Turkey and Pomegranite Salad

This started off as a recipe from my friend and Leiths trainee Elz Bermudez. It sounded delicious using duck breasts but no duck breasts could be found this weekend so I used turkey breast. We also forgot to get loads of other ingredients so it turned into a recipe of its own. Necessity is the mother of invention!

I chopped a large potato into inch sized cubes and boiled them till just done for about 15 minutes then plunged them into cold water. Broken Brazil nuts and walnuts were coated in honey and mixed spices then roasted for 10 minutes at 180 C. Sticky and yummy these are really hot when they come out of the oven so don't try and pick one up to pop in your mouth or you will burn both!
A turkey breast fillet (£2.69 from Sainsburys) was marinaded for an hour with mixed spices and the juice of a mandarin then popped in the oven for 40 minutes in a dish with the juice.

Mixed salad leaves were mixed with the potatoes and piled on the plate, the honeyed spiced nuts were then added and the sliced turkey breast. Pomegranate seeds were sprinkled over the top. (the best way is to roll the whole pomegranate round till it stops crunching then cut into halves and the skin bashed with a wooden spoon to get the seeds out, pick out any of the white pulp that falls in! Its a bit woody.)
A dressing was dribbled over the top made from a fruity olive oil , a little English mustard and strawberry vinegar. Delicious! and perfect for Saturday evenings dinner with a glass of wine!

Halloween and the Feast of the Dead

As Autumn turns to winter and the clocks change to bring evening darkness the time of feasting is upon us and remembering those who have gone before. Its a time of rich earthy flavours and scents. We decided to have 'Daemons on Horseback' our own variation on the traditional devils or angels.

I made a puree of garlic and butter beans by cooking a small tin of butter beans with a clove of garlic for about five minutes and then mashing with olive oil . I baked portabello mushrooms for 10 minutes with olive oil so they became flaccid and then  rolled them round a little of the stuffing. These were then wrapped in bacon and baked for a further 15 minutes. Served with a celery leaf and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

For the main course we had Venison Wellington with a 'mash of nine sorts' a traditional Halloween dish made from mashed potato, carrot, celeriac, parsnip, turnip, leek, cream, butter and pepper.  Sticky garlic potatoes (thanks Nigella) and Brussels sprouts, I love sprouts  and really have to hold off till Hallows !

The venison steaks were culled in the local forest and came from the Wild Meat Company.  These were seared in hot oil for a couple of minutes each side and left to cool. I made a duxelle with finely chopped mushrooms, shallots, butter and a couple of juniper berries, slowly cooked so the flavours permeate the butter.  This was spread over a puff pastry thinly rolled, the venison was placed on top with chicken liver pate (the Julia Child's recipe is brilliant and the one I use)  on top of that and more duxelle on the top. Encased in pastry , glazed with an egg wash and baked for 40 minutes. The meat was tender and melted in the mouth with those beautiful autumn woodland scents combined with the earthy vegetables, perfect.

And for pud, it had to be Christmas pud made back in September as it does need to be tested. Served with thick cream.

Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom!

Seared Japanese Salmon with vegetables and noodles

Some days you just don't fancy what you planned for dinner and you want something quick and easy with stuff that's in the cupboard.
That happened with us, I was going to make salmon fish cakes but at about 4.30 we didn't fancy them so a quick change around and seared salmon was made.

I used 4 salmon fillets, they were just the Sainsbury's basics ones and made a marinade of 1tablespoon of each of  honey, dark soy sauce, Shaoshin rice wine (it should have been sake but we didn't have any) and a tiny bit of wasabe paste. I mixed them all up and squished the salmon about in it then left it for about 10 minutes whilst  I chopped some vegetables into julienne strips and small florets, just stuff we had in the fridge ; a couple of carrots some broccoli a few runner beans from the garden, half a courgette and  some celery. These were then sightly steamed so hot and still crispy whilst some noodles were thrown into boiling water. I heated a frying pan with a little oil till smoking hot and flung in the salmon skin side down for a couple of minutes till the skin was crisp, then over for a couple of minutes, when cooked (I can't bear undercooked fish where it has that slightly creepy texture about it!) heated through the rest of the marinade in the same pan. Then drained the noodles and put them in a bowl with the vegetables on the top and the salmon on top of that with the sauce and a tiny bit of chopped chilli!
All done in 15 minutes for £1.25 each!

Nom, nom, nom!

Chocolate Lava cakes

I love those hot little chocolate puddings that they do at M&S where its all spongy on the outside and a sumptuous torrent of molten chocolate comes out when you stick a spoon in . I had always assumed that they were some magical Heston Blumenthal mix of a secret alchemichal blend till I found the recipie and gave them a shot.
So easy I think they will be a regular on my menus!
This amount makes about 6 but if there is any mixture left over make more, they won't hang around for long!
 Once they are in the tins you can keep them in the fridge for a few hours before baking which is always handy!

Butter 6 small dishes such as ramekins or muffin tins.
Melt 125g or 5oz of 70 - 90% cocoa solids dark chocolate in a bain marie, thats a bowl over hot water. When that has melted add 100g or 4oz butter and let that melt too then stir them together so they are well blended.
In a food processor or mixer  beat 4 eggs with 150g or 6oz castor sugartill it begins to thicken then pour in the chocolate and butter mix.  Fold in 50g or 2oz of plain flour.
 Spoon into the  dishes  and bake for 10 minutes at 180 fan, 200 normal gas mark 6.

Unmould and  sprinkle with icing sugar and a swirl of blackberry coulis, serve with cream and a few berries, (I popped a few raspberries into the middle  for the ones we had).
Nom, nom, nom, nom!

Christmas Pud! Especially for my niece Caroline who I promised to send the recipe to last year and didnt!

Its just past the Autumn Equinox when the nights are longer than the days and therefor time for the making of Christmas Puddings! It may seem a little early and way before 'Stir up Sunday' but doing them now gives them time to mature and fill with that dark, rich flavour.
4oz plain flour
1 heaped teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
4oz vegetable suet
4oz muscovado sugar
1 1/2lbs mixed dried fruit
4oz mixed peel
4oz breadcrumbs
2oz flaked and toasted almonds
zested rind of an orange and a lemon
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon tincture and 1 teaspoon ginger tincture
1 1/2 tablespoons black treacle
150mls brandy
200mls Guinness.

I throw it all into the Kenwood Chef and mix for about 5 minutes, if you do it in a food processor it chops the fruit and the texture goes a bit samey without the delicious jewels of fruit.
I then leave it for 48 hours for the alcohol to infuse into the fruit.
It then gets slopped into 3 greased pudding basins with a layer of parchment paper on the top of the mix and another piece of parchment paper tied round the rim. The whole bowl is then encased in foil .
Steaming takes about 6 hours standing in a covered pan of boiling water taking care not to let the pan go dry. If you have a big enough pan you can do them all together. Or you can do them in a pressure cooker for an hour. This is one of the few times in the year that the pressure cooker comes out  but it sure makes a huge difference and stops the kitchen becoming like a Chinese laundry with all the steam.
When cooled they are popped into a cupboard ready for eating. The first one for the Halloween Feast and the other two for Yule and Christmas. To warm them again  stick them in the pressure cooker for about 20 minutes or into one of those new fangled microwave thingies for 2 minutes. I don't have much truck with microwaves as like a dish washer they wont fit into the small kitchen without having to get rid of something useful.
Already to go for Winter , no excuses, the best Christmas pudding you can eat.

Tiny kitchen

After being away for a week in a mobile home on the coast with a teeny kitchen we are now back and cooking onwards although when we were away I did cook Moules marinere which I have a love hate relationship with. The last lot I ate made me really ill, though that was probably because they were cooked in scrumpy, not a good idea!
These however were luscious and plump and called to me from the wet fish counter at Waitrose.

One white onion gentle cooked in butter for 10 minutes till translucent, 1/2 bottle of dry white wine poured onto the onions and brought to the boil with black pepper. Throw in the cleaned mussels and steam in the wine for about five or six minutes. They are ready when the mussels open. Scatter with chopped parsley and eat with delicious french bread! Nom, nom, nom!

For Ellie and Charlie

Two of our bestest and loveliest friends got married on Saturday and unfortunately we couldn't make it , dog sitters were all away and we had to work. In order to celebrate we decided to have a special meal in their honour. Now Ellie and Charlie love food (though you wouldn't think so to look at them!) and Ellie is off to study at Leith's in September so the food had to be good.

We started with salmon quenelles with mixed leaves and homemade mustard mayonnaise. I had never had quenelles before though the husband had. The recipe is quite bizarre, you make choux pastry and mix salmon , herbs, black pepper and lemon zest to the dough then really chill it down   then mix in cream. The mixture is then poached in salted water with a little white wine. Mayonnaise is easy to make and I had loads of spare egg yokes left so mayonnaise was an ideal way to use them. Beat the yolks for about five minutes until they become thready then dribble in olive oil drop by drop whilst beating well. The Kenwood is perfect for this and is my most used gadget. Its about 30 years old and was given to me by my mother in law after my original one; bought by my mum in 1974; gave up the ghost when the motor burnt out!  Back to the mayo,  dribble in the olive oil about 1/4 pint to a yolk and keep beating till it emulsifies. Then add a large dollop of mustard and chill till ready to use.

For main course we had roast duck with roast veg and potatoes. I usually just stick the duck in the oven and leave it to cook at 180 for 20 minutes per pound plus 20 minutes. It comes out OK but not brilliantly. This time I decided to follow the amazing Julia Child's recipe. Remove the wish bone  then put thyme salt and pepper in the cavity. Pop on a baking tray and roast at 250 for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180 and turn the duck onto its side, cook for 30 minutes then turn onto the other side for 30 minutes. Then pop it onto its back and sprinkle the breast with salt for the remaining cooking time. When ready rest for at least 20 minutes. The potatoes and parsnips were par boiled then for about 5 minutes then rolled in semolina, goose fat, salt and pepper and roasted for 45 minutes.
The duck was fantastic all of it being moist and melt in the mouth rather than some bits dry and a bit stringy and crunchy on the outside fluffy on the inside potatoes and parsnips.

For dessert we had meringue with strawberries and basil cream. I hate making meringues, they always seem to come out too crispy or too chewy. On Saturday I thought we were going to have chocolate meringues done in the usual way beaten egg whites then add sugar and beat like mad when it gets peaky and stiff add cocoa powder, turn it out and bake for an hour on a low heat. It all went wrong and came out like a brick . Sunday morning 6am lets start again. I did think at the time that I should find a reliable recipe so I sat down with Nigella, Julia et al piled around me and eventually plump for Julia Child's recipe in Volume 2 of Mastering the Art of French Cookery. The only reason I fell for that one is because it looked interesting. The sugar was boiled with a little water till it became stringy when dropped into cold water. This was then added to the beaten egg whites with a pinch of salt and a pinch of cream of tartar. Baked in the oven at 120 for 2 hours. Strawberries and meringue you cant go wrong with and a friend had told us about strawberries with basil. A bit sceptical to start with but you have to try everything once. I whizzed cream with fresh basil and a little sugar. It was a revelation the freshness of the basil really brings out the flavour of the strawberries and the meringue was crisp on the outside and deliciously chewy on the inside . Perfect!
I think Ellie and Charlie would have enjoyed it and may they have a long and happy life together!

Saturdays Dinner

So on Saturday night we had some friends over to stay from Shrewsbury, we only see them about once a year and they are real foodies so pull all the stops out.
The plan for the meal was Salad Niscoise with seared tuna and poached quails eggs followed by deboned and stuffed chicken, fennel with parmesan, vichie carrots, runner beans,and fried new potatoes followed by lemon and almond tart and homemade cheese and biscuits. All set. So Thursday I go to Global Fruits in the Buttermarket where I buy all my veg, the only shop in Ipswich to stock quails eggs and they hadn't had their delivery that week. We went back on Friday to see if it had arrived and no quails eggs again. Rethink , rethink until on Saturday morning the lovely Dan from aforesaid shop rang to say they had got some in and would deliver them round to work in the afternoon. Star!!!!

So Salad Niscoise with finley sliced tuna steak, seared for a few seconds, to cut the tuna really thinly pop it in the freezer for about 1/2 hour before you cut it. Quails eggs if you have ever tried to break one have a really thin shell but a tough membrane so you have to saw a little nick into them with a serated knife without nicking the yolk. (several did get nicked and put aside for another day!) Pop them into boiling salted water for 2 minutes then out into a bowl of cold water. Just before serving pop them back into boiling water for 30 seconds. Toss the salad of new potatoes, tomatoes, cucumber and leaves with classic dressing, place the quails eggs and tuna on the top and hoorah there we go delicious!

Next course deboned and stuffed chicken, it sounds like an occult mystery to debone a chicken but there are loads of films of it on youtube and its quite easy if not a little fiddley. Stuffed with a pork layer and a chicken liver pate layer and then baked in the oven for a couple of hours. It really needs to be rested for at least 45 minutes before carving. Served with slices of fried new potatoes, vichie carrots which are glazed with butter and sugar, runner beans and fennel with parmesan. Fennel isn't really my favourite vegetable , too aniseedy and sweet. However the halved fennel bulbs were braised in the oven for an hour with chopped fennel stalks, butter and white wine. When done the bulbs are removed and placed in a dish cut side up. Parmesan is then mixed with some of the strained juice and spread on the top with more grated parmesan, grill for 5 minutes till golden. Fantastic, don't knock it till you try it! the sharpness of the parmesan really counterbalances the sweetness of the fennel. A definate must again!

Finally Lemon and almond tart from Julia Child's Mastering the art of French cooking.  A crispy pastry with an almondand lemon custardy filling baked and left to go cold. Julia puts a lemon syrup on the top but I thought that would be too sweet so just sprinkled some lemon zest and marigold petals on the top. Apart from the slightly rustic looking pastry edge it was delicious with cream, one of those things you just want to kidnap and eat the whole thing yourself!! Perfect with home made lemon balm wine.

Finally home made cheeses and biscuits, more of which on another day.
Stuffed!

Small Kitchen

My kitchen is small, there are smaller kitchens but compared to most people's it is small and I love it. The thing with a small kitchen is that everything is close at hand. I can reach the cooker, fridge and sink just by turning round. Out of this kitchen have come a buffet for 100, a Medieval banquet for 14 and endless (hopefully) delicious meals for family and friends. I love cooking and believe that if you have to eat you may as well do it well. French, Italian, British , Chinese and Japanese foods come tumbling out on a regular basis. I have loads of cookery books but hardly ever follow a recipie, look at the picture, look at the ingredients, a quick read through of the instructions then make it up as you go along, ok there are occasional failures but most of it comes out ok.
So in this blog there will be lots about the food I create so enjoy!