Meat - Retro Food For Modern Times

Category: Meat

09
Mar
2025

Destination Unkown – Kofta Tagine and Couscous

categories: Africa, Dining With The Dame, Lamb, Meat, Morocco, Stand Alone

Hello, crime readers and food lovers. Today, we are on a mystery trip to a Destination Unknown. However, if you look at our accompanying meal, you probably know where we might be heading. Agatha Christie published Destination Unknown, a standalone spy thriller, in 1954. Christie’s spy thrillers are not my favourites. And this one is no exception to what seems to be becoming a rule. Honestly, I thought the book started well, but then it quickly turned absurd. I could not suspend my belief enough to enter this world – which may say more about me than the book. Ultimately, I’ll leave you to be the judge!

Despite the potential disappointment with the book, our dish of the day is a delightful Lamb Kofta Tagine with Couscous. This recipe comes from Rachel’s Everyday Kitchen by Rachel Allen. I snipped the couscous recipe out of a magazine ages ago. It is my go-to recipe for couscous and is the perfect accompaniment for the tagine.

Destination Unknown – The Plot

Destination anywhereEast or west, I don’t careYou see my baby don’t want me no moreThis old world ain’t got no back door

This 1968 song by The Marvellettes describes Hilary Craven’s state of mind. She is bereft after the death of her child and the breakdown of her marriage. She is planning to commit suicide in her Moroccan hotel room when a strange man walks in. (And this, around page 34, is where the plot stopped being believable for me).

Unknown to Hilary, scientists from all over the world have been going missing. One such scientist is Thomas Betterton. Thanks to her “very magnificent” head of red hair, Hilary looks uncannily like Thomas Betterton’s wife, Olive.

British Intelligence

The man in Hilary’s room is Mr Jessop, a British intelligence agent. He suggests that instead of suicide by pills, Hilary goes undercover as Olive Betterton to find out what she can about the missing scientists. If this is how they recruit their agents, feel free to insert your own joke about the misnomer of British Intelligence!

Hilary said: “It would be madness!”.
“Oh yes, ” said Jessop, “it’s madness all right. It’s a very tough assignment and if our suspicions are realised, you’ll probably cop it. You see, I am being quite frank, but according to you, you’re prepared and anxious to cop it. As an alternative to throwing yourself in front of a train or something like that, I should think you would find it far more amusing”

Agatha Christie – Destination Unknown

The Scientists

Hilary, posing as Olive Betterton, then travels to a “Destination Unknown,” which reveals itself as a secret research facility built into a mountain, hidden behind a leper colony. The missing scientists live there, either creating a utopian scientific community or enduring a prison, depending on one’s perspective. There, she meets her supposed husband, Thomas Betterton, who displays unhappiness within the compound and an inability to work. Surprisingly, he doesn’t expose her.

Meanwhile, Jessop tries to locate Hilary by following a series of clues she left during her journey, including pearls from a broken necklace.

Eventually, Jessop finds Hilary, and Hilary finds love. They all live happily ever after, except for Thomas Betterton. Authorities arrest him for killing his first wife and stealing her work, because she, not he, was the true scientific geniu

Oh, and the wealthy billionaire who funded the mountain utopia gets away scot-free because the very system he is trying to bring down, i.e. capitalism, allows him to use his wealth and power to escape justice.

Cue Alanis Morisette – Ironic.

Destination Unknown – The Covers

There are some great covers here, including, I believe, our first Hebrew cover (fourth row, second from the left) and a very 1980s-kind of punky Hilary (bottom row, far right). There are also some recurring themes—the desert, planes, red-headed women, and pearls. I think my favourites are the Hebrew cover and the top row far right with the rather Grace Kelly-looking woman. Sadly, there are no absolutely bonkers covers for this one!

The Recipe: Lamb Kofta Tagine with Couscous

Links to the Christieverse

None that I could find

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Destination Unknown

Alcoholic refreshments
A Half bottle of wine
Vichy Water
Coffee x2
Martini
Meat
Bread and cakes
Mint tea

April’s read will be Hickory Dickory Dock – Our first Poirot of the year!

Have a great week!

02
Feb
2025

Frankfurter Roka

categories: 1970's recipes, Blue Cheese, Chorizo, Salad

Hello friends, I’m shaking things up today with a vintage recipe from Good Housekeeping’s Cooking for Today. Firstly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. This was a 13-part weekly magazine. The recipe for Frankfurter Roka comes from issue #2. I have a few of these, which I intend to cook from this year, so we will definitely be hearing more from this mag in the coming months!

Moving on, I’m channelling my inner Beatles and “Hey Jude”-ing a vintage recipe for Frankfurter Roka. Meaning, my aim is to “Take a sad song and make it better.” Just substitute “song” for “salad” and we’re there!

The Original Recipe for Frankfurter Roka

Here is a picture of the old and the new!

My Changes To The Original and Why

The original recipe promised a vibrant salad brimming with flavours I adore: tangy blue cheese, briny olives, and earthy potatoes. However, there were two ingredient that simply had to go. First up was the frankfurters. The mere thought of them makes me gag. Consequently, I had a delicious replacement in mind: finely sliced, pan-fried chorizo, adding a delightful smoky depth to the dish.

Whilst canned potatoes don’t give me the same visceral reaction, I would never willingly eat them! So, out with the convenience, in with the fresh! I opted to boil some lovely new potatoes and then pan-fry them in the aromatic oil left behind from the chorizo.

Now, the dressing presented its own challenge. The original recipe called for Kraft Roka Blue Cheese Dressing, a product sadly unavailable in Australia. No worries! I decided to channel my inner Nigella Lawson and whip up her “Universally Useful Blue Cheese Dressing.” While I skipped the HP sauce (personal preference!), I added a touch more Worcestershire sauce for an extra kick.

Finally, I decided to serve the Frankfurter Roka in large lettuce leaves. Consequently, everyone can choose their favourite bits and the amount of dressing they prefer. Furthermore, these could then be wrapped up and eaten using your hands, similarly to how you would in a Vietnamese restaurant when you get to wrap your spring rolls in lettuce and herbs. This makes for a fun shared plate to eat with family or friends! Here’s my updated recipe!

Frankfurter Roka, Updated

Print Recipe

My take on a vintage salad. These amounts will serve 2 people as a light meal.

Author: Taryn Nicole

Ingredients

Scale

1 chorizo sausage
4–6 new potatoes, peeled and cut into a 1cm dice
1 Serve of Nigella Lawson’s Universally Useful Blue Cheese Dressing, or if it is available in your country, some Kraft Roka Blue Cheese Dressing
12 stuffed olives
A pile of large lettuce leaves to serve – Cos / Romaine or Iceberg are ideal

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Boil the potatoes in salted water until they are just tender (about 10 minutes) Drain.
Slice the chorizo and place in a frying pan. You do not need to heat the pan or add any oil. Cook the chorizo over medium heat until they are nicely browned.
Remove the chorizo slices from the pan. Add the potatoes. Fry the potatoes in the oil left by the chorizo until they are golden and crisp.
Place your lettuce leaves on a serving platter.
Mix the chorizo, potatoes and olives, sprinkle with the parsley.
Serve the blue cheese dressing on the side.

To eat, load your lettuce leaves with the chorizo and potato mix. Pour as much or as little of the blue cheese dressing as you desire over the top.

Enjoy!

I loved my updated version of Frankfurter Roka! I hope that you will also think that I’ve taken a sad salad and made it better…better…better…

Have a great week!

26
Jan
2025

Veal with Cream Sauce

categories: 1970's recipes, Austria, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, Meat

Hello Friends, today we’re continuing our journey into Austria in 1972. We started with some Eggs in Sour Cream a few weeks back and that was a great dish! Now, I’m sure some of you might be expecting a Wiener Schnitzel as the main course. However, as I have already shared a fancy version recently, I thought I would choose something a little different. So today, we are dining on a dish of Veal in Cream Sauce. This recipe sings to my soul! Capers, mustard, lemons. As they say in Austria, a few of my favourite things!

However, the Good Housekeeping World Cookery chapter on Austrian cuisine, gives us, a world of hearty peasant fare for mains. Now, don’t get me wrong, I adore a good, wholesome dish, but let’s be honest, ‘hearty peasant fare’ doesn’t always translate to the most Instagrammable plate.

As Jenny from Silver Screen Suppers so eloquently put it, ‘brown food is the enemy of the photographer.’ Therefore, I implore you, dear reader, to feast your eyes on the words, not the pictures, for this dish is a revelation

The cream sauce was glorious! Honestly, I could bathe in it. Furthermore, it worked perfectly with the veal, but I could see it gracing chicken, fish, and shellfish. In fact, I would have eaten it with just the potatoes and the broccoli, never mind the veal! To accompany the veal, I served steamed broccoli, a vibrant green counterpoint to the rich sauce, and Nigella’s divine Salt and Vinegar Potatoes, a perfect accompaniment. Finally, as the good Doctor Seuss might say, ‘I would eat this on a plane, I would eat this on a train, I would eat this in a box, I would eat this with a fox!

This is how eating this made me feel!

Veal In Cream Sauce – The Recipe

As a total aside, can I say how hard it is for me to type “Austria”? My fingers automatically move to “Australia”! I have had to correct this so many times in these posts! I, for one, will be glad when I hit the chapter on Belgium, so that I don’t have to keep correcting my spelling!

Have a great week!

22
Jan
2025

March 2005 – Bread and Cheese

categories: 20 Years Ago Today, Bread, Eggs, Lamb, Pastry Desserts, Salad, Soufflé

Hello time travellers! March 2005 is our destination today with a menu based on two of my favourite things – bread and cheese! What kind of menu might Delicious Magazine be able to provide from these ingredients? Are we up for three courses of cheese on toast? Personally? I’d be quite happy with that but I’m sure Delicious will be able to give us a little more variety! Before we go there, though, let’s look at what was happening in music, books and film back in the day!

What Was Hot – March 2005

Books

Since I started doing these posts, the one constant has been the presence of The Da Vinci Code at the top of the list. March 2005 is no exception!

The Da Vinci Code: By Dan Brown
Prince of Fire: By Daniel Silva
Missing Persons: By Stephen White

I have not heard of the other books but Prince of Fire is one in a series of spy thriller books about an Israeli agent called Gabriel Allon. Spy thrillers are not my thing but I believe this series is very popular. Missing Persons is a psychological thriller about psychologist Allan Gregory. This is also one in a series that interests me. If I didn’t have a “To read” pile taller than me, I would give this series a go!

Movies

Robots
The Pacifier
The Ring 2

I saw The Ring in the cinema. The Ring 2 and both of these other film were not on my radar at all!

Music

All about you / You’ve for a Friend – McFly
Good Luck Charm – Elvis Presley (what??? It’s 2005 not 1965!)
Falling Stars – Sunset Strippers

Dakota by The Stereophonics was just missing out on the podium on the British Charts. This was a big fave of mine at the time!

The Menu

Quick Cuban

This was more of a lunch than a starter. It was most certainly not a traditional Cuban sandwich, but it was delicious nevertheless! And combined both our key ingredients! You may notice that I have not toasted my sandwich – the day I made this, we were in the middle of a mini heatwave, and I really didn’t fancy anything toasted. It would, however, be as good or even better toasted!!! I also thought the tomato salad accompaniment was a bit extra even thought it was tasty!

Quick Cuban Recipe

Pistachio Crusted Goat’s Cheese Soufflé With Pea, Feta and Mint Salad

These were both superb! I loved them individually, and they really worked well together, too. I did not make the red capsicum and mustard seed relish, which was the suggested accompaniment to the soufflé. However, if you would like to give that a try, let me know and I can flick you the recipe I served mine with some chilli jam I had in the fridge. The soufflé was as light as a feather! And I could eat that salad every night of the week. I could not find snow pea shoots for love or money, but the salad was delicious without them.

We have goat’s cheese in the soufflé, parmesan in the crisp and feta in the salad as our key ingredients.

Pistachio Crusted Goat’s Cheese Soufflé Recipe

Pea, Feta and Mint Salad Recipe

Raspberry Tartlets with Raspberry Caramel

Oh. My. God!!!!

These were divine!!!! Truly a piece of heaven!!!! I cheated a bit by buying tart shells because sometimes, life’s too short and the weather is too hot to make pastry! Also, Any leftover raspberry caramel is amazing on ice cream.

Raspberry Tartlets with Raspberry Caramel Recipe

My Nigella Moment – Lamb with Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Jam

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge for a delicious late-night bite. In the context of these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that may not fit with the overall menu theme, but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share.

This was amazing! I really loved this, and I am so glad I chose to cook this one as my special dish! That sundried tomato and onion jam was absolutely delicious!

Have a wonderful week!

08
Dec
2024

Fusion Food – December 2004

categories: 20 Years Ago Today, Custard, Delicious, Desserts, France, Lamb, Lobster, Middle Eastern

Hello time travellers, and welcome to December 2004, where we are decking the halls with Fusion food courtesy of Delicious Magazine. For those who are not familiar with the term, the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts says it involves “bringing together ingredients from different cultures and merging recipes. This technique of joining culinary forces offers truly novel flavour combinations and unique menu offerings”.

In their examples, they list Tex-Mex and French Vietnamese. My personal favourite fusion was an absolutely fabulous Korean Taco place near where I used to work. Their kimchi fries were to die for!!! Kedgeree, which I also love, is a fabulous Anglo-Indian creation. I am also not averse to a tandoori chicken pizza!

On the menu today, we have an American / Middle Eastern mash-up, an Anglo-Indian combo that is not kedgeree and an Irish / French marriage to finish off. Will these be in the realm of kimchi fries? We’ll find out soon enough.

But first, it wouldn’t be a 20 Years Ago Post without a quick look at what was making the charts in December 2004.

Step Back in Time – December 2004

Movies

Today we are looking at the film charts from December 2004 and what a month! In the first week of December, National Treasure was number 1,Bad Santa was #4 and Garden State was #6. Week 2: Team America: World Police was #1. In Week 3, Ocean’s Twelve was number 1. Personally, I hated that one so it just goes to prove you can’t have everything. But in the fourth week, Lemony Snicket was # 1, and to round out the month, Meet The Fockers topped the box office, and Phantom of the Opera, which we spoke about last month, was #6.

Music

There was no change from last month in the top songs. My Boo by Usher and Alicia Keys was number 1 in the first week, and Drop It Like It’s Hot by Snoop Dog was top of the Billboard charts for the rest of the month.

Books

In a weird twist, The Da Vinci Code headed back to the top of the charts in the first week of December. I can’t explain this. The movie didn’t come out til 2006 so it wasn’t tied to that. And surely everyone who wanted to read it, had already read it by then. Maybe it was a surge of people buying Secret Santa gifts for their coworkers. Anyway, its return was short; Night Fall by Nelson DeMille took top place the second week, and Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom was the best-selling book for the remainder of December.

Two things that I would have wanted as Christmas presents that year were the rerelease of Stephanie Alexander’s Classic “The Cook’s Companion“, although with a massive price tag of $125, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t under any tree with my name on it. Also, according to Delicious magazine, this was when Nigella Lawson’s “Feast” was released.

So, now that we have set the scene, let’s set the table for our fusion feast!

Lobster Cocktail with Preserved Lemon

This recipe livens up the traditional prawn (shrimp) cocktail with a bit of luxe from the lobster and some Middle Eastern flavours of preserved lemon and harissa. You will see that the recipe calls for a whole lobster. I used a far more economical lobster tail, and one tail between the two of us was perfect for a starter. This meal looks elegant and ritzy but can be made without a high price tag.

This was delicious, and every ingredient had its place. I had never even thought of using a grain in a seafood cocktail. And, to be honest, I thought about not including the burghul wheat. Please don’t do this, it brought a beautiful nuttiness to the lobster cocktail. I’d never had it before but now, I want to have burghul in every seafood cocktail! It was a game changer ingredient!

A word of advice on the sauce. When I first made the harissa sauce, I thought it was a little bland, so I added more harissa. I then popped it into the fridge whilst I made the rest. The flavours continued to develop, so what I ended up with was somewhat spicier than when it went into the fridge! It still tasted delish, but be careful if you are playing with the ratios, as you don’t want to overpower the flavour of that lovely lobster!

Finally, our lime tree was also bare so I used a lemon as my garnish. We’ll now have to wait til winter for fresh limes but the lemon tree is the gift that keeps on giving!

Lamb Rack with Coconut Gravy and Mango Chutney

This feels to me like a perfect blend of the Fussiest Eater in the World’s tastes and mine. He likes his good old English roast. I like a bit of spice! This recipe was, therefore, a win-win! It felt a bit unusual adding the curry gravy to the meat after it was cooked but this recipe really worked for me!

Baileys Crème Brulée

Speaking of win – win…Baileys is one of my favourite tipples. And crème brulée is one of my favourite desserts. This was DELIGHTFUL! The Baileys was there but more like a whisper than a scream. If I hadn’t known it was was Baileys I would have spent the first few spoonfuls thinking…”I know what that flavour is….but I need just one more spoonful to figure it out”…and after that I would have decided not to worry too much about defining the flavour and just dug in for sheer enjoyment! And of course, if you want a stronger Baileys flavour, a little glass on the side wouldn’t go astray!

And just listen to that crack!

My Nigella Moment – Tomato Tarte Tatin

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious. In the context of these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that may not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share.

The tomato tatin was absolutely delicious. What made it SPECTACULAR was the caramelised garlic. I made the tomato tarte tatin on a night when I was by myself so I made a quarter quantity of the caramelised garlic. Massive mistake. It was absolutely delicious. I had some left over after the tomato tatin and I put it on absolutely everything I ate over the next day or so. Salad? I added it to the dressing? Steak, I added it as a little condiment. Snacking – the carmelised galirc and butter on really fresh bread was divine. Seriously someone needs to bottle that up and sell it. I would buy a lifetime supply!

The ricotta cream was also really nice. I did add a little tip I picked up from Girl Dinner and added a splash of pickle juice into the ricotta mix which I thought set it off really nicely!

What a month! Each of these brought me joy! I’m so glad the December 2004 issue of Delicious delivered fusion, not confusion. Now, I need to dash; I have a great little business idea I want to try out!

Have a great week!