So yesterday I was all excited about getting my first product review posted on my website but I was not to know that I was just one large cappuccino away from a completely different path.
This will now just form one part of a much larger site being built and maintained by a professional company. It'll be a site focussed on myself and on my cooking with subsections for product reviews, recipes, blog, photos, videos and cookery advice and there will also now be booking information for private catering and public demonstrations.
All very positive stuff and cost wise it's no more than I'd already set aside for my own basic site and although I will be submitting content it'll mostly be run for me and therefore a massive step in my quest for outsourcing aspects of my life.
I already feel like a weight has been lifted because even though I'm really happy that I've taught myself how to get a site running the fact that I'll be having a professional company who already have some huge worldwide brands as clients is much more reassuring.
I have a few things coming up that will get some local media coverage so it's probably the right time to make use of the publicity before the opportunity passes. I have nothing to lose and all to gain..............I like that scenario :-)
However that's enough of that.
I finally got my hands on some Ox cheeks yesterday. I saw them on the menus of virtually all the restaurants I went to in Melbourne and I've wanted to experiment with them ever since.
They look quite tough as I'd expected so I've decided to give soak them in a light brine (Water, salt, sugar and some pink peppercorns) before cooking in the water bath for 12 hours. The brining helps to breakdown the muscle fibres and helps the meat retain more moisture which in turn results in a nice juicy and soft texture. It works really well with lean meats cut too which are more susceptible overcooking and drying out. There is plenty of advice on how to do this out there on the internet so give it a go.
Well I really must finish up as work is crazy today......it's going to be a looooooooong day.....toodlepip xx
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Monday, 9 May 2011
MEAT.......
I know the weekend is going to creep up pretty quickly so I've ordered my meat in preparation for the BBQ I am catering for on Saturday. I think burger, sausage, pork belly rib, two chicken wings and a king prawn kebab on each plate should be a welcome repast. With some home made potato salad, coleslaw, roasted vegetable cous cous and some tomato & fennel salad I think that's quite a spread.
Perfectly manageable for 70 people too as I'm going to pre-cook most of it in the water bath meaning that I'll only be colouring an heating through on the day ensuring that everything is fully cooked and bacteria free whilst at the same time getting that smoky BBQ flavour. Sous vide.....it's the future (I've said that before haven't I?)
Cooking this way is not only going to make my life easier and ensure there are no meanies in the meat it's also going to make the wings and ribs so amazingly tender. They be nothing like the normal chewy quickly cooked hardly in-edibles you get at garden BBQ's. The wings will be cooked for a minimum of 1 hour at 76.5C and the ribs at 68C for 24 hours before they even see a flame.....melt in your mouth yummyness.
Luckily my water bath is nice and big otherwise doing all this in many batches would be cutting it a bit fine. I reckon I'll have 55 hours to prepare......if I don't sleep :-)
I ordered all the meat (apart from the prawns) from www.devonrose.com they are a fantastic free range and organic farm based in Devon. Tremendous value and great produce, they supply many high end London butchers shops as well as directly to top chefs including the amazing Michelin starred Tom Aikens and also Mark Hix.
Take a look, they do a delivery hamper which you can have direct to your door each week.
In other news the weekend went well. Played cricket on Saturday and although we lost it was a tremendous game and despite scoring zero off the bat I did take a couple of catches and felt I was pretty faultless in the field working hard for the bowlers and not letting any stray runs pass me by, also didn't end up in A&E this time around.
Website hosting is done and it's as such it's live although it has only a basic wordpress theme at the moment and it's not really the look I want so I'll be speaking to somebody about jazzing this up prior to adding proper content. I can't have it looking shoddy. I want it very basic in format but still vibrant and pleasing on the eye.
Only a few weeks now until we find out if we need to get blue or pink stuff for little Bumpski. My Mum has been clickety clicking away with the knitting and crochet needles making some dainty little goodies and Carley is looking beautiful as all expectant mums do......except better because she's mine :-)
Anyway must dash......toodlepip xx
Perfectly manageable for 70 people too as I'm going to pre-cook most of it in the water bath meaning that I'll only be colouring an heating through on the day ensuring that everything is fully cooked and bacteria free whilst at the same time getting that smoky BBQ flavour. Sous vide.....it's the future (I've said that before haven't I?)
Cooking this way is not only going to make my life easier and ensure there are no meanies in the meat it's also going to make the wings and ribs so amazingly tender. They be nothing like the normal chewy quickly cooked hardly in-edibles you get at garden BBQ's. The wings will be cooked for a minimum of 1 hour at 76.5C and the ribs at 68C for 24 hours before they even see a flame.....melt in your mouth yummyness.
Luckily my water bath is nice and big otherwise doing all this in many batches would be cutting it a bit fine. I reckon I'll have 55 hours to prepare......if I don't sleep :-)
I ordered all the meat (apart from the prawns) from www.devonrose.com they are a fantastic free range and organic farm based in Devon. Tremendous value and great produce, they supply many high end London butchers shops as well as directly to top chefs including the amazing Michelin starred Tom Aikens and also Mark Hix.
Take a look, they do a delivery hamper which you can have direct to your door each week.
In other news the weekend went well. Played cricket on Saturday and although we lost it was a tremendous game and despite scoring zero off the bat I did take a couple of catches and felt I was pretty faultless in the field working hard for the bowlers and not letting any stray runs pass me by, also didn't end up in A&E this time around.
Website hosting is done and it's as such it's live although it has only a basic wordpress theme at the moment and it's not really the look I want so I'll be speaking to somebody about jazzing this up prior to adding proper content. I can't have it looking shoddy. I want it very basic in format but still vibrant and pleasing on the eye.
Only a few weeks now until we find out if we need to get blue or pink stuff for little Bumpski. My Mum has been clickety clicking away with the knitting and crochet needles making some dainty little goodies and Carley is looking beautiful as all expectant mums do......except better because she's mine :-)
Anyway must dash......toodlepip xx
Friday, 6 May 2011
Got going......
Rather tricky morning so far but it's brightened up. Had a little pickle getting out of the wrong side of the bed this morning which was a little testing but alls well that ends well, it's usually a sign that she's coming down with something so I hope it passes.
Now however I'm feeling rather jolly and I'm looking forward to the day and weekend ahead. At present I'm playing cricket for the 2nd X1 away at Stoke Green cc. First official game of the season so I'll be taking an early night tonight and doing a few stretches to limber up my knackered out body.
Not sure it can get any worse than the last time and the visit to A&E but lets not curse it......or did I just do that? Maybe I should call Royal Berks now and make an appointment for about 4pm.
Not sure if I'm playing Sunday yet. Usual protocol is to pick people not picked to play on the Saturday to ensure everybody gets a game but even with over 100 players signed up it's still difficult to get 11 on a Sunday due to family duties. It's at home anyway so I'll either be there watching or be there playing. It's a last minute friendly against a touring team from Ludlow so should be a giggle.
Having a slight delay with the website launch absolutely everything to do with teh way I set it up..........or didn't as the case may be so I had to start again. It's all a learning curve :-)
The only other thing I have booked is to head over to Wokingham to have some welcome back drinks with our lovely buddy Snotty who's been travelling far and wide. It's always nice to see her and hopefully a few drinkeepoos won't get out of hand......however it's very likely it will.
So until next time.....toodlepip xxx
Now however I'm feeling rather jolly and I'm looking forward to the day and weekend ahead. At present I'm playing cricket for the 2nd X1 away at Stoke Green cc. First official game of the season so I'll be taking an early night tonight and doing a few stretches to limber up my knackered out body.
Not sure it can get any worse than the last time and the visit to A&E but lets not curse it......or did I just do that? Maybe I should call Royal Berks now and make an appointment for about 4pm.
Not sure if I'm playing Sunday yet. Usual protocol is to pick people not picked to play on the Saturday to ensure everybody gets a game but even with over 100 players signed up it's still difficult to get 11 on a Sunday due to family duties. It's at home anyway so I'll either be there watching or be there playing. It's a last minute friendly against a touring team from Ludlow so should be a giggle.
Having a slight delay with the website launch absolutely everything to do with teh way I set it up..........or didn't as the case may be so I had to start again. It's all a learning curve :-)
The only other thing I have booked is to head over to Wokingham to have some welcome back drinks with our lovely buddy Snotty who's been travelling far and wide. It's always nice to see her and hopefully a few drinkeepoos won't get out of hand......however it's very likely it will.
So until next time.....toodlepip xxx
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Many things.......
I've actually got quite a bit to blog about today but stick with it because you absolutely have to try the recipe at the end.....that is unless you have a shellfish allergy :-/
First and foremost thank you to the team at Pepe Sale in Reading for being so welcoming and hospitable in hosting yesterday evenings 2nd round heat of Reading, steady, cook! I was rather pleasantly surprised by the restaurant having never been there before.
It has a really authentic, family run and genuine Italian feel to the place which of course comes from owner Toni Sale, his family and the kitchen team who produce some wonderful and classic Sardinian cuisine.
Oh look and here's Toni himself......
The music bread was to die for. (knocks Jamie's out of the park......shhhh don't tell him I said that) Just couldn't stop munching away on it and the black olives were like sunshine in your mouth :-)
Congratulations to Rick on winning the heat and progressing to the semi finals. His pan roasted poussin with spring vegetables was superbly sourced, excellently cooked and very well presented.
Commiserations to Marc who lost out narrowly with his fusion styled lobster with pappardelle but it was a very tricky decision as was entirely expected at this stage of the competition and ultimately somebody had to go through.
Marc is extremely passionate about food and has been a great and enthusiastic supporter of the competition attending many of the heats so hopefully he'll be back in some form or another. Well done buddy :-)
As Guy Douglas (BID Manager for ReadingUK CIC) commented it really was a brilliant advert for the Reading community all showcased through food. We had Rick's use of local ingredients, Marc's multi cultural culinery background and Pepe Salé's family business all rolled into recipes and restaurants, it's really what this whole competition is all about so well done to everyone involved.
From one fabulous Reading, steady, cook venue to another and I was amazed at seeing the new website and facebook page for LSQ2. Having recently been vote the best restaurant in Reading by the Pride of Reading awards perhaps I shouldn't have been so taken aback. Very sleek design and fantastic photography. I'm absolutely sure the food matches up but I shall let you know soon because I'll be reviewing it at some point soon......watch this space. In the meantime pop along to their website and see for yourself.
Here's a little piccie of yours truly announcing the winner of the heat that LSQ2 hosted....
I've also been asked to do another interview for Helen Wright's local lunch show on the community based Reading4u radio station. This will happen on the 17th of May. It's an internet based station so you can listen live from that link on the day. The date also corresponds with another heat of the Reading, steady cook competition being held at La Tasca in the town centre so great synergy there.
It's also been confirmed that I will be doing a cooking demonstration on the Eat Reading Live festival in July. I understand it'll be right before the professional chef cooking final.............no pressure then!
I was thinking that I might cook the wonderful prawn balls that I am about to give you the recipe for but who knows? I tend to mostly act upon inspiration for these kind of events so I'll choose closer to the time.
I'm just going to do the prawn ball recipe and not the dipping sauce because you can choose your own for that. We had them with some chilli oil which was fantastic but I'm sure there are plenty of others you can experiment with.
To feed two people what you're going to need is two or three handfuls of peeled and de-veined prawns. You can choose which ever variation you like but they must be uncooked. When I created this dish I used previously frozen and uncooked tiger prawns but you don't need to limit yourself just to these because ultimately they are going to be blitzed up with other ingredients.
Dipping Prawn Balls
Serves two and it's a bit fiddly so get everything prepared in advance and perhaps search Google for a video on how to form quenelles if you don't already know !!!
Ingredients -
For the filling
3 x Handfuls of raw, shelled and de-veined prawns.
1 x Fresh red chilli, stalk removed, seeds in....man/woman up.
1 x Handful of fresh coriander.
1 x Clove of garlic, peeled.
1 tsp x Thai fish sauce.
Half tsp x Paprika.
Half tsp x Garam Masala.
800ml x Rapeseed oil for deep frying. (I love using rapeseed oil as it's virtually flavourless but you can use other sunflower or vegetable oil if you like)
For the coating (and into separate bowls)
1 x Crust ends of sliced bread blended into crumbs.
2 x Eggs, whisked.
100g x Plain flour (maybe more if needed)
1. Put all the filling ingredients into a blender. Before pulsing decide if you'd like a smooth filling or something with a little more texture, it's entirely up to you but of course you can't go back if you whizz it up too much so pulse accordingly. You may also need to add a bit more moisture by way of a few drops of water if you find the blender doesn't quite grab the contents but use sparingly as these will be deep fried and water + hot oil is never a good mix.
2. Once blended empty the mixture into a bowl and let it rest in the fridge for about 10 mins to firm up a little, this will help with forming the filling balls as they will be quite delicate even after chilling making coating them a bit sticky and tricky.
3. Ideally you want the finished prawn balls to be about the size of a golf ball. That makes them just a little too big to eat in one mouthful but not so big that they take far too long to cook so using a dessert spoon scoop up enough filling you think will be enough to create a ball just smaller than the desired golf ball size. Using another dessert spoon pass the mixture between both to form a quenelle.
4. Drop the quenelle of filling into the bowl of flour and using a clean spoon roll it around very gently until it is completely covered in a dusting of the flour. At this stage you can delicately pick it up with your fingers and form it into more of a ball shape.
5. Lightly drop the floured ball into the egg bowl and again using another clean spoon gently cover the entire ball in a coating of egg. Once covered lift the ball out and again gently drop it gently into the bowl of breadcrumbs and roll around until completely coated. (I'm instructing you to drop the ball into each separate bowl because you want to keep the rolling spoons as free from the other coating ingredients as possible)
6. Take the breadcrumbed ball and again drop it into the egg bowl, roll it around and breadcrumb for a second time. This is often referred to as double dipping, it creates a bigger barrier between the filling and the hot oil so that it doesn't seep into the ball and make the contents greasy. It also makes the coating that little bit crunchier.
7. Set the fully coated prawn ball aside while you repeat the process until all the filling has been used up.
8. Heat the oil up to 375F/190C this needs to be quite accurate because any higher and the coating will cook to quickly and the filling will be undercooked any lower and the oil will seep through the coating before it has time to seal up making the filling greasy.
9. Deep fry the coated prawn ball in small batches until they are golden brown setting aside to drain on kitchen paper when done.
10. Put all the finished prawn balls in one big bowl, serve with dipping sauces of your choice and share with your friend, partner or whoever else as a nice and jolly evening repast.
If you are worried about the filling being undercooked perhaps if you are an expectant mother or just don't like the thought of eating a undercooked prawn then you can always preheat an oven to around 280F/140C and after deep frying leave them in the oven for about 10 mins before serving.
Ideally they should be served warmed through as the filling will be moist and juicy however they could also be served cold as a picnic alternative to mini scotch eggs.
That's it for this epic post so ..... toodlepip xxx
First and foremost thank you to the team at Pepe Sale in Reading for being so welcoming and hospitable in hosting yesterday evenings 2nd round heat of Reading, steady, cook! I was rather pleasantly surprised by the restaurant having never been there before.
It has a really authentic, family run and genuine Italian feel to the place which of course comes from owner Toni Sale, his family and the kitchen team who produce some wonderful and classic Sardinian cuisine.
Oh look and here's Toni himself......
The music bread was to die for. (knocks Jamie's out of the park......shhhh don't tell him I said that) Just couldn't stop munching away on it and the black olives were like sunshine in your mouth :-)
Congratulations to Rick on winning the heat and progressing to the semi finals. His pan roasted poussin with spring vegetables was superbly sourced, excellently cooked and very well presented.
Commiserations to Marc who lost out narrowly with his fusion styled lobster with pappardelle but it was a very tricky decision as was entirely expected at this stage of the competition and ultimately somebody had to go through.
Marc is extremely passionate about food and has been a great and enthusiastic supporter of the competition attending many of the heats so hopefully he'll be back in some form or another. Well done buddy :-)
As Guy Douglas (BID Manager for ReadingUK CIC) commented it really was a brilliant advert for the Reading community all showcased through food. We had Rick's use of local ingredients, Marc's multi cultural culinery background and Pepe Salé's family business all rolled into recipes and restaurants, it's really what this whole competition is all about so well done to everyone involved.
From one fabulous Reading, steady, cook venue to another and I was amazed at seeing the new website and facebook page for LSQ2. Having recently been vote the best restaurant in Reading by the Pride of Reading awards perhaps I shouldn't have been so taken aback. Very sleek design and fantastic photography. I'm absolutely sure the food matches up but I shall let you know soon because I'll be reviewing it at some point soon......watch this space. In the meantime pop along to their website and see for yourself.
Here's a little piccie of yours truly announcing the winner of the heat that LSQ2 hosted....
I've also been asked to do another interview for Helen Wright's local lunch show on the community based Reading4u radio station. This will happen on the 17th of May. It's an internet based station so you can listen live from that link on the day. The date also corresponds with another heat of the Reading, steady cook competition being held at La Tasca in the town centre so great synergy there.
It's also been confirmed that I will be doing a cooking demonstration on the Eat Reading Live festival in July. I understand it'll be right before the professional chef cooking final.............no pressure then!
I was thinking that I might cook the wonderful prawn balls that I am about to give you the recipe for but who knows? I tend to mostly act upon inspiration for these kind of events so I'll choose closer to the time.
I'm just going to do the prawn ball recipe and not the dipping sauce because you can choose your own for that. We had them with some chilli oil which was fantastic but I'm sure there are plenty of others you can experiment with.
To feed two people what you're going to need is two or three handfuls of peeled and de-veined prawns. You can choose which ever variation you like but they must be uncooked. When I created this dish I used previously frozen and uncooked tiger prawns but you don't need to limit yourself just to these because ultimately they are going to be blitzed up with other ingredients.
Dipping Prawn Balls
Serves two and it's a bit fiddly so get everything prepared in advance and perhaps search Google for a video on how to form quenelles if you don't already know !!!
Ingredients -
For the filling
3 x Handfuls of raw, shelled and de-veined prawns.
1 x Fresh red chilli, stalk removed, seeds in....man/woman up.
1 x Handful of fresh coriander.
1 x Clove of garlic, peeled.
1 tsp x Thai fish sauce.
Half tsp x Paprika.
Half tsp x Garam Masala.
800ml x Rapeseed oil for deep frying. (I love using rapeseed oil as it's virtually flavourless but you can use other sunflower or vegetable oil if you like)
For the coating (and into separate bowls)
1 x Crust ends of sliced bread blended into crumbs.
2 x Eggs, whisked.
100g x Plain flour (maybe more if needed)
1. Put all the filling ingredients into a blender. Before pulsing decide if you'd like a smooth filling or something with a little more texture, it's entirely up to you but of course you can't go back if you whizz it up too much so pulse accordingly. You may also need to add a bit more moisture by way of a few drops of water if you find the blender doesn't quite grab the contents but use sparingly as these will be deep fried and water + hot oil is never a good mix.
2. Once blended empty the mixture into a bowl and let it rest in the fridge for about 10 mins to firm up a little, this will help with forming the filling balls as they will be quite delicate even after chilling making coating them a bit sticky and tricky.
3. Ideally you want the finished prawn balls to be about the size of a golf ball. That makes them just a little too big to eat in one mouthful but not so big that they take far too long to cook so using a dessert spoon scoop up enough filling you think will be enough to create a ball just smaller than the desired golf ball size. Using another dessert spoon pass the mixture between both to form a quenelle.
4. Drop the quenelle of filling into the bowl of flour and using a clean spoon roll it around very gently until it is completely covered in a dusting of the flour. At this stage you can delicately pick it up with your fingers and form it into more of a ball shape.
5. Lightly drop the floured ball into the egg bowl and again using another clean spoon gently cover the entire ball in a coating of egg. Once covered lift the ball out and again gently drop it gently into the bowl of breadcrumbs and roll around until completely coated. (I'm instructing you to drop the ball into each separate bowl because you want to keep the rolling spoons as free from the other coating ingredients as possible)
6. Take the breadcrumbed ball and again drop it into the egg bowl, roll it around and breadcrumb for a second time. This is often referred to as double dipping, it creates a bigger barrier between the filling and the hot oil so that it doesn't seep into the ball and make the contents greasy. It also makes the coating that little bit crunchier.
7. Set the fully coated prawn ball aside while you repeat the process until all the filling has been used up.
8. Heat the oil up to 375F/190C this needs to be quite accurate because any higher and the coating will cook to quickly and the filling will be undercooked any lower and the oil will seep through the coating before it has time to seal up making the filling greasy.
9. Deep fry the coated prawn ball in small batches until they are golden brown setting aside to drain on kitchen paper when done.
10. Put all the finished prawn balls in one big bowl, serve with dipping sauces of your choice and share with your friend, partner or whoever else as a nice and jolly evening repast.
If you are worried about the filling being undercooked perhaps if you are an expectant mother or just don't like the thought of eating a undercooked prawn then you can always preheat an oven to around 280F/140C and after deep frying leave them in the oven for about 10 mins before serving.
Ideally they should be served warmed through as the filling will be moist and juicy however they could also be served cold as a picnic alternative to mini scotch eggs.
That's it for this epic post so ..... toodlepip xxx
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
On the web....
So I'm very close now to getting one of my websites up and running. I've sorted out my web hosting and I've got www.designerkitchengoods.com registered in my name. Just waiting for it all to get linked up then I'll be ready to start the website design.
Having never done this type of thing before it a great learning curve. As a novice it all seems very confusing from the start and you tend to go off track and lose interest when things go over your head but all of a sudden the penny drops and you find yourself enthused once more and ready to take on the world again.
Just getting a site up takes a bit of time and effort but then after that you have to really get involved with learning how to promote the site and the products on it and that's the bit I'm starting to get to grips with now. It's all about keywords and phrases that get you up the rankings in Google ultimately in search of that all important number 1 listing.
Thankfully there are many programs out there that can help you out with this including Google itself and there are some other software applications that will automatically do it all for you, of course you have to pay a premium for this and if it makes financial sense to use them I think I may very well do that once I get more websites launched and more products to sell.
Selecting the products and choosing your market is also very important because aiming the wrong product at the wrong person is obviously bound to fail so it's all about research and using the tools provided to try and exploit that all important niche.
It's not about taking on the big boys like Amazon and making millions because that'd just be a ridiculous thing to attempt. For me it's about learning something new and nurturing something from the ground up, ultimately if it ends up earning a few quid then great but that's not my immediate goal.......it'd be bloomin brilliant if it did though :-)
I really need to get the design right though because I've already made enquiries with several brands who like my idea (as I'm sure they do thousands of others each and every day) but they want to see the site first so once the hosting is linked to my domain I'll be able to get cracking. What brands I hear you ask ?!?!? Well John Lewis and Cath Kidston are just a couple. Why them? Because I like them and for no other reason than that. I'm not going to go promoting something that I don't like just because I'll get a good commission, probably not the best entrepreneurial approach but doing that would be dishonest and that's not me at all.
This blog is already too long and I was going to give you a recipe on a rather wonderful prawn dish I rustled up last night but that can wait until tomorrow.
Toodlepip xxx
Having never done this type of thing before it a great learning curve. As a novice it all seems very confusing from the start and you tend to go off track and lose interest when things go over your head but all of a sudden the penny drops and you find yourself enthused once more and ready to take on the world again.
Just getting a site up takes a bit of time and effort but then after that you have to really get involved with learning how to promote the site and the products on it and that's the bit I'm starting to get to grips with now. It's all about keywords and phrases that get you up the rankings in Google ultimately in search of that all important number 1 listing.
Thankfully there are many programs out there that can help you out with this including Google itself and there are some other software applications that will automatically do it all for you, of course you have to pay a premium for this and if it makes financial sense to use them I think I may very well do that once I get more websites launched and more products to sell.
Selecting the products and choosing your market is also very important because aiming the wrong product at the wrong person is obviously bound to fail so it's all about research and using the tools provided to try and exploit that all important niche.
It's not about taking on the big boys like Amazon and making millions because that'd just be a ridiculous thing to attempt. For me it's about learning something new and nurturing something from the ground up, ultimately if it ends up earning a few quid then great but that's not my immediate goal.......it'd be bloomin brilliant if it did though :-)
I really need to get the design right though because I've already made enquiries with several brands who like my idea (as I'm sure they do thousands of others each and every day) but they want to see the site first so once the hosting is linked to my domain I'll be able to get cracking. What brands I hear you ask ?!?!? Well John Lewis and Cath Kidston are just a couple. Why them? Because I like them and for no other reason than that. I'm not going to go promoting something that I don't like just because I'll get a good commission, probably not the best entrepreneurial approach but doing that would be dishonest and that's not me at all.
This blog is already too long and I was going to give you a recipe on a rather wonderful prawn dish I rustled up last night but that can wait until tomorrow.
Toodlepip xxx
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Easy no Peasy........
I had one of those days yesterday when my creative juices just weren't flowing. I was feeling lethargic and completely uninspired. That was until I saw that my expectant darling lady was feeling a little pensive so I thought what better way to cheer somebody up than to cook them something delightful.
Even then it was difficult to come up with something inspired. I was always going to use lamb as I know that is her favourite but I really struggled to come up with something to go with it that was healthy and especially light (It had been a nice warm day so anything too rich would have been just too much) but at the same time tasty and filling.
I really wanted to use asparagus as again I know she is very fond of it but even after wandering around my local supermarket for a good hour I just couldn't get my head around any combination of lamb and asparagus (however I will in future) so instead I thought back to a dish I'd had a while back at Jamie's Italian in Reading.
That time it was lamb with lentils and herbs. It was very nice however I thought it was a bit too over herbed and even though the lentils gave it some texture I didn't think there was enough variation. I also felt that it was a bit dry to taste and appearance wise it lacked a bit of colour so my remit then became to not only create something I knew Carley would love but also to improve on what I'd had previously..........I think it worked :-)
Herbed rack of lamb with lentils and wild rice
Serves 2 people as a main summertime course (approx 30 mins cooking time)
Shopping List & preparation -
1 x Rack of french trimmed lamb. If it's not trimmed (bones cleaned and visible) then get the butcher to do this for you.
1 x Small Onion, finely chopped.
2 x Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped.
4 x Strands of saffron.
2 x Tomatoes, quartered, seeds removed and flesh diced into small squares.
2 x Handfuls of small green lentils. (Puy lentils will work too)
2 x Handfuls of mixed basmati and wild rice. (sold together in a packet)
1 x Bunch of mint, finely chopped or chiffonade.
1 x Tablespoon of dried oregano.
1 x Teaspoon of garam masalla.
1 x Juice of half a lime.
75g x Unsalted butter (about 1/4 of a block cut into smaller cubes)
500ml of light vegetable stock. (double diluted stock cube will work)
Small tub of greek yoghurt.
Olive Oil. (standard oil not extra virgin)
Milled Sea Salt.
Milled Black Pepper.
Method -
1, Preheat oven and oven dish (enough to hold the lamb) to 140C/275F
2, Mix together half the mint and half the oregano with a good glug of Olive Oil
3, Season the lamb with salt and pepper then rub the flesh over with the oil mixture and the lime juice, set aside to marinade of a few minutes. (longer if you have time)
4, In a frying/sauté pan over a pretty low heat add half the butter and let it reached foaming point before adding in a glug of olive oil.
5, Take the marinated lamb and fry in the pan all over until it takes on a bit of colour. Do not be tempted to increase the heat too much as you'll begin to burn the herbs in the marinade and that will add a bitter taste to the finished dish.
6, Place the lamb into the oven.
7, Using the same pan and oil tip in the chopped onions, garlic and garam masalla then let these soften down for a minute or two stirring often.
8, Tip in both the lentils and the rice stirring to ensure that each pulse and grain gets a good coating of the oil mixture.
9, Add the tomatoes, remaining oregano, saffron and mint (leaving a little of the mint for garnish) and stir until combined.
10, Pour in some of the stock, enough to just cover the contents of the pan and let it bubble away adding stock a bit at a time until the lentils and rice are cooked through but do not overcook.
11, Remove the lamb from the oven and set aside to rest for a minute or two.
12, Season the lentils with salt and pepper to your taste then stir in a cube of two of the remaining butter to slightly enrichen then remaining juices.
To serve spoon equal amounts of the lentils and rice onto the centre of your serving dishes, carve the rack of lamb between each bone into individual cutlets and place on top. Sprinkle over the remaining mint and place a tablespoon of the yoghurt onto each dish (a quenelle just to one side looks good)
So where do I think this improved on the dish I mentioned?.......Well
Using less herbs is probably most significant but adding just a hint of spice from the garam masalla and saffron gives it more complex and admittedly curious depth.
Whereas the recipe from Jamie's Italian was very heavy on the use of rosemary I've substituted that for mint which apart from taking it down a more Greek route makes it lighter and more summery on the palate.
Mixing the lentils with basmati and wild rice gives that part of the dish more interesting textures as do the tomatoes which also add colour.
Leaving stock in the lentils rather than them absorbing it all creates a sauce when combined with the butter and of course the saffron gives the sauce a golden appearance again making the dish more pleasing on the eye, especially when served on a white dish.
Taking a piece of each component (Lamb, lentils, sauce and yoghurt) in the mouth brings all these flavours together into something that I think works very well indeed.
Give it a try and let me know what you think....even better still try your own variations :-)
Toodlepip xxx
Even then it was difficult to come up with something inspired. I was always going to use lamb as I know that is her favourite but I really struggled to come up with something to go with it that was healthy and especially light (It had been a nice warm day so anything too rich would have been just too much) but at the same time tasty and filling.
I really wanted to use asparagus as again I know she is very fond of it but even after wandering around my local supermarket for a good hour I just couldn't get my head around any combination of lamb and asparagus (however I will in future) so instead I thought back to a dish I'd had a while back at Jamie's Italian in Reading.
That time it was lamb with lentils and herbs. It was very nice however I thought it was a bit too over herbed and even though the lentils gave it some texture I didn't think there was enough variation. I also felt that it was a bit dry to taste and appearance wise it lacked a bit of colour so my remit then became to not only create something I knew Carley would love but also to improve on what I'd had previously..........I think it worked :-)
Herbed rack of lamb with lentils and wild rice
Serves 2 people as a main summertime course (approx 30 mins cooking time)
Shopping List & preparation -
1 x Rack of french trimmed lamb. If it's not trimmed (bones cleaned and visible) then get the butcher to do this for you.
1 x Small Onion, finely chopped.
2 x Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped.
4 x Strands of saffron.
2 x Tomatoes, quartered, seeds removed and flesh diced into small squares.
2 x Handfuls of small green lentils. (Puy lentils will work too)
2 x Handfuls of mixed basmati and wild rice. (sold together in a packet)
1 x Bunch of mint, finely chopped or chiffonade.
1 x Tablespoon of dried oregano.
1 x Teaspoon of garam masalla.
1 x Juice of half a lime.
75g x Unsalted butter (about 1/4 of a block cut into smaller cubes)
500ml of light vegetable stock. (double diluted stock cube will work)
Small tub of greek yoghurt.
Olive Oil. (standard oil not extra virgin)
Milled Sea Salt.
Milled Black Pepper.
Method -
1, Preheat oven and oven dish (enough to hold the lamb) to 140C/275F
2, Mix together half the mint and half the oregano with a good glug of Olive Oil
3, Season the lamb with salt and pepper then rub the flesh over with the oil mixture and the lime juice, set aside to marinade of a few minutes. (longer if you have time)
4, In a frying/sauté pan over a pretty low heat add half the butter and let it reached foaming point before adding in a glug of olive oil.
5, Take the marinated lamb and fry in the pan all over until it takes on a bit of colour. Do not be tempted to increase the heat too much as you'll begin to burn the herbs in the marinade and that will add a bitter taste to the finished dish.
6, Place the lamb into the oven.
7, Using the same pan and oil tip in the chopped onions, garlic and garam masalla then let these soften down for a minute or two stirring often.
8, Tip in both the lentils and the rice stirring to ensure that each pulse and grain gets a good coating of the oil mixture.
9, Add the tomatoes, remaining oregano, saffron and mint (leaving a little of the mint for garnish) and stir until combined.
10, Pour in some of the stock, enough to just cover the contents of the pan and let it bubble away adding stock a bit at a time until the lentils and rice are cooked through but do not overcook.
11, Remove the lamb from the oven and set aside to rest for a minute or two.
12, Season the lentils with salt and pepper to your taste then stir in a cube of two of the remaining butter to slightly enrichen then remaining juices.
To serve spoon equal amounts of the lentils and rice onto the centre of your serving dishes, carve the rack of lamb between each bone into individual cutlets and place on top. Sprinkle over the remaining mint and place a tablespoon of the yoghurt onto each dish (a quenelle just to one side looks good)
So where do I think this improved on the dish I mentioned?.......Well
Using less herbs is probably most significant but adding just a hint of spice from the garam masalla and saffron gives it more complex and admittedly curious depth.
Whereas the recipe from Jamie's Italian was very heavy on the use of rosemary I've substituted that for mint which apart from taking it down a more Greek route makes it lighter and more summery on the palate.
Mixing the lentils with basmati and wild rice gives that part of the dish more interesting textures as do the tomatoes which also add colour.
Leaving stock in the lentils rather than them absorbing it all creates a sauce when combined with the butter and of course the saffron gives the sauce a golden appearance again making the dish more pleasing on the eye, especially when served on a white dish.
Taking a piece of each component (Lamb, lentils, sauce and yoghurt) in the mouth brings all these flavours together into something that I think works very well indeed.
Give it a try and let me know what you think....even better still try your own variations :-)
Toodlepip xxx
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Mixed bag......
So the season got under way and I got 3 stitches in my head!
I think you could say my start to the 2011 cricket season was a little indifferent. Firstly a few fielding nightmares, balls straight through the hands and legs followed by an early contender for catch of the season.......diving full length single handed catch about an inch off the ground....then an innocuous ball speeding along the ground bobbles up just before my fingertips and whacks me right on the head, seam perfectly vertical.
Bled quite a lot but didn't hurt however it was quite a gash and needed 3 stitches. The pay off is that not only did I save 3 runs but the cut is in a perfect lightning bolt shape so I have my own genuine Harry Potter scar, you just couldn't buy this stuff :-)
Handily a cricketing team mate of mine was working at the A&E department down at the Royal Berks so I didn't have to wait the full 4 hours to be seen.
Had a rather wonderful day yesterday. We went to the REME museum over at the Aborfield garrison. The little ones great grandad was down from Scotland and he'd served there during the war so it was a bit of a trip down memory lane for him too and the kids loved it. I'd recommend going there it's really quite good.
We followed that up with a pub lunch at the Lands End in Charvil. It's the usual standard pubco fayre but they have a nice garden and it's just by a ford which people like to wade about in on hot days so it's good fun for the children.
I've not really been keeping up with the news too much however there were a couple for stories that provoked a reaction not least the one about a woman in Gateshead, Newcastle UK who has denied biting off her boyfriends dangly bits after he refused to sleep with her......yeeeeeooooch.
I'm going to be spending the rest of today DIY shopping for work related bits and bobs and also thinking about something to cook in the waterbath as it's been a while since I last used it.
So until next time....toodlepip xx
I think you could say my start to the 2011 cricket season was a little indifferent. Firstly a few fielding nightmares, balls straight through the hands and legs followed by an early contender for catch of the season.......diving full length single handed catch about an inch off the ground....then an innocuous ball speeding along the ground bobbles up just before my fingertips and whacks me right on the head, seam perfectly vertical.
Bled quite a lot but didn't hurt however it was quite a gash and needed 3 stitches. The pay off is that not only did I save 3 runs but the cut is in a perfect lightning bolt shape so I have my own genuine Harry Potter scar, you just couldn't buy this stuff :-)
Handily a cricketing team mate of mine was working at the A&E department down at the Royal Berks so I didn't have to wait the full 4 hours to be seen.
Had a rather wonderful day yesterday. We went to the REME museum over at the Aborfield garrison. The little ones great grandad was down from Scotland and he'd served there during the war so it was a bit of a trip down memory lane for him too and the kids loved it. I'd recommend going there it's really quite good.
We followed that up with a pub lunch at the Lands End in Charvil. It's the usual standard pubco fayre but they have a nice garden and it's just by a ford which people like to wade about in on hot days so it's good fun for the children.
I've not really been keeping up with the news too much however there were a couple for stories that provoked a reaction not least the one about a woman in Gateshead, Newcastle UK who has denied biting off her boyfriends dangly bits after he refused to sleep with her......yeeeeeooooch.
I'm going to be spending the rest of today DIY shopping for work related bits and bobs and also thinking about something to cook in the waterbath as it's been a while since I last used it.
So until next time....toodlepip xx
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