Julia Child's Quiche Lorraine

A rare savoury recipe has snuck on to Colehill Kitchen this week, a shock I'm sure, but at least it involves pastry!! Mr. Colehill is quite the quiche connoisseur, and while I was flicking through Julia Child's book, Mastering the Art of French cooking, which was a gift from him, he decided that the first recipe used from it should really be a 'gift' for him. I can hardly disagree. And so, a plan to make quiche was born.

I assumed it would be really time consuming for some reason, probably the notion of making pastry from scratch, but it was fairly simple quick and very simple to make. The pastry is a standard recipe, no surprises there. It's written in ounces so that's how I'll do it here:

Pastry:

5oz plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

Pinch sugar

4oz chilled butter, cubed.

4-4.5 tblsp cold water

Sieve the flour, salt and sugar into a large mixing bowl, add the butter and rub together quickly until you get and oat flake texture, careful not to overdo it though.

Then add the water and blend quickly shaping into a ball, before tipping out onto a surface and make one kneading motion for the final blending of fat and flour, the fraisage.

Leave to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour, or until needed.

Roll out and lay in a greased tin, and blind bake for 8 to 10 minutes until it is becoming golden.

Filling:

3 - 4 oz lean bacon

3 eggs

1/2 pint double cream

1/2 tsp salt

pinch pepper

1/2 - 1 oz butter cut in to little dots.

Cut the bacon in to bitesize pieces and blanch in fresh water for a couple of minutes, drain and pat dry. Fry in a pan until crispy and slightly golden - I was too impatient at this step and should have fried them longer. Then place in the pastry case.

Combine the eggs, cream and seasoning in a jug and pour over the bacon, and dot the top with the butter. Bake in the oven at about 180 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is beginning to brown.

Although it isn't traditional, I added a handful of grated cheese into the egg and cream mix, yum!...we are lovers of cheese at Colehill Kitchen!

I have to say I would probably leave out the extra butter on top, as it resulted in a patchy surface to the quiche. As well as this, I think I would use half and half double and single cream next time too, as all double cream is just a tad too rich for my taste!

Leave to sink a little while it cools, and enjoy!! This of course is lovely cold too with salad and other chilled foods. Perfect for sitting in the garden sipping a cold glass of white wine!

Eggs Benedict - The Ultimate Breakfast

I think breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. It's worth taking time over and enjoying, however I'm definitely guilty of inhaling whatever I can lay my hands on when I'm in a rush, barely having time to blink let alone savour and what I'm eating, and enjoy the most important meal of the day. It's a strange meal, because it's the only one that we think nothing of having the same thing every day, we hardly prioritise, and that we demolish in seconds before rushing out of the house. On top of this, unlike an evening meal, I certainly don't spend time wondering what to have, reading recipe books, looking forward to... but sometimes it's necessary to give priority to the first food that we gobble up in the morning, and really revel in the luxury of a lazy breakfast with the papers and a calmness on the weekend which we are rarely afforded during the week. Eggs are a given really when it comes to breakfast, and there's no dish more indulgent than Eggs Benedict in my opinion. Soft toasted muffin, topped with crispy bacon, poached egg and creamy hollandaise sauce - and some wilted spinach in there too if you fancy it. The last time I had this delight was at the Wolseley last August, which I wrote about here, so I was slightly daunted at the prospect of trying it myself - let's be honest, it was never going to be as good as it was there!

It didn't quite measure up to The Wolseley's standards, but I don't think I did too shoddy a job. It's pretty easy really, it's just about timing and being able to do a good poached egg. I made the hollandaise sauce first, using Rachel Allen's recipe. Her books are beautiful and I've used a couple of her recipes before, including butternut squash gratin, which is included here. First place a bowl over a pan of simmering water and put two egg yolks and a tablespoon of water into the bowl. whisk for a few minutes, then gradually add cold diced butter (110g), one cube at a time, whisking until it has all melted and emulsified. Then add seasoning and a little lemon juice. I found it a little thick, so loosened it up with a little more water. Leave to one side, covered with cling film, over the pan of water (no longer over heat) to keep warm until you need it. Then toast the muffin, grill the bacon and poach the egg. Try to get the freshest eggs you can, as the whites will hold together better the fresher they are. A tip I have found really helpful when poaching eggs is to crack the egg into a mug or shallow tumbler first, then when your water is nearly simmering, swirl it a little so that it creates a whirlpool, and drop the egg in, pouring it out of the tumbler as low and close to the water as you can without burning your fingers! Poach for about 3 minutes, and remove with a slotted spoon. I poached my eggs a little to early, so took them out about 30 seconds before they were done, then replaced them into the simmering water just before I was ready to serve so that they were warm and right on time! Build your tower of deliciousness - muffin first, then bacon, then egg, and pour over lashings of your creamy hollandaise sauce and dig in!

Not a breakfast for everyday obviously, or I'd end up rolling out of the house rather than rushing! But it is worth taking the time once in a while and indulging...what are weekends for after all?!

A Pork Epiphany

I'm feeling very peaceful and relaxed now after a week of frantic organisation, diligent preparation and thorough enjoyment at the end of it all! So I've finally found time to sit down and write a post to update you on all the delicious food we've been indulging in! Unfortunately, due to being a bit of a whirling dirvish while cooking the pork, I completely forgot to take any photos, and was too interested in eating it when it was ready. So you'll have to trust me when I say how fabulous it was, and try it for yourselves! I did however remember to take some pictures of the cake, so enjoy!


It's been a flurry of birthday celebrations in the Colehill Kitchen this past week, and a birthday is not a good birthday without good food! I'm a firm believer in enjoying food as part of a celebration. I don't feel like it's been a real occasion unless the kitchen is brimming with ingredients and a medley of delicious smells has been emanating from it all day. This time there were aromas of chocolate (of course!!) and baking, as well as roasting pork, garlic and onions, balsamic vinegar and herbs galore!! It was quite a feast and began the week in true decadence!


Thanks to these birthday celebrations, I've had an epiphany about pork. I never thought I liked pork really. I always found it a little dull compared to other meats, and quite often dry and chewy, as well as finding crackling a complete and utter anti-climax.


How wrong I was.


We had the MOST beautiful pork loin from our local butcher (The Parson's Nose on Fulham Road if you're interested, which you really should be if you live nearby, their meat is phenomenal!). I asked for it boned and rolled, which the butcher did right there in front of me in a matter of minutes, quite an impressive sight, let me tell you! I hurried on home to cook it, and stuffed it with a rustic herby stuffing from Jamie Oliver's website (jamieoliver.com) which I tweaked a little. I don't often use his recipes, but this one was a real winner, beautiful tasting stuffing that complimented the pork perfectly. Obviously we had to have roast potatoes with it, and then some steamed brocolli for a bit of goodness!! And to finish, a chocolate mud cake with mascarpone cream. I know, restrained wasn't I?


I had a complete meltdown with the mudcake. I had arrived home from work after a nightmare-ish journey, and a frantic dash to the shop to get the ingredients, and was baking up a storm in a frazzled state, just finishing adding the chocolate mix to the rest of the mix, about ready to put it into the tins, when I happened to look around and see an unopened bag of caster sugar sitting next to me. Bugger. In my manic state, I had completely forgotten to add the sugar to the flour mix. What to do? Well, I decided to just add it to the melted chocolate and continue pouring this into the rest. The recipe said to put the sugar in with the dry ingredients, but the cake turned out so well, I'm sticking to my accidental method now!!

We've been indulging in delicious delights for quite a few days now - it's probably time to reign it in a bit... but before I do, let me share with you these recipes that I've been using during the celebrations!


Roast pork with herb stuffing

Pork loin, off the bone
500g rustic bread
small handful picked Rosemary
2 red onions, finely sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
3 heaped tblsp fennel seeds
sea salt and black pepper
handful pinenuts
4 tblsp balsamic vinegar
generous drizzle of olive oil


Throw it all in a mixing bowl and toss so that the oil and vinegar cover everything, then stuff into the pork. This makes quite a lot of stuffing, but try and get as much under the pork as possible, trust me, you'll thank me when it's cooked!! Then score the skin thickly and rub with sea salt to make extra crispy crackling!


I had a 3.4 lb piece of pork, the general rule is 20 minutes per pound plus 20-30 minutes, but I cooked mine for about an hour and a quarter at 180 degrees and it was perfect. Then let it rest for 20 minutes so that it's really juicy and tender when you eat it.


Roast potatoes

Maris piper potatoes
Vegeatable/sunflower oil

Boil the potatoes until the outsides are soft, drain and put back in the pan.
Hold a lid over the top and shake the pan to bash up the outsides of the potatoes.
Allow to cool.
Meanwhile, heat some oil (about 1/2 inch deep) in a baking tray in the oven.
After it's been heating for about 5-10 minutes, carefully place the potatoes in the oil, and put back in the oven at 180-200 degrees for about 20 minutes, basting now and then, until nice and golden and crispy. If they aren't crisping up then turn the oven to full heat for the last five minutes and they will be lovely and crunchy when you take them out.


Chocolate mud cake

125g dark chocolate
125g milk chocolate
250g butter (if unsalted, add 1/2 tsp salt)
188ml water
500g caster sugar
160g plain flour
165g self-raising flour
30g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 large eggs
40ml oil
125ml buttermilk (I couldn't find buttermilk but a substitute is to add 1 tblsp of lemon juice to 240ml whole milk, then use 125ml of this)
1 tsp vanilla extract


Put the chocolate, butter, sugar and water in a pan and warm gently until the chocolate and butter have melted. Stir occasionally to stop it from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and bicarbonate of sodatogether.
Place eggs, oil, buttermilk and extract in a bowl and mix.
Add egg mix to flour mix, then add chocolate mix in 3 stages.


Split into two springorm tins and bake for 45-50 minutes at 170 degress, or until a skewer comes out clean.


Mascarpone Cream

250g mascarpone
130 ml double cream
90g icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract


Beat the mascarpone, vanilla extract and sifted icing suagr together.
Whip the cream to a soft peak, and fold this into the mascarpone.
Slather onto the bottom sponge, place the other cake on top, then top with more mascarpone cream and dust with a little extra cocoa powder.

A healthy nutritious dessert!! ;-)