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.
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;

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 £4. Pat, pat. 🙂

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 garlic  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 transferred  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! ) 🙂

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.

 

Dessert

New York Cheesecake.

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When I saw the recipe last night, and the photo, what I loved was the soured cream topping. It looked stunning and made me curious if it tasted equally good. So I made it this afternoon. It does! My own personal touch were the alpine strawberries from the garden.

For the base I used 140 g of crushed digestive biscuits, which I threw into 85 g of melted butter and added a tsp of caster sugar. All mixed and pressed together in the round tin bedded with baking parchment. Baked for 10 minutes in gas mark 4.The oven upwarmed immediately to gas mark 9 for later!

The filling I made of 450g of creamy Philadelphia cheese, 2 flat tbsp of plain flour, 2 whole eggs, about 150 ml of soured cream,a tsp of vanilla paste,  a zest of 1 lemon and juice of half and 125 g of caster sugar. All smoothed onto the base, baked in gas mark 9 for only 10 minutes, then lowered back to 4 again for another 25 minutes.And cooled in the oven afterwards. When cooled, I made the topping of some about 120 ml of soured cream, good squeeze of lemon juice and all that sweetened to taste.

I’ll be modest- excellent!

Good Food

Gnocchi with roasted squash and spinach.

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Truly awesome. I found the recipe on Good Food’s website last night, I loved it right away, though it called for goat’s cheese, which I can’t stand. I replaced it with St Agur, goooooood stuff!

I roasted some butternut squash with a few shallots and a few garlic cloves, generously seasoned. I cooked gnocchi with a good handful of fresh spinach, which I have only threw  in about 20 seconds before the end. Drained, I added the gnocchi and spinach to the tin with the squash, tossed well with all the olive oil and goodness, added the crumbled cheese and served with extra freshly ground pepper and olive oil. Brilliant and so simple!

 

Good Food

Stuffed poached chicken.

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Dish inspired by one of the specials on the board at work. The original was served with a creamy teriyaki chanterelle sauce. I had no teriyaki, no chanterelles, but I have lovely dried mushrooms from my Mum, the best Polish forest has to offer.

I bought some good corn fed chicken, flattened and seasoned it, then stuffed with fried cup mushrooms and leeks, rolled and tied them with a string. I poached them slowly in a light sauce with chicken stock, lost of mushroom, some shallots and peppercorns. I took them out after about 30 minutes and finished the sauce with some flour, seasoned and returned the chicken rolls to the pan. I served i with some traditional Polish dumplings, recipe already in here under “Kluseczki z dziurkiem” and a simple salad with beetroot. Very nice, especially the sauce.

Good Food, Made in Poland

Placki ziemniaczane.

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I don’t think I’d offend anyone if I said it’s a Polish peasant food. Cheap, all ingredients widely accessible, quite unhealthy- fried- and the whole house smells of them for hours after the washing up was done.

The Placki Master is my dad. He’s not much of a cook, but he makes mean soups and placuszki- no one makes them better. He’s generous with onion and pepper and his are always beautifully crisp on edges. Much as I tried, mine this evening were not amazing.We ate them all, regardless. I’m into The Polish Mood these days, I even looked at Rip Off Air this morning to see what a long weekend at Mum’s in September would cost.

Now, placuszki. Placuszki require a lot of grating, so not a dish a lady with pretty nails would happily produce. Raw, peeled spuds must be grated on the finest end, the amount depending on how many diners and if it’s the only course. I used about 6 large potatoes, one large onion, cracked an egg into it, 3 good tbsps of plain flour and seasoned it all with salt and lots of pepper. Placki are not a good dish for a romantic dinner for 2, as one has to fry them and serve right away, they need to be eaten fresh as well, so all a man needs, while his wench fries placki, is a paper and a beer. Which was the case with Florek, only the paper was replaced with laptop. :-).

To serve, a slightly soured cream is essential, plus some caster sugar. People normally eat them with one OR the other, I like both. I bought some Polish cream from Tesco for the occasion. Overall good, but the best Polish food is served in Stronie, end of!