A Tale of Two Louis’

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week it’s dedicated to the tales of Louis’, Louis Vuitton and Louis Armstrong who share birthdays during this week. The featured recipes are regional classics from Louisiana Sweet Potato Gumbo, Creyole Chicken and Cajun Spicy Gingerbread. The herb of the week is Samphire.

Louis Vuitton (4 August 1821 – 27 February 1892), was the founder of the world-famous Louis Vuitton brand of maroquinerie now owned by LVMH. He was born in the department of Jura, France. In 1835, he moved to Paris. The trip from his hometown to Paris was over 400kms (250miles), and he travelled the distance by foot. On his way there, he picked up a series of odd jobs to pay for his journey. There, he became an apprentice Layetier to prominent households. Because of his well established reputation in his fields, Napoleon III of France appointed Vuitton as Layetier to his wife, Empress Eugénie de Montijo. Through his experience with French royalty, he developed advanced knowledge of what made a good travelling case. It was then that he began to design his own luggage, setting the foundations for LV Co.

The Louis Vuitton label was founded by Vuitton in 1854 on Rue Neuve des Capucines in Paris. In 1858, Vuitton introduced his flat-bottom trunks with trianon canvas, making them lightweight and airtight. Before the introduction of Vuitton’s trunks, rounded-top trunks were used, generally to promote water run-off, and thus could not be stacked. It was Vuitton’s grey Trianon canvas flat trunk that allowed the ability to stack with ease for voyages. Becoming successful and prestigious, many other luggage makers began to imitate LV’s style and design.

In 1867, the company participated in the universal exhibition in Paris. To protect against the duplication of his look, he changed the Trianon design to beige and brown stripes design in 1876. By 1885, the company opened its first store in London, England on Oxford Street. Soon thereafter, due to the continuing imitation of his look, in 1888, the Damier Canvas pattern was created by Louis Vuitton, bearing a logo that reads “marque L. Vuitton déposée”, which translates into “L. Vuitton registered trademark”. In 1892, Louis Vuitton died, and the company’s management passed to his son, Georges.

Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an “inventive” cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the music’s focus from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly recognizable deep and distinctive gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also greatly skilled at scat singing, vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics. Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet-playing, Armstrong’s influence extends well beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general.

Armstrong was one of the first truly popular African-American entertainers to “cross over,” whose skin-colour was secondary to his amazing talent in an America that was severely racially divided. It allowed him socially acceptable access to the upper echelons of American society that were highly restricted for a person of colour. While he rarely publicly politicized his race, often to the dismay of fellow African-Americans, he was privately a strong supporter of the Civil Rights movement in America.

The full version of this article can be found at www.chefgarfyinfo.blog.co.uk

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My first recipe is Sweet Potato Gumbo. Recipe by Simon Rimmer, courtesy of uktv.co.uk.

Serves 4, Prep time 20mins, cooking time 20mins.

For the gumbo spice mix
1 tsp x Salt
1 tsp x Cayenne Pepper (or if not sure of using Cayenne use 1tsp of Mild Chilli Powder) 
1 tsp x Dried Thyme
1 tsp x Dried Oregano
1 tsp x Ground White Pepper

For the gumbo
2 tbsp x Vegetable Oil
2 x Celery sticks, finely chopped
1 x Red Onion, diced
2 x Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 x Red Chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped
250ml x Organic Beef Stock
1 x 400g can Chopped Tomatoes
200g x Okra, topped and tailed
1 x Bay Leaf
400g x Sweet Potatoes, cut into 4cm cubes
100g x Cabbage, very finely shredded
A Small Handful of Parsley, chopped
Cooked Rice, to serve

Mix all the ingredients together for the gumbo spice mix. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Tip in the celery, onion, garlic and chillies and gently fry until soft, stirring occasionally. Stir in the spice mix. Pour in the stock, then add the tomatoes, the whole okra and bay leaf. Bring to the boil then stir in the sweet potato and cabbage and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potato and okra are soft. Stir in the parsley. Serve with rice.

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My next recipe is Creole Chicken, recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

Serves 8, Prep time 15mins, Cooking time 5hrs 20mins

8 x Chicken Thighs
115g x Cooked Ham, cut into one inch cubes
448g x Fresh Tomatoes, diced
1 x Green Bell Pepper, chopped
6 x Green Onions, chopped
1 x 142g can of Tomato Puree
1tsp x Salt
2 x Dashes of Hot Pepper Sauce (ie Tabasco) 
475ml x Water
185g x Uncooked Long Grain White Rice
225g x Kabanos Sausage, sliced diagonally

In a slow cooker, place the chicken, ham, tomatoes, bell pepper, green onions, tomato paste, salt, and hot pepper sauce. Cover, and cook on Low for 4 to 5 hours. Combine water and rice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Mix the cooked rice and sausage into the slow cooker. Cover, and cook on High for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sausage is heated through.

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Herb of the week – Samphire
Samphire is a delicious sea vegetable which grows on the coasts of Northern Europe. Some of the best to be found in the UK is on the East Coast and in Norfolk in particular. It grows largely on the mud flats around estuaries. If you get it whilst it is really young, it can even be eaten raw and has a definite but delicious taste of the sea about it. This is particularly useful for vegetarians and vegans who want that seafood taste without the animal ingredients. It is at its best between June and September but can become slightly bitter afterwards. Some people enjoy this taste but if you don’t, then it can be minimised by boiling for a short time.

It has been know previously as poor man’s asparagus and once cooked, can be sucked off the stalks like asparagus. Locals in Norfolk also like to pickle it which is delicious served with a salad. Although this is not a recipe site, we have included a few simple recipes for you to try which are simple to make such as samphire risotto. The great thing about samphire is that, despite it getting high praise from celebrities chefs such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver, Samphire is not a newly imported ‘trendy’ ingredient but has been grown in England for many years and is mentioned by Shakespear in King Lear.

Another person who mention it is that medical guru of past times, Culpepper who praises it for its diuretic and digestive properties, especially the easing of flatulence!! Indeed, not only does samphire taste great but it is full of minerals and vitamins. Samphire is also known as Glasswort or glassworts and has also been mentioned as a possible source of biofuel, although it would be a culinary tragedy if it became scarce to eat because of it’s fuel use.

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My final recipe is Cajun Spicy Gingerbread, recipe courtesy of Cajun-recipes.com

Prep time 20mins, Cook time 35mins

2 x Eggs
200g x Brown Sugar
200g x Light Molasses
200g x Butter, melted
600g x All Purpose Flour
2tsp x Ground Ginger
1.1/2tsp x Ground Cinnamon
1/2tsp x Ground Cloves
1/2tsp x Ground Nutmeg
1/2tsp x Baking Soda
1/2tsp x Salt
200ml x Boiling Water
250g x Chopped Pecans

Beat eggs, brown sugar, molasses and melted butter together. Mix together dry ingredients and add with the boiling water to first mixture. Beat well, then pour into a well greased 33cm x 25cm x 5cm baking pan. Bake in preheated oven, 180c Gas Mark 4 for 35 minutes. Once cooked turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.

If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hope you enjoy!!….. ChefGarfy =D

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Who Ate All The Lasagne? … GARFIELD!!!

Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week it’s dedicated to Garfield. Jim Davis, the creator of the Garfield cartoon character and Sir Garfield Sobers legendary international cricketer who share birthdays during this week. So the recipes are Garfield’s favourites Classic lasagne and Tiramisu. The spice of the week is Mango Powder.

Jim Davis was born James Robert Davis July 28th 1945 in Marion, Indiana, and was promptly dropped on his head, which would explain his lifelong desire to sit around and draw silly pictures. His parents, Jim and Betty Davis, were farmers who raised Black Angus cows and feed crops for the cattle… not to mention 25 cats. He studied art and business at Ball State University, while he was there he was able to experiment with a variety of art styles, tools and materials. During this time his talents were noticed by an advertising agency who hired him right out of college. Then came his big break. “Tumbleweeds” cartoonist Tom K. Ryan needed an assistant and Jim seized the chance. He did everything from sweeping the floors to drawing backgrounds and lettering the strip. After some time he learned what it took to be a syndicated cartoonist and began developing his own ideas.
Hs first attempt was a comic strip named “Gnorm Gnat”, with a cast of insect characters. However, its appeal was limited and after five years of trying to get him syndicated the strip was ended with Gnorm being crushed by a giant foot that came out of the sky. He turned his attention to the comics pages to find out what appealed to the masses. He saw that there were loads of comic strips featuring dogs but no cats. So he began sketching cats, drawing on his childhood experiences with the farm cats. The one cat that stuck in his mind was a fat grouchy character that he named Garfieldafter his opinionated grandfather, James Garfield Davis. Garfield first appeared as the sidekick to the star of the strip Jon Arbuckle, a cartoonist, but Jim was soon quick to realise that Garfield was the rising star. Within 2 years of Jim’s first sketch of Garfield, he caught the attention of a newspaper features syndicate. On June 19th 1978 the Garfield comic strip made its first appearance in 41 U.S. newspapers. After a couple of months one Chicago newspaper decided to drop the strip in favour of a different one. Over 1300 people wrote in and called the paper protesting. He was promptly reinstated and from then on its popularity spread quickly. Today, the strip is in over 2600 newspapers worldwide with a readership of 263 million every day and according to the Guiness World Records it is the most syndicated comic strip in the world.

Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers(born 28 July 1936) was born to Shamont and Thelma Sobers in Bridgetown, Barbados, and was the fifth of six children.
Garfield Sobers spent several seasons in English league cricket. Having completed his first tour of England with West Indies in 1957, he followed the advice of his mentor Frank Worrell and became the professional at Radcliffe Cricket Club in the Central Lancashire League, staying for five seasons from 1958 to 1962. This experience enabled him to hone his skills in varying conditions and Sobers says that playing in the league furthered his cricket education. He enjoyed considerable success at Radcliffe. In 1961, he achieved a rare “double” by scoring 1008 runs and taking 144 wickets, his performances being instrumental in Radcliffe winning both the league’s championship title and its supplementary Wood Cup competition. It was during his time at Radcliffe, that he suffered the loss of his friend after they were involved in a road accident in September 1959, involving the car that he was driving. Despite concerns, expressed by himself and others, that the trauma he was suffering as result of the crash, might affect his cricket career. He got over this by deciding that he would be letting his country down if he “disappeared into the mists of an alcoholic haze” and he resolved to play not just for Garfield Sobers but for Collie Smith as well, thus setting himself the task of playing for two men. He recovered well and, after an outstanding home Test series against England in 1959–60, he returned to Radcliffe where he continued as club professional for the next three seasons.
After touring England with West Indies in 1963, he moved to the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League in 1964 to play for Norton Cricket Club, who duly won the league title. He made 549 runs in 18 innings at 49.90, finishing second in the league averages behind only his amateur brother Gerald, also playing for Norton, who averaged 50.12. Garfield Sobers did even better with the ball, his 97 wickets at 8.38 heading the league averages. 1965 saw a repeat performance with Norton again winning the league and, though Sobers only averaged 25.38 with the bat, he again topped the league bowling averages with 76 wickets at an average of 8.03. Norton lost the league title in 1966 while Sobers was touring England with West Indies but regained it in 1967 upon his return.
In 1968 Sobers became the first batsman ever to hit six sixes in a single over of six consecutive balls in first-class cricket. The feat consisted of five clean hits for six and one six where the ball was caught but carried over the boundary by Roger Davis. Sobers was playing as captain of Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan in Swansea; the unfortunate bowler was Malcolm Nash. This tally of 36 runs in an over broke a 57-year-old record of 34 runs, held by Ted Alletson. In 1984–85, Indian batsman Ravi Shastri equalled the record by scoring six sixes in an over while playing for Bombay versus Baroda.
In the 1975 New Year Honours List, Queen Elizabeth II created Sobers a Knight Bachelor for his services to cricket. The award was made in the British Diplomatic and Overseas section of the list, rather than on the nomination of the Government of Barbados, which had stopped putting forward recommendations for British honours. This caused the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office some unease, as shown by papers released by The National Archives in 2005. However, since Barbados had not yet introduced its own system of honours, the Prime Minister of Barbados was pleased that an honour would be forthcoming for Sobers. The award was originally intended to be made in the 1975 Queen’s Birthday Honours, but since there was a royal visit to Barbados planned for February 1975, it was moved forward to the New Year list so that Sobers could be knighted by the Queen in person during the visit. The very short turnaround between the decision to make the award and its announcement meant that the Governor-General of Barbados was not informed of the award before the public announcement, which caused some hurt feelings between London and Bridgetown.
He was made a National Hero of Barbados by Prime Minister Owen Arthur in 1998. He is one of only ten people to have received this honour and the only recipient still living. Sobers coached internationally, during a one time stint with Sri Lanka. In 2003 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, where he had played many first-class games for South Australia.
The full version of this article can be found at www.chefgarfyinfo.blog.co.uk

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My first recipe is Classic Lasagne, recipe by Emma Lewis, courtesy of BBCGoodFood.com.

Serves 6, easily doubled, Prep 20 mins, Cook1 hr 40 mins, plus 1 hr for making sauces.

2 tbsp x Olive Oil, plus a little for greasing
750g x Lean Beef Mince
90g x Prosciutto
½ Quantity x Tomato Sauce (see below)
200ml x Hot Organic Beef Stock
A Little Grated Nutmeg
300g x Lasagne Sheets
½ Quantity x White Sauce (see below)
125g x Mozzarella

For the Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp x Olive Oil
2 x Onions, finely chopped
2 x Garlic Cloves, sliced
1 x Carrot, roughly chopped
2 tbsp x Tomato Purée
200ml x White Wine
3 x 400g cans Chopped Tomatoes
A Handful of Basil Leaves

For the White Sauce
85g x Butter
85g x Plain Flour
750ml x Milk

First make your sauces. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan and add the onions, garlic, and carrot. Cook for 5-7 mins over a medium heat until softened. Then turn up the heat a little and stir in the tomato purée. Cook for 1 min, pour in 200ml white wine, then cook for 5 mins until this has reduced by two-thirds. Pour over the chopped tomatoes and add the basil leaves. Bring to the boil then simmer for 20 mins. Leave to cool, whizz in a food processor.
And now for your white sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the plain flour, then cook for 2 mins. Slowly whisk in the milk and bring to the boil, stirring. Turn down the heat, and cook until the sauce starts to thicken and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Sauce can now be cooled and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for 3 months.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, then cook the beef in two batches for about 10 mins until browned all over. Finely chop 4 slices of prosciutto, then stir through the meat mixture. Pour over your fresh tomato sauce and stock, add the nutmeg, and then season. Bring up to the boil, then simmer for 30 mins until the ragu looks rich and is well coated in sauce. Can be left for 3 days in the fridge or frozen for 3 months (although not if the tomato sauce has previously been frozen).
Pre-heat your oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. To assemble lasagne, lightly oil an ovenproof serving dish (30cm x 20cm). Spoon over a third of the ragu sauce, then cover with lasagne sheets. Drizzle over about one quarter of the white sauce. Repeat until you have 3 layers of pasta. Cover with the remaining half quantity of white sauce, making sure you can’t see any pasta poking through.
Tear the mozzarella into thin strips, then scatter over the top. Arrange the rest of the prosciutto on top. Bake for 45 mins until the top is bubbling and lightly browned. (The uncooked lasagne can be frozen. If baking from frozen, add another 45 mins to the cooking time).
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Spice of the week – Mango Powder
Mango Powder is a dried spice, extensively used for its taste and flavour in different cuisines. It is obtained by drying unripe mangoes and then grinding them finely into a powder. Citric acid, terpenes, aldehyde and esters are responsible for the sour taste. The taste of the spice is somewhat similar to tamarind. It is used for its tangy flavour and a slight tropical aroma. But the principle use of amchoor is as a souring agent in the same way that lemon or limejuice would be used. India is one of the largest producers and consumers of Dry Mango Powder. Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are one of the major amchoor or mango powder producing Indian states.
The use of amchoor is confined chiefly to Indian cookery, where it is used as an acid flavouring in curries, soups, chutneys, marinades and as a condiment. The dried slices add piquancy to curries and the powder acts as a souring agent akin to tamarind. It is particularly useful as an ingredient in marinades, having the same tenderizing qualities as lemon or lime juice. However, where, for instance, three tablespoons of lemon or lime juice are required, one teaspoon of amchoor will suffice. Chicken and fish are enhanced by amchoor and grilled fish on skewers, machli kabab, is well worth trying.

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My final recipe is Tiramisu, recipe by Matt Tebbutt, courtesy of uktv.co.uk.

Serves 10 Prep 20 mins + overnight chilling time

6 eggs, separated
125 g caster sugar
500 g mascarpone
500 ml strong coffee, cooled, plus 3-4 tbsp used coffee grounds
8 tbsp amaretto (almond liqueur)
about 30 sponge fingers
cocoa powder, for dusting

Whip in the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar until very thick and creamy. Add themascarpone and whisk until it is well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gently fold them into the mascarpone mixture. Put the cooled coffee into a shallow bowl with the amaretto. Dip the sponge fingers, one at a time, into the liquid and use them to tightly line the bottom of a 25cm x 30cm dish.
Spread over a layer of the mascarpone mixture and sprinkle over some cocoa and coffee grounds. Repeat the layering until the dish is full, then refrigerate the tiramisu overnight. Just before serving, dust generously with more cocoa and coffee grounds.

If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.

Hope you enjoy!!….. ChefGarfy =D

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Welcome to a new beginning

Welcome to the beginning of a new era for Chefgarfy.

Hi I’m ChefGarfy, I’m an amateur chef and I’ve decided to put the recipes and ideas I use on a blog for everyone to see. 

Hopefully, this will be a weekly blog.

I must stress from the start that these are not all my own recipes, these are recipes I have gathered from various mediums (websites, magazines, books, etc.,) So please, if you do see any of your recipes on this blog, don’t sue me. I’m only sharing them because we’ve enjoyed them so much.

Most of the recipes and menu suggestions that appear in my blog, have been tried and tested by my fair hands and tastebuds.

Hope you enjoy… =D