What is real olive oil?

Thursday 25th March 2010

Sorry - wine tasting in Tuscany in a 12th century castle and lunch with olive oil cannot be conveyed accurately in pictures, but I'll try.



...more wine...


Picture from the day can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spbutterworth/sets/72157623695671210/

Paris - 19th March 2010

Paris, 19th March 2010


A brisk walk around "Les Invalides" after my eight hour flight (lots of nap time there).


Followed by some coffee and then the Rodin Museum.


Not daunted by the art overload, next was the Pompidou Centre...  The largest modern art centre in Europe (for what it's worth) and full of some really odd things.


Tomorrow off to Florence, Italy for a week of fun (and coffee).

Pictures from today are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spbutterworth/sets/72157623651096120/

Sunday 21st February 2010 - Rome and St Peter's Square

It wasn't built in a day, but you can walk around it in one.

The National Museum in Rome.
Very interesting series of exhibits (lots of stairs too).







Vatican City - Piazza San Pietro


Pictures from the day can be found at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/spbutterworth/sets/72157623481413406/

Saturday 20th February 2010 - Pompeii

A short train trip from Rome lies the town of Pompeii - no introduction required there.

House of the she-wolf


Casa del Fauno


Villa dei Misteri

All photos from the day can be found at: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spbutterworth/sets/72157623350461355/

Friday 19th February 2010 - Rome

Another fine day in Rome - Villa Borghese and the Galleria Borghese as well as the infamous "Mouth of Truth".

Galleria Borghese

Another street scene

Claudia at the Mouth of Truth

All photos from the day can be found at: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spbutterworth/sets/72157623426181263/

Thursday 18th February - Rome

Arrived fresh after a good night snoozing on the flight.  Straight into tourism after dropping my bag off at the hotel.  After a quick second breakfast, we got straight into it:

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore


San Pietro in Vincoli (Saint Peter in Chains)


Mons Palatinus (Palatine Hill)


Amphitheatrum Flavium (Colosseum)


Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain)


All photos from the day can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spbutterworth/sets/72157623349498877/

Steve's Beef Bourguignon

Monday 8th February 2010

Since some have asked, I'll post it here for simplicity.  I've used two recipes for this and I like both however my favourite is the one from the "Chocolate and Zucchini" book by Clotilde Dusoulier (a highly recommended book for many great French recipes).  It is however adapted by the addition of two ingredients, both of which are optional.  More on those later.

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/books/index.php will take you to her site - she also has a number of excellent recipes posted.

I would add that a good robust wine makes or breaks this dish - I've done it with a number of red wines (Pinot Noir, Cabernet etc) however Burgundy is the best methinks.  I also splurge a little by spending a bit extra on the wine and also on the beef.  The plan would be to also serve the same wine with the meal although you don't have to at all.

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled, 1/2 inch slices
• 4 ounces mushrooms, sliced so they remain identifiable 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme (1 teaspoon if dried)
• 1/2 cup fresh leaf parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• 3 1/2 lbs boneless beef chuck (or equivalent) - 2 inch cubes
• 1 bottle of decent red wine
• 6 ounces of thick sliced bacon (cut into 1 inch strips)
• 1 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/3 cup cognac (optional)
• 1 small can of tomato purée (optional)
• 4 ounces frozen (or fresh) pearl onions (optional)

Steps

• Combine the onion, shallots, carrots, garlic, thyme, parsley and bay leaves in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper, add the olive oil and toss to coat.  Add the beef and toss again.  Add the wine and cover with plastic film or you can put the whole thing in a ziptop bag.  Put in the fridge for a while (12 hours or more is preferable).
• After marinading it overnight, pour the mix through a strainer/colander  to separate the liquid (keep this!) and the other ingredients.   I also at this point pick out all the meat and wrap it in paper towel to absorb any remaining moisture (or when you cook the meat, the surface liquid will just boil the meat and that's not appealing at all).
• Preheat the oven to 325f (you could use a slow cooker but the oven is best).
• Over medium heat, take a Dutch oven, casserole or strong sturdy pot (oven-proof preferable) and add the bacon (no oil required).  Fry it until it's nicely cooked but not burned.  Remove the bacon from the pot, keeping at most 2 tablespoons worth of the collected oil.
• Working in batches so you don't crowd the pan, add the beef cubes (now dry) and brown them (probably 5-8 minutes).  Set aside the cooked meat and work on the next batch.
• Now add the vegetables from the strainer/colander and cook them until the onions turn translucent.  
• [Optional: At this point, if you choose to, tip the pan to one side and quickly pour in the cognac, then carefully ignite it, letting the flames burn away (some caution required).  Afterwards, add the small can of tomato purée and stir to combine)
• Add the remainder of the wine and the beef to the pot.  Combine and cover with the lid.  Put in the oven for an hour.  
• After the first hour, add the chocolate (optional) and bacon to the pot (and optionally, some frozen pearl onions if you desire).  Return to the oven.
• At the end, if the liquid needs thickening, take a decent ladle of the liquid only and put it in a small saucepan.  Add the butter and flour and whisk until combined.  Slowly add some of this mixture back into the pot, stirring , until you achieve the desired thickness.

Serving suggestion:

• Serve with spätzle, potatoes, noodles or good hearty bread.  I also use this opportunity to make Yorkshire Puddings.

If you don't want to use all the wine in the recipe, feel free to substitute beef or veal stock, although wine makes this recipe complete.  Assuming it goes well, it should look like this:

Cemeteries, airports and industrial decay

Sunday 10th January 2010

Today was a local trip to Rome (GA) to visit the Myrtle Hill Cemetery.  Very impressive site (if you like old graves and endless statues).  The place was deserted with not a soul in sight (literally) and I was the only living being there.

On the drive there, I passed through Rockmart which has an interesting decayed concrete plant just outside it.  Quite creepy I'd imagine in the dark or with fog.  Definitely worth the five minute stop for taking some pictures.

On the way home, I stopped at the new Paulding County Regional Airport which is still under construction although the runways are in place.  Will be interesting to see what sort of traffic this brings when it becomes operational and they finish building the terminal.

Have a lovely week,

Steve

Fruit cake Saturday

Saturday 9th January 2010

Whilst some of you have been sitting on couches obsessing over something called a "play-off", I took a nice trip today that started as an attempt to buy a good colour printer but ended up somewhere quite different. Visiting Fry's Electronics in Alpharetta (yes Kristen, I know it's your least favourite retailer), I decided that since the roads are back to normal, I'd go to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit near Conyers - a great place for contemplation, photography and fruit cake.

The monastery has a lovely small chapel with excellent lighting and expansive grounds around a lake.  They also host retreats.

I will likely go back again very soon - it was an interesting place.  I made friends with a cat, watched a duck attempt to drink from a frozen lake and came away with a 2lb fruit cake.  I know you are all jealous, especially about the last part - feel free to drop me a line with suggestions relating to its consumption.


Have a lovely and warmer Sunday.

Steve