Apricots in Syrup

Very happy with this...so much more fun than eating them dry. Eat them straight or with a little butter cookie, maybe yoghurt?

dried apricots
vanilla essence
sugar
water
lime peel
pepper corn
fresh thyme
bay leaf
cinnamon

1. put apricots in a pot, add water so that the apricots are nearly covered
2. add the other ingredients according to taste, but enough sugar to get a syrupy consistency (about 3-4 tblsp for a couple dozen apricots)
3. make sure only to include a quarter tsp of cinnammon; not going after a Christmasy taste; also a few slivers of lime peel will do, as will one stem of thyme and one bay leaf
4. simmer for about an hour until you have syrup
5. let cool

Scallops & Enoki

I saw some beautiful and big Canadian scallops which reminded me of a recent Jean Georges recipe calling for scallops, truffles and parmesan. I love combining fish and cheese, so I've been wanting to do this one. Here, I replace the truffles with some enoki and little truffle oil.

4 nice scallops

a couple handfuls of enoki

fresh thyme

minced garlic

medium sherry

butter

EVOO

rapeseed oil

Maldon sea salt

ground pepper

chives

parsley

1. saute enoki in EVOO and a little bit of butter
2. add thyme, and when enoki are done, add minced garlic and stir for half minute
3. add a bit of sherry, let alcohol burn off, reduce heat, add a bit more fresh butter, sprinkle parsley and chives
4. season scallops with EVOO, rapeseed, salt and pepper
5. turn pan on super high heat for 3 minutes
6. sear scallops on each side for about a minute each depending on size
7. to serve, put scallops on plates with enoki served around
8. grate very finely some parmesan over the scallops (not the enoki), season with a bit more salt and pepper, drizzle of EVOO

Tonight's Dinner

A yummy little dinner on the whim. This followed Manou's dinner with her two friends, which included left over steak au poivre, carottes rappees and buttered rice.

• carrottes rapees & salami shoestrings
• scallops & enoki
• salade frisee
• mimolette
• ice cold vanilla yoghurt & pomegranate

Choconana & Ice Cream

Was watching a 2008 repeat of UK Masterchef. This was the winner's dessert which I think probably helped him win. Need to make this soon! Although I don't go into the recipe for the cake and ice cream, I'm reminding myself of the final step of preparing the bananas here.

chocolate moelleux
home-made vanilla ice cream
4 firm but ripe bananas
2 tblsp butter, melted
2 tblsp brown sugar
2 tblsp of rum

1. prepare chocolate moelleux
2. prepare ice cream
3. when above are ready, combine sugar and butter in a shallow dish
4. peel the bananas, cut in half lengthwise, and then again crosswise 
5. saute bananas around a minute, add a bit of rum and flambe before serving

Tasty Haricots Verts

Came together nicely tonight with what was left in the fridge. Again, it's what you don't put in the dish that is key! You could add little cubes of comte or machego to this....

petits haricots verts
prosciutto
pearl onions
walnut oil
EVOO
chives
sherry vinegar
maldon sea salt
ground pepper

1. boil green beans
2. chop up prosciutto, cut onions in half and saute in EVOO until ham is a bit crispy
3. drizzle walnut oil over the ham & onion mixture while latter is still warm, add a quick splash of sherry vinegar
4. drain and let sit to cool and dry off somewhat
5. put beans in a bowl, dress with the ham mixture and chives, season with salt and pepper

Fettucine, Jambon & Comte

Sharon reminded me of pasta French-style with butter and emmenthal or gruyere I would have at mamie's growing up. One imagines that this is still a quick lunch or dinner of choice among French households across the land. The distinctive feature here is that you put the cheese and ham on at the very end, so that the cheese and ham don't get all bundled up into little messy clumps.

fettucine
butter
3 cloves garlic, halved
jambon de Paris, sliced and chopped
comte, cubed
maldon sea salt
fresh ground pepper
chopped chives
half cup chicken stock
1 tblsp medium sherry
EVOO

1. saute garlic, remove when golden
2. add half cup of broth, then sherry and reduce
3. boil pasta, remove from boiling water 1-2 minutes before
4. drain and put into pan with broth, adding about half cup of pasta water
5. add butter to taste, and stir so that everything emulsified
6. take off heat, add ham and cheese
7. season with salt and pepper, chives and serve
8. have olive oil handy to drizzle right before eating

Pea Veloute, Squid & Coppa

I had this idea at lunch the other day. The dish I had was a pea veloute, with grilled baby squid, a drizzle of some squid ink-olive oil emulsion, a tiny bit of melted creamy cheese and a crouton. I thought it would be a lot better if we replaced the crouton with some kind of fatty smoked ham, retained the cheese and dropped the emulsion. Chorizo would be too obvious and overpowering. Coppa would work better given its more subtle flavor and fattiness.

fresh or frozen peas
white onions
one garlic
good chicken stock
coppa, sliced thinly into long batons about the length of the squid legs
baby squids, cleaned
light, soft Italian white cheese, like stracchino
EVOO
maldon sea salt
ground black pepper
piment de l'espelette

1. make veloute with peas, onions, garlic and broth, passing through a fine sieve to make extremely smooth
2. grill/broil strips of coppa until they begin to caramelize 
3. flash fry squid in EVOO, season with salt, pepper and piment
4. heat stracchino on very low heat until it melts
5. to assemble, pour veloute into a tea cup, followed by a drizzle of melted cheese
6. place a squid in the soup (hopefully it floats!)
7. sprinkle some coppa batons on top, with a quick drizzle of EVOO and sprinkle of maldon sea salt and piment