Mrs Beeton Likes To Sweeten

I have been making apple crumble since I was a kid and can't remember the last time I actually measured the ingredients.  For the general edification of The Internet I thought I would take the time to work out a recipe that was clear to others, rather than "keep adding flour until it feels right..." etc.  As it's such an old-fashioned classic, I thought I'd turn to my trusty Mrs Beeton (1961) for a standard recipe and go from there.

Evidently old Missus B likes her puddings SWEET! 110g brown sugar plus 85g castor sugar, mixed with 90g butter and only 180g of flour, even when toned down with my personal addition of 2 handfuls of oats was far too sweet, even for The Daughter.  Back to the drawing board.

Tomorrow: I shall be purchasing a sample for the long-awaited return of......PASTRY OF THE WEEK!

Isn't it exciting?

bob

Cassoulet Fait Maison

This is very much a basic, easy version which I threw together to cook slowly as I nursed my Sunday hangover.

Ingredients: (4 people)

• 4 pieces of chicken (drumsticks/thighs)


• 4 pieces of belly pork


• Length of Toulouse or 'grosse' saucisse, or 1 thick, coarse sausage per person


• 2 tins tomato pulp


• 500g tin haricots blanc


• Herbes de Provence


• Salt, pepper


• 2 tomato tins of water

Method:

• Throw everything except the beans into a large casserole dish with a lid


• Bung in the oven for about 2.5 hours at around 120 degrees, until the chicken nearly done


• Turn up the oven to 220 and bung in the beans


• Cook for a further 20-30 minutes


• Serve with fresh, crusty bread

 

 

 

Bean There, Done That

Well the winter ennui is becoming rather stifling.  I have cooked so many stews and roasts etc that I have begun to actually dream about barbecue season.  Yesterday I made a Cassoulet, which has been off the menu the last couple of winters as I made it so often during our first winters in France.  To be honest, I was a little rusty as regards the recipe, and there are so many variations out there (one of those French dishes that everyone seems to have an opinion on) that I just got some appropriate meats and kept it very simple.  It's hot, tasty and filling and makes a change from Sunday roast.

Not much else has been up on the food front, as The Husband wanted certain favourite dishes for his (3 day) birthday celebrations, such as Côtes de Boeuf en Deux Cuissons and Mousse au Chocolat.  I do, however, have some grand plans for March, including the resurrection of Pastry of the Week, and our very own Big Night, when we will be attempting the colossal 'Timpano' from scratch. April/May will see me sampling the gastronomic offerings of Canada. It's always exciting to travel to countries you haven't been to before, especially when that country has MAPLE BACON.  Nuff said.

Tarte aux Pommes

Ingredients:

• 4 large apples


• 1 quantity sweet pastry


• 1 cinnamon stick


• Caster sugar

Method:

• Prep your pastry and place in fridge to chill until needed


• Peel and core the apples


• Dice two apples, slice the others nice and thinly


• Cook the diced apple down in a saucepan with a drop of water and the cinnamon stick until softened


• Remove cinnamon stick and any excess fluid (they want to be soft, not soggy)


• Line your tart case with the pastry


• Cover with the softened apple


• Starting at the outer edge, lay the slices of apple in a neat spiral until the whole surface is covered


• Sprinkle liberally with caster sugar


• Pop in a medium oven (about 180) until the edges of the apple slices start to brown

What An Old Tart

Tarte aux Pommes is an old standard around here and as such, subject to variations according to personal taste/tradition.  There are those who make it with crème patissière, those who glaze it etc etc. I have evolved a simple, straightforward recipe which we enjoy.  Pretty much all one looks for in an everyday dessert, I would say.  The main reason I made it the other day was because the apples in the fruit bowl needed using up.  I have a sneaking suspicion that my nearest and dearest are deliberately leaving the 'boring' frsh fruit until I give in and make a sugary dessert out of them. Well played, family, well played.

Crispy Peking Duck

 

Ingredients:

• Chinese Five Spice


• Soy Sauce


• Honey


• Whole duck (around 2 kg)

Method:

The day before:

• Wash duck inside and out, pat dry


• Put in a windy place or in front of a fan to thoroughly dry for a couple of hours


• Tip a tablespoon of five spice inside the duck and shake it around


• Mix a couple of tablespoons of five spice with a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce and thoroughly rub into the skin


• Place in fridge overnight

To Cook:

• Place on a rack in a large wok, or in a steamer and steam for one hour


• Place in pre-heated oven at 190 for 1 hour


• Remove from oven, turn heat up to 260


• Mix about a tablespoon of honey with the same of soy sauce and glaze the duck


• Blast in the oven at 260 for 10 minutes


• Shred the meat from the bone with a couple of forks


• Serve with Hoi-Sin sauce, Mandarin pancakes, julienne cucumber and spring onion or leek.

Give It A Good Rub And See What Happens

So we had this duck in the freezer. Nothing fancy - €10 from Lidl, truth be told.  We had had roast duck a couple of weeks previously, so I decided to challenge myself and attempt one of my all time favourites: Crispy Peking Duck.  I ducking love it.

I poked around looking at recipes and, as I usually do, took aspects from a number of them to make my own. A lot of the recipes I saw called for plum sauce as an accompaniment, but for my tastes you cannot beat Hoi-Sin sauce with cucumber, onion and pancakes. I really didn't want to make the pancakes, but the Chinese/Asian market did not have any ready-made, so I found an excellent recipe here. It's important to prep the duck the day before, so that it really takes on the flavours, and cook it longer than you perhaps would for a plain roast so that it shreds nicely.

Sihk faahn!

(I hope the internet was right about that translation and I haven't unintentionally said something incredibly rude.  I like to say incredibly rude things intentionally.)