Tag: Grapefruit


Jul
2024

Grapefruit Oat Brulee

categories: 1970's recipes, 500 Recipes for Quick Meals, Breakfast, Desserts, Grapefruit

Hello friends and welcome to a recipe which is top ten, maybe even top five of everything I have cooked this year! Grapefruit Oat Brulee is delicious, quick, has only four ingredients and is (mostly) a healthy snack/dessert/breakfast. You might even find yourself eating it for all of the above, it’s that good! The recipe comes from 500 Recipes for Quick Meals by Marguerite Patten (1972).

Grapefruit Oat Brulee

I mean really…how good does that look? These photos make me want to run out and buy a bag of grapefruit immediately just so I can recreate this dish over and over again. I made these a while ago, and even now, looking at the pictures is making my mouth water.

My only word of advice, apart from urging you to purchase your own bag of grapefruit without delay, is that this dish can be quite messy to eat. Consequently, I discovered that segmenting the grapefruit before broiling is the most efficient method. I want to give credit where credit is due: I’m actually grateful to Marguerite for omitting this step from the recipe. It unintentionally empowered me to experiment with several grapefruits to develop a user-friendly process for you, dear readers!

How To Segment A Grapefruit for Bruléeing

  • First, cut the grapefruit in half.
  • Then, to stabilize the grapefruit, cut a small slice from its bottom.
  • Next, use a sharp knife to carefully separate the pith from the grapefruit flesh, loosening the segments. Then, using the same knife, meticulously slice along each segment of the grapefruit.
  • This methodical approach will make eating your grapefruit a lot easier!

Grapefruit Oat Brulée – The Recipe

Print

Grapefruit Oat Brulee

Grapefruit Oat Brulee
Print Recipe

A delightful recipe for breakfast or dessert – take your pick!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 grapefruits
  • 30g butter
  • 2 tbsp rolled oats
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup

Instructions

  • Halve the grapefruit, and prep as outlined above.
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan
  • Add the oats and golden syrup. 
  • Mix thoroughly.
  • Sprinkle oat mixture over the grapefruit.
  • Place under a medium hot grill (broiler) until lightly browned and crisp on top

Notes

Adapted from a Margeurite Patten recipe found in 500 Recipes for Quick Meals (972)

Grapefruit Oat Brulee2

 

For a a less oaty version of this, you can check my recipe for Bruléed Grapefruit here.

Next week in the July 20 years ago Today post, there will be one…actually….maybe even two recipes that are also in my Top Ten things I’ve cooked this year!  July has been a good month for recipes! Speak you then! 

Signature2

 

 

 

  • Comments Off on Grapefruit Oat Brulee

Jul
2023

The Ginger Tingle

categories: 1960's recipes, Dining With The Dame, Drinks, Mocktail

Hello friends and welcome to a precursor episode to next week’s Dining with The Dame.  We will be focussing on Evil Under The Sun in both weeks. This week is just me.  But, next week’s post will feature a very special collab with a very special person!  More about that at the end of the post.  Today we are drinking with the Dame with the delightfully named Ginger Tingle. The recipe comes from The Australian Hostess Cookbook (1969).

Ginger Tingle1

Arlena Marshall

As soon as I read the name, I knew I wanted to dedicate The Ginger Tingle to Arlena Marshall from Evil Under The Sun.  Arlena – is a gorgeous redhead (hence the ginger) and full of sex appeal (hence the tingle). I”m nothing if not subtle! 😜

Here is Arlena’s entrance into the story:

Her arrival had all the importance of a stage entrance.  

Moreover, she walked as though she knew it.  There was no self-consciousness apparent.  It would seem that she was too used to the invariable effect her presence produced.

She was tall and slender.  She wore a simple backless white bathing dress and every inch of her exposed body was tanned a beautiful even shade of bronze.  She was as perfect as a statue.  Her hair was a rich flaming auburn, curling richly and intimately into her neck…the whole effect of her was one of youth, of superb and triumphant vitality” 

Arlena Stuart Marshall as played by Diana Rigg
Arlena Marshall as played by Diana Rigg

 I intentionally left out a bit of that quote that said “Her face had that slight hardness which is seen when thirty years have come and gone” .  On behalf of women of a certain age, everywhere, none of us need that! Or, in the words of another lovely redhead:

 

I also wanted to feature Arlena because she is treated incredibly harshly in the novel.  She is not only the murder victim but she is also resoundingly and almost universally slut-shamed throughout the book:

“Now to my mind, that woman’s a personification of evil.  She’s a bad lot through and through”

“Such women are a menace – a menace to — “

“There’s a type of woman who likes smashing up homes”

“She’s the world’s first gold digger.  And a man-eater as well.  If anything personable in trousers comes within a hundred yards of her, it’s fresh sport for Arlena.  She’s that kind.”

Even the police inspecting her murder have noting good to say about her:

“Ï should say that a lady like her would -well, would make some pretty bad enemies”

Arlena reminded me of another misunderstood readhead.

One of the remarkable things about Evil Under The Sun is that we mostly hear about Arlena.  We rarely hear from her. Arlena’s own motivations are intentionally omitted (I believe) to build a picture of her as seen through the eyes of other people.   Only the more astute guests at Jolly Roger Hotel see her for what she truly is – a victim – of an unscrupulous murderer, gossip from other guests, and ultimately, her own foolishness. Christie does this with an absolutely deft touch that reveals a writer at the top of her game!

The Recipe – Ginger Tingle

Ginger Tingle recipe1

Now if you wanted to add a little splash of gin or vodka into the mix, be my guest!  The Ginger Tingle however a lovely refreshing soft drink and would be perfect to sip under the sun as is. Either way let’s raise a toast to Arlena!  

Ginger Tingle2

Next Week’s Dining The Dame

I am absolutely delighted that next week’s post will be a collaboration with Jenny from the fabulous blog Silver Screen Suppers.  Why  not grab a copy of Evil Under The Sun or watch the Poirot episode based on the book and join us for some fun (and evil) under the sun! 

  • Comments Off on The Ginger Tingle

Jun
2023

June 2003 – Gluten-Free

categories: 20 Years Ago Today, Cocktail, Gluten Free, Noodles, Prawns, Sorbet

Hello, retro food lovers! Today we are taking a trip back to June 2003 for a gluten-free meal brought to us by Donna Hay Magazine, issue #x. Was gluten-free a thing back then? I know obviously people with Coeliacs and other conditions would have needed to be gluten-free but I am not sure it was as popular as it is now. However, before we see whether or not we could prepare a decent meal from a magazine in 2003, let’s see what was making headlines!

  • Europe launched it’s first mission to Mars

  • J.K Rowling released book 5 in the Harry Potter series, Happy Potter and the Order of The Phoenix.

  • Glastonbury was headlined by Radiohead, Moby and R.E.M

  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl premiered at Disneyland

Sugar Cane Prawns2

So, a pretty good month for pop culture!  And space exploration.  But was it as good a month if you had gluten free guests arriving and all you had for inspiration was the latest edition of Donna Hay Magazine?

The Menu – June 2003

 

Grapefruit Bianco

This was refreshing and quite savoury.  I used a bit less sugar than the recipe and I loved the combination of the slight bitterness from the grapefruit and the herby/citrussy Cinzano.  This really helped to set the tone for the rest of the meal!

Grapefruit Bianco

Grapefruit Bianco Recipé:

Grapefruit Bianco Recipe

 

Sugar Cane Prawns

I loved these!  I didn’t use the rice paper as per the recipe but added some lettuce leaves to use as wraps.  Any leftover sticks are great the following day in a baguette with some more lettuce, some herbs, chilli and pickles, banh mi style!

Sugar Cane Prawns

 

Sugar Cane Prawns Recipe

Sugar Cane Prawns recipe

 

Pad Thai

Who knew this take-out favourite was so easy to make at home?  This was so tasty it had the fussiest eater in the world commenting on how good the tofu was!

 

pad thai

Pad Thai Recipé:

Pad Thai Recipe

Grown Up Spider

Just to explain for my non-Australian readers.  We are not about to eat arachnids.  We call a mix of soft drink and ice cream a spider.  This one mixes sorbet and Moscato into an adults-only version which was a lovely refreshing end to this meal.   I used mango sorbet in my Spider and it worked really well. 

Grown up Spider

Grown-Up Spider Recipe:

Grown Up Spider recipe

My Nigella Moment  – Crispy Skin Chicken

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 does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in either because I made it and it was really good, or I just didn’t have time to make it but it was one of the most appetising things in the mag!

There were a few contenders for my Nigella moment in this magazine.  There were some macarons…but hold fire as we will be making them next week.  If they work out!  Then there was a four-cheese toasted sandwich which sounded divine.  Cheese is my love language after all!  But a sandwich seemed a little contrary to the gluten-freeness of this post.    So, I went with this Crispy Skin Chicken because just looking at it makes my mouth water!

Crispy Skin Chicken Collage

 

I didn’t make the crispy skin chicken because:

1) I couldn’t find spatchcocks 

2) Deep frying is such a faff and,

3) I very doubt I could make something that looked that good!

I think the June 2003 Donna Hay Magazine gave me some fabulous inspiration for my gluten-free meal!  And it made someone enjoy tofu!!!  10/10 for this one! 

Have a great week!


 

 


Apr
2021

The Red Signal Cocktail

categories: Cocktail, Dining With The Dame, Vodka

The Red Signal Cocktail came about by a bit of an accident.   I recently tried to make a cocktail called the Seamist.  Except, I could not get some of the ingredients so I had to improvise.  The finished version looked beautiful and tasted lovely.  It is the exact sweet/sour fruity taste that I love in a cocktail plus a tinge of dryness from the cranberry and a touch of bitterness from the grapefruit.

But there was something about it that was not right.  And it bugged me for days on end.  It tasted great, it looked beautiful.  So what was wrong with it?

Seamist 1

She Comes in Colours Everywhere

Let’s digress for a moment.  As a child, I was OBSESSED with paint charts.  I have already mentioned that I was a weird only child.  But I don’t think I have mentioned that my parents would quite often spend their weekends going to display homes and DIY stores and inevitably during these excursions, I would pick up a paint chart (or two).  I would then try to memorise all the names and the matching colours. And then get them to test me on the way home.  Or during the week.  Yes.  School wasn’t enough.  I wanted to be tested on random things outside of school as well.

For a while there I wanted to be the person who named those colours.  Actually, you know what?  I still do want that job!  So, believe me when I say that I know my Paris Creek (pale slate green grey) from my Camisole Quarter (pale pink) to my Shampoo (mid Blue).

I. Know. My. Colours.

And the colour of this cocktail is not a Seamist.  No wonder I felt in my deepest soul that there was something wrong with it!

Seamist is a pale grey green with a tiny touch of blue.

And I think we can all agree that this cocktail is possibly the very opposite colour of a greeny-grey.

Seamist 2

So, the name of Seamist had to go.  Life is hard enough at the moment without having additional cognitive dissonance caused by the colour of a cocktail!  And because I had played around with the ingredients, it wasn’t a true Seamist anyway.

So, then the dilemma became what to call it.

The Red Signal

Luckily, for all of us, I happen to be reading The Hounds of Death.  This is a book of short stories by Agatha Christie where each story has a spooky or supernatural twist.  I am still undecided on what to do with the volumes of Agatha Christie’s short stories.  When I started the Dining With The Dame series, I only ever considered her novels.  And believe me, it’s hard enough to find food references to blog in some of the novels, let alone something a tenth of the size!

But,  lo and behold, in that collection,  there is a story called The Red Signal.

Is a tale of

  • Premonitions and intuitions
  • Seances
  • Falling  in love with the wrong person
  • Madness and murder
  • And a weird sixth sense called The Red Signal!

Now…you tell me Isn’t The Red Signal a much better name for this cocktail?

Seamist 3

Seamist 4

The Recipe

Print

The Red Signal Cocktail

Seamist 2
Print Recipe

A sweet sour cocktail inspired by the Agatha Christie short story – The Red Signal.

  • Author: Taryn Nicole
  • Prep Time: 3 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 minutes
  • Yield: 1 1x
  • Category: Cocktails
  • Method: Shake

Ingredients

Scale

3 parts cranberry juice

3 parts pink grapefruit juice

2 parts vodka

Lemon and lime quarters

Ice cubes

Mixed berries for garnish

Instructions

Shake the juices and vodka in a cocktail shaker over ice.

Gently muddle the lemon and lime quarters in a highball glass to release some of their citrus oils and some juice.  Add ice cubes to the glass.

Strain the cocktail into the glass and give a light stir.

Garnish with mixed berries of your choice.

 

Other food mentioned in The Red Signal

Welsh Rarebit

Have a great week friends and remember if you feel “the red signal” pay it some heed!

Or make this cocktail!

Signature2

 


Apr
2020

Bruléed Grapefruit

categories: Breakfast, Grapefruit

I am not normally a breakfast person.  If I am super organised I throw some granola and yogurt into a bowl and eat that once I get into the office.  Or I will grab a bagel on my way.  But usually, my breakfast is a coffee (or two).  Nowadays, maybe because I am walking my dogs early in the morning or because I am at home and surrounded by food, by about 10:30 I am HUNGRY!   Bruléed grapefruit, which many of you will recognise as the darling of the 1970’s diet book has become my breakfast of choice.

Why?

  • It can be made in stages so easy to do between calls
  • So tasty!
  • All those 1970’s diet books can’t be wrong  – this is kind  of healthy for you!
  • Using a culinary blowtorch is fun!
  • It looks so pretty and colourful, it cheers me up (all these days we need all the cheering up we can get!).

Bruleed Grapefruit 1

How are you all coping with life in social isolation?  I am in week three of work from home and oh boy, it’s a rollercoaster.  I woke up with a sore throat the other morning and immediately assumed I had the ‘rona. Which I do not. The days seem to drag even though my work has seemingly doubled.  And how can I go from looking totally respectable in my bathroom mirror to looking like trash 5 minutes later on a video call?   But I’m still working which is something to be very grateful for when there are so many people being laid off so the vortex of ugly between my bathroom and my computer  seems like a small price to pay!

Bruleed Grapefruit 2

Variations

I like to top my bruléed grapefruit with some coyo and usually either some granola or chopped pistachio nuts.  Of course on the day I decided to take photos I had neither in the house.  So, I topped it with a maraschino cherry.  Which was delicious!

Other toppings could include:

  • Greek or Flavoured Yoghurt or whipped cream
  • Berries or other fruit
  • Nuts or seeds of your choice
  • Vanilla ice cream (hey, you’re working from home, who’s going to know!)

Another way to mix this up is to vary the flavourings in the sugar:

  • Add some cinnamon for a warming and sweetly spicy effect
  • Adding lavender or other flower infused sugar will bring out the floral notes in the grapefruit
  • Give it an Asian twist by adding a little chilli, some chopped up  crystallised ginger and a dash of salt

Hmm…my recipe plugin is not working at the mo so here is recipe old school style

Bruléed Grapefruit

  • 1/2 ruby red grapefruit
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • A large dollop coconut (or other) yoghurt
  • 1 Maraschino cherry

Place the grapefruit cut side adown on kitchen paper and leave for around 5 minutes to drain any juice from the top.  The drier it is, the better it will brulée.

Sprinkle the sugar on the cut side of the grapefruit.

Set your blowtorch to high and move to and fro over the grapefruit to caramelise the sugar.  (If you do not have a blowtorch, set your grill (broiler) to high, wait until it is hot and set your grapefruit under it until the sugar caramelises).

Serve immediately with a dollop of yoghurt and a cherry on the top!

Bruleed Grapefruit 4

I have no stories since it is week 3 in the house but I thought it might be interesting if we started to share how we are entertaining ourselves during social distancing.  This is what I’ve been up to:

Doing

This puzzle again….Arrgghhhh…what is wrong with me?

Watching

I watched Dare Me on Netflix which I really liked.  I am about halfway through The Haunting of Hill House which I am loving but I can only watch in small doses because it scares the hell out of me.

For film club I need to watch The Martian and Stand By Me.

Hmm…maybe we all need to watch The Martian…

Reading

I am reading Two Can Keep a Secret which is the sequel to One of Us is Lying which I loved!!!!  As well as an Agatha Christie for the next Dining With The Dame.

 

What are you reading, watching doing during lockdown?  I would love to get ideas for new things!

Stay home, stay safe, eat grapefruit for breakfast!

  • Comments Off on Bruléed Grapefruit