Author: platesmates

A festive feast with a difference tonight, giving us the chance to try out different Christmas favourites from around the world.

Starters

Sue – Coquilles St Jacques from France

A lovely combination of scallops, white wine and shallots. Sue told us that most French families have it as their starter on Christmas Eve. Should be served in a shell but none were available – ramekins served as an excellent substitute. Sue didn’t include any cheese because it’s not authentically French. We all loved it, what a treat.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/dec/12/how-to-cook-the-perfect-coquilles-st-jacques

Jus – Stuffed mushrooms from Italy

Jus had been looking for a while for a recipe. She had looked at Poland, but it wasn’t doing it for her. She actually doesn’t like mushrooms, but thought it would go well with the scallops. The recipe came from Noble Pig cookbook. The room was divided between the mushroom lovers and not. Lovely stuffing of mozzarella and Parmesan.

Mains

Janet – Roasted ham from the UK

This was a Nigella recipe from ‘Christmas’, made in a slow cooker using ginger ale with a glaze of ginger marmalade, mustard, dark sugar, ginger and cloves. Really moreish, it was hard to stop picking pieces off Debrah’s beautiful plate that Janet was proudly utilising.

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/ginger-glazed-ham

Tracey – Tudor salmon en croute – 14th to 16th century from the UK

Travelling through time instead of geography, Tracey delighted us with this different take on a salmon in pastry. During Tudor times you would show your opulence by using lots of spices, and this recipe also used almonds, ginger and raisins. It was a Jane Grigson recipe which used shortcrust pastry, not the expected puff. It was accompanied by a delicious and extremely rich sauce.

Sides

Julie – Ghapama from Armenia

This should have been a pumpkin, but none were available, so she used a round green squash instead, possibly a Crown Prince. It was stuffed with rice, raisins, nuts and other spices. Straightforward apart from cutting the top off. Very tasty, and an extremely impressive centrepiece.

https://thearmeniankitchen.com/ghapama-stuffed-baked-pumpkin-recipe/

Debrah – Rödbetssallad from Sweden

This used pickled beetroot which was presented after Julie had just said that she hated it! It also contained Granny Smith apples, mayonnaise, dill and chives. Away from the beetroot haters, this was delicious, tart and refreshing against the richness of some of the other dishes.

https://www.swedishfood.com/swedish-food-recipes-side-dishes/441-beetroot-salad

Desserts

Karen – Bûche de Noel from France

Karen spent hours on this, using YouTube to help her learn how to roll the Swiss roll. It was a Genoese sponge with a frosting with cream cheese. Chocolate version for the top, plain inside. Karen says she’ll never do it again, but that was widely thought to be a great pity, as it was delicious.

https://www.plattertalk.com/bouche-de-noel-yule-log/

Jane – Turron from Spain

This soft version of the Spanish sweet is commonly served at Christmas. If the beetroot and the mushrooms divided the room, that was nothing compared to the Turron. I think I was the only one who liked it…. Similar to marzipan, but with added lemon and cinnamon which cut through some of the sweetness, and involving whisking an egg white into boiling honey which was quite exciting!

https://www.carolinescooking.com/turron-de-jijona-spanish-soft-nougat/

There was some trepidation about this choice in advance – but in the end it was one of the most delicious meals we’ve had. Vegan food has come a long way.

Starters

Karen – Roasted butternut squash and red onion with tahini and zaatar.

From Jerusalem. A bit fiddly but worth the faff. Lovely crunchy textures against the softness of the squash. 11 out of 10. We all loved it, and later remembered that Karen made it for the Ottolenghi Jerusalem night a couple of years ago!

Julie – Tacos with squash, coriander and black beans

From Waitrose magazine. It should have included an ancho chili, but she used a paste instead. Should be feta but Julie used vegan feta. This tasted very similar to normal, but had a different consistency. The tacos were accidentally vegan! Another very tasty, very successful dish.

Mains

Jane – Gado Gado Indonesian salad with peanut/coconut dressing.

I knew this would be a success, as I couldn’t stop eating the dressing whilst making it! So tasty, with peanut butter, coconut and spices. From the green roasting tin book. It made a massive portion, frankly no bad thing as it gave me lots of leftovers. Sue was so keen she was going to make it the next day.

Sue – Stuffed squash with mushrooms and sunflower mince

Sunflower mince was a new ingredient to many of us, made of ground sunflower seeds. This dish had lots of sage, almond yogurt, fresh parsley and hazelnuts. Recipe from Mindful chef. Tasty, but the recipe asked for only 30 minutes in the oven, and it actually needed a lot longer.

Sides

Jus – Roasted carrots in maple syrup

Jus used the leftover carrots from our weekend away, on a dare from Tracey. Cooked in dairy free butter ‘which is obviously disgusting’, covered up in maple syrup. Given she currently has no kitchen, to produce anything was impressive – it was a delicious contribution!

Tracey – Roasted aubergine salad

This was from BBC good food, and had a tasty resonance of an Italian caponata. It used pomegranate molasses in the dressing which made it beautifully zesty. The recipe was a bit confusing about the garlic. It also had honey in it so it wasn’t actually vegan – we didn’t care, but reckoned we could swap it for maple syrup if feeding true vegans.

Desserts

Debrah – Raspberry and cassis sorbet

This was another recipe from BBC good food. It was supposed to need 4 hours to set, and was still runny after 11 hours. But that didn’t prevent it from being utterly delicious, though still pretty soft. Maybe it was the cassis that stopped it setting? Definitely a dessert to make again, but maybe leave a couple of days to freeze!

Janet – easy chocolate tart

And another BBC good food recipe. Lots of digestive biscuits (who knew they were vegan!), whizzed with cocoa powder and golden syrup etc. Then unusually the crumb base is baked for ten minutes. Solid part of coconut milk with dark chocolate was baked with a little flour. When it was warm it tasted like chocolate blancmange, when cool it had a slight coconut flavour but the dark chocolate balanced it very well.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-chocolate-tarthttps://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-chocolate-tart

Another lovely warm summer evening. It was great to be back with my friends after an adventure, and feeling comforted by their ample bosoms…..

Starters

Tzatziki – Justine

This was from Jamie Oliver One. Jus halved the amount of garlic suggested – probably a good thing!

Houmous – Karen

From BBC good food traditional recipe with tahini and lemon.

Mains

Moussaka – Janet

This was a triumph. From Taverna by Georgina Hayden, it used pork and beef mince instead of lamb. The veg was roasted in the oven. It was really tasty, but took most of the day to make.

Spanakopita – Tracey

There are lots of versions of this, but Tracey used an online version with frozen spinach, parsley, onion, garlic, eggs and dill. It could be made ahead, but Tracey did it fresh at Janet’s.

Sides

Potato salad – Debrah

Wow, this was lovely. It was from Under the Olive tree, using kalamata olives, gherkins, capers and dill. Really sharp and not claggy. Definitely one to repeat.

Watermelon and feta salad – Sue

This was very refreshing and tasty, though it was very fiddly to remove the seeds from the watermelon and the cucumber.

Puddings

Portakalopita (orange cake) – Julie

This is a filo pastry cake that Julie watched on YouTube. An orange that’s been boiled for an hour was whizzed up with filo pastry that’s been soaked in eggs etc. Then sugar syrup was poured on the top. It was quite solid but very tasty.

Baklava from Waitrose – Jane

Well done to Mr Waitrose for this tasty offering – good in that they were small portions that didn’t overwhelm given they’re very sweet.

I’m writing this from Janet’s notes as I wasn’t there, but having briefly Zoomed into the evening from the north of England, it had seemed a lovely relaxed night outside on a warm summer evening, very suitable for tapas.

Gazpacho purchased from Waitrose – Janet

Orange and fennel salad – Debrah

This was from the Easy Book of Tapas. A lovely fresh salad, perfect with a barbecue.

Russian salad – Tracey

This was from the M and S tapas book. It used mixed veg, and Tracey made her own mayo. It had capers, gherkins, olives, potatoes and tuna with oil (otherwise the salad would be a bit dry). Needed to use waxy potatoes.

Garlic mushrooms – Karen

This was easy, using mushrooms, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice. It was easy to make, but there were only 4 each, as Karen had eaten a lot while making it….

Albonigas meatballs – Julie

These were made with pork. The original sauce was tasteless, so Julie binned it and used a rich sauce recipe from James Martin instead.

Authentic seafood paella – Sue

This was time consuming and fiddly. Sue used red onion instead of white. Stock from a stock cube, and used monkfish, prawns, mussels and smoked paprika.

Camino cake – Justine

Really easy recipe. It should have had orange, but she used pink grapefruit. Then Tom ate her eggs so she bought some from Best One which were out of date. Gluten free with no flour or butter. It brought back lots of memories for Karen who cycled the trail, and Tracey who holidayed there. Delicious.

Quite a challenge this month, as there weren’t many recipes available on line. But what we came up with was delicious, and although similar to Ainsley’s from a couple of months ago none the worse for that!

Starters

Carrot and sweet potato soup – Jane

This was very tasty, whilst being helpfully very easy. I used a scotch bonnet chilli with a little trepidation, but was very pleased with the way the flavour and spiciness permeated the taste without being overbearing. The recipe served a comfortable 10 despite being written in theory for 4

Spicy crab parcels – Julie

A mixture of crab, mango, red onion and avocado all served on a lettuce leaf. Although light and enjoyable, the crab was overpowered by the mango and the onion

Mains

Caribbean chicken curry – Sue and Karen

For the first time since PWM started, we had identical main courses. Both Sue and Karen had adapted their recipes, with different ingredients omitted. Generally we all liked the fruit with the spiciness.

Sides

Rice and peas – Justine

Lovely tasty rice and peas, with lots of warmth from the scotch bonnet. Nothing better as a Caribbean accompaniment!

Hot and fruity coleslaw – Debrah

Debrah was concerned that the ‘dry’ nature of the coleslaw wouldn’t work against the ‘wet’ nature of the curries. But it was a great addition, with a lovely light dressing compared to the usual claggy mayonnaise.

Puddings

Sweet potato pudding – Janet

This was one of the three puddings on offer online. Lots of sweet potato, sugar and so many Christmassy spices that it felt quite unseasonal. Also a bit reminiscent of a pumpkin pie – it was similarly moist in the middle. It proved a dangerous dish – who knew that almond essence could be so corrosive!

Ginger, pecan, rum and chocolate brownies – Tracey

This was a particular hit with Sue, who declared it the best brownie she had ever tasted! And Costco wasn’t involved at all…The stem ginger and pecans were especially lovely, providing extra crunch and a zing of taste.

A lovely trip to Italy to celebrate many things, most notably Debrah’s announcement of her retirement. Sticking to one book (mainly) worked really well, the meal hung together beautifully. We missed Janet, but she was enjoying Sicilian food!

Starters

Piedmontese lentil and bean soup – Tracey

This included garlic, onions and beans with rosemary and thyme. Very easy to make, and tasted deliciously healthy.

Crostini with mozzarella, Parma ham, figs and honey – Julie

Julie made her own ciabatta which was delicious and chewy. The recipe for the ciabatta came from her James Morton bread book. This was a simple layered starter, but the simplicity belied just how tasty it was.

Mains

Salmon with pistachio and herb crust – Debrah

The slightly surprising note of honey in amongst the breadcrumbs and get a was a very welcome addition.

Sides

Oven roasted asparagus with sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts – Karen

This was the only dish that didn’t come from the Hidden Italy book, but that was easily forgiven due to how incredibly tasty it was!

Lentils with butternut squash – Jane

This looked very unappealing due to the green of the lentils turning a bit sludgy. But it tasted good with the contrast of the lemon, dried fruit and nuts against the pulses.

Puddings

Chocolate mousse with raspberries and pistachios – Justine

This was the second attempt, as the first effort went completely solid. The second time it started to do the same thing, but Jus rescued it, and very successfully too. Beautifully served in tea cups that came from her grandad’s house.

Tiramisu – Sue

Sue made a milder version than suggested in the recipe – it turned out very light and lovely with the Amaretto. There were a few people who were not normally tiramisu fans who were totally won over!

This was Karen’s choice, kindly hosted by Tracey, and brilliantly we were all there – even Philip and Andrew made an appearance as faces on spoons! A lovely meal, with the ingredients hanging together very well. We agreed we would certainly make many of these dishes again.

Starters

Chunky pumpkin pepper pot soup – Jus

The recipe asked for scotch bonnet chillies, but Jus swapped it for standard red chilli. It was also suggested to keep the soup chunky, but Jus blitzed some of it to make it less like a stew. Really tasty, felt very nourishing.

https://www.ainsley-harriott.com/recipe/chunky-pumpkin-pepperpot-soup/

Baked prawn and chilli ginger cake – Sue

This was a softer version of the traditional Thai fish cake, with the addition of bread changing the texture. Strong on ginger, but not as powerful with prawn. Lots of orange in the very tasty relish. Janet and Tracey decided it didn’t break their no bread for Lent rule….

https://www.ainsley-harriott.com/recipe/baked-prawn-chilli-ginger-cakes/

Mains

Dutchie pot peanut butter chicken stew – Julie

A lovely tasty, fragrant stew. Julie also swapped in normal chillies for the Scotch bonnet ones, but it was still spicy.

https://www.ainsley-harriott.com/recipe/dutchie-pot-peanut-butter-chicken-stew/

Chicken calypso – Tracey

Another chicken stew, but very different flavours. This is a classic dish of Dominica, and tasted warming and comforting. The chicken was marinated in lots of spices overnight. The recipe asked for guava jelly, but apricot jam served as a good substitute.

https://www.ainsley-harriott.com/recipe/dutchie-pot-peanut-butter-chicken-stew/

Sides

Asparagus and pea side – Debrah

This was a big success, fresh and lemony and could easily stand on its own as a main. He suggests wild garlic in the recipe, could be a way of making the most of the bounty in Hodgemoor in the Spring!

https://www.ainsley-harriott.com/recipe/asparagus-pea-mint-wild-garlic-couscous-salad/

Loaded sweet potatoes – Karen

The recipe asked for Ainsley’s own brand couscous, but Karen subbed that for normal, which was fine. The dish had a lovely mixture of sweetness against the tartness of the Greek yogurt.

https://www.ainsley-harriott.com/recipe/loaded-sweet-potato-jackets-with-caribbean-grains/

Puddings

Iced caffe latte cups – Jane

This was by far the easiest pudding I’d ever made, but extremely successful nonetheless. It possibly took me two minutes. It was very tasty, icy in the same way as a granita. I swapped in full fat cream and evaporated milk for the low fat versions he suggests, which possibly made it creamier.

https://www.ainsley-harriott.com/recipe/iced-caffe-latte-cups/

Mango and passion fruit traybake with lime and passion fruit yogurt – Janet

The sharpness of the yogurt was a lovely contrast to the sweet moist cake. It was a good job Janet checked the use by date on her desiccated coconut!

https://www.ainsley-harriott.com/recipe/mango-passion-fruit-traybake-with-lime-passion-fruit-yoghurt/

We can’t believe it’s taken so long to get to the blessed Mary, she was worth the wait! Thanks to Tracey for choosing her, and Karen for hosting. We missed Julie, but hope that she’ll be up and around ready to come to Tracey’s next time.

Starters

Sue – salmon and horseradish pate

The dish was lined with smoked salmon, and the pate then filled it. The recipe suggested putting it in the freezer, but Sue didn’t have time, so it was quite soft and tricky to cut. But absolutely delicious. The horseradish divided the group, some thought it was perfect, others that the recipe could have taken more. https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/first-courses/twosided-herbed-smoked-salmon-and-horseradish-pate

Tracey – Goat’s cheese and shallot tart with walnut pastry

These had the delicious addition of walnuts in the pastry. They were added once the pastry had been completed, Tracey would have changed the recipe to make it with the walnuts from the outset.https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/goats_cheese_and_shallot_60881

Mains

Debrah – Salmon and fennel with white wine and petits pois

A one pot wonder that was extremely tasty, the fennel giving a zing to the flavour, and although it used creme fraiche it wasn’t especially rich. Definitely one to repeat. https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/main-courses/salmon-fennel-onepot-wonder

Karen – Chicken Valencia

The chicken thighs were meltingly tender, and the whole dish was absolutely delicious. Easy to make, and less than an hour to cook. It was thickened with flour, but not stodgy. And remarkably, Karen almost didn’t trial it! https://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/main-courses/chicken-valencia

Sides

Justine – Sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts

Brought forward from the cancelled Christmas session, and thank goodness it wasn’t missed out, this excellent recipe was a big hit. Jus used the chestnuts in packets, but could also have used frozen. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sprouts_with_chestnuts_87565

Puddings

Janet – Hazelnut meringue raspberry cake

The recipe suggested roasting the hazelnuts in their skins and then put them in a tea towel, rub them and the skins would just fall off. It didn’t work for Janet, so she just ground them up with the skins and would buy peeled hazelnuts next time. The hazelnut addition to the meringue was lovely, really chewy and tasty. Janet went off piste with the recipe and added some chopped stem ginger to the cream and raspberries. Definitely a variation to tell Mary about. https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/hazelnut-meringue-cake/

Jane – Cranachan

Jane gave us this pudding as a nod to Burns Night. Toasted oats with sugar mixed with cream, mascarpone and whiskey. It divided the room between those who liked whiskey and those who didn’t, but the crunch of the oats against the cream was good. And it led to a reading of some Robbie Burns at the end of the evening which was memorable for the accent alone…. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cranachan_49732

A theme instead of a book or author this time, it was lovely to savour the luxurious French cuisine. And there was the odd beret to get us in the mood too.

Starters

Karen – French onion soup

A Raymond Blanc recipe, this involved caramelising lovely sweet Spanish onions for a long time, and adding plenty of white wine!

Tracey – Pissaladiere

Tracey – Pissaladiere

Tracey very thoughtfully provided a third of the dish sans anchovies. A straw poll determined that half the group enjoy their intense saltiness, the others, not so much…. The recipe was a combo of BBC good food and the work of a handsome YouTuber. The caramelised onions (again) were cooked for two hours, and their intense sweetness against the anchovy was delicious.

Mains

Janet – Tartiflette

A meal designed for apres ski, we agreed this was also perfectly appropriate for a Tuesday in Bucks. Delicious new potatoes layered with Reblochon and lardons, together with (yes more) caramelised onions. An Olive recipe, it was a hit.

https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/tartiflette/

Jane – Chicken legs stuffed with mushrooms and Comte

This involved learning a lot of new knife skills, boning 8 chicken legs and then tying up the stuffed gaps took a lot of time. But the results were good, a moist tasty dish.

Sides

Justine – Ratatouille

This was from Raymond Blanc Cooking for Friends. Justine was surprised that the recipe used so little tomato, and felt that it didn’t have the ratatouille feel that she was expecting.

Debrah – Tian

This was a recommendation and recipe from Debrah’s sister in law Melanie, who lives in France. She uses this as a standard side dish. It felt like a vertical ratatouille, with similar ingredients but presented in a very different and most attractive way to normal.

Puddings

Julie – Tarte Tatin

A Raymond Blanc recipe, this caused Julie a few technical difficulties, finding it hard to choose an appropriate receptacle, and then burning her hands twice trying to remove it from the frying pan that she eventually used. It was worth the blisters though, very tasty and a nicely tart tart.

Sue – Clafoutis

Another Raymond Blanc recipe. It called for cherries in Kirsch, but Sue didn’t have any, so swapped it for Amaretto instead. That gave a lovely nutty warmth to the pudding. It was served with a white chocolate and cream sauce. There was an inadvertent ingredient swap at this point, with Oreo chocolate swapped for plain white chocolate. It was genius.

Such a lot has changed since the last time we met up! But the desire to join and swap recipes and discuss food stayed strong through the pandemic, and it was wonderful to be finally back in a room together sharing some delicious dishes. We missed Philip and Andrew at the first meeting since they left, and also missed Sue and Janet who couldn’t make it. However a select gathering of 6 had a great evening nonetheless.

Bazaar by Sabrina Ghayour was widely praised as a book that we would regularly return to. All the dishes were delicious!

Starters

Karen – Feta and spring onion stuffed potato skins

We enjoyed the tastiness of this starter, with the soft mash combined with the other ingredients. Although not difficult, Karen reported that it was time consuming. The tarragon was a slightly surprising but delicious flavour note.

Jane – Lime and Allspice Paneer with Chilli and Mango Salsa

This was extremely easy to make! It was interesting using whole allspice berries for the first time, I’d only ever seen it ground before. The paneer was crispy and well spiced and the salsa was a great contrast.

Main

Justine – Caramelised onion, feta and olive tart

Justine was concerned that the lack of blind baking had resulted in the infamous soggy bottom. But the general view was that the pastry was well cooked, and the tart was very tasty. We wonder whether the recipe should have suggested blind baking anyway to relieve the anxiety of it being undercooked.

Sides

Tracey – Sweet potato, coconut and thyme bake

This was unctuous and delicious, very much comfort food. Although the coconut milk wasn’t particularly noticeable as a flavour, we think it contributed to the lusciousness of the dish – there was certainly a lot of oil left in the bowl when we finished it. It wasn’t crispy on top like a potato dauphinoise might have been, but Tracey thought this was possibly the result of travelling.

Julie – Garlic and chilli mashed butternut squash

Another dish with lots of garlic, apologies to all who met us the next morning! Julie said that this was very easy to make. The softness of the squash was contrasted very effectively by the pine nuts, with the tahini and sumac as flavoursome additions. And the chilli was very warming too!

Pudding

Debrah – Raspberry and mascarpone no-bake cheesecake

This finished the evening off triumphantly – what a delicious pudding! Some are normally not convinced by a no bake cheesecake, but this was a game changer. Really light and full of flavour, with none of the rubberiness that can sometimes occur. We agreed that it could easily work as a mousse without the biscuit base.