GOM: Chapter 24 - It's that time again!

It's always with mixed feelings – sad to leave but will be great to be home – my restaurant is now closed!

This year our departure is different – we are closing up the house and all of us are going North to Indian Land to visit my friend's Daughter and Son-in-law prior to flying from Charlotte to London.

On my first “sweep” of the house, collecting all the bits and pieces for packing, a passing thought, wouldn't it be perfect if I got a final hide surprise today – I live in hope.

Here's another thought - if you are ever in this neck of the woods you might be interested to know you can sign up for a Culinary Tour of Charleston and eat your way round, sampling Lowcountry cuisine to two hour tasting of desserts or even a Chef's Kitchen Tour – if food is your bag then this suggestion is right up your alley.

Taking a break from the enormity of how to fit all my fab purchases into suitcases that I swear have shrunk since we arrived – an impossible task – I take a coffee break. Am I glad I did – I spend a happy hour watching a family of vultures (mum, dad and baby) perched on next door's dock – it looked for all the world like they were taking junior out for the afternoon and were in no hurry to fly off. Long enough for me to observe up close and personal with the binoculars – with or without them it's the nearest I've even been to vultures!

Gotta go – quick change for a return match at the Outback restaurant – decisions, decisions – hey, go out in a blaze of glory I say – Crab and Avocado Stack with Garlic Parmesan Fries. Ribeye and Filet Mignon for the GOM – worth every inch around my already expanded waistline – must get on that treadmill tomorrow!

Back to the packing, groan.

By the way...

My week began with a difference, on Monday morning, chatting to Bernie Keith on his weekday radio show on BBC Radio Northampton 9am – 12 noon (bernie.keith@bbc.co.uk) (not forgetting cuddles with his dog Riley). Bernie is the best, aided by his Producer Sarah Stratten – so lovely. I took a lunch box for them – after all it's rude not to take a small present when visiting. Bernie tasted whilst we were chatting and was very kind. Here's my latest recipe for what forms the base of the lunch box, which I thought I'd share with you.

Squashed!

1 Butternut squash, peeled and cut into small cubes

4 shallots, finely diced

2 tbsp oil (olive or rapeseed) & 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

mixed with 2 tsps garlic paste

salt and black pepper

freshly grated nutmeg

Serves 4-6 depending on size of serving rings

or ramekins

Pre-heat oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6

Place the squash and the shallots in a non stick oven-proof tray, season with salt and black pepper and add the oil/Balsamic mixture covering thoroughly. Bake for 50 minutes (check after 25 minutes and turn so it won't catch) and cook until soft, grate a little nutmeg over the mixture and allow to cool.

You can decant into a sealed container and refrigerate until ready for use.

Two alternatives for serving – arrange in serving rings on a non-stick oven-proof tray and sprinkle with grated cheese of your choice, or, serve in ramekins and top with grated cheese.

Bake for 15/20 minutes – check after 15. Your cheese topping should be golden brown.

This recipe is tasty served hot or cold. Here are the combinations so far :

As the lunch box served cold, a good helping of Squashed! Top with slices of the slow cooked chicken referred to in “Monday chuck”.

Add fresh beetroot to roast with the butternut squash, peeled and diced to a similar size. As a guide a bunch of beetroot weighs approximately 700g – prepared it will give you approximately 450g ready to roast.

If you wanted a completely vegetarian supper, turn the recipe into a crumble using one of my famous foil trays for convenience! If you want a speed crumble for mid-week use a ready made stuffing or panko breadcrumbs to sprinkle over the vegetables and top with grated cheese.

I demonstrated both to my students in my most recent class and it went down a storm!

On Tuesday Sarah emailed saying, “Thank you so much – that dish was just amazing! We were still talking out it today! X”.

Thanks Bernie!

Rapid Reminders!

Before we move on with our Autumn week I thought it might be an idea to refresh your memory.

If you are a lover of garlic and use it all the time, roast a bulb or two!

For ease of reference, here's the recipe again,

Baked Garlic

2 bulbs of garlic

olive oil/rapeseed oil for drizzling

2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme - optional

salt and black pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 200c/180f/Gas 6.

Slice the tops off the bulbs and place the in a small oven dish, garlic roaster or foil dish so that they fit snugly. Drizzle with oil and season with thyme, salt and black pepper.

Roast in the oven for about an hour – until the garlic has softened.

Squeeze the garlic out of its skin. Add a little more oil , keep in a tightly fitting container and place in the fridge.

You can use the paste in the same way as you'd use fresh garlic – the difference is that the baked garlic is sweeter and ready to use!

The paste will keep in your fridge for one to two weeks or you can freeze in small containers.

For your Asian/Indian/fusion recipes try and get hold of powdered star anise. The pretty star shapes are readily available in most supermarkets but, if you are fortunate enough to have access to a Chinese supermarket you can buy ground star anise which is much more practical when you want a quick marinade – you'll get a real punch of flavour using powdered star anise.

Final reminder (for the moment) – noodle nests mentioned previously in “Thursday supper and stir fry” one of my top ten store cupboard ingredients and ideal for the next post.

See you soon.

GOM Chapter 23 - Boone Hall Plantation

Across the creek is Boone Hall Plantation – one of the oldest plantations in the USA still working. Boone Hall has many strings to its bow. Its history goes way back – founded in 1681 and has been open to the public since 1956. It hosts Festivals and Special Events, from The Scottish Games and Highland Gathering each September, to the Lowcountry Oyster Festival held in January and Lowcountry Strawberry Festival held in April – you can pick your own too!

There's Boone Hall Farms Market close-by, which sells all the seasonal produce from the plantation not to mention products like jams and sauces.

Nestled between the trees at the back of the Plantation is the jewel in the crown of Boone Hall - the Cotton Dock, most famous as a wedding venue. I've attached a daytime photograph to give you an idea. We are in the best location to “witness” the celebrations. It's magical in the evening when it's lit and you also get music too.

Sunday lunch well received and we are replete. The GOM resume their crossword and I take the opportunity to snuggle up on the sofa with Choo Choo and chillax with my book – perfect.

Erm – has anyone been to an outdoor concert where the finale is the 1812 overture complete with canon fire? This may seem like a completely random question – squidged in my sofa suddenly it appeared that I was either in the middle of some bizarre action movie or worse. The loudest “boom” I've ever heard – and it continued. Trust me to choose the afternoon of a civil war re-enactment at Boone Hall to take a nap!

Tuesday – Fab Fish Cakes

I can hear the groaning – boring, boring – these are the easiest I've ever made, the tastiest and above all the quickest - time is of the essence.

You've baked your salmon – 400g – slightly less than the recipe so use 650g of mashed potato - it doesn't have to be exact. Personally I'd use just slightly less of the flavourings and seasoning.

You baked your potatoes on Sunday – weigh two/three large potatoes and bear in mind that you're about the peel them. Do not discard the skins and leave a small amount of potato on them. To achieve lump free mash put the cooked potato through a ricer – this is not compulsory – some people I know like lumpy mash!

Fishcakes

(a la The Ivy)

(makes 8 – freeze what you don't use)

800g dry mashed potato, no cream or butter added

650g salmon fillet poached in fish stock and flaked

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

2 tsp anchovy essence

3 tsp English mustard

salt and black pepper

Plain flour for coating

Mix together the potato, half the salmon, the ketchup, anchovy essence, mustard and seasoning until smooth. Fold in the rest of the salmon. Mould the mixture into 8 round cakes and refrigerate.

When you're ready to serve preheat the oven 180fan/200c/gas 6. Lightly flour the fishcakes and fry them until they are coloured on both sides. Bake for 10/15 minutes.

Potato skins

Arrange your skins on a non-stick baking tray, sprinkle with grated cheese.

I'd serve with petit pois or a mixture of peas and sweetcorn if only because it is, after all, fish, chips and peas.

I'd serve with small bowls of sweet chilli sauce.

Monday chuck (Australian – chicken!)

I mentioned in “Congratulations on your new slow cooker – a marriage made in heaven!” post that rules are made to be broken. The following recipe goes against all the slow cooking principles I've been banging on about. I promise you this works.

Slow cooked whole chicken

and Velouté sauce

1.5kg chicken

1 chicken stock pot/cube

generous sprinkle of mixed herbs or

garlic Italian seasoning

2 tsps of garlic paste

Place your chicken in the slow cooker and, if you are using a stock pot, mix the garlic and stock together and spread over the chicken. Sprinkle with herbs. Switch your slow cooker on low and leave it for 8 hours.

The resultant juices give you approximately half a pint (300ml) of stock. Strain the stock, cover and refrigerate until cold, ready for your sauce.

A Velouté sauce is one of the “Mother Sauces” - a light white sauce made with stock and a roux – a Velouté is used as a base for a Sauce Supreme – my “take” on the Sauce Supreme is below

You'll need:

300ml of stock as mentioned above

15g unsalted butter

15g plain flour

½ tsp Dijon mustard

200ml double cream

salt and black pepper

Melt the butter, take the pan off the heat, add the flour and whisk. Return to the heat and cook out the flour for 2/3 mins, stirring continuously – do not walk away.

Then tip your cold stock straight into the roux and whisk until smooth, then cook on a low heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add the mustard and cream and simmer for 5 minutes.

I've frozen this sauce, with the chicken and it's every bit as good out of the freezer.

Alternatively if you don't want a Velouté Sauce – freeze the stock and use as a base for soup.

There's no pressure here, you don't have to make the Velouté sauce. I've included the recipe because it's easy to do if you've the time and well worth the effort.

Back to the chuck – a word to the wise – you'll need to switch off your slow cooker after 8 hours cooking, so, tie a knot in whatever will make you remember or, more practically, set the alarm on your phone! It will not be the end of the world if it's 9 hours.

Monday supper is :

Slow cooked chicken

Leftover roast potatoes

Leftover roasted vegetables

Options for “speed sauce” and save the Velouté for a day when you've more time – use tinned condensed chicken soup – low fat version is an option – you can enrich with a drop of double cream if you wish. Leave the stock, covered, in the fridge – you'll need it later in the week.

Should perhaps call this “stress-free speed supper!”

Fall week - Autumn here we come.

Our new week begins with a reminder – don't forget to arm yourself with a selection of foil trays and steam bags. Shop smart and take advantage of meal deals, particularly meat, poultry and fish.

Your multi-tasking morning (MTM)

Roast a joint of beef – as big as you can afford and if possible large enough to give you leftovers. A roast beef lunch wouldn't be so without Yorkshire puddings – these days if you won't want to go to the bother of making your own you can buy ready-made. If you want to make your own and don't have a recipe, try James Martin's – 200g plain flour, 3 eggs, 300ml milk and 3 tbsp vegetable oil. Put the flour in a large jug or bowl, add salt and pepper, stir in the eggs, one at a time, then slowly whisk in the milk. Chill the batter in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or, better still, a day. Oven should be 220/200fan/Gas 7. Pour the oil evenly between a 12 hole muffin tray and heat until hot – 5 minutes. Ladle or pour the batter and bake for 30 minutes until browned and risen.

Instead of serving separate vegetables why not roast a large foil tray with a selection – carrots, parsnips, swede, onions, leeks, fennel to name but a few. Prepare twice the amount that you need for your roast (you'll need the other half during the week). Ensure your root vegetables are of a similar size and not too large – they will take longer to cook than the rest. You may find it more convenient to use two trays to roast your vegetables - one to serve with the roast and one for later use.

Halve the quantity of vegetables and place each half in a large food bag, drizzle with rapeseed oil, add whole garlic cloves (unpeeled) – clip or tie the bag and massage so that the vegetables are covered and leave in the fridge until required. If you've the time and inclination you could prep the vegetables a day before required. Your vegetables should take approximately 45 minutes to roast and so should coincide around roasting your potatoes. I appreciate that you probably won't have the oven space to roast the second tray – it's not vital for lunch, roast it after you've served – SET A TIMER!

You'll notice that potatoes are not part of the roasting vegetable tray. Roast potatoes are an entirely separate issue and should not be messed with! Cook enough so that you've leftovers.

Here's your side list of chores to fill your oven and slow cooker.

Wrap six large baking potatoes in foil and bake for an hour and a half, then test – they made need longer – remember they will continue cooking when removed from the oven because they are insulated by the foil. Set aside the potatoes to cool.

Wrap 400g of salmon fillets in foil and bake for 15 minutes – remove and leave to cool.

Par boil a small bag of Charlotte potatoes, drain, cool, peel, bag and refrigerate.

Slow cook a whole chicken – see recipe in the next post.

Grate your bag/box of cheese.

Enjoy your lunch.

Your final chore is wrap your leftovers separately and refrigerate – freeze any leftover gravy, it'll be great to enhance a stock for a casserole.

Muster the troops to load the magic box.

Feet up, glass of wine!