Good Things in Sleepy London
Green Park
Chocolate and Hazelnut Pavlova
I waved goodbye as I was closing our front door on a balmy late September afternoon, and then I opened it on a wet grey mid November morning, or at least it feels that way.
This elusive thought of what happened in between comes and goes, like a gentle hum of different personas passing through our door. A blend of friends, family and some work connections. It all merges into one like a harmonious drift from one day to another. As I start to press my memory a bit harder now, a lot has happened actually, good and bad. Lets focus on the good part though, exactly the same way as we all wish to be remembered by. The notion of the events doesn’t allow me to allocate a greater importance to one or the other, so I’m thinking: “a chronological order perhaps? Hmm, maybe not.” These moments seem to overlap in my mind, but, they have a common denominator: good food, lovely company and a dreamy Autumn in London. I really mean it, I’ve loved the weather here over the past two months.
Everything commenced with an unexpectedly warm and pleasant week: just imagine the morning haze burnt off by the sun by midday, a gentle breeze, the temperatures reaching 26-27 C and a return of the sun kissed glow on your face – the best make up there is. I wore shorts again and a (smart) shirt – we live in a big city after all and the West End is more of a suit and tie kind of place. The truth to be told is that my wardrobe doesn’t fit London that well anymore and that is for two particular reasons: 1) most of my clothes along with the household items are kept in a storage back in Italy, 2) different weather and lifestyle in Italy required a different set of clothing. But I have to manage with what I’ve got and I did bring a few shirts with me. Currently for us London is an extended short-term living situation, still temporary though. Not sure if it’s a matter of a few weeks or months, that’s the bad part, but that will be resolved eventually. We are suspended right now between England and our future home, perhaps in Italy, but who knows, life right now can be full of surprises.
Apple Crumble with Calvados
Touluse Sausages in Red Wine Sauce
Moving swiftly to the positive events, my very good friend from Poland, Dagmara and her husband, came for a visit and they couldn’t have asked for a better weather. Taking full advantage of it we walked a lot: parks, museums, monuments, dim sum lunch in China Town and an obligatory Saturday morning trip to the farmer’s market – the apples right now are so delectably crunchy and flavoursome that I buy them in bulk. Naturally the evenings were turning a bit chilly but we still managed to have a small beer or a little Guinness standing outside our two local pubs and soaked up the convivial and lively atmosphere emanating from the premises. On one of those days we crossed Hyde Park heading for The Ginger Pig butcher located in Marylebone Village. From the early lunch hours you will always find a long line queuing for its renowned sausage rolls. They are very rich but a must try. The parallel and shorter line is for the regular meat shop, where I always buy chicken, and as of recently the sausages: Toulouse and Cumberland. I came up by a little inspiration as well as trial and error with a new recipe for Baked Sausages in a Red Wine and Dijon Mustard Sauce. There are also shallots, some garlic and fresh thyme present in the sauce. I don’t add any flour to thicken the sauce, instead, I let it evaporate a little before popping the dish into the hot oven. I bake the sausages without the lid, turning them every 10 minutes, allowing them to develop a very appetising dark crispy skin. In September I served this dish with boiled sweet and tender corn cobs, topped with butter and Maldon salt- so good and so seasonal. This time of year however, I’d bake some potatoes with it and prepare a simple crunchy green leaf salad, or a new favourite, shredded (or thinly sliced) cabbage with a simple lemony olive oil dressing.
Dagmara loves meringues. Remembering that I had some egg whites in the freezer (I always have some egg whites left after making: custards, zabaione or Torta della Nonna filling) I quickly conjured up a one tiered pavlova to round the welcome dinner off. My first intention was to top the meringue base with whipped vanilla cream and macerated plums. But this year I was rather disappointed or unlucky with the plums here, so I improvised with what I had in my kitchen cupboard. I folded half of the whipped cream with a very moreish chocolate and hazelnut spread, and layered it all up. It was divine and all gone the same evening (find the recipe here).
Another lovely thing, almost a regular by now, have been weekly visits of “my younger” cousin. There is only a two year age gap between us but that’s how I had first called her introducing Elizabeth to the Dégustateur, and that’s what we still call her now. She comes on Wednesdays, after work and is always happy to try, or to my sheer delight have seconds, of what I’ve prepared for her. She’s particularly enjoyed my Apple Crumble with Calvados with a generous spoonful of a warm Vanilla Créme Anglaise, roast pumpkin cream soup and a freshly baked brioche loaf.
The brioche loaf I’ve been baking for a while now and have found “my perfect recipe” for it. I love its pillowy soft, light yellow texture and a firm dark shiny crust. It smells of butter, fresh yeast and a happy home. It’s so versatile and in fact we are never bored of it. Still slightly warm from the oven it’s a dream to have. On the following day for breakfast I’d toast a few slices of it, spread some butter on top – which will start to melt a little, and then coat it with a bitter orange marmalade (preferably from Fortnum & Maison). Have a freshly brewed strong coffee with it and you may not want to have anything else for breakfast. Brioche, a slightly sweet rich bread, pairs so well with pâtés, strong cheeses and anchovies. If you have anything left, bread and butter pudding is always a good idea to make.
We’ve been bewitched lately by baking “my brioche” but I must admit that it has gained a strong competition in a form of focaccia with semola, potato and rosemary. A rather rustic Southern Italian style soft bread with a crunchy crust, which soaks up perfectly strong and fragrant olive oil, a match made in heaven (recipe soon on the blog).
I’ve always been very happy to cook for other people, but on daily basis it’s just the two of us, sitting down to dinner where we have a longer moment to spend with each other, chat over a homemade meal accompanied by a candle light (soon also during lunches as it getting darker) and usually a glass of wine. Many new and old dishes are left for our own gratification, like a recent late Sunday breakfast for example: nutty and warm chestnut flour and orange blossom water pancakes filled with a chestnut cream spiced with some dark rum.
The Changing of the Guard Ceremony
Chestnut Pancakes
Fougasse
I tried out a new recipe for a classic French Fougasse that I wanted to share with you, in case you wish to make a little impression on your guests with a homemade bread-just a thought. Plain flour, yeast, salt and olive oil, so simple. It’s extremely tasty and you can play around with the toppings: rosemary, olives or sun dried tomatoes. Moreover, it’s so visually appealing. You only have to make a few slashes with a sharp knife to the flattened dough so it resembles a leaf, more or less. Voilà!
I haven’t started cooking the usual cold weather comfort hearty meals yet because the weather has been surprisingly fabulous. After my friends had left, it got colder, that’s true, we had some mists and morning fogs which I love, but it’s been dry all the while and abnormally warm. The parks have never looked prettier: the slowly falling leaves coating the surroundings with all manner of autumnal hues: greens turning yellow, saffron, scarlet, deep red and russet have covered many parts of London with a soft blanket, on which I meandered for hours, almost daily, enjoying the rustle of the beautiful dry foliage. I just put on a comfortable pair of shoes and walked everywhere cloaked in a soft mist, that just couldn’t be more atmospheric.
One day I decided to play a tourist and went to see something that I hadn’t watched in years: The Changing of the Guard ceremony. The Changing of the King’s Guard ritual involves three locations: Buckingham Palace, St. James’s Palace and Wellington Barracks as well as different timings. I’ve always preferred to watch it at Wellington Barracks (just before 11am), it’s less crowded there and once the New Guard departs, I like to take a stroll across St. James’s Park or along The Mall, or when not pressed for time, pay a visit to The National Gallery at Trafalgar Square.
Occasionally during weekends, together with the Dégustateur, we set out for a walk to Soho, passing through Belgravia first, then crossing Green Park and watching the squirrels hunting and posing unabashedly whilst asking for food – they look pretty plump right now and so ready for the winter. Following the inevitable stop at Hatchards (the oldest bookshop in the United Kingdom) and forever originally decorated Fortnum & Maison grocery department store, we reach Piccadilly Circus with its filled to the brim The Devonshire pub behind (and a very good restaurant above – book in advance). We enjoy this eclectic crowd as well as so many different Soho restaurants: Barrafina, Quo Vadis, Dean Street Townhouse, Andrew Edmunds to name but a few. The exact opposite of the quiet neighbourhood that we live in.
Nature turns dormant as I finish writing this post and we are bracing for a cold front to come. The sleepy drift from one day to another has come to an end exactly now once the weather has turned and the signs of approaching Christmas are popping up everywhere. And one thing is absolutely certain: London does its Christmas decorations extremely well!
The Devonshire Pub