Blue Mondays

            When I first looked through "Zumbo" book with an amazing collection of his creations, I especially loved a chapter dedicated to bar-shaped cakes, and one of it – a chocolate cake with raisins, walnuts and blue cheese (!) stroke a core in my heart. I wanted it to be the first recipe that I would try from the book; it turned out, however, that I cooked almost a dozen other Zumbo-ish things before I finally made this “gateau de voyage”.  There were a few reasons for the delay; one of it was that my husband is not a big fan of cheese and he especially hates those pungent varieties with the blue veins. No wonder, when I finally made this extraordinary cake, I suggested we should take it to the office and share with our colleagues who are more tolerant to this dairy product.

               So, the box with the cake got into the office (should I say that it was Monday or is it pretty obvious anyway?) and my husband took the first piece during the coffee break.  The cake smelled delicious and the blue cheese insert together with the chocolate custard made it look mouth-watering. “Honey, – can we take it back home? It’s way too good and should be eaten by me alone!”

               Of course, we couldn’t take it back home – other people were quick to help themselves to the cake as well. Which was too good – my husband was absolutely right about it. Probably, he’s gonna change his attitude towards blue cheese now…at least when it is served in a form of a dessert!

Buckwheat Pancakes with Pear and Blue Cheese

            Recently I fell into conversation about barbeque with some of our friends (yes, people in India talk about barbeque in winter – when, as it gets colder outside, the season starts) and they recollected the summer days in the USA when they used to have barbeque parties and to grill all sorts of meats, vegetables and even fruits – pears, served with the blue cheese sauce, was a favourite. My husband was a bit confused by the “gourmet” twist that the conversation took and I realized that I should actually introduce him to this combination of flavours – just in order to broaden his gastronomic outlook.

            The other day, when I was almost ready to go to bed and was thinking about the following day’s breakfast, I remembered about the conversation and decided to make some buckwheat pancakes with pears and blue cheese. I turned to Larousse Gastronomic for the recipe of buckwheat blinis (I had the idea of making them of a big size – more of a breakfast rather than hors d’oeuvre type) and oops! – I discovered that the recipe required the use of yeast! The perspective of getting up one hour earlier in the morning (just to wait for the dough to rise) was not so appealing. On the other hand, I didn’t feel like having anything else for my breakfast! So, I checked a trust-worthy website and got a “cheat’s” yeast-free recipe for the buckwheat blinis and, promising myself that the next time I will definitely go for the original type of dough, I printed down the list of ingredients. To say true, the pancakes that I made the following day turned out to be so good that I started to think of a decent excuse not to use yeast next time as well – in the long run, if I’m happy with the recipe, what’s the point of making life more complicated?! And my husband…well, he also loved the pancakes. However, since he has definitely got a less adventurous palate than me, he didn’t enjoy the blue cheese and asked for some sour cream and honey instead. Well, I didn’t mind to get extra cheese on my plate, though!

Cauliflower and Blue Cheese Soup

          When I dine out and go for buffet instead of a la carte, I seldom come to the counters where soup is served. Having an access to a lavish spread, I would rather prefer to try as many options of appetizers and main course as possible (not forgetting about dessert, of course!) so filling up with some soup first, whether it is rich velouté or light consommé, does not seem to be a good choice for me.

            However, once I was having a lunch with my friends and since everyone were praising the soup, I decided to go against my own rules and get a bowl for myself as well. And that was a right decision, I should say! The dish had a delicate taste of cauliflower and a pungent hint of gorgonzola (oh yes, one of my favourite cheeses!), so I felt that I could actually forget about all the other dishes in the buffet. Indeed, the soup was insanely good, and I couldn’t but remember this stunning combination of flavours.