Pairing Côtes du Rhone & Chinese Take-Away - A Challenge -

In order to complete the Côtes du Rhone Wines Chinese Take Away Challenge Pebble Soup was sent two bottles of Côtes du Rhone.

Tonight Chinese families from all around the world will get together around the most important meal of the year: The New Year Reunion Banquet. In the West, we associate Chinese food with hot tea or beer but on occasions and to honour special guests, wine is served but how do you pair French wines and Chinese food?
 

 

 

 

That was Pebble Soup's challenge which at HQ we took very seriously. First we went local and ordered our take away from:

 

 

Mr Chung's restaurant's facade has changed somewhat over 30 years, a couple of "gigantic" stone lions are now guarding the entrance, but the family hasn't given into churning horrid bowl of noddles as so many of its competitors have. As a result Mr Chung's serves tasty and authentic dishes.

 

  

Prestigious labels, luxury branding attract Chinese consumers, who as a result will primarily choose a red Bordeaux. However lucky the colour red is, it doesn't seem right to pair chilli hot food with highly tannic red wine as the tannin tends to prolong the effect of the heat.

 

We were sent a Incognito 'H' Blanc Côtes-du-Rhône, Paul Jaboulet Aîné, 2011 (Retailer : The Wine Society, RRP : £25) An expensive white wine would honour guests and in doing so, will demonstrate how valuable they are to us.

 

One tiny problem, "H" is not "lucky red", nothing we could do there so we declared that H which really stands for Hermitage would for the occasion stand for happy.

 

Personally, I find white wine goes better with seafood.  As we were parting slightly away from traditional symbolism but wanting to invite bad luck to dinner, we dressed the table in red and gold.  

 

For starters we chose Griddle Fried Dumplings, Crispy Seaweed, Satay of Chicken on Skewers. From the start I  was very pleased the choice of wine. "H" cut through the oil and the fat, the pairing was well balanced. "H" is medium-bodied and rich enough to maintain its flavour well after the first starter dish.

 



 

Our mains were Stir Fried King Prawns with aubergines and "Kung Bo"Chilli Chicken Szechuan Style with Egg Fried Rice. Visually the plate of food looked very white and clean. Our chilled Côtes du Rhone was by now singing. Equally gorgeous with prawns and chicken.

 

Two bottles were sent  but  our   Crozes-Hermitage 2010 Cave de Tain L’Hermitage (Retailer: Majestic, RRP: £11.24) is a "big wine" one which is at its best with red meat and cheese and I am yet to see cheese on a Chinese menu. Kung Hei Fat Choy. 

Credit: Black and white picture of Mr Chung's restaurant from Mr Chung's restaurant website

Rabbit Curry with Eggs

 Is it OK to eat rabbit? This is a question which would remain unanswered if it was not for Belleau Kitchen's monthly challenge.

 



 

If Belleau Kitchen and its Random Recipes didn't exist, they would have to be invented. Though re-creating Dom, Belleau Kitchen's owner might just be an impossible task, a lot of imagination would be required to inject the avatar with.

 

As who else would come up with a challenge which ask you to enrol a friendly giant to shake your  entire bookshelve, pick a random by then designated cookbook, open it at a certain page and cook. See what I mean.

 

July Random Recipes is associated with the number 30. Thirtieth book on the shelves was a Sainbury's Cookbook, he brought with him when we moved in together, page 30 offered a choice.

 

One of them choice which makes eyes grow wider than the UFOs in Close Encounter of the Third Kind: Sweetbreads or Rabbit. On reading the recipe carefully, I soon realise that there was no choice it was going to be Rabbit Curry with Eggs.

 

So why should Rabbit appear more often on the menu:

• It is an inexpensive meat.
• It cooks well with spices and is very flavoursome without.
• Rabbit can easily be found at the local butcher and we need to use their trade more.
• Rabbit meat is lean, therefore low in cholesterol.

In this recipe for a mild curry the combination of coconut and curd cheese gives a rich creamy sauce.

 

Rabbit Curry with Eggs 

 

Ask your butcher to chop the meat for you, this way you will get only 2 pieces with lots of little bones which you can remove before serving.

 

Ingredients

50g desiccated coconut

300ml boiling water

2-3 gloves garlic

2 x15ml spoon sunflower oil

450g rabbit cuts

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

4 eggs hard boiled

2 large tomatoes

100g curd cheese, soft cheese is a good alternative

3-4 tablespoons plain yogurt

salt

 

Method

Put the desiccated coconut into a bowl, pour over the boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes or more.

 

Peel and chop the garlic finely. Heat the oil in a pan and stir in the rabbit pieces, adding the spices, chilli powder, chopped garlic. Stir over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes and then transfer to a casserole dish, adding the sliced eggs and tomatoes.

 

Strain the liquid from the coconut into another bowl, pressing the coconut to extract all its juices. Then stir the curd cheese into this coconut milk until more or less dissolved. Pour this mixture into the casserole dish.

 

Heat the oven to mark 8/ 450f 230C and put the covered casserole into the oven for 20 minutes until bubbling. Then turn down the head to 4/350F/180C for about 45 minutes.

 

Season to taste with salt and add a pinch more chilli if  you like. Before serving stir in the yogurt.

 

 

 Last time, Pebble Soup entered Belleau Kitchen's challenge, the random recipe with an impossible name to spell, got us to research and learn a lot about paprika.

 

This time round we all loved this rabbit recipe and to be honest, this was not a meat which was on the menu before but it will be from now on.

 

Have a go at Random Recipes even if you don't have a blog to tell the tale. It's great fun to rediscover your books.

Come & Dine with Me, Taylor Wimpey Dinner Party Competition Entry

Update: Since I last wrote this post, winners of the Taylor Wimpey Dinner Party Competition have been announced- Pebble Soup won the prize for its Seared Tuna Salad with Guacamole as best starter course. I would also like to highlight that this gadget will definitely be on the table.

Come and Dine with me never really appealed as a TV program, the snooping in somebody's else bedroom is way OTT. The Taylor Wimpey Dinner Party  is much nicer. Bloggers are invited to enter a fantasy Come and Dine with Me where the focus is on food not on sexy underwear. The brief is to describe the menu bloggers would cook if...

 

With my hostess tiaira firmly wedged on my chef's hat, I thought about what would my guests fancy as welcome drink.

Every meal has a theme, even if on an every day base it is not a glamourous one, such as "what do I have in the fridge which matches my mood?". 

Of course for a dinner party, the deal is slightly different the starter, the main and the dessert need to flow and be full of flavour. If the menu can make a statement so much the better but the overall success is always guaranteed if the host has allowed time to mingle with the guests.

          Menu

 

Vanilla Vodka Cocktail
 

My Perfect Vanilla Cocktail is a Vodka Vanilla, Cranberry juice and Raspberry liqueur in a Collins glass

 

 

Seared tuna salad with guacamole

 

Fresh and substainable tuna thinly sliced, spiced to perfection with a guacamole to contrast the colours served with a light soy dressing

 



Braised shoulder of lamb with in-season vegetables

 



A slow cooked recipe allows the host to enjoy quality time with the guests. Cooked in wine, rosemary and lots of vegetables, this is full of flavour and melts in the mouth.



 Lemon tart with basil syrup

 

One which never fail to impress, very lemony with a hint of sweetness and quirkiness provided by the basil syrup.

 

Time to talk wine: alway tricky when there is fish and meat to choose one wine but since money is no object I will go for a Vintage Champagne Brut. 

 

If you would like to enter the competition and create your menu you will need to email your entry to email your entry to competitions@taylorwimpey.com. The competition closes on 30th June 2013 and four winners will be chosen in total: one for each individual course, who win £100 each, plus £250 for the best overall menu

 

French Wines with Style - A Blogger challenge-

There is no denying that writing this post feels slightly odd. When I agreed to take part in French Wines with Style, a bloggers challenge funded by FranceAgriMer, I ran the event pass my dad. He was completely bemused, "What do you mean? why do our wines need promoting? surely French wines are the best." he said and in doing so, echoing the voice of millions of French people who know nothing else but their French wines and  would never dream of drinking anything else but what they know.

A couple of weeks later, my father had died. We stood, glass in hand, in his favorite café, in a small French town situated "sur la route du soleil" between Beaujolais and Côtes du Rhône" toasting his life with his favorite rosé and white wines. The red was reserved for occasions such as a family meal at home. 

I haven't had the opportunity to experiment with "Les Dauphins". A Côtes du Rhône Village 2011 (RRP £7.59), a classic Rhône wine described as "bursting with ripe summer fruits, all backed up with rich, spicy and peppery flavours" but I had had time to go to my local wine shop and asked for advice on pairing it. There, I was given the 3 Golden Rules of matching wine and food

Rule number 1 : Weight of wine with weight of the dish - Wines, heavy in alcohol, such as this Cotes du Rhone at 13.5%, are perfect partners for hearty stews.

Rule number 2: Match acidity with high acidity. That's why cold white wines are so delicious with  fatty/creamy dishes.

Rule number 3: Tannins go well with protein but not with fatty foods so don't even think of serving that Bordeaux with a cream-sauce.

And a last mysterious rule added  as an after-thought just as I was leaving the store; one for me to ponder on the road: Match sweetness with saltiness.

I also had the time to enjoy the bottle of Domaine de la Croix Belle. A Grenache Blanc-Viogner 2010 (RRP £8.95). A wine from the Languedoc. Languedoc- Roussillon is the world's largest wineyard with 270,000 hectares of wines. Imbued with Mediterranean sunshine, it produces charming underated wines. My dad would have approuved of The domaine de Belle Croix. A medium weight wine with the distinctive character of the Viogniers, I found it fresh and spicy.

So I opted for pairing it with crab cupcakes and drunk it as an aperitif.

Crab cupcakes

Ingredients

makes 18 cupcakes

2tbsp salted butter

1/2 small onion diced finely

1/4 diced red pepper

64g polenta

6 tbsp all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 and a pinch of baking powder

60ml full fat milk

60ml cream

225g crabmeat well drained and all the "bits" picked out

For the frosting you will need to mix 90g of cream cheese with a little milk and 2tsp of lemon juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4 and spray nonstick cupcake tin

In a pan melt the butter and cook all the vegetables till soft

In a saucepan cook the polenta according to instruction. leave it all to cool

Then mix everything in a large bowl, adding the crab last

Spoon the mixture in the cupcake tin, you will have to cook it in three batches

Cook for 15 minutes, rotate the tin half way through

Add the frosting when cool

Enjoy

Disclosure, I was sent a hamper with the two named wines, a small selection of mixed herbs, mustard and bbq sauce to complete the challenge.

Rosemary and Sea Salt Focaccia

Every now and then at Pebble Soup HQ, one of us bakes a new bread recipe. None of the conventional loafs something a little different. Previously he cooked an Injera, so I answered with another flat bread, an Italian one this time: Focaccia.

Focaccia is very similar to pizza dough. Its aspect is created via a technique called dotting, bakers use two fingers to create holes in the dough.  It contains olive oil, is topped with salt and herbs usually rosemary. I picked focaccia for three reasons:

1. In a attempt to create a kitchen garden, I planted some herbs, Rosemary is one of them
2. Concomitantly, we had a family commemoration during which I couldn't help thinking about  rosemary, the emblem of remembrance, a symbol of love and fidelity. Anne of Cleves is said to have worn some in a wreath when she married  Henry VIII.
3. Jeanne at Cooksister! wrote this wonderful post about remembrance and rosemary.

Focaccia is rather easy to bake, though mine was a disaster as I left it too long in the oven and forgot to add oil to the dough. If it is really true that rosemary helps remembering, I think that the plant in the garden is indeed far too small, it will definitely be put to got use.

Rosemary and Sea Salt Foccicia

Ingredients

• 500g/1lb 2oz strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tsp salt
• 10 black olives
• 4 garlic gloves finely chopped
• 1 x 7g/⅛oz sachet fast-action dried yeast
• 80ml/3fl oz olive oil plus extra for drizzling
• 150-250ml/5-9fl oz warm water
• 1 bunch fresh rosemary
• large pinch sea salt

Method

1 Mix together the flour, salt, yeast, garlic, then add the olive oil, plus enough warm water to make a soft but not sticky dough. The dough should feel quite loose and not tight and difficult to knead

2 Work the dough for 10-15 minutes and leave  in a bowl covered in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes

3 Thin the daough and kned lightly again, Roll out to an oval shape

4 Place on greased baking sheet cover and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.

5 Preheat the oven to 200C. Make indentations with your fingertips all over the top. Drizzle oil on the top, sprinkle with rock salt and rosemary.

6 Bake for 25 minutes until golden. 

 

Idealo Holiday Reads Challenge 2012

There are lots of things I can do without but I can't do without a book or two or three. It is as essential to me as water is. I love being told stories. There has been dark times when I couldn't pick up a book, then my universe was made even darker without that little flicker of light provided by someone else's imagination.

The main source quenching my thirst is the local library, sometimes, there is a wait for a particular book so it goes on "the list". On Wednesday, Magic happened, I got the following email    "Firstly, thank you ever so much for agreeing to take part in the  Idealo Holiday Reads Challenge for 2012, we would love for you to choose your holiday reading list as soon as possible." With that I was given the freedom to choose books on Amazon.

So this summer I will be reading "the list" starting with my little vice, the adventures of Giordano Bruno, I am hooked on the peregrinations of S.J. Parris' hero, an heretic, philosopher and spy in Elizabethan times. Sacrilege will be my first read.

The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance by Edmund de Waal received an universal critics' accolade on publication. It is a family history, that, of the author, Edmund de Waal who is a renowned ceramic artist. The story starts when Edmund inherited a collection of 264 tiny Japanese netsuke carvings from his Uncle Ignace......

The previous book got the Costa prize, I find prizes a good source for "the list". If it is good enough for a jury of many it is good enough for me, so the following two are on my list because they are top of their own list, The Songs of Achille by Madeline Miller, the story of Achille and his friend, companion and lover, Prince Patroclus which obtained the 2012 Orange Prize  and

Crooked Letter by the Edgar Award-winning  author, Tom Franklin. A first rate thriller set in Mississippi 30 years ago, this novel won the prestigious Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger in  2011.

Next is something much lighter. I read "Island" by Victoria Hislop, some time ago, Though I found faults with the narrative, I enjoyed the secondary characters. I never realised that the author was Ian Hislop's wife until I read an interview with her where she was plugging her latest The Thread.

The last choice is one which has been on "the list" for a long time, I possibly would have never read it, hadn't had won this challenge it is Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain: From Queen Victoria to VE Day. Heavy, naah, I am going to spend a few blissful evenings curdled up in bed with this.

I will be reading my choices on paper-books but if like me you are considering buying an e-reader Idealo provides a list of options.

This is my holiday summer reads taken care of.

Alfresco Competition: Tomato & Mozzarella Morsel

Spring is on their way, admittedly it is taking its time. Anyhow with the prospect of warm weather, our thoughts are turning to "the great outdoors".

There is nothing I like better than to take my meals outside, warming up slowly in the sunshine and relaxing while eating.

So when asked if I could support Al Fresco Holidays and enter their Chef of the Year Competition, I jumped at the opportunity and hopefully you will do the same, there is nothing simpler.

But wait and let's rewind a little, Al Fresco Holidays is a holiday provider of mobile homes throughout Europe. Isn't it time to break about having a break?

My is new to Pebble Soup HQ, it reminds me of my recent press-trip to Brussels, topped with a dressing I found on one of the most reliable recipe website I know, the Great British Chefs

I am not sure that a recipe without a name can be entered so I have named it in honour of the competition

Al Fresco Tomato and Mozzarella Morsel

Ingredients
serves 2

• 1 Mozzarella ball
• 2 medium tomatoes

For the dressing

• zest and juice of one lime
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 3 tbsp of olive oil

Method
cut the mozarella sideways so that it can seat on the plate and
slice each half
do the same with the tomato.
on a plate, alternate the mozzarella and the tomato

The dressing
zest the lime,
squeeze the juice
mix well with the oil and the sugar

dress the morsel and leave in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving.

Serve on grilled aubergines with herbs and salad on the top or simply as it it.

Sponsored post, the competition is opened until the end of May- the top prize is a holiday to an Al Fresco parc in Europe.

Cooking with Turkey for I Love British Turkey Campaign

As few weeks ago I was approached by I Love British Turkey to take part in their effort to promote "The Xmas piece de resistance". And resistance, there was a little on my behalf, I can count on the fingers of one hand, the number of times I've cooked turkey.

Why? It is a matter of reputation, not mine that of the turkey. So I wanted to make sure where the meat originates from before I entered the competition. I couldn't get a better answer, 'Your choice' and I was encourage to look for, "for the British Turkey Quality Mark: the Little Red Tractor known as Red Tractor".

I therefore agreed and went on to purchase my cuts. If Charlotte at Charlotte's Kitchen Diary was having a smooth time, finding free range turkey priced less than chicken, my experience was at the antipodes.

Two large local supermarkets were not stocking turkey. It was a case of third time lucky for the minced meat, which cost only two pounds for 500g and did make for a lovely, dish. But when it came to the half crown from my local butcher, I could not believe the price even not free-range, it blew my entire budget,  I could have bought a whole supermarket turkey for the price of one breast.

My entry for the competition is an easy to make, really smart on the table, very low in calories,  winning dish.

 Peppadew and Pistachio Terrine

 Ingredients 

• 500g turkey mince
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic clove, crushed
• 50g roughly crushed pistachios
• 6 or 7 peppadews chopped finely
• 1 spray or tsp of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons brandy
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• salt and pepper to season
• 2 egg yolks
• a couple of peppadews whole and few salad leaves to decorate

 Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C - 338F - gas mark 3 - fan oven 150C
2. In a frying pan, heat the oil, fry the onion and the garlic slowly, take off the heat when cooked.
3. Place all the other ingredients in a large bowl
4. Mix them all using your hands
5. Transfer the content of frying pan in the bowl, mix it all up thoroughly,
6. Line a loaf pan with baking parchment and tip the mixture in the loaf pan, cover with the side of the parchment or with aluminium foil.
7. Place the  loaf pan in a tray filled with enough water so that it comes to halfway up the sides of the loaf pan
8. Bake for 1 1/2h
9. Remove the terrine and place on a tray now for the fun bit weigh it down with a couple of cans.
10. Refrigerate overnight.

Decorate with Peppadew and a few leaves of salad, serve with chutney, gherkins, bread. It will keep 4 days in the fridge

What is the red tractor logo: After research I was told that In terms of poultry meat the logo means that livestock is kept in more humane surroundings - in essence farmers / stock owners have to demonstrate a high standard of husbandry ensuring that welfare meets nationally agreed
levels of best agricultural practice.

However if all aspects are covered, it is hard to know what is looked for and does not mean that the food is made in Britain

For more information on the Peppadew peppers, take a look at www.peppadew.com
I have entering this recipe into the British Blogger competition over at I love Turkey http://www.britishturkey.co.uk/.

Mini Baguettes

You know that sinking feeling you get, after having spent hundreds of years thinking how lovely it would be, to do a certain thing. When you finally get to doing it, it doesn't work.

At Pebble Soup HQ, baking baguettes, has been labelled with a capital F...for Failure and for what I used to say on opening the oven-door. I am not quite there yet but my latest attempt is worthy of posting, so light and crusty that opening the oven door became opening the heaven door. Perseverance paid off.

 

Mini Baguettes

Ingredients - make 3 baguettes-
90g (3/4 cups) plain (all purpose) flour
2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt (or table salt)
1 teaspoon sugar
375g (3 cups) white strong flour
310ml (1 1/4cup) warm water
Polenta or semolina (pasta flour) or fine cornmeal for sprinkling on the baking sheet

Method

More about shaping  baguettes techniques in a post coming soon

Put the yeast, sugar and 310ml warm water in a small bowl and mix well. Leave in a warm draught-free place for 10 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface.

Mix together the flours and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and transfer all the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture. Using a spoon mix until you get a soft dough> Cover leave to rise till it is one third of its original size about 30 minutes.

Knead the dough on a slightly floured surface add a little water is needed to get a soft slightly sticky dough. When the dough is smooth and elastic shape it into a large ball put it back in the bowl with a dampen clothe on the top for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size

Lightly grease two large baking trays and sprinkle with polenta. Punch down the dough and knead for 2-3 minutes. Divide the dough into three portions and press or roll each into a rectangle about 20x40cm. Roll each up firmly into a long sausage shape and place seam side down, well spaced on the tray. cover loosely and leave for another 40 minutes or till doubled in size

Pre-heat the oven 220C/ 425F/ gas 7. Lightly brush the loaves with water and make diagonal slashes across the top at intervals. Place the tray in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. For a really crusty baguette place an oven-proof bowl of water in too. Bake for 20 minutes then lower the temperature to 180/350/4 and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until golden. Colo on a wire rack

Catherine Wheels Mince Pies

Vanessa Kimbell from Prepped came up with the best Xmas 2011 idea: a food bloggers get together to exchange gifts. The event will take place at Fortnum & Mason. I feel extremely lucky to be able to take part.

My offering will be Catherine wheels mince pies. I will be cooking them nearer the time.  

Till then, I am asking you to close your eyes and picture a cross between a mince pie, a continental pastry and a squashed Chelsea bun. There, you've got it.This recipe is very easy to make and when you think about all what we will have to do before Xmas, this is just perfect

Catherine Wheels Mince Pies

Ingredients:

50g/2oz golden caster sugar

1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry

411g jar traditional mincemeat

1tbsp milk

25g/1oz flaked almonds

Method:

Roll

Scatter the sugar over the worktop, unravel the pastry and roll it.

Spread the mincemeat evenly making sure to leave a border of 2cm all around

Fold one of the longest edges over the mincemeat and roll the pastry tightly into a sausage shape, when you get to the other edge brush it with milk and press down to seal

Press both ends in and chill for 30 minutes (if you fancy freezing this is the time to do so)

time to preheat the oven 200C/gas 6/fan 180C
Squash

Cut the roll into 12 rounds about 3 cm thick

Lay them evenly on a baking tray

Flatten them with your hand

Bake

Scatter the almonds on the top and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and the mincemeat sizzle

Leave to cool for 5 minutes

Serve as they are or with ice cream

Chicken Satay

This month "Flavours of.." is hosted by Hrishi and devoted to Indonesia, a land and peoples which stole a little bit of my heart 20 years ago. Since Indonesia is made of  6 000 populated islands, the cuisine is as varied as varied can be. But it might be fair to say that Satay is the Fish and Chips, the Indonesian Steak - Frites in short the national dish.

Satay can be street-food or sophisticated food. Satay is a snack or a dish. It is grilled/BBQ cubes of chicken, beef, mutton, fish, prawn, crocodile, snack, tofu to name but a few but not all at once, served on a skewer with a sauce.

The sauce is  referred to as Satay. It could be any sauce however with time, Satay has been served mostly with peanut sauce and the word self is used for that very sauce. A perfect peanut sauce has this lovely rich yellow due to the main spice: turmeric. Then it should be not too runny, nor too thick and spicy enough.

Before I leave you with the recipe, I want to add that I took this picture at Malaysia Kitchen Festival and that the blogger event "Flavours of" is the brainchild of Nayna Kanabar of Simply Food.

Now for the up-market recipe as prepared by Awana if you fancy a quick version try that of Auntie beeb

Chicken Satay
Printable recipe click here

makes 12 sticks

needs to marinate min 2hours

Ingredients

1.5kg Chicken (deboned)

1tsp ground cumin

4 cloves of garlic

4 shallots

1tsp coriander

3 tbsp turmeric powder

400g sugar

4 lemongrass stalk

Salt to taste

For the sauce

4 tbsp of groundnut oil

2 shallots

2 cloves of garlic

2 lemongrass stalks

500g roasted peanuts (roughly pounded)

10g dry chillies

900ml water

100g sugar

2 tsp salt

400ml of coconut milk

200 ml of tamarind concentrate

Method

Thinly slice the chicken meat into 1-inch slices and set aside

Blend the shallots, coriander, cumin, garlic and lemongrass. Mix in the sugar, turmeric powder and salt to taste

Marinate the chicken in the mixture for at least tow hours or overnight in the fridge

Soak the skewers

Place the meat on the grill or barbeque, cook thoroughly

for the sauce, blend the shallots garlic, lemongrass and chillies. Heat a little oil and fry the mixture. When it smells nice add sugar, salt, water and the peanuts. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough for dipping.

Mint Ice-Cream with Bourbon, Chocolate and Meringue Nuggets

Mint. I associate mint with tea and hot summers, it is always a pleasure to  inhale mint's flagrant fresh aroma. In Greek mythology Mint was known  as the herb of hospitality a perfect  fit for Maison Cupcake blogging event, hosted by a delightful blog: Soul Curry.

I have very little time for  Nigella, I can't really see the attraction though Sarah of Maison Cupcake has tried to explain it to me on several occasions. But that was not going to deter me to enter her Forever Nigella event. I had to bid my time a little and wait for a topic which I felt comfortable enough with so not to have to trawl through piles of Nigella's recipes.

As you may have noticed I am going through a phase of ice-cream mania - I was pretty certain that Nigella would have a recipe for mint ice-cream and lo and behold, she did.  The interesting addition to her mint ice-cream is Bourbon, my own added nuggets are chocolate and crushed meringue.

When adding alcohol to ice-cream is lowers the point of freezing same with sugar- therefore it takes longer to freeze. Now pay attention that's the scientific bit: too much alcohol and it will not freeze at all. So refrain to add an extra splash you need only to add enough to be able to taste it-

For the non-scientific bit: nothing stops you to have a glass on the side. In her recipe Nigella adds 1/4 cup of Bourbon. Why can't metric be used? that defies my understanding (though Nigella's website has a table of conversion) but there you go, it is 65ml.

Bourbon Mint Ice-Cream with Chocolate and Meringue Nuggets

Ingredients

250 ml whole milk 
65ml Bourbon
150 g caster sugar
500 ml double cream
100g plain chocolate (70% cocoa) chopped
30 g chopped fresh mint leaves
2 large egg yolks
Method
Warm the milk, cream, Bourbon and the mint, turn the heat so that it almost boil. Reduce and cook gently for 7 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature until it cool slightly.

Strain the mint-infused mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium saucepan (the milk will be a lovely shade of emerald). Press on the mint leaves to extract as much of the flavor as possible, then discard the mint leaves.

Meanwhile in a separate heatproof bowl , beat the eggs and sugar, using an electric whisk, until thick and pale. Gradually beat the milk mixture into the egg mixture. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and continue stirring until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove the bowl from the heat and cover the surface directly with clingfilm to prevent a skin forming allow the custard to coool completely before refrigerating for at least 1 hour.

Once chilled, chum in an ice-cream maker, stop 5 minutes before the end to add chocolate and meringue. Transfer to a freezer bowl and leave in the freezer.

Waiting for January's Challenge

Yesterday was the Daring Bakers challenge posting day. The challenge was a French log which should have been easy for me but as he said it is a challenge which separates the bakers from the bonkers. I seem to belong to the latter category as I took one look at the recipe and shrivelled under the sink : The recipe called for the following 6 elements: A Dacquoise (a nut meringue), a mousse with a stabilizing component that will allow it to freeze smoothly, a creme brulee insert, a ganache insert, a praline feuillete insert (a chocolate, praline, and crushed crunchy cookie layer), and icing. Let's cross fingers and wait for January's challenge.