DESSRT FOR THE GIRLS

Julia and I were invited to dinner at Val's, along with Angela & Lisa who sadly could not make it. I had not seen Val all summer and was really looking forward to the evening, Val is fun to be with and a great cook. I was taking dessert. I had been thinking about Fig tart for a few weeks, wanting to make it but somehow it just had not happened. I was a little concerned that I had left it too late and would be able to find the figs. Decided to check Grand Central Market on Friday evening on my way through and struck lucky! Next had a bit of a hunt for the recipe, had made this a few years ago and it was great. My usually pretty reliable memory was failing me - but eventually found it on BBC Good food and there it was! Thank goodness: Honey Roasted Fig & Almond Tart. I was pretty happy with it, maybe could have cooked for a little less time, not sure what happened, had to convert oven temp from C to F, but that is something I do often. Oh well, maybe this time I made a mistake but I think it came out of the oven in the nick of time! As there were only 3 of us I was able to leave some with Val and bring home a piece for Alan. Able to confirm the next day that it was delicious! Another thought is that I too am getting something out of this blog in that it has a log of recipes I use so would not have to hunt again for it....... YAY, all good!
UPDATE: Did this again for a wonderful country weekend with Iain & Rick, as I feel we have to make the most of the short fig season. Noticed that you are supposed to reduce the oven temp for the main baking of the tart, which I did and the result was better! Julia tasted both tarts and said she did not notice, it was a compliment, they were both good, but I was happy to discover the solution. The other thing is that the recipe calls for bought pastry. Well, maybe in the UK you can buy good short pastry but I have not found it in the USA and it si pretty quick to make so that is what I do. The recipe I used is from Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie's Italy', Crostata di fichi. I cannot find it online, sadly, but found something pretty similar: Only difference I can see is that I added some vanilla (a few seeds scraped from a pod or a drop of essence) and the zest of a lemon. BTW, I did use this recipe once to make the tart and it just did not work for me, unusually as I am Jamie fan!
Enjoy!

GM is back in town! PART 2

(Read below first - this was an experiment.) Anyway, roasting of the shanks was great, as hopefully you can see with the pics below. In fact, every time I do this I think I should just roast & serve them at this stage - maybe one day I will remember and do that! So, have another little sequence here of the layers. My carrots were fairly skinny so cut them large, as I like them not to get mushy. It worked, if anything they were almost too 'al dente' but popular opinion was that they were better that way than overcooked. Don't think the final plated shot does this dish justice; as usual in too much of a rush to eat while it's hot, rather than spend too much time on the photo! That's my excuse and I am sticking to it! Other thing to mention that I was undecided about the potato topping. It is not traditional mash; you bake the potatoes, which seems like a great idea as the oven is hot roasting the shanks. However, scooping the cooked potato out of the skins is more time consuming that peeling them. They were also a touch lumpy when I did the topping and I was rehearsing my excuses. BUT, I was converted once I tasted it. The lumps disappeared during the final baking and doing the potato this way meant it kept its character, did not merge with the creamed spinach. I am now a convert and will do this again. Julia provided a delicious raspberry tart for dessert. Did I mention that I am on a diet??!

GM is back in town! PART ONE

We all miss our dear friends the O'Connells who moved to Argentina about 6 years ago. GM usually visits a few times a year and it is always a good reason to get some friends together. It was supposed to be a chilly and rainy Saturday so I decided on Braised Lamb Shank Shepherds's pie with Creamed Spinach. Have done this a couple of times but not for a while. It is a pretty easy dish but you do spend some time in the kitchen for this dish. Luckily for me it is a welcome break from a busy work life, and so long as I have the time I am never happier than being in my kitchen, listening to BBC radio 4 with the anticipation of a fun evening with friends ahead.

ROAST CHICKEN - AGAIN BUT DIFFERENT

It was a rainy late September day, and Alan requested roast chicken for dinner - shocker! I grabbed a few Gourmets and Bon Appetits when I took Joseph to his riding lesson, hoping to find something vaguely along the lines of roast chicken but that I would be excited to cook. The first issue I flicked through was Bon Appetit from Feb 2009 and it had SPECIAL SUNDAY ROAST CHICKEN. Not that different from my old standby, but different enough. I changed a few things, of course:

Added stuffing, with sage, which the recipe used anyway.

Made a giblet stock which I used for the gravy instead of white wine.

Market did not have mustard greens so used Arugula.

Did not like the idea of putting chicken fat on the Arugula so used my gravy instead.

It was pretty good, not sure I will switch this for the old standby but I love the idea of serving on a bed of arugula, will definitely do this again!

CATCHING UP......

TURTLE BROWNIES

Had a wonderful Labour Day dinner with the Tavernas, her parents were visiting which always makes for a fun & interesting evening. Julia joined the party too. I was given the dessert course, did the NO BAKE BERRY PIE as I know that John really likes it but added Turtle Brownies to make the kids happy, and they were! Actually, the grown ups could not resist them either. Happened by accident really, was looking through my Cooks Illustrated collection for the best Brownie recipe and come across this one while I was looking. It was quite a bit more effort, I have to admit, but worth it I would say, and it seems the recipients would too! (sorry pic is a little soft - can I blame the camera??!!) Recipe to follow soon.....

Back to the 2 of us

Quiet Saturday night and a fridge full of bits and pieces to use up. Combine that with Dave mentioning Spanish fish stew last Wednesday resulted in this fish soup/stew. Looked for a recipe on Epicurious and came up with this: Seafood 'Cataplana' with Saffron, Vermouth and Sorrel. Used it as inspiration really, added a portobello as it was in the fridge, a jalapeno, because I was in the mood for something a little spicy, and a big cheat, had chicken stock in the fridge so used that instead of fish stock. Also had some cilantro so did not bother to buy sorrel. Well, it was delicious, probably could never repeat it!

PARTY WEEKEND DESSERTS

Chelsey, Dave & Harlan are visiting so lots going on, and it's all fun! Had the family over for a BBQ, did a sausage fest which was pretty popular, fun and easy. I enjoyed doing the desserts:

CAPPUCINO CHEESECAKE, a Nigella Lawson recipe which is a bit of a staple of mine, good friends Val & Angela are big fans of this. I have included link to Nigella's London Cheesecake, of which his is a variation, nearest I can find for now, sorry!

Next is the NO BAKE BERRY PIE. This is a crumb crust with a berry puree, topped with fresh berries. Pretty easy, looks stunning and tastes mighty fine. One shortcut I take is not to sieve the cooked berries. I do not know anyone who is offended by those berry pips and blueberry skins. I also think it looks better with the 'marbled' effect you get. Enjoy, berry season pretty much over. Thanks again to Cooks Illustrated, please make your recipes more accessible!