The Lodge Christmas Party

So we celebrate our Christmas party with some Mulled Wine, a cheese board with about 8 types of cheese (Among them an interesting goat blue cheese, and also manchego, reblochon, vintage cheedar, gouda, brie, smoke cheese and goat soft cheese) We also had chicken liver pate, most people's favourite apparently, since it almost dissapear; and then black olive tapenade, aubergine pate, feta cheese, walnut and herbs pate, and beetroot relish. All homemade :)
I think everybody enjoyed it a lot.

Andri's Lamb

Andri got inspired one morning (apparently, with the help of Andreas' suggestions) adn decided to cook one of the lamb recipes from the Silver Spoon book: Lamb with Mushrooms. I would have never thought a creamy sauce with lamb, but it was so good, I think I may reproduce it for Christmas.

Silver Spoon

Re my last comment, I thought I'd just post the book cover and give people the link to the Amazon place for this encyclopedia Italian cook book. So here it is: 

 

It's a perfect Christmas gift, if you're still searching. This book also contains a whole section with 'Menues from Famous Chefs', which we've yet to try out, although we definitely should - at least some of them.

Pizza night!

I was very happy when the boys called me to ask whether I wanted to have pizza with them for dinner, particularly because Andri was making them. Andri doesn't cook a lot but he is very perfectionist when he does. The garlic bread that he makes is just perfect to me, and its texture and delicated flavour, so I though these pizzas were gonna be good!

And so they were, but I think Andreas was also involved in deciding the toppings.
We have one with mushrooms and feta cheese, another with anchovies, and the last, my favourite, with prosciutto, rocket and some pesto... mmm

Audacious sushi feast

Several of the Lodge's regular diners were strongly inclined to agree that, this time, Laura had surpassed even the most lofty expectations. Andri, being something of a japano-phile, was treated to a sushi feast beyond the wildest dreams of any shogun, when he turned 28 (just a kid, you see) a few days ago. Tuna and salmon nigiri, maki in transcendental quantities, gyozas in heaps, tempura - the most aesthetic of deep-fryings... truly amok. If anyone was still in doubt, it has been vindicated once and for all - The Lodge is the best place to eat in St Andrews.

La Quiche

another simple meal, basically I thought in using up all the camembert that i had stored in the fridge for some reason... we were thinking what to mix with camembert in a quiche ( oh yes, ham and cream and eggs sounds wonderful, but I wanted to make it as light as possible) so we came out with leeks as an option, and i didn't use but 2 spoons of half fat creme fraiche that also needed to be used up) I love to make up meal from leftovers or things like need to be used.
So here is the camembert and leek quiche in a wholemeal crust, with beans and Andreas'mcarrot orange and sesame seed salad :)

spontaneous dinner

Andri called that he has some quail eggs, special gift of the Landsberg boy and Andreas shouted that he is not gonna eat such thing (because he thought they tasted really weird and disgusting) Andri said that he was getting food for dinner, I proposed some pork, then put some rice in the rice cooker.



We were just sort of chating in the kitchen while cooking no fuss dinner... and this is what we get... amazing dinner. I love when this happens.
Andreas cooked the pork to perfection, I'd say. I usually dry it to much, but his were juicy and tender. I added some broad beans to the rice. And of course the quail eggs... which Andreas eat in the end, but then was a bit dissapointed that they tasted just like chicken eggs.

Gnocchi Dinner

Yesterday was one of the last few dates in the year that we are all gonna be around so I thought it would be nice to have dinner all together and cook something big. I also invited Maria and Javier and it was a great night. I did homemade gnocchi. The previous night I had cooked parsnip and honey soup just because they needed to be used up, and turned up so nice that I added to the menu. Last minute I decided to make some sweet potatos crisps to go on top. They were so tasty.


I also made a Semifreddo for first time (something in between a mousse and an Ice cream) which is extremely easy to make and results in a delicious velvety cream. I made it with greek honey and almonds. I regret I forgot to take a picture of it though.

Beetroot relish and goat's cheese starter

Now this is an example of creativity. Laura made this starter by improvising over two of the recipes in the Laundry Cookbook, and it was great. The sweet beetroot relish goes very well with the cheese. I loved it. The photo is a bit dark, though, but it's enough to set your mind going. Can you feel the pull?

Scones

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Home alone quick meal

In a very unusual turn of events, I found myself home alone in the Lodge this evening. So, I decided to make one of my favourite quick dishes: Tofu and fried vegetables with rice.

I always fry the tofu quite hard for this one and with a good pinch of curry and ground cumin. The best thing is to not use any heavyweight vegetables, so no carrots, no onions (although I always include garlic). It makes for nice colours to only allow green vegetables, e.g. spring onions, green beans, squash and as I did here savoy cabage.

The secret, though, to making this exquisite is to have a really good soya. I prefer tamari which is mild and for some reason goes really well with tofu. Use a good deal of tamari at the very end - never let tamari boil on the pan for more than half a minute or so.

Pasta night

Ok, I made homemade tagliatelli again, and also rocket pesto. But I made it mixing half and half the Farina di Semola with kind of normal flour (tesco pasta flour) The result was good but a softer pasta than the previous one, made only with Farina di Semola.
I realised that it is not a good idea to have this soft delicated tagliatelli with pesto because of its stickiness. They would go better with a bolognesa, or a creamy sauce. But overall they were equally appreciated and devoured.





The usual (and very keen) photographer was not in the mood for photos that night, so we don't have a picture, but Anders took one of us AT the table, which is good to have too. In the plates you can still see some of the homemade focaccia and the mozarella and tomato salad. In the background you can see the pasta resting in the counter.

I must said that the wine La Grola, as all the wine we usually drink along these meals, was very good, Elia's choice.

our daily heaven

homemade bread... warm from the oven, with a bit a butter, maybe some cheese or homemade strawberry jam.

I wonder why one does never get tired of these simple foods, even when eaten everyday.

The Japanese Meal

Our little meal turned out really good. I made Agedashi tofu for starter, and Andreas did a teriyaki beef as main, and we had rice done in the new rice cooker. Elia, one of our habitues, brought japanese beer. He always take our invitations for dinner seriously.



I wont comment on the tofu, because I prefer other's opinions on what I cook. Andreas' beef was really good, tender in spite of the tendency beef has to get sort of boiled in our western-very weak heat type of cookers.




I missed dessert though...

THIS is a book

and THEN there will be serious cooking in this house...


I browse through this book today while we were having lunch in a Eatery, a sort of delicatesssen resto, and the recipes were just pure sophistication... so I told the boys and Andri bought it!!! Yes!!
ooohhh this is gonna be amazing

I am gonna try the chesnut ravioli with fontina and celeriac sauce...

Not to be neglected

Laura's fresh pasta
Originally uploaded by Mr. Akwekwe

And let's not forget the pasta, while we're at it. Laura made this with this flour that we bought in Valvona & Crolla in Edinburgh. It proved to be really, really good pasta. And it was still great even after it had been dried.

Tofu and grilled courgettes lasagne

Tofu and grilled courgettes lasagne
Originally uploaded by Mr. Akwekwe

Let me just blog that lasagna! It was really nice. Just look at this sea of cheese. I guess it's understandable that Lau wanted a light week after this.

a simple meal

So, this was gonna be a very light meal, because we had decided to have a week of light food, after my Homemade Ravioli di Zucca with Sage Butter on Thursday and the Tofu and Grilled Courgettes Lasagne Andreas had made for the weekend.
In the end I used up a leftover tomato and chicken sauce and made a tomato soup by just adding some water and milk and blend it well. Then I grilled some chicken that I have previously marinated... this marinade is the most simple and obvious thing you would do if you want to marinate any meat, but it works so well. I suspect it is the amount of lemon I put on it. I couldn't tell how much is it, but I suspect is more than they usually say. With butterflied chicken breast the result is total tenderness. I also roasted some butternut squash and sautéed brussels sprouts with garlic (these boys are good, they even eat brussels sprouts!) Andri gave me a point, and so did Andreas, in spite that he still complained that a two courses dinner wasn't his idea of a "light meal".

Yeeeees

We have it at last!!

we should have taken pictures of the ravioli, which I think began the realization of the very serious cooking that is going on IN our house...

Fish in a Parcel

Fish in a Parcel
Originally uploaded by Mr. Akwekwe

Just a test. Look at these Sea Bass in parcels! They were quite nice.