What's everyone eating this week?

[prettykiwicrazy Profile]

Congratulations karadekoolaid. Hope there's some pictures of the lively sounding spread to come.

Spent a good hour blackberry picking today . Made one of my favourite puddings, a blackberry and apple crumble , which I was pleased with as not too sweet, my main gripe with shop bought ones. Dinner was a fillet of haddock with a pesto crust , homemade oven chips, salad and mustard mayo

[Sakkarin Profile]

Oooh, fancy some crumble.

Here's another Dhillon recipe I did a couple of days ago, his take on Balti Chicken, I'm afraid something about it was not right, I didn't finish it.

Also today's success: another go at moussaka, this was very much better than the one I made the other day. I love bechamel, so didn't go for Stokey's eggy topping, this recipe was mostly Felicity Cloake's (baked aubergine), with a bit of the Simon Hopkinson version thrown in (proper infused bechamel not just white sauce and fussier mince), and a Greek chef I was talking to the other day (his suggestions: lots and lots of fresh parsley right at the end and a layer of sauteed potato). I've shown it plated too as in the dish it could be anything.

Also used feta this time, the slight sharpness probably goes better with the sauce than the emmenthal I used before (which was all I had to hand).

[Joanbunting Profile]

I have a crowd coming round this evening - friends going back to UK and Denmark. I decided to have a Spanish theme.

So: Sangria or cava with tapas sort of nibbles

Adalucian Gazpacho (more cucumber and green pepper)
Chicken with olives and chorizo, green beans and patatas bravas
Manchego cheese
Orange soaked cake (Claudia Roden's recipe) with orange sorbet.

[prettykiwicrazy Profile]

Today I really fancy a burger.Think I'm being bombarded too much by the current upscale fast food trend ! Burgers will be homemade and will freeze the other 3 .Am thinking spicy sweet potato chips and maybe some coleslaw.

[Joanbunting Profile]

Burgers: Not my absolute favourite thing but when I make them I soften onions first then let them cool before adding the beef, lots and lots of herbs, and, like you quite often a cube of cheese in the middle.

I too like a good coleslaw with a burger but my problem is I have to make my own rolls - usually Scottish baps.

I roasted a piece of veal on Monday so I used the left-overs tonight to make a stuffing for aubergines with HM tomato sauce and the rest of the patats bravas from last night.

[jeral Profile]

Today I fancy a puff pastry pasty made with pre-cooked aub/tom/mush. Any ideas on spices/herbs/capers/olives whatever please to jazz it up please?

I've got pastry withdrawal symptoms, so a pot pie would avoid soggy issues.

[Dena Profile]

Hi Jeral, I do a Jose Pizzaro spicy chicken saute. The sauce is really brilliant and I think it might be good as a pot pie using aubergine instead of the chicken.

For 4 people he uses

1 k chicken ............. or in this case enough aubergines to take the place of the chicken.
1 med onion -finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, - crushed
2 jalapeno chillies - deseeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon sweet pimenton
1½ teaspoon ground cumin
8bcm cinnamon stick
8 cloves
1 Tablespoon chopped oregano
500 g skinned chopped tomatoes, tinned or fresh
2 Tablespoons tomato puree
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
50 g raisins (I used golden sultanas)
50 g pitted green olives finely chopped
3 Tablespoons chopped coriander
seasalt and freshly ground black pepper.
He also uses 150 ml chicken stock - but then it is a sauce for chicken and he serves it with rice. I think it would be moist enough without if using for a pie

He also garnishes it with hard boiled egg.

First he fries the chicken - or the aubergines for a veggie dish?
removes from the pan and fries onion, garlic and chillies for 5 mins 'til soft. Then adds the cumin, pimenton, cinnamon stick, cloves and oregano for another minute. Then add the tomatoes and tom puree, lemon juice. raisins and half the olives - simmer 5 mins.

Add chicken or aubergines until they are cooked and the sauce is reduced. Stir in coriander and check seasoning. Top with the rest of the olives and hard boiled egg.

It really does taste good

[jeral Profile]

Many thanks Dena. Just the sort of thing I was hoping for

Re Jeera, cumin, seeds. Could I just grind some as I've run out of powder?
I can easily pop out and get some powder if not so no worries.

[Dena Profile]

Hi jeral, sorry to be so long in replying, I always use whole seeds and grind them when needed. Toasting first (hadn't realised that ALL spices were better with a little roasting/toasting, even things like cloves - the spice men TV). So pleased you like the recipe - please let me know what you think of it.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Probably waaaayyy too late now, but the puff pastry could be rolled out fairly thinn-ish, then spread with a dry(ish) mixture of aubergines, tomatoes & mushrooms mixed with a little ginger, garlic and chile,coriander leaf, oregano, cumin and fennel seeds. Roll the pastry up and fold the ends underneath. A strudel! I made one yesterday with some leftover artichoke, ricotta& crispy bacon.
I'm not a fan of pot pies - unless it's real Pot
( joking, of course!)

[jeral Profile]

Thanks Dena. I have a small grinder so will try that. The aubs weren't very good yesterday so I bought trout instead.

@ Karadekoolaid: Not too late so I'll try some with your added extras as well, ta. I tried making a sweet mince strudel with puff pastry once which was disastrous as not baked through, and still wasn't even after I'd tried to finish it by cutting into palmiers - pastry probably wasn't rolled out thin enough - I have some brik papers though.

It's a bit cold today due to wind so I expect peeps will be thinking of comfort food. The UK news says: "This summer has been the warmest, driest and sunniest since 2006, the Met Office revealed." Who'da thunk it?

[Joanbunting Profile]

Absolutely yummy/easy lunch today after the market. Just a big plate of large wild prawns in the shell with a bowl of aioli and some linseed bread, followed by the last of the apricots and some figs from the garden.

Tonight it is to be monkfish wrapped in local cured ham and roasted on sliced fennel. Fishy heaven. Might even make a pudding.

[Sakkarin Profile]

Any suggestions, but has to be quick as I start work in 3 hours...

In sadly depleted fridge: feta, beetroot, bacon.

Plus basic salad ingredients, pretty comprehensive storecupboard, spuds/onions, plust prawns/tuna in freezer.

EDIT: P.S. I thought my apples looked rather rosy, and tried one, and they are already ripe, is this earlier than usual?? I think they are Cox's

[jeral Profile]

Sakkarin, with those I'd first think of loaded spud skins (take extra for midnight snack); egg fried rice that goes with most things (except cheese) including prawns or marinated tuna steak to be seared. Fry-up hash? I can't think of anything with prawns, except the rice, that would fill you up without eating the lot, so could make a prawn starter and then go on to cheesey/bacon mash or hash whatever.

Why am I bothering to write this, since you'll have thought of the obvious already. More to tell you that reports here are of early ripeness and more importantly a good crop this year. (London/Kent border.)

[Sakkarin Profile]

In the end I made a warm salad with a mix of the following:

Feta
Crispy bacon, diced, and fried in olive oil which was used as the dressing
Little Gem lettuce
Cucumber
Beetroot
Warm spuds diced
Grated celeriac
Grated carrot
A splash of lime juice

I didn't bother with some green olives that were initially going to go in too...

It was not bad, but the feta was a little salty for my taste.

EDIT: Yes, loads of apples and pears....

[Minnesota Maven Profile]

Trying to use and/or dispose of everything perishable in the fridge....
However.......
the garden, 2-3 weeks late because of the cold Spring..... is cranking out tomatoes, peppers and cukes ....and yet more tomatoes, peppers and cukes.....
Never thought I'd say it...but I'm tired of BLTs and all the variations thereof.....

[Joanbunting Profile]

Stupid stupid day yesterday. Spent lunch time at a Danish friend of a Danish friend with a Swiss couple. Just far too much food and drink. I have to say that all I want at the moment is a few quiet days and, if possible, a simple meal ut with M.

Tonight I did lamb fillet chops on garden potatoes, with rosemary and whole garlic cloves.Leaf spinach with it and fresh raspberries with a small splash of eau de vie afterwards.

Tomorrow it will be simple simple simple.

I just want a rest -please

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Saturday: asparagus, broccoli, carrots, peas, red peppers and cream = Pasta alla Primavera. Wonderfully simple and simply delicious.
Saturday night: along comes (half) married son and proceeds to make a deliciously simple sauce with bacon, onion, rosemary, parsley, stock and.... yes, you guessed - pasta! Ah well, I love the stuff so I ate it all!
Sunday: wife took the left-over tenderloin out of the freezer and removed all the grungy bits, leaving 500 gms of little slices. It's either a quick Stroganoff or something Chinese,I thought, and I know who's going to end up cooking it. So Muggins made a Chinese marinade with ginger, soy sauce,rice wine, Tau Si (fermented black beans), garlic and Szechuan peppers, then stuck it in the fridge.Meanwhile, re-opened the fridge and found asparagus, broccoli, carrots, courgettes and half an onion. Stir-fry. Rice already cooked so added ginger, spring onion leaves, a few shredded lettuce leaves, toasted almonds,sesame oil and coriander leaf.
Me? I made a "strudel" with some leftover artichoke & bacon mix.
In the evening we devoured all the mini-sausage rolls ( made with sausage AND smoked chorizo) and some delicious smoked white cheese which arrived from the Andes!

[calabash Profile]

Labour Day weekend here, which means as little kitchen labour as possible I made some quinoa salad using the Ottolenghi recipe for quinoa and red rice minus the red rice because that takes too long to cook, some eggplant with saffron yogurt sauce - those along with things I picked up from the takeout section at Miles meant I could graze with little effort - back to work tomorrow though...

KK - your household always sounds wonderfully lively and full of delicious food

Oh my, Joan nothing worse than having to pay that damn piper. Hope a couple of days of rest rights your keel.

MM - do you have someone that will be harvesting your garden while you're away?

[Joanbunting Profile]

Feeling, as they say round here, more in my assiette today.

I made celery soup for lunch and we had local pears afterwards.

Tonight stir-fried chilli beef with broccoli and rice noodles followed by a plate of figs from the garden with fresh goat cheese.