thai pork vermicelli salad

Thrifty and thrufty, tasty and enough to go round four people who want to watch the new and latest Midsomer Murders. Okay, I want to watch Midsomer Murders, but I'm also ravenous and given we've fed this to Kayosaurus & Mikeplodocus in a previous incarnation, I wanted to give them the spanking new version which is browner, and zestier:

The trick here is to have the hob on maximum, so the meat browns really quickly and stays moist, and double the amount of mint and coriander in the salad to really zest it up. It's the best yet, I think.

sources
thai pork vermicelli salad - Delicious, June 2012, p115

hugh fearnley-whittingstall's creamy fish pie

It's been a long time since I last updated this blog - June as Kendra and Lucy have kindly pointed out - and I can only offer the excuse I've been very busy. Sorry. Hopefully we'll be back on it from now on, whatever 'it' is, and I'll attempt to catch up in someway over the coming weeks, or until the festive season of wine events my calendar/liver.

Still, we're back with a bang tonight with one of my favourite comfort dishes to make: Hugh's creamy fish pie. Every stage of this is a joy to make, and it's so easy: from letting the fish gently poach in milk, to mashing the potatoes and making the bechemel with the fishy cow juice, it's all strangely satisfying.

Given we're all suffering from some sort of cold at the moment, even Kay and Mike who are up for two day's school run, it's like a big fishy scarf/hot water bottle when it comes out of the oven. Just imagine that for a moment. It sounds terrible, but there's nothing more warming, welcoming and instantly snot-battling than the smell of smoked haddock and mashed potato.

Interestingly, we've switched to frozen fish these days, mainly because it's vastly cheaper. The only downside as far as I can tell is the fact the frozen fillet tend to lose their shape and flake, rather than stay chunky, but with the pie I think that's a minor gripe. Yet again we're all restrained enough to leave some for Milo's tea tomorrow, although he's insisted he wants the prawns separately for 'pudding', and for my lunch, so we must be coming down with something.

Wine Time
You've got creamy bechemel and smokey haddock dominating this dish, so I'd go with something similarly rich and buttery, but with a touch of the timber - but only a touch, otherwise you'd overpower it all. An AC Burgundy should do it, or any lightly-oaked chardonnay depending on whether you like greener fruit (Old World) or more tropical flavours (New World). Or steaming mugs of tea, like us.

sauces
creamy fish pie - Saint Hugh and Fizz Carr, The River Cottage Family Cookbook, p248

gennaro and carluccio's borlotti bean soup

Strangely there were no tears this morning. This was because Milo decided he needed to cycle to school on his first morning, which meant rather than a moment to be cherished, there was only shame for the Barnes family as he was the last child through the door, and we instantly became 'those parents' Ana hates. Still, I'm presuming we don't have to pick him up for another 11 years now?

Off to work with a left-over chicken leg and salad for me, and Ana's first day of peace for three months, we're heading into virgin territory for other reasons than new schools: Bikini Blitz is back tonight and rather than eating at midnight because I've barely started prepping until 21.30 military hours, Monday nights are now Ana Nights.

I thinks she's got a pretty good repertoire, she just doesn't enjoy cooking as much as me so I'm quite impressed she decided to kick off with an experimental-for-her Gennaro Contaldo/Carluccio borlotti bean soup.

I'm even more impressed when I return from giving my bikini a thorough going-over by the delicious smell wafting down the corridor, and the feast of warming, tomato-y, goodness waiting for me, finished off with some left-over fried chorizo:

I imagine this is exactly what it's like living with Nigella. Admittedly a slightly grumpier Nigella who doesn't like cooking when tragic TV shows are on, and doesn't really want to 'accidentally' spill cream from an eclair down her front, despite me begging, but a very nice version of Nigella nevertheless. Even better, there's clearly enough for two lunchtimes this week!

Wine Time
Hmmm, I'm not entirely sure what you should drink with soup, after all it's already quite liquid-y. When in doubt I tend to fall back to the rule of thumb of pairing with food and wine from the same country; so I'm going to go with a juicy, Italian red like a Montepulciano or a Sangiovese, both of which are acidic enough to match the tomato, but full-bodied enough to balance the creamy pulses. Plus they've got some spice as well, which helps here I think.

sauces
fresh borlotti bean soup alla maruzzara - Gennaro Contaldo and Antonio Carluccio, Two Greedy Italians, from Delicious, June 2011, p38

bill granger's quick roast chicken with shallots and white wine

Today marks the end of an era, as almost five years after he appeared, Milo starts big school tomorrow. Well, big-ger school, but still none of us are entirely sure what this means or how we feel. Certainly he's ready to go, having out-grown nursery, and he's (currently) quite excited by the prospect of joining Giraffe class but... well, he's still our little boy! He should be making dens and snuggling and reading The Guffalo with Scruffy Dog, not going to school to do the book-learning!

Giving in to our fin de siecle feelings, we try to make his last day of freedom is fun, as much to take our minds off it as his. It all starts off very well; we all get up late, Kendra Kats and the whanau come over for tea, and we then go to the park for riding bikes and eating Pickles & Rye brownies and Toronto sandwiches on the bench. However,  it then all goes a bit pear-shaped as we realise he's got no uniform for tomorrow, and we end up bringing the whole looming school-thing to the very front of his mind with a mad dash to buy shoes and trousers, only marginally off-set by a trip to the Lego shop to decide what he wants for his birthday.

Knackered out and asleep, the only thing left to do is  cave-in to the Autumnal 'Back to School' vibe, knock up a comforting Sunday roast and watch the new series of Downton:

Naturally we're still in the pre-hopefully-being-zonked-by-school age, so with time of the essence between snuggling and Lady Mary appearing, we opt for Bill Granger's super-quick roast chicken recipe (with lashings of juices to be mopped up with bread), some cauliflower cheese, and mini-roasties in their skins.

I think the bistro nature of this hints towards winter, without actually involving the usual (and welcome) masses of a proper roast. That's coming though, I can feel it in the air...

Wine Time
We're not quite in White Burgundy territory yet, but it is getting nippier. I'd go with either a dry Vouvray with it's fuller-body to complement the chicken, and acidity to cut through the cauliflower cheese or, seeing how it as 'the season', a nice, young New World Pinot Noir would go down a treat.

Sauces
quick roast chicken with white wine and shallots - Bill Granger, Delicious March 2012, p57

rosie lovell's chorizo-spiked ratatouille

Now here's a thing: Regular readers (whilst despairing about my lack of updates), will know we've tried a few different ratatouille recipes, but none have come close to toppling Saint Hugh's multi-pan approach. It's a pain in the arse to wash up, but it's the best.

Maybe it's the washing, but I don't know why I even considered Rosie Lovell's recipe in this month's Delicious, but I'm glad I did because it's aces. Not only is it relatively quick, but the addition of chorizo and anchovies really take it to another level.

Whisper it, but I think I prefer this version to Hugh's, what with the extra spice from the sausage, and I suspect Ana might favour the lack of aubergine (although you can clearly add it along with a stack of other things). Definitely having it again.

Wine Time
Well this is an interesting one. It's a fairly chunky dish with loads of big flavours - paprika, herbs and the sweetness and acidity from the tomato, so I'm going to go either a light-to-medium red - Pinot, Montepulciano - or completely mad and suggest a big old Rhone red. Mmmmmmm tasty!

sources
chorizo-spiked ratatouille - Rosie Lovell, Delicious, June 2012, p22

jill dupleix's white bean polpettine

Despite the fact it's summer, and therefore allegedly supposed to be getting quieter, we teeter on the edge of a super-busy fortnight with a whole stack of evening tastings before everybody disappears off on holiday.

With this in mind, and the fact tonight being a Monday, whatever's on the menu needs to be quicker than lightening. And really really filling, as I've just spent an hour doing burpees. And really healthy for the usual bikini-based reasons. Like we're going anywhere that needs a bikini this year...
 

It's a classic, and as we've never really convinced Milo about the merits of what are essentially mini veggie burgers with salami in, it all means more for us. With wine. And salad.

sources
white bean polpettine - Jilly D, the Parsley Book

donna hay's prawn pad thai

After last night's midnight drive home, the Whanau are taking it easy today. A little light Lego, some Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom to ease us into the day, coffee from new-favourite coffee shop Pickle & Rye (who needs Kaffiene/Orange Pekoe?), and a quick trip around Waitrose and we're done. Who knew the day could go so fast when you're having fun?

With prawns on massive discount we're feeling adventurous tonight. Milo loves them, but he's also said he likes noodles, and we're keen to broaden his horizons a bit as he's fallen into a bit of a sausage rut. Steady, he's a child.

Given he wants to help, some sort of stir fry beckons so he can chop and stir and throw lots of Soy Sauce around, and then we hit the jackpot: Dame Donna's Pad Thai. We haven't had it for ages, it's always a winner and it's full of Milo-tastic things, including omlette, baby corn and other stuff.

It's a massive win all round, apart from our discovery he hates the smell of shrimp paste frying. At least I've got something to threaten him with now I suppose.

Wine Time
Compared to a lot of Thai dishes, Pad Thai is relatively restrained, but there's still a lot of sour and spicy flavours which make pairing with wine a bit of a challenge. I think generally I'd go with something a little bit of residual sugar, and with a lot of fruitiness, like a Pinot Gris, a Riesling or something like a South African Chenin. However I read the other day about something that's the perfect match and bound to appeal to all of you. And by 'you' I'm thinking of 'all girls, particularly the ones I know': Fizz. A Prosecco or a Cremant would be amazing as their both really light, and importantly, have some sweetness. Winners all round, apart from my bank account.


sources
prawn pad thai - Donna Hay, Modern Classics Book 1, p133