your recipe update on Risotto alla Milanese with Osso Buco ... better late than never!

I have finally got around to finishing the post over on A Greedy Piglet with the full recipe for the Risotto alla Milanese and Osso Buco. Sorry it has taken a while... but it will be worth it! go! cook! eat!

Osso buco alla Milanese - Saturday August 17th 2013

As I am sure you will have heard, since I have been hammering on about it, I have been asked to help judge the Essential Stock risotto competition held through Facebook and Twitter. I am rather flattered indeed,  since I am a strong fan of Essential Stock dehydrated stocks and use them in preference to any other stocks now (not including home made, but that doesn't happen very often in this house). The judging will mean cooking some of the finalist recipes to see how they come out in practice, in a real home. Because these are Real Cookery competitions, I am pleased to say, rather than giveaways.

So, in preparation, I thought that my risotto making skills should be honed.  I have blogged about my risotto views before on A Greedy Piglet, about the importance of the rice, and the end texture. This will be VERY important in my view. If I can't make the recipe to the right texture, I won't be able to judge the flavours properly. So a bit of extra practice is needed I think.

I will pop the full recipe over on A Greedy Piglet, but for now just admire the silken slump of this bit of ricey deliciousness.

mmmmmmm

Wild Rabbit with carrots and turnips - Tuesday August 13th 2013

Fabulous Wild Rabbit, now coming back into its prime. I bought three leg joints for about £3 at Walthamstow Farmers Market on Sunday, and braised them with white wine, Essential Cuisine chicken stock, carrots, celery and turnips, and served it with plainly boiled new potatoes.  Simple and delicious.

Grilled Gilt Headed Bream with home made pitta bread: Sunday August 11th 2013

I always mean to make something fancy schmancy and elaborate with a whole fish. But in the end can you beat just grilling it with a bit of oil and seasoning?

No, I don't think so either.

Oh, it has salad on it too... shhhhhhhhhhh we are not mentioning salad....

yawn... so much salad... yawn.....

Sorry, I've been very quiet.. most days have just been salad. And more salad. And I think you may be bored of seeing that. So I shan't be mentioning any salad+bits from the fridge any more unless you specifically want me to.....

I shan't hold my breath waiting for you to rush and say "OH yes! more salad photos! We don't know how to make a salad! "

Last salad....

Back to salad...Thursday August 8th 2013

Back to salad... egg, salami, new potato salad. Fat tomatoes and ridge cucumbers.

(I am trusting you to say nothing about my overcooked HB eggs... I put them in cold water to cool, but it got hot again! They needed less time and then they wouldn't have that dark line round the yolk. Oops! )

Pork Chop with sauce charcutiere - Wednesday August 8th 2013

I love a nice pork chop.

I usually either grill or oven bake them, but I was watching Raymond Blanc on catchup the other day, frying his pork chop in butter. Oh it looked good.

So copying him, I fried my chops in plenty of unsalted butter, around 5 minutes each side, then rested for 5 minutes whilst I fried the sausage meatballs and made the charcutiere sauce.  Which is the best sauce for pork chops.

I dredged the butter in the pan with plain flour, and whisked to make a light roux, then splashed in some of the cooking water from the potatoes (which also had the carrots and peas cooking all in together to save on energy), whisking to incorporate all the sticky juices from the bottom of the pan. This rich sauce was further enriched with some veal glaze from Essential Cuisine (a little sample I had sent with my pie competition winnings) and a slug of home made blackberry vinegar, so act as a fillip to the flavour. Added to this a handful of chopped cornichons and some capers. And the little sausage meatballs.

Truly scrumptious.

Round Up The Week... chicken and frittata and salad and aubergines and sausages.. August 1-7th 2013

Gosh its been a busy week!! no time!! no time!!

So another round up I am afraid...

Thursday: Chicken spezzatino with new potatoes and salad

I described how to make this back in February:

Friday:  Gammon, potato and onion frittata with watercress

Simple frittata with sliced new potatoes and chopped end of the gammon from earlier in the week.

Saturday:    Aubergine gratin with fregola pasta and watercress

Fried aubergine slices, in a caponata sauce (tomato sauce made slight sweet and sour with sugar and vinegar, with added celery slices, capers and onion) topped with a moussaka topping (white sauce with lots of nutmeg and an egg added in at the end) and grated parmesan. Very yummy.

Sunday:   More aubergine gratin ( I made two small oval dishes full, one fed two easily) more fregola (because it is delicious! ) and with some sausage patties alongside.

Monday:   I got some amazingly good tomatoes and ridge cucumbers at Walthamstow Farmers Market on Sunday, so first course of a simple tomato and cucumber salad with a little red onion.

 

Followed with some more sausage patties, with hot new potatoes and runner beans tossed in butter. 

Tuesday : Hog board at The Bell before the Quiz. (we won! Hurray!) No pics of that though... too hungry!