Ultimate Brunch 2 – Sweet Treat

Posted on by

Ultimate Brunch 2 – Sweet Treat

I’m not going to claim that I will ever be able to recreate the likes of coco pops or frosted shreddies so I’m not going to even attempt cereals (a big shout out to the amazing american cereal Reese’s Pieces, how you can even call that cereal when they are basically peanut butter cups is brilliant). However my idea of brunch includes the sweet course. The Healthy – fruit salad, yoghurt with compote and berries and porridge with raisins. The Ugly – Waffles, pancakes, croissants, muffins, I’ve heard some places even do doughnuts (or cronuts for those that like a trend). The Hair of the Dog – mimosa, bellini. bloody mary and just plain champagne (I admit college doesn’t offer this but maybe they’ll take the hint…. Here is my pick of the best.

The Healthy
Pimped up Fruit Salad If you will insist upon having a fruit salad for brunch, try mixing fruits such as blueberries, bananas, strawberries, oranges, pineapple, melon, raspberries, pomegranate segments and then make a basil syrup by melting equal parts sugar and water in a pan with basil leaves and boiling for 2-3mins till thickened and then cooling and pouring over.
Yoghurt and compote I’m not really going to tell you how to make this but just get good natural yoghurt and top with thick compote, honey and assorted dried fruit, grated chocolate and nuts.

The Ugly
Waffles So these are almost impossible to make without a waffle iron (or at a stretch a toast maker) but of you have either of these it is worth it. Serve with any of the following combinations – chocolate, banana and cream, strawberries and basil syrup, blueberries and maple syrup or crispy bacon for an interesting taste.
1. Mix 250g plain flour, 1tbsp baking powder, 2tbsp caster sugar, 450ml milk, 1tsp salt, 2 eggs and 2tbsp oil in a bowl. At this point you could also add cinnamon, vanilla extract or cocoa for flavour.
2. Wipe oil all over the waffle iron, cook until golden brown (shouldn’t take too long)
Pancakes I am either of the opinion that pancakes should be incredibly thin and smothered in lemon and sugar (heat on the sugar)or studded with chocolate chips or blueberries and drizzled with maple syrup. For brunch’s sake, this is a recipe for thick american pancakes.
1. Take 135g plain flour. 1tbsp baking powder and 1tsp salt, 1tsp cinnamon, 2tbsp caster sugar, make a hole in the centre and crack 1 egg into the middle. Whisk together, gradually adding 2tbsp melted butter and 1tsp vanilla extract. Fold in either fresh blueberries or chocolate chips
2. Melt a knob of butter in a pan. When melted add a dollop of mixture into the pan and cook on each side for 1-2mins until golden on each side.
Muffins Muffins are something I only ever have at christmas or on birthdays so therefore these are raspberry and white chocolate (muffins definitely aren’t healthy)
1. Combine 375g plain flour, 4tsp baking powder, 1tsp salt, 1tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg.
2. Whisk 2 eggs with 200g light brown sugar till fluffy. Add 240ml milk, 120ml oil and 2tsp vanilla extract. Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then add 120g white chocolate chopped and 200g fresh raspberries.  (Fold gently to try and keep raspberries whole)
3. Line muffin moulds with circles of baking parchment. Fill each of the moulds 3/4 full. Bake for 25mins at 180oC until the tops are golden. Serve right away.
Croissants
There are two ways to make croissants, the easy and the hard way, wither way I’m afraid they won’t be as good as ones from any French boulangerie/patisserie. In both cases I’ve filled mine, but they can both be made plain.
The Easy
1 egg
1 tbsp water
1 sheet puff pastry
150g dark chocolate chips

1. Cut the puff pastry sheet in half vertically. Then in half horizontally and in half again. Cut each of these 8 pieces diagonally in half and sprinkle each piece with chocolate chips.
2. Roll up from the bottom of the triangle upwards to create a crescent shape. Paint each with 1 egg beaten with water.
3. Bake at 180oC till golden brown (about 20-25mins)

The Tricky but Traditional
These are in homage for my dad, who will eat custard in anything for breakfast (but only on holiday)
I can’t take credit for the recipe for croissant because I’ve only made this once and haven’t tweaked anything so here is the one I used.
http://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/classic-french-croissant-recipe/
For the filling (creme patisserie, also useful for eclairs and profiteroles)
1. Whisk together 4 egg yolks, 4 tbsp caster sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl, until fluffy. Add 2tbsp flour and 1tbsp cornflour.
2. Heat about 250ml milk in a pan till just warm.
3. Pour milk over the eggs and whisk.
4. Return the whole lot to the pan, stirring until thickened. Leave to cool. The mixture should be quite thick at this point.
5. Fill a piping bag and squirt into the base of the just cooked croissant.

The Hair of the Dog
Mimosa
A brunch favourite. but also very easy (not to be confused with bucks fizz, it is more alcoholic)
1 part orange juice, 3 parts champagne (or in the students case prosecco/cava). If you are feeling fancy you could garnish the glass with a spiral of orange
Bellini
This can be made in a lot of varieties (raspberries, passion fruit) but the traditional is peach.
Peel two peaches and blitz in a food processor. Add 4 tbsp peach liqueur. Spoon 2tsp of the mixture into a champagne glass and top with champagne. Garnish the glass with a raspberry
Bloody Mary
I had a really good bloody mary which had PORT in it, now I don’t think that port is necessarily a good idea in the morning (it gives you the worst hangover after you have it in the evening, god knows what happens in the morning) but I think a bloody mary should be a little bit more than vodka, tomato juice and Worcester sauce.
Mix 1 part vodka with 3 parts tomato juice with a squeeze of lemon juice, 1tsp Worcester sauce, 2tsp (celery) salt, 1tsp fresh grated horseradish, 1 tsp black pepper. Garnish with a strip of celery. If you want to go all out, I rather like the idea of making ice cubes using celery juice, but that might require a bit more effort.
Champagne
I would never turn down champagne

The Ultimate Brunch part 1

Posted on by

The Ultimate Brunch part 1

The weekend approaches and all I can think about is the prospect of Saturday morning brunch. Not the party which inevitable leads to you craving a carb laden proper fry up, but the brunch itself! I usually go for the university offering which while perfectly adequate is lacking in the way that mass produced food always does, overcooked and under seasoned, at least ours are better than some…. To their credit they do provide several things which elevate brunch to a better level; smoked salmon (so expensive but sometimes worth it), yoghurt bar with toppings (including banana chips which in case you don’t know are delicious fried banana pieces posing as health food) and waffles (brunch should always be a three course meal, well if you’re insisting on it being breakfast and lunch…..) While it’s all very nice, here are some recipes for when you want to recreate the experience (and pimp it up) at home

Eggs
Boiled I Hope I don’t have to tell anyone how to boil an egg (it’s one of the things I really can’t do), look it up elsewhere but serve with marmite slathered hot buttered toast soldier strips
Fried Again not my favourite but if you’re going to eat them you might as well cook them properly. You could be boring and just fry it, or you could take the Roald Dahl approach and fry it in the centre if a piece of fried bread.
1. Simply cut a hole with a glass or cutter out of the middle of your piece of bread,
2. Put a teaspoon of oil and a teaspoon of salted butter and heat, fry the bread until golden on both sides flipping halfway (couple of mins on each side should do it
3. Add a little more oil to the pan and crack your egg into the centre, season with salt and pepper.
 4. Cook for a minute on each side and serve

Scrambled Now we’re talking! I’ve tried many methods of cooking eggs over the years and this is by far my favourite. I’ve used fill here as my herb of choice because I like mine with smoked salmon but with bacon you might want to try thyme or rosemary and for veggie maybe serve with layer of wilted spinach?
1. Crack 6 eggs into a bowl and whisk together with a splash of milk, pinch of salt and pepper and a tbsp of finely chopped dill, whisk till thick and creamy
2. Heat a deep frying pan to medium heat, melting a large knob of butter
3. Pour in the eggs and reduce the heat
4. Cook whilst stirring till the mixture resembles scrambled eggs, ideally on the runny side because they will continue cooking when you take them off the heat.

Eggs Benedict I’ll cover another time

Meat 
Bacon I know that everyone likes their bacon differently, but this is a personal favourite of mine with a possible nod to American diner big breakfast.
1. Get some thin streaky bacon (I like mine unsmoked and crispy ) line the grill pan (saves cleaning loads of grease from it) with foil.
2. Paint the bacon with maple syrup and grill turning till thin and crispy on both sides
Sausages Should always be fat and preferably grilled
Black Pudding I’ve been rather put off black pudding by the dry offering at college but I did once use it to stuff a pork tenderloin and that was delicious. I’d advise getting the good stuff from butchers and cooking it inside the sausage meat for an unusual spin ( I’ll get back to you when I’ve tried this)
Smoked salmon If there’s some going please !

Veg (in the loosest sense of the word)
Baked beans Always 
Fried bread see above
Tomatoes these are always hard to make exciting, particularly of barely cooked…. The best way I’ve ate them for breakfast is cherry ones, roasted, scattered with salt, pepper for about 8-10mins at 200oC
Mushrooms Fried with garlic, there is no other way. Sometimes I like to add onions as well
1. Take 250g button mushrooms, melt butter in a pan then add 2cloves garlic, chopped finely
2. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper
3. Gently fry till the mushrooms begin to brown a little (salt is very important here, makes the mushrooms sweat helping them cook 😉

Hash browns Trickier,  but making them yourself is very self satisfying! The English equivalent is of course bubble and squeak but I like to think of that as solely christmassy. I’m assuming you don’t have any roasted potatoes you failed to eat for Sunday lunch or jacket potatoes lying around, but if you do, all the better to use up leftovers.
1. Boil potatoes adding salt and sage leaves to the water and a knob of butter, skins and all till soft. Drain and leave to cool and dry out.
2. When dry, chop into pieces, add salt and pepper.
3. Heat a large knob of butter in a pan and add a finely sliced onion, cook over a low heat until soft. Leave to cool then mix into the potato.
4. Heat either more butter or for extra goodness bacon fat, and bring to a medium heat. Add the potato and onion mix pushing down to make a cake.
4. Cook for 10-15mins till brown on the bottom, remove from the pan, add more butter (well this was never going to be a healthy recipe) and cook on the other side for a further 10mins, cut into wedges and serve .

Waffles, muffins, pancakes, cinnamon buns and other sweet stuff to follow in part 2

Coast?

Posted on by

Coast

Anyone who knows Cambridge will inevitably remember Tatties and for those of you who don’t know Cambridge think of it as your go to hangover breakfast, weekend panini and chips or for those who live opposite, coffee break. It’s a Cambridge institution (at least if you’re a hungover student) so it didn’t go down too well when a more expensive fish and chip shop restaurant opened there this year    (Despite the fact there is still a Tatties 3mins walk away it’s the principle). Having said that, despite being as far from the sea as seemingly possible, Cambridge needs a good fish and chip place, we have so many kebab/burger/Chinese/Italian/gastropub places I think this might be the one obvious thing we are missing. So this weekend I took full advantage of the parents coming up to get them to take me for a nice lunch (after all what are parents for but making sure you’re not just living off pot noodle – on second thoughts, as if!). Coast started out well. We sat downstairs and the waiters were so desperate to take our drinks order and bring us our drinks we hardly had time to think. Ironically they then got the message rather too well and didn’t come and get our food order for another 20mins meaning we’d finished our drinks before we ordered. However this did give me time to peruse the extended menu. The first thing that struck me was that the breakfasts looked incredibly exciting (watch this space) all smoked salmon scrambled eggs etc and for about the same price as old Tatties. The main menu was equally enticing with a wide range of fish mains (fish pie, seafood tagliatelle) as well as the option to choose your own fish for fish and chips, fish cakes or grilled, all satisfyingly coming with chips. There were salads (typically overpriced) and a small number of meat and veg courses (although why you would come to a fish restaurant I have no idea). Admittedly it is a little out of student budget (Bills or Browns prices ) but it is possible to get a decent Portion of fish and chips for under £10 and they even do takeaway.

When they finally took our order they were very efficient about bringing our food out. Since the parents were paying and we were all dashing around too much that evening to think about eating, I suggested we have two courses each (also so I could try more). I may have mentioned in my San Francisco blog post how much I love crab, and I really do . I was a little sceptical of the fact fresh crab tastes the best and Cambridge is do far from the coast line….. But I was pleasantly surprised.   
The crab mayonnaise was salty and with a kick, not overly creamy and very heavy on the crab meat which is always better. The crab mayonnaise came in two huge quenelles and a hunk of bread on the plate which made me extremely happy, I always hate when you order something like this and end up with about 5 slices of bread with a teaspoon of crab on the side, the filling should always be more than the bread, not visa versa. It came with a well dressed salad and garnish of caviar which at first seemed superfluous but in fact lifted the dish, I was a very happy customer.

My dad got incredibly excited by his prawn and avocado salad because of its edible flowers and caviar, however it was concluded that my dish was better value for money as his dish was smaller, less filling and the caviar was an unnecessary addition as were the flowers. My mother’s was a lot of fun. She had piri piri prawns that came dripping in a very tasty (and messy) sauce and required a lot of work, a finger bowl and 4 napkins, but it came in a cute fake newspaper wrapping and was a good starter for anyone who likes playing with food and wants something slightly lighter but still with a burst of flavour.

Mains arrived almost as soon as our starters were picked up and they did not disappoint. You can see why the prices are higher than you expect, the portions were huge and extremely satisfying. (For real value for money go for the fish burger, only a tenner and about the size of a small dog) my mother and I went for the more expensive grilled mackeral with mash and ratatouille, while my father went for the lemon plaice, grilled with chips. Again I think we picked a winner. 

The mackeral was fiddly (it was a whole fish) but it had been butterflied and main bones removed, with a mass of charred rosemary and thyme on top. The fish was a little under seasoned (I took the lemon out of my water and spritzed this on top which lifted it) and the edge was over cooked but this just meant the centre was perfectly cooked so I could see why. It was served with a chunky pseudo-ratatouille which went very nicely with the fish but could have been a little more saucy.  The best thing about the dish though was the mash. I don’t know what they did to it ( although I suspect they cooked it a little after it had been mashed with lots of butter) but it was possibly the best mash I’ve ever tasted. It was very thick and smooth with a faint garlicky hint, it was so good I finished off my mum’s! My dad’s was also apparently well cooked and the huge mound if chips were very good, very chippy like. I tried one and they tasted so much like the takeaway chips we used to get while on holiday in Brighton, thick, chunky and slightly squashed, very impressed.

I am not easily defeated by food (see midsummer house) but after that I certainly couldn’t manage a pudding (shame I would have liked to have seen if they were any good) and was full for most of the day after meaning it didn’t matter I didn’t eat supper till 10.30. In this sense Coast is very good for filling up while your parents are here so you don’t need to spend so much on food at other times.

All in all I was quite impressed with this restaurant. Not for anyone on a diet (I’m pretty sure the salads wouldn’t be worth the extortionate price) but otherwise the portion size proves what you get for your money and the food straddles the line between homely comfort food and that extra restaurant lift. Not everyday but good for a reasonably priced treat. However I’m pretty sure it will never become as beloved as Tatties.

Midsummer heaven (21st birthday present)

Posted on by

Midsummer Heaven
( photos all at the bottom of the page due to technical-I-broke-my-computer difficulties)

So the moment I had been waiting for for about 3months finally arrived last Saturday. Unlike most things which you get yourself hyped up for but then end up finding bitterly anti-climatic and occasionally lying in bed in a drunken mess wondering exactly why you decided to do what you did last night, lunch at midsummer house lived up to the hype. As a foodie you would probably expect my lasting memory of the day to be solely the food, but while the food was phenomenal ( more on that later) the best thing about midsummer house was how well we were treated by the front of house staff, flawlessly neither stuck up and pretentious or overly chummy, but friendly, informative and made you feel right at home. In fact the whole feel of midsummer house was that of a home, the layout if the restaurant reminding me strongly of some of my friends houses growing up, it really wasn’t very big and while the decor was classy and stylish , the way that the bathroom and lounge were upstairs and the kitchen at the back with the front room with a bay window where we were eating, it would perfectly suit a standard 2.5 children middle class family in size.
As you approach the house it looks rather quirky, a random what should be semi detached house on the edge of a field with the back drop of a river and university boat clubs, but I think this just adds to the charm of the place, plus in the summer i’m sure the views are stunning.

Having waited outside and photographed every angle for about 20mins for the family to finally rock up I was eagerly anticipating the inside. I was not disappointed , not only were we immediately welcomed into our table with a lovely view of the common but we were immediately relieved of our coats, given very handy bag hooks on our luxurious chairs and  offered a glass of champagne. The staff didn’t hurry us but let us take copious photos to celebrate the occasion (I’m not sure we needed the same photo on every iPhone of the family but….) and the sommelier even cheekily slipped into a few putting us all at ease. Canapés were swiftly brought over as we were left to peruse our menu with the waiter happy to put up with my bad French pronunciation of the wines on the menu (turns out he was French…) and to answer my questions of how exactly they made each canapé and why he thought the lime jelly worked with Creme fraiche so well.

Canapés
Bloody Mary foam with celery pieces and celery sorbet 
Two thin slices of potato deep grief to create a puffed up pouch, filled with creme fraiche and topped with chives and lime jelly
A pinwheel of bacon and cheese (in afraid I can’t remember this one so well, but U8 assured me it tasted a little like a cheese twist)


The best thing about this dish was the fact the parents agreed to buy me both a syringe and siphon to make foam after tasting these dishes and declaring them amazing. The texture of the foam was silky and light with a real spicy kick with was cut through by the almost sweet and vibrant celery sorbet which even the great celery hater himself enjoyed! The potato disc was my favourite though, mostly because the crunchy outside gave way to the most surprising almost liquid sour cream hit with the chives and lime as a subtle background flavour – my sister out it well, a sort of posh Pringle, cleverly evoking childhood tastes.

Course 1
Pumpkin velouté, a la greque mushrooms, Parmesan gnocchi 

Kurt angerer, gurner veltliner, Austria 2012

We ordered the market menu , mid-price with flight of wines but you could very easily have a reasonable lunch here 3 courses for the same price as a fairly average meal at Browns if not cheaper!
This course was another triumph for the siphon (mum – if we buy you one will you make this for Christmas dinner?) The only slight disappointment was the lack of crunch, perhaps a Parmesan crisp would have added to the texture as the mushroom pieces and gnocchi, while not filling and bursting with flavour were a little monotonous and blending into one where a salty snap might have lifted the dish. With this we were given a lovely wine, not overly sweet but definitely sweeter than the very dry wine we got next, it balanced the soup nicely. ( I apologise if this is wrong but I’m still learning about wine, but I do know it was a big improvement on sainsburys basics or college Chardonnay )

Course 2
Confit salmon, crayfish, garden apple, sauce vouvray


I will love any well cooked piece of salmon you put in front if me and am a firm believer of curing, slow baking and pan frying but confit is definitely my favourite. For those of you that don’t know, confit is where the meat or fish is slow cooked in medium hot oil for a longer time than you would cook it most ways for a really rich, melting in the mouth taste (although admittedly it’s not the healthiest way…). With this salmon was little individually shelled pieces of langoustine (how you get the inside out so delicately I have no idea) as well as pools of sharp apple purée and a gorgeous salty ,what must have been, sauce vouvray which I shamelessly admit to licking off the plate it was so good! To finish the dish were texturally interesting crispy salmon skin (definitely one up on yo sushi) and salmon pieces wrapped in the thinnest piece of apple I’ve ever seen, a sort of apple spring roll. With this we were offered some lovely homemade bread, not particularly special but just what you need, if it had been too complex it would have detracted from the menu, plus my mum was really impressed with the butter in the shape of bee hives….. No one can say they were stingy with the bread either, when you finished they would immediately offer you a second, warm slice. ( I had to stop after the second fearing I wouldn’t have space for the remaining courses)

Course 3
Beetroot cooked on open coals sheep curd and horseradish 

Chateau Rives-Blanques, Chardonnay-Chenin, France 2012


Midsummer house isn’t famed for its theatricality, it’s more about great tasting seasonal produce (think more Manoir than fat duck ) but it still managed to keep it tongue on cheek with this next course, almost as soon as our wine (the slightly drier white I talked about earlier) had been poured, a what looked like a portable barbecue complete with a large green done was wheeled in. Aptly named the big green egg we were swiftly informed by the chef ( a real kitchen chef and all – what a relief) how the Beetroot she was expertly carving had been cooked for 2days (I think ) over open coals for a smoky flavour to off set the sweetness of the Beetroot. Funnily enough, while impressive, it wasn’t the yellow Beetroot, candied Beetroot, barbecues beetroot, lush Beetroot purée or the fact that my dad was actually eating all this Beetroot having almost declared himself allergic to it at the start of the meal, it was the soft coats curd. It was like a more flavoursome ricotta and offset the acidity and sweetness of Beetroot – I might have eaten my sisters sheep curd too…

Course 4
Slow roasted monkfish, bay leaf, mushroom and onion infusion

Luigi Bosca, Pinot Noir, Argentina, 2011

I had been enlightened earlier of how amazing this dish was before I came by U8 who declared this her favourite dish and it did not disappoint. I think the dishes got better through the lunch. This fish was introduced by way of an apparent coffee service ( I hope your not going to do this with our
cafetiere was the die hard coffee addict my mother’a comment). The waiter explained that he was using the cafetieres to create a mushroom broth infusion to pour over the monkfish. It came with crunchy onion slivers, so thin you could hardly compare them to the hulking batter laden rings you get from the kebab van (although that is my post-club guilty treat on occasion). Every time I have monkfish I’m surprised by how wonderfully meaty it is for a fish, like eating a pork fillet, lighter than a steak but not half hearted and thin like a plaice. This was accompanied by the most lovely red wine, rather like the monkfish it wasn’t as full bodied as the next red, more delicate but was red nonetheless and carried more weight than the white.
 
Course 5
Slow roasted loin of venison, braised neck, Brussels sprouts, pancetta and quince

Lammershoek, South Africa, 2010

After returning from the incredibly decadent bathrooms ( fancy hand towels) and having my seat pushed in behind me as I sat down, and my napkin laid over my lap, I felt incredibly pampered (although admittedly the first time the waiter tried to push in my chair I got a little confused ending in an awkward tussle but we sorted it in the end). The next course felt like Christmas, except what you would have for Christmas dinner if you didn’t feel the need to push your stomach to the limits on Christmas Day . I am a big fan of two things on this dish, the recent re-occurance of venison on dishes, and Brussels sprouts. I know most people are not fans of this seasonal vegetable but I assure you when each leaf is individually peeled for you and served with melt in the mouth venison, a thick red wine jus and a shaving of chocolate it can make even the most anti-sprout protestor enjoy it (exhibit A – my father who appears to be really fussy from this post, he’s not that bad). Having said that the highlight of this dish were the pools of sweet and sharp quince purée and the most succulent braised neck, sharp and salty and soft mmmmmm in fact the only disappointment was that the dark chocolate was masked by these flavours, perhaps a little more would have rendered it not entirely superfluous to the  dish, but baring in mind this was the first day of serving this dish for them it was otherwise exquisite. Even the red meat phobe to my left (my sister had a bad experience with a steak in France) really enjoyed this dish.

Course 6
 Lemon posset, blueberries, lemon Espuma

The keen eyed among you will start to notice a theme, Daniel Clifford seems to be making good use of his siphon. Not that I’m complaining – not only does it gives dishes the most interesting dimension, but I’m also now going to be able to recreate dishes thanks to the persuasiveness of midsummer house foams (note to kings college GOOD use of foams in dishes ). This was almost my favourite dish excepting the second pudding (is it that obvious I have a sweet tooth). Having newly discovered lemon meringue pie (I know 30 years too late) the sweet lemon curd like base was off set by a sharp layer of crushed frozen blueberries and blueberry coulis (who would have thought that the blueberries rather than the lemon was the sour part). Finally the whole dish is finished with a silky lemon foam and tiny pieces of blueberry meringue. Nothing was overly sweet and this proved the perfect palate cleanser before a return to Christmassy flavours for dessert.

Course 7
Roasted chestnuts, caramel, chestnut frangipane

Tenute Marchese Antinori, Vin Santo Del Chianti Classico, 2008

I don’t know why but it has never occurred to me to mix chocolate and chestnut. Chestnut and sprouts, chestnut and cheese even chestnut and caramel but never with chocolate. Oh how wrong I was. This was the best dish. A crumbly salty base, topped with a silky cold chocolate mousse (so much more than an ice cream) with soft chestnuts, frangipane and drizzled with caramel, scattered with hazelnuts. The lost amazing mixture if flavours and textures, each strong enough to hold their own against the other. You’re probably wondering how on earth we managed to fit all this in but trust me when the food is this good – it’s worth it. Wash this down nicely with vin santo (if you have never tried cantuccini biscotti dipped in vin santo stop reading and go try it now) and it was the perfect dessert

Not that we were finished at this point, there was still soft doughnuts with lemon dipping sauce, so good we ate them before I could get a picture. Then ended the meal with complimentary champagne which the sommelier helpfully put in front of us despite the fact my mum and sister had left saying – aah well just two glasses each for you then.


Even that wasn’t the end of it. We were then taken on a tour if the kitchens by our lovely waiter who first took us to the wine cellar and prep kitchen. I kid you not, I held a Dom Perignon 1985. The more I see of life the more I realise I’m going to have to marry for money ! Then round to the main kitchen where I meet the head chef Dan. After that glass of champagne I brazenly recall my experience at Le Manoir, he says we if you don’t ask you don’t get and offers me a work experience slot at midsummer ( turns out he worked at Le Manoir too – watch this space) Finally we end with the pastry kitchen (obviously my faveourite place) where I get to try the new fig and chocolate dessert as well. And on that sugar and career high, I had to come all the way back down to earth, with an opera.

Fudge salted caramel brownies (ie orgasm in a tin)

Posted on by

Fudge salted caramel brownies (ie orgasm in a tin)

So I am writing this from my iPhone because my computer didn’t survive the weekend that needs 3 blog posts to replicate. I am strongly in need of an early night, liver detox and green veg but it was definitely worth it. This first post is solely for the cast of the magic flute many of whom have asked for the recipe and how I make them so gooey despite the fact they had to sort of be eaten with a spoon out of the tin ( although I strongly recommend anyone not in the magic flute to try making these too) I for one credit them with helping me get through the get out which lasted till 2.30am, not helped by my apparent hangover from lunch (see the next blog post on midsummer house). I also should admit that the success of these brownies wasn’t necessarily down to my skill at cooking, but partly due to the fact I over-bought in terms of chocolate and under-bought in terms of eggs, so the result was a fudgy gooiness which nevertheless proved pretty popular amongst the singers (although of course only after the show – they would never eat chocolate before singing……maybe) also I apologise there is no picture of these…they were eaten before I remembered to take one, it’s alright though because they were more tasty than pretty anyway

300g caster sugar
250ml double cream
2tsp salt (sea salt)
Knob of butter
600g dark chocolate (sainsburys basics is fine)
350g butter
6 eggs
300g caster sugar
Vanilla extract
1tsp salt
250g flour

1. Melt the sugar over a medium heat without stirring till it turns an amber colour WATCH it is easy to burn. Take off the heat and add the cream and salt mixing vigourously then stir in the butter, leave to come to room temperature.
2. Meanwhile melt the butter and chocolate till smooth, add the salt and leave to cool to room temp
3. Beat in the eggs one by one, then the sugar, add a tsp of vanilla then stir in the flour
4. Pour half into a lined rectangular deep tin. Top with caramel and then the remaining brownie mix
5. Bake in the oven at 180oC for 25-30mins
6. Meanwhile wash up, it will take a while

Recreating American treats

Posted on by

Recreating American treats

Some of you may have read my earlier blog post about San Francisco – foodie heaven! Of course as soon as I got home I was desperate to recreate some of the dishes I had tasted. Luckily the foodie neighbours were coming to dinner, although I’m not sure they were necessarily expecting such modern cuisine (despite the fact they came with us on the trip, they were mostly eating the provided school food with the boys) with my standard dinner party fare being french classic with a twist. However it seemed to go down rather well and I for one can’t get enough of the pecan pie and the candied bacon is addictive (i ate a lot in the kitchen).

Pappardelle with green garlic cream, sweet roasted parsnips and a poached egg
This is inspired by the dish we got given in Boulette’s larder in San Francisco. The extra dish we got given on top of what we ordered, a parmesan cream with candied parsnip, it just made sense to recreate it as a pasta dish

Pappardelle for 4 (depends how hungry you are…)
Butter
Minced green garlic
(you could also add minced shallots but as you know – my father won’t eat onions)
165ml heavy cream
4 parsnips
couple of sprigs of thyme
5tbsp brown sugar (soft)
4 eggs
Spinach

1. Chop the parsnips into thin strips, toss in olive oil, sugar, thyme, salt and pepper and a little white wine vinegar, make sure they are evenly coated. Put in the oven at 200oC for 35mins. 
2. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and drop in the pappardelle, for dried pasta it should take 8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile bring another pot of salted water to the boil for the eggs, you may need to do this one at a time. Either use an egg poacher (handy) OR add a little vinegar to the water and swirl as you break the egg in to keep its shape. The egg should take 2-3mins to cook for a soft centre. One of the options you could do is cook the pasta and sauce first and keep it warm while you then cook the eggs in order to keep the eggs warm to put them straight on the pasta (this is probably a better option)
4. For the sauce, melt butter in a pan, then add the garlic, salt and pepper. cook till soft. Then add the cream and cook for another minute. Stir in the parsnips. 
5. Drain the pasta reserving 2tbsp of cooking water (the starch in the water helps the sauce bind to the pasta). Add the water and pasta to the sauce and stir over the heat for about a minute.
6. Stir through the spinach and put on the plates with the poached egg on top.
Pecan Pie with candied bacon and bourbon whiskey ice cream
This was inspired by the amazing pecan pie I had in one market …. So america, so decadent, soooo tasty. I like taking shortcuts sometimes (pastry from a packet is so simple and always perfect, also I have no ice cream maker) so I apologise if this dessert just seems too simple to be so delicious.

(makes 6)
1 packet shortcrust pastry

  • 230g dark muscovado
  • 400g golden syrup 
  • 2 tablespoons dark rum
  • 65g softened unsalted butter
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups broken pecan nuts

vanilla ice cream
boubon whisky

1. Whizz vanilla ice cream in a food processor with a shot of whisky, work quickly and don’t let it get too liquid. Return immediately to the freezer (it will be softer than regular ice cream but I needed a quick fix cheat)
2. Roll out the dough and use it to line 6 mini pie tins. Chill
3. Combine sugar, rum, syrup and butter in a pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat, boil for 1min then set aside to cool to lukewarm (important)
4. Beat the eggs, then combine with the syrup with vanilla, salt and nuts. 
5. Pour into the prepared cases and bake at 180oC for 40-50mins until set but with a slight wobble in the centre. 
6. Meanwhile cover your grill with foil and lay strips of bacon on it, season both sides of the bacon with dark brown sugar. Grill until crispy turning halfway through cooking and then chop into little pieces.
7. Serve the pies straight from the oven with a sprinkling of bacon pieces and a scoop of bourbon ice cream – heavenly.



The Chocolate Box

Posted on by

The Chocolate Box
            When I was at home I rediscovered chocolate making. Many reasons, mostly a lack of funds for any real presents for people (plus let’s be honest people always tend to prefer homemade gifts for some reason). So for the final two weeks before uni I turned are kitchen into a pseudo-chocolate factory, completely monopolising one of the surfaces and the entire fridge. The brilliant thing about making chocolates is that once you’ve mastered the basics it is remarkably simple and easy, yet people seem to be incredibly impressed with what you produce, just invest in some good chocolate moulds and that is pretty much all you need.
Simple Ganache
2 parts dark chocolate to 1 part cream (e.g 100g chocolate, 50ml double cream). Heat the cream with an infusion of your choice (have sometimes ranged from earl grey to black pepper) then pour over the chocolate that has been chopped, leave for a minute, then stir to combine. You should be left with a smooth combination.
                                                    
To fill a chocolate mould
Fill each mould up to the top with chocolate and flatten the tops with a palate knife, then turn upside down and tap the top (you can do this into a bowl if you have a wide enough bowl or if, like me, you don’t, just use a piece of greaseproof paper, the chocolate with set and you can reuse it). Then scrape the top again with a palate knife for a clean finish.
To finish
Fill the moulds with the ganache leaving a rim around the edge, leave to set. Spread a layer of chocolate over the top, scraping round the sides of each mould.
Few important details
–       white chocolate ganache will always need more chocolate to cream ratio than dark or milk
–       I like to use a freezer to set each stage because I’m inpatient
–       If you want to use a liquid flavour (orange juice/alcohol etc) reduce the amount of cream and replace with the liquid (for juices reduce the liquid to a syrupy consistency but not for alcohol unless you want a boozefree hit)
–       You can stir in crunch/ other textures into the ganache for new layers
–       Praline/ peanut butter can be mixed with chocolate on its own to create a thicker ganache filling
–       To put decoration on top the best way is to paint the bottom of the mould
–       Caramel is another winner usually. Boil sugar and liquid glucose to amber colour with some salt, straight away add a dash of cream and a  knob of butter, then leave to cool a little before putting in the moulds.
– water is the enemy BUT if you do get some water in your chocolate, the best deal is to add fat, so oil or melted butter and hopefully your pro blame will be solved
Some of my biggest successes have either been simple (earl grey, salted caramel) or themed (biscuit box, Christmas inspired) or even just boozy, I also like using herbs and spices mixed with sweet flavours like raspberry/wasabi (using real raspberry pulp for intense flavour). This years selection seemed to go down rather well anyway. 
  
                                                                 


BFG (black forest gateaux)

Posted on by

Another Fat Duck Recipe that is absolutely amazing is the BFG (black forest gateaux not big friendly giant FYI). This is the piece de resistance of the tasting menu and it is beautiful. It probably takes around 8hrs to make start to finish and involves some of the most wonderful fat duck techniques, the aerator, chocolate spray gun, liquid nitrogen ice cream plus a few more classical ones, maceration, chocolate sponge, cut vanilla pod…… unusually Heston uses quite a few classic flavours, essential a black forest gateaux inside out. So you have a core of aerated dark chocolate and a macerated cherry and a layer of chocolate sponge doused in kirsch liqueur.  Then surrounding that you have dark chocolate mousse, around that you have a white chocolate mousse, and then the base is the most amazing praline crunch. This is then all sprayed with tiny particles of dark chocolate for a furry effect (better than it sounds) and then topped with a second macerated cherry with a vanilla pod slice stuck in the top to look like a stalk (I know attention to detail) all served with a heavenly unsweetened kick of kirsch ice cream to cut through that amazing richness. All the flavours of a BFG without that I think I may throw up clogginess you get after eating it. On top of all this there is a trail of chocolate ‘soil’ and cherry sauce. J

HESTON’S VERSION

It is intricately amazing and when you chop into it you can’t imagine the effect of all the different textures and flavours – so goooood. Interesting fact about Michelin dessert techniques – they tend to freeze everything (mousses, chocolates, biscuits ) until serving so that you can get the shape right and get it neatly onto the plate plus ensure nothing melts

BFG (my version)

Ingredients (serves 6)
Macerated Cherries
10  cherries, de stoned
200g sugar
150ml kirsch
Almond base
60g blanched almonds
100g 75% dark chocolate
50g white chocolate
25g butter
35g ground almonds
Kirsch Ganache
100g 75% dark chocolate
100ml double cream
50ml kirsch
Chocolate sponge
3 eggs
60g sugar
20g cornflour
20g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
White Chocolate Mousse
150ml double cream
1 egg yolk
45g sugar
100g white chocolate
50ml kirsch
Dark Chocolate Mousse
75ml double cream
½ egg yolk
20g sugar
50g dark 60% chocolate
To Serve
Dark chocolate aero
Cocoa powder
50g 100% dark chocolate
20g ground almonds
1 vanilla pod
Kirsch ice cream (if poss)

1.     For the macerated cherries, heat the sugar in a pan with 150ml water and reduce to a thin syrup consistency. Leave the cherries steeping in it for at least 5hours.
2.     For the base, roast the almonds in a dry frying pan over a high heat till toasted. Then chop to small pieces.  Melt the chocolates and butter in a microwave. Meanwhile place the ground almonds on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 3mins at 200oC, making sure not to burn. Mix the almonds into the chocolate mix and spread on a baking sheet, place in the fridge to set.
3.     For the ganache, chop the chocolate into very fine pieces. Heat the cream in a pan to the point of boiling but don’t boil. pour over the chocolate and leave for 1min then combine with the kirsch. Pour into a shallow lined pan and place in the freezer.
4.     For the sponge, whisk the eggs together, and then whisk in the sugar till light and frothy. Fold in the flours and cocoa and place in a ined baking tray, bake at 170oC (150oC fan) for 15mins. When removed from the oven, soak using a little of the syrup the cherries have been soaking in.
5.     When the Ganache has frozen, cut out squares of the almond base and place in square individual moulds. Cut out smaller squares of the ganache, sponge and dark chocolate aero (all same size) place in centre of almond base, top with a cherry and refrigerate.
6.     For the mousse, whip the cream and kirsch to soft peaks and set aside. Then whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave, then fold in the egg mix and cream mix, pour into the square moulds so it encases the ganache, cake, aero and cherry, freeze.
7.     For the dark mousse, whip the cream to soft peaks and set aside. Then whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, then fold in the egg mix and cream mix. Layer on top of the frozen white chocolate mousse, freexe, placing a lollipop stick in the centre.
8.     To serve, remove the BFGs from the moulds then freeze again. Meanwhile grate the 100%chocolate and toast the ground almonds as before. Leave the almonds to cool completely, then mix with the chocolate. Remove the BFGs then dust with cocoa powder, sieved. Freeze again. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer 5-10mins before, remove the lollipop stick. Put the remaining cherry syrup in a piping bag. Dust a little of the 100% chocolate almond mix onto the place like soil and top with the BFG, on the left side. Squeeze a little syrup into the central hole and squeeze a little more down one corner (if need be, thicken the syrup by reducing further). Slice the vanilla pod finely to resemble cherry stalks. Place a cherry on top of the hole on the BFG and stick a cherry vanilla stalk in. Serve with a quenelle of kirsch ice cream on the right side. 

Crème Fraiche takes centre stage

Posted on by

Crème Fraiche takes centre stage
It gets to a point when you have been cooking for your parents through your teenage years that you realise when you leave for university; it’s not you who might be unable to survive but your parents. Occasionally I wonder if I should have weaned them off my cooking gently so as to prevent occasions such as the time my dad had to send his secretary out for a croissant because inexplicably the cereal wasn’t on the table for breakfast and he had no idea where we kept it. My mother is semi-domesticated, she has a talent for washing and ironing (at which I am abysmal), unloading and loading the dishwasher, boiling eggs and making coffee, but I am not sure she knows how to grocery shop after years of my sister and I taking control. You would think that shopping online would be simple, but having learnt the basics of technology (we taught her how to make animated PowerPoint’s a while ago), Internet shopping may be one technological step too far. I have taken to picking up food on the way home from university just to make sure I have something for breakfast the next day having come home too many times to an empty fridge save a little mouldy cheese and a bottle of salad dressing we can’t seem to shift. It’s no wonder the fridge has started leaking, I expect it’s feeling unloved. To be fair to my parents they both have jobs where lunch is provided and dinner is quite often offered too. There will come a time where they will need to cook for themselves (well unless I really fail in life and am living at home at the age of 30), which is hopefully where this blog will come in handy.
Once again I am staring into the fridge hoping for a little inspiration when my mum enters the kitchen. ‘I was so pleased to see you bought crème fraiche I really like crème fraiche. When you weren’t here we had some with jacket potatoes’ she states proudly, before promptly walking out of the kitchen. ‘I’m off to finish writing the book’. (I would just like to say that she did indeed finish the book that evening, so this dish was celebratory). There I have it, my inspiration, Crème Fraiche. Not usually the central component of a dish so I routed around in the freezer for something a little more focused. I find prawns and peas and decide that this was all coming together nicely. Add the remainder of those damn endless preserved lemons and you have a prawn, pea, lemon, crème fraiche risotto.
So I fried garlic in a large chunk of butter, throw in a bay leaf, salt, lemon juice, vanilla extract and lots of pepper. (It is worth mentioning at this point that you could add an onion here. My dishes tend to not include onions. My Dad refuses to eat them and he can spot them a mile off. In fact he removed all of the preserved lemon pieces methodically from this dish before being told that they were in fact not onions, at which point he ate them up without a word. Why he claims he likes onions I have no idea……) I added the risotto rice to the pan and stirred it for a bit before gradually adding fish stock, stirring till I got a thick risotto. I added a few frozen prawns, the peas, and a couple of mange tout pieces before stirring in more black pepper and the crowning glory – the crème fraiche-. It wasn’t half bad, although there is still a half full pack of crème fraiche left to eat….

Detox Meal 2 – tomato trout

Posted on by

Detox Meal 2 – tomato trout

After a typical weekend of brunch and boozy evenings (never want to see wine and cheese again) I was coming out of the kitchen with a typical ‘I NEED TO GET GREEN VEGETABLES INSIDE ME’ dish that my body was screaming out for, when I was stopped and complimented by U8 and U7 for my both healthy looking and yummy smelling dish. Therefore this dish is for them.

Here are the benefits in this dish
1. Trout is healthier than salmon but still has lots of Omega 3
2. Broccoli is good for the liver (a necessity)
3. Garlic cures all overindulgences
4. Fills you up
5. tomatoes make your skin look amazing
6. mostly very cheap – trout is only £1.50 per fillet and everything else is sainsburys basics
7. spice speeds up the metabolism
8. it takes all of 15mins to make and it is all on a hob (thanks student cooking)

Ingredients
1 trout fillet
1x400g chopped tomatoes
1x onion
4 garlic cloves (or 2tsp very lazy chopped garlic)
1 small courgette
half a head of broccoli
salt
Worcester sauce
smoked paprika
dried parsley
black pepper
individual pack of Philadelphia (get the light stuff to be super healthy)

Place the chopped onion and garlic in a pan and sprinkle over some sea salt (this will help them sweat  cooking without oil). After a minute sprinkle over some paprika and worcester sauce. Leave for another minute, then add the tomatoes followed by a little hot water poured into the tomato tin/ carton. Leave to simmer. Meanwhile chop broccoli and courgette and put into a microwave proof bowl and cover with boiling water, place in the microwave for 5mins. Finally add black pepper and parsley to the tomato chutney and when thickened pour into a bowl. Then place the trout skin down in a pan and cook for 2mins, then flip and cook for another 1-2mins. Serve the fish with tomato chutney on the side, topped with Philadelphia and with the green veg on the side. Enjoy feeling healthy before you get invited out to the pub again tomorrow….