A few foodie favorites

With everyone in the family in full time work or education, time in the evenings and weekends is at a premium and a little planning goes a long way.

We always plan a weekly menu, and get all the necessary groceries in one go for the week ahead. Sometimes the hardest part is simply coming up with a menu plan and trying to keep it interesting. We love a variety of foods and flavors and are ready to try new things from time to time, but under pressure of time it's only natural that most of our meals are tried and trusted family favorites.

Even so, we try to mix it up and we often find ourselves wracking our brains, thinking "We need a rice dish here" or "Haven't had fish for a while", and trying to recall dishes to tempt the tastebuds.

Just as an experiment, I've started another blog called Rumble in the tumble where I'm keeping a daily record of recipes as we go. My thinking was to keep a note of meals, using the labels to index by main ingredients to help jog tired memories. We'll see how that goes, but meanwhile if anything over there encourages you to try something new it will have been worthwhile.

Just a word of warning - don't expect full-blown recipes with measurements and precise instructions, or anything fancy like that. I mostly just dive in saying "fry this" and "boil that". Quantities are up for grabs, and depend how many you're cooking for. This is seat-of-the-pants cookery.

On the plus side, it's all very simple and forgiving stuff. We like simple :)

Christmas pudding

This is an old family recipe. It makes dark, moist, steamed puddings, traditional in England on Christmas day.

These are best made months in advance and left to mature. We are late this year, I originally planned to do this back in January but never got around to it. Never mind, any left over will be perfect for Christmas 2012.

Ingredients

1 lb each of: raisins, currants, sultanas, prunes (chopped into sultana-sized pieces).
Approx. 2 pints of brandy (this is our secret addition)
1 lb breadcrumbs
1 lb brown sugar
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 lb mixed peel
1 lb plain flour
6 eggs
1 lb suet
1 dessert spoon marmalade
1 dessert spoon coffee
1/2 pint milk

Note on quantities

These quantities are direct from our recipe, but this makes a huge amount. I guess this is from the days of larger families. We always halve this, which makes three decent-sized puddings, each one giving maybe six to eight servings.

Method

Measure out the dried fruit (raisins, currants, sultanas, prunes) into a sealable container. Add enough brandy to cover the fruit. Seal the container and leave the fruit to soak for at least a day.

It doesn't matter if you leave it for longer (a few days), that just gives more time for the brandy to soak in.

Measure all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add the fruit and the remaining ingredients, and mix well.

Turn the mixture out into greased pudding basins. Don't over-fill. The mixture should be just below the top.

Cover each basin with a sheet of parchment paper and then a clean cloth or handkerchief. The paper and cloth should be pleated to allow the mixture to rise. Tie the covering with string.

I always make a loop of string over the top as well, to make it easy to lift the basins in and out of the pan.

For each pudding, put an inch of water into a large saucepan, put the basin into the pan, bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 4 hours. Check the pan occasionally and top up with boiling water if needed.

Don't let the pan boil dry, and don't put so much water in that it can bubble over the top of the basin. The water level should be about 1/4 to 1/2 the way up the basin at all times.

Leave to cool, then store in a cool, dry place.

When you want to serve, re-heat the pudding for an hour or so in a pan of water, like when cooking, then turn out onto a plate. If you want to be fancy, you can pour a shot of brandy over the pudding and light it before serving. Be sure to dim the lights so you can see the blue flames.

Serve with any or all of: ice cream, custard, cream, brandy butter (the most traditional).

Any leftovers can also be reheated in a microwave, but be careful just to warm through and not to overdo it.

Liver pate

Yes, banner art is back again. Thank you Blogger techies!

Here's another little favourite treat that I like to make on a quiet weekend. It's also great to serve as a starter if you're throwing a dinner party, with toast, a few shreds of salad, and a dish of port & redcurrant sauce on the side.

Ingredients

4 oz butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 - 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb liver (whatever kind takes your fancy)
1/2 pint beef stock
Salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning to taste
Dash of cream

Note on quantities

This is another very forgiving recipe, good for seat-of-the-pants cooking. There's a lot of butter, which is what helps the pate set. If you end up with a bit too much or too little liquid, all that will happen is it will end up a bit on the soft or firm side. No real harm done. And you can deal with that by adjusting the simmering time to reduce to the right level.

Method

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and gently fry the onions until soft. As with most dishes that start with frying onions, I usually go for the long and slow approach. About 15 minutes in this case.

Add the garlic and liver, and fry until the liver changes colour.

Add the stock and seasoning, bring to the boil, and then cover and simmer for between 1 and 2 hours. Check on the pan occasionally and stir to make sure nothing sticks or burns.

The time is not too critical. The liver should be very well-cooked, enough to break apart easily with a wooden spoon, and the stock should be reduced to a sludgy oily soup. It won't look particularly appetising at this stage. Don't worry!

When the liquid is considerably reduced, take off the heat and leave to cool a little. You don't want it to cool completely, just enough so as not to curdle the cream.

Pour the contents of the pan into a blender and blend until smooth. Add the cream and blend again.

The results should be a very thick liquid. It should pour, but reluctantly, and there should be lots sticking to the sides of the blender that you'll want to scrape off. Don't add so much cream that it gets runny or it won't set properly.

Pour into a bowl, leave to cool, then refrigerate for a couple of hours to set.

Try not to eat it all at once, or you'll be sick!

Whatever-you-want curry

I remember promising a curry recipe a few weeks ago. Here is not one, not two, but hundreds of recipes all in one go. This is more of a recipe recipe, a formula for creating a variety of dishes.

Yes, I do use a recipe book sometimes, when I want a specific dish such as a tikka, balti, rogon josh, or coriander chicken, but most of the time I just use this base recipe and decide how spicy or creamy I want to make it. And because each time is different, each time is an adventure.

So, as usual, this post pays little more than lip service to a standard recipe format, and because of the inherent flexibility, what little lip service there is will be fleeting indeed. I've listed ingredients (some mandatory, many optional) in groups to go with the different stages of preparation. I think the overall method is far more important than getting too anal over ingredients.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil.

Onions, plus optional additions such as ginger, chillis, and garlic.

Spices: powdered cumin, coriander, curry powder, and (my secret weapon) a teaspoon of Nina Patak's hot curry paste. You can also mix things up by adding an off-the-shelf sauce or paste such as butter chicken.

Meat: whatever you want. I usually use chicken or prawns, occasionally lamb. You can also add tinned chickpeas either instead of, or as well as, meat. Or vegetables, of course. I don't do vegetable curries often so I almost didn't think to mention that.

Sauce: one or more of the following: chopped tomatoes, cream, coconut milk.

Finishing touches (all optional): ground almonds, chopped coriander (cilantro). And anything else you associate with curries.

Quantities

Ha Ha Hahahahaha!

Oh, OK then, but these are just guidelines to get started. The fun is in varying and experimenting for yourself.

So, for enough for 2 or 3 portions, you want...

1 medium onion, chopped. If you're adding other stuff, then anything up to 1" cube of ginger (finely chopped), 1 or 2 chillis (seeded, unless you like it hot, and chopped), 1 or 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped).

A generous teaspoon of the dry spices. The hot curry paste is my secret addition to just about everything, even when I'm using a ready-made sauce or following a recipe. This is what adds the heat and its own flavour. Use with care.

Meat: whatever you need to feed yourself with!

Usually 1 tomato. More if that is all I'm using for liquid, less (or none) if I'm going for really creamy. This bit is really just a balancing act, with the idea of ending up with enough liquid to avoid the sauce drying out and sticking. It's surprising how much liquid a tomato will add when it mushes down.

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan, and fry the onions (and other ingredients in that group, except for garlic). This should be done long and slow, so the onions soften and turn golden. I usually let them cook slowly for about 15 minutes.

If using garlic, add that when the onion is almost ready otherwise it can burn.

Add the spices, and stir in well.

Add the meat. Stir until coated with spices and fry on a high heat until it changes colour.

One exception to this method: if I'm doing prawns, I leave them out and carry on with cooking the sauce, and then add them about 10 minutes from the end to avoid overcooking them.

Another exception (with Christmas approaching): if you are currying already-cooked meat, like, say, just for the sake of argument, leftover turkey, add that near the end too, just so it heats through. I curried turkey left over from Thanksgiving in a very creamy sauce. Delicious!

If using tomatoes, make a gap in the centre of the pan and add them. Turn the heat down low and let them mush down (stirring occasionally) for about 15 minutes.

This stage needs watching carefully, because you don't want the dish to dry out and start catching on the bottom of the pan. This will depend on many factors such as the ingredients you use and how good your pan is. The trick is to keep stirring and separating food from the bottom of the pan so it doesn't get a chance to catch. You should have some liquid from the tomatoes very quickly to help things along. If you think it looks dry, and a few spoonfuls of water to help things along.

Stir in the remaining liquid ingredients (if used), and let the whole dish simmer on a low heat until the meat is cooked through.

This stage is very forgiving. You can finish off as soon as the meat is cooked if you're in a hurry, or you can do it long and slow. You can even take it off the heat and let it stand for hours before resuming cooking. Just make sure you stir the ingredients together again when you raise the heat again, and add more liquid if it looks like drying out.

Finally, if the sauce needs thickening, stir in a handful of ground almonds.

Garnish with chopped coriander, sliced hard-boiled eggs, sliced tomato, cucumber, whatever, depending on what takes your liking and how fancy you want to make it.

Festive veggies

Here's a couple of very simple but delicious twists on vegetables to add a little variety to that Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

These are both "seat of the pants" recipes, so quantities are expressed with cheerful disregard for cook-book precision.

Parsnips in creamy horseradish

Ingredients

Parsnips
Salt
Horseradish sauce - mild, medium, or strong according to your taste
Whipping cream
Grated parmesan

Quantities

Whatever quantity of parsnips you want to serve. Depends on number of people, and what other veggies you are serving, and how much you like parsnips.

Equal quantities of horseradish sauce and cream, enough altogether to coat the parsnips. If I'm making a small dish for 2 or 3 people I usually use about half of a small (125ml) jar of horseradish.

A generous sprinkling of parmesan.

Method

Peel and cut the parsnips into pieces. I usually cut them lengthwise into finger-sized pieces.

Place into salted water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Drain and place into a small baking dish. Mix the horseradish and cream and pour over the parsnips. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Put in the oven at 350 F for half an hour. The cream should be bubbling and the cheese starting to brown.

Sprouts with mushrooms

Ingredients

Flaked almonds
Button mushrooms - either white or chestnut
Generous knob of butter
Sprouts
Salt

Quantities

Equal quantities of sprouts and mushrooms. Depending on the size of the mushrooms, use them whole, halved, or quartered. The pieces should be about the same size as the sprouts.

Enough almonds to sprinkle over the top.

Method

Fry the almonds in a little butter until they start to brown.

Remove the almonds from the pan and set aside.

Add more butter to the pan and fry the mushrooms.

Meanwhile, boil and simmer the sprouts in salted water for about 5 minutes. They should be just about cooked and still crisp. I think sprouts get a bad rap mostly because people overcook them. A properly-cooked sprout should never be soggy!

Drain the sprouts and add them to the mushrooms. Stir until the sprouts are coated in the butter and juices.

Serve sprinkled with the fried almonds.

Braised pork with clams

Following up on the promise I made to post some recipes, here is a dish we had as a pre-Thanksgiving warm-up the day before the main turkey event.

This is inspired by something I ate at a wonderful Portugese restaurant in the Channel Islands, and which I tried to recreate from memory many years later so I won't make any claims of authenticity. Would you believe that I had to wait until we reached Canada to have a proper go at it, because I just could not get hold of clams in Guernsey?

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
Olive oil
Lean pork, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 or 2 tomatoes, chopped
Tomato ketchup
1 or 2 tins of clams, drained
Cream
Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
Salt
Butter

Quantities

You'll notice the above list is a bit light on quantities, because this is a "seat of the pants" recipe, not something from a book.

Basically, you want enough pork for a meal for however many people you are cooking for, and roughly the same amount of potatoes. Enough clams to make a noticeable contribution without overwhelming the dish. When cooking for two people I use one tin. For a larger quantity I use two.

Method

Cook this dish in a large pan or frying pan with a lid.

Fry the onion gently in some olive oil until it softens and starts to go golden.

Turn the heat to high, add the pork to the pan and fry until it changes colour.

Add the tomatoes. Keep stirring until the tomatoes start to mash down. The pork and tomatoes together should provide enough liquid, but if the mixture looks dry and starts catching on the bottom of the pan then add a splash of water.

Once you have some liquid coating the bottom of the pan, turn the heat down very low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pork is tender - at least one hour. If you can leave it going very gently for two hours then do so.

Timing is not too critical for this dish, it is something you can comfortably leave on a low heat for ages, or even prepare ahead of time, turn off the heat, and resume cooking later on.

While the pork is cooking, place the diced potatoes in a pan of salted water. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Timing depends on the variety of potato. You want them to have started cooking but still be firm, not about to flake at the edges.

Drain the potatoes, and fry in a mixture of olive oil and butter until crisp and golden. Take off the heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, back at the pork...

About half an hour before you are ready to serve, add a generous squirt of tomato ketchup to the pork, enough to thicken the sauce a bit.

Stir in the clams.

Ten minutes before serving, stir in a dash of cream. Bring the heat up to medium and add the cooked potatoes. Mix everything thoroughly and simmer to ensure the potatoes are hot through (depends how long you left them to one side, and this will depend on how good your timing is), then serve.

Delicious with a simple green salad, fresh-baked olive bread...and a nice Chianti

Olive bread

Here is a recipe transcribed from a photocopied sheet. I think we inherited this from a book somewhere in the mists of history, but there are no obvious clues as to origin on the sheet.

This is a recipe for a bread maker, and makes a 2lb loaf.

Official version

1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
1/4 cup chopped ripe olives
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast or bread machine yeast

The instructions are to put the ingredients in according to the manufacturer's directions (in our case, liquids, then all the sundry ingredients, with flour on top and the yeast last of all) and bake on a basic white bread cycle.

My adjustments

I've found with these recipes that it works best to use slightly more liquid and sugar than directed. So nearer to 1 1/2 cups water, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar. This is something you have to experiment with for best results.

I don't bother with green olives, just using a generous 1/2 to 3/4 cup of chopped black olives instead. Generous, because Ali and I both like our olives. Exact quantity not really important.

I like to include a bit of wholewheat flour in the mix, maybe 1/2 cup, rather than all white flour. Same overall quantity, though.

Rather that use a full cycle, I prefer to use the dough setting and finish off in the oven.

Once the bread maker has finished the dough, turn it out into a bowl, knead briefly, then cover and stand in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes.

Knead again and shape on a baking tray. Leave to rise again for another 45 minutes or so.

For rising, I get good and consistent results by setting the oven to 170 F, and then switching it off as soon as it is up to temperature.

The nice thing about dough is that you have a lot more freedom to portion it out or make one big loaf, or even make little buns just for fun. Last weekend I split the mix in half and made two loaves: one to eat immediately, and one for the freezer.

Once the bread has risen, decorate with some whole olives. Bake at 365 F for 25 minutes.

When the bread is baked, brush lightly with olive oil and leave to cool...if you can!