That nice, skinny chap called Michel Roux Jr is now appearing on a very pleasant little show called “Food & Drink”. Last night he made a shepherds pie, his mother’s recipe. And he used ketchup, just like I do. The annoying blond bint that talks about wine on this show was shocked, that a Michelin’s starred chef calls ketchup his secret ingredient, I was happy, cause I do it too.
His recipe;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/roux_family_shepherds_61889
The last cottage pie in Staines. The packing is in full swing, we’re off to lovely Wiiiiiiinchcooooombe in 4 days!!!!!
My base; chopped shallots, leeks and carrots quickly sweated, minced beef in, some chicken stock, a couple of bay leaves and my secret ingredient- a handful of dried porcinis. To season, a touch of ketchup and lots of worcestershire and black pepper. All this left to simmer and thicken, with a generous amount of frozen peas thrown towards the end.
The mash- half and half of parsnips and spuds, all squeezed through the ricer, seasoned well with salt, pepper and nutmeg, a knob of butter and all nicely applied onto the meat, a sprinkle of parmesan on top and into the oven for half an hour.
It was excellent, as shown on the second photo- we pigged it all. 10 out of 10.
This evening I’ve made a chicken dish, that I bought ready made in France on two occasions. It’s easy to make and I’m not going to France any time soon, so today it was made from scratch. Chicken breasts flattened, seasoned and laid with a slice of ham and a slice of cheese, rolled up and poached quickly with a help of a cling film, just to make sure they’ll hold their shape. Then the egg and breadcrumbs and straight onto the pan. I had to finish them in the oven, they were thick and not quite cooked inside, but after 5 minutes they cooked nicely to the very middle.
I served them with one of the best dauphinoise potatoes ever, beautifully soft and creamy and a simple grated carrot salad, finished with a touch of cream, seasoned with salt, pepper, sugar and a touch of lemon juice.
It was enjoyable, however next time I’ll make it flat, schnitzel like, which will make the cooking process shorter and, as Florek noticed, there will be more cheese oozing out.
I can’t remember when I had the traditional bread and butter pud, the simple one, last time. I had the brioche and apricot one, yum, the one with chocolate chips, yum, this evening Alice made for us the real deal. I was genuinely surprised at how good it was, as Alice strikes me as generally anti-all-food. Yet she produced a great end to the meal, made with white bread, sultanas, milk, egg and spices. It was moist and delicious.
I stood on the scales this evening after the shower and I discovered that I’ve put on weight( I like putting on weight, cause I hardly ever do!!).
I said to Florek”I put on weight! I’m now 48,5 kg!”
“You fat bitch!” said Florek.
Must be the butter!!!:-D
Last night I cocked up a perfectly good lemon sole. I wanted to make it all buttery and lovely, but I didn’t do the poor fish justice, I was disappointed and needed to make something really good today. So I made gyoza, in an effort to clean up the freezer before we move out in about 2 weeks.
Today I made my filling out of chicken thigh, shrimps, fresh chilli, coriander, a shallot and a fried leek, all well seasoned and blitzed .Stuffed in gyoza skins, lovingly stuck together and pan fried. The sauce, as last time, the mix of sweet chilli, soy sauce, coriander and lime juice.
Was enjoyed. A lot.
Bruschetta. Not very adventurous, not difficult, not sophisticated. But I have watched “Julie & Julia” again and made it right after the movie finished. Julie has fried bread on lots of butter. It was dark golden, crunchy and moist. I normally grill it with olive oil. but noooooooo, butter is the way forward methinks.
That fantastic bread I put lovingly on the plate and topped with chopped tomato, basil and shallot mixture and freshly grated ( the only way again!) parmesan. YUMMMMMMMM!!!!
…or kushiyaki, as we used to have them in Ubon 17 years ago.
I was so pleased with my teriyaki sauce last time that I made it again, following exactly the same recipe as in the one with chicken meatballs, only this time I cut my boneless chicken thigs into small pieces and put them on skewers, seasoned simply with salt, pepper and sesame oil and grilled. Served with rice flavoured with turmeric, ground coriander and fresh coriander as well as green beans. I ate the lot, loved the sauce and the juicy chicken. Might try with beef next time.
Some great comfort food was much needed after a day effectively ruined by estate agents making sure they make our last weeks in Staines suck as much as possible. I felt harassed today, nasty.
I didn’t make the gnocchi myself, the ones from Waitrose are very good, but pesto is always mine. Good bunch of basil blitzed with freshly toasted pine nuts, a clove of garlic, lots of fresh parmesan, olive oil and seasoning.
Enjoyed with ice cold pinot gris.
The sauce, not from Good Food, not from internet, not eaten out, MINE. My idea that came to my head in the car yesterday, on the way to Winchcombe, where we later found our new home.
I fried a couple of chopped shallots on butter, threw in some chopped pork, a red pepper, a few dried mushrooms and after a few minutes of quick cooking I poured some red wine onto it, added a chicken boulionette, 2 bay leaves, half a chopped chilli and some water and left to cook covered for about 30 minutes, until the pork was lovely and soft. When it was, I added a mug of passata mixed with some flour and a drop of water, which nicely thickened the sauce, seasoned to taste and that was that.
Cooked the fresh tagliatelle from Waitrose, tossed it all nicely in the sauce, finished with fresh basil and parmigiano. Served with a glass of Pinot Noir.
