How to know when a cake is cooked

European glass

A little dessert that's rather long to make, but which will always impress your guests. Layered in a glass: a jellied red fruit coulis, a layer of pineapple charlotte cream, a layer of kiwi coulis, topped with a peeled clementine segment. It's "european" because it resembles the italian flag, and in another version with apricot instead raspberries, the irish flag (a country so dear to me).

Bouquet garni

Used very frequently in French cuisine, a secret of French chefs, it adds flavour to a lot of recipes, and it's easy to prepare. The basic principle is to make a small bundle of herbs, bind them in green leek leaves and to tie it up, so that the whole thing can be removed and discarded easily after cooking.

Green parsley sauce

This sauce, with a great parsley taste, is perfect with steamed vegetables or fish. At the bottom you will find the coulis version of this recipe.

How to prevent bad breath after eating garlic

The main problem with garlic, is that even a long while after eating it, you often still have the smell on your breath.

Stewed apple (compote)

Here is a very basic but delicious recipe, and the pitfalls to avoid.