Chocolate orange christmas biscuits

My friend made German Christmas biscuits and sent them to us in the post! They survived and were truly delicious. Inspired, I started looking up recipes online.
Not as good as working directly from the source - but worth a go.
I found this recipe for chocolate orange biscuits, made with grated chocolate which gives a lovely flavour and texture.

Panettone

I love panettone - but didn't want to spend over a tenner on one - it seemed pretty straightforward to make, so surely worth a go. Last year I tried a recipe I found on the web, but it wasn't great: bit too dry, not the right balance of fruit and sugar. So when I saw a recipe in the River Cafe's Classic Italian Cookbook - bingo. If Mrs' Rogers and Gray have approved it - I'm in.
They didn't disappoint - it was sensible and delightful all at the same time. Plenty of proving time, plenty of eggs, plenty of fruit, not too much sugar.
I like it best (almost) when its proving - it looks glossy, light and rich.
When baked - my slightly-too-hot-oven nearly got the better of it - but i rescued it in time, and it was really good when cooled.
Being a bread it needs to settle and cool before eating - unlike cake :)
I'll stick with this recipe from now on.

Vacherin, Tomato Chutney, Port

We splashed out on some Vacherin, and it was worth every penny. We picked it up at Waddesdon Manor, where they have a good selection of Rothschild wines and some cheeses to accompany them.
Our friends gave us some green tomato chutney, brilliantly fruity and sharp, and we dug out some port :) Altogether a rare and indulgent supper. Roll on Christmas. 

Bagels

Another Bertinet recipe - and a winner.
I made these bagels almost a year ago (! ) and was more successful this time round (see previous bagel attempt).
Instead of dipping the bagels into seeds when they just came out of the boiling water, i scattered the seeds on top of the bagels - this gave better coverage.
Also my oven seemed to be hotter this time round and the bagels came out lovely and golden.
I struggled to keep the hole in the middle - despite feeding a rolling pin through the dough balls as instructed - so that when cut some looked like rolls :) not very bagel-like. But the texture was good and chewy, with a nice crispness on the outside. Good result.

Brioche

Lovely brioche loaf made from a Bertinet recipe. My oven is running quite hot at the moment, which means it was a little overdone. The hot spot in the bottom right corner is getting more vociferous.
Brioche was good - tho' it really found its forte in a bread and butter pudding I put together with some marmalade. For the custard I improvised with three eggs, a pint of whole milk and some cream. Was delicious!

Looking back

Since working in a proper kitchen,I have become like all other chefs i know, and rarely cook at home. There is not enough time off to gather ingredients, use ingredients effeciently, and literally have time to cook things.
On double shift days I rarely eat, and there's usually at least 3 of those a week.
"That's catering."

I look back through my blog and see so many things I've made, so much energy and enthusiasm. That energy is moving out of home cooking and into professional kitchens. Its a big shift. And I miss the variety, creativity and freedom of home cooking. It is such a joy to create.

Roast chicken with garlic, parsley yoghurt and toasted almonds

Woke up this morning and wanted yoghurt. Fresh, soothing. Realised that combined with some herbs and roast chicken would be great.
Found chicken, roasted it very simply with oil, seasoning, lemon. Made yoghurt with chopped parsley and garlic. Toasted almonds. Grabbed some salad leaves and voila.
wSuperb summer dish. Fresh, light, satisfying. Must be generously seasoned with crunchy salt.