Things you don’t want the boy at the blow dry bar to say to you

On December 1, 2013 by battenburgbelle

“This dry shampoo is so great. And it covers up those bits of grey”. I thought I had done that the day before, with a bottle of John Frieda’s finest concoction. Hey ho.

Anyway, on a happier note, another Ottolenghi-based couple of days at Battenburg Towers. Missy B and I had chicken schnitzels with a seedy, breadcrumb coating. A tip – if you are getting them from a butchers’, ask them to flatten the fillets for you. If they’re from a supermarket, they’ll probably be a more manageable size. I tried gently rolling them out between layers of cling-film, but they didn’t cooperate and so took a bit longer to cook than they should have, resulting in a slightly darker coating than planned. It was NOT, as Missy B hinted, burnt! Accompanied by a herby mayonnaise – it was good to dust off the mini food processor from last Christmas. I’ve only ever used this for making hollandaise sauce or mayonnaise, as it has a little hole for dribbling shocking amounts of oil or butter through. So it’s a bit of an extravagance, kitchen equipment-wise, but the mayonnaise was utterly delicious. Even though Mr B turned up unexpectedly for dinner, having had a meeting cancelled or maybe just having smelt the lovely dinner he was missing, the chicken fillets were so massive that there was enough for him and still some left for me to have some cold with salad for lunch the next day. 

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And the leftover seedy/crumby coating was an equally tasty with haddock when my meat-free brother came for dinner last night. I did these as dainty little goujons. We had a seriously nut allergic friend of Missy B staying, so hazelnuts in the salad were a big no no. Instead we had a green salad with some marinated artichokes and other bits and pieces from the fridge. And some extremely garlicky stoved potatoes – these have to be one of my most favourite things ever. However many baby potatoes you cook, you will eat, so the quantity is up to you. You put them in a frying pan with a head of garlic or thereabouts, cloves peeled but left whole, season, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and about five tablespoons of water. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low heat on the hob for about 40 minutes. Give them a shake from time to time and luxuriate in the aroma of slowly caramelising garlic. 

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This is a garlic-heavy meal and therefore no good for when Grandpa Battenburg comes for lunch next week… 

 

2 Responses to “Things you don’t want the boy at the blow dry bar to say to you”

  • Roxane

    I smelt the garlic on your big brother within seconds of saying hello this am, and that was before I know what you had cooked… No wonder!

  • Helen

    Thanks for the potato recipe – it’s now on regular rotation at our house. Not made by me of course!

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