There's nothing different happening on the farming front at the moment - some bull calves went to Bentham Auction on Wednesday (better prices for dairy calves than Kendal) - hedging in progress (following on from the competition last week) - paperwork being kept up to date - heifer calf yesterday; so I thought I would go off at a tangent and share a recipe with you.
When we went shopping this morning (Booths) Rump Steak was reduced, so (ignoring the fact that the farmer was probably subsidising the offer) we bought a large steak, just planning to have it plain with baked potatoes. Then out of nowhere came the idea to make Peppercorn Sauce. The world is full of things I've never made and Peppercorn Sauce is one of them. So I Googled it and came up with enough recipes to have a different version every day for a year. The few that I looked at didn't seem to be exactly what I wanted - so, if in doubt, make it up. Here's my version to add to the hundreds out there.
Word of Warning One - measurements are very approximate
Word of Warning Two - temperature of Aga is subject to fluctuation
Grind some black peppercorns in a pestle and mortar (this is not a green peppercorn sauce)
Put in pan with a dollop of butter and leave on the slow plate of the Aga until you think they have flavoured the butter, but not started to burn (maybe about 5 - 10 minutes)
Throw in a glug of brandy that you found at the back of the cupboard.
Continue on the slow side for a few minutes to imbue the flavour.
Move to the hot plate for a few minutes to burn off the alcohol (leaning over the pan to breath in the fumes).
Take of the heat and stir in a few spoonfuls of double cream (the proper thick stuff - not Asda's).
Put back on the slow plate for a few minutes (maybe 5) until thickened and reduced.
Pour into a small dish or jug and keep warm on a trivet on top of the wood burning stove (temperature also variable)
When we went shopping this morning (Booths) Rump Steak was reduced, so (ignoring the fact that the farmer was probably subsidising the offer) we bought a large steak, just planning to have it plain with baked potatoes. Then out of nowhere came the idea to make Peppercorn Sauce. The world is full of things I've never made and Peppercorn Sauce is one of them. So I Googled it and came up with enough recipes to have a different version every day for a year. The few that I looked at didn't seem to be exactly what I wanted - so, if in doubt, make it up. Here's my version to add to the hundreds out there.
Word of Warning One - measurements are very approximate
Word of Warning Two - temperature of Aga is subject to fluctuation
Grind some black peppercorns in a pestle and mortar (this is not a green peppercorn sauce)
Put in pan with a dollop of butter and leave on the slow plate of the Aga until you think they have flavoured the butter, but not started to burn (maybe about 5 - 10 minutes)
Throw in a glug of brandy that you found at the back of the cupboard.
Continue on the slow side for a few minutes to imbue the flavour.
Move to the hot plate for a few minutes to burn off the alcohol (leaning over the pan to breath in the fumes).
Take of the heat and stir in a few spoonfuls of double cream (the proper thick stuff - not Asda's).
Put back on the slow plate for a few minutes (maybe 5) until thickened and reduced.
Pour into a small dish or jug and keep warm on a trivet on top of the wood burning stove (temperature also variable)
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