For weeks I’ve been craving Krispy Kremes, those with custard and chocolate. Fortunately the nearest place we can get them is Tesco in Ch’ham, close to exactly nowhere, plus they’re quite expensive. So I thought maybe it is time for me to learn to make yeasty dough ( ciasto drozdzowe), as every respectable Polish cook/baker must have it in their repertoire. My Mum makes it well, but she makes it  in a traditional way, kneading by hand. I have a Kitchen Aid, so don’t have to, the hook does all the job.

The recipe I picked is again from the excellent mojewypieki.com, Dorota’s oldest and most trusted doughnuts recipe. Hers was for 40 pieces, I used a third and still managed to make 17. I gave a few to Keeva the neighbour, when passing on her parcels, we’d never manage to eat them all and her daughters like doughnuts, so- nothing wasted and good neighbourly relationship sustained.

I used 333 g of plain flour, 17 g of fresh yeast, 40 g of sugar, 170 ml of milk, 2 egg yolks, 33 g of melted butter, a splash of whisky ( that prevents the dough from taking in too much fat when frying), a zest from half a lemon and a pinch of salt. First I made zaczyn out of some of the flour, all the yeast, some warm milk and some sugar- all those from the ready weighed ingredients, nothing extra. Mixed it all and left covered for about 20 minutes until frothed up, yeasties have been busy. 🙂 Added that to the rest of the ingredients waiting in the bowl of KA, attached the hook and let it roll for about 12 minutes. Then covered and left in a warm place for 1,5 hour, until more than doubled in size. Then knocked it down, formed small doughnuts with a cookie cutter- I didn’t want the giant ones, was also worried if they’d cook. Then again left them to prove till doubled in size and proceeded to fry them in veg oil heated up to 175 degrees. It’s a quick process and very enjoyable, as the beauties were very light and nicely risen, I only used a little skewer to flip them.

The only jam I had was  a strawberry one, next time I’ll use either raspberry or maybe some lemon curd, I’m thinking, either way will be investing in a proper syringe to stuff them with. One day I’ll use custard and that will be tricky to pour into the doughnuts.

Final touch was a bit of maple glaze and they were ready. I was super happy when I cut through the first one, it was like a cloud. Dorota woman is a genius. Craving satisfied. 🙂

I saw the recipe online in GF and immediately wanted to try. Pulled pork is nice, but takes long to make, plus it makes me feel a bit guilty- what’s the point in sweating on the floor with Chodakowska and then munching on a pig.

Chicken was fun to make and not too long. I had boneless thighs, which I seasoned and rubbed with chipotle paste.  Then made a marinade with more chipotle, some bbq sauce, small carton of passata, some chopped shallot and a splash of water.  My chicken was placed in a baking dish all nice and cosy,  covered with marinade and it wnet to the oven for an hour in 160 degrees, under alu foil.  After an hour the foil went and the temperature up to 200 for another 20 minutes.  The sauce reduced nicely, chicken fell apart under the forks, mixed with the sauce was excellent.

Served with coleslaw and an avocado salsa- by the recipe too, but I found it too strong, it nearly killed the chicken in that tortilla. Guacamole would have been better I think. But still very pleased with the whole thing.

I recently purchased some fresh and fragrant Chinese 5 Spice, needed it to make something from 15 minute meals. I used it today to make a pork stir fry, turned out to be particularly lovely, so it landed here. Very difficult to make an enticing photo of a stir fry though.

Pork fillet, thinly sliced, tossed in a mixture of beaten egg, 2 tsps of 5 spice, same amount of cornflour and brown sugar.  Once quickly fried on the wok, it got removed, mixed veggies fried- a shallot, a carrot, some asparagus, green peas, bell pepper, 2 crushed cloves of garlic. Then the cooked rice. Then pork back in. Lovely flavour, which I sexed up with soy sauce and sesame oil. Yum yum.

I made us some sufficient lunch this afternoon, which is why dinner was to be smaller and simple.  My lovely child made me super happy at the lunch table,  when she pushed away her bowl of chicken and carrot cream soup and picked some cauliflower and french beans off my plate and  was happily munching on them, disregarding her lovely soup.

Back in old times, when we used to live in Ruislip and often ate at Pizza Express, they served a few dough balls with garlic butter as a starter. This evening I made some for us. Regular pizza dough I normally make, just formed into balls, baked in 220 degrees for about 7 minutes, fresh garlic butter, some salami and rocket, some parmesan and a glass of French red. Simple, delicious, enjoyed in the company of my lovely man, who appreciates good food as much as I do. 🙂

Inspiration came from a chap called Guy Fieri, who presents “Diners, Dive-in’s and Drives” on foodnetwork.com. I liked the look  of it, but did not follow the recipe blindly to the dot. I did make my filling out of red onions, sweated with some sugar, cooked for nearly 20 minutes. Some roasted garlic “from the jar” was to be added, probably common thing in America, not here, so I just roasted my own garlic, mashed it and added to the onions, when they cooled a little. Chopped coriander. Salt, pepper, parmesan. All rested in the fridge overnight. Then spreaded over 8 tortillas and again left in the fridge for about 6 hours. Guy recommends leaving off some stuffing as a dipping sauce, that didn’t convince me, dip- yes, by all means, but something slightly sharper, not the sweet onions again.

I cut my “cake” into 8 triangles, then grilled, like on the picture, until black, charred marks appeared and the whole triangle was heated through.

Overall, it’s a nice idea, we had it with some sausages on the side and a salad, finally drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

Link to the original:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/garlic-onion-tortilla-cake-recipe.html

We continue down the nostalgic route. This evening one of Ubon and Nobu’s classics, awesome, oily and flavoursome new style sashimi.  I watched a quick video on youtube to remind myself the ratios of yuzu soy and the oils, sliced my salmon and got cracking. The only thing was, I made  waffles in the afternoon for myself and Iz, so I wasn’t exactly starving, shall we say. But still, enjoyed my solo dinner- Florian’s away at work, 4 dinners all by myself. 🙁

I sliced the salmon as thinly as I could, smeared with crushed garlic, a touch of julienne ginger on each slice, some chives and sesame seeds.  A drizzle of yuzu soy, which I made with 3 tbsps of soy to 1 of yuzu. Tasted yummy, so I proceeded. Some sunflower oil got heated up with a bit of sesame oil, until it was smoking and then the fish was seared with it, sizzled nicely on the plate and smelled most inviting. In the restaurant it used to have a cherry tomato tempura in the middle of the plate.

I had it on a bed of rice to soak up the oil a bit and make it more into a dinner than a starter. Very pleased with myself.  Thumbs up.

Jedrus came for the weekend, did a massive job in the garden for us- trimmed the ugly apple tree. Jedrus is a great eating companion. He’s never complaining of lack of appetite, loves meat, loves good wine. So for starters, before chicken teriyaki I made a duo of tatakis, a duck and a beef fillet. Modestly I’ll say, they were both fantastic. Both cooked pink, well rested, with home made ponzu( equal measures of lemon juice, rice vinegar and soy). Served with a salsa made of tomato, coriander, shallot, garlic and shichimi. A drizzle of balsamic on top.  It was destroyed and thoroughly enjoyed.  And will be done again, soon.

I’ve been feeling like pierogi, but not the ones with potato and cheese stuffing, I thought I’d make them usual way in terms of the dough, but stuff them with Asian sort of stuff, like gyoza. So chopped, raw shrimps went in, blitzed chicken thigh meat, scallions, garlic, ginger, grated carrot- that didn’t really contribute any amazing flavours, soy sauce and sesame oil.  Twice cooked- first boiled for a couple of minutes, then pan fried- a must, for the lovely crispy texture. Served with ponzu- equal quantities of rice vinegar, soy sauce and lemon juice. Absolutely delightful. 🙂

I’ve popped in to Toby the Butcher’s to get some of his lovely Gloucester sausages and while he was packing them, he told me that lamb is now in season ( it’s always in freaking season as far as I’m concerned), plus the price is quite attractive. Of course I ended up buying a piece of leg on the bone, alongside the sausages and 2 burgers for Florian, who doesn’t like lamb- weirdo!

As Florian is eating out with work mates this evening, I’ve marinated my lamb before lunch time and had it the way my Mum makes it.  It was superb, but I’m now thinking some sauce would be nice; it’s served in its own juices, but still, might work something out next time, as I might get the Dinings team come over by the end of August.

Bozenka’s marinade is made of generous amount of garlic, crushed and chopped with salt, in fact, I mash the salt into the garlic with a blunt knife, which makes the garlic juicy and almost creamy.  Lots of black pepper, herb pepper, some hot paprika and all this joined together by olive oil. The lamb in small pieces is rubbed all over and left in the fridge for a few hours, Bozena would probably leave it overnight.

I actually made good use of the bone as well. I made lunch for Izzie based on lamb stock made from that bone, stripped all of the meat from it when cooked and mixed all the veggies cooked in the broth.  My lovely little carnivore had her first taste of Cotswold lamb, she’s eaten everything and clapped afterwards- her own sweet way of applauding herself for finishing her food. 🙂

My lamb got sauteed on olive oil, then stewed for about an hour with a few splashes of water. Half way through cooking I added roughly chopped onion and a couple carrots, to add texture and taste to the sauce.  Served with rice and raw onion salad, that divides the crowd- it’s just chopped onion seasoned with vegeta and hot paprika.

The whole thing is rather awesome with a large glass of good red, but I only had water today- we’re having alcohol free week with Florek, after Zatrybki’s visit and a weekend in Suffolk.

Good stuff. 🙂

The photo’s not great, because I was surprised at how good this dish was, so I took the photo while eating it. I was chatting with Jedrus on the phone and came up with this dish of goodness.  The cod was sat on a bed of – I’d like to say rattatuille, but I’m not sure if what I made was it. It was a selection of veggies- red pepper, half a courgette, a shallot, all fried on 2 small pieces of cooking chorizo and a rasher of bacon. A handful of cherry tomatoes went in, a splash of ketchup, some oregano. I also threw in  a few pre boiled potatoes in small pieces.

The cod simply seasoned, covered with crust made of various herbs from the garden, some breadcrumbs and parmesan. Might have added some garlic, actually.

All this baked in the oven for about 20 minutes. Excellent, unexpectedly! 🙂