My French Holiday Diary- Day 4

Here comes the rain! Oh no! And a cold!

My French Holiday Diary- Day 3

Look at the COLOUR of that honey!

...And those saucy muscat grapes... and the croustade de pommes...

My French Holiday Diary- Day 2

 

 Market day! What will we eat too much of today? Read on Macduff...

My French Holiday Diary- Day 1

Before the MA started, we all went on a fantabulous holiday to the South of France. As things are getting busy right now, I'm going to upload sections of my gastronomic diary. Highlights include LOTS of food, markets and Roger in a hammock.
This is MY little Marcilhac sur Célé kitchen. My empire. Eat your heart out Rachel Khoo.

Yo!Sushi York Review

Now, as much as I love sushi, I have to admit that when I found out there were plans to open a Yo!Sushi in York I was not a happy bunny. It wasn’t because I’d suddenly gone off the stuff, but the planning notice was stuck up on a building on Church Street; and that building just happens to be next door to where I live. We fretted about the possible stench of rancid fish wafting up to us from the courtyard bins that we share with the back of the building, we suffered all summer with incessant drilling and overheard conversations from builders, but now the time is finally here and the noise has gone. The fish smell isn’t there either (though the bins are stacking up...).

Hot Smoked Mackerel Salad

 

Though I love smoked mackerel, it just isn’t the weather for salads anymore. Mum-y and I needed something that would warm us up for dinner, and with our sad packet of smoked mackerel sitting in the fridge only a day away from its sell-by, the time had come for some internet digging. I set about in search of enlightenment but google “smoked mackerel recipes” and all you get is pâté. Chicken liver, yes. Fish on a cold day? No thanks. Nigel Slater put me more in the right direction with something hot, so this recipe is a bastardisation of what I found. I’m afraid to report that Slater’s dressing wasn’t what I fancied, so instead I stole a few ideas from pâté ingredients and knocked up a creamy, herby, lemony number that set everything off beautifully. I wouldn’t have thought that mackerel would go particularly well with a rich, creamy sauce, but that punch of lemon juice is amazing. It works so well with the potatoes too, offsetting their sweetness while teasing you back for more.