A sweet interlude …

Some things are meant to be! By chance when browsing my bookshelves I came across one of my favourites - The Little Book of Chocolat” by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde. I reviewed this book and road tested many of it's recipes in July 2017 – yikes, how time flies! I can never resist looking at the tabs I made at the time and came across the following which I thought would be the perfect hit for the chocoholics out there – it slipped through the net in 2017 – how could I let that happen!

Chocolate Fudge Squares

Takes 1½ hours/ make 50 pieces

400g dark or milk chocolate, broken into small

even sized pieces

25g butter

397 can condensed milk

100g icing sugar

30g cocoa powder, sifted

Line a 20cm square shallow tin with baking parchment.

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. In a non-stick saucepan melt the butter and gently warm the condensed milk, then add the melted chocolate and mix until smooth. Beat in the icing sugar until blended and smooth.

Put the mixture into the prepared tin, spread evenly into the corners, smooth over the top and place in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour. Remove and cut into small squares and dust with cocoa.

Coming next - a photo or two and a few hints and tips …

A Christmas gift!

In a brief moment during the summer when we were able to socialise outside I saw my friends from the USA albeit briefly.

My friend brought with her a recent gift and what a vast tome! Here it is :

 

I was warned at the time not to buy it – now I know why – a wonderful Christmas gift and I've promised myself time out to really savour (sorry about the pun) this beautiful book. I should say that there are 958 pages and the anticipation of making my way through is exciting to say the least.

During our regular email exchanges leading up to the holidays, my friend in the USA said she was using recipes from the book for a pre-Christmas Dinner – here are her comments :

from her partner … “it was the best tenderloin he has had in his life”. To clarify - what the USA call tenderloin we in the UK call fillet.

My only complaint with the book is that I sometimes have difficulty finding what I remember reading on my first attempt.

My friend's complaint about the difficulty in finding stuff reminded me of my golden rule. If I'm trawling through a new cookery book I always follow the same pattern – I have small coloured (post-it style) markers and use them to flag recipes that I'm interested in – I know I'll never find what I'm looking for later – it's quicker and you don't get frustrated! It doesn't matter if you flag a recipe you then change your mind – with 958 pages it's the easiest way to remember what caught your attention. I passed on my tip!

She replied … Oh and by the way, thanks for the coloured marker tip … I have some and just never thought of using them. I have stupid torn pieces of paper marking pages. Colour coding will be great.

Another idea – has just occurred. This is a huge book and it won't be easy to prop the book to use a particular recipe – it's far too heavy and will eventually, with use, damage the spine. Here's a thought - photograph a recipe :

 

I used my tablet for the photograph – you can

either use your tablet for easy access or print out the

recipe if preferred

In addition to protecting the book I ask the obvious question - are you a messy cook? Sticky fingers when you're flustered and it's too late, your beautiful book is spoilt!

Coming up – hints and tips for next year

The best Apple Sauce!

I found this recipe by accident and it is truly the most delicious apple sauce. Even if you decide you haven't the time on this occasion stick it in your pending tray and try it when you do have time – you won't be sorry.

Eliza Acton's Apple Sauce – with Bramley apples

Pre-heat oven to 160fan/180c/Gas 4.

Grease a glass dish with butter.

This sauce is so easy – the only emphasis is on the preparation of the apples. All the peel and core must be removed. There are no amounts here, you can cook as much sauce as you desire – it freezes well!! So, peel, core and slice your apples – if you can slice them a similar size they will cook more evenly.

Place your apples in your dish and cover with a lid or foil – NO WATER, SUGAR OR ANYTHING ELSE!!

Bake for 20-30 minutes. Check after 20. Apples should be soft. Here's the satisfying bit – whisk the apples until they begin to break up, sprinkle with caster sugar plus a generous knob of unsalted butter, whisk again – enjoy.

You can use this sauce for loads of recipes – I use it as an addition to my Chestnut Roast at Christmas.

If you're not feeling so well I can recommend the sauce as the sweet alternative to chicken soup.

Enjoy!

P.s. The books … if, like me, you're interested in food history you might like to add the following to your list. Elizabeth David's “An Omelette and a Glass of Wine” which is a compilation of articles and is where I found “Big Bad Bramleys” which in turn lead me to “Eliza Acton Modern Cookery”.

Cranks …

...it's such a lovely word. I know that these days it means different things but back in the day a crank was “a person who has strange or unusual ideas and beliefs”. I don't know for certain whether that's how Cranks vegetarian restaurant got its name but a vegetarian in the 1970s was definitely seen to be strange – brilliant!

Cranks vegetarian restaurant opened its doors in 1961 and David Canter was the person we have to thank. Sadly David Canter died in 1981 and Kay Canter and Daphne Swann sold Cranks to Guinness in 1987. Since that time it has been bought and sold many times. My first experience of Cranks was in their Covent Garden establishment – it was revolutionary in its day and the food was delicious.

One of my most treasured cookery books is one of theirs. It's old and frail now but still used. I can do no better than to give you a recipe from The Cranks Recipe Book Cranks Restaurants.

Cream cheese and cashew nut paté

1 carrot, finely grated

225g cream cheese

100g roasted cashew nuts, crushed to a rubble – not

to a dust!

1 tbsp of chopped chives

salt and black pepper

black olives – pitted and sliced (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together, box and fridge. If you are feeling really virtuous have a side of raw carrot!

Serve on whatever takes your fancy – rice cakes, gluten free cheese oatcakes, toast or even as a sandwich filling – a toasted bagel would be good.

My cookery book recommendation for your Christmas List is one of Cranks – they are still available on Amazon – of course you don't have to wait until then – you could always treat yourself now!

8 down 1 to go – the Pets Photos

or should it be “fart fotos” - I'm so sorry.

Usually photos that appear in fancy cook books bear no resemblance to reality – in this case - dare I say it - they were even better!

Of all the recipes in The Little Book of Chocolat that we've road tested I think this is both the easiest and has the “wow factor” - not that I'm that bothered about the “wow” but it has to be said if you're wanting an impressive dessert for a supper/dinner “do” this is the one for you. It's easy, can be made ahead and served with whatever takes your fancy.

The test run was served with apricots in liqueur and was a roaring success.

As you would expect hints and tips on the pets up next.

8 down 1 to go

Cast your mind back to 7 down … I mentioned separating your egg whites into two boxes - two in one and the remaining four in another and all you needed to remember was to freeze them.

Here's why - the penultimate choice from The Little Book of Chocolat, Pets D'Ange.

“Meringues have existed under various names since the seventeenth century. In the Loire region of France they are still sometimes known as pets or pets d'ange (angel farts) for their fluffy, cloud-like consistency. They are doubly angelic for being entirely fat-free – even a tiny trace of fat can cause the beaten egg whites to collapse. For this reason, my grandmother always wiped the mixing bowl with a piece of lemon before adding the egg whites – although her explanation was more fanciful: she said that the lemon juice was to squirt into the Devil's eye, to keep him out of the cooking … “

Defrost the box containing 4 whites and lets have a go :

Pets D'Ange

Takes 4 hours/serves 6

4 large egg whites

200g unrefined caster sugar

10g cocoa powder

Pre-heat oven to 120fan/140c/Gas 1. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until stiff and standing in peaks. Add half the sugar, whisk again, then add the remaining sugar and whisk once more. Sieve in the cocoa powder and stir just once with a metal spoon to create a marbled effect – it should not be too evenly blended.

Spoon out on to the baking sheet into six large meringues. Place in the middle of the oven and cook for 3 hours for gooey, soft middles or, if you want the meringues dry all the way through, switch off the oven when cooked and leave them in overnight to dry out. Serve on their own or with whipped cream and seasonal berries.

Looking good …

Speaking of apple sauce …

… reminds me of the recipe that I'd used previously when wanting a foolproof sauce.

There's a book by Elizabeth David – An Omelette and a Glass of Wine (if you don't have it in your collection you might want to consider a purchase). This book is a collection of various articles, one of which is called “Big Bad Bramleys” and refers to Eliza Acton and her recipe for apple purée – here comes another book recommendation - Eliza Acton – Modern Cookery for private families – to give perspective Ms. Acton's book was first published in 1845!

Here's that recipe, with modern oven temperatures of course.

Eliza Acton's apple sauce

Pre-heat oven to 160fan/180c/Gas 4.

Grease a glass dish with butter.

This sauce is so easy – the only emphasis is on the preparation of the apples. All the peel and core must be removed. There are no amounts here, you can cook as much sauce, or purée if you prefer, as you desire – it freezes well.

Peel, core and slice your apple – if you can slice them a similar size, so much the better, they will cook more evenly.

Place your apples in your dish and cover with a lid or foil – NO WATER, SUGAR OR ANYTHING ELSE.

Bake for 20/30 minutes. Check after 20. The apples should be soft. Here's the satisfying bit – whisk the apples until they begin to break up, sprinkle with caster sugar plus a generous knob of unsalted butter, whisk again – enjoy.

This would appear to be almost identical to the previous recipe – the only difference being the inclusion of 2 tbsp of water and made on the hob instead of in the oven. Having made both versions the hob method is quicker - the quality of the sauce is great using either.

Another post script – if you subscribe to the “chicken soup” cure for all ills, then this is the sweet alternative!

5 down 4 to go – hints and tips

Following Rosette's Chocolate Fridge Cake here's my twopenceworth.

Instead of bashing the biscuits with a rolling pin – clip the end of the bag and roll the biscuits gently into a crumb, turning the bag and repeating – you get a much finer more even crumb and you won't split the bag and pebbledash the kitchen!

Use unsalted butter.

I used tart Montmorency cherries and chopped them finely.

Blitz the pecans in the baby Kenwood processor if you've invested (mentioned in The kit, the crumble and the ice cream) – you'll get a more even texture.

Glue your baking parchment to the tray using a spatula dipped into the melted chocolate mixture – i.e. before you add the biscuit, fruit and nuts. A small blob in each corner of the tray will do the trick. A “blob” is a serious culinary term not to be confused with “splodge”.

“Blob” – a drop of anything soft and round.

“Splodge” – a big or heavy splash.

You'll need blobs - not splodges - sorry, got carried away.

The paper will stay where it's glued!

You'll find that after you've cut out you're preferred shapes you'll have bits leftover – they look remarkably like the outline of a jigsaw puzzle. Box up the bits and freeze – all will be revealed.

By the way I cut 15 large biscuit hearts, measuring 6cms in diameter at the top and 5cms in length to its point – they measured 1cm deep. I also cut 5 tiny “make weight” hearts – hey, you know I don't like waste. Actually the tiny hearts are perfect if someone would like just a taster rather than a larger biscuit.

Although the recipe is called “fridge cake” I'd call it “fridge biscuits” - I'm probably nit picking – the introduction to the recipe does mention biscuits – don't expect anything soft and “cake” like – just moreish!

Photos on their way!

It's that book again ... 5 down 4 to go

Here's the next contribution from “The Little Book of Chocolat” continuing to hit the chocolate spot!

Rosette's Chocolate Fridge Cake

… This recipe is so easy that even a child can make it – in fact, I know from experience that the task of destroying biscuits by hitting them with a rolling pin can become so popular with children that it's hard to make them understand that it isn't always necessary. There are many variations on this basic recipe – here we've used raisins and pecans, but almonds and cherries work well too, as do sultanas and orange peel.

Takes 2½ hours – Serves 12

250g digestive biscuits

300g dark or milk chocolate broken into small even-sized pieces

100g butter

100g golden syrup

100g raisins

100g pecans, chopped

Line a 30x30cm shallow baking tray with baking parchment.

Place the biscuits in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin. Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a bain-marie, mixing until smooth. Remove from the heat, add the digestive biscuits, raisins and pecans, and mix well, coating everything in the chocolate syrup.

Put the mixture into the prepared tray, push down and flatten the top Place in the fridge to set for 2 hours. Remove from the tray, dust with icing sugar or cocoa powder and cut into 12 squares (or hearts, or stars, if you prefer).

As is my usual routine, there are hints and tips coming up and photos too.

A new book …

… and how to get the best out of it.

Is there anyone out there who remembers the book by Joanne Harris called Chocolat, followed of course by the film of the same name. There's another book “Joanne Harris The Little Book of Chocolat and Fran Warde – Fifty recipes celebrating the bestselling novel ...”. (The Little Book of Chocolat).

I've mentioned before that I aim to get the most from a new book. The process should never be rushed – you should take time out for yourself and savour the experience. I'm very careful how I spend my dosh – I want to be inspired - not decorate my coffee table if you know what I mean.

I reckon that if I get six ideas from a new book then it has been well worth the outlay. I should point out that this is not a massive tome 18x18 cms and 127 pages. To give you an idea, an average A4 size book has 300 + pages.

Armed with my tabs and a glass – water, tea or wine – I settle down and take my time page by page, tabbing as I go. It matters not if I don't try them all, very often I remove a tab or two after the initial browse. Better to do that than have to trawl through for a recipe that caught your eye but has now vanished into thin air!

This is a result – 9 tabs on my first page turn!

Vanilla Black - The Book

I know you'd be disappointed if I didn't invest in a Vanilla Black cookery book and so this is what it looks like – complete with tabs to date!

This book – unusually – contains “Vanilla Black recipes adapted for the home kitchen.” Put another way “...from the people behind Vanilla Black, but the food is not from the restaurant. Well, not entirely, anyway.” “...this is a book for home cooks”.

I can see both sides of this coin – i.e. adapting recipes that may be technically challenging – yep, got it. On the other hand I'd expected and looked forward to giving the breads a shot and the butter too.

I must confess to being a smidge disappointed.

However, Andrew Dargue and Donna Conroy got my attention with “Apologies in advance, no pasta bake or vegetable curry”. Hurray and thank you!

There's nothing wrong with the book at all, in fact there are some points made in the introduction that made me giggle and cheer. For example, “...we have a couple of guys washing up constantly. We are guessing that...you do not have...in your kitchen”. At last – somebody out there with some savvy!

The best comment though, is “you don't have to be vegetarian. Just try this food … if you want to serve it with a piece of grilled chicken, be our guest.”

Check out the number of tabs – looks like I'm going to be busy.

My Quest

Following my epiphany at Trattoria La Festa in Stowe my quest was to find a recipe for a light creamy sauce worthy of that bowl of Fettuccine Alfredo. Over the years I've tried so many recipes – some ok, some definitely not.

A couple of years ago I came across “The Leftovers Handbook” by Suzy Bowler – remember what I said in the Guilty Pleasure post about the tab marking system when you're taking your first glance through your new cookery book, here's a photograph of my copy of the book :

The tabs, or rather the number of tabs indicate how good a book this is and I am delighted to report that my quest is over since the book contains, in my view, the best and definitely the nearest version of the sauce I had in Stowe. I know that I've written the words “keep it simple” in the past and time and again this proves to be the case. The bizarre thing is that I've spent hours try to recreate this sauce and it turns out that it takes three ingredients and takes only a few minutes to make.

For ease of reference, here it is :

Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo is traditionally served with pasta – however it's so good and tasty it lends itself to other dishes and particularly leftovers.

1 tbsp unsalted butter

200ml double cream

50g freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Gently heat the butter and the cream together, stirring, until the butter has melted, then stir in the Parmesan.

Slowly bring to a gentle boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stir continuously for a minute or so until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.

This sauce can be made ahead.

The above recipe would be sufficient for two servings – enough to coat 225g uncooked pasta. Traditionally there are no additions to Alfredo although I've had it served with petit pois.

Thank you to The Leftovers Handbook – you've made a grumpy old woman very happy!

Book alert!

The previous three posts bring me to another suggestion for your already creaking book shelves.

There are some books that are destined to stay on your shelves gathering dust and there are others, as in this case, that become invaluable and form part of an ever growing reference library. If it's possible to become attached to inanimate objects, books do it for me!

If you've enjoyed the “sharing” theme and want to know more, why not try Claudia Roden's “Arabesque A taste of Morocco, Turkey & Lebanon”. This jewel was first published in 2005 so I suppose in today's terms of cookery book publication it's probably not on the best seller list.

This book is bursting at the seams with history and information from all three Countries mentioned along with recipes covering starters, mezze, mains and desserts.

If you liked the posts on tagines and mezze you'll love it.

I know that these days the fashion is to up-date or re-work a recipe and there may be certain circumstances where it's appropriate, but there are some books where the expression “if it ain't broke don't fix it” most definitely applies and this book is one of them.

Is your appetite suitably whetted? If so, there are more jewels from Claudia Roden – A New Book of Middle Eastern Food, Tamarind & Saffron, Mediterranean Cookery – the list goes on.

Inspirational!

Here's one I read earlier …

Is there anyone out there who likes a spot of culinary history – if there is then you might like to know about Alexis Soyer. There's a book called “Relish” The Extraordinary Life of Alexis Soyer Victorian Celebrity Chef by Ruth Cowen.

This chap was seriously brilliant. If you ever wondered where your fancy dancin' modern ovens, ranges, et al, sprang from – Mr. Soyer.

His list of accomplishments is legendary – he was appointed Chef de Cuisine at The Reform Club in 1837 at 27 years old. The Reform Club – still in existence today – is a private members club in Pall Mall, London which opened in 1841 although construction began in 1837.

Apart from being a Celebrity Chef he designed the kitchens in the Club and, among other innovations, he installed gas stoves. His designs also produced one of the earliest domestic gas cookers.

Anyone heard of the brand name “Crosse & Blackwell” - Mr. Soyer helped create the sauces and relishes that made them famous.

During the Irish potato famine – 1845-1852 – he masterminded soup kitchens.

We then move to the Crimea where his work with army catering saved many lives. Contrary to popular belief far more soldiers died from lack of food than on the battle field. He invented the “Soyer Stove” & “Soyer's Magic Stove”. During his time at the Crimea Florence Nightingale caught Crimean Fever – she survived but was very ill – Mr. Soyer helped her regain her strength by preparing food for her and thus aiding her recovery.

He was a very busy guy, publishing many books – in 1849 came his ground breaking The Modern Housewife or Ménagere - the “Shilling Cookery for the People” came in 1854, which was designed to educate the poor in basic cookery using inexpensive ingredients, readily available. There are others!

These are just tiny nuggets – if you are interested in food or social history or both you'll really enjoy this book.

As for his recipes – we'll save those for another day ….

The Ivy The Restaurant and its Recipes – AA Gill

For the uninitiated The Ivy is a restaurant in Covent Garden near London's theatre district – it is thought to have been around since about 1917 evolving into the most famous of the theatre restaurants. Even though it has a lunch service, 5.30pm sees early diners through its doors for pre theatre dinner.

Do not however expect to call and book a table for next week – or next month for that matter. Their waiting lists run to months ahead and if you'd like to think you can blag your way in and infer that you're a regular, the Ivy's definition of regular is three or four times a week.

This book is in two parts – “a day in the life of” and the recipes that form part of that life.

The phone begins to ring 9am onwards, building up to the lunch service - to the first pre-theatre early dinner guests at 5.30pm – onto 8.30pm dinner guests and then first night post theatre parties and a 1am finish. You get the idea!

For example, the fishcakes recipe used in GOM 16 came from The Ivy and it is, without doubt, the best fishcake recipe I've ever used.

From a cook's perspective it “does what it says on the tin”. There's nothing high faluting here - if you could transport your ideal comfort from home, wrapped in a throw with your favourite plate of comfort food on your lap whilst watching Love Actually (or whatever film floats your boat) then this is the place to be. In a word, unpretentious.

This book is rich in history and in recipes too. The greatest compliment any restaurant can be given is that at the heart of the menu are dishes that have been there year after year as demanded by its customers.

Mr. Gill is well known as the restaurant critic of “The Sunday Times” and his book, first published in 1997, is a worthy addition to any cook's bookshelf.