Usually I don't go in much for Valentines day, it kind of has that Hallmark-ish feel, also I don't like being 'told what to do', plus most of my ex-boyfriends didn't really care for it.... so maybe I just made myself not care too!? Anyway this year was to be different, R. seemed a bit disappointed at my lack of enthusiasm so...deep breath..I decided to whole heartedly embrace it... just to see what it feels like. Celebration = food, naturally, so what to cook? Well, I wanted to indulge our senses, throwing caution to the wind about how much butter I was using and also do something a little bit tongue-in-cheek. I decided on the menu as below, although I had to abandon a few ideas for different reasons. Ms. Marmite Lover (Londons Supper Club Queen) had a nice recipe for Palm Hearts Salad in her book Supper Club, I really wanted it as a course, but for love nor money they weren't to be found anywhere in Dublin...even Fallon & Byrne didn't have them!

Cupids Din Dins

Prosecco with crushed Raspberry Hearts

Cupids Arrows with Poached Egg & heart-attack Hollandaise

Eat your Heart out Artichoke with Lemon Butter

Bitter/Sweet Figs baked with Honey & Gorgonzola Crema

Heart-Shaped Vol-au-Vents with Wild Mushrooms & Beetroot Hearts

Blueberry Blood Custard Cakes with Lemon Curd Cream

So, Prosecco with berries, it's so easy -you can use any kind of berry you like and you can use frozen! Essentially you make a coulis. I defrosted some frozen raspberries in a pan (no water), sweetened them with a little honey and passed them through a sieve, to get rid of the annoying little seeds. Once the coulis has come to room temperature, put some in the bottom of a glass and pour in your chilled Prosecco or Cava or Brut, give it a stir and hey presto a lovely aperitif. I'm not bothered with Champagne - it is over-rated and over-priced. Dunnes Stores do a lovely tasting and well packaged bottle of Prosecco for E6.99!
Hollandaise sauce- it was my first time making this and it didn't split! I only wanted a small amount so I took 1 egg yolk, 2 dstp of lemon juice -combine these with a whisk over a bain marie, then whisking all the time slowly add cold butter 1/4 cup in total. I steamed the asparagus until tender but slightly al-dente, oxymoron -yes! I like to poach my eggs in a non-stick frying pan, employing a Heston Blumenthal trick -crack your egg on a slotted spoon over a bowl and quickly put it into the warm water -so you discard the stringy egg white bits, that make a poached egg look ugly! Apparently this can be avoided by using a really, really fresh egg...like one you've just lifted from a hens nest.

Asparagus with Poached Egg & Hollandaise

I took a whole fresh artichoke, in place of my palm hearts, tearing off some of the exterior leaves then simmering it in a large pot of water with a lemon quartered. A large artichoke will take about 45 mins to cook. When it's ready, drain it on a tea-towel and melt some (lots of) butter, to which you add lemon juice, pepper and a little salt, to taste. Pull off the leaves dipping them into your sauce and sucking off any flesh, until you reach the heart -then scoop away the choke (furry inedible bits) and eat the exposed heart...show no mercy, smother it in the buttery sauce.

The figs, again easy peasy, turn on your oven to 180'C/Gas6. It's not fig season so the only ones I could get weren't as juicy as I would have liked, but how as ever we scoffed them. Split the fig into 4 to halfway down, R. loves Cambozola but Fallon & Byrne were out, so Gorgonzola Crema it was to be, put some cheese in the open fig, with a teaspoon of honey on top and bake for about 15 mins on some baking paper. Serve with some leaves and if you have some coulis left over drizzle it around the plate.

Fig with Gorgonzola Crema & Honey

Next the soppy, sentimental plate...I had this idea to make heart shaped vol-au-vents, so I bought some puff pastry (Aldi do a decent one), using a cookie cutter I cut out the hearts and a few smaller ones for decoration. Brush with some beaten egg and cook in oven at 180'/Gas 6 until they turn golden -about 15/20 mins. Meanwhile clean your mushrooms, (I used oyster and brown capped French) in a frying pan put lots of butter and fresh thyme, cook your mushrooms on a medium heat. I added a little cream before serving to get a nice sauce. I cooked a medium sized whole fresh beetroot in water for about 35 mins, I then sliced it and cut out more heart shapes....I know I was really getting into it! To finish the heart shaped vol-au-vents, I very carefully cut out a central heart shape from the large puffed hearts and gently removed the center, leaving the base. Fill these with the cooked mushrooms and top with a beetroot heart, serve with leaves.

Vol-au-Vents with wild Mushrooms & Beetroot Hearts

I used the recipe for the Flognard/Custard Cake, see previous blog /theopendoorsupperclub/2012/02/flognardcustard-cake-with-currants.html using fresh blue berries instead of currants and serving it with a lemon curd cream, in individual ramekins. There was a little lemon curd left in one of the jars I made for R. at Christmas so I just swirled it through some whipped cream -easy.

Blueberry Blood Custard Cake with Lemon Curd Cream

So myself and R. enjoyed the feast, we were suitably stuffed and I was glad to have embraced the culinary opportunity of V-day... oh wait, is V-day Vagina day? -well that would certainly be an interesting theme for a 5 course dinner...

Fresh chestnuts at the Venice food market.

For a lot of people the dawn of Autumn is somewhat depressing, spelling dark nights and chilly days ahead. For me it's different, it makes me smile -it's a season of deep earthy energy. It means hot comforting food, roaring fires, crunchy leaves and visually the countryside is just bloody gorgeous! I love this dish as it's so very Autumnal and you get to cook and serve it in the pumpkin, providing a great centre piece for a dinner party -as well as less washing up!

Choose the size of your pumpkin depending on how many you're feeding. Turn on the oven to 220C Gas 7. Carefully cut a lid out of the top and scoop out the seeds and stringy bits.
Place the pumpkin on an oven proof dish, rub the inside with sea salt, fresh black pepper, chopped garlic and olive oil. To prevent drying out put two desert spoons of water inside, pop the lid on and pour 1 cm of water into the cooking dish.
Put into the hot oven for 20/25 mins.
Meanwhile chop an onion, two cloves of garlicand gently fry, in butter and olive oil.
Add some herbs to the pan -sage, thyme, parsley...as you wish.
If you cant get anything else you could use button or field mushrooms but try your best to get a variety of the more interesting fungi -oysters, chanterelles, whatever the local green grocer has ...or if you've collected edibles before and know what you're doing -then go wild! Chop the cleaned mushrooms, add too pan and continue to sautee.
The handiest thing to use are chestnuts that have been cooked already -but don't be afraid to prepare them from fresh either.To do this score an x in the flat side, bake in the over for 15/20 mins 220C Gas 7. Allow to cool a bit before peeling.
Roughly cut up the cooked chestnuts and place in with the mushrooms and herbs. Continue to cook for 5 mins.
Next to create some sauce you can just add stock and thicken with cornflour or you can add cream and season well.
Remove the pumpkin from the oven, pour out any excess water from inside and gently add your hot chestnutty mushroomy filling.
Return to oven and cook for a further 20 mins or until you can stick a skewer into the flesh of the lid. If it begins to burn cover with foil.
To serve bring to the table and chop it up, while still in the oven dish, accompany with crusty bread and some salad leaves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZTfI0TzifY

Fungi -the dolphin

For the Love of ...Love - A St. Valentines Feast

Pumpkin Chestnut Mushroom -ménage á trois