Preparation

Season shrimp with salt and pepper, to taste; set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2-3 minutes; set aside. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Stir in pasta, arugula and Parmesan until arugula begins to wilt, about 2 minutes. Stir in shrimp. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Cut wonton wrappers into circle shapes (about 2 1/4- inches) using a biscuit cutter or the top of a drinking glass. Reserve 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese for the top of your cupcakes. Start layering your lasagna cupcakes. Begin with a wonton wrapper and press it into the bottom of each muffin tin. Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, and mozzarella cheese in each. Top with a little meat and pasta sauce. Repeat layers again (i.e. wonton, Parmesan, ricotta, mozzarella and pasta sauce). Top with reserved Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges are brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Garnish with basil and serve.

Preparation

Tie the beef tenderloin with kitchen twine to help maintain its shape, then freeze the tenderloin (this ensures that the center stays rare when cooking a small piece of meat). Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy small skillet over high heat. Rub the frozen beef with salt and pepper. Add the beef to the hot skillet and sear on all sides, about 4 minutes total (the beef will be just barely seared on the outside but will remain rare). Freeze the beef until almost frozen, about 1 hour (this makes it easier to cut into very thin slices). Using a large sharp carving knife, slice the beef as thinly as possible. Arrange the arugula and Parmesan shavings on a serving platter and lay the beef slices on top. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

Preparation

Peel and chop the cucumber in very fine and small cubes and mix with the cream cheese, mashed garlic, lemon juice and mint. Season with salt and pepper. Place cubes of salmon of approximately 2cm (0.8 inches) on a plate and then top each with some of the cucumber cream cheese mix.

Preparation

Break chocolate squares into smaller pieces and drop them into the fondue pot. Add cream (which will prevent the chocolate from going lumpy) and stir gently but constantly until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Add vanilla extract, and stir it in. Use a fondue fork to spear the fruit. Then dip it in the chocolate.

For some other variations on a basic chocolate fondue recipe, add:
• some chopped nuts: pecans, almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts all work well.
• a tablespoon of instant coffee granules or cappuccino
• your favorite syrup flavor

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in upper third. Toss pecans with butter, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then toast in a 4-sided sheet pan until fragrant and a shade darker, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cool completely. Pulse pecans in a food processor just until finely chopped, then transfer to a wide shallow bowl. Stir together goat cheese, rosemary, coriander, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until combined well. Form teaspoons of cheese mixture into marbles between your palms, then roll in pecans to coat and roll between your palms again briefly. Transfer to a plate. Put a parsley leaf under each cheese marble and spear together with a wooden pick.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Remove any plastic packaging from the cheese and place back in its box, leaving the lid off. Pierce the top of the cheese in several places with a sharp knife and insert pieces of garlic and sprigs of thyme into the slits. Drizzle the cheese with olive oil and place on a baking sheet, leaving the cheese in its box. Bake in the oven for ten minutes, or until the centre of the cheese is melted. For the garlic bread, drizzle the cut side of the bread with olive oil and place cut-side down in a hot griddle pan until toasted. Rub the toasted side of the bread with the garlic clove. Serve the garlic bread with the warm cheese for dipping.

Preparation

Melt the butter in a saucepan and remove from heat. Add the almond essence and the cookies. Cover a round baking pan with some of the cookies pressing hard (it will be the dough of the cake) towards the bottom. Freeze for about 10 minutes so it gets hard. On top of this layer spread the vanilla ice cream (previously you can separately whip each ice cream so they get soft) and cover it with some of

Preparation

Everybody likes cheese! To delight your guests, dare to combine different types on a large and heavy plate. A great idea is to display them with grapes and walnuts.

Preparation

For dessert, combine different types of cheeses with fruits you like. For example, serve strawberries, grapes, apples, pears and pineapple, with a combination of fresh farm cheese, brie and manchego. A touch of honey, or fig or plum jam are an excellent choice for something different.

Preparation

In a thick saucepan, heat 2 spoonfuls of butter and brown the chopped onion. Remove from the pan. In the same saucepan heat the rest of the butter and sauté the livers for about 4 minutes. Then, put in the blender half of the onion, livers, egg and cognac. Blend until it’s smooth. Empty into a bowl and repeat with the rest of the ingredients. Then, mix everything in and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for 24 hours and serve with crackers or fresh baguette.

Preparation

Chop the salmon into small cubes (1 cm) and add the lemon juice (the amount of juice depends on how you like it). Then, slice all the vegetables and cut the onions in very fine sticks. Mix everything with the salmon, season and stir a lot.

Preparation

Slice open the croissants. On one slice put some mayonnaise and on the other some French Dijon mustard. Then, place the ingredients in the following order: lettuce, cheese, ham, tomato, and lettuce again.

Preparation

Slice the shrimps and mix with the mayonnaise. Spread the content into the bread. Add the pickles, some lettuce and the egg sliced in four pieces.