Friday 28 February 2014
Food on Friday: Quick & Easy
ON
The new Food on Friday is the opposite of the
one we did on Slow Food. This one is for
dishes that are quick & easy to
do. We all need those in our repertoire
for those days where we just don't have time to cook up a storm but don't want
to resort to takeaways.
To add your
dishes just put your name/blog name and the name of the dish into the first Mr
Linky box and paste the url for your post about it into the second one.
To see all
the other quick and easy dishes just pop over to this Pinboard
where I'll be pinning all the links just as soon as I can.
I'm looking
forward to some great new ideas for those weeknight meals.
PS For a change of pace pop over to this Need Some Inspiration post with the features from FoF Slow Food
Thursday 27 February 2014
Need some inspiration? Try Slow Food Dishes
Cronuts by Cherry on My Sundae |
Food
on Friday: Slow Food showed
just how many people do like to use slow cooking methods – whether in a slow
cooker or not. I have selected a few of
the many great dishes for your inspiration today. To see the others just pop over to this Pinboard.
The first
pic is of Cronuts by Cherry on My Sundae
Carnitas by O Taste and See
Overnight
Oven Baked French Toast by
Jenn's Random Scraps
Cooking
the Perfect Chuck Roast by
James & Everett
Afghan
Spicy Beans by Gormandize
Sous
Vide Short Ribs by
Cooking Madly
Wednesday 26 February 2014
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
I wasn't
particularly looking forward to reading Lean
In by Sheryl Sandberg. And I certainly didn't intend to blog
about it. But all that changed. I started reading it and ended up devouring
the book in a day.
It is not a
book extolling the author's brilliance – it is not actually any sort of memoir
although Sandberg does use personal experiences to illustrate some of her
points.
In fact the
author is remarkably modest in approach – particularly given her spectacular
achievements in business. She is
currently COO of Facebook.
You may not
agree with everything she says but, boy, it is expressed well.
This is not
just a book for ambitious women but for all who want to understand the
challenges ahead if we are to reach the position where men and women truly have
the benefit of choice without barriers created by gender.
Tuesday 25 February 2014
Limoncello with prosecco
I have formed a love affair
with drinking Prosecco (light Italian sparkling wine – I got an NZ one)
with a splosh of Limoncello. I
still have it now and again. Subtle
lemon flavour, a hint of sweetness and then the liveliness of the bubbles –
what’s not to like?
Limoncello is apparently
routinely made by households in Italy – each with their own favourite way of
doing it. I wonder how difficult it
would be to make it? Of course, my
pathetic little lemon tree just won’t produce enough lemons for this sort of
thing. Last year I only got 3 lemons - this year it will be 7 - if they keep on growing.
I understand you are supposed
to keep the Limoncello really cold – even in the freezer – I wasn’t game enough
for that and settled on keeping it in the fridge.
Do you use Limoncello – what do
you do with it?
Monday 24 February 2014
Capital City of the Week – Paris
I almost
didn't do Paris in this series –
such a well known city! But what the
heck! So I tried to find some lesser
known features of the city.
This is the
Pont Neuf – which means New Bridge
but it is actually the oldest bridge in Paris.
You don't
have to choose between the right and left bank of the Seine. You can stay on the Ile St Louis right in the middle of the river.
This is the
Pompidou Centre – it houses art
galleries and a library.
Pere-Lachaise cemetery not only has the graves of Jim
Morrison and Edith Piaf, but has Oscar Wilde, Chopin and Sarah Bernhardt as
well to name but a few of the famous people buried there.
So where in
the world is Paris?
Paris is
the capital of:
As if you
didn't know!
Degas
La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans |
Another
really famous artist for you today – Degas. It's just as well he is usually identified just
by surname since his first name was Hilaire-Germain-Edgar! For some reason, he was just called Edgar. He was born in Paris in 1834.
Therese – the painter's sister |
He came
from a well off family and was the oldest of 5 children. His mother died when he was just 13 years old.
Two Dancers Resting |
Degas never
married. He is famous for his ballet
scenes – he did over 600 works about ballet!
Race Horses 1866 |
He also did
works about horses at the racetrack.
Trotting Horse |
He not only
painted but he sculpted – guess what – horses and dancers of course!
He also
painted a lot of nude women – which you can Google to see if you want.
Degas died
at the age of 64 before the end of WWI.
His grave is in Montmartre Cemetery.
Sunday 23 February 2014
Mini Ham
Recently I
glazed a Mini Ham. I call it a mini because it was a quarter of
a leg of ham. For 2 of us this turned
out to be the perfect size – we were able to eat it all before getting sick of
it – a first!
I saw
recently on a Food TV programme – sorry can't remember which – that you should
warm the ham up in the oven before taking the skin off – because then it is
easier to take it off. I am happy to
report that this did work. I put the ham
in a low oven for 20 minutes. The ham
was just warm but still comfortable to handle.
I took the
skin off with the help of a little sharp paring knife – I tried to leave all
the fat on the ham that I could.
I then
scored the ham with a sharp knife – trying not to cut right through the fat –
and mostly succeeding. If you score it
in parallel lines one way and then turn the ham 90 degrees and do it again you
should have a diamond pattern.
I then
poked a clove into the middle of each diamond.
This isn't as easy as it sounds because it was actually quite hard to
see the diamonds – I just didn't worry about it too much. In fact in the past
when I've done ham I've put the cloves not in the middle of the diamond but
where the scoring crosses. I don't think
it matters other than for looks. If you
wanted to be sure to put the clove in the middle of the diamond you could pop
the ham back into the oven on a moderate heat for 15 minutes or so and the
diamonds should then show up clearly, I think.
I prepared
a glaze for the ham – it was my own concoction but worked out a treat. I put the following things into a small pot:
Juice
and zest of 2 tangelos (you could use oranges)
Brown
sugar – about a quarter cup
Mustard
– I would have used powder but didn't have any so used a mix of Dijon and Hot
English
Brandy
1
dried red chilli, broken into half and the seeds shaken out and discarded
Half
a cinnamon quill – left as a piece
Simmer this
lot for 5 minutes or so while stirring to allow the glaze to come together.
Brush the
glaze over the ham and then put it in the cook – I had the oven on low/medium
and brushed more glaze over every 15 to 20 minutes – a bit of a chore but it
builds a delightful depth of flavour.
Because the
ham was not raw you don't need to worry too much about the length of cooking –
it's done when your glaze looks fab!
Mine took 2-3 hours. If you were
glazing a larger ham I would cook it on medium rather than low and for about
the same time – just to make sure the ham is nicely warm all the way through.
I served
this with 3 salads – avocado & tomato, broccoli and cauliflower and my new
obsession My Berlin Kitchen potato salad.
PS That's a tangelo in the first pic. It's a cross between an orange and a
tangerine and has lovely sweet juice.
Saturday 22 February 2014
Need some extra inspiration? Try BBQ
Sticky Spicy Beer BBQ Sauce |
Over 150
BBQ recipes were collected by Food on
Friday: BBQ. Here are some I
selected for your inspiration today. To
see more, pop over to this Pinboard.
The pic at
the top is Sticky
Spicy Beer BBQ Sauce by Unfussy Epicure.
Grilled Flank Steak
by MJ's Kitchen
Lime
Shrimp Kebab by
Simple Living & Eating
BBQ
Pulled Pork Loaded Baked Potatoes by
A Teaspoonful of Happiness
Spicy
Honey Chicken by
Dimples & Delights
Spicy
Grilled Boneless Pork Spare Ribs by
Sandra's Easy Cooking
BBQ Meatballs by Life with the Crust Cut Off
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