Makes a square 20 x 20cm, 2.5kg cake This cake has been made by my family for a couple of generations; it is simple to make if just a little time-consuming cutting up the fruit and nuts to approximately equal sizes. It stores and keeps very well for months if it lasts that long! [...]
I love this interesting ‘cake’. It is my low carb healthy fat adaption of the Cauliflower Cake in Yotam Ottolenghi’s book, Plenty More. Hopefully, you will love it, as it is very attractive, colourful, unusual and delicious. Serve it as an appetiser with the glass of wine before dinner or as a lunch dish with [...]
My butchers, Barry and Mario from Kirkpatrick's Butchers at the South Melbourne market, sell the most delicious and tender racks of lamb which I frequently buy for a simple and quick mid-week dinner. The butchers sell them, 2 ways, ‘frenched’ or ‘unfrenched’. ‘Frenched’ is the term used to describe the process of cutting the fat [...]
Prunes and apples always team well with pork, so if you prefer, substitute apples for the prunes. For the pork, you can select various cuts, female pork neck, pork scotch, a boned, rolled pork shoulder, or even a pork leg. These cuts are delicious as they are fatty and succulent; the fat runs through the [...]
Cooking all these chicken dishes and stock as I have been in this Covid-19 winter 2020, reminded me of some happier times and our visit to Bresse, the home of the famous Bresse chicken, la volaille de Bresse, and the Monday market day in the market town of Louhans in Burgundy. The summer of 2017 [...]
Hollandaise sauce is a classic emulsion* sauce, made with egg yolks and butter, seasoned with lemon juice, salt and a little white pepper to become a thick, yellow, creamy sauce. It is the traditional partner to asparagus, artichokes, and eggs Benedict. It is perfectly matched with poached fish and vegetables. I love it drizzled over [...]
Way back in 1957, Bresse chickens were the first food and the first chickens to be awarded the AOC, Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée and more recently, they received the AOP, Appellation d'Origine Protégée, accreditation. This AOP label is the European Union version of France's AOC, Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée. It basically means the products with these labels [...]
The Burgundian Coq au Vin and Boeuf Bourguignon share many similarities. They are both regional Burgundian specialities, they both showcase the famous Burgundian wines, Bresse chickens, pork and Charolais beef. Their method of cookery is very similar as well. When this dish is cooked with one of these Burgundian wines it takes the name of [...]
In France, on our Betty B barge, I frequently cooked a simple coq au vin as it was easy to manage in my small barge galley kitchen, the ingredients readily available and it can be made ahead the day before and reheated. I always tried to cook it in one pot! In France they have [...]
This is a classic, regional, warming, hearty braise originating in Normandy, France, the region famous for its dairy produce, the creams, butters and cheeses, such as Camembert, and apples and Calvados. Chicken and apple is a delicious, yet uncommon match. The chicken is braised with the onions, leeks and mushrooms, the apples give a light [...]
