Wednesday, June 16, 2010

My Favorite Brits and Their Books

There are so many incredibly talented British cooks and cookbook writers these days it is hard for me to choose my favorites. I currently have 29 cookbooks written by 13 English cooks (not including several from Australia and Ireland). Some of them are nearly household names, even here, like Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson, thanks to their numerous television appearances. And others are just splendid cooks, often heading up restaurant kitchens, who write beautifully and create wonderful dishes to share with us, their readers: Fergus Henderson, Simon Hopkinson, Gary Rhodes, John Torode, Simon Rimmer, and Nigel Slater to name a few. I have cooked from all 29 of these cookbooks. While I can’t say that all the recipes were equally successful, the great majority were very good indeed. In London this spring I made notes of a number of cookbooks which I hope will get published here in the next few months. More by women too. I’ll keep you posted.

Nigella Lawson is stunningly beautiful, funny, astute, and can create both complicated and simple dishes with great wit and charm. I’ve never seen her on television so all my impressions come exclusively from her many books.
Nigella Bites (2002)
Favorite recipes: Italian Sausages with Lentils (recipe below), Chocolate Lime Cheesecake, and Chocolate Pots (December 8, 2009 blog)
How To Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking (2001)
Favorite recipe: Pizza Rustica
Other cookbooks: How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food (2002), Forever Summer (2003), Feast (2004), Nigella Express: Good Food Fast (2007)

Jamie Oliver is passionate about getting people to cook and eat better, without a hint of preciousness or elitism. He is congenial, even folksy, in his cookbooks, making them seem accessible to people who haven’t cooked much, especially guys. If you want to see for yourself, check out his web site and watch his TED acceptance speech. Then cook his food. You’ll be convinced.
The Naked Chef (2000)
Favorite recipes: Pappardelle with Sweet Leeks and Mascarpone, Spicy Couscous, Spiced Slow-cooked Lamb Shanks, Marinated Chickpeas with Chilli, Lemon, and Parsley, and Farfalle with Watercress and Arugula Pesto
Happy Days with the Naked Chef (2002)
Favorite recipes: Shrimp with Chilli, Parsley, Ginger and Garlic on Toast and Sirloin of Beef with Bok Choy, Soy Sauce and Ginger
Jamie’s Dinners (2004)
Favorite recipe: Sticky Toffee Pudding
Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook (2007)
Favorite recipe: Indian-style Broccoli with Spiced Yogurt (May 19, 2010 blog)
Other cookbooks: Jamie’s Food Revolution (2009)

Simon Rimmer, an avowed carnivore, bought a vegetarian restaurant called Greens in 1990 in Manchester, England with no experience running a kitchen or cooking in one. He and his partner who had been waiters previous to the purchase threw themselves into transforming “stodgy” vegetarian fare into remarkable dishes and learning to cook really well along the way.
Rebel Cook: Breaking the Rules for Brilliant Food (2006)
Favorite recipes: Warm Potato Salad with Garlic Sausage (recipe below), Warm Vietnamese Chicken Salad, and Simple Green Salad, Chinese Style
The Accidental Vegetarian (2004)
Favorite recipes: Smoky Roasties, Rendang Shallot and Asparagus Curry, and Butternut Enchilladas with Mole Sauce

Nigel Slater wrote Real Fast Food way before the “fast” thing kicked in over here. The ingredients are few, the skills required negligible, and the results quite delicious. His 2004 memoir Toast is both sad and revealing of the various situations that may lead to an interest in cooking.
Real Fast Food (1995)
Favorite recipes: Brussels Sprouts and Bacon (recipe below) and Spinach and Orange Salad
Appetite (2000)
Favorite recipes: A Smooth and Creamy Paté, and A Creamy Calming Pasta Dish
Other cookbooks: The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater (2006)


Two of the three recipes I’m about to give you call for sausage. The third calls for bacon. It’s safe to say that I am extremely fond of both sausage and bacon. One of my favorite easy meals when I was newly married was sausages and baked acorn squash halves filled with butter, brown sugar, and walnuts. Sound familiar? The truth is sausages are great with just about anything. Recently I made them to accompany a very tasty bulgur salad. I suggest you buy the best you can, preferably from a butcher you trust. And if you are serving them to friends, try them out yourself first to make certain they are worthy.

The Brits Cook Sausages and Bacon

Italian Sausages with Lentils

















For the lentils:
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
Sprinkling of salt
2 cups dried Puy lentils (green or black or a mixture)
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
½ cup red wine
3 cups stock or water to cover the lentils
Salt and pepper to taste

For the sausages:
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
6 fresh uncooked sweet Italian sausages
½ cup red wine
¼ cup water or stock
Flat-leaf parsley for garnish

1. To cook the lentils, put 2-3 tablespoons of oil into a good-sized pan or a Bram pot over low heat. When it’s warm, add the chopped onion and sprinkle with salt. Cook over a low heat until the onions are soft but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the lentils, bay leaf, and thyme sprigs, stir well, and cover generously with the red wine and the stock or water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer gently for 30-50 minutes or until the lentils are cooked and most of the liquid’s absorbed, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can make this ahead. Reheat when you’re ready to proceed.
2. To cook the sausages, add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and the smashed garlic cloves to a heavy frying pan, and fry for a few minutes. Add the sausages and brown on all sides. Add the wine and stock, bring to a boil, and then turn down the heat, cover the pan and simmer the sausages for about 15 minutes, turning mid-way. When the sausages are done, cut in half on the diagonal, add them to the lentils. Mash the garlic into the remaining liquid and add it to the lentil pot. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper, or more liquid until it is to your liking.
3. Before serving, reheat the lentil and sausage mixture over low heat. Sprinkle with parsley.

4-6 servings
Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s Nigella Bites

Warm Potato Salad with Garlic Sausage

















6 ounces small potatoes or about 12 small potatoes
½ cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
6 Garlic, Italian or Sicilian fresh sausages, cooked and cut in thick slices
3 ounces Swiss cheese, cut in small cubes
1 tablespoon chopped chervil (if you can find it)
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
¼ cup chopped chives

Mustard and White Wine Vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the potatoes in boiling water until just soft. (Or steam as in the French Potato Salad on my March 13, 2010 blog). Drain and cut into thick slices. If the potatoes are small, halve or quarter them.
2. Bring the wine and stock to a boil and reduce by two-thirds. Remove from the heat and toss the potatoes into the mix and leave for 10 minutes to infuse.
3. Warm the cooked sausages in a 350ºF oven for 6 minutes in a Bram pot or an ovenproof skillet. Combine the sausages and the potatoes in the pot or skillet.
4. Whisk together the mustard and vinegar. Slowly add the oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour this over the potato mixture; you may not need all of it. Add the cheese and herbs and toss together. Serve the salad in the Bram pot or, if you used a skillet, transfer to a serving bowl. Serve warm.

4-6 servings
Adapted from Simon Rimmer’s Rebel Cook: Bending the Rules for Brilliant Food

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

















1 pound Brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon butter or bacon fat
½ cup thinly sliced bacon or pancetta
Salt and pepper to taste
3-4 tablespoons water, as needed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice

1. Shred/slice the Brussels sprouts either by hand or with a food processor. The processor doesn’t do as nice a job as by hand, but it is so fast.
2. Heat the butter in a large, shallow pan. When it is warm, add the sliced bacon and stir until it is soft and cooked through.
3. Add the shredded sprouts and ½ teaspoon salt and pepper. Fry until the sprouts begin to soften. Add the tablespoons of water as needed to help with the cooking and to loosen and incorporate any brown places on the bottom of the pan.
4. The sprouts are ready when they are soft and coated with the bacon juices. Most of the water will have evaporated. Adjust the seasonings. Add the lemon or lime juice just before serving.

4 servings
Adapted from Nigel Slater’s Real Fast Food

Recipe of the Week


Creamy Vegetable Sandwich Spread

Ingredients

  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

  • 3/4 cup shredded carrots

  • 3/4 cup shredded zucchini

  • 2-1/4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

  • 1/2 dash ground black pepper

  • 1/2 dash paprika

  • 1/2 dash garlic salt

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, carrots, zucchini, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, paprika and garlic salt. Chill in the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes before serving

~ Heather

ModaFad 2010


Tomorrow, Laia and I are going to a fashion show, Sub ModaFad, wich will take place in the metro station of Diagonal at 9 pm, and as it is free, you can go and see it!

There would be lots of great designer, but I want to talk aboutmy two favourite ones: María Escoté and American Perez.


María Escoté has released a collection inspired in the 50s, where you can see gorls with a very pin up style and wondrful shoes. Here are some pictures and the video of her last fashion show, at Cibeles.



American Perez has created a gorgeous collection for grown Lolitas, qith puffy skirts and lovely blouses... and that ping sweater is simply awesome!


Josep Abril, Gori de Palma, El Delgado Buil, Krizia Robustella, The Mystic Onion or karlotalaspalas would be some of the other designer invited for this event.

More tomorrow!!

Satay

June 16

On your left, please enjoy a beautiful picture by Albert Foo, the kind man and extraordinary photographer who accompanied us on Penang and has rejoined us here in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.

He actually took that picture at the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang in Penang, and once I get his shots from last night I’ll replace it, or possibly just add it below for the sake of contrast, because this picture would not be approved by Matrade.

[update: I did it; I added the new picture below]

Malaysia’s export-promotion body takes its satay seriously, you see, and this satay is displayed incorrectly.

Satay is not just a bunch of skewers of meat, it’s a meal. Like the one on the right, in the picture taken, of course, by the inimitable Albert Foo.

Incidentally, it’s also not Thai, any more than tacos are American. You can get satay in Thailand, but they’ll tell you flat out that it’s Malay.

Whether it’s Malaysian Malay or Indonesian Malay is open to debate, but everyone agrees, more or less, that satay was invented by the people of the Malay archipelago.

Honey Ahmad, chief content creator and co-founder of friedchilies.com, who accompanied us last night to a restaurant called Satay Station, says the term might be an abbreviation of salai di tepat.

Salai is the Malay word for barbecue, and a tepat is a makeshift grill.

Makes sense to me.

But as I was saying, satay is more involved than that. To be called satay by Malaysian standards, it must be served with pickled cucumber and onion as well as peanut sauce.

And it must also come with rice.

Ideally, satay is served with nasi ketupat, which is made by pouring uncooked rice into a sort of stiff pouch made by weaving coconut leaves together. That’s put in boiling water, and as the rice cooks it expands and is compressed into one solid piece of rice, which is then sliced and eaten with the satay (and also dipped in peanut sauce if you like).

If you don’t have nasi ketupat (and Satay Station doesn’t have it) nasi himpit, which is boiled white rice pressed together into one solid piece, will do.

A Matrade-sanctioned picture of satay must have the skewered meat, pickled cucumbers, onions and rice in it.

Honey explained that satay is made by pounding together fresh turmeric, sugar, onion (or shallot — usually shallot) and lemon grass and marinating cubed meat in it — any meat, including liver or tripe or whatever you like — for about a day.

Then you skewer it and cook it over coals, being sure to let some of it caramelize.

We had chicken, beef and chicken liver satay, with a really sweet peanut sauce with coconut milk in it. The beef had little bits of fat skewered on it, too, and the chicken had pieces of fatty skin.

It was fantastic.

It was preceded by mee rebus, which you can see on the left (in a picture by Albert Foo) made in the style of Johor state, I’m told. That’s yellow noodles, green chile and seafood broth with potatoes, sweet potatoes, boiled eggs and fried shallot.