cocktails and artichokes

It's been a loooooooooong time between blogs! Unfortunatly I have no pics for this one (although I have lots of pics of other nonrelevant foodie things that i have done and experienced over the last long while- maybe i'll save them for writers block!)

Tonight is Friday night and i have just been eating, drinking and making merry with the girls. I decided to make cocktails with the various leftover spirits in our cupboard (you know how there is always a few odd items left over after a party) In this case we were lucky- we had some Cointreau and Vodka (and gin and kirsch and a smidge of brandy and.....) and as i had been to Portobello Rd Market and picked up some delicious raspberries i decided to use these- it goes like this

RASPBERRY COSMOTINI

1 part Cointreau
2 parts vodka
a sqeeze of lemon
about 5 raspberries per person

Shake all ingrediants with ice in a cocktail shaker and pour into a Martini glass. Put a few of the by now pulped raspberries in the bottom of the glass for looks as well as taste........and enjoy-
Be careful- its a bit lethal

We had this lovely concoction with something else i picked up at the market- some lovely artichokes.
I had never cooked these before, and was surprised at how easy it actually was.
All you do is cut off their long stems and a few of the small leaves at the base , rinse and drain them
then put them in a pot so they all stand upright - stem side down
Boil some water and add lots of salt and a good squeeze of lemon
Put the wate rin the pot- about 3/4 of the way up on the artichokes and leave on a moderate stove to simmer fo 1/2 hour- 45 mins- until tender

To serve-make either, a tangy vinagrette or melt some butter with a big squeeze of lemon in it
Give each person their own Artichoke and a plate for discarded leaves.
Pull off each leaf and dip in your choice of sauce eating only the tender base of the leaf until you get to the very inside
Discard any pointy spiky hairy choke parts and then.....
devour the heart of the artichoke with a big drizzle of the sauce on it.

This is a lovely way to sit around with a cocktail or a glass of wine with friends and pick and gossip about the weeks events.
sigh- i have had a lovely evening and now am going to bed
I promise faithfully to be a Better Blogger from now on (until i slip again)
Goodnight

Lead up to Christmas

The lead up to Christmas was CARAYZEEEEE!!!!!!!! I work in retail, and what with christmas crazed customers and a cold snap that sent people scurrying in to buy warmer clothes, the last few weeks have been hectic-hence the lack of blog. I did manage to squeeze in a bit of pre-christmas baking though- more christmas biscuits, because many of those intended for the tree last time were consumed, and also extra to feed people. We also baked a Nigella Lawson Chocolate Christmas Cake. This apparently was shown on t.v. at some point over the christmas period, but i missed it! Somehow i chose to bake it independently-and it has been a success!
It contains loads of dried fruit, including prunes, currants and peel, and this was all simmered together with..... wait for it.... TIA MARIA- trashy i know, but soooooo delicious. All this is mixed with fresh orange juice, almond meal, cocoa and butter. It creates a moist and amazingly dense cake, which despite what the recipe said (1.5 hours) took around 2.5 hours to cook. I have included pictures of it here in its brown paper wrapping which it gets cooked in, and a pic of one of my friends enjoying the results.
I baked it 2 weeks before Christmas, and i must say it keeps amazingly well- in fact like all good fruit cakes it is getting better and better. We have been eating it with (shop-bought) vanilla custard and an unbelievably decadent brandy infused cream. mmmmmmmmm

A PERUVIAN FEAST AND SALSA DANCING

I'm not all domesticity, i went to a very good friends birthday party on Saturday night, after my day of biscuit baking. It was at a Peruvian restaurant called Titos, in London Bridge.
The food was super delicious, although not always beautifully presented. The ceviche in particular was delicious, and possibly my favourite. For the uninitiated, this is fish that has been marinated in lime or lemon juice, with garlic, chilli and coriander, amongst other things. This sort of 'cooks' the fish, and it ends up being an amazingly zesty and refreshing dish. The hard core eaters of ceviche (like myself- I LOVE LOVE LOVE it) then pour the juice that is left over from the dish into a glass and drink it.
We also ate Arroz de Mariscos- a peruvian variation on paella.
Mariscos Fritos- a mix of fried seafood which had a vey light batter on, was not dissimilar to Japanese tempura. Somewhat dissapointing was a type of fried yam which was a bit dry. On the other hand a "sandwich" of what was really mashed potato with tuna inside was fantastic and for some reason was much more than the sum of its parts- or its looks.
We washed all this deliciousness down with Pisco Sour, this is a lethal Peruvian cocktail, made with Pisco- a grape liqueur, mixed with lime juice, sugar ice and frothy egg white. This should be treated with caution, as it can be very strong- and cause crazy salsa dancing!- See the pics of us dancing in the club downstairs after dinner as proof!

Christmas Biscuits

I got into a spot of old fashioned Yuletide cheer on Saturday and made biscuits. The recipe is a Nigella Lawson one, from her Feast cookbook. It says the biscuits are really meant for hanging, but i must say, they smelt so delicious and spicy that we all ate some, and they were YUMMY! We had a great time decorating them too, with plain icing, silver baubles and pre-made red squeezy icing that comes in a tube and has its own nozzles- loads of sugary fun. We then strung silver thread through the biscuits that weren't eaten and hung them as decorations, and i think they look rather nice, if i do say so myself.

FAST FOOD

I had a such a busy week last week! I had a few evenings where I was home late, and it was just me. I ended up cooking two of my all time favourite easy suppers. Just because you are eating alone doesn't mean you have to get take-away or resort to disgusting frozen pre-made dinners.

UGLY PASTA
Anyway- the first is super easy although not very pretty, so no pic!-Get some fresh ravioli- I keep a few packets in the freezer (not quite a frozen dinner but good for emergencies) Experiment a bit with the ravioli flavours- there are some great ones out there -depending on the supermarket or deli you buy from. I tend to go for a stronger flavour with this dish. Cook it as directed, drain and return it to the same pan, then toss in a big handful of rocket (1/2 a small packet), a knob of butter, some chopped herbs (i mostly have continental parsley lying around, but recently have been obsessed with thyme, which is also delicious) lots of parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper and sea salt. Put the pan back on the heat for a minute until the rocket wilts, and then eat! EASY PEASY- it takes all of 2 minutes more than it takes for water to boil.

CLASSIC SALAD NICOISE
The second is Salad Nicoise. I like to cook as much in one pot as possible when cooking for one somehow it seems like it is less of an effort. So, cook soome new potatoes and an egg in the same pot, and then whilst they are cooking, chop up some green beans (i had no beans the other day and used brocolli,which was also delicious), ready to toss in with the potatoes in the last 4 minutes of cooking.
Whilst that is cooking, chop some tomatoes, and dress some lettuce on the plate you will serve on. Then, mix a small tin of tuna with some good mayonnaise (i like Hellmans), and mash in some anchovies(not essential, but i love their fishy saltiness).
Take the potatoes, egg and beans off the stove, and drain, then cool by running cold water over. Slice the potatoes, and egg, and arrange all on the plate with the lettuce, tomato and tuna.
Eat with some baguette, and possibly a glass of chardonnay (my fave!)

Apple Pie Baclava

On Thurs 30/11/06 i had a day off- which i spent profitably by doing a Body Balance class, going for a walk in the park and picking up berries and leaves to make a wreath for christmas and by making an apple pie. Now- i have to admit that i must go out partying some time soon otherwise i am becoming a just a leeeeetle bit too domesticated- but nevertheless i had a great time doing it. (Sad i know)
The apple pie really was a very easy thing to do. In fact i have dubbed it Apple Pie Baclava. I'm not sure exactly where i got the idea from- i have a vague idea that it may have been from a Nigella Lawson recipe (i have all her books-but not all are with me at the moment so i can't check)
Any way this was how i did it-
I bought frozen Filo Pastry for the base, then after thawing it for an hour or so- i put one sheet on a tray brushed it with melted butter, then continued doing this until i had about 8 layers. I then thinly sliced some apple and arranged the slices in 2 rows slightly overlapping, I sprinkled this with a good layer (about 4 tablespoons) of caster suger, and ground cinnamon (around 2 teaspoons) I wanted this to be fragrantly cinnamony, and it was.
I then used some strips of filo to build up the sides of the pie a bit, brushing these with butter as well, and pinched the sides in at the corners to make a mitred corner. Look at my pic to see what it looked like.
I baked this in a pre-heated oven (about 200 degrees C) for 1/2 an hour until the edges were brown and crispy.
I have to say it smelt LOVELY whilst it was cooking
It tasted fab too- like I had made much more effort than I actually did. I ate mine with icecream.(I always have a little bit of space for icecream).

Sushi Party 25 November

Last saturday we had a sushi party at my girlfirends house. It was all orchestrated by her Japanese flatmate- and was a totally fun and delicious experience.
We got up extra early to go to a cafe called Lisboa which makes traditional Portuguese custard tarts, magdalenas and serves great caffe lattes (Galao) yummy yummy yummy.It is on Golbourn St in London - very close to Portobello rd and also to a great fishmonger (and my work). We bought super fresh tuna, salmon, prawns and clams- freshness of the fish is really important if you are going to eat it raw!
I went off to work and when i came home that evening it had all been done!
She had prepared the sushi rice in a rice steamer and then mixed it with special sushi vinegar. Also- she had premade tempura prawns and sweet potato, as well as japanese omlette. The tuna and salmon was sliced finely, and avocado and cucumber was also sliced into batons ready to be rolled. We all learnt how to make a hand roll- which as you can see from the pics, you put a piece of sushi seaweed wrapper in your hand, make a bed of rice, and then fill as you please- finally making it into a cone shape to eat!