SUMMER VERSION OF SUNDAY ROAST CHICKEN

Finally some warm weather so we decided to dust off the rotisserie for our weber. Made a rosemary and garlic butter to put under the skin on the breast of the chicken. Julia taught me how to do this, just melt some butter and add whatever chopped herb you would like and some garlic. Then let set in fridge or freezer, depending on how much time you have. You loosen the skin over the breast of the chicken and put pats of the butter all over the breast. I also put a medium, halved onion in the cavity, with some more garlic and rosemary sprigs. Chicken takes just over an hour, but varies of course depending on the weight and heat of your coals. It was pretty good. Oh yes, and Alan has a pretty interesting way of trussing the chicken, but, hey, it works!

Just the two of us....

Saturday night dinner after a busy day so not a lot of time. As has become a habit, grabbed the latest Gourmet mag to browse while watching Joseph's soccer game. We had decided it was going to be a fish night and found Greek Style Mahimahi, 'active time 15min start to finish 30min', perfect! Could not get Mahimahi but Striped Sea Bass proved a great substitute. It was delicious and I will definitely do it again, little different from most fish dishes I usually do. Suggested accompaniment was an Orzo and fennel dish Did not want to do orzo but it reminded me of a dish Charlotte had suggested a while ago which is oven roasted Fennel, potato and onion. Very simple, you cut all three into about half inch slices, toss with some oil, add a herb if you fancy and have some around and roast for about half an hour in a 425 ish oven. It is a great combination, I like to use thin skinned potatoes that do not need peeling, like yukon golds. I always like to have something green on the plate so I added some baby courgettes for the last 10 minutes. A basic tomato salad was included with the fish recipe and that was it for us - yum!

Memorial Day with friends

This tradition has been going for a few years now, as we have no family in the US (well, we sort of do but that should be the subject of another blog!), some of our lovely American friends join us at key holidays. It is often the first BBQ of the season but this year the weather forecast was not good. Decided to do meat in the oven but salads alongside, and leave the decision to eat inside or out to the last minute. As it turned out it was the right choice, we started outside for cocktails but rain sent us running inside within 15 minutes! Charlotte brought a wonderful shrimp with dill dip for appetiser and I made a Herb Roasted Pork Loin (from a recent Gourmet magazine) accompanied by Delia's corn salsa, a green salad and crusty bread. The Pork loin was disappointing, I have to say. Could have been that I misread the amount of herbs required and I did not have enough, or that it was ordinary pork which, we all know, has been bread to be so lean that it ends up dry all too easily and really doesn't have much flavour. It was not dry at all and luckily the sauce was delicious, and it did smell great while it was cooking! My guests were complimentary but I think they were just being polite! The corn salsa was as good as ever and the green salad was great. I had been given some white balsamic vinegar last Christmas and a green lemon oil which I used for the dressing, so felt good about those at least!
We finished the meal with a Baked raspberry tart which was excellent so I think my reputation is not entirely blown! Sadly that recipe was from Cooks Illustrated and you cannot get the recipes for free, will put it up once I get it figured out. Also did some Key Lime bars as I was feeding 12 people. Also pretty good but another Cooks Illustrated recipe so can't post a link right now.

FRIDAY NIGHT GIRL'S DINNER

OK, Alan was there too! It was one of the few warm evenings in early May and we sat outside for drinks then enjoyed a Spiced pork loin with baby carrots. I could do the prep before they arrived, just had to brown the meat then put in hot oven while we finished out drinks. Smelled great while it was cooking too! Served with a few smashed potatoes and finished the meal with the delicious Drunken goat cheese from Costco and some fruit. Perfect!

DINNER FOR THE TAVERNAS

Charlotte is a wonderful friend. She has had surgery recently and I wanted to cook a meal for her family. Decided on Cottage pie, always a crowd pleaser! I have been using a Delia Smith recipe for years, which I adapt. For those who don't know, this is Shepherd's pie when made with lamb and Cottage when made with beef. I didn't do the leek topping this time as I'm not sure Charlotte's kids would like it, and I add more butter than the recipe says to the mash! I also leave out the grated cheese on the potatoes, just don't think it needs it.I always serve this with peas and I like to add some Worcestershire sauce too. By the way, the final picture is before it is cooked in the oven as this will be done before they eat it tomorrow night.

POACHED EGGS

Made these for Sunday breakfast today and decided to include them as apparently many people have trouble poaching eggs and I find it pretty easy! This is a method in the first of the How to Cook books by Delia Smith. Tried to find the recipe link but could not so I will describe it here. Pretty simple.....
Bring at least 2 inches of water to a simmer in a saute pan. This is the point where there are lots of little bubbles in the water. Break the eggs into small dishes or cups, one in each. Turn the heat down to low. Slide each egg carefully into the water. I start at 12 o'clock and work around clockwise so I can take them out in the same order they went in. I can do 5 at the most in my pan. Leave them for about 3 minutes. I test them by prodding the white with a metal spoon to check that it is firm, yolk will still be runny. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels. Use another paper towel to dry tops of eggs if necessary. Serve on hot buttered toast!

RAINY WEEKEND IN MAY

Had a somewhat impromptu small gathering on Saturday evening as the Derby Day party we were going to had been canceled. Started with some mozzarella and tomatoes which were pretty good. They were drizzled with virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, added some basil too, of course. Then had flank steak which had been marinated and Alan cooked to perfection on the BBQ. We have a charcoal Weber which we love, will never switch over to gas! Had a green salad with that and a delicious corn salad that Julia brought. Loaf of Wilton's own Wave Hill bread completed the meal. Made Whoopie pies for the kids (see earlier post) and we had a cheesecake that Alan had bought which was pretty good.

DESSERT FOR JULIA

We were heading to Julia's for Sunday dinner and she asked me to bring dessert, something healthy, as it is spring and we are both noticing that our summer clothes are feeling a touch on the tight side! I found a great looking Strawberry and Orange salad in the current Bon Appetit, and it was pretty good. I took some vanilla ice cream for the kids to have with. What actually happened is that they only had the ice cream! Oh well, good intentions. Was also great to use the very new and fresh mint from my garden which is just popping up!