This menu chosen by my clients, reminds me of MANY of the parts of the world I was introduced to them or had fun with...here are some of those stories:
The Menu for Monday Aug 27th
"Texas Caviar"..this is a spicy black eyed pea dip/spread, made with cooked peas, chili peppers, mustard, red wine vinegar, garlic, scallions and chopped dill & parsley.
........My first Texan client, Mid 1970's was the then cookery editor of Vogue magazine.
She and her husband were in London for Thanksgiving and she taught me how to roast the moistest turkey ever, by placing unsalted butter & fresh herbs of choice in an un-stuffed bird, in the skin of the breast, roasting the bird in a 500f oven for 25 mins. removing from oven turning temp down to 400f and then placing a mix of olive oil, Dijon mustard and ground paprika, all over the bird and covering it in a kitchen cloth ( a tea towel) soaked in olive oil. Cover with foil, and bake 20 min per pound.
1 hour before the bird is due to come out of the oven ,Remove from oven, remove the foil, add more olive oil to the towel then carefully remove.
Return the bird to the oven, & cook for a further 45 mins. without the breast being covered, and the skin will be very crispy and the meat tender allow 25 mins before slicing.
The following Thanksgiving also in London I had more of a problem as Faye Dunnaway's bird was too big for the oven of the house she had rented while filming Supergirl..but that's another story all together!
The soups
A hearty Tuscan Bean....pasta & beans
obviously Italian memories, but this time I was on a yacht anchored in the Bay of the Foxes, off Sardinia. ( where they shot the James Bond of the car coming out of the ocean)
It was during my time of working for the Kuwaiti family, they had chartered a very large yacht for 3 weeks, I was supposed to go back to London for a vacation, but it turned out they didn't like the yacht's chef so "encouraged" me to go sailing with them.
This day we were having a nice barbecue on the wonderful white beach and had the place to ourselves ( then it was remote and the only way to get there was by yacht), I had gone ahead in the small boat and set up the BBQ, I had large langoustine ( Big local prawns) and salad, the table set with linens and crystal, and I found the only shady spot and was happily preparing lunch when the guests arrived by the ship's helicopter and promptly blew me and the whole area flat...everyone laughed...I sent word back with the pilot and he returned with 8 cans of baked beans, some baked potatoes and some local chicken sausages, and we rescued what we could of the langoustines, as they had, by now, attracted a large flock of sea gulls..so we had a "cowboy lunch" on a private beach in the middle of the Med. And this became the main point of conversation whenever they were flying to meet me for meals..that they HAD to land on the other side of whichever island ( we went on to tour the Greek Islands) and walk over to me, or get baked potatoes and baked beans for every meal!
Sea Vegetable Bisque..a blended Miso..also a Powerhouse of nutrition (since the earthquake in Japan it is better to purchase sea vegetables not harvested in the Pacific because of high levels of radiation)
A blended Yam & Zucchini soup with cumin undertones
Sides Mix and Match:
A multi-grain pasta salad with oranges, tahini, broccoli crowns, and watercress..a sweeter version of tahini dressing with lots of healthy greens. The broccoli will have been blanched ( cooked quickly in boiling salted water to make it easier to digest)..I will also add some home grown red chili peppers
A fabulous "new" potato salad with lime zest, green peas, fresh fennel and mint, this is made with 30% mayonnaise and 70% live yogurt.
it is very refreshing and can also be mixed with chopped cucumber and or radish.
It has to be made with young small starchy potatoes to soak up the flavors
A spinach, curly kale, dried cranberry and walnut salad with a dressing of fresh raspberries and avocado oil..( I like to blend fresh fruit with olive oil for salad dressings for more fresh flavors)
Spinach....whenever I hear this word I am immediately transported to an area off the coast of South of France; during a "squall" when I worked for an ex-Royal Navy, Knight of the British Realm, also onboard was the then Admiral of the Fleet (chief of the Royal Navy) the ship ( which was wooden hulled) was bobbing around the Med. like a cork in a bottle.
Everyone else ( the Stewards, the other guests and wives and some deck hands were below decks and I was in my galley ( ships kitchen), with the stove lit trying to cook steamed spinach, poached eggs with a cheese sauce, it was just 9am and My boss ( Sir) and the Admiral wanted Eggs Mornay for breakfast. Everything was going OK, until a wave crashed against my window..(I had a window as I was above deck)..all the pans on the stove shuddered, some cheese sauce hit the stove guard ( the pans were held in place with metal bars so they wouldn't slide off and go crashing against the bulkhead - wall of ship).
I placed the eggs in the poaching liquid and began to feel all "hot and dizzy" as the eggs continued to swirl clockwise in the pan. I held the spatula to the lip of the pan and waited for the eggs to slide round on to it!
I did mange to produce breakfast for the pair of them, but as soon as I had served them their's, I lost my own over the side.
I have never liked Eggs Mornay since.
Spicy Canneli bean chili... red beans are not the only beans you can use for a good chili, and canneli beans are actually white versions of the red kidney bean.
They are a good addition to a traditional hearty and tasty chili.
I like to add smoked Spanish paprika, as well as a good chili powder, to my chili to give it a "cooked on the fire" flavor.
Also make sure in hot countries ( even with air condition) that you replace ALL your ground spices every 6 months.
In cooler climes at least every 12 months...as when spices are ground they release their natural flavorful oils, which dry easily in hot conditions and never return.
HEARTY Vegetable pot pies...traditionally made with chicken, I like to add seasonal veggies ( potatoes, yams, celery, squashes, carrots, parsnips, fennel, green beans) and cook them in coconut milk while adding fresh sage, bay laurel, parsley, butter and a good vegetable stock.
Also steaming multi colored quinoa..high protein grain from South America
For Dessert/breads:
Fresh lemon and almond oatmeal cookies
A blueberry -pluot ( cross of plum and apricot) whole wheat Crumble ( shortbread)
Cinnamon-raisin sour dough whole wheat waffles..by adding baking soda to the mix the sourness is lost but the light & airyness remains.
no sugar added all sweetener comes from the dried fruit
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| Garnet Yams, Carrots, Russet Potatoes |
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| oak leaf lettuce, scallions, white squash |
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| fresh limes, celery, new white potatoes |
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| field spinach..better taste than the baby stuff |
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| curly kale |
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