Creme Caramel (again).

I have one of those here already, but it came out so perfect, that I had to blog it again. I was more generous with grand marnier this time and also added an orangey extra on top of the cooling caramel- before I poured the custards in, I added a bit of orange peel, the sweet, fried one from my Mom. Worked a treat.

Basic recipe;2 whole eggs and 1 yolk whipped and fluffed up with 50 g of sugar. 250ml of milk heated up and poured in while still beating. Goooood generous slosh of grand marnier added added before straining well- that I managed well this evening, they were perfect. 20 minutes in bain marie, oven around 130 degrees.

Brasserie Blanc on a perfect Thursday evening.

For this day we were waiting for a long time. We booked the tickets to Royal Festival Hall back in May to hear Beethoven’s 9th Symphony live, so there had to be a nice dinner before that.

Raymond’s place got picked shortly after he popped in to Dinings a while ago, the fact that his restaurant is a walking distance from the RFH mattered too.

Very, very pleasant place. Florek picked a bottle of Pinot Noir, for a starter we shared a steak tartare, very bravely seasoned, lots of mustard and capers, have to try it at Mum’s! With a baguette it was great. For the mains Florek had a hake, I went for the grilled scallops on a truffle mash.There was some baked fennel as well, not my thing though, it tasted like a bottle of perfume. Scallops though- fantastic. Maybe even second most awesome scallops dish ever, after those that Goemon made for us in Dinings last time, when we went with Moka. Goemon’s scallops sat in the truffle soy sauce and had some crispy parma ham on top, the only problem with them was the amount- 3 scallops for the 3 of us.Anyway, those today were spot on.

For dessert we went for Baked Alaska, something I’ve seen on Masterchef plenty of times, but never tried. It was nice, I love grand marnier and our waiter presented it in a nice way. He was so cool, that we invited him to share it with us, which he enthusiastically did.

Good thing is, that there is Brasserie Blanc in Cheltenham as well. πŸ™‚

La Petite Maison.

Over a month ago The Chief promised us a treat, a lunch in La Petite Maison. Kris has been there before, for Grace, Dovile and myself it was a first.

The place is cosy, overstaffed, but we were looking forward so much to it, that lots of things, like our grumpy waiter who didn’t smile once, I decide to overlook. Lovely food. Llllllllovely food. We’ve had quite a few plates of different things, the 2 most memorable ones are scallop carpaccio, simple, sweet, with dried cranberries and flaked almonds, stunning.

And the creme brulee, that I was waiting for ever since The Chief said it was the best one he ever had. Errm, yeah. It was like silk. A tonne of vanilla, huge portion, that I approved of, thin layer of caramel on top. Fantastic. Mine is never that smooth, kurwa.

Sunken drunken chocolate cake.

On a day off, like today, I wake up and start thinking about what I want to make/bake. I said to Florek- I’d like to bake something nice. “Ciasto czekoladowe”, said my naturalized Pole. πŸ™‚ How could I not?

The recipe comes form GF, naturally. I made half a portion, so that it was not wasted, but enjoyed while fresh.

70 g of pitted prunes I heated up with 2 tbsps of whisky( the recipe called for Marsala, I don’t even know what it tastes like exactly). I whizzed it then, pulsed rather, didn’t want a slush. 70 g of dark chocolate melted with 50 g of butter, prune mixture in. 2 whole eggs I whipped with 75 g of sugar, half and half caster and muscovado, one white left aside to be whipped separately. 50 g of ground almonds, a tbsp of plain flour a splash of vanilla essence. All mixed together went to a tin dusted with cocoa and into the oven for 25 minutes in 160 degrees. When out, dusted with more cocoa.

Pleasant, but not orgasmic.

Beef Wellington.

This is my second ever attempt. First time I made it was long time ago, the beef was bloody, it was all mess. Last week, while watching people on “Great British Bake Off” making those gorgeous things I thought- I want one.

First of all, I’ve researched it, before I even went shopping. I chose Ramsay’s recipe and once again I have to admit, the fucker knows what he’s on about. I followed the recipe and I’ve given myself 8 out of 10. πŸ™‚

First, I seared my fillet, well seasoned, the roasted it off in the oven, aiming for something in between medium rare to medium. While the cow was in the oven, I panfried some finely chopped cup mushrooms with a shallot and some porcini, plus some fresh thyme for flavour. Then, following the advice from The Bake Off, I made sure my beef was nicely chilled before I wrapped it in prosciutto, cuddled in the mushrooms and finally wrapped in the puff pastry. I chilled the whole thing while waiting for Florek to come home, then gave it a nice make up of the eggΒ  and baked it in 200 degrees for 25 minutes. Now, important conclusion; the beef must be cooked to one’s liking BEFORE it goes into the pastry, because, as I learned today, even though it’s baked for nearly half an hour, it’s the pastry that cooks, not the beef. Florek said if it had been a bit more cooked, he would have given the dish 9 out of 10. But it was a bit too pink for him, so only 7. I, on the other hand was happy and ate the lot. I was surprised at how beautifully soft the meat was. I served it with some roasted veg. Pleased. πŸ™‚

Farewell to the summer.

Gorgeous Sunday afternoon, sunny and lovely, we had to make the most of it. Jedrus came, my friend, with whom we share the love for food. This particular young man used to be a bartender in Ubon, he came today equipped with lost of good stuff and produced some great mojitos.

Food wise, we started with chilli garlic shrimps, then the boys took out our medieval barbecue, cleaned it up and we chargrilled the pork on it. That was a splendid idea, as the pork shoulder steaks, flattened,simply seasoned with Gyros and sesame oil turned out to be soft and succulent. I served with fried potatoes and a simple french bean salad.

For dessert, a light and simple mousse cake. On a simple sponge I put roughly chopped strawberries and blueberries, mixed up with setting peach jelly, on that a layer of whipped cream, to which I added setting jelly again. Light, yummy, half of it went right away.

Nice! πŸ™‚

 

Cod in tomato sauce with fresh thyme and a boozy pud.

Beautiful cod fillets were looking at me this afternoon from the fish counter in Waitrose, one has been purchased and prepared for a simple supper this evening.Β  Good Food suggested a tomato sauce, based on a sauteed red onion,with a splash of soy sauce and some brown sugar, all this drowned in a can of good tomatoes. It does need some seasoning and some body, I decided having tasted it, it needs to be a sauce worthy of a Β£8.45 of cod fillet. So I sexied it up a bit with chilli oil and was pretty generous with fresh thyme from the garden. Quickly fried fillets were finished off in the sauce under the lid. I served them with delicious fried potatoes, boiled earlier in the afternoon, then sliced and browned all over while the cod was getting ready. Simple, light, nice.

The pud, a tiramisu with a twist. The biscuits quickly soaked in a boozy, coffee mixture, as usual, 2 egg yolks whipped with sugar, vanilla paste and the mascarpone, as usual, but I wanted to serve it in a different way, then the wet mixture that has to be eased out with a spoon. I lined the long cake tin with cling film, then lined up the biscuits, the cream, plus, toasted chopped pecan nuts. I wanted it to look a bit likeΒ  a pate, that I could slice and serve that way. It worked! But one thing that could have been done better, would be some fresh raspberries on top. It would be a great contrast to the sweetness. I still have almost a half of the tin, might try the raspberry thing tomorrow. Photo proof tomorrow then! πŸ™‚