If I had to choose my favorite food, as difficult as it might be to do (because well, I just love everything!) I would probably choose a good steak above all else.   But, you know, with the cost of steak today, it is a rare treat.

My favorite of all has to be a nice fillet steak and that is the priciest of all. But boy oh boy. It is worth every penny.

I was recently offered the chance to take a cooking course via BBC Maestro.  I have always considered BBC to be the epitome of excellence when it comes to everything, and especially cooking.  When I lived in the UK, I loved their cooking shows, and attending the BBC Good Food Show every year was always the highlight of the year for me!  

I have always wanted to take a cooking course. I had no idea that I could do such a thing online and via the BBC no less.  I jumped at the chance.  They offer all kinds of courses by the way. 

BBC Maestro is an online platform where you can learn directly from experts such as Gary Barlow, David Walliams, Julia Donaldson, Mark Ronson, Helena Bonham Carter, Marco Pierre White and many others. As you can see here, each of them teaches a course in their area of expertise. There is something for every interest you might have.

I was spoilt for choice and I had a very difficult time making up my mind. I would love to take all of the cooking courses, and some of the others as well, but I had to narrow down my choices and pick one.

 

I decided to take this one, Delicious Food Cooked Simply by Marco Pierre White.  I love the idea of simple food being cooked deliciously and to actually be tutored by a Top Michelin Chef, well, this opportunity was like a dream come true for me.

Imagine being taught in the comfort of your own home by a master such as Marco Pierre White! And what I really liked about it was that I could do it at my own pace.  With 35 lessons in the course, I could stop the videos at any point, and then carry on as and when I had the time.

Notes were provided for download, containing all of the recipes so I could go and pick up any ingredients needed ahead of time, make sure I had any equipment needed in place as well.  I have listened through the course all the way through now, and have the luxury of going back through all of the lessons and cooking each recipe as and when I have the time, etc.  The course is mine to keep indefinitely.

I found him very easy to listen to and to watch, and I really enjoyed learning how he got started cooking. I also enjoyed all of the hints and tips he shares along the way, the ins and outs of why he does what he does, and how he does it.  How to cook everything from scrambled eggs, shrimp cocktail, a simple Bolognese, lentils, etc. perfectly and how to use the basic elements of the course to create other classic dishes.  

For instance, he teaches you how to cook a simple tomato sauce.  This simple sauce is then used to create a delicious Ragu Bolognese, which is then used to create a fabulous Macaroni Cheese with Ragu Bolognese.  

That is the essence of simple cooking, being able to build upon skills already learned to create more varied and a bit more complicated dishes, but it is done line upon line and precept upon precept. I really liked that.

As Marco says, "Live in a world of refinement, not invention."  I love that.  There is nothing new under the sun, only better ways of doing things. 

 

He also says, "Perfection is lots of little things done well."  This should be the mantra of everything we do in our lives.

To highlight what I learned on this course I wanted to highlight one specific recipe to share with you. Steak au Poivre.  Steak au Poivre is a true classic. A dish which has truly withstood the test of time, and which will always be popular and delicious.

And with the holiday season coming up, what better recipe to share.  But it is much more than just a recipe.  From Marco Pierre White himself:

"Pepper is too often thought of as simply seasoning. It is not, it is a spice and should be used like one. It is a unique spice that suits most delicious, but it can also be much more than that, as I demonstrate with this dish. Every ingredient should be considered when cooking, every moment of cookery questioned, and this dish should make you think deeper about black pepper and the way you use it."

I will never think about pepper in quite the same way again. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE STEAK AU POIVRE 

Simple ingredients done well, put together in the most delicious way possible.

• clarified butter
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• cracked black pepper
• 1 large glass of Brandy
• 300ml (about 1 1/4 cups) cream (I used heavy)
• brown stock
• Dijon mustard
• fine salt
• 4 fillet steaks
• cornflour (cornstarch) 

HINTS AND TIPS FROM MARCO PIERRE WHITE

The amount of pepper you add to your sauce is at your discretion. If you like the heat and spike of the ingredient, then indulge yourself. If you don't, then hold back a little and prepare a more subtle dish.

Recipes are only ever a guideline. They should never dictate your work; your palate is what should dictate your cooking.

A perfect sauce must have texture but must also be light. There is nothing worse than a sauce dominating the rest of the plate.

To help the crust adhere to the steak start in a dry pan. Any added oil or butter will wash off the crust. Set the crust in a dry pan, and only the add fat.

If you are wanting to cook some steak but don't have a budget that quite lends itself to a fillet steak might I suggest the following recipes:

GARLIC STEAK BITES & POTATOES - Perfectly tender and juicy bits of flavorful steak cooked in a skillet along with crispy golden potatoes.  Delicious! 

GRILLED STEAK SANDWICH - This pub style steak sandwich is an open-faced sandwich that even a lady can feel comfortable eating.  Light enough to please a delicate palate, but hearty enough to please a man, especially if you add some chips (fries) on the side!

That means that this Chicken and Stuffing Casserole also figures high on our list of things we love.  And for a variety of reasons!  First of all there is the stuffing, an abundance of it covering the top, crisp on the outside and yet moist beneath.

Secondly there is its ease of preparation. This really could NOT be easier to make. Things are simply layered in  baking dish, covered and baked.

Prepared stuffing mix.  Tinned soup with milk. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Canned green beans.


Yes, canned cream of chicken soup.  I am not a canned soup snob.  So many are and I just don't get it.  I think it has great value in the kitchen and in your store cupboard.

I was brought up on it and it never killed me. Not once.  I am now 65 years old and I have not suffered any ill effects from eating canned cream of chicken soup, nor canned cream of mushroom soup for that matter.

Actually I have not suffered any ill effects from eating any canned soup.  It has its place and anyone who turns their nose up it is being a tiny bit pretentious in my opinion.


I don't meant to offend anyone by saying that. So my apologies if you are offended.  I feel that things like this have a very valid place in my kitchen at least and I always have a few tins in the cupboard.

They are great to use in casseroles or as quick and simple sauces. With a few additions, Bob's Your Uncle. If you are worried about salt and fat there are low sodium and low fat options readily available these days.


If you really don't want to use tinned soups, you can replace them with a simple homemade cream sauce.  For every cup of cream sauce you want, melt 1 TBS of butter in a saucepan.  Once it has melted whisk in 1 TBS of flour for every  cup of sauce you want to make.

Whisk it into the butter and let it cook for several minutes to cook out any flour flavour.  Then whisk in 1/2 cup (120ml) of chicken stock, and 1/2 cup (120ml) of milk for every cup of sauce you need.

Cook, whisking constantly over medium heat, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.  Leave to simmer on low for a few minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning as required, and its ready to use. Easy peasy.



Full disclosure here. My casserole got a little bit too dark. Somehow the temperature got turned up a bit too high (not naming any names) and so . . .  it still tasted delicious, it just was no as pretty as it should have been!

This is an old, old recipe.  Probably copied from a magazine years ago and meant to advertise soup and stuffing mix. I have adapted it through time to suit my own family and what they like.


I added a can of green beans.  Another casserole we really love is green bean casserole and I thought canned green beans would work wonderfully in it. I was right.  They do.

When we were children my mother could not get us to eat mushroom soup.  There was no way we were going to even touch the tips of our tongues to it. No way. No how.

I guess we were somewhat picky in that respect, and maybe even a bit spoiled.


Then when I was ten years old we took an exciting adventure almost all the way across the North American Continent.  My father's job took him from the wilds of Manitoba to the stony shores and  cosy inlets of Nova Scotia.

My parents took advantage of the trip to take us on a bit of a holiday. We had never been on one in our lives.  We went down from Manitoba into the Dakotas and across the Northern part of America to my mother's cousin Polly's home in Vermont. What an adventure that was for us!



We got to stay in a Howard Johnson Hotel and have chips/fries and hotdogs for lunch every day if we wanted to.  And we got to meet a part of our family that we had only ever heard about but had never spent time with.

My brother, sister and I loved being at Poly and Red's house and meeting our third cousins.  We got to experience the joys of extended family and we got to enjoy Green Bean Casserole for the first time in our lives and we love LOVED it!

Even if it was made with Cream of Mushroom Soup. To be honest, I doubt we were told until after we had eaten it and enjoyed it.



I never experienced homemade tomato soup until I was an adult and had made it myself.  And it is gorgeous I will admit.

I love LOVE homemade tomato soup, but if you are in a hurry and just want some comfort in a bowl, you cannot beat a bowl of Heinz Tomato soup in my opinion.



So I guess that was an awfully round about way of convincing you that canned soups have a real purpose to serve in the modern day kitchen.  They fulfil taste needs that nothing else quite can.  Hence, I am not a canned soup snob.

This casserole is not quite the same without it and neither is green bean casserole. Or tuna casserole for that matter. Or meatballs and gravy, or poor man's steak.  

Just one glutton's opinion.





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Peach & Mascarpone Parfaits:  Pour 2 TBS of Italian dessert wine and a few spoons of sugar over 450g (2 cups) chopped or sliced fresh peaches.  Whip 120ml (1/2 cup) heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in 240g (1 cup) mascarpone cheese and 45g sugar (1/4 cup).  Starting with the peaches, layer the peaches with the mascarpone mixture in four glasses and top with crumbled amaretti cookies or gingersnaps.