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. 🙂

I love fishcakes. And those I made this evening were outstanding, so even though I have fishcakes in here already,  here’s another fishy post.

I used a haddock fillet, which I poached in white wine with a bay leaf and some peppercorns, some shrimps, that were sitting in the freezer and saying ” please use us”. I used sweet potatoes for a change, lots of fresh chopped coriander, as always, chopped red chilli, chopped shallot and lots of seasoning.  How the fishcakes keep their shape is a method ripped off Ramsay- roll them in flour first, then in egg, then in breadcrumbs. And fry in lots of oil.

Spicy chilli mayo is lovely to go with the fiscakes, as well as a fresh, green, crunchy salad.

In old days of Ubon we used to serve beef, chicken, lobster and scallops with this lovely, sharp, greyish looking sauce.  I mentioned it to The Chief the other day and he produced Nobu’s recipe, complete with exact measurements and stuff. For everything else there’s Mastercard! 🙂

I adjusted Chef’s recipe, reduced by half and a bit, so I used equal amount of soy sauce and a low sodium soy sauce, about 70ml each, less than 300 ml of water, less than a quarter of chicken stock cube, then wasabi powder, about 45 g mixed with 90ml of water.All these ingredients went into the pan and were working slowly, while I cooked two chicken breasts, just lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, 5 minutes on a griddle pan, finished in the oven.  I must admit I added a touch of double cream to that sauce, I thought it was too sharp, too spicy, even when served with simple chicken and rice.

Either way, Florek rated the sauce at 8 out of 10, I’m pleased with it as well. Also, just remembered I was tempted to get some wasabi paste from work last night, but I was told not a good idea, as the flavours will be a lot fresher and stronger when just mixed together.

I served my dish with simple rice and peas and quickly cooked broccoli.

I brought a packet of very large pasta from Italy, almost as big as a small fist. I bought it with the thought of stuffing and baking under some nice sauce. Which is just what I did tonight. I roasted off some butternut squash, with a shallot or two, mashed it with ricotta and toasted pine nuts, seasoned well and then stuffed the pasta shells with it- pipping bags came handy, again. The sauce I made to go with it needed to be quite sharp, as the filling was quite sweet, so a can of tomatoes on top of fried shallot and leeks, thickened with cream and flour.Finished off with an insane amount of fresh basil.

Baked in the sauce and under parmesan until cooked and bubbly.

Not a stunning photo, but 9 out of 10 when it comes to the taste.

December at work has been exhausting. Everyone seems to be knackered, lacking energy and fed up. Last Sunday though we had  a few hours of true awesomeness of Dinings. A few special guests were invited and The Chief designed a 7 course menu, a great variety of dishes, flavours, textures, with  which we matched some good wines and sake. Before the guests arrived, we were treated to each of those dishes, one by one. We sat at the sushi bar for over an hour, sipping good wines and tasting. I loved it.

Two highlights for me were the Cornish oysters, which is surprising, as I’ve never been a fan. The one I tasted was topped with beluga caviar, tasted of sea and freshness.

Then one of the most awesome noodle dishes I’ve ever tasted. Pho noodles, bathed in some lovely broth that the Chief had on the stove for a couple of days, with a chunk of kakuni wagyu beef and some shredded leeks on top. Great flavours.