I know that it has been a long time since you saw a new post in here and some of you even wondered about my whereabouts. So to cut the story short I might say that 2012 was a bad year for me or should I use the word awful instead of bad. Despite all odds brought by 2012, the only good news is that the Mayan apocalypse failed big time: I am writing these lines after 21st of December! Now we all can take a deep breathe and expect the new year to bring all the goodness and joy of life for everyone.

For those who want to celebrate the ending of 2012 like me, these are the last few days to complete the preparations. If you are planning to throw a new year party at home or better to attend a party at someone else’s home to save the first day of 2013 -otherwise you’ll spend it to clean up the mess at your place- you need to get faster, and roll out your plans.

My assumption is that you made a smart choice to attend another one’s party and you are not going to make a celebration outside at a restaurant or a club which will cost you four times more than it would cost on any one of the remaining 364 days of the year. By the way, paying more does not guarantee the level of service and quality of food, on the contrary everything would be worse than regular.

So, what to do? First of all you need to make a list of your friends who own a large apartment and are quite hospitable to accommodate people at their place. Step two: try to engage in conversations about their plans for that night and let drop the fact that you don’t have anything in mind but quite open for suggestions. My second assumption is that you are such a fun person to be with-if you are not, do your best for a week or two- so that your name will be among the ones he/she will invite for the party.

As a nice and thoughtful person, you can not attend the party as if you got a ticket for the show. You need to bring something to eat or drink according to your choice. At that point you have a chance to attract the party crowd with the stuff you prepared. And here comes my turn: the recipe of chestnut-rum cream roulade that I am going to share below will be a real thrill for palates of the people at the party. This will also guarantee your place on the next year’s list in every potential home-party organizers mind!

If you could not succeed in finding a party to attend or may be just not in the mood, just bake the roulade for your very own pleasure and expect the new year to be at least as sweet as this cake. Happy new year! (As my annual tradition, you can find this year’s greeting card at the end of the post. Feel free to use it while spreading the joy!)

Ingredients (For 12 servings)

(adapted from Martha Stewart)

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon plus a pinch of salt
• 6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups chestnut puree at room temperature
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons rum
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• Hazelnut oil for coating baking sheets

For chestnut puree

• 325 g.(11,5 ounce) roasted chestnuts
• 1 ¾ cup whole milk
• ½ vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

Directions

For chestnut Puree:

For the whole cake:

I was planning to share this colorful recipe right after the vegetable stock but it waited for its time like other things in life. I tried different ways to cook beetroots during this period like roasting, sautéing, boiling etc. to understand which one gives the best result for the soup. These trials made my hands and probably my tongue to stay a reddish purple for a while thanks to peeling and eating beetroots for consecutive days.

Beet has a sort of earthy-sweet taste which makes it appropriate for sweet recipes as well as savory ones so I have also an idea of developing a cake recipe in mind by using beetroot. You’ll see it here if I find the result promising. Other than its characteristic and tuneful taste, the most remarkable thing about beet is its color. Color of beetroot is so deep and strong that you feel like you can paint one of the walls in your kitchen with some leftover soup.

Beetroot is also one of the miraculous vegetables considering the positive effects on cardiovascular system and especially on high blood pressure. If you’re a heavy drinker, eating beetroot would be a good choice for your liver too considering its help preventing build up of harmful deposits caused by alcohol abuse. So, try to add some beetroot in your nutritional regime to fully take advantage of this colorful vegetable.

And here comes one of the greatest challenges in life: the matter of how to cook and to peel beetroots without ruining your white t-shirt with just a little drop of beetroot juice. Believe me, trying to peel them in the beginning is a real headache since beetroots are quite sturdy when they are not cooked. Sautéing them is not the proper way I may suggest considering such difficulties.

For me, the best way to cook beetroots safely is to follow the recipe of famous French chef Jean-Georges. Thanks to Mark Bittman from NYT who had shared this cooking technique he learned from him years ago, my kitchen counter and my t-shirt was safe. You do not need to peel the beetroots and no need to cut them in anyway. All you need is individual pieces of aluminum foil to wrap each one tightly. What else? An oven tray and your oven. That’s it!

Beets are believed to be one of the wonder foods of ancient world with healing properties and the Greeks were told to present beets to Apollo (god of sun) on a silver platter. I could not find a suitable silverware for the photo shoot but used these hand made ceramic bowls instead. After all, we were not expecting Apollo to join us for dinner.

Ingredients (for 4 serving)

• 350g (12,3 oz) beetroots
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 4 tablespoons dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grounded mustard seed
• freshly ground black pepper
• Sea salt
• 5-6 cups of vegetable stock

Instructions

If you also feel like you neglected someone for a long time due to all acceptable and understandable reasons you might have, this is the perfect time to make it up. As I am typing these lines at a very late night time with sleepless eyes after two cups of coffee to compensate my absence for months, you may also find your way to mend the things you broke throughout the year or dust off your forgotten relationships for some time.

Now it’s time to tell you how. Since I strongly believe the saying ”sharing is caring”, sharing something you made specifically for your beloved ones would melt their hearts as soon as they got your surprise. I was trying to find a recipe for a long time which can be packed individually and distributed as a small new year gift to people around. Marshmallow came out on top with its ease to share and potential to differentiate with different flavors. Besides all of these physical advantages, I am sure most of us have some sweet childhood memories related with this fluffy sort of candy.

I can still remember how me and my sister were fond of coconut marshmallows placed on a piece of biscuit when we were kids (my goodness! I just tried to calculate how many years before it was and still cannot believe we are that old now. Wish my arithmetic abilities got rusted but unfortunately not, the number I ended up is so damned right). We were trying to eat it as slow as possible just to make sure to have some marshmallow left while the other one devoured even the littlest crumb. When the other has just finished up it was time to make jealous with the fluffy marshmallow you still got in your hand.

For most of us, marshmallow is something not to be done at home, but when you solve its tricks it doesn’t take long time to master on it. As it is the case for most of the recipes, first batch is the worst, but by following my suggestions you have the chance to reach perfect fluffy marshmallows very soon.

Wish you a sweet, colorful, and delicious new year as your marshmallows.

Ingredients (for 24 pieces)

For basic marshmallow recipe
• 1/4 cup corn syrup*
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 large egg whites at room temperature
• a pinch of salt

* I know that the corn syrup is an unhealthy ingredient due to its high fructose content causing obesity and other health problems. But if you do not consume it everyday, a few marshmallows will not kill you. So it is important to consume such sort of stuff responsibly. Here we have to use it to prevent sugar from crystallizing, just adding more caster sugar will not give the same result. By the way it is important to be aware of the fact that almost all packed cookies, wafers, candies etc. sold at supermarkets contain corn syrup and that’s the main reason they are unhealthy.


For variations

• 10-12 drops of natural flavoring (according to your selection; coconut, strawberry etc.) or 1 tablespoon of genuine nut paste (I used pistachio paste for pistachio marshmallows but you may use almond paste or hazelnut paste if you would like to make almond or hazelnut marshmallows)
• 1 drop of natural food coloring matching with the selected flavor
• 1 cup of coating mix (corn starch and confectioners sugar mix or roasted unsweetened coconut/powdered nuts). You may also use some food coloring and a little bit of water to change the color of coconuts if you like. If you do so, it is highly recommended to dry out the colored coconuts at 110 C (230 F) for 15 minutes

Instructions

Sun is up in the sky and it’s almost two o’clock in the afternoon. We are at Alacati, a small Aegean town which became one of the most popular touristic destinations in Turkey lately. Weather is so humid that I feel like my hand is glued on the handle of our heavy luggage I am pulling on the cobblestone streets for some time. I am a way too bad at keeping the details of any direction told me over the phone. At first I feel like everything is crystal clear in my mind and then realize with despair that I am walking through the same point again to complete my first full circle. It is quite difficult for me to call the person to whom I already talked over the phone twice and told ”Oh, now I got it. Yes, it’s quite easy!” at my last call.

This time I was determined not to call for the third time even if we were going to melt slowly like a scoop of ice cream fell on the pavement (Is this just me or all men are the same when it comes to asking for help to find the way?). Anyhow, that was our lucky day I guess, since I suddenly distinguished the light blue door on which there was the name we were looking for. The door was opening to a small well-cared garden and our land lord was there, sitting under the bower and waving his hand to salute us.

He and his elegant wife were so nice and attentive that I forgot the tiredness of the flight ruined by a 6 year old sitting behind me and keeping on counting up to 100 loudly for almost an hour (do I need to mention that his mother was encouraging him to keep on counting even if the cabin crew warned for five times. This is the new way of bringing up children with ”full of encouragement” to build up their so called self confidence at the expense of making others’ life miserable).

After resting for a few hours and chatting with our polite hosts we were ready to step out for lovely Alacati streets embellished with characteristic stone houses on both sides. This place is really charming, everything looks so peaceful and elaborate that you would love to stay there for good.

During daytime, best thing to do is to hang around beaches in the vicinity since Alacati center has no shore to sea. When the sun goes down, crowd migrates from beaches to vibrant Alacati streets. There are many small designer boutiques brimmed with lots of nice stuff. I wish I could say the same for prices but even then strolling around makes you feel delighted.

When it comes to eating, Alacati has also a lot to offer. Most of the restaurants serve quality Mediterranean food at their open air facilities with a pleasant setting composed of candles, wrought iron chairs, fresh flowers, well matched table cloths and accessories. When that much attention to decoration paired with delectable dishes, resultant experience is just memorable. Particularly the appetizers prepared with olive oil are distinguished among other dishes in Turkish cuisine. As an example stuffed zucchini blossom is one of my personal favorites here to die for.

I shouldn’t miss to say something about breakfasts offered in most of the boutique hotels. Breakfasts are just spectacular thanks to fresh tomatoes with real tomato smell and crunchy little cucumbers those you cannot stop eating with a splash of good olive oil. Home made jams, especially the one with little green figs is out of this world.

Fresh herbs are another story in Alacati, you may find several types of thyme in the Saturday market along with the freshest vegetables, fruits, and live plants. We lost ourselves in front of a stall selling live plants and bought two different thymes and a marjoram in flowerpots. We must be completely out of our minds that started to bargain for a lemon tree without considering the fact that we would be returning to Istanbul by plane. The smart question coming from the seller asking how we were planning to carry the lemon tree, makes us realize the absurdity of the situation.

After all, Alacati is a kind of place that you go and never want to come back. You fell in love at first sight and want to keep it just for yourself with a sort of greed. However, you are not the only one to think in that way and this small town is crowded like hell starting from the second half of June to early September. If you are anywhere around, now is the perfect time to pay a visit. Even a long weekend in Alacati may help erase the autumn gloom you might have had.

Last time I told an unofficial farewell to winter without even bothering to ask whether it has decided to go away or not. It turned out that it is here to stay and we, as people living in Istanbul should accept the fact that we will go through a cool summer this year. For me cool days are only bearable with a bowl of tasty soup. So this time I share a recipe that will turn your otherwise humble soup into a five star feast.

Remember the most delicious soup you’ve ever had. Why do you think it is that tasty? What makes it different from a regular soup is the use of a flavorful stock instead of water. Using plain water is more practical for sure but when it comes to taste, difference is like between French butter and margarine. Using a fish, chicken, beef or vegetable stock according to your main soup ingredients elevates the overall taste and leaves a rich flavor on your taste buds. I prefer using vegetable stock since it goes very well almost with anything and is lighter compared to other variations. Moreover, you can use it in other meat and poultry dishes, vegetable stews, sauces, risottos or simply almost everywhere.

Good thing about preparing a full-flavor vegetable stock is that you can make it by using leftovers in your vegetable tray without visiting the market in your neighborhood. Whatever you have at home will do the job. So nice and refined and almost for free, I’ll call it as economies of scraps. Besides, it is healthier than the store bought bouillon cubes, ingredients of which you may never know exactly.

There are hundreds of vegetable stock recipes out there and there is no right or wrong combination. In other words, making vegetable stock is more like combining your outfits, as long as they look good on you, there ain’t no problem. However, if you are not a mix&match person with a proven success, a French classic may lead you the way: mirepoix, which means the combination of celery, carrot, and onion in raw, roasted or sauteed form used as a flavor base for most of the dishes. You may use many other vegetables but be careful with cabbage and broccoli since they have quite strong flavors to dominate over other ingredients. Keep in mind that starchy vegetables like potato will make your stock look more cloudy and thicker. Adding some fresh herbs and pepper corns will make your stock even more fragrant which is something good to enrich its taste.

When it comes to cooking there are two ways to follow: browning vegetables in olive oil before adding water or directly boiling them without pre-cooking. By following the second way you will end up with a more clear stock in terms of looks however I prefer the first one since browned vegetables release their aromas and develop a sweeter flavor which adds more complexity to the stock.

You can be generous while preparing your vegetable stock and refrigerate the unused portion for future use. Having such a delicious base under hand will save your life when you need to make a quick soup or a sauce.

Ingredients (around 4 cups)

• 3-4 celery sticks, chopped
• 4-5 small tomatoes, halved
• 1 mid sized onion, chopped
• 1 stalk of leek, chopped
• 3 mid sized carrots, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 6 sprigs of fresh parsley
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 5-6 white and pink pepper corns
• 5-6 black pepper corns
• 2 bay leaves
• Sea salt
• 5 cups of water

Instructions

Thanks for everyone who wondered where I was and asking why there was no new post for some weeks. Please be sure of that it is also difficult for me too and I really feel guilty when I gave such long breaks but sometimes my other life (the one in the office) leaves almost no time to spend at home and consequently in the kitchen. In any case, make sure that I am here to stay and this kitchen will never close down.

Putting all boring office situations, sleepless nights and never ending business presentations aside, there are good things in life: like the upcoming spring and longer days thanks to daytime saving. For me, this is the best time of the year and I am ready to save each and every minute just to live the day a bit longer. I would be more than happy if we put our clocks two hours forward!

Even though spring is about to show its smiling face, weather is still a bit cold in Istanbul. We shiver under a shining sun and still look for a table outside to sip our coffee with a meaningless urge to behave as if it was not cold as marble. When it comes to food market, most of the winter veggies live their last two weeks before they disappear till next winter. The truth is I am still in love with them and don’t want to say goodbye.

Leek is one of those winter vegetables and it makes a legendary couple with carrot that I cannot think of them separately. This might have rooted in my childhood memories since my mom used to cook leek in mediterranean style; sautéing leeks with a generous amount of olive oil, adding chopped carrots and cooking further with some rice. Though I was not in love with the smell coming out of kitchen I could not resist when it came out of the fridge on the other day with a dash of lemon juice. Some dishes taste even more delicious when you eat on the second day and leek makes a good example for that.

It is also good for people who do not like onions since it has a milder flavor compared to onion and not overpowering too. Anyone avoiding onions might rehearse with leek to get used to onion family. Leek is also a rich fiber source, which is quite beneficial for your diet. High potassium and mineral content makes these stalks a ”must eat” during its season. Leek is frequently used in French cuisine especially in soups.

However, I had an idea of a winter vegetable tart in mind rather than a soup and a large piece of fresh and creamy goat cheese in my refrigerator to be consumed. You may use my ”never fails tart dough recipe” and create your own combinations afterwards, but give this one a go first and let it blow your mind. Leek, carrot, fresh goat cheese and rosemary goes so well that you won’t believe your eyes when you see the emptied tart tin within minutes.

So here comes the recipe and there goes the winter away!

Ingredients (for 6 people)

For Filling
• 5 stalks of leek
• 3 mid sized carrots
• 250 g. (8.8 oz) freash goat cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 175 ml (6 fl. oz) milk
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh rosemary sprigs
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Sea salt

For Crust

• 100 g. (3.5 oz) butter
• 2 large eggs
• 245 g. (8.6 oz) whole wheat flour
• 1/3 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

I had a cookie or a cake to bake in my mind but I had to use the pumpkin also. There was enough flour, eggs, some chocolate and butter for a rich cake or a toothsome cookie but what should I do with the pumpkin afterwards? Accepting the fact that I have no magical powers to turn the pumpkin into a brand new car, it should fit in somewhere in this baking process. Here are the keywords: cake, cookie, and pumpkin. After some time spent to look around food magazines and cookbooks suddenly the answer rushed into my mind. Whoopie! Yes, I was happy to find a way to utilize everything but this was not my reaction, it was the answer’s itself: whoopie pie.

Whoopie pie is neither a cake nor a cookie but lies somewhere in between, we may call it a soft cookie. Moreover, I found a recipe of pumpkin whoopie pie and it is from the favorite bakery of Brooklyn dwellers, ”Baked”. As one of my friends living there praised their desserts some years ago before they became that famous so I had a positive expectation about their recipe too.

You may wonder why whoopie pie is called whoopie pie as I do. In order to satisfy our curiosity, the story of whoopee pies originated in Pennsylvania as an amish tradition. In early days around 1920s, Amish women used to bake these soft cookie sandwiches with a creamy frosting in the middle and put them in their husbands’ lunch boxes who worked in agricultural labour. Imagine a farmer making his lunch break after hours of heavy work and finding one of these sweet sandwiches as a dessert in his lunch box. Any guesses on how he yells at this instance? Whoopie! This is where the name of whoopie pie comes from according to food historians.

As for the recipe I adapted from Matt Lewis, co-owner of Baked bakery turned out to be a real treat however I tried a different frosting rather than the one with cream cheese and butter he gave. The one I prepared has no cream cheese in it but it has a different flavor thanks to elderberry syrup I used. You may also use alternate fillings like vanilla flavored buttercream or simply your favorite jam or some melted chocolate whipped with heavy cream. If that first bite from your whoopie pies makes you say ”whoopie!” out loud then you’re done.

Ingredients (for 16 pieces)

For Whoopie Pie Shells

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Elderberry Flavored Filling

• 2 egg whites
• 100g (3.5 oz) sugar
• 200g (7 oz) butter at room temperature
• 2 1/2 tablespoons elderberry syrup

Instructions

What he said was quite obvious: ”Close your eyes and take a deep breathe.” and we all did the same without looking at each other as if we were about to witness something intimate. He continued with the same relaxed tone in his voice ”Think about someone you really love and visualize him/her right before you. Now concentrate on this moment and imagine that you are telling how much you really care”. Everyone who was present in the room that day returned from his/her short mental trip feeling relieved. It was as easy as pie to see from each other’s face.

The anecdote mentioned above was from a two day long course I participated this week. However, the relief obtained through this virtual confrontation gave way to feelings of guilt when it was asked how long ago we told the same things to the person we visualized. For a few, answer was just some weeks before, for some it had been more than three months and for a quite deal of people answer was ”I had never been able to tell how much I really care.” You might be among the last group of people people but believe me there is always some point in life to turn it around.

Let’s face the fact that most of us are not very good at verbal communication when it comes to telling people how important they are in our lives. We have a strange tendency to think that the other party would know this spontaneously even we do not say a word. So here comes the remedy for all to ease our reservedness in relationships: cooking. Yes, it’s that easy and I really mean it. When it comes to show someone how much you care, cooking for him/her is one of the most effective ways. I have never known anyone who would not be impressed by something specially cooked for them. Just to make myself clear, here I am not talking about making a fancy chateaubriand for dinner and decorating your table with candles and rose petals like a honeymoon suit. What you cooked and how much sweat you poured on the kitchen floor is of small importance. Crucial thing is that you cooked for your significant other and this alone clearly conveys the message.

I personally do not like special days when all retail stores impose one common idea ”buy this gift and make your beloved ones happy as a clam!”.Valentine’s day is one of those days and it stresses out both single people and couples as well. For the former group it’s a day to re-think about the reasons why they are single and to grieve every time they come across with a stupid heart-shaped stuff all around. As for the couples, there is a meaningless pressure to come up with something special every year. Be hundred percent sure that your office mates will go through that cliche question set ”Where did you go out for dinner? What you bought for her/him? What did she/he buy for you?” Despite all these unnecessary conversations if this single day provides you with a reason to cherish your affection and to tell how much you love and care then there is no harm.

Since I want to stay away from such imposing situations do not expect from me to write down some gift suggestions for your significant other but what I can do is to share one of my delicious recipes to make your day. This might be a romantic breakfast in bed treat and you do not need to wait for a specific day to make it. Believe me, it would be even better to surprise your beloved ones when they least expect. So, just forget about the dates and sneak to your kitchen paying attention not to wake her/him up. Pesto crepe has a five star taste but won’t take more than fifteen minutes to make.

Pesto crepe goes very well with most of the oily cheeses but when I combine it with mimolette it turned out to be the best pairing among all. Mimolette is a French cow’s milk cheese with a bright orange color due to the natural dye called annatto. It has a nutty taste with a subtle fruity aroma and tastes much better when aged. For some people aging process is a bit disgusting since producers intentionally place cheese mites on mimolette rounds and every week they turn over the cheese and brush off the mites. Then they repeat the process for the other side. Cheese mites eat the surface and give the distinct flavor of mimolette cheese. Since you won’t witness any part of this process at the time of purchase you shouldn’t care that much. Similarly, we all know how bees produce honey but none of us turns it into a problem.

You may also try with different cheeses like edam or cheddar if you cannot obtain mimolette easily or cannot get the idea of mites off your head. By the way being a couple is also not a prerequisite to enjoy this scrumptious pesto crepe. We all need to love ourselves in the first place so feel free to indulge yourself with a breakfast in bed. Bright side is that you may keep all of the crepes to yourself. Have a happy valentine’s day!

Ingredients (for 4 serving)

• 1 large egg
• 200 ml (6.75 fl.oz) milk
• 75 g (2.65 oz) all purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons basil pesto
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Sea salt
• 100 g (3.5 oz) grated mimolette cheese

Instructions

We got stuck in a congested Paris street with a car about to run out of gas anytime soon. I am not going to mention this story since I am trying to forget the exact moment I said “We have enough gas to make it to the city centre, no need to lose time with fueling up!”. By a miracle we managed to get there and I felt one of the biggest relieves I had experienced up to now. To my surprise, it looks like we were not late this time. She was waiting there; a young, slim Parisian lady with a fashionably short haircut in front of a door that was opening to a well equipped kitchen.

She was our instructor chef today and looked so confident with her plain white apron tied on her neat outfit and was telling something in French to her assistant who was in a real hurry to get things in the kitchen ready before everyone arrives.

She saluted us warmly and said something in French, probably told that the cooking course would start soon and they were waiting for other participants. I said “probably” since we had just realized that the class would be in French. That was why our elegant Parisian chef could only speak in her native language. They were not expecting people to come who do not speak French at all. Of course they ruled out the possibility of stubborn ones making reservation through L’atelier des Chefs web site by the help of Google translate. To their surprise, we were standing right before them, knowing very few words in French and gazing their face with enthusiastic looks.

When other people -do I need to say they were all French?- arrived, we all washed our hands and put on the aprons given. Our chef started to tell about the recipe we were going to make that day and listed the ingredients one by one, pointing each with her finger in case some of us who do not understand French would miss what she said -oh no, we knew the words poisson, courgettes, citron, beurre, noisette and huile d’olive so I preferred not to take any offence-.

Believe me or not, there is a common language of cooking and after five minutes everyone understands the other party very well no matter in what language they are talking. We were all chopping, dicing, cutting and stirring according to our chef’s instructions. The recipe we were working on was scorpion-fish fillet with brown butter on a bed of stewed zucchini and coppa (an Italian cured meat made from a piece of pork shoulder).

We started with taking out even the smallest bones from our fish fillets not to come across any unpleasant surprise while eating. Our skillful chef demonstrated how to chop shallots and slice zucchini in moments. Needless to say, we all followed her as fast as we could. Everything was getting ready rapidly and all participants seemed to enjoy their time a lot.

Waiting for the fillets to be cooked, we were all growing impatient to taste while our chef said that things were almost done. During the last minute of cooking we poured browned butter over the fillets which I believe was the fatal strike of the recipe. The smell of lightly burned butter was all around the kitchen like the perfume of a beautiful French lady. And voila! It was done. As expected, fish was scrumptious and we devoured everything on our plate in a very short time. All in all, it was a delightful experience to cook in Paris with a Parisian chef who speaks French only and us understanding almost nothing. Oh, just a second; did I mention that I knew the words poisson, courgettes, citron, beurre noisette, huile d’olive?

Ingredients (makes 6 servings)

• 6 pieces of scorpion fish fillet
• 6 small zucchinis (sliced)
• 6-8 shallots (finely chopped)
• Zest of 1 lime
• 50 g (1,75 oz) butter
• 100 g (3,5 oz) coppa (cut in strips)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon grated red pepper
• Sea salt

Instuctions

I don’t know how you feel but for me first two weeks of 2011 passed so quickly that residues of New Year joy faded away in a few days like a deflating balloon after a party. It’s quite common to have hectic times in the office but this time ours is a bit head spinning, making me grateful to weekend holidays. While thinking about all this stuff a question hit to my head “who decided to work for five days and rest in the remaining two on behalf of everyone on earth?”

After some research I found out that New England Cotton Mill instituted the first five-day work week and famous entrepreneur Henry Ford applied the same in his factory. I was about to put all the blame on them before I learned the fact there was no weekend holiday at all before, so maybe I should thank them instead. As for me, I am pretty sure that we would be better and much more positive people if everyone could work four days a week and rest in the remaining tree.

Anyway, you might also be passing through the same point of the circle and could not find enough personal time to realize what you had planned at the end of 2010. No worries, I am here to help you. The recipe I am about to share soon is a life saver. Since it is quite easy and tasty as well you will have more time to do whatever you like after a long and exhausting day in the office.

All you need is some easily obtained vegetables like onion, potato and some chard or spinach leaves you found in your refrigerator. I prefer to use chard since had a chance to find incredibly fresh ones at the grocery. Chard is an excellent source of A,C, and K vitamins coming with magnesium, potassium and iron in the same package. Chard is also quite beneficial to cure ulcer which is quite common among stressed out office people. Chard juice (I must admit you should be really in love with chard to do that, otherwise just keep that mind to use some other day) is a good decongestant and leaves are also helpful to neutralize stomach acidity.

A recipe that is delicious, easy and healthy. No need to ask for more, right. You may even keep the fried potato pancakes in the fridge for a few days to use afterwards and reheat them in the oven to make them gain their crispiness again.

Ingredients (for 4 serving)

For potato pancakes

• 4 mid-sized potatoes (around 450 grams -1 pound-)
• 1 mid-sized onion
• 35g (1.2 oz) all purpose flour
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼  teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1tablespoon liquid vegetable oil for frying

For sautéed chard

• 450 g (1 pound) Fresh chard leaves -washed and drained –
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground white pepper and sea salt to taste
• 1 ½ cup sour cream
• Fresh mint leaves for garnishing

Instructions

Yes, it’s time again; a brand new year is about to come and your eyes are looking for a special recipe on this blog at that time of the year. I know that very well and believe me I did my best to catch up. However last week was a complete mess thanks to well known astrologer Susan Miller who visited Istanbul recently. What she said was quite off-putting.

Something very big, a sort of phenomenal event would take place in Turkey on last Tuesday and this would affect lives of all people nationwide. This event might be a natural disaster, a serious bomb attack or a major scandal. My goodness, choose lesser of the three evils. She also warned us that Mercury was coming back (explanation for astrology virgins: this is something bad, very bad) and we should be very careful while taking decisions, better not to take any decisions even.

Thanks to this prophecy I had one of my worst Tuesdays ever, expecting vicious things to come out from everyday life scenes like construction workers on the street corner to drill natural gas pipeline by mistake and cause a huge blast and so on. Of course I could not take the decision for what kind of New Year recipe to work on under these circumstances, could I? Thanks lord, nothing serious happened on that day and I went back to my kitchen after a hard day of work.

Making Almond Flour for the Macaron

As a new year’s tradition I stick to spicy recipes but the things I tried were not better than my dear deer cookies of last year so I decided to go for some change (or should I say challenge?) and developed a new macaron flavor combination to celebrate the new year. I knew that it was not an easy task but when I read my own words from last New Year’s post saying “We all can do anything, no matter how fancy or how difficult it is. It’s all about trying and retrying just like all other things in our lives.” I gave it a go.

It was a bit more difficult than I thought and you would pity on me if you had known how many undercooked or overcooked, under folded or over folded macaron shells I ate to test the recipe. It took me preparing several batches of batter again and again with different amount of ingredients, consuming a great number of eggs a chicken can lay in two weeks’ time and lots of almonds.

When it comes to macarons everyone has his/her own way of doing things. Some achieved success by folding dry ingredients very slowly, some prefer folding rapidly as they would beat the shit out of it at first then slowing down, some recommend lower oven temperatures some others apply high temperature at first then lower it at the halfway of baking, some recommend a convection oven, some using a conventional one. Even, I read about using two different ovens set at different temperatures for each half of the baking time and then I stopped reading any more. Imagine, the question of “how long you should wait for macarons to get dried before baking?” has many answers ranging from “What the hell, I don’t have enough patience to wait even for a minute after piping them!” to “You have to to wait for a day to harden their shells”. As you see it is so easy to go insane.

In short, this would be your own experience with your kitchen tools and oven which would significantly affect the end product. Particularly you need to know the characteristics of your oven very well, if you do not know yet, this will be the chance to deepen your relationship. Good to keep in mind that it takes some trials to realize what works and what does not for the given conditions you are in; even the humidity of your kitchen might change the fate of your little macarons according to some opinion.

Accepting the fact that they are not a simple cake to bake, gather all your courage and be determined to accomplish what you aim: sweet and crispy outer shells without any cracks on the surface and a moist interior to leave a deep almond flavor on your taste buds.

After all your efforts if they do not come out perfect, please don’t get down. Anything with that much almond will taste nice regardless of its shape. Try to look from the bright side; you may not have the picture perfect macarons but will definitely have delicious almond cookies beside your tea. It’s just a matter of finding the courage to challenge yourselves and that’s what all we need to have for the coming year.

I wish you a New Year full of courage and determination to take a step further and realize all the things you wish for no matter how difficult they are.

Ingredients (makes around 24 macarons depending on size)
For macaron shells

• 120 g (3,8 oz) blanched or slivered almonds
• 200 g (7 oz) confectioner’s sugar
• 90 g (3,1 oz) egg whites (aged 1 day at room temperature)
• 30 g caster sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• A pinch of salt
• Cinnamon to sprinkle on top

For filling

• 160 g (5,6 oz) mascarpone cheese
• 2 ½ tablespoons green apple syrup
• 50 ml (1,7 fl. oz) heavy cream

Instructions

Right after seasonal fishing prohibition was over in here, I tried some different recipes featuring one of my favorite fishes, sea bass, and finalized most of the details like photo shoot and final quantities of the ingredients. Photos were there, recipe was ready and only thing left was to write the post. I got some tea and sit on my couch to check my emails before starting to write. While taking my very first sip I happened to read a few lines coming from the communications officer of Greenpeace Mediterranean office, Deniz Sozudogru and was almost spilling my tea all over.

I don’t know whether this could be explained as a coincidence but it was really interesting. Deniz was mentioning their recent campaign to prevent fishing of immature fishes which will cause to extinction of various species very soon. According to explanation coming from Greenpeace, 90% of mature fishes are already caught all around the world and total fish inventory is almost diminished by 60%. That means after a few generations we will totally forget the taste of fish and there won’t be a life underwater.

When an immature fish without having any chance to lay its eggs even once is caught, thousands of future breed will also be lost. So what should we do then? We have to ask from governmental authorities to ban fishing and selling of undersized fishes. Greenpeace started this campaign here in Turkey but there might be similar actions in your country too to participate.

Moreover, we need to learn the accurate size of specific types of fish at their maturity state and should never buy the ones below this size level.  As it’s taught in Economy 101 course, if there is no demand, logically there should be no supply either. Deniz also shared the fish scale above showing the ideal size of various fishes. Please take a look, try to keep in mind and pay attention while you are buying fish. By the way also keep in mind that a real sea bass has a whitish body and very shiny skin with thinner scales on it while the one produced in a farm environment has a darker color and covered with larger scales. Keep those in mind not to be deceived while shopping since sea bass is much more expensive compared to farm produced one.

As for the recipe, I am hundred percent sure that it will catch your fancy with its looks at first but I have to add that its taste won’t be overshadowed. The sorrow taste of white wine vinegar gives it a kick and using a fully closed baking paper helps retain all different flavors coming from seasonal vegetables and lemon thymes. I preferred to bake all sea bass fillets in one large parcel I made out of baking paper but you may also prepare individual ones to serve.

Last but not least, please actively engage in campaigns like the one I mentioned here to save the life under seas and consequently to be able to enjoy all kinds of seafood in near future. I don’t want this recipe to be an archaic remainder after some 30 years, so please eat responsibly.

Ingredients (for 4 serving)

• 4 pieces of sea bass fillets (make sure that even the small bones are removed)
• 60 g (2,1 oz) red bell pepper (julienne/matchstick cut)
• 60 g (1,2 oz) yellow bell pepper (julienne/matchstick cut)
• 60 g (2,1 oz) leek (julienne/matchstick cut)
• Fresh lemon thyme sprigs
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• Freshly ground pepper
• Sea salt

Instructions

I have a belated announcement to make and you may never know how happy I am about this. Though I was in the know for several months I had to see the end product by my own eyes before sharing the good news with you.

Recently, I was checking my mailbox time and time again, looking forward to receive a package sent from far away. Useless supermarket brochures, electricity bills and take away fast food discount coupons were all there but not the package I was expecting. Then it was time for us to set off for a long journey and I had to be patient until we were back again.

It is easy to guess what was the first thing I did when we returned home last week. And yes…There is a padded envelope with something heavy inside in my mailbox among all other stuff, and a big “YES”, it is sent by Slattery Media Group. That was the package I was expecting for weeks containing a beautifully designed cookbook in full-color print with the title “Foodies of the World”. Immediately started to turn down the pages and loved the photograps, fonts and everything just at first sight but I was growing impatient to see the part which makes this good looking cookbook very special for me.

Oh, yes! It was over there…My picture and profile on the left handside followed by two of my recipes with photographs I took, one covering a full page. Of all the things I have done up to now, this one really made me felt proud of. It was unbelievable but true, I was published within an universal project featuring lots of famous food bloggers I have admired. Beatrice Peltre of “La Tartine Gourmande” , Jaden Hair of “Steamy Kitchen“, Meeta Khurana of “What’s for Lunch, Honey?“, Sara Morris of “Sprouted Kitchen” are among them.My recipes and photos would find a space on the bookshelves of many people around the world and that was really overwhelming.

“Foodies of the World” cookbook project in the words of the publishers/editors is as follows;

‘Foodies of the World is a collection of profiles and recipes from the best blogs around the world. It compiles the greatest recipes, with the sweetest stories, from the best bloggers into one handy guidebook and recipe collection. As the blogs selected come from all over the world (India, France, USA, UK, Australia, Germany, Italy, Estonia and Turkey are represented so far), the recipes will cover a variety of cuisines and courses. The overall tone is one of community, and sharing your love of cooking with the world. Its quality, complete and beautifully real’ design will inspire the reader to spend time in their own kitchen’.

I really loved the book (sincerely, I would think in that way even if I was not a contributor) and If you are also excited to discover really great food blogs from around the world with amazing photos and to try some of their delicious recipes at home, I suggest you to click on the cover image below and order your own “Foodies of the World” copy. I am absolutley sure that you’ll love it too.

As my last word, I have to send my biggest thanks to you, dear readers. I would never imagine this could happen without your support, care and encouragement to carry on The Kitchen of Oz. Thank you again.

Eggplant Confit with Cumin

We were on Bugeaud Avenue, tyring to walk as fast as we could with hungry stomachs that made us daydream about our momentous rendezvous arranged weeks before. Needed to take longer steps for not being late. But…Oh my… where was the building with number 16? Were we on the wrong way? Might there be another Bugeaud Avenue on 16th arrondissement? Kept on walking… and yes…Finally, I could read the word “La Table” written on the black sunshade and saw the golden colored wrought iron door. We were so close.

This is one of the two restaurants of the world class French celebrity chef, Joël Robuchon, who had a worldwide record for gaining 26 Michelin stars in total. Robuchon was such a talented chef that at the age of 29 he was responsible for the kitchen of a well known Parisian Hotel, managing 90 cooks. Travelling around the world and discovering new techniques broadened his vision of cooking. He also hosted a TV show for ten years to introduce his refined cuisine approach with simple recipes for home cooks.

La Table

After a warm greeting at the door, we proceeded to our table accompanied by one of the waiters. Interior of this peaceful dining room had an elegant sytle with black and golden colored details around. Despite its formal attire at first sight, ambient was quite comfortable and welcoming.

The only thing I had difficulty in comprehending is that the given menu was strictly French, with no English version. So it would be rewarding to add some culinary related French words to your vocabulary before you pay a visit. Nonetheless, staff is fluent in English so you’ll figure it out. Nobody should anticipate you to know the meaning of “le lieu jaune” by heart, right?

Asparagus Soup & Sea Bream

Right after giving orders, our gourmet parade commenced with a few delectable amuse bouches followed by a green asparagus soup with parmesan crutons served in a cappuccino cup. Soup was really divine to make us grow impatient for the rest of this delectable journey ahead.

While I was enjoying my soup, another beauty was on the way: an eggplant confit with cumin. This dish surprises you with its fancy presentation but its taste does not stay in shadow of its looks. Cumin gave the essential kick required . My selection for the main course was the sea bream baked with a layer of potatoes and steamed baby leeks and chorizo underneath. Potatoes were placed in a fish scale form which already won my heart at first sight. I love such kind of visual details on my plate. Taste wise, it was an extraordinary dish with a perfect balance of flavors. By the way, as you might expect they provide you with an extensive wine menu and there are also fine yet affordable ones on the list.

Desserts in La Table

As for the desserts my absolute favorite was basil sorbet served with heavenly smelling strawberries. After having such a refreshing one, chocalate cake and ice cream went a bit on the heavy side. But having a cheese platter followed by desserts made me ready for another sweet round so I could not say no (who could?) to amazing caramels beside my coffee.

Caramels of La Table

All in all, ambiance, servic e and food was superb and it’s really worth gaining the extra calories. Moreover, while you put on some weight, your wallet is slimming down a bit to keep the balance.

Franck Marchesi-Grandi

Our second choice for the next day was L’Agrume with one of the best up-and-coming chefs in the kitchen, Franck Marchesi-Grandi. New York Times mentioned him with praise in an article about the new clutch of Parisian chefs offering their own creative cuisine at a price most can afford.

I really made effort to make a reservation for dinner since it is a small place with limited capacity. Over the phone, hostess of the bistro shyly told me there were only two stools available just by the kitchen counter and asked whether it would be all right. Of course she would never know that there could not be a better table to be offered for us to dine.

L'Agrume

This bistro is more like a hidden gem situated in a less visited side of fifth arrondissement. From outside there is nothing fancy or eye catching, nevertheless you feel the sincerity as you walk in. Open kitchen is the first indicator for that. Staff working in L’agrume is also extremely nice and kind so that you feel like this is a place owned by one of your friends and you know everyone for long.

We were finally seated on our stools in front of the kitchen and met with the star chef Franck while he was roasting a chunk of beaf to be served afterwards. It was one of the most exciting dining experience for me, watching the preparation steps of all the dishes I ordered. Franck was such a talented chef that he handled everthing alone. He created delectable dishes in front of our very eyes within a few minutes.

L'Agrume and Poached sole fish

When it comes to food, slowly roasted beef ribs with courgette and green olive was the hit of the night, it was perfectly cooked, keeping all its juice inside. Poached sole fish was served with a suprising garnish; pan fried eggplant and mango which was an exraordinary combination. Sweet finale of the dinner, strawberry and crème fouettée on top of vanilla flavored feuiiletage got full point from us. That was a sort of deconstructed strawberry Napoleon with a heavenly taste.

Strawberry and Crème Fouettée in L'Agrume

L’Agrume is one of the prominent representatives of casual fine dining in Parisien food scenery with its fresh, well thought and creative dishes with no frills. The quality of the food against the amount you paid definitely justifies the longer metro trip you take. Bon appetit!

If the word “blackberry” instantly reminds you of a hundred emails you cannot avoid, you are not the only one. It looks like this incredibly healthy fruit has its name snatched by a mobile device so badly that when you Google the word “blackberry” you end up with an information flood on various models of that device but nothing about blackberry as a fruit (I checked the first ten pages of search results and still there’s nothing about it –hard to believe-). Thus I decided to help this little shiny gem regain its esteem as one of the well known members of berry family with a recipe that will knock your socks off.

Even though most of us come across to widely available one called Evergreen, there are many types of blackberries like Himalaya, Silvan, Marion and Black Diamond. U.S. is the top grower but different types can be cultivated in Latin America and across Europe.

It is quite strong in terms of antioxidant content which is something we get used to read in one out of three articles related with health issues (sellers in the farmers market mentioned in my previous post named blackberry as “black doctor” on their price labels. That’s one of the most comprehensible and strong statement to convey benefits of a product I guess. Looks like farmers are quite knowledgeable in marketing too). I have also read that American Indian women ate them to prevent miscarriages in early days which is another interesting piece of information for me.

Blackberry as a bramble, fruits every other year so if you happen to find good ones eat them up like there is no tomorrow. How you are going to differentiate a good blackberry is quite easy, its color should be even and dark with a glossy look without any dents or bruises. There is only one thing to pay attention and personally I do not have any difficulty in that; to consume them right away since the taste is at its best for the first day. After three days you need to tell them goodbye even you kept refrigerated. But don’t get frustrated now I’ll tell you the way to make it last quite longer by making one of the most refreshing sorbets out of it.

This sorbet is the reminiscence of the last blackberries I found in this season. Well, I should admit that I want to avoid the upcoming autumn by making sorbets but soon I’ll adapt –I hope-. Combining the sweet-sorrow taste of blackberries with a vigorous and refreshing touch of ginger ended up with a superb association. If you are not really into it you may omit ginger for sure but as for me both blackberry and ginger found their soul mates in this recipe.

Ingredients (Makes approx. 1liter)

• 420 g (0,93 pound) fresh blackberries, washed and drained
• 120 g (4,2 oz.) sugar
• 230 ml. water
• Juice of 1 lime
• Finely grated fresh ginger in 5-6 hazelnut sized pieces
• 2½ teaspoons kirsch

Instructions

All right, I know that most of you started to think I got lost again but don’t worry I returned back to where I belong, to my kitchen. I had a short vacation between two posts and got a chill as a bonus. Now I am fully recovered and ready to compensate my absence.

Last week I had a chance to visit farmers market in the neighborhood which is my favorite place for all sort of grocery shopping. It was too crowded and noisy as always thanks to shouting farmer boys to attract customers by telling how fresh were their rocket leaves or that no fertilizer was used to grow those tomatoes.

No matter how louder they shout it is difficult to convince old, picky ladies who have such a strong aptitude developed over years to find the best of the best deals in the whole market. If a stall is circled with these golden-agers, it is a good idea to check seller’s offer. The only tricky part is to take care of your feet against the high possibility of being smashed under an old lady’s wheeled shopping bag. Such sort of hassles comes with the farmers market experience package and not separable.

Setting aside the crowd, farmers market is the best place to find fresh vegetables and fruits of the season. In general groceries sold here are picked a few days before your purchase which enables them to remain good for a longer time compared to the ones you bought from neighborhood supermarket and stacked there after a long supply chain journey.

Going through different vegetable stalls, fresh green beans caught my attention and I dived into the crowd in front. I quickly took one of the beans and broke into two pieces to test. And yes, that was the right place for crunchy green beans with no strings. Old, picky ladies were right again! On the way back I also found beautiful tomatoes still on their branch coming from west coast side and grabbed a pack full of them before I take my way home to prepare our meal.

For this recipe I made use of a different cooking technique but I have to say that it is the best way to preserve the color and texture of green beans. I read about this technique on an article long before and it was on my mind since then. Important point is to cook sliced green beans in hot water (but not boiling) with a generous amount of salt. This will decrease the amount of chlorophyll (substance giving the green color to beans) transferred to hot water. You also need to make a big bowl of iced water ready aside and put the drained beans in it to immediately stop cooking right after eight minutes.

It is nice to try different techniques for old school recipes we got used to. Traditional fresh green bean recipe requires cooking beans with sautéed onion in olive oil and tomato combination for a longer time. Unfortunately green color and crunchy texture of beans will be lost at the end. This alternative recipe requires breaking the whole process into pieces and gathering up the side products afterwards. If you would like to have your beans more tender you always have a chance to cook them in hot water a few minutes more. In any case your beans will be greener than before so it might be a good idea calling this recipe as “literally green beans with tomato sauce”. Bon Appetit!

Ingredients (for 8 servings)

• 1 kg. (2,2 pounds)fresh green beans (washed, drained, cut French style)
• 1 large sized onion (finely chopped)
• 10-12 small sized tomatoes (peeled and diced)
• 6 tablespoons virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon grass (optional)
• Freshly ground white pepper
• Sliced almonds
• 4 tablespoons sea salt

Instructions

And now…it’s time. Time to tell about my sweet stops from Paris. I promised to mention it long ago but everytime there was some other things to write or a nice recipe to be shared (editing hundreds of pictures taken throughout the trip might be another reason for the delay, I should admit).

Paris became my favourite place in Europe since the first time I had been there and I try to spend at least one of my vacations every year in this marvelous city. Even though I hardly understand the language I feel so connected with the daily life in here. Whenever I go there, I automatically get up early and rush to a good boulangerie (means bakery in French) to enjoy the fresh out of the oven croissants or a piece of crunchy baguette accompanied with a generous slice of French cheese. Parisians are so good at baking that even smelling these beauties is enough to make you go crazy.

Like for many people who like fine foods, Paris is a culinary heaven for me too. I never and ever think about how many calories were hidden inside the stuff I devoured all day long. Concept of eating healthy is definitely thrown out of the window during such trips. Starting from the early morning my stomach is wide open to anything delicious and I am ready to travel from one corner of the city to another just for the sake of a piece of quality chocolate or a few delectable macarons. So we may call my Paris trips more like a pilgrimage to sacred places for my taste buds.

A typical day should start with a good breakfast featuring a top quality French bread. At that point, I have to mention the most coveted bread of Paris; Poilane miche. Lionel Poilane created the recipe after years of hard work and reinvented the old-school dark French bread. Even though the loaf itself contains basic four ingredients (flour, water, salt, starter), his secret remains in retro-innovative approach he applies while making this highly-reputed bread. He still uses handmolded sourdough, made of stone-ground flour, sea salt from Brittany region and a traditional wood oven but keeps the rest as a family secret.

This bread is simply the best bread for gourmands and that’s why Lionel Poilane is one of the few bakers to take his bread global. By the way, Max Poilane who is the brother of Lionel Poilane has also three bakery shops in Paris with his own name and he is also baking very good artisan breads. No surprise, they had issues with his brothers and everyone went on his way. Even though Lionel Poilane is more well known out of Paris, it is still an ongoing debate among gourmands whose bread is better. I tried both of them and to be honest the difference was not that dramatic, both loaves were quite tasty.

After a long stroll following the breakfast, it is a must to eat something sweet to refill your energy tank. Bluntly, I can make up any sort of excuses for eating sweets but this is the most common one I use. Depending on the area you wander around, there are many different points worth stopping for.

Let’s start with the oldest pastry shop in Paris, Stohrer. It was founded by the patissier Stohrer, an innovative chef who produced lavish patisseries for royal family and Paris aristocracy. Bombes Amandes (lemon almond cake) which gives off an irresistible almond scent, Mousse au Caramel et aux Poires (caramel-pear mousse cake) are some of the specialties. He also invented the famous Baba au Rhum (Rum Baba dessert). Impressive, hand painted ceiling from mid 1800’s of the shop gives you a feeling that you walk into a giant jewel box.

Lenotre is one of the most widespread patisseries with branches in different arrondissements. This beautiful shop is brimmed with cakes, sweets, chocolates, caramels, croissants, brioches and so on. The difficult part is to decide on what to eat, my personal favorite is pain au raisin but cannot resist to taste a piece of their fluffy brioches too. If you see a nice violet colored sun shades over a shop’s window it is probably a Lenotre branch that you should not miss.

Laduree is another classic spot for a sweet tour in Paris. It has such a lovely atmosphere that you feel like you went back in time while sitting in its tearoom. Romantic murals, tiny tables with black marbelled tops, paneled walls adorned with gilded molding add up on its elegant appeal.

It is crowded anytime of the day so you should be patient in order to find a table or wait on the long queue of tourists to get your sweets to go. I personally advise sitting at the tearoom to fully enjoy this elegant place.

Sip the tea you selected besides a mind blowing fraisier (a strawberry and cream cake) or a piece of tarte tatine with its incredibly rich flavor thanks to engagement of butter and apple. I am more than happy to learn that a Laduree branch will open up in Istanbul soon. I could not ask for more!

The place I am about to mention now is not one of those you should get into it if you come across by chance. This is a must visit place for anyone who goes to Paris and has some certain level of interest for desserts, especially macarons. I ate lots of macarons including other ones in Paris but Pierre Herme‘s macarons are a way different than others.

He is more like a fashion designer when it comes to macaron creation. Every season he creates new flavors and elusive combinations to take your breath away. You will see long queues out of his shop when he launches his new flavors for that particular season. This time I lost myself in jasmine flavored macarons he made. You feel a floral summer breeze in every bite you take. Difficult to tell, you should taste by yourself.

Sadaharu Aoki is another inspiring and enchanting figure of pastry scene in Paris. He is a Japanese pastry chef combining particularly Japanese ingredients like black sesame, yuzu (Rolls Royce of lemons) and matcha (green tea powder) in his creations which can be classified as Japanese interpretations of classic French desserts. His meticulous attention to detail (a typical Japanese attribution) can be clearly seen on everything; from cake designs to packaging.

Each and every dessert in the shop looks like a piece of art making you hesitate to take the first bite for the reason you would destroy such a beauty. I love these crayon like ganaches with different colors to match their flavors hidden inside, so subtle and refined. By the way, this was the first time I tasted the milk jam made by Sadaharu Aoki and it is incredible too, you can clearly see the vanilla beans within.

These were some of my main sweet stops in Paris, however, most of the food you will come across here is really good regardless of the location. That’s why I love this place that much, I guess. If you happen to pay a visit, don’t forget to bring your appetite with you and lose yourself in the world of fine pastries and sweets.

I want to talk about something we all love. I doubt there will be anyone on this planet who does not like it, if not craves for it. Wait for it…Yes, I am talking about ice cream which is the coolest thing –literally- on a hot summer day.

The story of ice cream begins a long time ago –over 3000 years- in China. We all know that Chinese invented so many things throughout the history like gunpowder, ink, umbrella, porcelain etc. but let me say, ice cream is the tastiest discovery of them among all. No need to say it was not the same ice-cream as we are used to consume today. Ancestor of today’s ice cream was mostly a mixture of snow from the mountains, fruit, wine, and honey. As expected it could not be found easily since you need to obtain ice from a mountain or let’s say you need some slaves or soldiers to do that for you. This difficulty in ice supply turned ice cream to a delicacy that could only be found on the emperor’s dining table at first.

Well known adventurer Marco Polo was the one to return from China to Italy with this recipe in hand, snow ice cream with an addition of extra milk. Not surprisingly, rich people of Italy loved the idea of this frozen milk. When you use rich and Italian in the same sentence you should expect another famous figure, Catherine Medici, to come out at the same instant. This gourmand lady took the recipe to France when she married the French king Henry II in 1533. French chefs added chocolate -what would you expect other than that- and strawberry to make it closer to the ice cream we eat today. It took almost 300 years more for White House guests to be served ice cream.

When we come back to our time I feel so happy that we don’t need to be rich or a high-born to enjoy a scoop of this beauty. It is not that difficult to make your own ice cream. For sure it is more laborious than buying from a supermarket in your neighborhood but also easier than climbing up the mountains for a bucket of snow. There is no point in mentioning the superior taste of homemade ice cream over fabricated ones I guess. Consider this recipe as a treat to yourself and indulge in the deep flavor of chocolate and coconut with each spoon. Bon appétit!

Ingredients (for 1 liter of ice cream)

• 200 ml (6,8 fl. oz)heavy cream
• 400 ml (13,6 fl. oz) coconut milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 220 g (7,8 oz) dark chocolate
• 190g (28,2oz) sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 60 gram (2,1 oz) oatmeal cookies

Instructions

Note: If you do not have an ice cream machine that does not mean you cannot make your own ice cream. Take a large and shallow glass bowl -like the ones we use as ovenware- and pour the final mixture in it. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours than place the bowl in the deep freezing section. Wait for approximately half an hour then take the bowl out and mix well with a metal fork for 3 minutes, you may use a hand blender (with metal blade) as well to make this task easier. There should not be any ice crystals left on the edges. Put the bowl back to the deep freezer and follow the same procedure for 3-4 times. After the ice cream is ready add chopped oatmeal cookies and mix, transfer your ice cream to an air tight container and keep in the deep freezer till you serve.

Ingredients (makes 1 serving)

• 50 ml (1,70 fl. oz.) Cointreau
• 40 ml (1,35 fl. oz.) sparkling mineral water
• 15 ml (0,5 fl. oz.) cranberry syrup
• 15 ml (0,5 fl. oz.) lime juice
• A nectarine and a plum

Instructions

Whenever I decide to tell about some place on this blog, all of a sudden I find myself in a different one that worth for mentioning too. Paris episode was just on the way if we had not hit the road to a captivating island.

When I say that, you cannot help visualizing a somewhat mysterious island as featured in the all time favorite TV show LOST. Don’t worry, it’s not that supernatural but it’s an island where you may want to get “lost”. For those interested in, coordinates are as follows: N 39° 50′ 04”, E 26° 04′ 06”. Name of this fascinating island is Bozcaada, situated at the entrance of the Dardanelles.

Bozcaada was named as Tenedos in Greek mythology, derived from Tenes who ruled the island at the time of Trojan War and killed by Achilles. This was the place where Achaeans hid near the end of the war and tricked the Trojans that war was over. You’ll remember the famous Trojan Horse story, if not Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger might have a little help.

Besides its historical heritage, Bozcaada is famous for its vineyards and wines consequently. There are a few factories located on the island and looks like they’ve come a long way and still working on to establish well known brands in a competitive market.

Life on this island is mainly based on “less rush, more hush” philosophy. This is a sort of “anything can wait, first let me sip my wine in peace and listen to the sound of waves” state of mind. No need to say how relaxing this is. Even the cats in here are lazier than their counterparts in any other places.

Food is another attraction here on this island. Different types of seafood and assorted appetizers made with olive oil and local vegetables and herbs are really zestful. It’s a big challenge to prevent yourself from ordering more than you can eat since you want to taste everything written on the menu.

Here I have o mention the amazing breakfast of Rengigul Guesthouse. Even if you stay in another place you can join for the breakfast and its elegant owner will welcome you in a beautiful garden full of objects from her memories. At the very first minute you forget where you are and feel like you are in a place you know before, like your grandmother’s house. You sit around a big table with people you do not know at all but again this is not important. It looks like a family gathering even if no one knows each other. Atmosphere is so nice and peaceful that you want this breakfast last for the rest of the day.

Homemade jams of the guesthouse were incredibly delicious with their surprising ingredients like watermelon, tomato, pepper, or even fresh mint and squash blossoms. There were 21 different kinds to try and no need to say their tastes are still lingering on my palate.

On the way back I bought beautiful sour cherries and without any hesitation they should turn into a delicious jam to fully capture their essence. The ratio of fruit and sugar in this jam is somewhat different than the traditional 1 to 1 formula. For my taste, this has a superior cherry flavor not surpassed with excess sugar. On a cold winter day, spreading this jam on a slice of roasted bread will remind you the long summer days and holiday memories for sure.

Scroll down for the rest of the beautiful Bozcaada photos.

Ingredients

• 1000 g (35,3 oz) sour cherry (pits are removed)
• 800g (28,2oz) sugar
• ½ lemon juice

Instructions

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