(no subject)

[rebness]

I wish my camera would work! I want to take photos of all the neat English Meals I have made in the last few days. Uh, when I say English, I may be including the cuisine of most of Europe. Oh, well. This is what I have done, you guys:

 
Apple Crumble
This is my quintessential autumn pudding. My mum and I went scrumping (ha) on the farmland adjacent to us and came back with a haul of unloved British apples which-I-can't-identify. Our two oldest apple trees have died, sadface, and the other two are too young to provide us with a decent haul.

The only proviso for this pudding was that I had to do it because my mum is sick of me being afraid to cook any dessert. It was gorgeous! I used some of that walnut syrup I got from Destrehan plantation in Louisiana when I was preparing the apples and oh, my God. It was gorgeous. 

Spanakopita
Jamie Oliver has gone all Graecophile, which I am really digging. We followed his 30-minute recipe for spanakopita (spinach and feta filo pie) which totally takes longer than thirty minutes but is worth it. It's the best spanakopita I have ever, ever had, all those of Greece included. Oliver uses a lot of lemon and pine nuts in his recipe and the difference in taste is amazing. Definitely making this for the New Year buffet. I also recommend the cucumber salad he does on that page, though go easy on the chillis unless you're a sadomasochist with your mouth like me.

Greek Chicken
Okay, so I went into a bit of a rage when my mum proposed Greek chicken because -- and I gaped -- the stuffing wasn't my beloved sage and onion, but rice. RICE IN MY CHICKEN. Then again, the recipe was given to her by a Greek friend who cooks the most amazing stuff, so I gave it a go. It was really good! We added a touch of butter to the rice, lemon, garlic, all kinds of herbs, onion and a cheeky bit of parmesan. It made a lovely stuffing that was also less dry than usual, so I was less ragey by the time it was done.

Tonight, I'm making lasagne but can't decide on what I'm going to do with it to make it a bit special. Ideas, flist? 

Comments

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

Apple crumble is an old-man dessert.

Make your own bechamel sauce for the lasagne instead of from a packet. :p

[rebness.livejournal.com]

NO IT'S NOT

It is a retro Becky dessert and I could totally convert you. Okay, that's a lie but if you liked stewed fruit, you'd love it, bb.You would!

I promise to make my own bechamel! :D

[mumsisdaughter]

INDEED, IT IS NOT! Do you put a clove or two in your Apple Crumble? After 81 years, my father has finally got the hang of looking in his dish in order to remove the 'little black things', instead of just spooning it straight in his mouth. Served with thick custard?

[rebness.livejournal.com]

I haven't actually tried a clove, to be honest - I'll try it! We use lemon, brown sugar and cinnamon in the main, but I'm always willing to experiment.

Oh, always, always with thick custard!