jeudi 25 décembre 2008

simple


first, i must apologise for the quality of the photo.
The camera on the iPhone is no way as good as the one on the Eriksson...
what the hell.
Christmas, or any BIG meal must be kept as simple as possible whilst all at the same time looking for maximum effect.
This, i stole from the "Waitrose" magazine.
200g grated parmasan
150 g flour
150 g butter
throw eveything into a blender until you get a "crumble" pastry add water if need be.
roll your pastry into a sausauge.
Roll it into a beaten egg, then roll it on some spice. Wasabe sesame seeds aren't bad. Pure wasabe might be better. Wrap your spiced sausage in some cellophane and chill for at least half an hour.
You slice the sausage up and cook your biscuits in a hot oven for 1/4 hour.
easy

mercredi 3 décembre 2008

black diamond

Why is the black truffle so cherrished ? so special ? so unique ? so glamourised ?
i thought for so long that the fungi above was idealised only because or it's rarity. After all, it's earthy taste was not was hardly recognisable, and so very often undetected.
Was it also just because it was part of the magnificient white truffle's family that made it such a star ?
after all, it wasn't because i didn't try !
i must have sampled the mushroom in so many different ways that it was impossible not to give an objective point of view...
... until now that is...
it's a secret, but well worth sharing because it is one of the most delicate products i've used, and one gets addicted to it very quickly. The margin of error is enormous so there is little chance of failiure...
the simple secret is to use it raw. Be it on on pasta, scrambled eggs, risotto, mashed potato, soup... whatever... ALWAYS grate the mushroom on your dish just before serving, and the heat of the dish will bring all the scents and flavours out.
My favorite is risotto. I will have a chapter on that very soon...