Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! This time I will show you some amazing restaurant recipes and how to cook them! But first of all, I would like to thank Indy, jwpower1971, RoadtoaHealthierLife and CookingWithoutLimits for giving me a like and a special thank you to jwpower1971, Indy and RoadtoaHealthierLife for following me.

The idea for this post came when someone dear to me sent me the picture below  from a Bordelais restaurant dinner menu. It is veal wrapped in bacon with gnocchi. This recipe is a truly succulent delicacy using a variety of different European styles of cuisine. Below are some of my favorite restaurant recipes.

Pheasant breast with pearl barley, glazed carrots and spiced dates – 

(This recipe is from BBC Good Food and this recipe is by Jason Atherton)

Ingredients

For the pheasant

• 2 crowns of pheasant , cleaned and washed
• 500ml/18fl oz chicken stock

For the pearl barley

• 1 celery
• 1 leek
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves, left whole
• 400g/14oz pearl barley
• 500ml/18fl oz chicken stock
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 5g fresh yeast mixed with 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp lemon vinaigrette

For the spiced dates

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 100g/3½oz lardo, finely diced
• 8 fresh dates

For the carrots

• 8 baby purple carrots, washed, tops removed and reserved
• 8 baby orange carrots washed, tops removed and reserved
• 8 baby yellow carrots, washed, tops removed and reserved
• 100g/3½oz unsalted butter

For the lion’s mane mushrooms

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 pieces of lion’s mane mushrooms
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the chive oil

• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• 100ml/3½fl oz olive oil

Method

1. For the pheasant, bring the stock to the boil in a large pan, add the crowns and poach for 20 minutes. To test that the meat is cooked, pierce with a skewer and check that the juices are clear.
2. For the pearl barley, tie the celery, leek, onion and garlic in cheese cloth. Put in a pan with the pearl barley, chicken stock, thyme and yeast. Simmer on a low heat for about 45 minutes, until barley is soft but retains its shape. Remove the cheesecloth and drain the barley. Season with salt and lemon vinaigrette.
3. For the spiced dates, in a frying pan, cook the shallot in the oil without colouring it. Add the cumin and caraway seeds. Fry the spices gently with the shallot until soft, leave to cool and then mix in the lardo.
4. Remove the skin and stones from the dates, keeping the dates whole. Stuff each dates with the lardo mix and roll it back to its original shape. Just before serving reheat the dates in a warm oven.
5. Cook the carrots in boiling salted water until al dente. Heat the butter in a clean pan until it is foaming. Add the carrots and coat in the butter, remove from the heat.
6. Fry the mushroom pieces in olive oil until crisp. Season with salt and pepper.
7. For the chive oil, heat the oil to 80C and add the chives. Infuse for a few minutes, leave to cool and then blend in a food processor until smooth. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve.
8. Just before serving, heat a little oil in a pan until hot and sear the cooked crowns to crisp the skin. Carve the breast from the crown.
9. To serve, spoon the pearl barley on two plates and top with the pheasant breasts. Garnish with the dates, carrots, mushrooms and chive oil.

Apricot Tarte Tatin –

(This recipe is from BBC Good Food and the recipe is by The Hairy Bikers)

Ingredients

• 75g/2¾oz caster sugar
• 40g/1½oz unsalted butter, cubed
• 300g/10½oz fresh apricots, halved and stoned (about 7 or 8 apricots)
• 375g/13oz sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry, plain flour for dusting
• crème fraiche or ice cream, for serving

Method

1. For caramelising the apricots, you need a small ovenproof frying pan with a base that measures about 20cm/8in in diameter. Put the sugar in the pan and set it over a medium heat. Cook until the sugar first melts and then caramelises and turns golden brown. Don’t stir the sugar but swirl it around the pan every now and then.
2. Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the butter with a wooden spoon. The caramel will be extremely hot so watch out for splashes and don’t dream of tasting it.
3. Continue stirring for 2–3 minutes as the caramel cools and thickens. It will look oily and separated to begin with, but will become smooth and toffee-like as you continue stirring. When the caramel is smooth, carefully arrange the apricots on top, cut-side down. Leave to cool for 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
5. Unroll the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it out until it is 2cm/1in wider. Place a dinner plate or 25cm/10in cake tin on the pastry and cut around it.
6. Gently slide the pastry on top of the apricots and push down the sides with a round-bladed knife. Prick the surface to allow steam to escape.
7. Bake the tarte tatin for 25 minutes until the pastry is golden-brown and the apricots are cooked. Remove the pan from the oven using an oven cloth to hold the handle of the pan – don’t forget – it will be very hot.
8. Leave the tart to stand for a couple of minutes to allow it to settle, then loosen the edges and place a large serving plate or board on top of the frying pan. Very carefully, but quickly, turn it over, using a folded dry tea towel to help you hold it, and allow the tarte tatin to drop gently on to the serving plate.
9. Serve warm with crème fraiche or ice cream.