Summer supper- why's it not hot

Long live the rib of beef.

We continue to eat the rib of beef.  The rib of beef that cost me a fortune on Saturday but sat resplendent on Sunday for the ultimate Sunday Lunch to celebrate my dear Granny's 88th birthday.

On Wednesday we are still eating it with one more night to go.  Tonight I thought I must get back onto Elizabeth.  The roast beef is so beautifully pink that I can't bear to reheat it so we are eating it cold, hence the cries from the children, "why's it not hot?"  Tonight I made some salads to accompany.  An ED potato salad, new potatoes cooked on the underdone side, then peeled, sliced, seasoned and dressed with olive oil, a splash of white wine vinegar and some snipped chives from the garden.  The potatoes were delicious, probably because of the lumps of sea salt, even more yummy on a bit of baguette - why do double carbs taste so good?  I also made ED's version of salsa verde, Sauce Ravigote.  I used my hand held chopper whizzer thing to cut the herbs (watercress, parsley, garden chives and tarragon), capers and a gherkin mixed with olive oil "a thread of lemon" and a splash of vinegar. I added the optional dijon too, this is pretty much as I would make a salsa verde, this is not as my four year old would who was in charge of the whizzer- the result was pureed Sauce Ravigote.  

I am now officially back on with Elizabeth David and looking forward to the changing seasons and the different recipes.

Terrine de campagne

Another attempt at terrine.  Good, good, good but a little overcooked. This is Elizabeth David's recipe for pork and liver pate.  I bought minced pork and veal from Henry's butcher along with a pigs liver and some flare fat too.  The meats and seasonings were all mixed together (I chopped the liver rather than mincing it), some brandy and wine was added too. I left this all to stand whilst we ate dinner and then cooked it in a bain marie whilst watching the King's Speech.  Being possibly the last people to watch it we were rather engrossed and forgot about the pate.  The result was a tasty, good looking slightly over cooked terrine.  None the less this is probably my best so far, the seasoning is right and it looks a lot less anaemic than previous attempts. 

The Hungry Caterpillar and Eurovision

This column for the Stroud News and Journal was written whilst watching the Eurovision, spot the songline;

This week I have unintentionally had a week off cooking Elizabeth David, this means I will be popular with the kids.  But for us this didn’t mean a low calorie week with appetites similar to that of The Hungry Caterpillar we haven’t starved. In writing this column I realize we have almost exclusively eaten veal, of course not the controversial white meat but rose veal an ethical by-product of the dairy industry.

My culinary week usually starts on a Sunday with a joint of meat that must have leftovers to get us started at the beginning of the week.  Last Sunday it was the turn of Elizabeth David’s Epaule de Veau Boulangere.  Rose veal pot roasted on potatoes made for tender meat and succulent potatoes.  On Monday night the kids had veal stir fry; veal with peppers and noodles and a chinese five spice sauce.  On Tuesday night the truffle omelette was put on hold due to an impromptu dinner cooked by the butcher brother in law.  Fortunately he has maintained his chef skills and stayed with the theme and cooked us veal meatballs with pasta and a chilli tomato sauce and some homegrown chard.  On Wednesday I made the truffle omelette for lunch - overrated, I think I need to experience some different truffles to discover their true beauty.  For dinner it was veal stroganoff and rice.  On Thursday we took the kids to the Bistro. Tired of their groans about us leaving them with the baby sitter when we indulge our habit of a weekly visit, we all headed down and, oh heck we had breaded Rose Veal and Triple fried chips.  In amongst some splendid seasonal starters and scrumptious chocolate truffles.  On Friday it was Little Chef Friday, we were out for a friends birthday and the kids cooked for themselves unaided - frankfurters in baguette and homemade smoothies!  On Saturday we ate a beautiful butterfly -we didn’t it was a skate wing- similar (here ends the Hungry Caterpillar comparison).  

This week I fed us on just leftovers and everything else was from Horsley Community Shop.  On Saturday I needed a picnic and food for the weekend in a rush, this was achieved in just two shops in Nailsworth(Williams and the bakery), with helpful advise it was quick, delicious and good value.

Asparagus

 Local and seasonal are serious buzz words in the food industry at the moment.  As fuel prices rise, it makes sense to source locally and of course eat what is in season.  For me, this is epitomized by asparagus;  it’s got to be English, and despite its short season, producers race to achieve the earliest crop.  As we drove through Somerset on the Easter weekend, my heart raced at the asparagus signs at the side of the road, there is no better way to eat it than straight from the field.  

Back in Nailsworth on Tuesday, the highlight of my week was as I went to pay for my one humble packet of asparagus at the local greengrocers and I found seven for the same price in the bargain box.  So this week we have mainly been eating asparagus.  To prepare it I edge my knife along the bottom until you can cut off the woody end through a tender stem.  This year I have resorted to boiling it, after years of grilling, I learnt from the chef at the bistro that a thirty second boil before grilling or barbecuing gives a much tastier stalk.  I have also followed Elizabeth David’s recipe of boiling in bunches standing upright in the pan for less than ten minutes.

We have enjoyed asparagus with a dippy egg, asparagus in a salad and of course there has to be english asparagus in the Royal Wedding picnic.  According to Elizabeth David there is no better way to serve it than with a hollandaise or mayonnaise.  I have now perfected my hollandaise in any quantity.  By whisking an egg yolk with some salt and a splash of white wine vinegar, over a bain marie I then whisk in knobs of unsalted butter, (about 2oz per egg yolk), and stir until thickened.  As for mayonnaise, I only seem to be able to make this with a minimum of 3 egg yolks, again whisked with salt, I then add up to half a pint of olive oil drop by drop stirring by hand.  When it’s like a thick jelly I add a little lemon juice then a tablespoon of boiling water, if it’s to last. 

I urge you all to go out and find some local asparagus, and even if you just smear it in butter, never will English food taste any better.   

Roast chicken and baked beans

Last night for an impromptu dinner for four I served Roast chicken and tarragon and haricot beans with onion and tomatoes.  The chicken I am sure I have already done but hadn't ticked off in the book.  It was stuffed with butter loaded with tarragon and roasted smeared in olive oil and turned during cooking.  A flaming ladle of brandy was poured over the cooked chicken before popping it back in the oven for five more minutes to mellow the brandy.  To the juices I added a little cream and a splosh of madeira.  Really yummy but I wish I had drained the fat off first- I must get better at removing fat.  I decided at lunchtime to cook haricot beans rather than new potatoes.  This meant that I hadn't soaked the beans but I remembered in an earlier ED recipe that she said to bring the beans to the boil then leave them to soak in that water.  I left them until I needed to cook them(two hours max), I then boiled them in fresh water with an onion studded with a clove, a celery stick and a bouquet garni.  ED recommends seasoning the beans just for the last ten minutes of cooking.  The beans were then drained and the onion reserved.  This onion was fried in butter with two skinned tomatoes for a couple of minutes.  The beans were then added and some of the chicken juices.  We served this with hot wild white bread and wye valley asparagus. absolutely delicious although I think our guests believed they were baked beans!

Wild White

E71W8195, a photo by HOBBS HOUSE bakery on Flickr.

Humble jam tart

Yesterday I realised it was time I got my head back into Elizabeth David.  I am about half way through now, not bad in four months.  A busy week had meant that Elizabeth had been overlooked.  I managed to complete all the lobster recipes with the lobster we brought home from Scotland.  Then this week was somewhat busy with Easter and our daughter's 9th birthday- she did not want Elizabeth David for her birthday dinner.  Lasagne was her choice but I did sneak in a cucumber salad and cooked asaparagus a la ED.

Last night the in-laws came for dinner they bought the meat and I did the rest.  A good opportunity for some ED action, carrots, potatoes and shallots cooked together.  the carrots and new potatoes were boiled to two thirds cooked then fried in butter with shallots and a final sprinkling of parsley.  I revisited her onion sauce which is delicious and just tastes of an Elizabeth David classic.

For pudding I made her Bourdaines  -apples baked in pastry.  Eating apples were peeled and cored. I then made her pate sablee(pastry).  This was divided up for the apples.  Rolled into an individual square the apple was placed on top and the core filled with quince jelly.  The apple was wrapped in the pastry and baked in the oven for an hour, unfortunately the jelly seemed to escape so it wasn't as juicy as I hoped.  The by product was probably more successful, I used the leftover pastry to make jam tarts filled with quince jelly, yum.
Pate sablee recipe,
6oz butter
12oz plain flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
5 teaspoons of sugar
Mix together, (I used my kitchen aid) until like sand then bind together with a few tablesppons of cold water.