Tag Archives: recipes

Beef, Christmas, Lamb, Mushrooms, Salads

Another Christmas gone… can’t wait for the next.

December 27, 2013 needarecipe Leave a comment

Well, you know what it’s like… you plan for it, you shop for it, you tear your hair out for it and, at the end of the day, you find it’s December 27th and once again, Christmas is just a memory. But as long as it’s a good memory, who’s worried!

In France the “big dinner” is the evening of December 24th and M-D and I had planned a quiet dinner together since we were heading down to Orleans the following day to have a ‘second Christmas’ with M-D’s daughter and grandaughters. However, the best laid plans etc…. and a few days before, we discovered that a friend would be on his own for Christmas so we invited him over for Christmas Eve dinner with us.

It had to be simple and straightforward, so we opted for foie gras as a starter, Rich Gravy Lamb as the main course, cheese and salad and then we finished on M-D’s (in)famous Citrus Parfait which we always have ready in the freezer.

The Rich Gravy Lamb is an absolute stunner because it is stupidly simple to prepare – lamb (leg or shank), a couple of onions, a bit of stock and red wine, a few simple herbs and a fillet or two of anchovies (yep, you read that right … anchovies. Though you can’t taste them in the finished dish, they totally transform the meat and gravy, bringing out all the delicious flavours). The joy of it is that you shove it in a slow oven and leave it alone until you’re ready to eat it. It also washes down quite well with a 1986 Roc du Breuil, Cotes de Bourg!

The following day, we drove down to Orleans (it’s about 100 miles) and met up with Muriel and the girls (Clélence and Eléonore). They had spent Christmas with Muriel’s half-sister over on the Atlantic coast so they had driven for about 3-4 hours to get home. Nonetheless, along with Muriel’s Grandmother, Rolande (96 going on 25), we made up a happy gang of six.

We started with Julie’s Salmon & Prawn with Lime which has, in just the few months since our neighbour in Peel introduced us to it, become one of our firm favourites. We already had them drooling and we hadn’t even arrived at the pièce de résistance…
The day before, I had prepared a Beef Wellington to the stage that the fillet of beef was wrapped in its coat of mushroom duxelles and Parma ham. So all I had to do at Muriel’s was to add it’s pastry overcoat (two packets of ready-rolled puff pastry), coat with egg yolk, and pop in the oven for about 40 minutes (it was a 2¾lb – 1.25kg fillet). It came out perfectly cooked to suit us all. The ends were medium-well, the centre was rare and in between a beautiful medium rare, so everybody got what they wanted. (In fact we all got we wanted two days later, too …. left-overs. Cold. With Salad. And a few miniature tomatoes. Bliss!). Helped down with a rather splendid 1986 Chateau Moulin a Vent, Lalande de Pomerol, I can highly recommend Beef Wellington, hot or cold!!

And now we’re back home in Acheres planning the next onslaught!!! Today is Friday (for about another hour) and tomorrow we dive to the shops and get what we need for the next few days because M-D’s sister, Christine, is arriving for a week or so. On Sunday we are having a “late Christmas” dinner with Christine and “Tatty Suzanne” (Christine and M-D’s aunt who lives a few miles away on the outskirts of Versailles.). The plan is for Monk Fish in Orange which is a bit of a mixture of two other recipes but, if it works, should be pretty damn good!

I’ll let you know (or not!)

Beef, Desserts, Fish, Salads, Salmon, Seafood, Shellfish, Wine

Glorious evening of simple, tasty food.

October 18, 2013 needarecipe Leave a comment

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.

We 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 !

Our 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.

After 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!

Desserts, Duck, Isle of Man, Wine

Duck, duck and the best apple flan I’ve ever eaten!

July 14, 2013 needarecipe Leave a comment

A couple of months ago, we enjoyed looking round various locations in the local “WOSAT” (Western Open Studio Art Trail) at 10 open studios featuring 46 local artists in 8 venues here on the Isle of Man. We saw some lovely work in different styles, using different techniques and materials and, during our travels, we bumped into a very talented artist called Bruno Cavellec (whose website can be seen at http://www.brunocavellec.com/ )

First of all, the name Cavellec is typically Breton (from Brittany on France’s Atlantic coast). Secondly, Bruno was a really approachable guy with an easy-going manner and a contageous smile. Third, being French, he and Marie-Danielle could stop talking English for a few minutes and relax into their own language. And fourth, I fell in love with (and bought a copy of) his giclée print “Walking the Dogs” that shows Peel beach at sunset. This one is going back to France with us at the end of August and I know exactly where I shall hang it once it’s been framed.

Quite by chance, we bumped into Bruno a couple of times whilst out walking and enjoying the exceptionally sunny weather. So we thought it would be nice to get to know him better and get to meet his English wife, Jill… sounds like a perfect recipe for a “French” evening (food, wine, good conversation, more food, more wine – yawn, “Good grief is that really the time?”). So yesterday evening we shared a truly pleasant few hours together until we got to the “Good grief is that really the time?” moment!

To begin, we did what every couple of “mixed nationality” do, and swapped stories about how we met our partners. It’s not being nosey – it’s just what we do, because there’s nearly always a nice story there somewhere! Naturally, as we did that, we quaffed a few glasses of chilled Prosecco that Jill and Bruno had kindly brought with them. It’s a beautiful, light and dry Italian sparkling wine that uninitiated people like me can very easily mistake for champagne!

Bruno had told us that Jill liked duck, so what could be more natural than to start the meal with foie gras accompanied by an onion compote. Bruno was happy – he thought he was back in France! Jill was happy because it was duck! M-D was happy because she loves foie gras! And I was happy because all I had to do was open the jar!

And, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing, so we carried on with the duck theme and served Confit de Canard for the main course. Confit is difficult to get wrong but, for reasons still unknown, the skin of the duck didn’t brown as it should (it’s normally lovely and crisp). While it tasted just as it should, I was disappointed with the presentation. So, when in doubt, what do you do? Why, you pour another glass of wine! We managed to see off a couple of bottles of 2009 Chateau Lamothe-Vincente which lessened the blow a little!

After the cheese, we arrived at the moment of dessert and Bruno had made a gateau aux pommes – apple flan – that was truly brilliant. I asked him for the recipe which he told me was top secret, so I tied him to the chair and poured wine down his throat until he relented and you can read it here…“Double Take” Apple Flan.

I’m not usually a huge apple fan but this was honestly the best apple flan I have ever eaten. It was light, tasty, sumptuous and I immediately voted it the dessert most likely to brighten your day. Truly a masterpiece – much like Bruno’s paintings.

A pleasant evening in good company and the best apple flan I’ve ever eaten! – Can’t be all bad!

Isle of Man, Seafood, Shellfish, Wine

An evening with a Spanish twist

July 1, 2013 needarecipe Leave a comment

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?

paella We 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.)

The 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!)

sangria All 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!

Desserts, Isle of Man TT, Lamb, Personal Stuff, Seafood, Wine

Mad Sunday!

June 2, 2013 needarecipe Leave a comment

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 TT The 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 Bridge Never 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 houses Oh 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 Scallops Last 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 Crunch As 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…”.

Chinese Food, Indian Food, Isle of Man, Personal Stuff, Restaurants, Seafood, Stir Fry, Vegetables

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

May 4, 2013 needarecipe Leave a comment

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 Railway However, 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.

As 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!

Fish, Lamb, Seafood, Wine

Dual Birthday Celebration (with secret anchovies)

March 17, 2013 needarecipe Leave a comment

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!)

vranken Naturally (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.

Anyway – 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.

So, 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!

Chinese Food, Isle of Man, Oysters, Personal Stuff, Seafood

France again (for a few weeks!)

March 9, 2013 needarecipe Leave a comment

We got the work done on the house in Peel and ended up with a stripy stair carpet like a beach towel! (M-D can get a bit daring when the mood hits her!). Mind you, it suits the theme of the house which is intentionally “seaside” (we’re only three minutes walk from the beach). All the bedroom floors are now down to the original pine boards with a grey stain and a coat or two of matt sealer, so hopefully we can have a peaceful summer without too much disruption!

The trip back to France was uneventful. Since we came by car, we had two boat trips and a couple of long drives, but it gives us the chance to import and export stuff that’s not available in the other country. For example, when going from France to the Isle of Man, we took lots of Saucisson Sec because my mate Ken eats it till he bursts! We also took a couple of nice Jambon de Bayonne (an air dried salted ham that takes its name from the ancient port city of Bayonne in the far South West of France). In addition, there were lots of easy-to-find cooking ingredients and tins like Confit de Canard (prepared in a centuries-old process of preservation that consists of salt curing duck thighs and then poaching them in their own fat). We also took Foie Gras which is a fraction of the price in France than in GB. We get it delivered (along with the Confit de Canard) by Godard, an excellent producer in the South-West of France.

Coming back to France, we transport interesting stuff like Manx Kippers from Moore’s Kipper factory the last remaining traditional kipper curers. Moore’s produce traditional, oak fired, chimney smoked Manx kippers that taste like nothing else you will ever taste – 100% delicious (partucularly with Warm Potato Salad). We also bring curiosities for the family like Jelly Babies, Caramac, Chocolate Oranges and Custard – none of which are available in France.

So now our French grandchildren, Clémence and Eléonore, are impatiently waiting for a visit to The Island. We just booked their flights for mid April, so we’ll only be here in France for about four weeks before heading back! They’ll be expecting all the non-French lunch ingredients (like Pork Pie, Scotch Egg, Scallions etc.). Undoubtedly they will also hold us ransom for a visit to the Chinese Restaurant. In France, Chinese restaurants serve food that is more Vietnamese than anything else (Vietnam being a former French colony). So to get the more aromatic Cantonese food is a rare treat for our French visitors.

Last night, I had no doubt we were back in France. For dinner we had dozen oysters each with Pain Poilâne bread and salted butter followed by strawberries and cream. All washed down with a glass or two of chilled Edelzwicker from Alsace. Oysters in GB are at least twice the price than here (and generally don’t have the same quality and succulent taste). So there’s good and bad on both sides of the Channel. We’re fortunate in being able to get the best of both worlds… long may it last!

Pain Poilâne, incidentally, is produced in the Latin Quarter of Paris where it is sold at the original boulangerie on rue du Cherche-Midi. The worldwide demand for Poilâne bread is met in a facility located in Bièvres which produces around 15,000 loaves per day in 24 wood-burning ovens that are exact replicas of the ovens used at the Paris locations. These loaves are shipped worldwide – but it’s lovely getting the bread fresh the same day!

One day, Ramsey Bakery’s finest sliced dough – the next, proper bread using hand-crafted stone-ground flour, natural fermentation and a wood-fired oven. One day, the finest kippers in the universe, the next, hardly-smoked commercial herring in shrink-wrapped sauce!! Just kidding, but it does demonstrate how lucky we are to be able to reap the best of both.

Fish, Isle of Man, Personal Stuff, Salmon

The Rock awaits us

January 15, 2013 needarecipe Leave a comment

We’re heading back to The Isle of Man in a few days. We’ll be there for a couple of months, but we probably won’t get much relaxation! We bought a three story Victorian town house in August 2011 and it came complete with ivory-coloured fluffy carpets throughout! We have replaced the ground floor with parquet but the stairs and two floors of bedrooms still need to have something done to get rid of the ghastly dust trap underfoot! Our plan is to dump the carpets, strip the pine boards back to original state, tint them just to help the colour a little, then apply a matt varnish. On the stairs and landings, we’ll get new carpet runners and paint the edges white (a bit like it would have been originally except maybe the colour).

When we looked at the cost of hiring an industrial sander, we found it was about £55 a day (plus another £45 for the edging sander). So we took a look on eBay and found we could buy both for about £600. If we sell them again for a loss at the end of the job it still will have only cost about £100 in total, so that seemed like the way to go. The edging sander was OK in the post, but the main sander is big and heavy and would need a courier.

Unfortunately, getting goods delivered to The Isle of Man is like smuggling drugs into Indonesia … it’s a death sentence! It’s all to do with the fact there’s a boat trip needed between mainland UK and The Island. So we asked my niece, Sally, and her husband, Danny, who live in Crewe in Cheshire, if they could take delivery and we would pick it up as we passed by on our way to the ferry. (“Passing by” involves spending the night there – which we often do when we take the car)

Sally and Danny used to live in splendid anonymity until a couple of months ago when Danny was imprisoned for having a gun in his possession… er, he’s an SAS Sergeant with an impeccable history and the whole world got behind him and forced a quick legal appeal where the sentence was reduced to a lighter suspended sentence – and they will be appealing the actual guilty verdict later this month. Without going into the whole story here, it’s enough to say that they are going through a really tough time at the moment and Danny is at home just waiting for justice to take its course.

What do Sally and Danny have to do with the story of my sander? Well the guy I bought it from agreed to deliver to Crewe and asked for the name and address. When I said the name, he said, “Haven’t I heard that somewhere recently?”, so I reminded him of the furor in the national press about Danny’s shameful imprisonment.

I though he had had a heart attack at the other end!

“But what happens if the sander doesn’t work?” he asked.

I replied (half-joking), “It better had, or Danny will come and sort you out!”

Had he known Danny, he wouldn’t have worried! He’s truly one of the nicest, most level-headed guys you could ever hope to meet! In fact, of course, he did meet him a couple of days later when he delivered the sander, and they shared a cup of tea and a joke together!

What has all this got to do with food … er not a lot except that, when we get to Crewe, we will go and eat in the evening at The Hand and Trumpet which is a great little gastro pub serving decent quality pub grub at decent prices. If you get an opportunity, it’s worth stopping by.

And finally, I just added a recipe to the site to make your own Smoked Salmon (without the smoke, of course!). It’s a great little recipe that M-D’s daughter, Muriel, passed on to us and it is stupidly simple. So not you can enjoy high quality smoked salmon at exceptional prices with your very own Smoked Salmon Without The Smoke

Wish us luck with the floors!

Duck, Personal Stuff, Salads, Wine

Losing weight!

October 27, 2012 needarecipe Leave a comment

I’m supposed to be losing weight! I’ve been trying to do so for close on one year! So here we are, just a few hours away from moving the clocks back and getting an extra hour in bed (hooray!) and my weight hasn’t changed significantly for the last 6 months. It’s dreadful how time just stips by without us noticing. However, we have been gastronomically busy, so we’ve enjoyed the passing of the days.

salade gourmande Last Saturday evening, we had a dinner for six of us. In addition to M-D and myself, there was Loius and Monique who live close by and keep an eye on the apartment here while we are on The Isle of Man, Jean-Luc who was a neighbour until recently, and is now living in Brittany and Pascale, a new neighbour who bought his apartment from him. We decided to keep it simple so I produced that gastronomic delight, Salade des Gourmets as a starter (which always goes down well, no matter what). It looks complicated, but it’s not, and was well appreciated by our guests. The use of a vinagrette made of raspberries and the fact that the scallops and prawns are served warm makes it a unique eating experience.

confit de canard duck We followed up with a traditional French dish, Confit de Canard with Cepes and Sautée Potatoes. Of course, we’re lucky here because we can get very good quality Confit out of a tin, so no sweating over a hot stove for hours of preparation!

Of course, having a good wine to help everything down (is that a technical term??) does no harm either and we had taken a couple of bottles (well, three actually!) of Chateau Berliquet 2002 – a St Emilion – out of the cellar. Added to the two bottles of Vranken Special Brut Champagne as a little apperitif before the meal, we were all quite mellow by the time it came to serving cheese and then M-D’s famous “Orange and Lime Parfait” for a dessert. I keep trying to persuade her to put the recipe on the site, but so far I’ve not succeeded!

Tonight will be different! M-D’s daughter, Muriel, (who cooks all my favourite stuff) is bringing our grandchildren up from Orleans to stay for a few days. Muriel is stopping overnight with us, so it’s going to be a “Happy Sushi” night (little Japanese resaurant over the road). The last time we were at Muriel’s (just a couple of weeks ago) she prepared a “duck cottage pie” (that’s the nearest I can explain it!). It was the famous Confit de Canard, shredded at the bottom of a large dish and topped with mashed potato that had been cooked in their skins and then peeled. There were eight of us at the table and it disappeared in minutes! Allowing for some delightful apperitifs, a starter of foie gras, the cheeses (one of which smelt like old socks and tasted like heaven!) and Clémence’s chocolate Brownie (not to mention some excellent wines), I went home weighing about 10 pounds heavier!

Losing weight in France is, I have decided, impossible!

Need A Recipe