MEXICAN CHILLED AVOCADO SOUP
Sopa de Agualate

Serves 4

3 large ripe avocados
1 1/4 cups {310ml/10 fl oz} cream
1/2 cup {125ml/4 fl oz} milk
1 cup {250ml/8 fl oz} chicken stock {or vegetable broth}
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Chopped fresh chives, to garnish

Stone and peel avocados. Place in a food processor or blender with ( Read more... )

FRENCH CLAFOUTIS

Cherries are full of gaiety, full of Springtime. When the cherry trees are in flower they seem to be covered with snow. In fruit, they seem to be splashed with brilliant blood. Here are some lines of poetry which, in French, are full of the spirit of spring and the cherry trees. Translated, they would lose their charm, so for those ( Read more... )

Rumkugeln are some of my absolute favorite German sweets. German bakeries often have large versions throughout the year - a way to use leftover cakes and turning them into something different rather than throwing them away. These are made from scratch though and should look like the chocolate-covered little ball in the upper left.


( Read more... )

CUBAN SHRIMP-BUTTERED TEA SANDWICHES
Bocaditos de Mantequilla de Camarones

A bocadito is a miniature sandwich or canape. These tea-style sandwiches, so popular in the United States in the 50's, made their way to the Caribbean island and were prepared with just about every filling imaginable. The bocadito consists of a thin filling between two slices ( Read more... )

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKES WITH RASPBERRIES AND NUTELLA MOUSSE
Schokoladentörtchen mit Himbeeren und Nutella-Mousse

Serves 4

2 1/2 pints fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 cup Nutella
1 cup very cold heavy cream
Pinch of salt
4 mini chocolate cake shells (about 3.5 inches in diameter)

In a medium bowl, combine 2/3 of the ( Read more... )

FRENCH PARIS-BREST DESSERT
Makes 8

A delightful French dessert said to have been created by a pastry chef in honor of a bicycle race between the French cities of Paris and Brest. It consists of a baked almond-topped choux pastry ring, patterned after a bicycle tire, that is split and filled with a praline-flavored buttercream, or a chocolate flavored ( Read more... )

FRENCH CHESTNUT PUREE WITH CREAM

1 1/2 lbs chestnuts
1/4 pint double cream
2 1/2 ozs butter
Hot milk
Nutmeg

Peel the chestnuts, then put them in a saucepan, covered with salted water, and cook for 30 minutes. When they are soft, mash them to a smooth puree. This will be rather dry. Return the puree to the saucepan and add the butter and cream, ( Read more... )

FROTHY BELGIAN COFFEE

1 egg white (no yolk)
1 vanilla pod
Whipping cream
Shaved dark chocolate
Hot coffee of choice, stronger blends work best

Beat the egg white until it forms stiff peaks. Remove seeds from vanilla pod and add it to the whipping cream. Beat the cream until stiff, and fold in the egg white. Fill 4 glasses 1/3 full with the whipped cream ( Read more... )

So since this community has reached 100 members without promoting, here's some Chocolate Mousse to celebrate. :)
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FRENCH Mousse De Chocolat

Chocolate mousse is delicious in itself, so good that it is tempting to eat it over and over again. But even a good thing can be ( Read more... )

SPANISH TAPAS: JUMBO SHRIMP WITH DRY SHERRY
Langostinos al Fino

Serves 4-6

2 1/4 lbs jumbo shrimp
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 clove chopped garlic
5 tablespoons fino sherry or manzanilla
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
2 tablespoons cream
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley

Peel the shrimp, leaving tails intact. In a pan, ( Read more... )