Stylish Thai Dinnerparty

What could suit my Thai dinner better than Orchids! Native to Southeast Asia, the genus Dendrobium is one of the largest of all orchid groups. There are over 1,200 individual species and they grow from low lands to high altitude and from hot to colder climats. These beautiful Dendrobium orchids last 2 to 3 weeks. Of course the water must be renewed regularly. Often you can find all kinds of different colours at a very reasonable price in Asian markets.

My Menu:
Crispy Thai spring rolls
Coconut soup with shrimp and chicken
Spicy beef with pineapple
Caroussel of desserts

For recipes contact info@biggywolff.com

Wild Strawberries for dessert!

Hello! Today I am sharing a delicious recepie for the quickest dessert I know.

You need:

Wild strawberries
Crème fraiche (sour creme)
Sugar and vanilla sugar (add both to the crème fraiche to your taste)

To decorate my dish I use Fig leaves and Canna flowers from my garden. Of course I grow my wild strawberries myself. I harvested huge amounts this summer. My tip is to lay a thin cloth over the ground before planting them. Cut out little circles into the fabric and plant your strawberries. This keeps them from turning bad.

Edible Flowers

Flowers have been used for flavoring foods as far back as the Bible. Don’t be afraid to eat edible flowers! Edible flowers can be used in drinks, salads, soups, deserts and main dishes. Only use flowers that have not been sprayed with pesticides. Why not try new recepies and garnish your entrees with flower blossoms for a touch of elegance. I am sure your guests will appreciate the delicate taste of the flowers as much as the visual impact of such an edible flower menu.

Rucola watercress salad with salmon

Per serving :
2 slices of smoked salmon
Rucola salad
6 green asparagus
Nasturtium blossoms (Watercress)
2 tbsp of nut oil
2tsp of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of sugar
Pinch of salt

Arrange salad and and barely cooked asparagus nicely on the plate and garnish rucola salad with watercress flowers. If you like you can drape the salmon in form of roses, just like I did. Mix the oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and salt to a vinaigrette and serve apart.

Truffle Risotto with stuffed Zucchini flowers

4 servings :
1 l vegetable stock
1 1 /2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely diced
200 g Arborio rice
100 ml dry white wine
50 g black truffle, shaved, or salsa tartufata (glas)
50 g Grana Padano
50 g butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
parsley

Heat the vegetable stock in a small saucepan over low heat. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the chopped shallots and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes or until softened. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until each grain is coated with oil. Deglaze with the white wine and cook until evaporated. Add the stock and truffle shavings. Cook until all the stock has been
absorbed, stirring constantly to prevent the rice from sticking. If the risotto appears too dry, continue adding extra stock to create a looser consistency. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, butter and salt and pepper. The rice should be al dente.

Stuffed Zucchini flowers

Count per serving 3 – 4 flowers
1 buffalo mozzarella
1 slice of cooked ham
2tbsp of Grana Padano
Salt and pepper
Butter

The zucchini flower must be fresh, better if you order them ahead of time. It is the the female flower which is a beautiful golden blossom on the end of each baby zucchini. The male flower grows directly on the stem of the zucchini plant. Here in the South of France both types are used in the Mediterranean cuisine. Blend all the ingrediences and fill the blossoms carefully. Put them in a buttered dish, scatter a few butter flakes with the parmesan cheese over the stuffed zucchini flowers and put the dish for 8 minutes in the oven, at 190°C.
Decorate them on top of the risotto, add a few parsley leaves and serve immediately.

Banana nut cupcakes with pansies :

2 large eggs
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup of butter, softened
2 cups of flour
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of buttermilk
1 cup of chopped hazelnuts
1 teaspoon of vanilla sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda

Icing:
500 g icing sugar
40 g corn starch
5 – 7 tbsp of water
Food colors

Preheat your oven to 200°C and grease 12 muffin-pan cups. Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. One at a time, add the eggs, beating thoroughly after each is added. Beat in the bananas until the mixture is smooth. Mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Alternately stir the flour mixture and the buttermilk into egg mixture until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts and vanilla sugar. Spoon the mixture into the greased muffin pans, filling them about two-thirds. Bake for around 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Mix all ingrediences for the icing, while adding the color you like and spread evenly over the muffins. If icing becomes too hard you can soften the texture by putting in in the microwave at 300W. Decorate on top each a pansy blossom.