Tag Archives: seafood

A beautiful butterfly emerges

It seems like only last week that I was working for Imation Corpn in Cergy, 20 miles North-West of Paris. While I was there, my wife’s daughter worked and lived close by. To her delight, she and her husband found they were expecting a baby. I got the news at work one day that a little girl had been born in the nearby hospital. So after work, I drove up the hill and poked my head round the door. What I saw was a perfect face and dark, questioning eyes, already interested in everything going on around her.

Clémence guards her lobsterBut that was twenty years ago. Now, a wonderful butterfly has emerged from that ball of humankind, and her name is Clémence. This weekend, we met up with Clémence at her home in Cléry-Saint-André in the Loiret department of north-central France, near Orleans. Her parents were away and her sister was in Corsica with her grandparents, so Clémence was on her own. We thought it would be a good idea to take her out for a meal somewhere, so that’s what we did. (We don’t usually drive 100 miles for a meal!)

We ended up at La Criée in Olivet, a nearby town. The restaurant was an unassuming building at the side of a busy road, but we were not disappointed either by the welcome, the service, or the food. Our butterfly decided to go for lobster and a glass of dry white wine. And why not? She’s 20 years old and worth spoiling once in a while. (And guess who ended up cracking the claws for her???) Marie-Danielle elected for a seafood platter, which left a large smile on her face too. Well worth the trip!

Marie-Danielle and Clémence at La Criée

How to Open Scallop Shells

scallops in their shellsOf course, your fishmonger will open your scallops for you. In fact, they mostly sell just the flesh. But there is seriously nothing better than a FRESH scallop, as we discovered the other day as we went to the market. Most people are simply afraid of what’s inside a scallop and are not sure what to keep and what to throw away, but it’s drop-dead simple, and here’s how you do it…

Hold the scallop shell flat in your left hand (assuming you are right-handed), with the curved side down and the flat side up. If you have a scallop with both halves curved, it’s normally white side down and dark side up! Keep the round edge facing you then insert the end of a round-tipped knife (or a small spoon) in the join to the right of the shell. Work the knife towards you then rotate it a little to open the two halves enough to allow you to wedge the fleshy part of your left thumb in the gap, and keep the shells apart.

Using the dull edge of the knife blade, scrape the inside of the top shell until you feel the two parts of the shells separate (you have simply cut or broken the muscle that was holding the shells together). Discard the top half of the shell then place your left thumb firmly on the scallop muscle. Still holding the knife in your right hand, insert the tip carefully beneath the grey-black mass (the viscera) that’s next to the round, white muscle. Hold the mass gently between the knife and your right thumb, lift it up, and pull it gently towards you. You will feel a layer of skin come cleanly off the scallop muscle, along with the “innards”.

scallop in its shellYou will now be left with just the edible muscle, though it may be a little gritty with sand, which you can easily rinse off under cold running water. Now you are free to eat them raw from the shell or create any one of a dozen delicious recipes like my favourite, A Trio of Scallops

Welcome to the cousins!

Monday saw us having lunch with M-D’s cousin, Jean-Louis and his partner, France, who live on the east of Paris. Also, M-D’s sister, Christine, came down from Lille in northern France. We had planned eating at about 1 o’clock, but circumstances worked against all of us!

First of all, the chicken that we had planned cooking in its salt crust was decidedly “off”. Though it was a farm-bred, corn-fed beasty that was well in date, there was something going on inside it that shouldn’t have been, and it became very obvious when we removed the packaging! So I dumped it straight in the garbage and drove to the store to get a replacement.

As I was gone, Christine rang from her car. She was stuck in a jam just outside Lille due to an accident. Then we had a call from Jean-Louis… they had been advised of a parcel delivery that still hadn’t arrived, so he was having to wait before they could leave the house.

tomato and mozzarella saladTo cut a long story short, we had a long “apperitif” with Jean-Louis and France while we waited for Christine, and then sat down to eat just before 3pm! Fortunately, the Chicken in Salt Crust is a very tolerant recipe that can stand a lot of messing round. We had started it late, so it sat happily in its little salt ‘oven’ while we enjoyed a Tomato and Mozzarella Salad starter (except that I used Feta, for a change!). This is a great starter because it’s fresh, tasty, easy to make and (apart from adding the vinaigrette dressing) can be prepared in advance and kept in the fridge. Be sure to serve some nice fresh chunky bread with it to mop up the dressing… it’s far too good to waste.

Chicken in a Salt CrustSo, at about 3pm, the “bomb” that held the chicken was presented to the table. Of course, it takes a degree in mechanical engineering to open it, so it doesn’t get undressed at the table – it goes back to the kitchen to be exposed and dissected! As it happened, France had never seen one before, so she joined me in the kitchen and attacked the crust with a large, dangerous-looking carving knife.

Chicken in a Salt CrustAfter a few minutes of cursing and hacking, she succeeded in exposing “the beast” and then left me to carve and present it to the other diners! The joy of this dish is that the chicken is “loaded” with Boursin cheese between skin and flesh and this melts to create a really succulent chicken with rich flavours. It might seem like a waste of coarse sea salt, but I can assure you that the end result is well worth it.

With the chicken, we served a Ratatouille and, for fun, some “curly potatoes”! M-D discovered a little gadget that drills the inside from vegetables, leaving a core like a spiral of vegetable. So I par-boiled the spirals and then sautéed them. Visually they looked great, and they tasted good too! There was very little left of either the chicken or the vegetables when we had all finished.

Since Jean-Louis and France don’t drink alcohol, there were just three of us sharing the excellent bottle of Pinot Noir that hit the spot nicely for all the courses. After the cheeses, we served Gâteau Creusois and a Carpaccio d’Oranges à la Cannelle (Orange slices with cinnamon) – something we’ve done a couple of times recently (we must stop being lazy and falling back on all the simple recipes!), However, it’s a nice simple, refreshing and tasty way to finish a meal – which just left me loading the dishwasher while the others had coffee and chocolates! – Hmmm – and they say a woman’s work is never done!!

Lovely way to spend a Monday amonst friends!

Tastes of the Sea and the Salt Air

Last night, our friends Bruno and Jill came for dinner and we followed a sort of loose “sea & salt” theme throughout. We kicked off (as we always do) with an apéritif. “Apéritif” is a French word derived from the Latin verb aperire, which means “to open.” So an apéritif is an alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite, and is therefore usually dry rather than sweet. Common choices for an apéritif are vermouth, champagne, pastis, gin, rak?, fino, amontillado or other styles of dry sherry and any still, dry, light white wine. The word also refers to a snack that precedes a meal. This includes an amuse-bouche, such as crackers, cheese, pâté or olives.

Our own apéritifs will always include a light, dry wine (or champagne) which we often flavour with ‘Crême de Something’ (depending on the person’s choice). We discovered a long time ago that ‘Crême de ….” costs a bomb in UK! We searched hard and all we found was a Black Raspberry Liqueur made by Chambord. A bottle of just 20cl (about one-third of a pint) cost us over £10 (€12 – $16). So now, when we come from France by car, we load up with 50cl (¾ pint) bottles which we buy for about €3 each (£2.50 – $4).

We have a great selection now of Crême de Pamplemousse Rose (pink grapefruit), Crême de Pêche de Vigne (Vine Peaches), Crême de Framboise (Raspberry), Crême de Mûres (Blackberries) and Crême de Fruits Rouges (Red Fruits). Curiously, what I don’t have is the all-time classic, Crême de Cassis (Blackcurrant) which was the original drink.

Crême de CassisWhite wine with Crême de Cassis is known as “Kir” in France and is a popular apéritif drink named after Félix Kir (1876–1968), mayor of Dijon in Burgundy, who popularized the drink by offering it at receptions to visiting delegations. Besides treating his international guests well, he was also promoting two vital economic products of the region – blackcurrants and white wine.

So, due to our collection of different flavour liqueurs, we can offer guests a choice and, in fact, outside France it can be a great talking point as guests sample first one and then another! Last night, we served our Kirs using a lovely crisp Chardonnay that we happen to have sitting in the fridge. And as an amuse-bouche, we also served large green-lipped mussels from New Zealand. We buy these already cooked from the local supermarket and I then finely chop garlic, sprinkle it over the mussels in their shells and drizzle a generous amount of Salad dressing over them. They are really delicious and our guests certainly seemed to appreciate them.

For a starter course, we once again resorted to Julie’s Salmon & Prawn with Lime which has become a real favourite. Jill cleverly guessed all the ingredients in the salad dressing and also spotted the horseradish and crême fraîche mixture for what it was. The salmon was wild Pacific Keta Salmon (sometimes known as chum or dog salmon for its dog-like teeth). It has a lower fat content than other salmon but is a really rich, tasty and healthy fish. With the fish starter, we served the same Duc de Morny 2012 Picpoul de Pinet that we served last week when we had “the Steves” with us.

Chicken in a Salt CrustThe main course was the “salty” end of the recipe with Chicken in a salt crust otherwise known as Poulet a l’ail et aux Fines Herbes en croute de Sel Parfumée. This is a great way to serve chicken since it always comes out tender and succulent and the taste is just out of this world.

In fact, you start with a chicken (nice corn-fed, free range one for us) and you insert Boursin Soft Cheese with Garlic and Herbs (Boursin Ail et Fines Herbes) between the skin and the flesh. During the cooking process, this “melts” into and around the flesh leaving a taste that has to be tried to be believed.

Chicken in a Salt CrustOnce the chicken has been treated with the Boursin, you build a complete casing for it using coarse salt, flour, rosemary, thyme, baies, peppercorns and egg whites. It ends up looking like a bomb, but part of the fun of this recipe (and, yes, food should be fun too!) is, prior to serving, showing your guests the cooked “bomb” and seeing if any of them can guess what’s inside. Then, of course, you take it back to the kitchen and remove the salt crust (which takes a certain amount of brute force and muscle!)

Chicken in a Salt CrustOnce you have opened up the crust, you will find (every time without fail) a perfectly cooked golden brown bird, ready to be segmented and served in portions or, very simply, placed on a serving dish and carved at the table. We served ours with mini Brussels sprouts and new potatoes. No need for any sort of sauce or gravy, the moist chicken meat was more than enough – particularly when helped down with a couple of bottles of Domaine du Landetran, L’Ame des Schistes 2010 (well, come on, be fair, there were four of us!).

After the cheese, we had planned serving M-D’s “Parfait” but Bruno had made a chocolate cake so we got stuck into that instead… and very good it was too. (Particularly washed down with a glass or Maas a Miel).

And so passed a very pleasant evening in good company. Bruno and Jill found their way home at about 1:30am and I eventually got to bed at 2:45am after clearing the mess I had made in the kitchen (better that than face it the next morning!)

Entertaining is fun, particularly with people you like… and we really DO like all our guests. They are all different. They all have different tastes. The conversations are always different. But the one common factor is a convivial evening spent around the table with good food and decent wine. It makes life worth living!

That good old Confit de Canard

Last Saturday evening we enjoyed the company of Steve and Penny who live about 100 metres down the road, along with Steve and Jeanette (my brother and sis-in-law). Penny is a pharmacist at the local hospital and was on call, so had to curtail her alcohol intake to virtually zero. Unfortunately, Steve (not brother) is a pilot, so he’s away quite a lot and last Saturday was the only time their diaries and ours coincided!

We started with our current favourite, Julie’s Salmon & Prawn with Lime. It really is so simple but so delicious. It’s one of those recipes made in heaven! We’re always aware that Jeanette, my sister-in-law, is alergic to crustaceans, so make sure that the salmon and prawns never touch during the preparation. It also means, of course that her salad is missing one of the ingredients, but it’s wonderfully delicious nonetheless! We served this great starter with a Duc de Morny 2012 Picpoul de Pinet which is a wine that won the Medaille d’Or in the 2013 Agricultural and Food show in Paris (a rare accolade).

confit de canard duckFor the main course, we took an easy option (for us) and served Confit de Canard with a mixture of Sautée Potatoes and Cepes (penny bun or porcino mushrooms). It’s easy for us because we bring from France big tins of Confit and also tins of Cepes. So peeling and cooking a few potatoes is no hardship. However, for our friends who would not normally get to eat confit, it’s something different and fun – particularly when served with a bottle or two of Château La Caze Bellevue, a smooth, velvety 2010 Saint Emilion!

Orange CarpaccioAfter a selection of cheeses (with a little more St Emilion!), dessert was a Gâteau Creusois and a Carpaccio d’Oranges à la Cannelle (Orange slices with cinnamon). Together, a nice simple, refreshing and tasty way to finish the meal (particularly since it took a new bottle of Saint Emilion to help it go down!).

Damage on Douglas PromenadeMeanwhile, a combination of storms and high tides has given The Island a real pounding with many of the sea walls damaged, some shops and homes flooded and everybody huddled indoors waiting for summer! Fortunately, the island is hilly, so we don’t get many places where water lays on the land for long periods such as they are experiencing in Somerset.

castletown2robinwootton_500x333However, all’s well that ends well because Penny is coming round tomorrow night to help us finish the raclette ingredients that we had with Terry and Julie last week! We have just enough for three people, Steve’s away and Penny’s not on call, so it sounds like a good excuse to dig into the wine cellar and see what’s available – I love it when a plan comes together! Who cares about the weather?

Glorious evening of simple, tasty food.

Last night, our old friends, Paul and Valérie came round for dinner. They arrived early and left late (which is always a good sign!) and they insisted on taking away with them the recipes for our starter and dessert.

Julie's Salmon & Prawn with LimeWe kicked off with a starter that our neighbours, Julie and Terry, on the Isle of Man had made for us just before we came back to France… Julie’s Salmon and Prawn with Lime. This simply is one of the tastiest starters I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. We “smoked” the salmon ourselves which not only tastes better but also allows you to slice it thicker than normal. The dollop of cream and horseradish with the fish has a lovely fresh taste but the real delight is the salad dressing which includes limes, honey and fresh ginger and comes as a mouth-watering surprise when you put a forkful of salad leaves in your mouth.

Naturally we helped this down with a little drop of France’s finest… a Duc de Morny, Picpoul de Pinet 2012. It’s a crisp white from the Languedoc coast but, even though it was a young wine, it won the Médaille d’Or at the renowned Agricultural Show in Paris, so it wasn’t a bad drop at all !

Daube ProvençaleOur main course was Daube Provençale (one of our regular favourites) which consists of large chunks of slow-cooked beef with lots of tasty secrets like orange flavours and fresh olives in the gravy. This always works well because it really does taste of France and it can be prepared well in advance. Also, we serve it simply with potatoes (which we crush into the gravy with our forks – bad children!) so there’s not a lot of work preparing the vegetables.

Paul brought an excellent bottle of something deep and rich and red from Bordeaux but I’m darned if I can remember the name of it and the bottle is now being recyled somewhere in deepest, darkest France! Whatever it was, it worked extremely well with the Daube.

Citrus ParfaitAfter the cheese, we finished off with M-D’s famous Citrus Parfait which we totally demolished since everybody went for a second helping! We helped it down with a glass or two of Edelzwicker from Alsace in North-East France though I confess, it didn’t need too much help!

Valérie and Paul were impressed enough to insist that we give them the recipes for the starter, the “self-smoked” salmon and the dessert (they already had the recipe for the Daube). And the real beauty was that – as so often with a good meal – almost everything had been prepared in advance, which allowed “cheffy” to sit with everybody else and enjoy the conversation.

The salmon had been “smoked” two days earlier, the salad dressing for the starter had been made during the afternoon and put in the fridge, the Daube was made the day before and just allowed to slowly reheat, and the Citrus Parfait was from a supply that we keep in the freezer all the time because we know that this dessert is a winner, so it’s always available. In fact, the only thing I had to do was boil a few potatoes – now how hard is that?

I know I’ve said it before (and I’ll probably say it again), but the secret of French cooking is simplicity. While the French are very good at combining various flavours, unless you eat in one of the really top restaurants, you are likely to be served something that is uncomplicated but truly tasty.

I suspect we might be serving these same starters and desserts again at some point in the near future!

An evening with a Spanish twist

In my last post, a month ago, I mentioned that we had invited our neighbours, Terry and Julie, to join us for a meal. Well we repeated the happy experience only this time including their two children (Esme, who is 11 and Merlin, who is 7). So what do you cook when you are having what is, essentially, a family meal, and yet make it just a little bit out of the ordinary?

paellaWe decided on a paella. It’s easy and, as a diner, if you dig around a bit you can soon exclude any bits that don’t please your particular palate. And, having decided on a paella, it was natural we should think about some sort of tapas mixture as a “starter” and a nice fruity sangria to wash it all down with.

For the tapas, we simply used packs of mixed olives and peppers from the local store. We served slices of French saucisson and Spanish chorizo, also from the local supermarket. M-D made her famous tapenade which we spread on thin slices of fresh baguette and we produced two different verrines. (A verrine is a “taster” that can be can be either sweet or savoury, made by layering ingredients in a small glass.)

verrineThe verrines we made were stupidly simple. The first was tomato with fresh goat’s cheese. We placed two 400g tins of chopped tomatoes into a pan, crushed in a garlic clove and a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper, then brought it to a gentle rolling boil until all the juice had evaporated and only the pulp was left. This, we left to chill. Once cold, we placed about two teaspoons of the tomato pulp into the bottom of each glass. On top of that we crumbled about 1-1½ teaspoons of fresh goat’s cheese which we had broken up with a fork. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over each and dress with chopped fresh basil – and yummy … lovely as an apperitif or, as we did, with a tapas selection.

The second verrine was crab and soft cheese. We used 2 x 170g tins of White Crab Meat and 150g Boursin Full Fat Soft Cheese with Garlic & Herbs. We drained the crab and placed the meat in a bowl, then we added a tablespoon of finely chopped onion, a tablespoon of chopped chives and a few twists of black pepper. Mix it all together then, as with the tomato, we placed about two teaspoons of the crab into the bottom of each glass. On top of that we crumbled about 1-1½ teaspoons of Boursin which we had broken up with a fork (any full fat soft cheese will work).

In total, with those ingredients, we made about 20 verrines (10 of each) so, along with the other tapas tasters, we had a good mixture to begin. (Incidentally, we cheat when we make verrines! We don’t have 20 small glasses but we sometimes buy Panna Cotta from Marks & Spencer and then wash the clear plastic containers. They are about 3″ tall and 2″ in diameter, so are perfect for this purpose!)

sangriaAll of this, of course, was washed down with several decent-sized glasses of sangria which M-D had made three days earlier (it tastes better when it’s prepared in advance). Depending on your guests’ ability to quaff the fruit of the vine, you can change these quantities to suit yourself. This time, there were just four adults but I know that both Terry and I can manage our way to the bottom of the glass without too much difficulty! So we used 3 x 750ml bottles of 14.5% red wine (a rather palitable Bordeaux – 2010 Coteaux du Languedoc called L’Ame des Schistes). The actual recipe is as follows (ingredients below are for 1 litre of red wine. For 4 people, use at least 2 bottles, i.e. 1.5 litre – quantities of fruit etc. can then be adapted accordingly). Since the fruits in particular are going to water down the sangria, the wine used should be at least 13% volume. Never use the so-called “sangria mixes” to do this recipe, since they are already watered down.

Per 1 litre of wine use…
3 oranges – the juice of one and the other two sliced and cut into wedges
2 lemons – the juice of one and the other one sliced and cut into wedges
2 tablespoons caster sugar
100ml (1 glass) sparkling water
100ml Martini Rosso

Simply pour the wine, the sparkling water, the fruit juices and the Martini into a punch bowl. Add the sugar and slices of fruit. Give it a stir, cover with cling film and store in a cool place. Stir once or twice every day. Taste before serving and add 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar if necessary (Sangria, however, is used as table wine, so mustn’t be too sweet).

And, yes, we did manage to see our way to the bottom of the punch bowl (all except for a couple of glasses which M-D and I forced ourselves to dispose of the following day!). As if all that alcohol wasn’t enough, for desert we had ice cream with Rumtopf (which has been sitting patiently for 12 months, just waiting for this opportunity!).

All in all, a very pleasant evening!

Mad Sunday!

No, Mad Sunday has got nothing to do with my mood, or my state of mental health – it’s all about motorbikes and where we spend about six months of each year … The Isle of Man.

Isle of Man TTThe Isle of Man is only about 36 miles x 12 miles at its longest and widest points. Today, about 85,000 of us perch on this rock in the middle of the Irish Sea, and every summer we are subjected to hundreds of motorbikes racing through the streets of our towns and villages and around the island on the 37.7-mile Snaefell Mountain Course. Their average speed is over 130 mph and in places they exceed 200mph!

Tens of thousands of fans flock to the island every year to watch this spectacle. Sometimes these visitors crash into one another, sometimes they fly off cliffs, sometimes they collide with parked cars or light poles, sometimes they forget we drive on the left and sometimes they don’t just kill themselves but also the locals going about their lawful business. This has been going on since 1907. On the Isle of Man every May/June, death is business as usual.

Landing after leaping Ballaugh BridgeNever mind the visitors, the TT races themselves are extremely dangerous (over 250 rider deaths to date on this circuit). Imagine riding at over 200 mph on tiny, narrow, twisting streets, roads and lanes flanked by stone walls and buildings, dodging manhole covers and stray dogs! Some, including a few former competitors, have called for the race to be banned, but for the most part the riders love the TT. They know it’s dangerous, but they also know it’s the absolute pinnacle of motorcycle racing. It’s the ultimate, and if you’re good enough – and you’re brave enough – then you go for it, regardless of the risks. Personal responsibility and the love of speed triumph the desire for safety here.

As current record-holder John McGuinness said, “People seeking to ban the TT are a load of do-gooders … We all know and accept the risks. Maybe we’re a bunch of hard-nosed bastards.”

As for us Manx islanders, we’re generally supportive. While some understandably complain about road closures, litter, irritating spectators and the death toll, others realize the race is a part of our tradition (and essential to the local economy). Plus, though we may not always admit it, we enjoy the spectacle too. They’ve been doing it this long. Why stop now?

We now live in a world where people file lawsuits over spilled coffee and put helmets and knee pads on their kids during playtime. If you ask me, it wouldn’t hurt if we had more places like the Isle of Man where insanity is a cherished tradition.

200mph past the housesOh yeah – I almost forgot about “Mad Sunday.” One day every year at the TT, they open up the 37 mile course to the public. That means anyone on a motor bike can try his or her luck trying to match the professionals for speed (and insanity!). Imagine, if you can, a Formula 1 or NASCAR event where they let 50,000+ fans onto the track, charging around in whatever vehicle they came in. In recent years, to try and reduce the carnage (and maybe also to give the visitors even more thrills!) the roads have been made one-way for about 8 miles over the mountain section of the course. Big, powerful road bikes hitting their top speeds of 170mph-180mph is not unusual on this section.

Today is Mad Sunday and it looks like we’ve scraped by without a mortality! As I have been typing this post, over 1,000 bikes have roared past my window, on their way home having enjoyed ‘a day at the races’. So it’s Mad Sunday over with for another year… lots of happy campers and still some empty beds in Accident and Emergency – doesn’t get much better than that!

Food?

Oh yes, food!

Trio of ScallopsLast Saturday evening, we invited our neighbours, Terry and Julie plus Dominic and Kate from over the road for a meal. We decided to mix the best of the Isle of Man with the best of France (as you do!) so (after polishing off a couple of bottles of Champagne with the aperitif) we started the meal with one of our favourites – beautiful fresh Manx scallops, and prepared the excellent Trio of Scallops washed down with an amazing 2007 Château de la. Gardine – a white Chateauneuf du Pape.

We followed this up with a whole Leg of Lamb in Rich Gravy which I have mentioned before on this blog (March 2013). I was less satisfied with the sauce this time, still not being totally used to the oven here in Peel. Nevertheless, it seemed to work ok and fortunately we had a couple of bottles of the matching 2007 Château de la. Gardine – only this time the more typical red Chateauneuf du Pape. Unfortunately, we only had two bottles so, as we descended on the cheese, I opened the reserve bottle – a 2005 Boisrenard – also a good Chateauneuf du Pape.

Raspberry and Caramel CrunchAs we always do, we served the meal French style (dessert last) and I dug around in M-D’s wine cooler and came up with a really nice bottle of 2008 Côtes de Bergerac. The Côtes de Bergerac is a deeply smooth sweet white wine that complimented our Raspberry and Caramel Crunch (better known in France as Gratin Framboises au Speculoos) superbly.

So with six satisfied diners, I found myself asking, was it the food or was it the wine? Two bottles of Champagne with the apperitif, a bottle of white Chateauneuf du Pape with the starter course, three bottles of red Chateauneuf du Pape with the main course and the cheese. A bottle of Côtes de Bergerac with the desert, and then several glasses of Sheridan Coffee Layered Liqueur. Oh dear, did we overdo it again?

Maybe we should have christened it “Mad Saturday”! After all, as John McGuinness said, “… We all know and accept the risks…”.

 

Back on “The Rock” and Jumbo Prawn Stir Fry beckons!

We got back on “The Rock” (The Isle of Man) three weeks ago (mid April) and will stay here now until mid-August. We’ve been lucky so far, since the weather has been kind and we’ve enjoyed regular walks along the sea front, around Peel castle and onto the harbour to watch the seals steal the fish off the lines of the fishermen!Peel Isle of Man

We enjoyed the company of M-D’s grandchildren (Clémence and Eléonore) for ten days and later M-D’s daughter (Muriel) came over for a few days and then took them back to France. Naturally, we did all the tourist stuff with them (Steam Train etc) but we also took them to one of our favourite local restaurants, The Royal India Restaurant. In fact, we took the girls twice (by unanimous demand!)

It might sound a bit strange to choose a small (about 30 covers) Indian restaurant for a holiday treat but the food is so good and tasty that it’s difficult to resist. In fact, I just got back from there about two hours ago after another visit with just Marie-Danielle and myself (Dingri Methi for me and Cafrial for M-D… yummmm!). Our French guests loved the food because, while there are many arabic restaurants in France, there are very few true Indian restaurants so, for them, it was a voyage of discovery and having really first class Indian cuisine so easily available (it’s only about 250 metres from where we live) is an added bonus. Eléonore (aged 10) voted the Chicken Biryani her favourite, giving it 21 out of 20! I had a fiery Madras curry that should have carried a government health warning (or at least been served with an optional fire extinguisher)!

We also visited Jade Harbour, a Chinese restaurant that has always been most pleasant. Sadly, our regular waiter and waitress weren’t there and the service was not up to standard. Whilst the food was good, the slow and erratic service somewhat spoiled the evening.

Isle of Man RailwayHowever, one place that never fails to please is Station Hotel in Port Erin. Yes, it’s just a pub, but their food is hot and fresh and served with a big smile. It’s mighty convenient if you arrive in Port Erin by train since it is just across the road from the little railway station (often described as the most beautiful building in the village) where the famous Manx Steam Train terminates.

There’s nothing wrong with pub grub as long as it’s good pub grub! If it’s plentiful, freshly cooked, tasty, hot and served by people who appear to be happy that you are there, then a meal in a pub with a nice glass of beer can be one of the great pleasures of life, just as much as an intimate evening in a top class restaurant.

Basking SharkAs we were out walking the other day, we met one of the local “characters” – a lady by the name of Pauline who, it turns out, is involved in the monitoring of Basking Sharks, which are often found in the plankton-rich waters around the Isle of Man. The Basking Shark is the second biggest fish in the world (second only to the Whale Shark) but it is truly an endangered species. It is a slow moving filter feeder that has a greatly enlarged mouth and highly developed gill rakers. These enormous fish have been measured up to 12.27 metres (40.3 ft), and weighing an estimated 19 tonnes, yet these gentle giants are not aggressive and are harmless to people.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, Pauline encouraged us to go see a film that was being shown yesterday evening at the local “Centenary Centre” which revolved around the Basking Shark, but also covered lots of other wildlife on this curious island. Why do I say curious? Because, amongst other things, we discovered that The Isle of Man has the largest Wallaby poulation outside of Australia! Since they have no natural preditors here and do no damage to crops or hedges, the wallabies thrive in the hills yet it seems that very few people even know they are there (including me until last night!).

I started off writing this post with the intention of mentioning a stir fry that we often do (and did while the grandchildren were here)… but I seem to have sidetracked myself! So – Jumbo Prawn Stir Fry… this is a recipe that is very, very simple and doesn’t take much looking after. I know that, traditionally, stir-fries are cooked quickly over a very high heat but this one is much slower over a low heat! It’s a mixture of vegetables and King Prawn, with a good splash of Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce. You can mix-and-match the vegetables to suit yourself but I personally use two onions, a very small cabbage (or half of a larger one), two carrots, a handful of fresh peas, a handful of mushrooms, a tin of beansprouts and a tin of bamboo shoots. But the recipe is very versatile because you can add small pieces of broccoli, water chestnuts, miniature sweetcorns, sliced bell peppers, spring onions, mange tout (snow peas)… almost anything you fancy, in fact!

Peel and slice the onions, chuck them in the wok with a tablespoon of goose fat and cook them very gently to soften. Meanwhile, cut the thick stems out of the cabbage, leaving just the leaves, roughly tear these and add them to the work. It may seem that you have a lot but they shrink and reduce quite drastically. Peel the carrots and Julienne them (cut into long thin strips, similar to matchsticks) then toss those into the wok. Add a good splash (4-5 tablespoons) of Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce (I use one called Lee Kum Kee, but it can be any stir-fry sauce that takes your fancy). I often add a splash of light Soy Sauce as well – but that’s just a personal preference. Cook this mixture, stirring frequently, over a low heat for about 15 minutes to soften the vegetables.

Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Thinly slice the mushrooms and add to the mix. Drain the beansprouts and bamboo shoots and add these to the wok, along with the peas. Stir and cook for a further five minutes. Now add your Jumbo King Pawns and increase the heat. Turn the mixture regularly and watch as the prawns change colour from translucent grey to whitish-pink. These should be cooked for about 4-5 minutes (no more), then serve your stir-fry and enjoy! It’s a recipe that’s simple and VERY tasty and it has the advantage that you can choose your own preferred vegetables and even your own preferred seafood (we’ve done this recipe using Queen Scallops before now, and very tasty it is too!). Serve with a nice, crisp white or rosé wine and you’ll think you’re in heaven!

Dual Birthday Celebration (with secret anchovies)

Last night, M-D’s daughter (Muriel), son-in-law (Vincent) and their children (Clémence and Eléonore) came over so we could have a joint birthday celebration for M-D and Clémence (M-D’s was a few days ago and, while Clémence’s was in February. We weren’t here in France to celebrate it, so decided to have an evening together to mark the two birthdays!)

vrankenNaturally (as you do) we kicked off with a couple of bottles of fine Vranken Champagne Demoiselle Brut Premium Cuvée (it helps wash down the apperitif biscuits and olives!!)

Unfortunately we had had a bad shock during the afternoon. Down in the cellar are several bottles of 1989 Chateau de Cayrou – one of the very finest Bordeaux wines you will ever taste. We brought some bottles up and opened them to let them breathe and discovered to our horror that they had maderized (the wine acquires a rather bitter sherry-like character). In the end, we opened some 2002 Chateau Martet (one of the Grands Vins of Bordeaux) but I confess there was some residual disappointment about the Chateau de Cayrou. We have a few bottles of 1990 vintage… I guess we should open one of those and find out what’s happening with it.

monk_fish_in_bacon_with_parsley_creamAnyway – on with the meal! We started with a lovely simple recipe, Monk Fish in Bacon with Parsley Cream. Not only did this work like a dream but Vincent (son-in-law) who really enjoys and savours his food and wine, declared that it was “one hundred percent”, and christened me “The New Gordon Ramsey”! Well, I don’t know about that, maybe it was the Champagne and the Chateau Martet speaking, but for sure the fish was cooked to perfection (moist and tender) and the marriage between the succulent fish and the crisp, salty bacon was divine.

rich_gravy_lamb_shanksSo, The New Gordon Ramsey went back in the kitchen and emerged moments later with the main course – Rich Gravy Leg of Lamb. In terms of the recipe, this is identical to my Rich Gravy Lamb Shanks recipe, except that I replaced the lamb shanks with a 2kg leg of lamb and increased the other ingredients by about 50%. I served it with a few simple vegetables and then, as we ate, we played the guessing game … what’s the secret ingredient in the sauce? It took a lot of clues from us and lots of guesses by our guests before Clémence suggested anchovies (the correct answer)!

Well, the Rich Gravy Leg of Lamb was an absolute hit with everyone (2kg of lamb disappeared in minutes) and Vincent was, again, effusive in his praise! I know we already have a new Pope, but being elevated from The New Gordon Ramsey to The New Pope was fine by me! And the two secrets that made an evening of entertaining seem effortless were nothing more than:

  • Simple recipes that either don’t have many ingredients or can be prepared well in advance
  • Recipes that work alongside each other in the kitchen (I never changed the oven temperature from the monkfish starter right through to the desert)

Our guests were ecstatic (we lumbered our way through cheese and a warm apricot and almond desert before Vincent dozed off on the settee with a contented smile on his face!). So entertaining (and being elevated to Pope) doesn’t have to be complicated. I used two very straightforward recipes that kept kitchen time to a minimum yet produced outstanding results. And, before you ask, there were a total of five empty wine/champagne bottles this morning, which is, perhaps, a little excessive for four adults, but then it’s not every day one becomes Pope!