Mexican Thanksgiving

If there's one thing in this world we love, it's good Mexican food. Well, it just so happens we have a few fellow US Navy officers stationed around here, who are good friends, and feel similarly about Mexican food.

So the menu was:

Starter: Black Bean Soup with Toasted Cumin Crema
Main: Homemade Chicken Tamales with Red Mole Sauce
Vanessa's Mexican Rice
Dessert: Mexican Hot Chocolate Ice Cream with Chili

(NOTE: Most of these ingredients can be ordered in the UK from Cool Chile Co. or MexGrocer, found online)

Soup. It is a Bobby Flay recipe which is really tasty and has a nice balance through the use of red wine (not a common Mexican cooking ingredient, mind you) which really works. The crema is a perfect accent.

Tamales. They are a labor of love, for sure. They can take awhile to make from start to finish, but they are are delicious. There are really four components to contend with :the masa dough, cooking and shredding the chicken, the mole (pronounced MO-lay) sauce, and the final assembly. It is an absolute holiday staple in Mexican households.

Vanessa's rice. Straightforward and delicious every time, it is fairly easy to throw together. Perfecting it with the right amount of cumin and such is where the real art is.

Ice cream. Mexican hot chocolate is awesome. If you've had it before, you know that it brings chocolate and cinnamon together in perfect harmony. I added just a hint of chili to get some warmth going, but not enough to make it spicy. A nice yummy end to the meal.

Margaritas. Accept no substitute and don't skimp on alcohol. Buy the good stuff, and you will be rewarded. Here is the super-easy recipe (DO NOT ALTER THIS RECIPE IN ANY WAY):

1 part FRESH-SQUEEZED lime juice from ACTUAL limes
1 part Cointreau or Grand Marnier (do NOT use triple sec or any other orange-flavored liqueur)
2 parts GOOD-QUALITY tequila (Patron and Sauza are good. Cuervo is acceptable)

Shake in a shaker with ice. Strain into a glass. Enjoy.

Hope you give some of these a try soon...


SOUP

1 lb. dried black beans, or 6 cups canned black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 medium Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 cup red wine
3 jalapeno chiles, roasted, peeled, and seeded
1 poblano chile, roasted, peeled, and seeded
4 cups Enriched Chicken Stock, low-sodium chicken broth, or water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

TOASTED CUMIN CREMA
8 ounces crema, creme fraiche, or sour cream
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE SOUP
If using dried beans, pick over them to remove any stones, put them in a large bowl, and add enough cold water to cover by at least 2 inches. Let soak for at least 8 hours or overnight. Drain well.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half.

Add the beans and reduce the heat to medium. Add the jalapenos, poblano, and stock and simmer for 30 minutes if using canned beans, or 1 to 1 1/2 hours if using dried, until the dried beans are cooked through.

Remove from the heat and add the lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Using a blender or food processor, puree half of the soup and return it to the pot (alternatively, use an immersion blender). Bring to a simmer before serving. Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Drizzle with the toasted cumin crema and top with a few tablespoons of each of the relishes. Serve immediately.

FOR THE TOASTED CUMIN CREMA
Put the crema in a small bowl, add the cumin and lime juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.


TAMALES

MASA
24 dried corn husks
¼ cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen (thawed)
2 cups masa harina
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup CHICKEN STOCK
3 tablespoons lard or shortening, at room temperature

Place the corn husks in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak for 2 hours. Meanwhile, puree the corn kernels in a food processor or blender. In a large bowl and using a wooden spoon, combine the masa harina, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add the hot water, stock or broth, pureed corn, and lard or shortening. Stir vigorously for 5 to 15 minutes, or until the dough is moist and pliable but not sticky. The consistency should resemble that of Play·Doh. (The longer you beat, the more air will be incorporated into the dough, making lighter-tasting tamales. Alternatively, you can make the dough in a standing mixer fitted with a paddle or dough hook. Beat the dough at high speed for 15 minutes.)

MOLE
5 ancho chile pods, stemmed and seeded
3 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 tablespoons raisins
1 cup hot water
3 tomatoes
1 medium onion, quartered
3 cloves garlic
1 corn tortilla, torn into pieces
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
1 slice toasted bread
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried marjoram
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon lard or olive oil
1 stick cinnamon
1 avocado leaf, optional
salt and black pepper
1 chicken, poached until done, meat picked off and shredded by hand

In a medium bowl, combine the chile peppers, raisins, and water. Let soak for 20 minutes, or until softened. Heat a comal or medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and roast, turning occasionally, for 8 minutes, or umil the skins are charred and blistered. Transfer to a plate. Add the onions and garlic to the pan. Roast, turning occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until slightly charred. Transfer to the plate with the tomatoes. Add the tortilla pieces to the pan and roast, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Transfer to the plate. Separately add the sesame seeds and almonds to the pan and roast, stirring often, for 2 minutes each, or until lightly browned.

Drain the chile peppers and raisins. Working in batches, combine the chile peppers, raisins, tomatoes, onions, garlic, tortilla pieces, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sesame seeds, the almonds, bread, oregano, marjoram, and cloves in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth.

Heat the lard or oil in a large deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the pureed tomato mixture, cinnamon stick, and avocado leaf (if using). Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until thick and fragrant. Add the reserved stock and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add the shredded chicken and mix through to heat and combine. This is the filling for the tamales.

TAMALES
24 dried corn husks, soaked in water for 2 hours

ASSEMBLY
Place 1 of the corn husks flat on a work surface, tapered end toward you. Mound 3 heaping tablespoons of the masa mixture in the center of the top half of the corn husk. (The mound should be oblong and be about 3 inches square.) Make a shallow groove the length of the corn mixture. Place a spoonful of the filling mixture (with not too much sauce) in the groove. Pinch the sides of the groove together to encase the filling. Roll the corn husk over the top to enclose the filling. Fold the bottom (pointy end) over the top end to encase the tamale. Tie the bundle using strips of corn husk for string. Repeat to use the remaining corn husks and filling.

Insert a steamer basket into a large pot. Add 1" of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stack the tamales to the basket, cover, and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the dough is set and comes away easily from the corn husks when tested. Remove the string before serving.

MEXICAN RICE
3 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chicken flavor base
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups white rice
½ green or red bell pepper, sliced
¼ onion, sliced
1 tablespoon cumin

Combine the tomatoes, chicken base, garlic, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the water and blend well.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until It begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper and onion and allow to cook for 2 to 3 more minutes until tender. Drain off any excess oil.

Add the tomato mixture and cumin to the rice and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 cups hot water, stirring well, then cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes longer.

ICE CREAM
500 milliliters whole milk
284 milliliters double cream
216 milliliters milk
1 tablet Abuelita or other Mexican chocolate, melted in a little milk
6 egg yolk
6 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar, divided
1 teaspoon chile de arbol powder or 1/2 tsp cayenne

Combine the milks, cream and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar together until a pale yellow. Add the melted chocolate and fold in.

Once the milk mixture has reached a simmer, slowly add a third of it to the egg yolk mixture, stirring rapidly, to temper the yolk mixture. (NOTE: if you dump the hot milk mixture in too fast, it will scramble and cook the eggs. You're looking to gradually raise the temperature of the eggs here. You don't WANT to scramble them)

Return the now heated egg mixture back to the milk mixture in the saucepan. Bring back to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes, until nice and smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Transfer to an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's directions. Freeze until needed, allowing 15 minutes to thaw before scooping.

Kabocha Squash Soup with Amaretti, Sage and Brown Butter

We had this kabocha squash laying around for awhile and we had been trying to figure out what to do with it. Well, we wound up making a nice, hearty soup with it which turned out really nice and flavorful. Aside from having great autumn flavors, there is a nice subtle sweet note provided by the amaretti biscuits. The brown butter adds a nice, nutty rich note. This is super easy and awesome. Try it!

800 g kabosha squash, peeled, seeds scooped out, chopped into chunks
4 large cloves garlic
olive oil
salt and black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 small carrot, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
12 sage leaves, chopped
1 liter vegetable stock
3 amaretti biscuits, ground into a powder
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.

Prepare the squash as directed and lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Add the garlic cloves and drizzle generously with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Mix everything around with your hands to coat evenly. Place in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes, until starting to brown and getting soft.

Meanwhile, start the rest of the soup. Heat a large pot over medium heat with a few glugs of olive oil. When hot, add the onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf and a good pinch of salt and pepper and sweat the vegetables off slowly, about 8-10 minutes until starting to get some color on them. Set this pot aside until the squash is ready.

Remove the tray from the oven and squeeze the garlic out of their skins. Add the squash and the garlic to the pot and place on high heat. Add the vegetable stock and sage leaves and bring to a boil. When boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes or so, until all of the vegetables are tender (particularly the carrot).

Meanwhile put the butter into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it starts to go brown and has taken on a nutty aroma. Set aside.

When the vegetables are cooked, add the amaretti biscuit powder and brown butter and remove the bay leaf. Puree the mixture using a hand blender or in a few batches in a regular blender. Adjust the consistency with a little boiling water, if necessary.

Return the mixture to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Heat through and serve in warmed bowls.

Venison Stew with Bitter Chocolate

This was, plain and simple, quintessential winter eating. This is a Gordon Ramsay recipe taken out of the newspaper a few weeks ago. It is awesome. The slight sweetness for the chocolate and the little fruity acidic hit from the vinegar balance out a rich and delicious stew. Can't wait for leftovers!

Olive oil, for cooking
150 g smoked bacon, chopped
1 kg boned leg or shoulder of venison, cut into large chunks
3-4 tablespoons plain flour, seasoned
250 g shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
1 medium swede, peeled and roughly chopped
Few thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon mixed peppercorns, crushed
500 ml red wine
500 ml brown chicken or beef stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoon raspberry vinegar, to taste
20-30 g dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids), grated, to taste

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Drizzle a little oil into a large ovenproof casserole dish and sauté the bacon for 4-5 minutes over a moderate heat until lightly golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Put the chunks of venison in a large bowl or plastic bag with the seasoned flour and toss well to coat. Shake off the excess flour. Add a little more oil to the casserole and fry the venison in batches over a moderate to high heat, until browned on all sides. Remove from the casserole and set aside with the bacon.

Add a final drizzle of oil to the casserole dish and tip in the shallots, garlic, carrots, celery and swede. Sauté the vegetables with the herbs and crushed peppercorns for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until the shallots are soft and golden.

Return the bacon and venison to the casserole and pour in the red wine. Give everything a good stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the dish to loosen any sediment. Bring the wine to the boil, then pour in the stock and add some salt and pepper. Return to the boil, then cover with a lid. Transfer to the oven and cook for 1½ hours, or until tender.

Remove the casserole from the oven and strain the meat and vegetables through a large sieve or colander, set over a saucepan to catch the sauce. Discard the bay leaves and thyme. Tip the meat and vegetables back into the dish and cover to keep warm.

Add the raspberry vinegar to the sauce and reheat gently. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the chocolate until it melts and the sauce is smooth. (If it turns grainy, pass it through a fine sieve.) Taste and adjust the seasoning, then pour the sauce over the venison and vegetables and stir well to coat. Serve immediately with creamed cabbage and mashed potato.

Spiced Lentil Soup

We've been cooking lately on a bit of a budget, as this holiday season promises to be a bit expensive. That said, we didn't want to sacrifice any flavor and we're not resorting to any microwavables or ramen noodles just yet.

This was a nice, spicy, filling soup. I played with the recipe a bit and added a touch of heat with a bit of cayenne at the end to round it all out. I also cut some pitas around the edge to make two flat discs out of one, then I baked them off with some olive oil, garlic and cumin to dip into the soup.

This soup (if made with a touch less liquid) would make a great hot or cold dip, if one were so inclined.

Plus, the whole thing is pretty good for you.

275 g split red lentils
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons garam masala
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon tomato puree
800 milliliters VEGETABLE or CHICKEN STOCK
TO FINISH
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon kalonji (black onion) seeds
3-4 tablespoons natural set yogurt
coriander leaves

Rinse the lentils in a colander and drain well. heat the olive oil in a medium pan and add the onion and garlic. Saute for 4-6 minutes until lightly golden. Stir in the ground spices and tomato puree and cook for another 2 minutes.

Tip in the lentils and pour in the stock to cover. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are very soft, giving them a stir every now and then. You may need to top up with a little more water towards the end if the soup seems too thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Ladle half the soup into a blender and whiz to a puree, then pour back into the pan. The soup should be somewhat chunky. Adjust the consistency again if necessary, adding a little more boiling water to thin it down.

For a little extra spice and fragrance if required, heat the 1 tbsp olive oil in a small pan and tip in the mustard and black onion seeds. When they begin to pop, pour the mixture over the soup and stir.

Ladle the soup into warm bowls and top with a spoonful of yogurt and a few coriander leaves. Serve with warm Indian bread on the side.

Pigeon Salad with Hazelnut Vinaigrette

We were down at the farmer's market in Southsea this weekend and had been having the craving for some game lately. This is certainly the time of year for game around here, so we picked up a bunch of pigeon breasts, along with some venison and wild boar sausage (coming soon to this blog, I expect).

The pigeon tasted fabulous! Cooked to a nice pink, it had a surprisingly meaty (and not too gamey) flavor which was nice with the salad. I used walnuts and walnut oil, as I could not find the hazelnut stuff.

breasts from 8-12 wood pigeons
sea salt and black pepper
olive oil
knob butter
2 heads oak leaf lettuce, washed and torn
4 large cooked beetroot, peeled and diced
75 g roasted hazelnuts, lightly crushed
few wild rocket leaves, optional
HAZELNUT VINAIGRETTE
50 milliliters sherry vinegar
100 milliliters olive oil
50 milliliters hazelnut oil

For the vinaigrette, whisk the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Season the pigeon breasts with salt and pepper. heat a heavy-based frying pan with a little olive oil until hot. Add the pigeon breasts, skin side down, and fry for about 3 minutes until the skin is crisp. Turn over and cook the other side for about 2-3 minutes, adding a knob of butter towards the end. As the butter melts, spoon it over the pigeon breasts to baste them. They should feel slightly springy when pressed. Transfer the pigeon breasts to a warm plate and leave to rest, lightly covered with foil, while you assemble the salad.

For the salad, toss the lettuce together with the beetroot, a handful of the crushed hazelnuts and some of the vinaigrette. Divide the salad amongst individual plates.

Slice the pigeon breasts thickly into 4-5 even pieces. Drizzle a little vinaigrette over them to keep the meat moist. Arrange the breasts on top of the salad and scatter over the remaining hazelnuts. Drizzle over a little vinaigrette and finish with a few rocket leaves if you like.

Mango Soup with Lychee Granita

This one is from Jason Atherton, who runs Maze Restaurant in London. I went there for my birthday a few months ago (photos to follow in another post).

Anyhow, he is a skilled chef who is inspired by the recent movement of small plates (tapas-style) and tasting menus. The dinner we had there (13 courses) was incredible. I'll post that info this week.

The texture of this soup is amazing. It's not velvety. It's satiny. I can't describe it. The mixture of the lychee granita with it is sublime. Best of all, this takes virtually no skill to execute. But, man, it delivers.

MANGO SOUP:
2-3 large overripe mangoes
200-250 ml lychee juice
200 ml light sugar syrup (page 240)
LYCHEE GRANITA:
500 ml lychee juice
LYCHEE ICE CUBES:
400g can lychees in syrup
few mint leaves, shredded
TO SERVE:
drizzle of sugar syrup (optional)
handful of baby mint leaves

First, make the lychee ice cubes. Drain the lychees and reserve the syrup. Put one lychee and a little shredded mint into each compartment of an ice-cube tray. Fill the tray with the reserved syrup and freeze until solid.

For the lychee granita, pour the lychee juice into a wide shallow container and freeze for 2-3 hours until semi-frozen. Scrape the granita with a metal spoon to loosen the ice crystals around the edges and mix them into the still-liquid center (but don't beat, as you want to achieve a granular texture). Return to the freezer for a few more hours.

For the mango soup, peel the mangoes and cut the flesh away from the stone. Chop roughly and whiz to a smooth puree in a blender or food processor. Mix in 200 ml lychee juice and the sugar syrup, adding a little more lychee juice as necessary to get the desired consistency. Pass the puree through a fine sieve and discard the fibrous pulp.

To serve, pour the mango soup into chilled bowls and drizzle with a little sugar syrup if you like. Scrape the lychee granita with a strong metal spoon and place on one side of each bowl. Scatter the baby mint leaves over the granita and serve immediately, with a few lychee ice cubes on the side.

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Crisp Pork Belly, Seared Squid and Peanut Milk

This is a recipe from Le Champignon Sauvage (French for "The Wild Mushroom"), a restaurant here in the UK which has two Michelin stars. The chef there sources a lot of wild herbs and hard-to-find ingredients which are overwhelmingly local.

Anyway, I picked a dish which didn't have any 'crazy' ingreidient that would be too hard to find. This was pretty wonderful and a two-day affair. It was a nice light dinner with bags of flavor. I had the jones for pork belly recently and this hit the spot. Unfortunately, folks don't eat a lot of pork belly in the States. Too bad. It is incredible.

The pumpkin gnocchi was Vanessa' favorite part. We have another pumpkin here in the house. We had thought soup was it's destiny, but it might now be turned into gnocchi and put with some sage brown butter or something. Yummy.

PORK BELLY
1 kg pork belly, boned
50 g unsalted butter
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 liters WHITE CHICKEN STOCK
sprig thyme
½ bay leaf
50 milliliters olive oil
PUMPKIN GNOCCHI
400 g pumpkin, preferably Crown Prince, seeded
a little olive oil
65 g tipo '00' pasta flour or strong
½ egg, beaten
25 g Parmesan, grated
50 g unsalted butter
PEANUT MILK
50 g unsalted butter
½ onion, sliced
400 milliliters milk
50 g peanuts, toasted until golden
SQUID
18 baby squid, no bigger than 'pinky' length, cleaned
30 milliliters olive oil
few drops lemon juice

CRISP PORK BELLY
Scorch any hairs off the belly pork with a blowtorch. Heat the butter in a casserole large enough to hold the belly, then add all the vegetables and sweat for 4-5 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add the chicken stock and herbs and bring to the boil. Add the pork and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Place in an oven preheated to 150C and cook for 4-5 hours, until the meat is tender enough to pierce easily with a knife. Carefully remove the pork from the stock and place on a tray lined with clingfilm. Cover with another sheet of clingfilm and place a heavy tray on top with a weight. Leave in the fridge overnight. The next day, trim the pork and cut it into strips 2cm thick along the length
and then into 4cm pieces. You will need 3-4 pieces per person.

PUMPKIN GNOCCHI
Place the pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with a little oil and cover with foil. Roast in an oven preheated to 200C until the flesh is very tender. Remove from the oven and scrape the flesh off the skin. Push the flesh through a fine sieve. Gently mix the pumpkin with the flour. Season with salt and pepper, then add the egg and Parmesan and stir until the mixture forms a loose ball. Sprinkle the worktop with flour and roll the gnocchi into 2 long sausages. Cut each sausage into 12-15 pieces and shape them into small balls. Lightly press each ball with the back of a fork to make the traditional line marks. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and drop in the gnocchi, cooking them in 3 batches. When they rise to the surface, scoop them out of the water into a bowl of cold water.

Drain well, place in a container and sprinkle with just enough olive oil to coat and prevent sticking. Turn the gnocchi over in the olive oil, then place in the fridge until needed.

PEANUT MILK
Heat the butter in a pan, add the onion and sweat for 3-4 minutes. Add the milk, the roasted peanuts and 100 ml liquid from cooking the pork belly and simmer slowly for about 30 minutes. Place in a blender and pulse - just to break up the peanuts. Leave to infuse for 1-2 hours, then pass through a sieve and season to taste.

SQUID
Heat a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan over a medium-high heat. When you can feel the heat coming off it, add half the olive oil and then half the squid. Season the squid with salt and pepper, cook for 1 - 1 1/2 minutes, then turn. Cook for 1 minute and transfer to a warm plate. Wipe the pan clean and repeat with the remaining oil and squid. When all are cooked, re-season them, adding a few drops of lemon juice.

SERVING
To finish the belly pork, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the pieces of pork and cook until golden on one side. Flip over and cook the other side until crisp and golden, then season with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan and place on a piece of kitchen paper to remove excess fat.

To finish the gnocchi, heat the butter in a large non-stick pan, add the gnocchi and cook until golden on both sides. Season to taste.

Divide the squid, pumpkin gnocchi and crisp pork belly between 6 bowls. Gently reheat the peanut milk, then froth It up with a stick blender and pour it over everything.

Braised Chicken in a Wine and Tomato Sauce with Autumnal Herbs

Vanessa was feeling sick and miserable yesterday, so I decided to cook up some sure-fire, feel-better, cold-weather comfort food to try to help out.

The key to this whole thing is the wine. Don't buy cheap crap or the dish will taste of cheap crap. Cooking with wine is about cooking with wine that you would be drinking if you weren't cooking with it. Use the good stuff and your tummy and tongue will thank you. Besides, the recipe calls for using a half bottle. It would be wise to drink the rest of it along with the food.

We had some leftover chicken pieces from the other day and some leftover fresh sage from the night before. The rest was easy. These are the types of dishes I always seem to create in the autumn and winter time and I love it when they turn out. This was so hearty and autumn-y.

The chicken is now gone, but there are a few good-sized ladlefuls of wonderful sauce left behind. You KNOW that's going to get tossed with some pasta to make a super-quick and awesome lunch today. Anyways, here you go.... get on with it!

2 tablespoons olive oil, from the roasted peppers in the jar (see below)
chicken skins (from the legs and thighs below)
1 link spicy pork sausage, preferably spicy Italian-style
2 chicken legs, skinned
2 chicken thighs, skinned
1 ½ large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6-8 pieces roasted peppers, from a jar, or roast them yourself
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ cup tomato paste
375 milliliters red wine, preferably something with a peppery or spicy note, such as Italian or Spanish reds, Australian Shiraz, etc.
2 cans chopped tomato
salt and black pepper
10 leaves sage, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. When hot, add the chicken skins and fry off until golden and they have rendered some of their fat to the pan. Remove and discard.

Add the chicken pieces and brown off on all sides, about 10-15 minutes total to get some good color on them. (Note: if you are doubling the recipe, you will probably need to do this in batches so as not to crowd the pan)

Add the sausage link (casing removed, but link still whole) and fry off until well colored on each side, about 4-5 minutes total. Remove and set aside.

Remove all but 2-3 tablespoons of fat in the pot (you may need to add some to achieve this amount). Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions, celery and garlic and sweat these vegetables off for 5-7 minutes, until the onions start to go translucent. Add the chopped peppers, red pepper flakes, oregano and rosemary and stir through to combine along with some salt and pepper.

Add the tomato paste and stir through to incorporate. Let this cook for a few minutes until the color of the paste goes a few shades darker and you can smell the sweetness of the paste coming through.

Turn the heat up all the way and add the wine. Scrape up any brown bits which have stuck to the bottom as the wine starts bubbling. Let the wine reduce by at least half, stirring occasionally. This will concentrate the wine flavor quite a bit.

Add the canned tomatoes and stir through to combine and and some more seasoning. Put the chicken pieces in the pot. Slice the sausage link into chunks and add them as well. When the liquid in the pot has come to a boil, reduce the heat down to low, partially cover and cook for 30-40 minutes, turning the chicken pieces over halfway through. Add the chopped fresh sage leaves when you have only 15 minutes to go.

Taste the sauce, adjust the seasoning as necessary and serve one thigh and one leg with some sauce.

Spicy Bangers with Sweet Potato and Sage Mash with a Maple and Chile de Arbol Sauce

Vanessa suggested the other day that we break out the bangers and mash for what was shaping up to be a poor weather evening meal. Bangers and mash (for our friends back in the US) could be a national dish here in the UK. It is so simple, but the number of combinations of different kinds of sausages and varieties of mash and sauces is endless, which is what makes it so great.

Admittedly, the idea was hatched out of a need to use up some potatoes we had lying around, chiefly among them, a sweet potato. This whole dish was conceived out of a need to use that delicious sweet potato.

Spicy and sweet together is one of my favorite flavor profiles. This original recipe delivers big time. You can throw this whole thing together in about 30 minutes. The sauce was the most surprising thing here... you wouldn't think maple syrup, Dijon and chile powder would go together. It is awesome. Try this on the next crappy winter day and you'll have something to be happy about.

4 spicy pork sausages, preferably the "Winter Warmer" variety from Buckwells Butcher in Southsea, UK
MASH
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
4-5 fingerling potatoes, peeled
5-7 sage leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 knob butter
salt and black pepper
pinch of cinnamon
GLAZE
¼ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon chile de arbol powder, or other chile powder
pinch salt

Put the potatoes in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat and reduce to a simmer. Simmer the potatoes for 20-25 minutes, or until pierced easily with the tip of a sharp knife.

Pierce the sausages with a fork and place in a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

While the potatoes are simmering, put the milk, cream, sage, garlic and butter in another small saucepan over low heat. Heat through until heated through, then keep warm.

For the sauce, combine the maple syrup, Dijon mustard, chile powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk to combine.

When the potatoes are ready, drain them in a colander and put them back in the same pot. Put back on the heat briefly to steam out any water left in the pot. Off of the heat, mash the potatoes up with a potato masher (or use a potato ricer for a very fine mash). Once mashed, start adding the hot milk mixture a little at a time and beating it in with a wooden spoon until incorporated before adding more. You may not need to use it all, keep checking the consistency until you have it how you want it. Mix in the cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Put a mound of mash down on a plate. Top with sausages and a generous amount of sauce. Serve hot.

Moroccan-Spiced Pumpkin and Butter Bean Pot

This is a great and easy little soup that delivers big-time flavor on a cold and crappy day like today. You don't need a huge portion of it to fill you up, either. The butter beans have an almost meaty bite to them and the pumpkin and spices are just perfect for this time of year. We are looking forward to finishing this up in a few days!

1 kg pumpkin, about 750g peeled weight
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 banana shallot (or 3 regular ones), peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
500-600 milliliters hot chicken stock
2 cans butter beans, rinsed and drained
bunch parsley, chopped
bunch coriander, chopped
4 tablespoons Greek yogurt, to serve

Remove the skin from the pumpkin, discard the seeds and roughly chop the flesh into 5cm cubes. Heat half the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the pumpkin, shallot, garlic and some seasoning. Stir over high heat for 10 minutes until the pumpkin cubes are lightly caramelized and soft. Add the spices and stir over the heat for another couple of minutes.

Pour in the stock to cover the pumpkin and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. While still hot, puree the mixture in a blender until smooth and creamy. (You may need to do this in two batches.)

Return the puree to the pan and bring to a simmer. Tip in the butter beans and chopped herbs. Place over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the beans are hot. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Ladle the soup into warm bowls and add a spoonful of yogurt. Serve with plenty of flatbreads.

Apple and Walnut Cream Tart

This was a DELICIOUS dessert and super-easy to make. The recipe is written with the use of phyllo dough in mind, but we used puff pastry instead, and it worked out great. Just roll half of a 500g block of puff pastry out thin enough to cover the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan.

Also, we added a little Armagnac and sugar to about 100ml of double cream and whipped it up to make a nice topping. Yum!

⅔ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
½ cup sugar
¼ cup 2% reduced-fat milk
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cooking spray
6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
1 tablespoon butter
5 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 2 pounds)
⅓ cup raisins
3 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 400°.

Place walnuts in a single layer on a jelly roll pan. Bake at 400° for 5 minutes or until toasted; cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.

Place walnuts in a food processor; process until smooth (about 1 minute), scraping sides of bowl once.

Combine walnut butter, 1/2 cup sugar, milk, salt, and egg; stir well with a whisk.

Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Working with 1 phyllo sheet at a time, coat sheet with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon cinnamon mixture.

Fold phyllo sheet in half lengthwise to form a 13 x 8 1/2-inch rectangle. Gently press folded phyllo sheet into prepared pan, allowing ends to extend over edges; coat phyllo with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining phyllo sheets and cinnamon mixture, arranging folded phyllo sheets in a crisscross pattern. Fold edges of phyllo under.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apple; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add raisins and 3 tablespoons sugar; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cool apple mixture slightly; arrange in pan on top of phyllo crust. Pour egg mixture over apples. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until center is set. Cool 15 minutes before serving.

Spiced Monkfish with Crushed Potatoes, Peppers and Olives

This is a Gordon Ramsay recipe that is delicious and actually pretty healthy. Lots of flavors going around here, and I would advise a nice lemon-infused olive oil to finish it off and accentuate the Mediterranean flavors going on.

4x170 g monkfish tail fillets
1 teaspoon five-spice
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
handful parsley, chopped
lemon wedges, to serve
CRUSHED POTATOES
750 g new potatoes
salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
squeeze lemon juice
200 g roasted red peppers in oil, drained, chopped
75 g black olives, pitted and chopped
handful basil leaves, shredded

Heat the oven to 200C. Next, to cook the potatoes, add them to a pan of well-salted boiling water and cook for about 10-15 minutes until tender.

Lay the monkfish on a board and remove the greyish membrane. Mix the five-spice powder, paprika and salt together on a plate. Roll the monkfish fillets in the spice-mixture to coat evenly all over. Place a roasting pan in the oven to heat up.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy based frying pan and sear the monkfish fillets, in batches if necessary, for 1 1/2-2 minutes on each side until golden brown all over. Transfer the monkfish fillets to the hot roasting pan and bake for 8-10 minutes until the fish is just cooked through. When ready remove from the oven, cover with foil and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Drain the potatoes as soon as they are done and return to the pan. Lightly crush them with a fork or potato masher and mix in the olive oil, lemon juice and some seasoning. Stir in the chopped peppers, olives and basil. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Cut the monkfish into thick slices. Spoon the crushed potatoes onto warm serving plates and arrange the monkfish on top. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve at once, with lemon wedges and spinach or broccoli.

Applewood Smoked Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese

The weight of my craving for macaroni and cheese lately had grown too much to bear. I had to do SOMETHING. Sorry Kraft and Velveeta, you just aren't going to do.

Kraft: Too powdery and synthetic tasting. You were fine when I was six years old (OK probably closer to 16). The truth is, there's too much good cheese in the world (and especially the UK) to go using a powdered cheese. They don't even sell it over here.

Velveeta: The English have a word for the consistency of the "cheese" Velveeta uses: gloopy. No thanks. Oh, and it's TOTALLY processed. Yuck.

Instead, I opted for the slightly sharp, applewood-smoked Cheddar, made right here in England. I had such a craving for this smoked cheese the other day, I had to make a late-night dash to the store to get some.

So here we have it. Not too hard to throw together and the payoff.....magnificent. The sauce wasn't terribly thick and it clung nicely to each and every macaroni noodle. Walked away feeling satisfied without feeling heavy.

This is my first recipe for mac -n- cheese. I think it's a winner. We did them in individual little crocks, but you could do them in a little baking dish as well. Let the cheese go a little crusty on top... it's delicious.

250 g good-quality macaroni
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a knob of butter
a small bunch of fresh marjoram or oregano, leaves picked
150 g applewood smoked Cheddar cheese, freshly grated, plus extra for grating
splash of double cream
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
nutmeg, grated

Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Cook the macaroni in a pan of salted boiling water 2 minutes short of the timing on the packet instructions, then drain in a colander and reserve a little of the cooking water. Heat the butter in a large heavy based frying pan. When it starts to foam, add the marjoram or oregano and fry for a minute until it starts to crisp up, then turn off the heat.



Add your cooked pasta to the marjoram or oregano butter, along with a couple of spoonfuls of the reserved cooking water, the cream and the all but 1/4 cup of the cheese. Return to a medium heat and toss and stir around until most of the cheese has melted and you have a lovely gooey sauce - you may need to add a little more of the reserved cooking water. Season to taste, then tip it all into two earthenware pots. Toss the Parmesan in. Grate over the nutmeg.



Bake the macaroni cheese in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Top with the remaining cheese and finish up under the broiler, until golden brown and crispy on top.

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Lo Mein and Ginger-Sesame Vinaigrette

This was so simple and tasted incredible. I am busy watching constant news coverage of the Obama presidential victory, so I am not going to get too wordy here. You should just try this the next time you want to get a yummy Asian noodle fix.

1 kg shrimp (25-30 count), peeled and deveined
ginger-sesame vinaigrette:
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 clove of garlic, grated
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 cup peanut oil
half package of egg noodles
1 tablespoon peanut oil
280 g green cabbage, julienne
200 g carrot, julienne
280 g shiitake mushrooms, thickly sliced
55 g scallion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chiles
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds, toasted

Mix the vinaigrette ingredients together so it emulsifies.

Toss the shrimp in half the vinaigrette and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours.

Cook the noodles in boiling salt water. Shock, drain, and toss in the remaining vinaigrette.

Heat the oil in a wok or large saute pan, Remove the shrimp from the marinade and sear in the hot oil. Remove from the pan and reserve. (Reserve the shrimp marinade and add as necessary when stir-frying the vegetables.)

Add the cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms to the hot pan. Stir-fry until the vegetables are tender, adding a little of the reserved marinade to moisten as necessary.

Return the shrimp and any remaining reserved marinade to the pan. Toss to evenly distribute and heat thoroughly. Add the red chile flakes, scallions and sesame seeds. Toss to heat through and serve hot.

Middle-Eastern Spiced Rice Pudding

We've been wanting to make rice pudding for awhile. We were originally going to make a more 'classic' rice pudding, but saw that we didn't have regular white rice. We did have jasmine rice, and so began the creation phase in what resulted in a much more interesting offering.

After digging around the cupboard, we found a bunch of stuff to support a more aromatic, Middle Eastern flavor profile. It turned out delicious.

3 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons peanuts, toasted and chopped
2 tablespoons pistachios, toasted and chopped
3 tablespoons raisins
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 dashes orange blossom water
2 dashes vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup jasmine rice

Toast and chop the nuts.

Combine the milk, butter, toasted peanuts and pistachios, raisins, sugar, honey, orange blossom water, vanilla extract, cinnamon and ground cloves in a saucepan.

Bring the milk to the boil, stirring to incorporate the ingredients. When just starting to bubble, reduce the heat to low, add the rice, stir, partially cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up any skin that forms on top.

After 30 minutes, remove from the heat, cover and let sit 10 minutes.

Taste for seasoning and chill for at least 3 hours.

Black Bean Chili

I would like to consider myself a chili purist. It has to have meat and stuff with a good deal of spice and depth. I can't recall having done a vegetarian chili before and, I must admit, I approached the whole thing with a little trepidation.

This really had a deep, rich and surprisingly meaty flavor and texture. And not a scrap of meat to be found near it. That must be the black beans talking. Anyways, the Mexican chocolate brings just the right amount of sweetness and the smoked paprika (which I KNOW I've talked about before) brings it's smoky awesomeness. This one's a keeper and a snap to throw together.

You could serve it over rice, too, if you want.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large diced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
2 ribs celery, diced
1 diced red pepper
1 diced green pepper
1 minced jalapeno
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon hot paprika (smoked, if you can get it)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans chopped tomatoes and their juice
1 tablespoon Mexican chocolate
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large sauce pot. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent. Add the celery and sweat 1 minute. Add the peppers and jalapeno/ Saute until very hot, about 2 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin, paprika, and cinnamon and saute until aromatic, about 2 minutes.

Add the beans and tomatoes. Simmer until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have developed, about 20 minutes

Just before serving, season the chili by adding the chocolate, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Pan-Smoked Chicken Breast with Artichoke and Mustard Sauce

We had a very productive weekend, food-wise. Believe it or not, we have already cooked a week's worth of food. All that's left now is the eating. You'll have to wait for the other two recipes.

This was a pretty quick meal and wound up being REALLY tasty. Use good balsamic vinegar to really make the sauce sing. I didn't actually pan-smoke the chicken (as the recipe calls for) but I pan-seared them in a really hot pan (about 2 minutes per side) and finished them in the oven for 5 minutes.

The longest part of this is reducing the stock, so you might want to start with that. I served this on a bed of spinach that had been sauteed in a little olive oil and some flaked almonds thrown in towards the end. Yum.

CHICKEN
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper

SAUCE
10 ml vegetable oil
30 g diced shallot
600 ml Chicken Stock
30 ml Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
10 cooked artichoke hearts, quartered
140 g pitted halved Kalamata olives
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon

SPINACH
a large bag of spinach, washed and dried
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup flaked almonds

Lightly pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness. Preheat the oven to 375F.

Place the breasts on a rack in a roasting pan containing a thin layer of hardwood chips. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place over direct heat. Smoke for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the breasts from the pan and continue cooking on a rack in a roasting pan in a 375°F oven until they reach an internal temperature of 165F/ 74C, about 10 minutes.

(My Non Pan-Smoke Method: Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick pan over high heat. When hot, add a little olive oil and then sear the chicken off for 2 minutes per side doing two breasts at a time. Put them on a baking tray and put in the oven for 5 minutes. Pull them out and let them rest for at least five minutes)

Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the shallot and saute until translucent. Add stock and reduce by half. Stir in the mustards and vinegar. Simmer the sauce until reduced to a sauce consistency (coats the back of a spoon). Add the remaining ingredients and heat thoroughly.

For the spinach, get a large saute pan hot over medium-high heat. Add a little oil and add the spinach. Add the salt and pepper and saute briefly. The pan should be making a lot of noise. After 30-45 seconds or so, remove the pan from the heat and continue to saute until just starting to wilt. Add the almonds and stir to combine.

Ladle a little sauce in a deep plate and top with a mound of spinach. Cut the chicken on the bias and fan out over the spinach. Top with a little more sauce and serve.