Valentine's food - Manx Food Show
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On Manx Radio, 89-103.7FM 1368AM, from Wednesday 3rd January 2007. First listen at midday (on AM), then repeated at 8.30pm (FM and AM) - presented by ffinlo Costain
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On this page:
Linda Tottenham's romantic recipes
- Manx queenies with
herb butter
- Pork medallions in a creamy sloe gin sauce
- Creme brulee
Basic stuff you'll need:
Manx Queenies
Manx butter
Chopped mixed fresh herbs – e.g. tarragon, chives, & parsley (don’t worry if you have no fresh, dried will do)
Freshly ground black pepper
Ramekin dishes
How to cook it:
1. Beat the butter with a wooden spoon to soften it into a soft paste. Add herbs and black pepper to taste.
2. Rinse Queenies in cold water and drain well. Remove the corals* (the orange tails) if desired.
3. Place queenies into ramekin dishes or individual baking dishes and add a large teaspoonful of the herb butter to each. Place dishes on a baking sheet.
4. Bake at 200°C/Gas Mark 6 for 10-15 minutes.
5. Serve with fresh, warmed crusty bread to soak up all the delicious juices.
This recipe works equally well with scallops – cut each scallop into 2 or 3 slices depending on its thickness. For an authentic twist to impress your dinner party guests use scallop shells as your dishes – if you don’t have any just ask your local fishmonger.
*Unwanted corals can be kept and added to fish soup to enrich the colour. For an authentic twist to impress your dinner party guests use scallop shells as your dishes – if you don’t have any just ask your local fishmonger!
Pork medallions in a creamy sloe gin sauce
Serves 6 – but can be halved for 2 people
Basic stuff you'll need:
2lb Manx pork fillet
2tbsp olive oil
2oz Manx butter
½ pint sloe gin* (sloe gin recipe further down the page)
½ pint chicken stock
3oz raisins
¼ pint Manx double cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to cook it:
1. Trim the pork and cut into ½inch thick slices.
2. Heat the oil and butter in a shallow flameproof casserole or sauté pan and brown the pork in batches. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
3. Add the sloe gin, stock and raisins to the pan, then bring to a gentle simmer, scraping any caramelised sediment from the base of the casserole/pan.
4. Return the pork to the casserole/pan, stir well and cover tightly. Cook gently until tender (or if using an Aga place in simmering oven for 20-30 minutes.)
5. Lift the pork out of the sauce and transfer to a warmed serving dish and keep warm.
6. Bring the sauce to the boil and bubble furiously for about 2 minutes to reduce slightly.
7. Add the cream and continue to bubble for a further 2 minutes until the sauce becomes syrupy, stirring occasionally. Season to taste.
8. Pour over the pork and serve immediately with potatoes or rice and seasonal vegetables.
I usually make a creamy mashed potato with a knob of butter and a dash of milk, which I place in a lightly buttered dish, then roughen the surface with a fork as for shepherds pie. I bake this is at 200°C/Gas Mark 6 for roughly the same time as it takes to cook the pork. The potato fluffs up slightly and has a lovely crispy outside – perfect for mopping up all the sauce whilst adding some texture to the dish!
* Gordon’s make a very acceptable sloe gin which can be bought in local supermarkets and off-licences. However, sloe gin is easily made by collecting the sloes (the fruit of the blackthorn bush) in the autumn. Rinse, then place as many berries as possible into a bottle. Add as much sugar as will then fit into the bottle, then top up with gin. Seal the bottle and place in a cool, dark place until Christmas. During this period give the bottle the occasional shake to mix the sugar and flavours and encourage the glorious colour to come through. Decant into a fresh, clean bottle and enjoy at lesiure. If you prefer your gin to be slightly drier, prick the sloes to allow more of their natural dryness to come through.
Creme brulee
SERVES 6
Basic stuff you'll need:
4 Manx free range egg yolks
25g / 1oz vanilla sugar
600ml / 1pint Manx single cream
Demerara sugar
How to cook it:
1.
Lightly butter 6 ramekin dishes.
2. Separate the eggs and beat the egg yolks with the sugar until smooth. (Do not throw away the egg whites as these can be used for meringues or a pavlova.)
3. Heat the cream in a pan to a hot bath temperature and gradually beat onto the egg mixture.
4. Stand the dishes in a small roasting tin then pour the egg mixture through a sieve into the dishes.
5. Pour boiling water into the tin to come half way up the sides of the dishes.
6. Bake at 160°C/Gas Mark 3 for about 25 minutes. (If using an Aga, place in the roasting oven on the third set of runners for 10 minutes, then transfer to the bottom set of runners in the simmering oven for about 45 minutes until set.)
7. Lift out of the tin and leave to cool, then chill.
8. Sprinkle the Demerara sugar on top of the crèmes, then with a blowtorch lightly heat the sugar until melted and just beginning to bubble.
9. Cool and chill again. (In order to keep the brulée toppings crunchy, do not complete this stage too far in advance.)
* If you do not own a blowtorch – either small kitchen or general purpose – you can spread Demerara sugar on silicone baking parchment and place under a hot grill to melt. Once cool, carefully lift off and place on top of the crèmes. However, blow torches are much more fun!!
(ffinlo's note: please ensure you take all appropriate safety precautions if you are using a blow torch!)
2. Separate the eggs and beat the egg yolks with the sugar until smooth. (Do not throw away the egg whites as these can be used for meringues or a pavlova.)
3. Heat the cream in a pan to a hot bath temperature and gradually beat onto the egg mixture.
4. Stand the dishes in a small roasting tin then pour the egg mixture through a sieve into the dishes.
5. Pour boiling water into the tin to come half way up the sides of the dishes.
6. Bake at 160°C/Gas Mark 3 for about 25 minutes. (If using an Aga, place in the roasting oven on the third set of runners for 10 minutes, then transfer to the bottom set of runners in the simmering oven for about 45 minutes until set.)
7. Lift out of the tin and leave to cool, then chill.
8. Sprinkle the Demerara sugar on top of the crèmes, then with a blowtorch lightly heat the sugar until melted and just beginning to bubble.
9. Cool and chill again. (In order to keep the brulée toppings crunchy, do not complete this stage too far in advance.)
* If you do not own a blowtorch – either small kitchen or general purpose – you can spread Demerara sugar on silicone baking parchment and place under a hot grill to melt. Once cool, carefully lift off and place on top of the crèmes. However, blow torches are much more fun!!
(ffinlo's note: please ensure you take all appropriate safety precautions if you are using a blow torch!)
Top tips for keeping the romance alive
1. The biggest killer of romance is not enough time. At the end of a busy day you wind up in the same bed and comment, "Gosh, when did you get here?" If the Lottery called and said your million-pound cheque was ready, you'd make the time to pick it up. Make the time to make your relationship worth a million pounds.
2. Eat dinner together as often as you can. Couples who eat together create a ritual of talking and connecting over a meal. This frees up the rest of the evening for other romantic interludes.
3. The work week is full of unexpected plans. Remember when trying to add some spice that it needs to be easy, or else you'll abandon your plans at the first roadblock. Keep it simple!
4. Turn off the TV!
5. Apparently women love a man with a plan. Plan a dinner, a trip to an evening art exhibit or even dinner at home. And give her plenty of notice because romantic feelings grow for women when they have something to look forward to.
6. Light candles and play romantic music ... even if you're not able to be intimate. This signals to your partner that you are thinking of them in a romantic way.
7. If you have kids, spend the few hours after they have gone to bed together talking about your day. Pour a glass of wine, sit on the couch and catch up.
8. Making time to be intimate during the week can be difficult. Make a point to hug and kiss each other often when you're too busy for anything else.
9. Create a ritual of talking about your day together. You bring your partner closer when you share what you did for the 10 hours you were apart. This should not be a book report of your day, but rather a time of connecting your two worlds.
10. Establish a regular date night! This can be a time where you go out together, or stay home. Alternate plans, perhaps one week you plan it and the next your partner does. Keep in mind that for the date to be romantic, you don’t need to spend a lot of money. A romantic evening for many couples is as simple as a bowl of popcorn and their favorite movie. The point is that you plan time together. And try to do it without interruptions. Turn off the TV, radio and any other distraction. Romantic time is private time together - interruptions inhibit intimacy.
Remember: Romance blossoms when both halves of the couple put in time and effort to show each other how they feel. It doesn't have to be difficult and it doesn't have to happen every day, but couples who put forth the effort have happier romances to show for it.
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