So It Was Christmas

Slightly marred by the fact that my parents could not cross the Channel as Eursotar discovered that snow had flakes and these little flakes seemed to have ruined more than one christmas.

However the tree was lit and sparkly, the table runner was up and running, the goose confite, a word of advice to anybody out there who would like to cook a goose in its fat, in a pressure cooker time it between 8 and 10 hours on low heat.

Presents were lovely and in 2009 and Father Xmas spoiled me. I got hat, scarf, gloves and boots and the middle bit will be taken care of by the most gorgeous dressing gown with a hoodie. Brilliant and many many more presents but I am here today to talk about decorations.
This Christmas, I concentrated on decorations, I used a company new to new to me called the last details, I love their range and I chose to liven up the party with Party poopers. what I don't like about poppers in general is the mess they leave behind, but not these which release a cloud of elegant silver slivers easily picked up .
Then there was the Silver star sparklers, I love these, they seem to last for ever so really good value for money, but the star of the show was the After dark fountains which were position on Phil's Christmas pudding and were like indoor fireworks.
As you know this household rates everything, so we took a vote and rated the decorations

• After Dark Fountain Candles got a magnificient 9 out of 10
• Posh poppers 8 out of 10
• Silver Star Sparklers 6.5 only because they take some time to lit.

I am going to leave you with a bang and a picture of the sparklers until next year......

Ostrich for Christmas Dinner

Ostrich is the new bird on my block. The meat is just delicious, the preparation is so easy, and it has the wow factor. What else could you ask for when you are looking for a stress-free idea to feed the masses.

Every year, Wees (that He and I) have a Xmas party before Xmas. Traditionally it is lunch with friends, this year wees were missing the younger generation which is refusing to attend any longer. Tough, they just don't know what they missed:

Home made chicken liver pâté
Ostrich with roasted potatoes and parsnips, celeriac purée
Cheese board
Chocolate fudge/meringue with whipped cream, mascarpone topped with raspberries

Never having cooked ostrich before, I decided to start the kitchen festivities with the celeriac purée then went on to heat the oil for the potatoes and proceeded to drop the all of the oil on the kitchen floor. However if you are cooking roasted tatties this Christmas, the dropping of the oil is optional. Nearer the time, I seared the ostrich tenderloins, sat them on a bed of cooked onions and cooked in a 200C oven for 20 minutes. As easy as that.

I got the meat from Gamstonwood Farm at Borough market, I will definitely serve it again.

top picture from Gamston Wood Farm website

Food Blogger Connect 09

I am telling you next time somebody tells me "blogging is for nerds who are scared about meeting others in real life", or "blogging is a silly activity for sad people" or "there is no point in blogging", or any variation of the three, I will get my designer handbag out and will inflict some real damage.

Blogging is a real pleasure, meeting bloggers via the net is great but meeting 50, or so, food bloggers in a restaurant is paradise.

Last Saturday paradise was organised (somebody has to organise paradise otherwise it would be hell) by Beth from Dirty Kitchen Secrets, Hilda of Saffron & Blueberry, Mowie of Mowielicious and Jamie of Life's a feast. I have always been a tat jealous of the Food-Bloggers Conference in the States, and now we have got our very own, hurray. An array of talented bloggers arrived to the Levant by plane, train, tube (that was not easy) from France, Germany, Holland and of course the UK, I am sure I have missed a few places in-betweeny.

You immediately know when you meet like minded people, it does not matter where you start the conversation, they are there with you, we talked about things that matter to us, I met well I was going to say new people but are these people new to me, I already knew some, I had read their blog.
The Lebanese mezze was awesome: hummus, falafel, tomatoes topped with haloumi, chicken and lamb skewers, meat ball, warm pittas and of course that splendid dish (pictured) with pinenuts and things which name I don't remember, so if anybody out there recognises it, I would not mind being informed of its denomination. Wine was from the Beeka valley, next time you are in a supermarket go for Lebanese red wine, it never disappoint.

Then we paid attention, we were told about photography by Meeta and Kang, finding your voice by Jamie and Jeanne, copyright sorry...time was up for me, I had to leave. It was already getting near time to go to another event about which I will tell you next.

Can't wait for Food Blogger Connect 2010

Taleggio Recipe

I can't believe it, the result of a recent survey has revealed that mothers rotate 9 recipes to feed their families. 9! what does that mean?

At first I thought that is never enough for 365 days then I projected myself back to my childhood. I can't recall my mum having more than ....5 recipes to her repertoire and she was not working outside, she worked hard looking after me, she is not lazy, she is very dynamic. So what does it mean?

Without analysing the stuff too carefully it seems to me that people are not confident using new ingredients. They may have 9 only because they are confident cooking them, these 9 are quick, easy and well rehearsed and they will never hear "I am not eating that". But what about trying out all these ingredients which are out there? what about the pleasure of discovery?

Let's take Taleggio, never contemplated cooking with it before last month and then as I was hoping in the cheese alley, there it was, I grab a paquet. It is good in salads but I opted for the potato and onion gratin. Dead fast.

Take one large onion, one garlic clove, peel, chop, fry in a little olive oil, salt and pepper

Preheat oven to a high 205 in the meantime peel 3 large baking potatoes (about 800g), cut into thin slices.

slice 250 g of taleggio

In a baking dish, layer potato, onion, taleggio in what ever order and fashion. Finish with taleggio

Cook for 30 minutes at 200.

link to the nine recipes story

Interflora Christmas Hamper Has Arrived.......

Interflora! hampers! nooo, everybody knows that Interflora's job is to deliver flowers.... wrong. Well, right, they do but the companie has diversified, they also "do" champagne & balloons, personalised gifts and hampers for special occasions and when it comes down to hampers, there is no "specialer" occasion than Xmas.

Let me tell you something else: I love my job. Sometime ago, I wrote a recipe for Interflora, in return, I was highly delighted when I received one of their Christmas hamper. What a treat. If you were looking for brilliant present to distant (in geographic terms) friends, have a look their hampers Christmas collection.

First of all, you get the thrill of the delivery. My hamper arrived in a black box, classy. Then, on opening, you get the excitment of "this is all mine and this is very nice", tightly snug in the black box was a wicker basket. Followed by "wow".... look at all these Christmas treats! Being really well presented, this hamper has 3 levels, 3 times the pleasure of discovery.

Would you like to know what was in my hamper then here is a quick peep

but for the real professional run down of all the goodies have a look at the video

Partridge Breasts with Chilli, Chocolate Sauce

Background: Serge and Pat: She is a very good cook and he is almost always hungry. All they eat is locally produced, organically grown etc etc, and when you have friends of the sort, it gets a little tricky to plan menus. Not that they would not eat any thing and every thing because they would, but when they come over I am so very pleased that I go the extra mile.

So it was time for game, not the playing kind of game, the bird kind of game, I plump for Partridge and whom better to order my organic food from but Abel and Cole, they tell you exactly where their products come from. I ordered a pack 5 breasts, a total of 250g which cost £ 3.75, this is fantastic value for money. It arrived in a cool box, perfectly pack and delivered with a smile.

Partriges are in season from September to February. The big problem with this kind of bird is that it has a tendency to dry out when cooking it but not if you are extra vigilant. And of course I was....not.

The meat was just delicious, I don't think I ever ate partridge before and honestly you should give it a go, it was firm, tasty just like it should be.

As for the recipe, He picked it and what may have sounded a little crazy worked really well. It is a Sophie Grigson's recipe adapted to our French guests.

Partridge with Chilli Chocolate Sauce

 

5 Partridge breasts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

5-8 garlic cloves, peeled but whole

2 cloves
1tsp chilli (make it half if you like it less hot)

1 bay leaf

300 ml (10fl oz) dry white wine

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Salt and fresly ground black pepper

20g bitter or plain chocolate grated

Served with roasted sweet potatoes, tomatoes, potatoes.

Brown the breasts in 2 tablespoon of oil in a frying-pan over a high heat.

Transfer to a casserole.

Fry the onion in the same oil, adding a little more if needed, then transfer to the casserole.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the chocolate and potatoes.

Bring up to a gently simmer.

Cover tightly and continue simmering for about 10 minutes, until the partridges are tender. Transfer to a warm serving dish, surround with cooked vegetables and keep warm while you finish the sauce.

Stir the chocolate and the chilli into the remaining liquid in the pan and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

Rub the contents of the pan through a sieve, pushing through as much of the onion and garlic as you can to thicken and flavour the sauce.

Stir, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour the sauce over the partridges and potatoes and serve.

Presentation:

When I was in Mexico, one evening, in a restaurant, I ordered chicken with a chocolate sauce. Next to our table were a couple of French people, when the dish arrived the guy commented assertively, very loudly, in this kind of unmistakable French direct elegance. "Look at this it looks like Shit" so one piece of advice do not cover the breast completly with the sauce.

I am delighted to add this recipe to :

 

A monthly challenge on Bangers and Mash

Does a Potato Count as One of Your 5 a Day?

The answer is no. Potato is carb., on the other end Sweet potato is a vegetable and counts in "5 a day".

Sometimes I get asked food questions, I am always happy to do the research for you, so don't hesitate to use pebblesoup's email address which you will find on the left hand-side.

Now pay attention here are some guidelines for your 5 a day
1/2 a very large fruit such as mango, melon but avocado too
A whole medium size fruit : apple, peach
A couple of little specimen: figs, plums
A handful of smaller ones blueberries etc
A small bowl of mixed salad/ soup
A wine glass.........of fruit juice

A handful of veg including beans, lentils, chickpeas and .....sweet potato

the picture is a repro of Van Gogh's potato eaters

The BloggerAid Cook Book is Here

Earlier this year, when I joined "BloggerAid Changing the Face of Famine", I had made up my mind: I was going to make a small difference. You see, I don't join very often. The result has exceeded my expectations. This is what happens when 140 determined food blooggers from 60 different countries come together with one goal in mind " to help alleviating hunger".

A Cookbook of original recipes from bloggers around the world. Each recipe has been created/adapted/tried/tasted/ especially for this one marvellous project. BloggerAid CFW supports the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations frontline agency and one of WFP’s largest areas of assistance is called School Meals. 100% of the profits generated by the sale of "The BloggerAid Cook Book" will go to the School Meal project.

So you can see why I am very proud to have a recipe in this book. “The BloggerAid Cook Book” is available for purchase online only, through the Create Space estore. The estore is a connection of Amazon. You will not find the book on the Amazon.com site – royalties for the School Meals Program are much higher through the estore. And these kids need all the help we can give them.

If you would like to purchase the book click here, thank you.

The venture does not end there, BloggerAid changing the face of famine is looking for new ideas to continue the work, if you would like to join, click on the icon on the top left of this blog.