Cook Your Life

Caeser Salad

Ahh...Hotel Food.  An over-sized dinner tray, over-sized glass of wine, the great 'reveal' when you lift the lid of the chafing-dish.Fantastic.

Dinner in your room is one of the things I that love when lone travelling.

Natch' I am only talking about four-star or above though! When it comes to sharing sink space with previous tenants, I do insist that they wern't paying by the hour.

Back in the day when I was defined by my white-collar career, hoping to eventually become CEO. (of something or other) I travelled quite a bit; Sent off to London, flown business class to the US for 'F2F' meetings with people I'd only previously endured over tele-con.

My life was a whirlwind of Amex, suits, PowerPoint presentations and hotel food.

No matter where in the world, I will nearly always go for the Caeser Salad.

I've had so many variations, every city has a slight twist; New Jersey Marriott gave me mounds of Smoked Bacon, NYC Millenium delivered Garlic Croutons the size of my head, and (my favourite) St Martins Lane, London served a whole Grildled Smoked Chicken Breast with delicate, fresh Anchovies.

My version of Caesar Salad is really simple to prepare, and sings with garlicky, creamy dressing, crunchy pink bacon and flavourful organic chicken.

Reduce the quantities, and serve for one with a good book and giant glass of Chardonnay. You won't mind being alone for moment!

 

Caeser Salad

Serves 2-3

Preparation Time - 10m
Cooking Time - 10m
Beverage Suggestion -  Chardonnay

Ingredients

4x Chicken Thighs, Skinless & Boneless, Diced
1 tbsp Olive Oil, for frying
80g or 0.5 Cup Smoked Lardons
2x Heads Romaine Lettuce, Torn
100g or 1 Cup Parmesan, Grated
2x Slices Granary Bread
3x Cloves Garlic
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
Cracked Black Pepper and Sea Salt to taste
6x Marinated Anchovy Fillets, roughly chopped
150ml or 1/3 Cup Soured Cream
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

 

Directions

1. Chop 1x garlic clove and fry alongside the chicken (seasoned), and lardons in Oil for 7m, or until cooked through, and the bacon is crispy
2. Combine the soured cream, 1x clove garlic (chopped), 50g (0.5 Cup) of parmesan, anchovies, mustard, lemon and season to taste
3. Lightly toast the bread on both sides
4. Rub a whole clove of garlic all over the toasted bread
5. Sprinkle half of the remaining cheese on top, and allow to bubble under the grill, Cut into 1 inch square peices
6. Place the torn lettuce in a large salad bowl
7. Add the cooked meat, croutons, and mix with the dressing
8. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the salad and lightly toss
9. Serve

Pumpkin & Smoked Duck Soup

The last time I thought smoking was cool was in my teens, when a Marlbro Red and bottle of Jack were de rigueur accessories for any hairsprayed, leather-jacketed rock god.

These days, the only smoking I think is cool is the sort that wraps hickory flavoured goodness around hunks of protein.

Smoking meat and fish as a way to preserve it has been around since we were sat round ugging, clubbing and getting more than a little excited by fire. It preserves the meat through dehydration and imparting chemicals into the meat via the smoke itself.

You can smoke almost any type of meat, and by using different types of wood pellet, you can impart either subtle, or smack-you-round-the-face character to your flesh of choice.

This dish uses Mallard duck breast smoked over some cherry wood. These particular chips lend a candied tobacco essence which compliment the mellow, silky seasonal pumpkin soup.

 

Pumpkin & Smoked Duck Soup

Serves 4

Preparation Time - 10m
Cooking Time - 25m
Beverage Suggestion -  Californian Chardonnay

Ingredients

1/2 Pumpkin, sectioned
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt to taste
1 tsp Allspice
500ml or 2 Cups Vegetable Stock
30g or 1/3 Cup Smoked Duck Breast, chopped
1x Garlic Clove, finely Chopped
1x Shallot, finely Chopped
1 tbsp Double Cream

 

Directions

1. Drizzle the pumpkin with olive oil and sprinkle with the allspice, salt and pepper
2. Roast at Gas Mark 5/375f/190c for around 40m until the pumpkin is soft
3. Sauté the garlic & shallot for 5m
4. Scrape the Pumpkin from the skin
5. Blend using a little stock
6. Add the rest of the stock, cream & simmer for 10m
7. Season to taste
8. Serve with Chopped Smoked Duck on top

Butternut Squash Macchiato

The scent of smoky, fired meat on a BBQ, wrapped in the chill of quickly darkening evening, means Autumn is well and truly settled into its pipe and slippers for 2010.

This is my favourite time of year for food. Rich game meats, smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, cosying up to mugs of steaming chocolate topped with bourbon (oh, that could just be me!) and even more reason to spend my weekends over a hot stove all add up to a happy Fall.

Butternut Squash is an Orange Winter Squash, with a sweet pulp that can be roasted, pureed or even used as a sweet pie filling. Spicy fall flavours are it's best friends, and this soup is smooth and silky. The light froth made using salty ricotta cheese add a subtle tang and turn a humble veloute into a special dinner party indulgence.

Butternut Squash Macchiato

Serves 4

Preparation Time - 10m
Cooking Time - 25m
Beverage Suggestion -  Californian Chardonnay

Ingredients

1/2 Butternut Squash, peeled and diced
1 tbsp Olive Oil
15g or 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt to taste
100 ml or 1/3 Cup Double Cream
1 Shallot, finely chopped
1x Garlic Clove, finely chopped
500ml or 2 cups Chicken Stock
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 tbsp Ricotta Cheese

Directions

1. Place the shallot, squash and garlic in a heavy bottomed pan with half the butter and olive oil
2. Fry gently for around 10m until the squash is soft
3. Add a splash of Stock, blend into a puree
4. Sieve
5. Add the rest of the stock, stir though
6. Simmer for 10m
7. In a seperate pan, mix the cream and cheese
8. Stir over a low heat with a little extra salt to taste for around 5m
9. Season the soup to taste
10. Pour the soup into bowls
11. Whisk the cream cheese mixture with a cappuccino frother/whisk until bubbles are produced
12. Spoon the froth over the soup to serve

Pigeon, Roast Beet & Goats Cheese Salad

Digging through my freezer yesterday, I was lucky enough to discover a tightly wrapped portion of pigeon breasts.  Shot by my husband the three deep red little morsels just begged to be seared with some butter and balsamic vinegar left pink in some sort of delicate salad.

I decided to to roast some fresh beetroot over some lemon pepper and sea salt, and serve with an ashed goats cheese, ripe and summery.

Pungent white cheese, earthy sweet beets snuggling next to the moist pink pigeon made the ultimate menage

Pigeon, Roast Beet & Goats Cheese Salad

Serves 2

Preparation Time - 10m
Cooking Time - 10m
Beverage Suggestion -  Pinot Noir

Ingredients

2x Beetroots, sliced in half
3x Pigeon Breasts
2 tbsp Purple Radish Sprouts (Optional)
2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp Cassis Vinegarette
2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive OIl
Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt to season & Serve
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
75g or 1/3 Cup Goats Cheese, sliced
1 tbsp Lemon Pepper
3 sprigs of Lemon Thyme
2 tbsp Toasted Walnuts, chopped

Directions

1. Roast the Beetroot on a bed of lemon pepper & salt, with a sprig of thyme at Gas Mark 5/375f/190c for around 30m until tender
2. Remove covering of salt, pepper, and herb and peel, then cut in half
3.  Season the pigeon and sear in a hot pan in half of the butter & the remaining thyme for 2m each side
4. Splash in 1 tbsp of the balsamic, and sizzle
5. Remove the breasts to rest
6. Add the beets to the pan, splash in the remaining balsamic and warm through
7. Slice the pigeon, arrange on the plate with the beets and cheese
8. Drizzle the cassis  vinaigrette and some olive oil on each plate
9. Scatter the walnuts and sprouts on top to serve

Phở

It's right about this time of year that the inevitable lethargy sets in. I start to 'lose my stoke' so to speak.

I start getting sad that we see more cloud than sun, worrying about the state of my ever-red bank account and long for some foreign money in my pocket and sand beneath my toes.

To try and counteract this maudlin' frame of mind I've thrown myself into some hardcore workouts, post-muscle-sweat pampering, and most importantly good old fashioned healthy, comforting and smile inducing grub!

Today's recipe will chase away all sorts of malady, from break up blues, jaundiced job-hunting, over-indulged & inebriated insides to sniffly snouts and abusers of alliteration.

Phở is a Vietnamese dish, thought to have originated over one hundred years ago. It can be made with anything you like really; raw beef, shrimps, chicken, meatballs and chicken livers. It is usually served with noodles too, which can vary in thickness, and always delivered with a host of different bits and pieces that the diner can add at the table.

I always serve this cleansing hot and sour broth on New Years Day as part of an Asian feast to welcome the new year and chase away all the leftover booze lurking in my worn out liver.

Feel free to add or remove any meat, noodles or seafood you might like, and be prepared to sweat a little..Summer Sadness Begone!

Phở

Serves 4

Preparation Time - 15m
Cooking Time - 20m
Beverage Suggestion -  Tsing Tsao Beer

Ingredients

2x Garlic Clove, finely chopped
1/2 Leek, finely chopped
1x Spring Onion, chopped
1x Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 inch square piece of Ginger, finely chopped
1/2 Red Chilli, finely chopped
200g or 2 Cups Shiitake Mushrooms, finely chopped
300g or 2 Cups Chicken/Beef (pre-cooked)
1 tsp Pink Peppercorns
2x Star Anise
1/2 stick Cinnamon
1 ltr or 4 Cups Chicken/Beef Stock
1 tbsp Nam Pla
1 tbsp Grape-seed Oil
4x Noodle Portions (Style of your choosing)

Accompaniments
10g or 1/3 Cup Coriander, chopped
10g or 1/3 Cup Thai Basil, chopped
10g or 1/3 Cup Mint, chopped
1x Red Chilli, chopped
2x Spring Onions, chopped
60g or 2/3 Cup Beansprouts
2x Limes, quartered

Directions

1. Fry the vegetables in the oil for 5m
2. Add the protein, stock and spices
3. Bring to the boil, and simmer for around 20 minutes (dropping the noodles in based on their suggested cooking time)
4. Stir through the Nam Pla to taste
5. Serve with finger bowls of the accompaniments
6. Serve with finger bowls of accompaniments

Umami Coccottes

Umami. What a great word, not only is it fun to say, it's a key taste in some of my favourite flavours; parmesan, sardines, truffles, aged steak, roquefort and lobster. 

Umami is the 'fifth' taste. It follows: sweet, salty, sour and bitter; and (according to Wikipedia) it was first identified in Tokoyo 1908 in a seaweed broth. Roughly translated, the word 'umami' means 'good flavour'; essentially savouriness or meatiness. It's that full-mouth feeling that we get when trying anchovies, or when some worcester sauce hits our tongue.

Having procured a pack of 'Taste no.5 Umami Paste' I have been experimenting by adding it to all sorts of soups, sauces and stocks. (That is in addition to eating it direct from the tube!)

This recipe, already hinting at the fifth taste sensation due to the mix of caramelised shallots, mushrooms and aged cheese is heightened by adding a tiny dollop of this amazing little paste.

If you are unable to get hold of this great meaty flavoured treat, the dish is very enjoyable without.

Umami Coccottes

Serves 2

Preparation Time - 10m
Cooking Time - 20m
Beverage Suggestion -  Cotes Du Rhone

Ingredients

5x Eggs

2 tbsp Double Cream

1x Shallot, finely chopped

2x Mini Portabello Mushrooms, finely chopped

50g, or 1/4 Cup Lardons

1/4 tsp Umami Paste

1/4 tsp Herbs D'Provence

Pinch Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper

15g, or 1/2 Cup Vintage Gruyere, grated

2 tsp Unsalted Butter

Directions

1. Fry the bacon, mushrooms and shallot in a non-stick pan until caremalised

2. Add the umami paste and allow to melt through, remove from the heat

3. Divide the mixture into the base of two large ramekins

4. Beat 3x of the eggs with the herbs d'provence

5. Divide the egg mixture across the two ramekins

6. Crack one egg into each ramekin

7. Drop a tbsp of cream and piece of butter into each

8. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of each, and season

9. Cook in a bain marie in a pre-heated oven at 375F/190C/Gas Mark 4, for around 15-20m, or until set and springy to touch.

10. Carefully remove form the bain marie and serve with dipping bread/toast

 

Ricotta Gnocchi

I've moved! If you're a regular visitor to this blog, you'll notice some big changes! 

Following my amazing adventure at the 2010 Food Blogger Connect event earlier this year, I was inspired by my fantastic fellow foodies to update my blog to make it a more friendly social place to visit.

This has been a mammoth task and I hope the changes inspire you to get in the kitchen and cook your own life!

Today's recipe is a far cry from the spongey insipid varieties available in the supermarket. My version is easy to prepare in advance and fried in herb butter until the outside is golden and the centre is full of delicate cheesy love.

 

Ricotta Gnocchi

  

Serves 4

Preparation Time - 40m
Cooking Time - 8m
Beverage Suggestion -  Sauvignon Blanc

Ingredients

 

250g or 1 Cup Ricotta

1x Egg, lightly beaten

50g or 1/2 Cup Parmesan, grated

1 tbsp Parmesan, grated (to serve)

80g or 3/4 Cup ’00’ Flour

1 tsp Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt

15g or 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter 

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1x Sprig Rosemary

1x Garlic Clove, peeled

 Directions

 

1. Mix the egg with the cheese

2. Add the dry ingredients

3. Gently mix and knead to create a light spongy dough

4. Place the dough on a floured surface & gently roll into sausage shapes with your (floured) hands

5. Cut into rectangles and indent the centre, so they look like little pillows

6. Chill until required (minimum 30m)

7. Fry the gnocchi in the butter and oil with the garlic and rosemary

8. When golden on one side, turn

9. Once cooked on both sides, remove from the heat

10. Serve with the butter mixture from the pan and sprinkles of parmesan

 

Scallops with Pancetta & Parmesan

This recipe is a delicate affair, perfect to serve to your girlfriends over gossip and chilled white burgundy on a hot summer night.

Scallops with Pancetta & Parmesan

Serves 2

Preparation Time - 5m
Cooking Time - 5m
Beverage Suggestion -  White Burgundy

Ingredients

8x Diver Scallops

4x Rashers Smoked Pancetta, halved

30g or 1/3 Cup Aged Parmesan, shaved

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tbsp Aged Balsamic Vinegar

50g or 2 Cups Peppery Salad Leaves

Cracked Black Pepper to finish

Directions

1. Wrap the scallops in the bacon

2. In a non-stick pan, fry the scallops on each side until the bacon is crispy (around 5m in total)

3. Place the scallops on bed of leaves

4. Add the shaved Parmesan

5. Drizzle with the Oil & Vinegar

6. Finish with some Black Pepper

 

Potted Smoked Trout

This Smoked Trout pate is a wonderful way to start off an evening of al fresco entertaining. It showcases coppery smoked trout, and can be prepared early in the day. If you can't get smoked trout, then any smoked fish can be substituted, just adjust the amount of lemon & chives to suit.

You can serve as much or as little to your guests as you choose, the only thing you really must do is give them ample crunchy bites of granary toast & chilled white wine to accompany it.

Potted Smoked Trout

Serves 2

Preparation TIme - 10m
Cooking Time - 
Beverage Suggestion -  Sancerre

Ingredients

200g or 1 Cup Hot Smoked Trout, skin removed and flaked

1x Lemon Juice and Zest

Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt to taste

1x Shallot, finely chopped

2 tsp Chives, finely chopped

3 tbsp Mayo

Directions

1. Mix ingredients

2. Season to taste

3. Divide into ramekins

4. Chill for minimum of 30m

 

Herb & Scallop Risotto

I created this sophisticated rice dish for a beautiful friend of mine. She is very lady-like (unlike me!) and when cooking for her, I like to create delicate, memorable and beautifully presented plates. 

This risotto tastes of Spring, with perfumed herbs, sweet carrots, and succulent seared scallops that add a gentle sea-breeze brushed flavour to the dish.

Herb & Scallop Risotto

Serves 2

Preparation TIme - 30m
Cooking Time - 40m
Beverage Suggestion -  White Burgundy

Ingredients

200g or 1 Cup Risotto Rice

1/2 Leek, finely chopped

1/2 Carrot, finely chopped

1x Garlic Clove, finely chopped

4x Baby Carrots, whole

15g or 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter

1x tbsp Olive Oil

1 tbsp Mascarpone

2 tbsp Vermouth

Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt to taste

30g Fresh Herbs, chopped (e.g. Basil, Mint, Flat Leaf Parsley)

1 litre or 4 Cups Vegetable Stock, keep hot on the stove

6x Scallops

4x Rashers Pancetta

30g or 1/3 Cup Pecorino

Directions

1. Sauté the chopped vegetables in 2/3 of the butter and half the Olive Oil for 5m

2. Add the rice and continue cooking for 2m until a 'nutty' smell arises

3. De-glaze with the vermouth

4. Add ladlefuls of hot stock one by one, for 15-20m until the rice is cooked al dente

5. Meanwhile steam the baby carrots

6. Roll the carrots in 1/3 butter and season

7. Wrap the scallops in the bacon and fry for 2m each side in the remaining Olive Oil

8. Once the rice is cooked, add in the cheese and herbs, seasoning to taste

9. Serve with the Scallops and carrots on top