Shrove Tuesday – oystersandchampagne

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.

Last week, the Ladies who Lunch, well Lunched! We usually meet about 6 times a year and try out the hottest and newest restaurants in town. Last week was the turn of a “pop up” owned and run by the same people who own “Pied a Terre” , a Michelin starred restaurant in Bloomsbury, London and its Sister restaurant “L’autre Pied”, in Marylebone , also in London. The pop up, was also a play on the name as it was called, “Pieds Nus”, and was also in Marylebone.

I arrived to find my friend perched on a very high bar stool at a very, very high bar/table, without my saying a word, she said “We can’t sit here, I have already told them!” The waitress arrived, and I repeated this, only to be told that they were full and that no other table was available . Umm! The manager arrived and we repeated ourselves again, he also said, they were full! At this point we decided we would go elsewhere. And then a miracle happened, a normal table was available! And just two men were seated at the Bar and I have to say, they were not full.

The meal itself was unremarkable, and the portions minuscule , there was not a lunch time menu, which is normally a very good deal at good restaurants, when small portions are acceptable. It was only a la carte. Several of us chose the starter with Jerusalem Artichokes, all with the comment” we do not see Jerusalem Artichokes on the menu that often. Well, these artichokes had never been near Jerusalem and were in fact just small normal artichokes. This was pointed out to the waitress, she just said” oh it must be a misprint”!!

The menu and a photo are here. Just as well it was a Pop Up and has already Popped Down, as we would not be in a hurry to return.

( Having said that, we have eaten well, and been well served at the sister restaurants).

Shrove Tuesday ( Pancake day in the UK) has been and gone. Apparently in Russia and the Ukraine, it is almost a week-long celebration, and of course around the world is Carnival, and Mardi Gras in New Orleans, in the USA.

I actually did make pancakes this year, it is something I almost never do, ( except when making them for breakfast for my grandchildren). However, I made Crepe Salé. Savoury crepe, which are usually made out of Buckwheat flour.Despite the name, buckwheat is not related to wheat. It is not a grass but belongs to the same family as Sorrel and Rhubarb.Tibetans have long eaten Buckwheat noodles and in France it is known as either Sarrasin, or Blè Noir.

In any case, it makes very good savoury Crêpe.

Ingredients

250 grms/9oz/2 cups of Buckwheat flour ( plain flour can also be used)
6 eggs
900mls/1 1/2 pints milk
150 mls/5 fl oz cream
butter for cooking
pinch of salt

Method

I believe in the “all in one” method of mixing, it easy beyond belief, especially if you have a food processor.

Put the flour into the food processor. pour together the milk, cream and eggs into a container. Switch on the food processor and with the engine running pour in the liquid mixture. Switch off and scrap down the sides of the machine, switch back on and process again until you have a smooth mixture. Check for thickness, it should be like thick pouring cream, too thick, will make a real stodgy pancake, too thin it will be very difficult to handle. Many recipes call for resting after making, I never do this, it is not going to rise, as you are using plain flour.

Lightly grease with butter a flat pan ( 10″), preferably a crêpe pan, I only use my crêpe, for making crepe. I have a cast iron one, which I never wash, just wipe clean. Set over a medium heat and ladle in enough batter to cover the base of the pan, when you tilt it make sure you cover all the pan. Cook without turning for about a minute, or until the top side is just set. Turn over either with a palette knife or by tossing. cook this side for about 30 seconds. Be ready to lose your first crêpe, the pan needs to season a little. If the first crêpe seems a little thick, dilute your mixture with some milk. Repeat this until you have used all of your mixture. Alternatively, make what you need and store the rest in the refrigerator for a few days.. Then you can fill them how you like. This year for my Crêpe I filled them with a mixture of Ricotta cheese, soft goats cheese and cooked drained spinach ( frozen spinach comes in very handy here, but you must drain it well.)

Spread onto a crêpe some of the fillings, and top with another crêpe, repeat the filling process. Repeat this until you have a small stack of 6-8 crêpes. Grates fresh parmesan cheese over the top and bake for 15 mins in a medium hot oven, until hot all the way through.

Serves 3-4, serve with a mixed salad.