Retro Food For Modern Times

18
Jun
2018

Cevapcici with Sopska Salata and Random Facts about David Bowie

categories: Salad, Sausage, Serbia, World Cooking

Поздрав из Србије!

Or, to my non-Serbian friends, Greetings from Serbia. Today we are continuing to explore the former Yugoslavian regions with a side step from Croatia to Serbia.

On the menu today are Cevapcici (aka Cevapi) which are sausages found all over the Balkans in various shapes, sizes and flavours. The word is derived from the Turkish kebab from which my serving suggestion today is also derived.

Because meat+bread+salad = delicious in any language! 😘

Wikipedia lists the following variations:

Sarajevski ćevap, from Sarajevo, Bosnia, meat mix of beef and sheepmeat
Travnički ćevapi, from Travnik, Bosnia, meat mix of beef, veal, mutton and lamb
Banjalučki ćevapi, from Banja Luka, Bosnia, beef meat
Tuzlanski ćevapi, from Tuzla, Bosnia, meat mix of beef, mutton and lamb
Novopazarski ćevap, from Novi Pazar, Serbia, traditionally sheepmeat
Leskovački ćevap, from Leskovac, Serbia, veal meat

My version uses lamb so takes its cues from a the novopazarski cevap. I could not find a recipe for one of these online and the entry in Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery was vague to say the least:

So I used a lamb cevapcici recipe I found online here. The spice blend made these sausages super tasty and the high-fat content of the lamb kept the sausages from drying out during cooking so this was a really good find. Also, the cevapcici were super easy to make.

The recipe for the Sopska Salata or Serbian Tomato Salad came from here.

My pita recipe came from the Relish Mama Family cookbook which is our current Tasty Reads cookbook but you could use any homemade pita recipe or use bought flatbreads to make cooking this even easier.

And now for some fun facts about Serbia. Which turned into random facts about David Bowie.

Nikola Tesla was a Serb. Amongst other things, Tesla is known for the development of alternating current and wireless technology. He was also played by David Bowie in the amazing movie The Prestige!

The most known Serbian word?

Vampire.

David Bowie starred alongside Susan Sarandon in a vampire film back in the 1980’s called The Hunger.

Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie in the Tony Scott movie “The Hunger”… (1983)
byu/Reporter_at_large inDavidBowie

Serbia is the world’s largest exporter of a particular (and delicious) food item. In 2012, 95% of this item came from Serbia. And seeing as this has now also become an unofficial David Bowie post, it features as an ingredient in two of the cocktails on this list inspired by David Bowie.

The ingredient? Raspberries.

One more….just to really tie things together…Brian Rasic (Brajan Rašić) who was Bowie’s official photographer for many years and gave the world several iconic photos of the great man? Was born in Belgrade.

Seriously, sometimes this just writes itself….

Have a wonderful week everyone!

And tell me, if you were going to drink a David Bowie-inspired cocktail from the list above, which would you choose? I’d have a Starman.

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Cevapcici Recipe:

Sopska Salata Recipe (SBS Food)

16
Jun
2018

Holiday Plans & Flag Cocktail 1

categories: Cocktail, Kirsch, Parfait Amour, Russia

So, just this last week I sent off my passport for a visa for a place where the flag looks kind of like this!

Need a few more hints?

Yep, if they approve my visa, I’m off to Russia in August!

I’m so excited! I’ve been watching as much of the World Cup as I can – not so much for the football but for the travel stories and the scenery.

I’ll be visiting Moscow:

And St Petersburg:

But back to the cocktail. I am both obsessed by and fascinated with the pousse-cafe style cocktail where various liqueurs are layered over each other. They always look so pretty. This recipe was called The Electric Flag and I had to include the original version of it here because it so quirky. (Doh! I can’t remember where on earth this recipe came from either!

Yep, this little drink here is 150% cocktail!

I used kirsch instead of grappa for my version. I also didn’t knock it back in one but sipped it over the course of the evening. It’s strong! If you are also sipping, make sure you mix it well before you do.

Otherwise, it’s all alcohol at the start and plain sickly sweet grenadine at the end. The mix of the three together is lovely though!

I’m going to be spending the next few weeks delving into some Russian literature – starting with one of my favourites.

I’ll follow this classic with a wonderful piece of fantasy by dipping back into the Night Watch Series by Sergei Lukyanenko…this is an AMAZING series with Russian Vampires. The first book was also made into a crazy good film a few years ago. The sixth instalment of this series came out last year but I am going to save that for when I am in situ. Meantime, I’ll reimmerse myself into this world by re-reading the earlier books.

Have a great week? Are you watching the World Cup? Who do you think will win?

11
Jun
2018

The Crown Princess Victoria’s Birthday Cake

categories: Birthday Cake, Cake, Gluten Free, Meringue

Can you believe I’ve been doing this for 6 years? Who knew this was going to last longer than most proper jobs, many romantic relationships and a large percentage of prison sentences!

This is a belated celebration though because I’m having a horrendous month. First I hurt my back and was out of action for a couple of weeks. And now I have an awful cold.

But better late than never! And if we were going to wait for anything? This might be the one!

This is the Crown Princess Victoria’s birthday cake!

Time sure flies when you decide to follow your own brand of weirdness!

But let’s talk about this cake. Because it’s not quite cake as we know it. I also need to confess that I have no idea where this recipe came from. I copied it out of a book but totally forgot to note the book from whence it came. So, if anyone knows, please drop me a line so I can attribute it properly!

It’s also gluten-free for those of you who care about those sorts of things!

First up you need to start with two layers of nutty biscuit base. The original recipe said walnut but I had almond meal in the house so rather than grinding walnuts into meal, I took the lazy girl’s option and used what I had. (In my defence I also had a bad back at the time. 😉 ).

And haters look out, I also thought it would work better with an almond base seeing as I was going to decorate it with marzipan. It was going to be a double almond delight!

Next up a meringue!

Then meringue was sandwiched with whipped cream between the two almond discs. This is where it got a little crazy because the meringue was round on the top and the discs were not. So the sandwiching was a little rough…

The the “cake” was “iced” with more whipped cream and decorated with fresh raspberries and some marzipan roses!

This looked so pretty and was absolutely delicious. The crisp biscuit, the crunchy outside of the meringue and the marshmallowy inside made for a lovely blend of textures. The raspberries added a cake much-needed tang into the overall sweetness of the cake and whipped cream just makes anything a party!

Here’s the recipe:

Print

The Crown Princess Victoria’s Birthday Cake

Print Recipe

A different and delicious “cake” to celebrate any occasion.

Author: Taryn Fryer

Ingredients

Scale

For The Biscuit Layers

1 1/4 cups almond meal
1/4 cup icing sugar
2 egg whites

For The Meringue Layer

2 egg whites
1/2 cup caster sugar

To Decorate

1 1/2 cups whipped cream
250g fresh raspberries
Fondant or marzipan roses

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

For the Bicuit Layers

Mix together the almond meal, icing sugar and the unbeaten egg whites.Spread out into 2 x 20cm rounds on baking paper on baking trays.
Bake in a moderate oven for 10 minutes until firm to touch.
Turn out onto wire racks and carefully peel off the paper.
Cool.

For The Meringue

Beat the 2 eggs whites until stiff.
Add the sugar gradually, beating all the time until glossy and thick.
Spread out to a 20cm round on baking paper on a baking tray.
Bake in a slow oven until dry and crisp – around 45-50 minutes.
Cool and carefully remove paper.

To Decorate

Sandwich the meringue between the two biscuit layers with whipped cream.
Cover the top and sides with whipped cream.
Decorate with raspberries and fondant or marzipan roses.

You can find an article on how to make proper marzipan roses here. Or you can muddle through and hope for the best like I did with mine!

And of course, I couldn’t let the moment go by without reference to this!

Have a wonderful week everyone!

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11
May
2018

Repost from 2018 -Tubing // Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese

categories: Books, Comfort Food, Pasta

One of my joys, particularly on a wet and cold weekend is to curl up with a good book and lose myself for a few hours. Now, just to be clear, when I say good book, I don’t mean the kind of book that wins literary accolades for their perfectly constructed sentences and their ability to cast a light on the shadows of contemporary society that had previously been ignored.

I mean sure, those books have their place. It’s in a prominent place on the bookshelf so visitors can see how clever and worldly you are.

But no, for there here and now, good refers to one of those guilty pleasure books – the kind you can race through in an afternoon or two and become totally absorbed in, resurfacing only for snacks and sleep.

Tubing by K.A.McKeagney was one of these books. Tubing is about Polly a 20 something girl living in London with her boyfriend Oliver, a doctor who on the surface seems like a perfect catch but is totally bland. Polly seems….lacklustre…content just to drift along in her relationship and her job neither of which seem to be fulfilling or providing her with any real meaning or enjoyment. Enter a chance sexual encounter with a handsome stranger on a train and all of a sudden Polly’s placid life is thrown into turmoil.

Polly becomes obsessed with him and through searching for him online discovers “Tubing” a phenomenon where strangers hook up for sex on crowded tube trains. Each to their own right? Anyway, through following a series of tweets, Polly tracks down her handsome stranger. Tubing provides her with the thrills and excitement that are missing from her regular life.

Until it all goes horribly wrong…

Cue dramatic music….

And cue snacks….or in this case, not so much snacks but a big bowl of carby cheesy comfort food aka Ultimate Mac and Cheese. (Because Tubing…geddit? 😉) Is there anything more comfort foody than mac and cheese? If so, I would like to know about it!

I also like the idea of eating something warm and comforting whilst reading about murder and mayhem. It creates a nice juxtaposition of knowing exactly what you will get next taste wise versus not knowing what will happen next plot-wise! Although Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese does have a few twists of its own!

The recipe for Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese comes from the Lyndey Milan section of The Great Australian Cookbook. It differs from regular Mac ‘n’ Cheese in that the normal cheese sauce is replaced by a mix of ricotta, blue cheese, cheddar and leeks. I loved the hint of blue cheese and the leeks in this!

Here’s the recipe for a delicious take on a classic dish!

Back to Tubing… it’s immensely readable but by no means a perfect novel. Polly is largely unlikeable and some of her actions (as well as those of some of the other characters) are unfathomable. The storyline also seems to be unnecessarily convoluted at times. However, for escapist enjoyment that will have you turning the pages wanting to know what happens next Tubing is a fine way to while away a few hours!

It also made me wonder if tubing was a real thing? It seemed a little too well thought out not to be! London readers, your thoughts?

Thank you to Net Galley and RedDoor Publishing for the ARC of Tubing!

And tell me, what is your perfect comfort food?

Have a great week!

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25
Apr
2018

ANZAC Biscuits – Chewy or Crispy?

categories: Anzac Day, Biscuits & Cookies, Holidays

In commemoration of ANZAC Day, which is today, April 25, I made Anzac biscuits.

Anzac biscuits are made primarily from rolled oats, golden syrup and coconut. They first appeared in recipe books in 1921 but are thought to have been sent to the troops in WW1 by mothers at home worried about the nutrition of their sons. Because they are eggless, they were able to survive the months-long trip to the front from Australia and New Zealand.

They are now a teatime staple. But the debate rages – should an Anzac biscuit be crispy or chewy?

Up until now, I was firmly in the crispy camp. I like my biscuits to have some crunch to them. But this month in the Tasty Reads book club we are doing the Relish Mama Family Cookbook and Nellie Kerrison’s recipe is for chewy Anzacs.

So chewy Anzacs it was. Ever the sceptic, and thinking there was no way they could be as good as a crispy Anzac, I tried one, still warm from the oven.

And then another one. Just to check I hadn’t been mistaken in thinking the first one was so good.

Then a third.

I ate eight of them the first night.

I would now like to point out that this in no way reflects greed but a strict adherence to the scientific method of testing a hypothesis several times to ensure that the results of an experiment can be duplicated.

This was the first recipe I have made from this book. I am looking forward to many if they are the standard of the Anzacs. Here it is:

And there is one from the 1930’s for the crispy kind:

http://www.abc.net.au/radio/recipes/anzac-biscuits-crispy-version/8926926

I will leave you today with some images from the National War Memorial in Canberra because, after all, more than biscuits that’s what today is about!

Have a great week!

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