Did you know "I" Ile Flottante

Did you know Ile flottante is a French dessert consisting of a dollop of meringue floating on a bed of creme anglaise (a vanilla custard)?  Sounds very grand doesn't it!

Did you know this dish is known in English as "floating island", and in German as "snow eggs"?

The meringues are prepared from whipped egg whites, sugar and pure vanilla extract, cooked at a low temperature for a long period of time using a bain-marie, then un-moulded onto the creme anglaise.  Sometimes caramel is drizzled over the islands and sometimes it's decorated with toasted flaked almonds.

Did you know Ile flottante, was originally made using stale slices of savoy sponge cake or brioche that had been moistened with a liqueur, and sandwiched together with apricot jam containing chopped almonds and raisins, and served cold with a custard cream, or a puree of berries?

Floating Islands

3 1/4 cups of Milk

2 vanilla beans, split in half lengthwise

8 egg whites

3 tbsp caster sugar

pinch salt

Creme Anglaise

use the same milk as used for the islands

8 egg yolks

1 cup of sugar

Toasted Almonds or caramel for garnish

Put the vanilla beans and milk into a saucepan and bring to a steady boil, 

Whisk the egg whites  to stiff peaks with the salt, then fold in the sugar.

Using a tablespoon, gently drop portions of the egg whites into the boiling milk.  Turn the egg whites so they are cooked all over.  Cook for 2 minutes, remove the egg whites from the milk and drain on a cloth.

To make the custard, 

Whisk the sugar and egg yolks until the sugar dissolves, and the mix is pale yellow. Remove the vanilla beans from the milk and scrape the insides of each one with a paring knife to release the tiny seeds, return the seeds to the milk. 

Bring the milk to a gentle simmer and pour half of the milk over the egg mix, whisking gently.

Pour the milk/egg mix back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and stir over a medium heat with a wooden spoon. Stir well being careful to scrape the mix from the sides of the pan where the cream is most liable to curdle.

DO NOT LET THE CREAM BOIL

Check the consistency of the cream by picking the wooden spoon out of the mix and running your finger along the back of the spoon, when the streak remains without the cream running down over the streak, then the cream is ready.

Immediately remove the cream from the heat.  

Continue stirring for 1 - 2 minutes, or the heat in the base of the pan will cause the cream to curdle.

Strain the cream through a strainer, and set over a bowl of ice to cool.  

Cooling quickly like this will prevent a skin forming over the cream.

When the cream is completely cold, pour into individual dishes and place the cooked egg whites on top, chill until ready to serve.  

Serve drizzled with caramel, or dusted with toasted almonds, or sprinkled with  freshly grated nutmeg.

Enjoy :o)

Crispy Coconut Shrimp

When I'm on the boat many of the dishes I prepare involve using shrimp, it's one of those ingredients that's always easy to find in any supermarket in the Caribbean.   I usually have at least a couple of bags of frozen shrimp in my freezer on Daisy.  My entire family loves coconut shrimp, and there are literally hundreds of recipe's out there for making the dish, but after trying so many of them, changing and deleting a few of the time consuming stages and ingredients that I considered unnecessary, and a waste of time, I came up with this, it's so simple and only uses 5 ingredients.   It's a really easy 'go to' dish, colorful and tasty, and one of my family's favorites.  I usually Serve the shrimp with a dish of cherry tomatoes tossed with chopped fresh cilantro, and a splash of olive oil, a crisp green salad, and an ice cold glass of white wine.  

Crispy Coconut Shrimp

•                1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut flakes

•                3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

•                1 teaspoon ground star anise

•                2 egg whites

•                1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail left on.
Leaving the tail on the shrimp makes dipping the shrimp in the egg white and breading less messy, and it looks pretty :o)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a food processor, pulse the coconut until coarsely ground. 

Mix coconut with bread crumbs, and star anise, put into a shallow bowl, and set aside. 

Beat egg whites until foamy but not stiff. 

Dip the shrimp in the egg white and coat with coconut mixture. Repeat to form a double coating. Place shrimp on a  lined sheet pan, and bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Cherry tomatoes with chopped cilantro
and a splash of olive oil

Enjoy :o)

Did you Know "G" Garlic, Little Known Wonder Food

The health wonders of Black Garlic are seemingly endless, without going into too much detail, I've tried to break this down to a few basic facts about this fabulous food, that I think will interest my readers.

Black garlic is made by placing fresh raw garlic in a fermentation cabinet for natural fermentation for 60 to 90 days. Everyone is aware of the general heath benefits of common garlic, but the effect of black garlic is astonishing.  


Did you know that black garlic has a remarkable prevention and cure efficacy for diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipaemia and cancer?


Black Garlic has a soft jellylike texture, it has no bite or odor, and tastes like rich molasses mixed with tangy garlic.

Did you know that black garlic has high nutritional value, it can aid in eliminating fatigue, improving physical strength, solving constipation, protecting liver, improving activity of prostate, promoting sleep, etc?

Did you know that black garlic is a wonder food with functions of cancer prevention, blood sugar control, and internal organ strengthening. 

Did you know that garlic is the best anticancer food, it's considered in many cultures to be a wonder food, it's well known for nourishing, strengthening the body and eliminating fatigue?   


In Designer Foods Program issued by the U.S. National Cancer Institute in 1990, garlic was listed at the top of 48 common anticancer foods because it's the most effective food for preventing cancer. Meanwhile, it can reduce excess cholesterol and sugar of blood, and can also adjust the gastric bowel peristalsis. 

Black garlic is sweet, sour and delicious, and can also be served as dessert. According to the inspection results of food analysis, the amino acid contained in the black garlic is increased by 2.5 times than common garlic.


Black garlic is soft as fruit jelly after it is eaten, has no specific smell of the garlic, and causes no pessimal stimulation to intestines and stomach.

By fermentation, the medical effect of the garlic is strengthened.

Black garlic following fermentation and maturing has better health effect than common garlic, especially strong blood circulation adjustment and antioxidation. Though these effects can be achieved by common garlic, black garlic generates new ingredients on the basis of strengthening the former inherent ingredients in the process of fermentation and maturing, so its health effect becomes stronger. 

For those of you interested in the science's:

Allantolin Allicin, in black garlic, has good antibacterial property and can kill decades of pandemic viruses and morbigenous microbes; so does Allyl Sulfides [(CH2CH2 H2）2S], a kind of white greasy liquid. The Allantolin Allicin, even 10 thousand times thinned, is able to instantly kill Salmonella typhi, dysentery bacillus, influenza virus, etc. The volatile substances, lixivium and allicin of black garlic have remarkable inhibiting and killing effects to various pathogens in test tube, as well as to rotten funguses. Even stronger than benzoic acid and sorbic acid, it is the strongest natural anti-bacterial ingredient now.

Black garlics abilities in anti-aging and antioxidant are 39 times higher than common garlic. 

The aging process is the process of oxidation. And the super antioxidant effect of black garlic makes it able to fight many diseases and take good care of week bodies.

Black garlic, instead of simply controlling the blood sugar, protects the insulin and transforms glucose into energy, standing out from ordinary glucokinin products.



Information gathered from: www.cnrfs.com & www.foodspring.com




You can order black garlic from:   www.thespicehouse.com

Did You Know "F" Forcemeat

For the longest time, and well before I developed my passion for the culinary arts, I'm embarassed to admit that I didn't know what forcemeat was, I really didn't have a clue, which brings me to the idea for my blog section "did you know"! 

I don't have culinary school experience behind me, but I do have the experience learning from some masters in the kitchen, my Mother, Mother-in Law, Grandmother and my Auntie Kath, 4 of the greatest cooks I know, I also have a fantastic library of great cook books, and I'm an avid reader; my blog gives me the opportunity to share some of the knowledge I've picked up over the years.

Did you know forcemeat is a mixture of raw or cooked ingredients, chopped or minced (ground), used to stuff eggs, fish, poultry, game, meat, vegetables or pasta, such as ravioli and cannelloni?

Forcemeats are also the basis for several pates, meat pies, terrines, galantines and ballotines, not to mention all the different kinds of sausages.

There are 3 major categories of forcemeat; those made with vegetables; those made with meat, game or poultry; and those made with fish.  In addition, there is a 4th, more minor category of forcemeat, based on egg yolk.

The composition of a forcemeat depends in principle on the food that it is intended to stuff or fill.  The basis for a forcemeat is usually minced meat or fish; the additional ingredients, for example, gherkins, herbs, onion, ham, foie gras, crustless bread soaked in milk or egg whites, give it character and consistency.  Seasoning is also extremely important. 

Most forcemeats made of meat, poultry or game are bound with eggs.  The stuffing for a food that is to be boiled needs to be more strongly seasoned than one for food to be roasted.  However, in the latter case, the stuffing must contain sufficient fat to prevent the food from drying out, especially in the case of poultry.

This information taken from 'Larousse Gastronomique Culinary Encyclopedia'

My simple recipe for forcemeat, is using a shrimp forcemeat and eggs.  This is an easy, delicious and quick, appetizer or savory snack.

Photograph by Steve Rienecke

Daisy's Deviled Eggs

1 cup raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled, halved, yolks removed and set aside

2 tbsp mayonnaise (homemade is best)

splash of hot sauce

1/2 tsp fine Sea Salt 

1/2 tsp white pepper

Cayenne pepper 

Cook the shrimp for 1 minute in boiling, salted water, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.

Mash the egg yolks with a fork then press them through a fine sieve into a mixing bowl, and stir in the mayonnaise, salt and pepper.

Pound the shrimp in a mortar to make a paste add the hot sauce, and the egg mix, stir well to combine and then press the mixture through a fine sieve.  Spoon mix into a piping bag.

Pipe the mix into the egg white halves and sprinkle with cayenne pepper.

Enjoy :o)

Somerset Chicken with Somerset Cider

6 Chicken breast's with the skin on

8 oz tasty Cheddar Cheese, grated
8 oz Cider,  (plus a glass to drink while you're cooking :o)
2 Apples, peeled & chopped (I like Russets, but Granny Smiths are good too)
1 medium red onion diced
 8 oz wild mushrooms, cleaned & sliced
 8 oz double cream
1/4 tsp freshly grated Nutmeg
10 oz chicken stock (preferably homemade)
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp olive oil
2 oz unsalted butter
1 tsp Italian mixed herbs
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over a medium heat.
Season the chicken breasts well with salt and pepper and sear in the pan until golden on both sides.
Remove the chicken breasts from the pan and put them into a deep, oven proof dish in the oven to continue cooking.
Add the butter to the same saute pan used for cooking the chicken, when the butter has melted and stopped sizzling,  add the onions, and stirring gently, cook until soft and transparent.
Slowly add the flour, one tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly.
Add the chicken stock very slowly, making sure you stir well to incorporate all the flour without making lumps, and then add the wholegrain mustard.
Add the Italian mixed herbs, nutmeg, apples and mushrooms to the pan and continue cooking for about 5 - 8 minutes.
Next, slowly add the cider, followed by the cream, stir well to mix and cook for another 8 - 10 minutes to reduce the liquid
Season with salt and pepper.

Remove chicken from the oven, pour the sauce over the chicken, top with the grated cheddar cheese, and pop under a hot grill (broil) until the cheese is golden and bubbling, serve immediately with creamy mashed potato.

Enjoy :o)