Feb
3
We all have our favourites in different things. Our favourite blender, our favourite pots & pans etc. And knives! We have the fabulous Arcos steak knives on the island ( where we eat a majority of the steaks we eat in a year as we have a grill there) that were a wedding gift and work wonders even after 13 years. At home we have the Laguiole steak knives. I love them! But what I love even more is their butter knives. So good and they work on even a little colder butter ( I’m not a fan of margarine and one does not always remember to take the butter out in advance). Besides I like the classic French look of them. So I updated our butter knives by a few more. I also like the idea of serving a dinner roll with a personal butter & knife. At the same time I updated our cheese knives that were actually from my husbands place since before we moved in together about 15 years ago. It was time. Now I can’t wait to invite someone over for some wine & cheese.
I have been on a mission to renew a few other kitchen items this year. That included finally investing in some good quality kitchen knives. I am not a professional chef but you could say I’m an enthusiastic home cook. I have been looking at different options and youtube videos. What I ended up with that I think will supports my cooking style & skill level were the Wüsthoff classic icons in cream. I will admit I was very happy to find a knife series that was somewhat professional yet fitted my white kitchen & my visual preferences. I will probably invest in a good Santoku knife at some point but for now I got a 20 cm chef knife, a 20 cm filé knife ( also called a sandwich knife) and a 9 cm vegetable knife. I also updated our bread knife in the same series. There are many knives on the market for different uses but honestly I believe in investing in a few good basics. But as with everything once you upgrade one thing you find yourself looking for other things that follow in the same category. Now we need better cutting boards and I’m looking to buy a sharpening stone for my fabulous knives. We do have a knife sharpener but not a stone. But I give it time. I’m hoping they stay sharp for a while now.
Jan
14
Slow cooking
by Sofia - in Cooking
I have a Le Creuset Dutch oven that I like to use for braising things and making stews but lately I have wondered if I should get an actual crock-pot slow cooker. If I have understood correctly you can leave it on during the day and then it slowly cooks your meal while you work. Or you can make a lovely porridge overnight and wake up for it in the am. There are actual slow cooker cook books available as well as Pinterest full of ideas. As we do have a pantry I thought it would also find a spot in my house in case I don’t want to have it in the kitchen counter all the time. But I did find a white one which is a bonus for me.
What do you think? Do you own and use a slow cooker? If you do please share your ideas and thoughts on it. I asked on Instagram and I got no con´s from those of you who have one but plenty of pro´s. So I think my mind is already headed this way. But I do not just buy on a whim so I’ll give my thoughts some time to stew ( pun intended) as well as discuss with the rest of my family to see what they think. But the idea of coming home from work to a warm meal that has been slowly cooking to perfection during the day or to wake up to a lovely porridge in the morning kind of has me excited. Think lovely soups, or a bowl of chili or even a tagine or some lovely stew. And Martha Stewart’s famous slow cooker Mac´n´cheese would make our girls so happy. The best bonus in my mind.
Aug
12
Caramel Corn
by Sofia - in Cooking
I´m not even going to say it. Yes it´s been too long and as I said on instagram. When it´s been so long it always feels like a post should be something substantial. At least little more substantial than caramel corn. But then you said it does not. So here we go. Back at it! Fingers crossed it won´t be yet another month or two before I´m back here apologising fr my absence and wondering if anyone still finds their way here.
So to the corn! Ralph´s in Paris, you all know it, has this amazing caramel corn that they serve with the coffee after dinner. So I tried to copycat them! My first try was better, the second time I did not heat the caramel quite hot enough so it did not get as hard but a bit sticky instead. Which makes it feel sweeter for some reason. So if you have a candy thermometer like I do, use it and don´t just wing it. If you don´t wing it and hope for the best. It will be delish anyhow.
