Breakfast recipe: Baked Eggs Florentine

A wonderfull breakfast dish which the french call 'Oeufs sur la plat a la Florentine', doesn't that sound excuisite? This is very simple, but elegant breakfast dish which I like on special occasions, maybe with abit of something fizzy. This is a variation on the recipe by Paul Bocuse, 3 Michelin star chef of Lyon.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 400g spinach (coarser stems removed)
• 50g lean ham in fine dice
• 4 tbl spoons of butter
• 6 eggs
• salt, pepper and fresh grated nutmeg

Pick the coarser stems off the spinach leaves and reserve a few for garnish. Cook the spinach in boiling water briefly and refresh under cold water before pressing out all the liquid from them in a colander. Either chop this finely or process in a blender to make a puree. Add most of the butter to a saute pan and cook the spinach puree, ham and seasoning for a minute or two

Preheat oven to 210c, butter 6 shirred egg dishes or cocottes (any shallow and wide crockery will do) and place a layer of the spinach and ham mix on the bottom before breaking the eggs into each dish. Add any more seasoning to taste, add whole spinach leaves and dap with extra butter. Bake in the oven for approximatly 15 minutes, the whites should be fully set but the yolk still runny. Serve with fresh bread or toast. Happy eating!

How to make: Cottage cheese

Another exceptionally simple cheese, which in times without refrigeration would have extended the shelf life of milk from days to weeks. As with so many of my receipts (recipes, but I like the older word) it screams for experiments, snip in some chives perhaps? Who knows, you decide! It will work for any type of milk, but full fat milk is absolutely necessary. Who knew cheese making could be so easy?

Ingredients: Whole milk, vegetable or animal rennet or lemon juice

Put whatever amount of milk you have in a pan and warm gently to body temperature, when you put your (very clean finger) into the pan you should notice no change in temperature. Then add a few drops of rennet or the juice of half a lemon and stir. Leave to separate for 2 hours off the heat, then strain through a fine sieve/muslin cloth over night. C'est tout! We have a simple cheese.

At this point you can add a pinch of salt or any additional flavourings, it will be sweet and quite moist, definitely spreadable. But will become drier with time, it should last 7-10 days covered in the fridge. Happy eating!

How to make: Butter

Butter, ever thought of making it? Originally it was used to preserve milk in another form, as without refrigeration it wouldn't last 2 days. It's exceptionally simple and opens up a whole range of flavours which you can introduce. Flavoured butters are known in french kitchens as beurres composes. They can add variety to cooked dishes, and work very well with fresh bread from the 'Homebaked' section. The recipe is for a rather large batch, but it freezes well when sealed in an air tight container, and the process is exactly the same to make a lesser amount, and you get a by product, buttermilk!

Woman making butter - Compost et Kalendrier des Bergères, 1499 (paris)

Makes about 1kg (2¼lb) butter and 1 litre (1¾ pints) buttermilk

Ingredients: 2.4 litres (4 pints) of double cream

Place the cream into a scrupulously clean mixing bowl and use an electric whisk on medium to beat it. You will go through the stages of soft and stiff whipped cream, but carry on and eventually the pale yellow butter fat will be forced out of the cream and you have butter. Drain in a fine sieve for a few hours, then use two wooden spatulas to expel more of the buttermilk. C'est tout! Now you can either separate it and freeze, use it or flavour it.

Potential flavours: Garlic, chopped fresh herbs, almond, crushed anchovies or prawns, mustard (use your own from the How to: section), Lemon, Indian spices, shallot

Uses for buttermilk: Drink it, make soda bread or substitute it for other liquids in cakes, make yogurt

Homebaked: Flat breads

Even simpler, this is an unleavened flat bread which just cries out for experimentation and dips! Try paprika, dried herbs, different flours or fruits in the basic dough and give it a go!

Mix as much flour, drizzle of oil and water as you need to make a firm dough which leaves the sides of the bowl clean. knead lightly for 5 minutes and then leave to rest for 10 minutes. seperate into individual balls before rolling out to a thickness of 3mm. Toast in a very hot dry pan, they may inflate and blacken a little but thats fine. They take approximatly 1 minute per side.

Homebaked: White bread

"Give us this day, our daily bread" is something most western Christians will have murmured on a Sunday at some point. It's a statement to the importance of bread as a food source throughout history, perhaps the most important? Nowadays we are so used to sliced white which is a FARCE! Get into the kitchen and fill the house with the smell of baking bread, do you need any more persuasion? Just to prove a point, the taste will be superior and not laced with chemicals.

Simple White loaf

• 1 x 5ml spoon sugar
• 375 ml warm water
• 2 x 5 ml spoons dried yeast
• 600g strong plain flower
• 2 x 5ml spoons of salt
• 15g of fat (lard, butter, oil etc.)

     Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and add the dried yeast, leave for 10 minutes or more to activate and become frothy. Sieve the flour and salt into a suitable bowl and rub in the fats. Add the yeast liquid in increments as you may not need the full amount, it is ready when it leaves the sides of the bowl clean.
    
      Flour your work surface lightly and knead the dough, stretching out the gluten until it feels smooth and elastic. Place in a bowl covered with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm spot (It will double in size).

     N.B - You can at this point either knock the dough back (knead it lightly for 5 minutes) and place into a floured tin to rise again before baking, but I like to form it into little baguettes and leave to rise for only a short while before baking as its alot quicker.

    Pre-heat the oven to 220c and place your bread strait in, small baguettes will take around 10-15 minutes and a whole loaf around 40 minutes. They will sound hollow when tapped on the base when ready.

WHAT COULD BE BETTER?

    

Dinner at The Piccadilly hotel - 1924

I recently managed to get a fantastic little book by the writer 'Diner-out', a gourmand who quite obviously had abit of money to spend, it is a critique book containing the menus of the restaurants and the authors views on them. Money and the actual meals don't come like this anymore. This is the bill of fare for one man and one meal, on a normal night! Cost £2/1s/6d, he also drank 1 bottle of Louis Roederer 1911 champagne costing £1/5s. With inflation doubling the value of things every 7 years, that's 7 doublings since 1924. I reckon that's about £290 as of 2013!

Les Hors d’Œuvre Moscovite
-:-

La petite Marmite Henri IV
Créme Dame Blanche
-:-
Le saumon poché

Sauce Mousseline

Concombres

-:-

La selle d’Agneau Orloff

Petits Pois à la Francaise

-:-

La Chasse Royal

-:-

La neige des Alpes

-:-

La poularde du Man en Casserole

Salade Lorette

-:-

Les Asperges de Paris

Sauce Divine

-:-

L’Ananas glacé à la Piccadilly

-:-

La corbeille de Friandises

-:-

Moka



Sterilising preserving jars

A very important skills right up until the 1950's, for people out in the country side failing to bottle the summer glut could mean starvation in the leaner months. It is actually very simple and works for jams, chutneys, mustards etc etc. Make sure you use suitable vessels with vinegar proof lids and soon you will be bottling all sorts

1. Preheat ovento 160c
2.  Wash jars in very hot soapy water and rinse
3. Place jars in the oven upside down until completely dry
4. Bottle produce and seal whilst warm
   

How to make: Mustard

A condiment which divides people, you either love it or you hate it. But home made is an excellent excuse to experiment with heat, texture and general flavourings. Nowadays we are restricted, in previous centuries mustard was one of many preserved condiments which add interest to a meal, and everyone would have had their own variation. It was also once upon a time known as 'English Pepper'. Here are a few of my favourites.

Rosemary & Thyme - A coarse textured mustard

• 3 x tbl yellow mustard seeds
• 1 x tbl brown mustard seeds
• 3 x tsp fresh thyme
• 1 x tsp fresh rosemary
• 1/3 cup of cider vinegar + up to 1/3 cup of water
• 1 x tsp light brown sugar
• 3/4 x tsp salt

Cognac mustard - A smoother textured mustard

•  6 x tbl yellow mustard seeds
• 2 x tbl brown mustard seeds
• 3 x tbl Cognac/Armagnac/brandy
• 2/3 cup of white wine vinegar + up to 1/3 cup of water
• 1/4 cup of light brown sugar
• 1 x tsp salt

Soak the seeds with all of the liquid ingredients for at least 24 hours, but ideally 3 days. Add the soaked seeds and any remaining ingredients into a food processor and blitz till you reach the desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning, makes 1 1/2 cups. All will keep in sterilised jars for 1 year.

Experiment with flavourings and textures. Do you prefer a plain mustard? (omit all other ingredients) do you like it hotter (add more brown seeds) or alter the amounts or types of herbs. Do not be afraid! Compared to shop bought mustard these cost pennies instead of pounds

Sweet Treats: Cinder toffee (Honeycomb)

Proper cinder toffee, or sometimes called Honeycomb (From The Guardian)

Good cinder toffee is hard to come by, yet so simple to make! You don't need any specialist equipment (If your brave, see below). It is part of a family of confectionery that was very popular in the previous centuries when thrifty wives could make sweets at a fraction of the cost of shop bought variates and could also experiment with flavours! Its the bicarb and it's frothing action which causes the little bubbles.
 
Ingredients:

200 g caster sugar

40 g butter

0.5 tsp vinegar

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tbsp water

100g of honey (or maple syrup etc.)

OR

• 100g caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons of golden syrup
• 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

The top version will give a richer type of cinder/honeycomb.Grease or line a suitable mould, a baking tray will suffice Put all the ingredients except the vinegar and bicarb into a pan and cook over a medium heat. Using a sugar thermometer raise to 138c without stirring. Quickly add the bicarb and/or vinegar and whisk rapidly for a few seconds before pouring it into your mould, be careful it will rise and bubble like a mini volcano!

Once it is semi-set score it with a hot knife, but not all the way through, then you will be able to break it into neat squares once it has fully set (or crack out the walkers toffee hammer) which will take about 30 minutes.

Experiment with flavourings, I think lavender and vanilla are excellent but there are many more! One could also coat them in melted chocolate to resemble a certain brand of chocolate bar.

I said you don't need specialist equipment if your brave....I use an old fashioned method of telling once its at the right temperature. I run my finger under cold water, put it into the boiling hot syrup and quickly run it back under the tap. It is ready when it forms a delicate glass like coating on your finger which holds its shape and is abit sticky. IF YOU ARE NOT CONFIDENT DO NOT DO IT THIS WAY! Sugar syrup can be over 50 degrees hotter than boiling water and can seriously hurt you.

Library progress

Anyone who knows me or has seen where I live are automatically drawn to the fact that I own ALOT of books related to cookery (Maybe the largest collection in North Wales?). I love the subtle variations from one chef to another, and with my older books, seeing the developments of taste and presentation throughout time.

As an update 2 new books arrived today, and once I have digested them (See what I did there?) I will review them and adapt any recipes in them for the blog.

The complete Bocuse: Paul Bocuse - Hailed as the chef of the century by the American institute for food (I don't agree personally) given the Legion of Honor by the French and holder of 3 Michelin stars since 1965! A mighty volume of classical french cuisine, with over 500 recipes from regional fare to his legendary creations in Lyon.

Le Gavroche cookbook: Michel Roux Jr. - It's been over 30 years since the Roux brothers set up Le Gavroche in Sloane Street, London. Now Albert's son has taken over as chef patron of the first restaurant in the UK to hold 3 Michelin stars (It doesn't anymore though!) and is looking to be an excellent book, showcasing the shift towards refining and lightening traditional french fare. Including recipes for house classics such as Souffle Suissesse.

l'Auberge du Pont de Collonges - Paul Bocuse's restaurant, a gastronomic Mecca

Student notice

Bored of beans on toast? Follow this blog and I hope you will start to learn about good food and enjoy cooking. If you have any questions or want some ideas then get in contact and I shall banish your foodie-worries. Happy eating!

A Stuart period dish - Chicken in hocchee

This recipe is adapted from 'A heritage of British cooking' by Maggie black, it is an excellent book which shows the development of our national cuisine. This recipe was popular in Stuart taverns and would tradionally be spit roasted. Note the use of grapes and spices, at one point it would have been an expensive dish, with taxes added in no less than 3 states for the ingredients. I find it quite refreshing with a salad of watercress or rocket on a hot day (it's over 20 degrees in North Wales today!).

Chykens in hoccee:

Take chykens and scald them, take parsel and sawge, without any other erbes, take garlec and grapes, and stoppe the chikens ful, and seeth them in good broth, so that they may esely be boyled thereinne. Messe them and caste thereto powdor-douce.

Modern interpretation:

1 x 3lb chicken (or other fowl)
3-4 oz of grapes
2 tablespoons of chopped sage and parsley
1 clove of garlic
3/4 pint of chicken stock
Powdor-douce (1/2 tsp each of caster sugar and ground cinnamon)
Salt and pepper

Truss the bird or have your butcher do it for you (I urge everyone to support a good local butcher) and stuff with the grapes, minced garlic and herbs. Sew up the chicken using butchers string and a larding needle (A knitting needle works well) and simmer the bird for 3/4 - 1 1/4 hours, before leaving to rest for at least 15 minutes, before lightly dusting with the powdor-douce. The broth makes a light soup base or may be boiled to reduce to make a sauce for a more substantial dish.

I recommend it warm with a salad, but it is equally good as a sunday roast, or with creamy mixed root mash and the reduced cooking liqour.

The beginning

As a person and a student sometimes I look around and realise that the famous gastronome Brillat-Savarin was right:
                            
                "Animals feed; man eats; only a man of wit knows how to eat."

Too many people nowadays do not have the knowledge or indeed, wish to eat well. And It is sad. To eat well is not to dine in michelin star restaurants daily, but to enjoy good and wholesome food of excellent quality, whether it is a humble ingredient or not.

My aim therefore is to provide people with little tit-bits of information, as and when I come across them. Recipes, ideas, and even possibly the odd rant as I attempt to traverse the world of 'The good life'. I hope it will inspire many of you to enjoy cooking, shopping for excellent produce and most of all....Sharing excellent food with family and friends.