Sunday, 29 June 2008
FANTASY DINNER PARTY
You know that fantasy dinner party thing - where you choose living or dead, who you'd have for dinner. And you're supposed to pick people to make others think "Oh how clever & witty, I'd had never thought of that!" Like Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Elvis, Kylie & Nigella... Well I'd have, me & Christian (obviously), Mum, Dad, Alison & her really nice husband (one she deserved, not the twat she ended up with!). And after everyone had gone to bed (for we would live in a massive house - big enough to accommodate everyone) - Dad & I would stay up, open another bottle of wine & talk as we washed up.... That would be the best day of my life.
Monday, 23 June 2008
FORMULA FOOD - ROUND 8
FRANCE = CASSOULET
There isn't a national dish as such from France, but I'm sure if you asked anyone to name a french dish then half a dozen would immediately spring to mind. Although Magny Cours is in central France, I opted for cassoulet from south west France because that's the area we were going to move to next year (this may still happen in a few years).
I have again moved slightly away from the traditional style in favour of the weight watching version. I omitted the duck, duck confit & duck fat, but as the best cassoulet recipe is the one your family invented & as long as it contains sausages & beans, we're ok!
Conclusion: Bloody lovely.
Would I make it again? Yes.
Cassoulet:
1lb herb & garlic pork sausage, 1 tin chopped tomatoes (or 1lb of fresh), 2tbsp tomato puree, 300ml pork stock, 1tbsp Lea & Perrins, 8oz mushrooms - sliced, 8oz baby onions -halved, 1 red pepper -diced, 2 cloves garlic - crushed, 1tbsp sweet chilli sauce, 410g can of butter beans - drained, salt & pepper & chopped parsley.
1. Cook sausages however you cook them (I do mine in the oven).
2. Place tomatoes, puree, stock & Lea & Perrins in a flameproof casserole & bring to boil. Add in garlic, onions, mushrooms, pepper & chilli sauce & simmer for 10 mins.
3. Add sausages, butter beans & salt & pepper to taste & simmer for a further 20 mins. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.
There isn't a national dish as such from France, but I'm sure if you asked anyone to name a french dish then half a dozen would immediately spring to mind. Although Magny Cours is in central France, I opted for cassoulet from south west France because that's the area we were going to move to next year (this may still happen in a few years).
I have again moved slightly away from the traditional style in favour of the weight watching version. I omitted the duck, duck confit & duck fat, but as the best cassoulet recipe is the one your family invented & as long as it contains sausages & beans, we're ok!
Conclusion: Bloody lovely.
Would I make it again? Yes.
Cassoulet:
1lb herb & garlic pork sausage, 1 tin chopped tomatoes (or 1lb of fresh), 2tbsp tomato puree, 300ml pork stock, 1tbsp Lea & Perrins, 8oz mushrooms - sliced, 8oz baby onions -halved, 1 red pepper -diced, 2 cloves garlic - crushed, 1tbsp sweet chilli sauce, 410g can of butter beans - drained, salt & pepper & chopped parsley.
1. Cook sausages however you cook them (I do mine in the oven).
2. Place tomatoes, puree, stock & Lea & Perrins in a flameproof casserole & bring to boil. Add in garlic, onions, mushrooms, pepper & chilli sauce & simmer for 10 mins.
3. Add sausages, butter beans & salt & pepper to taste & simmer for a further 20 mins. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.
SO EMBARRASSING!
Prude is not a word you would use to describe me. I have just bought condoms for the second time in my life & I curled up with embarrassment! I was in Sainsburys, so I didn't even have to ask for them - I walked passed them twice, phoned Christian & then grabbed them off the shelf! I went all red & hot! I'm 35 for God's sake! I am allowed to have sex!
Saturday, 21 June 2008
BACK TO CAKE MAKING
I have 2 cakes that I need to be making over the next couple of weeks. The first is Amelia's Christening cake, a 2 tier fruit cake job ( or maybe a sponge top tier - not quite decided) with some sort of modelling work involved - it will look fantastic I'm sure! The other is a huge chocolate cock!
Monday, 9 June 2008
FORMULA FOOD - ROUND 7
CANADA = POUTINE (pronounced put sin)
Hmmm! What can be said about poutine.... Well it's basically chips, cheese curds & gravy. Rather peculiar for a national dish but there you go. It's one of those things that sounds a bit odd, so it would probably be really good! I didn't use cheese curds (I actually didn't try to get them), I read that mozzarella was the next best thing - so I just used that. I think my problem with poutine is that I'm just not a fan of chips & gravy, I finished it though. It was quiet good as hangover comfort food - maybe the Canadians have lots of hangovers!
Conclusion: If I was Canadian, I would invent something else as a national dish!
Would I make it again? No!
Poutine:
Chips of your choice (I oven bake my own), cheese curds or 1 ball of buffalo mozzarella per person, very hot chicken gravy.
1. Cook chips, tear over cheese, cover with gravy & leave a couple of mins for the cheese to start melting.
Hmmm! What can be said about poutine.... Well it's basically chips, cheese curds & gravy. Rather peculiar for a national dish but there you go. It's one of those things that sounds a bit odd, so it would probably be really good! I didn't use cheese curds (I actually didn't try to get them), I read that mozzarella was the next best thing - so I just used that. I think my problem with poutine is that I'm just not a fan of chips & gravy, I finished it though. It was quiet good as hangover comfort food - maybe the Canadians have lots of hangovers!
Conclusion: If I was Canadian, I would invent something else as a national dish!
Would I make it again? No!
Poutine:
Chips of your choice (I oven bake my own), cheese curds or 1 ball of buffalo mozzarella per person, very hot chicken gravy.
1. Cook chips, tear over cheese, cover with gravy & leave a couple of mins for the cheese to start melting.
Sunday, 8 June 2008
CRESS
What a good idea cress is! It's the perfect bribe for getting children to eat eggs. Alice is currently growing some cress egg heads! First she had to eat a boiled egg & soldiers, to get the empty egg shell. Then she got to paint the egg shell. Now we are growing the cress in the egg shell. And in another 3 or 4 days she is going to eat an egg & cress sandwich! - maybe Jane could try this with Phil!
She is very impressed with her green fingers, she waters her plant every day & every morning she can't wait to see how much it has grown - very cute! I remember doing this as a child - it's exciting stuff!
She is very impressed with her green fingers, she waters her plant every day & every morning she can't wait to see how much it has grown - very cute! I remember doing this as a child - it's exciting stuff!
Friday, 30 May 2008
KATIE PRICE & PETER ANDRE OWE ME 30 MINS
Last night, whilst searching through our many Sky channels to realise that there actually wasn't anything to watch, we happened upon "Katie & Peter - the next chapter". Ah ha, we thought, time to laugh at some "celebrities", but no, the joke was on us. What complete & utter dross. They really are a pair of losers. Why on earth would they think people are at all interested in watching them bicker about who is best, then make up, then bicker about who fancies the other one, then make up....... We watched for 30mins in amazement, hoping it was going to get better, but no!
I think the idea is we watch & think - "oh, I wish I was her/him. They really do have the greatest relationship & best sex life ever".
In reality we watch & think - "What a pair of insecure nobodies. Please don't give them another series!"
When I get to my final hour or 2 of life, I will remember that -Katie Price & Peter Andre - you owe me 30mins! What a waste!!
I think the idea is we watch & think - "oh, I wish I was her/him. They really do have the greatest relationship & best sex life ever".
In reality we watch & think - "What a pair of insecure nobodies. Please don't give them another series!"
When I get to my final hour or 2 of life, I will remember that -Katie Price & Peter Andre - you owe me 30mins! What a waste!!
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
ROSE IS THE NEW LOUISE
In my class at school, way back in the 70's!, every other girl had the middle name of Louise - myself included. Now it seems that Rose is the new Louise. I know or have heard of (through Christian's work) a total of 7 babies born this year, all girls & all having the same middle name, Rose - my daughter included. Oh yes, & a hamster called Rosie!
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
THE LACK OF QUALITY FROM SAINSBURYS
For the past couple of years I have only been buying meat from proper butchers/farm shops, ever since I ordered some Jimmy's Farm bacon & couldn't believe the difference.
However, the other day, I was in Sainsbury's, it was getting on for teatime & I couldn't really be bothered lugging to grumpy children over to the butchers a couple of miles away, so I bought some Sainsbury's mince. It was their extra lean British beef mince, the one I used to buy previously & it was disgusting. Inedible really. I couldn't believe how crap the quality was - it's only mince for God's sake!
Please don't buy supermarket meat - find a nice friendly butcher (judge them by their sausages), it's so much tastier, you know where it's from & how it's reared & isn't really that much more expensive. If I can afford to switch, anyone can!
However, the other day, I was in Sainsbury's, it was getting on for teatime & I couldn't really be bothered lugging to grumpy children over to the butchers a couple of miles away, so I bought some Sainsbury's mince. It was their extra lean British beef mince, the one I used to buy previously & it was disgusting. Inedible really. I couldn't believe how crap the quality was - it's only mince for God's sake!
Please don't buy supermarket meat - find a nice friendly butcher (judge them by their sausages), it's so much tastier, you know where it's from & how it's reared & isn't really that much more expensive. If I can afford to switch, anyone can!
Monday, 26 May 2008
FORMULA FOOD - ROUND 6
MONACO = BOUILLABAISSE
Yes, I was surprised by that - it originated in Marseille, just further along the coast, but according to numerous Google pages, it is Monaco's national dish. My mother-in-law said, come to think about it, Monaco was the 1st place she ever ate bouillabaisse - so that works for me! It is one of those dishes that you can almost please yourself what goes in - fish wise. I found recipes with lobster, monk fish & turbot but I went for Nigel Slater's 1lb of assorted fish per person. I used cod, haddock, salmon, coley, pollack & mussels - which suited my pitiful budget nicely!
Conclusion: bloody gorgeous & surprisingly filling.
Would I make it again? I'd like to think so, but you don't often buy so much fish for 1 meal - maybe if we went on holiday near a fishing village - it would be criminal not to then!
Bouillabaisse:
3 cloves of garlic, 2tbsp olive oil, 6 anchovy fillets, 2 bay leaves, 3 sprigs of thyme, a 5cm curl of orange peel, a glass of white wine (I didn't have the previous 2 items - so I used a glass of orange juice instead & it really worked), 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, 500ml of fish or veg. stock, approx. 400g of assorted fish per person & about 24 mussels.
For the croutons:
8 thin slices of baguette, 2 red chillies, a small bunch of coriander & 4 spring onions.
1. In a large pan, gently heat oil & add the thinly sliced garlic, anchovies, orange peel, bay & thyme & cook until the garlic is golden & the anchovies have melted.
2. Add the wine (or orange juice!) & boil rapidly for a couple of mins.
3. Add the stock & tomatoes, bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 mins.
4. Skin & cut the fish into large chunks & add to the broth, firmest first, once opaque & tender, add the mussels. Cover with a lid & leave until the shells open. Serve with the croutons pushed in between the fish.
Croutons:
1.Toast the bread, de-seed the chillies, place in a mini processor with the coriander & spring onions & blitz to a fine paste. Spread over toasts & serve in the soup.
Yes, I was surprised by that - it originated in Marseille, just further along the coast, but according to numerous Google pages, it is Monaco's national dish. My mother-in-law said, come to think about it, Monaco was the 1st place she ever ate bouillabaisse - so that works for me! It is one of those dishes that you can almost please yourself what goes in - fish wise. I found recipes with lobster, monk fish & turbot but I went for Nigel Slater's 1lb of assorted fish per person. I used cod, haddock, salmon, coley, pollack & mussels - which suited my pitiful budget nicely!
Conclusion: bloody gorgeous & surprisingly filling.
Would I make it again? I'd like to think so, but you don't often buy so much fish for 1 meal - maybe if we went on holiday near a fishing village - it would be criminal not to then!
Bouillabaisse:
3 cloves of garlic, 2tbsp olive oil, 6 anchovy fillets, 2 bay leaves, 3 sprigs of thyme, a 5cm curl of orange peel, a glass of white wine (I didn't have the previous 2 items - so I used a glass of orange juice instead & it really worked), 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, 500ml of fish or veg. stock, approx. 400g of assorted fish per person & about 24 mussels.
For the croutons:
8 thin slices of baguette, 2 red chillies, a small bunch of coriander & 4 spring onions.
1. In a large pan, gently heat oil & add the thinly sliced garlic, anchovies, orange peel, bay & thyme & cook until the garlic is golden & the anchovies have melted.
2. Add the wine (or orange juice!) & boil rapidly for a couple of mins.
3. Add the stock & tomatoes, bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 mins.
4. Skin & cut the fish into large chunks & add to the broth, firmest first, once opaque & tender, add the mussels. Cover with a lid & leave until the shells open. Serve with the croutons pushed in between the fish.
Croutons:
1.Toast the bread, de-seed the chillies, place in a mini processor with the coriander & spring onions & blitz to a fine paste. Spread over toasts & serve in the soup.
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