Five....gold rings?

So this is my fifth blog and business (not to jinx it) is good. I'm doing more translations for a company in America which is very interesting and definitely keeps me occupied and away from boredom...although I haven't been baking as much lately and the house is a little messy....still, I'm not going all "Monica" from "Friends" about it as a little mess never hurt anyone, and surely it's a good sign that I'm so busy?

A design for my web homepage has been done and looks fantastic - I couldn't be happier with it. I did lose a potential job yesterday as I was in Liverpool for a friend's birthday but at the end of the day, I wouldn't have missed the birthday for anything. You win some, you lose some.

So life is very good, AND (on a personal note), Downton Abbey series 3 begins again tomorrow night which just is the cherry on top of the cake really.

Now, as promised in the last blog, I said I would be translating recipes/articles I like, and this post does not break that promise.

I was racking my brains about what to have for lunch yesterday and then I suddenly thought: Bruschetta (sounds rather fancy for lunch, and yes it is perhaps, but it's so easy and so quick to make - it's perfect if you don't have much time to eat because you're on a translation deadline!) - it also reminds me of a fabulous night out I had in Liverpool last Friday when the chef messed up an order for two of our party, so we sent it back and the order came back correct. After the meal, we were all waiting to pay when a plate of bruschetta turned up, and all the italian waiter could say was "Complimente!!".....turns out this was not complimentary bruschetta, but rather that he had given someone else's order to us and was too embarrassed to take it back. Bless.

Anyway: this is Steak and Saint Agur bruschetta (English first, followed by a french translation)

Prep time: 5 mins
Serves: 2
Level: Easy

Ingredients:
Sirloin/rib-eye/rump steak - 1 large piece
Olive oil
Ciabatta bread
Dijon mustard (1 tsp)
Watercress (1 handful)
50g Saint Agur blue cheese (or any blue cheese that is your favourite)
balsamic vinegar (to drizzle over the finished bruschetta)

- Heat a griddle pan until smoking hot. Rub the steak with some olive oil (about 1tbsp), season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cook for 2-5 mins on each side (depending how rare you like it). Leave it to rest for 5 minutes.

- Cut the ciabatta roll in half and place each half face down on the griddle pan to soak up the juices (if you like, you can drizzle the roll halves with olive oil before placing them on the pan) - leave them for 2 minutes so they are a nice golden brown. Spread them with the mustard and then place the watercress on top.

- Cut the steak in half, place it on top of the watercress, then scatter over the blue cheese (if you love melted cheese as I do, then pop the bruschetta under a hot grill until the cheese has melted (make sure to keep a strict eye on it though!). Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the top and serve.

Ok, so here's the french version:

Préparation: 5 min
2 personnes
Niveau: Facile

Ingrédients:

Bifteck (une grande tranche) - rumsteak ou faux-fillet
Huile d'olive
Pain Ciabatta
Moutarde de Dijon (1 cuillère à café)
Cresson (1 poignée)
50g Saint Agur fromage bleu (ou tout autre fromage bleu qui est votre préféré)
Vinaigre balsamique (à verser sur le produit fini)

- Faire chauffer une poêle à griller jusqu'à ce que le fumage à chaud. Frotter le bifteck avec un peu d'huile d'olive (environ 1 cuillère à soupe), assaisonner avec le sel et le poivre noir fraîchement moulu, puis cuire pendant 2-5 minutes de chaque côté (selon la façon dont vous l'aimez la cuisson). Laisser reposer pendant 5 minutes.

- Couper le ciabatta en deux et placer chaque moitié sur la poêle à griller à absorber le jus (si vous le souhaitez, vous pouvez arroser les moitiés d'huile d'olive avant de les placer sur le plateau) - les laisser pendant 2 minutes afin qu'ils sont une belle coloration dorée. Répartissez-les avec la moutarde, puis placez le cresson sur le dessus.

- Couper le steak en deux, placez-le sur le cresson, puis répartissez le fromage bleu (si vous aimez le fromage fondu comme je le fais, placez la bruschetta sous un gril chaud jusqu'à ce que le fromage soit fondu (assurez-vous de le garder strictement). Verser le vinaigre balsamique sur la bruschetta et la servir.

So there you go, a more high-brow lunch for those of you in a hurry! So I've covered dessert and lunch; maybe I'll do breakfast next time and make some muffins....watch this space!

A bientôt mes amis!


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