Homemade Hollandaise Sauce

The first time I tried hollandaise sauce was upon the eve of my graduation when my parents treated me to the best steak I have ever had, at The Potted Pig in Cardiff. This sublime steak was served with hollandaise sauce and a lightly dressed side of rocket. 

I remember the taste of that sauce being creamy, yet sharp and fresh, very, very fresh-  full of flavour! I'm actually not sure this would have been "the best steak ever" without it.

This weekend, Saturday night came and I was salivating for this meal all over again yet the distance of 418 miles stood in my way....I had no other choice but to recreate it, if I could.

Typically we buy our meat from the supermarket. When buying steaks we always aim to get 'the best of' range or prime packaged cuts, however, on this occasion hubz2b paid a visit to the local butcher and picked up 2 belters of steaks- the sirloin variety. I knew I had to treat this flesh with respect. I also knew I had to balance our over indulgence in a butter based sauce and beer with the lightness of veggie sides so I attempted parsnip crisps. In the end, they were slightly overdone (fault on my part) but crispy and sweet nonetheless, and finished off with a light cajun spice. 

For the main star of this piece I mixed the juice of half a lemon with a cap full of white wine vinegar and added the yolks of two medium eggs. Using a hand blender I lightly blitzed these together.
Then, in a small pot, I gently melted just under half block of unsalted butter- as it began to foam I turned off the heat and slowly trickled the melted butter into the yolk mix blending continually. I did this carefully and in 'batches' so as not to 'dump' the butter in all at once. I then blended this full buttery mix until it thickened in consistency and added salt and pepper to really bring the flavours to life. This final blending stage took around 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds.

The sauce was lovely, certainly edible and did not split, curdle or cook the eggs. However I must admit it wasn't a patch on that of The Potted Pig's and wondered if I had missed something....

I didn't wonder for long though as I was soon too engrossed in digging into this beautiful cut of perfectly cooked meat (slapped evenly onto a very hot pan and left for 3 minutes either side) served with the parsnips and griddled corn on the cob. A lush dining out alternative!

Homemade Spiced Onions

Just a wee short one tonight- but then again spiced onions speak for themselves so not a lot of writing to do!

As mentioned in previous posts, hubz2b and I are on a bit of a health kick (she writes as they both lie on the couch munching on Toblerone and down a few beers! It's Friday,  we are allowed to, and they are light beers at that!) Anyhoo,  I digress... Our healthy choice recipes have been surprisingly tastey however tonight called for "a little extra" so spiced onions seemed the obvious choice to accompany our curry-  which was still made with low fat natural yoghurt.

To make these taste bud tingling beauties I mixed raw chopped onion (2 medium onions) with juice from half a lemon, one tablespoon of mango chutney, two tablespoons of tomato sauce, a splash of chilli hot sauce, 3 teaspoons of mint sauce and a good old grind of black pepper.

Done!

These spiced onions really added an extra crunch and tang to our already tastey marinaded chicken curry, with coriander and tomato rice mix. I hope you enjoy x

Orange and Mango Mini Loaves

So today was a loooong day, it was a difficult day too. What do long, difficult days usually call for? Munchies, that's right. Yet, when you are on a pre-wedding healthy eating stint munchies can be a pretty tough gig and are usually out of bounds.

Now, before I go any further I have to admit I'm no baker! I approach baking as I do cooking which usually turns out well - 'add a bit of this and that'-  it's all rather technical really but all bar 2 of my previous baking creations have ended in the bin! The 2 that have made it to the plate left a vile taste in the mouth so I didn't have high hopes for tonight's experiment. However, beggars cant be chosers when it comes to munchies...

Much to my and hubz2b's delight they were edible AND delish!  I present to you my mini orange and mango loaves:

I mixed approximately 175g of self raising flour, 50g of caster sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 50g of chopped dried mango and 3/4 quarters of a squeezed orange together - I could already see the acid from the orange juice reacting with the baking powder! Once these ingredients were mixed slightly, I added one egg along with the tiniest tad of milk to fold the mixture. I then split this evenly between 3 mini silicone loaf trays and baked at 200 degrees.

In order to justify this treat, I proceeded to do light weight arm reps in my kitchen for the 13 minutes they took to cook. This step is optional....

The beeper goes and my beauties are ready.

Hubz2b and I taste tested them on their own, with Mackays Scottish Strawberry Conserve, Mackays Dundee Orange Marmalade and a wee touch of olive oil spread. All tests proved extremely successful, with hubz2b commenting "I dont even like marmalade but they are good!". However we both had to agree that the strawberry conserve really pulled the flavours of the mango and the orange together to make quite an impression!

Not bad for a 20 minute munchie improv.... Enjoy! X

Chilli and Coriander Prawn Salad

Prawns; discuss.

Me? Well, they can freak me out somewhat.

I like them, just as I like salmon...cod....haddock....and...mackerel but prawns can tred a thin line between 'safe' water based offerings such as these fleshy fish and risky fruits de mer such as mussels,  crab, lobster and the dreaded cuttlefish!

I prefer small and pre-cooked prawns although I will never forget the outstanding taste of chargrilled garlic king prawns I experienced once at a tapas bar in Dundee! For them, I overcame my fear of 'removing the body'.

Tonight I messed around with a cold lunchtime dish to create a warm dinner time treat, and with fewer than 300 calories my taste buds and my waist line thanked me ten fold! This blog is based on making the salad for one, as tonight I dined alone, but just increase accordingly if making for more. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, prawns are now my new favourite thing. ...

As 4 or 5 sliced baby jersey potatoes bubble away, dress approximately 75g of pre-cooked prawns in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a quarter wedge of freshly squeezed lime juice, 25g of chopped coriander and ground black pepper. To add 'heat' to this dish, not only did I warm the potatoes prior to serving but also added 1 finely chopped red chilli 'tip' which gave great depth and warmth to the meal. As I waited on the potatoes cooking, I arranged mixed lettuce leaves on a plate with chopped cherry tomatoes (6 of) and half a spring onion. That was me done! This dish only takes the length of time the potatoes take to cook (so 12mins if we are being precise) and you are ready to serve!

The heat from the potatoes really wakes up the smell and taste of the lime, coriander and chilli making this quite an Asian tasting plate full which really packs a punch! Overall I would recommend this for a change to the typical run of weekday meals or if perhaps, like me, you fancy a holiday but can't quite afford somewhere nice right now!

:) 

McTaggart's Aberdour

Today we decided to take pup to the beach for the first time - she is one year old in 2 weeks time,  can I still call her a pup? Anyway,  Aberdour was the destination for us. After a few games of fetch, Piper experiencing the waves for the first time and my hair being wind swept into oblivion it was time to warm up and get some food into our bellies.

We parked on what was presumably the main street of Aberdour and visited a couple of very interesting shops- one selling all things herbal/aromatherapy and the other all things vintage, and I mean proper hardcore vintage; two of my greatest loves in life! I was in heaven. We then came across McTaggart's Café Deli which visually gave a refreshing change to the main street aesthetics- very modern and sharp, yet homely enough to coax you in.

The atmosphere was brilliant and straight away we were greeted with a warm and friendly smile. We took a seat and admired our surroundings. "This is nice" hubz2b remarked.

The menu provides a selection you would expect from a tourist town café however things just seemed to appear more fresh and 'trendy' than your typical coffee shop. I particularly liked the mix of chunky wooden furniture between grey and red tartan textiles, with the occasional swedish style white table or chair thrown in for good measure.

We both ordered a bowl of pea and ham soup, which was very nice but may have benefited from a saltier ham hock, and shared a steak and onion baguette between us which was delicious! The panini style bread roll was soft and the steak was not fried to a crisp nor was it drenched in oil as can often  be the case with steak sarnies.  Overall we are impressed and pleased with our find.

As hubz2b settled the bill I browsed through a stand of gifts and cookery related nicnaks they had on offer for sale, which provided a nice selection.  Truth be told I was trying to save myself from eyeballing their fantastic range of cakes!

We were just in time to be soaked by the rain as we returned to the car, but satisfied with our bellies full.

If you find yourself in need of decent munch when visiting Aberdour I certainly  recommend McTaggart's (and also a visit to those two quirky shops mentioned before) Enjoy! X