Beef Escalope with a Delicious Gravy and Potatoes - Recipe and review

Today we had a such a lovely meal, beef escalope with a delicious gravy and boiled potatoes. This meal is one of my favorite and brings such great memories from my school time. I went to Swedish schools during my whole study period from grade one to uni and up to Gymnasium (high school) you get one hot meal every day at school. Many of my friends did not like the school food, but I loved it. Everything they did appealed to me and I used to eat everything they cooked. I cant really remember anything they served, that I did not like. We would get 3 different things to choose from, so that might be the case why I liked it so much. If not the food, there was always 2 different salads and knäckebröd (Swedish crisp bread), butter and always a glass of milk. At school, we used to get boiled potatoes, meatballs and gravy which is where I got the inspiration from for this meal. To finish it off, we had Lingonsylt (lingonberry jam), yummi.

I get all meat from the butchers. When I want steaks or thin fillets, I generally buy a big chunk and cut it in thin pieces myself. Then I freeze 2-3 pieces, where I layer the meat flat in the freeze bag.  So when I make this meal, all I do is defrost meat, boil potato and make this super easy gravy. 

I always use one brand, when it comes to gravy: Knorr. My favorite gravy with meat is these two, and how do I get it better? I use half half from both. They come in bags in powder form. All you need to do is heat up some butter and milk in a saucepan and then add the powder and mix for a few minutes until it becomes thick and gravy-ish in the consistency. I like it quite thick. It tastes like homemade gravy and is very flavorful. And since it takes no time to make it, it is my go to sauce every time I make meatballs or steak fillet or escalopes with boiled potato. To dip a piece of the potato in the sauce is so tasty and creamy.

Ingredients:

2-3 steak fillet

3-5 potatoes

1 egg

1 cup flour or more if needed

paprika powder

salt and pepper

bbq spice mix

frozen vegetable mix

Knorr gravy mix (gräddsås and brunsås, or one of them, cooked accordign to the package)

Method:

1. Start by hammering the steak fillets thinly and then season with salt, pepper and paprika. Dip it first in egg and then in a mix of flour, bbq spice and paprika and fry it for a few minutes on each side on medium-high heat in a nonstick frying pan.

2. Boil the potatoes and if you want, fry some frozen vegetables in a non stick pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Make the gravy according to the package. I start by melting 1-2 tbsp of butter in a saucepan and add the two powders and mix it. As it becomes dry, I add some milk, roughly 1 cup, and mix well until I have the desired consistency. If I want it to become more creamy I add a splash of double cream.

Enjoy!

Essential serving ware for dinner parties

If you enjoy hosting dinner parties as much as I do, you'll likely agree that having quality serving ware is key to a successful event. I'm always on the lookout for new serving plates. My top tip is to invest in a few versatile pieces that you'll use frequently. Additionally, opt for timeless designs that complement various plate and glassware sets. They don't have to be expensive; rather, focus on finding pieces that offer excellent value for the price. I personally prefer white serving ware because it matches everything. I've selected both oval and square pieces to add variety to my table depending on the dishes I serve. My go-to spots for great deals on serving ware are second-hand shops and car boot sales. I've snagged some incredible bargains there, like two large serving bowls for £2 each, or a large oval serving platter for £1.50. Pretty good, right?!

You can find excellent deals at various department or retail stores, particularly during sales. My most recent purchase was at Wilko, where I acquired several items from their White Collection. I must admit, they are of very good quality and quite versatile. I purchased about 5 to 8 pieces, and the total cost was only 35£, which is typically the price for a single item in a more upscale department store. Below is a selection of what I bought:

To assist you in selecting serving ware, I've compiled a list of items that are worth the investment:

- Serving platters and trays, which are versatile for presenting a variety of items such as rice, fish, potatoes, appetizers, desserts, cookies, and cakes.

- Serving bowls, suitable for soups, stews, fruits, nuts, candies, sweets, pasta, vegetables, or a fresh salad.

- Serving utensils, ideal for soups, rice, pasta, and cakes.

- A jug for water or juice.

- A condiment set for dips and side dishes.

I hope this list proves useful for your next dinner party. Enjoy selecting your serving ware, but remember to consider storage options. I use a special compartment in my bookcase in the dining area for my serving ware, as they are too large for my compact kitchen.

Baked salmon with U-kuva i-Africa spice rub and mashed potato - Recipe

I have discovered a new brand of spices that I am interested in using more of in my cooking. U-kuva i-Africa is a fair trade brand specializing in spices and sauces inspired from all corners of the beautiful African continent. So far I have used the Jacobsbaai spice rub for fish and it was truly a special mix and very flavorful. Unfortunately I couldn't find this mix in their product section on their website so I hope they have not discontinued it as it was very good. I used the mix to rub in a baked salmon, served with veggies and mashed potato. In the mashed potato, I also used a very tasty mix to spice it up a bit: Pepper creek farm's Parmesan Garlic Bread Dipping mix. I love to find new spice mixes and introduce them to my cooking in various ways. These two spices I bought from TK Maxx, which generally have spices and sauces that are a bit hard to find elsewhere and more exclusive.

Ingredients:
3 salmon fillet
U-kuva i-Africa Jacobsbaai spice mix
10 potatoes
butter
milk
pepper creek farm parmesan garlic bread dipping mix
salt and pepper


Method: 
1. Layer the salmon fillets in a oven dish and rub them with a little oil and the U-kuva i-Africa Jacobsbaai spice mix all over, with the skin side down. Bake in the oven 185 degrees for 30 minutes.

2. Boil the potatoes and once done, mash up with a potato mash utensil. Add salt and pepper, 1 tsp of Pepper Creek Farm Parmesan garlic bread dipping mix. Also, add butter and milk to taste and mix everything well.

3. Serve The salmon with the mashed potato and dry fried veggies with a pinch of Parmesan garlic bread dipping mix.

Enjoy!