Seconds up - round 2.....

I tend not to be very impressed with my own food when I sit down to eat it immediately after preparing it. I think it’s due to all the smells and tasting during cooking, I simply feel full up. This was very apparent the other day when I made two separate dishes which I really didn’t think much of but today, served cold for lunch, they were really tasty. But I suppose if you make food and subsequently don’t eat it you’re not gonna get too fat. If you don't drink lots of beer. Like me....




Here are the dishes;


Mushroom Lasagna


Made this using an alternative, Jammy O’ Liver “inspired,” cheats béchamel sauce which Mrs B liked but I found a tad watery. It was a 500ml tub of crème fraiche mixed with a couple of fistfuls of grated cheddar & parmesan. The trouble was it kinda split and, despite Mrs B kindly saying she liked the “clean consistency” I felt it lacked the creaminess a real béchamel gives. It might work with other ingredients tho’, something less likely to release so much water like meat or tampons. The mushrooms were amazing tho’.
500g normal white mushrooms

250g abnormal mushrooms (something with taste & a bit of bite like chantarelles)

garlic

dried chilli

fresh thyme

loads of freshly grated parmesan and cheddar

milk, four, butter & nutmeg to make the béchamel

lasagna

truffle oil



Right, clean all the mushrooms using kitchen paper. I always try not to use water as they’ll absorb it making frying nigh on imposs. Roughly chop all the white mushrooms and fry them in batches in olive oil until some of them take on colour. You don’t want them too done but the pan has to be fecking hot so as to evaporate as much liquid as poss. As each batch is done bung them in a blender with 2-4-6-8 cloves of garlic and a couple of dried chillis. Let this cool down a bit whilst you fry the posh mushrooms. When these are done put them to one side. Meanwhile blitz the white mushrooms which will not be white anymore – they’ll look like something the dog threw up. Season with the fresh thyme, salt and pepper.

Now for the béchamel. In a non-stick saucepan melt a big knob of butter and bung in a couple of tablespoons of plain flour. Stir it around for a bit. It’ll form into a paste after which you keep stirring to “cook the flourness out of the flour”. This takes a minute or so, you don’t want it to colour, then you pour in half a liter or so of milk. For gawd’s sake keep stirring as you bring it up to a simmer or else it will burn and there ain’t much fouler than the taste/smell of burnt milk. When the sauce has thickened grate in some nutmeg, season and chuck in a handful of grated cheddar. Remove from the heat.

I used a bread tin for this as it’s a good size. Firstly you put in a layer of the mushroom goo followed by a layer of the posh mushrooms, then some béchamel, then a layer of lasagna. Repeat. Finish off with whatever goo and/or mushrooms are left, a layer of béchamel and the grated parmesan. If there isn’t enough béchamel then it’s back to the cooker… Bake at 200 degrees celcius for 20-30 minutes, remove when golden brown, texture like sun and druzzle with triffle oil.




Chicken Stuffed Aubergines



Got this idea from Mike Robinson on Heaven’s Kitchen Cookbook. He did it as a vegetarian dish stuffed only with cheese, pine nuts and breadcrumbs. I can’t remember what he topped it with. What did you do Mr Robinson? Cheese was in the draw, but I don't know. I was going to make it with guinea pig after I saw a food programme on Ecuadorian gastronomy but they’re dead expensive down our local pet shop so I opted for chicken instead.


2 aubergines washed, top’n’tailed & sliced lengthways into ½ cm thick slices

olive oil

500g chicken breasts chopped into sugar cubed sized pieces

handful of freshly made bread crumbs

100g pine nuts, gently roasted in a frying pan

chopped garlic

2 good handfuls of baby spinach or rocket, washed’n’dried

A few fresh sage leaves

2 equally good handfuls of grated cheese of your preferred creed.

Some tomatoes – sliced

More cheese (goats might be good)



Brush the aubergines on each side with olive oil and grill or fry until golden (both sides of course). Remove, brush again with oil (important as it keeps ‘em supple) and set aside. In a bowl luzz in yer chicken, bread crumbs, cheese, pine nuts, garlic and greenery and mix together. Season well. Then you take a slice of aubergine into which you place a blob of meat mix. Roll the aubergine around it so it looks like a bad kebab and place it, seam side down, in a lightly greased baking dish. Repeat with the rest. Cover with tomatoes and cheese and bake at 200 celcius for about half an hour or until the chicken is cooked through. You’re likely to have some aubergine slices left over. I bung them in the oven with the main stuff, removing them after 10-15 mins. Then I chop ‘em up into pulp, mix with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and bingo, an aubergine dip.



The Kitchen Project



For those in the know we at Chez B have been busy toiling away on our new kitchen. We are now one shelf and 6 1/2 meters of oak beading away from completion. Our two week project has taken over half a year which isn't bad by my standards. As soon as I aquire the necessary skills I'll take some pics of it for uploading. But the coolest thing about it is the amount of work space we now have. Acres of it. And, apart from the joining of two pieces of oak work top and some electrics, I've built the whole lot myself which makes me rather chuffed. Viva Ikea! And Mrs B keeps buying me beer so she must be proud of me too.....