the METRONOME Menu #1

MNM#1

This suggestion should keep you in the kitchen for roughly an hour. Main course will be baked sausages in a batter, aka "toad-in-the-hole", by James Taner, accompanied by a hearty greek salad. Serve with red dry wine of your choice, that you have left to "breathe" for a while in room temperature. For dessert we shall use a simple idea from Jamie Oliver. Frozen grapes, served with chocolate and paired with chilled Grappa. That should keep you discussing for a while. Enjoy !

Gather, wash and prepare your ingredients. Set up your work surfaces, and your chopping board. Preheat your oven to 220°C. Knife sharpened and ready. Hand towel close by. Use extra virgin olive oil for all the recipes (unless stated otherwise). Start with the dessert. When finished start preparing the sausages. While the sausages are being baked for the first stage, prepare the first stage of the salad. Then proceed to the second stage of the bake and that of the salad. At the end of the bake, you should be ready to serve.

Grapes & Choc

• Dark chocolate bar, Milk chocolate bar, almonds chocolate bar (basically whatever you like, but keep >70% cocoa).
• Muscat, dark or strawberry grapes

What to do :

• Put your bottle of grappa and the grapes in the freezer, about 2 to 3 hours before you want to serve them.
• Prior to serving, break the chocolate into large chunks. 
• Arrange the chocolate with the grapes, and serve with shots of Grappa 

Greek Salad

    1 large slice of feta cheese

     1 large ripe tomato, chopped coarsely

     2 medium onions sliced (you may also use green fresh onions)

     1/2 cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped

     7-8 black olives (optionally pit and slice them)

     1 teaspoon capers

     Several basil leaves

     1 teaspoon dried oregano (or to taste)

     Olive oil to taste (1/3-1/2 of a cup)

     1 teaspoon vinegar

     Pinch of freshly ground pepper (green preferably)

     Salt to taste

What to do :

• (1^st stage) Cut the tomato, onions, cucumber. Add the olives and capers. Sprinkle with the oregano and ground pepper and toss all the ingredients. Leave at room temperature to rest, or until you are ready to serve.
• (2^nd stage) Prior to serving, season with the salt. Pour the olive oil and vinegar over the mix, and toss again.
• On top crumble the feta cheese (or break gently in large chunks). Drizzle with olive oil, and add the basil leaves (crush them a bit with your fingers first).

"Toad-in-the-hole"

The "toads" :

     8 great quality sausages (pork or spiced)

     1 onion, sliced coarsely

     2 tablespoons olive oil

     Crushed sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

The batter :

     100gr all-purpose flour

     2 eggs

     300ml full-fat milk

     Pinch of crushed sea salt

What to do :

• (1^st stage) Put the sausages in a medium roasting tin (so they are quite snug). Scatter over the onion, season with crushed sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, at 200°C until the sausages are beginning to brown and the onions are tinged at the edges.
• For the batter, sift the flour into a mixing bowl with the salt. Make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs. Beat lightly, then gradually pour in the milk, beating all the time, until you have a smooth batter.
• (2^nd stage) Remove the roasting tin from the oven and pour the batter over the sausages. Sausages should be partially covered. You may cut them coarsely if you prefer.
• Return to the oven for a further 25-30 minutes, at the same temperature, until the batter is crisp, golden and well risen. Serve immediately.

For the original recipes please visit :

Ref.1 http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/frozen-grapes-chocolate-grappa

Ref.2 http://www.redonline.co.uk/food/recipes/james-tanner-s-toad-in-the-hole