Pork Chops with Mushrooms

Sunday, 13th January 2013

Based on a Delia recipe, without wild mushrooms, just what I could get at the supermarket. Unfortunately this didn't come out so well. The sauce was very lemony and had way to much crème fraîche, which overpowered the meat juices. My chops were certainly thick and meaty but came out rather dry - I think I should have used a cut of meat with more fat in it.

Bratwurst in the Hole

Friday, 11th January 2012

Something for the Weekend, Jamie Oliver p 16.
A classic and absolutely fantastic. Bratwurst is a tad on the dense side for this, but you can't knock the quality of the sausage, freshly made from the butcher. The batter came up beautifully golden and crisp, with just the right amount of burnt edge to satisfy my love for charcoal. Served with onion gravy and mash. It went down very well with a glass or 3 of italian red!

Swordfish steaks

Tuesday, 1st January 2013

Our first meal of 2013 was a bit of a last minute thing. On New Year's eve we went out shopping but discovered everything was closing at 2pm, a bit earlier than we expected, and before we had any food for the next day. Luckily one supermarket, with a nice fish counter, was still open and we managed to get these swordfish steaks.
I fried them quickly in a hot griddle pan, then put the pan in a medium-hot oven for about 10 minutes to finish. For the sauce I just gently cooked some chopped onion until it was just starting to colour, then added a half glass of white wine and let that mostly bubble away. Then a squeeze of lime juice and some cream and seasoning.
Served with wakame salad, lightly steamed salsify and sautéed potatoes, which came out perfectly after boiling, then frying on a medium heat in a mix of oil and butter.
If all the meals in 2013 come out this well, we'll be very happy!

Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit

Sunday, 30th December 2012

Rabbit stew and dumplings, with boiled potatoes and "Spitzkohl".
My local supermarket is large but has surprisingly little variety of fresh meat and vegetable. However, whole rabbit does appear on the shelves at festivals like Easter and Christmas, so I like to take advantage.
I jointed the rabbit, coated it with seasoned flour and browned the pieces in dripping. Then browned onions and root vegetables in the same pan, and transfered everything to the slow cooker with a large amount of chopped herbs, a few squashed juniper berries and the rabbit heart, liver and kidneys in a muslin bag. I covered the meat with a mix of white wine and stock and let it cook on medium for about 7 or 8 hours.
For the cabbage (there seems to be no special English name for Spitzkohl), I friend some diced bacon and then sautéed the chopped cabbage in the fat for 10 minutes or so, then added a splash of white wine vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar and mixed in a good knob of butter at the last minute. Topped with diced tomato.
I still cannot get dumplings right. These were OK, but too greasy and didn't rise enough.
The rabbit had a lovely flavour but was a bit overcooked. Should have used the low setting on the slow cooker for that length of time. The cabbage was excellent.
For future stews I think I would try red wine and also add fried bacon and chopped rabbit's innards at the beginning (as in this Alpine Rabbit Stew recipe).

Tagliatelle Toscana with Parma ham

Friday, 14th December 2012

Based on Delia Smith's One is Fun, p 126. Fry onion and aubergine then add tomatoes, garlic, basil and tomato puree. Let this cook down to a sauce. Add some chopped olives.
Cook the pasta then mix in butter, Mozzarella and Parmesan.
Put the pasta in a dish, cover with a layer of Parma ham cut up into bite size squares, top with the sauce and then more Parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes.
Delia's recipe was for 1 so I doubled the ingredients, and ended up with enough food for 3 at least. A very substantial and filling dish but also very good.

Fennel Risotto

Monday, 10th December 2012

Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food page 204. I make this risotto often for myself and its always a winner, although this was the first time I tried it with fresh fennel. I also added some fennel salami at the end, because I had it. I have a tendency to overdo the parmesan, but not this time. Delicious.

Veal shoulder with red wine, bacon and onion sauce

Saturday, 1st December 2012

This wasn't the right cut of meat for quick cooking in the pan and it turned out pretty chewy. The pasta with cream and a selection of mushrooms included some dried mushrooms, which I hoped would beef up the flavour, but they came out chewy too. Ah well.