it.

Using mortar and pestle grind the cumin and coriander with a bit of salt.

In a large bowl place the okra, half the garlic, half of the cumin and coriander mix, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with black pepper. Toss and empty in the baking tray. In the same bowl, place the peppers, chillies and onions. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and toss. Add to the baking tray. In the same bowl add the tomatoes, rest of the garlic, rest of olive oil and season with the remaining cumin and coriander, salt and pepper. Add to tray and toss them all together using your hands.

Bake for 30 minutes. Nothing will yield a lot, some of the vegetables will get a lovely char but that’s it. Trust me, it’s ready! Divide between the plates, top with feta (if using) and drizzle with good balsamic vinegar. Serve with hot bread and enjoy a lovely healthy meal!

Until next time,

The digital cook

Apple cake

This recipe, despite being an apple cake and apples are more of an autumn fruit, was made for my godson’s christening. We really enjoyed it. And I can tell you right now that this is great with a cup of coffee or tea after dinner or in the afternoon while the sun is going down and a soft breeze starts to pick up. Let’s make it!

You will need:

For the cake:

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 a teaspoon of salt

1 full teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 a teaspoon of cloves

freshly grounded nutmeg

125 grams of butter

1 cup of brown sugar

2 free range eggs

1 cup of apple sauce

1 granny smith apple very thinly sliced

 

For the cream:

350 grams of double cream

3 tablespoons of cream cheese

3 vanilla sachets

2 tablespoons of sugar

 

For the caramel:

150 grams of double cream

5 tablespoons of sugar

1/2 a tablespoon of butter

1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon

1 vanilla sachet

 

First make the caramel. In a small pan over medium heat place the sugar and when it starts to dissolve add the butter. Then stir it in with a whisk. Do not stir the sugar as it is dissolving; it will make the caramel grainy. Stir after you add the butter. Once the butter is melted and the caramel is a deep amber colour add the spices, cinnamon and the double cream. Stir well until it bubbles and take it off the heat. Set it aside to cool.

Preheat your over to 175 degrees Celsius. Get a cake pan and grease the sides and bottom and dust it with icing sugar or flour. Set it aside.

 

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Mix well with a whisk. In another bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar until mixed well. Add the eggs, one by one, beating constantly until everything creams together. Add the apple sauce and mix well. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture gradually while mixing using a spatula. Once everything is mixed together, empty the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bang it on the counter to release any air bubbles and ensure that the cake bakes uniformly. Place it in the oven until a toothpick in the centre comes out  clean. Set it aside to cool down.

 

In a large bowl beat the cream cheese with a tablespoon of sugar and a vanilla sachet. Add the double cream and continue beating (you can use an electric mixer for this step) adding the sugar and vanilla gradually until stiff peaks are formed. Set it in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the cake.

Get the cake out of the form and carefully cut it horizontally so that you have two cake disks. On the bottom cake, place half the cream and scatter the thinly slices of granny smith apple. Top with the second disk. Place the remaining cream on top and level the surface. Drizzle the caramel on top and let it run down the sides.

 

Devour the cake with a cup of coffee or tea and your friends!

 

Until next time,

The digital cook.

Chicken skewers

Chicken skewers are my favourite kind of barbeque. They are light, stomach filling and with the proper company, the perfect summer lunch. Since the hottest time of the year is around, I decided on this lunch when a friend visited me, because we both like this kind of food. I think the most important reason however, is that this is very easy to prepare and I didn’t want to sweat over a hot stove. I wanted to talk to my friend and discuss the issues of the day. With very few ingredients and only 30 minutes this is an excellent lunch. Let’s make it!

Serves: 2-3 people

Time needed: 30 minutes

You will need:
2 chicken breasts in cut in cubes
1 red bell pepper cut in squares
1 green bell pepper cut in squares
1 large onion cut into eighths
1 orange bell pepper cut in squares
4 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt, pepper, fresh oregano

Let’s make it!

Get 12 large wooden skewers and soak them in water for at least 1 hour. In a small bowl, mix the oil and seasoning and set it aside.

Preheat your oven grill to medium high heat. Alternating between vegetables and meat, thread them on the skewers. Using a brush, brush the chicken and vegetables with the aromatic oil. Broil for 12 minutes, flip and continue broiling for another ten minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve it with warm pitta drizzled with olive oil and my favourite coleslaw salad with yoghurt dressing. Enjoy it with a nice, cold beer and with the best company you can get!

Until next time,

The digital cook

Savarin au rhum

You know that time of the day when you want to just relax on your patio with friends and discuss the issues of the day? Well, now that is summer this feeling creeps up on me more than ever. I was recently invited to a friend’s house to sit outside on the veranda and dine with him and his family. His parents cooked a lovely meal of kebabs and lasagne and we had a lovely time. The beer, wine and ice cold water was flowing, we sat there and we talked for a good portion of the night while we were dining. I had to bring something to the feast however. I wasn’t going to go there empty handed. People who know me, know that I don’t just appear empty handed. So I asked my friend what kind of dessert he would like to try that I never made for him before. He told me that he tried while he was in Thessaloniki a dessert called baba. That is the Greek name for the savarin. A light fluffy cake, decorated with cream, basted in flavourful syrup and decorated with seasonal fruit. So I went ahead and prepared a lovely savarin, dipped it in amazing dark rum syrup and decorated it with lovely vanilla flavoured double cream and summer fruits. The recipe is time consuming and you will definitely need a mixer with a hook because you cannot do this by hand (unless you want to knead for an hour or something) but I can tell you that it is definitely worth it. Happy cooking!

Time needed: 3 hours

Serves: 8-10

You will need:
250 grams of flour
10 grams of dried yeast
Pinch of salt
80 ml warm milk
2 teaspoons of sugar
2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk
75 grams of melted butter

For the syrup:
500 ml of water
300 grams of sugar
50 ml of dark rum (I used Captain Morgan’s)
Apricot jam

For garnish:
250 ml of double cream
Seeds of a vanilla pod
Fresh berries

Let’s make it!

In a bowl add the milk with the yeast and mix. Set it aside for 10 minutes until the yeast is activated. Add it to your mixer bowl. Add the salt, sugar, eggs, egg yolk and the flour. Using the hook attachment, beat in medium speed add the melted butter in stages until the dough comes together. The dough will be sticky and will stick to your fingers. That is the way it is supposed to be, don’t add any more flour. Once it comes together place it in a bowl and cover it with a towel to proof for 70-90 minutes.

Get your cake form, butter it and dust it with flour. Add the now risen dough in the cake form, cover it with a tea towel again and let it rise one more time for another 70 to 90 minutes. Once it has risen, bake it in a preheated oven of 180 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes until it is golden in colour.

Once baked, take it out of the form while still warm. Make 5-6 holes in the bottom using a sharp knife. In a large pan the cake can fit in, add the sugar, water and rum over medium to high heat. Wait until the sugar has dissolved, take it off the heat, place the savarin in the pan holes down, and baste it with the syrup. The cake will be heavier now that has absorbed the syrup so carefully transfer it to a platter. Using a brush, brush it all over with the apricot jam. Once the savarin has cooked down, decorate it with the whipped vanilla cream and the summer berries.

Until next time,

The digital cook.

 

Fajitas

Summer is here. The hot weather demands for company in the backyard, soft music playing, cool drinks and a special meal. Last night, my best man and his wife invited me over to their lovely house for such a dinner.

The table was set under the beautiful large lemon tree, classical jazz was playing over and there was a huge pitch of margaritas waiting for us. Their maid of honour flew from Greece to see us so we planned this ahead. There were colourful lights hanging from the lemon tree and almost no sound coming from anywhere except from the pc playing those smooth tunes.

I suggested we made a dinner that was festive and people could help themselves. Nothing formal, but nice, summery, a good company to our margaritas and enough to fill us up. I offered to cook and they do the drinks. So I prepared a lovely Caribbean/Mexican chicken with lots of peppers, spices and chicken. The /Caribbean goes to the fact that the spices we used were a mixture of the two cuisines. I also made guacamole.

We had a lovely night, we laughed, we drank, we ate and we passed the night chatting away and having fun. You can find all the recipes below to prepare your own summery feast to treat you friends and loved ones.

Guacamole
1 avocado
1 lemon (juice only)
2 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 medium sized tomato cut in really small cubes
Salt, pepper, chilli flakes

Cut the avocado in half; remove the pit and using a teaspoon empty the flesh in a small bowl. Using a fork melt the avocado into a paste. Add all of the ingredients, season to your liking and mix thoroughly. Taste it. Adjust any seasoning and acidity using extra lemon juice, cover with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge until ready to serve.

Sour cream
250 grams of Greek yoghurt
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt, white pepper

In a small bowl mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, cover in plastic wrap and set it in the fridge until ready to serve.

Fajitas
2 large chicken breasts cut in small pieces
2 chicken drums deboned skin removed and cut in small pieces
2 chicken drumsticks deboned skin removed and cut in small pieces
3 tablespoons of olive oil plus 3 for sautéing
Half a teaspoon of paprika
Half a teaspoon of cumin seeds
Half a teaspoon of chilli flakes
Half a teaspoon of oregano
4 garlic cloves finely minced
1 large of each yellow, red and orange bell pepper cut into thin strips
1 large onion finely chopped
1 handful of chopped coriander

In a mortar place half the garlic cloves and a pinch of salt. Smash them using the pestle to a paste. Add the cumin seeds, paprika, chilli flakes and oregano and pound it until it is thoroughly mixed. Add some rounds of freshly grounded pepper and mix it using a teaspoon. Add to this mixture 3 tablespoons of olive oil and create a paste. In a large bowl add the chicken pieces and the mixture you have just created. Using your hands mix the chicken with the seasoning until the chicken pieces are all well covered. Cover and let it sit aside for 30 minutes to marinate well.

In a large frying pan with a lid over medium to high heat add the rest of the olive oil. When it is hot, add the onions and peppers. Let them sauté for 2 minutes stirring often. Add the garlic and give it a stir. Add the chicken with the marinade. Lower the heat to medium, cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Take off the heat, mix in the coriander and let the pan covered for the food to rest and the flavours to develop for 5 more minutes. In the meantime, chop some fresh lettuce and warm your tortillas. Set up the table with a plate of tortilla chips, the guacamole, the sour cream, the chicken and vegetables, the warm tortillas and the margarita pitcher.

Enjoy a lovely evening with your friends and loved ones, under the summer night sky with the company of the smooth jazz on the radio!

TIPS:
– You can substitute the coriander with parsley
-You may increase the heat by adding more chilli flakes in the marinade. This recipe is very mild as my friends don’t like spicy food.
-Lemons can be switched for limes if you have available.
-I used a mix of dark and white meat for the fajitas because darker meat that is deboned has more flavour than the chicken breast. Feel free to use only either if you prefer.

Until next time,

The digital cook

Tagliatelle with chicken

It’s been almost two months since I had something posted. Many reasons behind it. Each one more boring than the other one. So I will not bore you with details of my personal life. However, in the past couple of months I haven’t stopped cooking and baking. I had friends over, I cooked for my family, I made a couple of projects with my nephews. All in all, it was a busy couple of months. I have a recipe for you today that will definitely hit the spot. This pasta dish has all the qualifications for a lovely dinner for two, a family feast or a treat for you when you want to curl on the couch with a glass of wine and watch some crappy movie. Yeap, I said it. Crappy. Because we all know, although we hesitate to admit, we kind of have a soft spot for cheesy, horrible movies be that horror with bad CGI, sappy romantic comedies or even “cultured” cinema. I will not elaborate on the last one, as I have watched my fair share of movies that have been glorified and praised by critics but by the end of them I felt like I aged 58 years or lost the will to live. So we won’t go there. But a man has to eat! So on with the recipe. A lovely tagliatelle recipe with chicken. Let’s make it!

Serves: 2
Time taken: 25 minutes

You will need:
300 grams tagliatelle (or 8 tagliatelle nests)
1 handful of chopped parsley
1 orange bell pepper cut into thin strips
1 medium sized onion, finely minced
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 large chicken breast cut into 2 centimetre cubes
150 grams of cream
1 handful of grated parmesan
1 tablespoon of olive oil + 2 tablespoons for the chicken
2 tablespoons of white wine
1 tablespoon of brandy
Salt and pepper

Boil the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. Strain it and drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil on it. Mix it so that it doesn’t stick together. Keep half a cup of the boiling liquid aside.

In a large pan add the rest of the olive oil over medium to high heat. Add the chicken and cook it until browned on all sides. Add the pepper, onion and the garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Add the brandy and lower the heat to medium. Let it evaporate for 2 minutes and add the wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the bits that stuck to the bottom and let it simmer for 4 minutes. Add two tablespoons of the reserved pasta liquid. Add the cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and add the pasta to the pan. Add almost all the parsley and give it a stir so that the sauce covers the pasta and everything is mixed completely. Get it off the stove, sprinkle with the rest of the parsley and the grated Parmesan. Serve it immediately with a chilled glass of white wine!

Until next time,

The digital cook.