Retro Food For Modern Times

22
Apr
2024

The Lernean Hydra: Afternoon Tea Scones

categories: Afternoon Tea, Dining With The Dame, Poirot, Scones

Hello crime readers and food lovers! Today’s installment of Dining With The Dame is inspired by a story collection called The Labours of Hercules, and features our favourite detective, Hercule Poirot. As Poirot nears retirement, he takes on twelve new cases – each case mirroring one of the twelve labours of Hercules from Greek mythology! It’s a fun concept, though perhaps a tad forced at times. The Lernean Hydra is the second of these stories. Moving on to the culinary delights, our recipe for Afternoon Tea Scones comes from a long-time blog favourite, Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery.

The Lernean Hydra- The Plot

Poirot nodded his head thoughtfully. He said: “Yes, rumour is indeed the nine-headed Hydra of Lernea which cannot be exterminated because as fast as one head is cropped off two grow in its place

Agatha Christie – The Lernean Hydra from The Labours of Hercules

Dr. Charles Oldfield seeks Hercule Poirot’s help to dispel rumors that he poisoned his wife in order to marry his medical dispenser, Jean Moncrieff. The rumours are destroying his reputation and his medical practice.

We have:

The Doctor inheriting a rather large fortune from his difficult and hypochondriac wife. Is that a motive for murder?
Both the doctor and Jean Moncrieff had access to drugs, including arsenic. Mrs Crawford died of a gastric ulcer, the symptoms of which are similar to that of arsenical poisoning
Cells from Mrs Crawford’s exhumed body containing more than a lethal dose of arsenic

Did the Doctor do it? Did Jean? Will the course of their true love not run smooth because one of them is a murderer? Good thing we have Poirot on the case to bring the guilty to justice and stop the vicious hydra of gossip.

The Labours of Hercules – The Covers

There are some wonderful covers here including a Russian version. I love the two pulp fiction covers but for me the absolute highlighr is the French cover, bottom left. This depiction is a little Poirot, a little Groucho Marx and a little Dumbo the elephant!

The Recipe: Afternoon Tea Scones

Nibbling delicately at a scone and balancing a cup of tea on his knee, Hercule Poirot allowed himself to be come confidential with his hostess. Miss Leatheran had been kind enough to ask him to tea andhad thereupon made it her business to find out exactly what this exotic little foreigner was doing in their midst

Agatha Christie – The Lernean Hydra

Links To The Christieverse

A Miss Leatheran lives in the village and it is she who gives Poirot the scones. Although this is not a common surname, there is no mention that she is any relative of Amy Leatheran from Murder in Mesopotamia.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in The Lernean Hydra

Tea x 2

Our May read is Witness for the Prosecution.

Have a great week!

21
Apr
2024

April 2004 – The Letter L

categories: 20 Years Ago Today, Breakfast, Delicious, Drinks, Fruit, Lamb, Lemon, Magazines, Mango, Meat

Hello, retro food lovers! Today’s post features the letter L and Delicious Magazine from April 2004. Our meal today has a slightly Indian feel with a lassi, some lamb and a lovely lemony dessert! But before we get to the food, let’s set the scene.

The Da Vinci Code was the best-selling book of the first half of April. Quelle surprise! However, for the remaining two weeks, Glorious Appearing stole the number-one spot! Before you get excited, this book sounds dreadful! I would rather read The Da Vinci Code! Toxic by Britney was number one on the charts and Hellboy was number one at the box office.

Hopefully more on the side of glorious, rather than toxic or hellish is our menu for April 2004!

Mango Lassi

I am starting my L themed meal with a Mango Lassi. Lassis are yogurt-based drinks often containg spices. Think of it as a Punjabi smoothie. Lassis boast a long history, dating back to 1000 BC! People believed they had healing properties. Drinking lassis could improve your digestion and your skin and reduce bloating just to name a few!

Lassis can be sweet or savoury. The mango here makes this one quite sweet so it would have been an equally nice way to end the meal! This also takes less than a minute to make so quick as well as delicious. I used frozen mango in mine so you do not have to wait until mangoes are in season to make this!

Mango Lassi Recipe

Spiced Lamb Lollipops with Korma Sauce and Toasted Almonds

This, like the Mango Lassi above comes from an article called “Curry on Jamie”. No surprises for guessing that the Jamie is one Mr Oliver, who seems to be featuring in thee 20 Years Ago posts rather a lot. The Lamb Lollipops were a version of a curry. The twist was that instead of the meat being cooked in the curry, it was grilled and served with a curry sauce for dipping. It was absolutely delicious! I served my Lollipops with a radish and coriander pickle from the same article and some bought paratha.

Lamb Lollipops Recipe

Lemon Posset with Lemon Crunch

Apart from the letter L, there is another linking factor between today’s recipes. The lassi dates back to ancient times, Korma is believed to be created in the 16th century for Shah Jalan at the inauguration of the Taj Mahal and our dessert also has it’s roots in history. The OED traces posset back to the 15th century where, like the lassi, it was known for it’s healing properties. I liked the lemon crunch because it added some texture into what was otherwise a very soft dessert. The texture of the posset was panna cotta-esque. An almond biscotti would have also gone down a treat with this…and created a link with the lamb dish!

Lemon Posset Recipe

I found the quantities here made for quite a sweet mix so l added more lemon juice, specifically as I also knew the crunch would also be sweet.

My Nigella Moment – Breakfast Almond Croissants

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 these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share.

One of my favorite bakery treats is an almond croissant so I was delighted to find a recipe where I could do a cheats’ version at home. These were delightful. And also went nicely with some mango lassi!

Breakfast Almond Croissant Recipe

Oh, I just realised another link. These meals all belong in a spectrum from yellow to brown…the posset is light lemon yellow, the mango lassi is a pale orange, the korma sauce was a deep orange and the croissants were brown. These colours are also all autumnal so maybe I was also channelling the seasons with my meal!

Have a great week!

14
Apr
2024

Guacamole Stuffed Tomatoes

categories: 1980's recipes, Avocado, Starters, Tomatoes

Hello friends! Get ready for a delicious trip down memory lane, fueled by none other than guacamole-stuffed tomatoes! As a quirky only child, I spent a lot of my time lost in the magical worlds found between book covers. Every week, the local library became my wonderland. It was on one of these adventures that I stumbled upon a treasure – “The Complete Avocado Cookbook.”

I became obsessed with this book and borrowed it over and over. This book, and the food contained within it seemed like the height of sophistication to my younger self. This book was my future! I could not wait to grow up and have Breakfast At Tiffanys-esque parties complete with drunks wearing lampshades on their heads, women with foot long cigarette holders and, of course, some amazing avocado-based food!

Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used To Be

Given this history, you can only imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a copy of “The Complete Avocado Cookbook” in a charity shop a few years ago! I snatched it up so quickly, you’d think it was the last book on earth. However, the fact that it’s taken me years to actually cook from it might be a good indicator that “you can’t dip your toe into the same river twice.” Take the recipe for Crusted Stuffed Avocado, for example. For twelve-year-old me, this was the absolute star attraction, the shiny gold ornament on the Christmas tree of “The Complete Avocado Cookbook.”

For this recipe, you take an avocado, cut it in two and scoop out the flesh. You then mix that flesh with Camembert cheese, garlic and herbs and pile all of that back into the avocado shells. Then, you put the shells back together and crumb and fry the rejoined avocado. Try very hard not to sing Atomic Kitten’s Whole Again as you do this! Finally, you then serve your crusty stuffed avocado with an almond butter sauce!

Here it is:

And here is my childhood reaction to reading this recipe:

And here is adult me:

I now know that I don’t actually like the taste of cooked avocado.
Nowadays, the heart attack-inducing power of a deep-fried avocado stuffed with Camembert cheese, served with a butter sauce, terrifies me!
Why would you leave the skin of the avocado on?
Finally…why are they using a Shepherd when everyone knows the Hass avocado is far superior!

Guacmaole Stuffed Tomatoes – The Recipe

All of which leads me to the Guacamole Stuffed Tomato – let me tell you, it was absolutely delicious. I wouldn’t normally add olives to my guacamole but they were a nice salty addition! I could not really taste the coriander powder either and would probably sub in fresh coriander (cilantro) next time. Having said that, my twelve year old self, as well as my… ahem somewhat older self were both delighted! I was also delighted to take this photo of the original picture of the book and my homage to it!

And, if like me, you have aslo been hunning Whole Again this whole time, I’ve linked it in below. I will now look lovingly at my copy of The Complete Avocado Cookbook and sing along:

Looking back on when we first metI cannot escape and I cannot forgetBaby you’re the one, you still turn me on

Have a great week!

01
Apr
2024

Mushrooms & Quail Egg Choux Buns

categories: Easter, Eggs

Happy Easter everyone! I hope the bunny brought you all the chocolate eggs you wanted. I am also bringing the Easter classics of buns and eggs but in savoury form with some choux buns with truffled mushrooms and quail eggs. I wanted to use up the leftover quail eggs from the Nevilled Eggs. A quick search of my recipe spreadsheet led me to a beautiful book called Food Fashion Friends Fleur Wood. She is a designer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Coming from a former fashion designer the book is very glamorous so I had high hopes for this recipe!

(And yes, I have a recipe spreadsheet. And yes, I know that makes me the very opposite of the glamorous chic in the book!)

It turned out that I had a few more quail eggs than required for the choux buns so I also made one of Jamie Oliver’s dipping salts for quail eggs. He has three recipes, all of which sound delicious but I chose one with smoked paprika and cayenne.

Fleur Wood’s recipe has black caviar as an additional garnish for her eggs. I did not have any of this so I omitted it but I’m sure the buns would have been delicious with it. A little sprinkle of some parsley or chives might have been nice too.

The one thing that for me, did not work in this recipe were the quail’s eggs. They didn’t bring anything to the dish which was a bit disappointing as I was looking for something in which they would shine. The mushroom filling was so delicious that I would have been happy with just them or maybe a bit of goat’s or cream cheese added. Even in the photo from the book, the eggs look a little…out of place. Maybe Fleur was also trying to use up some quail eggs?

AAA Choux Buns — Picture via Food Fashion Friends

The choux buns worked like a dream which I was pleased about! So, whilst I was a bit disappointed that the eggs didn’t shine, the mushroom filling and the buns definitely put this in the “make again” territory. The Jamie Oliver dipping eggs were also a nice little bonus!

The Recipe – Mushrooms & Quail Egg Choux Buns

Incidentally, I had never cooked quail’s eggs before the Nevilled eggs. So, I had never realised quite how beautiful I would find their speckly outsides:

Or that they would have a gorgeous blue inside!

I am off to eat more eggs, of the chocolate variety! Have a great week!

23
Mar
2024

March 2004 – No O’s

categories: 20 Years Ago Today, Custard, Delicious, Desserts, Magazines, Potato, Prawns, Salad, Steak

Hello, retro food lovers! Today we are stepping back in time for a fun theme. Remember the childhood book “Ghosts and Crows and Things With O’s? Well, today is the opposite. My aim today was to create a menu where none of the recipes contain the letter O in its name. Weird? Yes but so is Omicronphobia which is a fear of the letter O. Just in case you ever happen to be entertaining someone suffering from this affliction, here is a menu for you. Also, please don’t tell them I called them weird! Our guide today is the March 2004 issue of Delicious Magazine.

So, what else was happening in March 2004? Well, a fire crew in a hurry to get to a fire in Melbourne Florida left a fryer on in the firehouse. A little later they got a call to come and put out another fire…at their firehouse! In popular culture, the Da Vinci code was still top of the best seller lists and The Passion of The Christ was number 1 at the box office. Yeah by Usher was the number one song.

Now, that we have set the scene, let’s get to the menu

The Menu – March 2004

Prawn Caesar Salad

This was not strictly a Caesar Salad as the dressing was more of a Marie Rose-type thing but it had a Caesar-ish vibe about it. It was also delicious! You can find a more classic Caesar Salad here.

Prawn Caesar Salad Recipe

Teriyaki Steak with Wasabi Mash

I loved this, it was my favourite dish on the menu and so easy to make as well. I often found bought teriyake sauces much too sweet for my palate but this was perfect. And the wasabi mash was a perfect accompaniment. I also served some edamame and pickled veg alongside.

Teriyaki Steak with Wasabi Mash Recipes

Crème Brulée

March has been a very custard and caramel month around these parts. Last week I made caramel custard and this week, its more sophisticated cousin, Crème Brulée. I will say though that I cannot recommend this recipe. For a start, the cooking time was completely out. I had to cook my custards for about double the time they suggested! I was also intrigued by their suggestion of grinding the sugar to make it easier to torch. It did not. All it did was add to the time taken to cook the recipe, and burn the sugar when I torched it. After the first two, I went back to my usual way of using normal caster sugar and it was fine. Just listen to this. This is the sound of a good Crème Brulée.

Crème Brulée Recipe

It was a bit of a dud but I am including it for compleness sake. And having said that, the custard was delicious. And once I reverted back to my usual non-powdered white sugar, the bruleed top became perfect!

My Nigella Moment – Blue Cheese, Honey and Walnuts

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 these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share.

I have long said that cheese is my love language so this recipe immediately called to me. So simple and so delcious. And if you wanted to bring this recipe up to date? Sub out ordinary honey for some hot honey. This is a perfect after-dinner cheeseboard for one, or many. I served mine with a green salad and a croissant for a delicious lunch. This recipe is proof that the simple things in life are often the best!

Blue Cheese with Walnuts and Honey Recipe

Apart from a few hiccups with the Brulee, I loved this month. Delicious Magazine has allowed the Omicronphobes (and me) have some beautiful vibrant and tasty meals!

Have a great week!