Monthly Archives: September 2013

My Heart belongs to San Francisco

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My Heart Belongs to San Francisco
            San Francisco, one of the worlds best foodie locations. I was down there on a winning combination of choir tour and family holiday, all the fun of being with your friends with the financial backing of your parents. Although the kitchen facilities in our flat were limited, this was more than made up for by the vast array of exciting restaurants. Ask any foodie and I’m sure they would agree that American supermarkets are heaven, so much choice, so little sense. Who else would think (or be legally allowed) to make apple pie chewing gum, cereal that tastes like peanut butter cups and cheeseburger flavoured chips. However foodie heaven on earth occurs in Whole Foods. I defy any sane person not to stand and stare for a good hour at the mouth-watering cakes, heaped salad bar and hot food stall, genetically perfected fruit and vegetables and un-natural naturally flavoured crisps. I had to stop myself bankrupting my parents with the weighed salad when we went there for lunch and instead opted for a classic smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel. You haven’t tasted a cream cheese bagel till you have had one in San Francisco. I’m afraid you are not allowed anything else but an onion and herb toasted white bagel, lox (smoked salmon and cream cheese mix) and added smoked salmon, simple, yet simply one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted.


            Another American staple that England seems to have failed on is Snapple. You can indeed buy Ice tea but it isn’t really ice tea. Ice Tea in England is far too wholesome and fresh. What you really want is additive full, zero-calorie, ice cold, possibly so far from peach-flavour it seems impossible, peach flavoured Snapple. I am serious it is delicious. I just don’t want to know what it is doing to my body. I think it may be partly due to the legal age for drinking in America that I drank quite so much of this stuff (although I’m sure it’s worse for you than alcohol). Every time my parents would be trying a delicious Californian wine the waiter would turn to me and the grown up 20year old would be reduced once again to an underage child and I would say ‘just a Snapple for me please’. The no drinking didn’t affect me that much until we took a family trip to a wine merchant. Here my parents and sister slowly made their way through large tasters of at least 15 different bottles of wine while I swigged my diet coke in the corner and led the tipsy group waywardly home. ‘sigh’ the responsible 20 year old.
            To offset the enormous amounts of diet coke and Snapple I appeared to be drinking I gladly followed the choir along to a garlic restaurant. The Stinking Rose. I have never encountered such a bizarre place. Any place where a birthday is celebrated by presenting the lucky person with a stuffed hat in the shape of a garlic clove is a little strange. However the most bizarre thing about this place is that every single dish on the menu has garlic in. Their slogan of ‘we season our garlic with food’ is well matched. There is even the promise of ‘Gilroy’s famous garlic Ice Cream’ that thankfully I didn’t try. Despite my complaints, I do love garlic and the Bagna Calda (Garlic soaking in a hot tub) was amazing. So if you are in the area this is a once in a lifetime experience. http://thestinkingrose.com/# (I would also recommend the Crab – I didn’t have it myself but I ate copious amounts of someone else’s….)
            Another gem from San Francisco was a meal I found by the harbour. One Market. It was an amazing find, apparently frequented by businessmen who all drank (like me) large amounts of Ice Tea. While I settled down to my Ice tea, my parents and sister tried the something like $2 martinis, which I would like to add none of them finished.

The menu was, while not cheap, not too expensive and absolutely delicious! Highlights included my beautiful Mahi Mahi seared fish with a side order of the most amazing roasted pumpkin, and my sisters beautiful watercress soup, very simple but lovely. However the pinnacle of the lunch (and possibly of my eating out experience) was the dessert. They kindly offered mini desserts which was understandable for most people following a large three course meal, so of course I had 3 of them. Being America (where no-one knowingly serves too little) mini was a relative term, but they were amazing.

The first was a lovely lemon cheesecake, inverted with the graham cracker crumbs on the outside and it melted in the mouth. The second was assorted crème brulee, classic and coffee, very good but nothing compared to the final flourish. A warm pecan pie, scattered with caramelised bacon (WOW) and topped with creamy bourbon ice cream – of course I had to try and make it when I got home and I advise you to do the same, it is Epic. As expected I licked the plate clean. http://www.onemarket.com
            As I said before I appreciate lots of things the Americans give us foodwise. While their diets may be one of the worst for local, seasonal, wholesome cuisine, it is undoubtedly brought us some gems. Frozen yoghurt is now cautiously making its way over to the UK but in America it is a staple of every street corner (possibly this is also to do with the better weather they have over there). It tastes a little like Mr Whippy ice creams you get in ice cream vans, but you feel much more virtuous eating it. So much so that you can guilt free treat yourself to all the cheesecake bites, oreos, m and ms and peanut butter cups you like. Frozen yoghurt is my favourite type of health food.


            While in America, despite the limited kitchen, I couldn’t resist cooking something. So when a friend of ours mentioned the quintessentially American S’more, I had a go at recreating a version. I melted butter in our microwave and mixed in mashed up graham crackers. I pressed this into a tin and froze for 20mins (my time was limited). Then I topped with marshmallows and placed in the oven on high until the marshmallow started to brown. Meanwhile I melted Nestle chocolate chips, a pinch of salt and lots of butter (I think this is the secret), and topped it before putting it all back in the freezer. Lets just say I had multiple compliments and they were hard to put down, s’morish…..
            On our final day in San Francisco we visited the famous Ferry Market. It is worth a visit. Lots of tasters, meat, cheese, gluten free bakes, I even tried an oyster. However we really headed there with one place in mind, Boulette’s larder. Our host, who lived there, was a regular and had mentioned we were coming  http://www.bouletteslarder.comBoulette was a dog. She slept under the table (I have since been told she died ), a huge matted dog with dreadlocks all over, even covering her eyes. Her owners are two brilliant chefs who cook local and seasonal produce (I apologise to her for the above generalisation about Americans), Amaryll Schwertner and Lori Regis. We arrived, and were immediately treated to two extra 
courses in addition to the main we actually ordered and paid for thanks to the recommendation from our friend. The first was a simple salad of fresh herbs with homemade mozzarella style cheese. Now I am not normally a fan of cheese, and I especially dislike raw mozzarella but this was soft, creamy and delicate, not chewy. The next course I would love to recreate. A perfectly poached egg in a Parmesan sauce/soup with a single caramelized roasted parsnip on top. I then chose to have the chicken, simply roasted with roasted vegetables. I wish I could recommend you choose that but the menu changes so regularly I can only tell you to go with what Amaryll recommends! Finally we were sent off to the airport in style, with a small box full of homemade biscuits which I’m sure I don’t need to tell you were buttery, melting in the mouth and saved me from the limp offering that was my supper on the flight home. 

My Perfect 21st Menu

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If I could make my perfect menu….
Oyster Ceviche
Oysters with tequila, lime, chilli, salt
Bollinger R.D 1996 Extra Brut
Blackamole
Twice fried Black Bean, Guacamole, baked tortilla strips, crispy fried coriander
Passion Fruit Margarita –
Passion fruit, lime juice, Triple Sec, 1921 Tequila Blanco
Phish Eggs
Smoked Trout, Poached quails eggs, asparagus, hollandaise foam, toasted almonds, crispy toast disc, Lemon Zest
Casa Coste Piane Prosecco Valdobbiadene
Ravioli
Chicken Ravioli, Spinach Foam, Honey barbecue toasted Hazelnuts, Ricotta quenelle, Chicken and sage consommé, sage crisps
Villa Masetti Pinot Grigio 2009
Venison
Seared Chard wrapped Venison loin, Venison Confit Shepherds pie topped with black garlic creamed potatoes, Chanterelle mushrooms, spicy chocolate sauce, Carrot and Parsnip crisps
The Black Shiraz 2010 Berton Vineyards
Scoup
Iced Melon Soup, Cayenne Pepper, Mint syrup
Campari Sorbetta, Balsamic drizzle
Cherry Ripe
Custard Cream Quenelle, Cognac soaked Black Cherries, Wafer, Cherry Blossom Sugar shards
Limoncello Di Capri
Reese’s Piece
60% Bittersweet Chocolate cylinder, Peanut Butter Core, Frozen yoghurt parfait filling, Salted Peanut brittle, Raspberry Jelly crystals
Holy Choly
Black Pepper and Chedder Shortbread
All Butter Cranberry studded sugar cookies
Vin Santo Sante Bucciarelli

The Competition Entry

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The  Competition Entry
For my menu, I wanted to show the ultimate British summer. I felt this would not only show off the best of British produce, specifically from all four areas of the United Kingdom, but also celebrate and support our British athletes in the games and show other countries what it means to be British, and that British cuisine is classic, tasty and summery. Each course is based around a typical British meal, bringing in elements from all areas of British cuisine and each containing 5 elements as a further tongue in cheek celebration of the Olympics, representing the 5 olympic rings.
The first course would be based on a British Picnic, for a typical summer’s day. Consisting of: 1.A mini pork pie, made with british pork; 2. an Indian spiced lamb scotch quails egg, bringing in the huge influence Indian cooking has had on British cuisine, made with welsh lamb mince, and west sussex quail’s eggs, on a spoonful of spiced mayonnaise made with british eggs; 3. a small triangle sandwich filled with smoked salmon and dill butter, pierced with a mini union jack flag on a cocktail stick, made with scottish smoked salmon and british cucumbers; 4. A small spoonful of potato salad, using irish potatoes, british walnuts and walnut oil; 5. A small spoonful of broad bean and pea shoot salad with an apple cider vinaigerette, made with somerset broad beans and cider vinegar, wiltshire pea shoots and british bacon.
The second course is a twist on Fish and Chips, what could be more traditionally British summer seaside. 1. A beer battered pea mousse, suprisingly delicious, playing on the mushy peas accompaniment, the deep fried mousse is crispy on the outside with a melting warm pea centre, made using east anglia peas and real ale. 2. The mousse will be in a small cone of newspaper with 1948 london olympic games reported along with thick triple cooked chips using Irish potatoes and finely grated flecks of warickshire berkwell hard sheeps cheese. 3. This would all be served on a rectangular plate with the cone far right and next to it a fillet of cornish pollack with a caper, lemon zest and parsley breadcrumb ‘sand’ topping (british seaside) on top of 4. ribbons of lemon and black pepper marinated raw new forest courgette ‘sea’. 5. This is all drizzled with a thin white wine vinegar mayonnaise.
The final course is based on an Afternoon tea, what could be more quintessentially British, and more associated with British sports. 1. The main event would be a cornish clotted cream cheesecake on a scone-like pastry base with a thin layer of strawberry jam ontop of the base, drizzled with 2. a strawberry sauce; 3. topped with an earl grey tea caramel shard. All accompanied by a 4. strawberry marshmallow on a stick, and 5. a single fresh strawberry – all using staffordshire strawberries.
-Pork Pie – made with british pork,
– Indian spiced lamb scotch quails egg – made with welsh lamb mince, influenced by indian influence on England and west sussex quails eggs, on a spoonful of spiced mayonnaise made with british eggs
-smoked salmon and dill butter sandwiches – made with scottish smoked salmon, british cucumbers
-Potato salad using irish potatoes, british walnuts+walnut oil
– broad bean and pea shoot salad with an apple cider vinegerette fresh mint and british bacon – using somerset broad beans and cider vinegar, wiltshire pea shoots and british bacon
Fish and Chips twist
–        Beer battered pea mousse, using real ale, english peas form east anglia
–        Thick chips triple cooked, using irish potatoes and finely grated flecks of warickshire berkwell hard sheeps cheese, all served in a small cone of newspaper with 1948 olympic games (last london games)
–        Cornish Pollack fillet with a caper, lemon zest and parsley breadcrumb ‘sand’
–        On top of ribbons of lemon and black pepper marinated raw courgette ‘sea’ – using new forest courgettes
–        Drizzled with a thin white wine vinegar mayonnaise – using british eggs
Afternoon tea cheesecake
–        Cornish Clotted cream cheesecake with a layer of strawberry jam made using stafforshire strawberries
–        Earl Grey caramel shards
–        Strawberry marshmallow
–        Fresh strawberry garnish
–        Strawberry sauce

Oi Fat Duck!

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Oi! Fat Duck
            The first thing people tend to ask me about with my cooking is the Fat Duck association. It is quite a claim to fame to have worked for that restaurant (so far pretty much my only one so I am holding on to this one). But how I got there in the first place is the real story.
            After I finished A levels I was bored. It seems to be a condition of my family that we can never sit still for long (I blame my mum for the workaholic genetics). So I wanted a project. My sister came across a competition in the back of a British airways magazine and pointed it out to me. It was the British Airway’s Olympic’s mentoring competition. There were three strands; film, with Richard E. Grant, art, with Tracey Emin, and food with Heston Blumenthal. At this point I was still reeling from the Alice in Wonderland boys dinner inspired by him (see Shrinking and Shrinking), my sister had –at great expense – bought me his book for my birthday and I couldn’t think of anything more amazing than being mentored by him. However the competition was open to people all over the country, including people who actually cooked for a living/ had proper training for it….. But I was bored, had nothing to lose and had actually already been doodling menu ideas while I meant to be revising. Plus it was asking for a menu based around British produce, an idea I love and try to bring into all my dinner party cooking.  I wrote up an entry (see Competition Entry) and promptly forgot about it, distracted by my ‘ladettes’ trip to Turkey with school friends.
           

It was only when we were into the final days of our family holiday to New York that I was reminded of my entry.  I had an answerphone message left at 3 in the morning from an unknown number. Assuming it was a university related message confused by the time difference I listened to it tentatively.

‘ Hello, I am calling to inform you that your entry to the British Airways Olympic Mentor Competition was successful in reaching the final 16. If possible could you give us a call back to confirm your availability to come to London in 3 days to cook a three course, locally sourced menu for under £15 to be judged by Heston Blumenthal’
To be honest the best part of this was the utter shock on my parents face…. I had forgotten to even mention entering the competition to them what with all the excitement of Turkey…
            So while my parents stayed on in the states, my sister and I spent the 6-hour return journey (ironically on a British Airway flight) planning this menu. Luckily we had the assistance of the lovely gay opera director who as a nervous flyer revelled in a distraction as random as this. When back home I scoured the local market for ingredients, even tasting many different types of local beer, which for someone who strongly dislikes Beer is a feat. I timed myself cooking in the hour allocated with the ingredients for my sister and her then-boyfriend that evening then we headed down to London the next day.
            In London there was a photo shoot with the man himself before getting down to the actual cooking. I was remarkably calm cooking in the masterchef style kitchen, followed by a TV camera and a man who cleaned up after me. I even finished before time, so headed out first for judgement. The starter was a local beer welsh rarebit with a Bloody Mary coulis on the side. The main, Garam Masala lamb chops, garlic infused mash potatoes (thank you Le Manoir), sautéed spinach and a mint and yoghurt pesto (a sort of Raita made with almonds). Finally in a nod to seasonal strawberries I ended with a strawberry and almond crumble with a black pepper infused cream, a la Blumenthal. This was the crowning glory, he liked this a lot (it’s here I admit it was meant to be whipped cream but it didn’t whip…). Following a short interview where he asked me why I started cooking (my culinary challenged mother), where my love of food came from (greed) and whether I would be willing to defer a year of Cambridge for this mentoring opportunity (negotiable) he asked if I had any questions.  So I asked for work experience in his kitchen and he said yes.
            In the end I didn’t win the competition (apparently some Michelin starred chef did http://craftguildofchefs.org/simon-hulstone-serve-treat-35000ft-british-airways-great-briton…) But I got the work experience and more importantly mentioned in that weeks column in The Times (well my food did…..) Plus I had the experience of being greeted for the next couple of months by friends as ‘OI FAT DUCK’!

The Daily Experiment

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The Daily Experiment
Bacon care of business
Opened the fridge once again today to a hopeless mismatch of assorted leftovers and random ingredients. Spotting the pancetta pieces I had bought earlier for one of these sorts of occasions my first thought was a cassoulet. This was quickly discarded due to the lack of sausages or beans… So instead I decided on a lentil hotpot; potatoes, lentils and bacon – I could go from there. First I pan fried the bacon pieces till golden. While waiting for this I got bored so opened the spice cupboard, added a few juniper berries, coriander seeds, pinch of mixed spice, salt and pepper.

When brown, I added a spoonful of honey, the lentils, found some red wine, a beef stock cube and hot water, thyme I found in the fridge and a bay leaf. It smelt pretty good by this point so I poured it straight into an ovenproof dish. To finish I sliced up some potatoes thinly, layered them up on top of the dish, drizzled over walnut oil, salt and pepper and put in the oven at 140oC for about an hour.

           

At this point I turned the soundtrack of Matilda loud was singing somewhat un-tunefully when my mum came in with a bowl of apples she’d just picked from outside the house, the only thing our pathetic excuse for a garden comes up with….. (Although to be honest the hopscotch and climbing wall sometimes makes up for this). Just because I never like to see food go to waste (and she told me to use them) I decided to experiment with baked apples. I cored them, placed them on foil and filled the centres with what I found in the cupboard. This turned out to be honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sultanas, pumpkin seeds, pinch of salt and the last dregs of a bottle of amaretto that looked like it had been around before I was born. I wrapped them up, cooked them on high for about 20mins and they came up quite mushy, but delicious nonetheless with a bit of vanilla ice cream.