GARIBALDI BISCUITS
30 August 2007
{KIP’S GARIBALDI BISCUITS} What’s in a name ….. While my uncles birth certificate reads ‘Nicholas Alliston’, very few people know this, and even fewer call him anything but Kip. A nickname he was given by my grandfather – a true gourmand, who had a weakness for Kippers (a smoked fish of either salmon or herring)
As the story goes, my grandfather was at home in bed with the flu. Impatient as he was when it came to food, he couldn’t wait for his breakfast, so he shouted downstairs ‘where’s my Kipper?’ At which point my uncle jumped out from behind the door and shouted ‘here I am!’ – and the name has stuck ever since. As a child he couldn’t pronounce nor spell ‘Kipper’, and so, as children do, he changed it to Kippa, which turned into Kip – but the route is there as is his love for food and cooking.
When visiting his house in the country your nose is invigorated by delicious smells that come wafting from the kitchen…. pork pie, roasted balsamic tomatoes, soufflé, homemade bread…. However, I have generally been a passive observer, an eager taster but rarely his sou-chef in such creations. That was until this summer when I was indoctrinated into the ‘Alliston Garibaldi kitchen of fame’.
The following is the recipe my uncle taught me, one that he had perfected over time, in a quest to keep up with my Aunts love of biscuits and cups of tea. They originate from England and are named after the Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), who enjoyed eating these biscuits when he visited the UK. The small personal touch I added, was to use only currents (no raisins) and to reduce the quantity from 400g to 300g.
SIRAPSSNITTAR
21 August 2007
{SIRAPSSNITTAR} are very addictive buttery Swedish cookies, whose name translates to Sirap = Syrup/treacle Snitt = Cut, a logical name given that they are made with syrup and cut into squares when removed from the oven. I have baked 3 batches in the last 10 days and should theoretically have gained 10 pounds by now, had it not been for eager friends who were willing to take these divine treats off my hands.
Story : Little did I know it at that time, but my cookie making world was about to be turned upside down, whilst visiting Gamla Stan (the Old Town) of Stockholm a few months ago. It was here that I accidentally found Grillska Huset’s café and purchased my first bag of sirapssnittars. I must confess I have pleasantly not recovered since – this may be the best cookie i have had / made. The taste was like a portal back to my childhood, of home comfort , milk and cookies!
Olivier’s mom had the same experience when she tasted one – saying that it reminded her of when she was a little girl of 5, at her uncle’s pâtisserie in Paris. It was here that she spent one afternoon, nestled amongst the pastries, as her mother, sister, aunt and cousin went exploring the town. She was too little and therefore had no choice but to stay behind, the silver lining of which was her uncles undivided attention and an unlimited amount of sweet cakes…. ‘tu aimerais goûter encore celui-ci… tiens ma cocotte!” (would you like to taste this one… here my little chicken) When her mother returned that evening she was full of sugar, had red cheeks, a temperature of 40° and indigestion. When she thinks back to that day she laughs and says ‘it was well worth it!’
As for me, I returned to Geneva and was on the hunt for a recipe to recreate these wonderful cookies. After interrogating many a Swedish friend, I was thrilled to receive an email from Frida with this recipe:
COLD COURGETTE AND MINT SOUP
20 August 2007
{SOUPE FROIDE DE COURGETTES A LA MENTHE} When I was a little girl you couldn’t have paid me to eat a courgette (zucchini), much less a cooked one, and come to think of it, that went for most other vegetables that weren’t served raw! Now I naturally can take no responsibility for this fact and must blame it on inherited genes…. as my mother, 5 years old, sitting at the dinner table, was known to secretly hind her unwanted vegetables under the rim of her plate! Her master plan was working well, until my grandmother cleared the table…
My palate has developed a little since then and after moving to Geneva, thanks to my fiancé, courgettes have become one of my favourite veggies. So I was thrilled when he decided to make this soup for dinner, and have since slightly modified the original ‘ELLE à table’ recipe used.
NOTE: This recipe must be made ONLY 1 hour in advance of serving! Otherwise the skins of the courgettes turn and give the soup a bitter taste.
LAVENDER & HONEY SHORTBREAD COOKIES
17 August 2007
{PETITS SABLES AUX FLEURS DE LAVANDE ET MIEL} This past weekend I escaped from the city to the French countryside …. peace and quiet from all the tourists in town, cool breeze, listening to the cow bells, reading Marianne Paquin’s ‘Cueillez, c’est prêt!’ cookbook, and finding inspiration in a lavender bush!
For me lavender is the true ‘parfum de Provence’ (the perfume of Provence). However when it comes to cooking I think there should be a warning label: ’this flower is sweet BUT strong …. therefore do not run a muck, suppress your enthusiasm to add more, or your desert will taste like a bar of soap! A little goes a long way“
Sadly I did not have these words of wisdom when I first made ‘a lavender & apricot compote’…. wild horses could not have stopped me from adding an overly abundant amount of this innocent looking purple flower. The result was overwhelming and not in a good way.
Keeping this experience in mind as I read Marianne’s recipe for lavender cookies, I decided to make the recipe as follows: omitting the lavender essence as I simply didn’t have any and thought that the flowers alone would be enough. I replaced 25g of white sugar with orange blossom honey, and added a little extra flour to the dough - which instead of rolling out, I made into two long thin rolls which I chilled and then cut into circles. The result was a delicately subtle perfume of lavender, that tickles your sense as you nibble on these golden shortbreads.
DARK & WHITE CARDAMON CHOCOLATE POTS
13 August 2007
{PETITS POTS DE CHOCOLAT NOIR ET BLANC A LA CARDAMOME} The dinner party…… a wonderful event, but for the host it can become a juggling act to create delicious dishes that are easy, made in advance and beautiful! Do not let the picture above fool you – this is an easy recipe, that is based on Trish Deseine’s ‘Petits pots de chocolat’ with a twist. I have wooed many a guest at the end of a dinner where the conversation goes quiet and everyone relishes in this heavenly desert.
The original recipe calls for only dark chocolate, which is sinful but as it is summer I felt the need to lighten things up – so I divided the recipe in 2 and created one rich dark chocolate cream layer and a 2nd delicate white chocolate layer with a hint of cardamon, finished with a dust of cacao.
PEACH & PINK PEPPER JAM
13 August 2007
{CONFITURE DE PECHE ET POIVRE ROSE} First a funny fact about me and the sweet little peach…, the fuzzy skin gives me ‘les frisons’ (shivers / goose-bumps) like scratching your nails on a chalk board – not apricots or quince, just peaches – I know I am odd!
This fact however did not hinder my enthusiasm to make jam, nor Olivier’s ability to eat it (funny that – I think he may have an addiction) As do I for pepper… white, green, black or pink, so perhaps that is the source of my inspiration to combine peaches and pink pepper (poivre rose). Pink peppercorns (schinus terebinthifolius) come from Brazil or Peru and are not in fact a true peppercorn but a dried fruit from the Baies Rose. They have a lovely soft flavour with a little spice which compliments the white peaches very sweet taste.
Peach Jam HELPFUL HINTS:
- Peach season in Europe is from June to the end of September
- End of season peaches are sweeter as they have had more sunshine
- To easily remove peach skin, choose ripe peaches. Plunge them in boiling water for 30 seconds, then in cold water for 10 seconds. The skin will peal off easily.
- Use lemon juice as natural pectin
- If your peaches are not very ripe, they will not completely disintegrate when cooked and your jam will require a little hand mixing (see recipe below)
BARCELONA
8 August 2007
Barcelona
{BARCELONA, Summer 2007} This was my first trip, and definitely not my last. A city of nighthawks (we began dinner each night at 22h00 !!), where you quickly realise that one week will never be enough to see & do everything you want.
My lasting impression… youth, inventive architecture, vibrant colour and most of all culinary delights! Travel books are great, but I am like a beagle searching for the perfect scent, that will lead me to the undiscovered!
A helping hand is always welcomed, which I found when leafing through the July issue of ‘ELLE à table’, whose featured city of the month was none other than BARCELONA!!! With ‘ELLE’ as my bible we explored many of the suggestions, enriching our trip and taking us to areas that we might otherwise have missed. So here is my current list of favourites and others places I found en route:
APRICOT & ROSEMARY JAM
3 August 2007
{CONFITURE D’ABRICOT ET ROMARIN} I was recently on holiday in Provence when the apricot season was in full bloom. To some this is a dream come true, to my father, whose keen desire to keep up with the overly abundant apricot tree in the garden (which was apparently getting the better of him), it was a loosing battle.
By the time I arrived he couldn’t look, let alone eat another one. Help was on the way 
Perfectly juicy and ripe, just waiting to be plucked and in close proximity to the rosemary bushes…. I couldn’t wait to make jam and thought how nicely the two would go together.
Jam Making WITHOUT PECTIN:
- I use the juice of a lemon = natural pectin, as the thickening agent for jam
- Certain fruits / berries such as blackberries naturally contain a high % of pectin, requiring less cooking time when making jam & little or no lemon juice
