Beef Stroganoff
After the huge success of our pork stroganoff a while back, we decided to try it with beef instead. We found a recipe and followed it, but the result was not as good as the pork stroganoff. We’ll try it again using exactly the same recipe that we used for the pork, except use beef instead. Served with purple sprouting broccoli which was good.
F
Mmmmmm cheeeeeese…
On Friday night we decided to have something easy to prepare for dinner. We had various nibbly bits and then had a selection of four cheeses, each individually selected from Neal’s Yard Dairy.
Clockwise, from the bottom round… Coolea (full in the mouth, slightly nutty aftertaste, very good indeed), Keen’s Cheddar (very sharp; I think this was a bit past it), Tunworth (an unpasteurised cows’ milk cheese, a bit camembert-like, very good) and Chabis (goats’ milk, an interesting cross between chalky and creamy, but not as fully flavoured as one that we’ve had recently; probably needs a bit more time to mature).
F
Lemongrass Marinated Beef
We have been planning to cook this for a while but have been distracted by various things along the way. We got around to it tonight and it was really good. The vegetables in the marinade (shallots, lemongrass, garlic, chilli) were supposed to be ground to a puree, but our mortar and pestle weren’t really up to the job so it was a bit chunkier than intended. It still worked well though. Served with stir-fried pak choi and mange tout and jasmine rice.
Sausages and Lentils
Tonight’s objective was to use lentils. I found lots of different lentilly recipes: fishy ones, lamby ones but Stephen, being Stephen, decided the only one to go with was the sausagey one. So that’s what we did, and it’s a good job I let him get his own way sometimes because it was a triumph.
Puy lentils, cooked with some bite. Sausages fried off then removed from the pan; shallots, garlic, sage, rosemary and chilli fried then combined with a red wine reduction, stock and the previously cooked lentils. All heated through with some fresh parsley and served with sausages on top and French bread on the side.
G
Cauliflower Cheese (and Roasted Butternut with Chicken Casserole)
We had some chicken thighs that needed using up so last night, while we were cooking dinner, Stephen make a quick casserole. I heated this up tonight and served it with some vegetables that also needed using up.
I made some cauliflower cheese and some roasted butternut. I didn’t think they were going to go with the chicken very well but actually they did, which pleased me.
G
Harissa Roasted Chicken with Tabbouleh
Tonight, we roasted some chicken thighs in harissa and served them with tabbouleh. It was quick and tasty. We made the tabbouleh with lots more parsley than usual as recently we’ve had it a few times in Turkish restaurants and have noticed that this tends to be the primary ingredient. It was good but I should have chopped the parsley smaller.
G
Rolled, Stuffed Pork Loin
Tonight we decided to try stuffing a pork loin. Kerri made a sage, onion and bacon stuffing which we stuffed into the opened and flattened pork loin. We rolled it and Kerri tied it up with little bows. Served with roast potatoes, parsnips and peas. We’d planned to have butternut squash with it too but forgot somewhere along the way. Tasty though.
F
Mushrooms and Bacon on Toast, with Cheese
Breakfast:
Prawns, Steak and Dauphinoise Potatoes
Tonight, we had a mini feast. We started with tiger prawns (the last four in the shop) marinated in oil, garlic, lemon and chilli; then fried.
This was followed by two really big rib-eye steaks, seasoned with pepper then cooked medium rare:
We served these with dauphinoise potatoes:
It was all brilliant, and there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow too 🙂
G
Risotto
Not very exciting, but tasty. Bacon and broad bean risotto, with vermouth and rosemary.
G
