Winter Warmer stew

Yup, still cold here in Britain. Sunny, but cold! So it makes me a bit lazy about spending time cooking. But I still want to eat healthy and balanced. So here's another easy recipe for you.

Ingredients for 2:
- 2 pieces of pork (filet mignon will do nicely)
- 4 tblspn chinese white wine (or dry sherry)
- salt flakes &cracked pepper
- 4 tblspn soy sauce
- 1 red pepper bell chopped in squares
- a handfull of sweet dried cranberries
- 4 medium to small potatoes (not new potatoes, King edwards will do nicely) chopped in quarters if small potatoes
- 4 carrots chopped in short sticks
- 1 big onion chopped in squares
- 4 big cloves of garlic chopped in big bits
- 2 tins chopped tomatoes
- 1 tblspn of herbes de provence
- a dash of olive oil
- water

Rub the meat with a bit of oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce and chineese white wine. Leave to rest at the bottom of an oven dish big enough to contain all the ingredients above. Add the cranberries and red pepper bell Then top with the carrots, garlic, onion and potatoes, pour a dash of oil, add the tins of tomato, top up with water so that the meat is covered, then sprinkle with the herbs. Place in the oven at 200deg Celsius, set the timer for about 1h30, forget about it and snuggle with a cup of tea in front of a good film. When the timer rings, dish up and eat, the sauce is rich and flavoursome, and satisfying! Enjoy and bon apetit!

Source: the inspiration of the day....

Gratin dauphinois with salad and vinaigrette

You have been warned: this is not a healthy dish! However, it is succulent. If you think it's too rich, cook it and serve it nicely presented in individual little ramequins, that will do the trick.

This recipe is the traditional savoyard method. Adding cheese on top is nor traditional, nor a good idea (as if there was not enough fat in the cream!?).

Ingredients for 4-6 people:
- baking potatoes (quantity depends on the size of your oven dish)
- 1 big pot of full fat sour cream (yup, full fat or nothing!)
- salt and pepper
- a little nut of butter
- 1 clove garlic

Butter your oven dish then rub the garlic cut in two to rub the oven dish.

Use a mandoline to slice the potatoes thinly - they must be translucid). You can do it by hand - I have done it for years like that, but it's so much quicker with a mandoline!...)
Place the slices in layers in the dishThen pour on top the sour cream mixed with salt and pepper.

Put in oven at 200 deg C for 45 minutes.

Because it is very heavy with the cream, my mum has always substituted the cream with a mix of egg and milk, salt, pepper to make a much lighter dish. Agreed, this was not the authentic dish, the texture was quite different, but it was also a very tasty dish in its own right....

Serve with salad leaves topped with a vinaigrette:

For the vinaigrette, the basis is:
- 1 spoon vinegar
- 3 spoon of oil (or 2 spoons of oil and 1 spoon of water for the health conscious)
- salt and pepper.
- optional: a teaspoon of dijon mustard

Start practicing with cder or white wine vinegar and grape seed oil or vegetable oil and follow the quantities.
With experience, you will adjust depending on which vinegar and which oil you are using. example: if you are using balsamic vinegar you need 2 spoon less of oil, when you use olive oil, use water with it as it tends to be thicker.

When you maater the basis of the vinaigrette, you can use speciality vinegars and oils and add fresh herbs, nuts, spices, cheese, yoghurt etc... to your liking and taste.

This is a very french meal, I hope you'll like it!

Source: don't forget I'm french!