A New Way of Entertaining

I’m not sure quite when it happened, but sometime around the mid-1990’s, having a dinner party became something of a competitive sport. Tallies were kept of who was asked, and who asked back, of who served the best wines and the most fashionable dishes. For some strong souls, this was a boon to their competitive spirits, but for the rest of us ordinary mortals, it transformed “entertaining” from a pleasure into something that was only just off the trauma of a root canal.

Yes, even I was one of those people sweating in the kitchen, panicking as I tried to produce food worthy of the best restaurants – course after course of the new and different – worried that my cooking wasn’t up to it and that my budget wouldn’t stand it. Some of the cooking programmes of that time period didn’t help either, positively feeding the frenzy for the exotic. They would show Michelin-starred chefs producing dishes with an army of invisible minions, yet assuring us that we could – indeed should – be able to reproduce them single-handedly in our own kitchens. The worst thing is, so many of us believed them.

Recently, however, there has been a sea change. More and more cooking programmes feature people who insist they are “cooks” and not chefs, people who encourage us to try the new and different and step out of our comfort zones, but not so far that we end up quivering wrecks in the corners of our kitchens. It’s wonderful, and it is changing how we cook once again.

Of course, another reason for the change in how we entertain and what we cook is the economic crisis that arose last year, and that persists in hanging round like an unwanted dinner guest. Thank goodness, showing off is now decidedly last year, and more and more people are entertaining the old fashioned way – with delicious, honest food and decent, mid-priced wines. It’s no longer about status; it’s about comfort and conviviality.

This is something that needs to be encouraged. While there is no reason not to prepare Boeuf en Croute with Foie Gras if you feel economically and ethically able to do so, there is equally no reason to feel you must if, quite frankly, chilli is more your forte. Standards are slipping and it is making for a delightful change.

We need to encourage each other to entertain buoyantly and bountifully, but to do so in a way that we are comfortable with and that suits our pocketbooks. It’s perfectly acceptable to invite friends to share a potluck dinner in your home, or to suggest a dinner party that offers different courses prepared and brought by various guests. If you do want to prepare and offer everything yourself (and there is equally nothing wrong with that), you should feel no pressure whatsoever to offer anything beyond what you can comfortably prepare and reasonably afford. Not only that, but it should be abundantly clear in these days of economic caution that while it is imperative to RSVP, reciprocating should be purely and completely voluntary.

The other thing these frugal times have taught us is how much we value the things that are really important - things like family, friends and time spent together. The last thing anyone wants to be doing when they have friends visiting is having a meltdown in the kitchen. Entertaining is meant to be fun, both for those being entertained and those entertaining. If it stops being fun, you are not doing it right!

So let’s make one of our first resolutions for this New Year – indeed new decade – be to embrace this new, more relaxed style of entertaining, one where there is nothing to prove, and no one to keep up with. Let’s resolve to enjoy ourselves, whether we be the entertainer or the entertained, and celebrate the joy of being a cook in the kitchen - not a chef or a performance artist - but a good, home cook who enjoys celebrating life with friends.

A Merry Christmas To All

Well, I am about as ready for Christmas as I am going to be. We've collected the turkey and the hams from the butcher and they are ready to be put on ice for the journey. I've just got two more stuffings to make and a few more things to do as we pack up and get ready to go to my husband's parent's house for Christmas.

As I look back on this year, I'm really excited by how The 21st Century Housewife's Kitchen© has evolved, and I'm looking forward to even more exciting things next year. I'm especially grateful for the support of all of you, my readers, and I hope that you have enjoyed lots of inspiration this year. Most of all, I hope that I've encouraged you to be more relaxed about cooking, and that cooking has become for you (as it is for me) a real source of creative expression and enjoyment.

I'm really looking forward to writing about more restaurants and food issues as well and am hoping to expand that side of the blog in the New Year. Watch this space!

I hope that you are spending this Christmas with people you love, and that you will enjoy lots of fun, food and celebration. Thank you for being a part of The 21st Century Housewife's Kitchen© this year. A very Merry Christmas to you all.

April

The 21st Century Housewife's© Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Roast Shallots and Madeira Gravy

I’ve heard so many folks talk about using Madeira in cooking, I bought a bottle recently so I could experiment with it. I have used it in a lot of recipes – from gravies to soups and stews - with great success. If you don’t already know, Madeira is a fortified wine, fairly similar to sherry but with a slightly different flavour to it. Having said that, you can definitely substitute sherry for the Madeira in this recipe if you don’t have any Madeira to hand.

I love pork tenderloin. It is easy to cook and usually very tender. I buy mine from the butcher, who removes the white skin and trims the fat for me so all I have to do is season it and plonk it in the roasting dish. I recommend this course of action highly – the one time I did try to do the trimming myself I ended up frustrated plus I cut my finger!

This dish is definitely good enough for company, but it is a great one to treat yourself to as well! Leftovers keep for a couple days in the fridge and make lovely sandwiches.

Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Roast Shallots and Madeira Gravy

2 to 3 pork tenderloins
2 cups shallots, peeled and sliced in half if they are big
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil

For the gravy:-

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 generous tablespoons flour
about 2 cups chicken stock
½ cup Madeira
¼ cup cranberry sauce


Arrange the shallots around the tenderloins in a roasting dish. Mix the balsamic vinegar and the olive oil together and pour over the tenderloin and shallots. Turn the shallots a bit in the pan to coat them with the oil and vinegar. Roast at 375℉ (190℃) for about 30 to 40 minutes until the tenderloin is cooked with no pink inside –with an internal temperature of about 320℉ (160℃).

Meanwhile, make the gravy. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and cook over very low heat, allowing it to soften slowly for about ten to fifteen minutes.

Add the Madeira and turn the heat up to high. Reduce the Madeira by keeping it at a high heat and stirring occasionally so it does not stick. Basically you want the onion to look like it has absorbed nearly all the Madeira, but with a tiny bit of liquid still in the pan.

Turn the heat back to medium, and sprinkle the Madeira soaked onions with the flour. Stir and allow to cook for about a minute. Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring after each addition. You are aiming for a smooth, fairly thick gravy. You may not need all the stock, or you may need a little more, but I find 2 cups is usually about right.

When the gravy is a nice consistency, stir in the cranberry sauce until it is all blended in and heat through.

Slice the tenderloin and top it with the roasted shallots. Pour a little of the gravy over top to serve, and put the rest in a gravy boat on the table so people can help themselves.

Le Creuset Giveaway - and Luxury Cottage Pie

Cottage Pie is a great dish for this time of year, not least of all because you can make it ahead and reheat it. I often make two at a time and freeze one so I have a delicious and easy meal tucked away for busy days. I make lots of different variations on my recipe, but this version is just that little bit extra-special as it contains Madeira, a fortified wine. One of my favourite casserole dishes to use for my Cottage Pies is my Le Creuset oval casserole dish pictured above. It’s a brilliant oven to tableware dish that is also fridge and freezer safe. I own a number of Le Creuset products and they are a brand I trust and use regularly. And the great news is that the generous folks at Cookware.com



have offered to send one of these very useful Le Creuset oval casserole dishes to a reader in the United States or Canada. (Sadly they only ship to North American addresses.) If you click here you can see a Le Creuset dish like the one Cookware.com are giving away. In return they have asked me to mention their new line of Paula Deen Cookware, which looks really interesting. I saw Paula’s products at her very famous shop in Savannah and they were definitely very covetable! For a chance to win the Le Creuset dish, send an email to april@21stcenturyhousewife.com with the words Le Creuset Giveaway in the subject line and I will enter you into the draw - closing date is Sunday 10th January. Remember you have to have an address in the continental US or Canada to enter as the prize is being shipped direct from Cookware.com.

Here is the cottage pie I made the other night, with its lovely gravy peeking up around the edges:-



and here is the recipe!

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Luxury Cottage Pie
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 pound of ground beef
1 generous tablespoon flour
2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
3 parsnips, peeled and cut in chunks
(if you don’t like parsnips, just use an extra potato)
3 tablespoons butter
about 1/4 to 1/2 cup light cream or half and half
about 1 cup beef stock
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Madeira (or dry sherry if you do not have any Madeira to hand)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, and sauté the onions gently over low heat until they are beginning to soften. Add the beef. Break up any large chunks with a spatula or spoon and brown, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, put the potatoes and parsnips in a saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for about ten minutes until the potatoes and parsnips have softened. Drain and return to the saucepan. Mash with the butter. Add the cream gradually, continuing to mash, until the potatoes and parsnips are moistened, but still have a fairly firm consistency. Cover and set aside.

When the beef is nearly cooked through, sprinkle with the flour and stir it through. Allow to cook for about a minute. Gradually add the stock, a bit at a time, stirring after each addition. Add the ketchup, Madeira and Worcestershire sauce and stir in. Bring to the boil, and allow to bubble away merrily for about five minutes so the gravy can reduce a bit, stirring occasionally so the mixture doesn’t stick. Lower the heat, cover and cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. If the mixture appears to thick, add a bit more stock, but be careful not to add too much.

Put the beef mixture into the bottom of a casserole dish. Carefully dollop the potato and parsnip mixture on top with a spoon. Gently spread the mixture over the beef using a fork, covering it right up to the edges. (The Shepherd’s Pie can be cooled at this point and refrigerated or frozen for another day.)

Bake the Cottage Pie at 350℉ or 175℃ for about 20 minutes or until the potato is beginning to turn golden. (If you have made the pie a day or so earlier and taken it from the fridge, you will need to heat it at about 375℉ or 190℃ for about 30 to 40 minutes or until heated through. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then cook as for from the fridge.

Incidentally, if you are wondering why this is called Cottage Pie and not Shepherd’s Pie it is because Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb and Cottage Pie is made with beef. And yes, there is absolutely no reason why you could not use ground lamb in this recipe and call it Shepherd’s Pie :)

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

* Cookware.com have not reimbursed me for this post in any way, except for providing the Le Creuset dish for the giveaway, which will be shipped to the winner directly from them.

The 21st Century Housewife's© Mincemeat and Brandy Cake

This is such an easy recipe to make and it just tastes of Christmas! It is also wonderful for people who are not big fans of traditional fruitcake (like me!) because although it has many of the elements of a fruitcake, the sponge makes it so much lighter. It will keep for three or four days if you wrap it well and it tastes even better the day after it is made. It isn’t the prettiest cake in the world, but it sure tastes good!

1 cup mixed dried fruit
3 tbsp brandy - dark rum or whisky work too, but you have to slightly adjust the name of the cake to Mincemeat and Rum or Mincemeat and Whiskey Cake :)
½ cup plus 1 tbsp butter, softened
¾ cup white sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
1-¾ cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup mincemeat
3 to 4 generous tablespoons of demerera sugar for the topping

Put the mixed dried fruit in a bowl and pour the liquor over top. Stir and set aside. Grease and flour (or line) an eight or nine inch square pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat in. Gently blend in the flour.

Using a wooden spoon, fold in the mincemeat and soaked dried fruit (along with any liquor left in the bowl), stirring until just mixed through.

Pour into the cake tin and sprinkle the demerera sugar over the top. Bake at 300℉ (150℃ ) for 30 to 40 minutes. Ovens vary so radically in how quickly they cook, it really is worth keeping an eye on this the first time you bake it so it does not brown up too fast. The cake is done when a skewer (or piece of uncooked spaghetti) inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool, and the cover tightly with foil or store in a sealed tin. It is lovely served on its own with a cup of tea, or serve it as a dessert with some good vanilla ice cream.

My Mom's Mincemeat Tart Oat Squares

This recipe is one of my Mom’s, from the recipe box she left me. The box is such a treasure to me as it contains so many memories of my Mom and the things we used to cook together. I have to admit to playing with the recipe a bit over the years to make it my own, but the original idea is my Mom’s. These squares are great for this time of year as not only are they seasonal, but the oats in them almost allow you to convince yourself they are good for you!  It’s the perfect recipe for a Saturday afternoon, when hopefully you have not only the time, but also the inclination, to bake something delicious. Having said that it is so quick and easy you could even put it together after a frantic day of shopping.   These delicious squares can be cut in small squares for dessert buffets, or larger ones if you want to serve it as a dessert at a sit down dinner.  (In which case a scoop of good vanilla ice cream or a nice dollop of whipped cream is a lovely accompaniment!) Be sure to use proper oatmeal, not the instant kind.
 
¾ cup rolled oats (not instant)
¾ cup all purpose (plain) flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup butter, (cold, cut in small cubes)
1 – ¼ cups mincemeat (store bought is fine, but choose a good brand)
2 tablespoon rum, brandy, Cointreau or Grand Mariner
(Cointreau or Grand Mariner give the recipe a gorgeous citrus hit)
 
Grease and flour an eight inch square pan.  Preheat the oven to 350ºF or about 150º - 170ºC.  Put the mincemeat in a small bowl and stir in the liquor.
 
In a medium size bowl or in the food processor, combine the oats, flour, baking soda, salt and sugar.  Add the butter and either process or cut in until the mixture is crumbly.  Firmly press half this mixture into the square pan.  Pop the pan in the freezer for about fifteen minutes.  Put the remaining of the oat mixture in the fridge for the same amount of time.
 
Remove the square pan from the freezer and the remaining oat mixture from the fridge. Carefully spread the boozy mincemeat over the top of the oat mixture in the square pan.    Gently sprinkle the remaining oat mixture evenly over the top.  Bake in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.   (Ovens vary so wildly it is hard to say so please do keep an eye on the pan.)  When the squares are cooked they will be lightly golden brown on top.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  (Seriously, do not cut into these when they are warm as they will just crumble everywhere.)
 
When they are totally cool you can slice in either small squares to eat with your fingers as a snack or on a buffet, or in larger ones to serve with whipped cream or ice cream as a dessert.  If you have any left over, they will keep in a sealed container for a few days. You can store them in the fridge, but bring them to room temperature before eating.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do in our house!

The 21st Century Housewife's© Christmas Parsnip Soup

There is nothing like coming home from a hard day's Christmas shopping knowing that you have something lovely and warming for supper in the fridge. Parsnips are plentiful this time of year and combined with the nutmeg, they just taste of Christmas. This soup is so easy to make, and although it takes a bit of time, very little of that is labour intensive. It is wonderful served with crusty bread or rolls, or with your favourite sandwich. It travels well in a thermos too, if you want to take it along for lunch on the go!

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 – 7 medium parsnips, peeled and cut in fairly small chunks
1 litre chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground if possible
125 to 250 ml milk or single cream
paprika or a swirl of cream for garnish

Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook over low heat until softened. The longer you can cook the onion the more flavourful it will be, provided you keep the heat very low. If you have time, you can leave them cooking away for about fifteen or twenty minutes; if you are in a rush, just make sure that they are nicely softened.

Stir in the parsnips, making sure to coat them with the melted butter and oil. Turn the heat down as low as you can and put the lid on the saucepan. Set the timer for ten minutes and let the parsnips sweat in their buttery coating. You can peek, in fact I encourage you to, just to be sure they are not sticking. Turn the heat back a bit if they do start to stick a little. Let them sweat away in the pan, giving them the occasional stir.

After ten minutes, remove the lid and add the stock. Bring to the boil. Now turn back the heat. Stir in the nutmeg and simmer gently for about 20 to 30 minutes until the parsnips are very, very soft. Take the soup off the heat.

Cool for a few minutes so the liquid and parsnips are not scalding hot. When the soup has cooled a bit, puree it in the blender in batches. If I am going to serve it later, this is the point at which I allow the soup to cool right down and then refrigerate it as I prefer to add the milk or cream just before serving.

If you are serving the soup right away, however, wash out the pan and dry it, and put the soup back in. (If you made the soup earlier and you now want to serve it, remove it from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for about twenty minutes -so it isn't icy cold - before putting it in a pan on the stove. ) Place the pan over a low heat and begin to stir in the milk or cream. Now the amount of milk you add depends on the thickness of the liquidised parsnips and stock you have in your pan, and indeed whether you have chosen to use milk or cream (which is slightly thicker). Just take it slowly as there is nothing worse than thin soup. Remember, you can always add more milk or cream, but you can’t take it away! Heat until piping hot. Carefully taste the soup, adding a little bit more nutmeg if you feel it needs it.

Serve in bowls or mugs with a sprinkling of paprika or swirl of cream for garnish.