Friday 9 December 2011

It started in Sardinia.

Another little island, fighting off the rest of Europe, just like us!

And, how, their "carta musica" helped me to change Sophie into a Brussel sprout lover.

Originally made for the shepherds, to take to the mountains, its a crisp, light delight!

Some arrived at Shottle a couple of weeks ago, and taking inspiration from a special wedding breakfast menu I wrote for an Italian themed day at East Lodge, and paying no attention to my long term fiscal stability I  ended up with this lot!

The mussels were steamed, just until they started to open, then tipped into a colander, to save their juices.

I made a rich tomato sauce, using lots of garlic, shallots and herbs. I was going to stir in the cooked mussels at the last minute. I also got some fregola, a Sardinian pasta, that I cooked in the mussel stock, to also stir into my sauce.


So, with my "carta musica" and some cured meats, and a hearty mussel stew for my main course, it was a nice sunny midweek supper.

"I dream of you

Sprouts, sprouts, sprouts

Du, du, du, du, du

Alle Ci bum ci bum bum

It's wonderful, it's wonderful"

Do you think, that if, like chips, sprouts had a catchy song written about them that they would be more popular?

No, me neither, but, like Richard the Lionheart, marching through Europe, I'm on a mission to make people love these little green brassicas.

So for my Christmas miracle, I warmed the Sardinian bread in a low oven, and then placed some prosciutto on top.
Doing this while warm allows the fat on the ham to soften and really develop it's flavor.

I got some lovely tight, fresh sprouts, and shredded them as fine as I could, and seasoned them with a touch of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and some salt and pepper.

I'll tell you what, they were delicious!

Sweet, nutty and crisp, with the bread and ham I think it would turn anyone into a sprout lover, and a drizzle of truffle oil would be a nice addition too!
Meanwhile over at East Lodge I'm serving them like this.

Using celeriac, beetroot, swede, carrots, baby onions and turnips, all cooked seperately, as they have different cooking times, we then saute them all off together, glazed with honey and thyme butter, its a great side dish for our roasted turkey.

The all important parsnips are served as a puree, with a bacon and fried bread "crumble'", chipolatas are wrapped in bacon and roasted, and finally a bread and suet stuffing is served.




Oh, and I nearly forgot, the turkey and roasted potatoes!

So, it a nice, colorful, somewhat heathy garnish for December.

Brussels, they can be loved, and they're not just for Christmas you know!

Right, thats it!

I'll be going all festive next time with our East Lodge Christmas tasting menu, including blitzed up Brussels!

Just because David looked a little bit lonely!



And, just to show there's no hard feelings, and I really do try to include the whole world, have a look at these, that also arrived at Shottle this week.

Ok, that's it, have fun!



Saturday 3 December 2011

Right, thats it!

There's no point in doing anything else now.

After sampling steaks from all around the world I can now announce that the best steaks in the world are served in Rowsley, just down the road from my birthplace!

This beauty on the right was one of a brace I acquired last week, and polished off with Mr H last Sunday at East Lodge. Along with a bottle of 2007 Catena Alta malbec, and, I think, another of first growth claret.

The "Don Pedro". Sixteen ounces of pure, grass fed, Argentinian rib eye steak.

The depth and length of flavor was incredible. Tender as any other prime cut I've tasted. Cooked on a red hot plancha, and then popped in the oven for a few minutes, rested, seasoned heavily with salt and pepper, I thought it was amazing, and something I think we should repeat at least every month.

And, yes, I know Argentina is not that local, but I figure if we can import all of their lovely wine, a couple of steaks won't make too much difference.

And, anyway, I use loads of beautiful Derbyshire beef on the menu at East Lodge.

But I really have tried steaks all over the world, most of them very good, all of them large, some massive!

A few years ago I found myself in New York, wondering just how much food its possible to consume, and also, how to make every waiters job as hard as possible. I was in Dean and Deluca, that famous food store, mesmerized by all the produce on display, I thought I'd grab a coffee. All I wanted was a normal coffee. Actually I'm not sure thats possible now, after being shouted at by the barista, for not making my mind up quickly enough, a New Yorker, pushed past and asked for a "half regular, half de-caff, frappe, latte, to go"!

She was either mental or really cool, I still can't work it out!

Luckily, my next choice was much more straight forward. Arriving at Grand Central Station, bypassing the oyster bar and heading straight to the Michael Jordon steak house, we were offered the days specials. Either a three and a half pound lobster, cooked how you like it, or a thirty two ounce "T bone"!

Job done then, I'll have one of those, rare, house fries on the side and a starter of roasted marrow bones.

Quite full after that!

One summer mum and dad took an old farm house in Tuscany for a couple of weeks, and I joined them for a few days.

Up on the hill was an old castle, converted into a restaurant, it was very dramatic, and a bit off the beaten track.
So there I was, tucking into my starter of linguini with scampi, when this massive, moustached, Italian walked in.

Followed, I presume, by his wife and daughter, and they were pretty big as well!

Half an hour later, two waiters came into the restaurant, and put down this huge steak florentine, carved a slice off each for his wife and daughter, and then just lifted the remaining hunk of beef onto his plate! Brilliant!

The next night we went there again, and dad and myself shared one, and it was, of course, delicious.

So, there you are.

My search around the world for the best steak has ended.

And all the time it was just down the road from where I was born in Darley Dale, how lucky is that!

Right that's it!

Next time I'm going to tell you how I performed a Christmas miracle and have turned Sophie into a sprout lover!



And, how, up at East Lodge, we have had our first snow of the season!




Friday 25 November 2011

Delicious.


Derbyshire.


December.


Delight.






It all started with 70's disco.

I was listening to a Ministry of Sound disco mix when the song "September" came on.

And it got me thinking. Again!

Could I do a dessert named after a month?

Yes, as it turned out. And as its not long to go, I came up with this. Its everything one would expect to find in a kitchen around December, and now I'm going to tell you what's on it.

I had to have some sort of mince pie on it, but as I'm not a great lover of mince pies, I tried to come up with something a bit less cloying.

So, fitting for Christmas, mincemeat sorbet was born!

I blended mincemeat with a sherry and orange syrup, tipped it into the thermomix and let rip.

Strained, cooled and churned ( sounds a bit like my disco dancing!) it really is delicious.

Grated sweet pastry is the "pie" element.

So, what else then?

We all love a glass of mulled wine, right Lisa! So some pears are poached in mulled wine, made the correct way with cloves, orange zest, cinnamon, brown sugar and brandy. Chilled and compressed, they are like little bursts of December on the plate.
A very light brandy sabayon is made using eggs yolks, sugar and, yes more, brandy. Whisked over a pan of simmering water, until thick, a small amount of melted unsalted butter is whisked in. This will help keep the sauce stable, and of course, make it rich and lovely!
We made a snowball ice cream, using Warnick's advocaat, which really is rather good!
Rolled in crushed meringue, dried orange zest and ground pistachios, it looks a bit like a snowball too!
Our East Lodge apple curd and some marinated apples add a clean note, as do some segments of satsuma.

So, it's December on a plate.

However, I still think it needs some more work doing on it, perhaps more textures, thats why it won't be on the menu just yet.

This one is though.

Another divine December dish!

Using pheasant, we made a mousse with some breast meat. Blended with cream and then passed through a fine sieve, rolled and poached, it's a classic way of making a mousse.

Sometimes served as it is, we cooled it down, sliced it and fried it on the plancha. It gets a nice crust, and its just lovely warm, soft and crisp at the same time.

Right, so what other goodies does December bring?

Port and Stilton are two that spring to my mind. And as the French do a version of this mousse using chicken and the slightly inferior Roquefort, I thought this would work just as well, using produce from Derbyshire!


So, a slice of warm pheasant mousse is served with a piece of cured and smoked pheasant breast, a dice of Colton Bassett Stilton, grated chestnuts, a celeriac condiment, wrapped in a fine pastry cylinder, some Port soaked ripe pears, celery leaves and finally, some parsley cress, oh yes, and some festive slices of red radish!

So, there you are, December on two plates.

And, still on the subject of music, which I am, I'm having some piano paper for my dinner tonight.

Matt would be very pleased!  Its actually Sardinian flat bread, rolled very thinly, that I will serve with some ham, as a little starter.

But, just one last thing.

They have arrived. And they look amazing. Unbelievable. Out of this world. I just cannot wait.

All the way from Argentina.

My new tight, black tango trousers!

No, only joking, two sixteen ounce rib eye steaks. THE DON PEDRO.

Right, thats it, Christmas, it seems has come early in Shottle, so I'll tell you all about it next time!







Thursday 17 November 2011

Bonsoir.

"Qu'ils mangent de la brioche"

So now you know!

Let them eat cake.

Often, wrongly, attributed to Marie Antoinette, it seems that any number of French princess's could have used this phrase.

Also incorrect in it's use of the word cake, when it should be brioche.

It was when the peasants ran out of money for bread, so they thought they should eat brioche. Although if they had access to my new afternoon tea delights at East Lodge, then I'm sure there would have been no revolution, just lots of happy frogs!

Although, just over the Channel, we were discovering the delights of pies.

 Specifically steak and oyster. Amazing, I'm sure, but I just wanted to show this new 2011 version we've done on the tasting menu up at East Lodge. Using sea bass, wrapped in chard leaves, with a celery puree, with a sauce made with reduced beef roasting juices, caviar and bone marrow.

 So, it is sort of, well, a tiny bit, related to the old English pie!

GIVE ME BUTTER, GIVE ME MORE BUTTER, KEEP ON GIVING ME BUTTER!

Another, less famous, but no less important French quote, by the legend that was Fernand Point.

One of the first, and probably, the most important, lessons I learnt in French classical cooking.

In France we used to make brioche with the same amount of butter as flour, resulting in a delicious, rich, buttery loaf.

This one was made with just half the amount of butter to flour, but it still tastes beautiful, packed with chopped pistachios, dried apricots and sultanas.

It will be served , toasted with our autumn rolled game ballotines, that we have been busy preparing.

Using a mixture of pheasant, partridge, pork shoulder, chicken, back fat and bacon.

I minced it twice, and then marinated it with Port and brandy, garlic, thyme and parsley, rolled it in thinly sliced bacon, and cooked it in the water bath. It really need lots of seasoning, and there is no point in being tight about this, lots and lots of  fat.

Pork is best.

And when preparing a cooked terrine the fat is very important.

You don't want to be eating a dry terrine, now, do you?

And it improves it keeping quality, so it will taste better as it matures.

So, a nice simple terrine, ready for next Sunday's lunch menu.  However, over on the dinner menu, we have this rather sexy looking starter, which, finally Tom and myself have got just about right.

Made with slow cooked Goosnargh duck breast and confit fattened duck livers, it is a different style of terrine, where the components are cooked
separately, and then pressed.

In this case, eight perfect layers are served, with a sweet chicory puree, duck juice and sherry vinegar dressing, and a little salad with grated cracked peppercorn honeycomb, giving a nice sweet crunch.  We also serve a brace of little duck pies, just as a little garnish.

So, anyway, back to the brioche, and just one more use for it. As a bread and butter pudding, of course!

With lots of DE4 apples and cream, it shows just how many uses a loaf of brioche has!

And, if you were wondering what my new, revolution preventing cakes were, they are, chocolate and pistachio cup cakes, apple and blackberry crumble tartlets, little 'Bakewell" sponges with almond butter cream with raspberry jam injected into them, scones, of course, and finally, little lemon meringue pies.

Right, that's it!

Off to Italy tonight, where I'm going to try doing a coal miners risotto, and then a chicken, roasted, nice and simple with some rosemary and garlic. With some toasted sour dough, a grilled little gem lettuce and garlic mayonnaise, its a nice easy dinner.


No history lesson next week, although I am going to tell you how my amazing chef de parties have managed to change a Yorkshire pudding into this incredible gluten free carrot and coconut cake.

Bonkers!

Friday 11 November 2011

I was really excited,  when after spending far too much at Majestic wine, I popped into M and S, next door, just to get some witches toes.

It was halloween, by the way.

Anyway, I was soon distracted by their dine in
for a tenner offer.

I'm sure you all know the score, main course, side, pudding and a bottle of wine.

All for ten English pounds.

So, what do think, good eh!

Well I didn't. It was just all a bit average, and there wasn't enough either.

So yesterday I popped up to Highfield House Farm, and for a lot less money I got this little beauty.

So, feeling rather creative, I got home, raided my larder, and ended up making a meal that could have fed six people, easy!

The thing about getting a whole plump chicken is that you get all the other bits and bobs.

So, first thing, after opening a bottle of wine, was to joint the bird.
I took off the legs, skinned and boned them, and then marinated them in a mixture of rice wine, soy sauce and sesame oil. They will be stir fried, in beef dripping, at the last minute. Mixed with peanuts and greens, and with a corn flour thickened sauce,  made with garlic, ginger and red chili paste, it will be one of the five dishes I made out of one chicken.

The breasts were removed, but left on the bone, and poached with some ginger, spring onions and peppercorns. The broth will be served at the end of the banquet, as a palate cleanser.  One of the breasts will be taken off the bone, shredded and served with a cold rice noodle salad, cucumber and mange tout. Dressed with a spicy "bang bang" sauce, made with sesame and peanut paste, Jazzed up with spring onions, red chillies and black vinegar, it makes a nice light start to my celebration of chicken!

The other breast will be chopped up, still on the bone, and be eaten will steamed rice and a tangy salty dipping sauce.

So, I've still got a couple of wings , waiting to be cooked with something. As you can see, an aubergine is sliced, along with a couple of white onions. Stir fried together and with a spoonful of fermented black bean sauce and some garlic, it makes a nice rich satisfying side dish.

Ok, nearly there. I finally managed to get my hands on some tofu. Morrison's didn't have any, so Waitrose was the answer. It will be braised with dried shitake mushrooms and some sliced Chinese sausages.

Right, thats it.

One chicken, five dishes, no problem!

And plenty left over for when I get home from work tomorrow.

Oh, and there was a bit for Agness as well, so everyone was happy.

And, see it you can guess what I got with the money I saved.

Look good don't they! Fried up for my lunch, and with a fantastic loaf of sourdough, some butter and brown sauce, its all I need for my midday snack!

So, you see, we can all dine in for a tenner, it just takes a little bit of chopping, cooking and drinking.

French history lesson next time, so au revoir!  I'm off to tuck into some unpasteurized brie now, spread onto the crusts of that delicious bread.









Sunday 6 November 2011

So, its here then.

At last!

Charlie and Ben brought me this beauty last week, so I carved it into this hideous halloween horror for our guests dining on the chef's table on Monday evening.

And I mean autumn, by the way.

Summer took much longer to finish than usual, which was nice.

But as a cook, I was really looking forward to getting my hands on some lovely, fat, heavy pumpkins, to turn into all sorts of warming, golden dishes to enjoy, now that the nights are getting a little chillier!

So, anyway, I wanted to use them in a couple of dishes on the new dinner menu, and wondered what to do with them.

A few years ago, one of the most popular ways of using butternut squash and pumpkins was in a risotto with Gorgonzola, sage and chestnuts. And, when done well, it's a fantastic dish.

But, I wanted to use my plump pumpkins as a garnish for a main course. The squash will take centre stage, as a dessert, as you will see later.

So, we start with putting the halved pumpkins in a hot oven, with rosemary, garlic and olive oil. Roasted until just charred around the edges, these could be eaten as they are, with some Parmesan grated over, some good sour dough and smoked bacon.

I, of course, have to ponce around a bit more, and so we puree the pumpkins with some butter and grated Parmesan. This adds a salty tang, which I think will marry perfectly with the sweet pigs cheek, rich meaty turbot, slightly bitter, earthy black cabbage, and some fat juicy ceps. Rolled in garlic butter!

Look, its autumn on a plate!

You see, thats why I love autumn, all those colours, and rich flavors, on the same plate, just crying out for a piece of char grilled, garlic rubbed, bread to mop up all the juices. So thats all I'm doing you see, putting together things that are in season at the same time, and turning them into a proper Derbyshire main course!

Just like this one.

Thanksgiving.

As our friends, across the pond,  celebrate Thanksgiving in November, each year, by eating pumpkin pie, I'm pretty sure I can use butternut squash, as a pudding.

So I did!

Poaching the squash in a thyme scented stock syrup, and then compressing, at maximum pressure, we can create a squash fondant.

Going back to the tried and trusted gourd and cheese combination, we add some fromage blanc cream. baked diced beetroot, glazed with an orange and thyme caramel are the other garnishes. Buttery shortbread is placed under the compressed squash, as, remember, it is based on a pumpkin pie!

All it needs then is a swoosh of sweetened beetroot puree and a spoonful of that other great autumn flavor - blackberry. Served as a sorbet, it all comes together as a really original pudding.

Tastes alright too!

And, so finally, the colors of autumn.

The new apple dessert.

See what I mean, its just what I see every day, on my drive to work along the A6.



All those golds, reds, and browns.

And I'm just putting them together on a plate again.

With a big fat slice of caramelised brioche pudding, as a garnish.

And some rum and vanilla syrup.

I'll tell you about the importance of brioche next time,  but I'm off to India now.

Those "Spicentice" curry kits again  - rogan josh and jalfrezi tonight.

Good job I didn't eat too many roast potatoes today at East Lodge!

Right that's it! Another trip around the culinary world, all going on in my little mind!





Friday 21 October 2011

So I'm now going to tell you all about my "Victorian" garnish for the tasting menu tomorrow night, and how Lardy cake has been turned into lollypops!


But before that, I'm going to waffle on about how this dish came about.

It all started at the Cow public house in Westbourne Grove.

On Saturday lunchtimes, after popping into Books for Cooks, it seemed only correct for me to be tempted into the Cow, for a couple of pints of Guinness and a dozen oysters.

Or that might have been a couple of oysters and a dozen pints!


Such a great combination, the Irish are lucky to have such a perfect marriage.

And, knowing I needed to change the East Lodge smoked salmon starter for something a bit more autumnal, I thought this would be a good starting point.

Although, being East Lodge, I had to come up with something a bit more modern.

So, thinking cap firmly on, I wondered what else would go with oysters and smoked salmon.

Champagne, of course!

And bread.

And cucumber.

And horseradish.

And potatoes.

And watercress.

And caviar.

Now, these are classical garnishes for oysters and smoked salmon.

All I've done is East Lodge them up a bit!

The only other thing I've added is a dice of sugar cured tuna. I wanted to do thinly sliced fillets of mackerel,  as I love the combination of oysters and cured mackerel, but they ended up being a bit too strong for the other garnishes, so I got my hands on a nice tuna belly. And, anyway tuna is related to the mackerel so it all sort of fits!



So, ready?

Cold oak smoked salmon, (we use the trimmings to make a tarama with milk soaked bread and oil, clever eh!), our now world famous potato "pasta", rolled with a chive dressing and topped with caviar, home made Guinness bread wafers, belly of tuna, cured in sugar and air dried, pickled cucumber, chilled watercress puree, horseradish cream, and finally the two original players in the dish.


We make a black velvet jelly, by mixing equal parts of Guinness and Champagne and setting it and we shuck oysters and deep fry them in a light tempura style batter.

Right, thats it.

All I've done is put some things that really love being together on the same plate, and hey presto, a new East Lodge autumn dinner dish.

And now for my next magic trick, turning lardy cake into lollypops!

Before I was old enough to go to the pub on a Saturday lunchtime, I'd go shopping with dad.
And, like father, like son, we both loved a slice of freshly baked, warm, sweet, lardy cake.

So now I knew animal fats could be used in a pudding, but I wanted to use some duck fat in a savory lollypop.

I'm already serving honeycomb as a garnish for our duck terrine, but I wanted to do a main course, using as many bits of duck as I could.

So we make some duck scratchings, mix them with picked thyme, orange zest, cured duck and cracked peppercorns, and make these little lollypops!

These will be served tomorrow night, to Mr H, with those duck hearts you saw last time, on our uber cool chef's table. If you look closely, you can see it behind the lollypop.

They will add an interesting texture to the multi course tasting menu, and hopefully, keep everyone excited, about what's to come.

Right, I'm not sure how I'm going to get away with this one.

"Victorian" garnish!

Everyone knows steak and kidney pie, right?

Well, before kidneys were used, oysters, as they were so abundant, were.

So, a Victorian "surf and turf'!

By using some beef trimmings, marrow and caviar we can introduce a 2011 thought to a common Victorian dish.

I'm going to garnish a beautiful line caught sea bass with some beef juices, a small dice of bone marrow and caviar.

Steamed at 65 oc it will be so moist and sweet, and with the salty caviar, and rich beef sauce, all it needs is a few thin slices of marinated crunchy turnip to bring it all together.

Right. thats it.

Oh, just quickly, its a picture of Agness, and even though I love her, writing this does take a bit longer now!







Thursday 6 October 2011

So, this ones going out to all my Loughborough home girls, and how its not their fault.




Its all about Sunday lunch you see, and how something as simple as a few eggs, milk and flour can ruin a whole day!

All you need to do is whisk them together, let the batter rest,  pop them into the oven, and hey presto, they are done!

Just like that!

Well, sort of. The thing is you see, no matter how hard you try, no matter how many different recipes you try, if they are coming out like thick, deflated, sad little Yorkshire puddings, then blame the oven!

As you can see, every Sunday at East Lodge I make lots of lovely, light, crispy Yorkies, and they are all perfection itself!

And so can the rest of the brigade, proving any idiot can do it, providing they have the right oven, so there! I know, as I've tried at home, using the same recipe, and its been a disaster, because of the oven.

So, if you want a perfect Sunday lunch, for all your family, and if your husband loves you, he will buy the family a nice new shiny oven, just for perfect Sunday lunches!

Oh, and I will, of course, accept any lunch invitations that come along my way!

As a thank you, for all this wise advice.

And just one more thing, why has Yorkshire claimed these for their own?

Similar to a French sweet pudding, I have heard that it used to be served as a pudding, with jam and cream. Sounds pretty good to me, but the way I love eating them, is red hot, dipped in all the delicious, salty, fatty beef juices, just before a busy Sunday lunch service!

So, anyway, Yorkshire have their pudding, up in Derbyshire we have our Bakewell pudding, and our soon to be world famous Rowsley pie, and the Italians have their carbonara.

Made for coal miners or charcoal workers, in America it became known as "coal miners spaghetti".

Which, is I think interesting, as we, over at East Lodge, have been fooling around with our own version of this, but using potato.

And as we first got our potatoes from America, I think we can somehow link all these dishes together, don't you!

And there used to be a few coal mines around here as well.

By using very fine ribbons of potato, blanching them, just like pasta, and rolling them in Parmesan oil, an egg yolk puree on top and a piece of crisp bacon, we can do a Derbyshire version of an Italian classic, which I think is pretty cool!

So, this then got me thinking about potatoes, which in turn got me thinking about Guinness, and then about oysters.
Actually, do I really think that much?
No wonder I've got a headache most of the time.

Anyway, so after all that , I've now got a new smoked salmon dish on the menu at East Lodge, and its pretty global, and I'll tell you about it next time.

And, yes, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you all about my new steak dishes, but I will, but in the meantime have a look at these little ducky delights!

Finally got some, and they will be part of an Autumn salad on our Sunday lunch menu, so if the sight of our amazing Yorkshire puddings doesn't get you all up the drive on a Sunday, then perhaps the sight of these will!

Sam tried one and said they were Otterly delicious and I'm pretty sure when Lisa comes round for dinner she will love them too!

Right, that's it, I'm off to France now.

Well sort of, pommes boulangeres for dinner tonight, but I'm going to put some very thin slices of smoked air dried ham in mine.

I think it will go well with my plump pork bangers!

See, there I go thinking again.


Friday 16 September 2011

So I've just finished picking some fresh thyme into my suet pastry, ready for baking around some beautiful braised beef.

It's for dinner tonight! Inspired by the lamb pies I made for a lunch party at East Lodge yesterday.

And, yes, I know all about the blood pressure, thank you!

But, sometimes, only suet pastry will do. You see, pies, being pies, demand suitable pastry, as its such a important part of the pie.

I'm going to bake tonight's pie. Why bake?
Because the filling is pre cooked, and the pastry will go nice and crisp.
If we cook the filling, from raw, inside the pastry, as in our world famous lamb "roly poly", then I would steam it, for 5 or 6 hours.
And, I think, that then it becomes a pudding, not a pie!

Pies.
As much as I love them, and I do, there's not much I can do to make them a bit more modern.

But thats Ok, as I can play silly buggers with lots of other dishes!

How about coq au vin?

A brilliant dish, from France, where else, involving a cock, some wine and lots of time.

The reason its such a well known dish is because it works, on every level, so well.

Great for dinner parties, as it can, in fact should, be made in advance.

It involves killing your cockerel, saving it's blood ( yes really), and all it's other bits and bobs.
Joint the bird, marinade in good red Burgundy, and then brown and braise, with the usual suspects of smoked bacon, mushrooms, button onions and often carrots are added.
Then the fun bit.
Get a young English chef, yes me, to spend ages rubbing the cockscomb with salt to remove all the skin, and then add to the braise, along with the kidneys and testicles.
 Finally thicken the sauce with the reserved blood.

What a waste of bloody time that was, I'm telling you, cockscombs are pretty bogus!

Although the dish was magnificent, rich dark sauce, full flavored bird, served with buttered pasta and garlic croutons, you can see why it has lasted so well as a lovely autumn dish.

Nowadays its normally made with a good free range chicken, but I thought I could do something a little bit 2011 with it and now its going to make an appearance on the East Lodge dinner menu.

Right then, are you ready?

We bone out the legs and marinate them in reduced red wine for 24 hours. A chicken mousse is made in the usual manor. After browning the marinated legs, they are braised with a mirepoix, left to cook down and the meat is flaked. Mixed with the mousse it is rolled and cooked again, this time in the water bath, to set the mousse. This allows the leg to be sliced and glazed when required.
We also brine chicken thighs, and then confit them in duck fat. Again mixing with a garlic scented chicken mousse but this time cooked in the oven on a low steam setting. Pressed, this is then coated in parsley breadcrumbs and warmed up.
I also placed a piece of roasted chicken breast on the plate as well, but I'm going to change this to a couple of boned, crisp fried chicken wings. I think it will make the dish more rustic and interesting.

A garnish of smoked bacon lardons, baby onions and mushrooms are served, but these are not cooked in the sauce but sauteed and added later. I've also made a silky smooth cauliflower puree, only because I think its goes so well with the rich chicken. Oh yes, a very good red wine chicken sauce is also served, but along side, after all this is not supposed to be a wet dish.

Remember, I'm trying to keep the flavors the same, but present the dish in a modern way. Some steamed potatoes, rolled in garlic and parsley butter are also served on the side. I think a soft green lettuce salad would also be a perfect side dish.

So, there you are, "coq au vin" and it doesn't take some poor guy hours, rubbing bits of a cocks head in salt, to make it appealing!

Right thats it, I'm off to finish off my dinner over here at the East Lodge development kitchen (Shottle Branch) so I'll let you know how it turns out, but so far its looking alright!

See, I can do the simple stuff as well!

Meg, this picture is just for you!

So, I'll tell you about our two new steak dishes next time, perfect for all this Argentine Malbec I appear to have aqquired!

Who knows, I'll be tangoing before long as well!


And, I'm really sorry about this, but I just couldn't resist one more shot of my chicken dish!

Have fun!