Eggs in Sour Cream

Guten Tag, friends! Today, we embark on a culinary journey through Europe, guided by the pages of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery. Our first stop? The enchanting land of Austria, where the hills will soon be alive with the delightful aromas of delicious food. We’re starting with a simple yet elegant dish: Eggs in Sour Cream.

As the holiday season approaches, life often becomes a whirlwind of activity. It’s during these hectic times that simple, comforting meals become invaluable. Eggs in Sour Cream is the perfect solution, providing a quick, easy, and delicious meal that requires minimal effort. This Austrian dish resembles the French Ouefs en Cocotte, both involving eggs baked in a creamy mixture.  

Eggs in Sour Cream

I’ve loved Ouefs en Cocotte, ever since my aunt introduced me to them during my primary school years. Discovering this Austrian variation was a delightful surprise, offering both familiarity and novelty. The tangy sour cream and the light, creamy texture create a truly divine experience. The crunchy breadcrumb topping adds a delightful textural contrast, elevating the dish to new heights.

Paired with a fresh green salad, Eggs in Sour Cream make for a perfect lunch or supper. It’s quick, easy, and incredibly cost-effective, making it a win-win. Feel free to experiment with different herbs to suit your taste preferences.

This dish was a pure comfort, a tranquil oasis after a long, busy day. While I opted for a simple green salad to accompany the eggs, you can also serve it with roasted vegetables, crispy bacon, or a slice of crusty bread. The endless possibilities allow you to customize the dish to your liking.

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So, let’s dive into the recipe and experience the magic of Eggs in Sour Cream for ourselves. This dish promises to warm your soul and satisfy your taste buds, making it a perfect addition to your culinary repertoire.

Eggs in Sour Cream – The Recipe

AAAustria - Eggs in Sour cream

 

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Happy cooking, friends!  Have a great week!Signature2

 

 

 

Salmon Croustade

Hello friends and retro food lovers! Today’s recipe, Salmon Croustade, is inspired by this picture, which I found in Vogue Entertaining in February/March 1990. It looks absolutely delicious! That big chunk of bread to soak up that butter-laden sauce, the leeks and mushrooms surely sauteed to perfection in some garlic…my mouth was watering as I looked for the recipe, which didn’t exist. 

Salmon Croustade

It’s not like I was expecting a website link or a QR code but there was no recipe on the page and no indication of where one could be found.  I turned the page in case it was one of those ads that span a few pages.  Nothing.  Well, not nothing.  Because a completely blank page in a magazine would be peculiar, but nothing concerning a recipe for a Croustade of Salmon.  Well, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention. So, if the recipe didn’t exist, someone had to invent it.  And so I did!  

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Unlike the 1990 recipe, I knew I wanted to use fresh salmon. So, what remained to be figured out was how to:

  • Cook the salmon
  • Make the croustade
  • Make the sauce
  • Cook the vegetables and,
  • Combine them all to make a cohesive whole

Simple, right?

Before we get to the recipe, does anyone else think it strange that fish and mushrooms work so well together?  One is fundamentally of the sea, and the other quintessentially of the earth.  And yet….a marriage made in heaven.  Opposites do attract!  (If you want another recipe containing Fish and Mushrooms, I recommend Mia Farrow’s Fish with Ginger Sauce).  

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Salmon Croustades – The Recipe

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Salmon Croustades

A modern recipe inspired by a vintage advertisement.

Ingredients

Scale

For the garlic bread croustade:

  • One loaf French bread
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the poached salmon:

  • 4 salmon fillets
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup vegetable or mushroom stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the leek and mushroom sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Prepare the garlic bread croustade:
    • Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
    • Slice the French bread into 1-inch thick rounds.
    • Combine butter, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
    • Spread the butter mixture on one side of each bread round.
    • Place the bread rounds on a baking sheet, buttered side up.
    • Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.
  2. Poach the salmon:
    • In a large skillet, combine white wine, stock, bay leaf, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
    • Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium heat.
    • Gently place the salmon fillets into the simmering liquid.
    • Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through and flakes easily.
    • Remove the salmon from the pan and set aside.
  3. Make the leek and mushroom sauce:
    • In the same skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
    • Add the leek and mushrooms, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
    • Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
    • Pour in the heavy cream and bring to a simmer.
    • Season with salt and pepper to taste.
    • Cook for a few minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly.
  4. Assemble the dish:
    • Place a garlic bread croustade on each plate.
    • Top with a poached salmon fillet.
    • Spoon the leek and mushroom sauce over the salmon.
    • Serve immediately.

Now, if you wanted to simplify this, you could use a bought garlic bread for the croustade. In that case, heat the garlic bread according to the packet instructions, and once it is ready, pile on the salmon and the sauce.  You could also use canned salmon as per the OG recipe.  

I thoroughly enjoyed creating this recipe, and I hope I have done the original justice. I would LOVE to know how much my version differs from the original, besides using fresh rather than canned salmon.  So, if anyone out there has an original 1990 recipe for Croustades of Salmon with Leek and Mushroom, please let me know!

Have a great week!

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After The Funeral – Cold Lemon Soufflé

Hello crime readers and food lovers.  Today, we have a sweet treat for you…well, actually, maybe three treats.  First, we are dining on a lovely cold lemon soufflé, and we are reading After The Funeral, which is both a Poirot and has one of the most dastardly Christie villains we have ever met! So treats both gustatory and literary are in store!  

Cold Lemon Souffle

After The Funeral – The Plot

Richard Abernethie is dead and his family are gathered around to pay their respects.  After the funeral, the family gathers at the ancestral home to hear the reading of his will.  Family members and Richard’s lawyer are startled when Richard’s somewhat eccentric younger sister Cora states that Richard was murdered. Cora is known within the family for saying outlandish (but true) things.  Her remark does not sit well with Mr Entwhistle, the lawyer, who becomes even more disturbed when Cora is brutally murdered the next day.

It turns out that Richard visited Cora just before his death.  Did he give her some information that led her to believe his life was in danger?  Did someone kill Cora to keep her quiet?  

 We have:

  • No one in the family with a sound alibi for the time Cora was killed.  
  • Among them, we also have issues with gambling, adultery and madness
  • A false confession
  • Helen Abernethie (Richard’s sister-in-law) feeling that something was not quite right on the day of the funeral.
  • Helen then getting coshed over the head as she calls Entwhistle to tell him what she remembered
  • A motif of creepy nuns terrifying Miss Gilchrist, Cora’s companion
  • A malachite table and some wax flowers providing a clue as to what might have happened

Poirot goes undercover as Mr Pontalier, a gentleman looking for a large home to house refugees from the war to sort out whodunnit.  Even if no one knows who he really is, even after his ruse is discovered.  

After The Funeral – The Covers

So.  Many.  Covers.  I know this looks like a lot but I narrowed this down from over 50!  These are all wonderful in their own way so instead of calling out my favourites I thought we might go through the translations of some of the names.  

The American title is Funerals Are Fatal…which is, yes, true for at least one person.  In a similar vein are the Hungarian and Swedish titles Funerals are Dangerous.  

The German title translates to “The Bouquet of Wax Flowers”, a deep reference to a plot point in the story.  

The French Title translates to The Indiscretions of Hercule Poirot”.  I beg your pardon, what?  No!  That is all wrong!  Je n’aime pas le français! 

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The Recipe:  Cold Lemon Soufflé

I returned to my school Home Economics textbook, Cookery The Australian Way, for this recipe.  I clearly remember making this way back in class with Mrs Rama, my Home Ec teacher.  Delicious then.  Delicious now!  

“Cold lunch, of course, it had to be.  Ham and chicken and tongue and salad.  With cold lemon soufflé and apple tart to follow.”

After the Funeral – Agatha Christie


Lemon Souffle recipe

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Better  to go home cross-country.  These bath buns were really excellent.  Extraordinary how hungry a funeral made you feel.  The soup at Enderby has been delicious – and so was the cold soufflé

After the Funeral – Agatha Christie

Links to the Christieverse

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in After The Funeral

January’s read will be They Do It With Mirrors.  We’re starting the year with Miss Marple! 

Have a great week!

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Fusion Food – December 2004

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. 

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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!

December 2004 menu

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.  

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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!   

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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!

Lamb with Coconut Gravy

Lamb Rack Recipe (1)

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!

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Baileys Creme Brulee Recipe

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! 

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Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe (1)

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!

Garlic Booth

Have a great week!

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Sardine Toadstools

Hello friends and retro food lovers. These little sardine toadstools may just be the most wonderfully whimsical vintage things I’ve ever made here! They are as cute as a button! A button mushroom, that is! The recipe for the Sardine Toadstools comes from what is fast becoming a favourite around these parts: Marguerite Patten’s 500 Recipes for Quick Meals (1972). 

Imagine serving around a little tray of these at your next Halloween party.   Or an Alice in Wonderland-inspired children’s party.  I showed photos of these to one of my work colleagues. He loved them so much he is going to make them for his nieces on Christmas morning.  Another colleague heard him talking about them and has also asked for the recipe to make for his daughters for weekend breakfasts! 

Sardine Toadstools are a dish for any occasion where you want to add a touch of magic, which could also just be lunch!  Your guests will be delighted and, by the way, these taste pretty good too! 

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Variations on The Theme of Sardine Toadstools

Now, I know that some of you, bizarrely, in my opinion, hate sardines.  I feel the same way about cooked carrots.  And beetroot.  So there’s no judgement here.  But please don’t discount this recipe if you do.  You could swap in some tuna.  Or leave out the fish altogether and just add mayo and mustard for a classic deviled egg. 

If you want to get fancy and don’t mind the fiddliness of trying to coax the yolks out of boiled quail eggs, think how spectacular a miniature version of these would be!  Use quail eggs and cherry tomatoes, and voila, not only are you magical, but you are also sophisticated!

Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and yawned once or twice, and shook itself. Then it got down off the mushroom, and crawled away in the grass, merely remarking as it went, ‘One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter.’

‘One side of what? The other side of what?’ thought Alice to herself.

‘Of the mushroom,’ said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud; and in another moment it was out of sight.

Lewis Carroll  – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

The Recipe – Sardine Toadstools

Sardine Toadstools recipe

 

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As you can see, I’ve not bothered with the rounds of bread and butter, but you do you!  

Please let me know if you make these! With Christmas just around the corner, many people may be wondering what to serve guests as fun finger food or a starter. These sardine toadstools could be just the thing for your entertaining needs! And if you do make them, please tag me on Instagram if you post them or ping me a photo. I would absolutely love to see how your creations turn out.  

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Have a great week! 

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