wojtekvanportek

Always in great company

Published on February 13, 2016February 15, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

It happened at a meeting with an acquaintance. We meet at my favourite bookstore, Assouline, London. After a quick tour of the interiors of the house, the spine of a book named Lee Radziwill, drew my attention immediately from a large bookshelf.

Processed with VSCOcam with s2 preset — Lee, the stylish mother with her kids.

I grabbed the hardback with no hesitation and purchased that evening. One of the reasons it hightened my curiosity was that she was married to Stanislaw Radziwill, who was a cousin of my great-grandmother. As a bonus it’s a tasteful journey through decades of great style, and an interesting historical account of a well-connected socialite during the JFK era. Flicking through the pages, you’ll discover the chronicle of Lee’s life, captured in photos from her private archives. Hanging out with her sister Jackie O., and surrounded by equally influential personalities such as Mick Jagger, Truman Capote, Rudolph Nureyev and Aristotle Onassis to name a few, helps propel Lee’s story to a truly inspirational read.

With Stas Radziwill. He was her first huband. She was his 3rd wife.

Young Lee hanging out with Mick Jagger in Montauk.

Aristotle Onassis. Lee’s brother in law. A very good companion.

Spontaneous Sea Bream

Published on February 10, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

This dish is another example of a quick but lip-smacking idea for an afterwork dinner. It’s easy to pepare. Each of the ingredients takes the same amount of time to cook, so there’s no worry that something will get cold whilst preparing the others.

The way I prepare it:
season filet of fish (sea bream in this case) with white pepper and miso soup topping (they soften into the flesh adding an amazing flavour)
Simmer white buckwheat in medium size pot with salted water for 15 minutes, whilst sauting asparagus slowly with butter in a non sticky pan.

cooked buckwheat — cooked and seasoned buckwheat ready to serve

Few suggestions:
– Bake the fish wrapped in aluminium foil at temperature of 180C.
It will keep the fish moist and prevent from drying.
Put the wrapped fish in the oven when you begin to simmer the buckwheat for perfect timing.
– Sauteé asparagus on the medium heat with good butter, they soften beautifully and prevent butter from burning out.
– Simmer the buckwheat in salted water rather than seasoning afterwards and leave to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Red is the colour

Published on February 7, 2016February 7, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

Red borsch. Traditional, tasty and warming beetroot soup.
Mostly served during the Festive period; however in my house, Mum was making this wonderful soup during cold spells. As she had the tendency to cook far too much broth for other dishes on Sunday, the borsch was usually a post weekend lunch prepared with leftover boullion. Well, that’s one of the only reasons why I loved Mondays. They were just so flavoursome!

To cook red borsch you need:
for 2 litres of broth:
3 chicken thighs
2 carrots cut lengthwise
1 parsnip cut lengthwise
a quarter of celeriac
1 shallot onion, halved
half of the garlic bulb
bouquet garni
3 medium beetroots ( thickly sliced )
1 small apple cut into 2 halves
3 bay leaves, 4 whole spice berries, few cloves

Note: if you’re a vegetarian, instead of chicken add a portion of Herb Infusion Pot by Knorr. A tasteful alternative.

When chicken is ready after about 20mins, remove it and the bouquet garni then add;
a generous handful of marjoram, a pinch of nutmeg to your own taste
a bunch of fresh lemon thyme
Simmer on the lower heat until all vegetables are al dente (there’s nothing worse than overcooked veggies, right?) and the mouth-watering smell of spices is filling the kitchen.
Serve with mini dumplings, aka mini ears.

Voilà! x

Helen

Published on February 4, 2016February 20, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

A few years ago, I attended an interview for a job at the Monocle Café . Helen was one of the company’s board members and interviewer at Monocle’s HQ. When leaving the office, I wasn’t sure whether I got this job but had a feeling that we may become friends.
Helen is such character. And her life could be a screenplay for a good movie. (I’m NOT kidding). As Executive Assistant to Monocle’s chairman, to watch her calmly coordinating an international brand and being supportive to the team was a great lesson to learn.

Helen and myself are no longer working for Monocle, but I have a pleasure of meeting her occasionally and have an epic time together. That’s what meeting friends are for, right?

Sunday sausages.

Published on January 31, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

Comfort food with a twist – Chicken sausages seasoned with fresh herbs then braised in a tomato and vegetable sauce. Sounds good? Tastes even better! (ask my friends if in doubt.) The preparation is obviously easy and you can enjoy this meal straight from the pan, or day after. #yum!

To prepare sausages you’ll need:

a pack of good chicken sausages, ideally from organic meat ( yes, you are what you eat, my dear!)
bunch of lemon thyme, pickled chilli peppers (great taste), lemon,
4 garlic cloves, table spoon of grated ginger, salt flakes, pepper,
and a small bowl of chopped kale

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and dress the sausages with herbs and spices. Put them on a tray in the oven with the kale for 7-10mins. This is to heat the meat but not to cook it thoroughly.

Sausages slightly roasted with chilli, ginger and kale

For the rich sauce:
2 medium carrots
1 large parsnip
5-6 similar size baby potatoes
1 large onion, 2 garlic cloves, a half of lemon
salt, pepper, pinch of herbs
a bottle of passata (one from Mutti is my favourite)

Chop the veggies into chunky pieces, and braise in a oven-proof dish with a glug of olive oil in the oven at 180C. When the vegetables start to get soft, pour in the tomato passata. Add the sausages and kale into the dish and leave covered in oven for about 15-20mins until all ingredients are perfectly cooked.

When ready, serve over boiled barley.
It’s a great alternative to white rice.

Straight from the oven – mouth watering!

Barley is a great alternative to white rice.

Caylee

Published on January 24, 2016January 25, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

A glamour girl. A chameleon. A character.
This Studio Assistant intrigues me every time we meet at London Spring Studios.
She’s also a freelance Production Assistant to name a couple of her many roles.
“Basically, I am a freelancer who is figuring out which route I want to take; but I also love learning new skills and the variety that comes with each job.” A professional multi-tasker with such a fun personality! Most desirable combo of traits indeed.
Perhaps that’s why I feel very comfortable in her company.

Check her her blog at cayleehankins.com

Forever Grace

Published on January 20, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

I remember very vividly when I saw this album for the first time.
It was during the Guy Bourdin’s exhibition at Somerset House, London 2015.
It was love from the very first sight. First edition, sold out everywhere else, available to purchase in the bookshop. Sadly, this Style Bible was out of my means during this visit. £350 cover price wasn’t an impulse buy option at all. However time passed by and one day at the office I heard through the grapevine that Phaidon was reprinting an album and was to be available soon.
Thank God I was at the Condé Nast towers that day! And thank God for my colleagues for their support in this matter!

This album is a chronicle of Grace’s significant input towards fashion, styling in particular. It is her who styled the famous grunge editorial, shot by Steven Meisel for American Vogue with model Kristen McMenamy in 1992.
There are far too many iconic editorials to present here, so don’t waste any time and secure your copy now!

HRH the Boots

Published on January 17, 2016 by wojtekvanportek1 Comment

We all know how desirable the recent collection of Gucci has been since Alessandro Michele took helm of the brand.
But 6 years ago, when Frida Giannini was presenting her menswear collection for the same house, I remember clearly those oh! ah! sighs of the editors after the fashion show, and the greatest gasps of all were directed towards the high black leather boots.
So, of course, I’ve got them.

I hope that Signor Michele will succeed for much longer than Ms Giannini, and his kangaroo slippers will become as iconic as Frida’s studded boots, which still provoke envious looks every time I put them on.

Stuffed + Peppers = Yum.

Published on January 15, 2016 by wojtekvanportek2 Comments

Like most of the food ideas presented here on my blog, this one is super easy and simple to prepare. And tastes oh-so-good!
It takes 20 mins to make this meal happen; perfect timing for a quick after-work dinner. Another bonus- it’s healthy as hell!

And this is how it goes…

3-4 long sweet red peppers
2 unwaxed lemons
1 bag of white buckwheat
1 red onion
1 can of tuna (an option for pescatarians)

Place the buckwheat into boiling water for 15 mins. In the meantime:
set the oven to 200C
Sauté chopped onion in olive oil on a low/medium heat until soft and season with salt,
coarse pepper and juice from 1 lemon and zest.
Add the cooked buckwheat to the pan with the softened onion mixture and stir on low heat for a couple of minutes.
If like myself, you eat fish, add tuna at this moment.
It will give a perfect flavour.

Stuff the peppers with the cooked mixture and tie them with thread. Sprinkle with lemon juice and place on tray with a glug of olive oil.
Bake for 15-17mins. Voilà!