Five Gourmet Days! Not any gourmet but Lafayette Gourmet!

I have had lots of people ask me where Lafayette Gourmet is?

If you go to Dubai Mall, Make sure you pass by Lafayette Gourmet,  Galeries Lafayette 2nd Floor.

The food festival at Lafayette Gourmet was amazing! Close your eyes and imagine yourself at a French Province “Gourmet” Farmer’s Market minus the greenery!

Although my cousin and I were two hours early, we still enjoyed watching their Lootah Premium Foods crew set up! They had more time to show us around and give us the stories behind their products.

Before the food festival started, Lootah Premium Foods sent me a hamper full of goodies to tease me and keep me on edge!
Last Wednesday when the festival started, I was like a little child in a candy store.

You can’t imagine the range of fruits and vegetables which Lootah Premium Foods carry! They’re beyond awesome!
Golden beets, pineapple heirloom tomatoes, rhubarb, smoked garlic. lots of edible flowers and many more interesting and oh-so-delicious produce.
What I liked about their philosophy is that they choose from the finest suppliers in Europe.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

This sums it up! I don’t want to stay on page 1 or even chapter 1!
It has been a long while since we hopped on a plane and took off!

Sometimes the stresses in ones life just brings you to a situation where you wish you could pack your bags and just go… ok… pack your bag, your husbands bag and your children’s bags and then go!
Where to?! Wherever really! well, maybe Paris, London, Spain, Portugal, Seychelles, Mauritius, Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong… I’ll stop here…. or else I would be in trouble!

I even have a list in my head of the people I would love to travel with! (insert rofl emoji here)

Last month I was invited by EmiratesNBD Bank to visit Taste of Dubai and review it for them.
Why EmiratesNBD? Well, not only were they sponsoring the event but they also have a very interesting dining privilege program which is called Bon Apétit!

To be honest, I was very excited to visit Taste of Dubai because I have been meaning to do so for the past 3 years and miss out because of family plans.
When EmiratesNBD contacted me, I hesitated at first and after thinking it through I agreed for two reasons:
1- My whole family are loyal EmiratesNBD card holders.
2- I used the invitation as a strong excuse to visit Taste of Dubai and miss on Friday family gatherings.

I was beyond shocked from beginning to end of this vist!
At first, I was the only person who the security wanted to search his/her bag! (Only the Emirati got that treatment) – No I didn’t let him search my bag and I was this close to causing a big scene!!

You could barely walk from how packed the place was, let alone push a stroller!

Taste of Dubai was more like: Drinking in Dubai! An alcohol fest actually!
Don’t judge! I’m not being biased etc but the event planners should have thought that not only non-muslims/expatriates are interested in food related events!
A British friend of mine said: this event is just one more reason for people to drink!

I won’t go on more about Taste of Dubai since I didn’t see much of it. I left very quickly. Some of the worthy stalls were Lafayette Gourmet, Raw Coffee, and gourmetpoint.com.

If you’re an EmiratesNBD card holder, make sure to make use of the amazing discounts in 600 restaurants all over the UAE!
You can read more about it here!

No recipe today?!
Unfortunately that is correct!

But you know what’s special about this post today? It’s my first semi-review post.

I never imagined myself writing reviews on restaurants, products etc but there’s a first for everything and of course only when it’s something exceptional.

Dubai as I’m sure you know, is a very competitive market. You must have that special thing about you or your business pick up pace real fast. Oh and believe me word of mouth and social media are the fastest ways to market your business.

You’ll read more about that below!

That aside, Hamad celebrated his 4th birthday last week on the 10th of March but we threw him a party yesterday.

Not any party, a construction themed party. I didn’t want a big party like last year so I did most of the planning.

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Spring in the UAE is maybe a week long!

It’s the transition between what we call winter (others may call spring) and summer.

This week is when everything around you seems just right… well other than the palm trees starting to pollenate and everyone’s allergies increases!
The weather is beautiful and it’s the perfect time for weddings, outdoor events and definitely gardening!

We’re working on the (minor) landscaping of our new house right now because March is the month to plant everything. That’s putting a smile on my face. Seeing it all come together after lots of hard work.

Because everything seems happy outdoors, I wanted to make some “happy” mini madeleines. But of course, I had to spice them up a little!
Why madeleines? Well because they’re just too cute to resist… yes i said the C word!
So imagine madeleines which are mini! Isn’t that even more tempting?!

I was on one of my usual trips to Tavola (kitchen and tableware destination around the Middle East) and these mini madeleine silicone moulds just couldn’t have me leave without it! So I got one for myself and one for a lucky reader!
That’s not it… there’s also a silicone and ceramic springform loaf pan!
Both giveaways are from the brand LéKUé. I have used different items from this brand and they met my expectations! (I’m not easily pleased)

What do you have to do to win this?
Share your love by choosing one of the following, but I’d love if you’ve done all!
The contest is eligible for readers locally and internationally

1- Comment on this blog post
2- Tweet about this giveaway using the hashtag #salutmadeleine
3- Retweet my tweet about this post
4- Like the photo about this post on instagram

Don’t forget the Madeleines!
Being bite-sized, I was about to pop them all in my mouth but then I remembered that I made these to take to my grandmother’s house for our Friday gathering.

The chocolate works wonders along with the spices and the fluffiness of the madeleine itself takes you somewhere else! Yet again, perfect for Spring!
I’m going on an on about the weather and I probably won’t stop until I step outside and get slapped by the heat very soon.

I first thought I was too happy the weather is pleasant, because I’m trying to hide all the stress i’m feeling. Could that be it or could I just be emitting some positive energy to everyone around me?
I do hope it’s the second one.

Spiced Mini Madeleines

INGREDIENTS
1 Cup Flour
1 TSP Baking Powder
1 1/2 TSP Mixed Spice (Recipe Below, or you can use store bought)
7 TSP Butter
2 Eggs
2/3 Cup Sugar
1 TSP Vanilla Essence
Icing Sugar (Optional)

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C and butter a 24 mini madeleine mould. (You’ll work in batches)
Sift the flour, baking powder and mixed spice into a bowl. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and allow to cool.

Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until pale and very thick. Add the flour mixture, butter and vanilla until combined.

Fill each shell 2/3 through and bake for around 10-12 minutes until golden. Remove from mould as soon they come out of the oven.

Dip the madeleines in halfway in the chocolate ganache and then sprinkle with icing sugar and some more mixed spice.

For the Chocolate Ganache:
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1/3 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil and then immediately pour over chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes and then mix until smooth and thick.

For the Mixed Spice:
1 TBS Mixed Spice
1 TBS Ground Cinnamon
1 TBS Ground Nutmeg
2 TSP Ground Mace
1 TSP Ground Cloves
1 TSP Ground Coriander
1 TSP Ground Ginger

Mix all the spices together and store in an airtight container.

Ever since I set foot in the kitchen I have been on a quest to learn more about different cuisines and how cultures, tradition and sometimes religion impact on people’s life.

This made me want to learn more about baking food from around the globe and every now and then “Emiratize” it!

Living in a fast developing country, which embraces diverse nationalities and cultures puts us in contact (either directly or indirectly) with a huge number of various cuisines, ingredients and of course experience.

All you have to do is look around you and you’ll get a new idea, a new ingredient, a way of cooking you’ve never heard of or even similarities in dishes from some countries with your own.

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When there’s a will, there’s a way they say…

I have a quite a few friends who have some sort of diet, whether they were gluten free, vegetarians, vegans or some with even worse restrictions!
And recently my mother has come to know that she’s allergic to gluten, oats, dairy, egg and lots of other things too!

I have been wanting to try making recipes which were gluten free for my friends but never had the courage…
I always had a feeling that it just wouldn’t taste the same!
Only when we received my mother’s test results did I build the courage.

Happy New Year to all of you… May this year bring all what you wish for!

This year started brining with it so many events… my husband coming back for a short while, a an afternoon tea with my cousins, a barbecue at my sister’s house… and sadly the loss of my father’s aunt.

I pray to Allah that this is the end to any sad events for you and us altogether…

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I have said this more than once: “It’s been nearly a month”…

I admit that I lack self-discipline… and that I sometimes drift away especially when things get a little to stressful or busy!

This is how I have been for nearly a month and a half… running around like a headless chicken!
If you see me, you would actually give me a little sticker that says: Super Tired Mom! Or maybe just a pat on my shoulder.

I’m sure many of you are in the same situation and I salute you all for the hard work!

Sometimes even when I have some free time (which is rare)… I don’t pick up my laptop to write a new post… but I go and bake something for the family to enjoy!

Yes… I do need chill pills… If you have some… please do share!

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When I started blogging, I got to meet other food bloggers in the UAE and around the world.
Some of which I met personally and others who I would love to meet.
But there were a few who I really wanted to be in the kitchen with them, for that would create magic in the world of food!

Shaikha is one of those people… the ones I want to be in a kitchen with!

I have been an admiring fan/stalker of her blog and photos for a little over a year now.

The creativity in the kitchen, the use of fresh and always interesting ingredients and of course not just her food ideas are out of the box but she as whole is an-out-of-the-box food enthusiast!

Shaikha is the owner of When Shaikha Cooks.

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