Happy Birthday Nicholas!

Happy Birthday Nicholas!!

 Happy Birthday to you!!

Menu:

• Roast Pork in White Wine
• Robyn's Red, White and Green House Salad
• Chocolate Tomato Happy Birthday Cake

Chocolate Tomato Happy Birthday Cake!

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups AP flour (or 1 3/4 cups plus 2 T cake flour)
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

Icing Ingredients

• 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• Optional: 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Preparation

• Sift together first 6 ingredients.
• Add next 5 ingredients, and beat on medium speed for 6 minutes.
• Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan or 2 round cake pans.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 mins. (start checking after 30 mins if making rounds)

 

Icing Preparation

• Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy.
• Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat in lemon peel and vanilla. 
• Cover and refrigerate until just firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.

First time we tried this recipe was: for Nicholas' birthday celebration on Thursday, March 20, 2014!

Nicholas' Chicken Greek Salad

Ingredients

• cooked chicken, diced
• 1 red pepper, de-seeded, diced
• 1 avocado
• 150g/5oz feta, diced
• 1 small bib lettuce
• 100ml/3fl oz extra virgin olive oil
• 50ml/3 tbsp red wine vinegar

 

Preparation method

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.


First time we tried this recipe was: on March 16, 2014 after a canal and scrubs walk!

Nicholas' Magical Sea Bream in White Wine

Ingredients

• 2 plump sea bream
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup white wine
• rosemary
• leeks
• red peppers
• snow peas (mangetout)
• carrots

 

Preparation method

Mix chicken stock, white wine and rosemary in a bowl. Pour over fish in a baking dish. Scatter diced red peppers over top. Bake with leeks, snow peas and carrots placed around in dish.


First time Nicholas made this recipe for Robyn was: on March 11, 2014!


 

Robyn's Red, White and Green House Salad

Ingredients

• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 red pepper, de-seeded, diced
• 1 avocado
• 150g/5oz feta, diced
• 1 small bib lettuce
• 100ml/3fl oz extra virgin olive oil
• 50ml/3 tbsp red wine vinegar

 

Preparation method

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.


First time we tried this recipe was: on March 11, 2014!


 

Pizza Capriccio

 

 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or 2 tablespoons cornmeal, to work with dough

1 pizza dough

extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

coarse salt

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup basil leaves, shredded (10 leaves)

1/2-3/4 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, very thinly sliced

6 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 (14 ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/4 lb prosciutto di Parma, cut crosswise, into 2-inch slices

1/2 cup frozen green pea

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

 

Preparation method

Preheat oven to 425.

Dust the dough with the flour or cornmeal and stretch out to a 12-13" pizza. Place the dough on a pizza tray and pierce it with the tines of a fork. Drizzle with EVOO, season with a little salt, and bake 10 minutes.

Remove the crust from the oven and top with the tomato sauce, basil, a thin layer of the mozzarella, the mushrooms, and artichokes.

Bake another 10 minutes, or until the cheese bubbles and the crust is crisp. In the last 5 minutes of baking, add the prosciutto, peas, and eggs and another drizzle of EVOO.

First time we tried this recipe was: on March 4, 2014 at the Picolo Diablo after researching scene locations at the Savoy and Solomon Island languages and customs at the British Museum!



Savoy Ballroom

British Museum

Beef Lasagne

Ingredients

 

For the ragu

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 700g/1lb 9oz beef mince
• 340g/12oz pork mince
• 1 bottle red wine (750ml/26½fl oz)
• 2 x 400g/14oz cans tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 200ml/7fl oz beef stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

For the bechamel sauce

• 1 litre/1¾ pints whole milk
• 2 bay leaves
• ¼ onion
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 50g/2oz butter
• 50g/2oz plain flour

 

For the lasagne

• 14 sheets fresh lasagne pasta
• 3 125g/4½oz balls mozzarella, cut into small cubes
• small handful grated parmesan
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp butter

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
   
2. For the ragu, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat and fry the celery, carrots and onion for approximately 15 minutes, until softened and golden. Add the garlic and rosemary and fry for two more minutes.
   
3. Add the beef and pork mince and cook until the liquid from the meat has been absorbed.
   
4. Pour in approximately 400ml/14fl oz of red wine and stir well. Cook for approximately 45 minutes.
   
5. Once the wine has evaporated, add the tomatoes and stock. Leave the mixture uncovered to cook slowly for two hours. Top up with more warm stock if necessary. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
   
6. To make the bechamel sauce, place the milk in a large non-stick saucepan, add the bay leaves, onion and nutmeg and gently bring to the boil.
   
7. In a separate saucepan melt the butter and add the flour. Beat well and cook for two minutes. Remove the milk from the heat and add a little to the flour mixture. Combine well, and when all the milk has been absorbed, add a little more. Continue to do this until all the milk has been added, whisking continually.
   
8. For the lasagne, blanch the pasta in salted boiling water for three minutes. Spoon a third of the bechamel sauce into the bottom of a lasagne dish in a layer, then place some of the pasta strips over the top. Follow this with some of the mozzarella and parmesan, and sprinkle over freshly ground black pepper. Follow with a layer of ragu. Repeat this step twice until all the ingredients have been used up. Dot knobs of butter over the surface and cook in the oven for 30 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and completely cooked through.
   

First time we tried this recipe was: on March 4, 2014 at the Picolo Diablo after researching scene locations at the Savoy and Solomon Island languages and customs at the British Museum!


Savoy Lobby and Entrance

British Museum