Carrying on the Lemon theme, I wanted to use up a few leftover goodies from this week. I decided to make this simple but yummy frozen dessert.

I used a 1 litre loaf tin, double lined it with Clingfilm making sure I had enough hanging over to fold over the top. I had some leftover Madeira cake, I sliced 3 1cm pieces & lined the base of the tin, I poured over some homemade Limoncello onto the sponge cake, you can of course use any liqueur you wish but I was looking for a lemon taste. I mixed 300ml of Mascarpone with 2 tablespoons of icing sugar in a bowl, you can use double cream whipped up with the icing sugar, but unfortunately I cannot get fresh double cream here in France. Please adjust the sweetness to your own preference. I added the juice of a lemon & its zest to keep the citrus theme going. Spread 2/3^rd of the cream over the sponge, on top of this I spread a generous layer of Lemon curd (look at my last Blog for recipe). I had 2 meringue shells needing used up, so I crumbled them over the lemon curd. Finally top it all off with the remaining cream. Use a skewer to swirl through the mix then fold over the overlapping Clingfilm & place in the freezer for 24 hours.

To serve turn the tin out onto a plate about 10 minutes before eating, remove the Clingfilm spoon over any fruit you have available – Bon Appetite

One of my favourite food ingredients is lemons, I love their zingy taste, and they help liven almost any dish. I start my day with a glass of hot water 2 slices of lemon, its cleansing effect is very beneficial to the kidneys & aids as a flush through. When I have a cold I add a spoonful of honey, & during the winter months a slice of root ginger along with the lemon is an additional tonic for the liver.

Recently I came across a brilliant recipe for a Microwave version of Lemon curd. Courtesy of a fellow Blogger Kirstin Bousing. At first I had my doubts, its so simple & very quick; however it proved to be a really great way to make this very useful conserve.

Method:

In a large Pyrex bowl whisk 3 eggs & 2 egg yolks, add 160g caster sugar, the rind of 1 lemon, 160ml lemon juice, 125g diced butter, microwave uncovered (7-10 minutes) 50% power, whisk every minute, meanwhile warm 2 jam jars to sterilize. When the Lemon curd has thickened pour it into the warm jars. Once the conserve is cold keep it in the fridge. I promise you once you have tried this method you’ll never make it any other way.

Finally winter is arriving here at www.chateauperroterie.com. The days are shorter and the blue skies have disappeared. In my kitchen it is cosy and warm, time I think to make some soup.

A quick look into my freezer and I spot some simple carrot soup – perfect. Once it defrosts I can add to it, and today that will be garlic, ginger, honey, and a dash of coconut cream. The colour is amazing, and the health properties of this both is awesome. 

New Year greetings to all our clients & friends from Chateau Perroterie.

This year we spent Christmas in the UK with our family, we decided to drive over & make a few overnight stops en route, breaking up the journey & giving us a chance to see parts of France we haven’t yet visited. Our car was packed with so much wine & food goodies (2 particular cheeses could perhaps have been left behind - Pooo!) there was barely room for presents! Our two little grandsons are at the perfect age, & they really embraced the magic & excitement that only children can truly experience.

Now we are home & enjoying the continued mild winter, so no excuse for putting off all those outdoor jobs. This is our busiest time for enquiries & bookings, & they have been flooding in, 2012 is already a huge success & we can’t wait to meet all our new clients & of course welcome back our clients who are returning for a second & in some cases third time.

Whilst John is busy outdoors, I am busy in my lovely cosy kitchen cooking & testing out new recipes for this year. My biggest challenge is to come up with new ideas especially for our vegetarian guests. France has not grasped the concept of vegetarian cuisine, so I am doing my best to be creative with what is available & more importantly in season between April – October. I hope my efforts will be enjoyed by all my non meat eaters, only time will tell.

Chocolate delights

Today I made my annual Christmas visit to our local chocolate factory; it has to be my favorite part of Christmas shopping. Guinguet have been making chocolates since 1950. This visit is very high up on our client’s wish list along with visiting vineyards.

Guinguet specialize in prunes dipped in chocolate, picked and dried from their own nearby orchard, they are simply delicious. It’s really difficult to choose from the huge selection on offer, and to make it more difficult, you can sample as many chocolates as you can eat! After a very enjoyable 20 minutes I left with armfuls of lovely treats all beautifully wrapped. The French really know how to make the customers life easier.

And now for the history bit (could be useful for the pub quiz)!.The ancient Aztec and Maya civilizations were the first to recognize the potency of chocolate and used it to celebrate the harvest of the cacao beans. They brewed it into a hot, spicy drink and believed it gave them wisdom, enlightenment and sexual prowess. Only men in the ruling and religious classes were allowed to drink the chocolate.

Cocoa beans were used as currency by the Mayan and Aztec cultures. Perhaps this is where the saying "Money grows on trees" came from.

In the 16th century, the Spanish crushed the Aztec empire and took home the Aztec methods of extracting undiluted unsweetened liquor from fermented cacao beans. They sweetened the drink with honey and sugar and for years it remained a rich man’s drink. In the 17th century, chocolate became popular across Europe. It was still sold only as a drink and as it attracted high import duties, was enjoyed by the rich. In due course, chocolate drinking houses opened and these became popular meeting places. Around 1700, the English started adding milk, so making the drink less bitter.

A few useful factoids you may not know: -

* For chocolate to be lethal, a person has to consume 22lb of chocolate.

* There are no allergies caused by chocolates.

* Eating a chocolate before a meal will take the appetite away hence, it helps to keep a balance diet.

* Chocolate releases the hormone, serotonin, which makes a person feel relaxed, calm, and happy.

* Unlike the common belief, chocolate is not high in caffeine as ten chocolate bars would equate to only one cup of coffee.

* The reason why chocolate is good for humans is that cacao beans contain theobromine that helps to enlarge blood vessels, which then treats high blood pressure.

* Normally, the shelf life of a bar of chocolate is a year, but it can be put in a freezer to be kept indefinitely.

* Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than green tea, and just as many as blueberries.

* Allowing chocolate to melt in your mouth produces the same or even stronger reactions as passionately kissing.

As if you needed any convincing that a little chocolate is actually good for you!. I hope all you chocolate lovers out there enjoy your share of chocolate treats this Christmas, remember 9 out of 10 people like chocolate, the 10th person always lies!

Winter has finally arrived here at Chateau Perroterie, strong winds and rain, its time for big roaring fires, and hearty salads…….. yes you read right, salad, it’s fast approaching the period of excess, rich foods, and copious amounts of alcohol. So John & I have decided we would move into cruise control and eat large salads till the festival season arrives.

Tonight the salad I created was a bowl of baby gems & Mache leaves, salmon cooked in butter and olive oil, then flaked, sliced cooked new potatoes, slithers of Serrano ham, sliced green olives, julienne carrots, the dressing was a blend of mayonnaise, crème fraiche or natural yoghurt, sugar, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, capers, thinned down with olive oil. I whizzed it all in a blender, but you can use a clean jam jar, taste and add seasonings if necessary. The dressing will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. Serve with crusty bread, and a glass of chilled white Sauvignon blanc, www.domainedelaulan.com . Yes just a simple salad!!!!!!

We were invited to our English neighbour’s vineyard for supper last night. Jacky & Iain Chater started up in business nearly 9 years ago, with no previous experience in the wine business, let alone the cultivation & production of wine. Jacky & Iain come from an IT background and are passionate about French wines. They now produce award winning wines, and recently they received their organic certification. They deliver all over the world and are rapidly becoming a serious “Tour de force”   

Our clients love visiting their vineyard; you are treated to a really interesting tour and of course, some great tastings at the end. View their website -

http://www.domainechater.com/vineyard.htm

Jacky made an amazing mushroom soup, followed by a rich Coq au Vin, a beautiful cheeseboard and finally a sweet mince Filo parcel with a yummy nutty ice cream. Sadly I forgot my camera so no lovely pictures, not that Jacky would’ve let me take any photos anyway!!.