eG Foodblog: Jackal - Xmas week

[ronnie_suburban]

Thanks Jack for the fantastic blog. I've learned so much and your pictures are stunning.

Happy Holidays to you and your family

=R=

[jackal10]

Thankyou Ronnie. I always enjoy your posts, and especially your blog. Much better than mine, and an example for all. Wish I had been at the party!

hjshorter; Any requests or suggestions on how I should cook the salt cod?

The turkey has just arrived from Kelly's Turkey's. Organic Norfolk Bronze. Looks great, beautifully packed with cold packs and foam insulation, and a helpful recipe book,...

Edited December 23, 2003 by jackal10 (log)

[Priscilla]

Just a wonderful chronicle, Jackal! Absolutely transporting. Serious home cookery is very exciting.

I look out on a puff of mistletoe on a big old sycamore tree, sycamores struggling a bit after years of accumulated Southern California drought. The mistletoe is not as lush as usual, either ... perhaps it's a sort of parasite sensitive to the health of its host.

(And, your mention sent me to The Golden Bough to read up.)

Eagerly anticipating more!

[SobaAddict70]

Re the cod: nothing that involves fish cakes or brandade, please.

Kind of short on time atm, will think of something later. (promise)

Soba

[Cusina]

I agree with those who said it above, wonderful blog. You have really given us a good taste of your world.

Thanks for the clarifications on the Pannetone. Your breads look beautiful. I'm intrigued by the oven in your yard as well. Is that something you built yourself?

[herbacidal]

Stollen for elevenses

what does that mean?

stollen as a mid-morning snack?

The sink is to the left, the door to the rest of the house to the right, the laundry room behind.

i assume you mean the laundry room is behind you and the camera?

ditto everyone else, thanks for the blog.

[fifi]

This blog is incredible. I love England and have many friends there. Thank you so much for sharing.

I am really intrigued by your table. I am in search of the ultimate dining table for the new house. I was thinking along the lines of a "wood plank" table and there it is in your picture. Can you tell me more about it? How you go it?

[SobaAddict70]

You could try soaking the cod, cooking it with salt, pepper and EVOO until brown, and serve it with a warmed sweet and sour sauce.

Baccala fritters.

Baccala, sauteed in EVOO along with a battuto of garlic and Italian flat-leaf parsley, salt, pepper and lemon juice.

I take back the comment I made about brandade. I came across a recipe recently that calls for brandade made just with salt cod, cream and EVOO. It's served with shaved white truffles on crostini. Not bad for salt cod, eh?

Soba

[kimabima]

Your kitchen is very nice!! And an Aga!!! Very rare here in Canada though gaining in popularity I hear!

Your house, bread and yard are all charming! Thanks again for sharing your world with us.

[Squeat Mungry]

Just to add my thanks for the terrific, educational and entertaining blog!

Cheers and Happy Holidays to all!

Squeat

[fifi]

Given jackal's garden, oven and all that, I would like to see a year long blog that takes us through the seasons. Oh well. I guess that is too much to hope for.

[jackal10]

Cusina: The oven features in the egCI Sourdough lesson. I built it instead of a BBQ. It uses a pre-cast refactory oven from Four Grandmere, and a foot of insulation in a brick outer shell. Wood fired.

Elevenses is indeed a mid-morning snack. I shouldn't, but its holiday time.

The laundry is behind the wall behind the stove. Entrance is to the right, out of shot. Also has storage and a big Maytag US style side-by-side fridge freezer. Getting that in was a struggle. Also more sinks - a deep Belfast one (in the ham soaking pix) and a shallow butlers sink for glasses.

The table is a kitchen table, rather than a dining table, although we eat most meals at it in the kitchen. We bought it at auction in one of the local villages. The top has been replaced sometime in its life with basically pine floorboards. The top is plain wood, and gets scrubbed once a week or so. Its usually covered in clutter, newspapers, books, etc. The dining table is polished mahogany in the dining room, of course, but we rarely eat there since we can only get six round it, and for two and informal meals the kitchen is easier.

Just back from the company Xmas dinner at a hotel (not my choice). Commercial catering - packet soup, rubber turkey, and commercial pudding. The roast potatoes were turned, which shows some care, but then finished in the deep fryer, which doesn't. Could be worse, just. At least it was moderately hot, and served in about the right order, which is more then many places. Being ancient we left when the disco started...

Left to right: Wholemeal, White pain au leaven, fougasse pompe a l'huile. Now safely tucked up retarding in the refrigerator for baking off tomorrow.

Thanks for the kind words, but there is a long way to go yet...

Edited December 23, 2003 by jackal10 (log)

[jat]

Do we get to see the Sherry Trifle and a pic of Jill and you?

Your kitchen is impeccable. Very orderly arranged. I need to rethink

the assembly in my kitchen! Everything is too packed in drawers.

Your cooking is inspirational. I have been to England, but these are all

new ideas and tastes to me. Your home is set up so well, seeing the

garden and trees from the kitchen and dining room, that way you can't

forget to pick the beautiful fruit and veggies. A charming life.

[hjshorter]

hjshorter; Any requests or suggestions on how I should cook the salt cod?

Oh no, as I said I've never prepared it at home. If you want I could check in one of my books by Penelope Casas - we had wonderful salt cod in Barcelona, it was like a cod cake, but stuffed into red peppers. Maybe she has a recipe for it.

[jackal10]

Rushing around this morning doing last minute things.

Baked off the bread

The pomp al'huile is at the front

Collected the cheeses

Top row: Colston Basset Stilton; Vacherin Mont d'or; Aged Mountain Gruyere

Bottom row: Farmhouse Cheddar; Gubbens (Irish, washed rind); Cotherstone (the softest of the English hard cheeses); Morbier, whith the charcoal strip seperating the morning and the evening milk.

The salt cod dish will probably be Saltfish and Ackee, a Jamaican classic, since you have ruled out fishcakes.

Making Trifle is a long processs. Picture when its finished.

First line a nice bowl with sponge cake, genoise, or swiss roll. Pour on sherry. be generous and let soak in Add raspberries (tinned is fine). Pour on raspberry jelly and let set. Next day spoon on cold custard (hot custard would melt the jelly). Just before serving add whipped cream and decorate. Here Jill and I differ. I think the decoration should be multi-coloured hundreds and thousands, but she points out that they bleed colour into the cream. She prefers glace cherries. We both agree that chocolate sprinkles and chocolate curls are inappropriate.

Jill is camera shy, and I hate pictures of myself.

Edited December 24, 2003 by jackal10 (log)

[Mabelline]

Jackal10, I tried yesterday to reach the ag. agent re the trees, but unfortunately he's in Washington state re the mad cow. I shall prevail, though. It shall become my Christmas gift in exchange for your beautious blog.

fifi, do you go to any of those Scottish-English-Irish antiques cargo-container auctions? Try those, girl, they have exactly those types of things, and you may get a deal!

That is a homely scene(don't beat me up, U.S., that's the English way of saying homey). Too bad you're having a brown Christmas like us.And please do include pics of Jill and yourself. That stollen with marzipan looks too good. I can imagine

the taste.

Edit to say I understand the pictures thing.

Edited December 24, 2003 by Mabelline (log)

[SethG]

Jack, I'm four days late to your blog, but I just read through it and I want to thank you for it. Your country life is inspiring to this city slicker. Love the photos, especially of your oven! And dynamite ham, too.

[forever_young_ca]

If there is nothing else on the table, I would come just for the bread and the cheese

Great blog, keep up the good work and the pictures - I love them as it brings life to the words.

Merry Christmas to all

[jackal10]

Mabelline: Thank you very much, much appreciated. I have discovered that Brogdale the National Apple collection do consultancy services, so I will ask them after the holiday.

This is the only picture of myself I have:

SethG, and Forever: Thanks. The bread is disappearing fast - may have to make more

I urge everyone to listen to King's College Carols, starting about now...

[ronnie_suburban]

What beautiful loaves you turned out! Simply glorious--and those cheeses look mighty fine as well

=R=

[jackal10]

Mince Pies:

Pate Sucre 321

Flour 6 oz (or 150g)

Butter 4 oz (or 100g)

Powdered sugar 2oz (or 50g)

Pinch salt

1 egg yolk

This pastry has the advantage of having so much butter in it that it does not stick, and stays crisp. Don't overwork or it will be crumbly

Whizz butter sugar and flour together in a food processor until crumbs.

Add egg yolk and pulse until it comes together.

Leave in a cool place for half an hour

[Mayhaw Man]

While there are many things that I can get regularly and many members of this board can only dream about or go to a hell of a lot of travel and expense to get, the photo of that assortment of cheeses causes my jealously level to reach condition red. Nowhere, no how, not ever, can we get anything that interesting (especially not a one time in one place) and that lovely to look at and to consume (as far as cheese goes anyway). You are one lucky big cheese.

Perhaps we can work out a trade of some fresh redfish, shrimp, crawfish tails, speckled trout, softshell crabs, a pile of various sausages, and a couple of my children for a few hunks of that fine looking cheese and a crust or two of bread to go with it? I will start working on the smuggling process now.

Have a great holiday and I have enjoyed your blog tremendously.

Regards,

[GG Mora]

Jackal -

I've been happily and jealously reading along, but hadn't yet taken the time to comment. Yours is a fabulous blog, and represents an enviable lifestyle, even to someone who lives and cooks in beautifully rural Vermont. Puts my blog to shame, man.

Having grown up Episcopalian in a church with an internationally renowned boys' choir, I can totally relate to the sound of the boy tenor heralding Christmas. Raises gooseflesh, no?

Happy Christmas!

GG

[jat]

I will print this bloq and put it in my food section of fond memories.

Thank you. By the way that's a beautiful picture! Wishing you

both the best of health so you can enjoy all the delicious food. Jennifer

[EllenC]

I just read your blog and I have to say THIS IS AWESOME! Thank you so much for all the pictures and information. What a great holiday present for all of us!

Ellen