Really busy at the moment getting our property winterized, so a speedy easy supper needed. A quick look in my fridge where I found 2 chicken breasts, some jambon sec,  jar of cranberry sauce, & a piece of blue cheese. Here's what I have done.

Between 2 pieces of greaseproof paper place a chicken breast then let all your stress of the day out by hammering the meat (tenderising more chefy term) till its flat & twice its size. Spread a good spoonful of cranberry sauce onto the chicken followed by some crumbled cheese. Gently roll the breast forming a parcel shape, then lay out a couple of stripes of dried ham, place the chicken parcel on the edge & again roll till the breast is encircled in the ham, place in a roasting tin, then drizzle over some olive oil & salt & pepper. Cook in a moderate hot oven 400f, for 20-25 minutes, leaving enough time to have a soak in the bath with a chilled glass of Rose wine. Very satisfying end to a very satisfying day. Hope you too enjoy this sometime.

Love Angel Blogger.

Canasta card night

Well autumn is finally here & Brrh is it cold. With the cold evenings comes the ritual of beautiful log fires & cosy comfort food. Our good friend Jayne has invited us to an evening of cards or Canasta to be precise. I offered to supply supper & I decided it was time to drag out my autumn winter recipe book, this is a version of Delia Smith's Shepherd's Pie, I say version as I have tweaked it over the years.
2 Onions diced
2 Carrots diced
2 little white turnips
chopped fresh thyme & fresh parsley
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 Tsp cinnamon
280ml chicken stock
1Tbsp tomato paste
250g minced beef
250g minced pork
Salt & pepper
2 sliced leeks
Handful grated cheese.
Sauté onions in olive oil (5 mins) add carrots, turnips for a further 5 mins. Remove the vegetables, brown the pork & beef add the veggies, season, add cinnamon & herbs, the flour which will absorb any liquid left in the pan. Add tomato to the stock, add to the pan, bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer, cover & cook for 30 minutes or place in a warm oven 300F 1 hour. Mean while boil a pan of potatoes I like half potatoes half celeriac easier to digest. Mash them with lots of butter leave to cool. Heat a medium frying pan with butter add the sliced leeks & cook till golden, set aside. When the meat base is ready spoon into a casserole dish which will take it all, then top with the mash, then layer over the buttery leeks, & finally a scattering of cheese. Place in a moderate oven 350f till cheese is melted & the whole dish is hot through. 

A further variation for vegetarians, omit meats & fry some cubed aubergine add to the other vegetables, you could also add a tin of chopped tomatoes or cooked lentils, substitute the stock for vegetable & follow the recipe as above.

Birthdays are to be celebrated, and yesterday I was lucky enough to be thoroughly spoilt. We stayed at one of my favourite hotels www.chateaudesanse.com near to St Emilion. We know the restaurant manager Jennie who is a sweetheart & really looked after us. We dined in the restaurant I choose the Maigret de Canard (duck breast) which was just to die for, with a lovely ginger & lime sauce, washed down with a local Bordeaux red wine which is exclusive to the hotel purchased from a nearby vineyard Juillac. To follow a chocolate fondant with amaretto ice cream. I am one very happy girl.

On days when I am really busy & time is against me, & I need a quick fix lunch I throw together a Pizza.A quick look in the fridge & I found salami, mozzarella, red pepper, tomatoes, anchovies, & parmesan cheese. A casual assembly of these ingredients on a ready made Pizza base, then place in a  moderate oven about 350 F cook for 20-25 minutes.It was a very yummy combination, the down side was I realized my fridges needed sorting out & 2 hours later 3 sparkling clean fridge freezers.

Its the most beautiful autumn morning the sun is continue to shine here at Chateau Perroterie, it makes me wonder if this Indian summer is ever going to end. Just in case we do have a sudden dip in temperature I am cultivating my delicate herbs, just a touch of ground frost & they are finished. All my herbs are in the ground as they grow so much better & of course I need a huge quantity, if your's are in pots great, just keep a watch & if frost is forecast bring them in doors. All I do is cut the herb to near the ground pull the leaves off if the stems are a bit tough otherwise include them, throw a large bunch into a food processor chop till fine then trickle some olive oil (not the good stuff) until it forms a paste. I line a baking tray with parchment paper & place a heaped teaspoon onto the paper, usually a spoonful is the equivalent of a stock cube measure. Then I pop the tray into the freezer for a few hours. I use Zip bags, label them, then I have a few weeks supple of frozen herbs. The good news is they are as flavoursome as if you had just picked it from the garden. I also did Tarragon, Parsley & Basil. Now my freezer is an exotic space full of tasty seasoning for the winter months. A tip I always add the frozen nugget straight into the pan or casserole no need to defrost because it does that pretty quickly on its own especially when you add it to a hot liquid. A golden rule with adding seasoning's whether they are fresh, frozen or dry, TASTE BEFORE YOU ADD ANY FORM OF FLAVOURING. You can adjust the flavour gradually but if you add too much its very difficult to correct. I hope you enjoy your frozen herbs if you choose to do the above. Love Angel Blogger.

Romesco Sauce

Angel Blogger

In August we were very busy catering for a lovely Dutch Yoga group. I made a refreshing Spanish salad with roasted peppers which I then stuffed. They sat proudly on a mound of lettuce leaves which I decorated with herb croutons, toasted almond. The Romesco sauce was drizzled over the leaves & the peppers had a silky garlic cream sauce, & a shaving of Parmesan cheese to top it all off.

Really yummy if I don't say so myself. It was a balmy evening so they ate on the west facing terrace, watching the sun set, can't ask for more really. I thought I 'd share the Romesco sauce recipe as it is so handy. I use it on vegetarian dishes like the above, but it is equally great on fish pork or chicken. Hope you like it, always good to hear your comments.

Serves 4

Handful of ideally fresh garden tomatoes, I used our cherry toms. Wash them throw them into a roasting tin, add a sliced red onion, garlic clove, small red chilli, good gringing of salt & pepper, glug of olive oil, then into a hot oven for 20 minutes. Let them cool, then simply puree in either a blender or food processor, press through a chinese sieve then freeze or use immediately for the sauce. Whisk in 1-2 tbsp sherry vinegar depending on taste, a couple of Tbsp olive oil, anchovy paste to taste or omit if vegetarian. There you have it really gorgeous tomato sauce perfect for almost any occasion.

Sunday game of Canasta

Angel Blogger reporting.

Today is the start of a big French weekend, the last of the summer holidays. Traditionally its a long weekend visiting friends & family & lots of eating & drinking. The annual summer holidays come to an end next week.

The weather today was supposed to be a very hot 31 c & full sun, however nature decided to change its mind at the last moment. Thunder, rain sticky humid heat but not an outdoor day. Some of my wonderful friends spontaneously arranged a lunch & Canasta, we all as always chipped in. I rummaged in the fridge & made some puff pastry & goat cheese tartlets. We had a fab duck curry with quite a kick to it. Meringues & fresh fruit, & lots of wine which everyone brought along. I sadly did not win at Canasta but thoroughly enjoyed a fun afternoon with good friends.

Goats cheese tartlets.

ready made puff pastry mine was a circle piece, I cut out 12 discs & with an oiled tart tin lined the pastry in place. Prick each pastry case with a fork, then pop into a moderate oven for 10 minutes, remove the tin & then push down the centre to make a hollow, I previously had gently sautéed a red onion after 10 minutes add a sprinkle of brown sugar & a dash of balsamic vinegar, this will caramelize in about 10 minutes, cool. Mash about 60g of goats cheese add a dash of cream & a small beaten egg, this will be mixed till blended. Add a spoon of onions into the tartlets then a spoonful of goat cream, a sprig of thyme on top. Pop into the moderate oven for 7-10 minutes.