Mother in Laws Birthday part 3 -Strawberry ice cream

We are having three desserts on Sunday and this is the first.
It could have been done ages ago but there were two very large salmon filling the freezer. As they came out today my favourite ice cream could be made. This is so easy and soooooooooo delicious I have to restrain myself from eating it before any one else does. It only works with strawberries though, there must be some alchemy with the acidity and the sugar, but who knows and actually I  think I want to keep the delicious mystery!
Two punnets of strawberries were hulled and finely chopped and then frozen. I should have frozen them on a tray but there was no room so they were crammed in to a plastic pot. Tonight they were removed and as they had frozen into a big lump, bashed with a rolling pin till they were back in bits. These were then whizzed in the food processor with two tablespoons of vanilla sugar, normal sugar is fine with a bit of vanilla essence but I made the vanilla sugar weeks ago and just had to use it. (Its a vanilla pod in a jar of sugar; nothing too taxing, and left for a few weeks.)Then when all pureed 1/2 litre of double (heavy) cream is poured in and whizzed again. Before your eyes it will change to baby pink ice cream as if by magic. When I was given the recipe I was very sceptical by this stage, but just wait! Taste it and enjoy a piece of heaven before popping in to the freezer.  The joy is no need to rewhizz after an hour or so , it is ready to go!

Maybe I just need to recheck it! nom, nom, nom ,nom!

And the price £3.00 for about 1 kilo.

Mother in Laws birthday stage 2

I want to say that I bubbled 2 kilos of ham hocks in a huge cauldron for hours but to be truthful , said ham hocks were cooked in the pressure cooker. Pressure cookers are much underrated and I do love them for things that need to be boiled or steamed forever.  So into the pressure cooker went said 2 kilos of ham hocks which had been soaked in water for to days to remove a lot of the salt. These were bathed in a bottle of mead, an onion, two carrots and some celery and placed on full steam for 40 minutes.

They were left in the stock to cool till the next day then taken out and shredded by hand into a large pile.

250 grammes  of cornishons (baby gerkins) and silverskin onions were then finely chopped with 50 grammes of fresh parsley and stirred in with the ham.The mix was then put into a large glass bowl. The stock was then strained and measured to 1/2 litre and boiled with 4 sheets of gelatine and when the

gelatine melted it was poured over the ham and a plate and cast iron pan were placed on top and into the fridge.

Ready for starter 'Jambon au persille' to go with the blackberry chutney. So looking forward to turning it out and tasting it.Yum , yum, yum. The whole thing cost £5.50, as the mead was home made! Bargain yum!

So it's been awhile, well a long time since I posted , life events and all that and starting a new business www.theelvishtailor.co.uk. Anyway the elf is now back in the kitchen with a vengeance  Posting regularly this week as we prepare for the biggest function of this year. Next Sunday is the mother-in-laws 80th birthday. This is no little old lady, well she is little but he is bright and feisty and stubborn and keeps her three boys in check and we love her. So her birthday present is a banquet for the whole family  cooked by yours truly!!!!

I have gone through about 50 cookery books looking for recipes but went back to the old favourites last week . The problem at this time of year is the weather , after about 6 months of freezing temperatures , greyness and snow  ; spring has finally decided to grace us with her loveliness and next Sunday will be lovely . So going from ideas for heavy pork with a Parmesan and pine nut crust we decided to go lighter and classically French . But that means lots of preparation and lots of work through the week to make things easier for next weekend.

I started two days ago making a blackberry chutney, the blackberries were gathered back in September from  mother in laws favourite place on the Suffolk coast. Not with any thought of this celebration but just because they are lovely. But they seemed perfect to go with the rest of the starter, more of later. 400g of blackberries were boiled up with 400g sugar, 1 chopped onion, 200g raisins, 1/2 litre malt vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon each of mixed spice, smoked paprika and sumac and 3 cloves garlic. This was simmered for 2 hours the smell was incredible and not in a good way , overpowering and vinegary that took the linings off your eyes! I thought it was going to be a disaster but once your half way there you may as well go to the finish. So it was left to cool.
Blackberries have a gazillion seeds and these need to be removed but rather than go through that  mammoth task first we decided to let it cool and taste.
The taste was sublime, sweet, sharp and slightly smokey. The perfect combination with the rest of the starter.
So the next night it all had to go through the vintage mooli ; a mooli is like a sieve with a handle that presses the given substance through thus removing seeds etc. It takes for ever, we ended up with just over a kilo of chutney before going through the mooli. After 2 hours of filling , winding, scraping and cleaning the result is a of a perfect molasses smooth blackness all jarred up and ready to roll.

Sambocade, Elderflower Flan

As spring turns to summer the creamy, scented heads of elderflower reveal themselves in the hedgerows. They are filled with the smell and taste of summer.
The original recipe for Sambocade comes from the recipe book of Richard II, 'The Forme of Cury'. I have changed the recipe slightly as it was full of cheese , something not used in the small kitchen, however I have said where to put the cheese in if you want to.
First pick your elderflowers, 5 to 6 heads is plenty. Pick them from a tree far away from roads so they aren't full of pollution and remember to say thank you to the Lady of the Elder for her gift! Shake off any bugs that are on the flowers then pour 250mls cream over them; I use soy cream but double cream is fine. Leave them to infuse for 24 hours. If you use dried flowers use about 2 tablespoons and leave to infuse for about 12 hours or the flavour becomes too strong.
For a 6" tart make a pastry with 100g of plain flour and 50g of margarine or butter and a couple of tablespoons of cold water, adjust the water amount slightly to form the pastry. Roll out the pastry and line a buttered and floured 6" flan tin , one with a removable base is best. Pop the unbaked case into the freezer for 10 minutes to stop it shrinking in the oven then line it with greaseproof paper or baking parchment and baking beans. Bake it blind at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes till it is just golden.
Strain off the elderflowers and to the cream  add 3 tablespoons of sugar and 3 well beaten eggs. At this point you can also mix in 100g of ricotta if you wish to.
As an extra special twist I like to line the bottom of the flan with halved strawberries!
Pour over the egg and cream mix and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for about 40 minutes till it is just firm or you can stick a knife point into the middle and it comes out clean. Leave to cool slightly so it isn't piping hot, or you can eat it cold.  Enjoy and savour summer!

Briochey pork loaf

In my fridge I had a tub of garlic mayonnaise that I had been making before realising it contained raw egg and that a pregnant friend couldn't eat it. It had then partly separated out into an eggy mayo and olive oil as I didn't finish beating it. But what to do with it, I hate waste and like to make the most of everything so I decided to do a variation of brioche pastry (without the sugar ) to wrap round  a pork meatloaf.

I started with 300grams of spelt flour, I prefer spelt flour to wheat flour, its less bloaty and indeed tastier than wheat. added the garlic mayo mush which contained four beaten egg yolks, a clove of garlic and 200mls of olive oil. In a separate bowl I mixed 150mls of warm water with a teaspoon of sugar and one of yeast, it doesn't take long to get going and when there was a nice foam on the top I poured it into  the flour mix and kneaded with my dough hook on the Kenwood for about 5 minutes. It was then covered and left on the table for about seven hours, its taken me years to go for the long slow raise when baking any kind of bread rather than the warm place and doubled in size as quickly as possible. The long, slow raise gives a much better flavour.

In a frying pan I heated a little olive oil and then fried a finely chopped onion, four chopped sun dried tomatoes and two large handfuls of mushrooms. (For a fine chop I whizz the lot in a food processor, just quicker and easier than with a knife!)  They need cooking till the fragrance really starts to come out and then add a glass of red wine and leave to reduce.Then add thyme and parsley and leave to cool.

When I was ready to throw it all together I kneaded the dough again and rolled it out thinly, lining my grannies old loaf tin. I then mixed the mushroomey mix with 250grams of minced pork and an egg, poured the whole lot into the pastry case and closed it all up like a little bed. Into the oven at 180 degrees for 45 minutes. The smell of it cooking was fabulous and I couldn't resist opening the oven door quite often to see if it was ready!

I tipped it out and cut into it, the juices had been held in and it was moistly delicious with a moist crust. We served it with roast vegetables.

I have to say its even better cold the next day!

The Veggie Red Lion

We decided to go out for lunch yesterday, not something that happens often as the food from the small kitchen is hard to beat! But go out we did. We had heard of a vegetarian pub just outside Ipswich a couple of years ago but the opportunity to go hadn't really come up so with it being a bank holiday weekend we decided to take a trip through the rainy Suffolk countryside to give it a go. Its a bit out of the wat in a tiny hamlet 10 miles from town in Great  Bricett so if you havent got a satnav or , like us, only have the paper version print a map off from their website, http://www.theveggieredlion.co.uk/ .
We had booked a table after getting cought out in Aldeburgh at Easter and having to find somewhere else. Arriving just after one as we got a bit lost, after leaving the map on my desk at work, the place was packed both with people and charm, a typical English country pub with low beams and painted plaster. We were directed to a small table in the corner and given a while to peruse the menus including the daily specials of which there were many, they also do loads of vegan options and will cater for allergies and intolerances. We both decided to start with an olive and bread platter, I love those starters where you can just pick and this was no excption. Lots of pitted green and black olives marinated with peppers, a bowl of olive oil and balsamic and a basket of freshly made bread.

The main course arrived, I had cashew and shitake mushroom roast with red wine sauce and new potatoes. The roast was moist and packed with flavour and had a couple of triangles of puff pastry on the top to soak up the juices of the delicious sauce. Husband had Mushroom Wellington, a large portabello mushroom stuffed with morzarella and pesto wrapped in a pastry case, it smelt ,and according to husband tasted delicious. We had to order vegetables which is one of my bugbears with restaurants, a meal isnt really a meal wirthout vegetables and I feel short changed if they dont come with the main dish! I need my five portions a day and every restaurant should serve at least two per person as a matter of course! However the vegetables were perfectly cooked, carrot batons -just al dente as was the brocolli and the mangetout still ahd some snap to them. Plates were soon cleaned and we were presented with the dessert menu. Now desserts are my one weakness and there were loads al of which we could have gone for: treacle sponge; summer pudding; rhubarb and apple crumble, bannoffe pie, the list goes on . We were so stuffed though that we couldnt even squeeze a mouthful in so next time we go we will perhaps miss out on the starter to go for dessert! The meal cost around £35.00 which wasn't half bad.
We give it four stars out of five due to the lack of veg! We will definatley go again!
Pictures are from their website as I forgot my camera!

Cassoulet and the joy of bowl food

Haven't posted for a while ,  life has just been so busy. OK so it might be May but it's cold and wet and we needed comfort food to be produced in the small kitchen. How about Cassoulet?

There are as many recipes for cassoulet as there are people in France and like all French opinions all of them say they are authentic. Its one of those recipes where everyones mother has the authentic one. I suppose they all are in a way, there seem to be only two things really needed and they are haricot beans and sausages. this is real peasant food or bowl food as my husband calls it. Steaming hot, it is deeply comforting and nourishing and so easy to cook., though it does take a bit of time on the cooking front and is perfect if you have a slow cooker; which the small kitchen doesn't have due to lack of space!
 I usually make a huge batch of cassoulet after Christmas and freeze it in portions, this is closer to the version from the South of France as it has loads of left over goose in it and is made with goose stock, this is probably due; according to Julia Child; to the fois gras production and they have to do something with the rest of the goose.
However not much goose available in May so we have to manage without it.
So here's the method:
I used a couple of rashers of smokey bacon chopped up and fried with an onion and garlic. Into that six Toulouse style sausages were flung(these were from nowhere more exotic than Sainsbury and they were on special offer! always handy!) I gently fried them off a little just so they weren't really anaemic. Toulouse sausages are great as they are high in meat content and full of garlic and  herbs so are packed with flavour. I then tossed in a couple of tablespoon of chopped sun dried tomatoes that give that deep Mediterranean punch, chopped carrot, chopped celery, a chopped potato and a tin of haricot beans that have been drained. Pour in a glass of red wine and two tablespoons of tomato puree, bring to the boil and cover with stock, any sort is fine but I used chicken as I always have a batch in the freezer. Add salt and pepper to taste and a teaspoon of thyme and one of parsley. Wait till it comes to the boil and turn down to the merest simmer with the lid on for about an hour. Add a couple of handfuls of roughly chopped mushrooms; I hate those tiny thin slices of mushroom, when I bite one I want to taste all that earthy mushroominess!
Simmer for another hour or so making sure it doesn't boil dry, if it gets that way add a little more stock.
Just before serving slake some cornflower, a couple of teaspoons full in a little water and stir it in to thicken.
Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!

Eggs not Benedict

Like most of the food from a small kitchen this started out as 'Eggs Benedict' but then morphed into my version Necessity is the mother of invention after all!. We call it 'Eggs Moley'.
So the original version has  a base of muffins but I prefer crumpets,
The original has no veg in it and we need veg , so spinach goes on top of the crumpets.
The original has ham but I didn't have any but I did have some vegeburgers!
The poached eggs remain the same!
The original has
Hollandase sauce but i don't really like it so a roux sauce with cheese and mustard.
Easy!
Pop the burgers under the grill for 10 minutes , don't forget to turn them after 5 when you pop the crumpets under too. Pour boiling water over the spinach just to wilt it , I can't bear that horrid green overcooked mush!
Poach the eggs one egg per crumpet. I do them in my egg poacher because it reminds me of poached eggs when I was a child! About 5 minutes !
To make the sauce put 1 tablespoon of butter or marj in a pan and melt, add a tablespoon of flour and stir for about a minute, add 1/2 pint of milk and bring back to the boil whilst whisking  add a teaspoon of prepared mustard and a handful of grated cheese.
Place the buttered crumpets on a plate, spinach on top, burgers on top of that, eggs on top of that, sauce on top of that.  A sprinkle of black pepper .
Yum, yum, yum!

The Joy of Toads

There are just some days when only comfort food will do and 'Toad in the Hole' is my favourite. It has to be served with onion gravy for that is the law and let no one tell you any different!
This Sunday was just one of those days  so after a morning spent in the garden pruning a large beech tree and emptying the compost heap I was ready for just this joy!

The secret is in the mix for the Yorkshire pudding.
One egg, large pinch of salt and 300ml of milk whizzed in the liquidiser, add 4 desert spoons of plain flour and whizz again then leave the mix to stand for  at least 30 minutes .
In the meantime cook the sausages, any good quality ones will do, we often have Toulouse or Sicilian with their really pungent herby and garlicy taste but this week we went for meat free sausages with red onion and rosemary. Cook the sausages so they are just cooked and not brown on the outside. Don't worry they are going back into the oven again soon and if you overcook them at this stage they will be hard when you have finished.
Put a heavy bottomed dish into the oven with some oil enough to cover the bottom of the dish, purists use lard but to my mind vegetable oil is better.
This needs to go into the oven at 200C for about 5 minutes till the oil is really hot.
Then put in the precooked sausages and whizz the Yorkshire batter again then pour it straight in and put the dish in the oven for about 40 minutes.
When it comes out it should be firm , airy, golden and delicious. Serve with mashed potato, cabbage with cracked black pepper and cabbage and of course the obligatory onion gravy!

What to do with a teeny, tiny lobster!

Just before Cristmas husband saw an advert for very cheap frozen lobster  at Lidl (?!?!?!).

"That would be nice as a starter" he said,"Well if you go and buy one I'll prepare it " I replied. so dutifully he trecked off and returned with said frozen lobster that was in a frozen packet like a very large sausage, and into the freezer it returned!

We decided to eat said lobster as a starter for New Year  and have Lobster Americane ;and so I took it out to defrost which it did over the next twelve hours. On opening the packet said lobster was about the size on a langoustine!  On  shelling said small, fiddly lobster I get about half a cup of meat from the whole thing. Well bang went that idea, quick rethink!

.

Ok so I have some smoked salmon and a few king prawns in the freezer and by putting them in cold water can have them defrosted in an hour.
I then mixed the prawns and tiny amount of lobster meat together with lemon juice, chives, mayonaise and a little cream cheese and paprika . I then rolled some of the mixture in smoked salmon strips wrapped them tightly in foil (I know you are supposed to use cling film but I hate the idea of that plastic being next to something I am going to eat!) and put them in the fridge for an hour.
Served with a mixed green salad and balsamic dressing. Yum.
Moral of storry any bargain from Lidl is probably a false economy!

Busy life and Japanese soup

Life is just so full on and busy at the moment that i haven't had time to post, though I have taken lots of pics of food for intended posts!
When I'm really busy and pushed for time I love to have this Japanese Miso soup that takes literally five minutes from start to finish. Its so easy and filling I'm surprised I don't eat it all the time!
To start with put one and a half bowls of stock in a pan  (this is the bowl you intend to eat the soup out of when its ready) add a tablespoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of mirin and a splash or rice vinegar. Throw in a sheet of egg noodles and a bowlful (if you are making two bowls, if you are making one bowl use half a bowl of vegetables!) of finely sliced vegetables, use a mandolin for these if you dont have the chopping skills of a surgeon but mind your fingers. Carrot, mushrooms, leeks, daikon, whatever you have really. If you are using meat throw a handful of finely chopped pre cooked meat in at this point; if you are using fish or seafood wait right till the end. I always like to put in a sheet of chopped seaweed too at this point.
Ok, so bring to the boil but before it gets there remove a ladleful of stock and mix some Miso or fermented soya bean curd into the stock till dissolved. I like the dark Mugi miso  but if you like it sweeter use the white miso use 1tablespoon per serving.
When the vegetables and stock have come to the boil take off the heat and if you are using fish or seafood throw that in at this point. Give a goood stir and then stir in the miso. Leave with the lid on for about a minute and then pour into bowls and enjoy!!!

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!