062 New Year's Aperitif

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 50 ml water
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 small pineapple
• juice of a lemon
• half a bottle dry cold white wine
• cold sparkling wine
• star fruit

Open the vanilla bean and take out the mark. Put in a small pot, add water and sugar. Boil it. Let it cool.

Cut the pineapple into small pieces. Put into the syrup. Add lemon juice and white wine and stir it. Keep cool. Short before serving cut the star fruit into slices. Fill the glasses half with the mixture, fill up with sparkling wine and decorate with a star fruit slice.

061 Colorful peppers

Ingredients:

• 500 g yellow peppers
• 500 g red peppers
• 500 g green peppers
• 6 garlic gloves
• 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/8 vinegar

Wash peppers, drain well and cut into 2 cm wide stripes. Peel and cut garlic. Heat the oil. Add peppers and garlic. Turn the heat down. Add salt and stir it.

Cover it and let it simmer for 20 min. Fish out the peppers with a skimmer and put into prepared glasses. Mix the cooking juice with vinegar and boil it for 5 minutes. Fill the liquid in the glasses and close them immediately. Store cold and dark and it will keep well for 6 weeks.

060 Mushrooms in Balsamico

Ingredients:

• 1 kg mushrooms
• 4 garlic gloves
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 branches of rosemary
• 1 bunch of basil
• 100 ml aceto balsamico
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil

Clean the mushrooms and cut off the ends. Use kitchen paper not water. Peel the garlic. Wash the herbs and dry with kitchen paper.

Put garlic, all herbs, aceto balsamico, 400 ml water, salt and olive oil into a pot and boil it. Add mushrooms and cook it covered for 3 minutes, stir twice. Fish out the mushrooms with a skimmer and put them into glasses. Add herbs. Let the liquid boil again and fill it over the mushrooms. Close the glasses and let stand for two days. Keeps well in fridge for 3-4 weeks.

059 Tomato pesto

Ingredients:

• 100 g dried tomatoes (not in glas)
• 1,5 tablespoons olive oil
• 50 g pine nuts
• 50 g parmesan cheese
• 5 garlic gloves
• 140 ml olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil

Put the dried tomatoes in boiling water and cook them soft within two minutes. Add 1,5 tablespoons of olive oil, then drain and squeeze well. Brown pine nuts in a pan without oil or butter. Puree tomatoes, garlic and pine nuts. Grate parmesan and mix it with the rest. Add olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Fill into glasses and cover the top with oil. Keeps well in fridge for 3-4 weeks.

058 Feta cheese tomoto cream

Ingredients:

• 200 g feta cheese
• 50 g dried tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. of olive oil
• 1 garlic glove
• olive oil

Crumble the feta cheese, cut the tomatoes, peel garlic. Puree all with a blender and add little by little olive oil. Fill into glasses and cover the top with oil.

Keeps well in fridge for several weeks.

057 Apple chutney

Ingredients:

• 1 kg sour apples (Boskop)
• juice of two lemons
• 50 g fresh ginger
• 1 red chili pepper
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 8 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 8 tablespoons of apple vinegar
• 8 tablespoons of water

Peel apple, cut out cores, cut into big pieces. Put the apples in a big pot, mix with lemon juice. Peel ginger and grate it. Wash chili pepper and put out the seeds (if you want).

Cut into fine slices. Mix both with tumeric, salt, sugar vinegar and water in the apple pot.

Cook it and let it simmer at medium heat for 20 minutes. Stir regularly. Fill into prepared glasses.

056 Onion chutney

Ingredients:

• 500 g red onions (peeled)
• 4 tablespoons of oil
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 50 ml Balsamico vinegar
• 50 ml red wine (or water)

Peel onions. Cut in slices. Heat the oil in a pan, fry the onions for 5 minutes. Add sugar and salt, fry for another two minutes. Add vinegar and red wine and simmer for 15 minutes on low heat, stir occasionally. Fill into prepared glasses.

055 Herbal oil

Ingredients:

• 1/4 l olive oil
• different herbs: branches of rosemary, garlic glove, 1/2 teaspoon of peppercorns, 1 chili pepper, bay leaves
• one bottle of 250 ml

The bottle must be clean and dry. Put the herbs as you wish in the bottle. If you use chili peppers, then make several cuts into it (so it will not float in the bottle). Fill the bottle with olive oil, so all the herbs are covered with oil. Keep the herbal oil well closed and cool. Try the oil after 3 weeks. Possibly take out the herbs.

054 Raspberry vinegar

Ingredients (for 250 ml):

• 50 g raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tablespoon vinegar essence
• 200 ml dry rose wine
• one bottle of 250 ml

Rinse out the bottle with hot water. Put the unwashed raspberries in the bottle, add vinegar and wine. Close the bottle.

Keep the vinegar in a sunny or warm place for a week. Then store cool and dark, you can leave the fruits in the bottle.

053 Yoghurt liqueur

Ingredients:

• 500 g fruit yogurt
• 1/4 l fruit juice fitting the yogurt
• 1/4 l corn schnapps
• 6 cl rum
• 150 g sugar
• 2 packs of vanilla sugar

Mix all ingredients, fill in bottles and keep cool over night. Before serving shake up. The liqueur is immediately drinkable.

052 Red wine liqueur

Ingredients:

• 700 ml red wine
• 1 vanilla bean
• 200 ml red grape juice
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 300
• ml Grappa (38%)

Slit open the vanilla bean and take out the vanilla. Mix it with sugar and juice and cook it in a pot. Let it cool down. Filter the mixture, mix it with wine and grappa and fill the bottles with it. The liqueur is ready to drink.

051 Wholemeal party rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 kg spelled wholemeal flour
• 2 packs dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ca. 700 ml lukewarm milk
• for sprinkling: sesame, poppy, sunflower, pumpkin seeds

Mix a yeast dough from the first four ingredients and put at a warm place for an hour.

Shape small party rolls or braided bread rolls. Put on baking sheets with parchment paper and give it another 15 minutes. Preheat the oven at 200 °C. Spread all rolls with warm milk and sprinkle with seeds. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes depending on size.

050 Crumbly cheese biscuits

Ingredients:

• 250 g flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of paprika powder
• 1/2 cup of cream
• 150 g butter
• 180 g grated Emmentaler cheese

Mix all ingredients to a dough, put in aluminium foil and keep cool for an hour. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Roll out the dough 3-4 mm thick, cut out different shapes. Put the biscuits on sheets with parchment paper.

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon of water

Mix the egg yolks with water and spread it on the biscuits.

• sunflower, cummin, sesame, poppy seeds, fine grated cheese

Cover the biscuits with different seeds or cheese.

Bake the biscuits 10 minutes until golden.

049 Christmas jam

Ingredients:

• 1 kg frozen berries
• 500 g gelling sugar 2:1
• 1 pack gingerbread spice
• 1 tablespoon rum

Mix the unfrozen berries with sugar and ginger-bread spice and leave for one hour. Cook it in a big pot for 4 minutes. Then add the rum and fill the jam in prepared glasses, close them and let them stand on the top for 5-10 minutes.

048 Apple pineapple jelly

Ingredients:

• 650 ml clear apple juice
• 200 g chopped pineapple
• 350 g sugar
• 1 pack Gelfix Super

Add apple juice & pineapple to a pot. Mix Gelfix & sugar, then mix it with the fruit mix. Cook it & let it boil for at least 3 min. Then fill the prepared glasses & let them stand on top for 5 min. During cool down turn the glasses, so the fruits spread evenly.

047 Grapefruit jam

Ingredients:

• 750 g pink grapefruit juice
• 250 g pink grapefruit fillets
• 500 g gelling sugar 2:1
• 1 tablespoon rum

Mix grapefruits, juice and sugar and quickly boil it. Let it cook for 4 min.

Add rum and fill the mixture in prepared glasses, close them and let them stand on the top for 5-10 minutes.

046 Crisp corners

Ingredients:

• 300 g flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 200 g butter
• 100 g sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pack vanilla sugar
• for covering: sesame seeds, linseed, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, 150 g honey, 75 g butter

Mix flour and baking soda, add butter flakes, sugar, egg, salt and vanilla sugar, knead everything together. Put in cling foil and keep cool for an hour. Preheat the oven at 150 °C.

Cook 3 tablespoons of water, honey and butter for the covering. Brown the seeds in a pan. Add the honey-butter mixture and let it boil shortly.

Roll out the dough on the baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the covering on top. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool it and cut into triangles.

045 American cookies

Ingredients:

• 150 g butter
• 100 g sugar
• 100 g brown cane sugar
• 100 g chopped hazel nuts
• 100 g chocolate droplets
• 1 bottle of vanilla flavoring
• 1 egg
• 180 g flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• powdered sugar

Mix butter and sugar and stir till foamy. Add vanilla flavour and egg and mix it. Add flour, bakingsoda and salt, stir it. Mix it with hazelnuts and chocolate droplets. Put small heaps with a teaspoon on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake it 12-14 minutes at 175 °C. Cover the cold cookies with powdered sugar.

044 Eggnog coconut truffles

Ingredients:

• 200 g white chocolate
• 50 g soft butter
• 2 packs vanilla sugar
• 80 ml eggnog
• 50 g shreded coconut

Chop the chocolate and melt it. Put the butter in a mixing bowl, add liquid chocolate, vanilla sugar and eggnog and use the mixer. Let it cool for 45 minutes. Cut the mixture into small pieces and shape small balls. Put the coconut on a soup plate and roll the truffles in it.

Keep cool and eat soon.

043 Marzipan Nougat chocolates

Ingredients:

• 200 g marzipan
• 50 g powdered sugar
• 50 g ground almonds
• 2 tablespoons amaretto
• 200 g nougat
• 30 g semisweet chocolate
• 1 teaspoon pistachios

Sieve the powdered sugar. Knead together marzipan, powdered sugar, almonds and Amaretto. Cut the marzipan mixture into 4 equal parts. Roll out each part in a rectangular shape (15 cm by 12.5 cm). Melt the nougat in a water bath and stir until creamy. Put one third of the nougat on one marzipan plate, then add another plate. The final plate remains without nougat. Put it in the fridge for 2 hours. Melt the chocolate and cover the top, decorate with pistachios. When cold, cut into dices.

042 Florentines

Ingredients:

• 100 g sliced almonds
• 100 g slivered almonds
• 25 g butter
• 50 g sugar
• 50g honey
• 50 g candied cherries
• 1 pack vanilla sugar
• 100 g dark chocolate

Slice cherries in small pieces. Brown the almonds in a pan or in the oven. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and cover the baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix butter, sugar, honey and vanilla sugar in a small pot and melt it at small heat and brown while stirring. Mix it with almonds and cherries and let it simmer for 5 min.

Put always a teaspoon of the almond mixture on a baking sheet. If the mixture hardens, warm it up again. Put the Florentines in the middle of the oven for 7 minutes. After baking let them cool down for 5 minutes, then move the parchment paper from the baking sheet and let them cool down completely.

Melt chocolate and dip the bottom of the Florentines in it before putting them back on the parchment paper. Wait till dry.

041 Almond splitters

Ingredients:

• 300 g almond slivered
• 100 g milk chocolate coating
• 100 g dark chocolate coating
• 100 g white chocolate coating

Brown the slivered almonds in a pan or in the oven and let them cool down. Melt first the white chocolate and mix it with 100 g almonds. Use two teaspoons to make small heaps on cling film coated plates. Let them cool. Repeat the same next with milk chocolate and finally with dark chocolate.