Madeleines, Crepes-Canneloni, and…Judi Dench?

October 21, 2007March 14, 2020Leave a comment

Warning: Long Post Ahead. Anyone reading this who knows me will be used to this…anyone reading this who doesn’t know me…Welcome!

Yesterday was that rare, rare thing in Wellington: A sunny day without wind. Unfortunately it was pretty much wasted on us as Tim had work all day at Starbucks. Nevertheless, we made the most of what time we had and went to the vege market in town to get a tray of free range eggs (definitely worth it, even if you are on a budget – plus we have a strict “happy chicken only” policy in our flat) They were white eggs, which is pretty unusual these days, although contrary to popular belief brown eggs aren’t in any way superior to white ones, it’s just that, (like people I guess) brown hens seem to lay brown eggs and white hens lay white ones.

So, while Tim toiled away making syrup-cinos for people, I went back to the flat, sat out on our sunny courtyard (with sunblock on and with my head in the shade, by the way) and read some Shakespeare. I was so busy basking in the sun and feeling self-satisfied that I almost forgot to read but it was a nice way of studying whilst not missing out on the weather.

I had started making some Proust’s Madeleines from Nigella’s How To Eat before I started studying – this is because they require an hour’s sit in the fridge. I know of the late Proust but not about him; a bit like when you get a word in Pictionary that you know you could easily spell but not draw a description of. A quick Wikipedia search reveals him to be an asthmatic, gay French novelist who expounded the delights of this little cake in his novel, À la recherche du temps perdu. Since I have recently acquired a natty silicone madeline tray (at the same time I got the steamer) I wanted to try them out, and enjoyed the sense of history behind my baking venture.

The recipe is pleasingly simple. I don’t know if anyone out there has a madeleine tray and would appreciate the recipe – let me know if you do. Firstly, one beats a couple of eggs and some sugar till thick. Nigella recommends using electric beaters, and so do I, in hindsight, but I decided to pursure with a mere whisk, not only in the hopes of dovetailing making cakes with excercise, but also to keep in the spirit of Proust himself, whose madeleines most likely preceded the invention of the electric beater.

Above: the whisked eggs and sugar, with How To Eat behind the bowl.

To this one adds sifted flour and some melted butter with a tablespoon of honey mixed in. I used some manuka honey that Mum and Dad had sent in a parcel. This needs to sit in the fridge for an hour, and then out of the fridge for half an hour, to get to room temperature. I don’t know what the reasoning behind this is, but I dutifully did it anyway. This isn’t something one could make spontaneously, but is definitely not taxing if you have the time, a bit like making bread from scratch. So, while it sat patiently, I went and absorbed myself in Shakespeare’s Cybeline. To help out with our learning, Tim and I have been watching lots of movie adaptations of the plays we have been studying – the lavish Branagh Hamlet, the reliable BBC Richard III (both over four hours long.) A particular gem though is a 1960s, avant garde take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream which not only features a young Helen Mirren as Hermia, but also has young Judi Dench as Titania, queen of the fairies, naked but for a few strategic flowers and covered in green and silver paint.

While this was happening, I was defrosting some mince and some frozen raspberries – the one for dinner, the other to go with the madeleines. After I had had enough Shakespeare, I started to make the crepes for the Crepes-Canneloni from Nigella’s Feast. It may seem rather taxingly fiddly – mince rolled up in crepes and baked in a tomato sauce – it couldn’t be simpler. The crepes take all of ten minutes to make and are reliably easy to flip, even for someone as cack-handed as me. I put them on a plate to the side, and used the same pan to brown the mince, which is then rolled up in the crepes and placed in a roasting dish. As for the tomato sauce, it is just a large can of tomatoes mixed with a little sugar and milk. This goes over the top and then you bake it. At any rate, it’s much easier than lasagne…

The madeleines only need about 6 minutes to bake, which meant I had to be hovering round the oven keeping an eye on them. As soon as they look brown on top they are done. The silicone mould meant that they slid out easily and retained their characteristic shell-markings. But first things first: Dinner, which I served with beans and some bulghar wheat (a little pan-European, but it meant extra carbs for Tim, plus it is fast and I couldn’t be bothered cooking rice or pasta.)

Above: Crepes-canneloni – delicious! One is supposed to use buffalo mozzarella on top, which we absolutely didn’t have…so we used colby instead. Still great.

As for the madeleines, they were fantastic! Soft, puffy and redolent of honey. The raspberries, which I had sprinkled a little caster sugar over, had formed their own syrup once defrosted, the tartness of which went beautifully with the cakes.

Above: The Madeleines, with the raspberries sitting darkly behind. Proust would have been proud.

Not to be outdone, Emma, who has been making quite a bit of jelly recently, produced this number: Orange jelly with orange pieces suspended within. Last week she made a gorgeous-looking raspberry jelly with raspberries in it, but I never got a photo of it. However, here is the jelly from last night:

Above: Emma’s jelly. Tim unmoulded it a little lopsided, yes, but no-one else can do it.

It tasted really zingy and summery, the orange pieces somehow completely lifting your everyday orange jelly. It was made from a sachet of sugar free jelly to boot – good for diabetics and celiacs alike! Hoorah!

As if all that was not adventure enough, after dinner our entire flat drove to Brooklyn (next ‘burb over from town) where there is a playground, complete with flying fox. It is actually three flying foxes (foxi?) set up next to each other so that three people can go at the same time. We had so much fun whizzing up and down (even I did, and I am intensely suspicious of anything that reminds me of OPC.)

After that we hit the actual playground, and while Emma and I rediscovered the simple joy that a good swing can bring, Kieran, Tim and Stefan (especially Kieran) attempted to garrot themselves on the spiderweb climber. Our downfall was probably jumping on the seated merry-go-round and taking her as fast as she could go. All of us emerged queasy and unable to walk in a straight line. A go on the see-saw seemed to put the internal organs back in place and we drove home happy and tired to watch the DVD of Outrageous Fortune, season 2. (Purchased like this: Tim and I decided to walk past the sales at the CD shop to practice not spending our money on crap. Ten minutes later, we had bought the DVD. We need to work on this.)

From Pig’s Bum to Cowpats…

October 21, 20072 Comments

Haven’t posted in a wee while on account of studying for an upcoming Shakespeare exam, my only one – hoorah!

Last night’s dinner came via Nigella.com, which has a section where people can post their own recipes. It is indeed fertile ground for food creations, and I found two recipes that suited the ingredients I had to hand. The main was a Turkish dish, very easy, more of a suggestion than a recipe. Into a casserole dish go chicken pieces (I used thighs as that is what we always have) a chopped onion, chopped potatoes, a can of tomatoes, and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Bake till the chicken and potatoes are cooked, and well, that’s it. To go with I made something called Pumpkin Tian, which involves cubing some pumpkin, dusting with a little seasoned flour, sprinkling with grated parmesan and baking.

The end result:

Above: Turkish Chicken with Potatoes and Tomatoes.

There was a photo of the chicken with the pumpkin on the side but the stove looked a bit toooo grimy for my liking – it has since been given a wipe so don’t worry! The chicken tasted great, really warming and hearty, and cooking everything bathed in tomatoes meant that the chicken was super moist and the potatoes flavoursome. I can’t honestly say that I tasted the cinnamon, so I added an extra shake before serving. If I was to make this again I might biff a whole cinnamon quill in while it cooks and fish it out at the end, for extra flavour.

Because it was a day of the week ending in Y, I had a hankering for some pudding. To go with the homestyle dinner, I thought that a chocolate self-saucing pud might be good. I think chocolate self saucing pudding is one of those dishes in the canon of “classic” New Zealand food, I’m not sure how or why this came about though. I remember Mum making it occasionally for pudding when I was younger, in my household it was called, rather poetically, “Chocolate Floating Pudding.” The recipe I used came from Nigella’s Feast, and is not only easy to make but requires the simplest of ingredients – a great one for when you think you have nothing in the cupboard. Nigella’s recipe is a somewhat modern take on the original though, with cinnamon in the mixture and an optional slug of rum in with the water that goes on top. Not having rum, I used some Marsala all’uovo.

Above: Closeup on the Chocolate Floating Pudding. Nigella succinctly notes that the pudding “isn’t the most beauteous creation, there is a touch of the cowpat about it.” I feel that my photo is a direct visual realisation of her description.

No harm done, as it tasted fantastic. The marsala added resiny depth and fullness of flavour and it was as easy to eat (doused liberally with milk) as it was to make.

Pig’s Bum! (Need I say more?)

October 18, 20072 Comments

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have got myself a big bunch of rhubarb. Happily, tonight’s dessert not only uses this rhubarb to glorious effect, it also fulfils my desire to steam things. To top it off, it is called Pig’s Bum, thus indulging my love of silly names. Ultimate Pudding.

But first, dinner. Again, no meat, but we definitely didn’t go hungry. The weather was – you guessed it – rubbish today, and I felt like something bolstering for dinner, so I made a sort of loose minestrone. That is, I didn’t follow any particular recipe, instead, just used what I had kicking round. That happened to be: onion, celery, carrot, pumpkin, potato and later on, asparagus. It must be one of the most virtuous dinners you can eat – a trillion vegetables, bound together by stock and a bit of pasta. It is so healthy that it pretty much obliterates the calorific dessert that follows…right?

Above: Veges for the minestrone – so many that I needed two chopping boards! Healthy!

So, I sweated the veges in a little butter and olive oil for about ten minutes. I then crumbled in a stock cube – Knorr Porcini flavoured cubes brought back for me from Italy by my aunty Lynn. (it’s what Nigella uses!!) I then added water to the pot, brought it to the boil, and let it simmer away while I made the pud.

I wish I had thought to take a photo of the rhubarb (microwaved for a few minutes with a spoonful each of sugar and water) – it was just so pink, it looked as though I had added food colouring. The pudding, which is from Nigella’s How To Eat, is basically a Victoria Sponge batter mixed in with the rhubarb. I have to agree with Nigella when she says how great the batter tastes. I have always been a sucker for eating the mixture though…Anyway, you heap it all into the greased pudding bowl, cover it, and steam for two hours.

Once the pudding was a-steaming, I added some chopped asparagus and a handful of macaroni to the pot of soup. Once the pasta had swelled up and cooked, I ladled it out and grated over some parmesan. It was perfect – warming, comforting, tasty.

Above: Tim’s minestrone (rhymes with pinecone?)

As for the Pig’s Bum, it turned out beautifully, an incredibly light sponge with flecks of pink throughout.

Above: Pig’s Bum!

It tasted amazingly good, especially considering it took all of five minutes to make. Unlike the last couple of things I have steamed, it wasn’t stodgy in the slightest – really very light in fact. So, by the time Tim and I had ploughed through it, and Stefan and Kieran had had some too…there really isn’t much left! Will definitely be making this again at some stage.

May I Interest You In Some…

October 17, 20071 Comment

I am a person who likes to tick their recipes as they cook them. I enjoy looking over a cookbook peppered with notes and markings – it shows that the book is being used, and loved, not to mention that it shows what recipes I had particular success with. Keeping them pristine and smudge-free just doesn’t interest me. While perusing the Supersavers Cookbook for the Cauliflower Bread recipe to tick off, it struck me just how many fantastically awful sounding recipes this book has. After receiving my paternal Grandma’s Aunt Daisy cookbook I was particularly taken by some of the recipes – Simple Tart and Wholemeal Prune Surprise being among the more amusing – but the Supersavers Cookbook, despite being published a mere 27 years ago, completely trumps Aunt Daisy. I entirely forgot about looking for the Cauliflower Bread and instead immersed myself in compiling this list of the following recipe titles which actually exist in the book. None are made up…

Curried Apple Soup
Beef in Fruit Sauce
Red Flannel Hash
Potted Bloaters
Oatmeal and Carrot Soup (might go well with wholemeal gravy, Mum…)
Cucumber and Beer Soup
Jellied Fish Mould
Prune Mousse

And the piece de resistance –

Pigs Hearts A L’Orange!

What the!?

Pizza for two, roast veges for twelve…

October 17, 2007March 14, 2020Leave a comment

Another vegetarian dinner for us, involving one of my very favourite things: melted cheese. I made a pizza base following a recipe from Nigella’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess:

Above: The dough, rising on the stove – it is actually covered in glad-wrap but you can hardly see it!

While it was doing its thing, I chopped up parsnips, carrots, onions, and potatoes and roasted them with a little olive oil. I got Tim to grate some cheese (he will, without fail, obligingly do the two kitchen jobs I hate the most – grating cheese and peeling/washing potatoes) and I shmeered some tinned tomatoes onto the pizza base.

Above – the oven-ready pizza.

Okay, I have a confession to make – there was a LOT of cheese and while it tasted wonderful the photo of the baked pizza looks reeally oily in the photo. A bit like the Bobotie that I wrote about below – not very photogenic but tastes delicious. So, I’m making the executive decision to not post the picture…however, here are the roast veges, which didn’t turn out so badly…

Above: Mmmm….okay so it’s a lot for two but…Tim need his carbs?

Tim, Kieran and I went to Kaiwharawhara today to do some various jobs – Kieran to get his stereo fixed, and Tim and I went to Spotlight for some trouser lining and goldfish chow. While we were there I stopped in to a fruit and vege shop and got a big bunch of the most gloriously scarlet rhubarb which I can’t wait to tinker with! Maybe tomorrow…

You Say Banana

October 16, 20071 Comment

Went out and bought some more asparagus today, for the express purpose of roasting it for tonight’s dinner. As I mentioned in the previous post, the weather here is rubbish – and it makes you want to EAT. We had a meatless dinner tonight, (A) because I hadn’t defrosted anything and (B) it’s good to make the meat go a little further by ignoring it sometimes. Our dinner comprised of roast asparagus, roast pumpkin, and a curiousity found in the Supersavers book called Cauliflower Bread. I have to admit the name drew me in. This oddity in no way resembles bread (it is in fact, gluten free) and is made of mashed potato, steamed, mashed cauli, eggs, cheese and butter all mixed together and baked in a makeshift bain-marie (ie, sit your dish in a roasting pan filled with boiling water while it bakes.) The result is actually really good, gratifyingly stodgy and almost a complete meal – protein, carbs, and veges in one. Didn’t take a photo because the batteries for the camera needed charging. But, luckily they were charged in time for dessert…

Kieran had bought a packet of puff pastry for some reason ages ago and admitted he was never going to use it. I acquired it, but decided to bake a pudding for everyone (well, everyone except Emma, luckily she was out.) Had a shmooze through some books before deciding upon the Banana Butterscotch Upside Down Tart from Nigella’s Forever Summer. Very simple – slice up bananas and place at the bottom of a pie dish (warning – you need a lot!) Melt butter, and a surprisingly small amount of sugar together, before stirring a scant tablespoon each of golden syrup and cream. Pour this caramelly mixture over the banana, then roll out the pastry, (I got Tim to do this – he actually did all the really hard work for this recipe) tuck over the top of the bananas, bake, et voila!

As you can see below, the pastry puffed up beautifully.

Above – the baked banana tart. Yes, our stove is grimy.

Tim also did the next bit – turning out the boiling hot tart onto a plate. I have to say, he did it without any stress and didn’t burn himself with the caramel as I undoubtedly would have…

Above – the finished product. Am not the most die-hard banana fan, and the idea of warm bananas doesn’t really light my fire but this stuff was super moreish. You probably don’t need me to tell you that it’s nearly gone already…

Pontius Pilates has a new friend

October 16, 2007March 14, 20201 Comment

Okay, so it’s not quite as funny as the time I set my flowers on fire in the chapel at my school leavers’ ceremony but nonetheless, still amusing.

A couple of weeks ago, Tim, Kieran and I went up to Tim’s parents’ farm to help out with docking the lambs (ie, cutting off their tails) I baked some bits and pieces to add to the general pool, including an oaty slice from the New Zealand Cookbook simply called “Crunchies.” Anyway, we are sitting there having our lunch on the grass, having docked a couple of mobs of sheep and lambs, and having brief respite from docking the next lot. I offer round this slice, and comment to Kieran that because of it’s seedy, oaty nature “It’s a bit like that energy stuff you take hiking, you know…scrottage?” Apparently this was hilarious. I think what I was looking for was “scroggin” (which sounds equally testicular if you ask me) but anyway, it didn’t put people off eating it and since then, Scrottage it is. Shows how often I go hiking!!

So, today began gloriously, woke up with the sun streaming through the windows, and cloudless blue sky. Mere hours later, and it is cold, grey, hosing down, and of course, windy. Welcome to Wellington – where one’s choice of clothes in the morning may be wildly innapropriate by the afternoon.

On days as cold as this one has become, one’s thoughts turn to baking, and I decided to rustle up another batch of Scrottage. It is particularly good in that it is very cheap to make and then Tim doesn’t have to buy muesli bars.

Above: Scrottage, fresh from the oven.

A Steaming Mishap, and late-night brownies.

October 16, 2007March 14, 2020Leave a comment

I got home from work a bit early yesterday, and convinced myself that it was cold enough to use my steamer (it was quite mild outside really.) In my Supersavers book, there is a recipe for what looks like steamed, deconstructed, spag bol. That is, you cook some short pasta (I did macaroni, as the book recommended) add mince, canned tomatoes, frozen beans, dried thyme, garlic and an egg. Put it in your pudding steamer and steam for two hours. I was smitten not only because I got to steam something again, but also because miraculously, we had the exact ingredients required. So, two episodes of Season 1 Outrageous Fortune later, (did I mention that we bought the DVD and are rapturously pleased with it?) it was ready. I served it with the remaining asparagus, which I roasted, as per a suggestion of Nigella’s in How To Eat. If you are a fan of asparagus, PLEASE try this! It is wonderful! Just a 220 C oven, a tablespoon of olive oil, 15 minutes, and then sprinkle it with a little salt. It is nutty and slightly crispy and absolutely fantastic. Second only to asparagus rolls (on white bread with canned asparagus) for my favourite way of eating it.

Anyway…maybe I didn’t grease the pudding bowl enough (didn’t grease it at all, come to think of it) but the steamed mince thingy really didn’t unmould well – only half of it, as you can see below, came out. No matter – it’s not what you would call a ‘photogenic’ dish and I’m sure that it would have looked ugly even if it had turned out properly!

Above – Half of our dinner. The other half is still in the steamer…

Well, it tasted good, which was the important thing, but I don’t see how a combination of its ingredients could really go wrong. And it did seem like the exact sort of recipe you could expect to find in a book called “Supersaver’s.” It benefited from salt, and it could have definitely been improved with some cheese. But, cheese is expensive and grating is a pain, so we don’t often eat it frivolously. As you know, the asparagus was amazing.

Emma was babysitting last night, and Kieran, Stefan, Tim and I were all watching Outrageous Fortune. (pausing only to switch off the DVD and turn to Prime for Flight of the Conchords) Somewhere in the middle of this, I got a real hankering for some kind of pudding. Problem was, time was ticking on. Suddenly I decided to make something I used to do a lot as a youngster – Alison Holst’s chocolate brownies. Now, I’m not teeerribly fond of La Holst (she does seem to take the fun out of cooking) but as I said, I am very familiar with these brownies and knew they’d do the trick. I used the Dollars And Sense cookbook that Mum gave me some years back (a book filled with many gems actually) and got Tim to help me round up ingredients so as to get it going faster.

It is very easy, one of those wonderful one-pot melt and mix recipes that leave you with a minimum of washing up! No fancy ingredients required, but I added some chopped dark chocolate (had a bit lying round in the cupboard.) We put it in the oven, and halfway through another episode of Outrageous Fortune, they were ready. Not as densely squidgy and delicious as Nigella’s, but good for a quick fix, and much cheaper. You can see below what was left of them!

Above: Brownies, made in a silicone tin (can it still be called a tin if it’s made of silicone?) that Tim’s parents gave me.

Whole Lotta Pav

October 14, 2007March 14, 20201 Comment

Last night’s dinner came about largely as a result of Tim deciding to clean out our freezer the other night. It hadn’t been touched since we moved in last November and was pretty feral. Anyway, he found some egg whites I’d frozen after making some ice cream all the way back in February! Also some spare ribs. In the interest of saving freezer space, I decided to defrost both overnight to play with. Yesterday morning, I marinaded the ribs in a pretty standard “bit of this, bit of that” fashion. Since it was out of my own head (but nothing revolutionary, mind you) I can safely tell you: 2 Tablespoons each of golden syrup, sesame oil, white vinegar, soy sauce all drizzled over the ribs in the roasting dish (lined with foil for ease of cleaning!) followed by a few shakes of cinnamon and some grated fresh ginger. I bought the ginger at Pak’n’Save the other night for 55 cents! And it smells unbelievably wonderful, really zingy and fresh, like sniffing a just-opened bottle of ginger beer. Tim, Kieran and I went into town because it was sunny (but we were fooled! It was also debilitatingly windy!) While sheltering in some shops from the cold we ended up buying two Jools Holland DVDs, the complete Black Books DVD, and Series 1 DVD of Outrageous Fortune, (don’t worry, there was a hefty sale) so…all was not lost.

I started making the pav when I got home, as the egg whites had defrosted just fine. The pav is gluten-free, which is good for Emma, and comes from Nigella Lawson’s Feast.

Above:Me, whipping up a storm. Those egg whites went HUGE!

I baked it on this great silicone baking sheet that Tim’s parents got me. It has useful circle measurements on it so i just filled in the one I wanted with all the marshmallowy eggwhites.

The baked pav was enormous!

Above:!!!

I made a kind of pilaf thing to go with the ribs as I thought it might complement the flavours. I didn’t end up taking a picture thought because…we ate them too fast. They were soooo good!

Emma, Kieran, Tim and I had drinks and played Pictionary after dinner. That’s the kind of flat we are…after Tim and I whupped them (okay it was pretty close) and before I had drank too much red wine, I decorated the pav to Nigella’s specifications. I have to say, it’s one of the prettiest things I’ve ever made – as Twiggy on America’s Next Top Model would say, “The camera loves you!”

Above: The finished product. Pretty, no?

I actually think it is prettier than the last pav I made, Nigella’s chocolate Raspberry Pav from Forever Summer – What do you think?

Anyhow, we all ploughed through it. Including Kieran. YUM.

Above: Kdizzle dominates the pav.

Recurring Steam

October 14, 2007Leave a comment

There was a half price sale at Briscoes last Saturday. Tim, Kieran and I trooped down there to idly have a look at any bargains…and walked out an hour later groaning with bags. One of my purchases was a pudding steamer, something I have been looking on Trademe for for a while now. I made Nigella’s Golden Syrup Steamed Pudding, from How To Be A Domestic Goddess which was unbelievably delicious and very easy. You mix up a fairly basic sponge batter, grease the pudding bowl and lid, put golden syrup and lemon juice in the bottom of the bowl, dollop over the batter and clip on the lid. Lower this into a pan of boiling water, cover, and let steam for about two hours. Couldn’t be easier and seriously, couldn’t be more yum. Unfortunately, there aren’t really that many recipes these days that call for a pudding steamer and oh, how I long to steam something…

Above: Golden Syrup Steamed Pud. Perfect for when it’s raining…which is every bloody day at the moment in Wellington!

I can’t remember what I actually cooked for dinner that night, (ie, the meat component) but I do remember what I made on the side – a wonderful, wonderful thing called Pan Haggerty which comes from The Accidental Vegetarian. I know that some blogs post recipes but I’m not sure whether or not you need permission or something so you don’t get sued. So, I won’t give you the recipe but I will say this: (slowly) You thinly slice up potatoes and an onion, layer it in an oven dish, dot with butter, bake, then top with cheese and grill. Pa-dah! So good…I might make it again tonight. The photo below is a bit rubbish (especially in the context of the standards of the rest of the photos) but I thought I’d include it as it seems to convey the golden warmth of the potato-ey, cheesey dish.