Easy French Tomato Tart 簡易法式蕃茄撻

Ever since my very first trip to France a couple years ago, I’ve fallen in love with the French pastry and their roasted tomatoes!  You can read more here, here, and here! I had them almost every morning for breakfast during my stay in France!  What a great way to start the day, right?  Today, I combined the two scrumptious ideas into one delicious recipe: Easy French Tomato Tart 簡易法式蕃茄撻!




This French Tomato Tart looks elegant and gorgeous!  It’s a wonderful entree for Sunday brunch or as a side dish.  Best of all, it’s quite easy to prepare.  In fact, I made this tart for brunch on a weekday when my hubby was working from home.  We both enjoyed this tart so much! 




This tart is packed with earthy and refreshing herbs, along with tangy and creamy goat cheese on top.  The tomatoes are roasted to perfection!  The sweet and tart tomato flavors truly concentrate when the moisture evaporated during baking at a rather high temperature.  The tangy goat cheese elevated the sweetness from the tomatoes.  They are absolutely the perfect pairing! 



I also brushed the crust with a little Dijon mustard and added a drizzle of honey on top of the tart right before baking.  Boy oh boy, the combination of flavors was complex with only a few basic ingredients.  It’s amazing how the flavors turned into one scrumptious and harmony treat!  However, I have to point out that my kids are not big fans for goat cheese, just yet.  They still need a more mature palate to appreciate this fine cheese.  That’s another reason why I prepared this tart while they were at school!  Nevertheless, this is one beautiful and delicious tart that I will be making over and over again, for the grown ups, at least! 

If you haven’t check out the video tutorial at the beginning of this post, please take a few minutes to watch it.  You’ll agree that this tart is rather easy to prepare.  Take advantage of the tomato season and make this tart!  It’s the perfect way to use up those abundant tomatoes in your garden!


Tools and ingredients used:

9-inch Round tar pan (Click here for more information)
Baking Sheets (Click here for more information)
Cooling Racks (Click here for more information)
Lemon Infused Olive Oil (Click here for more information)
Organic Honey (Click here for more information)
Core Bamboo 3-Piece Cutlery Set (Click here to see product information)

Fresh Mango Crêpe 芒果法式薄餅

Not long ago, I shared a recipe and video tutorial with you for Mango Crêpe Cake.  If you haven’t check that out yet, simply click here.  That is one stunning cake to be shared on special occasions.  But for a more day to day dessert or treat, this Fresh Mango Crêpe 芒果法式薄餅 would be the perfect choice.  Not only it has all the flavor from the Mango Crêpe Cake, but it’s much easier and less time consuming to prepare.



There’s a cafe on the Westside that sells crêpes that my kids and I loved so much!  Whenever we visited the area, we always enjoy our afternoon tea there.  But they are not cheap at all, charging at $8+ for a crêpe?  That could easily be the price of a meal!  So, for economic reason, I make them at home now. Best of all, I know what I’m putting into them and they are always wholesome!  Watch the video tutorial and you’ll agree with me on how easy it is to prepare these crêpes. 



As far as I’m concerned, I’m taking full advantage of this mango season!  It’s way too short and I know I’ll be looking forward to these sweet, tender, and juicy Atulfo mangos when the season is all over!  So, don’t wait any longer, go grab a basket of mangos and make these Fresh Mango Crêpe to share with your family!  Thanks for stopping by today.  Until next time, please take care and eat well!





Tools and Ingredients Used:

Crepe Pan (click here for more information)
Crepe Spreader (click here for more information)
Crepe Maker (click here for more information)
Ninja Blender (click here for more information)
Heavy Whipping Cream (Click here for more information)
OXO Egg Turner (Click here for more information)
Organic Vanilla Extract (Click here for more information)
Kerrygold Butter (Click here for more information)
Core Bamboo 3-Piece Cutlery Set  (Click here to see product information)

Mango Crêpe Cakes 芒果法式薄餅千層蛋糕 – To Celebrate Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is just a couple of weeks away.  Any plans on how to celebrate the mothers in your life?  How about preparing a gorgeous and scrumptious cake for her?  This Mango Crêpe Cakes (芒果法式薄餅千層蛋糕) will sure put a smile on anyone’s face.



So far, I’m totally enjoying this wonderful mango season by preparing all kinds of mango treats.  From Mango Pudding, Mango Mochi Roll, Mango Panna Cotta, to Mango Shaved Ice, etc, all refreshing and delicious.  But this Mango Crêpe Cakes surely is the most special and spectacular among all! 




In this recipe, I used the Ataulfo mangoes.  The Ataulfo Mangos are also known as Manila Mangos or Champagne Mangos.  The flesh from the Ataulfo mango is very tender and smooth.  It’s very refreshing, sweet and have a pleasant floral tone, which is perfect for this dessert.  On the other hand, Tommy Atkins mangoes (which are more commonly found in the U.S.) are overall bigger in size, and the skin color is a combination of red and green even when fully ripen.  Also, the flesh is more fiber-ous and firmer.  Therefore, please only use Ataulfo mangoes for this recipe.   



There are 22 layers of mango crêpes in this cake, each crêpe alternate with a layer of mango cream.  And there’s a layer of thinly sliced fresh mango in every 5 layers of crêpe.  It might sound complicated, but actually quite easy to prepare.  Check out the video tutorial above and you’ll agree with me!  However, I must warn you... since there are quite a few steps involved, the prep time for this cake is rather time consuming.  This is partly due to the cooking and layering of the crêpes.  But fear not!  The steps are nothing too difficult at all.



My recommendation to you is to prepare the crêpes a day ahead and assemble the cake on the next day.  Sounds like a labor of love?  It surely is, but so does the job of being a mother, isn’t it?!  Therefore, I think Mom deserves a gorgeous cake like this!  And I can assures you, this cake tastes even better than it looks!



So, head to the kitchen and make this cake!  Whether it’s for Grandmas, Moms, Mother-in-Laws, or Mothers-to-be, they all deserve a little of our time, as well as this delicious cake!  Life is too short and we should always remember to celebrate.  I just want to take this opportunity to thank my Grandmas, my Mom, and my Mother-in law for everything that they’ve done for me, my husband, and my children.  I’m truly blessed and grateful to have them in my life!   




Ingredients and Tools used:

Crepe Pan (click here for more information)
Crepe Spreader (click here for more information)
Crepe Maker (click here for more information)
Ninja Blender (click here for more information)
Horizon Organic Heavy Whipping Cream (Click here for more information)
OXO Egg Turner (Click here for more information)
Organic Vanilla Extract (Click here for more information)
Mango Extract (See similar product here)
Mascarpone Cheese (Click here for more information)
Kerrygold Butter (Click here for more information)
 

Ham and Egg Savory Crepes – Easter Sunday Brunch Recipe

Do you have any plans for Easter Sunday yet?  It’s such a lovely time to celebrate; the meaning of new life, the warming up of temperature, and the aroma of the blooming Spring flowers, etc.  Today, I wanted to share with you a beautiful Easter Sunday Brunch Recipe that you can prepare for your family.  Check out the Ham and Egg Savory Crepes video tutorial above if you haven’t done so.  I’ll show you step-by-step on how to prepare these crepes and assemble them together. 



Of course, this recipe is probably good all year around, and not just on Easter.  But the gorgeous and slightly runny egg yolk in the middle simply reminds me of Spring and Easter.  Best of all, you can prepare the crepes the day before.  So, when brunch time rolls around, you can assemble and bake these off in no time!



Besides ham and egg, I also used some smoked mozzrella cheese in these savory crepes.  You can use any grated cheese that you like, such as gouda, cheddar, or even goat cheese.  Pretty much any cheese that you like that melt nicely when heated up.



The bake time in this recipe is important because you want to make sure the egg whites are cooked and the yolks stays runny.   I baked my crepes for exactly 12 minutes with room temperature, large size eggs.  If you use larger eggs or taking the eggs out of the fridge right before baking, they might take a minute or two longer to cook.  Simply check on the crepes at 12 minutes mark on their done-ness and determine if they need additional bake time. 



For my family, we love both the sweet and savory versions of crepes.  If you’ve miss my previous recipe on sweet crepes, simply click here to check them out!  I guess I’ll be making both sweet and savory version this weekend!  Wish you all a wondrrful and blessed Easter Holiday! 





Tools and ingredients used:
Crepe Pan (click here for more information)
Crepe Spreader (click here for more information)
Crepe Maker (click here for more information)
Ninja Blender (click here for more information)
Grapeseed Oil (click here for more information)
Baking Sheets (click here for more information)

Cold Brew Coffee to Celebrate National Coffee Month!

  




Did you know that August is National Coffee Month?  Now you do!  I didn’t know until I read it at several places over the internet recently.  But I couldn’t confirm who made up created all these National Month, and National days about food and drinks.  Such as National Martini Day (6/19), National Ice Cream Day (7/19), National Cheesecake Day (7/30),  National Pizza Day (11/12), etc.  These special days certainly had me crave for certain food or drinks from time to time, as if I don’t already consume enough without the reminders!!!  hahaha….So, if you could shed some lights about how these National days were established, please share in the comment session below. 



According to the National Coffee Association’s (NCA) National Coffee Drinking Trends (NCDT) market research study, 83% of the U.S. adults reporting they drink coffee. In fact, it is the second most traded commodity on Earth – right behind oil.  I sure did my fair share in contributing to these numbers on a daily basis.  I don’t know about you, but I feel that I am not fully awake in the morning without a cup of joe in my hand!  I usually opt for a hot coffee in the morning, strong and bold.  But I love a refreshing iced coffee in the afternoon, especially in the summer.  One method of making iced coffee is brewed it hot and then served over ice to cool it down.  On the other hand, cold brew coffee is brewed entirely with cold or lukewarm water over a longer period of time.  I’m going to show you in just a minute on how to make that.



Why cold brew method, you might ask.  Here are the reasons why.  With the cold brew method, it minimizes the chance of having the acidity or bitterness that comes with brewing coffee with hot water.  Thus, you will get a smooth, sweet, and bitter-free coffee that tastes wonderful over ice.  Plus, this cold brew coffee is super easy to prepare.  Ever since I gave it a try, I’d never go back to the old method when I prepare my iced coffee!  Below is the video tutorial on how to make it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I hope you enjoyed watching my video tutorial.  If you haven’t done so, please subscribe to my YouTube channel here.  You’ll be the first to know when I have new video tutorials published. 
 



For the cold brew coffee, I suggest that you taste it before adding any sweetener or cream.  I love mind with a little half and half and no sweetener as cold brew coffee tastes sweeter than the regular brewed coffee.  How do you usually like your coffee?  I would love to hear from you.  And cheers to National Coffee Month!

Espresso Crème Brûlée

 

 

Crème Brûlée is one of my favorite indulgent desserts.  I’ve shared the Classic Crème Brûlée recipe here on my blog in the past (click here for the Classic Crème Brûlée recipe).  Today, I wanted to share with you the Espresso version.  It’s just as wonderful, if not better.  I personally can’t decided which one I love more.  Well, I guess the preference depends on the mood of what I’m craving for that day!

 

Crème brûlée, also known as burnt cream, is a dessert consisting of a creamy custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard and crunchy caramel (the burnt sugar). The custard base is traditionally flavored with vanilla, but is also sometimes flavored with lemon, chocolate, coffee, liqueurs, etc.  Today’s recipe calls for instant espresso powder that gives this dessert the rich, earthy and dark roasted espresso flavor.  If you’re a coffee lover, you’ve got to give this dessert a try.

 I used regular sugar on top for the brûlée, you can use raw sugar or cane sugar as well, depending on your preference or what you have on hand.  My favorite part of enjoying a Crème brûlée?  Cracking the top Brûlée with a spoon and hear that cracking sounds!

 Here’s the video tutorial to show you step by step on how to make this Espresso Crème Brûlée.

I hope you enjoyed watching my video tutorial.  If you haven’t done so, please subscribe to my YouTube channel here.  You’ll be the first to know when I have new video tutorials published.

 

Tools and Ingredients used in this post:

Porcelain Ramekins (Click here for product information)
BonJour Chef's Torch (Click here for product information)
Butane Fuel for the Torch (Click here for product information)
Instant Espresso Powder (Click here for product information)

 

 

 

Angry Birds Piggy French Macarons

My Little Boy is a big fan of Angry Birds.  He loves the game, the stories, and anything that relates to it.  I guess his admiration level on Angry Birds can compare to my Baby Girl’s love for Hello Kitty.  And you can imagine, my whole house is filled with birds and kitties…well, and pigs, specifically the pigs from Angry Birds.  If you know the “story” of the Angry Birds, you know these piggies are actually the “bag guys”!    hahaha….so I think it’s okay to eat them up?



Why Angry Bird Piggy Macarons?  Well, it happened in an ordinary afternoon….my Little Boy was enjoying his Chocolate Mint French Macarons. Then, he simply asked me if I can make them into Angry Bird Piggy macarons!  Maybe the green colors of the mints macarons reminds him of these piggies?  Of course I had to say yes.  So, here we go!  Angry Bird Piggy Chocolate Mint French Macarons were born!  It’s so nice that my kids always give me recipe inspiration and what to create next.  It’s actually quite fun to play with and decorate the macarons and turn them into something unexpected!  So, I have many more requests from the kids on what to make after these!



To decorate these little piggies, I simply piped some melted white chocolate to create the eyes, and attached some black sprinkles as the eyeballs.  Then, I tinted the white chocolate with a little green food coloring for the snouts and ears.  I used these candy decorating pen to draw the eyebrows and crown (for the King Pig), and that was quick and easy.  I hope that you’re inspire to create some fun characters for your next baking project, too.



What is your favorite cartoon or video game characters?  Leave me a comment below if you’re interested to see if I can turn your favorite characters into a yummy treat!  I guess I’m addicted to make character French Macarons now!   I can’t wait to hear your requests!

If you’re interested, click here, here, here, here, here, here and here to see some of my precious specially shaped macaron creations! 

Le Louis XV — 3 Michelin Stars Restaurant Review, Monte-Carlo

Last summer, my Hubby took me to France for a vacation to celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary.  We also spent a little time in Monte-Carlo, Moncaco.   During our stay in Monte-Carlo, he surprised me with an unforgettable dinner at Le Louis XV.  Let me fill you in a little with the background of this restaurant before I introduce you to the food that we indulged in.  Le Louis XV is a three Michelin stars restaurant lead by chef Alain Ducasse and chef Dominique Lory.  It is located inside the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, in Monte Carlo, Monaco.  The Hôtel de Paris looks out over the central square of Monaco, adjacent to The Casino de Monte-Carlo.  Le Louis XV has also been included in The World's 50 Best Restaurants by Restaurant Magazine.



The Hôtel de Paris, Monte-Carlo, is definitely one of the most elegant hotel that I’ve visited.  Check out the hotel lobby (picture above) and the structure details right outside of the building (picture below).  I’m sure anyone would agree that the hotel building itself is a piece of art.




The chef de cuisine here is Dominique Lory, who returned to Louis XV after his role as sous chef at Plaza Athenee.  Thanks to my Honey’s arrangement, I had the honor and pleasure to visit the kitchen at Le Louis XV and met Chef Dominique Lory in person!  How exciting!




I absolutely adore their kitchen.  Look how neat and organized they are!  And those glorious copper pans hanging on top definitely caught my attentions!  This is probably one of the best commercial kitchen that I’ve set foot in as well.
 



The excitement of the night (or early evening I should say) never subsided.  After visiting the gorgeous kitchen, we were let to our reserved table.  Since there was an event at the Casino of the central square of Monaco, we got the priority seating at the patio, instead of the main dining area.  But do check out the dining area pictures here at their official website.  It’s gorgeous and left me speechless, just to think about the time, resources and details that they’ve put together to build this amazing restaurant.




I absolutely love their table setting as well.  Simple yet elegant, won’t you agree?



We’ve got complimentary champagnes from the chef!  Cheers!  Sorry that the picture below was a little blurry.  It seemed alright when the maître d' took the picture for us.  I guess the screen on the camera was too tiny for us to detect that the picture wasn’t in focus.



Another corner of our table, how can I not fall in love with the table setting.  Even the salt and pepper holder is super adorable! 




This is the view from where we seated (see picture below).  The building to the right is The Casino de Monte-Carlo.  It happened that they were having a huge celebration that evening and there would be a show and fireworks right outside of the casino!  I’ll show you more in just a minute. 




The first thing that arrived was a few bread crisps with paper thin veggies pressed in.  These are totally addictive!



We also have a company who dine with us that night.  She is simply adorable.  Hm….maybe she was there to pick up the bread crumbs that we left behind on the table.  If that’s the case, I need one, or a few back home at my dinning table!



Here comes the very grand BUTTER!  Yes!!! (Hope I didn’t say that out loud at the table!)  The rectangular block on the lower side of the picture below was salted.  And our server is prepping us another one that is unsalted! 



Let me tell you, the butter here is amazing, so rich and flavorful!  That’s how the pastries and baked goods were so good, it’s all about the butter they used!  I honestly wanted to fill up my suitcase with butter before coming back home….that is, if I’m not travelling with my Hubby.



Here comes the glorious cart of bread!  I love the wide selections here and they simply smells amazing when the cart was parking right next to me!  Should I simply request the server to leave this cart right next to our table?  Just kidding!!!



We’ve got a complimentary appetizer from the chef.  Check out each ingredient in it; the crunchy bread on the bottom, topped with tender eggplant and bell peppers, black olive, a piece of mackerel, fennel slices, a slice of hard boil egg, some lettuce leaves and drizzle of olive oil.  See how artistic they were put together.  The flavor was fantastic and so refreshing, definitely the perfect dish to start a meal. 




My Hubby ordered the Turbot with Celery, Lemon From Menton and fresh coriander (see picture below).  He always tried to eat light when he travels.  The fish was cook to perfection and super fresh.  I love the sauce, which was refreshing, light yet, complex in flavors.  The French are really master in creating flavorful sauces with depth of flavors. 



For me, I ordered the Breast of squab from the Aples-de-Haute-Provence region, grilled duck foir gras and potato, tasty jus thickened with giblets.  It was rich, flavorful, earthy and decadent!  Just the way squab and foir gras should be.  The jus was to die for.  So rich and packed with wonderful flavors.  Yes, I don’t order light when I travel!  LOL….I can do the exercise (or not) when I get home.  This is definitely one of the top 3 best dishes that I've eaten in my life!  



Here goes the performance of the night.  People were gathered in from of the stage to watch, sing and dance along.



After the main course, we were ready for the dessert table settings.



Of course I’ve got to have dessert to complete the meal.  However, the desserts below weren’t what we’ve ordered!  These mignardises (sweet treats) were complimentary by the Chef!  Look at the amount and varieties.  I can pretty much make a meal out of them.



A closer look at these mignardises.  The passion fruit tarts (the square ones on the right) were amazing.  Sweet and tart with a buttery crust.  The wild strawberry over shortbread was just as decadent (the one on the bottom right of the plate). 



My Husband ordered Black Chocolate Leaves, Caramel and pure sea salt, cocoa ice-cream.  Oh so rich and good.  A chocolate lover’s must try!




I tried the Warm “Bergeron” Apricots Souffle, Summer batter-pudding.  The souffle was slight tart and not overly sweet.  I didn’t care much about the pudding on the top left.  But the Vanilla ice cream was amazing.



We were stuffed and so satisfied.  Then, this madeleine came and my life was changed forever!  It was the best madeleine I’ve ever tried.  We were so full by this time, but I still enjoyed this little cake to the fullest.    



Then, here goes the fireworks.  The celebration of our 10th Wedding Anniversary was just as amazing and perfect.   It totally felt like they helped us celebrate our wedding anniversary with some fireworks!   Won’t you agree?



Again, the casino building itself was another art piece.  So gorgeous.  We later took a tour to check out the inside as well.



After dinner, we were on our way out to the hotel lobby to take a few more pictures.  And the hostess handed me this little bag of pastries on the way out.  I bet she knew I need more mid-night snacks after that dinner!  How thoughtful!  




I hope you enjoy reading this post and the pictures.  It was an amazing journey for us in the last 10 years and I couldn’t ask for more.  I really look forward to many many more years of celebrations with my handsome boy!