Brasserie Blanc

So, for our anniversary lunch last Sunday we had a lovely meal out at Brasserie Blanc in Jericho. It is part of Raymond Blanc's chain of restaurants which can be found all over the country. This one, in Oxford, is his 'local'. He was there having his lunch, but we didn't talk to him. Shame - he probably would have enjoyed a conversation in his native language!

Obviously eating at Brasserie Blanc isn't in quite the same league as Raymond's other Oxfordshire offering, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, but it was still really good. There was the option of a Sunday roast for £13.80, plus an additional £2.45 for a starter or dessert. We saw some good-sized portions coming out of the kitchen. One to put on our 'to eat' list. This time, we both ordered from the main menu: steak for Nick, rack of lamb for me. Mine came with a side of lovely smooth puy lentils with smoked bacon. We were both happy with our choices. Nick declared himself stuffed afterwards, a rare occurrence. It didn't stop him from having a triple-chocolate sundae-type thing for dessert though (I had a cherry almond tart).

Sophie was a little star throughout, which may be partially explained by her love of people-watching (it was really busy, lots of people to observe), and partially by the friendly and welcoming staff. They offer carrot puree for babies, but since we declined that, they brought some cucumber sticks instead. Sophie was delighted. She also tried some of my lamb and some of the lovely fresh bread. And some of the paper tablecloth.

The baby-change facilities were really good, as was the highchair (unlike some restaurants, where it takes two Oxford-educated brains to work out which way up the baby should go).

This little family out-and-about in Oxford highly recommends Brasserie Blanc!

What's cooking this week #5

Hello!

I'm posting my meal plan at the start of the week this time. We'll be away or out for some meals, so I've only had to plan for five days worth of food. I've been giving lunches and breakfasts some thought, too. I saw on another blog (goodcheapeats.com) the idea of using a breakfast rotation, and I'm wondering if that would be a good idea for us here, too.

Anyway, here's what I'll be cooking this week.

Lunch
Chicken soup leftover from the weekend
Leek and cheese omelette
Hummus with pitta bread and carrot dippers
Ham sandwich with sweet potato chips
Hummus and tuna wraps

Dinner
Beef and bean burritos
Sweet and sour pork with rice
Chicken ragu with pappardelle
Falafel burgers
Salmon tikka with naan bread

Since I started doing a proper meal plan and an online shop each week, I've found myself really looking forward to each meal, and enjoying having lots of variety in our diet. And I feel a lot less rushed and stressed about meals than I did before! I no longer have to visit the supermarket with pushchair and a baby who might cry or get hungry or wake up at an inconvenient moment four or five times a week, which is a relief, I can tell you! I do pop in for the odd thing if we run out, but my pram basket is no longer full to bursting each and every time I go into town. Hooray!

What are you cooking this week?

Laura x

Saturday ice-cream: Maple and pecan ice-cream

Happy Monday morning!

I almost had an ice-cream fail this weekend. Note to self: always follow the manufacturer's instructions. Six hours in the freezer is not enough.

So, on Saturday, we had chilled maple-flavoured cream with floating pecan nuts. But on Sunday, having reserved the remainder of the prepared ice-cream mixture, we had delicious, soft, and frozen maple and pecan ice-cream. 

As with most ice-creams, it has a custard base, which is something of a labour of love to prepare, but totally worth it. Oh my, it was delicious. 

Here's the recipe. Did I mention how delicious it was?

Laura x

Maple and pecan ice-cream

Takes 1.5 hours (25 minutes hands-on, 35 minutes cooling, 30 minutes churning)

Serves 6

250ml milk (semi-skimmed or full-fat)

3 egg yolks (put the whites in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer for meringues later on, don't forget to label the bag!)

175ml maple syrup

300ml whipping cream

50g roughly chopped pecan nuts

25g butter

1tbsp golden caster sugar

1tsp salt

Heat the milk until almost boiling (look out for little bubbles round the edge of the pan). Whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl, then very slowly pour the hot milk onto the eggs, whisking all the time. Don't pour too fast!

Put a small amount of hot water in a pan and set to a rapid simmer. Place the bowl with the egg mixture on top of the pan, making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir continuously until the mixture thickens (about 10 minutes). Take it from the heat, stir in the maple syrup, and set aside to cool.

To make the caramelised pecan nuts: Melt the butter in a small frying pan. Mix together the nuts, sugar and salt, and then add them to the pan. Fry them over a medium heat, stirring continuously, for about 3 minutes, until they turn golden. Then quickly remove them from the heat to a cold bowl, otherwise they will burn. Set aside.

When the maple mixture is cool, add the whipping cream. Pour into the ice-cream machine and churn for about 30 minutes. Add the pecan nuts and churn until they are mixed in, about 2 minutes.

Enjoy!

What's cooking this week #4

Hello!

It's the end of the week, and here's what's been cooking:

Monday - Beef lasagne (with leftover bolognese sauce from last week)
Tuesday - Thai red squash curry
Wednesday dinner with friends - Mediterranean beef stew, followed by pineapple upside-down cake
Thursday - Turkey meatballs with barbeque sauce
Friday - Tex-mex fish tortillas with guacamole
Saturday - Summer chicken soup for lunch / Apricot and cumin stuffed pork for dinner
Sunday - out for anniversary lunch!

I've been making a lot more of my own spice mixes since Sophie started eating with us, since babies can't cope with a lot of salt and most ready-made pastes and seasonings have a whole load of salt added. This week I managed the Thai red curry paste and the tex-mex seasoning, but I'll need to figure out how to make the barbeque sauce without tomato ketchup - I think with tomato puree and a little sugar.

For lunches, and for Sophie's tea, we mostly eat leftovers or things foraged from the fridge, but now she's eating more and more I'd like to give her some varied, nutritious things that don't take a lot of preparation. More thought required!

Hope you too had a good food week!

Laura x

Our anniversary

Today is our sixth wedding anniversary. Such a happy day to celebrate together and to be thankful!

We kept the weekend aside for just the three of us, since life has been so incredibly hectic recently that we've barely had any time to just relax and enjoy each other's company. So our weekend consisted of taking Sophie to the park for the first time (I think she might write about that on her blog at some point, hehe), cooking and enjoying good food, shopping for a new camera, and going out for a special anniversary lunch (more on that in another post!). Oh, and I went on two training runs (5 and 6 km), but that was by the bye.

So today, I say thank you to Nick for being a husband who demonstrates kindness and love in all he does, and who works so hard to provide for our family, and thank you to God for blessing me with such a one.

Saturday ice-cream: Frozen raspberry yoghurt

Hello again!

This weekend's ice-cream was just for me and a friend, left in Oxford for the weekend as our husbands travelled east for a wedding. So, it was time for a girly one.

This one is super-easy, healthy, and full of flavour.

Laura x


Frozen raspberry yoghurt
Takes 40 minutes (10 minutes prep, 30 minutes churning)
Serves 4

400g fresh or defrosted frozen raspberries
300g plain yoghurt
Honey to taste

Quite simply, puree the raspberries, mix in the yoghurt and honey to sweeten, and churn in the machine for 30 minutes.

For a smooth texture, sieve the pureed raspberries before mixing with the yoghurt.

Alternative fruits: ripe mango, strawberries, blueberries, banana

Flourless chocolate cake

Good morning!

Our curry night on Wednesday was lots of fun. Twelve people filled our living room with noise, joy, and spices. For pudding, we had a flourless chocolate cake which I made that afternoon.

It may have looked like a sunken volcano crater, but it tasted dense, moist, and delicious.

Here's the recipe. Note, it's not health food!

Laura x

Flourless chocolate cake

Takes 1 hour 20 minutes (30 minutes prep, 50 minutes baking, plus cooling)

Serves 12

400g dark chocolate (I used Tesco Everyday Value)

100g soft light brown sugar

6 medium eggs at room temperature

1 tbsp Cointreau

1 tsp ground cinnamon

300ml extra thick double cream

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease and base line a 23cm (9 inch) cake tin.

Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Stir occasionally until melted.

Meanwhile, using an electric hand whisk, beat the eggs and sugar together for 10 minutes, until somewhat thickened.

Add the Cointreau and ground cinnamon to the chocolate and stir. Then pour the melted chocolate into the egg mixture, stirring all the time. (Be careful here, because if you pour too quickly and/or don't stir, the eggs will curdle.) Mix thoroughly.

Stir the cream a few times with a spoon to loosen it a little. Add the cream to the chocolate mixture and fold in thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin (it will sink quite a lot), then remove from the tin when cold. (I didn't manage to release it from the base of the tin, since inverting it would have destroyed the top.)

Cut into slices and serve with fresh fruit and cream or yoghurt.

Breakfast special: American pancakes

Baby-led weaning is more like baby-led mess a lot of the time. Here's Sophie demolishing some Oatibix, which she loves, and some banana:

Most days, we eat cereal, toast, fruit, or porridge for breakfast, but some days I like to make something special. One of our favourites is pancakes, or drop scones as they're often called this side of the Atlantic.

American pancakes

Takes 15 minutes

Makes about 8-10 pancakes (easily doubled)

125g flour

150ml milk

1 egg

Oil or butter for frying

Whisk the egg and milk together. Make a well in the flour and gradually add the milk mixture, whisking all the time until it forms a thick, smooth paste. 

Heat some oil or butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Lower the heat to medium. Drop tablespoons of the batter into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Flip, and cook 1-2 minutes on the other side. 

We eat ours with maple or golden syrup, fruit, or yoghurt. Sophie absolutely loves them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! 

They freeze really well between sheets of greaseproof paper. 

Variations: add fruit (blueberries, banana, raspberries...), cooked vegetables or grated cheese to the batter.

Saturday ice-cream: Vanilla yoghurt

Hello everyone!

We've been enjoying warm, fine weather here for the past two weeks. It's been wonderful! 

A couple of years ago we purchased a Magimix Le Glacier 1.5l ice-cream maker. It was a hot summer! Last year, it was barely used. So, to celebrate this summer, I came up with a plan: Saturday ice-cream. This idea has proved very popular with my lovely husband!

So, each week (give or take a few) for the duration of the summer, you'll find here a post about our weekend treat! 

Home-made ice-cream is great: even though it's never exactly healthy, you can enjoy it knowing exactly what has gone into it.

This week's ice-cream was vanilla yoghurt. It was really easy to make and came up light and flavoursome. The yoghurt cuts through the sweetness really nicely.

Enjoy!

Laura x

PS. Another upside of making ice-cream? Lots of leftover egg whites, a perfect excuse for me to continue my mission to master the macaron...


Vanilla yoghurt icecream
Takes 1.5 hours (15 minutes hands on, 45 minutes cooling time, 30 minutes churning)
Serves 4-6

150ml milk
1 tsp cornflour
1 egg yolk
50g caster sugar
150ml good-quality plain yoghurt
150ml whipping cream
1 tsp good-quality vanilla essence (not vanilla extract)

Mix the cornflour with a little of the milk. Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan.

Whisk together the egg yolk and sugar, then pour on the hot milk very slowly, whisking all the time. (Pouring it too fast will curdle the eggs.) Stir in the cornflour mixture.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and gently heat, stirring continuously, until it thickens (around boiling point). Leave to cool.

Mix in the yoghurt, cream and vanilla essence, then pour into the ice-cream machine and churn.

What's cooking this week #3

Hi everyone!

The plan is ready, the ingredients have been delivered. Let the week begin!

Monday - Roasted herbed veg with fried halloumi
Tuesday - Chicken and leek fricassee
Wednesday - Bolognese
Thursday - Leftover chicken
Friday - Mexican chicken bake
Saturday - Lasagne (with leftover bolognese sauce)
Sunday - Roast chicken with roast butternut squash, sweet potato, and parsnips

I'll post some recipes at some point.

We're having a curry night with friends on Wednesday. They're bringing the curry, my contribution is a flourless chocolate cake and a fruit salad. Looking forward to making that!

And the shopping list:

Veg for roasting: sweet potatoes, butternut squash, courgettes, peppers, parsnips
Halloumi
Chicken thighs 1kg (for the fricassee and the Mexican bake)
2 large leeks
White wine
Single cream 400ml
Chestnut mushrooms 300g
2 lemons
Minced beef 500g
3 tins chopped tomatoes (for the bolognese and the Mexican bake)
White mushrooms (handful)
3 carrots
1 onion
1 tin kidney beans
Fresh coriander
Cheddar cheese
Soured cream

From my storecupboard:

Olive oil
Dried mixed herbs
Butter
Spaghetti
Balsamic vinegar
Low-salt vegetable stock
Taco spices (paprika, garlic, cumin, chilli)
Rice

Have a great week!

Laura x

What's cooking this week #2

Here's what we've been eating this week:

Chilli con carne

Salmon fishcakes

Vegetable balti

Fishfingers and chips - Nick's choice!

Quick and easy tortelloni
Lemon roast chicken with new potatoes and salad

The salmon fishcakes a la Jamie Oliver were a disaster. Note to self: don't be lazy, make your own mash for fishcakes, supermarket stuff is too watery. 

And my shopping list:

3 chicken breasts

Ratatouille veg: courgette, peppers, aubergine, sweet potatoes

Minced beef 500g

3 tins chopped tomatoes

Kidney beans

Chickpeas

Red peppers

2 salmon fillets

Mashed potatoes

1 cauliflower

1 butternut squash

2 sweet potatoes

1 eating apple

2 carrots

Balti curry paste

Natural yoghurt

Fishfingers

Chips

Corn-fed free-range chicken (on special offer!)
Lemons
New potatoes
Salad

From my storecupboard:

Dried mixed herbs

Olive oil

Spices

Parsley

Penne pasta

Rice
Garlic

What's cooking this week #1

Last week went well. I'm a bit late posting my cooking list, but that's just how it goes.

Here's what was cooking:

Beef and noodle stir-fry
Salmon tikka with raita and naan bread
Cauliflower macaroni cheese
Chicken tagine with steamed veg and couscous
Pad Thai
Roast turkey with pork and apricot stuffing and roast veg

I only post six meals, because we almost always eat either leftovers or something very very quick (ravioli, pizza, egg on toast) for one meal a week. I'm not superwoman.

It was a good week. The salmon tikka was so delicious, I can't wait to have it again. Mmmm.

Here's my shopping list:

Beef frying steak 200g
Fresh egg noodles
Mixed stir-fry veg
2 salmon steaks
Tandoori curry paste
1 lime
1 red chilli
Cucumber
Natural yoghurt
2 naan breads
1 cauliflower
Macaroni pasta 400g
Chicken thighs 300g
1 tin chickpeas
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 carrots
1 large onion
Pad Thai straight-to-wok noodles
250g frozen king prawns
100g bean sprouts (why don't they sell these in smaller packets, we always have so much left over!)
Turkey thigh
Pork and herb sausages
Parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots for roasting
Broccoli

From my storecupboard/fridge:

Stir-fry spices
Oil
Cheddar cheese
Parmesan
Eggs
Couscous
Dried apricots