I recently acquired an espresso maker. I love the espresso maker and don't understand how I ever lived without one.

Everyone needs an espresso machine.

Without an espresso maker you cannot have vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over. (Affogato? Is that the right word?). And you cannot be happy without vanilla ice cream and espresso. You simply cannot.

Kieca mentioned a leek and pecorino flan appetizer that she'd had recently. It sounded good to me, and the conversation occured when I was hungry and contemplating what to make for dinner.

I'd already committed to making creme brulee for dessert and an all custard dinner seemed a bit weird. So, presto! chango! the flan became a tart and the dinner dilemna was solved.

Make 1 batch of pastry

250 grams of flour
165 grams of cold butter
85 ml of ice cold water
1/2 t salt.

Let it rest, roll it out to fit a tart pan, return the fridge to rest for an hour, then blind bake it at 400F for 15 minutes.

The Filling

6 large leeks (longer leeks are better, you want as much white stalk as possible)
2 T of butter
1 large pear
1/2 cup grated Pecorino
Salt and pepper

Cut the leeks into long thin strips, about 2 - 3mm wide (those of you who've read my cooking school entries know that when I say I am cutting things to such and such dimensions know that I mean in the very general neighbourhood of such and such dimensions, and straight lines be damned)

Peel and dice the pair (5mm dice)

Slowly saute the leeks in the butter.
Add a spponful or two of water and let the leeks soften until they are very tender.
Add the pear bits and cook for another ~2 minutes
Add 1/2 the cheese, some salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly.

Dump the whole mess into the tart shell and smooth out to cover the pastry evenly.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.

Return to a 300F oven for 15 minutes.
Turn the oven to broiler for a minute or two to brown the cheese on top.

Slice and serve with salad greens dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and minced shallots.

Some day, when I don't already have my heart set on creme brulee for dinner I will attempt a flan version and report back.

I adore Nigella. I enjoy her writing and I think her television shows are the perfect blend of food porn, gorgeous woman porn, and expensive heiress lifestyle I can't afford porn. Her taste in flavours aligns pretty closely to my own, and I've always had good luck with her recipes.

Tonight's dinner was a takeoff of a meal she presented in the "Fast Food" episode of Nigella Bites.

Garlic Chicken, Couscous with Yogurt Sauce.

Marinate 8 chicken thighs in a ziploc bag with 3 smashed garlic cloves and a couple of generous pours of olive oil.

Place the chicken in a baking dish and bake in a 400F oven for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle some coarse salt over the chicken and turn the broiler in your oven on to brown and crisp the skin.

Couscous with Chickpeas and Black Currants

1 part couscous (I use about 2 cups)
1 part boiling chicken or vegetable stock.
1 can chickpeas
3 Tbsp black currants.

Combine everything in a bowl and seal with tin foil or a lid. Allow to sit for 7 - 10 minutes.
Fluff with a fork.

While the couscous is doing its' thing...

Finely chop one seeded hot pepper
Finely chop 3 green onions
Chiffonade a small handful of mint
Mix with 1 cup of full fat greek yogurt.
Salt to taste.

It really is fast food. 40 from minutes begining to end (apart from marinating the chicken, which you can start in the morning before you leave for work) and most of that time you are doing nothing.

In the original recipe Nigella grills her chicken, omits the currants, and uses parsley instead of mint in the sauce, but I can't leave anything alone. I need to tinker.

This is not so much a recipe, as a suggestion. Make yourself some granola! Store bought granola is insanely expensive, chock full of sugar, and usually dull.

Granola is a great thing to cook with kids. It's hard to mess up, easy to make healthy. You can change the recipe each batch, add and subtract ingredients, until you come up with your household "signature" granola.

Base Granola "Recipe"

4 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)

Up to 4 cups of:

Almonds
Cashews
Hazelnuts
Sesame Seeds
Flax Seeds
Barley Flakes
Pumpkin Seeds
Pinenuts
Dried Coconut

Mix all of your grains and nuts together. Add some honey. I use 2 to 3 Tbsp, but it's entirely up to you. How sweet do you want it?

Pour over about 1/3 to 1/2 cup canola oil. Stir until everything is well coated with the honey and oil.

Pour out on to a cookie sheet and bake in a 325F oven for ~20 minutes.

Your granola will not crisp up in the oven - don't worry if it appears soggy after 20 minutes. It will dry out and become crunchy as it cools.

When cool, add some combination of:

Raisins
Currants
Dried cranberries
Dried blueberries
Dried cherries
Chopped dried dates
Dried apples, mangos, papayas, pineapple, and so on.

The variations are near endless.

Everyone has their old faithful. The standby dinner. The meal you make when you cannot spare a single brain cell to ponder options, but you still need to eat.

This is mine.

Rice, Lentils and Peas with Yogurt Sauce.

Cook some basmati rice.
Cook some green lentils in chicken or vegetable stock until tender.
Toss some frozen peas into the drained lentils so they thaw and cook lightly.

Chop some jalapeno pepper (1/2 to 1 pepper) very finely.
Chop a small handful of cilantro.
Mix into a cup or so of plain yogurt. (full fat is better than low fat here. Live a little)
Add some salt, and a little bit of lemon juice.

Toss the lentils, peas, and rice together, and dollop on some sauce.

I love this dish, despite it's complete lack of sophistication.

(see, I told you I haven't been cooking much lately)

I haven't been cooking very much lately. I've been working, outside the kitchen.

(Which has served as a great reminder about how much I don't want to work outside the kitchen anymore!)

And the recipes I have been working on I can't share with you, because I'm actually being paid to develop them for someone else. That's the big news around here.

I got a small contract to develop recipes for a small local chain of lunch counter type restaurants. It's a great opportunity, and so far a lot of fun. And a little intimidating!

The two week contract that has me slaving away outside the kitchen wraps up this week. So I'll be back in the kitchen, and back to posting soon.