Ashridge Estate Afternoon tea

We went in search of a bluebell wood. At Ashridge Estate we realised that we'd missed the bluebells by about a fortnight - the ones that were left were faded and drooping. But the aroma wafting through the trees indicated that we were just in time for the garlic season. I have never in my life before seen so much wild garlic! It was such a pity we hadn't packed a plastic bag, or I would have done some serious foraging (although I suspect that would be against National Trust rules).

After a lovely walk in the cool woods - doing a lot of research for Captain Haddock on the natural growth habits of the field maple - it was time for tea.

Paul has never knowingly left a scone uneaten, and while he isn't a huge fan of the fruit scone, he was pretty happy with this one.

I'd sort of had my heart set on a piece of sponge cake - if at all possible sandwiched with strawberry jam and whipped cream and dusted with icing sugar. It wasn't to be. But what they did have was a very close relation of the brownie crusted cheesecake Mr Orph posted about recently. It was a good effort - but should have been lemonier to cut through the rich chocolate of the brownie crust.

Middle Eastern Night

The chef at the pub we go to is Iranian. And they recently gave him free rein to do a Middle Eastern night. I put them in the way of a good bellydancer (one of my teachers). It promised to be fun...

He started with a home-made peach and saffron vodka. Which didn't taste as bad as it smelled, and that is about the best you could say for it. A pity, because the mirza qasemi - richly-flavoured grilled aubergine slices topped with a paste of onion, tomatoes and eggs - was absolutely gorgeous and deserved a good white wine.

The next two courses were served with Lebanese wines. Which again were not as good as the food and really, it is kinder not to talk about them too much.

Dawn's first dance set came before the next course. She wore a very pretty pink bedlah and did a lovely romantic Egyptian piece - but there were a few diners who didn't really know how to behave. I guess country pubs aren't the most obvious place to find a bellydancer.

Taas kabab - sort of a meatloaf of beef (although most recipes I have spotted look more like stews) was really delicious, served warm with spinach and yoghurt, (and somewhat ubiquitous) bread and radish salad.

They were substantial portions, and I could probably have stopped there. I was a bit apprehensive to realise that there were another two courses to come. I remembered that when we used to go to the Persian place in Sydney, we were always uncomfortably full by the end of the meal and could never face dessert.

The main course was zereshk polow, a beautifully colourful dish of roast chicken, served with rice garnished with pistachios, saffron and barberries. While it looked wonderful, I thought this was the weakest dish of the night. The chicken and rice were both a little dry - which was disappointing, because fragrant, buttery, fruit and nut-bejewelled rice is something I have adored in Middle Eastern meals in the past.

At about this point Dawn came out for her second set of the night. With isis wings - pretty spectacular at the best of times, even more impressive in a small pub. This was a more upbeat piece - she wore a pretty striking red and black evening dress style costume and there was audience participation from yours truly. I thought her performance really added some fun to the evening, but I haven't spoken to the manager yet about how they thought it went...

The dessert was a borrowing from French cuisine - the light layers of puff pastry and sweet, vanilla-y whipped cream that make up a Napoleon are simple but so delicious. Garnished with slivers of pistachio it was even better. But my lord was that a big portion! I made it through about a quarter of my serve before the waitress started to laugh at my pain and took it away from me. The dessert was served with a glass of zibib - a drink of the ouzo/arak ilk, which fortunately tasted deliciously of cherries and bitter almonds, rather than being a strong aniseed hit.

So - I ate too much, danced in public and had a lovely time. Pretty much a perfect evening then.

Langoustine & broadbean salad

It's so exciting having spring vegetables in season AND weather that makes you want to eat them! The croutons add texture and give the salad enough body that you don't feel like you've JUST had salad for dinner, the crab rounds out the seafoodyness from the langoustines.

Warm Langoustine and Broadbean Salad (serves 2 as a main course)

1 bag of salad leaves
1-2 ripe avocadoes
1 small tub white crab meat
100g broad beans (shelled weight)
1 bag of croutons
squeeze of lemon juice
10 raw, peeled langoustines
splash of olive oil
2 cloves of chopped garlic
lemon garlic mayonnaise made from: 1 eggyolk, olive oil until it feels right, a splash of boiling water, 1 clove chopped garlic, juice of a lemon and a squeeze of ketchup (because this is a posh prawn cocktail, really).

Divide leaves, cubes of avocado and crab meat between 2 large bowls and sprinkle with a squeeze of lemon.

Peel the second skin from the broad beans and boil until tender.

Pan fry the langoustines with the garlic and olive oil until opaque and pink.

Top the salad with the drained hot broadbeans, the langoustines and pan juices, the croutons and a good drizzle of lemon garlic mayonnaise.

Venison fillet, asparagus & baby leeks

Another day, another piece of meat served with asparagus. I can't help it. It's the brief British asparagus season and I feel like I am missing out if I don't eat it at every opportunity. This piece of meat wasn't exactly seasonal - some Scottish venison fillet we unearthed from the chest freezer.

The meat was panfried medium rare & rested while we made a little red wine reduction in the pan. Zapped the asparagus and baby leeks in the microwave, added a splodge of bearnaise (once you've opened a jar it's impossible to stop) to the plate and there it was. Very British ingredients, very simply cooked, very delicious.

And because it was so delicious, we got out The Good Glasses and opened a very good bottle of wine. A 2003 Warwick Pinotage. Huge flavour, a bit overwhelmed by the alcohol (14.5%) but just the thing for the rich game meat.

Duck, asparagus & white bean mash

This looks much fancier than it was. Amazing what a difference peeling the asparagus spears makes to your presentation!

Boneless duck breasts, slashed on the skin side, 7 minutes a side in a hot pan (skin side down first). Drain off the fat and allow the duck to rest, deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine.

A can of cannelini beans, drained and well-rinsed, mashed in a pot with a fork, seasoned with some olive oil, chopped garlic and dry rosemary.

Asparagus, zapped in the microwave, a spoonful of bought bearnaise sauce.

Very easy, very delicious, very impressive looking.

Skate wings

It's hard to beat sticking a piece of fish in a frying pan for a speedy supper.

Skate is a member of the ray family - it has lovely white flesh on a cartilage skeleton, so it flakes off really easily. A good option for people who usually eat fillets because they don't like messing around with bones.

Dusted with flour, seasoned with some (homemade) Old Bay Seasoning, then fried in a splash of olive oil. When the fish was almost finished, I added a knob of butter, some chopped garlic, the juice of a lemon and a spoonful of drained capers.

Served with some asparagus, microwaved until tender. Less than 10 minutes from walking through the kitchen door to putting it on the plate. Takes longer for them to deliver a pizza.

New Toy - icecream ball

I have been told that I can't buy any more kitchen appliances until we've bought our own house. Which seems fair really, but I decided that I NEED an icecream maker. And then I saw these icecream balls and managed to bring an icecream maker into my home without it being considered a kitchen appliance. In fact, you could almost consider it exercise equipment...

So, you put your icecream mixture in one end, some ice and salt in the other and shake and roll it around for a while. And there you have a pint of icecream.

The first batch I made was a simple cream, sugar and mixed berries one. The berries were still mostly frozen, so it only took 10 minutes of shaking to have a luscious batch of purpley pink ice cream. But because it was a cream base, the leftovers froze rock-hard and didn't have the mouthfeel of a custard base.

For the second batch I used some bought premium vanilla custard, a slosh of cointreau and a big scoop of my homemade quince marmalade. The mixture wasn't as cold as the last one, so it took longer - closer to 20 minutes to get to a soft-serve texture. But it was just delicious, with the proper velvety texture I look for in icecream.

I still aspire to a proper icecream maker, but this is a cute gimmick. And it makes a nice small quantity so I can have it as a little treat without too much effort. And it gave me the opportunity to experiment with putting up a bit of video.