Queen Ingrid’s Parmesan Cookies

These cookies are fit for a Queen! 

Take equal measure of flour, butter and parmesan 

75 gram of flour

75 gram of butter

75 gram parmesan cheese (finely graded)

Pinch of salt

Mix the ingredients together and roll out sausage style.

Place in fridge and chill for three hours. 

Cut sausage in thin slices (2 mm) and bake at 200 degrees for 6 minutes.

Serve with appropriate aperitifs.

BBQ Stuffed Oysters

We are always saying we learn new ideas from our students and this dish was introduced to us by Gloria from Chicago. She had discovered it on a trip to New Orleans and so we just had to try it out!

Ingredients 

18 large oysters, freshly shucked in the half shell.

120g unsalted butter

3 cloves garlic 

Pinch of oregano

50g Parmesan cheese grated

50g Pecorino cheese grate

2 sprigs of finely chopped parsley 

1 teaspoon of ground black pepper

Method

Place all the prepared oysters on a tray ready for their filling. Pour the oyster juice into a suitable mixing bowl. Add all the ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly. Using a small spoon, carefully add a portion of the mix to each oyster topping up as appropriate. 

Prepare the BBQ. I added Irish turf for extra effect. Once hot and smoky, carefully add each stuffed oyster to the BBQ. Leave for 10 minutes or until cooked. Serve sizzling hot with a dry white wine or champagne. 

Won-ton Ravioli a la Xuan-Minh

We were very fortunate to have a lovely Swiss lady of Vietnamese origin on our cooking course a few years ago. She kindly offered to teach us how to make a couple of Vietnamese classic dishes and one Ravioli recipe from her grandmother is very special indeed: 

Won-ton Ravioli a la Xuan-Minh

serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 pack of Won ton skin from an Asian shop 

500 gram / 1 pound of finely minced prawns and/ or chicken/ rabbit/ turkey 

1 onion finely chopped

Coriander ( Cilantro) leaves

10 gram / 0.35 oz dried black mushrooms (asian shop) soaked and chopped

3 dried shiitake mushrooms (asian shop) soaked and finely chopped 

Pepper

Salted Soy sauce

sesame oil

Fish sauce ( asian shop). It taste much better than it sounds

Chicken stock  (clear, only cooked on chicken for 2 hours)

Method

Soup: cook the chicken for at least 2 hours in 3 litres of water. Skim off the foam until the soup is clear. Strain and flavour it with fish sauce and pepper , quite a lot of fish sauce.

Stuffing: mix the onion, the mince meat, coriander and finely chopped mushrooms, season with pepper, soy sauce and sesame oil and a bit of fish sauce.

Assemble the ravioli by placing a teaspoon of the filling on each wonton skin. Brush the edges with egg white, then fold them diagonally . Then glue the pointy ends together . Let the ravioli dry for an hour in room temperature .

Bring the soup to a boil and cook the wonton for 2-3 minutes. Place them in a serving bowl, 3-4 per person.

Cover the soup with finely chopped coriander ( cilantro ) and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and serve.

Carpaccio of beef with Harry’s Bar dressing

Carpaccio of beef with a Harry’s Bar dressing is a wonderful summer lunch menu. Easy to make and exceedingly tasty. It never fails to impress. It helps if you know your butcher as the quality of the beef fillet should be first rate.

Ingredients ( serves 6 )

For the beef 

400g of top quality beef finely sliced.

For the dressing 

185 ml home-made mayonnaise

1-2t sp Worcestershire sauce, to taste

1tsp fresh lemon juice

2 to 3 tbsp milk

salt, freshly ground black pepper

Serve with shavings of Parmigiana cheese and  fresh sunflower shoots ( or sweet pea shoots) . 

Method

Put the mayonnaise in a bowl and whisk in the Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice. Whisk in 

enough milk to make a thin sauce that just coats the back of a wooden spoon. Taste the sauce and 

adjust the seasoning with some salt and pepper adding more Worcestershire sauce as required. 

The dressing should be poured over the beef just before serving along with parmigiana shavings and green sunflower  shoots on top. 

Wine - serve with a nice rosé or white  muscadet. 

We are on Danish TV

We feature on one of Denmark’s most popular television programmes from today. Hère is the link: https://www.dr.dk/drtv/se/anne-og-anders-i-europa_-nabostrid-i-nordfrankrig_322240?fs=e&s=cl

A visit to a traditional Provençal wine maker

It’s the small organic traditional wine makers which are so hard to find in the south of France. The big wine companies dominate the market and the media. However once in a while you meet someone who is both knowledgeable and generous and it was Peter Ware, (azurewinetours.com) who let us in on the extraordinary story of Georges & Mathias Rasse of Le Domaine des Hautes Collines.

The tiny vineyard is located at Saint Jeannet just north of the town of Vence. What is interesting here is they make the wines the traditional way and use no nitrates or filings so the wines are organic. All their wines are stored in 5 litre glass salmanazars and are left exposed to the Azur sun for three months. Then they are transferred to oak barrels and left to age for 12 months. Apparently this is how the Romans made their wines over 2000 years ago in this very spot and so it has stood the test of both time and palette! 

If you are lucky you will find their wines in some of the local restaurants and supermarkets but it’s much better to visit the vineyard where you will be very well received. They even have a camping site on the vineyard so you don’t have to drive if you drink too much!! We recommend you contact Peter and take one of his tours. He will pick you up from your home, take you on a interesting wine tour and get you back home safe without difficulty. His details are below (peter@azurwinetours.com) ( +33777963388).

Further details on the vineyard may be obtained from their website: http://vignoblestjeannet.fr/vins/vin-rouge-cuvee-pressoir-romain/

Lunch at Villa Ephrussi De Rothschild

The gardens of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild  are extraordinary and beautifully positioned overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The villa too is worth a visit and the restaurant , although not the stuff of fine dining has a lovely relaxed cafe feel as does the garden terrace also open for dining. The views from the villa are truly outstanding. Magical evenings are possible here with opera and candle lit concerts planned for July and August. 

Always start with a good glass of champagne! 








The glass of champagne was followed by a salmon and quiche salad with a lemon tart for dessert.

Poul had the pavlova! 



Not fine dining but the villa and gardens are truly beautiful.

Also nice to know there is free parking on the venue and if you plan it like we did you can even fit in a dip in the sea on a tiny beach cove at the bottom of the hill! 

www.villa-ephrussi.com