Monday 31 December 2012

Shortcrust cheese tart.

Bill Granger Shortcrust cheese tart
Published at thetimes.co.uk, December 29 2012
Serves 4-6
• 600g ready-made shortcrust pastry
• 100g feta, crumbled
• 250g ricotta
• 200g mature Cheddar, grated
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tbsp double cream
• Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp coarsely chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Friday 28 December 2012

Cheese Puffs. Gougères.

Or here (original)
- Gougères.
A gougère in French cuisine, is a baked savory choux pastry made of choux dough mixed with cheese.

About thirty bite-sized puffs.
Two things to keep in mind when making these.
One is that you should have all the ingredients ready to go before you start.
Don’t let the water and butter boil away while you grate the cheese.
Otherwise you’ll lose too much of the water.
Second is to let the batter cool for a few minutes before adding the eggs so you don’t ‘cook’ them.
Make sure when you stir in the eggs that you do it vigorously, and without stopping.
I’m not a fan of extra dishes to wash, but the intrepid can put the dough in a food processor or use an electric mixer to add and mix the eggs in quickly.

Thursday 27 December 2012

Tuesday 25 December 2012

Запеченный картофель.

Ингредиенты:
среднего размера картофель
1/3 чашки оливкового масла
4 чайные ложки кошерной соли
2 чайные ложки свежемолотого черного перца
2 столовые ложки мелко нарезанного свежего розмарина

Итак:
Разогреть духовку до 200С.
Отрезать выпуклую часть картофелины так, чтобы она плотно лежала на дне протвиня.
Положить на большую столовую ложку картофелину - так края ложки помешают вам полностью разрезать картофель и нарезать картофель поперек длины на ломтики размером 0,5см, но оставив неразрезанной ту часть (размером примерно 0,5 см), что будет лежать на протвине.
Так нарезать каждую картофелену.
Разложить картофель на противень разрезанной стороной вверх, добавив оливковое масло смешанное с солью, перцем и 1-ой столовой ложкой розмарина, залить смесь и между ломтиками.

Запекать картофель в течение 30 минут, пока он не станет мягким и золотистым с хрустящей корочкой.
Посыпать оставшимся розмарином и подавать.

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes Recipe : Ina Garten : Recipes : Food Network:

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Ina's Rosemary Roasted Potatoes.

Moveable Feasts: Two sides: Ina's Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and Rutabega with Crispy Shallots:

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Зажаренная в духовке свинная лопатка с пикантным яблочным соусом.






Свиная лопатка с вкусным соусом с жареными яблоками и луком.
или
Рождественский праздник без шума и суеты/Christmas holiday without hustle and bustle! Hassle-free holiday!
Свиная лопатка должна быть замаринованный в ночь перед Рождеством (вообще-то можно мариновать и два дня).

Slow-roasted Pork Shoulder Recipe.

Slow-roasted Pork Shoulder Recipe | Simply Recipes: "gravy"

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Monday 24 December 2012

Зимний рождественский пудинг.


Winter pudding bombe recipe -
By Jamie Oliver from Jamie's Best Ever Christmas.
Состав
2 х 500 мл качественного ванильного мороженого (хорошо, если цветное)
1 х 1 кг панеттоне
125 мл Vin Santo - вино
3 полные столовые ложки хорошего малинового варенья
25 г фисташек
75 г консервированной вишни, или сушеной
40г glacé - засахаренные мандарины/клементины (или другие засахаренные фрукты - glacé), тонко нарезать
2 мандарины/клементины, 1 очистить и нарезать кругами
200 г качественного темного шоколада (70% твердых веществ какао), взбить

Sunday 23 December 2012

Winter pudding bombe recipe

Jamie's Best Ever Christmas

Ingredients

2 x 500ml tubs of good-quality vanilla ice cream (I like Green and Blacks)
1 x 1kg panettone
125ml Vin Santo
3 heaped tablespoons good raspberry jam
25g shelled pistachios
75g tinned sour cherries, drained
40g glacé clementines (or other glacé fruit), thinly sliced
2 clementines, 1 peeled and sliced into rounds
200g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), bashed up

Michel Roux Jr on MasterChef: interview - Telegraph

Michel Roux Jr on MasterChef: interview - Telegraph: "‘Gordon’s shows are great.
They’re entertaining.
But I don’t think you could watch those shows and really say you’ve learnt something about food.
With MasterChef you can.’
He goes on: ‘I think there’s been a conscious decision from those shows to tone down, not just Gordon’s.
The public is sick and tired of every other word being a beep.
There are other ways to express ourselves.
I’m not saying I don’t swear, I do.
But it’s not always necessary… I’m a good friend of Gordon’s.
I think the shows we’re talking about here have been media-led.
They’ve done very well.
But they’re not being aired as much.
They’re not as popular.
People have gone off that.
That’s not Gordon, he’s fantastic.’"

- Michel Roux recipes - goodtoknow:

- World of Michel Roux Jr, chef - Telegraph
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Friday 21 December 2012

Stilton puffs

BBC - Food - Recipes : Stilton puffs:
"If you're expecting guests this Christmas Eve, the smell of these little pastries bubbling in the oven will tempt and tease the taste buds.
Ingredients
plain flour, for dusting
1 x 380g/13oz ready-made puff pastry sheet
300g/10½oz Stilton
1 free-range egg, beaten
100g/3½oz parmesan, freshly grated
Preparation method
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to 30cm/12in x 23cm/9in.
Cut the pastry into four strips lengthways and then six across, leaving you with 24 rectangles of pastry.
Technique: Rolling out pastry

Watch technique
0:32 mins
Crumble the Stilton into a bowl and crush with a fork.
Put a heaped teaspoon of the cheese into the centre left of each rectangle, brush the edges with the egg wash.
Fold the pastry over the cheese and crimp the edges to seal and place onto the lined baking tray.
Brush the outside with the beaten egg and grate the parmesan over each parcel. Make a little hole in the top of each parcel with the tip of a sharp knife.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden-brown all over."

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Monday 10 December 2012

21 Great Tips from Alastair Hendy, Food Photographer.

1. Pictures of some foods sell more magazines than others. Chocolate is the most obvious one but strawberries, ice cream and figs are also very popular on the news stands.
2. Use a series of images to create a “story”. Mix close ups and long distance shots. Use a palette of common colours to link pictures together.
3. The three winning elements for great food photography are the look, the light and the lens.
4. Adding a “human element” can lift food that is difficult to photograph – have someone holding something or taking a bite. 
Can a girl ever photograph too many flapjacks?!
5. When photographing ice cream, freeze the plate or dish to give yourself more time to shoot before it melts.
6. Make sure the food is the hero of the shot. Do not over style.
7. Use coloured paper as a background.
8. A picture of an empty bowl or plate can still tell a story. A “dirty” bowl of soup would still be styled so it looks like a “nice” used bowl! 
9. Tie a napkin around a small pie to convey warmth!
10. If using hot drinks in glass cups, a plate rested on the top will create some condensation on the surface so the viewer knows the liquid is warm.
11. Leave space in magazine shots for copy.
12. Angled shots have more movement – an angled shot of a crowd will instantly look more like they are walking in a hurry. 
Vintage metal tin, crying out to be photographed.
13. Use a blow torch to revive molten chocolate or butter which have solidified.
14. Toss salads in water to stop oil and vinegar dressings from breaking them down too quickly.
15. Keep herbs in bowls of cold water so they are fresh.
16. Does your soup ration look stingy? A small raw potato submerged in your broth will make the bowl look fuller and won’t soak up any liquid. 
A scrunched up layer of baking parchment gives the effect of the tin looking fuller than it is.
17. When photographing in markets, don’t rush to take pictures. Stand around for a while and become part of the scenery. People around you will relax and forget you are there.
18. When disillusioned with scruffy backdrops in markets, remember you will be able to crop out tatty tarpaulin and unattractive pallets of rotting vegetables.
19. Photographing window displays, angle yourself so you don’t get yourself in the shot.
20. Angle cutlery so to avoid excess glare or reflections of yourself.  (A further tip from me – wearing black will reduce the likelihood of your outfit being reflected in spoons!)
And last but not least…
21. Never, ever use a flash when photographing food!

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Sunday 9 December 2012

Braised neck of lamb with apricots and cinnamon.

Nigel Slater's braised neck of lamb with apricots and cinnamon, and mograbia with bay and cinnamon recipes | Life and style | The Observer:
For this dish I would also recommend small shanks.
Turn them once or twice during cooking, as they will sit proud of the sauce.
I usually reckon on at least 300g of neck of lamb per person.
This sounds quite a lot, but we are talking about one of the most bone-rich cuts of meat, so the quantity of meat should be just about right.

Serves 4
1.25kg middle neck of lamb 8 pieces
flour 3 tbsp
groundnut or olive oil 2 tbsp and a little more
onions 2 medium to large
cumin seeds 1 tsp
ground coriander 2 tsp
crushed dried chillies ½ tsp or so
garlic 2 cloves
fresh ginger a 3cm lump
lemon peel 2 strips about 6cm long
a cinnamon stick
dried apricots 250g
stock or water 750ml