Chicken in Honey, Lime and Chilli marinade

Tuesday 29.03.2011

Grilled chicken with rice and home-made sweet-and-sour pumpkin. This was improvised and not very successful - it looks much nicer than it tasted. The marinade juices that ran off from the cooked chicken were good, but the chicken itself was rather bland, and the rice was no better because I forgot the salt. Stir-fry might have worked better.

Gyuudon

Tuesday 22.03.2011

Gyuudon (Beef Bowl) is a nice simple and tasty Japanese dish. How to Make Gyudon. I left out the egg from this recipe, partially because I don't usually like eggs but mostly because I didn't have any.  My beef was not nearly thin enough and came out a little chewy.  But, as the dog says, the secret is getting the balance of salty and sweet right, which I did manage, so the flavour was very good.

Pasta and Salad

Thursday 17.03.2011

Fresh made pasta from the local Italian deli with a bacon, mushroom and cream sauce, salad of mixed leaves, tomato and parmesan shavings. With a nice bottle of Prosecco.  Quick and absolutely delicious.

Roast Chicken

Monday, 7th March

Roast Chicken with sage and onion stuffing and trimmings, roast potatoes and caremelized leeks, gooseberry and brandy gravy. One of my favourites, although it invites overeating. The skin is dark because I smear it with gooseberry jam half way through, and the sugar blackens. Another spoonful of jam and some brandy make the gravy very tasty. The string trussing the chicken broke, so it came out a little dry. (Also, not one of my best photos!)

Venison Steak

Thursday, 3rd March

Venison Shank Steak from Camden Market, port wine gravy, Lyonnaise Potato (sort of) and chimichurri. Sliced potatoes, onions and garlic, mixed with oil and salt and cooked, covered, on a low heat for an hour. Fried the steaks in a hot griddle pan for 3 minutes each side, then let them rest for 10 minutes of a warm plate. Deglazed the pan with port and a splash of water, for the sauce. The steak had been in the fridge for a fortnight so it was beautifully tender and with just the right gamy flavour. And the potatoes tasted much better than they looked! Too much oil though.

Antipasto Misto

Monday, 28th February

Found another new Italian Deli in Köln on Dürener Str. This city gets better every day. Excellent salami and cheeses.  The Bergkäse (top right) was a particular favourite of mine.

The bread (Berg-Wurzelbrot -. a sort of rustic twisty Ciabatta) from the bakery in my local Toom supermarket is also fabulous.  I like to pull out all the dough and eat just the crust.