Beautiful Berries

Its now coming to the end of the project and of course its only now that I discover you can make the pictures bigger….. this is a little disappointing.

Le grand aïoli avec des crudités (Garlic mayonnaise with crunchy raw vegetables) – 16/04/14

The aioli was a lot of work for a poor outcome. I had to make this garlic mayo in a mortar and pestle and the only two things I gained from this was a lovely thick creamy consistency and a toned bicep. Rachel states in her recipe to add 250ml of olive oil (not extra virgin), a few drops at a time whilst pounding constantly. If I was to add this much oil I would be there for days and there would have been enough aioli to the last us the year! So a decision by both my mother was just add 100ml of oil which made the perfect quantity but was heavily potent on the garlic and the aioli came out an unpleasant green colour because we only had extra virgin olive oil. However when the crunchy baby vegetables were dipped in, the sweetness cut through the harshness of the garlic thus the dish wasn’t unbearable instead it was reasonably pleasant.  Although not quite accommodating to my taste buds never the less the family enjoyed it before a lovely asian stir-fry.

Tartelettes aux framboises et amandes (Raspberry and almond tartlets) – 19 /04/14

I took a photo before I baked these tartlets because they look absolutely gorgeous especially the raspberry ones! The pastry cases were golden, short and thin so no issues there, but the filling was a little disappointing. The almond cream filling consisted of 200g of sugar, almond meal and butter all creamed together to make a thick smooth paste for the centre of the pastry. I over filled the tartlets with the cream so they took far too long to cook, when they came out of the oven they were golden and the aromas were sensational. I took my first bite and only really experienced the short crisp pastry which was divine so I took another bite from the centre of the tartlet and for me it wasn’t enjoyable. The filling was far too buttery so it was just oily and rich luckily it had those sensational raspberries on the top to contrast against heavy filling. My grandmother and father enjoyed them but my mother and I found them to be too buttery and I only used 150g of butter as that is all I had. This would have to be my least favourite dessert from the book, not a complete failure as the pastry was exemplary.

Pain perdu avec compote de cerises et basilic (French toast with cherry and basil compote) – 20/04/14

On easter Sunday I treated the family to french toast in which we had never had before as a family for breakfast so it was exciting for all. I had made the compote in advance so the flavours had time to meld together and develop. The basil that was infused int eh sauce by a tea strainer was subtle but you could defiantly taste it and it was an unusual but punchy in flavour. The french toast itself was golden brown on the outside and spongy in the centre. A lovely feminine breakfast with that hidden surprise, must give it a go!

95 recipes down 25 to go!

Another update for the holidays!

Its getting oh so close to the end I have completed all the entrees now and only have two more mains the rest are just snacks, desserts and sauces! Also if your wondering why the amount of recipes I have done has gone up so dramatically this post is because I have now included all the sauced and stocks I have made

Sabayon aux Saint-Jacques (Scallop sabayon) – 04/04/14

Unfortunately I was unable to get the large white scallops used in restaurants as I didn’t want to buy them frozen and the market doesn’t sell the large ones fresh so I had to settle for the little ones we often use in seafood risotto. Despite the scallops not being the size and colour I had imagined they were fresh and cooked in a matter of seconds. They were a lovely and browned on either side and the Sabayon which is simply egg yolks and white wine whisked over a bain-marie was light and foaming and was a suburb match to the scallops with the rocket just adding some bitterness and a vibrant look to the presentation of the stunning dish.

Galettes (Buckwheat pancakes) – 04/04/14

These savoury crêpes looked rather different in colour to Rachels as my buckwheat flour is an organic wholemeal one from the imported section of the supermarket and so its much darker. Instead of serving the galettes as a snack with melted cheese and ham etc I decided to have them for dinner, so I stuffed them with poached tarragon chicken and made one of the sauces from the book to bake them in with cheese to go golden and crispy on the top. This was was much nicer as the buckwheat flour is very strong in flavour so by themselves with only a spread or something wouldn’t of been too pleasant. Having them this way with rich sauce and  flavoursome protein toned down the intensity of the raw flour.  They were lovely and paper thin with a golden finish on either side just how a crêpe should be.

Escoffier’s Tomato sauce – 04/04/14

This was the sauce I made for the savoury crêpes, it was lovely and thick almost like a tomato soup with a slight smokiness from the bacon that was used to for enriching the flavour.  I love making my own sauces from scratch because you know exactly whats in it and is delightfully fresh.

Tartelettes au pamplemousse et poivre meringuées (Grapefruit and popper meringue tartlets) – 05/04/14

My mother and I went to see the X-factor auditions in the city and we didn’t have lunch until about 4.30-5 and it was a decent sized lunch so we didn’t feel like having any dinner. As it swung around to about 8.30 we were a little peckish and luckily the day before I had made my grapefruit curd for this interesting dessert so all I had to do was make italian meringue and a lemon sponge biscuit. The biscuits were quite simple to make all mixed in the kitchen-aid and then baked for about 15 minutes. The meringue on the other hand was a different story I had to make a sugar syrup that had to reach 118º before I could poor it slowly into my whisking cracked pepper egg whites to form stiff peaks. Rachel khoo had mention this was a difficult dessert that can take many attempts to perfect. I managed to make the biscuit base an curd with no hassles but the meringue wasn’t as glossy as I had hoped to it didn’t brown as magnificently when I blow torched it. Although the meringue wasn’t 110% it was a gorgeous dessert, the lemony warm biscuit base that when cut open oozed the grapefruit curd beginning to melt on top incased by a sweet yet hint of peppery meringue with a slight crust on top for extra textural appeal, a sensational dessert and if done well quite impressive.

 

Fougasse aux romarin, lavande et fromage du chèvre (Rosemary, lavender and goats cheese bread) – 06/04/14

My grandmother has come over for the easter holidays and she adores lavender so as a pre dinner I made this aromatic and luscious freshly baked bread.  You could taste the lavender but it was subtle as the rosemary is quite a strong robust herb and the goats cheese was lovely and golden on the top with the fluffy dough and crisp outer crust. My grandmother loved it which was the main goal and has been asking for more!

Galette aux pommes de terre et poires avec Roquefort (potato and pear galette with Roquefort) – 12/04/14

We had a week at Phillip Island which meant a week off from cooking out of the book but as soon as I arrived home I got stuck into another recipe. We had steak for dinner so my contribution was this elegant potato galette with my favourite of all cheeses blue vein! The recipe calls for Roquefort but it was ridiculously priced so I used gorgonzola instead which is still a great cheese. The potato was thin and tender, the cheese melted, rich and creamy with the sweet pear to cut through the intensity of the strong cheese. A gorgeous and simple match to a beautiful eye fillet steak.

Mini chevreuil en croûte (Mini Venison Wellington) – 14/04/14

Last night we delved into an old favourite wellington but instead of the whole slab of eye fillet rubbed in mustard, mushroom duxelle, pâté, prosciutto and finished with a thick layer of puff pastry, this was a little different. These were petite parcels of heaven; each medium rare venison fillet rubbed in dijon mustard and coasted in caramelised red onion whizzed to a smooth paste thus having the texture of pâté was incased by all butter puff pastry. In my opinion this is so much nicer than the usual beef wellington as it wasn’t as rich and the pastry was able to get crispy and golden. I clever rendition of a classic which I am looking forward to re-creating!

92 recipes down 28 to go!