Comida y Vida

Moving Home

2011-07-07T08:09:00.000+01:00

I'm on the move. Although I would love to move home to a house with a big kitchen (and I mean huge!), 4 bedrooms, a large garden so there is plenty of room for Grace to play as she gets older, enough space for me to grow some vegetables and maybe have chickens, a conservatory and ..... well the list could go on and on. But enough of my dreams, the move is for this 'ere blog.

I am moving to Wordpress and now have my very own domain name, so come on over and check it out

www.comida-y-vida.com

The new blog will feature all my usual ramblings about food and also as Grace now reaches the age where she will be starting her foodie journey it will no doubt cover various aspects of being a mum. It truly will be Comida and Vida, Food and Life.

Hope you will follow me over to my new home and look forward to reading your comments on the new blog.

Gracias / Thanks

Louise

The Domino’s Challenge

2011-07-05T21:06:00.000+01:00

You know those nights where you get home late and can’t be bothered to cook? Do you be naughty on the purse and the waistline and order takeaway? Do you pop to the supermarket and grab a ready meal or do you get home and try and whip up something quick like an omelette that often leaves you hungry?

We have had many of those nights here since Baby G has arrived and often resort to our favourite type of ready meal – pizza. It’s quick and easy to cook and generally satisfies that need for food. We don’t often order takeaway pizza but when Domino’s offered me a challenge to order some of their pizza’s to sample and then try to recreate them with my homemade version – well I couldn't resist!

So with a couple of friends invited round for the evening we decided to give it a go. Ordering the pizza was easy. Domino’s have the ability to order pizza online, with a simple entry of your post code it will select your nearest store and then away you go. Unfortunately due to our random location in the depths of Staffordshire we were unable have the pizza delivered so we arranged for collection. We selected 3 large pizza’s from the menu but if you can’t find something that you fancy then you can also just create your own.and picked a couple of the types of pizza’s that you can only get in establishments like Domino’s.

Reggae Reggae – Reggae Reggae sauce, roast chicken, tomatoes, green peppers and pineapple
Americano with a stuffed crust – BBQ sauce, pepperoni, chicken, onion and herbs.
Chicken Feast – chicken, mushrooms, sweetcorn.

The Reggae Reggae was good. I liked the heat and various elements of the toppings. For my friends it was too spicy and one of them totally disapproves of pineapple on pizza! Owen enjoyed the spicy kick from the sauce which is used as the base.

The American with a stuffed crust was probably the overall favourite of the night. Lots of smoky barbecue sauce and lots of pepperoni. I love pepperoni on pizza but am often disappointed with the measly few slice scattered on many pizzas and their haphazard and unfair distribution, making me rearrange the topping before cooking. This pizza did not suffer this problem, lots of pepperoni covering the whole pizza. Have to say did not particularly notice the other toppings of chicken and onion due to the wealth of pepperoni, but I’m sure they added to what was a universal success for us.

The last pizza we tried was a rather tame Chicken Feast and this was my least favourite. There was nothing wrong with it all, lots of topping and the tomato base was nice but after the other two taste bud tingling pizza’s, this one was slightly bland in taste for me. However it was the favourite of two of my guests as they don’t like spicy foods so I suppose it’s all down to personal preference.

Overall we enjoyed the Domino’s experience, all pizzas were full of toppings and the base was still crispy. The only downside for us is due to the distance of the nearest store they were warm by the time we started and pretty cold by the time we finished.

Now onto the challenge, could we recreate them ourselves? Well we have recently begun to make homemade pizza, not sure why we didn’t do it before as the dough is very simple to make. Until the domino’s challenge though our toppings were pretty standard affair of tomato and mozzarella or pepperoni.

So we set about creating our own versions of the 3 Domino’s pizzas trying to stick to the toppings where possible. Here is how we got on:

The Pizza Dough – for three 10 inch pizzas.
4 teaspoons of dried yeast
360ml warm water
630g strong plain flour
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil

Mix the yeast with 8 tablespoons of the water and soak for 1 minute. Whisk lightly with a fork till dissolved. Put the yeast mix, flour, salt and olive oil in a blender and mix for 30 seconds, then add the remaining water a little at a time until the dough comes together in a ball - you may not need the whole quantity of water. Once in a ball knead the dough for 5 minutes and then place in an oiled bowl, covered with clingfilm and in a warm place until it has doubled in size. Then simply divide into 3 and roll out into circular or square shapes.

The toppings:
1 large chicken breast – roasted in the oven, chopped into small pieces.
1 tomato, deseeded and finely chopped.
1 green pepper, diced
1 tin of pineapple chunks
Reggae reggae sauce
Pepperoni slices
half small onion, finely diced
Jack Daniels BBQ sauce
1 tin of sweetcorn
50g of mushrooms, sliced
1 carton of Passata
lots of grated cheddar cheese

The Reggae Reggae – mix a couple of tablespoons of Reggae Reggae sauce with a couple tablespoons of passata and spread over the base. Then add all the rest of the toppings – tomato, pineapple, chicken and green peppers and top off with a sprinkling of cheese.

The Americano – mix a couple of tablespoons of the BBQ sauce with a couple of tablespoons of passata to spread over the base. Then add a sprinkling of cheese and top with chicken and onion and lastly the pepperoni ensuring complete coverage.

The Chicken Feast – cover the base with passata and add chicken, sweetcorn and mushrooms and a sprinkling of cheese.

All pizza’s were cooked in a hot oven, placed on a hot baking tray, for 20 minutes.

Overall we enjoyed the homemade versions of the Domino’s pizzas and got a pretty good likeness to the “real deal”.

The verdict:

Taste
As far as the toppings go I think our homemade versions were pretty much spot on to match the Domino’s, maybe a touch more seasoning on the Chicken Feast next time. As for the base whilst I thought the homemade version was good it did not match up to the crispiness of the Domino’s bases, I am wondering if a pizza stone would help achieve the allusive crispiness? Also it may be some time before I have a go at a stuffed crust.
The only reason Domino’s is not scoring top marks for taste is that due to them not being piping hot, the stuffed crust had solidified and was not that lovely gooey melting cheese it should have been.
Domino’s - 9/10
Homemade - 8/10

Speed
For the Domino’s pizzas it was 40 minutes from ordering to eating - able to collect in 15 minutes but travelling time delayed it. For those with a Domino’s branch closer it would no doubt be much quicker. For the homemade version 1 hour 30 minutes due to he hour needed for dough to rise and 20 minutes cooking time.
Domino’s - 9/10
Homemade - 7/10

Price

The benefit of collection was that we only paid £9.99 per large pizza when the normal price for is £16.99. Total cost including £2.00 extra for one with a stuffed crust was £31.97 which was not too bad considering there was 4 of us. The cost of preparing the 3 pizzas at home did not exceed £10 and we have plenty of the sauces and some of the toppings left over too.

Domino’s – 8/10

Homemade – 10/10

So overall Domino’s scored 26/30 and homemade pizzas scored 25/30 making it a very close call. I guess if you really can’t be bothered to cook then Domino’s online pizza service is the way to go, but for those with tighter purse strings then it is possible to create a homemade version with a little effort and time.

For me, this challenge has opened up my eyes to a wealth of toppings and flavours for pizzas so thanks Domino’s.

Disfrutas/Enjoy!

The Domino’s pizza’s were provided by Domino’s and Arena Quantum. Homemade pizza costs covered by myself.

Two Towers Brewery

2011-06-29T20:45:00.000+01:00

Now seen as I don’t really like to drink beer in any form (well maybe just the one!), Owen thought he would contribute with a few posts on local breweries and their beers. Think he finally realises us food bloggers aren’t an alien species after coming along to our recent meet up and decided to get in on the action!

On the most recent visit to 24 Carrots Farmers market in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham we discovered a local producer that we hadn’t heard of before. It is Two Towers Brewery.

The Two Towers refer to the iconic towers in Edgbaston, Birmingham that allegedly inspired the writings of JRR Tolkien and are just one of the Birmingham features that are used by the Brewery. The names of the beers are all routed in the history of the city.

Owen sampled 3 of the beers from their range and here are his thoughts:

Chamberlain Pale Ale – I liked this beer with it’s fresh citrusy aroma; it has a crisp and refreshing flavour. It is as light as you would expect from a Pale Ale and has some floral notes. It leaves a lasting tang on the palate with a yeasty sediment. I’d say it’s perfect for a summer’s evening of drinking.

Baskerville Bitter – I loved the full-on hoppy flavour of this bitter complemented by the classic aroma of a traditional bitter. It is a well rounded beer and could easily become a session beer. Full of body and with a tangy finish.

Jewellers Porter - I enjoyed the deep classic flavour of the stout with it’s dark molasses taste. It surprised me with it’s complex fruity finish but overall very enjoyable.

The Two Towers Brewery also have 2 Mild’s and another bitter in their range. Currently I think you can get Two Towers Beers on draught in local pubs around Birmingham and also bottles at Farmer’s Markets like 24 carrots. Check them out if you’re ever in Birmingham.

Restaurant Review: The Swan Hotel - Stafford

2011-06-22T17:03:00.000+01:00

Since the arrival of Baby G, dining out has become something to treasure. We either have to plan a meal around nap time and feed time or rely on family to help out. Luckily Baby G’s grandparents live nearby and are always happy to have some quality time with their new granddaughter.

So me and Owen decided to treat ourselves to some “us” time and booked a table at the Swan Hotel. Part of the Lewis Partnership since 2002 The Swan, situated in Stafford town centre, is an 18th century former coaching inn that has been transformed into a modern hotel, an award winning restaurant, two bar areas, a relaxing coffee shop and new Eco garden – a great venue for the town indeed.

We booked a table in the Brasserie and arrived to be escorted to a lovely secluded corner booth. As we sat down we were offered water for the table, and whilst Owen opted for one of the draught Cask Ales they serve, I requested the wine menu which had a great selection of wines by the glass, not something you find everywhere.

They offer an evening set menu, which changes weekly, at a very reasonable £13.95 for 2 courses, or 3 courses for £17.95, alongside the the main menu. We both opted for the main menu, which changes with the seasons, as with dining out a being a rare treat, we wanted to make the most of it.

I often choose Goat’s cheese from a menu as it is something we don’t have often at home as Owen is not a huge fan, and was particularly tempted by the thoughts of Goat’s cheese ravioli, baby beetroot and Jersey royals with tomato vinaigrette.(£5.95). I’ve never had it in this way before and enjoyed the twist on the classic combination of Goats Cheese and beetroot, far superior to the normal salad style offerings. The pasta was light and cooked perfectly, the tomato and beetroot brought the acidity needed to cut through the rich cheese. Flavourful yet light, it was a perfect start.

Owen opted for the Seared Scottish scallops with crushed peas, crispy pancetta and white wine caviar sauce (£6.50). When it arrived on the table I was wishing I’d picked it, perfectly presented on a slate plate,it looked amazing.

For the purpose of this review I obviously had to sample it too – the benefits of being the food blogger in the family!! The scallops were perfectly cooked and the usual pairings of pea and pancetta were enhanced by the delightful sauce.

Both starters had certainly pleased and though these may seem a little pricey to some, they are the two most expensive starters on the menu with plenty of other choice ranging from £4.50.

For main I chose the Rump of Lamb, balsamic glazed cherry tomatoes, sauteed spinach, black pudding bob bons and rosemary vinaigrette. Yet again, Lamb served in this way is not something we do at home as until recently Owen never ate lamb and only now likes served in spicy dishes like curry or tagines.

The lamb was served perfectly pink, and as rump can be a bit on the fatty side the accompaniments were a great choice; the iron rich spinach and the sweet and sour tomatoes cut through it and the vinaigrette just brought all the flavours together. Now that would have have been a lovely plate of food, but what turned into a fabulous plate was the black pudding bon bons, gorgeous little deep fried balls of meaty delight. I did begrudgingly have to share one with Owen though – payback for the scallops I think.

The only thing I struggled with was the lack any potato or form of carbohydrate. Unfortunately I am one of those people who craves my carbs, particularly when dining out as diets don’t count then right? So to complement my dish I ordered a side portion of Handcut chips, which were huge chunky chips, and very good indeed.

Owen opted for a comforting tasty bowl of pasta with the Linguini of chilli marinated king prawns with chorizo sausage, slow roasted peppers and tomato fondue. I did have a little taste of this and it was superb – lots of paprika warmth, a generous amount of prawns and a wonderfully rich sauce.

After these two courses we were both feeling quite full, but in the interests of this review I opted to have a look at the desserts menu, and in the end could not resist ordering the Strawberry Mille Feuille with passion fruit and strawberry ice-cream (£4.95). This was light and creamy and the strawberry sauce and passion fruit provided a tartness to cut through the cream. A delicious way to end the meal.

Throughout the evening we had impeccable service, we were asked a few minutes after each course had been served if all was ok; we were approached for drinks when our glasses were almost empty, plates were cleared away shortly after finishing each course - attentive without being intrusive.

It was a lovely meal, perfect for our little bit of “us” time and what was even better is that with my Gourmet Life dining card we saved 25% off the bill - how fantastic!! Discount is available at all the Lewis partnership establishments including The Moat House Hotel, The Dog and Doublet Inn and even the Greengate Deli.

At the recent MFB meet up I also learned that James, the brains behind Gourmet Life, is hoping to extend the number of venues across Staffordshire and Derbyshire. I can’t wait!

Hasta pronto / be back soon

Midlands Food Bloggers meet at 99 Station Street

2011-06-08T13:28:00.000+01:00

This weekend saw the latest Midlands Food Bloggers (MFB) meet up. I was a little nervous about it all as I had arranged the venue and plan for the day, and just hoped everybody would enjoy themselves. So what did we get up to?

First there was the food, well a MFB meet wouldn’t be the same without some fab food of course! As a community of food bloggers who like to support local producers where better a venue than a restaurant that serves modern British food like 99 Station St in Burton-on-Trent and sources as much as possible from local suppliers. When I suggested a meet up at the restaurant, owners Ross & Susan Boardman, were more than happy to allow a “bounty of bloggers” to descend upon them and also offered some extra special treats
.

First off, we got to meet Daniel Pilkington, the head chef, who was full of enthusiasm and information about the products he uses to create their seasonal menu. We learnt that local producers include the farm in Bromley Hurst who supply their 28-day aged Mature Beef, and Freedom Brewery from Abbots Bromley as one of their beer suppliers. The menu features a wealth of dishes that are all created from scratch at the restaurant wherever possible, with homemade sausages, ice-cream and pies delivering a fantastic choice.

We sampled their 3 course lunch menu for a bargain price of £10.95. I opted for the Baked Goats Cheese starter which was served on a lightly dressed salad and with a lovely tomato chutney.

For main I chose the meat option of Sautéed Strips of bed with red onions and wild mushrooms. This was so full of flavour, the beef was tender, not an easy thing to achieve for sauteed strips, and the mushrooms added a depth of flavour.

For dessert I was swayed by the Chocolate brownie with chocolate fudge sauce and homemade Vanilla ice-cream. Naughty …. but very nice. Rich gooey brownie with lots of chocolate fudge sauce. My other half opted for the Bailey’s Cheesecake served with some homemade honeycomb.

Afterwards we headed off with Susan to her home to meet Ross and learn all about Staffordshire Fine Foods (SFF). Launched earlier this year to satisfy customers who dined at 99 Station Street and wanted to get their hands on some of the menu favourites, SFF sells sausages, pies and smoked products online here or in specialist retailers like Brown and Green.

On my recent visit to Brown and Green I actually purchased some of the SFF smoked salmon and one of the Chicken, Chorizo and Sweet Pepper pies and I have to say that the Cold Smoked Salmon was possibly the best smoked Salmon I have ever eaten. The only one to come close was some Canadian Sockeye Smoked Salmon in Hy’s Whistler which given the provenance was duty bound to blow your taste buds! Here in the UK the SFF smoked salmon far out ranks any I have tasted either shop bought or in a restaurant with a healthy aroma of a camp fire and a gentle smokey flavour it was devoured in no time at all.

During the afternoon we spent a fabulous couple of hours with Ross, savouring his knowledge and enthusiasm on curing, smoking and foraging. We learnt the difference that brining makes to the smoking process with some samples of salmon.

After a sample of some smoked venison and pigeon breast we had a wonder into the local woods understanding what fabulous ingredients can be found on your doorstep if you know where to look. Here we picked some nettles and wild garlic and then headed back to the house to make a lovely fresh broth with some chicken stock that had been flavoured with some of the new air-dried Chorizo that Ross is trialling. It was amazing that such simple ingredients can create such flavour.

We all left with a new understanding of the curing and smoking processes and an eagerness to forage and I cannot thank Ross or Susan enough for welcoming us into their restaurant and their home. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I look forward to creating something yummy with the sample of chorizo we came home with so watch this space.

Giveaway Winner

2011-05-30T21:42:00.000+01:00

Apologies for the delay in publishing the winner of the £100 giveaway for Kitchen Stools Direct. I have been away for the weekend in Angelsey, which is rather great for a get away, no mobile phone signal means you really are getting a break from it all! However it does hamper with the blog reading and tweeting!

We had a lovely time, some special quality family time with Baby G and friends, including Grace's first trip to the beach.

Windswept at Newborough Sands

Most of the time was spent chilling out at my friends static caravan but we did go for a fab lunch today before heading home and I can thoroughly recommend the Brasserie at the Ye Olde Bulls Head Inn in Beaumaris. I had a ploughman's salad which was superb, with lovely mature cheddar and a thick piece of boiled ham. The side order of chips with Halen Mon sea salt were addictive! Had we been there for dinner there was a great choice of mains and there is also a restaurant with a lovely A la Carte menu too.

So without further ado, thanks to all those fabulous people that entered.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-05-30 19:32:25 UTC

That means the winner of the giveaway is awannabiefoodie so congratulations Julia! If you email or DM me your address I'll get your prize out to you!

Hasta luego,

Ahhh, look how versatile it is ......?

2011-05-25T14:48:00.000+01:00

Last week I shared with you a review of the Kitchen Stool we received from Kitchen Stools Direct. We are still enjoying using the stool and it is a great addition to our kitchen, even Baby G likes it

I know, I know, it's not designed to be a highchair but how cute does she look? (No babies were harmed in the taking of this photo!)

Today is the last day to enter the giveaway for £100 voucher at Kitchen Stools Direct and the odds of winning are great, so get your entry in now. See here for complete details.

Thanks for popping by,

Louise

Time for a cocktail – Kitchen stool review and giveaway

2011-05-18T22:55:00.001+01:00

One of my all time favorite films is Cocktail, forget the fact that Tom Cruise is too short to be a worthy contender in my “top five”, it’s a film that all women of my age have probably watched a hundred times. Not a film that would demand the critics attention but definitely a “popcorn flick”, and you can’t help but be charmed by Brian (aka Tom Cruise) and his cocktails. Alabama Slammer anyone?

Now I never met a real life Tom Cruise but when hubby said he’d quite like some cocktail making equipment I got all excited at the thought of my very own Brian. I went off and duly bought glasses, shakers, mixers, stirrers and the obligatory cocktail umbrellas. Sadly the charming Brian never materialised but I do have a hubby that likes to knock up a few cocktails. So now we have a growing collection of drinks books to add to the cook books and are slowly working our way through them all (well the ones we like the look of!). Last summer I took a liking to the Cherry Blossom (before I found out I was pregnant I hasten to add!) from Larousse Cocktails. It’s a fairly potent cocktail but fruity and nice.

Cherry Blossom
5-6 ice cubes
1 measure Cognac
1/2 measure Cherry Brandy
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp grenadine

Place the ice and and all ingredients into a shaker and then shake vigorously for 8-10 seconds. Strain into a martini glass using a cocktail strainer. Serve immediately.

The one thing missing from all this cocktail drinking was a cool bar stool to perch on while testing these drinks for my hubby. Now my prayers have been answered by Kitchen Stools Direct.

They have a wide range of high quality kitchen and bar stools that are both contemporary and stylish. I chose the Ridge Bar Stool which comes in both black and white and retails for £109.99 but which is currently on offer for £89.99.

The stool was easy to put together in a few minutes with the use of an allen key that was provided. The stool has a faux leather upholstery with soft deep padding that makes it very comfortable. It rotates 360° and has a gas lift system for fully adjustable height.

I love the stool, the soft padding help you while away the hours without realising how many cocktails you might drink (oopps!). The deep seat and supportive back means it’s one of the few stools I don’t feel like I’m going to fall off. I like the adjustable height and it’s also quite surprisingly light so easy to move around the kitchen. So do you want join me for a drink?

The perfect perch to sip a Cherry Blossom

Or maybe you’d like the chance to have your very own stool. Kitchen Stools Direct are offering you the chance to win a £100 gift voucher to spend on their stools. Their range starts with a simple wooden stool on offer for just £24 or you can splash out on some serious style with many fab designs at less than £100.

How to enter:

The competition is open to all readers with UK mailing address. The winner will be chosen using an online randomiser and announced here on this blog.

Closing date: 11pm Wednesday 25th May. >> Competition extended due to technical issues with the Kitchen Stools direct facebook page. Closes on Friday 27th May at 11pm.

There are 3 ways to enter the contest (no. 1 is mandatory). Each way earns you with another spot in the competition:

1. Like Kitchen Stools Direct on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kitchen-Stools-Direct/181313508553285

2. Find the product you love the most on the site www.kitchenstoolsdirect.co.uk and leave a facebook comment on the product page (bottom area) writing 1 thing you like most about that product. For example " I love the comfortable seat this bar stool has"

3. Visit the Kitchen Stools Direct homepage. Find the Facebook Share button on the side and share our website on your facebook.

A comment must be left on this blog to let me know how you have entered.

Good luck and don't forget to check back to see if you have won.

Thanks to Beth at Jam & Cream PR and Kitchen Stools Direct for the stool to review and the prize.

Gambas al ajillo

2011-05-17T16:10:00.001+01:00

Well it’s the final day of the tapas tour and it’s another tapas favourite and another simple dish. Gambas al ajillo are garlic shrimps and no spanish feast is complete without some sort of seafood. The spanish eat all types of seafood with shrimps or gambas being one of the most common.

Gambas al ajillo

This should ideally be prepared on the hob in earthenware dishes but I have yet to add those to my kitchen equipment (I need a bigger kitchen!!) so i used a frying pan and transferred to these ramekins to serve.

300g shrimps (I used raw tiger prawns which are found in most supermarkets)
125ml olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced.
1 red chilli pepper, cored and finely sliced
salt

Heat the olive oil in the pan, add the garlic and chilli. Add the prawns as soon as the garlic has coloured slightly, sprinkle with salt and fry. Serve immediately in the garlic and oil, with hunks of bread to mop up all those fab juices after the prawns have been devoured. The chilli should be just enough to leave a tingle but not overpower the dish.

That brings us to the end of the tapas spread and I hope you’ve enjoyed it and it has inspired you to bring a bit of the spanish tapas flavour into your kitchen.

June’s Spanish recipes will be something sweet for you to try, but pop back tomorrow for a blog giveaway!

Queso y Jamon

2011-05-15T20:16:00.001+01:00

Firstly, apologies for the delay of this post but blogger was being naughty on Friday and I was busy being crafty yesterday. So without any more delay, here is dish 4 of the tapas feast.

No tapas spread is complete without a selection of cured meats and cheeses. This is not a recipe post but more a guide to what to include on your selection of meats and cheeses.

Jamon

In Spain, the pig is king. They use all parts of the animal, as every good nation should, and it is quite common in rural areas for families to have an annual pig sacrifice to ensure a supply of meat through the year. The annual matanza is where the families spend 3 days creating all manner of products using every inch of the animal for their consumption during the 3 day fiesta or throughout the following months. To ensure a years supply of products, a large proportion of the meat is air-cured. The legs are cured to create Jamon.

There are two types of Jamon in Spain and the difference is due to the breed of pig used.

Jamon Serrano is from the white pig, and is named from the high altitudes the drying and curing processes occur at, as it literally translates as mountain ham.This represents over 90% of the ham produced in Spain.

Jamon Serrano

Jamon Iberico is from the black Iberican pig from the southwest parts of Spain, sometimes called pata negra from the black hoof that typifies the breed. Due to the higher levels of fat in the meat, they can be cured for a longer period of time, resulting in a more complex, intense flavour with an unparralleled sweetness. The ultimate hams are known as bellota from the acorns the pigs feed on in the autumn before they are prepared for curing. The smaller and more intensive level of production means it is more expensive than Jamon Serrano but in my opinion (and I imagine everyone who has tried both) deservedly so.

Jamon Serrano and Jamon Iberico - courtesy of Orce Serrano Hams

In the UK supermarkets you can normally get your hands on some Jamon Serrano, though I was a little surprised by the blank look on the ladies face behind the delicatessen in my local Sainsbury’s the other day, normally a supermarket with a wide range of products!! Also it is much tastier (any normally cheaper) if purchased off the deli than from the prepared packs. I haven’t located Jamon Iberico in any of my local supermarkets but believe some Waitrose stores may stock it.

The best, but rather indulgent way, is to order in a Jamon from Orce Serrano Hams. They sell a wide range of full leg hams and other artisan products and provide you with all the information you need to get the best experience. It's next to do on my foodie wish list!

Queso

To match it’s diverse range of culinary styles Spain has a huge range of cheeses. Each region produces several varieties of cheese, each one unique depending on the type of milk used (sheep, cow, goat or a mix), the method of production, the traditions and the ageing and curing processes. Sadly, the majority of Spanish cheeses cannot be easily found in the UK, with the only one that is readily available in UK supermarkets being Manchego.

Manchego is made from the milk of the Manchega sheep in La Mancha, the plateau that covers the central region of Spain and is protected by a Denominacion de Origin (D.O) that ensures the cheese is produced in this area and in a certain way. There are different varieties of Manchego, depending on the age. The type found in UK supermarkets is Curado which means it is a semi-firm cheese which has been aged for 3-6 months and has a sweet and nutty flavour. It is perfect for tapas as it not a cheese that requires an accompaniment, except perhaps a glass of Rioja.

Should you be lucky enough to live near a decent Cheesemongers then other spanish cheeses to note are:

Cabrales : a blue cheese from the mountains of Picos de Europa, Northern Spain. It is traditionally matured in the limestone caves that are typical of the region.

Torta el Casar – sheep cheese from Extremadura, with a soft centre and a strong flavour.

Tetilla – meaning little tit due to its breast like shape, it is a cows milk cheese which is mild and creamy.

Ham and Cheese – the perfect combination in any cuisine but even better done the Spanish way.

Back soon with the final day of the tapas trail.

Hasta luego.

Chorizo al vino

2011-05-12T23:08:00.000+01:00

Chorizo is now one of the most popular and Spanish products used in the UK, popping up on restaurant menu’s around the country and found in many weekly shopping baskets. The often mispronounced product (it’s chor-eetho people!) comes in 2 main forms, a cured version that can be found on most supermarket shelves and a semi-cured sausage that needs cooking. The key flavouring in all chorizos is Pimenton (paprika) but varies according to which type of paprika is used, dulce (sweet) or picante (spicy).

It has become very easy to recreate Chorizo al vino (Chorizo in wine) dish in true Spanish form as many supermarkets now sell the cooking chorizo. I used these from Sainsbury’s and found them to be full of flavour and perfect for this simple tapas dish.

I feel a bit of a fraud posting this recipe as it only has 2 ingredients, but that’s the beauty of tapas – so simple and yet so tasty.

Chorizo al vino
150g cooking chorizo
125 ml red wine – use one that you would happily drink

Puncture the chorizo with a fork and place in a saucepan and cover with half of the wine. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Cool and keep at room temperature for as long as possible, preferably overnight. When ready to serve cut the chorizo into bitesize chunks (for these ones I just halved them)and put into frying pan. Add the remaining wine and cook over high heat until the wine has almost disappeared. Serve with toothpicks or on top of some crusty bread slices.

Hasta manana

Patatas Bravas

2011-05-11T11:22:00.000+01:00

Day 2 of the tapas feast and we turn to the potatoes. Potatoes come in two favourite forms in Spanish tapas. We have the delicious Spanish tortilla, a potato and onion omelette, which is often what I make for our tapas spreads as it’s a firm favourite in this household. The other potato dish that is a staple around Spain is Patatas Bravas which translates as “fierce potatoes” due to the chilli kick in the sauce.

Patatas Bravas
900g potatoes
5 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 227g can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp sweet paprika
large pinch of chilli flakes
pinch sugar

Fry the onion in 3 tbsp of oil until softened. Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato puree, paprika, chilli flakes (adjust to your taste) sugar and salt and bring to the boil, whilst stirring. Simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced and set aside. This can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance.

Cut the potatoes into small cubes and spread into a roasting tin and toss in 2 tbsp of oil and season. Roast for 40-50 minutes until crisp and golden. Tip the potatoes into dishes and spoon the sauce over once reheated.

Serve with cocktail sticks for a true tapas experience.

Disfrutas! (enjoy!) and I'll be back tomorrow with some chorizo.

Croquetas de Jamon

2011-05-10T07:00:00.017+01:00

Croquetas (Croquettes) are a popular tapas dish in Spain, and are in fact found in many cuisines around the world. They are in essence a small fried roll encased in bread crumbs. In many countries the filling is mashed potato with flavours of meat, fish, shellfish or vegetables.

In Spain they are instead filled with a thick bechamel sauce and often have ham, serrano jam or prawns in. Totally not good for you but totally delicious!

To make Spanish Croquetas you first need to make a thick bechamel, then add whatever ,filling you like, roll into cylindrical shapes, smother in breadcrumbs and fry. It’s a simple recipe but it can get quite messy when creating them so be prepared for sticky fingers!!

Croquetas de Jamon
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp flour
250ml milk
1 egg, beaten
100g breadcrumbs - I used the Panko japanese ones for extra crispiness
80g ham, chopped into little chunks
nutmeg
salt

Heat the olive oil till it is hot but not smoking. Take off the heat and add the flour stirring constantly till it is a paste. Return to the heat and slowly add the milk, little by little, stirring to form a smooth sauce. Add a touch of nutmeg, pinch of salt and the chopped ham and mix in frying pan until it is thick. (A little less ham would than in the picture is what you should aim for, I was a tad too generous with the ham!)

Leave to cool and then chill in fridge for as long as possible. I did it for 45 mins but would leave it longer next time, even overnight. Form the mixture into little sausage like shapes, then dip into the egg followed by the breadcrumbs. Fry the croquettes in oil – I used a deep fat fryer at 140 degrees. Once golden brown take out and enjoy.

Hasta manana

Tapas takes me back

2011-05-09T07:00:00.002+01:00

As many of you are aware or as the name of the blog suggests I have a love of all things Spanish. On a regular basis I cook with Spanish ingredients like chorizo or Pimenton – smoked paprika. But every so often I crave an authentic Spanish food experience. Unfortunately we don’t have any good local tapas bar nearby (or even not so nearby) so I often create tapas style dinners at home.

The contents of these vary each time, sometimes they are typically Spanish, with all dishes that could be found on a tapas bar in Spain, and washed down with a glass (or two) of Rioja. However, I will admit that sometimes when time is short or ingredients not available I opt for something not too authentic to add into the mix. As long as it fits the bill of being able to pick at and share amongst friends it might find it’s way onto the tapas spread, like potato wedges, pate and even chicken dippers!

Last weekend, with the bit of sunshine the UK was basked in reminding me of my second home, I had one of my “cravings” and set to creating a typical feast of Spanish tapas dishes.

It consisted of a variety of traditional Spanish tapas dishes and the obligatory glass of vino Tinto.

From left clockwise

Each day this week I will be sharing with you how I created each dish, so pop back tomorrow for the first recipe.

Hasta manana folks,

New Midlands Food Bloggers Meet Up.

2011-05-04T15:45:00.001+01:00

As an active member of the Midlands Food Bloggers group since last year I have signed up to assist it’s creator Jo of Jo’s Kitchen with the running of it.

Our aim is to provide a hub for the food bloggers of the Midlands and arrange meet ups to share what we love - food, talking about food, writing about food and more food - with fellow fans. We would also love the group to be actively supporting local producers, restaurants and food businesses and have made friends already with some fabulous companies across the region.

It has been a while since the last one but the Midlands Food Bloggers (MFB) are planning another meet up for fellow Midlands foodies on Saturday 4th June 2011.

We have opted to head to the north of the region for the next meet and would love for as many people as possible to join us. The venue is

   99 Station Street
   Burton upon Trent
   Staffordshire
   DE14 1BT

An award winning restaurant – This family run venue opened to critical acclaim in May 2008 and has not sat still since. The seasonally accurate menu is built around great ingredients sourced from enthusiastic local suppliers.

The proposed plan for the meet is lunch at 99 Station Street, sampling some lovely local food, followed by hopefully a peek at their smoking and curing processes for producing their own sausages and other lovely products which are sold through Staffordshire Fine Foods. No doubt there will be lots of conversation about food and blogging too!

If you could reply and confirm your attendance by Friday 13th May so we can arrange for a table to be reserved.

Hope to see you there.
Louise

Jamie’s America– Jambalaya

2011-04-15T23:18:00.000+01:00

The need for yummy one pot dishes goes quite high with an eight week old baby in the household. One pot cooking offers the ability to delay serving time should your little one suddenly demand some attention (Grace seems to have an aptitude for getting hungry just as our dinner is ready!!!). It allows ease of serving when you’re tired and worn out from sleepless nights. It generates hearty portions so there’s always some for leftovers the next day – a welcome benefit when you’re home alone with the baby. Last but not least one pot cooking leads to minimal washing up duties - which can never be a bad thing!

My repertoire of recipes includes a few good one pot dishes but eager to expand the collection I scoured my recipe book collection for something new. I happened across Jamie’s America, a book that was purchased as a bargain addition from an order with The Book People, but not one I was desperate to own.

I have to admit I didn’t watch the TV series (an unusual occurrence in itself) and wasn’t sure how much I would actually like the recipes, but will gladly admit I was pleasantly surprised.

The book is laid out like a scrapbook of his travels, filled with stories and photos of the people he met and how he came across the recipes. This has it’s benefits in that you get a true taste of America and the food that real American’s eat/ The downside to this is that not all ingredients are readily available as I don’t think Tesco’s has started stocking alligator yet?! Therefore it’s not the most practical of cookbooks, but it does give you a good understanding of the culture and food of various areas of America. It's recipe collection is very meat orientated so I wouldn't recommend it to any vegetarians.

One of the recipes I highlighted in my first flick through the book was the Chicken, Sausage and Prawn Jambalaya. I think this appealed due to the similar ingredients it has to my Spanish paella and what’s more it’s all prepared in one pot.

Chicken, Sausage & Prawn Jambalaya

8 Chicken Thighs and Drumsticks
Sea Salt and Black pepper
Cayenne pepper
Olive Oil
300g chorizo, skin removed, cut in 1cm slices
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 green & 1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
4 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
4 bay leaves
4 sprigs of thyme
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1.5 ltrs of chicken stock
700g long grain rice
16-20 raw king prawns, peeled and deveined

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and cayenne. Brown the chicken in a large casserole pan with a couple of glugs of olive oil and the sliced sausage over a medium hear. Add your onion, peppers and celery, bay and thyme as well as some more seasoning. Stir, then fry on medium hear for 10-12 minutes stirring occasionally.

Once the vegetables have softened, add your garlic and chillies, stir for a minute, then add stock and tinned tomatoes. Bring to the boil and then turn the heat down, pop on a lid and leave to simmer for half an hour. When the meat is can be pulled off the bone, it is ready. You can remove the bones at this point if you so like – we kept our meat on the bone. Now add the rice, stir and replace the lid. Stir every few minutes, scraping the goodness of the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until the rice is done. Stir in the prawns and water if it needs it, the consistency should be porridge like. Pop back on for 4-5 minutes then stir through some chopped parsley and serve.

As this dish resembles a paella, I couldn’t help but enjoy it. Full of flavour and with a chilli kick you don’t get from it’s Spanish cousin, I thought it was perfect for either a mid week dinner or a leisurely evening in with friends. It’s definitely a dish that will be a firm favourite in this household.

Enjoy / Disfrutas!

Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Risotto

2011-03-24T00:20:00.000Z

So with a newborn baby to cater for, and a daily routine of feeding, burping and nappy changing, my time in the kitchen has been non existent until this week. We have relied on pre-prepared portions from the freezer, a few takeaways and please don’t judge me but the odd ready meal like pizzas. I am also lucky that the husband is a decent cook and has been cooking some fresh grub.

But there was one magical day where I felt quite energetic and baby was asleep when it came round to cooking dinner so I decided to give hubby the first night off in a month. Not wanting my first night back in the kitchen to be too exhausting I opted for a risotto. I find them easy and therapeutic to cook and a perfect vehicle for marrying up various ingredients knocking around in the fridge and store cupboard.

On this momentous night my fridge offered me a “Masterchef invention test stylee” range of ingredients to include a solitary leek, 1/2 used pack of button mushrooms, 2 red peppers and 1/2 bag of carrots. I opted for the leek and mushrooms together with a one large chicken breast I had defrosted.

Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Risotto

1 large chicken breast (it was a big one!)
1 medium leek, finely sliced
150g of button mushrooms, sliced
150g of arborio risotto rice
500ml chicken stock
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
butter
glug of olive oil
cracked black pepper

In a medium pan soften the leek in a mix of butter and olive oil, then add the chicken and cook until browned. Then add the mushrooms, thyme and rice and cook for a couple of minutes to toast the grains.

If at this point you have some white wine (alcohol has been limited in this house during pregnancy so I didn’t have any) add a splash and let it cook out.

Then add a third of the stock and stir it through and cook on a low heat until all the stock has been absorbed into the rice. Add more stock and continue until the rice is cooked. Stir in a couple of knobs of butter to add a glossy unctuous feel to the risotto and season with lots of cracked black pepper. If you have any, sprinkle with grated parmesan to serve.

Enjoy with a couple of slices of ciabatta and a glass of wine!

Look who's here ....

2011-03-15T11:37:00.000Z

Well since my last post I've had a life changing experience ..... I am now a mummy!!!! I have a beautiful baby girl who was born on 16th February at 7.30am.

Introducing Grace Ava ......

Snoozing in the Moses Basket

I (and my hubby) was quite impressed with how I coped with the labour - something I was petrified about!! I'm no good with pain normally, but I did most of the hard work at home and was only in hospital 2 hours before Grace arrived.

It was such a relief when she arrived safe and sound, though I was exhausted. By the time we headed home I had been up for 4 days straight - a whopping 84 hours - with only a few moments sleep in between contractions.

The birth of my gorgeous girl was followed by a rollercoaster of emotions, as on the neo-natal check done on Day 4, we were sent back into hospital with Grace. She has been diagnosed with a heart murmur - something I have since found out can rectify itself, or can be lived with. Some need to be treated with medication or operation, so whilst we're trying not to worry it will be a relief once we know what we're dealing with, so just awaiting an appointment at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

The very next day I learned that my dear Grandad had passed away during the night. He had been unwell for a couple of years and whilst it was a blessing that his suffering was over, it was still a shock. Sadly he never got to meet Grace but it has helped my Grandma with the thought that he waited till he knew she had arrived safely. At least he had seen a photo of her, just never got the cuddle he was hoping for. I'm sure he's looking down on us now and will be my little one's guardian angel.

Cuddles with Daddy

So whilst feeding has been an important part of my day, and sometimes has lasted for hours, it's not been for me. Though I can happily say my little girl has got quite an appetite - definitely her mother's daughter!!

Luckily we done some batch cooking to stock the freezer including some of the Chile Con Carne and a couple of curries.

Hoping to get back in the kitchen soon

Hasta la proxima

Mexican Made Simple

2011-02-11T21:36:00.002Z

I am an avid watcher of Masterchef and can’t wait for it to return to our screens next week (BBC 1, Wednesday 16th February, 9.00pm).

The first series in the current format, aired in 2005, was won by Thomasina Miers, who has since gone on to write cook books, open restaurants and film a few cooking tv programmes. I have followed her career with interest since Masterchef as a fellow “spanglofile” and absolutely loved her “Cook’s Tour of Spain”, as predictable as that was!

In December 2009, on my first trip to London in many years I had Wahaca, the chain of Mexican cantina restaurants opened by Thomasina, top of the list to visit, and enjoyed a fabulous lunch at the Covent Garden establishment.

When I heard that there was a book to be published “Mexican Food Made Simple” it was ordered immediately. Released last year and with a tv show to follow this May on Channel 5, it has been a firm favourite in this household during the past few months.

The book has a good introduction to give you some insight into Thomasina’s love of the country and it’s food, followed by an overview of the key ingredients to make authentic Mexican cuisine accessible to everyone. There is a wide range of recipes included in the book with 11 chapters covering everything from sauces and salsas and nibbles to soups and salads. Main’s are categorised between street food, cheesy things, slow cooked mains, from the grill, or soul food, and there is a selection of puddings and drinks.

The first recipe I cooked first from this book has become a firm favourite in our household. The strange thing is that it’s not a Mexican dish but one that is frequently associated with the cuisine – Chile Con Carne.

Easy, Speedy Chile Con Carne

1kg stewing steak cut into large pieces (4-5)

3 onions

4 cloves of garlic

olive oil

300g spicy cooking chorizo

2 tsp ground cumin

2tsp ground allspice

1 tsp cloves

1 large cinammon stick

3 bay leaves

2 tsp dried oregano (3 tbsp fresh)

2 ancho chillies – or I have used 1 large one.

2 chiles de arbol

2 tsp sea salt

black pepper

3 tbsp cider or balsamic vinegar

2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

2 tbsp muscovado sugar

2 x 400g tins borlotti beans

Pulse in a food processor or chop very finely the onions and garlic. Heat 2tbsp of olive oil in a pan and sear the meat on all sides. Set to one side and another glug of oil to brown the chorizo. Remove and add the onion and garlic, spices, herbs and chillies and cook until soft. Season with salt and pepper and add vinegar tomatoes, ketchup and sugar.

Put all the meat back in and add 400ml of water (or red wine if you prefer) bring to a simmer and cook in a low oven for 2 hours. Add the beans and cook for a further hour. Alternatively as I did, put the mix into the slow cooker on a medium heat for 5 hours, and added the beans for a further hour. It’s ready when the meat falls apart when pulled with a pair of forks.

Depending on the acidity of the tinned tomatoes you made need to add a little extra sugar as I did.

Now I always thought I made a mean Chile Con Carne, and had happily fed friends and family my faithful recipe until I tasted this one. The addition of the range of other spices and the vinegar and sugar creates a taste-bud exploding experience that no chilli I’ve ever had before delivers.

I’ve made it without the chorizo and it’s still good. I’ve made it with minced beef and it’s still good. In this one I added one tin of borlotti beans and one tin of kidney beans. We had it served with simple boiled rice (eaten and devoured before a picture was taken, oops!) and it tasted even better the next day with a jacket potato.

So thanks to Thomasina for revamping a family favourite of ours, I will never go back to my original recipe now. This is so easy to do and hits all the right spots.

I’ve also tried a few other recipes from the book, and even did a Mexican Dinner Party for 8 with a selection of dishes which went down a storm.

Starters:
Tortillas with Squash and Chorizo – simple but so tasty

Mains:
Tamarind and Chilli Infused Belly of Pork – a melt in the mouth roast pork with a rich tangy gravy.
Chicken Adobado – chicken pieces marinated in a smoky and sweet sauce.

Sides:
Fresh Tomato Salsa – fresh and fiery, perfect with some tortillas.
Guacamole – with and without coriander as hubby doesn’t do coriander
Frijoles refritos – refried beans, made at home these taste so much better than any shop bought equivalent. Definitely worth the effort.

With 7 other hungry mouths to feed there was no opportunity to take photo’s of the finished dishes but here’s the pork before it’s marinated and after. That colour change signifies a lot of flavour.

There are lots of other recipes that I have earmarked and from those I’ve tried and tasted so far I’m sure this will continue to be a well used book from my cookbook collection.

The recipes do include a few Mexican ingredients which may not be readily available from your local supermarket but there is a handy suppliers page at the back of the book which gives you a large selection of shops and online stores to buy from. My chillies were sourced from Mexgrocer who I can’t fault for service or quality of product. The main effort before trying some of the recipes is to make the Chipotles en Adobo, a chilli puree that is added to some of the dishes, but once made it keeps for months.

If you want to get a taste of authentic Mexican cuisine, and aren’t able to pop into Wahaca for a meal, then this is most definitely the way to do it. A practical, well written and inspiring book.

_________________________________________________________________________________
Mexican Food Made Simple, published by Hodder & Stoughton

Soda Bread Made Easy

2011-02-04T22:09:00.000Z

I really want to get into bread baking (remember resolution 4 ?) and am eagerly awaiting my chance to go to a bread course at Loaf Cookery School with some fellow food bloggers and tweeters but until then I was inspired to have a go by one of the many foodie tv programmes I watch.

Over the last 4 weeks we have been shown by Lorraine Pascale, a former model now turned chef and patissier who has worked in some of the top London restaurants, how baking can be simple and quick in her show Baking Made Easy. (If you’ve missed out you can still catch up on BBC iPlayer at the moment).

In the first episode, along with some fabulous looking Blueberry and Lemon MilleFeuille, Lorraine showed us how simple Soda Bread is to make. A bread that requires little kneading and no waiting around for it rise is perfect for those times when you’ve ran out of bread and need to bake some with minimum effort and time.

So this week at 39 weeks pregnant and no energy to battle my way round a supermarket, I decided to give the Soda Bread recipe a whirl.

370g/13oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
130g/4½oz wholemeal flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
40g/1½oz butter, melted
1 tbsp black treacle
300–340ml/11–12fl oz buttermilk. (I only had a 284ml carton so added a dash of milk to make it the right consistency)

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and ensure the top shelf in the oven is in position. Place the flours, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl and stir together. Make a large hole in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the melted butter and treacle, plus enough of the buttermilk to make a loose sticky dough.

Tip the dough onto a lightly dusted work surface. The dough will be quite sticky. Knead the dough for one minute, then shape it into a large ball with a taut, smooth top. Place the dough on a baking tray and flatten it a bit. The easiest way to do this is with a rolling pin.

Take a wooden spoon, put some flour over the whole handle, then hold it horizontally over the bread. Put the wooden spoon handle on top of the bread then push it down until you feel the baking tray at the bottom. This mark is the first half of the trademark soda bread cross. Repeat with a line at right angles to this.

Dust with some flour then bake in the oven for 30–40 minutes, or until the bread is brown, has risen nicely and the dough inside where the cross was made is not damp.

I was really pleased with how it turned out and no sooner was it out of the oven than I was slathering a slice with butter and devouring like I was eating for more than two!! I really liked the nutty sweet flavour it had, and whilst the texture was dense the crust was deliciously crunchy.

I then later served it with some homemade Carrot and Ginger soup and the next day I toasted and topped it with some cream cheese and smoked salmon.

Lorraine made it look easy, as so many chefs do on these programmes, but I have to say this time it really was easy and definitely one I will be using again and again.

I am also entering this into English Mum’s Fresh bread Bakeoff, so if you fancy baking some bread pop on over and let the Queen of blogging know.

Hasta luego

Chocolate y Churros

2011-01-31T23:36:00.000Z

Oh my goodness, I nearly failed my first resolution for 2011. As today dawned I realised I had not posted a Spanish recipe during January. I guess being 9 months pregnant I could have claimed maternity leave, but not one to shirk my duties, here it is.

Whenever I travel I always like to try the local dishes and when I lived in Spain I fully immersed myself into the Spanish culture and aimed to try all the traditional dishes. One of the things on my list to do was try “Churros con Chocolate”, the spanish version of doughnuts. In Madrid the dish is so popular that there are special Chocolaterias which serve it and during my time there I sampled the dish at various places, but the one lasting memory is my visit to San Gines, the oldest chocolateria in Madrid. The traditional time to visit is about 6.00am after you’ve been out partying all night – the spanish alternative to a fry-up!

Now for those of you thinking what can be so special about Doughnuts and Chocolate, well the Spanish are very serious about their chocolate. It can’t be compared to the hot chocolate drinks we have here; it is a rich, thick dark sauce that is not so much drunk but used to dunk the doughnuts in.

In the winter, the thick chocolate coats your insides and warms you through, and with the winter we’ve had I’m not sure why I’ve never attempted to make this before, but I decided to give it a whirl and found a recipe online from the divine Nigella. What’s more it fits with the blogging challenge set by Maison Cupcake “Forever Nigella” for this month of Seduced by Chocolate.

I based my efforts on the following recipe but added some of my own touches and tips for the method.

Ingredients:
Churros
50g caster sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
125g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp olive oil
250mL freshly boiled water

Chocolate Sauce
100g dark chocolate – use 70% cocoa solids.
1 table spoon golden Syrup
1 tsp cinammon
150ml double cream
50ml milk – add more if the sauce is too bitter.

To make the chocolate sauce you need to put all the ingredients in a bowl over a pan of boiling water and allow the chocolate to melt to form a rich sauce. For the Churros add the flour and baking powder to the bowl and then mix the oil and boiling water into the flour to make a sticky dough. Leave to rest for 10 minutes. Heat the oil in a fryer to 170C (If using a pan on the hob heat until a small piece of bread browns in less than 30 seconds).

Then place the dough into a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle. (I used a glass to site the piping bag in as the dough is very sticky to deal with). Squeeze lengths of the dough into the hot oil. In a fryer the best way is to move the piping bag horizontally and then lifting up the bag to create lengths of 5cm. Fry for about 3 to 4 minutes until crispy and golden. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with caster sugar.

They were lovely and worth the effort as the dough is not the easiest thing to work, especially with hot oil. Though I'm sure it will get easier to do with a little practice - and I'm definitely going to practice this again!!

Heart-warming but Healthy Parsnip Soup

2011-01-16T22:48:00.000Z

It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring.
Well half right, it’s so wet and miserable outside but it’s the dog that is snoring.

On a wet, cold and miserable January day like today, I crave something heart-warming and yummy which are often foods high in calories or carbohydrates, yet conversely January is often heralded as the time for a diet and a detox after all the festive excesses. Such a dilemma!?

This year I have an excuse to hold onto an ever expanding waistline a little longer and can almost justify a menu of Beef and Ale Pies, Bangers and mash or a fry up yet with heartburn causing havoc I am yearning for something heart-warming but not heavy.

A quick browse of the fridge and vegetable rack and I had chosen. I love making soups, they are warm and filling yet don’t lie heavy (especially important with the shrinking room my little stomach has to occupy!) and often provide lunch for the next day too.

I had parsnips, carrots and potatoes to choose from and opted to create a parsnip soup as they are one of my favourite vegetable, in fact I’m self affirmed addict of Tyrrells Parsnips Chips and my favourite vegetable side dish is honey roasted parsnips.

Parsnip Soup with Chorizo
15g butter
dash of olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, small dice
3 parsnips, medium dice
900ml vegetable stock
Salt and Pepper to season
Chorizo diced into small chunks

In a large saucepan melt the butter and add a dash of oil to stop the butter from burning. Saute the onion until softened and then add the carrot and parsnip and stock and simmer for 20 minutes until softened. Liquidise the soup in a blender. Then in a dry frying pan saute the chorizo until crisp and serve on top of the soup.

It was heart warming with an earthy sweetness that I think only parsnips can deliver. The chorizo had been sourced from The Bath Pig, a British company using local free range pork to create the continental style sausages we have grown to appreciate as a nation. The one I used was the spicy Chorizo which gave a lovely added to kick to the dish and worked beautifully with the soup.

So for me this was a dilemma solved, heart-warming and yet healthy! Omit the chorizo if you want to be even more healthy.

Until next time, enjoy!

2011 - Here I come

2011-01-01T15:54:00.001Z

So did you all enjoy the festive period? Mine was unfortunately spoilt by a hubby with flu and me with a really bad cold and cough that is still lingering on now. The perfect time for foodies to over indulge and we’ve hardly eaten!

My time in bed was well spent though as with a hot Ribena by my side and a box of tissues I had plenty of time to read my fellow food bloggers round ups of 2010 including

Jo’s Kitchen’s first full year of blogging included some things I shared with her so was a particularly nice review for me to read.
Kavey Eats review combines cooking at home with some fabulous events and classes.
The top London food blogger Eat Like a Girl has so achieved so much there’s not 1 post but 3 (and maybe more to come!)

2010 was the first year of blogging for me and I had so many good intentions when I set out on the road this time last year, but with work, then getting pregnant and a recent redundancy to sort out I soon ran out of time and energy to keep them up. So instead of what would be a very short review of my blog for 2010 I thought I’d do a plan for 2011 for Comida y Vida.

With time at home when baby arrives I’m hoping I maybe able to indulge in more home cooking and blogging in the coming year (I think restaurant visits may be less frequent! ;-) ). Here’s some of my aims:

One Spanish recipe a month. I was recently made redundant by my Spanish employers so with no overseas trips planned for this year I definitely need to bring a little of the Spanish costa to Staffordshire.
Explore and report on Staffordshire and Midlands based events and producers.
Visit Purnell’s as my post-baby food and wine treat
Attend a bread-making course at Loaf Cookery School
To use my growing cookbook collection and try all those recipes I keep on saying I will, posting the results whether they be a success or disaster!
Turn my little patio into a propoer kitchen garden.

So with just one last point before I embrace 2011 with full gusto, which is to thank you for visiting and reading and especially for taking the time to let me know you're here.

Here’s hoping 2011 proves a fabulous foodie year and I hope you’ll come with me for the ride (once my appetite returns!).

Supreme Sausages in Spanish Style Casserole

2010-11-29T21:27:00.000Z

This year was my 3rd visit to the BBC Good Food Show and each time I go I pick up a selection from Supreme Sausages. They have a good range of different flavoured sausages inlcuding Pork, Venison and Mushroom, Wild Boar and Apples, Toulouse, and Pork, Tomato and Pepper to name a few. The sausages are full of flavour and unlike some of the supermarket versions actually taste of the flavour they are meant to. This year they had some flavoured chipolatas too, which I’ve picked up in readiness for Christmas Day.

Once back home from the show, I wanted a warming hearty dinner. It’s quite exhausting trekking round the NEC, especially at 6 and half months pregnant! So, I opted for the Toulouse Sausages and got creative with the contents of my fridge and store cupboard.

Spanish Style Sausage Casserole
To serve 2-3 depending on how hungry you are.

6 Supreme Toulouse Sausages (or any other quality sausage)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large white onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
pinch of spanish smoked paprika (Pimenton)
pinch of thyme
1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes,
250ml of Stock (I used chicken),
10g of Tomato Puree,
Salt and Pepper

Add a tbsp of oilve oil and brown off the sausages in a saute pan and set to one side. Keep the sausage juices and remaining oil in the pan and add the onions and peppers and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes until soft and succulent, stirring occasionally.
Add more oil if required. Add the herbs and spices and cook out for a minute or two before adding the tomatoes and stock and seasoning.
At this stage I cut each sausage into 3 or 4 chunks and added back into the pan. Now you can either continue to simmer on the stove or put in the oven to let the sausages cook through and the flavours infuse for about 30 minutes.
Serve with your choice of either crusty bread or as I did some polenta.

Enjoy!

Bad News and a Good Show

2010-11-27T10:22:00.000Z

It’s been a while since my last post due to a some bad news I got a few weeks ago … I found out that my Spanish Head Office had decided to close the UK office, which I run, and therefore I (and my assistant) would be out of a job at the end of the year. Lot of swear words sprung to mind along with many tears!!

It was a BIG shock and particularly upsetting with me being 6 months pregnant. The thought of trying to find a job at 8 months pregnant and the financial implications it would all have was just too horrible to think about. So the past few weeks have been a bit of a emotional rollercoaster and I’m still unsure of what the future holds, but advice tells me I’m in a fairly good position to negotiate a good package so keeping my fingers (and toes, eyes and legs!!) crossed!!

With all this going on blogging has not been top of my thoughts; I wasn’t even tweeting for a few days, but then when I went back onto Twitter I can honestly say the support I had from fellow tweeps was heart-warming. Thanks to the 3 lovely Sarah’s Brockhall Farm, Brays Cottage and Essex Gourmet, Fiona from WhiteShutters, Jim of Cook In France, Jo of Jo’s Kitchen, Jules of Butcher and Baker and Charlene from No Love Sincerer …. bless you all!

It’s at times like these that you know who cares for you, and my mum is no excpetion. We had planned on a visit, but with no income looming I had to cancel non-essentials, and then my mum surprised me with tickets to

So this morning we headed to the NEC. We had a lovely day sampling lots of lovely food (no drink this time for the pregnant lady!), meeting fellow tweeters and a couple of sessions in the Supertheatre.
Our first session in the Supertheatre was to see the Hairy Bikers, Si King and Dave Myers.

They were hilarious and the Lemon and Parsley Roasted Salmon with Champagne and Chive Sauce they did is on my festive menu already. The theatre sessions are a really good way to add a bit of celebrity chef enjoyment to the day.
The second session we had booked as part of the entry ticket was for Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference with Rachel Allen and Olly Smith.

Rachel was showcasing 3 types of canapes designed to wow your guests over the holiday season of which the Smoked Salmon Blini’s looked particularly good.
The rest of the day was spent wandering around the show, spotting a fair few celebrity chefs including James Martin, Gordon Ramsay and Mark Sargeant and sampling a wide range of products.

Top of my list to visit were a couple of twitter friends who were exhibiting. The first one to meet was Kate of the fabulous Gower Cottage Brownies. I have been dreaming of getting my hands on some brownies for quite some time (so much so that I was once dubbed a browniestalker!!) and now the day had finally arrived.

I have to say that they didn’t disappoint. A little square of squidgy, chocolatey heaven!! Made even more special by the fact they are created by a truly lovely lady and I shall be using my Brownie Shopping bag with pride!!

Right around the corner was Bray’s Cottage Pork Pies, the acclaimed Perfect Pork Pie, so after a quick chat to Sarah and her helper Linda of With Knife and Fork I picked up one of each type of pie, The Naked Pie (the traditional), and 3 flavours including Onion Marmalade, Chilli and Chorizo.

I was very good at not overspending this year, as I had my husbands last words as I headed out the door, still ringing in my ears “enjoy but don’t spend too much”!! But I couldn’t resist a few other treats including a selection of sausages from Supreme Sausages which we had for tea last night (recipe to come soon!)

and a subscription to Good Food Magazine which included 15% off and a free Le Creuset gift set worth £30!

So if you fancy braving the snow get yourself down to the NEC this weekend for a foodie delight!

24 Carrots – Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter Market

2010-10-31T08:49:00.001Z

I was vaguely aware of a few local farmers markets around the Birmingham area thanks to the genius of twitter but at last months Midland Food Bloggers meet up (as written about by fellow Jo’s Kitchen) we met a representative of 24 Carrots, which is the monthly Farmers Market in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.
Brian from 24 Carrots came along to our tell us about the market and how it all began. It was set up by members of the Jewellery Quarters’ Residents’ Association, in an aim to bring fresh local produce to the residents of the area, instead of relying on the ubiquitous supermarkets. Not only was I impressed by the genius of the name for the market, but I couldn’t resist popping along to the next one, as did Jo from Jo’s Kitchen.

So on a chilly but sunny Saturday morning in we met up outside the Big Peg for the October Market. Through twitter I had learned that another fellow Midlands Foodie that I met in March, Tom Baker of Loaf, was going to be there with his wood fired pizza oven, and I had been looking forward to another of his pizza’s all week.But as we arrived and spoke to some of the stallholders we learned Tom had suffered a disaster, as his oven had collapsed on the journey from the other side of the city. You can read all about it here and see how Tom turned the disaster around by opening up a Pop-Up Pizza Takeaway from his home and what a victory with over 70 pizzas sold!

So with no Tom to stop and chat to, we went off to meet the other stallholders. We first got chatting to Sara from Squisito Deli, whose stall was full of tempting Italian treats like the range of Focaccia’s including Red Onion, Roasted Squash and Sage, Mushroom, Sausage and the one I was chose was the Gruyere and Leek. There was a range of other breads including Ciabatta and some little bread rolls called Parma Twists, which also made it into the shopping bag, and were delicious later with my lunch. For next time I already have my eye on the sweet Focaccia with Apple, Cinnamon and Sultana.

They also produce a range of Sausages, and lot of Italian inspired cooking ingredients, including Oak Smoked Chilli and Smoked Sea Salt and bulbs of Oak Smoked Garlic which is prepared by Squisito in Warwickshire. Also, if you can’t make it to a Farmers Market to meet the lovely Sara you can always order her products online through Big Barn, the online farmers shop.

With lunch for later taken care of, my thoughts turned to what could I have to keep me going and warm me up on the chilly morning, I turned around there was Gavin and his stall More Cocoa, serving the best Hot Chocolate I’ve ever had. I’m not a huge fan of hot Chocolate normally but this may be due to instant chocolate I was given when I was younger, but this was divine, topped off with a few Marshmallows and a drizzle of melted chocolate. If Hot Chocolate is not your thing, then Dean of More Cocoa also makes some Chocolate based sweet treats including some lovely looking Brownies.

The next stop was at Hindley’s Bakery which is actually local to me from the neighbouring town of Lichfield, which is a supplier to some of my favourite eating venues in the area including my local The Yorkshire Man and it’s sister eatery 1709, The Brasserie and the Granary at Weston Park which I visited earlier this year (read about it here).

Whilst Jo opted for the Butalump, I thought I’d buy my first Spelt loaf. We had this for Sunday morning brunch, lightly toasted and served with Scrambled Egg and the wonderful Black Pudding I picked up from Woodhouse Farm.

The Woodhouse Farm stall was full of all sorts of different meats and smoked products and had I not already planned and bought my food for the weekend I’m sure more than Black Pudding would have been purchased. Same goes for the other stall we spent a while at, Kiss Me Cupcakes, one of Birmingham’s leading cupcake bakeries, who had their fabulous cupcakes on offer in different flavours.

With a stop to take in the live entertainment of McScraggy and the Suits, me and Jo completed our trip to 24 carrots. We had a wonderful morning chatting to all the stallholders and picking up some lovely goodies and I’m sure to be back again.

If you feel like visiting 24 Carrots, the remaining two markets for 2010 are on 20th November and 18th December.

Cook In France – The final day

2010-10-20T22:44:00.000+01:00

As the final day at Cook In France dawned, there was much excitement, for the final meal we would prepare that day. The day before we had been split into groups, each one to prepare a course.

Group 1 including my hubby – to prepare 2 types of Amuse Bouche to serve as a starter. They had free reign to use whatever ingredients they could find the store cupboard.
Group 2 the boys – to prepare the main course of Duck Confit with Pommes Boulangeres and a Balsamic and Fig Jus.
Group 3 including me – to prepare the dessert of Tarte Tatin and accompaniments of our choice.

Apparently Fridays can be quite frantic in the Cook in France kitchen, with all the sous-chefs doing different things, but with our group, we had all worked together well all week, that Friday was a fantastic day.

The guys doing the Amuse Bouche had their brainstorming session the day before and the plan was for Gazpacho shots, Thai Prawn Skewers and Mini Samosas with Raita. It was an eclectic mix but with lots of different flavours, it sounded good.

Ange was making the Mini Samosas and had spent Thursday evening preparing her onion and potato mix and pastry, so Friday she was able to assemble her samosas with plenty of time. The pastry was light and crispy, whilst the filling was delicately spiced. The second Amuse Bouche was prepared by Sylva, Thai Prawn Skewers, which had been marinated in a chilli and lime dressing.

The final Amuse Bouche was being prepared by the lovely Sian. She had prepared her Gazpacho on the Thursday evening and left to for the flavours to develop. Up early to add a cheffy spin to the Gazpacho by straining it for a smoother texture, she had unknowingly created a gazpacho consomme. So what to do now? Well luckily my hubby had been having Hestonesque dreams and I woke to him mumbling something basil essence foams and quennelles. So Sian and Owen put their heads together, got Chef Jim to get out his Fat Duck Cook Book (Jim is a fan of Heston and has actually just been to the Fat Duck) and the Amuse Bouche took on a whole new level. It was now Gazpacho Consomme with a Basil Foam and sliced olive and a Gazpacho puree with Basil Iles Flottantes,

Photo by David Bywater

These were quite tricky to get right, but with expert advice from Chef Jim, the final dishes were impressive due to the level of technical ability to produce a foam full of basil flavour which was layered on the consomme, which whilst being of a dubious colour, did pack a punch of gazpacho flavour. The puree was served on the spoons with the basil Iles Flottantes which was a mixture of basil essence and eqq white turned into quennelles and then poached in hot water to set. The textures and flavours worked well together.

The Duck Confit for the main, we had begun preparation on Tuesday and each day had been shown the various stages of this method of preservation. The duck legs were covered in salt for 24 hours, which draws out all the moisture. Salt curing the meat in this way acts as a preservative. On Wednesday we had rinsed the salt of the legs and dried them out, so by Thursday we could poach them gently in duck fat. Once cooked they can be kept in airtight jars for quite some time.

On Friday the team in charge of mains, just had to grill them to warm them through and get the skin nice and cripsy. In this part of France they leave the skin as it is, but I am definitely a fan of cripsy skin. One of the main tasks of the day was to prepare the Pommes Boulangeres, these are a traditional alternative to Pommes Dauphinoise, and replace the cream with stock. They also prepared Minty Pea Pure, Baby Carrots and Balsamic and Fig Jus.

The duck was devine and melted in the mouth and definitely is something I will replicate at home (once I track down some decent sized duck legs!!). The potato dish was one I had done at home, but now with Chef Jim’s tips, it will be much improved. The Fig and Balsamic Jus was lovely and full of complementing flavours.

In my group we had been tasked with making a Tarte Tatin, with expert tuition from Liz, Jim’s trusty sidekick, and goddess of Tarte Tatins. Under her watchful eye we created the caramel, and then layered in the apples, bearing in mind that this would be the presentation side of the dish. This was then topped with the puff pastry (Not filo as a recent Masterchef professional tried to do!!) and baked in the oven.

We had been given free reign to prepare the accompaniments and as a team we had chosen to make Cinnamon Ice-Cream, Apple Jelly, Butterscotch Sauce and a walnut praline to create a Nut Sugar Dust. It was quite a lot of work but with me, Adele and Linda on the case we got it all prepared and learnt lots of new skills and techniques.4

I loved this and the cinnamon ice-cream was to die for! It’s a dessert for those with a sweet tooth but I’m sure it will be added to my repertoire.

So this was our final meal at Cook In France (apart from the last breakfast before departure) and the evening was rounded off with relaxing with our fellow sous-chefs.Sian even opened her Walnut Liquer to raise a toast to a fab week and for mine and Owen's 1st Wedding Anniversary which was the next day.

It was with a little sadness that we said goodbye to the group of Sous-chefs the next day as we couldn't have asked for better people to share the experience with. Thanks guys!!

Hope you've stuck with me for these posts on my time at Cook In France. It was such a fab week and one I would love to repeat, Jim varies the course as much as is possible to suit the skill sets and interests of the sous chefs.

If you are interested in going on a course then please check out the availability for 2011 here. I assure you a warm welcome from Jim and Lucy and a brilliant week learning lots of techniques and recipes to wow your dinner party guests.

Au revoir

Cook In France – Day 4

2010-10-11T20:24:00.002+01:00

It was a more leisurely start to Day 4, thankfully after the excesses of the night before. We began the day as everyone should …. with chocolate!! Our first job of the day was to prepare the dessert for the evenings meal. We already had our accompaniments made, the Sea Salt Tuille from Day 3 and the Mixed Berry Ice-Cream from Day 2, so the main task was the Chocolate Mousse with Paillete Feuilletine.

Jim explained that Paillette Feuilletine is crunchy flakes of Brittany crepes and we would use it to create a crunchy chocolate base for the mousse. Obviously, the first question off my lips, is what would we use at home? Cornflakes, he responded, and I was immediately transported back in time to when I was five and making chocolate cornflake cakes. So without further ado we combined melted chocolate some hazelnut paste (nutella) and mixed through the Paillete Feuilletine to get the right texture, before creating a base layer of this in some cooks rings. We then combined more chocolate and hazelnut paste and mixed it with whipped cream to create a mousse and spooned it onto the base to fill the rings. This was then chilled in the fridge till the evening.

The rest of the day was spent preparing the main course for the evening meal Orange and Chorizo salad with an Orange and Walnut Oil Vinaigrette. This started by learning how to do the cheffy restaurant trick of pre-preparing poached eggs and getting them so they are perfectly cooked and not a straggly mess (like mine always are!). You need the freshest eggs possible, and then use a saucer to put them imto vinagared simmering water. By cooking until slightly under-done and then submerging in cold water, you can prepare these ahead of when you want them. Just reheat in simmering water to serve. Genius!

We were so impressed that I’m sure we will use this technique back at home. We then went on to the preparing of vegetables, learning about how to prepare them so your final dish looks amazing, i.e thinking about shape and colour of the various components, and then how to cook them ahead of time. The trick is to work out how long each one takes, if any have strong flavours which will taint the water and put them in order them accordingly, and then cook in batches in boiling water.

And finally we learnt how to make a wonderful vinaigrette. We had reduced the juice of some oranges by half, then added cider vinegar, seasoning, Dijon mustard, honey and locally produced walnut oil (which we bought a tin home with us as it is so lovely!)

Then it was a simple matter of plating up the salad in true bistro style.

The vegetables were accompanied with lozonges of Chorizo, orange segments, the poached egg prepared earlier and finished off with a drizzle of vinagrette. It was very good, full of fresh and clean flavours and even hubby who is not a fan of vegetables really enjoyed it.

After devouring the main, we then headed back to the kitchen to plate up the Chocolate dessert. First was a cheffy smear of fruit puree, then delicately removing the mousse from the cooks rings before sprinking with cocoa powder and then placing on the plate, a sprinkle of the crunchy chocolate mix, a scoop of Mixed Berry Ice-cream and finishing off with the Caramel Sea-Salt Tuille.

This was pure chocolately heaven, and I thouroughly enjoyed it. Some of the sous chefs with less of a sweet tooth struggled to finish theirs, so there was my hubby willing to do his duty!! ;-)

Back soon with the final day where we got to get all creative and inventive!

Cook In France – Day 3 (Part 2)

2010-10-04T23:19:00.003+01:00

Firstly, apologies for the delay in bringing you the next in my series of Cook In France posts but there was a hen do to attend! Anyway, on with the post.

After a fun morning at the market and a super lunch the day got even better when Jim announced we would be getting creative with caramel. You’d think Chef Jim would be mad to combine 12 home cooks with a hot pan of 185°C caramel and lots of spinning of threads ?? Well he may be a little crazy to be fair (hehe!!) but with his expert advice and demonstration on how to make caramel safely, we all learnt what creative fun we could have to add that special touch to our desserts.

Once Jim had given us the demonstration we each had a go at spinning the sweet gossamer threads over ladles and steels to create caramel cages and springs.

Some of us were better at it than others. I struggled to get the right height and movement at the same time, (one of those pat your head whilst rubbing your stomach moments!!), but my husband delighted in showing me his ease at creating the perfect spring. I have to say in my defence there is a small window of time when the caramel is best to work with, too soon and it is too runny but very soon it becomes too stiff to work with.
We did some different creations, including baskets and springs, before being tasked to make 20 Caramel Sea-Salt Tuilles for Thursday’s dessert.

It was such a fun afternoon as it’s something I’ve watched on TV so many times (you know who you are Mr Martin!) and always wanted to have a go.
Wednesday evenings are free time and an opportunity to dine out and experience the culinary delights of the region. We had scouted out a couple of options in Sarlat that morning for a romantic meal for two, but because we were having such a fun time with our fellow sous-chefs, we decided to join a group of 8 others who were going to dine at one of Jim’s favourite restaurants, just down the other end of the valley.
Le Manoir d’Hautegente is a gorgeous manor house hotel,with a gourmet restaurant that I am sure is heading for a Michelin star.

There was a tasting menu which unfortunately I couldn’t participate in due to foods I have to avoid being pregnant, though at €100 for this with wine it was very tempting. I opted for the mid level Menu which gave you a choice of two dishes for each course, but was fortunately sat next to my very generous new friend Sian, who had the tasting menu, but was keen to share!
That was one of the nice things about the venue, out of 10 diners, just 5 had the tasting menu, but we were all able to sit on a lovely large round table together, something that wouldn’t necessarily happen in the UK, where the whole party has to have the tasting menu.
I did take a few photo’s of the dishes, but not all. We were so busy enjoying the social time with our new friends, this blog post was not on my mind. Hopefully from the pictures below you can see that the quality and presentation of the dishes was excellent.

Because the menu was French, although I was confident in what I had ordered, I wasn’t sure how or what the dishes would be served with. The scallops starter that I had was served with a pickled beetroot and a carrot and mango sauce was just divine with the earthy beetroot being a good contrast to the perfectly cooked scallops. I opted for Turbot for the main as it was a fish I had always wanted to try, thanks to Mr Stein and almost every other chef hailing it as the King of fish. This did not disappoint, it was served on the bone and the delicate flesh just fell off and melted in the mouth. It was served a lovely selection of vegetables, though the lilac coloured cauliflower was intriguing (is this grown like that or had the chef got creative with colouring?), a little avocado blini, and a sauce that was smooth like velvet and full of flavour. For dessert I opted for the Chocolate mousse. This was a work of art (though my photo does not quite do it justice) and was a serious pud (a little too much for some of my fellow diners!) but I ploughed on regardless through the chocolate mousse, topped with a white chocolate lattice and a quenelle of chocolate ice-cream. On the side it was decorated with a crunchy chocolate tuille that was unusual but very moreish.
Other diners were delighted with the following dishes: Foie Gras with melon balls and a melon marmalade; Scallops and Crayfish tails with a carrot puree and seafood emulsion (that had so much flavour!); a rabbit ballantine, stuffed and wrapped in a cured ham with celeriac puree.

The evening was rounded off with champagne in front of the fire which was lovely and it was a truly special night.

The penultimate day to come soon ....

Cook In France – Day 3 (Part 1)

2010-09-27T09:28:00.006+01:00

Wednesday is an earlier start than other days, but that’s only to make the most of the weekly trip to the local Market. The location of Cook In France at Bombel, not only gives it a gorgeous setting in the heart of the Dordogne region, but an envious location just 15 minutes drive from Sarlat.
Sarlat is the hub of Perigord cusine, an area whose 2 main stars are Foie Gras and Truffles, with other delights like goose, ceps, walnuts and chestnuts. To be truthful the town is heaven for a foodie like me, with over 70 restaurants and a fabulous market each Wednesday and Saturday. So without further delay, we set off around the market, which lines the streets from one end of town to the other, and Jim had lined up a few of the stallholders for us to meet along the way.

The first stall we stopped at was a Duck stall. As mentioned earlier, this part of France is famed for it’s duck and the bird holds a special place in the hearts and kitchens of the people from this area. As it should be, the whole duck is put to use, the liver is treasured as Foie Gras, the wings and legs make great Duck Confit, where they are preserved by being salted and then poached in it’s own fat, the fat is also used to fry potatoes in a local dish known as Pomme Salardaise (an even naughtier version of Pomme Dauphinoise!!) and not a single part goes to waste.

Next stop was the best Foie Gras stall on the market (one who is definitely used to a weekly visit from Cook in France sous-chefs!) and is very helpful explaining the different types of Foie Gras products.

We bought a gourmet selection as in my current state I can’t eat much liver, but will definitely have this to look forward to once the baby arrives.

Lastly, it was time for Jim to introduce us to the Syrup (so called because of his hair accessories!) and what a character he is. Not a word of English but he keeps you engaged trying his caramelised walnuts, chocolate coated walnuts, walnut liqueur and a truffle liqueur among other things.

Then it was time to go off for a wander round the town on our own. There is plenty to explore with meandering medieval streets full of interesting shops. The only thing that spoiled it was when the heavens opened and me and hubby ended up looking like drowned rats!! We did pick up some more goodies though as bought three different types of the salami’s – Sanglier (a local Wild Boar speciality), Smoked and Pepper Crusted.

Then it was time to head back to the kitchen to prepare a simple but gorgeous lunch, Baked Camembert with Rustic Croutons. The Camembert cheeses were infused with orange zest and Rosemary and then baked in their cases. The croutons were large chunks of crusty white bread torn up and then sprinkled with orange peel, black olives, garlic cloves, thyme, olive oil and a cured ham like prosciutto.

The Baked Camembert souffléd up and the sweet raspberry compote on the side was a good accompaniment to cut through the gooey melted cheese. Definitely a dish to be recreated at home (in fact we already have as part of our tapas feast last weekend!)

It certainly set us up for the afternoon’s fun-filled activities – so come back soon to see what we got up to.

Cook In France - Day 2

2010-09-22T20:30:00.005+01:00

After a beautiful Continental breakfast it was time for our first day in the Kitchen. Once the obligatory health and saftey talk was out the way, Jim explained how the course would be run. Each day we would learn techniques and recipes that would help elevate our home cooking to a higher level, with guidance on how to prepare things in advance to make dinner party hosting less stressful and also tips on restaurant style presentation - sounds good hey??

The first lesson was how to fillet a fish. This is something I have done a couple of times before, but never with much confidence. Generally when we buy whole fish, they get baked whole, either with a salt crust or en papillote.

Jim's teaching method is to show you and explain and then for you to have a go, so very hands-on and I think the best way to learn.

We each had a seabass to tackle, and following Jim's advice, we descaled, filleted, pin-boned our fish to get two lovely fillets, which we would cook for dinner that evening.

With the remainder of the fish, Jim showed us how to do a good basic fish stock to ensure maximum flavour. This was something I found very interesting as my stocks at home are always a bit lacking in the flavour department, but I'll be giving it another go. The secret seems to be to reduce it twice as much as you think you should!

The next lesson was making some Ice Cream with Jim's fool-proof method. He made it look so easy with his demonstration on Vanilla Ice Cream but I was sure my custard mix was going to turn out lumpy, and require lots of beating as usual!! Much to my suprise it didn't, and within a few minutes we had got into teams of 3 and set to work on different flavours of Ice Cream. There was a Basil Ice Cream and a Mixed Berry one to be made to go with some planned desserts during the week and we opted for an unusal flavour of Black Pepper!

Making Custard

Basil Infused

Mixed Berry Ice Cream

I loved how simple the recipe was and if it's foolproof, well that's just perfect for me!! (An Ice Cream Machine has now been added to my Amazon Christmas List!).
During this process, we also learnt about how to boost the natural flavours of the custard mixes with sugar and citric acid, so that once it was turned into an Ice Cream there would still be lots of flavour. Jim was always dishing out useful information, like flavours are 20% diminished in cold/frozen dishes, and we all felt we were learning so much.

With all this activity we had all worked up an appetite - fish stock and ice-cream anyone?? No, didn't think so. Luckily for us, Jim's assistant, the lovely Liz, had been busy preparing a fabulous lunch for us all.

Lunch prepared by Liz, photo courtesy of David Bywater

After a leisurely lunch, the afternoon session started with making mayonnaise; something i've wanted to try for ages but never plucked up the courage. Visions of Masterchef contestants failing always seem to come to my mind whenever I was struck with the urge. But with Jim's expert tuition, we all managed to produce 4 batches of very good mayonnaise. One poor team were made to do it by hand just to prove that you don't need all the fancy equipment (thank god it wasn't me!!)

Linda, Adele & David - the hard workers!

The mayonnaise was destined for a Sauce Gribiche - a tartare style sauce with added bling! Perfect accompaniment for the Seabass fillets prepared earlier. So with the Mayonnaise ready Jim showed us a few knife skills to prepare the other ingredients for the sauce, in the obligatory cheffy 5mm dice. We prepared capers, gherkins, boiled egg, onions, lemos zest, chives, parsley and garlic paste and combined them with the mayonnaise to make our Sauce Gribiche.

We then had an afternoon break before heading back into the kitchen to be shown by Jim how to cook the Seabass fillets and plate the dish up in true bistro style. In small teams, we cooked and plated up our own main course of Pan Fried Sea Bass Fillets which had been cooked to perfection, with a crispy skin, served on bed of salad leaves and fried potatoes, with a light vinagrette dressing and the Sauce Gribiche.

It was a fresh and simple dish which tasted amazing and definitely something I would do at home. Over dinner, we all chatted about the day, and all the sous chefs were very impressed with how much we had learnt in a day and were full of enthusiasm for what was to come in the rest of the week.

We rounded off the day with a simple dessert of Strawberry Compote (just sugar and strawberries left to their own devices!) and the Basil Ice Cream we had prepared earlier. The combination was strange to some, but I loved it as it works really well together. Try it ... you won't be disappointed!

Afterwards we had the rest of the evening to chill out, and then it was off to bed at a reasonable time as we had an earlier start on Wednesday for the trip to Sarlat Market. I'll be back soon with details on this and what fun we got up to on the afternoon!!

A bientôt (see you soon!)

Cook In France - Day 1

2010-09-16T11:57:00.001+01:00

As you may be aware if you are a visitor to this blog, I was a very lucky tweeter who won a 5 day residential cookery course at Cook In France. This is a relaxed and friendly school ran by the husband and wife team of Jim and Lucy Fisher in the heart of the Dordogne region.

After speaking with Jim, who generously gave us a fantastic rate for my husband to join me on the course, we were booked for the first week in September. Cook in France is based at Bombel, a lovingly restored farm, with a modern kitchen and a mix of contemporary or rustic guest rooms.

The course begins on Monday evening which is a welcome evening, with a 4 course meal prepared by Jim, designed to meet the other people on the course, or as Jim affectionately calls us “his sous-chefs”.

Unfortunately due to a 2-hour delay on the motorway we arrived a little late. This meant we missed out on the starter of Chilled Tomato and Fennel Soup topped with croutons, feta, basil essence and black olive oil, a point which our fellow sous chefs delighted in teasing us with throughout the week, as they had all been amazed by the flavours.

We arrived just in time for the main course which was a Garlic Studded and Orange Leg of lamb which had been cooked in a waterbath for 4.5 hours after hours of marination, and was served pink, melting in the mouth, with oven dried plum tomatoes and a herby cous cous. Absolutely lovely and even my hubby who detests roast lamb, reluctantly admitted it was wonderful. (Thanks Jim, I can now cook with lamb at home!!)

We rounded off the evening with a vanilla panna cotta, served with a raspberry sauce, fresh raspberries and a Walnut Croquante biscuits. The panna cotta was a perfect jelly-like texture, though it didn't appeal to all, I loved it and the hit of vanilla was gorgeous.

Over dinner we had a getting to know you session, as we were part of a large group of
12 sous-chefs, which I think is the largest number catered for, and one non-cooking partner. The lovely thing was it wasn't a group of middle-aged women as my hubby had feared!! There was a good mix of age ranges and personalities from the hilarious 19 year old Sylva from London to Peter, the Northern biker, and George, a scot living in Amsterdam.

Then it was off for a relatively early night, so we could be up bright and early for our first day in the kitchen.

So come back soon to see how our first day in the kitchen went.

Au revoir for now

I'm back and with a little news .....

2010-09-03T21:43:00.000+01:00

So the last time I posted was the beginning of June, so you might have been wondering where I had disappeared to? Well, nowhere really but I did find out some fantastic news in June which kinda rocked my world .... I'm pregnant.

And as soon as I knew about it along came the sickness, tiredness and a general lack of interest in anything other than sleeping. So the kitchen was out of bounds for quite a while (luckily I have a hubby that can cook!) and I have done very little in terms of visitng foodie places or even being online in an evening to catch up on blogs.

But now I entered into the second trimestre I have started to slowly get back into the kitchen and am even staying up past 9pm!

Although I won't be posting any of my home cooking here for a little while as this week we are off on holiday ... my competition win at Cook In France with Jim Fisher. I have 5 days of a residential cooking course to learn some new skills in the heart of the Dordogne region.

So in my first proper post I'll be back to tell you how it went .... come back soon!!

Blue Door Bakery Cupcake Class

2010-06-04T18:53:00.004+01:00

Last year was the year of my wedding, it was a year of planning, preparation and crafting! You see I decided to make my own invites, place settings, decorations to name but a few things. With my chief bridesmaid in tow, aka my little sister, we spent at least one night a week together preparing all this.

Since the wedding we have both been separately doing crafty things, but had wanted something we could do together. So I had my thinking cap on for a while, and then by the magic that is twitter I found Blue Door Bakery and that was it - 2 places booked for me and my sis on a Cupcake Decorating Class.

So one sunny May evening we went off to Blue Door HQ in Hagley and met Sarah, the person behind Blue Door Bakery, along with 5 other ladies, including Laura, a bride-to-be who has a fab blog about all the trials and tribulations of planning her wedding day.

Sarah hosts the classes from her beautiful home and made us all feel very welcome. We began by learning a bit the cupcakes themselves, with top tips on how perfect them and to avoid making them too dry. Sarah then went on to show us how to use Sugarpaste Icing, how to colour it and how to create different shapes. Then it was our turn to have a go, and we all got to have a play with the huge arrangement of cutters, colours, glitters, glazes and edible dust to make a few toppers for our own cupcakes.

Whilst waiting for our sugarpaste shapes to dry out Sarah gave us a quick demo on fondant icing and then it was time to make the Buttercream Icing. Apparently you just have to "embrace the mess" as there is no clean way to make it, with icing sugar clouds filling the kitchen.

Sarah showed us how to pipe swirls and roses, she made it look so easy but I guess that just comes with practice. Then it was time to decorate our very own cupcakes.

We each had a box of 12 and could use any of the Sugarpaste toppers or the huge of array of sprinkles that Sarah has in stock. I did find my swirls got better and by cupcake number 10 they were almost decent! The roses are a different story and fear there may be a lot more practicing required.

It was such a fun way to spend an evening, learning new skills, getting creative, some good laughs and then leaving with a box of cupcakes! I would highly recommend attending one of the classes. By the time I got home, I was on a icing sugar high, and thought a cupcake and coffee would be the perfect way to finish off the evening.

And to top it off the cupcakes tasted awesome. I don't think I've ever tasted such a light and fluffy cake. Heavenly indeed!! Needless to say the box of 12 didn't last long so now it's my time to have a go .... so watch this space.

Gourmet Life and the Granary Grill at Weston Park

2010-06-01T22:13:00.003+01:00

Not too long ago I discovered James Day and his midlands foodie website Eat The Midlands. Along with my prize for Ludlow Spring Fair tickets I also got a 3 month memebership of Gourmet Life, a scheme set up by James to support the region's local producers by offering a discount card for restaurants that must source at least 20% of their A La Carte menu from producers within the region.

I think the scheme is bound to appeal to all foodies in the region as it offers not only 20% off your food bill at over 100 dining venues across the region, but discounts at farm shops and deli's, monthly invites to gourmet events and lots more. For me as a diner, it is important to know where the food has come from, so by going to Gourmet Life restaurants it enables me to choose venues which support the local producers and of course I'll never say no to a discount (it enables me to eat out more often!)

So with Gourmet Life card in hand, I chose the newly opened Granary Grill at Weston Park. The park is known to many as home to one half of the V Festival, and for us locals the venue for the best Bonfire night around. I have only ever been to the park for these events but it is open to the public during the summer months as a tourist attraction where you can visit the Stately Home and it's gardens.

Over the past year Weston Park began a restoration programme for the the Granary building which dates back to 1767, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands. Last year they opened an art gallery and a farm shop, which has an in-house butcher and promotes local and seasonal food from both local producers and tenant farmers, On May 1st they added to this with the Granary Grill Restuarant.

I only called to book my table the day before and although they said they were busy, they could offer a table for four at 8.30pm, which I thought was good considering it was for a Friday. We arrived a little early and I have to say it is an impressive setting for a restaurant. Upon arrival we were escorted out to the courtyard for drinks and to peruse the menu. The menu is based upon their "ethos of using the finest local produce where possible, simply cooked". There is a decent selection of starters to choose from, and the mains is split between a few select dishes from the kitchen and an impressive Grill menu featuring Steak from 3 different sources : Staffordshire/Shropshire, British or Buccleuch Estate Scottish Beef.

I didn't take long to make my choices, as I had been dreaming about steak all day and although a few of the starters appealed I'm always eager to support local producers and especially a fellow tweeter like Sarah from Brock Hall Farm Goats Cheese. After drinks on the patio, the first little hiccup with service happened as it seemed we had been forgotten about. At 9pm we were more than ready to order and starting to feel a little hungry so we ventured inside to see if our table was ready and they replied with "of course, has no-one been to show you through?".Er no, that's why we had started to become the main course for the midges outside!!

So we were shown to our table which was situated on the upper part of the split level restaurant. The restaurant has a rustic feel due to the exposed brick work but it is very clean and elegant, just as you would expect from such a venue. There was also a lovely atmosphere and the staff were very friendly and polite.

Complimentary bread is served whilst you wait, warm and, I think, homemade (apologies if not!) and in our basket there was poppy seed, granary and wholemeal and something that always pleases me, (as I love fresh bread!) plenty of it too!

My starter of Brockhall farm Goat's cheese & Chargrilled Vegetables, with oven dried tomatoes, beetroot relish and pine nuts was lovely. The Goat's cheese was just as I remembered it, creamy and delicate and the tomatoes, pine nuts and pesto complimented it beautifully. If I were going to be picky I would say the beetroot relish lacked a little flavour and of the vegetables, the mushrooms were too much of a squidgy consistency for my palate.

Brockhall Farm Goats Cheese & Char Grilled Veg

Despite my criticism it wasn't long before the plate was clean. At £7.25 it is quite extravagant for a starter, but you certainly get your money's worth as the portion is very generous, almost a little too generous as I was feeling a little full and wondering if I would be able to finish my main? (must remember not to gorge on fresh bread!! ). Of the other starters ordered I tasted a little of the grilled Marinated Tiger Prawns which were in a lime and chili dressing and certainly full of flavour.

I had ordered a medium rare 8oz Shropshire/Staffordshire sirloin for my main, with a Bearnaise sauce and we had been kindly advised that a side order of vegetables was enough for two. A further two more steaks were ordered together with the Butterfly Chicken Breast with gremolata from the Grill menu. However, when the dishes arrived there was one missing. It appears the second mistake by waiting staff was forgetting my Mum's main course! This had only been realised once we had been served so we was advised there would be a 5-10 minute delay, which did slightly spoil the meal (especially when Mum is the slowest eater I know!).

The steak was served simply with a tomato, mushroom and onion ring and chips in a pot on the side. The steak itself was full of flavour, if slightly overcooked, and all three of us with steaks had opted for local beef and commented on the good flavour. The side vegetables were plentiful and cooked to perfection. The Bearnaise was slightly too thick for my liking but it had a good hint of tarragon, and the chips were possibly the best I've ever had; cooked to perfection and with their skins on so full of flavour.

My mum's main appeared about 15 minutes after, with fresh side orders, and we were informed that this would not be charged on the bill, which was a nice touch, along with the sincere apologies from the waiting staff (she really did look gutted she had made the mistake!). The chicken was cooked perfectly and the Mushroom Cream sauce was a tasty accompaniment.

Sadly, it had become quite late by now due to the earlier hiccups so we skipped desserts and opted for coffees. The only suggestion I would make is to serve a sweet with the coffee, especially for those who have not indulged in a pudding.

Also, missing out on desserts is just an excuse for me to go back, as despite the slight issues with service I was extremely satisfied with the food and in my mind you should never judge a restaurant on just one visit. This is especially true when you take into account that it was only their 3rd Friday since opening, so I feel sure these were just teething problems.

Last thing on the menu for the evening was the bill and with the Gourmet Life card you are presented with a bill for food with a 20% reduction and a separate drinks receipt. For the 2 course meal plus coffee for four of us, the Gourmet Life card gave us a discount of £18, so when you consider the cost of joining the scheme is currently on offer for £24.90 after one more meal, it has more than paid for itself. Sounds too good to be true .......? It isn't so check it out here as I'll be doing at the end of my 3 month trial.

A visit to my second homeland

2010-05-29T15:29:00.002+01:00

May has been a hectic month, with a very busy social and work life. Part of that was caused by a 5 day business trip to my Head office, which is located in Ourense, NW Spain. Whilst I love any excuse to go back to Spain, please don't think this was just a jolly, it's actually quite hard work! We take a group of customers out to the quarries to see how our roofing slates are produced, so it's a lot of hosting and translating for me, but I do love it! The worst thing is the travelling as it's quite a drive to this remote part of Spain.

View from the Hotel room in O'Barco

.

Glamourous? ... maybe not!

For me the best thing about going on these business trips, is not only to see my colleagues and practice my spanish, but the food! If you weren't aware already (not sure how it might have escaped you if have read any of my random tweets or earlier posts) but I love Spanish food. I love how each dish is simple but tasty, langostines in garlic, jamon iberico, grilled seabass, tortilla espanola, .... must stop or else will be drooling over the keyboard!

The only downside for the purpose of this blog is that because the eating was all business dinners I didn't think it right to photo the food. So whilst I have no pics of the food I ate during my trip, I did get an hour to myself in Oviedo on the Saturday, I headed straight to the supermarket.

Octopus

Fish Counter

Prawns

Fancy some octopus or prawns? There was so much choice and it was all so fresh, and this was in a standard spanish supermarket. It reminded me of how poor the selection of fresh fish is in our supermarkets in the UK, and whilst I do admit things have improved over recent years I think we still lag behind.

Whilst fish is not suitable for packing into the suitcase (it did cross my mind for a millisecond!) I did bring home some cured meats including Jamon serrano, Chorizo and Morcilla (spanish black pudding). Mainly because I have converted my other half into a spanophile. Is that the right word for the spanish equivalent to a francophile? In fact is there a word for a lover of all things Spanish? Anyway as he wasn't able to join me on the trip I thought it best to bring a little something home and during the lovely weather we had in the last couple of weeks we enjoyed a tapas meal on the patio.

Tapas Tea

Chorizo al Vino

Jamon Serrano

There is nothing better than some jam, chorizo, smoked salmon served with some crusty bread and a green salad. The other pot had some garlic mushrooms which are also perfect on slices of crusty bread too.

The trip was good but it has made me yearn for a holiday to Spain, so I can sample some more spanish gastronomic delights and share it with the hubby too of course!! Not a possibility this year sadly but for now we still have some chorizo to keep us happy!

Since getting home from the trip I've been fairy busy with work but also with some more foodie experiences which I can't wait to fill you in on including dinner at Weston Park and a cupcake decorating class with Sarah at BlueDoorBakery.

Will be back soon with more tales from this staffordshire senorita!

Asparagus .... in purple!!

2010-05-21T19:21:00.001+01:00

As I mentioned previously I love asparagus, not only does it taste great, but apparently it is a superfood and good for you! Low in calories and packed full of nutrients including folic acid, potassium, fiber, thiamin and vitamins A, B6 and C, it is a tasty vegetable that provides numerous health benefits.

In my mind you can't beat locally grown British Green asparagus, when in season. I have also tried the white asparagus which they use a lot in the Mediterranean, but this is one of the few things I don't miss from my times in Spain, as I find the texture slightly off putting and it has a bittersweet taste.

During my time at Ludlow Spring Fair I came across a new type of asparagus .... purple! My favourite colour and in a tasty vegetable, it brought a smile to my face!

This was on show by Shropshire Asparagus, who grow both green and purple types at their farm in Bridgnorth. Well, I just couldn't resist getting some of the purple, as I love trying new things. The very helpful ladies on the stall went on to explain that the purple variety, which is only grown by a handful of producers in the UK, has much smaller quantities of lignin, the fibrous material that makes the green version stringy, which makes it perfect for eating raw, and incorporating into salads.

With the hint of summer in the air, it wasn't long before I used it in a simple salad.

The combination of salad leaves, purple asparagus and the spanish goats cheese Murcia al Vino, which with it's purple hue was a perfect compliment, created an attractive and delicious looking salad. Served with a hunk of crusty bread on the patio and I was in heaven. I really did enjoy the flavour and texture the purple asparagus gives to the salad.

Which leaves me to part with my only dilemma - where to get some more without driving to Bridgnorth? I have not seen it any of my local supermarkets. Do you know where a south staffordshire foodie can satisfy her purple asparagus desires?

Ludlow Spring Fair

2010-05-11T22:49:00.004+01:00

As a newly fledged Midlands foodie blogger I am keen to highlight the wealth of producers and eateries in the Midlands and it wasn't long before I found Eat The Midlands, a hub for all things tasty in the central region. During the past few weeks they promoted the Ludlow Spring Fair on their website and I was lucky enough to win a couple of guest tickets.

So on Saturday off I went to Ludlow (with the hubby and parents in law). It's a bit of a drive, but a very pleasant one through the Shropshire countryside. We arrived and meandered our way up to the castle. I was really pleased to be able to go for a stroll around the castle as this adds a little something special to the venue.

And though it was a decidely grey day it certainly didn't dampen the spirits as we headed straight for one of the foodie marquees. There was a good range of producers and suppliers of food and drink products, some of which I have seen at other food fayres and some new ones.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to try and engage with every stall holder as didn't want to spoil the day out with the in-laws, but those who I did take particular note of include Dore Valley chocolates, who make the some delicious handmade chocolates, with some unusual flavours including the Hedgerow Creams with elderflower and lavender.

Other sweet temptations were from The Simply Delicious Fruit Cake Co whose cakes are some of the best fruit cakes I've ever tasted (except my mum's of course!). They do a Whisky Cake, with fruit soaked in Whisky for 24 hours, which even got the thumbs up from my hubby who doesn't like dried fruit!

Spotted the word Fuffle? I was so intrigued I had to investigate and apparently if you can't decide if it's fudge or truffle, why not call it Fuffle!

Gary from FudgeHeaven makes the most delicious fuffle with lots of yummy flavours, many based on alcoholic liquers and some other flavours. I tried the Baileys Comet (some genuis names from Gary, the little devil!) and I'm sure it won't be long before I place an order here.

For something savoury we visited Chestnut Meats who offer a range of goat meat products. The sausages we sampled were very tasty, and seen as it's meant to be a healthy meat so something to think about for the future. We also met with Martins Jerked Meat and purchased some of his Welsh Beef Jerky. They do a few different flavours but we opted for the one which has been marinaded in Jack Daniels and Soy Sauce.

There were also a range of food suppliers including Bellota, an importer of fine spanish foods, and Fish In A Box,who suprisingly deliver fresh fish and shellfish in a box and have a fabulous range. Think I may splash out on this during the summer as though it's more pricey than supermarkets I'm sure the quality and range of products is far superior ...they even do Razor clams!

The final stop and purchase from the food producers was with Shropshire Asparagus who have a fabulous purple asparagus,

....... but more of that on my next post!!

All this was thirsty work so we headed straight for the Beer tent which had over 140 Real Ales to taste from lots of local Independent Brewers. Now, I'm not much of a beer drinker, but my home-brewing hubby and his ale aficionado father were in their element. Armed with their beer tokens they set off to discover some new ales, and with a welsh background they were keen to find a new favourite from the Fatherland and there were lots to choose from.

Some of the tried and tested ales included Merlyn from Great Orme Brewery, which was deemed perfect for a summers day, Cribyn and, the favourite one of the day, Ysbrid y Ddraig from the Breconshire Brewery.
The best thing about this event was the people serving the beers were from the breweries and so were full of information and eager to discuss. I was even given a couple of free samples, in an attempt to get me to like Ale, and I have to say the two I was given have me on the path to almost liking it. They were Festival Landmark from Waen Brewery and Blorenge Golden Ale from Tudor Brewery.

For those that don't do ale, there were also a number of other drink producers including my local brewer Freedom, and GWatkin Cider who have a range of ciders to suit all tastes, of which the Perry was particularly enjoyable, not too dry but with a sharpness that makes it light and refreshing.

And after all this, there was still the pleasure of wandering through the lovely town that is Ludlow, complete with a good market and lots of food orientated shops. All in all, a very enjoyable day and one I look to repeat next year!

New Season, New Farm Asparagus

2010-05-05T23:07:00.001+01:00

Now I don't want to be known as the foodie blogger who jumps on the bandwagon, and with so many people hailing the arrival of the english asparagus season I almost didn't post this, but then I love fresh asparagus so much I couln't resist.

Now Staffordshire may have a lack of michelin starred places to dine but we do have some producers who deserve this kind of accolade, including New Farm asparagus, used in many restaurants locally (I think even Glyn Purnell purchases his asparagus from here to as he mentioned it on Saturday Kitchen the other week!) and sold into the supermarket chain. Fortunately for us that live locally they have a farm shop so we can indulge ourselves in the freshest of the fresh!

So I picked up a couple of bundles on Sunday morning and headed home salivating at the thought of breaking that softly poached egg with a tasty asparagus spear. On the way home I picked up some other supplies and set to work on my dream lunch dish at this time of year.

We had opted for asparagus wrapped in proscuitto served with a poached duck egg for that extra luxury and topped off with hollandaise.

Something missing ... well my first attempt at hollandaise wasn't very successful and not wanting to wait whilst I attempted another we left it to one side. The asparagus was quickly blanched before being lovingly wrapped in proscuitto and placed on to the griddle pan, whilst a duck egg was poached. The eggs didn't turn out as normal, I guess the difference between buying fresh from the local butcher and picking them up on a Sunday morning at the supermarket, but we live and learn!

p.s any tips on making a fool proof hollandaise?

Il Marchigiano at the Plum Pudding

2010-04-26T14:31:00.009+01:00

I have to admit to being a bit of a "google geek", as where ever I go whether it be on holidays or just days out I always tend to have a search for good places to visit and eat. Now on Google this can take lots of time with plenty of poor websites out there to trawl through. It was only at the end of last year did I discover the wealth of good restaurant reviews on blogs (thanks to my twitter friend Kavey) and finally banished Trip Advisor to the recycle bin. Now food blogs are there in abundance for London trips but what about the rest of the country?

Since starting my own blog at the beginning of the year I always had an idea of doing some local restaurant reviews, as not found one that covers Staffordshire (if anyone knows of a fellow Staffordshire based foodie blog, please let me know so I can pay a visit!).

So, which eatery to head to first? Well, I live in a small town called Rugeley, not particularly brimming with fabulous places to eat but there are a few gems. My current favourite is The Yorkshire Man, a gastro pub offering a locally sourced menu, but I will save this for a later post as definitely want to do it justice.

The Restaurant : Il Marchigiano at the Plum Pudding
This used to be a brasserie style restaurant called the Plum Pudding until it was bought by Giuseppe Iaconi and turned into an Italian restaurant. Il Marchigiano advertises itself as a traditional Italian serving food “just like nonna or grandmother used to make”, with the menu based upon the peasant style of his homeland, the Le Marche region.

The restaurant is situated in a lovely village location right next to the Trent and Mersey Canal, but the interior is a little tired and could do with freshening up. We went on a Friday evening and the restaurant was half full and so had a nice atmosphere. We arrived just after another table of four and despite the fact they weren’t exactly brimming with customers we were all left hanging around in the bar for a few minutes before being welcomed or even offered to be taken through to our table.

The menu has a good selection of dishes with a focus on the traditional meat and fish mains eaten in Italy, where pasta is eaten as a first course. There’s not a pizza in sight, something that seems quite rare in other Italian restaurants around the country. There is a specials board too and on a Friday they also offer a Fish Special Menu with at least 8 further dishes to choose from. After a browse of the menu the four of us had made our choices. I was opting for the Calamari starter, as had caved into a meaty main of the Beef Medallions cooked in a brandy, red wine and tomato sauce, (despite lingering over a few of the fish dishes for a while!). My companions all chose different starters and mains so I could get to see (and hopefully taste!) a wider range.

So we waited, and we waited and about after about 30 minutes our order was taken. Now I know sometimes you go out for food and end up chatting and not ordering for a while but at least most of the time waiting staff have been to see if you are ready to order. On this occasion all of us were hungry and ready to order after about 10 minutes of perusing the menu. When they eventually came to take the order we were informed that one of the dishes we had chosen, the Saltimbocca Alla Romana, or veal to you and me, was not available which did rather disappoint my hubby who was looking forward to something we don’t tend to cook at home. So he opted for the Steak special and there were no brownie points for the waiting staff so far!

The starters were delivered after another 30 minute wait with no accompaniment mutterings of any kind of apology from the waiting staff so either this is normal or they just don’t care. By this point we had devoured the complimentary bread sticks and were almost getting past the point of being hungry but with a desire for some scrumptious Italian food we ate. And oh how disappointed was I, the Calamari was served with a sweet chilli sauce which was needed to cut through the greasy batter which was so thick I could hardly taste the squid. Now I have eaten many plates of calamari during my time in Spain and this would definitely be at the top of the list of the worst eaten. They didn’t appear to be homemade either which was a disappointing start to the meal.

Other starters tasted included the Whitebait from the specials board which was also coated in a very heavy breadcrumb coating which totally overwhelmed what are normally fab little fishy treats. The Crostini tricolour and 'Prosciutto e Melone' from the menu were both enjoyed by my fellow guests but I guess where can you go wrong with sliced Melon and Ham?

So after a sub-standard start we waited with trepidation for the main course, and surprisingly we didn’t wait long. No sooner had our starter plates been collected than the mains arrived. Were things looking up? Most definitely, as thankfully all four dishes were received with appreciative sounds of scrumptious food. The beef medallions had been slowly braised and literally melted in the mouth, and the sauce was not as I expected but delicious all the same. It was like a really beefy ragu sauce, much like a traditional bolognaise, and was full of flavour. The men had steaks which had been topped off with some melted mozzarella and were served in a sauce suspiciously similar to mine, but were perfectly cooked and greeted with delight. The other dish tasted was the Maiale Marchigiano, pork in a creamy brandy mushroom sauce with apricots and honey, which I got to taste and was divine. The mains were accompanied with a selection of perfectly cooked vegetables including carrot, courgette and green beans and roasted new potatoes which were soon devoured by all of us.

Maiale Marchigiano

We were offered the sweet menu but with appetites now satisfied we all declined. To be honest I’m not that fond of Italian desserts anyway and after the starters I was concerned the desserts wouldn’t be homemade and flavourless. Maybe next time, if I decide to give it another try?

I feel I should note than when paying the bill we did find out that of the two waiting staff on that night, one had only started that week so maybe on a return visit the service will be up to the mark? I guess there’s only one way to find out, so this might not be my last visit to the place but I would hope for some improvements.

However, hopefully this is the first of many reviews and and if I manage to venture further a field for some culinary delights no doubt they will pop up here too. But if you are visiting Staffordshire or the surrounding areas at any time you know where to check out (or avoid the case may be!).

p.s sorry for lack of pictures, we were sat in quite a dark corner and the flash on my camera does no justice to the food! Will try harder next time!

Easy Peasy Paella

2010-04-05T19:20:00.002+01:00

I generally like this part of the year, when it's all about spring and new growth and we say goodbye to winter. March on the whole has given us such fantastic weather (oops, best try to forget last week where winter has seemed to make another appearance as we woke up one morning to a fluttering of snow), that you could almost start to taste Summer.

I'm sure we all have varied memories of good summer eating, but for me it can be summed up by sitting on the patio sipping a chilled glass of wine and eating a dish of grilled sardines, with a simple tomato salad to accompany. This all takes me back to my summers spent in Spain, where sunshine just seems to radiate out of the food. I so miss how the tomatoes taste of tomato instead of the watery imitations we get here!! Anyone else?

One dish that I cook through out the year to brighten my day with memories of summer and good times is Paella. Paella is often regarded by many non-spaniards as the national dish, to the Spanish it is a regional dish from Valencia, though its popularity means it is served on menu's around Spain. The word Paella actually comes from the type of dish it is cooked in, a specialised shallow pan with two handles. Now nothing beats a paella that is cooked in a traditional pan over an open flame, but with limits to both my cupboard space, time and availability of flame (my cooker is electric! ugh!) I was keen to find an alternative.

I have found a version of this traditional Spanish dish that gives you a little taste of the Costa with minimal effort, based on this recipe from the BBC Archive (a great source for recipes when you some ingredients and little inspiration!) with a few tweaks.

250g/9oz cherry tomatoes
1 mild spanish onion or red onion, finely chopped,
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
300g/10oz risotto/ paella rice - if you can get paella rice it does work better.
6 chicken pieces - I use mixture of thigh and leg.
200g/7oz chorizo, thickly sliced
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 litre/1¾ pints hot chicken stock
pinch of saffron strands
8 large, raw prawns or
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Place the cherry tomatoes in a roasting tin and sprinkle over the onion and olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes until the tomatoes are softened, then add the garlic and roast for a further 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the rice, chicken, chorizo, rosemary, chicken stock, saffron and some salt and pepper, mixing well together. Return to the oven for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in the prawns and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through.

This is so simple to prepare, it is perfect for a mid-week tea. Sometimes I omit the prawns if I struggle to get hold of them, but I would suggest always using chorizo as this oozes its paprika oils it gives it the paella the unmistakable Spanish flavour.

To some this may be a classed as a tragic imitation of the authentic national dish, but to me it gives me a taste of many happy memories, and it's one of my hubby's favourite dishes too!

Disfrutas (enjoy!) x

Midland Foodie Bloggers Meet the Carrot Cake!

2010-03-15T22:37:00.004Z

Well it's time for post number three and my first thing to share with you was the recent meetup with other foodie bloggers from the Midlands. Whilst I love reading tweets and blogs of the London based foodies, they are always read with a tinge of envy that I seem to live in a barren wasteland as far as other foodie bloggers go, and then from a surf around I stumbled across the West Midlands Blogger Group on UKBFA. Luckily for me Jo from Jo's Kitchen had organised a meet-up and I was just in time to get myself on the invite list (despite feeling like a bit of a fraud with just 2 posts to my name!!).

So on a lovely March saturday afternoon I made my way to the venue for the gathering, Loaf in Cotteridge and the home of Tom Baker. Tom is an advocate of real local food and set up Loaf Online to promote food that is grown, produced and prepared in and around Birmingham. His ventures have now gone on to develop a Cookery School offering classes in forgotten skills like breadmaking, butchery and foraging, and a Community Bakery, providing artisan rye and sourdough breads to locals that commit to buy. Apart from being a genuinely nice bloke he is really does have an infectious enthusiasm for local food, something I am very keen to promote.

The other participants in the inaugral meeting of Midlands Food Bloggers included the organiser Jo , a foodie blogger from Halesowen who is keen to give us Midlanders a taste of what London foodies have become accomstumed to (well done Jo) and Charlene from Coventry and author of No Love Sincerer who like me, loves to share her culinary adventures. Lastly, but most definitely not least, was Wendy from Peters Yard, a producer of the finest tasting crispbreads I have ever tasted. Seriously!! Now you may hear the word crispbread and think of Ryvita or some other such cardboard tasting like brand, but trust me these are worlds away from that. Crunchy with a lovely savoury flavour and a lightness that can only come from the fact they are handmade. Wendy kindly brought samples for us to try with Brock Hall Farm goats cheese, which is the one of the nicest goats cheese I have had, subtle flavour and lovely creamy texture and with the added bonus that it is produced less than an hour away. The crispbreads were a perfect start to the meeting and I'm so glad Wendy brought a pack for us to take home with us so I can indulge some more!!

After a round of introductions and a natter we got down to some foodie business, kicking off with making some handmade pizzas to cook in the brick oven for which Tom had prepared the dough and we had all contributed to a range of toppings.

You can just see one of the pizzas cooking (it looks round so it's definitely not mine, as I could only manage a triangle!!), it only takes 3-4 minutes, and tasted divine!

Despite feeling a little full, we ventured onto an ecletic collection of desserts. Jo had made some Rocky Road (recipe on her blog here), a chocolatey delight that combines a little crunch with some gooey marshmallowness (is that a word?). Charlene had made her first ever batch of scones as if she was a seasoned WI lady, truly delicious!

I contributed with some carrot cake (a favourite of my family and friends), which I'm pleased to say went down well and was later describe by Tom with the following tweet
@Loafonline -I'd just like everyone to know that @louisesims makes the best carrot cake. That's all.

and highlighted on Charlenes blog about this very event.(check her article out as she has some fab pictures). Seen as it was well received I thought I would share the recipe. I think it is from a Womans Weekly cookbook but all I have is a photocopy page in my trusty recipe binder (so if anyone recognizes the recipe, please let me know so I can attribute it correctly)

Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
250ml of sunflower oil (I have used vegetable too and not noticed any difference)
225g light brown sugar
3 large eggs (or sometimes I use 4 normal size)
225g self-raising flour
large pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
250g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated.

Method:

Using an electric whisk, whisk the oil and sugar together to combine, and then whisk in eggs one at a a time.
Sift in flour, salt and spices over the mixture and fold in with a metal spoon so as not to knock the air out of it. Tip in carrots and fold in till all combined.
Then you can either divide the mixture into two 7inch sandwich tins or bake in one larger one (depends if you want to have a cream filling layer in the middle). Bake for 30-40 mins at 180C until a skewer comes out clean. (This may take a little longer if cooking just one cake,) leave in tins to cool for 10 mins, then tip out onto wire rack to finish cooling.
For the frosting combine 225g of cream cheese with 25g of icing sugar and a drop of vanilla extract.

Sorry no pictures to post of the cake as forgot before I went to event and then the leftovers had all been scoffed by hubby and sister before I got chance to take a picture. (May add a photo when I next bake it, which I'm sure won't be far away!).

So all in all it was a Saturday afternoon well spent with fellow foodie bloggers, eating delicious food, swopping foodie (and other) stories, and I for one can't wait till the next time.

Tortilla de patata perfected

2010-02-27T21:13:00.010Z

So it's been a while since my first post and before I get stuck into this one I feel I should tell you why. 2010 did not start out as planned, taken down by the sickness bug in the first few days and attacked by the dreaded "woman flu" made the first two months of 2010 hard. This was in addition to a hectic few weeks at work and a wedding invite order to do in my spare time, so it's been a struggle to keep on top of the housework let alone think of blogging!! I have however managed to try out some new recipes and have eaten some lovely food in past two months, but unfortunately none has been photographed or noted down to share.
However, the one thing that has been a regular item on the menu is the humble spanish tortilla, which I find a huge comfort at any time of the year. In winter it makes a perfect breakfast with a strong coffee and a huge hunk of crusty bread, in summer I like it with a simple tomato salad. It's also perfect as an item on a traditional spanish tapas menu, so versatile and so very tasty.

After living in Spain for a year and a half I came home with a huge love of the spanish tortilla. In Santander where I spent my first 6 months they have a regional speciality of creating toppings for the tortilla, whether it be simple like ham and cheese or something a little different like tuna or blue cheese. Furthermore, despite my well travelled antics across Spain I have never found anywhere serving it quite the same! My year in Madrid learned me to love the tortilla in it's simplest form and this is what I have been trying to recreate on my return home.

I set to work trying out various recipes, because whilst the ingredients are always the same; onion, potatoes and eggs, the method of preparation varies and seems to be the key to creating the perfect tortilla. Many of my first attempts lacked the mositness and flavour of the ones in Spain, being a little dry or bland. So after many practices I think I have now perfected it and patience is the key!

Ingredients:
700g of potatoes, I use desiree for their waxy texture and they're always readily available. Peeled and sliced thinly.
1 large spanish onion, sliced thinly and seperated into half moon shapes.
4 medium free-range eggs, beaten
salt and freshly ground pepper
6 tblsp olive oil

Method:

In a large frying pan gently heat 4 tblsp of oilve oil and place in all the potato and onion and slowly fry. Now this is the important bit as at first I tried to rush it but this where you build up all the flavour.The best is to take your time with this, I normally let it fry for about 40 mins and as the onion and smaller potato pieces turn golden brown and caramelised I remove them from the pan, and keep going till all of it has a golden colour.
Let the potato and onion mix cool slightly and then mix in the beaten eggs until the potatoes are coated in the egg. Season the mixture generously.
In a smaller non-stick frying pan heat the remaining oil and once hot pour in the potato mix. Again use a moderate heat and let it cook slowly. Once the eggs have started to set I tend to shake the pan so the tortilla doesn't stick and then once it looks set and safe to turn over, normally after about 5 minutes, place a plate over the pan and flip over so the tortilla is on the plate and then slide it back into pan on uncooked side to finish cooking for a couple of minutes. Turn out onto serving plate.

This is best served once left to cool and is better at room temperature rather than chilled. It will keep for a few days, though it never lasts that long in my house!

Festive Pheasant Terrine

2009-12-28T15:18:00.002Z

Well after receiving a few comments from fellow tweeters and craft bloggers alike (check out my craft blog at With a Personal Touch), I thought I'd have a go at posting details of some of my home cooking creations.

I love making terrines and find them a great way to share the lovely selection of game we receive from my husbands father. They always seem very popular with family and friends, to the point where I now recieve requests to make them.
The first terrine I ever made was a version of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstalls from the River Cottage Cookbook adjusting the game selection depending on what had been caught, but generally it included a mixture of rabbit, pigeon and pheasant. This is a very meaty affair with the only other flavourings being a hint of juniper and garlic.

Just before Christmas the father-in-law sent me home with over a kilo of pheasant meat and an order for a terrine for his Christmas hamper, so I thought rather than just following the HFW terrine with just one meat I thought I'd experiment with some alternative complimentary flavours. So I deliberated over pheasant and apricot? sounds nice but a bit too light and a hint of a summer feel to it. Perhaps pheasant and cranberry? festive and wintery perfect but maybe a little too like the Christmas dinner many will be having. Pheasant and Chestnut? Perfect!

Pheasant and Chestnut Terrine

Ingredients :
400g of phesant meat, ideally a mixture of breast and leg, chopped into small strips.
50g of butter
200g of onion finely chopped
3tsp of finely chopped sage
zest of one lemon chopped
1 clove of garlic crushed
1 large egg
50g of pork back fat
500g of good quality sausagemeat
2 tbsp brandy
2 slices of white bread blitzed into breadcrumbs
100g of chestnuts (I used the Merchant Gourmet pack of cooked and peeled) chopped into chunks
8 rashers of streaky bacon

To make the forecemeat

Heat the butter in a saute pan and gently fry the onions until soft and transparent. Mix through the lemon zest, garlic and sage and leave to cool.
Using a blender with the blade in, mix together the sausagemeat and back fat so that it forms a meaty paste. Add the onion mixture and mix. Then add the breadcrumbs to give it some texture, a splash of brandy, and finally the egg to bind. This is your cement-like forecmeat micture for the terrine

To make the terrine

Line a terrine or loaf tin with the rashers of streaky bacon, this works best when you have stretched the bacon with the back of a knife. leave enough of an overhang to fold over the top.
Place a layer of the forecmeat in the bottom, top with a layer of phesant and then repeat.
Fold over the overhanging bacon to envelop the meat mixture.
Cover the terrine with some foil and place in a roasting tin filled with hot water so that it is 3/4 up the terrine tin to cook at 180C / Gas Mark 3 for 1hr 40min
Test it is cooked by placing a skewer in and checking it is piping hot. Once cooked, you need to press it. I wrap a house brick up and place on top (just the right size) and leave to go completely cold.

Then refrigerate for a couple of days for the flavours to develop and enjoy. It is great with some homemade chutney and crusty bread.

Wow, well that's my first foodie post which I hope you'll enjoy reading, hopefully the next one won't take so long (took four hours to learn how to get photo's side by side!!) and can't wait to get creative and share again.