PIE DAY!

The Beauty team at work have a tradition of an annual pie day.  I think it is one of the Creative Director's birthday, and she is a pie lover.  The deal is you sign up to provide your pie at a certain time then you can partake with other contributions.  I would have to say that the interpretation of 'pie' was pretty loose.  I was a little concerned about bringing a tart but I had no need to worry, there were cakes, quiches and a really interesting one to start the day, bacon and corn pie!  It was not a quiche as you might have guessed, but really seemed like a pastry sheet scattered with bacon, corn and some red onion, I think.  My offering was the raspberry tart, thanks to Amy for the pic, and it was pretty well received. I  posted this tart some time ago but have been wanting to make it again, and have still not copied the recipe as a link.  PLEASE Cooks Illustrated, make your recipes available for all!

CHICKEN TAGINE

The current request from Alan is to cook something at the weekend that will keep well for at least one more meal during the week, probably by about Thursday.  Found this in my clippings from NYT and it checked all the boxes, new and interesting for me to try as well as re-heatable! CHICKEN TAGINE WITH EGGPLANT AND OLIVES.  I have not eating Tagine often but always really enjoyed it when I have so pretty keen to try this.
Verdict was pretty good, Alan and I enjoyed, Joseph not so much. I thought the flavours were excellent and I could have done with a bit more juices, might increase the chicken stock next time I do this.
Some notes - I clearly do not have a Tagine, I cooked it in a deep frying pan with a lid and finished it in the oven for the final 40 minutes at 350 degrees.  I will definitely do this again, suppose when Joseph is not home for dinner!

Dessert for my Valentines!

We have never enjoyed going out for dinner on Valentine's night - just as well at the moment! Alan would cook the 3 of us something delicious and, after spotting this recipe, I offered to do dessert knowing I could pull this off after coming home from work.
DARK CHOCOLATE CHERRY GANACHE BARS

This is really chocolate shortbread with some wonderful chocolate frosting.  I made the shortbread part on the Sunday before the big day and of course I did not follow the recipe exactly.  The Cherry part is a couple of tablespoons of jam which goes between the base and the chocolate. I had some Bonne Maman raspberry preserves and decided to use that.  For the liquor I used that vintage Remy Martin that I have mentioned before, always a treat!  I melted the chocolate in the microwave, as opposed to stovetop, much easier as you only use one dish, rather than the heatproof bowl over a saucepan of water.  I simply whipped in the cream (which was slightly warmed) and then the cognac once the chocolate was melted.  As I did this just before we ate, I did not have time to put in fridge to chill until firm.  When we ate it the top was the consistency of frosting and it was really delicious! I did put the leftovers in the fridge and tasted it the next night (well, I had to, for research!) and it was also pretty good once the chocolate had firmed up but I must say I preferred it the way we had it freshly made. This will definitely go in the 'do this again' pile of recipes. Oh, and no prizes for guessing where the roses in the background came from!

DUCK BREASTS FOR DINNER

I love duck breasts, although I do not have them that often.  Spotted this recipe in NYTimes a few weeks ago and have been waiting for the right moment to cook them. Our supermarket doesn't always have them either but I saw them there last weekend and the plan stated taking shape!
January is a quiet month for us usually, have been doing a no alcohol month for a few years now and that goes along perfectly with catching up on movies prior to the Oscars. We had a DVD to watch last night, The Ides of March, which was enjoyable, almost as much as the duck! Here is the recipe link., Peppered Duck Breast with Red Wine Sauce

Few notes: They were not Muscovy duck breasts which I don't think mattered at all except mine weighed closer to half a pound rather than a pound.  I did one each which was really a bit too much but no-one was looking!! I still used the same timings and they were done exactly as I like them, I did the second side for 5 minutes, which was supposed to be fore medium-rare.
The sauce was exceptional and easy.  This would be a great dish for entertaining as you can do the sauce ahead of time.  And yes, it was very tempting to drink a glass of the red wine I opened for the sauce but I managed not to!

MOM, THIS COULD BE BEST BIRTHDAY CAKE YET....

Most of my friends know that I always do a chocolate cake for Joseph's birthday. For years I had been cheating and using a Duncan Hines mix!!!!! Shocker, I know.  It all started when I asked a friend and chef for a good chocolate cake recipe when Joseph was around 4, as I was finding that my English recipes didn't seem to work so well here, and truthfully, I hadn't baked too many chocolate cakes. The friend knew it was for a 4 year old's birthday party and said I was crazy to bother to bake one from scratch, and so the cake from a mix thing started.  I did always make my own Butter icing/frosting, honest!  A year ago I made a wonderful cake, recipe from Rosalind,  who had brought it to my birthday party earlier in the year. (I was sure I had posted it but it seems not!)  This cake was a labour of love for sure, but well worth it in my opinion, here is a pic, looks pretty similar, suppose it is my frosting style but it was much bigger and it was really delicious!

So, as the birthday drew nigh I asked Joseph if he would like me to repeat the cake this year and he said: 'No, let's go back to the one you used to make',  so disappointing, I LOVED last year's cake.  However, I really wanted to improve on the packet mix cake and looked for a recipe for traditional chocolate cake.  Turned to Cooks Illustrated, of course and there found an 'Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake' recipe that looked about right to me.  As I have said before, I cannot post a link, you need to subscribe to CI, most annoying.  I even followed the icing recipe, no brainer, it had lots of chocolate and butter so of course was yummy.  BINGO!  Joseph loved it, no fretting next year, I will know exactly what to do!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

We pretty much did 5 party nights in a row, starting on the 23rd with the wonderful relaxed evening hosted by the Lees,  a great traditional we have enjoyed most years for the past 7 years or so. I took a Panettone Bread and Butter pudding, which I repeated on Christmas Day, luckily to a different crowd and Alan was sworn not to  let on! This recipe, like the best of them, has evolved over the years.  I had cut the starting point out of the London Sunday Times a long while ago.  The column was written by Elizabeth David and she said she had adapted the recipe from Anton Mosiman, now brought to you with my  updates.............

I am not a big fan of Panettone but had received one as a gift and was wondering what to do with it and the best, in my humble opinion, bread and butter pudding was born!  Use the recipe link above but substitute the rolls for panettone; once you have poured the custard around the bread leave it to soak for about half an hour (this was Ms David's suggestion and I'm sticking with it) before cooking. I have never done the pressing down part after 30 mins either, this is a very forgiving recipe, don't fuss over it, it is always delicious! Serve with a rum butter sauce:

Combine in a small saucepan, on medium heat:

• Half stick of butter (2ozs)
• quarter cup of brown sugar (any sugar is fine!)
• half cup of heavy or whipping cream

when butter has melted remove from heat and add

• 4 TBSPS dark rum.  

Reheat gently before serving.
This pudding is best served warm, or at least room temperature, not cold. I would not recommend heating in the microwave as you will overcook the custard.  I usually put back into  a warm oven for about 20 mins before serving.

ROAST CHICKEN - AGAIN, SERIOUSLY?
Its Sunday, Alan wants roast chicken, Joseph is out for dinner so turned to Epicurious and found this recipe, Chicken al Mattone.  It was delicious and took less time than my usual stuffed and roast chicken, mostly because it is butterflied. Apparently the recipe is from a restaurant Sfoglia in NYC which I have never been to.  It is not on their site so here is the recipe:

Cut the backbone from a 4 lb chicken, press down on breast to flatten it.  In small bowl mix 2 Tsps lemon juice, 2 Tsps olive oil, 1 Tsp chopped rosemary and 2 crushed garlic cloves.  Rub mixture all over chicken and marinate at least 4 hours or overnight in fridge,
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, season chicken with kosher salt and fresh pepper.  Heat 1Tsp olive oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium/high heat.  Add chicken, skin side down and cook until golden brown, about 7 minutes - do not turn over. Place something heavy (foil wrapped brick, cast iron skillet) on top of the chicken and roast in oven for 30 minutes.  Remove weight and turn chicken over, continue to roast for about another 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, sprinkle with  another 2 Tsps lemon juice,  chopped Italian parsley and 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper.  Let rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

Really enjoyed it but did miss the gravy!  Best served with a vegetable dish that is moist or saucy, I would suggest.  Full disclosure, I did not bother with the weight, maybe I will next time and see if it makes any difference!  Also, the one pictured here I cooked on the grill for about 40 minutes and it was perfect but I have done the saute/oven method too. I have substituted sage for the rosemary as I have a lot in my garden and I like that version just as much as rosemary.