Negronis, bavette & posset
Chez moi (supper at mine)
Hello to you all yes a month has flown by and it time for my newsletter on My Kitchen Journal that goes out to all my wonderful subscriber community. Thank you so much for being here as always away from the noise of all other platforms. A place where you can literally feel like you are “round at mine” (chez moi) pull up a chair at my kitchen table you are most welcome.
I continue to enjoy the warm weather of the Cayman Islands nestled in the Caribbean sea. It is work I promise! I am excited that the brand new website for Calypso Grill is coming very soon and had a fun day photographing what we do here which is very much bringing it all very much to life.
Calypso Grill is famous for it’s Sticky Toffee Pudding (photo above) that the government renamed the road to the restaurant “Sticky Toffee Lane” (seriously).
There is a definite connection for me here, shore to shore, Cornwall to Caymans. To start with, the way of life here feels very familiar, it’s often at a slower pace. Local fishermen arrive with their daily catch, people spend time enjoying the outdoors, being near or in the sea. There is a sense of being part of something, a sense of place, people are here to enjoy the natural beauty of what this incredible island has to offer. Cornwall to Caymans, I really do feel at home.
This week I thought that it would be lovely to invite you to supper at mine (virtually) Chez moi for supper. Negronis to start followed by a Bavette with rosemary butter & oven roasted chips and to finish a zingy lemon posset with new season forced rhubarb all to brighten up your day.
When I am planning a menu I always consider a few things colour, balance and seasonality. Ideally I never want to eat anything out of season and if possible be mindful about provenance. An ingredient flown in by air is not going to taste as good as something locally grown or bred where you live. Colour and texture I often talk about you eating with your eyes so think about presentation from how you plate and serve to the finer details of crockery, cutlery, glassware and flowers. I love a rustic, simple look which I think is easy to recreate just like my recipes. I also share my style edit (keep scrolling on what is making me happy at the moment).
My Kitchen Journal is a reader supported publication if you like what I do and enjoy my writing and recipes I would love you to sign up to my lovely paid subscriber community or share with your friends.
Fancy a chance of WINNING a bundle of books? To all my free subscribers, if you upgrade to a paid subscription between now and midnight on Sunday 21st January, you will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win my two cookbooks, Sea & Shore and Time & Tide. It would be so lovely to show you a little more of my world. Bonne chance! Ex
Welcome to my place and so lovely to have you here for supper, all be it virtually. Perhaps I should do this I am still looking for a new location for a restaurant in Cornwall, maybe it should just be round at mine….
Blood Orange Negroni Oh la la always my go to cocktail so simple and classy. Lifts any day.
Ingredients
25ml campari ( a staple in my drinks cupboard)
25ml gin
25ml vermouth
A big squeeze of blood orange (or any orange)
Garnish
Slice of blood orange
Sprig of time
Ice
Method
Fill a tumbler with ice. Stir ingredients together gently in a glass. Pour over ice. Garnish with orange slice and thyme.
Cook’s note - use blood oranges when in season (January through to February)
Bavette with rosemary butter and oven roasted chips - nothing better that steak and frites sometimes. I bring you bavette (or flank steak) a cheaper cut to your usual fillet of sirloin cuts. It is sometimes referred to a ‘butchers cut’ as they are known to keep it for themselves. My go to cut and you can elevate it with how and what you accompany it with. Grilled endive, radicchio or endive (bitter leaves) eat beautifully with all the flavours.
Ingredients
2 tbsp good olive oil
400g of bavette steak (found in most good supermarkets)
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp pink peppercorns
1 tsp white peppercorns
Cornish sea salt
Rosemary
Method
Begin by crushing the black and pink peppercorns in a pestle and mortar until coarse. Add the salt flakes in and crush a little bit more. Apply liberally to the pieces of steak and coat on both sides. Leave to cure for 1 hour
Place a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat and once the pan is smoking, add a drizzle of oil. Fry the steak for 1–3 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness
Cook’s note - Leave to rest in a warm place for 5-10 minutes (it is all in the rest)
Rosemary Butter - flavoured butters are something I always get ahead with and have in the freezer. So whatever I am cooking I can always pimp it up. Butter is everything (in moderation of course).
Ingredients
1 small garlic bulb (about 50g)
1 tsp olive oil
150g butter, softened
10g fresh rosemary leaves, very finely chopped
1 lemon, zested, plus 1 tbsp juice
Method
Preheat the oven 170 ‘C Put the garlic bulb on a square piece of foil with the oil and season with sea salt and black pepper. Scrunch into a parcel and roast for 25-30 mins until really soft when pressed. Set aside to cool completely.
Blend together the softened butter, rosemary and lemon zest and juice together in a bowl. Season well. Add the cooled garlic squeeze out and stir into the butter and spoon onto a sheet of clingfilm. Wrap and mould into a sausage shape and wrap in greaseproof paper then twist the ends to seal like a cracker, (see below)
Chill for 1 hour and then slice to use. (I always keep in the freezer sliced so I can use it as and when.
Cook’s note - Confit the garlic is another way of preparing the garlic and then having it on hand for recipes.
Lemon posset, rhubarb poached in apple juice and rosemary with a stem ginger biscuit or two - PERFECT pink stalks - new season forced *Rhubarb* don’t delay add some to your shopping list.
Ingredients
4 lemons, rind and juice
800ml double cream
250g golden caster sugar
apple juice
rosemary
8 stem ginger biscuits
Serves 8
Method
Posset
Place the cream, rind and sugar in a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and the cream is steaming. Bring to a simmer for two minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. Pass through a sieve into a clean bowl to remove the rind. Stir in the lemon juice then pour the posset mix into french bistro glasses. Place in the fridge to set (allow at least two hours). Serve in glasses or (as below) spoon it onto a plate. Spoon on the rhubarb with apple and honey juice. I love to use a sprig of rosemary to decorate my plates. Eat with a ginger biscuit or two.
Baked Rhubarb
I love rhubarb and I have successfully grown it in my garden. This recipe would be delicious to serve on top of porridge in the colder months.
Ingredients
250g rhubarb
150g golden caster sugar
150ml apple juice
2 tbsp honey
1 sprig rosemary
Pre heat the oven to 180’ C
Method
Trim the bases and tops of the rhubarb and cut into equal lengths. In a small pan place the apple juice, honey, sugar and rosemary and over a gentle heat dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer for one minute. Pour over the rhubarb, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. The rhubarb should be tender but not fall apart.
Cook’s note - As an alternative to rhubarb, top with raspberries and a dusting of icing sugar over the berries slightly sweetens and, further, adds a pretty finish. Delicious served with shortbread too.
No blue Monday here just COLOUR always so I thought this week’s style edit is all about channeling the sunshine. How can you bring colour into your life in the most greyer months? (I should mention I love grey many essentials in my wardrobe are grey, one must always just have a pop of colour whether that is a bright lipstick or accessory).
I L O V E……
Our Place ‘Always Pan in Sage - I’ve had my eye on these pans for quite some time. Stylish, versatile and apparently does the job of ten pieces of traditional cookware, what’s not to like? I love the green, it feels joyful and springlike.
Blood Oranges - Citrus fruit always bring me sunshine to my kitchen. I think a bowl of citrus on your kitchen table, sideboard or worktop can do wonders for lifting your mood. As a bonus you get to use them in so many recipes delicious salads, cocktails, desserts cakes and beyond…the list goes on.
Ruffle Edge Napkins in Bright Lemon which are Chorus from Glassette - I stumbled across these when I was aimlessly scrolling on the Glassette website, I love everything about them. The colour, the ruffles, the linen. These would look great for a lazy brunch with friends, complete with bud vases filled with white tulips. We just need a table cloth…
As if by magic… this Daffodil Stripe Linen Table Cloth from By Hope Home would really brighten things up. It seems to be out of stock at the moment, so hopefully it’ll return soon! They do however have a wonderful range of other print options.
The Emile cardigan from Sezane really is a hero piece. Oversize and chunky, its great for layering up in this weather, but would also be great in the Spring/summer on chillier days with a lighter dress or on its own with a good pair of trusty jeans (French tuck essential). I have the the mottled pink and I love the cobalt blue. Colour, colour always!
Thank you so much for being here and as always ‘My Kitchen Journal’ on Substack is a reader supported publication if you like what I do and enjoy my writing and recipes I would love you to sign up to my lovely paid subscriber community or share with your friends.
FREE subscribers - Every month one recipe and story with my style edit, travel and what inspires me.
PAID subscriber benefits - Every week on a Friday at least one recipe and story & on a Saturday one 'Recipe for the Weekend' and stories with my style edit, travel and what inspires me. (There will always be bonus recipes too).
I hope you have enjoyed supper at mine see you soon Ex
If you enjoy what you read here on My Kitchen Journal, you may like to add my cookbooks to your collection, they equally make a wonderful gift.
ABOUT TIME & TIDE
Emily’s recipes reflect the ebb and flow of daily life during the year; from breakfasts of overnight oats and buttery crumpets to lunches of sea-herb focaccia, and from suppers of Cornish bouillabaisse to desserts of treacle tart and bramble and peach crumble. Each dish evokes something inherently special to Emily and the culinary delights of Cornwall.
Be welcomed into her coastal world with more than 80 recipes alongside stunning photography to help you discover this most-magical of places.
ABOUT SEA & SHORE
In Sea & Shore, Emily Scott brings together the magic of this beautiful part of the world, with over 80 simple and seasonal recipes for the home cook.
Sea & Shore is more than just a cookbook; it shares the connection between food, a sense of place and storytelling. With stunning photography, it translates experience and memories into ingredients that come together as simple, rustic dishes that anyone can easily recreate at home.
Oooo. Are those Always pans as good as they look?