Use By: Apricot, Lemon and Basil Sorbet

categories: Apricots, France, Fruit, Sorbet

There were so many things I could have named this post. But hey, I made an Apricot, Lemon and Basil Sorbet. So when I couldn’t decide between witty or explanatory I decided to go with plain old pragmatism. Who knew ice cream was so complicated?

BEING MORE FRENCH

Towards the end of last year, one of my work buddies and I were talking about New Year’s Resolutions. He said he never made the traditional resos of saving money, losing weight or getting fit. Instead, he chooses something that explores a different way of being / thinking / creating. So, it could be a year of reading the financial papers or a year of being vegetarian or a year of being celibate or totally slutty or otherwise exploring a part of your personality that you feel needs expressing or you just want to have fun with.

“You know, like a year of being more French”

My reaction?

BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

This is the beauty of something like this – it can mean whatever you want it to be. For me…in no particular order:

Dress More French

Such as totally indulging my love of a striped t shirt.

Eat / Drink more French food (and wine)

Fromage anyone?

Watch More French movies / French tv shows

Including one of my favourite films ever The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

And just to balance out all that sweeetness, some gritty French police drama.

Be more Cultured

Last week I saw The Clock by Christian Marclay and loved every minute of it.
This weekend I’m planning on attending a local art show.

Self Care

French women take fabulous care of their skin and have amazing beauty regimes.

I plan on getting me a piece of that. My first foray into this realm was to buy some French eye drops that were RAVED about in a beauty blog. They have made absolutely no discernible difference so that was money down le toilet but I will try a new product each month.

Other ideas not fully thought out yet

Have an attitude
Start a revolution
Sexy Frugality

Mais, bien sûr

Cook More French

Which brings us back to doh oh oh oh.

The topic for our latest Tasty Reads Book Club was a “non book” book. So you could cook recipes off the interwebs or the tv or, in my case a food magazine. I bought this mag when I was on holiday last year and had not cooked anything from it.

So, when some friends gave me a big bag of apricots of varying degrees of ripeness, I decided to

Be more French, and
To use this produce before it went bad (Year of Less Waste)

By cooking the Apricot, Lemon and Basil Sorbet from the mag.

Here’s the recipe.

In English.

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Apricot, Lemon and Basil Sorbet

Print Recipe

A delightfully refreshing fruity sorbet

Ingredients

Scale

500g apricots
12 basil leaves
juice of 1 lemon
3 eggs
200ml of cream
150g sugar
1 tbsp honey

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Instructions

Infuse 6 basil leaves in cream for at least 2 hours.
Then put the apricots, the rest of the basil, lemon juice and a little water into a pot and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
Taste and add the honey (a little more or less may be required depending on the sweetness of the apricots.
Cook for another five minutes.
Let cool.
Separate the eggs.
In a large bowl, beat the yolks and the sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture turns pale. Then stir in the apricot mixture.
In a separate bowl, beat the whites to soft peaks.
In a third bowl, beat the cream to soft peaks.
Add the cream to the apricot mix and blend through.
Gently fold in the egg whites.
Pour into a container. Freeze for 24 hours

Au revoir mes amis and have a lovely weekend!

22
Dec
2017

Moules Marinieres

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, A-Zof Cooking, France, Mussels, Seafood, White Wine

Today we are heading back into The A-Z of Cooking to the chapter called Wine For a Change. And on the menu is the classic French dish of Moules Marinieres. This is one of my favourite dishes. I probably make this around once a month – it ticks all my boxes – it’s healthy, it’s quick and it’s cheap and so, so, tasty! Over the years my recipe has evolved so now I have my favourite version of Moules Marinieres which I will list below alongside a more pared back version from The A-Z.
Before we get into the Moules lets talk about this chapter. Wine for a Change. Not around here it isn’t. Around here it’s a basic food group. So there goes that title. There are some good recipes in this section. The Moules, Coq au vin, Peaches in Wine….oh and veal kidneys with Marsala.

You can’t win ’em all. (Sigh)

If the thought of veal kidneys with anything isn’t off-putting enough on its own, the picture is truly unsettling (It’s also at the very bottom of this post if you are brave enough).

Moules Marinieres loosely translates as Sailor’s Mussels. Be careful of your spelling if googling this. You could end up with this:

Hot damn! Ladies (and possibly gentlemen), don’t ever say I don’t give you anything. Merry Christmas. Happy Birthday and Goodnight Irene!

Where were we? I seem to have lost my entire train of thought.

Oh yeah, mussels. The thing that takes the longest with the Moules Marinieres is all your prep work. First you have to debeard and scrub all of your mussels.

Then cut up your veggies for your mirepoix I use carrot, celery, fennel and onion in mine. And for seasoning salt (I used the Port infused salt I bought in Portugal) peppercorns, a pinch of chilli flakes and a smashed garlic clove.

Cook these down then add some white wine and a splash of Pernod (optional but goes really well with the fennel and the mussels). Cook these down a bit – the longer the better! Then add wine, Pernod if using and stock and bring to the boil. Add the mussels. Add a lid. Shake the pan occasionally and in all of about 5 minutes you will have a piping hot bowl of mussels with a deliciously tasty broth.

Moules Marinieres are great with bread to soak up all that broth. And if that bread happens to be a tasty warm loaf of crusty garlic bread? Heaven…I”m in heaven….

This time though I made mussels other best friend…frites. With aioli. Hard to tell from the pictures but there were three types of frites – potato, sweet potato and parsnip.

The great thing about this recipe is that it is amenable to all sorts of changes. Don’t like cream? Don’t add it. I quite often will throw in a can of tinned tomatoes. Also, (and this is where i am sure I will have the purists tutting at me) if you can’t be arsed debearding and scrubbing the mussels, most supermarkets now sell frozen mussel meat. I always have a pack of this in my freezer so can whip this up at any time. One codicil on that though. The shells on fresh mussels do seem to add some extra flavour. If using mussel meat alone be sure to use a really good fish stock in your broth!

Here is the original recipe from The A-Z of Cooking and the original picture. I cannot tell you how much I love and covet that terracotta mussel pot. Straight to the top of my list of kitchen must haves!!!

And here is my slightly fancier version:

[yumprint-recipe id=’107′]So, there is only ONE Chapter left in The A-Z! Will I be able to get it out before Christmas?

Absolutely not because one of the key ingredients will be a Christmas leftover. And yes, I will be slapping people’s hands away from the plate if there is even the remotest chance of there not being enough leftovers to make it!

Will there be another post of any sort before the big day?

Almost definitely!

See you in a couple of days!

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Oh and for the bravest o the brave? Here are those veal kidneys:

05
Oct
2017

Profiteroles For Very Special Occasions

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, A-Zof Cooking, Desserts, France, Pastry

You might think that five and a bit years into this that I would cease to be surprised. Both when things go awry and when by some stroke of mad luck things work out just as they should. Such was the case with the Profiteroles I made on the weekend from the Very Special Occasions Chapter of The A- Z of Cooking (1977). When the profiteroles came out of the oven looking like, well, profiteroles, there were whoops of joy, squeals of excitement and a bit of spontaneous kitchen dancing!

Yep, in this house, this:

Equals This:

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves just yet. First. Hello V. And whilst we’re on the subject let’s’ all note the name of the chapter. Not just Special Occasions. Very Special Occasions. Requiring very special dancing apparently. And also requiring several goes at making something that was worthy of posting. After all, it’s a very special occasion.

First up there was a go at Carpetbag Steak. Now, if you lookup Carpetbag Steak anywhere on the interwebs, you will more than likely read that it is a famous Australian recipe. I’ve lived here virtually all my life and I have never head of it. However, I really liked the idea of steak and oysters. I made the recipe and it looked and tasted meh.

Then I made a Beef Stroganoff. Tasted good. Looked terrible in all the photos. I think it’s that thing that Jenny from Silver Screen Suppers told me about where brown food just doesn’t photo well. This was about the best…

So then I made Carpetbag Steak v2. A modern recipe this time. Still looked and tasted meh.

I was left with a choice. Champagne and Orange Juice. Or Profiteroles. And believe me . You came so close to having Champagne and Orange juice as your very special occasion meal. Because this is what happens inside my head whenever pastry is mentioned:

The profiteroles only happened because the very special occasion was a long weekend due to the Football Grand Final being the next day. I know right. Who has a holiday BEFORE the big day?

“It’s the dumbest reason for a holiday ever” I said.

“Come to work then” said my boss.

“It’s the best holiday ever. Better even than Jesus being born. Or dying.”

So anyway, on the holiday for best/ worst reason ever I got a little bored in the evening and thought that I would have a flick through The A-Z of Cooking, to plan V-Z. The profiterole recipe caught my eye and I realised that I had every ingredient. And a whole heap of bravado due to being about 3/4 of a bottle of a wine in.

Don’t judge. That produced these. Light as air, melt in the mouth, boozy cream filled and shiny chocolately pastry balls of deliciousness,

The basis for profiteroles, and the reason for my hissy fit is pastry. Choux pastry to be exact. I have made choux pastry exactly once before. For a recipe called Cherry Fritters from The A-Z of Cooking. Don’t bother searching the archives for them. They were a total disaster and I didn’t post them.

But choux starts with a roux…actually no. According to The A-Z of Cooking choux pastry starts with 63g of flour. Yep. 63. Not 60. Not 65. 63. And seeing as this was a very special occasion, 63g of flour it was.

This became this:

Which became these. I couldn’t find a piping bag and my piping skills are non-existent so I just blobbed spoonfuls of the pastry onto the tray. Also, I wasn’t really expecting this to work. And need I remind you about that bottle of wine that was now 5/6’s gone?

Well, slap my arse and call me Charlie if those funny looking blobs didn’t turn into these. They’re shall we say “rustic” but on a scale of one to ten of being recognizable as profiteroles, they have to be at least an eight.

So then fill and ice and sprinkle and you get these: (even more profiteroley).

Here’s the recipe direct from The A-Z of Cooking:

I tweaked the recipe by swapping out the rum for Amaretto and adding some sprinkles.

Make, eat, enjoy, do a little dance of sheer pleasure.

And have a great week!

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27
Feb
2016

REPOST from February 2016 The Dishiest Dish – Poulet Vallée D’Auge

categories: Apples, Books, Chicken & Poultry, Dish of The Week, Dishiest Dish, France

This week’s highlight came from France…from Normandy to be be precise. Or to be even more precise from the the Pays D’Auge. This is apple country and the chicken casserole that is the Poulet Vallée D’Auge contains both apples and Calvados, the apple brandy that is also a specialty of the region.

And if chicken, apples and Calvados aren’t enough for you how about we add a generous dollop of creme fraiche into the mix. Bon Appetit indeed.

We had a bit of a cold snap in the week so this hearty kind of meal was perfect. And for those of you in the Northern hemisphere who are still in the midst of winter, this will warm any, and all,the cockles you have.

The perfect drink to have with this would be a cider, one from Normandy would be perfect! Or maybe a wee glass of that Calvados.

This is a lovely dish and that sauce is divine!

I also made these prawn cakes from the Paleo book. They looked gorgeous but tasted only ok. I felt the restrictions of the Paleo diet really made themselves felt here. Thai food is meant to have that mix of sweet, salt, sour and heat. The recipe as it stood had no sweet in the dipping sauce. It vastly improved after I added some sugar. They do look pretty though!

The Six Week Challenges

No Alcohol

The six weeks of “no” alcohol are nearly over. I had a bit of a set back this week. A friend of mine resigned from work and we arranged to go for doughnuts so he could tell me all about it. And somehow on the way to the doughnut shop we got waylaid by the little bar on the corner. We were halfway through our glass of vino when we started getting messages. “Where are you? The fire alarms are going off. We need to evacuate the building”. I am the fire warden for our office. Can you believe it? I never leave my desk. NEVER. And the ONE time I go off for a sneaky ~~doughnut~~ pinot, the flipping fire alarms go off.

What could we do? They would have grounded the lifts, we weren’t getting back into the building in a hurry. Nothing for it but to have a second glass o’ wine.

Here is the scene of the crime – Dikstein’s Corner Bar,

We had a lovely New Zealand Pinot but ewwww…did I feel seedy afterwards. Totally lethargic, no motivation to do anything except flop on the couch and tune out in front of the telly for the entire evening. I will say more about this challenge when it is over – in just a couple of days. But after yesterday I am seriously evaluating my relationship with booze.

Meditation

Still struggling with this one. I thought this would be so much easier than giving up booze. Not so. I”ll try to lift my game for the last two weeks. And this one can go back on the list for a re-do later in the year.

Flexibility

I’m LOVING this. And after only a week or so in, I am already seeing the difference! I am mixing it up between two different routines – one has a morning routine and an evening routine so if I get up early enough I do that one. If not, there is another where you do one 10 minute workout for the day. Really happy with this one!

The March Challenge

I have not decided what will replace the no alcohol challenge come the first of March.

I am narrowing it down:

Journalling – I used to journal all the time and love it. And I think in some ways that was my meditation. I REALLY want to get back into it.

Candy Crush – MUST. STOP. PLAYING.

Food – I feel I should replace a “food” challenge with another food challenge – I was thinking maybe a month without bread, pasta potatoes. But Jenny has inspired me to do one around food waste.

I will do what I did last month and see what jumps out at me on the morning of the first! Eeeeekkk – can you believe it’s almost March?

Reading

I have given up on The Apologist for my audiobook. I could not get into it. I had previously started Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantell and I have gone back to that.

You can keep your real Housewives…for real scandal and intrigue, give me the Tudors anyday!

But my major discovery this week was this:

Savage Lane by Jason Starr

Savage Lane = Jason Starr

The hot pink cover had me at hello. I like to read dark and this is pitch black! It is also pitch perfect. Nasty, nasty people doing nasty, nasty things. I’m loving it!

Here is the premise:

“Life is sublime in the idyllic suburbs of New York City. Recent divorcée Karen Daily and her two kids have, for the first time in years, found joy as they settle into the close-knit community of Savage Lane. Neighbours, Mark and Deb Berman have been so supportive as she moves on in life: teaching at the local school and even dating again.

But behind the pristine houses and perfect smiles lie dark motives far more sinister than Karen could have ever imagined. Unknown to her, Mark, trapped in his own unhappy marriage, has developed a rich fantasy life for the two of them. And, as rumours start to spread, it seems that he isn’t the only one targetting Karen”

This is the first book of his I have read but I am now keen to read more. And all of his covers from No Exit Press are equally arresting:

Plants

I am going through a phase where I want to fill my house with plants.

Have started following the jungalow. Her instagram is also amazing!

https://www.instagram.com/justinablakeney/

And have been trying to find a local version of these West Elm Planters.

West Elm Mid Century Planters

Now I just have to buy some plants!

That’s about it. I haven’t really done much else this week except work.

On The Menu

Saffron chicken from Persiana
Lamb Kebabs from the A-Z of Cooking with the tomato salad with pomegranate salad also from Persiana….and eeeekkkk. Sabrina has a new book coming out in May! I can hardly wait!
Honeycomb Cheesecake from A Moveable Feast
Sweet Potato cakes with Lemon Chickpeas

Sirocco

That’s about it for me for this week. Except for the recipe for the Poulet Vallée D’Auge – which you can find here.

What are you cooking, reading, doing this weekend? I am planning to take the dogs down to the dog beach for a play.

Have a wonderful weekend whatever you do.

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27
Oct
2015

Braving Brioche

categories: 1970's recipes, A-Zof Cooking, Bread, Brioche, France

They say you should do one thing every day that scares you. Well, this week we are jumping ahead to the letter H in the A-Z of cooking and I am doing something that terrifies me. The reason for the leap from E to H and the sudden boldness on my part will become apparent in the next post….Huh…instead of a cliff hanger ending I think I just gave you a cliff hanger starting! Anyway, want to know what scares me? That third episode of Limetown still makes me shiver but cooking wise, one of the things that frightens me is bread.

And not only did I made bread this week but ooh la la, I made French Bread! Brioches to be exact. And they were very good! They looked kinda like brioches, they smelled like brioches, and they tasted like brioches! I cannot tell you how pleasantly surprised I was because the manner of making seemed odd.

I have never made brioche before but maybe, possibly this is how it is done. It seemed to work!

You made your bread dough then divided it into 12 pieces which you rolled into balls. Then you pinched off a small ball of dough from each of those so you then had 24 balls, 12 small and 12 larger. The recipe then called to make a hole in the large ball and stick the small ball inside. I found it easier to flatten the large ball and wrap it around the small ball.

Then into the baking pan for a rest and rise:

Add a glaze, pop in the oven and a short while later:

BRIOCHE!!!!

If I’d known brioche was going to be this easy I would have been making it for years! I love that high shine glaze! And to copy a phrase I learned from the Great British Bake Off, the bread also has “good crumb”.

Even though I had specifically made these for another purpose, I couldn’t resist having a little taste. Brioche and apricot jam for afternoon tea? Yes please!

As for the rest of them? Stay tuned. You’ll see in a couple of days! And it’s worth the wait! Meantime, get your brioches ready!

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Brioche

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

1 tbsp plus 1tsp sugar
3 tbsp hand hot water
2 tsp dried yeast
200g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
50g butter, melted and cooled

Egg Glaze

1 egg
1 tbsp water
pinch of sugar

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Instructions

Dissolve 1/2 tsp of sugar in the water. Sprinkle over the yeast and whisk it in with a fork. Leave in a warm place for 10-15 minutes or until the mixture is frothy.
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Mix in the rest of the sugar, the yeast mixture, the eggs and butter.
Mix by hand until the mixture leaves the side of the bowl.
Knead on a lightly floured board for 5 minutes.
Put the dough in a warm place and leave to rise for about 1.5 hours or until it has doubled in size and springs back when lightly pressed.
Preheat your oven to 230C.
Divide the dough into 12 portions. Break off a small bit of each portion and roll into 12 small balls.
Roll the remainder of the portions into 12 larger balls.
Poke a hole in each of the larger balls with your finger and place the small ball inside. Close the hole by pressing the dough together.
Place the balls in your baking tin and leave to rise for about an hour or until light and puffy.
Mix the ingredients for the egg glaze together and brush over the brioches.
Place in your preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Have a great week!

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Retro Food For Modern Times

Category: France

Use By: Apricot, Lemon and Basil Sorbet

BEING MORE FRENCH

Dress More French

Eat / Drink more French food (and wine)

Watch More French movies / French tv shows

Be more Cultured

Self Care

Read More French

Other ideas not fully thought out yet

Cook More French

Apricot, Lemon and Basil Sorbet

Ingredients

Instructions

Moules Marinieres

Profiteroles For Very Special Occasions

REPOST from February 2016 The Dishiest Dish – Poulet Vallée D’Auge

The Six Week Challenges

No Alcohol

Meditation

Flexibility

The March Challenge

Reading

Savage Lane by Jason Starr

Plants

On The Menu

Braving Brioche

Brioche

Ingredients

Egg Glaze

Instructions