GOM Chapter 12: Slob Sunday

It's a good job we have an easy day today - sleep interrupted during the night by a spectacular thunderstorm – the noise is so loud it's scary – even if you're not generally bothered. I should explain that we have the guest suite which is on the ground floor – Choo Choo sleeps in the kitchen in her cage (not locked) and is terrified of storms. When my grumpy old man got up to visit the bathroom, there sat Choo Choo in the doorway to the suite – well it would have been cruel and unkind not to invite her in to spend the rest of the night.

After our visitors depart for home the boys decide to continue their vehicular quest and so depart late am for a couple of hours. Yippee, since it's overcast I'm going to find myself a film and settle down to veg out for a couple of hours with Choo Choo for excellent company. You've heard the expression “the best laid plans.......” no less than 5 minutes after the boys left and I'd chosen said film, blank screen – power cut, sorry power outage in USA speak. Absolutely typical. Didn't last long though - about an hour so all's well with the world.

Some things in life are meant to be and if you are patient long enough, then you get your reward. 5.30pm two baby dolphins came down the creek searching for their tea. What a display, right in our own back yard, a truly magnificent sight. The tide was low and if you've ever watched how dolphins feed one will circle around, driving the small fish so that the other meets and hence the feeding frenzy. I appreciate that in this day and age seeing dolphins is quite commonplace. For me, to witness these truly beautiful creatures, free and doing as nature intended is beyond special. As the Richter scale is used to express the magnitude of an earthquake from 1-10 I have my own Hummingbird scale – seeing a hummingbird 12 inches away and the sound that wings make rates 10 – but this spectacular display is up there with the hummingbird!

Out for dinner tonight and we are off to The Outback, yep an Australian restaurant complete with boomerang décor. The reason for the visit is twofold, a fantastic reputation for steaks and The Blooming Onion. Hey if you are going to eat something that is really bad for you then make a good job of it. This onion is approximately 8” in diameter, looks like a lotus flower, except that it is coated in spicy seasoning, dipped in batter and deep fried. The onion is served with a dip. The comparison, ridiculous though it may sound, is similar to pulling the leaves from an artichoke – a truly decadent experience. The boys loved their steaks and for me, stuffed mushrooms, wonderful.

I hope you realise how seriously I take getting the absolute best out of my stay!

Sumptuous Summer Pudding

This is a different version of the classic, using Madeira cake instead of bread.

It is flexible in that you can use soft fruits that are in season or frozen fruits

if you'd prefer.

Ingredients

Frozen fruits/berries – 400g bag (14oz) or similar quantity of fresh soft fruit

1 tbsp sugar

1 can or carton of fruit pie filling – blackcurrant or fruits of the forest

Madeira cake – I use a cheap shop bought cake (265g) – sliced lengthways into quarter inch slices and neatened. Here's where it's difficult to predict whether you'd need one cake or two – cake size varies depending which supermarket you use. I'd err on the side of caution and opt for two. For the size of basin stated, it takes approximately 10 slices of cake.

You will need :

1 litre (1 & ¾ pt) basin.

A plain sided cutter slightly larger than the base of the basin.

Cling film

Method

If using fresh fruit, bring it to the boil with the sugar in a medium saucepan over a medium heat – you could even add a drop of your favourite liqueur – cassis, frambois, kirsch. Simmer for 5 minutes until the fruit releases its juices. Cool. If using frozen fruit, defrost it and then add the sugar.

Line the basin with cling film ensuring that it overlaps the basin. (Tip – wipe the bowl with a drop of vegetable oil before lining – the cling film will stay where it's put.) Cut out a circle of cake for the base and place it in the basin. Line the rest of the basin – I overlap each piece of cake – but it's whatever you'd prefer.

Add half the can of fruit pie filling to the cooled/defrosted fruit and then pour the mixture into the cake-lined bowl. Top with slices of cake to cover completely. Fold the cling film over the pudding to seal.

Place a slightly smaller plate or saucer on top of the basin and weigh down with a can. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

To serve, remove the can and plate, unseal the cling film, cover the bowl with a large plate. Invert the pudding onto the plate and remove the cling film.

With the remaining pie filling, warm it through, gently in a microwave. Pour over the top of the pudding to serve, adding cream, ice cream or custard.

Personally I've an aversion to the thought of soggy bread – it's up there with the wet mash thing – I'm hoping I'm not on my own here and that you'll like this alternative – it's been very well received.

Note to self - you need to think ahead in that the pudding needs 24 hours to absorb all that fruitiness.

GOM 11: Salsa and Tanger (as opposed to tango)

Busy day today, friend's daughter and son-in-law arrive this evening. A busy week at work and then they drive 3 hours in rush hour traffic. Priority is supper for the weary travellers when they arrive. Out of the freezer comes the cheese, potato and onion pie prepared earlier this week. I hadn't forgotten that, although I'd mentioned the pie, I hadn't mentioned the recipe. Here it is, the fastest pie ever. Use baked jacket potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks, 2 large onions, chopped and soften gently for 5 minutes with a knob of butter and a drop of Canola oil. Quick onion sauce, double the quantity, salt and black pepper and 12oz of strong cheddar cheese, grated. Mix it all together, place into a foil tray, add a puff pastry lid and egg wash. Bake in a medium oven for 40 minutes until golden brown, check after 30.

I'm serving this pie because I know it's a favourite – unpretentious comfort food. In times gone by I've seen the “young adults” demolish this pie for breakfast, having had, shall we say a great night out. May be I should market it as an aid to recovery after a heavy night.

Moving on, off we go to the Fred Astaire Dance Studio (established 1947) – I kid you not. Hey, whilst I may never aspire to the dizzy heights of Strictly Come Dancing (aka Dancing with the Stars in the USA) I'll give it my best shot. 45 minutes later and we are completely exhausted – I'm not sure whether it's the dancing or the potential stress of looking a complete klutz – appropriate US slang for clumsy or a dull-witted person – in this case probably both would apply! Great fun nevertheless and I look forward to the next one. P.S. Shoes were amazing.

It's weekend, and we girls are off for a spot of retail therapy. GOM and son-in-law settled in for soccer (from the UK) everyone's happy.

We begin at Town Centre, which is not a town centre, but the name of a small shopping area with good quality shops, ranging from Barnes & Noble (bookshop) to Victoria's Secret, famous for fantastic ladies underwear, leisurewear et al.

I have to collect a book I've ordered from Barnes & Noble but first breakfast in Starbucks – so civilised – it's inside the store and, confession time, my indulgence, a chocolate chip cookie – it's the size of a frisbee. My book will be cherished, “Gullah Cuisine By Land and By Sea” by Gullah Chef Charlotte Jenkins. More about Ms. Jenkins and Gullah cuisine later.

Onward to Tanger Outlet – this place is similar to Bicester Shopping Village in the UK, with Designer outlets like Ralph Lauren and a new edition since my last visit, a Michael Kors handbag shop. Second only to food is my passion for bags of all shapes and sizes. My purchase today is small, but perfectly formed, a wallet in gold leather – hey, a girls gotta do.

Back to food! I've mentioned in previous posts that I'm a fan of Australian Masterchef - one of the celebrity chef contributors is native Curtis Stone. Mr. Stone is very popular in the US and imagine my surprise to find him, giving a cookery demonstration at Tanger Outlet, perfect combination – two passions for the price of one. So much better “in the flesh”.

Takeaway Chinese this evening – please note, anyone reading a Chinese Takeaway menu in the US should be aware (as in Crispgate!) that you have to be specific when ordering noodles – you have to ask for soft noodles, if you don't you'll get the crispy version. The food is also produced in pints, as in the cartons we all know from watching the US police dramas. Can't say that the quality is that much different to the UK, just lots more of it.

A lovely day with a lovely young lady as my retail partner – perfect symmetry.

Signature Salads

There's lots of variety out there.

What follows in a list of ingredients that falls into three categories, your existing store cupboard and the freezer and then fresh produce in season. It's not meant to be exhaustive merely to illustrate what you can produce with a little forethought. Some of the ingredients you may have already, others you might like to add.

Extend your store cupboard ingredients to include, jars of black olives – sliced or whole, pitted. Tinned chickpeas and cannellini beans. Bags of croutons, walnuts and pistachios, sultanas and cranberries. Chorizo sausage in loops or ready diced – check out the cheaper supermarkets for good deals. Pomegranate molasses, sweet chilli sauce, sumac and nigella seeds. Cheeses like feta, Wensleydale, and halloumi generally have good use by dates too.

Staples in your freezer, chicken fillet, petit pois and salmon steaks.

Fresh and fabulous at the moment, broad beans, Jersey Royals/Cornish new potatoes, avocado, green beans, asparagus (tail end of season) smaller stems, Little Gem/Romaine lettuce. Little Gem lettuce makes perfect “boats”. Serve a bowl of the boats alongside your huge salad so you can load them with your favourite stuff.

Are you with me so far. What follows are suggestions for suppers as small or as large as you wish adding whatever ingredients you love.

Add toasted pistachios (toast them in a dry frying pan until golden) and toasted pitta bread cut into strips to lend a “Lebanese Fattoush” style flavour to your salad.

Broad beans – you'll hate me for this but it's vital that you blanch them – i.e. bring water to the boil, add the beans, bring back to the boil – 2 minutes only then drain and run cold water to refresh, leave to cool. Peel the outer skin to reveal the bright green bean.

To achieve “smoked chicken” poach chicken fillets in chicken stock for 6/7 minutes. Allow them to cool in the stock. This is an inexpensive way of smoking chicken and if you check out the cost in the supermarket you'll find it's eye watering. Thank you for this fantastic tip found in The Ivy The Restaurant and its Recipes.

Remember the recipe for honey roast beetroot served hot back in the Kitchen investments and Wednesday supper – serve it cold in your salad. The Asian Spiced Salmon recipe works equally well.

To help you on your quest I'm attaching four recipes you may find useful, Pomegranate Dressing, Chicken Rub, Chicken with Pomegranate and Walnut Sauce and Smoked chicken salad. I appreciate they are all chicken – they don't have to be!

And finally, a smidge of information for those who might not be aware. Sumac is a dried ground fruit – it has a sour flavour, lemony. It forms part of the Zaatar spice blend used all over the Middle East. Nigella seeds – also known as black cumin or onion seeds. The seeds have an oregano like taste, used in Indian/Middle Eastern cooking and can be used without dry roasting although the roasting does enhance the flavour. 

Have fun!

MMQs

I think the time has come to say thank you for reading my blog – I hope you'll continue to find it interesting and entertaining.

It occurs that you might have questions or suggestions (polite ones please) – if you do and would like to get in touch email me on emejay57@googlemail.com

The Humble Crumble

I hope that the recent postings covering store cupboard desserts have given you ideas and even inspiration, at least to be able to produce minor miracles at the speed of light. Before we move on to other stuff I couldn't leave without mentioning the humble crumble. There are many recipes out there but here's one built for speed that can be produced in an instant requiring no expertise at all.

On your store cupboard shopping list you already have frozen fruits – you can still get great deals on summer fruits – 500g per pack – 2 packs for £4.

Check out offers on fruit conserve, as an example “Bonne Maman” has a great range to suit what matches your “base” fruits and comes in 370g jars.

Defrost your fruit in a large bowl. When defrosted add a jar of conserve and mix together gently.

This quantity of fruit and conserve is sufficient to part fill 7 large ramekins. Add crumble topping and bake for 25 minutes on 180 fan/200/Gas 6.

You can buy ready to use crumble in packets – family size 450g (mixed with oats too if you'd prefer) – handy for emergencies or if you just don't want to bother making it. I know it might sound odd but I buy store cupboard ingredients that I use frequently x 2 – where the “use by” dates are good, why not have a stock.

As scs (store cupboard speed) goes it's hard to beat.

Remember “recipes are a guide only, not set in stone”. Taking bits from one recipe and melding with another works well – you can create your own version. Here's a goodie. I should say that this is not a quick recipe but it's worth the effort

Toffee Apple Crumble

Pre-heat oven 180 fan/200/Gas 6

For the toffee apple base

6-8 large Cox's apples, peeled, cored and sliced

115g unsalted butter

125g soft dark brown sugar

1 orange, zest and juice

Optional: drop of Amaretto liqueur

Place the apples and all the above ingredients (with Amaretto if you wish) into a large frying pan and cook for 10 minutes until tender.

For the crumble topping

150g cold unsalted butter, diced

250g self-raising flour

150g demerara sugar

200g pecans chopped finely

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs, add the sugar and the pecans. You can use a processor if you wish but it really isn't worth the washing up – magic box or not.

Assemble in individual ramekins or make one large crumble. Bake for 25/30 minutes.

The crumble topping is from Nigella “How to be a Domestic Goddess” – and the base is from memory I think, Tom Kerridge.

Another twist. Melt a knob of unsalted butter in a pan, when it foams add 100g of the pecans from the recipe before chopping and add a pinch of sea salt flakes. Stir the pecans for 3-4 minutes until they are toasted – you'll know when they are ready, the aroma will make your mouth water. Leave to cool, then chop with remaining 100g of pecans.

Big tip – split the work. If you know that you've a house full of visitors in three weeks prepare each element when you have the time and freeze as you go. When your visitors are due pull out of the freezer and assemble – either individually or as a whole. The crumble mix can be frozen as soon as you've prepared it.

This recipe will give you a large quantity but it's worth it because you can freeze to suit your own requirements and avoid waste. I know I've mentioned this before but a reminder - be aware how you freeze in terms of portions – in this case you could bag the crumble and the apples in small bags – you could use the pour and store bags for the apples. The visitors might cancel!

You will not be disappointed.

GOM: Chapter 10 - Pork tenderloin and Salsa

Supper at home tonight so it's early morning prep. Menu today, pork tenderloin, with peppers and mushrooms, Dijon mustard and heavy cream (double in English) with Tartiflette using the Douceur du Jura, the alternative for the traditional Reblochon cheese, acquired from Goat.Sheep.Cow. Tartiflette is my favourite potato dish – French, as you may have guessed - usually you would include bacon (dry cured if possible) but I am the spanner in the works and don't eat meat and so I'll make it without - the boys will be more than happy with their pork tenderloin. My friend hit 70 recently and is a keen cook and student and he's asked to observe today.

Tartiflette

1.5kg all purpose potatoes e.g. desiree, peeled and cut to

a similar size

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 thick dry cured smoked streaky bacon rashers, finely chopped

50g butter

1 garlic clove

250g reblochon cheese, rind trimmed and removed

(US Douceur du Jura alternative)

Pre-heat oven 180c/160 fan/gas 4 (UK)

for US see below

Boil the potatoes until cooked, cool, then slice.

Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the onion and bacon

until softened.

Cut the garlic clove in half and rub the inside of an

ovenproof dish.

Place some of the potatoe slices in the bottom and

season with salt and black pepper, then layer with the

onion and bacon, repeat until all the potato slices have

been used, seasoning between each layer.

Chop the cheese and scatter over the potatoes and cover with foil.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour, remove foil for remaining 15 minutes

so that the tartiflette crisps around the edges.

This can be prepared ahead and feel free to use 2 tsps of garlic paste

when cooking the onions and bacon – rules are made to be broken.

For the pork tenderloin, prep ahead by inspecting the loin and removing any pieces of sinew by using a sharp paring knife, slipping the knife just under the sinew so that you have an edge to hold onto, lift the edge with your thumb and index finger and then gently run the knife away from your fingers and the sinew will come away easily – if you leave the sinew on the loin it will contract when you cook it and will be tough and not good to eat. Slice the loin into similar sized portions – medallions. You can use any vegetable you like, today it's thinly sliced peppers, red and yellow, and sliced portobellini (smaller version of portobello) mushrooms. All ziplocked (every kitchen should have them, an essential piece of kit) and refrigerated, ready to roll when the mood takes.

Now I am excited, tomorrow is my first (together with my friend) Salsa dancing class. A girl needs the proper footwear and guess who left her dancing shoes at home. Not a problem, off we go to Mister Don's shoe shop in Folly Road and I am now the proud owner of some seriously beautiful navy leather dance shoes – don't ask how much they were – the shoes come in their own soft cotton bag - advertising the shop of course, there's no show without punch and the salsa in the title is the dance!

Back home to the Hide – breaking news. For some days now I've been watching swifts - they seemed to be concentrating on a particular area under the dock and, as time passes, it becomes apparent that they are actually nesting. They work so hard backwards and forwards, their display is very much appreciated and I am grateful that they chose their nesting site conveniently for me. Their nest is tucked right underneath the bottom right-hand corner near the lawn. Perfectly safe for them against predators and thieves!

Supper at 7pm – preheat oven 325 degrees (170c). It's strange when at my age it has taken me ages to teach myself centigrade and metric weights and measures. I've now got to reverse because in the USA everything is Fahrenheit and imperial – keeps you on your toes. Pop your tartiflette in the oven at 6pm and set your kitchen timer for 30 minutes – your tartiflette needs 1 hour.

Heat a heavy bottomed frying pay with a little Canola oil (the nearest product I could find to rapeseed oil) add a generous knob of butter. Seal the medallions, season with sea salt and black pepper, set aside in my favourite cooking utensil – an appropriately sized foil tray – saute the portobellinis and then the peppers. Add two teaspoons of Dijon mustard, gradually add approximately half a pint of heavy cream, tip over the pork – pop into the oven when your timer sounds, for 30 minutes, after 15 minutes remove the foil from the tartiflette.

Serve with green salad.

Happy days.