Classic French Beef Bourguignon

Today I present to you one of the most delicious beef stews I have ever made, and folks I've made a lot of them.  I've also tasted quite a few Beef Bourguignons in my time, and I reckon that this one is up there with the best of them. 

Raspberry, Oat and Cinnamon Muffins

 

This recipe starts out as a healthy and simple muffin mix, and transforms into something delicious with the addition of Raspberries and rolled oats, or Blueberries and oats, or dried Fig and cinnamon, or whatever you have on hand, or whatever floats your boat at the time really. 

Delicious Fruit Mince Tea Cake

 

This is the perfect recipe for using up that large jar of fruit mince at the back of your pantry, which was intended for Christmas fruit mince pies, but it just didn't quite happen. Can you remember way back then? 

Pear and Ginger Tarte Tatin to celebrate French Bastille Day

 

It's French Bastille Day, and how better to celebrate than with a delicious and very simple to make Pear Tarte Tatin. Apparently the French don't say "Happy Bastille Day" they say Happy National Holiday, "Joyeux quatorze juillet!"The holiday marks the anniversary of the fall of the Bastille on July 14, 1789,  in Paris. The Bastille was originally built as a medieval fortress but then became a state prison. Our son and his family are living in Provence for now, and are travelling around in their camper on holidays, so it will be interesting to talk to them about their experiences on their National Day. When I saw this Tarte Tartin recipe on the lovely Lorraine's blog, @Not Quite Nigella, I had to make it. In fact I made three of them when I was in Cairns, just to perfect it of course. Mr. HRK is quite the fan of a Tarte Tatin. Pears are so plentiful, so it is the perfect  economical dessert to cook right now.

Mr. HRK and I had just arrived  in Marseille in 2009, which seems so long ago, and were amazed on arrival that nothing, and I mean nothing, seemed to be open on a working day during the week. We then saw barricades being erected and police arriving, and we realised that there was going to be a street parade. We were really hungry, and the only place we could find open to dine in was a McDonalds. So unashamedly as tired tourists, we stumbled in there, and discovered with my limited French, that it was Bastille Day. However we were very disappointed that we hadn't found a charming little French cafe to dine in. That came the following day. We had been staying with a French family prior to travelling to Marseille, and they hadn't mentioned to us that it was Bastille Day on the 14th July, and what to expect. Oh well, it made us wonder how significant the National day actually is to the French people. I'm sure it is though.

Ginger and vanilla are flavours that marry with pears very well, although  just use vanilla if you wish in this recipe. Golden Syrup is the secret ingredient here, making this recipe very simple to make instead of needing to make a caramel. Lorraine suggests that you could also use rosemary, cinnamon, almonds, citrus and chocolate, for extra flavour enhancement, or a splash of your favourite liqueur, such as Grand Marnier, Kirsch, brandy or a dessert wine (yum). It is really a blank canvas to work with with so many options to choose from.

Let's Cook:

Ingredients:

Serves 6, make that 4 in our house

1/3 cup/100g/3.5 ozs golden syrup

2 thin slices fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced into matchsticks, or small blobs of bottled ginger if you wish

1 vanilla bean, split in half (I used 1 teaspoon Vanilla bean paste)

550 g/1.2 lbs Pears, or enough to fit the base of your springform tin

2 tablespoons butter, cold and cubed

1 1/4 sheets butter puff pastry, thawed in the frig (essential to use butter puff pastry)

Method:

Spray the base and sides of a 23cm/8 inch springform pan with oil spray and line the base with baking paper. A 20 cm pan will be fine as well. 

Just in case, place your springform pan in another tray with a lip on it to catch any drips. This shouldn't happen with a newish pan.

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.5.

Gently warm your golden syrup (about 10 seconds in the microwave) and pour onto the lined base of your tin and spread to the edges with a pastry brush. Then sprinkle the ginger around the base and add the seeds from the vanilla bean halves on top. I just spread small blobs of the vanilla bean paste over the ginger. 

In this photo below, I had used bottled ginger because I was in a hurry, and just placed small spoonsful of it over the golden syrup, and it still tasted delicious. Sometimes we just need to improvise with what we've got on hand and what is available.

Preparing the pears:

The pears need to be peeled, sliced in half from top to bottom, and the cores removed. I found this really simple to do with a teaspoon or with the knife I peeled them with. 

Place the pears in the tin, domed side down. Scatter the cubed butter over the top.

Place the whole sheet of puff pastry over the pears, and tuck in the sides, creating a nice raised ridge. Oops, the large sheet should have gone in first. I corrected this and placed the whole sheet in and then the 1/4 sheet on the top. I wonder if it would really have made that much difference to the result.

 Then place the 1/4 sheet in the centre so that there is some more puff pastry when the tart is cooked, that's always good, don't you think, the more puff the better? Just add more pastry if you think it is needed. It won't be noticeable when the tart is turned out later.

If the pastry is still cold, your tart can be cooked straight away. Otherwise, pop it back into the frig to chill for 20 minutes. The pastry will cook so much better and puff up beautifully.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and puffed. Take it out of the oven, give a little cheer, and leave it to cool for 3-4 minutes.

Now for the slightly tricky part.

Place a serving tray over the top of the springform tin, and I suggest a light serving tray,  and quickly turn upside down, scraping onto the tray any caramel sauce that is left in the tin.

Remove the tin and decorate as you wish. I used mint leaves as I had them and I liked the colour contrast and the freshness and the slightly minty flavour they brought to the dish, however if you use the scraped vanilla beans, they look fantastic, laid over the top of the pie.

Serve with ice cream, preferably ginger or vanilla.

I've also made an Apple Tarte Tatin and a Plum Tarte Tatin over the years. Always delicious.

Bon appetit,

Pauline

In My Kitchen July 2022

This IMK post is part of Sherry's In My Kitchen series, and is mostly set in our Daughter's kitchen in Cairns, in Far North Queensland, where we have been for the past month or so, partly house sitting,  partly travelling around, doing lots of gardening and cooking, and loving the Northern Winter, until it started raining.  If you read my last post, you might remember that we drove home to Mackay from Cairns during the week, and as this is a 10 hour trip, and that's if all is going well, and always it seems with road works and lots of traffic, we now break the trip. Which means, we can take time out and stop and indulge at our favourite haunts along the way for some refreshment and some shopping. 

Oliveri's Continental Deli, a wonderful Italian shop in downtown Innisfail is one of our favourites. Innisfail, is another sugar cane town on the Cassowary Coast, also known for it's bananas and high rainfall, and with a large Italian population. Entering Oliveri's is like walking into little Italy, with shelves laden with all kinds of authentic Italian  products and also locally produced items just beckoning to be taken home to my kitchen. Locals are drinking coffee and eating pastries outside on the footpath.  It's a great place to buy gifts and have a splurge. Some items make it back to my kitchen pantry, and some are enjoyed on the way home.

The front window is laden with a marvelous selection of cheeses, olives, salamis and preserves, all very reasonably priced. It's worthwhile saving up just to buy these. Bring on the pizza. 

The shelves inside are stocked with everything you could want, perfectly packaged preserves ready for antipasto platters, Italian baked sweets and delicious condiments and jams.

So many different vinegars, sauces and oils tried to tempt me.

Of course I always leave Oliveri's with some delicious Nougat.

I'm looking forward to trying this Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar.

We thought this Whiskey Maple Syrup looked like fun. The instructions say to use it on meat. It's not Italian, but it looks like a delicious BBQ sauce from Kansas City.

The Spice Girls are a successful Cairns food company producing lots of different spices, teas, and quality cooking ingredients. I bought these from the Jonsson's Farm Market in Stratford in Cairns, which prides itself on a paddock to plate philosophy, bringing the freshest produce and meat and groceries sourced from all local producers and businesses. We loved shopping there, for the local produce in season. 

I bought these during one of my shopping trips which became gifts for friends who kept an eye on our place while we were away.

Far North Queensland is the real home of the banana, and Babinda just down the road from Cairns, besides having the famous boulders and the best bakery ever, is also home to these Sublime dehydrated Bananas.  Delicious to nibble on while travelling.

And I've become quite a fan of a Chai Latte for morning tea, as a coffee substitute.

I  did some cooking and baking in Cairns, however a lot of my cooking and eating was essentially comfort style food designed to be very kind to my gut, as for the first few weeks I was unwell. This led to a course of powerful antibiotics, which caused a painful skin reaction, so I wasn't a happy chappy. However one must eat something, and whilst for a "whole very long week" I eliminated all foods containing histamines, as the antihistamine tablets weren't working, and yes that means cutting out red wine as well, it's a challenge as all the foods we love, including citrus, tomatoes, eggplant, cheese, yoghurt, bananas and alcohol and many other Italian ingredients contain histamines. If you look it up  you will be surprised. We take all of those foods for granted when we are well. I eventually moved onto some very soothing and tasty meals,  however I am still treating hot curries and anything spicy with caution. 

So, when I was feeling on the mend, I made this delicious Creamy Chicken Pot Pie, ticks all the boxes for a comforting meal on a cold Winter's night. It was perfect. You can find the recipe at this link:

There was another Chicken tonight meal, with this very easy and delicious Chicken and Celery casserole, very soothing for the soul and the gut, and it's a family recipe evoking fond memories. It's also a very economical meal, with most of the ingredients except for the chicken and celery being  pantry and freezer staples. When everyone is becoming concerned about the cost of fresh produce and meat, casseroles can be suited to most budgets.

 

Last night I made these Tuna and Potato rissoles, they were so tasty. These are a great way to use up leftover mashed potato and canned tuna. 

Pears and apples are in abundance at this time of year, so Pear Tarte Tatin became a favourite. I made three of them in Cairns, so quick and easy and uncomplicated, Mr. HRK didn't mind one little bit. He even volunteered to make the custard. I also love making the more conventional Apple Tarte Tartin.
l'll publish the Pear Tarte Tartin recipe when time permits.

This is my curveball segment. A visit to a lovely plant nursery in Cairns called Limberlost, and I met Danny the Dinosaur. I would have loved to take him home, but $500.00 was just a touch expensive. Have you noticed lately that a lot of plant nurseries have quite the collection of very large and very tame animals and birds just waiting to be adopted for a price?

If you like Yotam Ottolenghis recipes, and who doesn't, you will love this book by Greg and Lucy Malouf, "A Chef's Journey through Persia". I have a copy on order, after a good friend lent me his for a while. 

I'm sending this to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings who hosts the monthly IMK series. Thanks Sherry.

Warm wishes

Pauline

Creamy Curry Chicken Pot Pie

Pies in Winter, oh yes please. We have been struck with a very surprising Wintry cold snap here in North Queensland. Which means, it's perfect weather for making and eating pies, and lots of them. I made this pie in Cairns, before the cold snap really set in even though it was cool, but now that we are all rugged up, I want to make it and eat it again and again. It is a really delicious and healthy chicken and vegetable pie, and the left overs taste even better. When I saw this recipe on Lorraine@Not Quite Nigella's instagram feed it was a cold wet day, and I just knew I had to make it. A Chicken pie makes a nice change to the iconic Meat Pie with Mushy Peas and Worcestershire sauce or Tomato sauce which is a Queensland tradition, and during this cold snap I assure you that a lot of those are being consumed by hungry workers for lunches and dinners. There are still a few Pie Carts to be found waiting for hungry customers on the suburban roadsides in Mackay, and at some workplaces, and for some strange reason a Meat pie bought from one of those Pie Carts has always tasted better than from the shop.

Temperatures plummeted down to 7 degrees, even in Cairns when it was raining. We arrived home yesterday, after driving  halfway in the rain to Home Hill, a sleepy little sugar cane  town just over halfway to Mackay and it was freezing there. The motel room was very cold, the reverse cycle air-conditioning wasn't working, so we were in bed very early. Thankfully though we were able to Chromecast to Netflix on their TV, and the motel owners were serving delicious hot pizza to our room. That was after a long phone call to France to wish our much loved 6 year old Grandson, Hugo, happy birthday and watch him very excitedly open our presents to him.  So special, and thank goodness for technology. 

Thankfully the sun was shining yesterday for the rest of the trip home, even though it was still down to 6 degrees when we left in the morning.  Our maximum at midday today is 21 degrees,  which for me is perfect Winter weather, with the sun shining. Thanks so much Lorraine Elliott for this recipe, I've changed it  slightly, but it is a cinch to make even though it takes a little time and can't be rushed, and it is now firmly embedded in my repertoire of favourite meals. I would love it if you could make this pie, and let me know of any variations you make and what you think of it.

LET'S COOK:

Ingredients:

Feeds 4 people

1 cup/150 g / 5 oz diced carrots 

2 cups /300g / 10 oz diced zucchini

4 tablespoons / 80 ml / 3 fl. ozs. vegetable oil

1 leek, white part finely diced

50 g /1.7 ozs butter

4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced

2 teaspoons / 4g / curry powder

500 g /1.11 lbs. chicken meat, thighs, tenderloins, breasts cut into bite sized pieces

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup/250 ml milk (full cream)

1 cup / 150 g frozen peas

1 cup / 175 g / 6 ozs drained tinned corn or frozen corn

1/2 cup / 50 g grated parmesan cheese

2 sprigs parsley, leaves only, chopped

Salt and pepper for seasoning

1 sheet / 180 g / 6 ozs butter puff pastry

2 tablespoons egg wash ( 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water)

Method:

(I generally prepare the filling the day before I plan to bake it, so that it is cold before adding the pastry, and it all saves time on the day of serving. However if the filling is made in the morning and kept in the refrigerator all day, it should be cold by the late afternoon when you want to bake the pie.)

Preheat your oven to 180 deg. C/350 deg. F prepare your baking tray for roasting the carrots and zucchinis. Line the tray with baking paper.

Tip the carrots and zucchinis onto the lined baking tray. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, and bake for 25 minutes. 

While the carrots and zucchinis are baking, start cooking the rest of the ingredients.

Saute the leeks in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan, and until they are soft and golden.

 Add the garlic, throw in about a quarter of the butter, until the butter softens and melts, add the curry powder and fry until fragrant, and then add the chicken.

 Continue until chicken is cooked but not browned.

Now it's time to make the white sauce, but in the same pan. Move the chicken to one half of the pan, then on a low heat add the rest of the butter, wait for it to melt, then add the flour to make a roux. 

Give it a stir, and add the milk and stir until it becomes thick and creamy. You are aiming for a creamy white sauce.

Add the peas and corn, the chopped parsley, and the cheese. 

Then add the cooked carrot and zucchini, give it a light stir, season to your taste, and allow this to all cool completely.

Your delicious chicken pie filling is complete.

Because the filling needs to be cold before adding the pastry to the top, the simplest idea is to add the chicken mixture to the baking dish, cover it and keep it in the refrigerator for the next day, when you  are ready to put the pastry on top. 

Prepare a sheet of puff pastry to fit the top of your baking dish.

Brush the surface of the pastry with egg wash, cut a small hole in the top, to allow the steam to escape,  decorate with small pieces of pastry cut into shapes if you wish, and then place the dish back in the frig until the oven heats up to 220C/440F. The uncooked pie needs to remain cold until it is placed in the oven, to ensure the pastry will rise beautifully.

Bake the pie for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Bon appetit,

Pauline

Creamy Celery and Chicken Casserole

 

The delicious aroma of a Chicken Casserole baking slowly in the oven on a cold and wet Winter's day or even a sunny Winter's or Spring day, is so very comforting to me, and gives the whole family a lot to look forward to for dinner. This is the Queen of comfort food, fall-apart chicken, lovely vegetables, and a seasoned creamy sauce.  Serving up this dish is like giving everyone a huge hug around the dinner table.