Perfecting the baked chocolate tart

I feel a little odd writing about my exploits in the kitchen whilst cities across the UK are shut down by rioters, and friends in London can't even go out to the shops to buy a pint of milk. But worrying about the quantity of egg yolk to put in a chocolate tart at least prevents me from going crazy thinking about the societal breakdown that can result in such a horrendous turn of events. This article got me thinking a lot about how disaffected some people really are from society, give it a read (and support Kid's Company), the author is an inspirational woman whom I once had the privilege of hearing speak at an event.

However, on to a more light hearted subject. The results of my weekend of gastronomic experimentation! Inspired by a canape at a friend's wedding a fortnight ago, I turned my hand to pea and mint soup. And very glad I am too! Served hot in a bowl (hubby's preference) or cold in a shot glass (my preference - aesthetically and taste), this will definitely make the menu at a supper club coming to you soon!

The pate worked out very nicely too. Though a lesson learnt will be to take it out of the fridge quite some time before serving. I can't take the credit for the delicious accompanying fig chutney (jam and chutney making scare me) but a delicious lunchtime snack - and perhaps, if I can get the presentation right, a tasty starter.

Having received an ice cream maker as an engagement present a couple of years ago - possibly the best and most well used present we have ever received - this weekend was the turn of sorbet. (OK, so I made a spiced chocolate and port ice-cream too, but pictures of that will have to wait). Not having made sorbet in the churner before, I was a little apprehensive, but fortunately my concerns were unfounded. Here is my apple and calvados sorbet (bit less sugar and it will be a perfect palate cleanser, should we opt for that course), complete with freezer chilled shot glasses. Oh dear, I'm enjoying the food porn photography a bit too much!

Of course, being surrounded by all things chocolately (we are fortunate enough to live within seconds of Cocos of Bruntsfield and The Chocolate Tree), where chocolate is, then I am never far away. The chocolate florentines - whilst risking turning into a big burnt caramel mess in the oven - in fact were rescued by James Martin's tip to 'reshape after 4 minutes in the oven' (my baking tray was nearly plate-glass candied fruit and sugar) and have turned out a treat. But how to get the chocolate glossier on top?

And now for the piece de la resistance*, the baked chocolate and salted caramel tart. This is a recreation as mentioned in a previous post of a delicious dessert we had on the West Coast, in Tarbert. My hunt for recipes which approximated what we had eaten led me to this BBC Good Food recipe. I leave out the cocoa in the pastry, opting for a simpler sweet short crust, and, in this, my second attempt, only used egg whites in the chocolate layer, to make it slightly less heavy than if including the yolk too. My top tip would also be to let each layer cool completely before adding the next (so it becomes a 24 hour job). Blind baked pastry shell needs to be cooled before pouring in the caramel layer, caramel should set before spooning over the chocolatey-egg-whitey goo (when I first made this, I wasn't as patient, meaning the chocolate layer was much harder to spread, and the cooked result had less distinctive layers).

It was well worth the wait.

And I know I'm not really going in order here (did you really think this was all eaten at one sitting), but given I have become obsessed with taking photos of food, how's about this for a ridiculous way to serve up fish fingers. A jenga of breaded fish fillets served on creamed potato, with a tomato and petits pois garnish. (Needless to say, after the photo was taken, I heaped on a whole load more peas - got to get my five a day)!

*apologies for the lack of accents throughout - the linguist in me is very disappointed at my lack of Mac shortcuts for these characters... Will try to learn, or make fewer things with French provenance.

A rainy day in the kitchen

Thank goodness it rained today. I have spent the last several hours in the kitchen (very willingly, I should add - and with a brief interlude on a desperate hunt for anywhere that sold Calvados... thank you Waitrose!) experimenting with some old and new recipes.

The morning started at least with some sunshine, a jog (the first in quite a while - I must have realised the calorific content of a weekend of food experimentation) and a quick shop in Real Foods on Brougham Street. Love that place, and in particular their sacks of muesli. Back home in time to make some salted caramel for the baked chocolate and caramel tart which I will be baking some time later this week. We had a similar treat when in Tarbert a few weeks back in a fantastic harbourside restaurant, Scott's. So delicious was it that I immediately set out on a quest to find a recipe to make it myself, and am just about there with this recipe from BBC Good Food, though next time I am just going to use egg white to see if I can make the chocolate layer a little less dense. Anyway, fun was had by all who got to lick the spoon after making the caramel.

The veg box arrived a couple of days ago and fortunately I had just stumbled across a recipe for broad bean and feta salad (a version of a favourite pea and feta salad I've made many a time thanks to Jamie Oliver).

I also made my first ever pate - chicken liver and cointreau - which is chilling in the fridge before being dished up for lunch tomorrow with freshly baked soda bread. I was tempted to try my hand at homemade brioche but after making pizza dough last night decided against doughy mess all over me and the kitchen for a second day in a row.

That said, I was suitably messy by the time I'd finished with the 'whisky snap' baskets, sculpted over an improvised basket mould... an old aerosol lid. They taste fab, but are, well, not particularly uniform in shape or size... and nearly ended up as one huge whisky snap tray bake at one stage in the afternoon!

The mixture for an apple and calvados sorbet (yes, the calvados was for a recipe, not just as a tipple) is chilling in the fridge over night. A memory of holidays in Brittany with my folks, when I was young enough to think ice cream before main course was just fantastic. My first introduction to a palate cleanser at the age of five.

And the hubby and I have just polished off a plate of deliciously meaty seared scallops, with creamy mash and a tomato, chorizo and balsamic sauce / salsa / confit (not sure what it should be called - sauteed in some oil for a few minutes before serving).

We are both suitably full, needless to say.

Right - better start blogging then...

OK folks, so this whole blogging business is new to me.
Suffice to say, we foodies are beginning to plot our soon to be launched supper club - watch this space for an October launch - and are beginning to get very excited... We've already got our hands on a copy of MsMarmiteLover's underground supper club book and are eagerly perusing it for tips and hints. The two cooks have been madly exchanging messages about our plans for amuses bouches, starters, mains and puds, not to mention some eager experimentation with petits fours... We've even been approached by MyMonkfish for our launch - I am quite simply wowed by the power of twitter.
In short, none of us have really been focussing on our actual day jobs and are instead fantasising about our gastronomic adventure. And of course, we now have the perfect excuse to sample as many of the eateries in Edinburgh as possible - all in the name of research. This will be a fun few months.