It’s Time To Light The Fires

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Bay leaf, Butter, Cape Town, Chefs, chicken, Chicken and Mushrooms with Sherry Cream Sauce., Clifton Kitchen, Cooks, cream, food and drink, food and travel writing, Food Blogs, Garlic Seasoning, Herbs, Kate Abbott, Lifestyle, Mushrooms, Olive oil, Parsley, Photography, rosemary, Sauce, Sherry, Shiitake, Thyme, Travel, travel Writing

The weather has turned and the chilled air flowing in off the Atlantic sea has everyone reaching for sweaters. The summer remains elusive as another cold front wafts in over the Cape. It is time to light the fires and to make dinner.

I want something warming and unctuous to feed my guests. In the fridge I have mushrooms, chicken, some good quality cream, garden fresh broccoli stems and in the pantry,the thin skinned potatoes which I picked up from the market. All of these items will produce a dinner that everyone will enjoy. It is also fuss free, easy, which leaves me with time to mingle before serving dinner.

Here is the recipe

Chicken & Mushrooms with Sherry Cream Sauce

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 packets of chicken portions

25 g butter

25 ml olive oil

2 onions finely diced

200 g shitake mushrooms sliced

250 ml dry sherry

250 ml chicken stock

4 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed

1 Tablespoon fresh Thyme finely chopped

1 Tablespoon fresh Parsley finely chopped

½ Tablespoon fresh Rosemary finely chopped

1 bay leaf

120 ml pouring cream

Salt and pepper

Method

Heat the butter and olive oil in pot or casserole dish a large enough to comfortably incorporate all the chicken pieces.

Sauté the chicken until golden brown, remove and set aside. Sauté the onions and mushrooms until softened, then add the chicken, the herbs and bay leaf, garlic and dry sherry. Let simmer until the alcohol smell has dissipated; about 5 minutes, then add the chicken stock.

Bring up to heat, then turn down to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes and the liquid has reduced by half. Add the cream, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 14-20 minutes. Check the seasoning.

Serve with boiled potatoes or rice and broccoli or a green salad

Tip: if after the cooking process the sauce is too runny, slake 2 tsps. of cornflour in 2 tablespoons water and stir into the sauce to thicken. cook for another 5 minutes.

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My Favourite Tea or Dessert Cake

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Allspice, apples, baking, Brandy, Cape Town, Cinnamon, Cook Books, cream, Dessert, food, Food Blogs, Food Writing, Hong Kong, ingredients, News, Photography, recipes, Sultanas, tea, travel Writing, Yoghurt

Arriving back from Hong Kong on the 17^th of December, although feeling jaded from my long haul flight, I hit the ground running.

Calls to the florist for table posies and flowers for the entrance and living room were arranged, then on to the butcher and fishmonger for my Christmas order, after that the bottle store for the drinks order.

Needless to say, after the culinary trip in Hong Kong my pallet was feeling rather jaded, not to mention my overloaded system. As a result enthusiasm for the Christmas preparations was a bit difficult to muster. The end result was thankfully well received.

Instead of the usual Christmas pudding I decided to make something a little different this year; one of my favourites – Apple, sultana and cinnamon cake, served with a vanilla and brandy cream. This cake is good to serve for either tea or as a dessert. It is also best when eaten the day after it being baked, which helps a lot when pushed for time.

Apple, Sultana & Cinnamon Cake served with vanilla brandy cream

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

120 g sultanas

150 ml olive oil

200 g sugar

2 free range eggs

350 g 00 flour or cake flour

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

1 ½ tsp. bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp. cream of tartar

½ tsp. sea salt

450 g dessert apples, peeled and cut into small cubes

Grated rind of 1 lemon

For the Vanilla Brandy Cream

300 ml thick yoghurt

100 ml fresh cream

10 ml vanilla extract

30 ml good brandy

15 ml icing sugar or honey

Method

Soak the sultanas in warm water for about 20 mutes

Heat the oven to 180C

Butter and flour a 20 cm spring-clip tin

Pour the oil in the bowl of the mixer and add the sugar. Beat until the oil and sugar become homogenised. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat until the mixture increases in volume and resembles a thin mayonnaise.

Sieve together the flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and salt. Add the sieved flour gradually to the oil and sugar mixture. Mix thoroughly then add the apples, drained sultanas and lemon rind, mix thoroughly. The mixture will be stiff, and show pieces of apple and sultanas coated in cake mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for at least 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out dry.

Remove the cake from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

Method-Vanilla brandy cream.

Mix all the ingredients together and chill until required.

Optional

The cake may also be spiked with some brandy after removing from the oven.

Chicken & Mushroom Pie served with Clifton Kitchen Greek Salad

Tags

balsamic, capers, chicken, cream, dairy baking, eggs, feta, food and drink, Greek style salad, green peppers, Kalamata olives, milk, Olive oil, onions, organic, puff pastry, radishes, recipe, red wine vinegar, salad, Seasoning, Thyme, tomatoes

When one manages to find good organic products it is a bit like finding your own gold deposit. Every two weeks I receive a delivery of good organic meat from Simply Wholesome and or Go Go’s; the selection which may range from good strong heavy boned chickens to a leg of young goat, eggs, butter, organic wine and whatever new products they may have managed to source, which I am always keen to try.

The chicken produced a fantastic roast, good flavour, and being so large also provided sufficient meat for a chicken pie, this was served together with the Clifton Kitchen Greek style salad.

If you have some puff pastry in the deep freeze, to make this pie is quick and easy.

Chicken Pie

Serves 6

Ingredients

300g cooked chicken, diced

1 large onion, finely chopped

15ml fresh Thyme finely chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

200g Portobello mushrooms or button mushrooms, finely sliced

60ml dry sherry

150ml cream

100ml milk

3 large eggs

Olive oil

Seasoning, salt and pepper

Method

Set the oven to 180C. Roll the puff pastry to line a 20cm loose bottom tart or quiche tin. Using a fork, lightly prick the base all over, insert some baking paper and top with baking marbles or beans. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the baking marbles and return to the oven for 5 more minutes, remove and set to one side while you prepare the filling.

In a pan sauté the onions in some olive oil until translucent, add the garlic and Thyme and sauté for a few about 5 more minutes, remove from pan to a dish.

To the same pan add the mushrooms and sauté until the liquid produced by the mushrooms, has evaporated and the mushrooms are golden brown. Add the sherry and cook for a few more minutes. Add mushrooms to onion mix and season, add the diced chicken.

In a bowl mix together the eggs, milk and cream, season lightly then pour mixture over the filling and incorporate well. Pour filling into pre-cooked tart base.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes, by which time the custard should be just set.

Serve with Clifton Kitchen Greek salad

Clifton Kitchen Greek Salad

This is an elegant salad bursting with full flavours of cheese, olives and fresh ingredients.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 English cucumber, diced

5 tomatoes, diced

6 radishes thinly sliced

1 medium onion thinly sliced. Red if possible

1 green pepper, finely diced

300g Kalamata olives, pips removed

30g capers

200g feta, crumbled

10ml dried oregano

120ml olive oil

20ml red wine vinegar

A drop or two of balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a bowl combine the cucumber, tomato, radishes, onion and green pepper. Scatter over the olives, capers, feta and oregano. Drizzle over the olive oil and vinegars; toss well to coat all of the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper as needed, serve.

The Cape Winter A Tart & Guests For Dinner

Tags

cape food markets, Cape Town, chicken, cream, Egg yolk, eggs, Flour, free range, Lemon and Lime Tart, Lime juice, organic, Pastry

There are four of us for supper tonight and the weather is icy and blowing, so good comfort food is in order. Shopping is usually slipped into other jobs and journeys: a dash into the green grocer’s whilst on my way to a meeting; a trip to the fishmonger on my way home. But today’s shopping is thought out, with a list, a big bag and a planned shopping experience for my guests.

One of the advantages of the free range birds from the butcher is that their bones are heavy and strong; to be expected as they have had a lot of opportunity to exercise; so one of these birds it is. Their fat, sauce-enriching bones make a delicious stew. Cooked slowly, with stock, herbs and aromatics, the result is mild but meaty, which is just what one wants when the cold and wind is enough to make your eyes water.

As I am well stocked with limes, I had planned on making a lime tart but now seeing the fresh gooseberries I find myself in a quandary; gooseberry crumble, or the lime tart? A quick rethink of the dinner plan for tonight, and tomorrow scrambles through my head; I will do both, the lime tart for today and the gooseberry crumble tomorrow. I pick up a nice country loaf of bread, organic cream, milk and eggs and head for home, my guests plod off to explore Cape Town. Considering the gale force winds blowing outside I think there could be better days for exploring than today.

The wind almost rips the door from my grasp as I make my way into the kitchen from outside, while hugging my purchases tightly to prevent them from being blown in all directions, I’m pleased that I passed on  the opportunity to buy fresh flowers as they would have come off second best in these conditions.

The kitchen is lovely and toasty, a perfect day to be inside baking. After a quick warming cup of tea I check on my cannellini beans which have been soaking for a few hours, all is looking good and now it’s time to start preparing the lime tart. I enjoy making this particular pastry ,  each time adding as much butter as I dare, just to see how crisp and fragile I can get the crust.

I have prepared all the ingredients for the filling; all that is needed is the final mixing of all the items together. The crust is pre-baked, looks great and is ready for the filling which I set about doing. All goes smoothly when suddenly the wind tears several branches from the palm trees, heaving them across the courtyard with a vengeance, and in my direction. Distracted at this point I put the tart and it’s filling into the oven, as I am about to close the door I realize I have forgotten one important ingredient, the lime juice. I quickly pour the juice gently into the liquid filling already in the tart, stir and distribute it as best I can while trying not to disturb the pastry base. Fingers crossed I close the oven door and hope for the best. A little flustered I think of plan B, not to mention thing about clearing the debris from the courtyard, it is going to be a long 45 minutes.

It’s time to check the tart. I give it a little shake to test if it is sufficiently set, there should still be a slight wobble to the custard, it is set just the way I like it and it looks perfect. The quick thinking and unorthodox approach to the lime custard filling actually worked. The tart was saved.

With the tart baked and the chicken slowly cooking and doing what it should, I have time to catch up on chores, get through a bit of my work backlog and I find time to relax before dinner is ready to serve.

 

Recipe for the well-deserved lime tart

Lime Tart

Serves 8

Ingredients

For the filling

180ml lime juice

6 large eggs

250g castor sugar

175ml double cream

For the pastry

175g plain flour

40g icing sugar

90g cold butter, diced

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon cold water

Method

To make the pastry, put the flour and icing sugar into a food processor, add the butter and blitz for a few seconds until the mixture fine resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg yolks and the water. Blitz for a few more seconds until the dough comes together. Gently shape into a log, wrap in greaseproof paper and pop into the fridge for half an hour. If you skip this bit the pastry will shrink.

Next, cut thin rounds from the pastry and press into a loose-bottom 23-24cm tart tin, pressing the pastry gently up the sides and over the base. Make sure that there are no holes or cracks; otherwise you will lose your filling. Prick lightly with a fork and refrigerate for half an hour.

Set oven to 200∘C. Place a sheet of greaseproof paper in the tart tin case, fill with baking beans and bake for ten minute. Remove the beans and bake for a further five, until the pastry is dry to the touch.

Turn the oven down to 150∘C; finely grate the zest from two limes. Squeeze enough limes to give 180ml juice; this could be anything from 6 to 8 limes depending on the size and ripeness.

Mix the eggs and sugar together, beating lightly for a few seconds, you don’t want it to be frothy, and then stir in the lime juice and cream.

Pour the mixture through a sieve, stir in the lime zest and pour into the baked pastry case. Bake for about 45-50 minutes. Remove the tart while the filling is still slightly wobbly and leave to cool.