Chufi

thanks everyone for the compliments. it is not anywhere on line (I've looked) but if you like I can pm you the recipe.

I forgot to mention the wine. We drank Costieres de Nimes, Chateau Grande Cassagne 2004 (white and rose). Rose with the appetizers and the caponata, tried not to drink it with the avocadocream because that was so delicately flavored. The white with the ravioli. The rose was good but the white was very good. By the time were starting dessert we had already drank 3 bottles of wine, and because 2 of us had to get up early for work the next day, we never got to the dessert wine (I had planned some ratafia de Bourgogne to go with the tart). So we had tea and coffee with the tart instead.

I made stuffed pasta yesterday. I belive Moby calls this shape tortelli in his class? The names of the different shapes confuse me sometimes. Anyway, for the stuffing I braised some veal with shallots, garlic, some chunks of carrot, white wine and some light chicken stock. The next day, I took out the meat and the vegetables. I sauteed a couple of leeks (white only) in butter, transferred them to the casserole and cooked them in the veal-braising liquid until very tender. Moby had suggested this method instead of braising the leeks with the meat, and this was a very good idea. Meat and leeks were pureed in foodprocessor with braising liquid, eggyolk and parmesan. I kept tasting the stuffing and even after adding lots of salt, pepper and cheese, I still thought it was lacking something. Then I added some grated lemonzest and that really seemed to pull it together, and gave it a sort of zingy lift. Here you see my far from efficient production line. I had intended to do another pastashape, but because I had so many other things going on for this dinnerparty I chickened out and just did the shape I have made before and that I knew I could pull of. I still find it very hard to get my sheets evenly sized (or my pasta). And here it is on the plate. I served them with chanterelles that were panfried in butter. Sauced with melted butter that was mixed with some lemon juice, and chives. Lots of parmesan ofcourse. Yum!!

in our company, you would not be weird. Just do it! SO will get used to it.. mine did. Dinner last night was a special Eetclubdinner, details and pics are here Tonight we had leftover stuffed pasta, some chard leaves, belgian endive and rucola sauteed in olive oil with galric and pinenuts, and leftover peartart for dessert.

So, here are the results! we started with appetizers on the balcony. Dutch sausage, lentil pate and homemade rosemary focaccia: The focaccia turned out pretty good. The guests were raving about it before they knew I made it myself! first course: Avocado cream with salmon eggs. Second course: Caponata with tomato pancakes. I used this recipe from Mario Batali and it was delicious. Intensely flavored, with a hint of chocolate and cinnamon. The pancakes are a Lindsey Bareham recipe, I'll PM you the recipe if you like Abra. The pancakes were the perfect fluffy eggy accompaniment to the spicy caponata. Next up, braised veal & leek ravioli with panfried chanterelles, chive lemon butter and parmesan Followed by a salad of roasted pumpkin, rucola and belgian endive and toasted hazelnuts. Sprinkled with lemon juice and pumpkinseedoil. To finish.. Chocolate pear tart, a recipe from Good Food magazine (Anne Willan of la Varenne..) Here it is before going into the oven, you can just see the specks of choclate peeking through the custard: And after baking: It was one of the best dinners I ever made, it was a lot of work but also a lot of fun.. and the guests were happy!

made pizza today with grilled eggplant, mozzarella, and.. salami. Only when we were finished I remembered that after our trip to Germany, I had vowed to eat no pork for at least a month!! I guess this means I'm addicted? But the pizza was very good, eaten on the balcony, on what might very well be one of the last sunny summer days.

ah, what a wonderful blog. Lobsters, the ocean and caipirinha, the perfect holiday. I was in Maine last October and I loved it.. we had steamed lobster 4 nights in a row.. and I haven't had a lobster since. that fridge is just fantastic! Makes me wonder why all fridges are not like that? Then I would never forget about the expensive tarragon mustard hiding away in the back!

Elie those riceballs lok fantastic. I've made them before but never with dried porcini in the stuffing, that sounds like a very good idea! Tonight, another First Thing: duck legs. These were braised with white wine and stock, together with potatoes, carrots and shallots. Served with sauteed chard with balsamic vinegar, lots of garlic, and sprinkled with pinenuts. the duck was very good but the chard was fantastic! I am a chard convert! edited to add dessert, which I just finfished: greek joghurt with homemade plum compote and a sprinkle of apple granola for crunch.

that scrambled egg dish sounds interesting. Since eating oeufs en meurette in Burgundy, I'm intrigued by any dish that combines eggs and red wine. How long are you cooking the dish after scrambling the eggs? I like my scrambled eggs very soft and barely cooked, but the concept of this dish sounds very different. Don't the eggs get overcooked? As for my breakfast.. I made some blueberry muffins first thing this morning. I put too much berries in, they did not rise and they stuck to the pan.. but the scraps I managed to get out, were sort of tasty..

so do you keep all your cheese outside of the fridge, even in summer? Where do you store it? If I kept my cheese somewhere in the kitchen (especially in summer, with the sun blazing in from 3 till sundown) all of it would walk away on it's own after a couple of days I think

Both stuffed pasta and gnocchi are great ideas for the next cook-off. I'm making ravioli this week so stuffed pasta would suit me very well.. but, I recently made some spinach gnocchi that turned out rather heavy, so it would be nice to learn how to make light and fluffy gnocchi. Also, I just love to say the word gnocchi and welcome any opportunity to say it as often as I can. Gnocchi..

While I was on holiday, I made a promise to myself to cook more New Things. New recipes, unfamiliar ingredients, new techniques.. here are the resultas sofar: my first gyoza/potstickers. They had a filling of beef, cabbage, spring onions, ginger and garlic, and some chinese 5-spice powder. The filling was good but even though I thought I had put a LOT of seasoning in, I still thuoght they were a bit underseasoned. I also definitely need more practice with the potsticking part of the potstickers. I made a mess. Also in the pic is stirfried Chinese cabbage with chillies, red pepper and carrots. A dipping sauce of limejuice, sesame oil, soysauce and chillies. My first time cooking Swiss chard. I saw them at the farmers market and they were so beautiful, a mixed bunch with bright yellow, pink and purple stems, that I had to buy them. Here's a soup made of the leaves, chorizo sausage, potato and onion. Wit a raw eggyolk cracked into the hot soup because I just love the combo of spicy sausage, potato and runny egg.

Salt. Anchovies straight from the tin. Spoonfuls of salted capers. Sundried tomatoes. Very old dutch cheese. With a side of anchovies, please. Toast with butter, sprinkled with seasalt. Chunks of gorgonzola cheese. A spoonful of peanutbutter from the jar, sprinkled with seasalt. Salt. And I 'normally' eat very little salt...

ofcourse. Now why didn't I think of that? Thanks. I'm making them for a dinnerparty next week. I'll report back!

oh yes, and I'm very much in the wine mood, because we've just toured the German wine regions. I would love to serve some of the wines we brought back from our trip, but the bottles still have to 'relax' from the journey for another week or so. So I'll just go to my favorite wine shop and ask for advise.

I host a Dinner Club (although it's actually called Eet Club, eating club, because all members exept me just eat ) The members are me, my husband and 2 good friends. These are the rules: We come together about 4-5 times a year, I always decide when, I always cook, We share the costs. Here's the menu I have planned for next week: Cold avocadosoup topped with salmon eggs. This is to be served in tiny cups almost like an amuse. Tomato pancakes, served with caponata and some very good soft tangy goats cheese. The pancakes are fluffy, almost souffle-like, with chunks of fresh tomato. Served warm, with cold caponata, and the cheese. I'm still debating whether the cheese is necessary. Veal & leek ravioli, served with brown butter and panfried chanterelles. Salad of bitter leaves and roast squash (Kabocha if I can find it) with a pumpkinseed-oildressing, toasted hazelnuts. Some gorgonzola would be good with this but then I have cheese in 3 consecutive courses. I'm still in doubt if there has to be another course after this. ?? Dessert: Anne Willan's La Varenne Pear & Chocolate tart. I've made this before and it's absolutely gorgeous. Chunks of bitter chocolate melt together with buttery pears in a crumbly pate brisee crust. Some more explanations: Me and my husband have just spent 2 weeks in Germany where we absolutely stuffed ourselves with pork and cream and everything else that's fatty and rich. So I really want this dinner to be light, and easy on the meat and butter. I also want to be able to prepare ahead as much as possible because spending time with my friends is a very important aspect of the Dinner Club. So what do you think of this menu? Suggestions very welcome..

I'm thinking of making ravioli with a stuffing of veal and leek, and serving it with a simple butter/sage sauce and pan-fried fresh chanterelles. I'm thinking of braising the veal with leeks and white wine, and then pureeing in the food processor with egg, parmesan, and maybe chives (to freshen up the leek flavor). I don't have a recipe for it, it's just an idea that keeps coming back to me. Does this sound like a good idea? And what kind of stuffed pasta would be best for this filling?

Dinner for my parents. They are not the most adventurous eaters so I try to cook 'classic with a twist' when they come over: food they will like, but that's still interesting for me to cook (and eat) Shrimp beignets with garlic, caper and parsley mayo Chicken & chorizo stew, with tomatoes, saffron and green peas. This was served with olive-oil mashed potatoes, that was sprinkled with grated cheese and breadcrumbs and browned under the grill. There was also a salad of panfried zucchini rounds with a tomato-basil vinaigrette, and a green salad that I dressed with the leftover caper mayo from the shrimp, because it seemed stupid to make yet another dressing when that little bowl was just sitting there. Apricot bavaroise with apricot sauce and pistachios I'm experimenting with gelatine-set desserts lately and this was another try to accomplish the perfect pudding: creamy and light, and just firm anough to turn out. I have to say that this one was just a little too firm for my taste. More experimenting ahead. Not for a while though, I'm leaving for a 2-week trip to Germany tomorrow. Happy cooking every-one!

Very beautiful Susan! At first sight, I thought those were slices of salami Ah, I wish I could get tomatoes like that over here.

Alinka, those look great. I saved the recipe for future use! I love the combination of raspberry and coconut. Another really good combo is raspberries, white chocolate and pinenuts..

Spicy black beans, corn, avocado. Blissful simplicity. I wonder what it is about this kind of food that makes me love it so much? For me, this is 'exotic' food - I had not tasted a black bean, fresh corn or an avocado until I was well in my twenties and started to discover the wonderful world of food. But when I eat it now, it feels like it has been part of my life always.. like I grew up on it. Dessert: blackberry oatmeal crumble icecream

with a husband who makes you that, I have to agree! here's my blackberry oatmeal crumble ice cream: I used to make this with homemade vanilla icecream. You make an oatmeal crumble my mixing together equal amounts of melted butter, oats and sugar (say, 50 grams of each). Spread this on a baking sheet and bake in a hot oven for about 10 minutes, watching it does not burn, until golden and crispy. Leave to cool and crumble into bits.. Stew blackberries with sugar to taste, and puree (strawberries and raspberries also work very well). Push through a sieve if you don't like the pips. When the icecream is almost ready, fold in the chilled fruitpuree and the crumble. Fold carefully so you get a nice ripple effect. Freeze until firm. Now, since my icecream maker died, I just make this by softening some good storebought vanilla icecream, and folding the fruitpuree and crumble into it. Mmmm it's good..

if fridge space is limited, you could make some things (spreads, dips) that are very flavourful and highly seasoned, so you don't need much of it. For instance, pesto will keep for a couple of days, if you have a thin layer of oliveoil on top. Use it on cherry tomatoes with mozzarella or goatscheese.. Or make tapenade to spread on rounds of baguette. Boil eggs in advance (i'm not sure if, hardboiled, these should be kept in the fridge? ) and top with some pesto or tapenade. Cream some gorgonzola with thin cream, pepper, nutmeg and a touch of brandy. Just before the party, use this to sandwich two walnuthalves together. Looks very pretty, and is salty and rich so again, you don't need piles of them. Oh one more thing.. be sure to have at least some items that are 'fresh'. If everything you serve is prepared ahead, the food can look (and taste) a little dull. I've done a lot of 'prepare ahead' parties, also in high summer, so I'm going to look through my archives to see if I can find anything that does not need refridgeration at all..

lazy cooking with leftovers: I pulled a tub out of the freezer that said "bean puree", I think it was white beans and sage. Diluted it, added some panfried mushrooms, some leeks. It turned into a delicious soup. Even more delicious were the quesadillas I made to go with the soup. Flour tortillas stuffed with a mix of sundried tomatoes, chopped fresh tomatoes, fresh coriander and chipotle sauce - sour cream - grated cheese. Oh they were so good I could've eaten them all! had to share with my husband though. Watercress salad. Now we're having tea with the last of the chocolate chip oatmeal peanutbutter cookies.

My 'technique' has always been: complain with a smile. At least, I always start with a smile. I have to say that I have never experienced things so bad that they were worth having a major conflict over - just the usual things: cold food, waiting too long, stuff on your plate that does not match the description on the menu, underdone food, salads swimming in oil, missing utensils, ah well you know. I regard all of these as the ' things that can happen' . Wether I write off a place after that is not due to the thing that went wrong, but to the way they handled my comments about it. Sometimes a smile and an apology is all it takes. Sometimes a smile and an apology and a free drink is all it takes. When travelling, it's different. I don't think I've ever complained about anything but the check (when it was very obviously wrong) when abroad. There's always this part about not knowing for sure if you understand the social code of another country. But at home, I tell them what's wrong - but smiling.