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Posh Sausage Roll
Last night I baked a posh take on a sausage roll and it was so scrumptious I couldn’t wait to share it with you all. I was watching chef Glynn Purnell cook up this much-loved savory pastry on a Christmas-themed cooking show hosted by chef Michel Roux, Jr., and I was so intrigued by what I saw that I went out and bought the ingredients to make it the very next day.
This roll is made posh by the addition of some delicious and unique filling ingredients not usually found in sausage rolls, such as toasted chopped pistachios, dried apricots and a festive pinch of ginger and nutmeg. Of course, it wouldn’t be a sausage roll without a meaty base, so plenty of streaky bacon, minced pork and sausage meat covers that nicely. To make life easier, you can use a store-bought puff pastry as well. Once baked, the pastry was golden and crispy and the filling had a rich flavor, accented nicely by the sweetness of the apricots and the subtle crunch of the pistachios.
I can picture this roll being enjoyed at Christmastime, when friends and family drop by the house and you need a delicious pick-up food to serve in the midst of all of the madness. My husband and I enjoyed it with a bottle of red wine and a light green salad. I will definitely be adding this Posh Sausage Roll to my Christmas cooking repertoire. Give it a try!
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Italian-Style Stuffed Peppers
Here is my grandmother’s tried-and-true recipe for the best Italian-style stuffed peppers. Although I have made a few modern variations on stuffed peppers recently (some unsuccessful, I must admit), I wanted to take it back and make the *real* stuffed peppers my family and I have enjoyed for years so I asked my grandmother for her recipe.
The peppers are stuffed with a tasty mixture of ground beef, pork and veal, along with onions, cooked rice, bread, Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley and garlic. It’s full of traditional Italian flavors and almost tastes like a meatball. The cooked rice adds texture and heartiness, and the mixture of meats adds a ton more flavor and richness than if you only used ground beef. We have a special way of cooking it that doesn’t dry out the filling, but still allows the stuffed peppers to retain their shape. These stuffed peppers make for a lovely meal. Enjoy!
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Authentic French Cassoulet
It’s quite possible that making a cassoulet has been my greatest culinary achievement to date. A cassoulet is a rustic, slow-cooked stew hailing from the southwest region of France, full of hearty beans, herbs, and rich, juicy meats. Whenever my husband and I are in Paris, we stop at our favorite bistro smack dab in the middle of the 7ème, Fontaine de Mars, to enjoy this special meal. Fontaine de Mars is a quintessential French bistro complete with brusque waiters, tables too close together, checked linens, flowing Sancerre, and some of the best French cuisine we’ve ever tasted. It’s location is second to none, and many nights we have found ourselves leaving the restaurant late at night and stumbling upon the illuminated Eiffel Tower
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Pork Kebabs with Peach Melba Sauce
After a short break which involved getting married (!) and moving across the pond (Hello, London!), the chic brûlée is back and better than ever. I will be transitioning the blog to be London-based, reporting on the latest and greatest London food and style scene, while still of course posting every type of sweet and savory recipe I make in my kitchen.
Last night I made a great summer dish ~ Grilled Pork Kebabs with Peach Melba Sauce. We have a terrace in our new London flat, so we have already been grilling up a storm since we arrived. I started with a
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Pan-Latin Picadillo
It’s time to spice up your dinner routine and I’ve got the perfect recipe to turn up the heat. It’s a traditional Latin American dish called, “Picadillo.” Although there are many variations of Picadillo depending on the country the recipe is coming from, in general it is comprised of ground meat and a mix of local vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and onions. To accompany the Picadillo, I wanted to prepare tostones – fried plantains – but in order to make them a little more healthy, I decided to bake them instead of fry. Once baked, they came out crispy and full of flavor. I highly recommended this method. Once everything was prepared and smells of fresh and fiery Latin American flavors filled the kitchen, I served the delicious blend of ground pork and veal over crispy baked plantains, or tostones, and a homemade smooth salsa, bursting with fragrant cilantro, tomatoes, onions and jalapeño.
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Lemon Dijon Herb-Crusted Grilled Pork Tenderloin
This is my second post this season on grilling (yes, summer hasn’t even started!) and I’m thrilled to share this recipe for marinated grilled pork tenderloin. With a hearty dose of fresh thyme and rosemary, this recipe takes on many flavors that all blend together perfectly. If you like mustard and tangy sauces, this one is for you. In order to fully flavor the pork, you have to prepare this marinade the night before and let the meat marinate in the refrigerator overnight. The marinade is somewhat thick and is loaded with fine herbs, creating a sort of “crust” on the pork. Tonight my boyfriend grilled the pork tenderloin we had marinated overnight and it came out tender and juicy, with a definite kick of dijon contrasting beautifully with the freshness of the herbs. Bon Appétit!
