Cheat's Martini

I am home and as there are already plenty of hands helping out with Christmas cooking I am the one responsible for the provision of liquid fuel. Cheat's Martini is named so because it's not really a martini - after all it has both gin and vodka. It's a foundation of a Vesper, but it definitely isn't one either. What it is, is a very, very strong cocktail for those who like their cocktails decisive. So, if you like Tequila Sunrise or (dare I even mention it as a cocktail... Archer's and lemonade) you should probably stay away from this one.

You will need:

40 ml gin

20 ml vodka

2 drops angostura

2 olives

+ martini glass

Chill your glass with some ice. Put 6-8 ice cubes into the shaker and add the liquid ingredients in. Shake well and strain into your glass. Add the olives and enjoy responsibly. 

p.s. I called it "Cheat's Martini" only today as it needed a name, tho I am sure if I searched for long enough I would have found that it's been done before (I am sure it has!) and has a proper, more official name. If you do find it's proper name and think it suits the drink better - let me know.

Pear and Blue Cheese Risotto

I love (love love!) risottos. They are simple, they are tasty, they are impressive. And they are Italian. What more could you want? I agree, they require some practice and they are a bit time-consuming because they are attention-seeking dishes (it's the constant stirring I'm thinking of) but they are always totally worth it. Risotto is definitely my staple meal when I have people coming round for dinner. And if I want an impressive yet stress-free meal I go for one of my favourite risottos - Pear and Gorgonzola. Yup, you've heard it right - there are pears in it and there is blue cheese. And they work amazingly well together.

(c) Charlie Clift

Pear and Blue Cheese Risotto

You will need:

200g risotto rice (arborio or carnaroli)

500 ml vegetable stock

1/2 glass of white wine

1 small onion, chopped into cubes

200 g gorgonzola (dolce-latte works well too!), chopped

2 pears

olive oil

a knob of cold butter

salt, pepper

Cut the pears into small (but not too small) cubes and fry them with some butter until they are soft and caramelised. In the meantime fry the onion in a sauce pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the rice and fry for a minute or two. Add the wine and let it boil off stirring the rice constantly. Then add a ladle of stock and stir over reduced heat. Keep adding the stock until the rice is ready. You can tell it's done by biting through one piece - it should be all soft except the middle - a harder, small, white core should remain. If in doubt read the instructions on the packet - it normally takes about 20 minutes to cook the risotto rice. When the rice is almost done add the blue cheese and pear and stir them in until the cheese dissolves and the dish becomes all creamy. Then add a knob of cold butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with some parmesan and, if you wish, a glass of red wine, because it goes very well with it.

E voila!

Winter in Bristol

Eggs Benedict

photos by Charlie Clift 

So, I poached eggs. With great help of my mum, the magic of internet and self-determination I attempted egg-poaching. I had this crazy idea of Eggs Benedict for Sunday breakfast but I've never made either hollandaise sauce or the eggs before. I'm not really a fan of eggs actually. Well, not in omelettes, quiches and scrambled varieties at least. But poached eggs are a whole different story - especially the way they serve them in Deco Lounge or Papaji's ... yummy! So ... I got stressed, swore loads, cursed myself and my ambitions even more but ended up creating a very satisfactory breakfast. And even though I failed with two of the four eggs I attempted, I'm still pleased with the result. You should try it too - it's the best lazy Sunday breakfast in the world.

You will need:

a packet or two of smoked salmon

4 English muffins or bagels

4 eggs

some white wine vinegar

for the Hollandaise Sauce:

1/2 lemon juice

4 egg yolks

salt and cayenne pepper

Make the sauce first: whisk the yolks in a saucepan
(or bowl) until they are smooth and creamy. Add the lemon juice and whisk some more. Then put the pan over a pot of simmering water and warm the sauce. Add salt and cayenne pepper. Make sure you don't heat the sauce to much because the yolks will scramble!

As for poaching the eggs: bring a flat sauce-pan of water to simmer. Add a tablespoon of vinegar into the water (in that way the eggs will form quicker). Crack the egg right above the water surface to keep it all together. Boil for about 3 minutes. You want the whites to be cooked and the middle to still be runny. Take out of the boiling water with a sieve or a pasta spoon (it has holes so will drain the water).

Assemble your Eggs Benedict: put some salmon on the toasted muffin, put the poached eggs on top and pour the sauce over the whole stack. Garnish with some pepper (and some parsley if you have any).

Have it with some milky tea and it's probably my idea of heaven on a plate.

A tiny bit of history: Lemuel Benedict, a retired Wall Street stock broker, claimed that he 1894 walked into the Waldorf Hotel and, hoping to find a cure for his morning hangover, ordered "buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon and a hooker of hollandaise." Maitre d'hotel was apparently so impressed with the dish that he put it on the breakfast and menu substituting the toast for English muffins.

Oxford

 Port Meadow, Oxford (taken last weekend)

Night-time brownies

Lack of general inspiration last night combined with Charlie's creativity and my craving for pudding resulted in My Very First Chocolate Brownies. They turned out very very gooey in the middle, which I thought wasn't ideal but so far everyone who's tried them said they were just like brownies should be. The original recipe belongs to Anthony Worrall Thompson and uses pecans as well as chocolate. I don't like pecans and besides Coop don't sell them at half past ten in the evening, so I couldn't have used them anyway. Luckily the brownies taste very yummy without them too.

So, onto The Brownies:

You will need:

250 g dark chocolate

250 g unsalted butter

85 g white chocolate (broken into relatively large pieces)

85 g milk chocolate (broken into relatively large pieces)

175 g plain flour

325 g caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

How to make them:

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and grease a dish. The original recipe calls for a 30cmx20cmx3.5cm one. I have a 16.5cm round one and it worked too. Melt the dark chocolate with butter, stirring with a whisk until it's all smooth and velvety. Once the chocolate is melted stir in the sugar. Add the eggs and the vanilla essence.

Sift the flour with the baking powder into a separate bowl. Fold the chocolate mixture into the flour and add the chunks of chocolate.

Pour the brownie mix into the baking tin and bake for 20-25 minutes. I ended up having to bake for about 35 minutes in total because my brownies were thicker. 

Once out of the oven let it cool a bit before you take the brownie out of the tin. Cut it into squares or don't cut it - whatever takes your fancy. Make sure you share it with some lovely people. It is totally worth it.

When it's cold outside

Today's been a horrible day - wet, windy and miserable. One of those days when all you want to do is curl up with your duvet and sleep until April. I find that one of the easiest ways of making yourself feel better on a day like today is to with a big bowl of hot soup. As I was feeling lazy I resorted to the simplest of soups you can imagine ... my Mum's magical cheese soup. It's brilliantly easy, it's warming and it reminds me of early winter in Poland. I serve it with garlic bread, so that while the soup is making itself you can entertain yourself with the most advanced part of that dish - the garlic butter. 

Here, we go then...

My Mum's Really Easy Cheese Soup

You will need:

for the soup:

1 packet of Knorr 4 Cheese Sauce Mix (yep, you heard it right)

250 ml cold water

150 ml vegetable stock

1 Tbs Philadelphia (or any other cream cheese)

1 Tbs double cream

and some pepper to taste

and for garlic bread:

1 baguette

~100 g of butter (3 big spoonfuls), preferably at room temperature

2-3 cloves of garlic

a touch of olive oil

salt, pepper and some fresh parsley if you like it

Soup:

Mix the sauce mix with the water and stir until there's no lumps on the mix any more. Put on the cooker and cook until the mix boils. Then add stock, cream cheese and double cream. Cook until the soup starts to simmer, stirring ocassionally. Add some pepper to taste. And ... that's it.

Garlic bread:

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Crush the garlic and add it to the butter with salt, pepper and a touch of olive oil (the latter makes the butter more creamy). Mix all of that with a fork and at the end stir in some parsley. Cut the baguette into about 2,5 cm slices but do not go all the way through the bread. Put a teaspoon or two between each of the slice. 

Bake for about 8 minutes or until it looks ready.

just a small edit: I am not entirely sure you can buy the Knorr Cheese Mix in the UK. I tend to stock up on it when I go home. I'm sure however that there will be similar products in the land of stabilised democracy as anything and everything seems to come in a ready-made option here.

Lovely Gnocchi

I haven't been particularly good with this whole blogging thing. I would love to be able to say that I will get better and more consistent at it but years of experience tell me, that it's just wishful thinking.

Anyway... to food. Charlie made us some gnocchi for dinner last night. Whether armed with cameras and lenses or spatulas and sauce pans, Charlie definitely enjoys a challenge. And his gnocchi creations remain one of my favourite comfort meals. There's something really satisfying about their texture and squidgy-ness. Plus if you buy them ready made - they make an incredibly simple yet very impressive meal.

You will need:

a packet of gnocchi

1 tin of tomatoes

1 Tsb tomato purée

1 onion, cubed

1 red pepper, cubed

a couple of cloves of garlic, crushed

1 courgette, sliced

some olive oil and some sunflower oil

salt, pepper, Italian herbs (oregano, sage, basil, will do)

a touch of sugar

fresh fresh rocket

some parmesan to sprinkle on top

Fry the onion and season it with salt, pepper and herbs. Once the onion is slightly brown (but not too much!) add the pepper and fry for until the latter softens a bit. Add the tin tomatoes, tomato puree and more herbs. Stir it all ocassionally and add a bit of sugar to break the acidity of the tomatoes. Let the sauce simmer until it thickens. 

In the meantime slice the courgettes into long thin slices. My mum does it with a peeler and if only your peeler is good enough I'd recommend that. If not you can try the long, thin part of your grater (but be careful not to grate yourself) or just slice it with a knife. Put the courgettes in a frying pan with some olive oil and sunflower oil and garlic and fry until they go slightly brown and crispy on the outside.

Once the courgettes are done you can boil some water and cook the gnocchi. They should take about 5 minutes but do follow the instructions on the packet. After draining them you can do what Charlie sometimes does to add excitement to the dish - fry them for about 3 minutes in the pan that had the courgettes in. It is not necessary but does make them crispy on the outside without affecting the general softness.

Now that all the individual bits are done you can assemble the dish - put the gnocchi at the bottom, pour the tomato sauce on top of them. Then add a generous layer of rocket on top and then layer it with the fried courgette slices. To finish it off sprinkle with some parmesan. Viola!

I tend to add olive oil to it at the end and Charlie likes a touch of balsamic vinegar with this gnocchi recipe. They both work very well.

Gnocchi (sing. gnoccho) comes from Italian for lumps, probably deriving from the word nocca, meaning knuckle.

Cheese-cake photo

We had a pudding party on Saturday and Anita made a cheese-cake.

Pinwheel Cat

Pinwheel cat, taken in August on a walk down from Monte Baldo by Lake Garda.

Post numero 1 (and peanut butter cookies)

The general intent and idea behind this blog is very simple. I've been blogging for years now and thought it was about time to start doing so in English. Plus, it might mean that my scribbles will form more of a coherent entity - things I like and think the world should appreciate as much as I do. They will probably vary greatly and include all sorts of weird and wonderful bits - from cocktails, through cookies to cats. Plus pictures.

And we shall start with cookies. But no, not just any cookies, oh no. Peanut butter cookies.  

I'm not a fun of nuts. Not even peanuts (yes, I know they are technically not nuts) but I do find myself drawn to peanut butter occasionally. Let's face it - it is thoroughly self-indulgent. The amount of calories in one spoonful should make all of us run to the gym from just looking at it. As I can resist the temptation of a post-peanut butter work-out, after satisfying my crave for the butter itself I'm left with the rest of the jar to enjoy. So I tend to make cookies. They are the simplest of things to make. They really are. They take about 10 minutes, always come out great and the smell when you make them is just fantastic. So, here's how to make them. 

For about 20 cookies you will need: 

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1 1/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

How to make them:

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.

2. Cream the butter for 2 minutes. Add the sugars, cream for a bit more. Mix in the peanut butter and egg. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir into the sugar butter mixture.

3. Grease your baking try or put a baking sheet on it and shape the cookie dough into small (I'd say about 3 cm) balls. Place them about 4-5 cm apart on the baking tray and flatten a bit with a fork. 

4. Bake for about 10 minutes, until they go slightly brown/golden.

5. Cool on a baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. 

Voila! 

My sporadic, highly subjective and well-established (in timing, not much else) writings can be found --> here <---

Disclaimer: Bellini is neither my name nor my invention. It was invented by Guiseppe Cipriani, the founder and owner of the famous Harry's Bar in Venice and named after an Italian Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini.