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.