Lagniappe: Taking Tea at Fortnum & Mason

At long last, we're back!

Today's subject will be the pleasure of taking afternoon tea...in London no doubt, at the lovely Fortnum & Mason Department Store, St. James' restaurant. I'd been wanting to go there for a long time, but on the last trip to London did not make a reservation. And they just won't seat you without one, so I missed out. On this trip, I was certain to make a reservation and I arrived promptly dressed "smart casual" as the website suggested.

The dining room itself is nothing special. Low ceilings, worn carpet and furniture...but it's an old department store and I wasn't expecting anything chic or particularly over the top fancy but it still lends itself to an atmosphere of quiet conversation and exceptional table manners. You check your coat and then are seated at a table completely set with silverware and starched white linens. A pianist plays love songs & show tunes in the background. You're provided with a menu so that you can select your choice of teas...I go for what I'm most used to, English Breakfast to start and then a pot of Royal Blend later. Yes, two pots when it was all said and done. Whew!

Out comes the pot in the signature F&M china pattern (Tiffany blue and you all know that's my favorite color!) along with the strainer, sugar cubes and milk. It was by far, the best cup of hot tea I've ever had in my life--from what I understand it's 210 degrees to brew the perfect cup but whatever it is, it is clearly their core competency as it was perfect. Not too hot to burn the tongue, but hot enough to soothe and relax. Not too strong, nor too weak. I loved the sugar cube touch--I'm one of those people that keeps these in the house "for company." I kept repeating in my head "one lump or two."

Next come three small canapes...A savory cheese like tart and a couple of items I didn't eat as they looked like liver or fish--two things I just can't do.

Then the three tiered server comes out (I'm not sure I know what these are called, I should look it up). Bottom tier: Finger sandwiches. Chicken Salad, Salmon and the ubiquitous tea sandwich staple - Cucumber. I skip the salmon but the chicken salad was exceptional as it was served on a hearty grain sort of bread. Then the scones! This was the part I had most been longing to experience. One plain scone, one dotted with dried fruits complete with clotted cream and two jams--apricot and strawberry. I enjoyed every morsel. And then started to think how incredibly relaxing and enjoyable this event was. I was alone, so I didn't have to entertain conversation. I literally felt stress melt away. Also, the service by American standards was incredibly slow. It seemingly took forever and I was there almost two hours. The longer the better. I felt myself soaking in the atmosphere wondering why on earth I can't seem to recreate this same experience back home? Oh yeah, the three year old.

Now to the desserts. After the scones which I slathered with so much clotted cream and jam, the desserts were just not that interesting to me. After all, this is a lot of food that was originally concepted to be a pre-dinner snack. The plate consisted of a Madeline (delicious!), a ginger cake (not to my taste), a fudge tart and a linzer tart (both good) and a raspberry/lemon type cake (too tart).

Around me, there were all sorts of people. Two men that appeared to be a couple, another table of men that appeared to be tourists and not coupled at all, an English woman and her young daughter, husbands and wives, etc. And one person like me, experiencing it all alone. She was Asian. I was wondering if she was savoring the serenity of this experience like I was.

The cost was 34 pounds (about $50 US) but it's a lot of food and they even offered seconds which shocked me. I did note that the table of men who appeared to be tourists did take advantage of seconds. I was about to pop and just couldn't imagine more carbs although I did entertain the thought of stuffing a few extra scones in my purse. (Don't worry, I didn't.)

My guide in London said that the Ritz was "the" place to really take tea and a local mentioned the Savoy. Next time. Cheers!

We're Still Alive & Kickin'

Yes! Rox and I are still committed to our beloved website here but we've been beyond busy with work and I don't know some wedding Roxane is planning (grins). We figure we might want to ensure that the paycheck remains steady as a priority before we elaborate on this hobby short term. Be patient with us, we'll be back soon and more engaging than ever!

Lagniappe - Memphis City Schools' Peanut Butter Bar

In high school, nobody in my social circle ate lunch. For one thing, lunch was at some silly time, like 10:00 a.m. Second, there were about 180 people to get through the line in the mere 25 minutes they gave you in which to eat. Third, nobody took their lunch, that was considered nerdy. And lastly, no girl wanted the chance of any boy seeing her actually, eat.

The exception was peanut butter bar day (and sometimes pizza day). Years after graduating and Jonesing for the peanut butter bar, I finally came across the recipe in the Commercial Appeal recipe finder. Eureka! And to once again prove I have yet to meet a pizza I didn't like, I still crave that horrendous MCS pizza...rectangle, virtually raw, ketchup tasting, overly salty mess. If you gave me a slice today I'd scarf it down in seconds...

The PB bar is a little hard to describe...a chewy texture and not much at all like a rice crispy treat, but then again, sort of. Just try it. If you like PB, you'll love it.

These PB bars are best eaten the day-of, actually right after they've cooled. You can maybe sneak a second day of shelf life out of them, but they need to be zapped in the microwave a bit to soften before eating. After day two, toss; as they'll be like rocks, but they won't be around that long most likely. Now, if I just had some Jungle Juice...

MCS - Peanut Butter Bars (adapted from Commercial Appeal recipe)


1 cup sugar

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

3 1/2 cups of rice crispy cereal

Tools: 9x9 pan, 2 sandwich bags and cooking spray

Lightly spray a 9x9 pan and set aside. Combine sugar and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan. Cook, over med-high heat, stirring constantly until mixture just starts to boil then turn off heat and stir in PB till it's melted and mixture is smooth. Quickly, stir in the cereal till completely coated.

Put mixture in 9x9 pan. To make them smooth on top, I double up the sandwich bags over one hand like a glove and spray the "glove" and press down the mixture. Let cool about 20 minutes then cut into squares and serve. As noted earlier, best to eat up at this point so they are at the perfect consistency...they harden the more they sit around. But if you do have leftovers, go ahead and cut into squares and wrap each square in plastic wrap, and store in air tight container. Zap in microwave a few seconds if eaten much later to soften.

Lagniappe - The Pecan Ball

Sometimes the simpler the dessert, the better. Went to the Silver Caboose Restaurant on the lovely Collierville Town Square and devoured the pecan ball. Yarnell's vanilla ice cream, rolled in chopped pecans and completely smothered in hot-fudge. No reason why this can't be done at home though. Crazy-good.

#22 Berries galore

So berries were the focus of this past weekend. It’s a great food to get locally from your farmer’s market. We celebrated my future sister-in-law’s birthday and figured a Summer Berry Trifle was perfect for the get-together. For my version, I used strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.



You need to start this 1 day in advance, but the preparation only takes 3 minutes. Simple fill a bowl with the ice water (from recipe below) and add the pudding mix and can of sweetened condensed milk. Stir together and refrigerate overnight.

…and make sure you assemble the trifle at least 4 hours before the event. You need time for the wafers to get a little moist and the flavors to meld together.

Step #2- Whipped cream: Simply beat the cream till it’s thick. Once it gets to that stage, don’t go too much longer or you’ll make butter (seriously).



Step #3- Fold: Now using the pudding from the night before, fold it into the whipped cream. …basically, just gently stir together to you don’t deflate the whipped cream



Step #4- Assemble: start with a layer of wafers:



Then spread a nice thick layer of the whipped cream mixture:



Next is the berries – be generous:



…and now repeat:



In the same fashion, build your trifle to the top. If you have leftover berries or cream, no worries – just eat them later. You don’t want this to overflow….



Summer Berry Pudding Trifle
(an adaption from Magnolia Bakery’s famous banana pudding)
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups heavy cream
1 (12-ounce) box Nilla Wafers
1 quart of strawberries, and a mix of others: I used also ½ pint of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries

In a small bowl, add the ice water. The slowly pour in the condensed milk and mix until incorporated. Add the pudding mix and combine. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing (the pudding needs to be completely set).

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

To assemble, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange a layer of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl and a little up the sides, overlapping if necessary, then a generous layer of the berries and layer of the pudding. Repeat the layering at least twice more, garnishing with additional wafers and berries on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours – or up to 8 hours before serving.

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As a side-note, I wanted to let everyone know of my recent disaster in baking. Everyone makes mistakes and this is to prove it. The goal was a luscious 4 layer strawberry cake with whipped cream and strawberries between each layer and a coating of strawberry cream cheese frosting as the overlay. …things to note:

1) do not assemble in a house with a failing air conditioner in 100 degree temperature.
2) do not make a tall 4 layer cake with a wobbly foundation.
3)do not use so much whipped cream it oozes out the sides.
4) even as ugly as something may look, it actually could be very delicious (and it was) :)

Lagniappe - Iced Mocha

I for one love an iced mocha. Please enjoy this anytime recipe that is somewhere in between the McCafe version (mine is not that sweet) and Starbuck's (mine is not that strong).

Iced Mocha Yield: 1 large
1/8 c chocolate syrup
1 heaping tsp. of instant espresso (Ferrara brand can be found at Fresh Market)
1/3 c. boiling water
1 1/2 cup of 1% milk or skim
ice (see tip)
16 oz plastic cup or glass



Pour chocolate syrup in your 16 oz. cup. Add heaping teaspoon of instant espresso powder and boiling water. Mix well.



Add milk and then the ice.


Enjoy with a pastry or on the go.


Tip: If you brew coffee normally, freeze the left over coffee in ice cube trays and use that ice for this drink. That way, when the ice melts, it won't dilute your mocha punch.

Lagniappe: Quick & budget friendly bathroom renovation

I’m a renovation addict. …well, I’m more of a penny pincher, so do-it-yourself renovating comes naturally. Instead of posting nothing else this week, figured I'd at least give you a glimpse into my life....

Long story short, I’m trying to sell my house and I’ve renovated most of the place except for the 2nd bathroom. The tile, tub, and toilet in that bathroom are perfectly fine. What’s outdated is the cabinet, countertop, and fixtures (what you can’t see is the countertop was originally a 70s yellow. I painted it as soon as I moved in 5 years ago). I’m going to show you a simple and cost effective solution for the everyday homeowner .

…so Fred (my fiancé) and I already knew that we couldn’t afford granite at the moment. It averages around $45/sf where we live and I know I’m already not going to get all my money back out of my house (due to the plummeting housing market). Here’s a word of advice that my father always tells me – “Roxane, you don’t make money on the selling of a house – you make money on the buying of it”. In even simpler words - don’t jump into buying a house and don’t think you’re going to make a ton of money off of it. Really evaluate the market and its potential before you buy it. Just because you sink money into it, doesn’t mean you’ll get it back out when you sell it.

First thing is to replace the countertop. Here’s a ‘before’ picture I took on my phone:



We’re removing the sink – so we just disconnected all of the plumbing, scored around the edge and unscrewed the sink clip underneath. From there, it will just drop down when it’s loose.

Next is the plywood top. Since I’m going to tile over it, it’s recommended you use at least ¾” thickness plywood. We cut it to the exact same size (had to sand slightly on the edge because we cut it a hair large). I scored the original top (because I had painted it) and then added a bonding agent (liquid nails, etc). Once we glued the wood down, we also dropped bolts into the countertop to make sure it’s all sturdy. …and since we want the counter to not have bumps from the top of the bolts, we countersunk all of them as well (this means we drilled one hole for the bolt, then another for the washer and head of the nail). See picture below.



Now to tiling! I chose a mosaic travertine since I really only needed 10 tiles – you could go even cheaper if you wanted to. The trowel I used is a ¼ x ¼ x ¼ …and I’m also using a white thinset to better match in case I’m messy. Before I even spread on the thinset, I cut and dry-fit all of the tiles:



Then just placed the tile sheet on top with a small squish to make sure the tiles made good contact:



Next is the grout – After you’ve waited 24 hours for the thinset to dry, you’re ready to grout. Make sure you get it into all the cracks and crevices. Then wipe off any excess. The day after, keep sponging down the countertop so you don’t have any residue left:



So we’re almost done! In addition to the countertop, I also wanted to replace the light fixture and update the mirror. For the mirror, just take a couple sticks of casing from the home improvement store and cut to length. Then with mirror glue and a caulking gun, affix to the mirror. I used a little painters tape to hold it in place while it dries. …then a coat of fresh paint and you’ve got a beautiful bathroom:



…and view of the mirror surround:



Total spent:
$5 - ½ sheet of plywood
$68 - 10 travertine tiles
$0 – Thinset (I was tiling my other bathroom and really only needed a couple scoops out of the big bucket
$15 - Grout
$65 – vessel sink
$50 – vessel sink faucet and pop-up drain
$18 - Casing trim around mirror
$30 – new light from Costco
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$234

Lagniappe: Some fish for fun

This weekend I had a big craving for Fish Tacos. I had seen a Martha Stewart episode (love her!) a couple months ago featuring the ones from La Fondita in the Hamptons - they looked delicious and couldn’t stop thinking about them ever since.

Truth be known though, I really hate frying. It gets hot in the kitchen, the fear of grease splattering plus the mess to clean up afterwards – it’s just not something I ever enjoy. I thought for sure I’d get over it for bite of these tacos …and I still hate it.

…but the tacos are good. I borrowed the recipe posted on Ina Garten’s website although I had to make a little adjustment. The batter was way too thick, so I cut down on the flour (instead of the original 1.5cups, I changed it to 1cup). The original recipe also suggests Mole Negro Dark as the beer – but it was $15 bucks for a six pack – completely not worth it. Exchanged it for Dos Equis Dark for half the price and I bet no one could tell the difference.

So for me, the best part of the recipe was the Chipotle Mayo – easy to make and I just poured it into the squeeze bottle afterwards to dispense and store….







For the fish, I used cod, which is traditional for a fish taco…




ack, the frying! Makes me nervous even looking back at my pictures…



La Fondita Fish Tacos
Courtesy of Barefoot Contessa

3 eggs, well beaten
8 ounces dark beer, such as Modelo Negro
2 teaspoons Coleman’s dry mustard
1 tablespoon red chili powder
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dredging
1½ pounds codfish, cut into serving pieces
Vegetable oil, for frying
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 white corn tortillas
Chipotle Mayonnaise (below)
Shredded cabbage

Place the eggs, beer, mustard, chili powder, 1 tablespoon salt and sugar in a medium bowl and mix until smooth. Add the flour and continue mixing until it is somewhat thin.

Heat the vegetable oil in a deep fat fryer or Dutch oven to 375 degrees. Dip the fish into the batter and fry until golden brown. Spread each tortilla with a tablespoon of chipotle mayonnaise and place a piece of fried fish on top. Add some shredded cabbage and serve.

Chipotle Mayonnaise
1½ cups mayonnaise
1½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
1½ tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2½ tablespoons chipotle chili puree
Pinch of kosher salt

Mix the mayonnaise, lime juice, cilantro and chipotle chili puree together in a medium bowl, add the salt and mix again.

#21 Yard Embellishments

We've been cooking so much lately...but know that I have not lost sight of the constant yard improvement projects (translation - go to bank and withdraw lots of money).

Take for instance the kid chalet, it has now been adorned with a bridge I got, at of all places, Big Lots - and I painted it red. My son still won't play in it, but I for one just love looking at it. In fact, we're thinking of renting it out for $1,000a night--much like that ridiculous minus 32 degree igloo that people sleep in in Switzerland that has no electricity, running water, or food. The only warmth is the Everest sleeping bag they give you. In our chalet, you can sleep on the ground, one person can stand up provided they are not taller than six feet, and you can experience humidity and mosquitoes like our ancestors did. Any takers? What? No interest in rustic charm down South?




I also picked up this kid-size red picnic table at the Red Fish Gallery on North Main for a mere $50 which I thought was a good deal because this thing is HEAVY.



And plant wise, I was delighted to see that my gladiolas are coming up...I really didn't think they would as I have such poor drainage in the back. Ahhh so pretty.



I've also purchased a fountain at Water Works but the thing is just not photographing well so more to come on that and hopefully a picture too.

#20 Charred, please....

So things are absolutely crazy with me right now. All of last weekend was spent in Houston with wedding planning and a family reunion in the mix. Then we come home to 2 unfinished houses. Every day has been spent at my house trying to finish the home improvements so I can get it on the market to sell. …plus that coupled with my boss leaving, a disagreement with my mother, and a need to lose 20 lbs for a wedding dress, I really didn’t want to hassle with dinner.

This pesto is easy and spices up chicken very well. You literally just slap the chicken on the grill (remember to salt and pepper it) – wait 4 minutes and turn, then baste the other side with pesto and cheese and wait another 4-5 minutes.

I always roast the poblanos outside because the kitchen gets too hot trying to roast them in the oven (at 425). Just lightly oil them and turn them every couple minutes.




To get the skin off, simply take your knife and scrape the outside. All of the char pretty much comes off and you’ve got great flavor left behind.





Pulse it all in the food processor and you’re done.




Here’s a trick to those on a diet – always pound out your chicken first. Place the chicken on a chopping block and cover it with plastic wrap. Pound it out thin so it has more surface area. This will allow the chicken to cook evenly and fast - and it also tricks your mind into thinking you’re eating more (covers the plate better). Remember to Salt and pepper the chicken before cooking...

So after you’ve cooked the chicken for a few minutes on 1 side, flip and cover with pesto then with cheese. Close the lid and cook for a few more minutes and you’ve got spicy cheesy chicken.






Blackened Poblano Pesto

4 green poblano chiles
2 cloves garlic, trimmed
Handful of cilantro, (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Blacken chiles on the grill or over the stove (or in a broiler) until blackened on all sides. Place on a chopping block to cool (Do not steam in a bag; they should remain somewhat crisp) Chop in half and discard core and seeds. With a knife, scrape the outside of the chile till the blackened portion mostly peels away.

Chop the chilies into large pieces and place into bowl of food processor. Add the garlic, cilantro, pine nuts, olive oil, salt, and vinegar. Process until mostly smooth. Taste to see if you want to adjust flavor with more salt, olive oil or vinegar. Refrigerate until ready to use.



...I'm off to go work on my house some more...