LouieNep Food

Let me just say that- at the risk of sounding cliche- I love how the Internet puts you in touch with people all over the world. Today I received an email from one William T., an English expat who so kindly sent me his recipe for traditional english bangers.

I’m reprinting his email for your reading pleasure:

Dear Louie,
I really love your site. People say that if Europe was to become “hell”, the English would do the cooking! In riposte, as an English expatriate living abroad, I yearn for the traditional “Bangers ‘n Mash” dinner- something the English can claim to be their own recipe and be proud of ! So I am sending you a recipe for the best savoury sausages on the planet….
After you thoroughly wash and rinse the sausage casings, soak them in pineapple juice for 24-36 hours (in the fridge) and then rinse them again prior to stuffing them. This process softens the casings and makes them much more tender and palatable!
1/2 lb ground lean pork
1/2 lb lean ground veal or lamb
6 ounces suet
fresh breadcrumbs, made from 3 slices of white bread,including crust
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon mace
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon dried majoram
2 teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon finely grated rind of lemon
1 large egg
prepared hog casings (can’t get sausage casings, shape the sausage mixture into patties instead of link sausages) (optional)
1. Knead together the pork, veal, fat, and bread.
2. Stir the salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, mace, thyme, marjoram, sage, onion powder and lemon peel into the egg, and then knead into the meat mixture.
3. At this point, I fry a small sausage patty and taste it so that I can adjust the seasonings, because the recipe so far is fairly mild.
4. Firmly stuff the mixture into the prepared hog (sausage) casings.
5. Prick any air pockets with a pin.
6. Poach, broil, grill, or fry them before serving.
7. Serve the bangers, drowned in nice thick onion and mushroom gravy, with a heap of mashed potatoes.
8. The raw sausages can be refrigerated for 3 days, cooked sausages for 1 week.
9. They can also be frozen (raw, poached, or broiled) for 3 months.
All the best, William T.

Thank you, William!

Before I begin, I want to say how pleased I am to welcome a new guest chef . Lolita very kindly emailed me her recipe for Banana Butterscotch Rum Trifle, which was yesterday’s featured recipe. Thank you, Lolita!

There’s nothing worse for me than dry, overcooked fish. The secret to cooking fresh fish so that it’s perfectly moist? Seal in its juices. This recipe for salt-baked snapper is one of our all-time favorites: it’s quick, easy, and doesn’t require a whole lot of fancy ingredients.

Salt-baked Whole Red Snapper
A 2-lb whole red snapper, cleaned with head and tail intact
2 pounds kosher (rock) salt
1 cup water
1 fresh lemon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling

Preheat your oven to 450F. In a bowl, stir together salt and water until combined well. On a large baking sheet, spread half of the salt mixture in a rectangular shape just slightly largers than the fish. Set fish on top. Halve lemon crosswise, and cut 3 slices from one half, reserving remaining half. Insert lemon slices into the cavity of the red snapper. Pat remaining salt mixture over the fish to cover completely. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Do not overbake.
Tap all around the edge of the salt crust with the back of a large spoon to loosen and lift top off. Squeeze juice from remining lemon half over fish, and drizzle with olive oil. Serve, and enjoy!

We like to have this with individual bowls of steamed rice, but it’s also great with a side salad or a small portion of buttered vegetables.

(by Guest Chef Lolita) This recipe brings back fond memories of English school puddings, and the thought of sinking my teeth into the exquisite eggy vanilla-ness of the custard just makes me want to head back to boarding school.

Although traditionally trifles are made from your garden variety English fruit, I like using bananas, not only because I live in the tropics (and the prospect of finding decent cherries or raspberries is a near impossibility), but because their unique banana-creaminess is the perfect complement to the butterscotch and custard. I would suggest making the custard yourself, using the incomparable vanilla bean, but I suppose a packet of “Bird’s Eye” custard should do the trick. This recipe is based on Delia Smith’s Banana and Madeira trifle. Not being mad about madeira, I substituted dark rum.

Also, it should be noted that trifles are really a delicious way to make good use out of leftover cake, custard or fruit, so the amounts of ingredients really depend on what you have around and the size of your serving bowl.

And one more thing, you should plan to make this the day before you want to eat it, or at least 12 hours in advance to get the flavors to develop into what will become an incredibly rich and sinful, mouth-watering trifle bliss.

Banana Butterscotch Rum Trifle
What You Need
A glass bowl
3 medium bananas
Sponge cake - leftover cake or even ladyfingers (for Tiramisu enthusiasts) will do. The amount depends on the bowl you use, as it should cover the base by a few inches.
Whipped cream - about 2 1/2 cups - again, depending on the size of your bowl. - you really have to think in terms of “layers” when making a trifle.
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup pecans

For the Butterscotch Sauce ( you can double the recipe and any leftovers can be used as an impromptu ice cream sauce!):
1/2 cup golden syrup
1/ 4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp. good vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark rum

For the Custard
1 packets worth of “Birds Eye Custard” (again, leftovers can be used for pouring on cakes or fruit at another time)
or
1 vanilla pod, cut into 3 pieces
1 1/3 cup whole milk
1 1/3 cup cream
7 egg yolks
1/4 cup white sugar

First make the butterscotch sauce by placing the butter, syrup and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring now and then until it dissolves. Add the rum, and let it cook until you see that it has all melded together, then add the cream and vanilla slowly. When it is all combined and looks like a good sauce, take it off the heat and set it aside to cool off.

Now make the custard. Put the cream and milk into a saucepan and add the vanilla pod, scraping the seeds out with a knife, then tossing the whole thing in. Simmer this gently to infuse the vanilla flavor. While it simmers, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until it becomes a creamy, pale yellow mass. Now pour the warm milk and cream into the egg yolk mixture, beat for a bit, and return it all into the saucepan. Over low heat, stir the whole lot until it gets creamy, and coats the back of a spoon. This usually takes 10-15 minutes of standing over a hot stove, mindlessly stirring or whisking. Not my favourite part either, but so worth it, I promise! When the custard is thick, take it off the heat , remove the vanilla pods, cover with a towel and set aside.

And now for the fun, assembly bit. Take the cake slices and slice them to form squares of about an inch and a half thick. If you are using ladyfingers, cut them in half. Spread half of the squares with the butterscotch sauce , then “sandwich” them by placing another cake square on top, do the same if you are using ladyfingers. Now arrange the squares nicely to fit the bottom of your glass bowl. Poke the cake with a few stabs of a fork, and drizzle the rest of the rum. If you can’t be bothered with the sandwiching process, or have leftover cake that can’t be cut into squares, just line the bowl with it as best you can, stabbing a bit with a fork and drizzling the rum, then pouring about half of the butterscotch sauce on top. Peel and slice the bananas into 1/4 inch chunks, and arrange it into the bowl. Pour the rest of the butterscotch sauce in, then the custard on top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 12- 24 hours.

About 15 minutes before you want to eat it, toast the pecans in a dry non-stick pan, or in the oven for about 4 minutes. Whip the cream. Take the trifle out of the fridge, and spread the whipped cream on top of the custard. Drizzle with the pecans, and serve!

(by Lorraine) During a recent trip to the local deli, I came upon the Asian Home Gourmet collection of “spice pastes”. Since I’m always willing to try convenience ingredients such as this, I purchased a pack of their Indian Vindaloo Curry spice paste. From the package:

A famous hot curry from Goa, South-west India. It is well spiced with red chillies, garlic and vinegar.

Instructions on the packet said to stir fry the paste with chopped onions, add bite-sized deboned chicken, some chopped up tomatoes, and simmer in broth for about 20 minutes. But because we had some leftover roast lamb from the night before, and because we were out of tomatoes, here’s what I did:

Stir fry the paste with about half a cup of chopped white onions, add in bite-sized chunks of deboned chicken and lamb, add about a cup of coconut cream (we used the tinned type, but you can reconstitute some from powder as well, just make sure to make it thick), a few tablespoons of olive oil, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Served with some mango chutney and a cucumber-sesame seed salad, t was absolutely delicious. Louie would have preferred it a little hotter, so maybe next time we’ll add some fresh chilies. In any case, we can’t wait to try out Asian Home Gourmet’s other spice pastes.. and writing about our results here!

I love how the simple word “tiramisu” conjures up anticipation. When people ask me what’s for dessert and I answer tiramisu, their faces light up, their eyes widen, and they invariably state that they must leave room for dessert. It’s just that kind of thing, tiramisu.

Today I’m featuring one of my favorite ways to have tiramisu- as sundaes, served in parfait glasses. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it always, always gets raves reviews:

Tiramisu Sundaes
Whisk 1 cup heavy cream in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form; cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups strong espresso (cooled to room temp) and 3 tablespoons brandy (optional).

Break 4 store-bought ladyfingers in half, dip into coffee mixture until soaked but not falling apart (several seconds). Arrange two halves in a layer at the bottom of each parfait glass. Top with a scoop of coffee-flavored ice cream. Garnish each glass with a dollop of your chilled whipped cream, and sprinkle with chocolate shavings. Serve immediately.

I got this recipe from a Martha Stewart Living magazine. Say what you will about Martha, I’ve got a whole stack of recipes from her magazines that I love.

Alexandra Stoddard’s Tea Celebrations: The Way to Serenity, from which today’s recipe hails, is not a cookbook. It’s a celebration of tea, a little book dedicated to the art and rituals of tea.

But is tea drinking really the way to serenity? I know Lorraine wouldn’t agree: every time I offer to make a pot, she gives me one of her sunny smiles, shakes her head, and says “Can I have coffee instead?” For her, it’s the scent of brewing coffee that lulls her into the best of moods on even the worst of days.

I, on the other hand, am a self-confessed tea lover- the fifteen or so tins and boxes of tea leaves at my bedside are testament to that. I’ve also been called a very serene person a multitude of times. Coincidence? Perhaps not.

Today’s recipe is one of my favorite “tea foods”: perfect, especially, with a cup of steaming Irish Breakfast with lots of milk and sugar:

Watercress and Egg Tea Sandwiches
In a mixing bowl, combine 6 peeled and mashed hard-boiled eggs, 2 bunches chopped watercress, and 1/2 cup chopped chives. Add half a cup of mayonnaise, some salt and pepper, a dash of Tabasco, and mix well. Cut crusts from your sliced bread of choice (they recommend pumpernickel, sourdough or whole-wheat bread. The latter is our favorite). Spread the egg and watercress mixture onto half the slices, and top with the other half. Lightly spread the outside edge of each sandwich with mayonnaise, roll it in some chopped fresh parsley, and serve.

I like to chill this before serving; the coolness of the sandwich seems to go better with the warmth of a cup of tea.

(by Lorraine) Louie’s love of ice cream and frozen delights is something I don’t share. Blame it on my super sensitive teeth, my aversion to brain freeze, or my macrobiotic diet as an infant- the fact is that I’d rather have a slice of chocolate cake for dessert any day than a scoop of ice cream.

But it’s the peak of summer here. Stepping outside is like stepping into a pizza oven, and the only highlight of being in the kitchen is that I’m able to stand in front of the freezer for a few seconds. The thought of lighting up our hotter than hot oven in this weather to bake a cake or one of my famous desserts is plain crazy, and yesterday I decided that it was definitely time for something COLD:

Espresso Granita
Brew 4 cups strong espresso coffee. While it’s still hot, stir in 6 tablespoons granulated sugar until sugar dissolves. Let cool to room temp. Pour coffee mixture into a metal baking pan (I used my trusty square brownie pan), and place in freezer. Freeze until ice crystals begin to form (about 30 mins)- once they do, stir with a fork and return to freezer. Do this for a few hours, freezing then stirring every 30 minutes, until mixture is very thick and scoopable. Serve in chilled glasses, topped with chocolate shavings or chocolate chips.

Brain freeze time! But I’ll admit, the reason I, a coffeeholic, liked this is that it’s basically frozen coffee. Non-coffee lovers should try out this recipe for Lemon Granita. Enjoy!

Rose Elliot’s The Zodiac Cookbook is one of those rare cookbooks that we keep not in the kitchen, but in the bedroom. It’s just that kind of a cookbook- which makes for interesting reading during times of leisure. According to the book’s introduction,

“Each sign has its own clearly defined personality, strong and weak points, likes and dislikes. These extend to the types of food preferred, how it is cooked and how and when it is eaten.”

Each chapter in the book corresponds to -you guessed it- a zodiac sign, and features several recipes that are meant to appeal to people of that particular sign.

Sound far-fetched? I thought so too.

My fiance is a Libran, so I thought I would try out the so-called “Libran Canapes”:

Stuffed cherry tomatoes. Cut the tops off cherry tomatoes and level the bases to enable them to stand upright. Carefully scoop out seeds. Spoon or pipe curd cheese into the tomato cavities (I used cream cheese mixed with some chopped chives).
Cream cheese balls. Form cream cheese into even-sized balls about the size of large marbles. Roll 1/3 of the balls in crushed roasted peanuts, another 1/3 in chopped chives, and the rest in very finely chopped red pepper.

They were a hit. Okay, so Raine does love cream cheese- I didn’t need a book to tell me that. But what appealed to her about these was how small and dainty and “poppable-in-the-mouth” they were. Apparently, she loves canapes- especially when she can have as many as she likes- and that’s something I didn’t know about her.

I do realize that one hit does not prove this cookbook’s claim, so we’ll be trying out other recipes in the future- and featuring them here as well. I must admit that the recipes under Taurus (my sign) look very appetizing to me…

A croque monsieur is a french style grilled ham and cheese sandwich; a croque madame is a croque monsieur topped with a fried egg; a croque marie is what we invented for dinner tonight:

Butter two slices of thick-sliced white bread. Make a sandwich with a slice of American Cheddar cheese, a slice of Monterey Jack cheese, thinly sliced jalapeno peppers, and some thinly sliced white onion (warning: if you hate raw onions, you might want to fry them up a bit before making the sandwich.) Butter the outsides of the sandwich as well.

In a large frying pan, melt two tablespoons of butter in one tablespoon of cooking oil. When the pan is nice and hot, carefully place sandwich in. Fry for about a minute on one side, or until bread is golden brown; turn over and fry other side. Serve immediately.

The bread will be toasty, the cheeses will melt, and the jalapeno and onion are cooked just the right amount- not too raw, not overcooked. It was rich, delicious, and something we know we’ll be having again.

(by Lorraine) After using a tabletop electric oven for so long, we were excited to finally get a huge gas-heated oven a few days ago. How to break it in? The first thing I thought of was pizza. Specifically, a simple but elegant Margherita- thinly sliced ripe tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, a hearty chunk of mozzarella cheese on a thin and crispy crust. Meat-free, and perfect for Lent.

Now I knew the oven had the capacity to be very hot, much hotter than I was used to with our little electric model. But I didn’t realize just how hot. To make a long story short, after five minutes of baking, my “perfect” pizza was burnt to a black-bottomed crisp. I had ruined our dinner.

I did, however, have some fresh basil left over. There was a nice chunk of parmesan cheese in the chiller, half a pack of shelled walnuts left over from last week’s Baklava bake, and some uncooked penne pasta in the pantry.

So, to dinner:

Quick Pesto Penne
While penne is cooking, throw the following in a blender: 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 cups fresh basil leaves, � cup shelled walnuts, 4 cloves chopped garlic, salt & pepper. Blend for a few seconds, or until the pesto is well-mixed. It will be thick and creamy, but still pourable. Once pasta is cooked, drain in a colander, transfer to a large bowl, and pour on pesto sauce. Mix well. Serve.

Had I found some pine nuts in our pantry, the pesto would have been more traditional- but the walnuts worked out very well. The penne was delicious with a glass of chilled fruity red wine, but best of all, the pizza was forgotten.