Chocolate Pinwheels

• 240g flour


• 120g butter


• 120g sugar


• 4 tsps cocoa


• 1 medium egg

Method:

• Cream together the butter and sugar


• Beat in the egg


• Sieve in the flour


• Work into a dough, then divide into two portions


• 


• Knead the cocoa into one of these portions


• Roll each piece of dough out into even rectangles, about 1/2cm thick


• Place the chocolate rectangle on top of the plain


• Roll up together, length-wise for small biscuits, width-wise for fewer, larger biscuits


• 


• Cut into 1/2cm slices and placed on a lined baking tray


• Medium oven for about 10 minutes


• 

Chocolate Butter Biscuits

• 250g flour


• 95g butter


• 125g sugar


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1 sachet, or around 10g vanilla sugar


• Milk


• Nutella

[caption id="attachment_947" align="alignleft" width="500"] Place a spoonful of Nutella in the centre[/caption]

• Rub together flour and butter as if for a crumble


• Add other dry ingredients and mix thoroughly


• Drizzle in a little milk and work into a moist dough


• Divide into approximately 12 even pieces


• Flatten the pieces into circles


• Place a spoonful of Nutella on each


• Carefully wrap the Nutella in the biscuit dough, trying not to leave any 'leaks'


• Place on a lined tin and bake for 15-20 mins at 180.

[caption id="attachment_951" align="alignleft" width="500"] Carefully wrap the Nutella in the biscuit dough

Chocolate Butter Biscuits[/caption]

 

Keeping Him Satisfied The Old-Fashioned Way

[caption id="attachment_944" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Chocolate Butter Biscuits[/caption]

A full biscuit tin can go a long way towards harmony in the home.  Especially when there is chocolate involved.

The Girl was feeling guilty about getting Her Boyfriend in trouble with his parents by leaving his swimming bag on the bus, but he refused to let her pay for the replacements.  Knowing his sweet tooth, and particular love of chocolate, I came up with the idea of a tin full of sugary treats by way of a mea culpa.  In addition to the usual mini muffins etc, I went with some of my Chocolate Butter Biscuits (crumbly, buttery outside with Nutella filling) and some good old-fashioned Chocolate Pinwheels from a recipe in a Good Housekeeping cook book my late ex-mother-in-law gave me twentysomething years ago.

First published in 1953, some of the recipes sound horrendous (kidney and mushroon omelette, anyone?) but others more than withstand the test of time.  I would like to think that the people at Good Housekeeping all those years ago would be pleased to hear that their recipes are still appreciated in 2012, in this case by a teenage boy in the South of France who has no swimshorts but a very full stomach.

Bresse Is Best

 

[caption id="attachment_939" align="alignleft" width="155"] Official Mark Of AOC Poulet de Bresse[/caption]

Writing up the fried chicken recipe got me thinking about the quality of proteins and when to use them.  Although cheap chickens are perfectly fine for lots of meals, if you want a jaw-dropping, knock-your-socks-off poultry experience, then Bresse chicken is the one for you. They are raised in green meadows, with a minimum of ten square metres per bird.  They were the first (of very few) poultry to be honoured by an Appellation d'Origine Controllée (normally restricted to wines, cheeses and a few other specialities).  The legislation ensures that they are reared only in adherence to the time-honoured customs that earned them the honour back in 1957, including being raised on a diet of milk-soaked corn.

The first time we tried Bresse chicken was our first Christmas here in France.  Being only four for the Christmas table, we decided to splash out on quality over quantity and chose a fancy fowl over a tubby turkey.  Having heard how good Bresse chickens were, we ordered well in advance, collected the carefully-wrapped bird on Christmas Eve and gleefully stowed it in the fridge.

Christmas morning brought its usual lovely surprises and one rather horrible shock!  In my ignorance and naivety I had simply ordered a chicken for four people, not thinking to specify that it should be 'prêt à cuire' - 'ready to cook'. We had indeed got a whole chicken between the four of us. A WHOLE chicken, complete with head, feet and innards!

The children screamed and hid.  Husband and I supressed the urge to throw up, surveyed each other bleakly and spoke one word in unison: Google.

If our first Christmas in this lovely country of food and wine was not to be ruined then we had to pull ourselves together and deal with the damn chicken.  We duly googled up information on how to prepare a chicken, whilst downing several glasses of 'courage'. (It was Christmas - morning drinking is not only acceptable but practically compulsory.  Don't judge me.)  Husband tackled the head and feet, then I proceeded to 'empty' it (make sure you get the horrible green sac of disgusting stuff out with all the red bits or it will wreck the chicken).  There were gloves, plastic bags, and (almost) tears.

Despite  the trauma of it all, the chicken was outstanding.  No need to do anything fancy with it: a simple roast with regular basting in its own juices to ensure that you make the most of the oustanding flavour that pervades from the meat through the natural fat.

Shan't be having one this Christmas as we have a houseful, but I'm sure if I rack my brains I can come up with an excuse to order one. Prêt à cuire.

 

 

Bob's Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 small chickens


• approx 500ml milk


• couple of handfuls of flour


• salt and pepper


• tablespoon chili powder

 

[caption id="attachment_896" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Deep Fried Chicken[/caption]

• Cut the chickens into pieces


• Soak in milk for around an hour


• Mix the flour, chili pepper and seasoning together in a bowl


• Remove each piece of chicken from the milk, shake off excess liquid and roll in the flour mixture until thoroughly coated


• Deep fry in oil at 170˚ for around 15 minutes per batch of 4 pieces

Enough Breasts To Keep Everyone Happy

[caption id="attachment_891" align="alignleft" width="300"] Deep-fried Chicken[/caption]

Whilst our favourite boucher is on holiday, we tend to fall back on the cheap chickens from the Halal boucherie the other side of town.  They are no Bresse chickens, but are decent enough quality considering they are 3 for 11€. They are fairly small, but cheap enough to cook a couple at a time so that everyone can have a breast or two.  Who doesn't like breasts?

Having recently re-read 'Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistlestop Cafe' I was inspired to indulge in some homemade fried chicken.  (If I wanted takeaway there is a KFC about 25km away, but that's pretty much it around here.) The method I use is simple and, in fact, originally based on the 'Sipsey's Southern Fried Chicken' recipe at the back of my copy of FGTATWC.  The simplicity of the coating also means that leftovers keep well overnight for a cold lunch, though it's unlikely you'll find any untouched breasts.....

Burger Me! They Taste Good!

Homemade burgers are always the best, not least because (assuming you get your meat from a reputable source) you know exactly what is going into the food you are feeding your family. Burgers from supermarkets, especially frozen ones, are likely to have too much salt, as well as fat and 'non-meat fillers', whatever they are. Non-meat fillers? Are they breadcrumbs? Starch? Ground unicorn poo?
Anyway, I get my ground beef from the butcher, where they grind the meat in front of me. Not an option for everyone, I know, but make sure you read the labels carefully to see what you are buying.
There is no end to the ways in which you can vary your burgers. This weekend I had the luck to lay my hands on some cèpe mushrooms at market, so I finely chopped some cèpes, some shallots and some flat leaf parsley into the mix. I also added a handful of finely grated fresh Parmesan, a generous pinch of Colmans Mustard Powder and some salt and pepper. Cooked in a little olive oil until pink, I then served them in homemade mini burger buns. There was no need for sauces or garnishes of any kind as the flavour stood up for itself and the meat was good and moist.
These were served as part of a small family buffet, but would do equally well as full-size burgers with homemade fries or vegetable crisps on the side.
Mmmm. Writing makes me hungry.

Pastry Of The Week 8th October: Fondant au Chocolat

Welcome to another Pastry Of The Week Whenever-I-Get-Around-To-It. Don't even ask.
Fondant au Chocolat has nothing to do with icing fondant, as some of my (imaginary) American readers might think, but is a soft, moist chocolate cake, usually with a chocolate glaze on top.  If The Daughter ever recovers the camera cable from the hellmouth that is her bedroom i will show you a picture of it in all its chocolatey glory.
The cake is somehow moist and rich without being too heavy, or tasting underdone.  For the glaze, the boulanger was unable to tell me what the ingredients were as he doesn't make it from scratch.  Unfortunately it is hard to get hold of quite a number of ingredients for breads and patisseries here because it's a 'trade' thing and they are not known or available in shops. Arse.
I have seen numerous recipes for Fondant au Chocolat, so I am going to have a poke around and try one or two out and see if I can come up with a glaze that fits.  Wish me luck, my imaginary friends.