Monthly Archives: August 2012

Baking, Good Food

Chocolate and raspberry brownies.

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I came across this recipe while organising the magazines. Had to make it, I had everything that was needed in my cupboard, plus some raspberries in the fridge. They turned out so good, that we had 3 squares each before dinner, therefore dinner menu had to be changed to a lighter one! šŸ™‚

I made half a portion, small tray, so that it was not wasted. 150g of dark chocolate, a third of it should have been a milk one, but I had none.125 g of butter, 200 g of light brown sugar all melted over hot water, I added 2 beaten whole eggs, 70 g of plain flour, 25 g of cocoa and poured all that onto a tray ready with baking parchment.Some fresh raspberries got scattered all over and gently pushed onto the chocholatey mix. It baked in 180 degrees for 30 something minutes. Most lovely when shortly out of the oven, warm, slightly crispy on top and sharp from the raspberries. Yum.

 

That dessert was then followed by a little dish we had in Jamie’s Italian last night. Chunks of courgettes in breadcrumbs deep fried, served with lemon mayo and sprinkled with parmesan. So simple and so good!

Dessert

Jasmine tea panna cotta.

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I had that idea for a few days, but couldn’t work out, what to serve it with. The Chief suggested creme anglaise, but I was thinking- roasted fruit, peach or something. But the peaches in Tesco were crap today and I’m not patient, so I bought nice, ripe apricots instead. Roasted them off in the oven with brown sugar and some dessert wine.

The panna cotta itself, Ramsay’s recipe again, I hate to say, but it does work, great texture. 300 ml of double cream, 100 ml of milk, about 75 g of sugar – still I thought a bit too sweet- and all this infused with good quality jasmine tea and then strained. 1,5 leaf gelatine held it together.

I love the flavour, it’s subtle, yet unmistakable. Roasted apricots a bit too strong. Maybe theĀ  Chief was right. I still have 4 in the fridge for tomorrow for the guests, might give it a go.

Baking

A very easy & spontaneous cake with plums.

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I wanted some kind of cake to use the plums, that were sitting on the window sill and looking ripe. What I ended up doing, was my Mum’s recipe for a random fruit tart, only I didn’t bother measuring anything. 3 whole eggs I whipped with about 5 tbsps of sugar, same amount of plain flour, the whole packet of dry budyn,less than a tsp of baking powder, around 125 g of melted butter. All this went into the tray, topped with evenly scattered chopped and sugared plums and apples, I then bakedĀ  it for about 35 minutes in 190 degrees. Looked like that;

Dessert, Good Food

Black sesame financiers.

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They’re the nicest part of the petit fours at work, I got to taste a couple last week, after some begging I got the recipe and 50 g of black sesame paste to make it. Just enjoying the last ones with a cup of tea.

For nearly 2 trays of the financiers I used 60 g of plain flour, about a quarter of a tsp of baking powder, 90 g of plain sugar, which whipped with 3 egg whites made a nice meringue. 80 g of melted butter, the said 50 g of sesame paste and 20 g of sesame oil complete the line up. The mixture chilled in the fridge for the butter to set and then, sprinkled with some toasted, crushed hazelnuts, I baked them off in 180 degrees for about 10 minutes. Very, very nice. If I manage to obtain some more of that cool paste, I’m thinking a sponge would be awesome, with 2 more layers of something, not sure what yet, but I’ll get there.

 

The main this evening was a very pleasant risotto, with roasted squash and roasted shallots, topped with parma ham. Very filling, very good.

Good Food

Braised pork with plums.

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Nicest thing about pork- its price. I was thinking about lamb shanks, but bloody hell, 14 quid?!! I have tried a beautiful pair of jeans on and DID NOT buy them, so I continued to be good and bought some pork shoulder steaks instead, for Ā£4. Pat, pat. šŸ™‚

I marinated my pork chunks in a mixture of soy sauce, about 4tbsp, same amount of rice wine, or mirin, half a chopped red chilli, some root ginger and a clove of garlicĀ  and tossed it in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Upwarmed the oven to 160, gas mark 3, I fried a handful of chopped spring onions, another half of the chilli, more ginger and 2 garlic cloves, added the pork, its marinade and browned it all over. I added a good tsp of five spice, 2 tbsp of sugar and some cinnamon. Then transferredĀ  it all to the casserole, poured hot chicken stock in, added a tbsp of tomato puree, stirred and put in the oven, covered, for over an hour.

The second part of the braising involved some plums, quartered, which thickened the whole thing nicely, as it was uncovered in the oven for another 1,5 hour( or until when Florek gets home! ) šŸ™‚

It had 44 good reviews in Good Food, I think I’d do it again, but with sweet, very ripe plums, cause mine were not fantastic. But we ate the whole thing, served with rice and finished with more chopped spring onions. Decent. 7 out of 10.

 

My dessert this evening looked great, but tasted okeish. Florian said I should not have used salted butter for the base( that’s the only one I had), which I baked and then topped with a cream cheese, strawberry and icing sugar mixture. Pretty, but not particularly memorable.