Phew....
Never have I been happier to get back to work! Spent the majority of the weekend horizontal in my bed feeling ill.
I have this really annoying chesty cough thing going on and a one of those headaches that makes your scalp all sensitive, it's not altogether very pleasant but I really didn't help myself by going out for a few beers after DJ'ing on Saturday. Should have trusted my instincts and gone home like a good boy.
Yesterday evening my car decided that it would prefer to not start so that had to be taken to the garage over the road from our house first thing this morning. So I dropped my keys off to Paddy our lovely local mechanic, neighbourhood watch executive and all round nice fellow explaining the problem I had....
Starter motor just spinning, not catching enough to get the engine turning over etc etc
About 10 minutes later I get a call from Paddy...."Ben I've just checked out your car...turned over first time...and about 25 times consistently after that"
"Hmmmmmmmmm..............How much to fit a new starter motor anyway because there is definitely a problem with it?"
"In excess of £300.00 I should imagine..........probably about £350.00"
"Might as well go ahead and do it Paddy cause I don't want it happening again somewhere remote"................Whince
Anyway that was the least of my worries because what awaited was a dreaded trip on British public transport.
Train stations make me laugh in a way because it's such a hive of activity and it's all completely avoidable.
Firstly people just need to get up earlier and give themselves plenty of time. It'd save all the running about and rushing around. I saw so many guys in suits doing the "Run for the train - Run a bit faster when you realise it's going - then the inevitable........slowly grind into a walk trying to look cool and make out like nobody has seen you massively fail." You guys crack me up :-)
Then there are the women who are late. Of course it's the trains fault for not waiting and not theirs for having the extra press on the snooze button or the having that one (completely unnecessary) extra moan at the henpecked husband.
Of course though the biggest spanners in the works are the staff employed by network rail. I think their slogan should be "Network Rail - Making the Unemployable Employable"
Take anyone of these workers and put them in any other work environment and they just wouldn't have a clue.............I blame the unions....Bring back Maggie ;-)
However one major plus one has when one takes the locomotive from Reading to Sunny Twyford is that you get the opportunity to purchase a rather yummy Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Bagel from the kiosk in Reading Station.
Made my morning that did. Still about £350.00 down on the day but a simple Bagel made me cheer up a bit. I think anybody reading this should go out right now and get one.
Good day to you lovely beings xx
Tuesday 31 August 2010
Friday 27 August 2010
To Curry Favour.....
OK as promised a recipe for a rather hot Lamb Curry for you all. Once you have done this a few times you'll be cooking curries the same way for ages. It's really so simple.
You could actually use any meat for this too, Pork, Chicken and Beef would work as would just adding more vegetables for a vegetarian option or chucking in some fresh uncooked and unshelled prawns towards the end of cooking for a fishier variation.
Lamb or Mutton would be my personal choice which is why I've used it in the recipe but it really more about the spice paste and blended sauce (in Indian cooking referred to as the "Masala" which I'm sure rings bell with you)
I'm only going to do the actual curry itself leaving you to decide what you serve with it. Personally just plain boiled Basmati rice does the trick for me because any extra flavourings can distract from the spices in the curry.
This should serve 4 people.
What you need for this -
1 x Large Saucepan or Stove-top Casserole (In either case they need a lid. If you do use a casserole make absolutely sure it can cope with direct heat otherwise it could crack and be very dangerous)
1 x Blender or Hand Blender.
1 x Pestle and Mortar. (This is preferred but not entirely necessary as any whole spices used could be substituted for their ground variety)
1 x Chopping Board.
1 x Sharp Cooks knife.
1 x Measuring Jug. (This is just to mix up a small amount of stock so if you don't have one then a coffee mug will do)
1 x Empty bowl for preparation.
Ingredients -
2 x Medium/Large Onions.
3 x Dorset Naga Chillis. (If you cannot get these go for 4 or 5 Scotch Bonnet or perhaps about 7 or 8 green finger Chillis. The hotter the better, test your limits)
4 x Cloves of Garlic.
3 x Tomatoes
2 x Medium sized Floury Potatoes. (Estima, King Edward or Desiree)
1kg x Stewing Lamb. (Neck or Shoulder will be best, try and get your butcher to take it off the bone and cut it into chunks for you, they may also already have prepared chucks of Stewing Lamb ready.)
1 x Stock Cube. (Lamb preferably but Chicken or vegetable will work too)
1 x Handful of Fresh Coriander.
1 x Tin of Chopped Tomatoes.
1 x Thumb sized piece of Fresh Ginger.
3 x Tablespoons of Sunflower or Vegetable Oil
1 x Teaspoon of Black Mustard seeds.
1 x Good glug of White Wine Vinegar.
Sea Salt.
Fresh Ground Black Pepper.
Spices - If you do not have a Pestle and Mortar then just mix the spices up in a small pot substituting the whole spices (seeds) for their ground equivalent. (tbsp = Tablespoon/tsp = Teaspoon)
1 tbsp x Hot Madras Curry Powder.
1 tsp x Tumeric.
1 tsp x Cumin Seeds.
1 tsp x Coriander Seeds.
1 tsp x Paprika.
1 tbsp x Chilli Powder.
4 x Cardomom Pods. (Carefully cut open and use just the black seeds inside)
1 tsp x Ground Ginger.
1 tbsp x Ground Cinnamon.
1 tsp x English Mustard Powder. (Optional)
To start get all the spices into you Pestle and Mortar and give a good grinding until there are no large bits then add a touch of water a bit at a time to create a paste, leave this to one side for the time being.
** TIP here - Why not multiply the Spice ingredients and use only what you need for this recipe right now and save the rest in an air tight container for use again saving you having to measure all the spices out again next time. ***
So now take the onions, peel them then cut each in half from root to top. Take one of these Onion halves, slice it widthways into fairly thin slices and save in one of the empty bowls for later.
The remaining Onion and be roughly chopped and added to the blender jug.
For the Chillis just lop off the stalks and also bung into the blender jug. The minimal amount of contact your fingers have with insides of these beauties the better !!
Peel the Garlic cloves and the Fresh Ginger add both of these to the blender jug as well.
Finally give the Fresh Coriander (stalks and all) a little chop so it'll blend easier and throw this in the blender too.
Give all of these ingredients a good blast until its all nicely chopped and there are no lumpy bits. You may find that initially the ingredients won't blend too easily but you can fix this by taking the lid off the tin of chopped tomatoes and adding in some of the juice to the mixture as it blends.
Once you happy with it's texture then turn off the blender and set aside for later.
Now to start the cooking....
Put the pan over a medium heat, let it warm up before adding in the Oil.
After a few seconds add in the Black Mustard seeds.
Keep your eye on the pan because in a while the seeds should start popping a little.
Once they do then take your Spice Paste mixture, add it into the Oil and give it a good stir until it is completely mixed with the oil.
If the Oil and Spice mixture looks like it's cooking a bit too ferociously just take the pan off the heat for a while and stir it until it calms down a bit, it should just be a gentle simmer. The idea here is not to burn the spices but to cook out the powderiness and to flavour and colour the Oil.
If you're happy that it's all nicely mixed together then empty the bowl of sliced onions into the pan and give them a stir round. Notice how quickly they take on the colour of the Oil.
A minute or so later add the Lamb. Many people would say that you should brown off the Lamb first but for me that just restricts the flavours from getting into the meat so for this recipe just bung in in there and give it a stir so it's all coated in the spices.
Let this cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally but in the meantime you can peel the potatoes and cut into cubes, about a centimetre square, maybe just a little bigger. When done put them into the pan along with the Lamb and again give it a stir to get them coated in all the lovely spices.
Cut each tomato into 8 equal wedges, or near enough then chuck these in too. (In a restaurant the tomatoes would be skinned too. By all means do that if you want but it's a bit of a faff)
The contents of the blender and the rest of the chopped tomatoes can now be added along with a a good pinch of Sea Salt and plenty of Black Pepper. Give it another good stir.
It's up to you to decide how thick you'd like the sauce but I'm guessing that at the moment the curry does look a bit dry so just dilute about a third of the stock cube into about a 300ml of boiling water and add to the pan a bit at a time until it looks how you think you like it to when you serve it up.
You might not need it all but don't throw it away because this is a slow cooked dish, there will no doubt be some reduction in consistency as it cooks so checking every now and then and adding more if required is a good thing.
Finally add in the glug of White Wine Vinegar, stir again, drop the heat down to low, and stick on the lid. I find that the Vinegar will add a sharpness that brings out the heat more. If you feel you put in too much you can temper the vinegary flavour by adding sugar to balance it back again.
It can take anywhere between 60 and 90 minutes to cook but you'll know when it's nearly ready because the floury potato cubes will start to disintegrate adding substance to the sauce.
While it's cooking do keep tasting but try not to stir too much otherwise the Lamb could start to flake up as it tenderises and lose it's shape making you end up with something more akin to a Curry soup rather than a Bendaloo :-)
Lastly..............Put a toilet roll in the Freezer ready for the morning :-)
You could actually use any meat for this too, Pork, Chicken and Beef would work as would just adding more vegetables for a vegetarian option or chucking in some fresh uncooked and unshelled prawns towards the end of cooking for a fishier variation.
Lamb or Mutton would be my personal choice which is why I've used it in the recipe but it really more about the spice paste and blended sauce (in Indian cooking referred to as the "Masala" which I'm sure rings bell with you)
I'm only going to do the actual curry itself leaving you to decide what you serve with it. Personally just plain boiled Basmati rice does the trick for me because any extra flavourings can distract from the spices in the curry.
This should serve 4 people.
What you need for this -
1 x Large Saucepan or Stove-top Casserole (In either case they need a lid. If you do use a casserole make absolutely sure it can cope with direct heat otherwise it could crack and be very dangerous)
1 x Blender or Hand Blender.
1 x Pestle and Mortar. (This is preferred but not entirely necessary as any whole spices used could be substituted for their ground variety)
1 x Chopping Board.
1 x Sharp Cooks knife.
1 x Measuring Jug. (This is just to mix up a small amount of stock so if you don't have one then a coffee mug will do)
1 x Empty bowl for preparation.
Ingredients -
2 x Medium/Large Onions.
3 x Dorset Naga Chillis. (If you cannot get these go for 4 or 5 Scotch Bonnet or perhaps about 7 or 8 green finger Chillis. The hotter the better, test your limits)
4 x Cloves of Garlic.
3 x Tomatoes
2 x Medium sized Floury Potatoes. (Estima, King Edward or Desiree)
1kg x Stewing Lamb. (Neck or Shoulder will be best, try and get your butcher to take it off the bone and cut it into chunks for you, they may also already have prepared chucks of Stewing Lamb ready.)
1 x Stock Cube. (Lamb preferably but Chicken or vegetable will work too)
1 x Handful of Fresh Coriander.
1 x Tin of Chopped Tomatoes.
1 x Thumb sized piece of Fresh Ginger.
3 x Tablespoons of Sunflower or Vegetable Oil
1 x Teaspoon of Black Mustard seeds.
1 x Good glug of White Wine Vinegar.
Sea Salt.
Fresh Ground Black Pepper.
Spices - If you do not have a Pestle and Mortar then just mix the spices up in a small pot substituting the whole spices (seeds) for their ground equivalent. (tbsp = Tablespoon/tsp = Teaspoon)
1 tbsp x Hot Madras Curry Powder.
1 tsp x Tumeric.
1 tsp x Cumin Seeds.
1 tsp x Coriander Seeds.
1 tsp x Paprika.
1 tbsp x Chilli Powder.
4 x Cardomom Pods. (Carefully cut open and use just the black seeds inside)
1 tsp x Ground Ginger.
1 tbsp x Ground Cinnamon.
1 tsp x English Mustard Powder. (Optional)
To start get all the spices into you Pestle and Mortar and give a good grinding until there are no large bits then add a touch of water a bit at a time to create a paste, leave this to one side for the time being.
** TIP here - Why not multiply the Spice ingredients and use only what you need for this recipe right now and save the rest in an air tight container for use again saving you having to measure all the spices out again next time. ***
So now take the onions, peel them then cut each in half from root to top. Take one of these Onion halves, slice it widthways into fairly thin slices and save in one of the empty bowls for later.
The remaining Onion and be roughly chopped and added to the blender jug.
For the Chillis just lop off the stalks and also bung into the blender jug. The minimal amount of contact your fingers have with insides of these beauties the better !!
Peel the Garlic cloves and the Fresh Ginger add both of these to the blender jug as well.
Finally give the Fresh Coriander (stalks and all) a little chop so it'll blend easier and throw this in the blender too.
Give all of these ingredients a good blast until its all nicely chopped and there are no lumpy bits. You may find that initially the ingredients won't blend too easily but you can fix this by taking the lid off the tin of chopped tomatoes and adding in some of the juice to the mixture as it blends.
Once you happy with it's texture then turn off the blender and set aside for later.
Now to start the cooking....
Put the pan over a medium heat, let it warm up before adding in the Oil.
After a few seconds add in the Black Mustard seeds.
Keep your eye on the pan because in a while the seeds should start popping a little.
Once they do then take your Spice Paste mixture, add it into the Oil and give it a good stir until it is completely mixed with the oil.
If the Oil and Spice mixture looks like it's cooking a bit too ferociously just take the pan off the heat for a while and stir it until it calms down a bit, it should just be a gentle simmer. The idea here is not to burn the spices but to cook out the powderiness and to flavour and colour the Oil.
If you're happy that it's all nicely mixed together then empty the bowl of sliced onions into the pan and give them a stir round. Notice how quickly they take on the colour of the Oil.
A minute or so later add the Lamb. Many people would say that you should brown off the Lamb first but for me that just restricts the flavours from getting into the meat so for this recipe just bung in in there and give it a stir so it's all coated in the spices.
Let this cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally but in the meantime you can peel the potatoes and cut into cubes, about a centimetre square, maybe just a little bigger. When done put them into the pan along with the Lamb and again give it a stir to get them coated in all the lovely spices.
Cut each tomato into 8 equal wedges, or near enough then chuck these in too. (In a restaurant the tomatoes would be skinned too. By all means do that if you want but it's a bit of a faff)
The contents of the blender and the rest of the chopped tomatoes can now be added along with a a good pinch of Sea Salt and plenty of Black Pepper. Give it another good stir.
It's up to you to decide how thick you'd like the sauce but I'm guessing that at the moment the curry does look a bit dry so just dilute about a third of the stock cube into about a 300ml of boiling water and add to the pan a bit at a time until it looks how you think you like it to when you serve it up.
You might not need it all but don't throw it away because this is a slow cooked dish, there will no doubt be some reduction in consistency as it cooks so checking every now and then and adding more if required is a good thing.
Finally add in the glug of White Wine Vinegar, stir again, drop the heat down to low, and stick on the lid. I find that the Vinegar will add a sharpness that brings out the heat more. If you feel you put in too much you can temper the vinegary flavour by adding sugar to balance it back again.
It can take anywhere between 60 and 90 minutes to cook but you'll know when it's nearly ready because the floury potato cubes will start to disintegrate adding substance to the sauce.
While it's cooking do keep tasting but try not to stir too much otherwise the Lamb could start to flake up as it tenderises and lose it's shape making you end up with something more akin to a Curry soup rather than a Bendaloo :-)
Lastly..............Put a toilet roll in the Freezer ready for the morning :-)
Thursday 26 August 2010
Lateness....
Right so on we go to lateness.....
I can understand that my views on this might be taken as a personal attack on certain individuals....it's not at all. It's taken from my life experience. 35 Years and 1000's of people and certainly not just the here and now.
What I do hope though is that people do read it and cringe :-) and of course laugh as it's supposed to be tongue in cheek as are all my posts non food related.
So lateness....it's something that I really cannot abide. I'm not taking about once in a while lateness which could be due to factors out of your control. I'm talking about planned lateness and lateness bought on by ignorance.
My instincts and my faith in Humankind tells me that there are far more people in this world that want to be in the right place at the right time but there is an ever increasing amount of people that being just a little late for something is perfectly acceptable whether that be for work, a social event or even a mode of transport.
I don't like these types of people.......and I really do like a very wide demographic of other people.
Let go back to the points in the first paragraph.
Once in a while lateness is perfectly excusable providing the person who was late has a genuine reason such as being stuck in traffic, childcare issues, public transport delays, illness and right down to general bad luck. If they've left plenty of time for the journey and still arrived late then what else can be expected.
At least the person showed willingness and an equal level of respect for the person or group they were intending to meet.
Planned lateness, being "Fashionably Late" is just ridiculous façade. People say "Oh I like to be fashionable late" thinking that by using this pathetic excuse it'll cover up the actual reason.
Two reasons for this in my view. One is hideous insecurity, a complete lack of confidence, this I can understand a little bit to start with but when it becomes habitual then you start to question the validity of the reasons given for the insecurity.
Why is it so bad to have to stand in a bar on your own for a few minutes waiting for someone? Why does someone else have to be there before you? When is it that you start to trust your friends and begin to build better relationships?
The second reason which is complete self-absorption.
Not sure if that is an actual phrase by the way but it's the first thing that came to my mind.
These people do not live by the "Always treat people they way you'd expect to be treated yourself" motto.
These people are ones that demand your attention and get incredibly upset when it's not reciprocated. You can try and be as nice as you can to these people but eventually you just give up because the "Everybody look at me" and the "What's in it for me?" attitude is just too boring and repetitive.
What follows is bitchiness and attempts to divide your network of friends into separate entities.
Shhhhhhhhhhh........word of advice to these people...."You're being humoured, the people who you think are on your side know that you're an idiot"
Believe it or not this is not my most hated form of lateness. That comes from habitually ignorant lateness.
We all know these people too. These are the ones who leave everything to the very last minute. Thinking that getting somewhere exactly on time is somehow advantageous even though the chance of the doing such is virtually nil.
Typical scenarios -
"I have meeting in town at 3pm, it's a 4 minute walk from the train station, the 2:17pm train gets to the station at 2:55pm ................. The train will be late and I'll never stick to this schedule and be late anyway.......So what I'll do is sit on my a**e and not even consider getting the earlier train."
"Oh so the Tennis court is booked from 2pm to 3pm.....OK I'll turn up at 3:05, spend 15 minutes getting ready, 5 minutes warming up then we can play for 45 minutes...........Then I'll get a strop on when we're not allowed to overrun because someone else has booked the court from 3pm......and they have the nerve to be ready at 3pm too."
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh can you stop doing this please !!!???
For this reason alone you will find life very hard to live. People like this to me are untrustworthy, unprincipled and unemployable.
Simple rule.......
If you have something booked that starts at 10am. Be there for 10am and be ready to start what it is that is suppose to be happening.
At work if you start at 9am then start work at 9am, do not turn up at 9am, have a cup of tea, catch up on Facebook..........................erm..............write a Blog....then start work. Turn up at 8:30am....do all that....and work from 9am.
If you are meeting people at a bar at 9pm. Be there at 9pm ready to start conversation and have a drink in your hand. Aim to get there at 8:50 to make this happen......you life is not that important, no matter what you think. Ten minutes out of it won't knock the world which revolves around you off it's access.
So what if there is nobody else in the venue when you get there. Knowing and trusting that your friends will be trying their hardest to also be there at 8:50pm should be enough to make you settled.
Absolutely nobody is looking at you and thinking "Ooooh they are on their own aren't they silly"
Nobody gives a s**t....FACT and even if they did then perhaps you should work out exactly who they are and go over for a chat because rest assured these people are just as self-obsessed and neurotic as yourself and you'll probably get on like a house on fire.
And thats it :-)
Tomorrow...........back to food and a very nice Curry recipe.
I can understand that my views on this might be taken as a personal attack on certain individuals....it's not at all. It's taken from my life experience. 35 Years and 1000's of people and certainly not just the here and now.
What I do hope though is that people do read it and cringe :-) and of course laugh as it's supposed to be tongue in cheek as are all my posts non food related.
So lateness....it's something that I really cannot abide. I'm not taking about once in a while lateness which could be due to factors out of your control. I'm talking about planned lateness and lateness bought on by ignorance.
My instincts and my faith in Humankind tells me that there are far more people in this world that want to be in the right place at the right time but there is an ever increasing amount of people that being just a little late for something is perfectly acceptable whether that be for work, a social event or even a mode of transport.
I don't like these types of people.......and I really do like a very wide demographic of other people.
Let go back to the points in the first paragraph.
Once in a while lateness is perfectly excusable providing the person who was late has a genuine reason such as being stuck in traffic, childcare issues, public transport delays, illness and right down to general bad luck. If they've left plenty of time for the journey and still arrived late then what else can be expected.
At least the person showed willingness and an equal level of respect for the person or group they were intending to meet.
Planned lateness, being "Fashionably Late" is just ridiculous façade. People say "Oh I like to be fashionable late" thinking that by using this pathetic excuse it'll cover up the actual reason.
Two reasons for this in my view. One is hideous insecurity, a complete lack of confidence, this I can understand a little bit to start with but when it becomes habitual then you start to question the validity of the reasons given for the insecurity.
Why is it so bad to have to stand in a bar on your own for a few minutes waiting for someone? Why does someone else have to be there before you? When is it that you start to trust your friends and begin to build better relationships?
The second reason which is complete self-absorption.
Not sure if that is an actual phrase by the way but it's the first thing that came to my mind.
These people do not live by the "Always treat people they way you'd expect to be treated yourself" motto.
These people are ones that demand your attention and get incredibly upset when it's not reciprocated. You can try and be as nice as you can to these people but eventually you just give up because the "Everybody look at me" and the "What's in it for me?" attitude is just too boring and repetitive.
What follows is bitchiness and attempts to divide your network of friends into separate entities.
Shhhhhhhhhhh........word of advice to these people...."You're being humoured, the people who you think are on your side know that you're an idiot"
Believe it or not this is not my most hated form of lateness. That comes from habitually ignorant lateness.
We all know these people too. These are the ones who leave everything to the very last minute. Thinking that getting somewhere exactly on time is somehow advantageous even though the chance of the doing such is virtually nil.
Typical scenarios -
"I have meeting in town at 3pm, it's a 4 minute walk from the train station, the 2:17pm train gets to the station at 2:55pm ................. The train will be late and I'll never stick to this schedule and be late anyway.......So what I'll do is sit on my a**e and not even consider getting the earlier train."
"Oh so the Tennis court is booked from 2pm to 3pm.....OK I'll turn up at 3:05, spend 15 minutes getting ready, 5 minutes warming up then we can play for 45 minutes...........Then I'll get a strop on when we're not allowed to overrun because someone else has booked the court from 3pm......and they have the nerve to be ready at 3pm too."
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh can you stop doing this please !!!???
For this reason alone you will find life very hard to live. People like this to me are untrustworthy, unprincipled and unemployable.
Simple rule.......
If you have something booked that starts at 10am. Be there for 10am and be ready to start what it is that is suppose to be happening.
At work if you start at 9am then start work at 9am, do not turn up at 9am, have a cup of tea, catch up on Facebook..........................erm..............write a Blog....then start work. Turn up at 8:30am....do all that....and work from 9am.
If you are meeting people at a bar at 9pm. Be there at 9pm ready to start conversation and have a drink in your hand. Aim to get there at 8:50 to make this happen......you life is not that important, no matter what you think. Ten minutes out of it won't knock the world which revolves around you off it's access.
So what if there is nobody else in the venue when you get there. Knowing and trusting that your friends will be trying their hardest to also be there at 8:50pm should be enough to make you settled.
Absolutely nobody is looking at you and thinking "Ooooh they are on their own aren't they silly"
Nobody gives a s**t....FACT and even if they did then perhaps you should work out exactly who they are and go over for a chat because rest assured these people are just as self-obsessed and neurotic as yourself and you'll probably get on like a house on fire.
And thats it :-)
Tomorrow...........back to food and a very nice Curry recipe.
Wednesday 25 August 2010
Exams.....
Well I was going to have another little rant today, it was going to be about people who consider it OK to be late. I'm going to save this now for tomorrow but be warned if you are one of these people then I'd give the blog a miss tomorrow or perhaps read it, take in the information and be transformed into a better person.
Today though I have mostly been on a training course followed by an examination in order to gain my National Certificate for Personal License Holders (NCPLH). This qualification is necessary for anybody wanting to apply for a personal licence to sell alcohol.
It was quite expensive to do at £175 incl VAT but well worth it. I'd been cramming in some of the licensing legislation and was confident of passing prior to the coursework but the content in the course did ironed out the aspects of the legislation that I wasn't too clear on and also highlighted why some of the legislation was introduced especially with regard to licensed premises that are outside of the pub/restaurant area.
So apart from feeling exceedingly confident about passing the exam I've also been enlightened which all in all counts for a good day in my world. Learning, achievement and contentment all in one day :-)
Downside is that I'm developing yet another cold. I had so many a the beginning of the year, far more than I'd had previously so I hope this isn't another bout. I don't really mind the cold symptoms too much actually I just hate it when your head feels fragile. You know when you touch part of your head and it feels like you are in direct contact with your brain !??! Or is that just me?
Only way to stave off cold and flu symptoms...............STINKING HOT CURRY :-)
We have the ingredients, I have the energy so homemade it'll be.
Move over nasty cold...................Welcome home IBS.
Until tomorrow groovers...
Today though I have mostly been on a training course followed by an examination in order to gain my National Certificate for Personal License Holders (NCPLH). This qualification is necessary for anybody wanting to apply for a personal licence to sell alcohol.
It was quite expensive to do at £175 incl VAT but well worth it. I'd been cramming in some of the licensing legislation and was confident of passing prior to the coursework but the content in the course did ironed out the aspects of the legislation that I wasn't too clear on and also highlighted why some of the legislation was introduced especially with regard to licensed premises that are outside of the pub/restaurant area.
So apart from feeling exceedingly confident about passing the exam I've also been enlightened which all in all counts for a good day in my world. Learning, achievement and contentment all in one day :-)
Downside is that I'm developing yet another cold. I had so many a the beginning of the year, far more than I'd had previously so I hope this isn't another bout. I don't really mind the cold symptoms too much actually I just hate it when your head feels fragile. You know when you touch part of your head and it feels like you are in direct contact with your brain !??! Or is that just me?
Only way to stave off cold and flu symptoms...............STINKING HOT CURRY :-)
We have the ingredients, I have the energy so homemade it'll be.
Move over nasty cold...................Welcome home IBS.
Until tomorrow groovers...
Tuesday 24 August 2010
Overdue rant.....
Well I've not had a rant for a while and to be honest I am pretty good at them.
This one is one of those things that really grates on me, especially when you are trying to help somebody. It's when people ask you a question and then immediately try to explain why they are asking the question.
It goes something like this.......
Them - "Oh Ben, I hear you went to that new restaurant in town the other day. What was it like?"
Me - "Yea...(interrupted by questioner)
Them - "Because I was thinking that I might go there at the weekend as my sister is down for a friends wedding and it'd be really nice to try somewhere new"
Me - "Wel....(interrupted again)
Them - "Oh it's been ages since I've seen her, couple of years at least"
Me - Rea....(Guess what?)
Them - "No I tell a lie it's been about six years. Yeah because we were at Auntie Sue's house and everybody got so drunk. I feel over and banged my head on the kitchen cabinet, I was sooo embarrassed"
Me - B.......(Grrrrrrrrr)
Them - "Came up in big bump it did, looked like I had half a squash ball stuck to my forehead"
And on and on and on and on it goes.......
How should the conversation have gone?
Them - "Oh Ben, I hear you went to that new restaurant in town the other day. What was it like?"
Me - "Very nice actually, food was good, quite reasonably priced and it had a very nice atmosphere. I'd recommend it"
And we are done :-) None of my precious time has been taken up by inane conversation that I have not one single ounce of interest in nor would I ever be likely too.
Probably the same kind of people that get all upset when they don't get a reply to an SMS message even though the initial SMS message did not contain a single question.
We all know them....
Texter sends SMS containing "I'm going to the Pub tonight"
Two days later the people are having an actual conversation.
Text receiver - "How was the pub the other night?"
Texter - "Well I didn't go did I?"
Text receiver - "But didn't you text me to say that's what you were doing?"
Texter - "Yeah but you didn't text back and I wasn't going on my own"
Text receiver - "Oh you were actually mean't to be asking me if I'd like to meet you at the pub? Well why the fricken frack didn't you just ask that in the first place instead of assumimg that I'd know exactly what you mean? Actually why don't you just go away and never ever text or speak to me again?"
This one is one of those things that really grates on me, especially when you are trying to help somebody. It's when people ask you a question and then immediately try to explain why they are asking the question.
It goes something like this.......
Them - "Oh Ben, I hear you went to that new restaurant in town the other day. What was it like?"
Me - "Yea...(interrupted by questioner)
Them - "Because I was thinking that I might go there at the weekend as my sister is down for a friends wedding and it'd be really nice to try somewhere new"
Me - "Wel....(interrupted again)
Them - "Oh it's been ages since I've seen her, couple of years at least"
Me - Rea....(Guess what?)
Them - "No I tell a lie it's been about six years. Yeah because we were at Auntie Sue's house and everybody got so drunk. I feel over and banged my head on the kitchen cabinet, I was sooo embarrassed"
Me - B.......(Grrrrrrrrr)
Them - "Came up in big bump it did, looked like I had half a squash ball stuck to my forehead"
And on and on and on and on it goes.......
How should the conversation have gone?
Them - "Oh Ben, I hear you went to that new restaurant in town the other day. What was it like?"
Me - "Very nice actually, food was good, quite reasonably priced and it had a very nice atmosphere. I'd recommend it"
And we are done :-) None of my precious time has been taken up by inane conversation that I have not one single ounce of interest in nor would I ever be likely too.
Probably the same kind of people that get all upset when they don't get a reply to an SMS message even though the initial SMS message did not contain a single question.
We all know them....
Texter sends SMS containing "I'm going to the Pub tonight"
Two days later the people are having an actual conversation.
Text receiver - "How was the pub the other night?"
Texter - "Well I didn't go did I?"
Text receiver - "But didn't you text me to say that's what you were doing?"
Texter - "Yeah but you didn't text back and I wasn't going on my own"
Text receiver - "Oh you were actually mean't to be asking me if I'd like to meet you at the pub? Well why the fricken frack didn't you just ask that in the first place instead of assumimg that I'd know exactly what you mean? Actually why don't you just go away and never ever text or speak to me again?"
Monday 23 August 2010
Blocko.......
Happy Monday to you all.
I'm feeling rather energised this morning however the damaged knee is causing me some confusion. Sure it's feeling a lot better, still uncomfortable but the bruising is somewhat strange !! All the pain and swelling is on the front of my knee yet apart from a tinge of yellow the bruising has come out on the back of my leg.
Emily thinks that my kneecap actually came out the back of my leg bless her.
So anyway yesterday evening I got a DJ booking confirmed for the 10th September at The Venue in Reading appearing alongside my all time DJ hero and biggest influence Brandon Block.
This photo was taken last October when I last got to share the booth with a true legend of the clubbing world.
Hmmm just check out that silly grin I have going on .....
It's going to be one of the last club nights at the Venue as I'm told that it's going to be made into a Gentleman's club very soon so perhaps it's fitting that one of the guys responsible for kicking off the whole UK/Ibiza house scene gives the place a proper send off.
I'm pretty sure that he won't be rocking up with his Macbook and controllers and then trying to take the audience on some kind of musical journey that they really are not interested in at all because they are just out to have a laugh, dance and get bang on it.
The guys promoting the event (Garden of Eden/Dark Matter) are keen to make it as cheap as possible for everybody and I'll expect tickets to only be about £5 but as they are not on sale nor is the flyer even made yet I cannot be 100% certain but I will confirm just as soon as I can.
Pub news is all good at the moment. I now have some stock take figures and a copy of the lease that we'll be taking over (fingers crossed). All this information I'll pass on to my guy who will now have all the elements needed to draw up a professional business plan and let us know how much investment we need to find.
All offers listened too .................. :-)
Maybe Blocko would invest? I can see a nice country pub being just the kind of thing that he'd be interested in.
I'm feeling rather energised this morning however the damaged knee is causing me some confusion. Sure it's feeling a lot better, still uncomfortable but the bruising is somewhat strange !! All the pain and swelling is on the front of my knee yet apart from a tinge of yellow the bruising has come out on the back of my leg.
Emily thinks that my kneecap actually came out the back of my leg bless her.
So anyway yesterday evening I got a DJ booking confirmed for the 10th September at The Venue in Reading appearing alongside my all time DJ hero and biggest influence Brandon Block.
This photo was taken last October when I last got to share the booth with a true legend of the clubbing world.
Hmmm just check out that silly grin I have going on .....
It's going to be one of the last club nights at the Venue as I'm told that it's going to be made into a Gentleman's club very soon so perhaps it's fitting that one of the guys responsible for kicking off the whole UK/Ibiza house scene gives the place a proper send off.
I'm pretty sure that he won't be rocking up with his Macbook and controllers and then trying to take the audience on some kind of musical journey that they really are not interested in at all because they are just out to have a laugh, dance and get bang on it.
The guys promoting the event (Garden of Eden/Dark Matter) are keen to make it as cheap as possible for everybody and I'll expect tickets to only be about £5 but as they are not on sale nor is the flyer even made yet I cannot be 100% certain but I will confirm just as soon as I can.
Pub news is all good at the moment. I now have some stock take figures and a copy of the lease that we'll be taking over (fingers crossed). All this information I'll pass on to my guy who will now have all the elements needed to draw up a professional business plan and let us know how much investment we need to find.
All offers listened too .................. :-)
Maybe Blocko would invest? I can see a nice country pub being just the kind of thing that he'd be interested in.
Sunday 22 August 2010
Pals....
Well what a laugh it was getting together with the old school pals. So great to see everybody that turned out and even better to see that they are all still a complete bunch of fruitcakes.
Definitely suffering today though and I'm hoping that the Toad in the Hole will fix me up good and proper.
I see that there has been weather warnings issued to the south of England and that we should expect a massive storm tonight and possible flooding. I don't know about you guys but I really love a good storm.
Definitely suffering today though and I'm hoping that the Toad in the Hole will fix me up good and proper.
I see that there has been weather warnings issued to the south of England and that we should expect a massive storm tonight and possible flooding. I don't know about you guys but I really love a good storm.
Saturday 21 August 2010
School Days
So today is the day that I return to the sprawling hub of culture and fashion that is Watford.
I think Watford is one of those towns that you can only truly love if you either live there or were born there.
Every time I go back I have a tremendous feeling of nostalgia which ultimately nosedives pretty much as soon as one takes a few paces up the High Street.
If Watford was a colour it'd definitely be Grey and it knows that too. It has decades or Grey all about it only interspersed by lighter shades of Grey and maybe, if someone decided one day to be different.......Pebbledash !!!
This time however I will be meeting my old school chums of some 20 years ago. I think that I've only seen 3 of them since my last day at school so it's going to be fascinating to see how everyone is and what they are up to.
I'm thinking that I might also journey up there early and find myself a nice looking restaurant and get myself a spot of lunch whilst also doing a review.
Such a shame that my (2nd most beloved) Watford FC are away to Hull otherwise I'd definitely been going to the mighty Vicarage Road to cheer on the Golden Boys.
Anyway guys and gals, must be off......these restaurants won't review themselves you know.
I think Watford is one of those towns that you can only truly love if you either live there or were born there.
Every time I go back I have a tremendous feeling of nostalgia which ultimately nosedives pretty much as soon as one takes a few paces up the High Street.
If Watford was a colour it'd definitely be Grey and it knows that too. It has decades or Grey all about it only interspersed by lighter shades of Grey and maybe, if someone decided one day to be different.......Pebbledash !!!
This time however I will be meeting my old school chums of some 20 years ago. I think that I've only seen 3 of them since my last day at school so it's going to be fascinating to see how everyone is and what they are up to.
I'm thinking that I might also journey up there early and find myself a nice looking restaurant and get myself a spot of lunch whilst also doing a review.
Such a shame that my (2nd most beloved) Watford FC are away to Hull otherwise I'd definitely been going to the mighty Vicarage Road to cheer on the Golden Boys.
Anyway guys and gals, must be off......these restaurants won't review themselves you know.
Friday 20 August 2010
Late on Parade....
Good day to all you fine beings.
I know that each and everyone of you patiently waits each day for my mutterings to appear and that some of you even consider the day to not have begin until you have read them.........of course that's not strictly true but I can dare to dream.
Well to be honest I've been a little bit busy today. Work has been stretched as one of my team has been off on holiday and she really is the work horse here, there can be no denying that.
Mainly though I've been off doing a radio interview for a local small community radio station regarding the Reading, Steady, Cook competition that I did. It's good fun still being part of all that even though it's been quite sometime since I took part.
The show was short and sweet, covered the competition but unfortunately I didn't really get the opportunity to slip in any key messages about the things I've been getting involved in since such as the Facebook group and of course the impending step into the professional world of food.
It was a pre-recorded show so it'll all be edited and I think be aired on Reading Community Radio on Sept 2nd. This is an internet radio station so I'll get the link and post it up. They'll also be putting a Podcast on the official Living Reading website so if you don't catch the broadcast it'll be available after.
There is more to come though because there is a food festival that we'll be taking part in which I think will involve dishes made from Christmas dinner leftovers as well as a "Nuit Blanche" event which is something that has taken off in other places around the world.
It's a "Dusk til Dawn" arts and entertainment event that will be making it's debut in Reading around October. I've been asked if I'd be interested in doing something more towards the "Dawn" part which I assume will be a cookery demonstration revolving around breakfast but I'm yet to know any real details. Should be great fun whatever
Must comment on the Dorset Naga Chilli episode last night when my beloved tried just a tiny bit fresh of the chopping board as I was preparing dinner. What followed was hiccups, deep breathing and quite a few "Phewwwwwwwwweeeeeee's" followed by the question....."They should have a bloomin warning on those things"....
As if "Dorset Naga Chilli"....."The worlds hottest Chilli" wasn't warning enough !! Bless you my love xxx
As for the weekend tomorrow I'll be heading back to my hometown of Watford to catch up with school friends that I haven't seen for around 20 years which is so exciting. I lost contact with virtually everybody from school from the day it ended but getting in contact with them again makes you remember the great times we had and how much you miss both the experiences and the people.
I know that each and everyone of you patiently waits each day for my mutterings to appear and that some of you even consider the day to not have begin until you have read them.........of course that's not strictly true but I can dare to dream.
Well to be honest I've been a little bit busy today. Work has been stretched as one of my team has been off on holiday and she really is the work horse here, there can be no denying that.
Mainly though I've been off doing a radio interview for a local small community radio station regarding the Reading, Steady, Cook competition that I did. It's good fun still being part of all that even though it's been quite sometime since I took part.
The show was short and sweet, covered the competition but unfortunately I didn't really get the opportunity to slip in any key messages about the things I've been getting involved in since such as the Facebook group and of course the impending step into the professional world of food.
It was a pre-recorded show so it'll all be edited and I think be aired on Reading Community Radio on Sept 2nd. This is an internet radio station so I'll get the link and post it up. They'll also be putting a Podcast on the official Living Reading website so if you don't catch the broadcast it'll be available after.
There is more to come though because there is a food festival that we'll be taking part in which I think will involve dishes made from Christmas dinner leftovers as well as a "Nuit Blanche" event which is something that has taken off in other places around the world.
It's a "Dusk til Dawn" arts and entertainment event that will be making it's debut in Reading around October. I've been asked if I'd be interested in doing something more towards the "Dawn" part which I assume will be a cookery demonstration revolving around breakfast but I'm yet to know any real details. Should be great fun whatever
Must comment on the Dorset Naga Chilli episode last night when my beloved tried just a tiny bit fresh of the chopping board as I was preparing dinner. What followed was hiccups, deep breathing and quite a few "Phewwwwwwwwweeeeeee's" followed by the question....."They should have a bloomin warning on those things"....
As if "Dorset Naga Chilli"....."The worlds hottest Chilli" wasn't warning enough !! Bless you my love xxx
As for the weekend tomorrow I'll be heading back to my hometown of Watford to catch up with school friends that I haven't seen for around 20 years which is so exciting. I lost contact with virtually everybody from school from the day it ended but getting in contact with them again makes you remember the great times we had and how much you miss both the experiences and the people.
Thursday 19 August 2010
Baloo...knee...
In a bit of pain this morning. Had a bit of sporting injury yesterday evening which has given me a knee the size of a balloon and a limp like somebody doing a slapstick parody of a German WWII officer.
I'm pretty sure the injury wouldn't have been sustained if -
A) I decided not to bother trying to stop the boundary as it was always going to go over.
B) Did a dive along the ground rather than trying to stop it with my foot.
C) Had any fitness level to remark upon.
D) Was actually any good at Cricket.
I'm think that "D" is the correct assumption.
Anyway I'm not going to dwell on it. I think for me the cricket season is over and should our plans go ahead that I doubt I'll have any time at all to participate next season on a regular basis so perhaps I bit the game adieu.
In other news I've been thinking about good lunchtime pub food that we can put on the menu baring in mind that it must be easy to prepare, it must keep well and freeze well.
I'm certainly thinking that fresh, home-made pasta should be on the menu.
There really is nothing better than home-made pasta, for me the dried kind doesn't give it that authentic taste, certainly the cheaper ones.
My advice to anybody thinking about buying anything that has "Easy Cook" written anywhere on the packaging is to stop immediately and run over to the Fish counter, ask for an extremely large and wet Haddock and proceed to slap yourself around the face with it. Then put the packet back on the shelf, stand back and remain calm..............Finally go for the best quality brand.
But why do that? Fresh pasta is so easy to make and it keeps in well in the freezer too. Just portion the pasta dough up, wrap it up in cling film and chuck it into the freezer. all you need do then is a day before use just get it out to defrost and then your ready to use it again.
A good sturdy pasta machine will serve you a long time and with it you can make the best pasta you'll ever eat. Ravioli, Taglatelli, Spaghetti, Linguini, Lasagne etc etc.
Another thing to consider is cooking time. Dried pasta can take around 12 minutes to cook whereas fresh pasta only a couple of minutes in boiling water.
You can find hundreds of recipes for pasta dough on the internet however the first one I tried was a Jamie Oliver recipe and it was so easy and the pasta was just devine.
So come on guys and gals give it a go.
I'm pretty sure the injury wouldn't have been sustained if -
A) I decided not to bother trying to stop the boundary as it was always going to go over.
B) Did a dive along the ground rather than trying to stop it with my foot.
C) Had any fitness level to remark upon.
D) Was actually any good at Cricket.
I'm think that "D" is the correct assumption.
Anyway I'm not going to dwell on it. I think for me the cricket season is over and should our plans go ahead that I doubt I'll have any time at all to participate next season on a regular basis so perhaps I bit the game adieu.
In other news I've been thinking about good lunchtime pub food that we can put on the menu baring in mind that it must be easy to prepare, it must keep well and freeze well.
I'm certainly thinking that fresh, home-made pasta should be on the menu.
There really is nothing better than home-made pasta, for me the dried kind doesn't give it that authentic taste, certainly the cheaper ones.
My advice to anybody thinking about buying anything that has "Easy Cook" written anywhere on the packaging is to stop immediately and run over to the Fish counter, ask for an extremely large and wet Haddock and proceed to slap yourself around the face with it. Then put the packet back on the shelf, stand back and remain calm..............Finally go for the best quality brand.
But why do that? Fresh pasta is so easy to make and it keeps in well in the freezer too. Just portion the pasta dough up, wrap it up in cling film and chuck it into the freezer. all you need do then is a day before use just get it out to defrost and then your ready to use it again.
A good sturdy pasta machine will serve you a long time and with it you can make the best pasta you'll ever eat. Ravioli, Taglatelli, Spaghetti, Linguini, Lasagne etc etc.
Another thing to consider is cooking time. Dried pasta can take around 12 minutes to cook whereas fresh pasta only a couple of minutes in boiling water.
You can find hundreds of recipes for pasta dough on the internet however the first one I tried was a Jamie Oliver recipe and it was so easy and the pasta was just devine.
So come on guys and gals give it a go.
Wednesday 18 August 2010
In good course......
Good morning people :-)
After a rather lovely nights sleep in my cosy bed with it's spanking clean, crisp and fresh washed sheets I have a renewed energy. Just as well because I'm playing cricket later and I reckon I'm due another couple of wickets so please let the rain stay away.
This morning I have also booked myself onto the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) course the award for which is necessary for anybody wanting to become a Personal License Holder which in turn is necessary for anybody wanting to run a pub.
I'll also book up some Food Hygiene courses which can mostly be completed and certificates gained on-line. The NCPLH is a full days course.
Might as well get all these sorted now so as not to be something that could hold anything up down the line so think of me next Wednesday when I'll be feeling like a schoolboy again...............
Talking of which it's just occurred to me that it's the 18th of August and that means only 3 days until our little school reunion :-) So excited to be seeing some wonderful old chums again, can't wait. Guessing it must be about 20 years since I've seen any of them at all. Must practise my pulling in of the belly technique !!
Check out the pic.....I'm the bat earred fellow, second on the right on the first row -
Oh what fun times they were....
Toodlepip xx
After a rather lovely nights sleep in my cosy bed with it's spanking clean, crisp and fresh washed sheets I have a renewed energy. Just as well because I'm playing cricket later and I reckon I'm due another couple of wickets so please let the rain stay away.
This morning I have also booked myself onto the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) course the award for which is necessary for anybody wanting to become a Personal License Holder which in turn is necessary for anybody wanting to run a pub.
I'll also book up some Food Hygiene courses which can mostly be completed and certificates gained on-line. The NCPLH is a full days course.
Might as well get all these sorted now so as not to be something that could hold anything up down the line so think of me next Wednesday when I'll be feeling like a schoolboy again...............
Talking of which it's just occurred to me that it's the 18th of August and that means only 3 days until our little school reunion :-) So excited to be seeing some wonderful old chums again, can't wait. Guessing it must be about 20 years since I've seen any of them at all. Must practise my pulling in of the belly technique !!
Check out the pic.....I'm the bat earred fellow, second on the right on the first row -
Oh what fun times they were....
Toodlepip xx
Tuesday 17 August 2010
Apologies.....
I only went and forgot my login details for the blog didn't I? Coupled with not feeling too great the last couple of days I've been a bit neglectful with my bloggerations.
So I'm guessing you are all just dying to know what I've been up to these last few days?.......No.....well I'll tell you anyway.
Saturday night at Sakura was fun again, yet another 2am finish and some very strange requests from the crowd, some tune far too tough for the venue but they kept dancing so I'm happy.
In between updating my Football Manager 2010 game and attempting to take my 2nd most beloved team in the world (Watford FC) to glory I have been concentrating on all things pub related.
The one we are now looking at has completely grabbed us. It's a wonderful place and apart from the lack of riverside it has absolutely everything we are looking for plus more.
The goal now is to seek financing for the project and once that is arranged we can start to imagine ourselves as being publicans.
Decided that it would be best to have a business plan drawn up professionally rather than attempt one myself. I think the cost for doing such is negligible when you consider what it is for.
After my taking part in Reading, Steady, Cook I've been asked, along with the winner of the competition, to take part in a local radio interview which is a bit novel and rather fun. I don't think it's going out live but I'll try and get a link up to whenever it is going to be broadcast.
Food wise I have to comment on last nights Chilli Peas !! Phwwwwwwwwoooooar, massive amounts of hotness all thanks to the use of the worlds strongest Chilli the "Dorset Naga".
Believe it of not available readily at the larger Tesco's (Other supermarket chains are available)
8 times hotter than a Birds eye Chilli and around 100 times hotter than a Jalapeño. Now that's what I'm taking about ! When my stomach gives me hell I give it back to teach it a lesson.
You think you know hot then give these little beauties a bash.
So I'm guessing you are all just dying to know what I've been up to these last few days?.......No.....well I'll tell you anyway.
Saturday night at Sakura was fun again, yet another 2am finish and some very strange requests from the crowd, some tune far too tough for the venue but they kept dancing so I'm happy.
In between updating my Football Manager 2010 game and attempting to take my 2nd most beloved team in the world (Watford FC) to glory I have been concentrating on all things pub related.
The one we are now looking at has completely grabbed us. It's a wonderful place and apart from the lack of riverside it has absolutely everything we are looking for plus more.
The goal now is to seek financing for the project and once that is arranged we can start to imagine ourselves as being publicans.
Decided that it would be best to have a business plan drawn up professionally rather than attempt one myself. I think the cost for doing such is negligible when you consider what it is for.
After my taking part in Reading, Steady, Cook I've been asked, along with the winner of the competition, to take part in a local radio interview which is a bit novel and rather fun. I don't think it's going out live but I'll try and get a link up to whenever it is going to be broadcast.
Food wise I have to comment on last nights Chilli Peas !! Phwwwwwwwwoooooar, massive amounts of hotness all thanks to the use of the worlds strongest Chilli the "Dorset Naga".
Believe it of not available readily at the larger Tesco's (Other supermarket chains are available)
8 times hotter than a Birds eye Chilli and around 100 times hotter than a Jalapeño. Now that's what I'm taking about ! When my stomach gives me hell I give it back to teach it a lesson.
You think you know hot then give these little beauties a bash.
Saturday 14 August 2010
Business plan......
So I'm guessing part of my business plan for a pub should be aimed at how we can build on the current custom and introduce more ways of appealing to a greater demographic.
Our priority pub for now does have a regular trade albeit slow trade and it appeals in the main to an upper age group. This is how I view it having been in there a couple of times recently and without seeing any barralage or takings figures to prove anything to contrary.
The food offering in my opinion could do with some variation and I can't see a rapid change or need for anything other than basic pub grub but I'd still like to slowly introduce some other things.
The menu seems to be mainly made up of frozen or pre-cooked items which are bought from a wholesaler or cash and carry. I'd like to quickly bring the entire menu round to being completely homemade and using only the freshest ingredients from the local producers.
I'm loathed to think about changing the decor in one of the areas because it does have a nice snug bar feel to it and is very traditional, maybe a few touches here and there to make it more ergonomic for staff to clear and survey.
The restaurant area needs a major overhaul. At present it's very much stuck in around the 1940's, I'd like to completely modernise this so much as to highlight the distinct differences between the two trading areas.
At the moment this area feels like exactly what it is......a Saloon bar.
This needs to look and feel like a restaurant. Complete re-decoration needed and of course this need factoring into the costs.
Also I noticed that it has no heating so this will definitely need sorting because I see the cold winters as a good time to be selling hearty pub dishes. This cannot happen in a freezing cold environment.
The Toilets also need to have more light and they also need to be modernised and made to be more attractive. So much attention needs to be paid to this area in any venue I think. Currently they are there, they are functional but they need to have much more class about them than they do now.
Not had a chance to look upstairs in the living accommodation yet but in my experience this area is the one most often neglected by tenants and I'm expecting it to need completely redecorating to give it a more homely and welcoming feeling to my family.
Security cannot be overlooked, especially with children. I'll be wanting to ensure that all areas of the pub and car park are fully covered by CCTV with night vision and motion sensors. I'm not prepared to compromise anything on security. I know exactly what I want and if the business plan doesn't reflect it then it'll be pointless.
So how do we do all this????..........Well I have some ideas but never having run a business before let alone a pub maybe some of you have some pointers.
Next time I'll blog my solutions to all the above.
Our priority pub for now does have a regular trade albeit slow trade and it appeals in the main to an upper age group. This is how I view it having been in there a couple of times recently and without seeing any barralage or takings figures to prove anything to contrary.
The food offering in my opinion could do with some variation and I can't see a rapid change or need for anything other than basic pub grub but I'd still like to slowly introduce some other things.
The menu seems to be mainly made up of frozen or pre-cooked items which are bought from a wholesaler or cash and carry. I'd like to quickly bring the entire menu round to being completely homemade and using only the freshest ingredients from the local producers.
I'm loathed to think about changing the decor in one of the areas because it does have a nice snug bar feel to it and is very traditional, maybe a few touches here and there to make it more ergonomic for staff to clear and survey.
The restaurant area needs a major overhaul. At present it's very much stuck in around the 1940's, I'd like to completely modernise this so much as to highlight the distinct differences between the two trading areas.
At the moment this area feels like exactly what it is......a Saloon bar.
This needs to look and feel like a restaurant. Complete re-decoration needed and of course this need factoring into the costs.
Also I noticed that it has no heating so this will definitely need sorting because I see the cold winters as a good time to be selling hearty pub dishes. This cannot happen in a freezing cold environment.
The Toilets also need to have more light and they also need to be modernised and made to be more attractive. So much attention needs to be paid to this area in any venue I think. Currently they are there, they are functional but they need to have much more class about them than they do now.
Not had a chance to look upstairs in the living accommodation yet but in my experience this area is the one most often neglected by tenants and I'm expecting it to need completely redecorating to give it a more homely and welcoming feeling to my family.
Security cannot be overlooked, especially with children. I'll be wanting to ensure that all areas of the pub and car park are fully covered by CCTV with night vision and motion sensors. I'm not prepared to compromise anything on security. I know exactly what I want and if the business plan doesn't reflect it then it'll be pointless.
So how do we do all this????..........Well I have some ideas but never having run a business before let alone a pub maybe some of you have some pointers.
Next time I'll blog my solutions to all the above.
Friday 13 August 2010
Another reason why I love all things German
GET IN !!!!
Now that's impressive.
Mind you I did get some rather graphic images come up when I Googled "German Barmaid"
.................Another reason to love all things German I guess :-)
Now that's impressive.
Mind you I did get some rather graphic images come up when I Googled "German Barmaid"
.................Another reason to love all things German I guess :-)
Economic recovery......
I've realised that I've been neglecting my German readers recently but fear not I'm still very much a big fan of all things German.
I am delighted to read that the country has reported that it's economy grew by a massive 2.2% in the three months to the end of June. The biggest rise in over 20 years. So I doff my Trenker to you all.
I'm no economist but I know there are still bleak times ahead but what can you do about it other than eat, drink and be merry? :-)
All three of which I plan to do this weekend.......
Tonight (Friday) I shall hopefully be meeting up with our cricket clubs overseas player down at the nets and we shall be whacking a few and hopefully I'll be learning plenty more things to build my batting confidence. Please let the rain stay away......I need this.
Saturday night I am booked to DJ again at Sakura in Reading. Downstairs bar from 9pm as it was last week. Such a great time last time Saturday too, a whole 2 hours overrun which was all good.
Sunday I'll hopefully be putting all my expert tuition to the test as we have a cricket match starting at 2pm. Those who want to come along and watch can find directions here. Our clubhouse has a lovely little bar too which I fully intend to make use of.
In between all that we should be starting to put together our business plan for the pub venture. Of course without ingoing figures it's a bit pie in the sky but that still doesn't mean we should hold off making a start on it.
I am delighted to read that the country has reported that it's economy grew by a massive 2.2% in the three months to the end of June. The biggest rise in over 20 years. So I doff my Trenker to you all.
I'm no economist but I know there are still bleak times ahead but what can you do about it other than eat, drink and be merry? :-)
All three of which I plan to do this weekend.......
Tonight (Friday) I shall hopefully be meeting up with our cricket clubs overseas player down at the nets and we shall be whacking a few and hopefully I'll be learning plenty more things to build my batting confidence. Please let the rain stay away......I need this.
Saturday night I am booked to DJ again at Sakura in Reading. Downstairs bar from 9pm as it was last week. Such a great time last time Saturday too, a whole 2 hours overrun which was all good.
Sunday I'll hopefully be putting all my expert tuition to the test as we have a cricket match starting at 2pm. Those who want to come along and watch can find directions here. Our clubhouse has a lovely little bar too which I fully intend to make use of.
In between all that we should be starting to put together our business plan for the pub venture. Of course without ingoing figures it's a bit pie in the sky but that still doesn't mean we should hold off making a start on it.
Thursday 12 August 2010
SHOOTING STARS TINY HANDS
Had to post this.....two of the funniest bits of British TV ever.....FACT
Hehhehehee
I can't decide which is the funniest ?!?!
Hehhehehee
I can't decide which is the funniest ?!?!
Burittos and Pubs.....
Must mention the Burritos that my lovely lady made last night, absolutely out of this world.
Over the last two days we've made our own Steak Burritos which we're good but I forgot the rice then last night we had Carnitas Burittos (Slow cooked Pork) and this time the rice wasn't forgotten and they were superb.
Still got loads of Pork, Guacamole, Pico de Gallo etc etc left so I'm guessing it's Burritos for tea for the third night in a row and I'm in no way complaining. That'll leave Chicken Burritos for Friday :-)
These guys will definitely be on the bar menu when we eventually get our pub.
On that front we had a meeting yesterday with a business advisor who managed to pursued us that one of the places we were looking at should no longer be considered as an option. He was just telling us what we really knew already but it was nice to have our concerns justified by somebody with the relevant expertise to do so.
The second option, which only came about 3 days ago is much more viable and so much better for what we have in mind. Granted it needs a bit of renovation but not much more than some modernising with a lick of paint and some other cosmetic things.
Of course we've not been able to look upstairs, down the cellar or in the kitchen but the current tenant is very keen to move on as he's no longer got the energy or the interest in it any more, which in itself is a much better situation to be taking over from rather than the way it was with the first one. Regardless of who we are and whoever we might introduce back into the place it's tarnished reputation will take at least 3 years to lose and that is just about the perfect about of time in which a first pub can fail.
Still getting lots of support and encouragement from friends and family especially from the folks down at the Duke of Wellington pub who re-informed me of the availability of the newest option, lots of similarities between us and them with regard to getting our first pub, some quite spookily similar.
However this I think will require us to look quite seriously at available finances because it will not be as cheap as the first one to get in so we may have to look for outside backing or a very helpful bank............given the state of things in the world today I'm pretty sure we'll be pitching a business plan to silent partners.
Mind you I did get the email from the Nigerian prince who wanted to transfer $7 squillion dollars into my bank account................
Over the last two days we've made our own Steak Burritos which we're good but I forgot the rice then last night we had Carnitas Burittos (Slow cooked Pork) and this time the rice wasn't forgotten and they were superb.
Still got loads of Pork, Guacamole, Pico de Gallo etc etc left so I'm guessing it's Burritos for tea for the third night in a row and I'm in no way complaining. That'll leave Chicken Burritos for Friday :-)
These guys will definitely be on the bar menu when we eventually get our pub.
On that front we had a meeting yesterday with a business advisor who managed to pursued us that one of the places we were looking at should no longer be considered as an option. He was just telling us what we really knew already but it was nice to have our concerns justified by somebody with the relevant expertise to do so.
The second option, which only came about 3 days ago is much more viable and so much better for what we have in mind. Granted it needs a bit of renovation but not much more than some modernising with a lick of paint and some other cosmetic things.
Of course we've not been able to look upstairs, down the cellar or in the kitchen but the current tenant is very keen to move on as he's no longer got the energy or the interest in it any more, which in itself is a much better situation to be taking over from rather than the way it was with the first one. Regardless of who we are and whoever we might introduce back into the place it's tarnished reputation will take at least 3 years to lose and that is just about the perfect about of time in which a first pub can fail.
Still getting lots of support and encouragement from friends and family especially from the folks down at the Duke of Wellington pub who re-informed me of the availability of the newest option, lots of similarities between us and them with regard to getting our first pub, some quite spookily similar.
However this I think will require us to look quite seriously at available finances because it will not be as cheap as the first one to get in so we may have to look for outside backing or a very helpful bank............given the state of things in the world today I'm pretty sure we'll be pitching a business plan to silent partners.
Mind you I did get the email from the Nigerian prince who wanted to transfer $7 squillion dollars into my bank account................
Wednesday 11 August 2010
Today could be very important....
Yes it could be. It could potentially be the first big step into the future.
No secret that we've been on the look out for a pub to take on and get ourselves immersed in and today we meet up with a business advisor who will be offering us advice and guidance on two premises that are both local and affordable.
Been swatting up on my licensing regulations in preparation for sitting the personal license test in order to gain the award that every person must have to be able to have their name above the door. Lots of stuff there that I knew already but plenty of newly introduced regulations and amendments that I wasn't aware of at all. The test should be at the end of the month.
In hindsight we should have both taken it as soon as we decided that our future lay in the industry because once gained the license lasts for 10 years and it would have been nice to be able to say to a landlord or brewery that we had the necessary qualifications and licenses already but the latest developments have come pretty quickly.
Well that is really all I can say about the situation at the moment. Don't want to get too excited about anything quite yet as it's still speculation and we've not even considered how we are going to be raising the initial funding because we're not sure what that figure will be. Hopefully we'll find out tonight and fingers crossed that it will be achievable.
No secret that we've been on the look out for a pub to take on and get ourselves immersed in and today we meet up with a business advisor who will be offering us advice and guidance on two premises that are both local and affordable.
Been swatting up on my licensing regulations in preparation for sitting the personal license test in order to gain the award that every person must have to be able to have their name above the door. Lots of stuff there that I knew already but plenty of newly introduced regulations and amendments that I wasn't aware of at all. The test should be at the end of the month.
In hindsight we should have both taken it as soon as we decided that our future lay in the industry because once gained the license lasts for 10 years and it would have been nice to be able to say to a landlord or brewery that we had the necessary qualifications and licenses already but the latest developments have come pretty quickly.
Well that is really all I can say about the situation at the moment. Don't want to get too excited about anything quite yet as it's still speculation and we've not even considered how we are going to be raising the initial funding because we're not sure what that figure will be. Hopefully we'll find out tonight and fingers crossed that it will be achievable.
Tuesday 10 August 2010
DUCK !!.....Who said that !?!?
What a busy couple of days it has been. Made some progress on the pub having got some figures from the previous tenant but we also got news of another pub close by which we will also show an interest in as it's far better suited to being food led.
We have a business meeting planned for Wednesday evening with our advisor who will be able to look himself at the options and then based on his professional opinion we'll follow either one up.
Cricket match tonight too so hopefully the weather will clear too as it'll be welcome break to get out in the fresh air and hopefully be of some use to the team.
Right moving onto the main course from Sundays lunch.
Confit Duck.
Having never even attempted to confit Duck before this was quite an interesting lesson in classic French cooking.
It's certainly not a dish that you can just bung in the oven as it takes at least 36 hours to prepare before it even reaches the plate.
The idea behind using this method of cooking comes from an age old way of preserving the meat. Typical meats to confit are Duck, Goose & Pork. The process involves poaching the meat in it's own fat.
After poaching the pot containing the meat and fat is then left to cool and the solidifying fat then hardens to create a protective layer meaning that no air can get to the meat an therefore it can keep, completely submerged in the fat for a substantial amount of time, up to 6 months in a fridge !! Canned varieties which are commercially available can last for several years.
But the preservation qualities of confit for me come secondary to the taste and the texture that it gives the meat. This Duck, when it eventually reached the plate was so tender and so juicy, it just fell of the bone and was far from being fatty as you would ever expect given the richness of Duck anyway
So start it all off I had 4 duck legs which I seasoned with salt and pepper and put in a bowl to which I'd also addd a couple of crushed Bay leaves and a crushed up Star Anais. I gave the Duck legs a good rubbing in this mixture then left covered in the fridge for 24 hours.
Now I have a large saucepan and lid that is both stove top and oven proof and this is what I use for the poaching stage of the confit, a stove top and oven proof casserole would be perfect too.
Make absolutely sure that if you are using anything other than metal (Glass, Chine, Earthenware etc etc)on top of a stove that it is completely compatible with doing so otherwise you could risk it cracking and with hot fat around that would be very dangerous. If you have any doubt do not use it should be the rule here.
First of all I make sure that I have enough duck fat (available from most supermarkets in jars) melting over a low heat in the pan to completely submerge the duck legs, almost as if I wanted to deep fry them.
(Keep the jars that the duck fat can in because whatever is left over of the fat after using the finished duck can be saved for making the most amazing chips you'll ever have.)
Take the duck legs out of the fridge and run each one under cold running water to remove the seasoning ingredients and dry each one as much as possible with some kitchen towel.......water and hot fat are not a good mix at all, best avoided !!
When they are dry slowly lower them into the pan with the duck fat and put the lid on.
Heat the oven up to around just 150C making sure you've re-arranged the trays so that there is enough room inside to the comfortably house the oven proof saucepan with it's lid.
Also it's worth putting something underneath where you intend to put the pan so that any bubbling over oil gets collected in that rather than the oven casing.
Now carefully put the confit into the oven and you need to leave this for at least 3 1/2 hours.
After this time again carefully take the pan out of the oven and return to the stove top. No need for any more heat at this stage.
Get yourself some kind of dish that will fit the poached duck pieces in nice and snug and that also has high enough sides for you to again be able to completely submerge the duck pieces in the molten fat.
Traditionally in France they would use a special confit pot which is made from clay. This packs in the meat nice an tightly, has a seal-able lid and also because it's is made from clay it stops any light from getting to the confit.
After doing this you may or may not have some cooking fat left over, this can be returned to the original jars and the confit now be left for a few hours to completely cool so that the fat solidifies encasing the duck.
When the dish has cool sufficiently cover it up and store in the fridge until it's needed. As I mentioned before this will keep for up to 6 months so long as the meat stays encased in the fat. So as much as it does take quite a lot of time and effort to get this far you can do it well in advance.
When you do come to use the duck you just need to get your fingers into the confit and pull a piece of the duck out wiping of the excess fat with your fingers. Be careful though as the meat on it will be so tender that you might very well just end up pulling out just a leg bone !!
Brown this off all over starting skin side down in a frying pan over a fairly high heat then allow it to finish off in the oven (190C) for a further 10 minutes.
This is now ready to serve and I promise you that if you've never had Duck made this way before you be astounded by how good it tastes.....you have my word.
You can choose any number of things to accompany this dish but I went for some rather snazzy cylindrical, triple cooked chips and a Redcurrent Jus with 3 bowls of vegetables on the table.
The veg was Chantenay Carrots that I'd boiled then tossed in a little butter and a pinch of ground cumin, French Beans again boiled and tossed with a little butter and some toasted Seasame Seeds and some fresh Peas with Chilli and Panchetta.
All of these extra things I will post on the blog tomorrow.
How did it all look on the plate ......................
And seeing as this was my friend "Big Nicks" plate it didn't look this way for long.
We have a business meeting planned for Wednesday evening with our advisor who will be able to look himself at the options and then based on his professional opinion we'll follow either one up.
Cricket match tonight too so hopefully the weather will clear too as it'll be welcome break to get out in the fresh air and hopefully be of some use to the team.
Right moving onto the main course from Sundays lunch.
Confit Duck.
Having never even attempted to confit Duck before this was quite an interesting lesson in classic French cooking.
It's certainly not a dish that you can just bung in the oven as it takes at least 36 hours to prepare before it even reaches the plate.
The idea behind using this method of cooking comes from an age old way of preserving the meat. Typical meats to confit are Duck, Goose & Pork. The process involves poaching the meat in it's own fat.
After poaching the pot containing the meat and fat is then left to cool and the solidifying fat then hardens to create a protective layer meaning that no air can get to the meat an therefore it can keep, completely submerged in the fat for a substantial amount of time, up to 6 months in a fridge !! Canned varieties which are commercially available can last for several years.
But the preservation qualities of confit for me come secondary to the taste and the texture that it gives the meat. This Duck, when it eventually reached the plate was so tender and so juicy, it just fell of the bone and was far from being fatty as you would ever expect given the richness of Duck anyway
So start it all off I had 4 duck legs which I seasoned with salt and pepper and put in a bowl to which I'd also addd a couple of crushed Bay leaves and a crushed up Star Anais. I gave the Duck legs a good rubbing in this mixture then left covered in the fridge for 24 hours.
Now I have a large saucepan and lid that is both stove top and oven proof and this is what I use for the poaching stage of the confit, a stove top and oven proof casserole would be perfect too.
Make absolutely sure that if you are using anything other than metal (Glass, Chine, Earthenware etc etc)on top of a stove that it is completely compatible with doing so otherwise you could risk it cracking and with hot fat around that would be very dangerous. If you have any doubt do not use it should be the rule here.
First of all I make sure that I have enough duck fat (available from most supermarkets in jars) melting over a low heat in the pan to completely submerge the duck legs, almost as if I wanted to deep fry them.
(Keep the jars that the duck fat can in because whatever is left over of the fat after using the finished duck can be saved for making the most amazing chips you'll ever have.)
Take the duck legs out of the fridge and run each one under cold running water to remove the seasoning ingredients and dry each one as much as possible with some kitchen towel.......water and hot fat are not a good mix at all, best avoided !!
When they are dry slowly lower them into the pan with the duck fat and put the lid on.
Heat the oven up to around just 150C making sure you've re-arranged the trays so that there is enough room inside to the comfortably house the oven proof saucepan with it's lid.
Also it's worth putting something underneath where you intend to put the pan so that any bubbling over oil gets collected in that rather than the oven casing.
Now carefully put the confit into the oven and you need to leave this for at least 3 1/2 hours.
After this time again carefully take the pan out of the oven and return to the stove top. No need for any more heat at this stage.
Get yourself some kind of dish that will fit the poached duck pieces in nice and snug and that also has high enough sides for you to again be able to completely submerge the duck pieces in the molten fat.
Traditionally in France they would use a special confit pot which is made from clay. This packs in the meat nice an tightly, has a seal-able lid and also because it's is made from clay it stops any light from getting to the confit.
After doing this you may or may not have some cooking fat left over, this can be returned to the original jars and the confit now be left for a few hours to completely cool so that the fat solidifies encasing the duck.
When the dish has cool sufficiently cover it up and store in the fridge until it's needed. As I mentioned before this will keep for up to 6 months so long as the meat stays encased in the fat. So as much as it does take quite a lot of time and effort to get this far you can do it well in advance.
When you do come to use the duck you just need to get your fingers into the confit and pull a piece of the duck out wiping of the excess fat with your fingers. Be careful though as the meat on it will be so tender that you might very well just end up pulling out just a leg bone !!
Brown this off all over starting skin side down in a frying pan over a fairly high heat then allow it to finish off in the oven (190C) for a further 10 minutes.
This is now ready to serve and I promise you that if you've never had Duck made this way before you be astounded by how good it tastes.....you have my word.
You can choose any number of things to accompany this dish but I went for some rather snazzy cylindrical, triple cooked chips and a Redcurrent Jus with 3 bowls of vegetables on the table.
The veg was Chantenay Carrots that I'd boiled then tossed in a little butter and a pinch of ground cumin, French Beans again boiled and tossed with a little butter and some toasted Seasame Seeds and some fresh Peas with Chilli and Panchetta.
All of these extra things I will post on the blog tomorrow.
How did it all look on the plate ......................
And seeing as this was my friend "Big Nicks" plate it didn't look this way for long.
Monday 9 August 2010
Missed out the Souffles....
WOW how did a manage to completely forget to blog about my lovely Goats Cheese Soufflés that I made for the Sunday lunch starter?
They were a triumph too.......
These actually rose more than this but I was faffing around trying to get my camera to work so they deflated a little bit.
People often assume that it's difficult to make soufflés but it's really quite easy and you shouldn't be put off giving them a go.
I made these for 4 people and for that you need -
4 x Ramekins (picture link because not everybody knows what a Ramekin looks like)
5 x Medium sized Fresh Free range eggs - separate these into whites and yolks
1 x Block of hard goats cheese - Grated. You'll use about 200g in the recipe. Also this is just my preference but you could use a less hard cheese, or any other cheese for that matter and crumble it in.
1 x Small white onion or Eschalon/Banana shallot
4 x Cloves
1 x Bayleaf
1 tsp x Black Peppercorns
Unsalted Butter
400ml x Full fat milk
1 tbsp x Plain Flour
First thing you should do is grease the inside of the ramekins with a thin coating of the unsalted butter then leave then in the fridge until they are ready to be used.
This greasing will help the Soufflé rise up the sides of the ramekin without getting stuck.
Secondly you should pre-heat an oven to around 190C/375F and have a tray ready that can hold all the ramekins and still have a bit of room to spare. This will really help when it comes to getting them out the oven.
Next take the onion and stud it with the cloves, just push the woody stalk into the onion leaving the bulbous end on the outside. There is no need to peel the onion but it might be a good idea to just remove any loose bits of the skin.
Pour the milk into a saucepan add the studded onion, a teaspoon of Black Peppercorns and the Bayleaf, bring the milk up to boiling point. Once there take off the heat and leave for about 10 minutes so the flavours of the added ingredients can infuse the milk a little more before straining the liquid through a fine sieve to remove the onion, peppercorns and Bayleaf. Keep the milk to one side for the moment.
Give the same saucepan a clean then put over a light/moderate heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter, let it melt then add 1 tablespoon of plain flour. Let this mixture combine, this is called a "Roux". The longer you cook a Roux the more the colour will change from white to brown. For this recipe we want to keep it fairly light in colour so once it's combined slowly and gradually pour in the infused milk making sure you stir it all the time with a wooden spoon to stop any lumps forming.
Now whisk egg yolks and while constantly stirring the saucepan of warm milk trickle the yolks in a little at a time. It's really important not to just pour all the egg yolk in at once and also just as important that you stir it all the time because otherwise you'll end up with scrambled eggs and that would mean starting all over again.
Once all the egg yolks are mixed in then add the grated cheese in too, again a little at a time and keep stirring, you can save a little bit of the cheese to top off the soufflés when cooking but it's not essential, just a nice touch.
This cheese sauce is what is going to give the soufflés their flavour, you could also use it as a sauce for pasta.
Give yourself a 10 minute break to allow the sauce to cool a bit because there's some energetic whisking to come......
The lightness and the raising of the soufflé is all about the egg whites and the amount of air you can get into them.
Put the egg whites into a mixing bowl and with a balloon whisk keep working the egg whites until the reach the soft peak stage
Now what you need to do it combine the sauce mixture with the egg whites but as I mentioned above it's all about the air so if you were to just pour all the sauce into the egg whites a give it a stir with a wooden spoon you'd just beat out all the air bubbles that have been created by the whisking.
What you should do is again add a bit at a time and instead of stirring the mixture you need to fold it in gently. It'll take longer to fully combine but it's absolutely necessary for the soufflés to rise.
Take the ramekins from the fridge and gently spoon the combined egg white and cheese mixture into each one so it's level with the ridge inside (usually about 80% full) and sprinkle on a light coating of the reserved grated Goats Cheese.
Put the ramekins on the oven tray and into the oven for about 12 minutes. During cooking do not under any circumstances open the oven door, this will instantly deflate the soufflés. If you really feel the need to see them cook then only look at them through the glass front of the closed oven door using the ovens internal light if it has one. If your oven has neither of these then just trust me on the temperature and the timings.
After they have cooked serve them immediately. About 1 minute after taking from the oven they will naturally start deflating so getting them on the table as soon as you can is imperative. No faffing like I did for the photo......
Once you have made one soufflé you can make them forever and of course with different variations too.
This is a savoury soufflé but you can make sweet ones just the same way but instead of using the egg yolks to thicken the sauce you use sugar which you beat into the egg whites when whisking and instead of the savoury sauce you can use fruits and/or berries that you've made into a syrup.
A nice touch when making sweet soufflés is to add a think coat of sugar to the butter when you grease the ramekins.
They were a triumph too.......
These actually rose more than this but I was faffing around trying to get my camera to work so they deflated a little bit.
People often assume that it's difficult to make soufflés but it's really quite easy and you shouldn't be put off giving them a go.
I made these for 4 people and for that you need -
4 x Ramekins (picture link because not everybody knows what a Ramekin looks like)
5 x Medium sized Fresh Free range eggs - separate these into whites and yolks
1 x Block of hard goats cheese - Grated. You'll use about 200g in the recipe. Also this is just my preference but you could use a less hard cheese, or any other cheese for that matter and crumble it in.
1 x Small white onion or Eschalon/Banana shallot
4 x Cloves
1 x Bayleaf
1 tsp x Black Peppercorns
Unsalted Butter
400ml x Full fat milk
1 tbsp x Plain Flour
First thing you should do is grease the inside of the ramekins with a thin coating of the unsalted butter then leave then in the fridge until they are ready to be used.
This greasing will help the Soufflé rise up the sides of the ramekin without getting stuck.
Secondly you should pre-heat an oven to around 190C/375F and have a tray ready that can hold all the ramekins and still have a bit of room to spare. This will really help when it comes to getting them out the oven.
Next take the onion and stud it with the cloves, just push the woody stalk into the onion leaving the bulbous end on the outside. There is no need to peel the onion but it might be a good idea to just remove any loose bits of the skin.
Pour the milk into a saucepan add the studded onion, a teaspoon of Black Peppercorns and the Bayleaf, bring the milk up to boiling point. Once there take off the heat and leave for about 10 minutes so the flavours of the added ingredients can infuse the milk a little more before straining the liquid through a fine sieve to remove the onion, peppercorns and Bayleaf. Keep the milk to one side for the moment.
Give the same saucepan a clean then put over a light/moderate heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter, let it melt then add 1 tablespoon of plain flour. Let this mixture combine, this is called a "Roux". The longer you cook a Roux the more the colour will change from white to brown. For this recipe we want to keep it fairly light in colour so once it's combined slowly and gradually pour in the infused milk making sure you stir it all the time with a wooden spoon to stop any lumps forming.
Now whisk egg yolks and while constantly stirring the saucepan of warm milk trickle the yolks in a little at a time. It's really important not to just pour all the egg yolk in at once and also just as important that you stir it all the time because otherwise you'll end up with scrambled eggs and that would mean starting all over again.
Once all the egg yolks are mixed in then add the grated cheese in too, again a little at a time and keep stirring, you can save a little bit of the cheese to top off the soufflés when cooking but it's not essential, just a nice touch.
This cheese sauce is what is going to give the soufflés their flavour, you could also use it as a sauce for pasta.
Give yourself a 10 minute break to allow the sauce to cool a bit because there's some energetic whisking to come......
The lightness and the raising of the soufflé is all about the egg whites and the amount of air you can get into them.
Put the egg whites into a mixing bowl and with a balloon whisk keep working the egg whites until the reach the soft peak stage
Now what you need to do it combine the sauce mixture with the egg whites but as I mentioned above it's all about the air so if you were to just pour all the sauce into the egg whites a give it a stir with a wooden spoon you'd just beat out all the air bubbles that have been created by the whisking.
What you should do is again add a bit at a time and instead of stirring the mixture you need to fold it in gently. It'll take longer to fully combine but it's absolutely necessary for the soufflés to rise.
Take the ramekins from the fridge and gently spoon the combined egg white and cheese mixture into each one so it's level with the ridge inside (usually about 80% full) and sprinkle on a light coating of the reserved grated Goats Cheese.
Put the ramekins on the oven tray and into the oven for about 12 minutes. During cooking do not under any circumstances open the oven door, this will instantly deflate the soufflés. If you really feel the need to see them cook then only look at them through the glass front of the closed oven door using the ovens internal light if it has one. If your oven has neither of these then just trust me on the temperature and the timings.
After they have cooked serve them immediately. About 1 minute after taking from the oven they will naturally start deflating so getting them on the table as soon as you can is imperative. No faffing like I did for the photo......
Once you have made one soufflé you can make them forever and of course with different variations too.
This is a savoury soufflé but you can make sweet ones just the same way but instead of using the egg yolks to thicken the sauce you use sugar which you beat into the egg whites when whisking and instead of the savoury sauce you can use fruits and/or berries that you've made into a syrup.
A nice touch when making sweet soufflés is to add a think coat of sugar to the butter when you grease the ramekins.
Landmark in Blogging.....
Hey all, just noticed that I'm nearly at the landmark figure of 1000 blog views. 990 at this very moment to be precise, makes me very happy. Thankyou all.
So two things this morning.
Firstly I'll write up about my fish course from yesterdays Sunday lunch and then secondly I want to type a few words about probably my favourite chef and the inspiration behind the dish Raymond Blanc.
So the food, again something I had done before and it's so simple but incredibly tasty, such a good dinner party dish. There is very little or even no cooking involved at all if you buy prepared ingredients and it can be make a few hours in advance of when needed apart from some finishing touches so it gives you more time to spend on other menu components or whatever else it is you have planned.
The dish itself is Hot Smoked Salmon with Beetroot Salad and a Horseradish Crème Fraiche.
I start by cooking the Beetroot in boiling water, you can of course buy packaged cooked beetroot if you like but I' much prefer to use the fresh stuff.
Now I'm only a recent convert back to Beetroot after years of dismissing it as a food that I don't like. The reason for this previous dislike of Beetroot stems back to summer times as a child. We used to have cold salads which invariably contained one of my absolute favourite summer comfort foods cold Mashed Potato......yes that is typed correctly....
Anyway my issue with the Beetroot is that it used to leak pinky red juice into my perfect Mashed Potato and that is it, no other reason whatsoever. It's irrational but I do have a friend who's reason for not eating Peas is that they are ill disciplined so maybe my irrational loathing isn't so madcap.
So I boil up the Beetroot (1 medium sized Beetroot for 2 people is more than enough) and I do it for quite a while. I'm sure most chefs and cooks would say that you should cook it to a point where it still has a crunch but personally I like it soft and with a more subtle taste, it's a personal preference and can of course be altered if you want to try it at home.
Once boiled I take it off the heat and let it cool completely.
The rest of the ingredients can be bought from any supermarket or specialist store. I've linked to the exact products I used incase readers in the UK want to give it a go. They we're bought in either Waitrose or Sainsburys but I'm certain that they can be easily bought elsewhere and all over the world too -
1 x Packet of good quality Hot Smoked Salmon. You can see from the picture how much you need per portion.
1 x Small tub of Créme Fraiche.
1 x Jar of Strong Horseradish.
1 x Packet of Microshoots.
Crushed Black Peppercorns.
Balsamic Vinegar.
Skin the cooked Beetroot and cut into pieces. I made small squares this time but the presentation is entirely up to you, imagine how you want it to look on the plate and stick to the image on your head or even jot it down on a piece of paper if you don't want to copy my suggestion.
I'd tend not to have Beetroot pieces that are too big because it makes getting fork full of all the ingredients together quite difficult and they work so well that it just has to be tried and enjoyed with the minimum fuss.
Set these Beetroot pieces aside and divide up the Salmon pieces between the serving plates, again with the presentation in mind.
Take the Microshoots and add a small pile to the plate. On top of these liberally dot some Beetroot pieces but be careful no to let them spill around to much because you'll get Beetroot juice over the plate and certainly if using white plates it won' t look very pretty. Add a few more microshoots on top of this to soften the appearance.
You can either put this in the fridge for later or if serving right away finish off by doing the following -
Mix the equivalent of a heaped teaspoon of Crème Fraiche per person with approximately a quarter the amount of Horseradish. I do like might quite strong so I'd suggest adding it a little at a time tasting as you go.
Add a teaspoon of the mixture onto each plate.
Dress the Beetroot salad with a small dash of the Balsamic Vinegar and sprinkle a pinch of the Crushed Black Peppercorns over the whole plate.
The reason for doing this just before serving is because if they were added prior to doing so (i.e. pre-preparing) the Créme Fraiche would flatten out on lose it's shape and also the Balsamic Vinegar would run out of the salad.
What you should end up with is something like this -
Such a simple dish that has maximum flavour and great for entertaining.
So onto the inspiration for this dish and that came from Raymond Blanc. He a completely self-taught chef and one of the most respected in the world. You can see his full biography here.
What I most like about Raymond apart from his fantastic cooking which has won him numerous awards and an OBE is his wonderful personality, he's smiling all the time and you can tell that he's just so in love with food, life and people. He's got that same homely character that I also see in another favourite of mine Rick Stein.
For me his program "Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets" was the most important cookery program I feel I have ever seen on British TV and I recommend that anybody remotely interested in food and cooking should give it a viewing.
The insight he gives into kitchen life and his own life come through but most of all is his passion for simple, local produce and making something extraordinary out of them.
The dishes he creates all have a real level of beauty with vibrant colours and beautfully artistic presentation. Just look at some of the images from his flagship "Manoir aux Quat Saisons".
I've not eaten there, I will do one day and I want you all to come with me.......however we will be going Dutch !!!! And when I win the lottery I will definitely be booking up slots for all three levels of the residential cookery course too......I suppose buying a lottery ticket in the first place might accelerate this.
While waxing lyrical about the man I might as well do the same about the saucepan set that I bought the bear his name.
They are amazing !! They are just perfect for all the kitchen needs. Each pan is completely made from top quality stainless steel and they have a thick copper base for perfectly even heat distribution. The fact that they are 100% metal means that they can go straight from stove top to oven.
Perfect for finishing off seared meats or simmering casseroles and curries.
At the moment if you visit Raymond's site you can get 25% off all purchases. I urge you all that have cheap wooden or plastic handled saucepans to upgrade to these, the difference is just amazing and they also carry a lifetime guarantee.
Next post I'll go on to the Main meat course of the lunch which could be a very long post !!!
So two things this morning.
Firstly I'll write up about my fish course from yesterdays Sunday lunch and then secondly I want to type a few words about probably my favourite chef and the inspiration behind the dish Raymond Blanc.
So the food, again something I had done before and it's so simple but incredibly tasty, such a good dinner party dish. There is very little or even no cooking involved at all if you buy prepared ingredients and it can be make a few hours in advance of when needed apart from some finishing touches so it gives you more time to spend on other menu components or whatever else it is you have planned.
The dish itself is Hot Smoked Salmon with Beetroot Salad and a Horseradish Crème Fraiche.
I start by cooking the Beetroot in boiling water, you can of course buy packaged cooked beetroot if you like but I' much prefer to use the fresh stuff.
Now I'm only a recent convert back to Beetroot after years of dismissing it as a food that I don't like. The reason for this previous dislike of Beetroot stems back to summer times as a child. We used to have cold salads which invariably contained one of my absolute favourite summer comfort foods cold Mashed Potato......yes that is typed correctly....
Anyway my issue with the Beetroot is that it used to leak pinky red juice into my perfect Mashed Potato and that is it, no other reason whatsoever. It's irrational but I do have a friend who's reason for not eating Peas is that they are ill disciplined so maybe my irrational loathing isn't so madcap.
So I boil up the Beetroot (1 medium sized Beetroot for 2 people is more than enough) and I do it for quite a while. I'm sure most chefs and cooks would say that you should cook it to a point where it still has a crunch but personally I like it soft and with a more subtle taste, it's a personal preference and can of course be altered if you want to try it at home.
Once boiled I take it off the heat and let it cool completely.
The rest of the ingredients can be bought from any supermarket or specialist store. I've linked to the exact products I used incase readers in the UK want to give it a go. They we're bought in either Waitrose or Sainsburys but I'm certain that they can be easily bought elsewhere and all over the world too -
1 x Packet of good quality Hot Smoked Salmon. You can see from the picture how much you need per portion.
1 x Small tub of Créme Fraiche.
1 x Jar of Strong Horseradish.
1 x Packet of Microshoots.
Crushed Black Peppercorns.
Balsamic Vinegar.
Skin the cooked Beetroot and cut into pieces. I made small squares this time but the presentation is entirely up to you, imagine how you want it to look on the plate and stick to the image on your head or even jot it down on a piece of paper if you don't want to copy my suggestion.
I'd tend not to have Beetroot pieces that are too big because it makes getting fork full of all the ingredients together quite difficult and they work so well that it just has to be tried and enjoyed with the minimum fuss.
Set these Beetroot pieces aside and divide up the Salmon pieces between the serving plates, again with the presentation in mind.
Take the Microshoots and add a small pile to the plate. On top of these liberally dot some Beetroot pieces but be careful no to let them spill around to much because you'll get Beetroot juice over the plate and certainly if using white plates it won' t look very pretty. Add a few more microshoots on top of this to soften the appearance.
You can either put this in the fridge for later or if serving right away finish off by doing the following -
Mix the equivalent of a heaped teaspoon of Crème Fraiche per person with approximately a quarter the amount of Horseradish. I do like might quite strong so I'd suggest adding it a little at a time tasting as you go.
Add a teaspoon of the mixture onto each plate.
Dress the Beetroot salad with a small dash of the Balsamic Vinegar and sprinkle a pinch of the Crushed Black Peppercorns over the whole plate.
The reason for doing this just before serving is because if they were added prior to doing so (i.e. pre-preparing) the Créme Fraiche would flatten out on lose it's shape and also the Balsamic Vinegar would run out of the salad.
What you should end up with is something like this -
Such a simple dish that has maximum flavour and great for entertaining.
So onto the inspiration for this dish and that came from Raymond Blanc. He a completely self-taught chef and one of the most respected in the world. You can see his full biography here.
What I most like about Raymond apart from his fantastic cooking which has won him numerous awards and an OBE is his wonderful personality, he's smiling all the time and you can tell that he's just so in love with food, life and people. He's got that same homely character that I also see in another favourite of mine Rick Stein.
For me his program "Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets" was the most important cookery program I feel I have ever seen on British TV and I recommend that anybody remotely interested in food and cooking should give it a viewing.
The insight he gives into kitchen life and his own life come through but most of all is his passion for simple, local produce and making something extraordinary out of them.
The dishes he creates all have a real level of beauty with vibrant colours and beautfully artistic presentation. Just look at some of the images from his flagship "Manoir aux Quat Saisons".
I've not eaten there, I will do one day and I want you all to come with me.......however we will be going Dutch !!!! And when I win the lottery I will definitely be booking up slots for all three levels of the residential cookery course too......I suppose buying a lottery ticket in the first place might accelerate this.
While waxing lyrical about the man I might as well do the same about the saucepan set that I bought the bear his name.
They are amazing !! They are just perfect for all the kitchen needs. Each pan is completely made from top quality stainless steel and they have a thick copper base for perfectly even heat distribution. The fact that they are 100% metal means that they can go straight from stove top to oven.
Perfect for finishing off seared meats or simmering casseroles and curries.
At the moment if you visit Raymond's site you can get 25% off all purchases. I urge you all that have cheap wooden or plastic handled saucepans to upgrade to these, the difference is just amazing and they also carry a lifetime guarantee.
Next post I'll go on to the Main meat course of the lunch which could be a very long post !!!
Sunday 8 August 2010
Sunday dinner.... Entrée
So a few drinks while DJ'ing on Saturday at Sakura, which incidently I completely smashed, ended up with maybe a couple more and not getting home until 5:00am. Not ideal preparation for having friends over for lunch, especially when the vast majority of the menu I'd never cooked before.
However after the initial relief of realising that I'd not hideously overslept everything was under control and so much so that I'd completely ignored the hangover that I had.
One of the menu components that I had tried before were the clear Bloody Maries that I got inspired to create after seeing both Raymond Blanc and Jamie Oliver making tomato consommé on their TV shows.
The consommé is made by blending up some good quality tomatoes, I would only use plum tomatoes that are sold on the vine but I'm sure a good result can also be gained from using other types. I also throw in plenty of fresh Basil leaves and about a teaspoon of Black peppercorns when blending as a good Bloody Mary should always have Basil and Pepper in it....in my opinion that is.
This pulp is then slowly filtered through either layers of Muslin (Cheesecloth) or a wet tea towel will work just as well. The more you filter the extracted juice the clearer the consommé will be. I can't exactly remember how many times I filtered this batch but it was done over a period of 5 days and took 24 Tomatoes making around a litre of liquid.
For added flavour I make up a small pot of Olive Oil and chopped Basil a few days before and then when it comes to serving up I add a small amount of good quality Vodka into a shot glass(which can of course be left out for drivers or children) topped it up with the tomato consommé and then drop in blobs of the Oil mixture. I also add a small piece of Celery (again as a Bloody Mary should have) which you can use to stir in the Oil along with the obligatory dashes of Tabasco and Worcester Sauce.
The surprise in this drink is the really intense tomato flavour that you get from a virtually clear liquid, it has a really "Wow" factor about which not only gets a conversation going but really does get the taste buds ready for the food to come.
OK I'm guessing you want to see what they look like............... So.....
Tomorrow I'll tell you all about the starter which was a Goats Cheese soufflé and I'm also going to blog about my affection for the previously mentioned Mr Raymond Blanc.
Until then.............
However after the initial relief of realising that I'd not hideously overslept everything was under control and so much so that I'd completely ignored the hangover that I had.
One of the menu components that I had tried before were the clear Bloody Maries that I got inspired to create after seeing both Raymond Blanc and Jamie Oliver making tomato consommé on their TV shows.
The consommé is made by blending up some good quality tomatoes, I would only use plum tomatoes that are sold on the vine but I'm sure a good result can also be gained from using other types. I also throw in plenty of fresh Basil leaves and about a teaspoon of Black peppercorns when blending as a good Bloody Mary should always have Basil and Pepper in it....in my opinion that is.
This pulp is then slowly filtered through either layers of Muslin (Cheesecloth) or a wet tea towel will work just as well. The more you filter the extracted juice the clearer the consommé will be. I can't exactly remember how many times I filtered this batch but it was done over a period of 5 days and took 24 Tomatoes making around a litre of liquid.
For added flavour I make up a small pot of Olive Oil and chopped Basil a few days before and then when it comes to serving up I add a small amount of good quality Vodka into a shot glass(which can of course be left out for drivers or children) topped it up with the tomato consommé and then drop in blobs of the Oil mixture. I also add a small piece of Celery (again as a Bloody Mary should have) which you can use to stir in the Oil along with the obligatory dashes of Tabasco and Worcester Sauce.
The surprise in this drink is the really intense tomato flavour that you get from a virtually clear liquid, it has a really "Wow" factor about which not only gets a conversation going but really does get the taste buds ready for the food to come.
OK I'm guessing you want to see what they look like............... So.....
Tomorrow I'll tell you all about the starter which was a Goats Cheese soufflé and I'm also going to blog about my affection for the previously mentioned Mr Raymond Blanc.
Until then.............
Saturday 7 August 2010
Good, zesty day to you all.....
Zesty.....Yes....That's how I feel today and so I should because the weekend has kicked off pretty well.
Watford opened the football season with 3 points at Norwich and we're doing great in the Cricket.
Sakura last night was quiet but my new music library format worked nicely so that is encouraging.
Today I've been getting some of tomorrows dinner prepared and I'm particulally looking forward to seeing how my amazing chip idea is going to pan out. Check out these beauties....
Another thing I'm going to try using is Marrowbone. It seems to be the "in" thing in the gastronomic world.
In the last couple of series of "Great British Menu" on the BBC it was used by a few chefs including Nigel Haworth, Kenny Atkinson, Ian Matfin & Danny Millar. These guys have about 400 Michelin Stars between them (OK maybe an exaggeration) but it does go to show that really decent, top class food can be made from the most unlikely things.
Here is what they look like at the moment.....
What I think I'm going to do is extract the Marrow from the bone then smoke it over some twigs and leaves taken from the massive Bay tree that is in the Garden. Once it's got a nice but subtle woody, bay smoked flavour I'll roll the Bone Marrow into bite size balls, coat them in fine, herbed breadcrumbs and fry them in Duck fat.
Hopefully when done they'll be like little, crunchy, golden footballs and dotted around the plate I think they will just look amazing too.
So good sport, good music and good food so far and it's only Saturday lunchtime, what more can a boy ask for?
Watford opened the football season with 3 points at Norwich and we're doing great in the Cricket.
Sakura last night was quiet but my new music library format worked nicely so that is encouraging.
Today I've been getting some of tomorrows dinner prepared and I'm particulally looking forward to seeing how my amazing chip idea is going to pan out. Check out these beauties....
Another thing I'm going to try using is Marrowbone. It seems to be the "in" thing in the gastronomic world.
In the last couple of series of "Great British Menu" on the BBC it was used by a few chefs including Nigel Haworth, Kenny Atkinson, Ian Matfin & Danny Millar. These guys have about 400 Michelin Stars between them (OK maybe an exaggeration) but it does go to show that really decent, top class food can be made from the most unlikely things.
Here is what they look like at the moment.....
What I think I'm going to do is extract the Marrow from the bone then smoke it over some twigs and leaves taken from the massive Bay tree that is in the Garden. Once it's got a nice but subtle woody, bay smoked flavour I'll roll the Bone Marrow into bite size balls, coat them in fine, herbed breadcrumbs and fry them in Duck fat.
Hopefully when done they'll be like little, crunchy, golden footballs and dotted around the plate I think they will just look amazing too.
So good sport, good music and good food so far and it's only Saturday lunchtime, what more can a boy ask for?
Friday 6 August 2010
Fuzzy head....
Yep I have a fuzzy head this morning. Didn't manage to get to sleep until nearly 3am due to my determination to get my music collection sorted out, the tiredness I can cope with but the Red Wine head is the struggle but one must soldier on mustn't one?
Yesterdays dinner turned out pretty well although I did substitute the Cod for Haddock as all the Cod fillets in Waitrose, Twyford looked like they'd been dragged around the car park for a bit.....not what I'd expect from one the premier supermarket chains at all.
Usually when I make a dish up in my head and cook it I'll always think of a way that it could have been better but in this case there is very little I'd change. It could work with any white fish too.
I guess the only thing I could have wished for was a better camera and a not so B&Q worktop :-)
Nick can you bring yours on Sunday if you are reading this?!?!? Camera that is not worktop.....
Other than cooking this and going through the final 300+ songs I managed to get the Duck Confit done and that's looking wonderful. I also have the Tomato Consommé straining off in the fridge, it's quite clear already but I'll filter it once or twice more before Sunday to try and get it perfectly clear.
I've used more Duck legs than I need for Sunday because having never tried cooking it this way before I want to give it a run through along with my amazing chips so thats for dinner tonight.
Facebook page will be updated in the next day or so. I've already had a few recipes sent in and one of them I have tried and tested. It was a simplified version of the French classic "Cassoulet" and I must say it was really tasty and very easy to make.
Requests also for bulking up a lunchtime salad and a particulally interesting way to cook a Squash !! All coming up on there so keep checking.
OK I have an pretty manic day ahead of me workwise so best crack on.
Statistically a very pleasing day for my blogging exploits yesterday so thanks to all who have been following...spread the word :-)
Yesterdays dinner turned out pretty well although I did substitute the Cod for Haddock as all the Cod fillets in Waitrose, Twyford looked like they'd been dragged around the car park for a bit.....not what I'd expect from one the premier supermarket chains at all.
Usually when I make a dish up in my head and cook it I'll always think of a way that it could have been better but in this case there is very little I'd change. It could work with any white fish too.
I guess the only thing I could have wished for was a better camera and a not so B&Q worktop :-)
Nick can you bring yours on Sunday if you are reading this?!?!? Camera that is not worktop.....
Other than cooking this and going through the final 300+ songs I managed to get the Duck Confit done and that's looking wonderful. I also have the Tomato Consommé straining off in the fridge, it's quite clear already but I'll filter it once or twice more before Sunday to try and get it perfectly clear.
I've used more Duck legs than I need for Sunday because having never tried cooking it this way before I want to give it a run through along with my amazing chips so thats for dinner tonight.
Facebook page will be updated in the next day or so. I've already had a few recipes sent in and one of them I have tried and tested. It was a simplified version of the French classic "Cassoulet" and I must say it was really tasty and very easy to make.
Requests also for bulking up a lunchtime salad and a particulally interesting way to cook a Squash !! All coming up on there so keep checking.
OK I have an pretty manic day ahead of me workwise so best crack on.
Statistically a very pleasing day for my blogging exploits yesterday so thanks to all who have been following...spread the word :-)
Thursday 5 August 2010
What shall I cook tonight !?!?
Well it needs to be quite quick as I still have things to prepare for Sundays entertaining as well as my two DJ gigs this weekend.
I definitely think I chose the wrong time to go all "Heston" in the kitchen and also re-arrange my complete back catalog of records.....
So..........
I'm gonna go for Herb-crusted Cod Fillet with Braised Fennel and a Cherry Tomato and Basil Dressing.
Should be pretty simple to do. I'll just herb crust the top of the Cod Fillet, probably with just breadcrumbs and a bit of Oregano, Sea Salt, Black Pepper and all stuck on with some whisked egg.
I'll cook the Cod only so it's just about done all the way through but not so much that the Cod Flakes lose their slight transparency...is opaqueness the right word ?!?
The Fennel I'll just slice fairly thin, boil for a few minutes then sauté for a few seconds in butter.
Tomato Dressing can be made up in the same sauté pan as I did the Fennel in. I'll just squeeze a few Cherry Tomatoes into the pan, add a dash of Balsamic Vinegar and some seasoning then a few torn Basil leaves. Turn the heat right up and let it reduce for a minute or two so the juice thickens up and that'll be the base of the dish.
On top of that a pile of the Braised Fennel and top that with the Cod Fillet. Drizzle the whole lot with Olive Oil and maybe a couple of small Basil Leaves for garnish and jobs a good'un.
Probably a really cold Sauvignon Blanc with this little beauty.
Oh.....Anybody hungry again?
I definitely think I chose the wrong time to go all "Heston" in the kitchen and also re-arrange my complete back catalog of records.....
So..........
I'm gonna go for Herb-crusted Cod Fillet with Braised Fennel and a Cherry Tomato and Basil Dressing.
Should be pretty simple to do. I'll just herb crust the top of the Cod Fillet, probably with just breadcrumbs and a bit of Oregano, Sea Salt, Black Pepper and all stuck on with some whisked egg.
I'll cook the Cod only so it's just about done all the way through but not so much that the Cod Flakes lose their slight transparency...is opaqueness the right word ?!?
The Fennel I'll just slice fairly thin, boil for a few minutes then sauté for a few seconds in butter.
Tomato Dressing can be made up in the same sauté pan as I did the Fennel in. I'll just squeeze a few Cherry Tomatoes into the pan, add a dash of Balsamic Vinegar and some seasoning then a few torn Basil leaves. Turn the heat right up and let it reduce for a minute or two so the juice thickens up and that'll be the base of the dish.
On top of that a pile of the Braised Fennel and top that with the Cod Fillet. Drizzle the whole lot with Olive Oil and maybe a couple of small Basil Leaves for garnish and jobs a good'un.
Probably a really cold Sauvignon Blanc with this little beauty.
Oh.....Anybody hungry again?
Struggling.......
Folks I'm struggling to find something to blog about....shock horror!
I've normally got something so say but this morning as I make my breakfast the mind is blank...Bacon & Egg sandwich by the way.
I was considering blogging about nothing but my good buddy James already did that....but I'll add my bit too...why not huh?
Is there such a thing as nothing. I mean how can you even give a name to something that isn't anything !?!? The fact that you've given it a name must indicate that there is something there worthy of naming therefore it can't be nothing.
To that end does that mean that the words "Nothing" and "Infinite" are the same ?!?!
Anyway I'll blog something less silly later.
I've normally got something so say but this morning as I make my breakfast the mind is blank...Bacon & Egg sandwich by the way.
I was considering blogging about nothing but my good buddy James already did that....but I'll add my bit too...why not huh?
Is there such a thing as nothing. I mean how can you even give a name to something that isn't anything !?!? The fact that you've given it a name must indicate that there is something there worthy of naming therefore it can't be nothing.
To that end does that mean that the words "Nothing" and "Infinite" are the same ?!?!
Anyway I'll blog something less silly later.
Wednesday 4 August 2010
Menu decided......
Another busy weekend looms and the days leading up to it are also pretty much full too so that means Sunday dinner will be started this evening...4.5 days or preparation for a special dinner for our special guests.
I'm going for the traditional 4 courses - Starter, Fish Dish, Meat Dish & Dessert. The Dessert is actually being supplied by the guests. (But I would have done Rhubarb Crumble)
Because of that I'll do a pre-starter which is going to be my "Not so Bloody Mary". It involves making a virtually clear consommé of tomato which can itself take a couple of days.
To make this you get a whole bunch of really tasty tomatoes and blitz them into a pulp with some fresh Basil then drain the whole lot, in a fridge, through several layers of muslin or a couple of tea towels into a bowl and what you get is a clear liquid that is completely packed with gorgeous tomato flavour.
I then serve it up in shot glasses with Vodka from the freezer (not too much, just a bit will do), a very thin stick of Celery, a couple of drops of Olive oil that has been mixed with Tabasco Sauce, Worcester Sauce and Black Pepper.
The idea is that you use the Celery stick to stir the shot mixing in the oil mixture and then down the shot (eating the celery after is of course optional).
Now not only does this get the meal off to a wonderful start but it also cleanses the palette and gets those tastebuds ready for the starter which will be......
Starter - Cheese Souffle
Another "Not so Bloody Mary"
Fish Course - Hot Smoked Salmon with Beetroot salad and Horseradish Cream.
Another "Not so Bloody Mary"
Meat Course - Confit Duck with Triple cooked Chips and a Redcurrent Jus. Sides of Chilli Peas with Panchetta, Cumin Glazed Carrots and French Beans also on the table.
Another "Not so Bloody Mary"
Dessert - Oooh what will Big Nick & Melanie bring ?!?!?
Anybody hungry?
I'm going for the traditional 4 courses - Starter, Fish Dish, Meat Dish & Dessert. The Dessert is actually being supplied by the guests. (But I would have done Rhubarb Crumble)
Because of that I'll do a pre-starter which is going to be my "Not so Bloody Mary". It involves making a virtually clear consommé of tomato which can itself take a couple of days.
To make this you get a whole bunch of really tasty tomatoes and blitz them into a pulp with some fresh Basil then drain the whole lot, in a fridge, through several layers of muslin or a couple of tea towels into a bowl and what you get is a clear liquid that is completely packed with gorgeous tomato flavour.
I then serve it up in shot glasses with Vodka from the freezer (not too much, just a bit will do), a very thin stick of Celery, a couple of drops of Olive oil that has been mixed with Tabasco Sauce, Worcester Sauce and Black Pepper.
The idea is that you use the Celery stick to stir the shot mixing in the oil mixture and then down the shot (eating the celery after is of course optional).
Now not only does this get the meal off to a wonderful start but it also cleanses the palette and gets those tastebuds ready for the starter which will be......
Starter - Cheese Souffle
Another "Not so Bloody Mary"
Fish Course - Hot Smoked Salmon with Beetroot salad and Horseradish Cream.
Another "Not so Bloody Mary"
Meat Course - Confit Duck with Triple cooked Chips and a Redcurrent Jus. Sides of Chilli Peas with Panchetta, Cumin Glazed Carrots and French Beans also on the table.
Another "Not so Bloody Mary"
Dessert - Oooh what will Big Nick & Melanie bring ?!?!?
Anybody hungry?
Monday 2 August 2010
A good weekend and a Restaurant review
Very enjoyable weekend all told. Most of Sunday was spent nursing a headache from a rather fun Saturday.
Was going to head off to Cardiff on Saturday for an evening as my Cricket club were on their annual tour but after finding out that people were heading home and the tour party was thinning out I decided to instead give myself a little pamper in the form of a nice big lunch at Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant in Reading.
I really did enjoy it as you can see by my review here on my Facebook page
Following that I headed over to The Ivory Lounge to meet up with a friend and share a couple of beers in what was a simply glorious day in Reading.
My buddy shifted off to get changed ready for his evenings DJ work at The Walkabout so I headed over to Jongluers comedy club where another friend is the sound & lighting tech for the comedy shows and the DJ for downstairs afterwards and that was a scream.
Can remember the last time I saw real comedy being performed. The compere John Mann was very good and a really nice fella to boot. Didn't believe him when he said he had a pet Lion until he showed me the photos. I mean how can you take it seruously when a comedian tells you he's got a pet Lion ?!?! There has to be a punchline somewhere but not in this case he really does.
Quite a few Stag and Hen parties in there which can of course be fun but it does mean that you get loads of really bad, uninteligent heckling. One group were particulaly bad but they were soon silenced by the headline act Steve Williams very good he was. That link isn't for his official site because to be honest it's rubbish.
Once he'd finished we headed over to The Walkabout where after waiting about 15 minutes to get a drink at the bar it was promptly knocked out of my hand so not really wanting to wait another 15 minutes for a new libation we headed over to Sakura
Usual fare here with some commercial but credible house music being played to the young and the beautiful. Spent the majority of the time here chatting with the new general manager and another DJ friend of mine who was on VIP room duty just as I will be this Friday coming.
Next stop Bar Mango. Was pretty busy, some alternative 70's music outside, mixture of soul classics and a bit of disco and inside I have to say not really all that inspiring but we stayed for quite a while chatting with people we know including the owner who really is a nice guy once you get to know him and the uber gay barman who had a night off and had got himself all dresses up for a night on the tiles....bless. He was worried about his mascara running!
OK plans for next week mainly revolve around a recipe I have been given for Cassoulet to test out for the Facebook page and also we have some friends coming over for dinner on Saturday and although I'm pretty settled on the menu it could change and most probably will.
Until tomorrow....toodle pip
Was going to head off to Cardiff on Saturday for an evening as my Cricket club were on their annual tour but after finding out that people were heading home and the tour party was thinning out I decided to instead give myself a little pamper in the form of a nice big lunch at Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant in Reading.
I really did enjoy it as you can see by my review here on my Facebook page
Following that I headed over to The Ivory Lounge to meet up with a friend and share a couple of beers in what was a simply glorious day in Reading.
My buddy shifted off to get changed ready for his evenings DJ work at The Walkabout so I headed over to Jongluers comedy club where another friend is the sound & lighting tech for the comedy shows and the DJ for downstairs afterwards and that was a scream.
Can remember the last time I saw real comedy being performed. The compere John Mann was very good and a really nice fella to boot. Didn't believe him when he said he had a pet Lion until he showed me the photos. I mean how can you take it seruously when a comedian tells you he's got a pet Lion ?!?! There has to be a punchline somewhere but not in this case he really does.
Quite a few Stag and Hen parties in there which can of course be fun but it does mean that you get loads of really bad, uninteligent heckling. One group were particulaly bad but they were soon silenced by the headline act Steve Williams very good he was. That link isn't for his official site because to be honest it's rubbish.
Once he'd finished we headed over to The Walkabout where after waiting about 15 minutes to get a drink at the bar it was promptly knocked out of my hand so not really wanting to wait another 15 minutes for a new libation we headed over to Sakura
Usual fare here with some commercial but credible house music being played to the young and the beautiful. Spent the majority of the time here chatting with the new general manager and another DJ friend of mine who was on VIP room duty just as I will be this Friday coming.
Next stop Bar Mango. Was pretty busy, some alternative 70's music outside, mixture of soul classics and a bit of disco and inside I have to say not really all that inspiring but we stayed for quite a while chatting with people we know including the owner who really is a nice guy once you get to know him and the uber gay barman who had a night off and had got himself all dresses up for a night on the tiles....bless. He was worried about his mascara running!
OK plans for next week mainly revolve around a recipe I have been given for Cassoulet to test out for the Facebook page and also we have some friends coming over for dinner on Saturday and although I'm pretty settled on the menu it could change and most probably will.
Until tomorrow....toodle pip
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