The Last Home Cooked Meal





Tuesday 18/10/2005

 Email JCBorresen@GMail.com

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Diary and Notes

It brings a tear to my eye. I'm not sure if it's a sad day or a happy one, but at least it was a tasty one.

I've been having a few expensive meals lately - things like guinea fowl and oysters aren't the cheapest ingredients in the world, but my plan was always to go more upmarket as the year went on and I've certainly managed this. Today I splashed out on some excellent dutch veal steaks and cooked them with a simple French style sauce - we were not disappointed..

This is going to be the last home cooked meal on my blog. I was going to Exeter today but have delayed it until the morning so that I can make one last great dish - and great it was.

This was a truly fantastic dinner - simple yet delicious.

I will say that the garlic mash was possibly the best mashed potato I've ever eaten. I would recommend having a go at this and even if it sounds like loads of garlic the simmering really softens the flavour. The veal was also really quite top notch and you would be hard pressed to find a better sauce than this anywhere.

If I am ever condemned to death for treason or not conforming to the rules and regulations of the big brother Orwellian nightmare that the people who run the world are forcing on us, then this may be my request for a last meal. I wont get it of course, they'll only serve soylent green - but at least I'll have the memory f this in my mind before they reprogramme me with 100,000 volts or a bullet to the head.

Aren't I a cheery chappy?


Cake Blog

Gü Chocolate Orange and Almond Torte: An absolute triumph of dessert making. It said on the packet enough for 10 small pieces, 8 medium pieces and 6 very large fat person sized pieces. We got about enough for 4. It was excellent.


Menu

  • Veal with Figs and Pinneau des Charantes
  • Garlic and Herb Mash
  • French Beans
  • Sauteéd Mushrooms
  • French Rustic Boule Bread


    Ingredients*

    Veal with Figs and Pinneau des Charantes
    200g Veal Steak (Cut thin)
    1 tsp Olive Oil
    2 Tbsp Chicken Stock
    2 Figs
    50ml Pinneau Des Charantes
    50ml White Wine
    1 Tbsp Créme Fraiche
    Salt and Pepper
    		 Garlic and Herb Mash
    300g Potatoes
    1 Parsnip
    1 Bulb Garlic
    1 tsp Herbs de Provence
    Few Pinches Nutmeg
    25g Butter
    1 Tbsp Créme Fraiche
    Salt and Pepper



    Preparation

  • Veal: Sweat the mushrooms in a little olive oil until soft - remove from the pan and keep warm. Season the veal with a little salt and pepper then pan fry in the mushroom pan juices and a drop of olive oil until just cooked. Put with the mushrooms to keep warm. Deglaze the pan with a little wine, then the pinneau des charantes. Add a little chicken stock and creme fraich and the halved figs. Reduce until the sauce is about ¼ original volume.
  • Mash: break the bulb of garlic into individual cloves and simmer for 15 minutes in water - don't peel them first. When soft peel and mash. Peel the potatoes and parsnip and chop then boil in lightly salted water until soft. Mash well and mix in the garlic, butter, cream, nutmeg and herbs. Season with pepper and salt and bake very gently for about 10 minutes to allow the garlic to infuse a little.

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    *All quantities are very approximate and for two people