Baking day at Welbeck

It was my friend Robert’s Birthday – and what do you get the man with everything?

An experience rather than a “thing”, and as he is a serious foodie and great cook,  I booked him onto The French Baking Course at The Artisan School of Cookery at Welbeck, then I thought it would be more fun for him if I went too, so I booked us both a place!

There were 12 of us on the course and it was fantastic fun.

Run by Emmanuel who was informal but kept us focused, and aided by David,  we all made brioche, 2 baguettes and a country loaf.

Actually it was quite hard work, and the discipline of using correct  measurements was difficult for me as I am a great “thrower-inner” when I cook.

Bread making is a more exact science and Emmanuel discussed yeasts and flours with us, steaming and baking, the right utensils and equipment. We had a delicious lunch with local cheeses and breads, freshly made salads and casseroles and time to have a look round the grounds.

When we left we had such a sense of achievement and I am determined to bake more bread for Compton House breakfasts, not just because it tastes nice, but because the whole process is so satisfying. The smell of warm bread in the car was so good I wanted to stop and devour it there and then.

But I wanted to proudly show Marko what we had made, so I came straight home (and ordered Emmanuels book as the recipes we were given were covered in my notes.)

Thank you to all at Welbeck for giving us such terrific fun and newfound skills, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Robert.

Our Exotic Wedding Couple

Veena and Shailen stayed at Compton House for their wedding night, along with a houseful of guests, and what a fabulous party they made.

I didnt know that their wedding was in 2 parts, so after the actual ceremony the guests all came back to the house  to change, and the girls  looked like exotic birds when they left, wearing the most gorgeous sari’s, sequins, feathers in their hair, high heels and jewelled shoes, breathtaking. And so colourful.

The men looked nice too.  I was very interested to see Veena’s henna’d hands and her sensational hair and makeup.

Here is a photo of the happy couple leaving for their evening party. They were all such fun and we wish them a very happy life!

PS We are still picking up the sequins!!

Elderflower-tastic!

Off we went in the strong  June sunshine to pick our Elderflowers, and just as we filled the last bag the heavens opened and we were absolutely soaked.

We sheltered under some trees for a good half hour and then made a run for the car. But good fun all the same, and as have only one bottle of cordial left from  last year, I was worried we had left it too late in the season.

We made 3 bins of  in the afternoon, and I kept back some perfect flowers for later. As a treat, at supper, with some gosseberry fool I had made for pudding, we had sugared Elderflower Fritters which were crunchy and delicious with that wonderful, subtle flavour.

Here is the recipe, enjoy.

ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL

30 heads of elderflower, full and dry

4lbs granulated sugar

2.5 g citric acid

2.5 pints boiling water

Put all in clean bucket

Stir twice a day for 5 days

Strain and bottle

You can add sliced lemons, maybe less sugar

 I make Elderflower ice cubes which are great to pop in a glass of Champagne or sparkling water.

Alabama Pecans

Our good friends from  Alabama, Mary Ann and Spencer, (on the right, above, having supper with Gill from Galerie Antiques) who run their shop The Church Mouse  which sells all things English, in Fairhope ,have been coming to stay at Compton House for a good few years now and  their daughter Jennifer and her girls visit sometimes too, so it’s a family affair.

Mary Ann and I discuss  food and cooking of course, and Spencer sits in the kitchen chatting while I make dinner. He has promised to cook a hot speciality from Alabama for us and I can’t wait to try it.

Meanwhile we were  excited  to receive a big box of  Pecans from them, and what I didnt know was that pecans freeze beautifully, so no need  to use the whole box at once. Instead, I asked Mary Ann for her trusty Pecan Pie recipe, which is below, together with her pastry instructions and defrost the pecans when I need them.

I find it easier using a measuring jug with mls than the scales with grams, so try it and see how easy it is to make (and even easier to eat!)

 Pecan Pie

120 ml sugar

225 ml Golden Syrup (you can add treacle to make it darker)

60  ml  butter

dash salt

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

225  pecans (or a few more)

1 unbaked pie shell

Combine sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt and bring to a boil over low heat.  Pour syrup slowly over beaten eggs, stirring constantly. ( I usually add a tiny bit first so I don’t have scrambled eggs.) Cool, add vanilla and pecans and pour into the pie shell.  Bake in a moderately hot oven (400F) 10 minutes; reduce to 375 and bake 35 to 40 minutes longer.

If edges of crust get too dark, I put strips of foil over them..

This is a pie crust I have made – sounds crazy but the vinegar must make it flakier.

900ml   plain flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

400 ml margarine, room temperature

1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar

1 large egg

120 ml water

 Put flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and mix well with fork.

Add margarine and mix with fork until crumbly.

In small bowl, beat together with fork the water, the vinegar and egg.

Combine the two mixtures, stirring until all ingredients are moistened.

Divide dough into 4 portions and with hands, shape each into a flat round patty.

Wrap each in plastic wrap or waxed paper and chill at least 1/2 hour.

When ready to roll piecrust, lightly flour both sides of patty and put on lightly floured board or pastry cloth.

 Eat  warm with cream, creme fraiche, yogurt, ice cream, its gorgeous!

AA Awards

Wheyhey!!   I won Friendliest Landlady of the Year!!

Absolutely thrilled as it is a National Award and out of 25 finalists they chose me!  The awards lunch was held at The Royal Horseguards Hotel in Whitehall which was very swish, the building is part of the National Liberal Club and has beautiful gardens where we sat in the sun afterwards.

After a drinks reception we had a delicious lunch, and at our table were Nigel David,  Chief Executive of eviivo, the on line booking company sponsoring the awards, Katie Stephens the AA Press Officer and Henrietta Green the food writer and doyenne of Food Lovers Britain. I have read lots of her food articles so I was like an exocet missile wanting  to hear about her experiences and ask her advice. There were also 2 ladies from Wales who run a B and B as well as a working farm, they must be super organised.

When the winner was announced I wished I hadn’t had so many glasses of wine as it was a long walk through the tables to the stage but it was great to be recognised , and for Newark to be acknowledged as it such a gem of a Market Town. So often the East Midlands is neglected.

All the finalists received an elegant  Villeroy and Boch decanter and I brought home a certificate which is hanging proudly in the hall.

I was going to be on the Chris Evans Show on Radio 2 the day after the awards, but Chris went off on a tangent and I was bumped for a story about a sausage sandwich!!

So, thank you to the AA who have always been supportive and helpful with the business.  And thank you too, to all our friends and guests who have been in touch with congratulations, it makes all the hard work worth while. (Still had to get up at 6am the next day and cook breakfast, no lounging about on the pedestal!)

Indian Delights

We recently had a lovely couple staying with us from India, and while her husband went to work, Varinder, who was just married and still wearing beautiful gold bracelets all the way up her arms , showed me some of her favourite recipes.

One night we both cooked together and made an Indian meal  for all our guests which was  huge fun as she taught me how to make a curry properly, and a great success.

Here are just 2 of her accompaniments for curries, which are so quick and simple  to make, but so tasty that even if we are having a takeaway, I might rustle up one of Varinders side dishes, and remember what fun it is to learn new tastes and subtleties. They have returned home now but I have her recipes which she wrote down for me and to which I often refer to. (They are not very specific, you have to work out your own quantities)

Sweet and Sour Curd

Have a bowl of plain yogurt, not too thick.

Add  some sugar, and less salt than sugar  (!) into the  bowl.

Add diced fresh fruits (I use apricots, plums, bananas ) and some dried fruits and mix it all up. Serve with your curry. Fruity and cooling.

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Varinders Second Yogurt Recipe

In a bowl plain yogurt, thick or runny,  put  a diced cucumber (skinned), a large diced red onion, and diced tomatoes.

Mix all together  and add  garam masala, salt and  black pepper to taste.

That’s it, ready to serve and particularly great with kebabs or  tandoori chicken. I’ve even served it with Homemade Hamburgers.

The County Show

What an interesting day at The County Show. The weather was warm and sunny one minute, pouring with rain the next; no matter, everyone was having a good time and there was so much to see and do.

Compton House was delighted to sponsor the Floral Art section, and I was amazed at how beautiful the entries were. There were 70 absolutely staggering designs that must have taken hours to make. The high standard of  the arrangements were a revelation, and I had not expected such fabulous and inventive creations. Well done to all the contributors, it really is an art.

After a coffee in the food tent, we  braved the dark clouds and watched the terriers race with little jockeys on their backs which made us laugh, a lot!   I always love to see the birds of prey, especially the barn owls, whose feathers seemed pretty ruffled in the wind. The heavy horses were thrilling with their polished brass and braided manes, they were gorgeous.

The breadmaking tent was great fun and I picked up some  handy tips and bought some flour milled only hours before; we shall see how my bread turns out!

The show is always a great place to see friends and shop for all sorts of things from new boots to saucepans.  I am only sorry we couldn’t go for both days.

Coronation Street Chicken

At Compton House we held a celebration for The Royal Wedding, with family and friends from 4 years to 85 years old.

The balcony was festooned with bunting, we drank champagne and our wonderful housekeeper Racheal, lent us her 56 inch TV, which was fabulous, we didn’t want to give it back!

Since it was a Royal occasion I made Coronation Chicken, for lunch which was so yummy we all had second helpings. Robin re christened it Coronation Street Chicken as he knows it is my favourite programme.!

So easy to make.  We had a  free range chicken from Porters, our butchers, poached with a lemon to keep the flesh moist and white. When cold, cut the meat into chunks and mix with chopped celery, plump apricots, halved white grapes and chopped apple .

Sauce made with mayonnaise, garam masala, Greek yogurt, creme fraiche and mango chutney. Just put everything in a big bowl and turn with a spoon until all the fruits and meat is covered.

Sprinkle at the last minute with toasted almonds.

A  very happy day, well done William and Catherine!

Keeping the office tidy

Time to do some serious sorting out in the office. My new nail varnish has found it’s way into the paperclip box, the Christmas cards go un-answered and  I still have my school trunk ,full of ancient clothes I will surely fit into again one day.

What is it with stuff? how does it accumulate and where does it come from?

Why are there 6 lampshades under the shelf?  My youngest daughters photo album of her 3 years in Italy? my sister’s old suitcase,? my neice Sophy’s smart new red suitcase and my grandson’s sleeping bag?

I have peered into the black bags behind the chair to find 3 pairs of curtains destined for Polly’s new house (senior daughter), 2 broken brass lamps, a pair of  gumboots left by our regular Japanese guest, wrist weights I have never used, the oil paints waiting for a rainy day, my new handbag (the old one still not de-canted), and  all the correspondence for Esmee’s house in Nottingham.

I have done a certain amount of tidying, all the files are in rows, in the right place, the receipts are on the stick. I’m SO organised, right?  uh, NO.

Which brings me to Time Management. Why is mine so poor? I can faff around for hours avoiding  paperwork and filing. Even this morning  tidying my spice drawer seems more important than all the various documents I know I have to fill in before Monday.

I have bought a white board for the office which I fill in daily, but things change all the time and my neatly filled in, organised week goes AWOL by Monday afternoon.

So, I am relying on my friend Nina, who loves organising and getting rid. Her house is so peaceful. Her worktops are clear,there are no heaps of weekend  papers  still waiting to be read.

She comes  occasionally to help me de-clutter and is unsentimental and ruthless. It is a cathartic session, and the trip to the tip and RSPCA shop afterwards lays testament to her skill.

I need an attic for all the unwanted and no longer useful furniture and clothes. I wish I had kept my platform shoes from the 70′s, my Vivienne Westwood T shirt from her first shop on the Kings Road, the hat I wore to Polly’s wedding 10 years ago, but you know what, apart from the odd backward thought, I don’t miss them at all.

The Queen’s Laundry

Guess what?  Was chatting to Gareth, our delivery chap from Fenland Laundry, who is always cheerful  early in the morning, and I asked him if he had the day off for the Royal Wedding, as I had noticed a Royal Warrant on the side of the van.

No, he said, and in fact they were still collecting and delivering from both Buckingham Palace and Sandringham on Friday 29th April.

So we are honoured to know  that we share our laundry with the Queen, who must have started to use it when she found out that they supplied Compton House!