PhamFatale.com reaches 500 recipes!

This week, PhamFatale.com reached 500 recipes. It's truly surprising to me that there are over 500 recipes in my head, but as they say, the proof is in the pudding. In this case, the proof is also in the crème brulée, the risotto and the other dishes I've shared over the past year and a half.

I never in a million years imagined that publishing the recipes I prepare daily for and with my family and friends could have been so much fun. Food is an ephemeral art form, so it's easy to forget what ingredient combinations I've made in the past and what I've served.

The other neat side of the website I've enjoyed a lot is to be able to interact with other food lovers from around the world and also make dear friends locally. I'm always surprised at how readers find the website, whether it is through another food site, the newspaper or from a friend. Thanks so much for joining me in my culinary adventures. It's wonderful fun experimenting with recipes, playing with photography by switching lenses and getting the children interested and familiar with cooking. You've probably seen the dietary restrictions in my large family. They aren’t always simple to fulfill but they're always a great adventure!

Thanks for reading! And stay tuned as new surprises will arrive soon.

For now, here's an example of a menu I would typically serve for a dinner party, gathering my favorite recipes including Vietnamese, French and Indian cuisines. Enjoy!

Savory Goat Ricotta Cheese Puffs

There are guests coming tomorrow, and as usual I had no clue about what to make. I scoured my pantry and found a bag of macadamia nuts, just waiting to be used. I made walnut pesto yesterday, and I didn't feel like making another pasta and pesto dish. As they say, variety is the spice of life. 

I think appetizers are perfect for dinner parties; they allow people to nibble without interrupting the flow of conversation. I often make some sort of mini puff pastry, and I thought a macadamia pesto would be the perfect filling. However, a traditional pesto would be too thin on its own, so I added some homemade crème fraîche and some goat ricotta cheese. As you may have noticed, I'm a huge fan of goat ricotta cheese, and I get it whenever it's available at the local creamery.

Today, I made the pesto and the dough, tested out and baked a couple of puffs in the oven for tasting. The smell was intoxicating, and it was really difficult to snap a couple of photos before everyone descended upon them. 

You can freeze both the pesto and the dough. If you often have last minute guests as we do, it's easy to pop them out of the freezer and bake them. Your guests will love them, and you'll be a rockstar without much effort!