Anyway, I did my usual Sunday crazy kitchen effort. Does anyone else do that?? I have a lovely relaxed weekend, then come Sunday afternoon and I give myself a ridiculous number of tasks to do in the kitchen, numerous dishes to prepare and cook. I can't say it leads to a relaxed Sunday night, but I guess that's my way of dealing with that dreaded Sunday feeling, the one where you know you should be enjoying yourself, but the thought of having to go back to work the next day gets you down.
Well I decided it was time to deal with the pears that were given to us by Boyfriend's dad. He had an amazing crop this year, and the pears have been fabulous. So after I got the first poulet basquaise of the season in the oven, I kept myself myself pealing, chopping and coring. Can't say I enjoy the coring bit that much, but it's got to be done! So far, I've got three lovely dishes out of those pears. Firstly, a pear and plum chutney. I got the recipe out of my trusted River Cottage Preserves book and it looks stunning. It says it should be left for a couple of months for the flavours to mature, so it'll be great at Christmas - can't wait to tuck in! Then I made a pear and apple crumble, with a sprinkle of cinnamon. I love making the crumble top with some oats, it really gives it an extra crunch. I'm not sure it's a good thing Boyfriend's not too keen on crumbles, I've got a dress to fit into at the weekend and if I have to eat the whole lot, it might be a hard one!!
Finally, I made some pear tartlets. No photo of that I'm afraid because they got gobbled up so quick. All I did though was roll out some puff pastry, prick it leaving a margin along all four sides, spread some sweet chestnut puree (this is optional and it works great without), then added some pear slices and finally a sprinkling of light brown sugar. In the oven at 190-200degrees until nice and golden!
Anyway, if that wasn't enough to keep me busy at the weekend, I may or may not have finished a major project of mine started this spring.... come back tomorrow to find out!! xx
7 comments:
yum yum!
(I love fresh pear with cheese... delicious)
I get a bit like that on Sunday's - I love to sit down to a fab Sunday Roast, all the trimmings and yummy pud to follow, but preparing it keeps me in the kitchen for hours, when all I want to do is sit down with a good book or a movie.
Really excited about your project reveal.
x
Tips for good crumble, please? I have a lot of apples and can never seem to get the proportions for crumble right, or maybe I'm not rubbing it together correctly or something that means the topping never quite turns out as I imagine in my taste buds.
I have apple and cider chutney made a month or so ago...I tried a bit recently and it's a little bit too vinegary, but edible.
I also made apple pastry puffs instead of peanut butter ones, but planning on making the cookies today, so thank you, and I hope they turn out okay...
(I've been cooking & baking a lot, lately...)
Mmmmmmm yummm. x
Now youve made me hungry! I forgot to say (ages back) that you were spot on with the little sewing shop near the Grande in Cabourg - where I went "Missing in Action" . I find it amazing that weve never met, are from diffeent countries, yet have "stomped" the same ground. xxxx
Hi Flitterbee!! I usually do things by eye to be completely honest! You need a tray that is deep enough to accomodate a good layer of fruit and then the crumble top, about 5-6cm should do. In terms of the crumble, I usually start with 100g soft butter, 100g sugar (any type), 100g flour and 100g oats - mix it all up and see if you like the texture - I found it gave me something a little too buttery, so I added a couple more handfuls of oats and a bit of flour and that did the trick - sorry it's not a precise recipe!!
Ha, thanks for the tips! I have a feeling part of my problem might be due to the gluten-free flour used rather than the intrinsic making of the crumble, p'rhaps. I'm not sure, though, as I have this desire to make the perfectly chewy, sticky flapjack of my childhood but the recipe got lost somewhere and now nothing I do ever matches up. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a baker...
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