Simone Massoni's 2012 Typeface Calendar

There are four different seasons in a year--Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Each season arrives in our lives and bring us something. It comes, and it goes. Same with the people whom you consider friends. Some are seasonal and some will stay all year round. No matter what season, I am happy that I am blessed with friends who are coming in every season of my life. And last fall, in Firenze--I have gained friends who became valuable people in my life. I am grateful to have met Simone who gave me this calendar that I fancied about and reminded me of my great love for typography.

He came up with a desk calendar with twelve classic typefaces that went well with the twelve sexy and posh chicks that he illustrated. I know January is about to end but it's just the start of the year and it's not yet too late for you guys to own this calendar that Simone designed. It's also available online so it would be great if you will purchase this cutie item thru this website.

Place your order now!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/89480202/chicks-types-2012-desk-calendar

I am also thankful to Cosimo Lorenzo Pancini for inviting me to his YELLOW party at KM zero design agency from where I met good people and some became my friends including Simone and his fiancee Ilaria. They are nice couple who are both artist. His fiancee Ilaria is an illustrator and also a good cook. I look forward to the day that we can cook together.

Below I enumerate twelve of my favorite typeface at the moment. It would be fun it you also have your own favorite typeface and you can play around on the design and post it in your blog.

Being an artist myself makes me feel happy being around with the people of the same species. Dealing, interacting and having friendship with the people of the same interests as yours would always remind you of the things that you are passionate about and things that you are good at. Seeing Simone's artwork leaves an inspiration to me-- that I shouldn't forget to do my doodles and continue to explore the world of art and design. I have learned that world of design has no limits so I have to continue to discover a lot of things and sharpen my creativity. And of course my cooking would always be there as well :-)

This is it for now my mates and amici!

big hug,

joanie xxx

2012 Begins at Italia: A diverted path!

(Taken during winter snow at Aosta Valle, Italia)

Christmas came by so quickly and I did nothing but eat and sleep the past days! The winter weather makes it hard for me to dabble some words and express here in my blog the unique way I spent the yuletide season. Procrastination days aren't over yet but I have to do this post now on the first of January, otherwise I am afraid that I might abandoned this blog for the whole year if I won't do it on the first day of the year. Hehe!

My culinary studies just finished last December then I have to move to Milano for a freelance work. It has been a very very beautiful student life I had in Firenze. To study cooking in Italy is the most wise decision I have made in my life so far. It costed me a million in Philippine peso for everything from school, food, lodging & airfare but the experience I gained is ten times worth than a million pesos! I could've bought an SUV car but riding it wouldn't make me tell priceless stories like what I have gained now. And this blog will be my venue to articulate all those life changing experiences I had.

(Traditional Italian Christmas cake I did in my Firenze Cooking School)

Experience is something money can't buy and something that no one can steal away from you. I can claim that I am a millionaire when it comes to that as compared to my money in my bank account. Experience go hand-in-hand with people. I gained not just experiences but valuable people whom I can forever keep in every corner of my heart. Each of them occupies a space. And to name a few I just have to mention my culinary teacher--Marcella then others like Daniela, Cosimo, Rita, Jurgens and Massimilliano!

(Traditional Italian Christmas Eve Dinner with Massi's Family)

Speaking of Massimilliano, I will now segue my Christmas story with him here in Italy. Being away from my family and to celebrate Christmas the second time without them still brings me some certain sadness. But since I am so used to being by myself, it's not as heavy to me unlike other emotional people. But no matter how you avoid the thought---Christmas is about spending time with your family. I don't have it here in Italy until Massi invited me to spend it in Firenze than being alone in Milano. Voila on the eve of Christmas I went to the city center and witnessed the Milan Christmas rush as I buy gifts for Massi's family. Then at eight in the evening I arrived at Stazione Santa Maria Novella in Firenze once more and Massi picked me up! And I arrived at their house just in time for the Christmas eve dinner. First plate, second plate, third... and dolce were served! Traditional Italian or specifically Calabrian food were done by his Aunt. Then at the midnight part of the evening we gave the gifts to each other and opened it! I like their gifts to me and they liked my gifts as well! Next day was about poker, eating, sleeping, cooking, and walking around Firenze are the things I did with him and his family. Now I could say that I have my Italian family in them whom I can count on, I thank Massi for adopting me :)

(Massi and his mom Cecilia during the gift giving)

(Taken during fall at Boboli Garden in Firenze, Italia)

So now it's 2012 and I am still here in Italy. Supposedly I should be in London for the whole month of December for the holiday and will fly back to Vietnam on the 2nd of January. But fate plays its trick on me and give me something unexpected. Pleasant surprise and it still surprises me as days go by. Last year my goal is about Italy and I successfully did it! This year I don't have a fixed goal, I feel like I am just a free soul going with the flow of life. And it excites me where it will bring me to. I don't know where but I'd be happy to be there. I don't want to make a wish, I just let God make his wishes for me and I know it's better that way. Leave it up to him... Oh but well Oh Lord, I just realised---I still want to buy my dream house! Uhmmm... not a fixed goal, could be next year or when it's possible :p

Parking my fingers now and should end this blog post now...

Buon Anno a tutti!!!

big hug,
joanie xxx

Natale in Italia by Surprise!

Ciao Amici! Come Va? Me, molto bene...

How time flies and before I knew it, it's Christmas already. My blog have slept for two months and I couldn't believe it. I have never been missing in action this long! I miss blogging. Come to think of it, there are so many stories to write and so many food photos to post. I have been away and busy for millions of reasons and it's 99.9% positive. I should've been in London at this point and getting ready for the English holiday but sometimes fate has something else in store for each and everyone of us. I am deeply surprised that I am still here in Italy and would spend my first Christmas with snow.

I have been enjoying my culinary studies and Florentine life for the past 3 months that made me think that I'd love to spend my Christmas here. It came to the point that I will do everything just to extend my stay. So many options involved and one of those is studying their language. Well in my heart I'd really love to study it. I would like to see myself to be well-verse in having an Italian conversation. I went on different mazes but it didn't work out. So I just concluded that maybe fate has really planned my life to be in London for Christmas according to my itinerary. Then again it's amazing how fate played it's game on me. What a pleasant surprise that I will have a freelance work in Milano. Up to when? I don't know yet. The good thing is--there is a reason now for me to stay longer in Italy. Opportunity just paved its way!

I just wanted to say hi to my blog today. I am quite very sick and staying at home dealing with my cough and slight fever. It's the weather that I am not accustomed to. Winter is approaching and I really hope that my body can adapt to it. I promise to post more as I back track what happened since October and November. The biggest highlight was--my second solo painting exhibition in Florence. I will surely post the photos here.

The picture above of Ribes & Wine cake is now my favorite cake to do. My recent fixation after discovering the small red berry fruit called Ribes.

Ciao , ciao alla prossima! :-)

big hug,
joanie xxx

Genovese Pesto - Saigon & Florence

My old way of doing pesto in Saigon, Vietnam

Buonasera ragazzi e ragazze!

How time flies that every time I will find time to blog, weeks passed by already and September is ending tomorrow. I have been learning a lot from my cooking school with my dearest teacher Chef Marcella and figo Chef Damiano. One of the remarkable learning I had so far is doing the authentic Genovese pesto. This Italian pasta dish hails from Liguria region and from the province of Genova. I learned that you never cook a pesto which I usually do in my own style and sometimes put bacon on top or chicken. I remember how my Italian boss said it's bastardizing pesto when you add meat. Pesto is pesto in its simplest form and he was right because he is from Genova. So from that learning and new techniques I learned from my Italian teachers, pesto is now one of my favorite staple pasta dishes.

My new way of doing pesto in Florence, Italy

If you notice the picture of my pasta on top which I did when I was still in Saigon, it's quite a bit oily and dark. This one with the linguine pasta is refreshingly green and not oily. How lovely this pasta especially putting my new favorite Pecorino Romano from sheep milk. And the word Pecorino derives from the word Pecora which means sheep. What also excites me doing this pesto sauce is because I have now few Basil pots at my veranda where I usually sits for breakfast and doing skype with my friends.

My pesto ingredients are ready to be blended

My veranda with my Basil pots

I have been out of town lately and I really promise to post separately the pictures of the town I visited. I visited the not so touristy places like Bologna, Lucca, Siena and Fiesole---they are nearby town in Florence. Quaint, beautiful and quiet. But of course I never fail to gaze nor explore the beautiful city of Firenze and one of my favorite spot is the Piazzale Michaelangelo. You will have there the overlooking of Florence with all its landmarks including the river and the cinematic Ponte Vecchio.

Overlooking view of Firenze with Ponte Vecchio

So far I have been around with so many places in Florence like restaurants and pubs with my classmate and new friend Maija. She is from Finland and a very nice girl. I would love to share you guys more of my adventures next time. I have been learning a lot of Italian now and improving just by hearing from my new found Italian friends. And I have some good news next time and I hope I will have some more. Meanwhile, I am excited because I am going out of the country and going back to Spain this time Madrid. I was wishing I can also go back to Barcelona because I really love it but 4 days off school may not be enough. This is it for now...

Ciao Bello and Bella! :-)

big hug,
joanie xxx

Dolce Italia: Gelato & Panacotta

Fig Gelato (Done at school)

Buongiorno Sabato!

It's a lazy Saturday... after I woke up around 10:30 am. Just finished having my pesto spaghetti for lunch and strawberry milk shake. Well it's been two weeks since I came to Italy and a lot of things are happening aside from school activities which are more important things than anything else. I have met a few Italians so far from a coach surfing meet-up party and then I visited a design agency in Firenze which considerably the biggest in town. I must say I met good Italian people so far and I am looking forward to meet more.

The past weeks I also familiarized myself on walking around the city from my house to different point areas like the city center where all the historical places are situated like the Duomo, Stazione Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce and Punta Vecchio. I attempted to go to Boboli garden but I failed. Before reaching the area I got tired because there are pandemonium of tourist everywhere and it's friggin' hot. But there was this day that I succeeded to reach the Piazzale Michaleangelo which is on the hill overlooking the entire Florence. And I plan to go back again there today with my friend.

Last week I also met up my friend from Milano to have a whole day of fun in Bologna. I had two gelatos that day plus one giant pizza that we shared. We toured the center of the city where all the universities are situated and then we climbed Torre Asinelli and had a view of Bologna as a red city because of its terracotta color. As much as I wanted to avoid shopping, when there is a sale it's hard to resist---and so I did! Bologna was a fun day indeed :)

Panacotta topped with Peaches (Done at home)

Everything is incredible in Italy. The people, the language, the places and of course the food! I just love going to supermarket and market with my trolley bag to buy some good meat, fruits and vegetables. Everything is fresh and of good quality even the dairies. I just love every single moment I spent purchasing food that I often can't find in Asia. My now favorite market is Mercato Ambrogio which is not far from where I live and it's highly recommended by my chef teacher.

I've been learning a lot from my school. Food encyclopedia of Italy and the whole world is massive information that one person cannot learn in one day or in an instant. That's why I am here for few months to learn as much as I could. And I am proud to say that I have made my first fresh gelato with figs which I made at our school with the help of our chef teacher. Then as I try to exercise my expertise mastering the panacotta, I made one at home. The cream and milk were so good! I topped it with my preserved peaches (which I made in our school last week) to compliment or balance the good taste. I am looking forward to post more stories, arts & design, food photos, exciting information & trivia about Italy and of course recipes!

Ciao for now Bello & Bella!

big hug,
joanie xxx

Goodbye Vietnam, Hello Italy!

Xin Chao everyone!

Hope it's not the last time to say this greeting after leaving Vietnam last week. Yes you heard it right! After the long saga of waiting my Italian student visa, it arrived 6 days before I left Saigon. I had sleepless nights prior to that because of the uneasy feeling that I may not be granted one. Though, I am confident that they will because UK issued me a new visa, so I assumed another Schengen visa wouldn't be a hassle. But we never know 'til we get the stamp on our passport. And I am glad that they gave me one! It was very tiring packing my stuff from my apartment in 10 boxes and bidding goodbye to everyone.

My last cooking buffet in the cafe where I work as weekend chef was a big success. Unexpected number of guests arrived to avail the buffet menu as I bid farewell to my Vietnam culinary and advertising adventures. I can't thank enough all the people who manifested their heart-felt support in every little thing I do. So that's probably one of the things I would miss in Saigon.

I arrived Milano at Malpensa airport last Sept 3 at 7:30 in the morning. My former Creative Director/friend from Philippines is currently based in Milan and he picked me up in the airport and I stayed at his place for two days. His cousins are very warm and accommodating in the house where I stayed. They even brought me when they went to outskirt of Milan to attend a Sunday mass with a massive Filipino attendees. The name of the church is Caravaggio, named after famous painter Michaelangelo Mersi da Caravaggio who was born in Lombardy, Milan. I surprisingly had fun attending the mass because the homily was very nice and it was hosted by an Italian priest who spoke three languages at that time. He delivered the entire mass 90% Filipino and 5% of English and Italian. That totally amazed me!

After two days I left Milano on Sept 5 to move to Firenze, Italia--where my culinary study will take place. I will tell you next time the beginning of my Florentine life story in the next posts I will be having. In the meantime, I would like to share all of you the first ever successful cake I baked. This successful baked cake is a milestone for me since I am not into baking but I guess the world of culinary is not just about cooking but baking as well.

MATCHA & CARAMEL SPONGE CAKE

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla
• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tbsp Matcha powder (diluted in hot water)
• 1 pack Jello caramel
• Milk
• 1 cup cream
• Butter (of course)

Procedure:

Put the sugar and matcha liquid in a blender or food processor. Add this mixture to the softened butter. Beat with a mixer on medium until fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes. Add the eggs to the sugar and butter one at a time, beating well after adding each one. Add the water and vanilla. In a different bowl, use a whisk to mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the rest of the ingredients. Mix on low. Then add the rest of the flour mixture.

Now beat at medium speed until the cake batter becomes shiny. The mixture should also turn a white color. Do not skip this step or reduce the mixing time. The longer you mix the batter, the more air bubbles you create. This is what makes sponge cake recipes light and fluffy. This step of the sponge cake recipe should take about 15 minutes.

Pour sponge cake batter into two round cake pans that have been greased with shortening well and liberally floured. If they haven't been greased and floured thoroughly, your sponge cake recipe will stick to the cake pans.

Bake Matcha sponge cake in a preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for approximately 25-30 minutes. The sponge cake should pull gently from the sides. It will be golden in color and spongy to the touch. It should spring back when touched. To be sure the sponge cake is done, test the center with a toothpick and see if it comes out clean. Do not open the oven while the sponge cake is baking. Remove the Matcha sponge cake from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes before removing the cake from the cake pans. Let the sponge cake cool completely before putting the caramel pudding mixture. Just follow the instruction of jello pack when adding milk in the mixture then add some cream and butter and put it in a piping bag then top the sponge cake.

I dedicate this post to the birthday of our beloved Mother Mary...

Buon Contempleanno Vergine Maria! :-)

big hug,
joanie xxx

Olives & Cherry Tomatoes Fusilli

Good morning Sunday! What a sunny day to share a lunch, isn't it matey?

How is it going with me lately? I am in a bit of afloat and pending mind. Tomorrow or Tuesday perhaps, I'll be finally receiving the result of my visa for Italy. Oh dear GOD, I still hold on to your promise-- positive result, thy will be done! Non-refundable air ticket- check! Tuition fee full payment- check! Housing reservation payment- check! Outbound air ticket from Milan to London on December-check! But the feeling of twirling and kinda twisted at the moment is how I juggle my mind--just like my dear pasta called Fusilli.

This Fusilli pasta dish is also one of the dishes in my Geisha menu. Again not much people order for it maybe because of the unfamiliarity with the word Fusilli and mixed with my Aubergine Caviar Pate will definitely sound foreign to the local consumers. But then again few Westerners have sat down for this already and they dearly like it. I hope one will stumble on this dish and will get to order it at Geisha Cafe.

OLIVES & CHERRY TOMATOES FUSILLI

Ingredients:

• Aubergine Caviar (see my previous post for the recipe)
• Cherry tomatoes (sliced into halves)
• Green Olives ( sliced)
• Fusilli Pasta (boiled)
• Fresh Basil (chopped)
• Garlic
• Salt & Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Butter (of course)

Procedure:

Heat pan with butter and add a little olive oil. Saute garlic and avoid it turning into brown. Add Cherry Tomatoes then next will be olives. Saute for 3-5 minutes then add the Aubergine Caviar. Mix well along with the boiled Fusilli then have a dash of salt and pepper. If mixture gets dry add a good lug of olive oil then top it with the chopped basil and serve into a plate.

Buon Appetito Amici! :D

big hug,
joanie xxx

Fish in Ginger Teriyaki Sauce & Baked Carrots

Good day Mates, Happy Tuesday!!!

This fish recipe I have here today is among the sumptuous dishes I have in the menu at Geisha Cafe. This is very much underrated nor unnoticeable by most customers and they don't realize how good the combination of pan seared herbie Dory fish and creamy baked carrots. I always tell the waiters to push for the rarely sold dishes because customers may not know just by reading the title I did in the menu book. This is a bit complicated and delicate to do and has to be done properly to get all the flavors come all in together. Each glorious bite of this dish is composed of a meticulously done cooking procedure.

I just want to romanticize more of this dish by explaining how I did it and how I put all things together in one gorgeous plate like this. I wouldn't be able to give the recipe as I normally do it, but I will narrate it in a manner understandable to all foodies and will be appreciated by people who love to eat.

First of all I have to get a nice Dory fish and marinate it with lemon, herbs, salt & pepper. Put it in a fridge and start doing the carrots. Grate a few pieces of carrots, then put it in a bowl. Add chopped parsley, onions, eggs and cream. Season it with salt and pepper then get a rectangular or square baking dish and cover it with foil then bake it for 40 minutes to one hour. While baking it prepare a pan and drizzle it with a bit of olive oil and pan sear the marinated Dory fish. As you cook the fish ready your sauce by getting a small pan and stir fry ginger and leeks together then add the home made Teriyaki sauce. When everything is cook, plate it all together the way you see it in the visual. I guarantee that this food is so good.

I dedicate this lip-smacking dish to a French chef from Paris, Pierre!

big hug,
joanie xxx

Ablaze the beauty of LONDON!

This was my first London trip last October. Yes it's almost a year already since then and it's just now that I am alerted to post it. This week, I just received another UK visa and I am off to go to London again and some parts of UK to spend Christmas Holiday this coming December. Amidst all the riots and ablaze buildings, I was reminded that I haven't post the beauty of one of my favorite cities in the world that I finally conquered. The first two photos are the typical London tourist photos that I am pretty much sure that you've seen it a thousand or million times! I do have a lot of photos with Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Picadilly and the London eye. But I feel I'd like to share on my blog some photos I didn't put in my Facebook album. Some photos that is also about London that people should know...

Nice Tour Guide at Sandeman Tour at The Wellington Arch

Saatchi Gallery London

House where I stayed at Morpet Place, Victoria - London

Notting Hill at Portabello Market

Bricklane Gallery at Bricklane Road

Around Windsor Castle

The famous Stonehenge

Middle of nowhere between Stonehenge and Oxford

Double Decker Bus

Inside Old Spitalfields Market

Stumbled on students somewhere in Old Street, North London

Old Tom - Named after Tom Tower and the name of the bell

Inside Oxford University

The inspiration of Harry Potter's scar on the forehead

And the first thing I saw at China Town - London

Some of the photos are one or two hour drive outside London. The Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and Oxford University are worth to visit just give yourself more time. Don't squeeze them in one day like what I did. You will miss a lot opportunities. It's like you are shuffling from one place to another just to get a photo. Savor the moment because there's so much beauty that your eyes shoyld see. Anyways, all the loverly people of London and the rest of the world-- I'm so sleepy now and I must hit the sack.

Goodnight LOVE!!! :-)

big hug,
joanie xxx

Strawberry Fields Forever!

How is it going mates? My arvo is heaps busier compared to all Sundays I had :-)

So today, I miss blogging and I realized it's friggin' August already. How time flies so fast when you're busy and when you are preoccupied about accomplishing a lot of things in a small amount of time. Yes I am a great crammer. I thought I am prepared for all the things I have planned way back January, thinking everything is just like peanuts. I hope so... I have one month to deal with those things anyway. So veering away from those in the meantime, I just have to put here one of my favorite quotes which I tweaked a bit to fit in my favorite fruit and for my post for this evening.

" Life is like a basket of strawberries, you'll never know what you are getting until you taste it. Sometimes it's sour and sometimes sweet."

Since today is a busy day for me, I have a lot of random things to share that I was very happy to be busy about. Like my UK and ITALY visa are still a work in progress given the tight schedule but I am claiming everything will fall into place in no time. Next to that was the arrival of my Dad and sister here in Saigon to bring home some of my stuff. They brought home two giant boxes and 3 luggages. Only one luggage belongs to my Dad and sister and the rest are few of my bags, shoes, clothes and kitchen stuff. I played the role of a city tour guide for a couple of days and what I like the most was our lunch buffet at Hotel Sofitel. So yesterday morning my Dad & sister left Saigon and as for me, back to normal phasing.

Today, I miss The Artist Chef intimate dinner stint that I've been doing for more than two years in Manila. I only stopped when I left for Saigon on 2009. After that I had four special stints for special couples. All of those stints were done by requests. How I miss my sweet & thoughtful customers and the people who featured me. (from all mediums from TV, magazines and internet) There are still a lot of customers who write and book some reservation, I miss doing it and I realized how lucky those one hundred couples whom I spent time with and served sumptuous meals.

And also today I met Lyra (a writer by passion/business consultant at COWAN Design) who interviewed me for a magazine article. As I share her my life I was reminded that I am off to another journey pursuing another dream by obeying the desires of my heart. They are all about ART & FOOD. Those two basic and essential ingredients of my life. Like strawberries, I hope I'll pick more sweet ones in the coming days to come. Meanwhile I want to share you a special recipe that I really really like. This time inspired by Nigella Lawson :p

STRAWBERRY FRENCH TOAST DOUGHNUT

Ingredients:

• Fresh Strawberries
• Sliced Loaf Bread
• Eggs
• Milk
• Vanilla Syrup
• Icing Sugar
• Whip Cream
• Frying Oil
• Salt
• Butter (of course)

Procedure:

Beat eggs with milk and a pinch of salt. Add in some icing sugar and vanilla syrup and beat it again. Grab some sliced bread and soak it over the mixture. Heat pan with butter and mix with frying oil in medium temperature. Fry the soaked bread and flip until both sides are a bit golden brown. Get a blender or food processor and put some strawberries with icing sugar and pureed it together. Thinly slice few strawberries and place it on top of the bread. Pour or drizzle the pureed strawberries and top it with some whipping cream and serve. A must try this lip-smacking dish!

This post is for my Mom and Adrian's birthday...

Buon Compleanno to both of you!

big hug,
joanie xxx

French Moutarde Chicken

G'Day mates :-)

I just woke up today and told myself it's a beautiful day isn't it? I don't feel sleepy nor stressed. The past days I was really unwell. Coming from a tiring work in Bangkok and a tiring yet happy about the recent Sunday Off-the-Menu Buffet I did for Geisha Cafe. Little joys in life that I am embracing every time it happens.

Today I double checked my cupboard and realized that I still have plenty of pastas, mustard and jams from France and Italy. Then my mini condiment jars are still filled with my spices. I still have a month and a few days to consume them before I head to Italy. I'm not going to replenish any of those goodies but I plan to do some cooking lesson with this little girl named Alex. She is the daughter of my neighbor Luis. She's such a cute smart little girl that is very enthusiastic about cooking. And our common denominator---we both LOVE Jamie Oliver! To my fascination with this kid, I shared her some of my precious liquorice and the Jamie Oliver button I got when I went to Jamie's Italian Liverpool, England. I wish I knew Jamie when I was her age :)

And last realization today, I haven't posted this mustard chicken I did and it's inspired by the recipe from the 30-minute meals cook book of my beloved James Trevor Oliver! Now I am sharing this to everyone so you can also try how divine this chicken mustard recipe especially when I used this mustard from Paris. Have a try...

FRENCH MOUTARDE CHICKEN

Ingredients:

• Few sprigs of fresh rosemary
• Chicken breasts
• French Moutarde
• baby leeks or 1 large leek
• Cloves of garlic
• White wine
• Cream
• Olive Oil
• Butter (of course)

Procedure:

Turn the heat under the frying pan up to medium. Pick and finely chop the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and sprinkle them into the pack of chicken. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of mustard over each breast, then season and put some butter into the frying pan. Massage and rub these flavours all over the meat. Put the chicken breasts in the pan, skin side down. Use a fish slice to press down on the chicken to help it cook. It should take around 18 minutes in total. Quickly trim the leeks and halve lengthways. Wash them under the cold tap, then finely slice them and add to one side of the chicken pan. Crush 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic into the pan of chicken. Flip the chicken breasts skin side up, then press down on them again. Stir the leeks and add a good swig of white wine. Turn the heat off. Transfer the chicken breasts to a board and slice into uneven pieces. Stir 1 heaped teaspoon of whole grain mustard into the sauce, then taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Spoon the sauce on to a platter and put the sliced chicken on top. Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil and take straight to the table.

Enjoy this with vegetables or potatoes...

big hug,
joanie xxx