Home on the range: The Big Birthday Blow-out

So it's kind of become traditional that birthdays = Boy cooking like he's never cooked before (and me losing him for most of the day to Borough market). So on Saturday it was that day, and I was well excited.

I had no idea what I was going to get. After a pork and silton burger at Borough I was cast loose, while he sourced his supplies. I had a kiwi smoothie, do love a kiwi smoothie, and tried to re-ignite my hunger pangs... it was 3pm by now...

Back home and the scene was set: candles, flowers, Cinematic Orchestra CD on... I was waiting. And couldn't resist a nosey:

Mmmm. I was banished, the first course was up:

Fried Scallops with saffron potatoes, asparagus and samphire (courtesy of Ottolenghi)
serves 2 as a starter

200g potatoes, peeled and cut into little cubes

pinch of saffron

1 small tomato

20g samphire

4 asparagus spears

4 medium-large fresh scallops

For the aioli:

4 garlic cloves, peeled

50ml olive oil

50ml sunflower oil

1 free-range egg yolk

 1 tsp white wine vinegar

1/8 tsp Dijon mustard

pinch of salt

Make aioli first: heat oven to 150 and roast the garlic cloves wrapped in a sheet of foil for 25-35minutes. Remove, cool and mash with a fork. Mix the olive and sunflower oil. In a seperate bowl, combine egg yolk, vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and a good grind of pepper. whisk by hand or in a food processor while slowly drizzling the oil. The end result should be thick (like mayo) so adjust oil accordingly and season to taste.

Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with cold water, then add the saffron and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer for 6-8 minutes so the potatoes are still slightly firm. Drain and cool. While the potatoes are on, cut the tomato into 4 wedges and remove the seeds, cut each quarter into a fine dice (about 1/2cm).

Wash the samphire then throw in a pan of boiling water for just 1 minute and scoop it out and rinse in cold water. Trim the asparagusand cut each spear into 3cm pieces - drop in the pan from the samphire and simmer for 2-3minute then drain and rinse in cold water.

To serve heat 2 large frying pans with 1tbsp olive oil each. When piping hot add potatoes to one of the pans. Toss them to get some colourand then add asparagus and samphire to warm them up. Taste and season. At the same time, give scallops a good season and pop in the other pan. Sear for 30-50 second til each side is just cooked (want to keep them good and let in the mouthy). Divide warm scallops and veg between two plates ans spoon a wee dollop of aioli, garnished with the tomato and a drizzle of oil. Definitely one to impress and impress it did. Especially accompanied with champagne...

 After I went to heaven and back with the first course, out came the wine from Artisan and Vine: Birichino Malvasia Bianca. It smelt like the breeze on some exotic holiday: eldeflower, jasmine, lime. But it was just teasing you, like a woman wafting her perfume, the first sip revealed it was pleasingly bone dry. But then I was distracted by the sound of roaring flames from the kitchen.

Someone was getting a bit enthusiastic with his flambéing. Round two was up:

Chicken with tarragon sauce (courtesy of John Torode's Chicken and Other Birds), served with a roasted garlic and carrot mash and green beans

Serves 2

2 chicken breasts skin on

100ml brandy

100ml creme fraiche

handful chopped parsley

handfull torn tarragon leaves

Heat a heavy frying pan over a medium heat and add a little olive oil. Season the chicken well and pop skin-side down into the pan. Cook for a good 8 minutes, then turn and cook the same. Check it is cooked through, then remove it from the pan and keep warm.

Crank up the heat on the pan to very high (everytime I read this instruction I hear Jim Carrey in the Mask: 'Smoooooooooooooookin' It haunts me). Add the brandy and carefully (uhum) flame it to burn off the harsh alcohol taste. Shake or stir to get in the good pan juices and sticky bits on the pan. Stir in the creme fraiche then taste and season. Bring to the boil and reduce by half. Add most of the parsley and tarragon. Serve the sauce with the chicken pouring over the brown juices that come with the rested chicken. Sprinkle with the remains for the herbs and serve. Voila!

And that was were the cooking ended and we moved on to Waitrose's apricot tart, ice cream, cheese, more cheese, port... well the Boy couldn't stay in the kitchen all night after all.

V (day) tasty...

Everyone who has ever started a new relationship knows you don’t want to reveal your hand to early on. The Boy and I went on our first date a week before Valentine’s Day and, well, we all know that ol’ V-day kind of forces the issue. Do you feign notcalance and not risk a date that night? Or go forth early on into the arena of competitive coupledom with restaurants set solely with tables for two, sloppy PDAs and opportunistic street vendors offering (will he or won’t he buy one?) single red roses. It’s a minefield – too romantic and it’s too much too soon, too little and does he give a shit?

So the Boy's tactic was to try and cram as many dates as possible between 6th and 14th February to see if I was worth a V-day date. Evidently I was as he invited me round to his for dinner. I took this as a good sign: a) he cooked and b) he cared enough to cook for me. The rest, as they say, is history – oh, and he cooked salmon, potatoes dauphanoise and tiramisu, I brought love hearts, and we even managed to finish the lot before his banished flatmates returned.

Since then Valentine’s Day for us have always revolved around cooking. And the Boy cooking. So this year in the spirit of equality we decided to split it. The Boy: brunch and starter. Moi: main and dessert. I even decided to throw in some canapés for good measure. I. Could. Not. Wait. Especially when the boy announced he was off to Borough Market on Saturday....

Brunch was Polenta and Wild Boar Prosciutto baked eggs, quite appropriately from Borough Market cookbook. Plus champagne. Of course.

1 tsp unsalted butter
4 slices of thin wild boar prosciutto (can use parma ham)
2 eggs
25g Gruyere
1 tbsp double cream
1 sprig tarragon
2tbsp polenta
1 spring onion
25g Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 170. Grease two ramekins with butter and line with prosciutto – make sure it complete covers the ramekin and make a wee lip over the edge. Crack an egg in each, sprinkle with grated Gruyere and drizzle with double cream. Scatter over tarragon leaves and season. Transfer to roasting tin and fill it with enough hot water to come up to halfway up the side of the ramekins. Bake until the egg whites are set – about 15min. While the eggs are baking, pour 90ml of water in a small saucepan, season and bring to the boil. Gradually whisk in the polenta. Reduce to simmer until thick and creamy, stirring occasionally – about 5-6min. Once at right consistency stir in butter, Parmesan and chopped spring onion (greens and whites). When eggs are set, remove from oven (carefully!) and divide polenta between two plates. Run sharp knife round edge of ramekin and slide out prosciutto wrapped eggs onto the polenta. Delicious. Of course even more so when you’re not cooking and reclining in bed sipping champagne...

Come afternoon and a trip to Sainsbury’s and Waitrose later, canapés are served. Always love a canap me. Blini’s with homemade guacamole and smoked salmon or crème fraiche and salmon caviar. Pretentious, moi?

The Boy’s work was done with escabèche of red mullet (courtesy of Gordon Ramsay's Passion for Seafood) washed down with a very easy-going Alsace Riesling.

Having agonised all Friday (good ol’ four day week) about what to cook, I finally settled on Cod, wrapped in thin slices of crispy potato, crab mash and lobster bisque sauce, served with sapphire, which in all the excitement I forgot to dish up. Ooops.

The cod was wrapped earlier on – potato slices (done with a veg peeler) were pan fried to just short of crisping then wrapped, a few to each fillet, around the fish before heading back into the fridge. The mash simply was fished up with a dressed crab, some cream and lemon juice. The lobster sauce was actually a bit of a cheat – a can of lobster bisque soup pouring in over a sautéd chopped onion and chilli, good slug of brandy, tbsp tomato puree simmered then add couple of diced tomatoes and some chive. Pan fried the potato wrapped cod and serve.

Dessert has never been my fortay so I went for presentation over expertise – Tia Maria and chocolate creams served in cocktail glasses. Which are pretty much just chocolate and cream, oh, and of course Tia Maria.

50g dark chocolate
150ml double cream (plus some more for whipping)
2 tbsp Tia Maria
Cocoa powder (I went for Green & Blacks all round on the chocolate)

Mix cream and Tia Maria in saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate (broken in a bowl)

Stir until chocolate melts

Divide between the glasses and cool slightly

Mix some more cream with Tia Maria until slightly thickened and spoon over chocolate mix. Put in the fridge to set (while you cook the main...)

To serve, appropriately, cut a heart in a card and dust with cocoa. Mine was more of a dollop than a dust. According to the boy I should have used a sieve...

Serve with amoretti biscuits... I should have made my own, oh well, maybe next year.

Ooo part twooo: Ostrich

Moving on to the oo-travaganza round two and it was yet another new meat to our kitchen: ostrich. Now I’ve heard great things about this strange bird and it’s more and more in vogue in recent years, but still I had no idea what to expect: is it a bird, no it can’t fly, is it red meat, no it’s ostrich! And a riot of flavours to go along with it: bring it on! (My mother would be proud, once fussy eater reformed).
Serves 2
For the marinade:
Garlic clove crushed
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
½ preserved lemon, flesh only chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Pinch saffron threads
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

2 x 200g ostrich fillets
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
6 small parsnips
For the sauce:
125ml red wine
250ml chicken stock
75g pomegranate seeds
60g fresh raspberries
2tbsp Grenadine (we skipped this)
1 tbsp butter

Plus:
Green pea and artichoke mash
(Fry ½ onion and 2 crushed garlic cloves in butter, add 250g green peas, 250g canned artichoke hearts. Cook for 10mins. Add 125ml coconut cream, simmer for 20 mins, season, blend)
Herbed sweet potato mash
(Boil 500kg cubed sweet potato. Fry 1 crushed garlic clove then add ½ tsp oregano, ½ tbsp thyme, ½ tbsp coriander, ½ tbsp tarrogan, cook til fragrant. Mix in sweet potato, add 150ml milk, simmer for 10, season then mash, mash, mash.)
Garlic potato mash – normal mash with lots of lovely roasted garlic. Remember its ok as long you both eat it. Nice and wiffy.
It’s probably easiest to make these three first and then re-heat a bit.

For the ostrich – mix marinade ingredients and let the ostrich soak it up for 2 hours or so.
Heat butter, brown sugar and lemon juice in saucepan, til melted and dissolved. Bursh over parsnips and pop them in the oven at 200 degrees for 30mins, brush regularly with butter and sugar.
Take ostrich out the marinade and heat marinade over high heat until sizzling, add the wine and stock and reduce. Lower heat to add your fruit and cook for 5 mins. Let it cool down a bit before giving it a whiz in the blender. Strain with a fine sieve into a new saucepan and reduce for a further 5 and then cover to keep warm.
Fry the ostrich to taste – we had ours beautifully rare and tender.

On the plate, here’s the tricky bit for the full fine service look, top with each of the mashes in turn, in flavour, white, orange, green and steady hand arrange parsnips around the stack. Pour sauce around the base and voila. It’s very moor-ish (sorry). ‘Specially that green mash…

Ooo part one: Oysters

If you fancy a bit of ooo at home - Gordon's breaded and fried oysters are actually easier than you think, provided you have a bit of brute strength and an oyster knife.

Serves 2
For the oysters:
Dozen fresh oysters (5 each plus 2 for pre cooking slurping)
30g plain flour
1 large egg beaten
30g Japanese panko breadcrumbs (we just used normal stale bread whizzed in the food processor)
groundnut or vegetable oil for deep frying (we only had seasame oil which seemed to work just as well)

For the sauce gribiche: (this makes enough for 4 but it's so delicious make the extra, it keeps well in the fridge, we had the reast with lemon sole goujons the next night)
1 large egg
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
120 olive oil
1 tbsp capers
1 tbsp fresh flat parsley

To make the sauce - boil the egg, shell and half and scoop out the yolk put in the food processor and add the mustard, white wine vinegar, capers and olive oil and whizz. Finely chop the white and chop the parsely and mix in.

For the oysters - hold flat in a thickly folded tea towel, push the oyster knife against the joint (bottom) of the oyster and wiggle about to break it (bit of force required here, Choux Boy was sweating). Onde you are through turn the oyster knife to open the shell. Scoop out the oyster flesh and put in a bowl.

Once you have opened and scoops all your oysters (and slurped one each to reward yourself for all your hard work) place the flour, egg, bread in three bowls. You want to dunk each oyster in flour, egg, breadcrumbs in that order and set aside ready for the pan.

Heat 3-4cm of oil in a small saucepan. Gordon says you know it is ready for the off when a piece of breadcrumb 'fizzes vigorously' when you drop it in. Deep fry your oysters in batches of 3 or 4, depending on how big your pan is. Gordon says for a few seconds each but ours look a bit longer, maybe our oil wasn't hot enough but the breadcrumb test was definitely fizzy. Basically you want the breadcrumbs to look crisp and a bit golden like cooked scampi.

When done place them on a place lined with kitchen towel to absorb at least a little of the unhealthy deep friedness (but it tastes so goooooood). When they are all done split between two plates with some sauce on the side and crack open that bottle of bubbles, as if you haven't already...

(courtesy of Gordon Ramsay's Cooking for Friends, cheers Gord!)

Something kind of ooo...

So it was my birthday on Monday, which is always a great excuse for a bit of indulgence. Since me a Choux Boy moved into our flat together just a few weeks ago, he thought it a great opportunity to treat me to a flatmate-arriving-home-free romantic dinner for two on Saturday.

Flatmates or not, Choux Boy has always been a fan of the home cuisine rather than haute cuisine in a restaurant. Now in the beginning (aka our first Valentine's meal, date four) I thought this was because Valentines in a restaurant are always an awkward disaster, especially when you have timed the beginning of a relationship to unfortunately coincide with this smultz-fest. As the relationship went on I thought it was through thirftiness, then discovered his freakish inability to sit at a table after the last course has been taken away (bill, door, gone) and have laterly realised it is actually the real meaning of labour of love (aaah) as the poor boy spends at least 24 hours, many cross London trips for specialist ingredients and blood, sweat and tears (ok, I haven't seen the tears) preparing the masterpiece. I mean how long did it take me to call Roast and book a table for his birthday?

Anyway enough relationship chatter, on with the important stuff: the food. So it was supposed to be a surprise. But it is very hard to keep a surprise when it is a 24 hour epic, so short of banishment I was able to get some clues. "It involves oysters." Mmm I love oysters. "You can meet me at Borough Market for lunch after I've done my shopping." I see a lot of herbs.

And my oysters!!

Half a pint of strong but delicious perry from New Forest cider down, I was allowed to be in on the cheese choosing, and most importantly the sampling... we settled on a strong hard Grand Juru and the tangy soft Perail.

Then banishment again. I was under strict instructions not to return to the house until at least 6pm. With ETA on bubbles (what's a birthday without bubbles?) at 7.30pm.

Back at the flat it was a chance to sneak into the kitchen to see Choux Boy at work in his mess, and a chance to peak at the open cookbooks (I am rubbish with surprises).

Breaded and fried oysters with sauce gribiche courtesy of Gordon Ramsay's Cooking for Friends.

Followed by ostrich fillet with triple mash and caramalised parsnips from Modern Moroccan by Hassan M'Souli. Oysters and ostrich! Ooooo! This is not how we eat normally...

My camera skills deteriorated from here on in thanks to some deliciously fine bubbled Casa Coste Piane prosecco from Artisan and Vine and candlelight... However I couldn't help myself getting invovled in the kitchen. Oyster opening defintely requires a bit of kit buying as I won't like to have seen Choux Boy try with a kitchen knife. I think blood and tears would have been on the cards to go with the sweat. Oyster knife is essential (and only 8 quid from Selfridges).

I'll post the recipes - but the oysters tasted like a very intense bizarre scampi. But in a great way. It was an explosion of beautiful flavours in my mouth - having only had oysters raw before I was a revelation: oystery, salty, bready hotness with capery, lemony, eggy goodness. Yum. And I think, if it's possible, even better than slurping them raw.

The ostrich was marinated in all the herbs (recipe to come!) and then cooked rare to seal the flavour - artfully balanced on top with the green pea and artichoke, sweet potato and rosemary and potato multicoloured mashes in a pool of red sauce made with the juices, stock, pomegranate and raspberry. It might sound like a lot but the sweetness of the sauce brought out the flavour of the meat - and that green pea and artichoke mash, lets just say Choux Boy was eating the leftovers cold out a bowl the next morning. That good!