Rhubarb Fool

Well I love a fool. I hadn’t eaten one for years so was quite excited about this pudding. I admit at this point that I used frozen rhubarb, as it’s not the season, and when it is I only seem to find rather wilting specimens with little pink. Once the rhubarb had roasted with the vanilla sugar I noticed I didn’t have even 100ml of juices let alone the 500ml required to make the syrup. I’m sure this is to do with the fact I used frozen fruit. I pureed what I had, and folded the fruit into the whipped cream- bliss! There was some leftover that we had the next day- and it was even better! The flavour had really permeated the cream, creating a really heavenly pudding. I’m looking forward to making the gooseberry fool, and shall make it a day in advance.

Spatchcock Chicken with Lemon & Rosemary

I cheated; I bought chicken pieces, as I find the whole spatchcocking business rather daunting. I'm sure it's not but if I can buy it already done then I'm going to go the easy (lazy) route. The marinade was simple to prepare, and I had homegrown rosemary in abundance- it's the only herb that has resisted the cold spell we've been having. The chicken was very flavourful and went very well with minty new potatoes and cheesy leeks- a childhood favourite of mine.

Puy Lentil, Goat's Cheese & Mint Salad

Well this one is certainly not going to win a pretty picture award, but let me reassure you it tastes really good. I made the mistake of not buying the proper goats cheese, going for the (cheaper) log rather than the crottin de chavignol, and it turned into a paste rather than a crumbled, more aesthetically pleasing, effect. I wasn't too sure what to do with the onion and garlic cloves once the lentils were cooked, as it wasn't specified, so I left them in the salad. I also couldn't find sweet peppers in olive oil, they all seem to be preserved in vinegar, so I drained them and then soaked them in olive oil for a couple of hours to reduce the acidic taste. Delicious with some freshly baked sesame bread.

Mint Chocolate Mousse

Think After Eights meets chocolate mousse; I’m surprised Nigella didn’t find a kitsch title for it! I brought back some Lindt Excellence mint chocolate from England for this recipe, as I could only find mint fondant filled chocolate in Montréal, and Nigella specifies that this recipe needs the real deal. It was so delicious I even forgot I was eating raw eggs! I halved the recipe and filled two wine glasses to the brim. There was enough left in the bowl to get a good idea of how fabulous it was going to be after a couple of hours firming up in the fridge- couldn’t waste it and send it down the sink, could I?!

Salmon Kebabs with Pomegranate Molasses & Honey

Well it’s about time I attacked the fishy chapter. Apart from a couple of prawn dishes and one other salmon recipe I’ve been purposefully skipping over it. I’m not big on seafood, and have to admit to not having tried a couple of my no-no’s (oysters, mussels etc). I’m probably really missing out too, but I just can’t get past the gelatinous aspect & texture. So I picked another salmon recipe to do! I’ve had a bottle of pomegranate molasses in the fridge for a while, awaiting this recipe. The salmon was succulent, and I loved the sweet (not sickly) tinge of the honey, soy & molasses marinade. It went very well with wild rice and mange-tout. I’ll be doing these again, especially on the barbeque, weather permitting, as I imagine the smoky taste will really enhance the marinade flavours.

Griddled Aubergines with Feta, Mint and Chilli

I made these as a starter last night, having made a similar (Delia) version a couple of weeks ago. The difference is that these had more oomph! I have the gift of choosing the hottest chilli on offer it seems, and having a rather delicate palate I often have tears running down my cheeks while my tummy is saying 'more please'! A real dilemma... The lemon juice and fresh mint do reduce the heat a little, and the salty feta makes an interesting contrast. Next time I'll try to find a larger chilli though.

Vanilla Shortbread, Chocolate Peanut Squares & Coconut Slab

While we were in Europe my little friend Leonie (featured in the cupcake post) turned one! So we had a belated birthday party for her on Sunday. She's now walking and beginning to talk, it's incredible how fast they change. I made three recipes from Forever Summer and I think she prefered the coconut slab! I halved the recipe, as there were just 5 of us.

We finished with the decadent chocolate & peanut squares, similar to millionaires shortbead with added peanuts in the caramel layer. Very Rich, but delicious in tiny quantities. Lots left though. I sent them off with a doggy bag, and am thinking of taking some round to friends later, as their presence in the house is the ultimate threat to my waistline!

YUM!

Honey Semifreddo

Oh WOW! Absolutely fantastic. Delicious. As Nigella herself puts it ‘…the easiest, dreamiest pudding you could imagine’. My mother had made this before and advised me to use quite a strong tasting honey, as a mild flavour tends to fade into the cream. I got the amber stripe when I turned it out, but it still looked beautiful. I had been hoping for leftovers to eat by my piggy self the next day but my guests kept asking for seconds (and thirds!). This one moves into the #1 favourite dinner party pudding slot. I might try individual ones next time so I can stash a few extra ones in the freezer ;-)

Slow Roasted Garlic & Lemon Chicken with Braised Little Gems

I had french friends round for dinner at the weekend and decided to do this dish with hasslebacks & braised little gems as Nigella suggests. As you can see I didn't cut the chicken into 10 pieces, as the bird was a little on the small side, and I even did a second one in case it wasn't enough. Well, I brought the birds & gems to the table and they looked down their gallic noses, and enquired 'hot salad???' Now I'm forever having to defend the British cuisine and this obviously was going to give them fodder for their side of the 'gastronomy debate.' I'm not sure they were braised enough though, and must admit that it was a little odd to crunch on 'hot salad'. Im not sure I'll do the Gems again...(Gav, you were right!). The chicken was delicious though, I must admit to being sceptical after nearly 3 hours in the oven (yes, you read that right!). Next time I'll add a little more liquid to the bottom of the pan as the caramelised lemon & garlic were nearly fossilized in the nearly burnt roasting pan. I'll be doing the chicken again, as I loved the roasted garlic and citron confit together, very summery.

Chilled Caramelised Oranges with Greek Yogurt

It's so nice to be back in the kitchen after 3 weeks away, and after everything we ate in Europe a detox would probably be on the agenda if I didn't have this blog (thank god I have this blog!). We had such a fantastic time and spent lots of quality time with friends and family.

In need of a bit of vitamin C to attack the cold wintery weather that welcomed us back to Canada, this recipe appealed to me. Very quick and simple to make, although I'll make a little less syrup next time, as it took quite a while to crunch our way through that sugar layer. I loved the hint of cardamon- that I wasn't quick enough to fish out before the caramel set!

Below are some of the treasures we devoured (or wished to) in Paris...

fluorescent macaroons

Caramelised apple with macaroon base, Laduree

Macaroon christmas tree, Laduree

pistachio & raspberry cake (my favourite)

chocolate charlotte made by moi!

Hi everyone I'm back!

The good news is I'm back, the bad news is that I am having severe PC trouble, and I can't upload any photos, and am seriously considering re-installing everything. Please bear with me, I'll continue my blog as soon as I can.

Thanks,
Rachel