Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is dedicated to one hundredth anniversary of The Sinking of the RMS Titanic. And to commemorate the disaster this week’s recipes are dishes that featured on the First Class Passengers’ menus, they are Chicken Consommé with Tiny Dumplings, Filet Mignon with Red Wine Sauce andPoached Pears in Spiced Red Wine.
The sinking of the RMS Titanic occurred on the night of 14/15 April 1912 in the north Atlantic Ocean, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The largest passenger liner in service at the time, Titanic had 2,223 people on board when she struck an iceberg at 23:40 (ship's time) on 14 April 1912. She sank two hours and forty minutes later at 02:20 on 15 April, causing the deaths of over 1,500 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.
Titanic had received several warnings of sea ice during 14 April but was travelling near her maximum speed when she collided with the iceberg. The ship suffered a glancing blow that buckled her starboard (right) side and opened five of her sixteen compartments to the sea. Titanic had been designed to stay afloat with four flooded compartments but not five, and the crew soon realised that the ship was going to sink. They used rocket flares and wireless messages to attract help as the passengers were put into lifeboats. However, there were far too few lifeboats available and many were not filled to their capacity due to a poorly managed evacuation.
The ship broke up as she sank with over a thousand passengers and crew members still aboard. Almost all those who jumped or fell into the water died from hypothermia within minutes. RMS Carpathia arrived on the scene about an hour and a half after the sinking and had rescued the last of the survivors in the lifeboats by 09:15 on 15 April, little more than 24 hours after Titanic's crew had received their first warnings of drifting ice. The disaster caused widespread public outrage over the lack of lifeboats, lax shipping regulations and the unequal treatment of the different passenger classes aboard the ship. Enquiries set up in the wake of the disaster recommended sweeping changes to maritime regulations. This led in 1914 to the establishment of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today.
The full version of this article can be found at www.garfysplaceinfo.blog.co.uk
My first recipe is Chicken Consommé with Tiny Dumplings. Courtesy of www.cookitsimply.com
Serves 4, Prep 20mins, Cook 15-20mins
500g x Skinless Chicken Breast, minced (use a mincer or food processor).
2 x Shallots, very finely chopped
1 tsp x Salt
A Pinch of White Pepper
A Pinch of Dried Thyme
10 tbsp x Fine Breadcrumbs
1 tbsp x Chopped Parsley
1 x Egg
4 tbsp x Single Cream
1ltr x Hot Organic Chicken Stock
300g x Frozen Peas
2 x Shallots, very finely chopped
1 tsp x Salt
A Pinch of White Pepper
A Pinch of Dried Thyme
10 tbsp x Fine Breadcrumbs
1 tbsp x Chopped Parsley
1 x Egg
4 tbsp x Single Cream
1ltr x Hot Organic Chicken Stock
300g x Frozen Peas
Mince the meat finely, either in a mincer or a food-processor. Mix shallots with the chicken, salt, pepper, thyme, breadcrumbs, parsley and egg, with sufficient cream to form a soft, pliable dough. Bring the stock to the boil with the peas, reduce heat to simmer gently.
Shape the chicken mixture into little dumplings, using 2 tsps dipped in cold water. Put dumplings into simmering stock and cook gently for 10 minutes, and serve.
Shape the chicken mixture into little dumplings, using 2 tsps dipped in cold water. Put dumplings into simmering stock and cook gently for 10 minutes, and serve.
My next recipe is Filet Mignon with Red Wine Sauce. Recipe courtesy of www.simplyrecipes.com
Serves 2-4, Prep time 10 mins, Cook time 20 mins
2-4 x Filet Mignon Steaks, 1 to 2 inches thick*
Salt
Canola or Grape Seed Oil
3-4tbsp x Unsalted Butter, divided
500ml x Full Bodied Red Wine
Black Pepper to taste
Salt
Canola or Grape Seed Oil
3-4tbsp x Unsalted Butter, divided
500ml x Full Bodied Red Wine
Black Pepper to taste
*If you have thicker steaks, you can butterfly them and cook on the stovetop as directed here, or you can sear them on the stovetop and finish them in a 180°C oven for 10 minutes or more, until the centre of the steaks are done to your liking.
Your steaks should already be trimmed of the tough silverskin. If not, cut away any gristly bits. If your steak has the chain attached and you don't want to serve it, cut it away and save for another purpose.
Allow the steaks to come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 90 minutes, depending on the thickness of the steaks. Just before getting ready to cook, pat the meat dry with paper towels, then coat with the canola or grape seed oil. Salt well.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a cast iron pan on high heat for 1 minute. Swirl to coat the pan. Put the steaks in the hot pan and immediately turn the heat down to medium to medium high. Sear untouched for at least 3 minutes, up to 6 minutes for a 2-inch thick steak.
Flip the steaks and cook for another 2-5 minutes, depending on how thick the steak is and how rare or well done you like your meat. You can use the finger test** to test the doneness of your steak. Or you can use a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the steak (49°C to 54°C for rare, 54°C to 57°C for medium rare, 60°C to 63°C for medium). Remove from the pan, loosely tent with foil and allow to rest while you make the sauce.
Pour the wine into the pan and turn the heat to high. Boil this furiously until it is reduced by 3/4, about 10 minutes. Add any juices the steaks have released while resting. Turn off the heat and wait until the wine has stopped bubbling. When it has, add the tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon at a time. Swirl each tablespoon into the sauce until it is completely incorporated before adding the next tablespoon of butter. Add salt to taste and serve the sauce with the steak. Sprinkle freshly ground black pepper over the meat when you serve it.
**Finger Test:
Raw - Open the palm of your hand. Relax the hand. Take the index finger of your other hand and push on the fleshy area between the thumb and the base of the palm. Make sure your hand is relaxed. This is what raw meat feels like. (Check this out the next time you have a raw steak to cook.)
Raw - Open the palm of your hand. Relax the hand. Take the index finger of your other hand and push on the fleshy area between the thumb and the base of the palm. Make sure your hand is relaxed. This is what raw meat feels like. (Check this out the next time you have a raw steak to cook.)
Well Done - Now gently press the tip of your pinky and your thumb together. Again feel the fleshy area below the thumb. It should feel quite firm. This is what well done meat feels like when you press on it. (Check this out the next time you overcook a piece of meat.)
Medium - Press the tip of your ring finger and your thumb together. The flesh beneath the thumb should give a little more. This is what meat cooked to a medium doneness feels like.
Medium Rare - Gently press the tip of your middle finger to the tip of your thumb. This is medium rare.
Rare - Press the tip of your index finger to the tip of your thumb. The fleshy area below the thumb should give quite a bit. This is what meat cooked to rare feels like. Open up your palm again and compare raw to rare.
My final recipe is Poached Pears in Spiced Red Wine. Recipe courtesy of www.bbcgoodfood.com
Serves 6, Prep 20 mins, Cook 20 - 30 mins
1 x Vanilla Pod
1 x Bottle of Red Wine
225g x Caster Sugar
1 x Cinnamon Stick, halved
A Sprig of Fresh Thyme sprig, plus sprigs to serve
6 x Pears, peeled, but kept whole with stalk intact
1 x Bottle of Red Wine
225g x Caster Sugar
1 x Cinnamon Stick, halved
A Sprig of Fresh Thyme sprig, plus sprigs to serve
6 x Pears, peeled, but kept whole with stalk intact
Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the black seeds and put in a large saucepan with the wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme. Cut each piece of pod into three long thin strips, add to pan, then lower in the pears.
Poach the pears, covered, for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will very much depend on the ripeness of your pears - they should be tender all the way through when pierced with a cocktail stick. You can make these up to 2 days ahead and chill.
Take the pears from the pan, then boil the liquid to reduce it by half so that it's syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a strip of vanilla, a piece of cinnamon and a small thyme sprig.
Nearer My God To Thee
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Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D
