As you’re probably already aware, the 16th of June is celebrated as Captain Picard Day. He’s a role model! Captain Picard Day is usually celebrated by making artwork of all types which somehow represents Captain Picard. But I got to thinking: surely there needs to be some food for Captain Picard Day too! Taking inspiration from his favourite drink, I present - an Earl Grey Tea Party for Captain Picard Day.

For our tea party, we have some Earl Grey shortbread biscuits, an Earl Grey MarTEAni (made with Earl Grey infused gin and served in a teacup, or a martini glass if you prefer), and some Earl Grey cupcakes with lemon icing. Not shown: some actual Earl Grey tea, hot! The beauty of all of these recipes is that if you don’t like Earl Grey tea, you can substitute for any other black tea you like.

The full recipes and more photos are under the break, but here’s a handy clickable list to go straight to a specific recipe:

Earl Grey MarTEAni
Earl Grey Shortbreads
Earl Grey Cupcakes with lemon icing

Replicate your own

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Chateaubriand: the perfect steak dish for two - as Odo and Kira found out when chaperoned by Vic Fontaine on a holodeck date (DS9: His Way). We have previously made the first course in their romantic feast (Oysters Rockefeller) and now we’re onto the main course.

Vic Fontaine mentions Chateaubriand, which is a traditional way of serving beef, made famous by Larousse Gastronomique. Chateaubriand technically only refers to the meat itself, so I’ve expanded the recipe to include some vegetables and Bearnaise sauce, which are traditional accompaniments. According to Larousse Gastronomique, Chateaubriand should be broiled (grilled - top-down heat). You need a high temperature to ensure that the outside is well charred without overcooking the inside. I’d recommend using a thermometer to test the interior temperature of the meat, so you can take it out when it is done enough for you.

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We’re staying in the Delta Quadrant this week, because this tula cheese souffle is too delicious to resist! While we never see this dish on screen, I would not be surprised if it was one of Neelix’s most requested recipes. Neelix offers this dish to Harry Kim before Harry goes off on his first (and brief) captaincy (Voyager: Nightingale) - and Harry, as usual, doesn’t know what he wants. I know if Neelix offered me this dish, I’d definitely accept!

This cheese souffle is very rich and quite luxurious. I know many people are scared of making souffles but once you make a few you will wonder why you didn’t before. They are actually relatively simple to make, provided you are ready to serve them as soon as they come out of the oven. This basic recipe for a cheese souffle can be used to make any flavour of souffle you wish.

Replicate your own
(Makes 6 individual souffles)
(Based on the “Perfect Cheese Souffle” recipe at the bottom of this page)

You will need 6 oven safe ramekins or small dishes to cook the souffles in.

40g / 1.4oz butter, plus extra for greasing
40g / 1.4oz plain flour
300ml / 10oz milk
20g / 0.7oz breadcrumbs or fine-ground polenta, for coating the sides of the ramekins
4 large eggs
100g / 3.5oz cheddar cheese, grated
50g / 1.7oz parmesan, grated

Start by heating the oven to 200°C / 390°F. Put the butter in a medium saucepan and heat until it has melted. Add the flour all at once and cook for a few minutes. Add the milk, and stir until the mixture is smooth and starts to thicken.

Lower the heat and continue to stir the mixture for about 5 minutes, so that it is thick but still pourable. Remove from the heat so the mixture can cool slightly.

Separate the eggs and put the whites in a bowl suitable for whipping. Into the milk mixture, add half of the cheese and stir until smooth. Add the egg yolks, stirring well in between each one. Then add the rest of the cheese.

Prepare your ramekins: grease the bottom and sides with more butter, then add a small amount of breadcrumbs or polenta to each one and shake/tap the ramekin until the bottom and sides are coated with the breadcrumbs/polenta.

Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites, and then whip until stiff. Add a couple of spoonfuls of egg whites into the milk/cheese mixture to loosen it, then gently fold the rest of the egg whites in with a spatula. It is fine if there are still a few small lumps of egg white in the mixture - it doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth.

Divide the mixture between the ramekins (I find a soup ladle the easiest thing to use for this), filling them between 1/2 and 3/4 full.

Put them on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until risen and golden. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• You can, of course, substitute the cheese for whichever cheese you like
• And of course you can make additions to the souffle - add some chives, perhaps, or even small pieces of mushroom or other vegetable.
• Don’t be disheartened if your souffles fall. All souffles fall as they cool (which is why many restaurants say there is a 20 minute wait if you order a souffle, so they can prepare it fresh and it is served straight away), but are equally delicious in their fallen state.

When entertaining a diplomat from the Delta Quadrant, it’s important to have their local dishes on hand. Luckily, Neelix never disappoints, and in this case manages to churn out some algae puffs for the visiting Enaran diplomat (Voyager: Remember).

Before you are too horrified by the notion of algae puffs, let me remind you that seaweed is a form of algae, and definitely works well in this recipe. The ‘puffs’ are choux pastry with the seaweed mixed in. While they don’t puff quite as much as they would without the seaweed, they still make a delicious and airy snack - perfect for any passing diplomat!

Replicate your own
(Makes 18-24 individual puffs)
(Based on the cheese puff recipe at Simply Recipes)

4 ounces / 1 stick / 115g butter
1 cup water
1 cup plain flour
4 eggs
35g dried seaweed, in small flakes or powdered

Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C.

In a medium saucepan, add the water and butter, and heat until the butter is melted and the mixture is at a boil. Reduce the heat and add the flour, stirring briskly.

Continue to stir as the mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan. Remove from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes, stirring occasionally to release more heat - you don’t want to cook the eggs when you add them!

Add the eggs in one by one. The mixture will look like it separates each time you add an egg, but stir well and it will come back together. When it is smooth and sticky, it’s ready. Add the seaweed, stirring well to incorporate it.

On a baking tray lined with baking paper, spoon out small-medium balls of the mixture. Make sure you leave enough room between them as they will puff up considerably when baked.

Place the tray in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350°F / 180°C and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, until the balls have puffed up and have started to brown on top.

Serve to whatever visiting dignitary happens to be passing by!

Notes:

• I bought flaked dried seaweed and then pulverised them further in a spice grinder. You could also bash them in a mortar and pestle to break the pieces up.
• Make sure you use baking paper or a slilicone baking sheet to cook the puffs on - do not grease a baking tray with butter as the butter will seep into the puffs
• If you don’t have any seaweed on hand, you can of course turn these into cheese puffs by substituting cheese in the place of the seaweed (I would suggest adding more cheese to taste).

This drink comes to us from the Trill homeworld, where it is enjoyed for its medicinal qualities. While it was not available via the Federation food replicators (TNG: The Host), I think this is definitely a drink that can be enjoyed far and wide.

Balso tonic is not shown on screen, only mentioned. In coming up with a suitably healthy drink for the Trill, I decided on a base of cucumber juice. Cucumbers are not only refreshing, they have all sorts of health benefits such as helping to rehydrate you, assisting with skin and hair care and can apparently also help relieve joint and arthritis pain. The additional benefit to this drink is that it is delicious and great in the heat! So next time you’re feeling like you need to exchange host bodies, make yourself some balso tonic, and hopefully your next joining will go as smoothly as possible.

Replicate your own
(Makes about 400ml of cucumber juice)

1 English cucumber
Juice of 1 lemon
3-4 sprigs of mint (a good handful)
100ml water
1 teaspoon sugar (optional, to taste)
Soda water (optional)

Coarsely chop the cucumber and throw the pieces into a blender. Add the remaining ingredients and blend for 3-4 minutes until it is smooth. 

Strain the juice into a jug, pushing the pulp down with a back of a spoon to extract as much juice as possible.

To serve, add more lemon juice or sugar as needed (to taste), and top up with soda water if desired. Garnish with a piece of cucumber and an additional sprig of mint.

Notes:

• I prefer to blend everything together so it is well integrated, but you could also blend the cucumbers first so you have a neutral juice base you can then add other flavours to.
• I don’t bother peeling the cucumbers before blending, as they’re all going to be strained anyway, but you can peel the cucumbers if you wish.
• The cucumber juice also makes a great cocktail base - Hendricks gin is recommended!
• Add some yoghurt to the leftover pulp and you will have a smooth, raita-like dipping sauce.

I know that sometimes travelling to important conferences can be hard work and very tiring. So why not take a leaf out of the Anteadeans’ book and travel in a catatonic state, and arrive at your destination refreshed?! After awakening, the Anteadeans eat huge amounts of Vermicula, to revive them and provide nourishment - not to mention grossing out the crew of the Enterprise in the process (Next Generation: Manhunt).

In my opinion you could do far worse than consume this soup in great quantities. It is light, tasty and refreshing - and may have the similar effect of horrifying your dining companions. While whitebait are generally battered and fried, they were very nice in this soup, and only took a few minutes to cook. You could substitute another small fish (or even pieces of a larger fish) if you can’t find any whitebait.

Replicate your own
(Serves 2 for a main meal)

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So unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d be aware that there’s a new Star Trek movie coming out very soon! I’m sure some of you have been avoiding all the trailers, interviews and general spoilers and speculation - while others have been trying to find as much information as you can. Regardless of your view, the wait will soon be over and all will be revealed!

I decided to pay tribute to the new movie with a suitably dark dessert - Black Forest Cake. It also seemed only appropriate to add some lens flare as it was used to such effect in the 2009 movie - I’m hoping for some 3D lens flare this time around.

While there are many versions of the black forest cake about (and I certainly don’t claim that this is the traditional version), this recipe will definitely provide you with a nice hit of decadence. But who the villain is - the chocolate or the cherries - is yet to be revealed…

Replicate your own
(Makes a cake which serves 10-12)

I know this looks pretty complicated - but while it has a lot of steps, the process is fairly straightforward once you get going. Just remember to give yourself enough time to let everything cool (including the cake) before you need to assemble it. Every component can be refrigerated prior to assembly if needed.

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Benjamin Sisko apparently only cooks Hungarian food when he is in a good mood (Deep Space Nine: Family Business). I can definitely understand this, as Hungarian food is hearty, easily shared and delicious - all things conducive to good moods. So what better way for Sisko to celebrate the beginnings of an ambassador exchange program, than by cooking chicken paprikash?!

Chicken paprikash is a traditional Hungarian recipe so it is very good to see that it has survived until the 24th century. This version uses chicken thighs but you could also use legs with the bones still in. The flavour is also very variable so feel free to add more paprika or black pepper to taste.

Replicate your own
(Generously serves 2)
(Adapted from Simply Recipes)

400-500g chicken thighs (you can also use legs, or a combination of both), preferably with skin on
1 large or 2 medium onions
Salt
Black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup sour cream (or more to taste)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the dumplings:
4 eggs
1 cup (approx) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Arrange the pieces of chicken on a plate and salt well. Leave the salt to draw out moisture while you prepare the onions. Cut the onions into thin slices.

In a large saucepan or casserole dish/dutch oven, melt the butter. Pat the pieces of chicken dry with paper towels and place them skin-side down in the butter. Cook them for 4-5 minutes on that side until they are well browned, then turn them over and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate or bowl.

Next add the onions to the pan (you might need to melt a bit more butter), scraping up any browned bits left by the chicken. Cook the onions until they are soft and begin to brown, about 7-10 minutes.

Add both types of paprika and some black pepper into the pot. Add the chicken broth, and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the pieces of chicken back into the pot, and cover and simmer for about 25-30 minutes, so the chicken is cooked but not completely falling apart.

Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pan and stir in the sour cream. Taste and add more sour cream or salt or pepper as needed. Return the chicken to the pan and turn the pieces to coat them in the sauce. Set the pot aside and prepare the dumplings.

To make the dumplings, start by adding the baking soda to the flour, and set aside. Crack and beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then begin to add the flour/baking soda mix. You want the mixture to be the same consistency as pancake batter, so add enough flour to achieve this. If your mixture gets too thick, thin it with water.

Working in batches, drop spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture into a saucepan of boiling, salted water. These will float to the top of the saucepan almost immediately but need to be cooked for 3-4 minutes to ensure they are cooked all the way through. Remove cooked dumplings with a slotted spoon onto a plate or bowl until all dumplings are cooked.

To serve, reheat the chicken if needed. Place a spoonful of the dumplings in a bowl and top with the chicken. Spoon sauce on top and dust with more paprika if wished.

If aliens ever attack me and cause my memory to be muddled for a period of time, I hope they also give me the skills to create great desserts like this one (Voyager: Riddles). This dish was created by Tuvok after an encounter with some aliens leaves him with no recollection of his past - and a desire to create delicious desserts. I also think this is an excellent use of the hated leola root - if I was Neelix, I’d be cooking up lots of these as a way to use up all that leola!

This recipe is a modified treacle tart and I must confess I have never met a treacle tart I didn’t like. You can either candy your own ginger, or buy some. If making it yourself, using young ginger is best. I’ll post some photos and instructions for making your own candied ginger on the facebook page if you are interested in trying it yourself.

Replicate your own
(Makes 1 tart - it is quite rich, so you will get lots of pieces out of it)

1 sweet tart crust (make your own - see below - or use a premade one)
250g treacle
250g golden syrup
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 eggs
125g breadcrumbs
Zest of 1/2 lemon
35g (approx) pieces of candied ginger, sliced thin

For the sweet tart crust
(Best to make 1 hour ahead)
240g plain flour
180g butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1-2 tablespoons cold water
Add the sugar to the flour and mix. Rub the butter into the flour mix until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add water gradually, and form the mass into a rough ball of pastry with your hands, trying not to handle the dough too much. Once it’s worked together, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

Begin by preheating your oven to 180­°C / 350°F.

If you are making your pastry, sprinkle some flour on your work surface then roll out your pastry to the desired size. Press into your pie tin and trim off any excess. Cover the pastry with aluminum foil and weigh down with coins, dry beans or peas, or pie weights. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the edges have started to brown. Take care when removing the aluminum and weights as they will be hot. 

In the meantime, prepare your filling. Add the treacle and golden syrup to a bowl, and stir together as best as you can (it helps if these are at room temperature or slightly warmed).

Add the ground ginger, lemon zest and then the eggs, stirring well to combine. Lastly add the breadcrumbs and stir well.

Pour the mixture into your tart crust (it is best to do this while the crust is still warm). Add the pieces of candied ginger to the top of the tart, arranging as needed (some of them will probably sink into the mixture).

Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the filling has set. Remove and let cool.

Serve in thin slices, accompanied by cream, iceceam or more candied ginger if desired.

Notes:

• I know it’s hard to find golden syrup in some places. If you can’t find golden syrup, I would suggest substituting half honey and half corn syrup. If you like the taste of honey you could substitute the entire amount for honey. 
• If you really like the taste of ginger, add more ground ginger to the tart mixture prior to baking.
• If aliens come and attack you and you lose your memory, make sure you write down all your fabulous dessert creations before your original memory is restored!

As I’ve noted before, Vulcans are sure fond of their plomeek. You can have it as a thick soup, as a tea - and now, a broth too. While not very filling, I can see this broth as being a great food for sick Vulcans, or maybe as a starter to a more elaborate Vulcan banquet.

Plomeek broth seemed to be a favourite of T’Pol, who requested it on more than one occasion (Enterprise: Strange New World; Singularity; Doctor’s Orders). If you like eating savoury foods in the morning, plomeek broth also makes a nice breakfast or brunch dish. This dish is vegan but if you eat eggs, I could also see it working well with a poached egg added when served.

Replicate your own
(Serves 2-3 as a starter)

3 medium sized beetroots
2 carrots
1 onion
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bayleaves
1 litre vegetable stock
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of smoked paprika
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar in a pinch)

Start by preparing the beetroots. Wearing gloves, use a vegetable peeler to peel the skins off. Then chop them into chunks and set aside. As you are straining the vegetables after they’re cooked, you don’t need to worry about chopping them nicely.

Chop the carrots and onion into rough pieces. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan and add the onion, thyme, salt, pepper and bayleaves. Cook for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften.

Add the carrots and beetroot and cook for a further few minutes. Then add the stock, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, with the lid on the saucepan, for about 40-50 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and almost falling apart.

Strain the broth into a bowl, and test for seasoning (you might need to add more salt or pepper). The leftover vegetables can be eaten if you wish, although they probably won’t have much flavour left.

To serve the soup, stir in the paprika and the vinegar, and serve either warm or cold. Add a sprinkle of more paprika as a garnish if you wish.