It’s SOS time – Save Our Supper

Cooking with my son gives us a chance to make something delicious and spend quality time together, writes Carina Contini.

I’ve been spoiled. No 1 son cooked for me. Gordon Ramsay Youtube videos have not been lost on him. Meticulous prep. Attention to detail and patience. Dinner might be at 9pm but it will be worth
it. If, like me you can’t wait that long as you normally eat at 5pm.

The service gap between lunch and dinner in the restaurants and the habit of feeding the children after school has stuck with me. In the early days when we lived in town, Victor always tried to get home for tea and then headed back to back to one of the restaurants in time for the evening events. I’d be left at home to tackle the homework. I’m still not sure which one was easier. We
follow the same pattern. Leaving the evening for events, writing or anything else the team need me to do.

When we’re on holiday however it’s a whole other problem. We always struggle as neither of us like waiting until the Contentinal habit of eating after 7.30 pm. Aperitivo will naturally kick in, which is never a bad thing, but it does break out routine. We often end up eating lunch not dinner. Then the evening aperitivo hits the spot perfectly.

Taking time to talk with the family and actuallly listen can be challenging with everyone’s busy schedules. Work rotas, friends, even just public transport indecisiveness can leave all our best plans put to one side and you find another week or another month has passed. The longer the more you realise distance can fracture and finding time to be together becomes even more important. Eating together is always an easy fix but when the offer to dine out is concerned, usually the whole gang appear and you find you still haven’t had the time to have that important one to one “listening” conversation. SOS. Save our supper and saving some quality time for my son we found ourselves cooking together. Delicious. His specialty is anything meat related. Usually the more meat the better. A Quick fix supper that arrived on the dining table at a reasonable hour was the perfectly named quarter pounder for me and half pounder for him. Homemade burgers No 1 son’s way. Even better than my way, this time anyway. Time to buy the ingredients. Time to prepare the ingredients. Time to cook. Sharing each other’s stories. Happy memories and a delicious supper.

It’s always good to know that none of my children will go hungry. Boy can they cook!

Jalopinjo Margherita
For me the best cocktail to go with a burger. Salty, spicy and zingy are the perfect match.

Per person.
50ml tequila
2 limes, skin and pith removed
25ml triple sec
25ml agave syrup
1 large handful of ice
2 or 3 jalapeno slices in brine
Use the discarded zest of the lime to wet the outside rim of a martini glass. Dip the rim in fine salt.
Blend all the ingredients together until slushy and serve with more chilli slices if you like.

Quarter Pounders
For me, I have one 125g patty. For the growing boys in our lives two is never even enough.
per person
1 sesame burger bun
125g 8-10% fat Scotch beef
maldon salt
Lots of freshly milled black pepper
1 tablespoon of EVOO
2 onions, sliced
2 rashers of smoky bacon, grilled
2 slices of red leicester
1 slice lettuce
butter

Form the meat into a ball.

Heat a frying pan and add the oil. Start by lightly frying the onion. When the onions are golden, move them to the side and keep the pan on a hot heat. In a separate pan toast the buns in a hot pan with a little butter, set aside. Add the burgers to the hot pan then you fried the onions. Using a burger press, squash the meat down until it forms a flat patty. Fry until browned, turn and seal the other size. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. The burgers will take about 3 minutes to cook through once you’ve turned them over to brown the other side. Place the cheese over the burgers and add a little hot water to the pan so it starts to steam. Immediately cover with a lid. This helps to melt the cheese. Cook for a few minutes until all the cheese has melted. Serve the burgers in the buns with the onions, bacon and salad leaf.

Banana Spiced Sushi Rice Pudding
When your milk order wasn’t cancelled when you were away for a few days. This is my go to recipe. If there is a black banana in the fruit bowl it’s the perfect use up
Serves 2 – 3
½ vanilla pod
200g sushi rice
1 litre whole milk
150g caster sugar
1 black banana, mashed
handful of sultanas
teaspoon of cinnamon
Double cream to finish

Rinse the rice with cold water, drain and return it to a heavy based pan. Add the milk and the sugar. Split the vanilla pod and add to the milk with the sultanas and cinnamon. Bring the milk to the boil and quickly lower it to a very slow simmer. Stir the rice regularly to stop it from sticking. Cook for about 30 minutes. Stir in the mashed banana and cook for another 10 mins until the rice is soft and the milk has reduced. Be patient and keep stirring as it will stick when it finally starts to thicken. Serve with a generous drizzle of double cream.