Ile Aux Cerfs

The clear but choppy waters on the east coast of Mauritius

Rather then just be absolute lazy tourists and stay on the resort, we decided to venture out and explore more of Mauritius.  On the recommendation of the conceirge we chartered a small speed boat to explore the east coat of the island.  Because the weather was not really cooperating, we decided to keep close to the coast and more specifically the Ile aux Cerfs (or Deer Island.)  Part of the boat tour was to have a picnic lunch on the beach.  But to my delight I was surprised by what kind of picnic was prepared for us.  One of my favorite activities on a holiday ever!

Very fitting that the name of our boat was "Dolce Vita"

A waterfall that our speed boat had to carefully sneak around rocks to get close to

The beach where we had our picnic lunch

Even though the day was overcast we still had wonderful views

Upon arrival we were served Mauritian coffee...

First course of the "picnic" grilled local fish

Second course lobster...I have never had a picnic lunch like this!

For my vegetarian husband, a pilaf, still very tasty

Mauritius Magnific

Now that our jumping off point is the UK, we decided to take advantage of our proximity to island destinations not so easy to reach from North America.  Thus our decision to holiday in Mauritius over the Easter break.  The Republic of Mauritius is an island nation just off the southeast coast of Africa, (east of Madagascar.)  Not at all what I expected, first from the 10 hour plane trip to the extremely diverse culture we found, (ethnicities range from African, Indian, French and Chinese descent.) It all felt oddly familiar from the Creole cuisine to almost Indonesian influences I seemed to feel and see.  An island uninhabited and initially discovered by Arab sailors, rule passed from Dutch to French and later English.  An amazing feeling for me to be so south of the equator and close to Africa. 

Entrance to our resort, located on the very southwest tip of Mauritius

The UNESCO world heritage site of 'Le Morne' can be seen in the background

The beginning of a beautiful sunset 

Tucking into a Bloody Mary cocktail, getting ready for the "show"

I learned every sunset here has a unique character, and plays out like carefully planned coursed meal, with the viewer needing to savour and reflect on each one

Pollo Fritto

A great item to purchase if shopping in Italy... for some reason these breadcrumbs just taste better because they are FROM Italy 

As I feel winter slowly slipping away (I hope and pray it is!) I am craving a few winter weather/comfort dishes.  This is one that I always look forward to when staying at my mother-in-law's.  I finally watched her make it one day so I could try and replicate it for myself when I need a pick me up at home in England, (which is most of the time!)

Spread some of the breadcrumbs out on baking paper or foil (something you can throw away after using)

Mix pounded out chicken breast pieces with fresh rosemary and 2-3 eggs

Coat the chicken pieces in the breadcrumbs

Coated chicken, ready for frying

For frying my mother in law generally uses peanut oil, she absolutely never uses vegetable oil 

After frying for a few minutes on each side, placing the pieces on paper before serving gets rid of any excess oil.  Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Borough Market

 

On our past weekend in London, we finally made it to Borough Market.  An eclectic food market, I loved that you could try things "tapas" style.  Buying a drink or snack here and there.  My first purchase was a cup of mulled wine as it satisfied both my need for warmth (as this is England it is ALWAYS cold) and since it was Saturday my need for wine.  My husband found a stand where a couple of Italian guys were cooking fresh pasta, (which was a great idea for Italian fast food.)  We did not leave either hungry or empty handed.  

Borough market is split up into sections, this was a hall connecting a few of them

One of the first stands we saw upon entering

I ate one of these delicious cookies!

Graphic artwork on display in the Underground

Christmas Continuation

Traditional panettone with sultana's

After Christmas one is generally left with an over abundance of food.  Trying to get through it all can prove a challenge.  Panettone french bread for breakfast is one way I have found.  (I think pandoro french toast would be great too!)

This panettone is not a true original as it only has sultana's and almonds on the top, the very true traditional bread will have sultana's (raisins) and canditi (small, dried pieces of fruit like bits of orange and apricot.)

Depending on how many people you are feeding will affect the quantity of eggs, milk and bread you will use, here I used 3 eggs and about 2/3 cup of milk and a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon

I sliced the panettone starting from the bottom... I think thick slices are better then thin

Place cut bread in a tray

Pour the beaten eggs and milk mixture on the bread and let sit for a few minutes

Fry up the soaked pieces until brown on both sides

Tip - if you prefer a crisper, drier finished product then don't soak in the egg/milk coating as long

Cipollini Agro Dolce

This tasty side dish was served for our Christmas lunch, (Buono Natale .)  As promised here is the quick and easy recipe.  Agro Dolce means literally sour and sweet.  You could cook really any vegetable in this manner, (for example carrots are quite good cooked agro dolce.)

In Italy you can purchase the tiny onions already peeled, (which is awesome because peeling them is quite a bit of work.)  Add a bay leaf and a few whole cloves with the onions in your pot, (along with some olive oil of course.)  Remember to remove the bay leaf and cloves before serving!

You can buy acgro dolce as a condiment in Italy, but you can recreate this by using white balsamic vinegar (or regular) along with some sugar.)

Sweat out your onions initially on low heat with a cover

After a few minutes of cooking add some salt and your agro dolce condiment, continue to cook 

Some browning should start to occur, once this happens lower the heat a little and cover and leave it for a while

You want your onions to become almost caramelized, so keep cooking until they are soft and brown enough