March 2025 – oystersandchampagne

Have you ever wondered how a dish of food got its name ? I have, why, Crêpe Suzette? And not Crêpe Jane? Is Suzette more exotic than Jane and was she real? Caesar Salad, a Pavlova, Peach Melba, or even Melba Toast! What about Eggs Benedict or Fettucini Alfredo, or Sachertorte or what about Tarte Tatin ? And Omelette Arnold Bennett? The list is endless, from Apples and Pears to Cherries to Clementines and Candy bars, to Biscuits, to Sauces to Pizza to Sandwiches to children’s cocktails ( a Shirley Temple). It would seem that many, many food items have been named after famous and not so famous people, and I’ve not forgotten Mr. Clarence BirdsEye, thought of as the fathers of the frozen food industry! I’m sure most of us have enjoyed Birdseye products, the most common one being frozen peas! Maybe I can pretend that Crêpes Suzette are named after me, or my moniker Oysters and Champagne, I do love Oysters Rockefeller after all !

I have been wanting to make Omelette Arnold Bennett, not sure why, but the name intrigued me. Apparently this was created by a chef at the Savoy London for Arnold Bennett ( an author) and he actually resided for a while at this hotel, and this was his absolute favourite meal !

Now I am not a fan of smoked haddock ( except maybe in Fish Pie) but I cook it for himself not infrequently, but usually poached or grilled on a bed of sautéed spinach and maybe with a poached egg on top. However this a new dish for me to make , it is rich and flavourful and himself loved it! An extra string to my theoretical smoked haddock bow !And I might try this with a white fish for me!

Some recipes, call for a Béchamel sauce ( named after Louis de Béchamel and was apparently introduced in France in 1533), and yet others call for a hollandaise sauce. I think I prefer the Hollandaise version, although it is richer, it is not anywhere near as thick as the Béchamel.I apologise that the instruction seem rather long, they are not really just a bit detailed! Remember Practice makes perfect, or if at first you don’t succeed etc etc!

To make this rather decadent omelette you will need ( this is enough for 2)
250 grams smoked Haddock, preferably not dyed (that’s the yellow looking version )
250mls whole milk
Clove of garlic chopped or squeezed
6 tablespoons double or thick cream 8 eggs and grated Parmesan and chives or chopped parsley to serve
For the sauce
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 pinch of salt
250g of unsalted butter or Ghee
I use a stick blender to make my Hollandaise, if you don’t have one use whatever whisk you have, but a stick is easier ( in my opinion). Usually a stick blender comes with a tall container, if you don’t have one use a tall jar, make sure it is tall enough so that the blender reaches the bottom and best to be have a flat bottom and as such a 500ml glass storage jar is perfect!
Separate the egg yolks from the whites being careful not to get any white into the yolks. Leave the egg whites to make meringue!
For hollandaise we need pure butter and so either use Ghee or – melt the butter until hot, and pour off the milk solids and this is one occasion that I do not use the microwave as i often end up with butter splattered all over the microwave and a clean up job to do as well. Keep the clear butter hot in pan whilst beating the egg yolks.
Beat the yolks with salt, white wine vinegar, lemon – just briefly, with a handheld blender stick! Pour in the hot butter whilst whisking with blender – pouring slowly is the key to make sure you have a curdle free sauce and that it blends together to make a thick creamy sauce . It will soon thicken and look like mayonnaise that it emulsifies (ie yolks and butter mix together to become a thick creamy sauce rather than staying runny) AND that the hot butter doesn’t cook the yolks! The sauce will start to thicken and look mayonnaise-like very quickly.
If for any reason it is not working sometimes adding an extra egg yolk will turn things around ( if not then maybe it’s time to try again!) Adjust thickness – if your sauce is still too thick, then add hot tap water 1 teaspoon at a time until it is thin enough to be drizzled. Dont make it too thin – Hollandaise Sauce should completely cover the eggs in Eggs Benedict and a bit thicker for Omelette Arnold Bennett! Use immediately !

Poach the haddock in the heated milk along with the onion, bay leaves and clove until the flesh flakes readily: about 5 minutes. Remove the haddock from the milk, remove the skin and flake the fish into a large mixing bowl and leave to cool.

Whilst the haddock is cooking make the sauce as above.

Preheat a hot grill.

Heat a little clarified butter in a non-stick omelette pan. Whisk the 4 eggs add half of the cream and make an omelette, but don’t cook it through.

Tip out of the pan onto a heatproof serving plate and spoon over half of the cooked haddock. Spoon over half the hollandaise mix and place under the grill until it begins to glaze. Make the second omelette while that is glazing and finish it in the same way.

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and chives and serve.

I’m sorry a bit late about Pancakes but better late than never, after all one can eat pancakes/ crepes any time of the year. Yes Shrove Tuesday, ( aka in the UK at least ) is Pancake Day. Himself has become the pancake maker in chief, he makes them for our various grandchildren when they come to stay. Our own children ate them regularly for breakfast at weekends with 2 of them vying for the position of #1 Pancake Eater, especially when spread with Nutella! Yes even back then, Nutella was very much on the menu.

Nowadays the only time we eat pancakes is if we are in the mountains and stop at a cafe for lunch, and then it is always a savoury Crèpe.

Savoury crèpe are usually made ( in France at least) with Sarrasin ( buckwheat) flour and of course I have some in the pantry. Therefore the logical conclusion was to make a savoury one for dinner. For once I followed the instructions and have to say I was disappointed with what I made. I added more liquid than was stated and yet they were still too thick, so needed to add more. The finished result was OK, but obviously I need to try harder and make them again. Hence, there is no recipe but will share our dinner picture.

So now we are well into Lent, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not cooking or experimenting.

This last weekend we had the pleasure of our eldest granddaughter, 15 years and continuing with our self imposed tradition , theatre and dinner and an overnighter! Theatre the very funny and energetic Operation Mincemeat, her choice and then into China Town for Dim Sum! The downside was she needed to meet her Volleyball team at 7.15 am ! Consequently, by 7.am, I had packed breakfast and lunch, made a fruit crumble and cooked, what we call Mexican Eggs for Breakfast as well as packing up some beef short ribs to Sous Vide for dinner ! phew, I have to say I function better in the morning.

I had fancied cooking short ribs for a while, but this time around and managed to buy some in Selfridges Food Hall, not the cheapest place to shop, but at least it was only a 2 stop bus ride.

For those of you who have a Sous Vide machine, it is very simple to do the pre cook. Simply seal the meat in bags, heat the water bath to 150 F and I cooked mine for 6 hours. Cooking via Sous Vide, is a bit of Give it a Try, as books and online instructions vary enormously and the timings go anything from a few hours to 2 days !

Then, remove from water bath, open the sealed bags and pat the meat dry. In a cast iron pan put about large knob of unsalted butter and sear the meat on both sides , cover and roast with the bone side upper most. Cook at 170 C( fan oven) for about an hour. At this time, the fat within the ribs, should have just melted away and the meat falling off the bone. I served with a sauce.

Knob of unsalted butter
1Onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, coriander, ginger, cayenne pepper
1Tablespoon tomato paste
Juice of 2 oranges
Cup of tomato juice or half a can of chopped tomatoes
3 Oz dark or cooking chocolate
1tablespoon dark brown sugar.

Melt the butter in a pan, add the onion till soft. Add the spices and when blended add the tomato sauce and paste. Add the orange juice, brown sugar and chocolate. Simmer a little until thick and unctuous. Pour over the ribs and serve.

I served them with some plain new potatoes and sautéed sweetheart cabbage.

If you don’t have a sous vide machine then it is equally easy to basically follow the above except cook the ribs in the oven for about 3 hours ( at least) until they are tender and falling off the bone.

And if that wasn’t enough, somewhere during this, I decided that we would have one of my all time favourites Oysters Rockefeller! Why is this dish called Rockefeller? Well according to legend, the dish was created in 1899 by Jules Alciatore at Antoines. It was a well kept secret but another chef claims to have written down the recipe courtesy of Alciatore. But Rockefeller the name ? The dish is as sumptuous as Rockefeller is Rich.

There are of course as many variations. I like them made with spring onions, celery, breadcrumbs,Tabasco, spinach grated parmesan cheese and as I don’t have any Absinth I use Pernod.