Saturday Sandwich

Charles and I always like to have competitions to see who makes the best food in a certain category, we are both quite competitive and things usually get quite interesting. I of course am always the winner, naturally.

I have become quite a pinterest addict as of late and thought our next challenge should be ‘The Ultimate Sandwich challenge’

mind you I was starving at this point and Pinterest was not proving very helpful with all its photos of delectable sandwiches.

So yesterday was challenge day, I made a toasted sandwich of crispy bacon, creamy melted brie and caramelised onion chutney, which we have named the Brunch and Charles made his favourite New Yorker with beef, mustard, pickles and cheese.

See the photos below, which I am sure will make your mouths water and make you want to try these sandwiches for yourselves.

Chloe + Charles

Risotto with Peas and Bacon

A few nights ago, I was rooting around the cupboards trying to use up ingredients.

I came across a bag of rice which we normally do not eat, so can only assume we bought it on a whim.

The only time we ever eat rice is when we have Risotto or Charles makes his incredible Paella!

So I figured I would do some experimenting and try and make a risotto with normal rice – it was delicious.

Now I know there are purists out there who would most probably be very disapproving to the fact that Risotto rice was not used in this recipe

But I would definitely recommend giving this one a go. You can add any yummy goodies you like, it doesn’t have to be peas and bacon, that’s is just what I happened to have lying around.

That’s the thing I love about Risotto, it’s so versatile, an expressive dish of your own tastes and flavours.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup of rice, this made two healthy sized portions

1 onion, diced

Knob of unsalted butter

Glug of olive oil

½ a glass of white wine, this can be left out but it adds a lovely flavour

1 litre of chicken stock, you can use homemade but I just use a cube

1 cup peas, frozen

6 rashers Bacon

½ cup grated parmesan, or any hard cheese you have

Method:

Firstly, get your stock nicely heated up and leave on a low heat so that it stays warm throughout.

Next, fry up the bacon in a hot pan so that it gets a bit of a crunch, this is a personal preference but I think it adds texture.

Add your butter and olive oil to your pot on a medium high heat. Once the butter has melted add your onions.

You wanted to cook them so that they are translucent, but not discoloured.

Once the onions are ready add your rice and stir so that all the grains are coated in the butter and oil.

Next add the wine and stir until all the liquid is gone – I love this stage, it smells great!

Once this is done, turn the heat down a bit and start adding the stock, a ladle full at a time, each time stirring until the liquid is absorbed by the rice.

This takes about 15 minutes, you want to cook it so that the rice still has a bite but is not crunchy in the middle.

About 5 minutes before this is done, I add the peas so that they can defrost and cook in with the rice. Season as required.

Lastly add the bacon and cheese give it a stir and put the lid on the pot leaving it for 2 minutes, I learnt this from Jamie Oliver, it makes the Risotto creamy, oozy and delicious!

Eat straight away.

Chloe + Charles

Update…

We have been quite bad at updating our blog lately, partly out of laziness and partly as we have been drawn into the instagram world, you should definitely check us out @charleschloefoodwinediary.

Chloe + Charles

4th of July Carb Fest!

We thought we would take this opportunity to indulge in classic American food and drink as seen above. Chloe made a creamy Macaroni and Cheese and I took care of the meat.

Paired with American beer. We are now fat!!!!!!!

Chloe+Charles

Royal Ascot

Saturday 21^st June, The Royal Enclosure, the last of the Royal Ascot Race meeting.

A brilliant day of great racing and Bollinger Grande Annee 2004, as excellent Champagne at its best!

Tasting Note: The appearance was a golden yellow wine with a lively pettiance. On the nose, aromas of toasted brioche, green apples, citrus and oak spice.

The palette was a fine balance of citrus fruits and granny smith apple with notes of biscuity oak spice and a creamy mousse.

A perfect wine to a perfect day!

Chloe+Charles

Les Grandes Marches

While on holiday in Paris for the Easter Weekend, we visited a charming restaurant near La Bastille.

As with all holidays for us, deciding where to eat is always a struggle as there are many options and all too tempting.

In France, we find it a lot easier to go with the Plat de Jour as our French is very poor and it allows us to try different things.

Luckily for us Les Grandes Marches had an appetising menu and we were spoilt for choice.

We started with an aperitif of a Kir Royale and an Americano followed by our starters which was foie gras with toasted brioche. We also ordered the wines which were two half bottles; a Sauvignon/Semillon from Bordeaux and a Languedoc Cabernet/Merlot blend.

Main course was a deliciously juicy 300g Fillet steak cooked Blue (personal choice for Charles), served with a peppercorn sauce and frites.

Chloe had the fish of the day, served with seasonal vegetables and a beurre blanc sauce.

As is tradition in France, following the mains was the cheese course, where we selected a number of different cheeses to try.

After this was dessert of hibiscus sorbet and crème caramel.

At 72 euros for two people, we would defiantly recommend trying this great restaurant if in Paris as it provides a relaxed dinning experience coupled with fantastic food. It is especially good on a sunny day as you can sit outside and enjoy a wonderful meal while the hustle and bustle of Paris goes by!

Chloe+Charles

 

Chloe’s Chocolate Brownies

There is nothing I like doing better than baking. It’s so relaxing and therapeutic and I especially love it when it’s simple. The recipe for these brownies is simple and only requires a few ingredients. The only difficult thing is making them last, which is quite a tough job in my household!

Ingredients:

200g Chocolate, I tend to use a mixture of dark and milk chocolate here

175g Unsalted Butter

325g Caster Sugar

130g Flour

3 Eggs

Pinch of Salt

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

 Method:

Firstly, pre-heat your oven to 180 C.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bowl above a pot of simmering water, it is important to not let the water touch the bottom of the bowl.

While the butter and chocolate are melting, mix the flour, sugar and salt together.

Once the butter and chocolate is just melted, add the dry ingredients, eggs and vanilla.

Pour the chocolate mixture into a greased baking tin and pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Now comes the hard part, pull the brownies out of the oven and allow them to cool.

They should have a lovely crispy top and a gooey chewy inside! Simple. Gorgeous. I dare you to try this amazingly simple recipe for yourselves!

Chloe+Charles

Luddite Shiraz 2007

Winemaker Niels Verburg.

A wonderful and brilliant winemaker! It was the harvest of 2012 when I first met Niels Verburg and his wife Penny. I was invited to his vineyard for a wine tasting and lunch. We tried two vintages of the Luddite Shiraz but for me it was the 2007 that I connected with most. A perfectly balanced wine, a South African Shiraz that has the best of both worlds. Classic old world structure and wine making combined with new world flavour. This wine boasts complexity. The Appearance is deep ruby. On the nose aromas of sweet spice, black fruit, violets and a whiff of oak. The palate is an explosion of flavour; blackberry and black cherry, clove spice, smoke and oak. A very well made wine. A favourite for me!

 

Chloe+Charles