The Elegant Cook

Brioche is meant to be so light and airy inside that you can pull out flowing bits of it. This brioche was made at home by M-J, with the help of a Kitchenaid mixer and a brioche pan made from silicone in Europe.

Brioche, a Viennoiserie made at home in a small cake pan can be sliced for perfectly round sandwich bread. Brioche makes excellent toast, French toast or pain perdú.

Viennoiseries is the collective French term for baked goods made from yeast-leavened dough or from puff-pastry. Viennoiseries typically have a high-protein and fat content from eggs, butter, milk, and cream, and are usually sweetened with sugar, ingredients which lend them a rich character. The Viennoiserie yeast-dough, once formed and risen, is often "gilded" or laminated with an egg-wash to make it shiny and deep in colour after baking. Viennoiseries are eaten for breakfast or with tea and coffee.

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Fill a hollowed-out pound-cake with ice cream, preferably vanilla. Trim the top (see left) so that it is thin at its bottom, and place it on top of the ice cream. Prepare regular meringue with egg-whites and sugar. Frost the ice-cream-filled cake with it and bake the assembled dessert in a medium-hot oven until lightly browned.

Use an oven-proof serving-platter, because transferring this delicate dessert to a serving plate is likely to damage its construction. This plate is made in Japan by Noritake, in the Blue Adobe pattern.

Bring your baked alaska to table while the meringue is still hot. Place the platter on a heat-proof pad or trivet. Cut this elegant dessert into sections and serve it as soon as possible so that the ice-cream filling will be cold and the meringue coating remains warm. ©M-J de Mesterton

Red or purple cabbage, sliced thinly and mixed with feta cheese, yellow tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, cilantro and salt makes an elegant salad. I grew this purple cabbage and the yellow pear tomatoes. It is best to let this dressed salad sit at room temperature for at least an hour, so that the cabbage softens a little. ©M-J de Mesterton

Substitute sour cream and cream cheese for cold water in a regular Jell-O recipe, whisk together, unmould after four hours, and decorate with whipped cream dots using a pastry bag. This elegant lemon Jell-O dessert was made with the sugar-free variety, and is practically carbohydrate-free. ©M-J de Mesterton, August 29th,  2010

Beets are very nutritous, and have cancer-inhibiting properties. Here is a beetroot that I grew in the vegetable garden, steamed and dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar: