tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33642132468112582912024-03-05T15:25:45.481+00:00Blue Cheese and MangoesBlue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-66618207825582896132013-02-18T16:55:00.004+00:002013-02-18T16:55:38.837+00:00So it's been a while...<br />
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<span lang="FR">Anyone stumbling across this blog will notice
that we haven’t posted for a long, long time. We apologise for this but
ultimately have decided that we needed to pursue other projects. That’s not to
say that we’ll never post again but at the moment we just don’t have the time
for it. It’s a shame because we have had lots of many happy memories in writing
it. We hope that you’ve enjoyed reading it too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="FR"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="FR">My personal project and current blogging
outlet is at <a href="http://thecheeseandi.blogspot.fr/">The Cheese and I</a>. This is where I have been documenting my
journey through the cheese industry in France. We invite you to have a look and
hope to maybe see you here again one day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-31575722603504594402012-03-13T22:21:00.001+00:002012-03-13T22:22:38.402+00:00Chocolate Lime Pie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtIHHnLvHWFXh6SjMZTZQLydHzSmZaaj-HWp6LSyEARa3YIul86QvmFuIfGt7eVpZtKhfUsk9eB5T-cKVyG8dnC08j74DO4NoOCbhRwM24zTcJpbC002Eumsgbd2z4cApZuj-oieJsrSi/s1600/IMG_5883.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtIHHnLvHWFXh6SjMZTZQLydHzSmZaaj-HWp6LSyEARa3YIul86QvmFuIfGt7eVpZtKhfUsk9eB5T-cKVyG8dnC08j74DO4NoOCbhRwM24zTcJpbC002Eumsgbd2z4cApZuj-oieJsrSi/s400/IMG_5883.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once again, it has been far too long. I could apologise for ages and explain that Matt has started working in the caves where cheese is matured and has really started living his dream, and that I've been working hard to make this new city feel like home. I could ramble on about the fact that there are new friends here now, there has been lots of French spoken; a festival of lights; a lot of good wine; a lot of good cheese, and a surprising amount of tasty offal. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Or, I could just say 'hey, I missed you guys, so I baked you a pie.'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_sdm5bEoqO_C-ZUmVUpOQ_yDdu5LvJ8NGIrA6JTIFnEFXvSKECbw9Tqovm1n6O7PuBqxoIjiAwCgLEUDNWaxJUMMhOAoUWJ_Olb8k_BcMdoFG3ueuJyP3UWaH8fj9E4Lg-h4q-akulXu/s1600/IMG_5901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_sdm5bEoqO_C-ZUmVUpOQ_yDdu5LvJ8NGIrA6JTIFnEFXvSKECbw9Tqovm1n6O7PuBqxoIjiAwCgLEUDNWaxJUMMhOAoUWJ_Olb8k_BcMdoFG3ueuJyP3UWaH8fj9E4Lg-h4q-akulXu/s400/IMG_5901.jpg" width="342" /></a></div>The other week I ventured into one of Lyon's bizarrer shops. This is smack bang in the middle of the gorgeous old part of town. It faces out onto the cobbled streets. Inside are barrels piled high with sweets. It's like a cinema pick'n'mix gone berserk. Oh, and there's a life size statue of Captain Jack Sparrow, looking all piratical and inviting. Very strange.<br />
<br />
Anyway, long story short I spent a frankly obscene amount of money on fried eggs and shrimps and fizzy cola bottles and sour laces and those giant fuzzy strawberry things and then ate them in front of Disney films. It was a good day.<br />
<br />
But, there were some important sweet treats sadly lacking from this little cavern of oddities. Chiefly rhubarb and custards (oh how I miss them) and chocolate limes - those acid green and exceedingly weird little beauties.<br />
<br />
The first, I shall keep searching for in their original boiled-sweety form. The second, I miss much less having discovered this recipe. Thank you Nigella. Deeply and truly!<br />
<br />
<b>Chocolate Lime Pie</b><br />
(Adapted from Nigella's <i>Kitchen</i>)<br />
<br />
I used speculoos biscuits instead of digestives and grated dark chocolate rather than chocolate chips in this version, but chiefly this was adapted because I don't have a food processor in my tiny tiny kitchen. I had to improvise and bash the biscuits and chocolate to hell and back with a rolling pin. It gives you a slightly chunkier crumb, but the chocolate flavour is definitely nice and intense. If you have a food processor and don't need to vent any frustration on some poor unsuspecting biscuits by hand, then it's probably easier to whizz the ingredients for the base together.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients</b>:<br />
<br />
300g speculoos biscuits<br />
1 large tablespoon cocoa powder<br />
50g melted butter<br />
50g finely chopped or grated dark chocolate<br />
400g condensed milk<br />
4 limes<br />
300ml double cream<br />
<br />
<b>Method</b>:<br />
<br />
1. Put the biscuits into a freezer bag with the dark chocolate and bash to a sandy consistency.<br />
2. Add the cocoa powder and pour the mixture into a large bowl, then add the melted butter and stir until everything's combined.<br />
3. Spoon the mixture into a fluted tart tin with a loose bottom and press it down firmly with the back of a spoon into a nice thick layer, then put the tin into the fridge.<br />
4. Zest the limes and leave them to one side.<br />
5. Put the condensed milk in a large bowl and whisk in the juice of all four limes.<br />
6. Using an electric beater, add the double cream and whisk until it's nice and thick.<br />
7. Spoon the filling into the chilled base, and spread it evenly, then put it back in the fridge to chill for at least four hours or preferably overnight.<br />
8. Sprinkle over the lime zest and a bit more grated chocolate to finish your pie, and serve chilled.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWk7dbGPUndbkFWpdOxmePjPGArK8NW008vmh6Gyt3pAV4zYbje0lHoLN42cwyMg9uqbqQMS0m1tYoQxQIMVhbFp1yz55-9bssQZdL9yPSEx_D6_GSOWj-SZwWp25OWI-eSdXeVS_zoK9w/s1600/IMG_5894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWk7dbGPUndbkFWpdOxmePjPGArK8NW008vmh6Gyt3pAV4zYbje0lHoLN42cwyMg9uqbqQMS0m1tYoQxQIMVhbFp1yz55-9bssQZdL9yPSEx_D6_GSOWj-SZwWp25OWI-eSdXeVS_zoK9w/s400/IMG_5894.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-47341611548605427412011-12-25T11:20:00.000+00:002011-12-25T11:20:09.032+00:00Merry Christmas / Joyeux NoelWe hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas, with food, family, friends and cheese!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhurkkSjZXKhQNYsS6NoLCHbuq3CqOtkLzfTCX4zP5uIQ0s2M-KUPP46VfoEv8a8Df1xThVNhkldv4iZyYro_m2wzmO_Z-DKlqsB1qJHHZvgvifgKnHziiuHxQECT1eRXI3vopbFS5i3eRD/s1600/IMG_5793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhurkkSjZXKhQNYsS6NoLCHbuq3CqOtkLzfTCX4zP5uIQ0s2M-KUPP46VfoEv8a8Df1xThVNhkldv4iZyYro_m2wzmO_Z-DKlqsB1qJHHZvgvifgKnHziiuHxQECT1eRXI3vopbFS5i3eRD/s400/IMG_5793.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
We've been a bit busy these last couple of months and have let the blog slip - Sorry about that!<br />
We're hoping to get back on top of it with all of our news and adventures in the new year.<br />
<br />
Matt's been working in a cheese shop in the run-up to Christmas and has been given a HUGE box of cheese as a present...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3YWfoZrB5j6mO9Ui-jsoekWimjAA18NSqAaaldJ09J70XLOMMYSQ3lMej5tfoD2_queDvWPETubsNXty3V3kFyqchltkAbt5xsVEQyE6drnMxREU_nu533dRMVgHtCLKlzEBJaIYisMU/s1600/IMG_5803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3YWfoZrB5j6mO9Ui-jsoekWimjAA18NSqAaaldJ09J70XLOMMYSQ3lMej5tfoD2_queDvWPETubsNXty3V3kFyqchltkAbt5xsVEQyE6drnMxREU_nu533dRMVgHtCLKlzEBJaIYisMU/s400/IMG_5803.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-58217545384109285842011-10-28T00:16:00.002+01:002011-10-28T00:18:30.381+01:00Chilli Jam<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">St Antonin is a smallish and rather picturesque town in the region. We dropped into the weekly market to see what the local producers had to offer. Amongst the large amount of excellent looking veg, cheese and charcuterie we spotted a stand of punnets of multicoloured chillis (picture below).</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Without question, they demanded to be purchased and turned into some kind of rainbow chilli death jam.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhTsfgvLn9fjmJ_JK_K5rqtqymIJIKA3P9a1XInmVeWwEQmW-pXyTMHT6Wqlv9xpjrCz_0SNRbe09zp-A0dSZFgLwjeNnelo8qqlQCEhaxj9VvQBy2_CSY8VNmQ0dlxiouXSgi3dNaOan/s1600/IMG_5355.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhTsfgvLn9fjmJ_JK_K5rqtqymIJIKA3P9a1XInmVeWwEQmW-pXyTMHT6Wqlv9xpjrCz_0SNRbe09zp-A0dSZFgLwjeNnelo8qqlQCEhaxj9VvQBy2_CSY8VNmQ0dlxiouXSgi3dNaOan/s400/IMG_5355.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The results were pleasing, although the end colour was a little more uniformly red than I had hoped for - guess we can't really call it rainbow death jam.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCtFVaayyPhWvdmuyeER6BpTOV_YwYo5Xk4Zg4xsuvv5ehGQvMcIFVzThYA6bi34IEKkGuOo_ercFwLq4AszsBQqp8REhgAzWZfkI2j6r1qBpwYPd2B-PgBScRKT_6GPG1XSjh87U_hy0/s400/IMG_5382.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
The <a href="http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chilli-jam-2692">chilli jam recipe</a> was based rather heavily on Nigella's but slightly amended to up the heat. The use of jam sugar (with pectin added) makes the whole process fairly easy. There's an obvious question though, what exactly do you do with chilli jam? I'm not quite sure what the answer is, but we seem to have got through nearly all of it already. Try it with cheese, with burgers, with curry, just on toast or out of the jar - it's surprisingly moreish. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmiPhrENyEG8gZZD_1R_GeAp_WRpDz67D4c92CWZXhzmeUTi-uVu9Shxcd-gge_szgOF1EdMAUV2bOogmx5FOwJZHVhqs7swYR89WS9ABbidsAX1HBp1vZQtF4qFXUBeXjoGVzp_jpUgKc/s1600/IMG_5370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmiPhrENyEG8gZZD_1R_GeAp_WRpDz67D4c92CWZXhzmeUTi-uVu9Shxcd-gge_szgOF1EdMAUV2bOogmx5FOwJZHVhqs7swYR89WS9ABbidsAX1HBp1vZQtF4qFXUBeXjoGVzp_jpUgKc/s200/IMG_5370.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgos2AKOnI4RNX6FfRdLZb2Jkpcdeofi7rK4TKLN8T24tPI9SKo1_337Dh_1qNQ0Yz6qJKpfEd-vxx7gVzrNNnNpXiyf0G0ZUv8HJwelK_JAhYCUqeY_ngFDnPNF8kXFxjdiA7T9a3a-oAq/s1600/IMG_5373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgos2AKOnI4RNX6FfRdLZb2Jkpcdeofi7rK4TKLN8T24tPI9SKo1_337Dh_1qNQ0Yz6qJKpfEd-vxx7gVzrNNnNpXiyf0G0ZUv8HJwelK_JAhYCUqeY_ngFDnPNF8kXFxjdiA7T9a3a-oAq/s200/IMG_5373.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b></b><br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
125g chillis<br />
125g red and green pepper <b></b><br />
500g jam sugar<br />
500ml cider vinegar (you probably won't need it all)<br />
Enough sealable, sterilised jars to handle up to 750ml of jam<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ozegn4z05yofL5UOkpFm06wwefiGjuFQij_9iyxx2ryYtiW-aXOiY6rS75QkewD7YYkl7Kac1YEkCGr6JQDUnMbJdhuzHjctgcrWPWEQw2O1oOOaq_iDWj3DT_VnJh9PgGzu9KLZNnrQ/s1600/IMG_5375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ozegn4z05yofL5UOkpFm06wwefiGjuFQij_9iyxx2ryYtiW-aXOiY6rS75QkewD7YYkl7Kac1YEkCGr6JQDUnMbJdhuzHjctgcrWPWEQw2O1oOOaq_iDWj3DT_VnJh9PgGzu9KLZNnrQ/s400/IMG_5375.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol><li>Make sure that you know what you're doing with your sterilised jars, they need to be ready about 30 - 45 minutes after you start.</li>
<li>Pick your chillis and roughly chop and deseed them. As tempting as it is to leave the seeds in, it will detract from the look of the jam (I know this to my cost). If you want to heat up the jam, change the ratio of the chilli to pepper.</li>
<li>Similarly chop and deseed the peppers and put them in a blender with the chillis.</li>
<li>Blend.</li>
<li>In a big pan, dissolve the sugar in 300ml of the vinegar over a medium heat, once dissolved, add the chopped chillis and peppers and put up the heat for a serious boil for 10 minutes or so.</li>
<li>Beware of this bit, it carries serious risk of tongue burning. Take some out on a spoon and let it cool (make sure it's cool!) now taste it. The sugar/vinegar balance needs to be right, when I followed Nigella with a 1:1 mix, it seemed overly sweet and needed a bit of a boost to the sourness. Add some vinegar to correct the balance. Potentially you could add some more chilli if you need to boost the heat.</li>
<li>Let the jam cool a little and jar it up.</li>
<li>When it's cooled completely crack open a jar and tuck in.<b><br />
</b></li>
</ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkRwnyGCTC237WSW_Qvp-_ynf5FOe581mJD2pwNeRezoz7HH5eafiCTFo1K_C1OlGeF06eJgVunc8bpeRaM_S1xXjRNUlNomn1BPPJXQjF4YHM-EY0vKFmnq5sRzjgJj9ELNfYoYYk2xJ/s1600/IMG_5334_edited-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkRwnyGCTC237WSW_Qvp-_ynf5FOe581mJD2pwNeRezoz7HH5eafiCTFo1K_C1OlGeF06eJgVunc8bpeRaM_S1xXjRNUlNomn1BPPJXQjF4YHM-EY0vKFmnq5sRzjgJj9ELNfYoYYk2xJ/s400/IMG_5334_edited-1.jpg" /></a> </div>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-59760356288144060632011-10-16T12:25:00.000+01:002011-10-16T12:25:44.847+01:00Matt and Jen are 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today we have been together for three years. What better way to celebrate than eggs royale on the balcony, overlooking the river in the gloriously warm French sun.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Best wishes all!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiISk5GFwPcUksWKur4_pDJtcEsoesYJ8f8hdU859suElOu7nzAVPC0Mj5sPS4DRx7iU6KOZQPUDi2iw4egA06R_xyylJxD_dH_G3GJzkK9sPxA3yM8Jjqk1wMsfejlBCj7Jgs5lCa7GAGf/s400/IMG_5472.jpg" width="400" /></div>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-46890752357167238132011-09-26T22:38:00.007+01:002011-09-26T22:43:28.640+01:00Amelie's Foie Gras<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTPs_psHjTocvJWR6_Or6gjtnGvnd9GAoXxt18yrL4j7FDfdvGeEgB8cSEdOkemle7-xQ32MC-TboseBA8Q6WHE4FNwhPrIjLroUm19ujCg_iqBWr_OQXw50TLh5Su0xqC3hqrkYJdXKO/s1600/IMG_5203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTPs_psHjTocvJWR6_Or6gjtnGvnd9GAoXxt18yrL4j7FDfdvGeEgB8cSEdOkemle7-xQ32MC-TboseBA8Q6WHE4FNwhPrIjLroUm19ujCg_iqBWr_OQXw50TLh5Su0xqC3hqrkYJdXKO/s400/IMG_5203.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On Thursday we went to visit another local producer - </span><i><a href="http://www.lesdelicesdamelie.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Les Delices D'Amelie</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. This young couple have been making foie gras and other duck produce for 10 years.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when we pulled up outside Jean Luc and Amelie's little farm. Foie gras is one of those delicacies that insights a bit of an ethical furore. To be frank, I'm not certain what I think of it. From a purely gastronomic point of view, I find it very interesting (and delicious), but I am aware that the process by which it is made is not exactly pleasant for the birds. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I don't want to put forward an argument for or against foie gras here, but I would like to share what we learned from our visit to the farm, as it helped us to make a more informed decision about what it was we were buying and eating. </span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Firstly comes the question, in case some of you aren't sure, what exactly </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">is</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> this foie gras?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Foie gras is the fattened liver of a goose or duck. Goose foie gras is still available, but in France today it's mostly duck foie gras that is produced and consumed, for its richer, more complex flavour. There are strict rules that must be adhered to in order for the livers to be classified as bona fide foie gras. Livers that are too heavy or fatty, or not fatty enough don't make the grade, and instead are mixed together and emulsified to make something called 'bloc de foie gras', which is smoother and more buttery, but with slightly less subtlety. Livers that meet all the criteria can be sold raw, to prepare at home, or seasoned, cooked and jarred to eat with crusty bread and good company. These are known as ‘foie gras entier’, but, confusingly, buying a foie gras entier doesn’t mean you’re getting the entire liver, it could be a piece of liver. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Clear as mud? Good.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are four stages to the production of foie gras. Firstly comes the elevage, or raising of the ducks. At Jean-Luc and Amelie’s farm, the ducklings are taken in at a very young age, and allowed to roam in large enclosures for fourteen weeks until they’re ready for the next stage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Next comes the controversial bit. The ‘gavage’ or force feeding. The ducks are fed a large quantity of grain twice a day, every day for 15 days, to swell and engorge their livers before slaughtering. Foie gras gets a lot of bad press for making the birds ill during this process – rather like having cirrhosis forced upon a human. It was interesting to learn from Amelie that this is not actually the case. The ducks would, in the wild, eat an increased amount of food to fatten themselves up before migration, and this fat would all be stored around the liver. The swelling of the liver is also apparently completely reversible, so should you have a change of heart mid gavage and decide to let Mr Quack into the wild, as free as the wind, then his liver would soon return to normal size. So, however unnatural the process of gavage may be, at least the result is a natural one.</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxl3JnKiEurL6JDUhl_H6Od7fpyIVPM29kyeAku85YA8OZq3z2-U__qDOBxJ2mPl39J-umDOFGgx7kumubsHKeVt3mSmYa-2xgdiC2egASDSwVGJv-KGKucSNUP5KhU9xUF2k0R8Qige-/s1600/IMG_5164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxl3JnKiEurL6JDUhl_H6Od7fpyIVPM29kyeAku85YA8OZq3z2-U__qDOBxJ2mPl39J-umDOFGgx7kumubsHKeVt3mSmYa-2xgdiC2egASDSwVGJv-KGKucSNUP5KhU9xUF2k0R8Qige-/s400/IMG_5164.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once the ducks have completed their 15 days of gavage, they’re sent off to slaughter, then the livers are cooked, seasoned and prepared for selling.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We bought a small jar of foie gras entier, and, at Amelie’s suggestion, a small bottle of Sauternes to go with it. It was decadent and gorgeous. The foie gras was rich and meaty and had that metallic tang you’d expect from liver, with a real hit of sweetness behind it. The Sauternes was golden and honied and complemented the foie gras perfectly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The main thing I learned from visiting Les Delices d’Amelie is that foie gras should be a special occasion food. It’s costly to produce, both financially and ethically.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLB2cW6gNQNQ_78it-ZP601AulFLsClySLjr70-fC60SEWiFFPQwi-3EdwvbJ53LaOfNvtZvcibWkMty1-QRo3fIl0u6VzhvL9hdoryutCXHjxTSlV0N3Ajz2QhWfEcTHXvWcOB3PJuBtg/s1600/IMG_5196_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLB2cW6gNQNQ_78it-ZP601AulFLsClySLjr70-fC60SEWiFFPQwi-3EdwvbJ53LaOfNvtZvcibWkMty1-QRo3fIl0u6VzhvL9hdoryutCXHjxTSlV0N3Ajz2QhWfEcTHXvWcOB3PJuBtg/s400/IMG_5196_edited-1.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you do decide to treat yourself, search out the foie gras that is made by smaller producers, rather than the large scale industrial stuff. Just like battery farmed versus free range poultry, the huge industrial factories keep their birds in tiny cages during gavage, and feed the birds cornflour, which is cut with antibiotics and god knows what else. The smaller, traditional producers use ‘parcs’ during gavage, which, while not exactly palatial, allow the birds to walk about and stretch their wings. They are also fed on corn, which is more nutritious and more palatable for them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It might take longer to find, or cost a bit more, but the traditionally produced foie gras is worth it – both for the depth of flavour in the end product, and the relative cleanliness of your conscience when buying it.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span lang="EN-US"></span>Jen x</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjqSgikrh56uaba5BtcaZggrysiOcmjgYAg74v0PoDO_yCI1wlpt1zKBhwHre-6-26NcbAXek0AwPNkJ6WiuBzOGXjwbI5hUJB5gZQfu7YEAGdkb5uVQoQBt6g3TC_t6XDdV5fNRBDZWd/s1600/IMG_5185_edited-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjqSgikrh56uaba5BtcaZggrysiOcmjgYAg74v0PoDO_yCI1wlpt1zKBhwHre-6-26NcbAXek0AwPNkJ6WiuBzOGXjwbI5hUJB5gZQfu7YEAGdkb5uVQoQBt6g3TC_t6XDdV5fNRBDZWd/s400/IMG_5185_edited-2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-89430745289947271132011-09-21T19:28:00.001+01:002011-09-24T10:39:22.237+01:00Too many apples...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is the first of what we hope will be a number of posts detailing interesting local producers that we have visited and meals that we've arrived at subsequently.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yzWrB3F8cC88d2nwzg07f0F6wx0zbDnJgj8ygAq5VUL_dmph3biT8y4p-g48HDK4E0mEPIl0LCBf7Lg377FzzvNwoTXs3GtKFxE_-f8YlSTobmQLTKf6uGqz5DUhGpvZJzYGEy0YXS4n/s1600/IMG_5017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yzWrB3F8cC88d2nwzg07f0F6wx0zbDnJgj8ygAq5VUL_dmph3biT8y4p-g48HDK4E0mEPIl0LCBf7Lg377FzzvNwoTXs3GtKFxE_-f8YlSTobmQLTKf6uGqz5DUhGpvZJzYGEy0YXS4n/s400/IMG_5017.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
One of our first visits was to <a href="http://www.jangopom.com/">Jangopom</a>, a local apple grower that has been established for 20 odd years by a very friendly Dutch couple. I took a few photos for them and when we bumped into them again in the Gaillac village market, they recognised and thanked us for the photos. It was a first tentative step towards getting to know the locals. It felt good.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUCqm0oNk1Nrfe9Qb19Pcx0gBifc5HBZeWVmNP6sYOWIycRC3IfBjLyi9N1NC5ANU7Cag6Zrl3scs40t8RSORO-_rub7snttLCqWo2lHm9uy507_wka65WShXYnzeebICMswmlwwkC1Vu/s1600/IMG_5073-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUCqm0oNk1Nrfe9Qb19Pcx0gBifc5HBZeWVmNP6sYOWIycRC3IfBjLyi9N1NC5ANU7Cag6Zrl3scs40t8RSORO-_rub7snttLCqWo2lHm9uy507_wka65WShXYnzeebICMswmlwwkC1Vu/s400/IMG_5073-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Of course we left with far more apples than we knew what to do with so a little searching on the internet turned up <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/">Smitten Kitchens apple cake</a>, which tasted great despite falling apart on exiting our little loaf tin (we are, in our defence, operating with a minimally stocked kitchen - we haven't bought any baking paper yet). I halved everything and the cake fitted perfectly, next time I'll run some baking paper under it to ease the extraction.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJPlf5oAABxs2mj6jrR2u8BlnuiSq5D5zlj5RwBKHCT-lkzcVUpLPfASU62lrZPzLy_wQthnsWcd7NePtpGROZXV5O4RMqh4f3jv-JMZQ03kDgpnBn5L8Ir_Krm4dw_80CdAJTOFhA0frc/s1600/IMG_5138_edited-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJPlf5oAABxs2mj6jrR2u8BlnuiSq5D5zlj5RwBKHCT-lkzcVUpLPfASU62lrZPzLy_wQthnsWcd7NePtpGROZXV5O4RMqh4f3jv-JMZQ03kDgpnBn5L8Ir_Krm4dw_80CdAJTOFhA0frc/s400/IMG_5138_edited-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
It was a big hit though, perfect with a little cream. Follow the link and try it yourselves!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdSQvVJbxPiHPJo0hhsMuPEjC1-BvV2QTrearTRvdCFITo3aOXW3Og-DEtF9dn0eGanyntHN8edoG2nvyl-UmtdSjdzf4my9HL-u4MlpL7QJEbd9CgQofXJfJwuVe_iN96fw-a-nbyPE8/s1600/IMG_5140_edited-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdSQvVJbxPiHPJo0hhsMuPEjC1-BvV2QTrearTRvdCFITo3aOXW3Og-DEtF9dn0eGanyntHN8edoG2nvyl-UmtdSjdzf4my9HL-u4MlpL7QJEbd9CgQofXJfJwuVe_iN96fw-a-nbyPE8/s400/IMG_5140_edited-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-21564179205146345252011-09-13T21:39:00.002+01:002011-09-25T17:47:56.304+01:00Bacon Ice Cream<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What with all the comings and goings over the last month (see the last post), I completely failed to complete this post. Now things are a little calmer and we're settling down nicely in Gaillac, I thought that I would finish and publish the details perhaps one of my proudest culinary achievements to date...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TNf-NJYw3qR7hBAftyzrwOdtKqqYmaUYO3kLWaSLKZ9r7pS0YIaeKgP2y8MHnDOjsT8oj5oHb2iRhOq14rMaAFlCgc1u0i4XTZiKJoYZ80ZaBhQrxDcaQ1_VKwMAuaJpXE5h7n2LNZJH/s400/IMG_3775.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, this is bacon icecream, and yes, it honestly is nice!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a name='more'></a>I had been wanting to do this for a long time and with Jen away for the weekend, and me having finished a massive work project the week before, the time seemed right to get bacony. If you like this post, I would recommend you having a look at my earlier <a href="http://bluecheeseandmangoes.blogspot.com/2010/10/bacon-vodka.html">bacon vodka post</a>, the method in that one was good, but the subsequent use in making the bacon and coke jelly left a little to be desired... <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N3WPP0pUUl18_wlbrXvS4oVAK1I8l9DbJN8nEwkNoiUYOccN8hwwwYAIgRqnkVsIdryC5Ez7S_4QAvgQqrTzTkGX6a2viCvQuevaMru9UyYZQTnoZIr-haOf6GrppmM61bk7enNgQ-sG/s1600/IMG_3746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N3WPP0pUUl18_wlbrXvS4oVAK1I8l9DbJN8nEwkNoiUYOccN8hwwwYAIgRqnkVsIdryC5Ez7S_4QAvgQqrTzTkGX6a2viCvQuevaMru9UyYZQTnoZIr-haOf6GrppmM61bk7enNgQ-sG/s400/IMG_3746.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1C1iRVRuvZmaNW8UmaeaYIseRrv0yJ3NEGcdzmveLkh6xvQtKcWrzdswDIKd_n2Gbr4xC7iiTbfsq5goB1guu7UlnOuaq5DmnRSV0tgF4lV2yARPne46F-SNwrPhlZyjY4etzTHn56fmR/s1600/IMG_3749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1C1iRVRuvZmaNW8UmaeaYIseRrv0yJ3NEGcdzmveLkh6xvQtKcWrzdswDIKd_n2Gbr4xC7iiTbfsq5goB1guu7UlnOuaq5DmnRSV0tgF4lV2yARPne46F-SNwrPhlZyjY4etzTHn56fmR/s400/IMG_3749.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2bPPmhs0hrKW7fIcbO5IRk8txP3ARtSvpE-MMjTrP9vlEIRp7OfHvLX-Nmupbeluc64H0KyEoDJXcZ6hjHXnofvrfkF-4t825iXpLVgAn3Z8PR81e9Aegjc8fvJpMUNVv5f6AF1GLJmuu/s400/IMG_3769.JPG" width="400" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There were a large number of influences in pulling this recipe together, and I've done my best to make sure that they are all listed:</div><ul><li>A great meal at Jason Atherton's new restaurant/bar<a href="http://www.pollenstreetsocial.com/"> Pollen Street Social</a>, finished with an amazing range of ice creams and sorbets, including a truely brilliant hay icecream, which for me beat the tarragon flavour into second place. </li>
<li>Jen's amazing spot was this brilliant <a href="http://notwithoutsalt.com/2009/07/06/bacon-caramels/">bacon caramel recipe</a> on not without salt (I am yet to try this but it's certainly on my to do list).</li>
<li>Heston of course has done his <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6CLoRuvGcY">bacon and egg icecream</a> but watching his explanation, I didn't want the eggyness that he was after. </li>
<li>A search for other bacon icecreams showed up <a href="http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/03/candied-bacon-i-1/">this recipe</a> with candied bacon in a vanilla icecream. This looked good but I wanted candied bacon in a bacon icecream.</li>
</ul>My creation therefore was an amalgam of the above, the combination of bacon bits with sweetness in the caramels and icecream recipes, and the bacon permeated custard base inspired by Heston and Jason.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQksRCAbNJAIiKYENUy8l-MGA0TZxJbuK7a0YEm8P5kxHc4M_UqogKODVNUEvjbS8wZ3nNqIKpbTcgIhgIREpxgTYFtpLwAQRQqbjBSpC_QMDfOmjkqfWx4EMSkBQ0rA9nxu-xAkV_qgmf/s1600/IMG_3760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQksRCAbNJAIiKYENUy8l-MGA0TZxJbuK7a0YEm8P5kxHc4M_UqogKODVNUEvjbS8wZ3nNqIKpbTcgIhgIREpxgTYFtpLwAQRQqbjBSpC_QMDfOmjkqfWx4EMSkBQ0rA9nxu-xAkV_qgmf/s200/IMG_3760.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJu6YdwAXVCIYXJXr6vnsOnDkdofU0yCByGbOiLBKsez2cjt1Yju1mXwoAs3aOZZirhiDgZeVm-HdGEeQF_H3H9wT61k98dpT2P_EcpkrJxaz9SRUHvIXgtgK4BhIsvFNSsdARTzLR93ar/s1600/IMG_3767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJu6YdwAXVCIYXJXr6vnsOnDkdofU0yCByGbOiLBKsez2cjt1Yju1mXwoAs3aOZZirhiDgZeVm-HdGEeQF_H3H9wT61k98dpT2P_EcpkrJxaz9SRUHvIXgtgK4BhIsvFNSsdARTzLR93ar/s200/IMG_3767.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
The result is quite special, and Jen honestly liked it (she actually ate a fair amount of it while I was out). For me, there was some room for improvement, it was a bit too sweet and rich, next time I would cut down the sugar by half and maybe cut the cream with some milk. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYqOvWAxc8fg17xWDiOzDuzf8Ig9hR6OiH8G1YzWKrju_Reo0fTh31jkQTEp0Tf7Ewt_A9MalF_Oo2H5NKEGJxAjeEfyMEUWOKx4UWpo505QawOlVtuL7SoKfQQYw4BKJMJ6TE-0gQwRm/s1600/IMG_3780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYqOvWAxc8fg17xWDiOzDuzf8Ig9hR6OiH8G1YzWKrju_Reo0fTh31jkQTEp0Tf7Ewt_A9MalF_Oo2H5NKEGJxAjeEfyMEUWOKx4UWpo505QawOlVtuL7SoKfQQYw4BKJMJ6TE-0gQwRm/s400/IMG_3780.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<ul><li>12 slices of smoked, streaky bacon</li>
<li>1 pint of double cream</li>
<li>one teaspoon of vanilla extract</li>
<li>caster sugar for candying</li>
<li>3 oz sugar</li>
<li>3 egg yolks</li>
<li>more sugar for candying</li>
</ul><b>Method:</b><br />
<ol><li>Fry-off two thirds of the bacon to the well done but not completely crispy stage (use as little oil as possible for this as any that you use will end up in the ice cream). Just check first that the frying pan isn't too shallow to take the cream later.</li>
<li>Once the bacon is done, deglaze the pan with a pint of double cream and bring the cream and bacon up to the boil.</li>
<li>Once boiled, pour the cream and bacon mix into a suitable receptacle and store it in the fridge overnight. Maybe if you had more bacon, you wouldn't need to leave it overnight...</li>
<li>The next day, take the remaining bacon and lay it out on grease-proof paper, sprinkle liberally with sugar and grill. You will want to stay in the kitchen for this bit to whip out the bacon at the faintest smell of burning, it can go very quickly...</li>
<li>Once cooked and cooled and all bacon-and-sugary, pull apart the bacon and remove the fat. Now dice the sugared meat fairly finely. This stuff is seriously good, I suggest you save some for a special treat or gift for a loved one.</li>
<li>To make the custard, whisk the yolks and sugar until pale and light (ribbon stage) then pour into a non-stick sauce pan, pass the bacony cream through a sieve into the pan as well and heat gently.</li>
<li>Keep at a low heat and keep stirring, if you go to far and too fast, the custard will curdle. You can tell when it's ready when the spoon starts to pick up set custard off the bottom of the pan. Immediately turn off the heat and stir manically for a bit and leave to cool.</li>
<li>Transfer to a suitable container and place in the freezer. Stir with a fork once an hour until set. The first time you do this, drop in the chopped candied bacon and stir through (it will probably just sink to the bottom or float on top if you add the bacon bits sooner.</li>
<li>Enjoy! </li>
</ol>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-33073078615244277852011-09-11T19:31:00.001+01:002011-09-11T19:36:06.444+01:00Gaillac<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFPiGl1XchPTNRHI_t9qysLAODWhDnARgG5rpUgC9A7hpbHLaE6F_aZxgXAthof7mzgTfiWnMZzwB0Cu3aSn5nLMFPAn-Ol0cRDqC5s0AkbOKgatZx0bjLLeDL1zfAsU9mUebnnEf6IRV/s1600/IMG_4981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFPiGl1XchPTNRHI_t9qysLAODWhDnARgG5rpUgC9A7hpbHLaE6F_aZxgXAthof7mzgTfiWnMZzwB0Cu3aSn5nLMFPAn-Ol0cRDqC5s0AkbOKgatZx0bjLLeDL1zfAsU9mUebnnEf6IRV/s400/IMG_4981.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
All my introductions recently seem to have started with an apology, and this one will be no different: I am sorry we have been silent (again) for such an age.<br />
<br />
However, now we can share our reasons for it ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mr0pukvOAbASG20pEMlrXlIdvHNw4GzsQsMdtoDg5Z3UjMA3S3mgdz680zzv3rNS0z73MKcUVedC4RMQJYR3eo1FktS9Eq8lsaOs28KJz4YoYQCu8ox40uy8L2lP816zRaLRM8wC2GBk/s1600/IMG_4984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mr0pukvOAbASG20pEMlrXlIdvHNw4GzsQsMdtoDg5Z3UjMA3S3mgdz680zzv3rNS0z73MKcUVedC4RMQJYR3eo1FktS9Eq8lsaOs28KJz4YoYQCu8ox40uy8L2lP816zRaLRM8wC2GBk/s400/IMG_4984.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLO53OhVAJfQCIn3mV1_Dm12-cEy519xUqkApt0AOpBBNZV1g-mW3NudPknb72N7XqY6X4XEUoWV48mLxs3DfYsZXHR8EYH1QpxTG3G5fE6tm7p0Vp3HrYx__0qH09a_aEq37ZBg25I73/s1600/IMG_4988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLO53OhVAJfQCIn3mV1_Dm12-cEy519xUqkApt0AOpBBNZV1g-mW3NudPknb72N7XqY6X4XEUoWV48mLxs3DfYsZXHR8EYH1QpxTG3G5fE6tm7p0Vp3HrYx__0qH09a_aEq37ZBg25I73/s400/IMG_4988.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDak-kwkZZAt8hSeqpWKAS6L9sgaoEX0AVkhUbm_i22HmwAiH9CrVjkrqkBv162occRGf9EbQ9aFBc3_u3HY7s5Q8oY-XdFtoIj-CZumZ4Nz3oxIQVc7pOlaxJ2bLnfhCR8G5Y4TMGlOPB/s1600/IMG_4990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDak-kwkZZAt8hSeqpWKAS6L9sgaoEX0AVkhUbm_i22HmwAiH9CrVjkrqkBv162occRGf9EbQ9aFBc3_u3HY7s5Q8oY-XdFtoIj-CZumZ4Nz3oxIQVc7pOlaxJ2bLnfhCR8G5Y4TMGlOPB/s400/IMG_4990.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">WE MOVED TO FRANCE!!!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Writing that as a fait accompli has just made me go all shivery. It's only just starting to sink in that we've left London behind us, and that we've got a whole new big, beautiful, bonkers country to make our home. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<a name='more'></a>We're staying in Gaillac for a couple of months, trying to chase down that elusive Indian summer the weather forecasters have been talking about, before moving across country to Lyon - the French foodie's paradise. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Gaillac's a gorgeous, crumbly red-brick town in the south west of France, near Toulouse. We've only been here a couple of days, but already I love the colour of the houses as the sun hits them, and the sound of the river as it rushes past. </div><br />
The food's already got us hooked. Even the tiny Sunday market (the smallest of 3 weekly markets that take place here) was bursting with juicy white peaches, squashes in every shade of orange imaginable, pink tinged and perfumed strings of garlic, compact little cheeses and fresh shellfish. We can't wait to get in amongst it all and cook up a storm.<br />
<br />
This area is particularly well known for its wines - we had a sparkly little number with dinner this evening - and we're looking forward to venturing out among the vines and meeting some of the local producers.<br />
<br />
So, I hope you can forgive us for having been absent for months on end. Recipes and ramblings with a French flavour will be more forthcoming from now on.<br />
<br />
Jen xx<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBLaB4EJrdnUTuCc9fwiXKHKO48zbl8BXj04xQcD6xM7LC30YZWXCq5SN_LPvZeHYSO9DgfrCnupte6QHMHnwD8F-XkLANZI6wYY_dY4OYrb2QtzCfBB87fCEQOBsMoo6pTtQc1sC6cci/s1600/IMG_5005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBLaB4EJrdnUTuCc9fwiXKHKO48zbl8BXj04xQcD6xM7LC30YZWXCq5SN_LPvZeHYSO9DgfrCnupte6QHMHnwD8F-XkLANZI6wYY_dY4OYrb2QtzCfBB87fCEQOBsMoo6pTtQc1sC6cci/s400/IMG_5005.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-89338006951578515342011-07-22T17:25:00.000+01:002011-07-22T17:25:25.420+01:00Summer Lovin'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhElkHJuugsluHrBCs9oxxX6Rzw8C7qKNuaWWtOEkOURxawcAp7efgCylk2SBrnoepis9Ow4zQQRVvEymCnqX3XVg8WxkPBPzMMkLCIdCq9k70Vc5wY4u97BjM691CfmKdLItgbpEmZ5KWm/s1600/P1110775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhElkHJuugsluHrBCs9oxxX6Rzw8C7qKNuaWWtOEkOURxawcAp7efgCylk2SBrnoepis9Ow4zQQRVvEymCnqX3XVg8WxkPBPzMMkLCIdCq9k70Vc5wY4u97BjM691CfmKdLItgbpEmZ5KWm/s400/P1110775.JPG" width="346" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">In lieu of a recipe, here are just a few of my favourite things, this changeable July:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>Bright, ruby red nail varnish.</li>
</ul><ul><li>Indoor summer picnics when the weather fails us. Sitting on a slightly bobbly rug with friends scooping baked camembert out of its own creamy skin with hunks of warm baguette.</li>
</ul><ul><li>Dancing round the kitchen listening to my ipod. Tunes on repeat currently are: Lissie with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxg4LfQp6ac&ob=av2e">Cuckoo</a>, Eric Hutchinson with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm5TZX5hz3g">Rock and Roll</a>, Regina Spektor with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DLp-vE3AKg">The Calculation</a> and my old favourite-for-all-seasons, the very wonderful <a href="http://www.thedelays.co.uk/">Delays</a> with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVF1GiQo9wQ">Hooray</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJDDvei7NOg">The Lost Estate</a>. These in particular are sunshine in a jar. Put them on loud and blow raspberries at the summer rain. Not to lower the tone or take away from their stunning music, but those Delays boys are pretty easy on the eye too *just saying*.</li>
</ul><ul><li>The fact that British-grown tomatoes are now easily get-at-able. Proper tomatoey tomatoes that smell like vines and greenhouses and the promise of a great gazpacho.</li>
</ul><ul><li>Seeing pictures of various friends and acquaintances pop up on Facebook looking beautiful as wedding season begins, and the pretty invitations that have started to come through my letterbox. Bring on the Indian summer weekends and weddings. Can't wait!</li>
</ul><ul><li>Finally discovering the perfect ratio of sugar to fruit to liquid to make a lovely, sweet, thick crust for my fruit drizzle cakes. Plums done. Nectarines next. Recipe to come before the summer's out. Shout at me if I forget.</li>
</ul><div>Tell me your favourite summer things, foodie or not. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens permissible, but discouraged!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Jen x</div><div><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-76442789647035299002011-06-26T21:51:00.000+01:002011-06-26T21:51:17.191+01:00Quickie Sticky Lemony Chicken(y)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCz_ChSbBf1-QAxY0cW52cj1DvJieS75Bp97bbcQY-of7OO1R4XnZN0j2zCQMte2oyhw71qPgIrA1bfg1hI1PrGo4w4pITKFWvTMd2r___029GIOsS59M7pbyyx2Eu41SR7DLELvsL_7L/s1600/IMG_3354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCz_ChSbBf1-QAxY0cW52cj1DvJieS75Bp97bbcQY-of7OO1R4XnZN0j2zCQMte2oyhw71qPgIrA1bfg1hI1PrGo4w4pITKFWvTMd2r___029GIOsS59M7pbyyx2Eu41SR7DLELvsL_7L/s400/IMG_3354.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>And again, we must apologise for the lack of bloggage.<br />
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I hasten to add - for those of you who may be worried that we're wasting away - that we have not stopped cooking, or wanting to write about our foodie times. It's just that work and The Big And Exciting Project (which will be revealed and explained in more detail and with much squeaking in a future post) have kept us annoyingly busy.<br />
<br />
This busyness has meant we've been honing our selection of quick and simple 'throw-it-in-a-pan-and-fling-it-down-your-throat' recipes, which frequently tend to be not very interesting. Every now and again though, we find one that surprises us.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I must confess that I am usually of the opinion that if a recipe calls for a load of spices/ truly bizarre vegetables / green tea powder that costs more than gold etc, then I'm likely to pass it by, or put a post-it on it for a rainy day. However, a quick stock check of our 'miscellaneous and slightly odd ingredients' shelf shows that we've built up quite an arsenal over time, and our spice rack, chillis and sauces selection is now something to be rather proud of. So this recipe was really very easy, and was do-able on a very wet Wednesday night using entirely stuff we had in the cupboards and the fridge. I do love it when things come together like that. It always feels so tidy!<br />
<br />
The coating on the chicken kept it lovely and moist, and also added an extra stickiness to the sauce. Not only is it quick and easy, it's also pretty good for you as well, and will definitely be put on the 'arghit'salreadynineoclockandwe'venoteatenandwe'vebothgotamillionthingstodo' list. Near the top of said list, actually.<br />
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In fact, I may make it for dinner tonight.<br />
<br />
Jen x <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0Yb9TYMk60QkuMu4CQHuWqqgT9IMYk0mN0LheO3e0j_In-BJ9RN-6H5lSvjx66zBoNQ7XqlNkG5jYp5-sr1PdUxKI2wbSmys4ITw4gC0Woi8Gqk2bKOsEgVMUpTOJRl-es13louQVSpU/s1600/IMG_3356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0Yb9TYMk60QkuMu4CQHuWqqgT9IMYk0mN0LheO3e0j_In-BJ9RN-6H5lSvjx66zBoNQ7XqlNkG5jYp5-sr1PdUxKI2wbSmys4ITw4gC0Woi8Gqk2bKOsEgVMUpTOJRl-es13louQVSpU/s400/IMG_3356.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Wednesday Night Stress-buster Chicken<br />
<i>Adapted from a recipe for lemon chicken from ocado.com </i><br />
<br />
I tweaked the levels of sugar, soy and chilli to give my version extra spice and saltiness. I also used a mix of lemon and lime juice, rather than solely lemon, as it gave the green beans some added zing (and because I appear to have bought enough limes to last until 2014...)<br />
<br />
Serves 2<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
2 skinless chicken breast fillets<br />
1 egg <br />
1 heaped tbsp cornflour<br />
70ml chicken stock<br />
1 lemon (juiced)<br />
1 lime (juiced)<br />
2 heaped tsps caster sugar<br />
2 tsps dark soy sauce<br />
2 tsps Chinese cooking wine<br />
1/2 tsp groundnut oil<br />
1/2 tsp chilli oil<br />
1 clove garlic, finely chopped<br />
2 dried birdseye chillies, chopped and seeds retained.<br />
Enough dried noodles for 2<br />
Fine green beans, topped and tailed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: 800;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="font-weight: bold;"><b>Method:</b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</div>1. Separate the egg white from the yolk. It's only the white you'll need for this recipe.<br />
2. In a mixing bowl, stir the cornflour into the egg white, and mix until the mixture is smooth and frothy.<br />
3. Dice the chicken into thin strips, and add them to the egg and flour mixture.<br />
4. Stir well, so that all the chicken is nicely coated, then cover and leave in the fridge for 30 mins.<br />
5. In a jug, mix together the lemon and lime juice with the stock, soy sauce, wine and sugar.<br />
6. Heat the oils in a heavy-bottomed pan or wok. Add the chopped garlic and stir until it's fragrance hits your nose.<br />
7. Add the chicken pieces to the hot pan. Don't tip them in all at once, or they'll stick together and cook unevenly. Put them in a few pieces at a time and keep stirring as you add them to make sure they're not sticking or burning. Then add the chopped chillies and stir again.<br />
<br />
8. Stir fry the chicken for about 5 minutes on a medium heat, then pour over the lemon and stock mixture.<br />
9. Steam the beans over a pan of boiling water. <br />
<br />
10. Bring to a vigorous simmer, and cook for another 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and got nice and sticky.<br />
11. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet, then add them to the chicken with the steamed beans.<br />
12. Stir everything together and serve.<br />
<br />
<ol itemprop="instructions"></ol>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-28266933402859157542011-05-25T18:06:00.000+01:002011-05-25T18:06:31.682+01:00Better (extraordinarily) late than never!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTAhmBYBwh09xPAiw8JT4YeMGIxyOnwZYSnT7XBTKxwa4Am2OHUiAR84CAC35z7qB4JYyUH_Fzuxh5A0qT8TyFPzV1_ypjNPdYpcCwffQa090dAQ5FWPxTZsgDw1gXSqRTXN7zvlAQCEu/s1600/P1110454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTAhmBYBwh09xPAiw8JT4YeMGIxyOnwZYSnT7XBTKxwa4Am2OHUiAR84CAC35z7qB4JYyUH_Fzuxh5A0qT8TyFPzV1_ypjNPdYpcCwffQa090dAQ5FWPxTZsgDw1gXSqRTXN7zvlAQCEu/s400/P1110454.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
So....<br />
<br />
There is really no excuse for the enormous lapse between what I am about to write about happening, and my getting around to actually writing about it. I apologise profusely and shall try not to be quite so tardy in future!<br />
<br />
Back in February (see....told you it was flipping ages ago), Matt and I visited a London foodie hotspot - or should that be coolspot? If you 're in the vicinity, I heartily recommend you go and pay these guys a visit, especially as the weather gets increasingly scorchio.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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The place in question is ChinChinLabs, in Camden. You can spot the entrance from the swings outside. (Yes. They have swings. You like them already, I can tell). The laboratorists have created Europe's first Nitro Ice-Cream Parlour, where the ice cream is made with, you've guessed it, liquid nitrogen.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-Sk6arwJzAvKwYsnGifdc7oRHcyW5Gf3I_lVghhVxgdxlzONxtGpHBqIBuahpR_m4yD_0H-vHpkOFE4NDQbZjWd-roAmGS4JssjiFE542WlyTxV66PxuZjQYKi5ecXpahjcGV4rk133A/s1600/P1110450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-Sk6arwJzAvKwYsnGifdc7oRHcyW5Gf3I_lVghhVxgdxlzONxtGpHBqIBuahpR_m4yD_0H-vHpkOFE4NDQbZjWd-roAmGS4JssjiFE542WlyTxV66PxuZjQYKi5ecXpahjcGV4rk133A/s400/P1110450.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Not only does this make ice-cream making a spectator sport for probably the first time ever, as hissing clouds of freezing steam erupt from the mixer while your ice cream is expertly churned in front of you, but the immediate freezing properties of the liquid nitrogen eradicates the possibility of ice crystals forming, so the end product you get is fabulously smooth.<br />
<br />
Vanilla and chocolate are the base flavours, which are available all the time. But don't be fooled into thinking that the lab plays it too safely with their flavours. A 'flavour of the week' is also available to try. When we visited it was Red Velvet Cake (pictured) This was very rich, realistic and delicious, and made using real red velvet sponge soaked in milk. Yum!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8MShrbSIqfgzXICDwBrRDO2KPdRgl4gJzGdnLk-ymXzIhrSMZh0U8TBBpcg2TXhrQfTAsfEJvEf0s23qJpA1ujexjaRrEhZ3TPQ4VgwHSZQnXat5JICFhDl8KytbbHLhoP9KDWr5gXX2/s1600/P1110451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8MShrbSIqfgzXICDwBrRDO2KPdRgl4gJzGdnLk-ymXzIhrSMZh0U8TBBpcg2TXhrQfTAsfEJvEf0s23qJpA1ujexjaRrEhZ3TPQ4VgwHSZQnXat5JICFhDl8KytbbHLhoP9KDWr5gXX2/s400/P1110451.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Other flavours which have popped up recently (and which make me wish I lived closer to Camden so I could try them all) include: Moroccan Mint Tea, Candied Pina Colada, Lemon Meringue, Queen of Puddings, Burnt Butter Caramel, Ceylon Coconut Curry. There isn't one of these that hasn't piqued my interest, and I can feel a return visit coming on very soon.<br />
<br />
AND I haven't even mentioned the toppings yet. Forget boring sprinkles and sauces, you can have luminescent popping candy, caramelized pretzels, grilled white chocolate, crystallized rose petals, sugared bacon shards and many many more to top off your tasty treat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2CrC8EJJt9kYh-uWOw44RuBnQD9euXJazeLMDwbX2RUNnHVQXsQU8OejbjCASXwJymd4U8zgimC4dlcu4BzO5GPkSZh2G_5SlLhBsMngjWZMciySXV7Q1HlUJxy5lybwbBB7Oh1nXVMw/s1600/P1110453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2CrC8EJJt9kYh-uWOw44RuBnQD9euXJazeLMDwbX2RUNnHVQXsQU8OejbjCASXwJymd4U8zgimC4dlcu4BzO5GPkSZh2G_5SlLhBsMngjWZMciySXV7Q1HlUJxy5lybwbBB7Oh1nXVMw/s400/P1110453.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Velvet Ice Cream with salted caramel sauce, chocolate popping candy and honeycomb shards.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Go. Go soon. Go before I get there and eat them out of house and home!<br />
<br />
Jen xx<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-50667086347975181632011-05-17T13:30:00.002+01:002011-05-17T23:13:36.943+01:00Tentation de Saint FélicienMatt here,<br />
<br />
People who have met me know that I like cheese, a lot. I talk about it near constantly and probably give the impression of being a terrible cheese snob (I am by the way).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dd8Vu0GQ96DiX_KRJWUzDJerXAmKuU8HOySEf125GQoIl-aBFJV3sS98smLu-EkkKJwvARWl7lLIO9HRVbRZoPBaOVQc9ULDwbWjcArm4MsPSGfCKUSQ_XBVhsbyn7V9NjBGUtd1Nzq9/s1600/P1110507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dd8Vu0GQ96DiX_KRJWUzDJerXAmKuU8HOySEf125GQoIl-aBFJV3sS98smLu-EkkKJwvARWl7lLIO9HRVbRZoPBaOVQc9ULDwbWjcArm4MsPSGfCKUSQ_XBVhsbyn7V9NjBGUtd1Nzq9/s400/P1110507.JPG" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Tentation de Saint Félician</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><a name='more'></a>A question that I'm often asked is "What is your favourite cheese?" - A difficult question, I imagine akin to asking a parent which is their favourite child. The answer, as I imagine all good parents would acknowledge, is clearly dependent on mood, environment, time of day and whatever other food and wine is being, has been, or is about to be consumed at the time.<br />
<br />
I do have favourites though, and one of those is Tentation de Saint Félicien. It's a ridiculous cheese, weighing in at around 70% fat.<br />
St Félicien (not tentation) is fairly widely available, even in the UK, check out a French cheese stall in your local market and you'll probably find some. The Tentation however, is a rarer beast, it's the St Félicien recipe, au lait-cru naturally, with added cream, making it what the French call double crème (If you're after something even more outrageous, try some of the triple-crèmes, such as Brillat Savarin, Brillat truffé if possible).<br />
<br />
Think of it as a savoury clotted cream, both in texture and wonderful bad-for-you-ness. Now don't get me wrong, the standard St. Félicien is a good cheese and sadly, it's all you are likely to find in most parts of the UK (I've searched pretty hard). Once you get to France however, if you are prepared to look, and luck is on your side, you can usually find the tentation (temptation).<br />
<br />
Tasting wise, it's mild and buttery and has a beuatiful texture, less forceful than the standard St Félicien or the similar St. Marcelin (smaller, but packing an impressive kick). The taste is there though, a subtle pungency that is enough to cut through the creamy-ness, a little earthy with none of the tang associated with Camembert. <br />
<br />
With a cheese like this, the texture is key and therefore, thought needs to be put into serving temperature. Depending on it's ripeness, you probably don't want to leave this cheese out too long before eating, I would say 15-20 minutes at most. <br />
Generally when ripe, you will find a bit of variation in texture - some firmness in the middle whilst the exterior, just below the fragile and off-white skin, will be completely liquid. The residual chill helps to accentuate the difference between the two. Allowing a fine marriage on the (essential) crusty baguette. This is rather like butter for me, the optimum is neither fridge cold or room temperature.<br />
If on the other hand, the cheese is a bit harder in the fridge (not yet ripe) get it out earlier and let it warm, it'll still be great.<br />
<br />
Hope you manage to find some and enjoy it for yourselves...<br />
<br />
Matt<br />
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By the way, the current favourites, in no particular order, are:<br />
<br />
Stilton - Colston Basset, after much consideration, is the favourite<br />
Comté - As long as it's over 18 months old<br />
Vacherin - French or Swiss, both are good<br />
Tentation de St Félicien, see above<br />
Brillat Savarin - Cut in half and stuffed with truffle this becomes Brillat Truffé, a Matt and Jen favourite<br />
<br />
I am intending at some point to write more posts about cheese, the above will inevitably get at least a post each dedicated to them.Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-37763558813661216072011-04-12T19:53:00.001+01:002011-04-12T20:19:06.250+01:00Crumpets<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYHARh2LOJs3XRvSfzhRk00AREC6a4AFiA0AzUk04icaq8yEi-LSpV3v5BH8pi3wD5m0xG7n7-rGxcQStOSMtXCKT7uwRoPmTpQ5drxsNYKrJC34zX8urZ3emJTz9ewHjlt2ZSmhY6tZi/s1600/IMG_2356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYHARh2LOJs3XRvSfzhRk00AREC6a4AFiA0AzUk04icaq8yEi-LSpV3v5BH8pi3wD5m0xG7n7-rGxcQStOSMtXCKT7uwRoPmTpQ5drxsNYKrJC34zX8urZ3emJTz9ewHjlt2ZSmhY6tZi/s400/IMG_2356.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I had long wondered how to make crumpets (particularly how to get those little holes in) so I was very happy a few months ago when I stumbled over this <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/14/crumpets-muffins-pikelets-farls">article</a> from Hugh.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm going to be honest here, I copied the recipe to the letter and it worked brilliantly so I won't re-write it out in this post, but suggest instead that you follow his wise words. I have taken a few pictures of the process though, which will hopefully inspire some of you to try this for yourselves.</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
The recipe uses an active batter which personally I found fascinating to watch (but I can appreciate that others might think differently), it's just so obviously alive! Once mixed, the yeast, flour, milk and water are left for a couple of hours until the yeast is visibly active.<br />
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</div>The mixture is then boosted with baking powder, and salt is added, before pouring into the pancake rings on the bottom of a hot pan.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvvAvnZYFZ-MAkur-LtQwZ_cRfa_gwKKP4XsS89KVAr3Ge-Ct7IDgFSp0hr5xerFSHntRhaQNw5baLM_4T3T0vszJetPyqv-3k3ScwC3QJMIiOrgWjGHP_du28M5sZ08g7BA8cVAyoyBp/s1600/IMG_2343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLvvAvnZYFZ-MAkur-LtQwZ_cRfa_gwKKP4XsS89KVAr3Ge-Ct7IDgFSp0hr5xerFSHntRhaQNw5baLM_4T3T0vszJetPyqv-3k3ScwC3QJMIiOrgWjGHP_du28M5sZ08g7BA8cVAyoyBp/s400/IMG_2343.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Watching the batter cook is just one of those immensely satisfying experiences, a bit like watching a cake rise, or a risotto come together - culinary alchemy.<br />
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The thick bubbly soup becomes recognisably crumpet-like in texture as it cooks through and the top dries out. If, as mine was, the mix is too stiff, a bit more water added to the batter seems to help the bubbles rise and form an open structure.<br />
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The crumpet is then tipped out of the ring and the top is browned off. <br />
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It becomes quite easy to set up a production line and before long you will have a pile of lovely fresh crumpets. Granted, it will take a little while to complete this recipe (took me 3 hours flour to crumpet, requiring my attention for 45 minutes...) but I am so glad I did. The crumpet fresh from the pan, slathered in butter is a thing of beauty. Toasted crumpets do not compare, who knew?<br />
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If I'm honest, once cooled and then toasted, the home-made versions aren't a huge improvement on the shop bought ones but you will have the satisfaction of giving Warburtons a run for their money.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIS-Lkf6ykYKOW-PX_myRIS-WouRv7MPepgIkIK9dHNXyHamrJETnKb8RpTC9ZslKvPxuRZ0IEJYfg1NyK0qDnltMhSY9xeSkoWNJA45_phLClPihCrnfAyG4P9DHXk5rDjlLUT4KMmsBR/s1600/IMG_2364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIS-Lkf6ykYKOW-PX_myRIS-WouRv7MPepgIkIK9dHNXyHamrJETnKb8RpTC9ZslKvPxuRZ0IEJYfg1NyK0qDnltMhSY9xeSkoWNJA45_phLClPihCrnfAyG4P9DHXk5rDjlLUT4KMmsBR/s400/IMG_2364.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div align="left"><span id="goog_1418036227"></span><span id="goog_1418036228"></span></div>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-34122017996569261882011-02-25T23:31:00.001+00:002011-04-12T20:20:52.763+01:00Sausage and mash with marsala gravyMatt here,<br />
<br />
This is a great weekday meal, it requires a bit of time - maybe an hour or so - but it's definitely worth the effort. Yep, I can say with some confidence that Jen would agree that it's worth the effort. I would caution though, that this is about as sweet as savoury food gets.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wfq-Thsx71MxBT8_EsxZoEO-19JhLdRDTjNr_LcKoyFFaeyq0NJE2Hioel5yLkhQlgloJtv6TQk-MG0R5d1ZJO8TxDfgh3e4NDGavFxhor9L1qftzYxcgfK5_3J2YxT6GXQfWR4oam6I/s1600/IMG_1943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wfq-Thsx71MxBT8_EsxZoEO-19JhLdRDTjNr_LcKoyFFaeyq0NJE2Hioel5yLkhQlgloJtv6TQk-MG0R5d1ZJO8TxDfgh3e4NDGavFxhor9L1qftzYxcgfK5_3J2YxT6GXQfWR4oam6I/s400/IMG_1943.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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The inspiration for this was undoubtedly some amalgamation of the combined weight of my cookery book reading. I would say it rests in the Nigel Slater/Nigella Lawson camp though, mainly for the abuse of cream...<br />
But the real driving force behind this meal was my nerdy fascination with frying onions, slowly, in butter. The sausages were just an excuse to justify taking time over turning onions from crunchy tear inducers to melt-in-the-mouth strips of caramel sugariness. The amount of marsala feels a little on the decadent side but it's essential for depth and richness.<br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
The best sausages that you can find (two per person)<br />
One and a half onions per person<br />
Butter<br />
Olive oil <br />
Marsala, a large glass full<br />
Marscarpone (two large spoons), or an unhealthily large pouring of cream<br />
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And for the mash: <br />
Enough potatoes<br />
Mustard<br />
More cream<br />
More butter<br />
Parsley <br />
Salt and Pepper<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol><li>Melt a slab of butter with some olive oil in a heavy based frying pan.</li>
<li>Get the sausages frying to give them a bit of colour </li>
<li>Slice the onions fairly thinly, about pound coin thickness and throw them in the pan.</li>
<li>Keep things stirring from time to time but let the onions stick a lttle</li>
<li>Stir some more, this probably takes about 30 minutes - if you like, you can move all the sausages to one side of the pan and all the onions to the other, this lets you get more colour on the sausages if you need to...</li>
<li>During this time get the potatoes boiling for the mash. </li>
<li>When the onions are browning nicely, and the sausages are cooked, remove the sausages to a plate and throw a full glass of Marsala into the pan, scrape up all of the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, set fire to it if you like.</li>
<li>Turn the heat right down and add the cream or marscarpone and stir in. Check for seasoning.</li>
<li>Add back the sausages and give them a generous coating of the sauce. You can leave them like this for a few minutes while you finish the mash with lots of cream, butter and some mustard and freshly chopped parsley.</li>
<li>Pile the mash decoratively on a plate and then add the sausages and some sauce.</li>
<li>Enjoy!</li>
</ol>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-11874120773885898082011-02-15T22:28:00.001+00:002011-04-12T20:22:16.989+01:00Of Mice And Moles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgL5Dwc90G-bxN6veGmX90o4y2tcMPkfspYRF6r1nJNApqaNwuowKyvjb6ymCBPo-5KQz7J4Kj0d9aEeq6L0LwDCW515U83fl31khV0seLJiv5MI_-Muq6Xxubv2YHBpgBEBmADtu3822o/s1600/IMG_2291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgL5Dwc90G-bxN6veGmX90o4y2tcMPkfspYRF6r1nJNApqaNwuowKyvjb6ymCBPo-5KQz7J4Kj0d9aEeq6L0LwDCW515U83fl31khV0seLJiv5MI_-Muq6Xxubv2YHBpgBEBmADtu3822o/s400/IMG_2291.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I was very saddened this week to learn of the death of Brian Jacques. He was the author of some of my favourite books, growing up - The Redwall Series, which chronicled a community of animals in Mossflower Woods and all centred around the hub of Redwall Abbey, inhabited by a brotherhood of berobed mice.<br />
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They're lovely books, and if you've never come across them before I highly recommend you check them out. I first read them years ago (when I say them, I mean the first 8 books. Jacques was an incredibly prolific writer and I think there are now 21 of them. I have some catching up to do!)<br />
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I can remember being struck by some of the brilliant character names - Cheesethief, Darkclaw and Ragear, bloodthirsty sergeants in the rat army of the terrible Cluny the Scourge; Asmodeus, the fearsome and sly adder; Basil Stag Hare, eccentric leader of the long patrol with a stiff upper lip and a voracious appetite; and Warbeak the feisty sparrow.<br />
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But what I remember most about the books, quelle surprise, was the food. These were mice and badgers and moles and squirrels who could really eat! Honeyed apples, nutbread, oatcakes, the Abbot's special trifle, meadowcream, October ale, otter's hotroot soup, cowslip cordial, a huge grayling caught from the Abbey pond and cooked to perfection by the affable and rotund friar Hugo. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.<br />
<br />
So, imagine my delight when I discovered that there is, in fact, a Redwall cookbook. This features a new short story from Brian Jacques and illustrations from Christopher Denise. The recipe below is a moley specialty, the very tasty 'Nunnymolers'. Here, they are introduced to Constance, the badger ...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfbC5eyW1hCPBAvSyXAuM-_FH_2rQHTvoSqsSNj5fbX1BsDLy_k2FxJw07s7MsAZA7S8F8GMpl6vzrOsHJu2qsY2zNmewBBgPT245YDZkXid2ImysbXY4z-5m8qx1GQsHaoMHEL-3MqZlM/s1600/IMG_2290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfbC5eyW1hCPBAvSyXAuM-_FH_2rQHTvoSqsSNj5fbX1BsDLy_k2FxJw07s7MsAZA7S8F8GMpl6vzrOsHJu2qsY2zNmewBBgPT245YDZkXid2ImysbXY4z-5m8qx1GQsHaoMHEL-3MqZlM/s400/IMG_2290.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
'Constance looked around the trolleys. "Anything else the moles have thought up? I like molefood - it has a nice, homely taste to it." Pansy picked up a dumpy-shaped little pastry. "Try a Nunnymoler."<br />
<br />
Constance scratched her great striped muzzle. 'A Nunny what?'<br />
<br />
Friar Hugo broke the pastry in two and gave Constance half. "Molewives bake them for the little ones. They were supposed to be called Honey Moles, but in molespeak they're known as Nunnymolers."'<br />
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So now you know! Constance is not wrong, they do have a homely taste about them, and they're lumpy, inelegant little things, but they aren't half tasty. They're sort of a cross between a shortbread and a scone, with a fruity, honeyed centre. The Redwall Cookbook is an American title, so I've adapted these quantites into grams.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9x93dp1zSg4jBcVPPM6GH_fJD5NqM7vtWqeFPRZvHR5jo7R8q3H3fHUaocFldCq9VIC1v-_YY2W6t4WAvSU_k9XiuhZsXb80-N65hQRPsorp3L5lyNpLapEBXkPrLdzdT-NAi7v_ekVb-/s1600/IMG_2296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9x93dp1zSg4jBcVPPM6GH_fJD5NqM7vtWqeFPRZvHR5jo7R8q3H3fHUaocFldCq9VIC1v-_YY2W6t4WAvSU_k9XiuhZsXb80-N65hQRPsorp3L5lyNpLapEBXkPrLdzdT-NAi7v_ekVb-/s400/IMG_2296.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><b>Nunnymolers</b><br />
<b>(Makes 12)</b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b></b>Ingredients:<br />
<br />
300g plain flour<br />
75g icing sugar<br />
200g butter, cubed<br />
12 raspberries<br />
6 strawberries, halved<br />
Honey<br />
Berry jam or compote <br />
<br />
Method:<br />
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4.<br />
2. Mix together the icing sugar and flour in a bowl to form a fine powder.<br />
3. Rub the butter into this mix with your fingertips until you've got a coarse, sandy mixture.<br />
4. Sprinkle over four tablespoons of cold water and mix with your hands until a ball of smooth dough forms.<br />
5. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper, and divide the dough into 12 equally sized balls.<br />
6. Flatten them into burger shapes with your palm and place them on the baking tray.<br />
7. Spread each one with a thin layer of honey, and place a raspberry and half a strawberry in the centre of each one.<br />
8. Fold the edges of the dough upwards and pinch them in to form a small, dumpy parcel with the fruit in the centre of it.<br />
9. Put a small blob of jam in the top of each parcel.<br />
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes until golden and let cool on a wire rack before eating.Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-89703099793274264212011-01-30T22:20:00.002+00:002011-04-12T20:23:53.380+01:00Raspberry pancakesLast night Jen and I went out on a date - Dinner at a lovely little family owned french restaurant (<a href="http://savoir.co.uk/savoir/index.html">Savoir faire</a>) - highly recommended, have the punchy mussels in pernod and garlic butter followed by the melt in the mouth boeuf bourguignon, both served with a perfect french accent. We followed a great (and good value) meal with fancy cocktails at <a href="http://www.campbellgrayhotels.com/one-aldwych-london.html?lang=EN#/one-aldwych-london/Restaurants-and-Bars/the-lobby-bar">the lobby bar in One Aldwych</a>. A rare treat.<br />
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It was a great night out and the perfect way to finish a stressful week.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hungover photography, not the best I know...</td></tr>
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Anyhoo, yesterday I woke up feeling a bit bleary and keen for some breakfast (in my defence, the raspberries in the cocktails were very alcoholic). Alas, no bread, quelle catastrophe! I wasn't in the mood for getting sufficiently dressed to brave the glacial morning on a shopping trip, nor was I capable of waiting three hours or so for home made. Fortunately we had sufficient ingredients for pancakes - pretty much just store cupboard stuff. The recipe is borrowed from Rachel, a fellow foodie of the highest calibre. <br />
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This truly is simplicity in action, certainly manageable with a mild hangover. Make a pancake or two, eat, make some more and continue until full. The raspberries could be exchanged for anything really, use your imagination and the bottom shelf of your fridge. <br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
225g Plain flour<br />
2 tsp baking powder<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
2 tbsp caster sugar<br />
2 large, beaten eggs<br />
300ml milk<br />
30g butter <br />
extra butter for frying<br />
Raspberries or blueberries or otherberries (3 or 4 per pancake)<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol><li>Weigh out the four, sugar, salt and baking powder into a suitably large bowl.</li>
<li>Melt the 30g butter in the frying pan you're going to be cooking in</li>
<li>Mix the eggs, milk and melted butter into the dry mix</li>
<li>Beat the mixture until smooth in consistency, then leave standing for 20 minutes - a good opportunity to make a decent mug of coffee</li>
<li>Heat up the pan back up (it should still have a decent covering of butter) and ladle in the batter (with a few raspberries or blueberries thrown in for good measure). Leave the batter until it has just about cooked through to the top and then flip</li>
<li>Cook the underside until it's browned</li>
<li>Remove from the pan and insert in face (you can dust with icing sugar if you fancy it)</li>
</ol>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-56378374682758026552011-01-22T15:47:00.001+00:002011-04-12T20:24:35.125+01:00Blue Monday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpNVqGgkG3CW2WjCspOvtEZx-rtymGZHU5LFi8MaoFKdcO0kQqD52X5ywxBLb37dcLcR0iMNQRpy0yUU6D3OjMvn5lGGlK6HE0-5YxcIzUwvVYVaTa75gdU2TNmbeyTX8irFczo5s9cKC_/s1600/IMG_2249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpNVqGgkG3CW2WjCspOvtEZx-rtymGZHU5LFi8MaoFKdcO0kQqD52X5ywxBLb37dcLcR0iMNQRpy0yUU6D3OjMvn5lGGlK6HE0-5YxcIzUwvVYVaTa75gdU2TNmbeyTX8irFczo5s9cKC_/s400/IMG_2249.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Monday was not a good day. It was a stellar cocktail of pouring rain, less than waterproof shoes, missed driving tests, subsequent tears and rage at the instructor who overslept, tense meetings at work and a general feeling that both Christmas and Spring are about a million miles away.<br />
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Yuck.<br />
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But then I read that Monday was pretty terrible for the whole country. Almost like it was supposed to be a terrible day. Apparently, everyone woke up with a sort of grey, soggy feeling. It was, according to the BBC, the most depressing day of the year.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPOUPBzn_dXJK7dPvvXGIfPR8BcmhPBAFoxj3VaP_c7aeExwW_DvpJCOupK9ihKhVsyRXOKhgh5-JgpYgD5LT_WiREunouY-pYI3Zvx10ilgEXr9DGQuRrF8QOH9qRKCzU14UhxinSxR0/s1600/IMG_2246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPOUPBzn_dXJK7dPvvXGIfPR8BcmhPBAFoxj3VaP_c7aeExwW_DvpJCOupK9ihKhVsyRXOKhgh5-JgpYgD5LT_WiREunouY-pYI3Zvx10ilgEXr9DGQuRrF8QOH9qRKCzU14UhxinSxR0/s400/IMG_2246.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
So, by rights, the rest of the year has to get better. And in celebration of this fact, on Monday night I made chocolate fondants.<br />
<br />
Now, they weren't perfect. While they were melting in the centre, and they tasted really good, the centres were a bit gummy and gloopy rather than properly liquid and silky. I think this is because I halved the recipe, having decided that 2 each in one evening was probably a little too decadent. This meant the batter was pretty thick before they even went into the moulds. <br />
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This seems like a feasible explanation for them falling slightly short. However, I am going to heap all the blame on Monday. So ner.<br />
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<b>Chocolate Melty Pick Me Up Puddings</b><br />
Adapted from Eric Lanlard's <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Bake-Eric-Lanlard/dp/1845335716">Home Bake</a><br />
<br />
(Serves 2)<br />
<br />
This is the recipe halved, as I did it, which will give you a delicious and moist sponge, with a thick and gooey centre. Test them out this way, as a pud for two, and let's see if it really was the power of Blue Monday messing them up, or whether it's simply a case of kitchen chemistry.<br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
65g unsalted butter plus extra butter for greasing<br />
1 tbsp cocoa powder<br />
65g dark chocolate, bashed up into bits<br />
30g caster sugar<br />
1 large egg<br />
1 large egg yolk<br />
50g plain flour<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.<br />
2. Grease two ovenproof moulds of about 200ml thoroughly, then take a teaspoon of the cocoa powder and sprinkle it into the moulds. Shake the moulds from side to side until there is a light dusting of cocoa across the base of both of them.<br />
3. Heat a small amount of water in a small saucepan, and place a heatproof bowl over the pan. The bottom of the bowl shouldn't be touching the water. Melt the chocolate and the butter together in the bowl, stirring all the time.<br />
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg yolk and egg. The mixture needs to be frothy and pale, so use an electric whisk if you can, otherwise you'll have a painful arm!<br />
5. Pour the melted mixture onto the whisked eggs and sugar, then sift in the flour and remaining cocoa powder over the top and fold it in with a metal spoon.<br />
6. Spoon the mixture into the buttered moulds and place them on a baking tray.<br />
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. By this point the outside of the puddings should be slightly crisp and firm to the touch, and should have started to pull away from the edge of the mould.<br />
8. Gently loosen the edges of each mould with a sharp knife, and turn the puddings upside down onto a plate. The middles should be melting when you dig a spoon into them.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>9. Serve with ice cream or a big dollop of creme fraiche.<br />
<br />
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<b></b>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-86178362545517729692011-01-11T23:43:00.001+00:002011-04-12T20:25:59.584+01:00A Glass Of Something Smoky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53bKQCsvpT0CLHWtGYyNwzX13czgpRkVaIuB5XkBwheohfhe74UWB9VeZPq1JRDqClthLLiZxPmKmUhBiXhfMsAeXt0abCJvde2gdJF-IAWho8DEtNE3PkT19NhYAQdktiuKtBc5-Sr_D/s1600/IMG_2234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53bKQCsvpT0CLHWtGYyNwzX13czgpRkVaIuB5XkBwheohfhe74UWB9VeZPq1JRDqClthLLiZxPmKmUhBiXhfMsAeXt0abCJvde2gdJF-IAWho8DEtNE3PkT19NhYAQdktiuKtBc5-Sr_D/s400/IMG_2234.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
My lovely aunt and uncle gave us the first series of <a href="http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/">MadMen</a> for Christmas and we're now totally hooked. It's beautifully done - very witty and very sexy. It reminds me of a line in a song by croaky-voiced 60s chanteuse, Melanie, who my dad always loved and, as a kid, I always hated ... <i>'The Madison Avenue pink dream makers'... </i>a brilliant line, and one that has been stuck in my head since we watched the first episode.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>It also makes me want to take up smoking, using a spindly thin cigarette holder, and exhaling languidly with a pointedly raised eyebrow, and have a cut glass decanter filled with whisky sitting nonchalantly on the corner of my desk at work (and in fact on the corner of any table I happen to be passing by). <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The smoking thing I shall quash. The whisky thing on the other hand ...<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb1Epk9c7lvFJ2RBlYcyTX_LkxjZdT5iWhP_TB2HWoZNaddvLKgr5Yvj-EPEAeLYBpifIl5QgnRC5sjPyiS7uIvGkmzV66DIh42-7v1L7OYGWYHH3SYxUUqmzwbh_Jg9K5KxDI1JLy9vXg/s1600/P1110019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb1Epk9c7lvFJ2RBlYcyTX_LkxjZdT5iWhP_TB2HWoZNaddvLKgr5Yvj-EPEAeLYBpifIl5QgnRC5sjPyiS7uIvGkmzV66DIh42-7v1L7OYGWYHH3SYxUUqmzwbh_Jg9K5KxDI1JLy9vXg/s400/P1110019.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>It was Matt who introduced me to whisky, and he had to endure several months of me making faces and squeaking 'urgh, it tastes like bacon' before I understood why anyone would drink it out of choice. But I'm glad I persevered. <br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Now, before we go any further, I should like to say that this is very much going to be a 'whisky for beginners' sort of a post. I feel certain that Matt, who is a) more of a connoisseur, and b) more of a chemist, will do a more in depth, less airy fairy post about his view of whisky at some point in the future. If you're really lucky he'll talk about parts per million phenol, feints, low wines and other quirks of the distillation process. Ooh er.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So, after a month or so of 'whisky training', I started to appreciate the flavour of the drink- its smoky, buttery sweetness. But, it was only after we went to Islay on holiday last summer that I became a proper fan.</div><br />
<br />
Islay is known as the Queen of the Hebrides. It's a tiny island, home to some 3,000 people and nine massively productive whisky distilleries, including some of the most famous and highly thought of in the world. It's really rugged and very beautiful, but not exactly crammed with things to do - the whole heartbeat of the island is obviously its whisky production, and its visitors tend to be devotees of this smokiest of spirits. <br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kYzF-pV8BVVpgbbKTAWqRm6xGbG_crIY0kYfX-95-kmciLVSDpkY-dGjaIgBizrnp6wJCQUG792ebGCo95pKEft_twD3OOGJK13pfEb9uFlENIWfrC9GTtSUIfFaXIxkuygo_ivG9dtl/s1600/P1110060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kYzF-pV8BVVpgbbKTAWqRm6xGbG_crIY0kYfX-95-kmciLVSDpkY-dGjaIgBizrnp6wJCQUG792ebGCo95pKEft_twD3OOGJK13pfEb9uFlENIWfrC9GTtSUIfFaXIxkuygo_ivG9dtl/s400/P1110060.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIaKLwPGz8-F_ctqTCvYFZdKVyvwR5wjeOg0mnMaKpsvXC62G53DlPugI6IpKFVyIf0aNZspN9KX7GiMrGH51eXKXmXzmGqahm2EfcoL4H6_gfNcbHgwB9Nf5U8a5BqMiHJ6_O52KQNzSO/s1600/P1100919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIaKLwPGz8-F_ctqTCvYFZdKVyvwR5wjeOg0mnMaKpsvXC62G53DlPugI6IpKFVyIf0aNZspN9KX7GiMrGH51eXKXmXzmGqahm2EfcoL4H6_gfNcbHgwB9Nf5U8a5BqMiHJ6_O52KQNzSO/s400/P1100919.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stunningly well stocked whisky bar at the Lochside Hotel, Bowmore</td></tr>
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We managed three distillery tours while we were there - Bowmore, Ardbeg, and Laphroaig. We did tastings at each, and I was really surprised at the huge range of flavours you can get from small tweaks in the distilling and aging process. Put your spirit in a bourbon cask, you get burnt sugar and citrus notes, put it in a sherry cask and you get something much sweeter and rounder. </div> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Laphroaig peat fire. My hair smelt deliciously smoky for days afterwards.</td></tr>
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It was Laphroaig that was the real stunner of the holiday, we stayed there for nearly 9 hours, and would have camped out on the little verge by the waterside if we could. It's nestled in its own little cove, and on the day we visited it was in brilliant sunshine, so the water was a deep, deep blue. Laphroaig means 'The beautiful hollow by the broad bay'. I love that so much meaning can be packed into one, lilting little word. The same applies to the whisky to be honest. At the tasting held by the lovely Rhona, we tried several drams, and she encouraged us to hold a mouthful on our tongues - one second for every year of aging. Some of them were a little too much for me, leaving me with a mouthful of slightly heathery smoke that made my eyes water, but there were some that were delicious. You couldn't help but let a long, slow grin spread over your face as you swallowed and managed to put a name to the flavours you'd got hits of. Peat smoke, honey, cinnamon, lemon, caramel, nuts and a salty, seabreezy tang.</div><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">In between drams, we mooched around the museum which charts Laphroaig's history. One story struck a bit of a chord with me. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Bessie Williamson came over to Islay from the mainland in the 1930s to work as a secretary at Laphroaig on a temporary contract for three months. While she was there, she became fascinated by the whisky making process, and the distillery's then owner, Ian Hunter, gradually showed her the tricks of his trade. </div><br />
That 3 month temp job turned into 40 years at Laphroaig for Bessie, who eventually became manager and then owner of the distillery. Laphroaig's First Lady. She gave up her old life for that beautiful hollow by the broad bay; for mash tuns and great copper stills; for the dark bricks of peat and their bluish smoke; for heather and hardy, hearty island folk; for that last dram before bedtime; for night skies dripping with stars.<br />
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After only spending a week on Islay, I can begin to see why it was she stayed...<br />
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Happy New Year everyone! It's quite exciting to think that our blog now transcends two calendar years.<br />
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On the first day of a New Year, I find (as I suspect most people do) that thoughts turn towards hopes and aspirations for the year ahead. Here are a few of ours, if you'd like to share your own, it would be great to hear your food related ambitions!<br />
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<ol><li>Improve the quality of our wine intake whilst cutting back a bit. That means less casillero del diablo and more hunting out local independent wine merchants. It also means a camping trip through the Loire valley (although Jen doesn't know it yet).</li>
<li>Take more time over food photography, normally I'm so eager to eat that I don't get around to taking a decent photo.</li>
<li>To have tried all of the french AOC cheeses (so far I've had 29 out of a total 44 - I'm pretty sure it's 44...)<i><br />
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And from Jen:</i></li>
<li>Be a smidge stricter about portion sizes, so that when we say 'oh, lovely, we've got enough for lunch tomorrow as well', we don't then go back and snarf it later that night.</li>
<li>Have a couple of unashamedly foodie weekend breaks to places we've not been before but that seem to be rising on the foodie radar (Sardinia is top of Jen's list at the moment).</li>
</ol>This year our near and dear ones have been very generous and have provided a truly mountainous selection of cookery, wine and other foodie books which we can't wait to get into (I'm sure there will be many posts in the year ahead). In fact, there were so many that we couldn't carry them all back to London, so the monster wine encyclopedia is not shown below...<br />
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Apologies for having fallen off the face of the earth. December seems to have taken us rather by surprise in a 'butbutit'salreadyonlyaweektilChristmasandthere'sstillsomuchtodooooo' sort of a way. But, we have a tree, it is twinkling away in the corner, and there is a flurry of cards in the post winging their way across the country.<br />
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In honour of various Christmas parties and festive drinks, I have dragged myself to the hairdressers and am now sporting a rather sleeker, darker version of my usual frizzy mess. Last night, however, I was in the mood for something a little blonder and creamier (how's that for a tenuous segue?)<br />
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Now, let it never be said that I don't like dark chocolate. A couple of squares (oh alright, most of a bar) of some 70% cocoa <a href="http://www.chocolatetradingco.com/buy/guanaja-70-dark-chocolate-bar?oldid=394">chocolate </a>and a glass of red wine of an evening, and I'm a very happy girl. Chocolate cake is something of another matter. It's not that I don't like it, it's just that, unless it's something really special, I always tend to veer away from it and towards a vanilla sponge, a layered angel cake or a lemon drizzle. It's the same with brownies. A good, sticky, dark chocolate brownie, with chunks of hazelnut, served warm with some cornish dairy ice cream is a gorgeous, gorgeous thing, but if you ask me, I think this is one case where blondies really are more fun.<br />
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This is my favourite blondie recipe (white chocolate brownie, for those who don't know). The blueberries take the edge off the white chocolate's sweetness, and the macadamia nuts give them a great crunch. The result is that, if you're me at least, it's very easy to make 30 largeish blondie squares, and, erm, even easier to eat them ALL in the space of two days. Whoops.<br />
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<b>White Chocolate, Blueberries and Macadamia Nut Blondies</b><br />
Adapted from Linda Collister's <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Divine-Heavenly-Chocolate-Recipes-Heart/dp/1904573738/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292713122&sr=1-1">Divine Heavenly Chocolate</a> book. <br />
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The main adaptation here is a damn sight more blueberries than the recipe suggests - I like the blondies to be liberally sprinkled with purplish juicy splodges. <br />
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<b>Ingredients</b><br />
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200g white chocolate<br />
200g butter, chopped into cubes<br />
150g caster sugar<br />
200g plain flour<br />
1 tsp baking powder<br />
50g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped<br />
3 large eggs<br />
200g blueberries<br />
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<b>Method</b><br />
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<ol><li>Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4 and grease and line 1 large square cake tin or 2 small ones.</li>
<li>Break 150 g of the chocolate into pieces and put them in a heatproof bowl with the chopped butter. Heat gently over a saucepan of water. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl is not immersed in the water or the chocolate may burn. Stir the mixture continuously until melted and smooth.</li>
<li>Take the mixture off the heat and leave it to cool until later.</li>
<li>In a large, clean bowl, whisk the eggs like a maniac until they're pale yellow and frothy.</li>
<li>Add the sugar and whisk vigorously again until the mixture is smooth and the sugar is combined.</li>
<li>Pour in the melted chocolate and butter mix and stir in until you've got a golden, viscous mixture. </li>
<li>Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold it in with a metal spoon until well mixed.</li>
<li>Roughly chop the remaining 50g chocolate into chunks and add this, along with the chopped nuts and half the blueberries to the mixture.</li>
<li>Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and smooth it into the corners with the back of a spoon.</li>
<li>Sprinkle the remaining blueberries over the top and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until risen and golden on top.</li>
<li>Cut into squares while still warm, then remove from the tin and place on a cooling rack. </li>
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Last weekend we took a well deserved and much looked forward to four days in a National Trust cottage in Norfolk with two of our friends (reliable partners in food indulgence). A weekend of snow, cosy wood fires, food and drink.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>There were many food related highlights, all of which would merit further blog attention: roast pork/fishfinger sandwiches from Roast at borough market; roast chicken; home baked bread, cookies and cupcakes; fish and chips and a massive amount of cheese - vacherin, stichelton, st marcelin and a brillat savarin stuffed with truffle (aptly nicknamed sex cheese).<br />
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But for me, the most interesting was a ready steady cook rematch. Set a budget, split into teams and decide who is going to cook which courses of a dinner - with four, we've found that two teams of two works well, with one team handling the main course whilst the other does starter and dessert.<br />
Then, go out into borough market (or any other market) and buy exotic ingredients for the other team to play with. Once the ingredients have been exchanged, the cooking team will create something whilst the other team stay out of the kitchen - no cookbooks allowed.<br />
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We would strongly recommend that you try it sometime, the results range from the sublime to the vile, and it makes a great change from the tried and tested dinner party format. Duck a la chocolate orange anyone?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSSPo9axqqECu0KgSBkBG7u9FqeYGrt7HBGgxgE597hi3cPlIEKWBVvKlcD_MQN7a0qXlDausmCcSb067ukqcip0o78qQjHYcVo2-DZti7eOAUvL7gonLWoGrxup03bZ1WwRozbyj_pMs/s1600/P1110446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSSPo9axqqECu0KgSBkBG7u9FqeYGrt7HBGgxgE597hi3cPlIEKWBVvKlcD_MQN7a0qXlDausmCcSb067ukqcip0o78qQjHYcVo2-DZti7eOAUvL7gonLWoGrxup03bZ1WwRozbyj_pMs/s400/P1110446.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><img height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2l9oF0iinH1_rvzBGzXzy-3pFYQQfVQQPYC8op9dyUjf_5yvY16eyqjHmiPQXCeHsKWnL4LDZk5MDHA6wNo-n8zW_G2uV820DGRkUEnPFbBrfAzhE5PIozAVdrqqWbsvwhvdJ6EE3wJE/s400/P1110442.JPG" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 241px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 701px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" />Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-36078387680191704672010-11-30T22:01:00.001+00:002011-04-12T20:29:08.591+01:00Let It Snow ... (but only if it's going to do it properly)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF17CJnAam5zhhoX2FzAeDfQLNSOQ7UeSsPD7bWN5msInG-DJh_4unAwBnwvdYIJVuGee8_HStWknPmWGBSnO0x7LhWcEQ1ti6IWbdibGNQnyc1e4u2UFa2qhSRBmX0pb3-CIOmZ1TBYGb/s1600/IMG_1987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF17CJnAam5zhhoX2FzAeDfQLNSOQ7UeSsPD7bWN5msInG-DJh_4unAwBnwvdYIJVuGee8_HStWknPmWGBSnO0x7LhWcEQ1ti6IWbdibGNQnyc1e4u2UFa2qhSRBmX0pb3-CIOmZ1TBYGb/s400/IMG_1987.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
It had to happen really. For days now there have been articles in the papers prophesying snowclouds of doom, and today they emptied their feathery, freezing little minions all over London.<br />
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Now, I am generally a big fan of snow. I never saw very much as a kid, but since moving to London I've had some brilliant snow days and made my very first snow angel. This time around, however, the snow has yet to settle, so we've got that lovely film of treacherous greyish slush on the pavements, and the snowflakes seem to be making a beeline for MY EYES, so I scuttle along blinking frantically like a bemused and shivery mole. In a hat.<br />
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Anyway, I do not wish to sound like a wintry Scrooge, I do genuinely love this time of year and am already starting to get very excited about Christmas. I am also excited by the recipe below.<br />
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I got back from a wonderful day in frosty Cambridge with friends on Sunday, having been for a walk to Grantchester along the river. I did take some pictures but they were all pants and don't do the scenery anywhere near justice, so am sulking and keeping them to myself. Some of the manlier (and frankly madder) members of the group went for a brief dip in the Cam, which involved breaking through a sheet of ice first. Bonkers, the lot of them! Having got back at a reasonable time on Sunday night, I decided to try out a recipe I'd stumbled upon on the truly scrumptious <a href="http://www.foodbeam.com/">Foodbeam</a> (if you don't already know it, check it out - the desserts Fanny comes up with are sure to make you drool.)<br />
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This recipe is for chocolate chip cookies, and it is, in my humble opinion, genius. It has wiped the floor with my previous failsafe cookie recipe, that's for sure. Its majesty lies in the fact that you bake the cookies in a muffin pan - something I'd never considered before.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiurSEMfUT7QoBuvDzKQ_I5XSyJflcFadywYviXQ9fWlD222YTxKc9yfA-UCC4oVSFeZPXPZ_rvTg65wjOsyg53SllGA12RRow8rhu8VE8N7l_q82qbZ-ZTHRcjN5voGz1MdlCzFqb9hWa/s1600/IMG_1979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiurSEMfUT7QoBuvDzKQ_I5XSyJflcFadywYviXQ9fWlD222YTxKc9yfA-UCC4oVSFeZPXPZ_rvTg65wjOsyg53SllGA12RRow8rhu8VE8N7l_q82qbZ-ZTHRcjN5voGz1MdlCzFqb9hWa/s400/IMG_1979.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
You end up with deep, chewy sort of cookie-pies, which can cope with proper chunks of chocolate, rather than just chocolate chips. The addition of sea salt also gives them a really moreish bite, which unfortunately means that you can eat several of them in one sitting without them getting sickly. Oh well, there's always tomorrow to start dieting ...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfx3L54OrEu63ePk5mjJQ3rhlRxrtRfhCbrnNZ54pIe5dQ59BldTT8WsKOh2KHKL3txI5vPZ_cNGnvgfDoo65-0WxIFQ1EA7ytCoWpxXyk4QsfinDDcf86yWsiSOYa_W9ylkZ5Tp1BhkZS/s1600/IMG_1994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfx3L54OrEu63ePk5mjJQ3rhlRxrtRfhCbrnNZ54pIe5dQ59BldTT8WsKOh2KHKL3txI5vPZ_cNGnvgfDoo65-0WxIFQ1EA7ytCoWpxXyk4QsfinDDcf86yWsiSOYa_W9ylkZ5Tp1BhkZS/s400/IMG_1994.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Chocolate Chip Cookies<br />
Recipe adapted from <a href="http://www.foodbeam.com/2010/11/12/night-seems-to-talk-to-every-wall-chocolate-chip-cookies-like-muffins/">Fanny Zanotti at Foodbeam</a><br />
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The original recipe calls for a large quantity of muscovado sugar, which I find rather too treacly for my taste. I've adapted the quantities here to include demerara as well as muscovado. This does mean using slightly more sugar than the original recipe, but the end product is still delicious, and not too sweet.<br />
<br />
Makes 12 cookies<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients</b><br />
<br />
90g butter, softened (or practically melted in my case having put it to warm in the oven and left it for rather too long) I used salted butter, and adjusted the quantity of sea salt to accommodate this.<br />
40g caster sugar<br />
20g dark muscovado sugar<br />
150g demerara sugar<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
1 egg, beaten<br />
100g plain flour<br />
100g strong white bread flour<br />
1/4 tsp baking powder<br />
3g Maldon sea salt<br />
80g dark chocolate, chopped into smallish chunks<br />
<br />
<b>Method</b><br />
<ol><li>Preheat the oven to 180C (Gas mark 4)</li>
<li>With a wooden spoon, cream together the sugars and the softened butter until pale and fluffy.</li>
<li>Add the beaten egg and mix well.</li>
<li>Add the vanilla extract and beat again.</li>
<li>Sift in the flours, baking powder and the salt. Mix together until it's starting to look doughy.</li>
<li>Add the chocolate chunks, then get in amongst it with your hands and knead it.</li>
<li>Keep going until you've got a firm dough, and all the flour has been incorporated.</li>
<li>Lightly grease a muffin pan.</li>
<li>Roll the dough into balls between your hands - each one should be roughly satsuma sized.</li>
<li>Press them down into the holes in the muffin pan, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.</li>
<li>Keep them in tupperware and try not to eat them all at once.</li>
</ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcKo9H-zraM_jdqm5yYsKOrA3RdDzT_BsUs82uOlgkzL9YHbV4A9tbSTik6kc3BPqVG3g7JBr5vNPM6AKTjThj8kMwzhDFaCMe9B-FH3h90X6GEQPkcqycJnLTz3cMEI66_UoH9xoXosu/s1600/IMG_1991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcKo9H-zraM_jdqm5yYsKOrA3RdDzT_BsUs82uOlgkzL9YHbV4A9tbSTik6kc3BPqVG3g7JBr5vNPM6AKTjThj8kMwzhDFaCMe9B-FH3h90X6GEQPkcqycJnLTz3cMEI66_UoH9xoXosu/s400/IMG_1991.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-60783375066910886202010-11-25T23:03:00.002+00:002011-04-12T20:29:38.313+01:00A Staple: Pasta, Bacon and Artichoke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8cjhq6DqmB5AMe4u9yxTAxwx0zrX6Yik0kafVPboHl8vsllFdljVPKk3pwnljLXDyQFJRbzk4yDl2v-dzRffDA_KWEfjzPy0rTSwsls6B-Imx3QPlHZL8mMp861O_mXG3CX0ba4kUUpO/s1600/IMG_1963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8cjhq6DqmB5AMe4u9yxTAxwx0zrX6Yik0kafVPboHl8vsllFdljVPKk3pwnljLXDyQFJRbzk4yDl2v-dzRffDA_KWEfjzPy0rTSwsls6B-Imx3QPlHZL8mMp861O_mXG3CX0ba4kUUpO/s400/IMG_1963.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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There's something immensely satisfying about making a really good dinner out of whatever you happen to have in the fridge and the cupboards. So, sometimes, I cheat, and make sure I have certain things lurking in the fridge, behind the jam, or in the cupboards behind one of Matt's 700 odd jars of Marmite (why one is not enough I will never know, not being a follower of the Marmitian faith.)<br />
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The items in question are jars of sundried tomatoes, and artichokes marinated in olive oil. Now, I'm aware that these would hardly be considered a staple food by many, but they are absolutely integral to one of my favourite dishes. This is a recipe of my mum's. It's really very easy, and it was probably (not counting the endless Victoria sponges and lumpy bread rolls I brought home from G.C.S.E food tech lessons) one of the first things I learned to cook.<br />
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When I left home to go to uni, I wasn't exactly a foodie, and could quite happily subsist on a banana, a couple of biscuits and a quarter of a packet of ready-made stuffed pasta a day (this was supplemented by about 1200 cups of tea. I'm surprised I wasn't found sticking to the ceiling in a weightless, over-caffeinated coma). <br />
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However, whenever I had people coming over for dinner, I would almost invariably bust out this recipe, and it was, almost invariably, a success.<br />
<br />
Nowadays, it's a reliable fall back, and something we still throw together regularly. It's both salty and zesty, creamy and meaty, with a sauce that coats the pasta so it's nice and glossy, without feeling too soggy. One day, I will make my own pasta to go with it, but until my dreams of a shiny pasta machine come true, dried penne or fusilli is plenty good enough. When it's freezing outside, and there's an evening full of comfortable sofa and mindless TV ahead, this dish is the perfect accompaniment. <br />
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<b>Mummy Jen's Simple Pasta Supper</b><br />
Serves 2<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
3 rashers of smoked bacon, cut into bitesized pieces<br />
1 tsp olive oil<br />
4 or 5 sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped (the oil itself has a lovely flavour, so don't drain them too much before adding them to the pan)<br />
4 largish artichoke chunks in oil, chopped (as above)<br />
1 small glass dry white wine<br />
2 tbsps single cream<br />
salt<br />
pepper<br />
a handful of torn basil leaves<br />
125g dried fusilli or penne<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ol><li>Heat the oil in a large frying pan.</li>
<li>Add the bacon and fry until beginning to brown at the edges - keep stirring.</li>
<li>Add the chopped sundried tomatoes and artichoke and stir in.</li>
<li>Put the pasta in a saucepan, cover with water, salt generously and bring to the boil.</li>
<li>Add the white wine to the frying pan and turn the heat down so it's simmering, not bubbling too violently.</li>
<li>Wait until the pasta is just on the crunchy side of al dente (6 or 7 minutes), then add the cream to the frying pan and stir it in. </li>
<li>Leave for 2 mins, by which time the pasta should be done.</li>
<li>Drain pasta and amalgamate into bacony saucy pan. Stir it well.</li>
<li>Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle over the basil leaves, then serve.</li>
</ol>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3364213246811258291.post-29876161387542296772010-11-24T22:07:00.001+00:002011-04-12T20:30:40.009+01:00Easy roast lambMatt again,<br />
<br />
I've been meaning to finish this post for a while now, the meal happened a few weeks ago and I've been a little slow in getting it written up...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGqNkPain0RlXuV1hLlQa2Pec1I_1fNz2mlp3_TVXDOXzcZaKw8llNtnispjlNo319bJKCch_qLgZaiX5l21mG_mBxly-t6KnJBzyoo4FoExNXHHBU4w6sC5ZcABqx1r9VMOVO9IjqxbF/s1600/IMG_1583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGqNkPain0RlXuV1hLlQa2Pec1I_1fNz2mlp3_TVXDOXzcZaKw8llNtnispjlNo319bJKCch_qLgZaiX5l21mG_mBxly-t6KnJBzyoo4FoExNXHHBU4w6sC5ZcABqx1r9VMOVO9IjqxbF/s400/IMG_1583.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jen was due back from Bristol at 7 on Sunday, and I wanted to have something nice for her to eat. This was perfect - easy, delicious and looks impressive. The whole recipe derives an extra sense of danger from cooking the meat direct on the oven shelf. Crazy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The potatoes are brilliant, all crispy and lamby. Well worth a try if you can bear going without gravy...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The recipe is good for two or three with plenty left over for tasty lamb sandwiches the day after.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is pretty close to a Nigel Slater recipe, although for me his cooking times seemed all wrong. In my book, lamb should be pink in the middle, not bleeding. His suggestion of 15 minutes per 500g was just too short. Sorry Nigel.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmrVjUcl144sHOjV5tEljGx_w5-irliJPf7ju3e2zMFXlPotpLYHYTvoBHfrP6FNR9LInJlpKwbTYBJ3RsQEuW3Xz66nz-gaOb3tsKS1vik6kpri73cMK0ekgF3s-qN67HzYXLCOONdU0/s1600/IMG_1589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmrVjUcl144sHOjV5tEljGx_w5-irliJPf7ju3e2zMFXlPotpLYHYTvoBHfrP6FNR9LInJlpKwbTYBJ3RsQEuW3Xz66nz-gaOb3tsKS1vik6kpri73cMK0ekgF3s-qN67HzYXLCOONdU0/s400/IMG_1589.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
1.5 to 2kg Leg of lamb<br />
1 head of garlic<br />
1 handful of rosemary<br />
5 reasonably sized potatoes with the skin still on<br />
olive oil<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmrSN1XlJYmvN5xBuHqCYTI0bBqSbqPGmoUBkU8VOmijYFLlIb2rEgwAfI1d_5Y4W6OBZIaopAtC1RSgd7UrGDof0HlR8k1R98zIqhef507NXRYbN3kzvpHQqlhl-sg9zXtk5ZuGdnhb3/s1600/IMG_1594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmrSN1XlJYmvN5xBuHqCYTI0bBqSbqPGmoUBkU8VOmijYFLlIb2rEgwAfI1d_5Y4W6OBZIaopAtC1RSgd7UrGDof0HlR8k1R98zIqhef507NXRYbN3kzvpHQqlhl-sg9zXtk5ZuGdnhb3/s400/IMG_1594.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol><li>Pierce the leg with a small sharp knife and stuff rosemary and garlic into the holes. Liberally douse the leg in olive oil and dust with salt.</li>
<li>Using a food processor, slice the potatoes fairly thin and spread out on a roasting tin, throw in some slices of garlic, a few stems of rosemary and a glug or two of olive oil.</li>
<li>Place the roasting tin on a low shelf in the oven and then place the lamb directly onto the shelf above it (oven set at 230C). Make sure that the leg is well positioned to avoid a lengthy oven clean.</li>
<li>Leave well alone for half an hour before turning the heat down to 200C.</li>
<li>If you fancy turning the potatoes at this point, go for it but they'll probably fall to pieces.</li>
<li>As I mentioned above, cook for a total of about 25 minutes per 500g. If you're worried about over cooking, buy a meat thermometer they're a cheap way of making sure that you don't ruin a meal.</li>
<li>Remove the lamb and leave to rest (for me this means on a warm plate under some tin foil).</li>
</ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2oAMYq5-22QKxZ-ao_CbeYIBOo7Itej8N2GZN7eJVVWvsiYurGVw2QKDACg1JWYPjQpmU5wGqLK5EKJO2Co7SkGH4ji2Fbczy3Ro56hqcKc2xUvGHuzu4rvdUSCi8CJ9k2E9XnCt3x93/s1600/IMG_1596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2oAMYq5-22QKxZ-ao_CbeYIBOo7Itej8N2GZN7eJVVWvsiYurGVw2QKDACg1JWYPjQpmU5wGqLK5EKJO2Co7SkGH4ji2Fbczy3Ro56hqcKc2xUvGHuzu4rvdUSCi8CJ9k2E9XnCt3x93/s400/IMG_1596.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<ol></ol><ol></ol>Blue Cheese and Mangoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17869247668892831563noreply@blogger.com0