![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Resurfacing
Mar. 6th, 2011 08:13 amBecause yesterday was Migraine Day. First I thought it was a hangover -- big mistake, because I didn't take my pills in time. Anyway, I survived, and I didn't do anything except eat and pay the occasional visit to Lola next door.
Friday's dinner was a real success. Since Dalibor, my Macedonian teacher, had to cancel -- had to accompany his father to Belgrade to have heart surgery -- I asked Pinar whether she didn't mind being invited at the last minute, and being the nice person she is, of course she didn't. Starter and main course both contained pork, so I had to prepare an alternative for her, but there was sufficient time even for that.
For those who like recipes, this was the starter:
Either you fry chicken breast or you're a lazy person like me, buy a whole grilled chicken and use the breast meat. Put into blender. Dice bacon (not to much meat, it should be rather fat) and fry until nicely browned. Put in blender together with a bit of the fat that came out, plus a bit of cream and parsley. Mix the resulting puree with the chicken puree, add salt (careful, bacon is already salty) and pepper, also a small piece of butter.
Dice onion, fry until glassy, add porcini mushrooms (either fresh or dried ones soaked in hot water for 30 minutes), salt and pepper, and let reduce until most of the liquid is gone. Put in blender, add butter,
Oil a small paté mould, put in cling film. Put in a layer of chicken cream, then one of porcini cream. Then off into the freezer for about 15 or 20 minutes (you need to do this so the porcini layer hardens and doesn't misbehave when you put the second layer of chicken on top.
Put on second layer of chicken cream, close stretch film, off into fridge.
For the cranberry sauce you let fresh or dried cranberries and water boil away happily until cranberries dissolve. Put mix into blender and add orange jam and Dijon mustard. It shouldn't be too sweet ot too hot, so you have to taste in between and add jam/ mustard until it's just right.
Serve the terrine in not-too-thin slices (cut with a hot knife) on a bed of salad (I used young spinach, grated carrots and grated courgettes) with a lemon-olive oil-salt-pepper dressing, a bit of the cranberry sauce and orange fillets.
Fruity white wine recommended.
Dessert: Let cane sugar melt in a non-stick pan. Add brandy or rakia and cream. Let thicken. Cut slices of about 1,5 cm of cake (marble cake will do admirably, or any simple, not-crumbly cake) and put into the mix. After a minute turn cake carefully with a spatula. Then put the cake on a plate, orange jam on it, and on top of that a second slice of caramelized cake. Top that with fresh fruit (nothing too sweet or to sour, so no bananas or kiwis -- I used nectarines and grapes) and chocolate sauce. Cream isn't forbidden, but I don't like it and didn't want to make the dessert any heavier.
Food was universally appreciated, guests left at 2 a.m.
Ze boyz had a whale of a time sitting on laps and being generally interested but well-behaved, i.e. no jumping on the table.
Visit to Lola now, then boyz-related chores, and tennis from 11 to 1 with Pinar and Elena.
Friday's dinner was a real success. Since Dalibor, my Macedonian teacher, had to cancel -- had to accompany his father to Belgrade to have heart surgery -- I asked Pinar whether she didn't mind being invited at the last minute, and being the nice person she is, of course she didn't. Starter and main course both contained pork, so I had to prepare an alternative for her, but there was sufficient time even for that.
For those who like recipes, this was the starter:
Either you fry chicken breast or you're a lazy person like me, buy a whole grilled chicken and use the breast meat. Put into blender. Dice bacon (not to much meat, it should be rather fat) and fry until nicely browned. Put in blender together with a bit of the fat that came out, plus a bit of cream and parsley. Mix the resulting puree with the chicken puree, add salt (careful, bacon is already salty) and pepper, also a small piece of butter.
Dice onion, fry until glassy, add porcini mushrooms (either fresh or dried ones soaked in hot water for 30 minutes), salt and pepper, and let reduce until most of the liquid is gone. Put in blender, add butter,
Oil a small paté mould, put in cling film. Put in a layer of chicken cream, then one of porcini cream. Then off into the freezer for about 15 or 20 minutes (you need to do this so the porcini layer hardens and doesn't misbehave when you put the second layer of chicken on top.
Put on second layer of chicken cream, close stretch film, off into fridge.
For the cranberry sauce you let fresh or dried cranberries and water boil away happily until cranberries dissolve. Put mix into blender and add orange jam and Dijon mustard. It shouldn't be too sweet ot too hot, so you have to taste in between and add jam/ mustard until it's just right.
Serve the terrine in not-too-thin slices (cut with a hot knife) on a bed of salad (I used young spinach, grated carrots and grated courgettes) with a lemon-olive oil-salt-pepper dressing, a bit of the cranberry sauce and orange fillets.
Fruity white wine recommended.
Dessert: Let cane sugar melt in a non-stick pan. Add brandy or rakia and cream. Let thicken. Cut slices of about 1,5 cm of cake (marble cake will do admirably, or any simple, not-crumbly cake) and put into the mix. After a minute turn cake carefully with a spatula. Then put the cake on a plate, orange jam on it, and on top of that a second slice of caramelized cake. Top that with fresh fruit (nothing too sweet or to sour, so no bananas or kiwis -- I used nectarines and grapes) and chocolate sauce. Cream isn't forbidden, but I don't like it and didn't want to make the dessert any heavier.
Food was universally appreciated, guests left at 2 a.m.
Ze boyz had a whale of a time sitting on laps and being generally interested but well-behaved, i.e. no jumping on the table.
Visit to Lola now, then boyz-related chores, and tennis from 11 to 1 with Pinar and Elena.
