Poached pears and Seared Foie Gras: Mood = Classic and timeless

Sometimes when you cook, old fashioned food is always the best. I love Foie gras, and especially the pan seared kind. I love to accompany it with something sweet and with a delicious crisp brioche bread which i always find somewhat comforting for some reason. It brings back memories of when i was a child with my parents and my sisters and we were always out as a family eating everything and going everywhere. My father used to to us to the most wonderful restaurants and holidays that you can only dream of.

One summer many many years ago we went to Monte Carlo and ate in this restaurant which i cannot remember its name but i ate Foie gras poeleé. I think i must have been 8 or 9 years old, and i loved it from that day forward. It so nice when you attach memories to food, it makes it that much more special and also brings back feelings that you thought had been forgotten.

I was asked by my client to make her a decadent but classic dinner which consisted of Pan seared Foie gras, followed by Beef fillet with Vin santo dressing and vegetables with a desert of Earl Grey creme bruleé. It certainly went down well and i was asked to make it again and again for other friends of hers that she was entertaining in the following weeks.

This is so simple to make and so beautiful that you almost don't want to eat it. Almost!

For 4 you will need:

4 comice pears
1.5 lts of red wine
500g golden caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
4 slices of fresh foie gras that you can score and freeze till you need to use it.
Brioche

Method:

• Peel the pears and place in a pan with the wine and sugar, adding the star anise and cinnamon stick  and let it reduce.  This can continue till the wine has almost become syrupy as i like it. Once the pears have taken a dark red colour, set them aside to cool down.

• Get your foie gras pieces and season with a little salt and pepper.

• Get a pan very very hot and then place them in and leave them till they turn golden to dark brown and then turn them over and do the same on the other side
•  
• Take them out of the pan after a few minutes, That is all they will need to finish cooking. Drain them on a paper towel to get rid of all the fat and place then on a plate with the pear brioche and little green salad with some vinaigrette and serve.

Classic and timeless.

Rocky road.....MOOD = A road less travelled

I usually do lots and lots of children's parties and the most desert i do for them are rocky road bars... They are simple beautiful and most of all so good!. My favourite part in them is the colours of the marshmallows mixed against the silky smoothness of the chocolate and the crunch of the biscuits. I made this at Baity for a request for a party and made double batch, and kept some for down stairs. They were such a huge hit especially with the older ladies and NOT for their kids.

I know this desert is not necessarily groundbreaking but it is so simple and tasty i thought i had to share. I use the recipe from Nigella Lawson whom is one of my favourite chefs, if not only for her gluttonous and delicious way of cooking and eating....

You can find the recipe HERE

I usually double the recipe as i am a little piggy and its always good to have extra of everything....

Enjoy the pictures as they looked as good as they tasted.....

Pumpkin Moutabbal.... Mood : Listen to your mother

My Mother is THE best cook i know. POINT!

I think opening a deli/restaurant has allowed her to live a little through my place to show her ideas. She has cooked for me and my family for nearly 40 years and i cant remember ever having one bad meal or even eating the same thing twice over weeks. She is very creative and i hope i get some of her creativity.

She comes to see me everyday when she is in London and we discuss family things, life things and then last but not least, FOOD! This is the fun part, where she tells met to get a pen and paper and start writing. I have written so many of her recipes and made them all and have not failed yet in the execution in them because she is so precise.

The latest thing she came up with was a delicious Pumpkin Moutabbal.

Moutabbal is usually made from grilled and smoked aubergines and then mixed with garlic, tahini lemon and yogurt and then smashed. Drizzle with a little olive oil and dress with pomegranate. This was the same thing just with roasted pumpkin. I was a little sceptical at first, but i made it anyway. IT WAS DELICIOUS AND IT SOLD OUT IN ONE HOUR. 5 Kilos of it!

It was easy to make and had so much flavour i think i ate 1 kilo of it. I loved it so much as did everyone else, that they asked me for the recipe so here it is!

2 large pumpkins
2 large serving spoons of yogurt
1 large serving spoon of tahini
Juice of four lemons
Olive oil to drizzle 
Salt to taste
A whole head of Garlic
A generous bunch of thyme

Method:

• Cut the pumpkin in to crescents, removing the seeds, and add the garlic olive oil, salt, and thyme and roast till golden. 

• Let them cool and them remove the skins and drain them of any excess water.

• Use a blender and mash the pumpkin and garlic , then add in the yogurt, tahini and lemon juice and salt.

• Mix properly and then season with salt to taste.

• Let this mix sit in the fridge for up to 2 hours or overnight for the thick consistency to be created.

• Drizzle some gorgeous pomegranate seeds and mint and serve with fresh warm pita bread. 

Trust me, once you start, you will not be able to stop.

Make big batches of this. It can keep for almost a week.