Happy Valentine’s Day

Okay.

Some of us are happy in our relationships and surrounded by people we love and who love us back.

Some of us are not.

And that’s exactly where delicious food enters the game with its magical ability to make everyone happy.

Right?

So whether you stand left or right on this field, these yummy thingies can make your soul sing:

 

egg muffins recipe by Jessica Seinfeld

Scrambled Egg Muffins.

They are cute, quick to make and with the addition of cut out pepper hearts they make a great idea for a lazy brunch.

 
 

molten lava cakes recipe with step by step picture tutorial

Molten Lava Cakes.

These make a clear statement.

I mean, this is very much what sin looks like.

A perfect, sweet sin.

 
 

strawberry parfaits recipe with step by step picture tutorial

Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits – heaven in a glass.

 
 

strawberry roulada recipe with step by step picture tutorial

Or how about making this fluffy Roulade with Strawberries and Cream.

Because where there’s cream, good things are likely to happen.

And on top of that, this roulade is amazingly simple to prepare.

 
 

chicken with creamy sauce recipe with step by step picture tutorial, chicken paprikash recipe

And this dish… this dish, my dear friends, is the direct way to a man’s heart.

It is Chicken with Heavenly Creamy Sauce.

Tested and proven.

Satisfaction guaranteed.

Pure love.

 

I wish you the most beautiful Valentine’s.

Love you, guys.

Petra

 

Chicken Roulade Stuffed with Ham, Cheese, and Peppers

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

This roulade, which by the way is just another word for a roll, is devilishly good.

There are countless variations of chicken roulades, in fact. They can be stuffed with basically anything you can imagine. Well, not anything maybe (chocolate chicken roulade might be a little too funky, I guess), but still there are many ingredients that just work perfectly in that lovely rolled up wonder.

Spinach, bacon, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, shallots – these are just some of the ideas, and the list goes on.

 

What I love about chicken roulades is how cute they look. This is one of those dinners that will elicit a lot of oohs and wows.

And you know what?

They really are easy to make!

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step picturesHere’s what we need.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

1. First, preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C).

2. Place the chicken breast into a Ziploc bag (or between two sheets of plastic wrap).

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

3. Beat the chicken breast with a meat mallet until about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thin.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

This is the ham I had on hand.

It’s beyond yummy!

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

4. Place two slices of ham lengthwise along middle of the breast.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

5. Then place two thin slices of the cheese over the ham.

I use Edam cheese in this recipe. You can, of course, use any kind you like.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

Blue cheese.

My true love.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

6. Now divide the blue cheese into three equal parts and arrange one third crosswise at the near end of the breast.

We are starting to create the center of our roulade here.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

These are red peppers.

I had some pickled ones in my fridge.

Yum!

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

7. If you are using fresh red pepper then place two thin slices over the blue cheese.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

8. And two green pepper slices over the red ones.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

9. Roll the chicken roulade from one end to form a cylinder, securing the seam with a couple of toothpicks.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

10. Secure the ends as well.

We definitely want to keep those flavorful juices inside.

11. Repeat the process for each of the two remaining chicken breasts.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

12. Brush a baking pan with some olive oil and place the roulades inside, the seam side down.

(Tip: You can sear the rolls in a hot oiled pan before putting them into the baking pan – about 2 minutes from each side. That will help keep the juice inside the roll while baking.)

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

13. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil with salt.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

14. And brush the roulades with the oil mixture.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

15. Place in the oven and bake (at 400 °F – 200 °C) for 30 minutes.

There will be a little juice in the pan when your remove the roulades from the oven.

Keep it please, it’s precious.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

16. Remove the roulades from the pan and let them rest for 5 minutes before doing anything else.

 

17. Then remove the toothpicks and slice the roulades crosswise into 1/2 inch (1 1/2 cm) rounds.

Then sit down for awhile and feast your eyes on that cute structure you’ve just created.

 

chicken roll stuffed with ham, cheese, and peppers, recipe with step by step pictures

When serving these cuties, pour a little of that precious and flavorful sauce from the pan over them. That will make them even more moist and delicious.

You can serve these roulades warm with toasts.

Or, to create a more satisfying dish, serve them with mashed potatoes.

 

And most importantly, ENJOY, dear friends!

 

(This recipe takes about 1 hour to prepare and makes 3 servings.)

Strawberry Roulade

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

When I was a kid my Mom used to make wonderful sweet treats for me and my sister.

One of the desserts she used to prepare most often was this strawberry roulade. I guess she liked to make it because it is amazingly simple and easy.

Hm, who doesn’t like that?

As I’m spending time here in my Mom’s house these day, it’s no surprise there’s been a lot of remembering the old, sweet days of my childhood …which magically gave me the idea to prepare this delicious cake, since, to my surprise, I’ve never made it myself.

Oh, and was that a good idea…

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

These are the ingredients you need in case you want to prepare this delicious cake, too.

Which I highly recommend.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

1. First, preheat the oven to 356 F (180 C).

2. Then, separate the eggs.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

3. Now, play with the yolks a little.

Add 1 cup (115 grams) confectioner’s sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

4. Using your hand mixer, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

5. Add the flour and mix again shortly, just until incorporated.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

6. Then, in a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until firm (stiff peaks) and add them to the egg-yolk mixture.

Did you know that when you whisk egg whites there have to be no remains of egg yolk on your whisk attachment? Otherwise the whites wouldn’t just get firm. Trust me! Been there, done that…

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

7. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter.

This is basically the main and most important trick about the sponge cakes – to have the batter as light and air-filled as you can manage.

And it’s definitely not difficult, no matter what they say.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

8. I am using a 12 x 15 inch (30 x 38 cm) baking pan here. Just try to use something similar.

Line your baking pan with parchment paper, and (to stay on the safe side) spray it with some vegetable oil and flour it lightly.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

9. Pour the batter into the pan.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

10. And using an offset spatula or a knife, spread the batter evenly.

11. Bake for 17 minutes or until golden brown.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

12. In the meantime, prepare a nice, welcoming home for your cake.

Place a clean dish towel on your working surface. Then put a piece of parchment paper over the towel and sprinkle it with a little of confectioner’s sugar.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

13. Immediately upon removing the cake from the oven, invert it onto the towel and the paper you have prepared.

So now you have the dish towel and the paper underneath the cake and there’s also a piece of paper on top of the cake (the one it was baking with).

(Oh, how I’ll miss those crazily yellow eggs from my Grandma.)

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

14. Carefully, remove the top paper.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

15. And, while still hot, roll it up.

This way we are making the sponge to get used to being rolled up. If we rolled it up when cooled it might break.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

16. Let cool.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

17. When cooled, unroll the sponge and spread with the preserves (or jam).

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

18. Then whip up the cream.

First, beat the cream until soft peaks form, then add 4 tablespoons (30 grams) sugar and continue beating until firm peaks form when the beater is raised.

19. Spread the cream over the preserves.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

20. Reroll the cake.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

21. And sprinkle with some more sugar if you wish to.

strawberry roulade recipe, strawberry jelly roll with cream recipe with step by step images

22. Slice the cake into even 0.6 inch (1.5 cm) pieces.

Enjoy, dear friends.

With Love,

Petra

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