Toffee Fig Pie

I'm harvesting figs at the moment.  Lots of figs, every day.   Last year, when I collected the figs I ate most of them just using a few to make some delicious jam and bottled a few in the local "Monbazillac" white wine which I gave away as presents at Christmas.

So, as this year's crop is substantially heavier, I have been scouring the internet for different recipes.   Meals here are becoming a "Fig Feast".  Sunday lunch today was no exception.  I made a delicious starter of figs with little bits of goat cheese and ham, all marinated in my favourite balsamic vinaigrette.

The roast chicken remained "unfigged" although, I did toy with putting figs into the stuffing(seasoning)

 

I made these Toffee Fig Pies for dessert.    I more or less copied the recipe although my pastry skills are such that my own version was totally unphotographable, so, I've stolen the photo as well from the excellent recipe resource of BBC Food....

 

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2829/toffee-fig-pies

Baked Beans

There are a few British things that I love that are quite hard to get here in France.   Actually, to be honest, they are not particularly hard to get, as there are a plethora of specialist British shops around.  It's just that, being a bit stingy, I refuse to pay the price those shops are charging.

One such thing is baked beans.   In the UK, baked beans are available in every grocery shop and range in price from a few pence per can up to about £1.00 per can.  Sometimes, I can't even tell the difference between the cheap one and the expensive one.  However, here in France I can only buy a fairly middle of the road variety and that will cost me the equivalent of way in excess of £1.

Kate over in Tasmania, offered me a solution whilst she was here a few months ago and gave me an easy to make recipe.  Since then I have made it quite a few times and made subtle changes.  I always liked the recipe but now, I think it's just a bit better....

This recipe would probably serve 6 people, served with salad and home made bread.   The recipe freezes well and I usually make this amount and then freeze in small portions

	Preparation time:        a couple of days (see method) Cooking time               1 hour plus 1 hour
Ingredients 1 1/2 cups coco haricot beans a dash of salt	Method Soak the beans in water overnight. Drain and recover with water , add a dash of salt and simmer for one hour
2 large onions 4 or 5 cloves garlic 100gms smoked belly of pork	Coarsely chop the onions and thinly slice the garlic then fry in a little oil.  Meanwhile, slice the belly of pork into small cubes and add to the pan and fry until the meat and onion are lightly cooked
1 tin tomatoes 2 tbl tomato paste 2 tbl brown sugar 1 tbl dark soy sauce 1 tbl fresh basil 1 tsp herbes de Provence 1 tsp fresh thyme	Combine the tomatoes, paste, sugar, soy sauce and herbs. Drain the beans and reserve the water
reserved cooking water + hot water to make up 2 cups Worcestershire sauce	Make the reserved cooking water up to 2 cups, then add all the ingredients into a casserole and add the water and a large dash of Worcestershire sauce.   Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for about an hour.  Add more water if needed to keep the consistency of a thick soup

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  It makes a great side dish with grilled ham, or serve on thickly cut toast as a nutritious breakfast.

Coconut Macaroons

I made these for tonights barbecue...  They are very easy and very tasty.

Preparation time:            5 minutes
Cooking time:                15minutes
Temperature:                 180°C

 

Pre heat oven to 180°C Separate eggs, reserve the whites and give the yolks to a friend to make Mayonnaise

150gms sugar 200 gms dessicated coconut 3 egg whites 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 1/2 teaspoon of salt

sift sugar and coconut into a mixing bowl stir in salt, vanilla essence and egg whites and make sure thoroughly mixed drop large teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet, ensuring that the macaroons are not touching.  They will spread, but only a little Bake in the middle of the oven (180°C) for about 15 minutes until just turning golden on top Remove from oven and let stand 2 or 3 minutes then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool. If you have any, I didn't, dip the bases in melted chocolate

Tartar Sauce

Friday here is fish day and today was no exception.

I love fish and seafood in virtually any way that it arrives but I am particularly fond of traditional British Fried Fish and Chips.

However, those of you who know me, or who have seen my photo on the blogs, will know that fried fish and chips is not something I should be sampling every week.  My compromise comes in three forms: one - the fish I choose these days is coated in breadcrumbs and grilled, rather than coated in delicious succulent beer batter and deep fried to perfection... two - the chips I go for these days are lightly fried in oil, then frozen... then oven baked to serve.  Although they are still fried, they contain about 50% less fat than the traditional chip of potato, cut into slices, deep fried in animal fat, then, after the fat has been reheated, deep fried a second time until they are golden brown and crunchy.... three - well, the third compromise is to replace the tartar sauce with a slice or two of lemon.... but hey, lets stick to two compromises shall we?

I always make my own tartar sauce as part of preparing the meal and have developed an incredibly easy recipe which is fabulously tasty

Here it is:

Tartar Sauce

Ingredients:

3 or 4 small pickled gherkins
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon of the pickling vinegar
a few capers (if liked)

Method

Finely chop the gherkins and put them in a ramekin.

Add the mayonnaise, mustard, fresh dill, vinegar and capers and blend together.  Chill for an hour or so.

This recipe makes a small serving suitable for a dinner for 4 (or me!!!)  It's incredible easiness, belies it's great taste.

Cherry Crumble

Oven	180° C
Preparation	15 minutes
Cooking time	15 + 20 minutes

 

I can't believe that another Sunday has arrived.

Recently, I've mentioned a few times that my orchard is laden with fruit this year and, at the moment, it's cherry time.

I have several cherry trees which produce fruit in a rather orderly succession.   I can't take any credit for this delightful fact though, as the trees were planted many years before I took over guardianship of this piece of land.

Today, for Sunday lunch I prepared a simple dinner of roast chicken with roast vegetables.  Potatoes, from the garden via the freezer, Fennel, picked this morning and an onion and carrots from the market.  I also made a traditional sage and onion stuffing.

For desert I decided that I had to use the delights of the orchard and eventually decided on Cherry Crumble.  As you can see, once it was made, it looked far too good to worry about taking photographs....

Here's what I did:

 

Cherry Crumble

 

 

A bowl full of freshly picked cherries
A few drops water
A knob of butter
A tablespoon of sugar

For The Crumble Topping

4oz butter
4oz demerara sugar
7oz Flour

It's simple 1:1:2 butter, sugar, flour crumble mix...... 
but I usually cut the flour back a bit and use demerara sugar....

Pre heat the oven to 180° C

Pick a bowl full of cherries.
Remove stalks and wash them
Destone the cherries and half fill an ovenproof dish

Once I have put the cherries in an oven proof dish.....oven to table dish...... I then sprinkle some sugar over them. The cherries will be wet from washing and destoning so I don’t add any further water.   Add a knob of butter and bake until the cherries are just cooked. (about 15 minutes)

Add the 1:1:2 crumble mixture on the top...not underneath or it gets messy...on top of the cherries and return to the oven for a bit longer.... About 20 minutes

When it's black, it's burnt..

Eat with lashings of a runny cream

Yorkshire Pudding

Back in the 15th century there were a series of wars in which England was involved.   Here in France, the 100  years war between France and  England was coming to a disastrous end after stewardship for that war was wrest from the successful Duke of York and handed to the non military Duke of Somerset, leading to numerous defeats until in 1451 Bordeaux and Gascony were lost to the French.... Of course, there are those locals who say that in the 21st Century, the British are winning back the territory by stealth!

About the same time, The Duke of York set himself against the Duke of Somerset, and with the various alliances, the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster were born.  The house of Lancaster wore a red rose , whilst the house of York wore a white one and so it was that this became known as the Wars of the Roses.

By now, I'm sure many of you are wondering why on earth this is all relevant to Ian's French Kitchen??

Well, to understand a bit more you need another piece of information..... and that is that Ian was actually born in Lancashire.... and now, here I am living not that far from Bordeaux....

We British tend to take our heritage quite seriously and so, all my life my family have jokingly set themselves against the Yorkists.  As it happens, my family hails from the borders between Yorkshire and Lancashire so, in fact, there are just as many Yorkshire men as Lancastrians in it.

However, one thing I have learned over the years is that there are some things that the Yorkists certainly got right.  One of those things is Yorkshire Pudding.    I'm not sure how familiar people outside the UK are with Yorkshire Pudding so I'll explain that, despite it's name, it is not a dessert.  It's a savoury batter dish which was served to help fill you up during times of hardship and is usually served with Beef, although, today, it has found many fans who eat it with all sorts of savoury fillings.  Yorkshire pudding itself, apparently, dates back to the mid 18th century and is a truly delicious accompaniment to beef gravy

So, enough waffle, here is an easy recipe made in a food processor.  There are as many Yorkshire Pudding recipes as there are Yorkshire housewives, but this is a Lancastrian's version!

Try Yorkshire pudding cold with honey too, if you have any left over!

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Preheat oven to 220°C 

Preparation 10 minutes plus 30 waiting
Cooking time – 1 hour

Serves 4

125gms Plain Flour 
½  teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
1 large egg
300ml milk
1 tbs oil

In a food processor
Sift together the salt, baking powder and flour
Mix in the egg with half of the milk and beat for a couple of minutes until the batter is bubbly
Stir in remaining milk
Cover and set aside for 30 minutes
Heat the oil, in an ovenproof dish until very hot, then pour in the batter
Place in the centre of the oven and bake for one hour .

The pudding should be golden brown and have risen nicely.  When cut it should not be wet inside.

 

The hot oven is essential.as is the hard beating to get lots of air into the mixture

Clafoutis

My orchard is bursting with cherries at the moment.   The other day, I picked about 8 kgs and now, the next tree is ready to harvest with similar numbers.  At this time of year, I'm looking for things to do with cherries but I often freeze a lot for later use

However, this year I have decided to try my hand at a fairly local dish, a cherry dessert, Clafoutis

Clafoutis is a delicious cherry batter pudding from Limousin, a region just to the north of Ian's French Kitchen… Imagine a pancake batter, laden with cherries, and you're getting close

So here is my recipe....

Preparation time  15 minutes
Cooking time – 40 minutes
Serves – about 6

Ingredients 4 cups ripe cherries (washed) 3 eggs  4 heaped tablespoons plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt 2 tablespoons sugar 300ml milk ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Cherry brandy 2 tablespoons melted butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then blend in the sugar.
Sift in the four and baking powder and add the salt.  Continue beating
Warm the milk and vanilla extract and slowly add it, whilst continuing to beat.
Add a small slug of cherry brandy and then whisk in the melted butter.
Cover the bottom of a well greased oven proof dish with a single layer of whole cherries
Gently pour the batter over them until the cherries are barely covered
Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
The clafoutis should look like a delicious golden pancake with cherries Rest for about 10 minutes.  The clafoutis will sink a little, whilst resting

Tip:

Lots of recipes call for the cherries to be pitted.  If you do this it IS much easier to eat….  But ALL my French friends insist it should be made with unpitted cherries as otherwise the colour from the cherries stains the batter distracting from the look of the dessert.

The batter can easily be made in a food processor.  I start with the eggs, then, with the machine running slowly I add the sugar until it's smooth.  Next add the salt, vanilla extract and milk and allow to beat a little more.  Finally, sift in the flour and baking powder and beat for one minute.

Paella with seafood and chicken

Preparation - 20 minutes
Cooking - about an hour
Serves 4 to 6

	This is not meant to be a true Spanish Paella but just my version of a delicious one.  It’s not as complicated as it looks!!!
Instructions	Ingredients
Mix together in a large bowl	2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tsp Basil 1 tsp paprika salt black pepper
Then stir in, cover and refridgerate	Cut chicken pieces
Heat in a large frying pan /casserole	2 tblsp olive oil
Then add and cook for about 3 minutes	3 cloves garlic 1 choppped sweet pepper (red) 1 large chopped onion 2 cups short grain rice
Stir the rice mixture to ensure rice is coated with oil, then stir in	1 tsp Turmeric 1 fresh Bay leaf handful of peas fish stock zest of one lemon
Chop and add to mixture	small handful flat leaf parsley
Bring to boil, cover and simmer on a gentle heat for  20 minutes
Meanwhile, In another frying pan, heat	Another 2 tblspns Olive oil
Then stir in the contents of marinade (chicken etc),  and cook for about 15 mins before stirring in	chorizo sausage cut into about 15 thin slices
Cook for 5 mins then add	1lb cooked shrimp smoked salmon cut into bite sized pieces ½ lb mussels a few shell on large shrimp
Cook for a further five minutes until mussels are open
Finally add the contents of both pans together and cook for the last few minutes
Arrange on a serving dish  and serve garnished with	Lemon Quarters

Leftovers pie

I had a friend from Luxembourg drop in on Sunday and I decided to cook a roast chicken dinner.  It was a pretty traditional thing with a lovely free range chicken and a mixture of roast vegetables.  I decided not to stuff the bird with my seasoning so I just put an onion in the cavity and let the juices blend with those of the onion, cooking the stuffing in a separate dish

In the same dish I put a couple of chipolata sausages and potatoes, pumpkin, courgette(zucchini), onion and carrots to roast, then popped the whole lot into a medium hot oven (180C) for about an hour

I also served a selection of nibbles as aperitifs and then a delicious pork pate de campagne with homemade multicereal bread made with a few nuts added. We followed the main course with a lovely selection of French cheeses, except, purely selfishly, I added a good English farmhouse cheddar. My guest brought dessert!  A glorious apple pie with an extravagant flaky pastry top and delicious shortcrust base.  The pie stands about 150mm (6") tall!! and we ate it without adding anything. 

Of course, there was quite a bit left over, particularly from the chicken and vegetables, so tonight I made a recipe I learned about from a relation just the other day.  Leftovers Pie.  I really wasn't sure about it but thought it was worth a try.  It turned out to be delicious

In a pie dish I spread out all the left over meat and vegetables, cutting everything into bite sized pieces.  I included all the leftovers, potatoes, roast vegetables, a few peas I had added to the dinner, the chicken and even one of the chipolatas and the left over stuffing until the dish was almost full.

Then I poured over the left over gravy and covered the dish with a puff pastry top.  As I always do, I used a ready made puff pastry.  I love making shortcrust pastry but have never managed to successfully make puff pastry and with such great ready mades available, I gave up trying many years ago.  The other thing about recipes for leftovers is, I believe, they should be extremely simple.  You've already cooked the meal so the ready made pastry makes it very simple and quick.

I popped the pie into a preheated oven at 190C and left it to cook for about an hour. 

The picture has been cropped so that you can't see just how much of the pie got eaten!!!

Spicy Sausage Rolls

.

	Some friends are coming for aperitifs this evening, so I decided to make a few sausage rolls.   Here in France meat in pastry products are not common.   It is hard to find any of those traditional staples of British fare, such as Steak Pie or indeed the humble Sausage Roll. I also know from past experience that my French friends love the culinary differences between our two cultures and thoroughly enjoy some of the things I cook that they otherwise would have little knowledge of.  Of course, I'm never sure whether that's because of the difference in our cultures or simply because they can't recognise the food I have tried to prepare. So, this morning I made Spicy Sausage Rolls
	Here's the recipe, and it really is simple I use shortcrust pastry, but lots of people prefer puff pastry.  Either way, you should end up with a delicious, slightly different, sausage roll
For the Sausage Meat	400gms minced pork 100gms minced beef 2 good tablespoons of rolled oats a good dash of worcestershire sauce a couple of drops of tabasco (I put in 4) a dash of sea salt a beaten egg
For the Pastry	For the pastry I prefer to use a shortcrust pastry,  Here's a recipe I often follow: Jean's Shortcrust Pastry
Method	Pre heat the oven to 190°C Mix together the meat and then stir in the oats and salt. Beat the egg and add the worcestershire sauce and tabasco then stir this into the meat mixture, adjusting consistency by adding more oats if it's too wet Make the pastry and roll out into a thin sheet. Roll the meat mixture into a thin sausage and place on the sheet of pastry towards one end. Carefully roll the pastry around the meat and cut once it has enclosed it. Place this seam side down on a baking sheet and repeat for the next roll.   Continue until you run out of pastry....or of meat!!!! Brush with a little milk and make several pricks in the pastry to allow steam to escape Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until brown.  Turn over and bake the bottoms for a further 5 minutes Allow to cool and then cut into bite sized pieces

If you're feeling lazy, you can simply use a pre-made pastry, like I often do.  and you can substitute sausage meat for the minced pork and beef, but if you do this, do pay attention to what you are actually getting in your sausage meat!!!!!

Cheese on Toast

The other evening I couldn't decide what to prepare for a simple supper in front of the TV. After a lot of debate with myself, I finally opted for cheese on toast and it was delicious I started with my home made multigrain bread which I sliced and then toasted on one side. Then I spread butter on the untoasted side and added a dash of French mustard

After this I added the four cheeses....  First some thin slices of Dutch Maasdammer,  next a couple of slices of my favourite Cantal entre deux, a thin slice of Brie was added before finishing with a covering of grated Emmental...  Pop under a high grill until the cheese has melted and is starting to bubble.

I was going to describe this as a light supper..... but maybe not!!!

Marinated Mushrooms

The other day I had some friends drop by and as the temperature was about 30C (high 80's F) I decided to barbecue some pork and burgers.

I'm afraid I was so busy barbecuing that I didn't get any photos, but I'm sure, as always, the words will whet your appetite.

I far prefer barbecuing on an open fire and preferably wood rather than charcoal.  I can't really explain it but, to me, there is little comparison between the taste of food cooked on wood and the taste of food cooked on charcoal.  The former, I guess, is just so much smokier.

Anyway, on this occasion I accompanied the barbecue with some simple salads.  I was pretty busy and was trying to save work!!!!!

One simple salad I served is marinated mushrooms. 

The recipe is simply slice mushrooms and marinate them for a couple of hours in a vinaigrette  dressing.   Over the years, I have found that a balsamic vinaigrette really complements the woody mushroom taste so that is what I now always use and I use what ever mushrooms I have but really like the big bold "Champignons de Paris" that we get here, (a kind of huge button mushroom).

To make the vinaigrette I use one part water and one part balsamic vinegar.   To this I add some crushed garlic and a selection of herbs (I use herbes de Provence).

Give it a good shake then add 5 parts of olive oil, (I prefer extra virgin).

Give this mixture a really good shake and then let stand for an hour or two before using to allow all the herbs to infuse the liquid.

Slice the mushrooms into a bowl and cover with the vinaigrette and leave to marinate for a couple of hours

there you have it, a simple, delicious accompaniment.

A Surprise Sunday Lunch

I'm sure most of you will by now have heard about the problems in the skies above Northern Europe and the resulting no fly zone which has been in place, more or less continuously since it's imposition on Thursday.  The zone covers much of Northern Europe and is the result of  a volcano erupting in Iceland.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers are finding themselves stranded in the wrong place as air travel plans fall apart.  There is, as yet, no real sign of the situation abating and many experts are now suggesting that nothing will fly in the affected areas until the middle or end of the coming week or even later.

One unexpected aside that has arisen out of this situation was a very pleasant Sunday lunch which I have just enjoyed with five friends.  All of the friends should have been in the UK, having left France yesterday afternoon for the short flight to Bristol.  But they are all still here.   Two of them live here and have cancelled their short break and the other three have been offered replacement flights next Saturday afternoon, a week after they should have returned from their holiday.

As a result of this, I offered all five of them Sunday lunch "Chez Moi" and prepared a simple meal.

For starter I mixed several leaves from the garden and prepared a small salad with cucumber.  I then turned it into a Perigordine Salad by making a bacon and crouton mix, stirring it into the salad leaves and then dressing with a garlic and herb vinaigrette.   I served it with a sliced tomato salad dressed in a tomato vinaigrette.

For the main course I prepared Pork in Cider to my own recipe.  It takes it's inspiration from a Porc de Normandie recipe but has been developed over the years.

• Coarsely chop a whole onion
• Peal and thinly slice several garlic cloves
• add a good quantity of herbes de Provence
• Fry the onion, garlic and herbs in a little olive oil until tender then line a large ovenproof dish with them
• Lightly fry pork chops in a little olive oil in the same pan until they are just slightly browned on both sides. (They don't need to be cooked through) I use one large chop per person.
• Arrange the chops in the dish on top of the onions and garlic
• In the same pan,mix about 50ml of cider vinegar and a 75cl bottle of light cider, (I use a sparkling cider)
• Cut an apple into  large pieces, (cored but not peeled) and add to the cider
• Bring the cider, vinegar and apple gently to the boil.
• Arrange the apple pieces around the chops and pour the liquid over to completely cover
• Add lots of freshly ground pepper and some salt
• Bake in the middle of an oven at 180 C for about 1 hour
• Check midway through cooking and add more cider if the chops are showing above the liquid
• Remove from oven after 1 hour and add a good tablespoon or two of fromage blanc to the top of each chop
• return to oven for about 15 to 20 minutes
• Serve the chops and apple and thicken the juice to make a delicious gravy

I served this dish with cous cous.

I simply measured the amount of cous cous I need, (2 cups for 6 people) into a serving basin.  In a sauce pan I put the same amount of water, a handful of dried sultanas and some macedoine of vegetables and added just a dribble of olive oil.  I brought the saucepan to the boil and as soon as the vegetables were cooked I poured the whole lot on to the couscous and left to stand for exactly 3 minutes

Fluff up the mixture and serve immediately.

Three or four french cheese and the remains of the fromage blanc made up the cheese board and for dessert, one of the guests brought a wonderful peach and apple tart which we devoured!  As always there was a big basket of french bread and several bottles of red wine on the table from the start.

It was a surprise meal for my surprise guests.  I'm sorry I don't have any photographs but maybe this is one of those occasions when the words will leave enough to your imagination to let you savour the flavours and dream of the occasion.   My guests don't seem to be too upset about being stranded in France!

Easter Biscuits

Easter is a time for enjoying food and I particularly like these spicy biscuits

INGREDIENTS 120gms Caster Sugar 120gms butter 1 egg yolk (reserve the white) 240gms plain flour 1tsp Cinnamon 1/2 tsp Nutmeg Pinch ground cloves 75gms mixed dried fruit Milk

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C
2. Line a cookie sheet with greaseproof paper
3. With a knife, cream the butter and sugar together until well blended and light
4. Carry on creaming, adding the egg yolk until completely absorbed
5. Combine the flour and spices and slowly fold into the mixture.   Then add in the dried fruit.
6. Make into a stiff dough by adding a little milk (2 or 3 tbsp)
7. Make into a ball and place on a floured board then roll the dough out to about 5mm thich, turning constantly.
8. Cut into Easter shapes with a cookie cutter. (I use a round crinkle cut)
9. Place on greaseproof paper on baking sheet in the middle of the oven and bake for 10 minutes
10. Remove from oven, brush the tops with egg white and sprinkle with sugar and return to oven.
11. Bake for a further 10 minutes or until pale golden colour.
12. Cool biscuits on a wire rack.
13. Try not to eat until cooled.

Hot Cross Bun Day

It's Good Friday, a Christian festival which in many parts of the world is celebrated by a national holiday, although, as it happens, not here in France.

Traditionally, Hot Cross Buns are made and eaten on Good Friday.  I'm not completely sure of the reasons, but think that, like Pancake Day, it's another food feast related to abstinence at Lent.  In this case, those foods which were forbidden during Lent, eggs, butter, milk etc, are once again used to make a delicious dish, in this case a tasty bun.

I determined to make my Hot Cross Buns this morning but things were working against me and it wasn't long before I realised I was running out of time.  Hot Cross Buns are delicious to eat, but take up a lot of time in preparation with bursts of activity interspersed with 20 or 30 minutes wait whilst the dough proves.

Admitting defeat, I turned to the internet for a simple recipe where I could throw everything in a pan and walk away...  and yes, the pan turned out to be my bread maker.  I use my bread maker a lot, but have only ever used it to make...well, bread!  But the recipe seemed easy and gave me the time I needed for other things.  I'll repeat the recipe here, but a big thanks to Bella Online for the original recipe.  I have changed just a couple of small things in that I glazed the buns with warmed honey and omitted the cross!

Well, omitted, is a polite way to say "forgot".  I made the buns, prepared the oven and popped them in before putting together a piping bag to add the cross.... it was only then that I remembered the cross has to go on the buns BEFORE they go in the oven.

The finished buns are not the most gorgeous buns I have ever made and they didn't rise very well.  However, I want to say that I have no doubt that the problems reflect the state of my attention in the kitchen today and are no reflection on the recipe from Bella Online.  They do, however, taste truly amazing.

My own buns     From Bella Online

dough 1/4 cup water - at room temperature or slightly above 1/2 cup lukewarm milk 1/4 cup melted butter 1 egg, lightly beaten 3-1/2 cups all purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar 1-1/2 tsp. active dry yeast 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. nutmeg pinch of ground cloves pinch of allspice 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup golden raisins 1/4 cup finely chopped, mixed candied fruit glaze 2 Tablespoons of honey, gently warmed

Although it's not what is recommended in the original recipe, I always use a mixture of flour and water to make the cross, and pipe it on just before putting the buns in the oven.

 

Preparation -
Place all the dough ingredients, except the raisins and fruit, in the bread machine pan. Set on the dough only cycle. Add the raisins and candied fruit at the bread machine's signal for adding extra ingredients. Remove the dough from the bread machine at end of dough cycle. Place it in a bowl, cover with a cloth and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Shape the pieces into balls and place them 3 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in warm place until almost doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour. Bake in a preheated oven at 375º for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light brown on top. Remove from the oven. Place the baking sheet full of buns on a wire rack to cool. Prepare the glaze, then spread it over the warm buns. Let the buns continue to cool on the baking sheet.

 

Oh, The top picture above is of my own attempt but the second picture is the "official" photo from Bella Online, which I thought looked better.

Creamy Rice Pudding

9 This is the real thing – a mass of creamy rice and a thick brown speckled nutmeg skin. Don't forget to take a sharp knife and scrape off all the bits of caramelised skin that stick to the edges...

 

Serves 4-6
Preparation time.  -  about 5 minutes
Cooking time  2 hrs

 

Ingredients
150g pudding rice
410g can evaporated milk
150ml single cream (crème liquide)
950ml semi skimmed milk(approx)
75g Golden granulated sugar
ground nutmeg(1 whole clove ground)
a knob of butter

You will also need a round ovenproof dish and lid, with a diameter of about 8 inches (20 cm) and 4 inches (10 cm) deep, lightly buttered.

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 2, 300°F (150°C).
• Mix milk, evaporated milk and cream (1 can evap, 250ml crème liquide, make upto 1 1/2 litres with semi skimmed milk.)
• For American measures use a can of Evaporated milk, refill the can with 2% milk and add that then add 3fl ozs single cream and if necessary, make up  to 1 1/2 quarts with more milk
• Put the milk, rice and sugar in the dish to soak…. Preferably overnight, but you can skip the overnight soak.
• Give all the ingredients a good stir.
• Cover the surface with ground nutmeg…then cover with nutmeg again…then cover with nutmeg again… Lots of nutmeg..  (equivalent to one whole clove of nutmeg if you’re grinding)  You'll have guessed that I like LOTS of nutmeg, but the amount can be adjusted to your taste.
• Dot bits of butter on the surface
• cover with lid and put the dish in the centre of a preheated (150C)oven.
• Stir again after 30 minutes cooking
• Stir a further time after a further 30 minutes cooking. Add an extra covering of nutmeg to flavour the skin
• Cook for further 60 minutes (2 hours total cooking time)

Enjoy the dish……

Saturday night sauce with Pasta

I tend to cook a roast dinner on Sunday and see that as the "first" meal of the week.  Of course, it's not necessarily meat and it not necessarily roasted... but you get the idea.

One of the results of this is that I like to use up whatever is in the fridge on a Saturday night, that is if I haven't been dragged out to eat in a restaurant somewhere....  Well, I can live in hope can't ???

The way this meal often works is I think of a dish I would quite like to make, but then simply adapt it as I cook so that I can include whatever I want to use up.

This week, I decided to make a spaghetti bolognese, although I'm sure the purists will realise that it is far removed from the true bolognese sauce served in Bologna.   This one turned out quite nice so I have tried to remember what I did....

INGREDIENTS

about 400gms ground beef
1 can plum tomatoes
1 medium Onion
1 rasher of bacon
1 nice eating apple
a few peas
Mushrooms
a handful of herbes de Provence
a lot of concentrated tomato purée
Some apple juice
enough spaghetti for 4

METHOD

• In a frying pan I fried the beef and the herbes de provence in a little olive oil then set aside in a saucepan
• Next I fried the onion, roughly chopped, again in a drop of olive oil and added to the sauce pan
• The rasher of bacon was next, torn into little pieces and fried before adding to the sauce pan
• Into the saucepan I then added the can of tomatoes, the tomato purée, the apple, peeled and cored and cut into small pieces and the apple juice to keep it moist
• At this point I also added a slug of sherry as I didn't have any red wine open
• The fridge revealed a small dish of left over cooked peas and these were added to the pot as well as all the mushrooms I found
• I brought everything to a rolling boil for a minute or two and then reduced the heat to a simmer for about 30 mins
• Whilst that was cooking, I dropped the spaghetti into a large sauce pan of boiling salted water to cook
• When cooked, I drained the spaghetti, rinsed with boiling water, returned to the pan, added a little olive oil, neated it and then shook the pan vigorously to coat before turning out onto the serving dish and piling the sauce in the middle
• Garnish with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and some fresh parsley

Pancake Day

I'm still in the UK, getting ready for my return to the Kitchen Garden in France and today is Pancake Day.

I love pancake day and it brings back many fond memories...

As a child, my mother always made pancakes on Pancake Day and it was a real treat.   Not just for me, either, as my father loved them possibly a little more than I did.  He certainly always got more!

Today also bring back memories of fun evenings with friends.   I remember back probably 30 years ago.  I was living in south Wales and one day I was telling one of my fiends that I'd be making pancakes that evening as it was pancake day.  She looked at me incredulously and simply asked, "Do you know how to make pancakes?"

"Come and see!" I replied

The result was a tradition that we built up over the next 20 odd years where, every pancake day, she and her husband, came for dinner and to help make pancakes.  Thinking back, I don't know how we ever managed to make a single pancake as there was so much giggling going on in the kitchen.

Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras as it is otherwise called, is an old Christian festival dating back 1000 years where there is a feast on the last day before lent, in order to use up the foods that should not be eaten during that time.

In England, since the 15th century, the food has been used up by making pancakes, hence the name "Pancake Day".  The biggest pancake ever made was made in Rochdale in 1994 and measured 15 metres, about 50 feet, in diameter and weighing in at 3 tonnes (6600 lbs).   There is also a tradition in the Buckinghamshire town of Olney to hold a pancake race on Pancake day, where contestants, who must be housewives who have lived in the town for more than six months and wear an apron and scarf or hat, run a race whilst tossing a pancake.

It's quite hard taking a photo of yourself, tossing a pancake, using time delay to allow yourself to get back into the photo, pick up the pan and actually toss the pancake, only to find that it went higher than you hoped and was almost out of the frame!!!

My own recipe is very simple

Basic Pancake Batter

(makes eight) 
100g plain flour
Pinch of salt
3 large eggs
200ml milk
A little oil for frying

Place the flour, salt and eggs in a large bowl with half the milk. Whisk until the mixture is lump-free. Add the remaining milk and whisk again until smooth. If you prefer place all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend until smooth, Pour the batter into a jug. The batter can be made in advance and chilled for up to eight hours before use.
Heat a 20cm/8in diameter non-stick frying pan until hot, drizzle a little oil over the centre and wipe it around with a piece of kitchen paper. Now pour a little of the batter into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the batter thinly and evenly over the base. Cook for two minutes or until the top is set and the base golden. Turn the pancake over with a spatula or if you are feeling brave, flip the pancake!
Cook for a further one to two minutes or until the base is golden. Transfer to a plate and interleave with greaseproof paper, keep warm. Use the batter and a little more oil to make a further seven pancakes in the same way.

• Serve simply by dusting with sugar, adding a squeeze of lemon and rolling.
• OR, as soon as you have titled the pan to spread the batter sprinkle in a few sultanas then cook as before.
• I have a friend who insists on taking the pancake but adding golden syrup instead of sugar and lemon

or try them in the following recipe idea.

French Mushroom, Ham & Goats Cheese Crepe
Fill the pancakes with sliced mushrooms sauteed in oil, a slice of ham, then top with thinly sliced goats cheese. Fold up to enclose the filling then pop under a hot grill until the cheese begins to melt. Serve scattered with flat parsley.

OH, I used to make the batter in the traditional way adding the milk, beating, adding more milk, beating again etc.  Now... I just throw everything into a food processor and let it do the work.  I can't tell the difference.

Fish Cakes

Friday in our house is fish night.   Actually, it rarely works like that but that is the idea.   I try and make sure that I eat at least one fish meal every week and, in order to keep tabs on it, I set aside Friday....  If I've not eaten fish in the week then I will have it on Friday....

This week was no exception and, as I hadn't eaten a fish meal I got some white fish out of the freezer...not quite deciding what to do with it...

After some debate... i.e. talking to myself!!!  I decided to make fish cakes and soon found a suitable recipe that I could adapt.

Here's what I did....

	INGREDIENTS 300 gms white Fish 400 gms  Potato A little butter 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1 1/2 tablespoons capers, drained 2 small gherkins (chopped) 2 hard boiled egg, peeled and chopped small paprika pepper
For the crumb coating	Wholemeal Breadcrumbs a teaspoon grated nutmeg 1 egg, beaten
For the sauce	Mayonaise 2 gherkins finely chopped a little English mustard

 

first I poached the fish in a little salted milk

Then I boiled  the potatoes in the same milk until they were ready to mash and drained them, reserving the milk

Next I mashed them to a creamy consistency using the knob of butter and some of the reserved milk.

After I had prepared the above things, I mixed all the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl  and added a little more of the milk as needed to help bind it all together.  I mixed well and adjusted the seasoning by adding ground black pepper and salt to taste

Once it was all thoroughly mixed together I formed some balls, I made 8, tightly squeezing the mixture together.

Next I coated the balls by rolling them in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs, placing each finished ball on a board lightly covered in more breadcrumbs.

Finally, I flattened the balls into cakes turning over so that they remained well coated.

To make the tartar sauce I simply mixed together the chopped gherkins and the mayonaise, adding the mustard to taste before leaving to stand until I was ready to serve.

I  fried the fish cakes in a dash of olive oil, over a high heat turning every couple of minutes until they were golden brown.

I served with a garnish of fresh salad leaves and tartar sauce