Priceless Paintings from W7

This week, I’ve been mostly eating quite nicely, actually:

An Express Paella. Paella is one of my all-time top-ten favourite dishes. The express version is based on Churizo and deep-frozen mixed seafood; no lamb, chicken or pork, no fresh fish, mussels or shellfish. As such, it can be thrown together in a matter of minutes, all you need then is an hour of cooking time.

Roasted lamb chops with aubergines, topped with spiced and crumbled feta cheese and pine nuts. Served with roasted potato wedges, and a pudim flan afterwards. A nice blend of Moussaka with something else. Well, nice, that’s what matters. (See picture.)

A belated Chinese New Year Dinner at our friend L.-S.’s house, featuring Won-ton soup (all components made by hand and from scratch, of course), steamed dumplings, steamed chicken and mushrooms, sea bass, rice – oh, and the beautiful and delicious Jasmine Tea. I had only known Jasmine Tea as the Jasmine-infused Green tea variety. We admired and enjoyed tea brewed from real (dried) Jasmine flowers. Very beautiful and very delicious. I’d love to have some more of this.

Super-lazy Chicken with all the trimmings, as part of our lazy French Sunday (on account of our French friend C’s birthday). Spiced up with watching The Dish, but that’s a different story…

Food and Drink cooking, food, recipe

I always thought of Nigel’s Lazy Chicken as one of those delicious dishes with the shortest preparation time. Today, I am proposing an even lazier Chicken. Not a quick meal, but hardly anything to do at all, and delicious:

Crispy (and very lazy) chicken

For two grown-ups. Multiply amounts as necessary.

Six nice free-range Chicken thighs. Two hands full of cherry tomatoes. An onion, a clove of garlic, one lime. Sea salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 190 C (375F). Go hotter if in doubt, but no less.

Get a roasting dish. A deep baking tray or a Pyrex glass dish are ideal. The dish should be just big enough for the thighs, if you lay them out, one next to another. Oil the dish lightly. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Add the finely cut onion finely and crushed clove of garlic. Add a good portion of black pepper, a little salt, juice from one lime and the matching amount of balsamic vinegar. Optionally, a little freshly ground nutmeg. Lightly toss about, then evenly distribute in the dish.

Trim and clean the thighs as necessary, then put them flat on top of the tomatoes, one next to each other, skin facing upside. Grind some black pepper over them and sprinkle a very generous pinch of sea salt over them.

Into the oven for one whole hour. Yes. Give it a mighty long time. It’s OK to go over, but not under. When black smoke develops after 80 or 90 minutes, you have been too lazy though and pushed it too far.

Serve with fresh white bread, or a green salad, or both.

Writing this recipe takes longer than the total preparation time.

Food and Drink cooking, food, recipe

…more box-standard home cooking. Nothing fancy, but everything nice in its own little way:

A freshly made Thai-style chicken soup with rice.

Freshly baked whole wheat bread (with lots of seeds and nuts), Parma ham, spicy feta cheese spread, and radish salad.

Good old rump steak with slow-fried onions, garlic butter, roasted potatoes and salad. Pudim Flan.

Freshly baked white bread with spicy feta cheese spread, followed pork loin medallions on courgettes, served with sage butter fettuccine, and finished off with a Clafoutis aux pommes.

Life’s hard.

Food and Drink cooking, food, recipe

…Nothing special, just an odd blend of food that we like, wherever it takes me on a day-in day-out basis:

A quick pre-theatre smoked salmon and grilled artichokes quiche. Also re-used some left-over Sauce Bernaise in that quiche, which wasn’t such a good idea. The flavours liked each other, but the quiche didn’t like the richness of the Bernaise.

A steamed leg of lamb, with roasted potatoes, green beans, and a rich fennel-and-thyme gravy. Clafoutis aux pommes to finish it off.

Smoked salmon spaghetti carbonara with Swiss Chard and cherry tomatoes. A great way of using left-over smoked salmon, but not a great idea to substitute Cavolo Negro with Swiss Chard. Maybe Savoy Cabbage would have done a better job here (as previously tested and approved); the good lord alone knows why this thought didn’t cross my mind while shopping.

A fishy Singaporean Laksa with egg noodles. We even managed to eat it without colouring half our clothes forever, that’s a huge improvement on our Laksa eating ability. 

Food and Drink cooking, food, recipe

OK, it wasn’t this week, but in a recent week when I was on business in Germany. Good old  proper German food, such as

Hering und Bratkartoffeln (marinated ‘Matjes’ herring with roasted potatoes),

A Greek mix meat, rice and coleslaw platter,

A flavoursome vegetarian Turkish dish, with more rice and cabbage (a lunch-time portion that would have fed two, for €6.50, a small bottle of mineral water included).

Funny how the Greek restaurants here serve different food from those in Germany. German Greeks tend to go heavy on the meat, whereas the Greek places we tried in London are more Mezze-style places, serving a variety of meaty, fishy and vegetarian starters. In both cases, you need to starve yourself one full day before and after.

The Turkish community in London has escaped us so far. I am sure it exists, although maybe not as big as in some German towns. Pointers and suggestions, anyone?

Food and Drink cooking, food, recipe

We wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a happy and healthy new year!

Here’s how we enjoy the day (click for a larger image).

See you in the new year.

Food and Drink Christmas, food

This week, I’ve been mostly eating more Christmas menu try-outs. The goal is to produce a new menu with a new twist here and here, while still honouring the tradition of Brussels Sprouts and Christmas Pudding. You’ll see it online this Friday.

For those who can’t wait, here’s how I plan to smuggle Brussels Sprouts into the 2009 Christmas menu:

Christmas Fettuccini Carbonara with smoked salmon and Brussels Sprouts.

This is fit for all year round, and absolutely delicious, so bear with me…

Per person, get five Brussels sprouts and two rashers of good bacon. Cut the bacon into fine strips, and flake the sprouts into individual leaves. Set aside.

Replace the Brussel sprouts with fine strips of Cavolo Nero if you don’t like the former and can source the latter. In the UK, try Waitrose, the only regular supplier for Cavolo Nero known to me. Now…

Per person, take one fresh egg yolk, one tablespoon of sour cream, a teaspoon of mustard, a good pinch of hot mustard powder, a pinch of black pepper and a good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Add one more yolk for the entire party. (Normally, you’d use cream or even double cream. I find soured cream is a better choice; it produces the same creamy result without that Oh-it’s-a-little-too-rich feeling that you get from double cream.)
Whisk it all up and set aside.

Take a good portion of smoked salmon and cut into thin stripes. For this meal, I prefer very strongly flavoured peat-smoked salmon.

Get some good quality egg fettuccini and cook them al dente.

Meanwhile, cut three or four cherry tomatoes per person into halves.

Fry the bacon sharp, using a knob of butter and an equal amount of olive oil until golden. (The olive oil raises the melting point of the butter, allowing to work longer and hotter without browning too much. You could also clarify the butter, of course, but for the quick day-in-day-out cooking, adding olive oil works well enough.)

The fettuccini should be done by now. Drain, and put into a bowl.

Add the Brussels sprout leaves to the bacon, crank up the heat and stir frequently in order to fry the sprouts quickly over 3 minutes or so.

Pour the egg-cream mix over the pasta. Mix in the salmon and the tomatoes. (Remember: the key to Carbonara is not to confuse it with scrambled eggs. Do not let the eggs into the pan or pot; just mix them in the bowl with the still hot pasta.)

Serve the pasta on a plate, surrounded by sprouts and bacon. Add some slivers of parmesan, and grate some nutmeg over the whole thing (the final nutmeg is important, don’t forget it! I forgot it with my second helping, and it makes heck of a difference).

Sprouts like you never had them before.
Carbonara like you never ate it before.

Food and Drink Christmas, cooking, food, recipe

This week, I’ve been mostly eating things I am not prepared to talk about just yet, and here’s why: The festive season is rapidly approaching, and with it comes a multitude of repeated and new TV cooking programs.

Delia tells us all about a truly traditional Christmas. I watch her preparing a traditional Christmas pudding with moderate interest (because mine isn’t traditional), and switch off after she makes a sticky mess with scallops.

Gary Rhodes is blacklisted at W7 Hall since the making of slimy risottos some while ago, and Gordon Ramsey is off limits due to his preference of focussing on foul language.

Nigella Lawson is nice to look at, Rick Stein nice to listen to. Nigel Slater is not seen on TV these days as far as I know.

I always end up with Jamie Oliver, who even makes me watch Channel Four. He’s the only one who consistently delivers fresh ideas and enthusiasm like none of the others.

Too bad the price to pay is that I had to abandon my earlier plans for this year’s Christmas menu. Back to the drawing board and the kitchen experiments. So, this week, I’ve been mostly preparing and eating Christmas menu experiments. Oh, it’s a hard life!

Food and Drink Christmas, cooking, food

This week, I’ve been mostly eating… meat, by the looks of it:

Braised lamb shanks with a rich gravy, saffron rice. So nice, and cooks itself if only given little enough heat and plenty enough time. I make a bed of root vegetables, add a little stock, lots of thyme, clean the shanks carefully, place on top, hermitically seal with tin foil, and slow-cook at 160 Celsius for 4 hours.

Friday is Schnitzel Day – Schnitzel with leaks and steamed potatoes (the taste of home). This is one of the fall-outs from South Australian cuisine. I shall tell you all about that, some day. Just need to find the right words for it.

Fillet of Venison with Sauce Bernaise and roasted potatoes – ah, lovely. First, I love venison fillet. It’s rich in flavour, extremely tender, and virtually fat free. Second, I love Sauce Bernaise (which I make myself, of course – only takes half an hour of time at least half a day prior to serving the meal). Finally, I love roasted potatoes. So, what’s not to like in this dish?

Food and Drink cooking, food, recipe

You’d think it’s just like riding a bicycle: once you learnt to do it, you’ll never forget, and you’ll never have to think about it again.

I have been very lazy with my cake baking over the last couple of years, especially on the more traditional, yeast dough based cakes from home. A quicky of Muffins or a Lemon Drizzle cake here and there, and even a Black Forest Gateaux once, yes, I will admit to those. Savoury cakes (such as quiches, pizze, onion bakes) are frequently made, and extra-rich desert cakes such as the Clafoutis au Pommes or a good old Tarte Tatin also feature regularly. And, there is regular bread making, too.

But, I have been negligent in the sweat yeast dough cake department. When I made an apple cake just this Saturday, I had to look up the recipe for sweat yeast dough that I wrote down many years ago. On cup of milk, it says. Bummer. I don’t know which cup that meant. In the end, I had to correct the dough while kneading.

It worked out all-right, but I used to get them perfect straight away.

Then, it goes into the oven. I had to fiddle around with the temperature after starting too hot (you’ll see the dark-ish corners in the picture here), and couldn’t quite remember when to take it out again.

I ended following my grandmother’s advise and used “as much milk as necessary,”  and baked it “until ready.”

Clearly not like riding a bicycle. Needs more practise to prevent loss of the skill.

Food and Drink, Thoughts baking, cooking, food

This week, I’ve been mostly eating winter-warming food:

Fettuccine with a creamy sauce with crispy bacon, smoked salmon, and a good helping of Cavolo Negro. Quick. Easy. Rewarding.

Posh pork sausages with parsnip and potato mash, onion and Madeira sauce.

Potato Fritters with Apple Compote (a traditional meal in our home town)

Steak and Ale pie, with more mash. Green Salad with a blue cheese dressing.

Food and Drink cooking, food, recipe

This week, I’ve been mostly eating how-nice-it-is-to-be-back-home-and-have-my-own-kitchen food. Oh, and it’s-getting-cold-outside food. Home cooked comfort food for (temporary) bachelors, in other words:

Paella. Paella just had to be the first thing on the first day after the holidays, so that I feel well and warm and at home.

Truchas Navarra (or just one): a trout, filled with crispy bacon and fresh sage. Grilled and served with green salad and white bread.

Potato Pancakes with fresh apple compote. Oh lovely!

A very crispy and very tender Chicken in a thin crust of salt and rosemary. More green salad, and more white bread.

A lovely roast beef with Sauce Béarnaise and bread.

Salad day: a juicy salad from the leftover chicken and the leftover roast beef, apples, and chicories.

Food and Drink cooking, food, recipe

Courtesy of British Airways, I enjoyed a cellophane-wrapped Chocolate Mouse Cake with Mandarin Sauce. Kind-of nice, and most impressive due to its super-sized list of ingredients:

Chocolate Mouse Cake (75%):

Water, vegetable oil (coconut, palm kernel, palm, rape, sun flower), sugar, 9% chocolate (sugar, cocoa mass, skimmed cocoa powder, vanillin), egg, wheat flour, cocoa powder, cane sugar, skimmed milk powder, dried glucose syrup, modified maize and potato starch, whey powder, gelifier (pectin), glucose syrup, thickening agent (sodium alginate, carrageenan, guar gum), dextrose, emulsifier (acetic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids), wheat starch, milk protein, acid (sodium citrates, citric acid, calcium lactate), whole milk powder, salt, invert sugar syrup, stabilizer (diphosphates, sodium phosphate, calcium sulphate), flavouring, colouring (annatto, riboflavin, beta-carotene), raising agent (sodium carbonates, potassium tartrates).

Mandarin Sauce (25%):

Water, sugar, 10% mandarin, glucose syrup, modified maize starch, dextrose, acid (citric acid), gelifier (pectin), 0.3% orange, flavouring, colouring (beta-carotene, annatto), emulsifier (lecithin), thickening agent (xanthan gum).

No wonder aeroplane food always gives me winds.

Food and Drink, Thoughts australia, food

The authenticity of my Choucroute De Mer recipe has been questioned a few times. I do, of course, deny any wrongdoing, but I am pleased to report that The Saveur now sides with me: In their 11/2009 issue, they report that Maison Kammerzell in Strasbourg serves Choucroute Au Poisson.

I rest my case.

Food and Drink, Thoughts cooking, food, recipe

This week, I’ve been mostly eating Australian meals. I mentioned already that the Australian cuisine appears to be largely governed by Fish and Chips or Steak and Chips, so let me try to recall some of the more noteworthy meals that we had:

A cheap-and-cheerful Singaporean Dumpling Laksa in Adelaide Central Market. Very nice, although nothing is really cheap in Australia, even if the Pound exchange rate wasn’t so depressing.

Fillet of Kangaroo, with various accompliments, in various places – including our own: I cooked my first ever Kangaroo, and managed to judge it right, hurray! Kangaroo meat is a tender, low in fat, dark red that wants to be eaten rare. It’s lovely. I recommend it, when you get a chance. Oh, and if anyone knows of a reasonably priced source here in the UK, please drop me a note.

A cold platter with smoked Kangaroo, Emu pate, South Australian goat cheese, and a lovely fruity “bush tomato” relish.

Food and Drink, Travel australia, cooking, food, recipe