Jubilee cooking.

Am I exhausted, This morning I have made
Two savoury cakes, one had chopped artichoke,mushroom and black olives with blue cheese, the other is with sundried tomato, goat's cheese and basil
I will post the recipes after the weekend. Then I have made two fairly large focaccia breads one with just rosemary and sea salt, the other with leek and black olives.
Next I did a batch of cheese biscuits,made with whatever is left of the bits of cheese that seem to need using up.
Finally I have done some mayonnaise
I thought I had cracked the separating of an egg by dropping it whole into a shallow bowl, and then fishing the yolk out with a slotted spoon. All went marvellously till I came to the fourth egg, when of course the yolk broke in the bowl of whites.So scooped as much out as possible as tomorrow I have to make meringues for the jubilee party on the road, actually this is for a picnic for three of us, as apparently there will be 150 people attending.
The last thing I will make is a frittata of courgettes and leeks that I will take to share with the aforesaid 150 guests If it rains, we can't be in the road ,and will decamp to the local church hall , but No alcohol allowed, so it will be cozy under a gazebo that will be in the road.
Needless to say I am now going to sit down and read the paper .
How could I forget, I have done an enormous tabbouleh to take to share as well.
I have made mayonnaise by using the stick blender, and using up some of the yolks left from separating the eggs for tomorrow's meringue roulade , which will be filled with cream and strawberries and blueberries, very celebratory.
That's enough for anybody.

Have been away

For almost a week,the weather went from winter to summer in a day,with food to match! My fabulous friends are in the process of opening a restaurant in two weeks time.
So I haven't been cooking at all, but will get back to it next week as we have a street party ,with all that will entail .

I have written about this in the Top Tips section of the blog.

Today's menu, mainly Vegetarian !

What are we having first? I have butternut squash that has been waiting for me to do something with it, so we will have soup(as it is unseasonably cold still) made with roasted squash some chilli flakes ,garlic, vegetable stock and Coconut milk. Puréed ,and thinned a little as it is still vey thick.then served with chopped coriander and a swirl of cream.
Then Bucatini with soya beans, asparagus tips and tomatoes. With a dressing of Olive oil, garlic very finely chopped,salt and pepper and a lot of fresh chopped Basil added . The vegetables are marinated for the time that the pasta is cooking then the precooked green vegetables andcherry tomatoes are added cold to the hot pasta, and then some freshly diced Goat's cheese is added at the end, just before serving. With of course ,masses more Basil.
For pudding, I have made a Ricotta and honey tart, with candied home made orange peel,orange flower water, a couple of eggs beaten into the mix, then poured into the already cooked tart,and some pine nuts scattered over the top,thenin the oven for 45 minutes at a moderate heat.I have done a fruit sauce,as there were some frozen summer fruits still in the freezer.

Tonight's Menu

We will be having Stuffed Mushrooms with leek,tiny scrap of ham,the mushroom stalks and a few more,parsley and then some breadcrumbs to fill them. I have put some Roquefort cheese and bashed up hazelnuts on the top. This will go in the oven just before I put in the main course, which is a Salpicon of game with chicken livers,briefly sautéed with another leek and some three cloves of garlic( you can tell I have rather a lot of leeks!)red wine added to give it some liquid and then a Gougere made with extra cheese l shall use some Comté in the mix,and use the same recipe as for making Éclairs. Cheeses,and then fresh fruits to follow.

Forgot to write about dinner two days ago.
First we had some Caponata made with red and yellow peppers,tomatoes and sliced onions.
Then we had the last game bird still in the freezer,a Mallard duck,very small ,just enough for two.I pot roasted it in some red wine and onions some
celery and a few baton carrots.plus some streaky bacon over the breast to stop it drying out too quickly.
This was in the oven for just under the hour plus some new potatoes previously par boiled and then smashed and the resulting potatoes roasted in some goose fat.They were really delicious,and i had never done them like that before Some lightly cooked spinach was all we needed .
Then I stewed some plums with Star Anise and a little sugar and white wine and served them with some Greek Yoghurt to which I added some dark soft brown sugar,it tasted of caramel.
In all, a good evening meal!

What's in my fridge today?

When I looked in there,I found half a piece of Celeriac and half a large leek plus some Mangtout peas which definitely needed eating up.
Peeled the celeriac and some potatoes and put them to boil then sliced the leek finely,and added some to the potatoes and celeriac before I mashed the whole lot up.
Briefly stir fried the Mangtout , plus the remaining sliced leeks, then browned some Hazelnuts in a little oil and grated some orange rind.
Mixted that together plus a splash if fantastic Orange Balsamic Vinegar over the top,and I expect you've guessed.... Some chilli flakes!
Now I will take a picture of it ....