Quite pleased with it, I must say. I had Mr Bocelli on quite loud while cooking this evening, clearly that’s why why it came out so good!  I flattened 4 small chicken breasts, seasoned them and stuffed with steamed asparagus (yum, I had some of it on it’s own while cooking, so good!), toasted pine nuts, chopped basil and some grated parmesan. I made a simple tomato sauce with some mushrooms, fresh oregano and some chilli and nicely covered those breasts in it, topped with some more parmesan and baked in the oven for about 30 minutes. Nice thing about it is  that the chicken stayed nice and moist. I think I might make it for Zatrybki in 2 weeks time.

I put down “Fifty Shades Darker” to get into the kitchen this afternoon and I enjoyed cooking, nearly as much I’m enjoying the book.

The standard spinach and ricotta lasagne I make is one of our favourites, today though, before I threw the spinach onto he garlicky butter, I quickly sauteed a chopped courgette and a large chunk of aubergine. Then the chopped spinach and after it wilted nicely, the whole of ricotta, a handful of grated parmesan and I seasoned it well with salt pepper and lots of nutmeg. I layered the pasta sheets generously with the filling, placed it on the baking dish with some passata in it, passata with lots of fresh oregano from the garden and extra seasoning again.

On top went my usual bechamel,  made with infused milk. It baked in 200 degrees for about 30 minutes. When out of the oven, I sprinkled some more of lovely fresh oregano I have growing in the garden. Very much enjoyed it with a glass of good red.

Mea culpa, how long has it been since the last entry? Too long. Cooking tonight was a bit of an operation, I was being extra careful with every spill and hot dishes, as we’ve done the kitchen worktops yesterday. They’ve been sanded, oiled and look absolutely smashing. So I thought it would be nice to make the kind of dinner that cooks itself in the oven- a stew. The idea came from one of Alice’s magazines, I read it, didn’t copy it, but the idea stuck in my head. I roughly chopped some pork, tossed the pieces in flour and seared, then transferred to the casserole, followed by sauteed onion, carrots, parsnip, a handful of dried mushrooms and drowned it all in a bottle of good cider.  And into  the oven for 2 hours. Towards the end I threw some chopped apple, for the extra character.  Served it with bacon and leek mash. Good flavours.

This is a legend dish, even the non- vegetarian customers love it and it’s really cheap. I’ve been feeling like having the whole eggplant to myself, so I asked for some den miso sauce at work, I was given it and I enjoyed the nasu tonight. Alex showed me how to cut it neatly on both sides, so that oil could reach it throughout, 2 minutes in the deep oil on each side, then sauce on top and under the grill for a flash, to caramelise. The final touch is the sprinkle of sesame seeds.

I think my aubergine tonight was a bit firmer than those customers have with a spoon at work, but to be honest I found the texture nicer that way! 10 out of 10.

It’s been too long since we teamed up in the kitchen, Florek and I, too long since a nice, fresh pasta dish was made. So today we made mushroom ravioli. The stuffing consisted of chopped and sauteed chestnut mushrooms, red onion, ricotta, a bit of parmesan and one last remaining black truffle purchased at Pisa airport after Christmas. All nicely seasoned, lots of pepper. Florek made his awesome pasta, I worked the rest, made a simple sage butter and we enjoyed it thoroughly, while watching ” Due Date”- nowhere near as good as “Hangover”.

Excellent. 🙂