Come dine with...

Do you know that TV show Come Dine With Me? There are versions the world over with (slightly) different titles (Jogo de Panelas; Cookware's Game - Smaken Verschillen; Tastes Differ - Bez servítky; Without a napkin - Klokka åtte hos meg; Eight O'clock At My Place - Das Perfekte Dinner; The Perfect Dinner - Un Dîner Presque Parfait; An Almost Perfect Dinner) but the format is the same: a group of people, that don't know each other, 'fight it out' to be the best dinner party host.
I love watching it; clashing personalities, finding common grounds, things go wrong, things go right. It's everything a normal dinner party is for most of us but with the added pressure of TV cameras in your face and being scored by people that know nothing about you.

There is usually a mix of 'alpha-male', (slightly) ditzy woman, comedian, over-confident, alternative, vegetarian, oddball, downright strange, over-competitive, 'foodie', wine buff. The participants are from all walks of life and all have different views on life. The show does not discriminate so a vegetarian can find themselves at the dinner table with a beef-eater, a proper 'macho-man' can find himself surrounded by people that are LGBT, 'Labour' sits at the table with 'Conservative', different cultures are often together at the same table.

It is this combination of people, their often (very) different views, and very different characteristics that I find most fascinating. And it is good to see that people, by the end of their 'journey', can find acceptance and even common grounds. What I find most amusing though is the confidence that some people show. No matter how misguided, misplaced or misjudged this might be. Hilarious is the moment where the most confident person (the one that has been stating all week that they are the best, are top of the leaderboard and that no one can touch - you know the one; the one we all love to hate) finds out that out of five contestants they have come fifth...

At least once a week the, what seems to be, obligatory Potato Dauphinoise is being prepared. Thin slices of potato, cooked in cream with garlic. Brilliant when one of the guests is a health fanatic, same-old-same-old when everybody drinks cream in their coffee... I was utterly surprised when I saw someone do Hasselback potatoes. Large potatoes sliced nearly all the way through, baked in the oven with some butter, grated cheese and breadcrumbs. A dish named after a restaurant in Stockholm, called Hasselbacken, where the dish was served first.

Potatoes lend themselves very well to all kinds of dishes; from boiled (served with gravy) to mash, from Hasselback to Dauphinoise, from potato salad to fries. My favourite way (of the moment) to prepare potatoes is by cooking them in the oven in stock, Boulangère Potatoes. The name comes from the French word for baker. After bakers had baked the bread for the day, locals would use the cooling ovens to cook their potatoes. Give them a try, it is an easy recipe and perfect for a dinner party.

Boulangère Potatoes

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Ingredients:

• 1 large potato per person
• 500 millilitre (veal or lamb) stock
• 1 or 2 onions (optional)
• salt and pepper to season
• 20 gram butter

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC
2. Clean the potatoes, I leave the skin on, and slice thinly (a mandolin is ideal but be careful as the blade is incredibly sharp and accidents are easy)
3. Use some of the butter to grease an ovenproof dish and layer the potatoes
• If you are using onions:
• halve the onions and slice them thinly
• caramelise them in a heavy based frying pan in a little butter until golden brown
• add some of the onions on top of each layer of potato
4. Pour in the stock, I use a stock cube as a quick and easy cheat but you can make your own stock if you want to
5. Cover the potatoes with tinfoil and place in the centre of the oven to bake for 1 to 1½ hours
6. Take the foil off the dish and dot the remaining butter on top and place back into the oven for 10 minutes to crisp the top

Dishes don't come much easier than that!

As they say in France

Bon Appetit

Comfort guaranteed

Every now and then I am in need of real comfort food; when I'm ill, when mother nature is wreaking havoc, when I'm sad or depressed. For the last six weeks all of the above have been going on. I've been suffering with severe abdominal pain, money is (as always) very tight and together they are starting to cause mild depression. Comfort food is what I need and crave!

Visits to the doctor and the hospital have concluded that the pain is most likely gynaecological in origin and I am awaiting a referral back (don't ask) to gynaecology for further testing. As the abdominal pain is (probably) caused by mother nature, I thought to look on the internet to see if there are certain foods I should, or should not, be eating. There is plenty of advice on this and I struck lucky... Wheat, red meat, refined carbohydrates, refined sugar and honey, caffeine, chocolate, dairy produce, eggs, fried foods, butter, margarine, lard, soy, tinned foods, anything with additives and preservatives, alcohol. Perfect! All the things I love to eat. Oh, I made a mistake. These are the foods I have to cut out? But, but, but... My idea of a quick snack is a slice of brown bread with butter and cheese. My idea of a tasty breakfast is soft boiled eggs with toasted brown bread. A quick pick-me-up is chocolate. I need some sugar or honey in my tea, at least six times a day. My favourite meal is beef stew with dumplings.

The idea of having to give up everything I love to eat is not a pleasant one but I do think that some of this could help and so I have changed certain things: green tea instead of black tea so I don't need sugar, chicken instead of beef (although I am still going to eat that beef stew tomorrow night...), no white bread or pasta but the whole grain variety, no eggs for breakfast but I will use eggs when baking, butter and lard in moderation, no alcohol (with the morphine that's not wise anyway)...

Tonight's tea? Chicken Chimichangas. A Mexican recipe with chicken, chilli and spices and a firm favourite in this house. Yes, it uses wraps. Yes, they need frying but I am going to bake them in the oven instead. Yes, it uses cheese but I never said I would cut out dairy products. The white sauce that is served with it is traditionally made with stock instead of milk and I am leaving out the sour cream... Below is the original recipe...

Chicken Chimichangas

Ingredients:
For the chicken

• 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast fillets
• 750ml water
• 1 tablespoon chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic granules
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 130 gram chopped pickled chillies (red and green)
• 80 gram onion, finely diced
• 3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

For the sauce

• 30 gram butter
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 250 millilitre water
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 125 millilitre soured cream
• 15 gram chopped pickled chillies (green) (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

To finish the dish

• oil for frying
• 8 flour tortillas
• 225g Cheddar cheese, grated

Method:
For the chicken

1. Place the chicken breasts into a large saucepan
2. Pour in the water and season with chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic granules, onion powder and cayenne pepper
3. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes
4. After 15 minutes, stir in the chillies, onion and garlic; continue simmering until the liquid has reduced by about two-thirds
5. Remove the chicken, shred with two forks and return to the onion and chilli mixture

For the sauce

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat
2. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute
3. Whisk in the water and stock cube until the water has thickened and the stock cube has dissolved, about 4 minutes
4. Whisk in the green chillies (if using) and the soured cream; season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm

To finish the dish

1. Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer or large saucepan to 190°C
2. Place a tortilla onto your work surface, then spoon about 5 tablespoons of the filling halfway between the bottom edge and the centre of the tortilla and flatten the filling into rectangle shape with the back of a spoon
3. Sprinkle some of the Cheddar cheese over the filling
   
4. Fold the bottom of the tortilla snugly over the filling, then fold in the left and right edges. Roll the chimichanga up to the top edge, forming a tight cylinder; secure the ends with cocktail sticks
5. Repeat with the remaining ingredients
6. Cook the chimichangas, 2 at a time, in the hot oil until they are crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Drain on a kitchen towel-lined plate and remove cocktail sticks
7. Top with the white sauce to serve

For some added vibrancy you can serve this with some freshly made tomato salsa and guacamole. If you cannot find pickled chillies try using fresh chillies to taste and add a dash of vinegar.

As they say in Mexico

¡Buen provecho!

or even

Bon appetit!