NEW Angouleme Flights for June 2010 on...

Great news, City Swiss have started flying London Gatwick to Angouleme (Mon, Weds, Fri) from June 2010, and we have just two weeks available in June. Sat 5th to Sat 19th June, we know a delightful B&B near Angouleme/Cognac for your first night (or several nights!) Au Belle Fleur has 4 B&B rooms and a family suite too. We also have available August bank holiday week and mid September on!

Just finishing our 2 weeks improving and freshening and cleaning for the new season, heated pool already open , we're having beautiful weather! Why not drive out for some early precious sun in May....we are open from 1st May, and that pool is heated! Only 4-7 hours from all channel ports, and the second sunniest region of France.

Will blog next week with what's new and improved for 2010 at White Shutters!

Raymond Blanc's Apple Tart

When not in France the next best thing is another French recipe try out, Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets is a very inspiring BBC series, not stuffy or and and the great man is just so chearful and un pretentious, I am sure he washes his own burnt on milk pans occasionally, then again he would never burn a pan would he?! I can have a bash at his dishes, and he is a multi starred Michelin chef, and I am not!

So here is my Raymond Blanc "Maman Blanc" Apple Tart, just google for the recipe!! I'll be back in a bit to report if the creme fraiche was a good substitute for double cream, and whether it tasted as good as it looks. Will be making proper creme anglaise too.

The reason for the impatience, it has to cool for an hour before eating, it's murdur having to wait........dog walk time! Well it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the Cotswolds. The great man is so cruel making us wait....

A little while later...... dog walked and back home to make Creme Anglaise a la Julia Child, worked perfectly with semi skimmed milk, dash of single cream, warmed carefully in saucepan, no messing with water baths. Birds has been ousted in this house, in 44 years except perhaps in the odd restaurant, I had never knowingly known how divinely good proper home made custard is!

I used half fat creme fraiche, instead of double cream, in the egg mixture poured over the apples part way through cooking. It was fine, not watery or curdled at all. I also realised why my open tarts always seem dry, Raymond advises each apple cut into 10 slices, far chunkier than my usual, and far tastier and moister as a result. That's why he is a master, lots of simple tips that make all the difference to us ordinary cooks! The apple is brushed with a melted butter/sugar and calvados glaze before the first part bake, and then egg custard added and finished for 10 minutes. All the cooking times perfectly calculated so the result is light, apply tasting and not at all dried out or sickly. The calvados glaze tasted very good out of the pan too!

I am afraid to say I forgot the "dressed" photo with tart dusted with icing sugar and home made creme anglaise dribbled artfully. We don't do delicate portions, and all 4 of us had seconds and the whole tart has vanished. I do like my Portmeirion pottery though! There was a tart there not long ago.

I blame the dog myself... I think we should go out for another walk now, the dog will think it's died and gone to heaven, eventhough he got no tart. Merci Maman Blanc.

Carrot, Sweet Potato and Ginger Soup

This recipe is not "very French", but it's turned cold again in the UK...so until we can get out to France and some warm rays of sunshine at Easter, I devised (with a little help from some nice twitter friends) a warming winter soup, around the ingredients I had in the house!

Carrot, Sweet Potato and Ginger Soup

1 large sweet potato (grated in food processor)
4-6 large carrots (grated in food processor)
1 large onion (white or red) chopped finely
2-3 garlic cloves crushed
3cm cube ginger skinned and chopped finely
1tblspn olive oil
2 tsp cumin
1 litre vegetable stock (cheated I made using Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon)
0.25 l orange juice
Grated zest of an orange
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Sweat the grated vegetables, garlic and ginger in the olive oil over a low heat with pan lid on, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.


• Stir in cumin and orange zest and plenty of pepper.


• Make up the stock and add to vegetables with the orange juice


• Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes


• Blend carefully and adjust seasoning to taste (for me I add even more black pepper and little salt as the stock has salt in it)


• Serve with a swirl of low fat yogurt, creme fraiche or cream and sprinkling of paprika.

Market Day!

Market Day in Aulnay on Sunday Morning is full of bright colours, tantalising smells and the hum of shoppers filling their baskets and bags with lovely local produce for the week ahead..... However, if you wish to eat on market day book ahead.....the eateries are always heaving. Panniers are definitely required for cycling into market...you will be tempted!

Blueberry and Almond Tart

OK, I know this does not count as being of French origin (recipe thanks to Waitrose's free summer recipe book) but as we are in England, thinking of our guests in France, it seems quite a French style recipe to me. Ameretto is Italian, but substitute apricots or even blackberries and I think it would be just as good. Whatever fruit looks best at the market that day, wherever you are (even better from your garden, but I am no gardener!) Besides the big tart I made a little individual sized one from the leftover pastry (pictured), very greedy for one, a bit mean for 2...so eat it all yourself, the small one that is, not the big one that feeds 10 easily!

Blueberry and Almond Tart (thank you Waitrose)

Serves: 10
Ingredients
375g pack Jus-Rol Sweet Dessert Pastry (or make your own!)

3 tbsp Bonne Maman Mandarin Marmalade (I used fine cut orange marmalade, absolutely fine!)

Almond filling

200g whole blanched almonds

150g golden caster sugar

200g unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp Amaretto Disaronno liqueur (I didn't have any so used quality almond essence and a spoonful of brandy!)

225g fresh blueberries

2 tbsp apricot jam

Method

Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and use to line a 23cm fluted tart tin. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill. Preheat oven to 200˚C, gas mark 6 with a flat baking sheet on the middle shelf.

Place the almonds in a food processor with the golden caster sugar and blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the butter, eggs, plain flour and the Amaretto liqueur. Blitz until combined.

Remove the lined tart tin from the fridge,then spread the base with a thin layer of the marmalade, followed by the almond mixture. Scatter the blueberries evenly on top before placing in the oven on the preheated baking sheet to bake for 10 mintues.

Reduce the oven to 180C, gas mark 4 for a further 30 minutes and cook until golden and crisp.

Meanwhile, warm the apricot jam until liquid, pass through a sieve and brush on to the warm tart to glaze. Serve with creme fraiche.

Yum.

Perfect Holiday - Cheap Flights 20th June-4th July

We have just two weeks availability at White Shutters before September, book White Shutters for 20th June-4th July and if you are quick the Birmingham - Poitiers flights with Ryanair are coming up at £5 each way inc taxes for the Saturday flights (until midnight Thurs 4th June) We may be open to sensible offers..... big pool, beach less than an hour, second sunniest bit of France, easy drive from Channel ports....perfect for families with small children (2 cots, 2 highchairs, stair gates) What are you waiting for? Long lazy lunches....tempted?! Euro strengthening....

Look what we had to leave yesterday.....

We have just spent the May Half term week finishing off White Shutters for our first guests......I do hope they like it as much as we do. This is the house now with the pool protection all finished (to French AFNOR standards), some geraniums planted and new sun loungers. We didn't spend as much time sitting under the gazebo as we hope our guests do, busy busy!!

We got home last night as a certain middle daughter is in the middle of GCSEs, she was allowed to spend time in the pool beween revision sessions!