Cookbook Challenge #6 - Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain

My most recent challenge has a bit of a twist, a Jamie Oliver “twist”, that is!

Sur La Table is a high end national cookery supply store. They offer you everything from a $5 metal spatula to a $5,500 home coffee “center”. Along with their vast array of products, they offer classes
on all types of cooking, from entertaining to honing your knife skills to the finer points of cooking a soufflé. In short, think Williams-Sonoma meets Bed, Bath & Beyond and together, they have a classy love child who is dating Michael’s Arts & Crafts store.

Every once in awhile, I look over the listings at Sur La Table and other cooking schools and venues in the area to see if anything looks interesting. With this challenge I’ve given myself, there was a class that I just couldn’t pass up - “Great Food Inspired by Jamie Oliver”.

The class highlights recipes from Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain and takes you step by step to make a full meal in just about 2 hours. Here was the menu: Apple and Watercress Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing and Crushed Walnuts – Sizzling Lamb Lollipops – Crispy Roasted Fishcakes Wrapped in Bacon – Citrus Cheesecake Possets. And the kicker?  For the cost of the class you get a copy of the cookbook too!! How perfect is that? Never one to have fun alone if I could add a friend, I asked my sister to join me and we set off last Wednesday for a night of handmade British faire and maybe a new skill or two.

With cups of black tea in our hands and every kitchen instrument you could imagine at our fingertips, we set off to make the delectables on the menu. The class was amazing (see all my pictures below), the food was off the charts and the company was great. It was totally worth it and I can’t wait to sign up for the next one! Our instructor, Joel, said I could share with you my favorite recipe of the night, the Crispy Roasted Fishcakes Wrapped in Bacon.

Crispy Roasted Fishcakes Wrapped in Bacon

Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain for Sur La Table

Preface from Jamie to the Sur La Table students: There are a few steps to make these fishcakes, but each step is dead easy and so worth it, because the end result just seems to make people happy (note from Heidi - H*ll’s yeah! And I’m not even a fish person, really). I think you have to accept that sometimes in life even something humble, like a fishcake, requires effort. The reaction to these fishcakes has been amazing, and interestingly, whenever homemade fishcakes are on a restaurant menu, they always sell. The difference with making your own is that you get flavors and texture suited to your own particular tastes. So I’ll happily give this recipe to you, knowing that a kid could make them... mine have, with a little help.

2 Small Leeks
A knob of butter*
1 whole nutmeg for grating
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
3 large free-range eggs
8 ounces smoked salmon, smoked trout or (even better!) a mixture of the two, roughly chopped**
2 fresh lemons
6 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley picked and finely chopped
A few handfuls of all-purpose flour
6 slices of white bread, crusts removed
1 dried red chile
Olive oil
6 slices (rashers) of quality bacon
Watercress to serve

Heidi’s notes:
* Knob equals 2-3 Tablespoons, usually
** We used smoked white fish and it was very yummy!

Top and tail the leeks, then peel back the tough outer green leaves. Cut them lengthways, wash under the tap and finely slice. Put them into a large pan on medium heat with a knob of butter and a few scrapings of nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper. Cook gently with the lid on for around 25 minutes, or until softened, then take the pan off the heat and leave to cook.

While your leeks are cooking, peel the potatoes, halve or quarter them depending on their size and whack them into a pan of salted boiling water for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through and mashable. Drain them, then return them to the saucepan, smash them up so the mixture is smooth but also has chunks, and put to one side to cool down a bit. Crack eggs into a wide, shallow bowl, then carefully remove one of the yolks and stir into the potato mixture, followed by the sweet leeks and smoked fish. Add the zest of 1 whole lemon and the juice of half, and two-thirds of the parsley. Leave to one side.

Whisk up the eggs remaining in the bowl and tip into a shallow dish. Put a few handfuls of flour on a plate. Pulse the bread and chile in a food processor with a tiny swig of olive oil until you have coarse breadcrumbs, then stir in the remaining parsley and tip the crumbs on to another plate. Divide your fishcake mix into 6 little balls. Dust each one in flour, shaking off the excess, then dip them into the egg until completely coated. Let the excess drip off, them move them to the tray of flavored breadcrumbs. Wash your hands, and spend a bit of time patting, shaping and hugging them into nice-looking patties around 3/4-inch thick. Cover and leave in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them.

Preheat the oven and a large baking sheet to 425-degrees, with an oven rack positioned towards the top.

Lay the bacon rashers out side by side on a board and lay a sheet of plastic wrap over them. Using a rolling pin or a wine bottle to roll and stretch the rashers out a little bit lengthways so they’re longer and thinner (sounds cheffy, but it’s dead simple). Wrap one rasher around the circumference of each fishcake and secure with a cocktail stick. Place the fishcakes on the hot baking sheet and roast in the oven for around 30 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Serve hot from the oven, with some lemony dressed watercress and a few wedges of lemon for squeezing over.

Make 6 cakes

 

 ******

Highlights from the rest of the class:

My sister, Heather, psyched to start the class.

 

 

First Course:  Apple and Watercress Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing and Crushed Walnuts

Second Course: Crispy Roasted Fishcakes Wrapped in Bacon (see above)

Third Course: Sizzling Lamb Lollipops

Our instructor, Joel, with Heather and I getting ready to lolli some lamb...

(wait, that doesn't sound right...)

Here are the ingredients for the lamb lollipops and the three "dips".

We had a nice looking workstation, didn't we?

Lamb chops marinaded and into the hot pan!

Our workstation-mates, Inhwa and Hyokon, with Heather getting instructions on how NOT to get hot oil on yourself when you put a lamb chop into a hot pan.

 

Lamb lollipops on a bed of rice seasoned with herbs de Provence with trhee dipping sauces, a homemade taziki, a spicy salsa and a nut mix of crushed pistachios and blanched almonds.

How good does that lamb lollipop look?

Pudding Course: Citrus Cheesecake Possets

It's a very decieving name, bordering on lying - as there is no cheese in this cheesecake!  The citrus thickens the cream to make a cheesecake like consistency.

Three hands make light work of juicing an orange and a lemon

Graham cracker and almond "crust" with the vanilla citrus cream on top

The best part - someone else cleans the kitchen for you!!!

If you think that a class at Sur La Table looks fun, you can see if there is a location near you and what classes they are offering by visiting http://www.surlatable.com/category/Web-Cooking-Root/Cooking-Classes

Our class was at the Hell's Kitchen location in New York City.

#52cookbooks
#surlatable

52 Cookbooks Challenge #3: Little Paris Kitchen

Last weekend we found Nemo. Snowstorm Nemo made its way through New York City and up the east coast fulfilling the snowy wishes of those of us that haven’t seen much of the white stuff so far this winter. A final count of 12-24 inches of snow painted a winter wonderland for a Saturday morning and definitely sparked the need for a little kitchen warmth and hearth love. Lucky for me, Rachel Khoo, English native gone Parisian, had just released her cookbook in the U.S., The Little Paris Kitchen.

Rachel’s cooking show of the same name has been running on The Cooking Channel since the start of the New Year. I was never a French food person, honestly. Too much escargot and too many capers for my taste plus (gasp) I’m not a huge French pastry fan. But not even half-way through the first 30 minute episode I watched, I knew I was hooked. The recipes were simple and they used ingredients I had in my fridge. There was decadence to both the sweet and savory recipes and how could you go wrong with fresh, warm, crunchy bread? The recipes didn’t take a lot of special tools and were most likely faster to make than most of my current dinner repertoire. After that first episode, I was ready and willing to try French food at home.

I immediately jumped on the internet and looked for one of the recipes I’d just seen, but to my chagrin, the Cooking Channel website had not listed any of the recipes yet. After a few more episodes and more recipes I wanted to try still not appearing on the website, I knew that I just needed to bite the bullet and buy the new cookbook, Rachel Khoo’s The Little Paris Kitchen.

 

Poulet au Citron et Lavende

 (Lemon and Lavender Chicken)

Adaptation of the recipe from The Little Paris Kitchen

1 tablespoon dried lavender*
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2-4 pieces of bone-in, skin-on chicken (either 2 leg quarters or 4 thighs and/or legs)**
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
Pinch of salt

* Be sure that your lavender is made to steep for tea and/or to cook with. Not all lavender is made for consumption. Lavender extract can be used if need be, but it’s not really the same and not as good.

** I choose dark meat for 2 reasons – more flavor and cheaper by the pound. If you wish, you can use breast meat or double the recipe and use a whole chicken split into 8-10 pieces.

Do not preheat oven yet.

In a mortar with a pestle, add lavender and dried thyme. Muddle to release and revive the dried herbs.

In a large zip close bag, add chicken pieces. Sprinkle over dried herbs. Add the balance of the ingredients and seal the bag. Mush around chicken in the bag to cover completely with ingredients. Place bag in dish (to avoid leaking everywhere) and let set for 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 400°F for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Remove chicken pieces from bag and place in roasting dish with skin down, making sure to get as much of the marinade from the bag as possible. Discard bag.

Roast for 45 minutes or until juices run clear when poked at the thickest part of the meat. Turn chicken pieces to skin up about 20 minutes in to let crisp. Let set 5-10 minutes before cutting to let the juices reincorporate. Serve with crunchy bread to soak up the lovely, tangy, floral juices.

Serves 2-4

#52cookbooks

Week off the Challenge for a Craft Fair

I don't want to disappoint and I know it's early to be taking a "break" but I swear I have a good reason.

My friend, Cat and I will be sharing a table at the Astoria Craft Fair at the Beer Garden this Sunday, February 10 from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.. We will be selling cookies, beautiful handmade toys and tea cozies and handmade earrings. 

For more information on the Astoria Market Craft Fair visit the event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/466477993414803/

To see Cat's beautiful homemade goodies, please visit her Etsy site at http://www.etsy.com/shop/catpenfold

Here is what my oven (and my friend's Sarah's oven) has spent the week doing - 

I Love M&M Cookies - chewy and crunchy at the same time.

Sweet Southern Tea Cookies - sweet and tart and perfect for a cuppa

Sugar Love Cookies - sugar rolled in sugar - um... yum!

Lavender Valentine Cookies - sweet with a touch of relaxing herbal perfume

Choco-Cherry Passion Cookies - rich and almost crumbly dark chocolate with cherry buttons

My week also included a new addition to my cookbook wall.  Talk about feeding an obsession - I know - but I couldn't help myself.

The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo

I have seen the show on Food Channel and want to try one of everything on every show.   There is a snow storm heading to NYC and this will be my snowy Sunday retreat!  It's going to be Challenge Cookbook #3.  Details next week!

The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo - my Nemo project

#52cookbooks
#nemo

Gingerbread NYC Style - Gingerbread Brownstone

This is a wonderful post I saw on Facebook today (posted by Etsy) that give instructions on how to make a Gingerbread Brownstone.

Enjoy and share if you give it a go!

Build a Gingerbread Brownstone
By: kitchentablescraps

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Gingerbread-Brownstone/

Holy crap!  This is awesome!!

And...she lights up!

Photos borrowed from instructables.com to show just how awesome this house is.

The First Annual NYC Honey Festival - An Afternoon in Rockaway

So I pick up my most recent edition of Edible Queens and I see an ad for the First Annual New York City Honey Festival on September 17th.  What fun!  I love honey and it would be awesome to spend the day at Rockaway Beach and taste local honey.

I think a lot of people had the same idea we did.  We showed up at about 2:30pm and the place had almost run out of honey already.  Sad, but we did each get a small jar of local honey before the supplies were depleted.  We checked out the vendors which included the likes of NY Bee Keeping advocates and local farmers.  There was a pickle vendor (Horman's Best Pickles), a HOT honey vendor (Mike's Hot Honey), two honey based craft beers (Six Point Brewery) and screen print your own bee hive t-shirts.  There was also a tasting/ranking of your favorite honeys.

We ate at Ode to the Elephant (Thai food) and AND Coffee (the BEST Hot Chocolate I've had out in a while, though they were out of marshmallows) both located in the Rockaway Beach Club (aka the NY State Park pavilion on the boardwalk).

The weather was perfect, the location was beautiful, the festival was educational and fun but the only thing missing was Stella, my sister's pup.  She would have had a blast with all the sand, surf and bees.

These hard workers didn't stop to wave to the crowds.

NY State has approved bee keeping the the boroughs -
roof tops of Brooklyn, here they come!

This poor little guys just didn't want to let go!

Honey Extraction - scrapping the wax from the comb to
get that beautiful golden liquid from its caves

The difference between a dark, amber looking honey (late season)
and a pale, golden honey (mid summer).  You can see the light color
on the top of the light wood and the dark combs in the metal racks.

No rest for these busy bees...haha...get it?

Special Diet? No Problem! No Special Diet? Not to Miss! Pala Pizza

Vegan and gluten free are not restrictions in my diet. I'm a NY style extra cheese slice kind of girl, but my recent meal at Pala Pizza just might turn me.

Pala Pizza, located on Allen Street just south of Houston, is a modern rustic style pizzeria catering to both the gluten free and vegan communities. The atmosphere is one of clean lines and warm tones. Exposed brick walls and dried herb centerpieces the industrial looking open kitchen area.

My dinner mates each had different restrictions - one vegan, one gluten free and all three vegetarian. As the only bread eating carnivore at the table, I can tell you, I wasn't want for a thing.

We started the meal with the handmade potato chips (simple but truly tasty) and also tried the zucca antipasto, a oven roasted mix of butternut squash, onions, green peas, basil and raisins (though my taste buds tell me they were cherries - yummy non the less).

Then came the pizzas. They offer gluten free crusts and go as far as to not use the same oven to bake their wheat based brethren. First I will answer the question that all gluten consuming readers are asking - what is a gluten free pizza base? It’s a mix of garbanzo beans, tapioca, fava beans, potatoes, rice, and white sorghum flours and it’s amazing. The crunch was reminiscent of the perfect thin crust pizza but it didn't carry any of the dryness that can so easily come with achieving that crust. Another bonus - where the sauce was, the crust wasn't soggy. The gluten free crust doesn't soak up the moisture of a fresh sauce/tomato that ordinary yeast based crusts do.

We ordered a romana and an arrabiata. The romana included field mushrooms, tomato sauce, daiya cheese (soy and dairy free “cheese” made from plant based (cassava) ingredients) and fresh parsley. The second "pie" was fresh cherry tomatoes, hot pepper, garlic, and more daiya cheese.  

A simple glass of Syrah served in a casual stemless glass rounded out the meal for the perfect pizza night out.

So, maybe I won't turn on my carnivorous and gluten full lifestyle, I would recommend Pala to anyone looking for a great atmosphere and an even better pie.

Pala Pizza

198 Allen Street

New York, NY 10002

212-614-7252

Hours:

M-Th 4pm-12am

F 4pm-1am

Sa 12pm-1am

Su 12pm-12am

www.pala-ny.com