All posts by Ola

I love eating. Even more than I love cooking. My Mum got this thing into me, being a working woman with two kids and still managing to put a two course dinner on the table for us every day. My meals are a lot simpler, I cook for two, with Florian being my most devoted fan and audience. There is nothing more rewarding than a nicely turned out meal. There is nothing more enjoyable that a great plate of food in a decent restaurant with a glass of great red in a nice company. Hence this blog, to share ideas and joy of good food. Bon Appetit.
Good Food

Beef Wellington.

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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. 🙂

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 egg  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. 🙂

Good Food

Farewell to the summer.

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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! 🙂

 

Dessert, Good Food, Room for improvement

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

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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.  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 £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 like  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! 🙂

 

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! 🙂

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 the  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 baked  it for about 35 minutes in 190 degrees. Looked like that;