tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4857931154107523002024-02-08T05:48:48.413+00:00I Couldn't Possibly Eat a Whole One... oh, go on thenJoneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-84535612943615026792010-05-09T22:38:00.000+01:002010-05-09T22:38:32.732+01:00Yipps (My Baby Got The)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A few weeks ago I spent some time in various London restaurants photographing my food...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvEUs1BUQWySy8gJg_zupxfX-R4lcsa8A9yKLg6_witqVd1eRxzJeQPvb3L92BUmu0rm7Op8092p6vfnfnqT6OjsVww2kf3WTEcD4Kfr-8uMTxWfniA_cmMQO2fjRzNgXsvwZAjbUu_cK/s1600/ecclescake2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img title="the notorious Eccles Cake bunker" border="0" height="608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvEUs1BUQWySy8gJg_zupxfX-R4lcsa8A9yKLg6_witqVd1eRxzJeQPvb3L92BUmu0rm7Op8092p6vfnfnqT6OjsVww2kf3WTEcD4Kfr-8uMTxWfniA_cmMQO2fjRzNgXsvwZAjbUu_cK/s640/ecclescake2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">...although they were pretty odd photos. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1OxjtuATorJG8zbbaH2582tLZJBwLCAxQha7unYCygcKrjSStd8QEvpn35WeZ9A_74rcn0Yz51ujkD7ETpyCm7bQrvzM9_rX7DL7S8lDY5CeN0tYQkHn0PYpLWhEne2A9qiuwdIlzcAt/s1600/bonemarrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img title="the Bone Marrow crazy golf course" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1OxjtuATorJG8zbbaH2582tLZJBwLCAxQha7unYCygcKrjSStd8QEvpn35WeZ9A_74rcn0Yz51ujkD7ETpyCm7bQrvzM9_rX7DL7S8lDY5CeN0tYQkHn0PYpLWhEne2A9qiuwdIlzcAt/s640/bonemarrow.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">What was I up to?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3lhSds58Ha4sbSw2DdDz8mifHgP1km7-zM0WjIFtS2DkKgCTnKHO8VdH6GuFPqTbukpL5C2u-INglnNlD32p9sTEpMU59QeOMZzoe4Y2jEjAv49biiBjuDqhz5PM-wK4sTxfilIoeTCD/s1600/pho2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img title="Waiter, waiter, there's an eagle in my soup!" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3lhSds58Ha4sbSw2DdDz8mifHgP1km7-zM0WjIFtS2DkKgCTnKHO8VdH6GuFPqTbukpL5C2u-INglnNlD32p9sTEpMU59QeOMZzoe4Y2jEjAv49biiBjuDqhz5PM-wK4sTxfilIoeTCD/s640/pho2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Find out in issue 3 of Fire & Knives, out soon.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCL0VZraJcOYIuy_viuJBGlGpvMbKAty1AVOKjCmPcMC3VD-mKd1duvCI1FgjxHFSl9AQMM1a-gopAlxu1MZ3d98bPxKgOp_ko06H-FaD369zEadYZamU6V34Hgpp0BhZSXJh-AHfm4BWX/s1600/F&K_cover3-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCL0VZraJcOYIuy_viuJBGlGpvMbKAty1AVOKjCmPcMC3VD-mKd1duvCI1FgjxHFSl9AQMM1a-gopAlxu1MZ3d98bPxKgOp_ko06H-FaD369zEadYZamU6V34Hgpp0BhZSXJh-AHfm4BWX/s400/F&K_cover3-4.jpg" width="321" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I had a little </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://icouldnteatawholeone.blogspot.com/2009/12/fire-knives.html">gush about issue 1 here</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">More details, including subscriptions can be found on the <a href="http://fireandknives.com/">FIre & Knives website</a>.</span></span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-14702878523782613872010-04-29T18:00:00.000+01:002010-04-29T18:00:04.368+01:00Jim Haynes @ Fernandez & Leluu<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZA_dhx8noEyVOhwaXtP9byJu7L88ai78v813m1WuGVc62nJJeSKLA4KXyPvHH7hOHDMgG7JmQaCcGkZj2EA9zwt4IvICFo2-hqNaugqSierIFADaRwakYDuBqkO894tDOGIBi9FlxQgP/s1600/IMG_0153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZA_dhx8noEyVOhwaXtP9byJu7L88ai78v813m1WuGVc62nJJeSKLA4KXyPvHH7hOHDMgG7JmQaCcGkZj2EA9zwt4IvICFo2-hqNaugqSierIFADaRwakYDuBqkO894tDOGIBi9FlxQgP/s320/IMG_0153.jpg" title="Fernandez, Leluu and Jim yesterday" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">You may know </span><a href="http://www.jim-haynes.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Jim Haynes</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">. You might be one of the 130,000 people who've passed through his Paris atelier at one of his Sunday supper club nights over the last 34 years and if you're not, you may well recognise him from the recent </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjGAJDO666g"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">After Eight advertising</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> campaign. Although I knew the name and had a vague idea of the reputation of this American living in Paris as the 'Godfather of supper clubs' I was having a good wonder about what to expect as I made my way over to Fernandez & Leluu's supper club in Hackney for a one-off evening held in honour of the man himself. Just from following their twitter feed I already knew that Simon and Uyen (the Fernandez and Leluu respectively that were hosting the evening) had been through a week of peaks of excitement and troughs of panic several times on a daily basis such was the thrill and responsibility of being asked to host an evening for one of their heroes and inspirations for starting their own supper club.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Whatever the various scenarios I might have entertained, they all turned out to be bobbins. Rather than some uber-foodie revelling in the exalted status he'd earned, holding court to the hordes of us that had crammed in to meet him there was just a very genial old guy, amiably chatting away to anyone who said hello and looking vaguely embarrassed at all the fuss. He'd just got off the Eurostar an hour before and was heading back to Paris the next day but you'd have thought from talking to him that he'd just popped round the corner for a quick bite with his closest friends.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zG5PifvmmDrRLU_dlYe3euChhsuAUFoM8LWIhkzE3zsXHR_QzyWNvggPGpVgopLnjdYan4HYeAmehOrXyfMkv6oZRV3tIJqXdx88kowxNfvE4ZVXWdSAPvDbZN5fSSBKMLo7Ti8VpIE1/s1600/jim.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zG5PifvmmDrRLU_dlYe3euChhsuAUFoM8LWIhkzE3zsXHR_QzyWNvggPGpVgopLnjdYan4HYeAmehOrXyfMkv6oZRV3tIJqXdx88kowxNfvE4ZVXWdSAPvDbZN5fSSBKMLo7Ti8VpIE1/s400/jim.png" title="he's still got it, the old rogue" width="302" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">He's certainly led an interesting life, spending the 1960s swinging through Edinburgh, London and Amsterdam getting involved with starting up the Edinburgh Festival and various underground/alternative theatre groups and newspapers, before ending up in Paris as a professor of Media Studies and Sexual Politics for the next 30 years, where he started up his famous Sunday night supper clubs. The way he talks about his life and tells the stories, he gives the impression that a lot of things basically just happened to him - the university asked him to join them as a professor and he could teach whatever he wanted, he came up with media studies and sexual politics and they said fine, see you next term. His supper club started up because a friend of a friend that he was putting up as a favour insisted on cooking dinner one Sunday night, as a thankyou for his hospitality. It was such a success that everyone insisted on doing it again the next week, word got round and it all just snowballed.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">These are obviously all well-polished stories that Jim must have told countless times now, but when you meet him and spend some time talking to him you can really believe that things like this would just happen to him. He has a real gift for putting people at ease, a relaxed charm and a genuine interest in people that makes him a pleasure to talk with whether it's just the two of you or he's entertaining a whole room full of people, and it becomes easy to see how, for instance, a supper club would just spontaneously happen around him. His legendary supper club nights aren't much about the food, they're about the people and the good times. The food itself is a pretty random pot-luck depending on who Jim's got cooking for him that week - it's served buffet style, standing up so that everyone can properly mingle and meet everyone else, I'm sure it's more than just an afterthought but it's there to help get the party going and get people together, it's not the main reason for being there. His supper club cookbook is simply called "Throw a Great Party", it's not even written by Jim, it's written by 3 ladies who were inspired enough by his supper club evenings to want to put it together. </span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The food laid on by Simon and Uyen certainly wasn't an afterthought and they didn't make things easy for themselves - individual plates each holding an ambitious selection of starters were handed round by Uyen and her crack waitressing squad, no mean feat in itself given how many of us there were and how packed and chaotic the room was (we were standing as we ate, doing the evening Jim-style). As you've probably noticed by now I seem to have hit the video record button on my phone in my feeble attempt at snapping a quick pic of the starters, but hey ho. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYColMVYSQSTBoir47TL-7Pox16B5L4yrP4rD5XcW03oVvQ7lvFWr7qVG5gHodFZKSsdTXcl2SOtNsKCTI5Ii7Ya5yOeOAujMJViu0tYgIvjoQYIrJlVZFOKZKr57G-Eg1xEW76PxtaFA/s1600/Uyen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYColMVYSQSTBoir47TL-7Pox16B5L4yrP4rD5XcW03oVvQ7lvFWr7qVG5gHodFZKSsdTXcl2SOtNsKCTI5Ii7Ya5yOeOAujMJViu0tYgIvjoQYIrJlVZFOKZKr57G-Eg1xEW76PxtaFA/s400/Uyen.png" title="Uyen" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The highlights for me were a wonderfully fresh tasting, packed-to-bursting summer roll and a delicious meaty terrine. My attempt at getting a pic of the main course failed even harder but for the record it was generous cuts of tender tasty beef with some dinky baked potato and mushrooms, all really well done and again all individually plated and brought round to us all as we stood drinking and gossiping. If I remember correctly there was also a very lively pudding as well as a hard-working barman knocking out vast quantities of assorted cocktails and a garden full of wine and beer.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZfG1PetIjnU8wJ2BLZDqKan3RJ8UoGsIIoez72sMG6d_bU0BWsYo5seCurrhgIQfc7evIxMiiC5zMapPFx6ho23CMui3WqjEgSkoYvacHvyDhbXUbVHLKGMh8zG8EYBpwxFqiXTswq6R/s1600/DSC_0288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZfG1PetIjnU8wJ2BLZDqKan3RJ8UoGsIIoez72sMG6d_bU0BWsYo5seCurrhgIQfc7evIxMiiC5zMapPFx6ho23CMui3WqjEgSkoYvacHvyDhbXUbVHLKGMh8zG8EYBpwxFqiXTswq6R/s400/DSC_0288.jpg" title="Simon looking like he's either about to do something naughty or having just done something naughty" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The place really was packed out and with so many new people to meet and old acquaintances to catch up with a great evening was had by everyone there, Simon and Uyen were wonderful hosts and I think they would happily have kept the party going till the sun came up but the numbers dwindled as the TfL witching hour approached and eventually even those of us lucky enough to live nearby decided to stagger off into the night. I like to think Jim had a small, proud little smile on his mouth as he said his goodbyes, heading off to his hotel for the night and leaving us to carry on a party that he started all those years ago in Paris.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Special thanks to </span></span><a href="http://www.qype.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Qype</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and </span></span><a href="http://www.aftereight.co.uk/meet_jim/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After Eight</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> for organising the evening.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There are lots of other blog posts about the evening, in particular </span></span><a href="http://londoneater.com/2010/04/08/after-eight-with-jim-haynes-and-qype-fernandeznleluu/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">LondonEater</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and </span></span><a href="http://www.thelondonfoodie.co.uk/2010/04/london-underground-restaurant-jim.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">London Foodie</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> have a lot of photos, </span></span><a href="http://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/fernandez-and-leluu-and-jim-haynes/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tamarind & Thyme</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and </span></span><a href="http://www.tehbus.com/2010/04/original-supper-club-comes-to-town-jim.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A Rather Unusual Chinaman</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> have proper descriptions of the food and </span></span><a href="http://bbblog.org.uk/2010/04/supper-with-jim-haynes-and-fernandez-and-leelu/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Billy's Booze Blog</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> has a frighteningly comprehensive account of all the drinks we drank.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.fernandezandleluu.co.uk/2010/03/meet-jim-haynes.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Fernandez & Leluu's blog</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> has their own write up of the evening, as well as details of all their forthcoming supper club nights.</span></span></div>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-74202340988599961102010-04-15T09:17:00.001+01:002010-04-16T23:37:17.212+01:00Asparagus Woody Ends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqYbEKesSuMJ1XDl2w8deNy7v8ZqkqS94tQoPAhZ3z6crbhw4Z7jh3kMIg9fqlYBs5Jx8DyJ_1jwWijZ6gcfl9-kLVKjdMslDVQ_ac7EM5t5MXk4OhnJgs6zsQekVD4-ycJnnRnqZGzzo/s1600/DSC_0310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqYbEKesSuMJ1XDl2w8deNy7v8ZqkqS94tQoPAhZ3z6crbhw4Z7jh3kMIg9fqlYBs5Jx8DyJ_1jwWijZ6gcfl9-kLVKjdMslDVQ_ac7EM5t5MXk4OhnJgs6zsQekVD4-ycJnnRnqZGzzo/s320/DSC_0310.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It's the start of asparagus season! This means of course that for the next few weeks we have a mardi gras of celebrity chefs on our TVs demonstrating how to fondle our way along an asparagus stalk and snap off the woody end from the bottom, telling us how it will naturally snap at just the right spot to leave you with a perfect spear to eat. I've long suspected this was bollocks and was very pleased to read food science guru </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/dining/06curi.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Harold McGee confirming exactly that</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">: there's no magic snapping point that a spear will tell you about, no matter how much flexing and caressing it gets. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The good news - especially given the price of English asparagus - is that a lot more of an asparagus stalk is edible than is generally believed, you just need to chop it up: the fibres that get progressively longer and tougher as you work your way down the stalk giving the unpleasant chewy, woody character all lie in the direction of the spear, slicing it into thin disks renders them into perfectly edible and tasty little slices. Harold didn't seem too bothered about actually doing anything with the asparagus ends after he'd chopped them up beyond eating the little disks raw and sprinkling them on top of more asparagus so I thought I'd have a go.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>Asparagus and sorrel tart</b></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaopP9J9qNV9D_xN-ACnvC8MKdz8TVvV9KZ53xeOPGm0B4sr6UMyFUUpbmgT7jMxD_Nk5Keu86PrSrLxt7WluB5qWxddkcPYP9jtaqorcl-_bDRAPciPI9lbw60Jx9hzO8SNP4jCblyDPu/s1600/DSC_0300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaopP9J9qNV9D_xN-ACnvC8MKdz8TVvV9KZ53xeOPGm0B4sr6UMyFUUpbmgT7jMxD_Nk5Keu86PrSrLxt7WluB5qWxddkcPYP9jtaqorcl-_bDRAPciPI9lbw60Jx9hzO8SNP4jCblyDPu/s400/DSC_0300.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Lots of little asparagus slices add a nice contrast to the creamy texture of this tart, as well as filling it out with lots of asparagus flavour. Sorrel isn't the easiest herb to get hold of but there's plenty of it around at this time of year if you have a good look around at the markets. Its grassy, fresh citrus flavour goes well with the cheesy eggy asparagusy filling and really make this dish.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">for the pastry (you can buy shortcrust pastry but there's nothing quite like homemade, plus you get to put loads of cheese in it which makes a difference):</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">25g each of butter and lard</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">100g plain flour</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">big handful of grated gruyere cheese</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Put the oven on at 180, rub the fat into the flour then add the cheese and a pinch of salt, then just enough cold water (I add it a teaspoon at a time, should only need 2 or 3) to form a smooth dough ball. Put it in the fridge in a plastic bag for half an hour, then roll it out and line a 19cm flan tin with it. Ideally you'd have one of those shallow ones with fluted edges, I don't, any kind of cake tin about that size will do, you'll just end up with rather wonky looking bits of crust coming up round the edges. Some people may consider this appearance amateurish, I like to think of it as homely. Prick the base all over with a fork then bake for 20 minutes, take out of the oven and brush it lightly with some beaten egg (if like me you've not got a brush improvise with a few sorrel leaves) and give it another 5 or so minutes in the oven to glaze.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUG9JvBxk7y74INBFLvrV-IAtnvhO3J7P2gj_CLZFuSpbjrffFNxKrV9PLWjFxBILq2lMIuqZ9qEj3cE1MycLpGsE1KGRjd_FKAJ_tOlsRgwcHcwonQW1XB2EGjzVmDlZfW0HjzIpx5ywY/s1600/DSC_0305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUG9JvBxk7y74INBFLvrV-IAtnvhO3J7P2gj_CLZFuSpbjrffFNxKrV9PLWjFxBILq2lMIuqZ9qEj3cE1MycLpGsE1KGRjd_FKAJ_tOlsRgwcHcwonQW1XB2EGjzVmDlZfW0HjzIpx5ywY/s400/DSC_0305.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">for the filling:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">about 6-8 spears asparagus</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">2 handfuls grated gruyere cheese</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1 handful grated parmesan cheese</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1 big handful sorrel leaves</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">3 medium size eggs</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1 tub single cream (about 300ml)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Beat the eggs together with the cream and the gruyere and salt and pepper. Roughly chop the sorrel leaves, some stalks are fine but remove the larger ones. Take the asparagus and slice off the really gnarled woody bits at the bottom, probably about 1 inch. Then do that flexy caressy thing with each spear as if you were going to snap it like they do on the telly and slice it in half about 1-2 inches above where it would have snapped and slice the bottom half into thin little disks just a few millimetres thick. Steam or boil the asparagus tips for about 3 minutes (you just want to half-cook them) then add the little disks for another 30 seconds. Pat the little disks dry and put them in the bottom of the pastry case, pour the egg/cream/cheese mixture over the top then sprinkle the chopped sorrel leaves over and arrange the tips of the spears in it to your liking. You might want to chop them in half once more, whatever. Sprinkle the grated parmesan over the top and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes till the filling is set.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>Crabmeat on toast</b></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxq2NOPU2EcrCrMAL1xFpNRBZQdoTX6n9QA3_zD4OdeR9qfLepHxLAVjWXxcFIvf3SsPj7iLbveAetmq4NpgZzlAll_mKrWkdoe3Z3cZkDn-9i25B_nQEFSLPx2E8i3z1sQ3xBwPs44rCK/s1600/DSC_0317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxq2NOPU2EcrCrMAL1xFpNRBZQdoTX6n9QA3_zD4OdeR9qfLepHxLAVjWXxcFIvf3SsPj7iLbveAetmq4NpgZzlAll_mKrWkdoe3Z3cZkDn-9i25B_nQEFSLPx2E8i3z1sQ3xBwPs44rCK/s400/DSC_0317.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Take a mixture of white and brown crabmeat, add a tablespoon or two of mayonnaise, a little squirt of lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper, season to taste and mix together. Stir in a couple of handfuls of little disks of asparagus stem, either raw and crunchy or that have been boiled/steamed briefly for 30 seconds. Serve on toasted slices of sourdough. I suspect the little asparagus slices would make pretty good croutons in a crab bisque type affair as well.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One other tip from Harold McGee's original article if you can't be arsed reading it - short fat spears give the greatest ratio of tender to stringy. Apparently some heritage varieties grew to 2 inches in diameter and a pound in weight.</span></span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-12506119834976570942010-04-08T11:12:00.001+01:002010-04-08T11:14:36.590+01:00Towpath<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxcIpoy9i1u-tF1PeSe_AvWbkHxmoIa405OCXWVW6K34WYeIBRUqbSxjIr6UFsQwtaCrq0mChdTQiWwExogr-cOMN0VmAIwdAxVtHYaQ22-Jy98_YAwK2eB0npwWZZAei3E-AjD7TyPnW/s1600/DSC_0271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxcIpoy9i1u-tF1PeSe_AvWbkHxmoIa405OCXWVW6K34WYeIBRUqbSxjIr6UFsQwtaCrq0mChdTQiWwExogr-cOMN0VmAIwdAxVtHYaQ22-Jy98_YAwK2eB0npwWZZAei3E-AjD7TyPnW/s320/DSC_0271.jpg" title="the towpath, yesterday" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The Regent's Canal from Angel down through Hackney to Victoria Park can be a pretty stressful route if you're not on the water. Cyclists, joggers and pedestrians whizz/run/waddle along the narrow towpath in both directions navigating each other in an uneasy cease-fire marked by the constant ringing of bike bells and the nervous roulette of when to dart down the even narrower paths under the bridges. I'm surprised I've never seen anyone fall/dive/get pushed into the canal itself, especially on sunny weekends, but if you find yourself between the Kingsland Road and Whitmore Road bridges and about to become part of a cyclist/jogger sandwich instead of diving into the canal or the nettles you can dive into a lovely little cafe nestling on the canal towpath called, erm, Towpath.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FjfImheV6Amc8x0szeVfgPKxAuGvMjUV4VxEPRZg_97QXDlIxgDph2HPNHlD74ySCgbMg80spOdaoVqB1ZFvYgLIfyyUZfdon0uzS1InL-IuS6riQ73uutiVjrZ1TIQN7jP9FSycTUuO/s1600/DSC_0158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FjfImheV6Amc8x0szeVfgPKxAuGvMjUV4VxEPRZg_97QXDlIxgDph2HPNHlD74ySCgbMg80spOdaoVqB1ZFvYgLIfyyUZfdon0uzS1InL-IuS6riQ73uutiVjrZ1TIQN7jP9FSycTUuO/s640/DSC_0158.jpg" title="practicing my action shots for the olympics" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It really is pretty tiny, set in a couple of shallow recesses in the wall of an old warehouse one of which is the kitchen/service counter, the other with seating and a big communal table. Importantly, given the recent weather, it also has a couple of decent space heaters in the ceiling and it's set back and sheltered enough from the canal to avoid the chill wind that's been blowing down it the last few weeks. Defiant optimism in the appearance of summer sun means there's some tables and chairs outside too.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAopKf8n6TABbJhTaJiDrQFnfh8qR9zJUpT2oTB1WyvhepKSvhLV2HQW1go7EuqHyHHksauFNI8lCZ0wE43hJUbgkiTaIA0NbiUo2TUf8b-Fe_ywGaHar7pGhRf-qsn7PEvCGXMqNKEGD/s1600/DSC_0262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAopKf8n6TABbJhTaJiDrQFnfh8qR9zJUpT2oTB1WyvhepKSvhLV2HQW1go7EuqHyHHksauFNI8lCZ0wE43hJUbgkiTaIA0NbiUo2TUf8b-Fe_ywGaHar7pGhRf-qsn7PEvCGXMqNKEGD/s640/DSC_0262.jpg" title="just out of shot: very welcome space heaters hanging from the roof" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Given the lack of kitchen space the menu isn't a huge one but there's a breakfast and a lunch menu that both change each day, although I'm happy to report that their grilled cheese sandwich appears to be a permanent fixture on both menus. Breakfast is up until 11.30 with the likes of porridge with poached fruit, granola, the grilled cheese sandwich, cakes and toast. Lunch consists of salads, soups, rillettes, bruschettas, grilled cheese sandwich (ahem) and more cakes and sweet things.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXpCVPM9W2mVLtvHmfXu5QBxCAYmtnOcg6EEtO5j-KcdxAO-iDxtq3FlpD4kHsLjYIc2MfszfWZnHw1oZXH8OfhXpN7nCyQ2npFSvcjN_EMsfF9IMJt3I7seLlqU7_Z42p9N81EE8Xmr9/s1600/DSC_0148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXpCVPM9W2mVLtvHmfXu5QBxCAYmtnOcg6EEtO5j-KcdxAO-iDxtq3FlpD4kHsLjYIc2MfszfWZnHw1oZXH8OfhXpN7nCyQ2npFSvcjN_EMsfF9IMJt3I7seLlqU7_Z42p9N81EE8Xmr9/s640/DSC_0148.jpg" title="grilled cheese sandwich, worth fighting your way down the canal for on its own" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">There's obviously a lot of care and attention that goes into everything they make here that tells in the details, the grilled cheese sandwich is made with great bread and small slivers of spring onion nestling in the melted cheese. It comes with a homemade quince jam on the side (the last of their batch from the autumn, have to see what they replace it with) and the tasty rillettes are accompanied by a very nice crunchy homemade picalilli, the coffee and hot chocolate are well made and in amongst the cakes there are little bite-sized chocolate truffles and meringues (3 for a £1) for a quick sweet snack.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3v8dKl1ak7WYA4Ozx18vCLtFVvuqV7KbO4wG6SVdT0hYo1RESXpp9FmCgwUzNT43HX5-jOgYB61-tzeopmLiYO3JsKz5YmcjNAkk-BZPs6bfNmVRFsCV-VAbPnvRKgqT7R3rURBggFuj/s1600/DSC_0265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3v8dKl1ak7WYA4Ozx18vCLtFVvuqV7KbO4wG6SVdT0hYo1RESXpp9FmCgwUzNT43HX5-jOgYB61-tzeopmLiYO3JsKz5YmcjNAkk-BZPs6bfNmVRFsCV-VAbPnvRKgqT7R3rURBggFuj/s640/DSC_0265.jpg" title="lovely hot chocolate with a lovely green canal in the background" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It's pretty much at the mercy of the weather, I've been there when it's been cold and rainy and had the whole cafe to myself but at the hint of any sunshine it's a popular place and fills out quickly. They've just been granted their wine licence so plans are afoot to start staying open later into the evenings for dinner. It's only going to get more popular as the summer approaches, and deservedly so.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPom3U3v-r9ox_p8qchx-VBhJ8bRLstz6jtetDKH4lgoG7WQHVFWa8HOy9PeNCYXCqSv2YWnnLDd1roMrfcc-u_6xAYCJSUXQWhnUlKSIBMnnlBgpnQLURAmzXspw87H1_tm-zeZRLUBF/s1600/DSC_0140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPom3U3v-r9ox_p8qchx-VBhJ8bRLstz6jtetDKH4lgoG7WQHVFWa8HOy9PeNCYXCqSv2YWnnLDd1roMrfcc-u_6xAYCJSUXQWhnUlKSIBMnnlBgpnQLURAmzXspw87H1_tm-zeZRLUBF/s640/DSC_0140.jpg" title="god knows what this is doing on the other side of the canal" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-fi_I1euS7h5uYGuClgYtkxl0zQE6RHYShz-pJj0zJ0GF3B9L75BVP9sjgbVrgOifQy-1zINQl_UDWWVXf4ARaOQQFvHBaMF2m1oMTNfOJlqtkxjAtqgpyB1-glKLE6XsvjODjoSQ6_P/s1600/DSC_0162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-fi_I1euS7h5uYGuClgYtkxl0zQE6RHYShz-pJj0zJ0GF3B9L75BVP9sjgbVrgOifQy-1zINQl_UDWWVXf4ARaOQQFvHBaMF2m1oMTNfOJlqtkxjAtqgpyB1-glKLE6XsvjODjoSQ6_P/s640/DSC_0162.jpg" title="Canal Wall. The graffiti isn't supposed to part of it, that's what the man's painting over" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Between the cafe and the Kingsland Road bridge is an art installation called <a href="http://www.isendyouthis.com/exhibitions-list.aspx?id=105137">Canal Wall by Yuko Shiraishi</a>, an artist who's had a studio by the canal for the last 20 years. That's the 70 metre long wall painted in different colours, not the car.</span></span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-44551267371406639372010-04-01T00:07:00.001+01:002010-04-01T00:15:01.505+01:00Pret's New Mayo Stuffed Crust Sandwich<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksZ8fcG8NYT07BIj7AJAfQZIzjUhU0twoSlW_w6h6Sbl4zBxN-zU4kFcFzCC5TTHVP10ZHAtzLqqIVwURT6ass8CE6WY6gDcXR7rQB1ZAhFa8uLr1tQjAOQvoCZCZ4SmsQy1ibaZs70PA/s1600/DSC_0130.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksZ8fcG8NYT07BIj7AJAfQZIzjUhU0twoSlW_w6h6Sbl4zBxN-zU4kFcFzCC5TTHVP10ZHAtzLqqIVwURT6ass8CE6WY6gDcXR7rQB1ZAhFa8uLr1tQjAOQvoCZCZ4SmsQy1ibaZs70PA/s320/DSC_0130.png" title="Pret, yesterday" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We all know Pret and we all love Pret sandwiches. What really sets them apart from the competition in the high-stakes world of office worker lunches is their special mayonnaise, made to their own recipe and then pumped in generous quantities into almost every single thing on their shelves. It's also cleverly used as the basis for a range of other sauces to take their sandwiches to the next level when the opportunity presents itself, a ham sandwich is elegantly elevated by the application of mustardaise; the addition of a few clever extras produce a sauce to take their Chicken Caesar sangers to legendary status. You can imagine my excitement then at finally getting my hands on an example of their latest experiments in mayonnaise delivery, one of the much-anticipated new Mayo Stuffed Crusts.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nBQpq8M5fXeTkkvrayViZ8rG71cHlEX0dLdx_7b_sMn96EcjunSyeyQsDn0I-IaUIHdnmmTkGmLEcSMjofTuolfb4WZRQyXoqZRaKcEP1AFWI6Yrwg7iLnzUc3OTNvHIawg5NKoo_yCd/s1600/DSC_0218.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nBQpq8M5fXeTkkvrayViZ8rG71cHlEX0dLdx_7b_sMn96EcjunSyeyQsDn0I-IaUIHdnmmTkGmLEcSMjofTuolfb4WZRQyXoqZRaKcEP1AFWI6Yrwg7iLnzUc3OTNvHIawg5NKoo_yCd/s400/DSC_0218.png" title="spot the mussels" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The first of their new line is the corned beef, mussels and mozzarella number, a generous and brave combination that is brought together into an harmonious whole with judicious application of their regular mayo but then taken to game-changing new heights by a stuffed crust containing delightful bursts of tomatotartaraise, a witty modern take on the classic tartar sauce. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvoSftMQVsx3pr7ehjB1oKs9gbpctlPtIizIzSxUXefD7-G2UQqwYh6NlaeUckmPSmVCRoNvb8YNAZdi0czOKyVkiiamZNc7a1yqLNuJq0DGKimD0gTPS6GaXFCDuH9AYOpuPKSJ6suke/s1600/DSC_0232.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvoSftMQVsx3pr7ehjB1oKs9gbpctlPtIizIzSxUXefD7-G2UQqwYh6NlaeUckmPSmVCRoNvb8YNAZdi0czOKyVkiiamZNc7a1yqLNuJq0DGKimD0gTPS6GaXFCDuH9AYOpuPKSJ6suke/s640/DSC_0232.png" title="now that's a sandwich" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Using their regular mayo as a base, it's then sharpened and salted with lemon juice, capers and Heinz salad cream before being blitzed with tomato puree to form a thick unctuous counterpoint to the delicate meaty seafood filling, moistened with everyone's favourite gooey moz. A treat indeed.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYzEme-O2zz1BWzisDEvep9PE8dQvT0tQszH6UGEdweK5dlkFEQgG0HxTlVBv0mQPtD8dqFs-SS7oXfbW1AnlPrTn81ddSpuhw26fc6oMlRHjmcGsrArB_1tvD8WemDov8OpymJ01CD6C/s1600/DSC_0236.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYzEme-O2zz1BWzisDEvep9PE8dQvT0tQszH6UGEdweK5dlkFEQgG0HxTlVBv0mQPtD8dqFs-SS7oXfbW1AnlPrTn81ddSpuhw26fc6oMlRHjmcGsrArB_1tvD8WemDov8OpymJ01CD6C/s640/DSC_0236.png" title="only thing missing is some vaseline on the lens" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Next to hit the shelves is the much anticipated black pudding, smoked cheddar and mushy peas between slices of artisan sourdough, the stuffed crust full of appleaise promising to cut through the spicy richness of the hoummustardaise in the sandwich without overpowering the subtle combination of the filling ingredients themselves. Also in the pipeline is the first of their new Best of British range of classic butties, expect to see their traditional Stargazey baguette with samphireaise in the shops soon. I really cannot wait.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wOBv15uOpvILDauLpGdFIxBeehjVBBYXzq7oj3D_rgAIGo7rUJG9AZ6yfpXbAkDuBynu9kOgVeRnQYFb9kE1D5AvyI7ZAjFHHg-jvMzv43_eOCPxtVKLGnoW6tb7xNCJsR2lPSsz3s5j/s1600/DSC_0255.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wOBv15uOpvILDauLpGdFIxBeehjVBBYXzq7oj3D_rgAIGo7rUJG9AZ6yfpXbAkDuBynu9kOgVeRnQYFb9kE1D5AvyI7ZAjFHHg-jvMzv43_eOCPxtVKLGnoW6tb7xNCJsR2lPSsz3s5j/s640/DSC_0255.png" title="yum!" width="640" /></a></div>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-85226591069938479572010-03-08T13:40:00.000+00:002010-03-08T13:46:40.048+00:00Molecular Gastronomy Cocktails: Paul Tvaroh and Ben Greeno @ The Loft<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijeiYdS8KwPwM9ncaH8lrRrRbN890IRszz_rPSCvDBSIOhHFocmA1FwMJvK_MJNxeSvSYBwe6FqnB7o4FB3I4TIi808trtofUbsuJFGIJqecF1Y4N9sf7UwOpvrKg3OjKe2BRCiRK06QhC/s1600-h/DSC_0049_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijeiYdS8KwPwM9ncaH8lrRrRbN890IRszz_rPSCvDBSIOhHFocmA1FwMJvK_MJNxeSvSYBwe6FqnB7o4FB3I4TIi808trtofUbsuJFGIJqecF1Y4N9sf7UwOpvrKg3OjKe2BRCiRK06QhC/s320/DSC_0049_2_2.jpg" title="Paul Tvaroh and Ben Greeno at the Loft yesterday" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The Loft Project is a supper club in Hackney. It's rather different to most of the supper clubs that have sprung up in the last year or two in that it's not run by enthusiastic amateurs in their home, it's run by Nuno Mendes - a chef famous for his </span><a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/futureoffood/story/0,,1969448,00.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">creative sous vide cooking at Bacchus</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> - as a place he can experiment with new dishes and test them on a small but willing (and paying) audience. Mendes has a new restaurant opening soon (</span><a href="http://www.viajante.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Viajante</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> in Bethnal Green) so the ovens at the Loft have recently been manned by guest chefs taking up residency to show what they can do, and one night last week chef Ben Greeno bravely rose to the challenge of cooking to match 11 courses of molecular gastronomy cocktails from Paul Tvaroh.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Molecular gastronomy is a bit of a fancypants name, and not one I like very much; every generation has it's creative and inquisitive food-and-drink obsessives and ours seem to have taken on this label for their endeavours. You could certainly label Paul creative and inquisitive, I've written about the drinks at his bar Lounge Bohemia before, I wouldn't presume to call him obsessive but it wouldn't surprise me after seeing this evening's line-up. Ben is a chef with a very impressive list of restaurants on his CV including Noma in Copenhagen and the Momofoku restaurants in New York.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpSV5D1u3GMm5mxhNP-dl5Giak7tTJWzNGrPGgxW58aAM3pJ6NNXXBhoJ4KWe_4mDVfMg3CHVrUknCr0L_YZrz154OmIzuNC5-jNYbSCDj204e0Tv5TulKmixhemC_CEyUhGpEqXsHd-R/s1600-h/DSC_0003_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpSV5D1u3GMm5mxhNP-dl5Giak7tTJWzNGrPGgxW58aAM3pJ6NNXXBhoJ4KWe_4mDVfMg3CHVrUknCr0L_YZrz154OmIzuNC5-jNYbSCDj204e0Tv5TulKmixhemC_CEyUhGpEqXsHd-R/s400/DSC_0003_2_2.jpg" width="297" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">To start, we were greeted with a 'palate cleanser' of black-pepper infused vodka with elderflower cordial and lemon juice as introductions were made and we chatted with our fellow diners. Expertly judged it certainly cleansed the palate and whet the appetite, it would also prove to be the only drink of the night that you'd pick out as a cocktail in an identity parade. Anticipation was high as we took our seats.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsMvYAmspB5-ANLvl6AcE0kQ4xSnHBxEytlx0GB0WhyphenhyphenmWi64xIV1RO8rwVDv2RDeOhTu8zXzvY2N9lgzxqZhhJLIME27ErSu3m6HeDYcOS0DVL1VvxRjWaK9v9I1krxOHgqkbMsntf8F4/s1600-h/DSC_0004_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsMvYAmspB5-ANLvl6AcE0kQ4xSnHBxEytlx0GB0WhyphenhyphenmWi64xIV1RO8rwVDv2RDeOhTu8zXzvY2N9lgzxqZhhJLIME27ErSu3m6HeDYcOS0DVL1VvxRjWaK9v9I1krxOHgqkbMsntf8F4/s640/DSC_0004_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Our first course was a G&T (of course!) this was cucumber infused gin with quinine cordial and carbon dioxide set into rather beautiful crystalline-looking, wobbly jellied cubes. These had a remarkable fizz on the tongue as you bit into them, cleverly recreating the G&T in your mouth with the bitter quinine finish and a pleasing alcoholic kick too.</span></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1j5HMGBknfA8hEPThigWlS1vkU9beiS0KzkbxtVL1wj-CAYx9kXVRor9ZZ3J6czWO8MksdwCvs2nHDWCH9gIM0C26klITgerlqrVA5722p2ODg9YmFmi_bhO4g0Mf1ogh1jC6K_2ZyVxl/s1600-h/DSC_0006_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">This was paired with an oyster, topped with buttermilk and a rhubarb granita. Oysters are something I hate to see people fannying about with but this worked surprisingly well to my mind, the granita dissolving quickly and coldly in the mouth, leaving the creamy oyster and buttermilk behind.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf3qx6lL9pHW8hcR0MNmbrPL2NQJiWZI_25UpJAVARxviiRuGtYa9BD6I9mJ8t-DgqN8iL_FA4xCpvFeILTrbHX-3qb4u1971VGQXZk2IqVODzWZ2YgxA0dyJc4x9u-LeV7yLkEhckiODA/s1600-h/DSC_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf3qx6lL9pHW8hcR0MNmbrPL2NQJiWZI_25UpJAVARxviiRuGtYa9BD6I9mJ8t-DgqN8iL_FA4xCpvFeILTrbHX-3qb4u1971VGQXZk2IqVODzWZ2YgxA0dyJc4x9u-LeV7yLkEhckiODA/s640/DSC_0008.jpg" title="the picture on the caviar tin lids is the Lounge Bohemia logo with a reclining blue sturgeon added to it. Very cute" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Next up was a cocktail of 'Caviar', little balls of mango infused vodka with mango juice and rose syrup...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji7aeruEcP2drNIUUXauG_HZX90OaxSrZF9If8Twgux5vvKjkK22wTpXGMtg2VLs1LGp4E7OKPRWuBrDB0gREYbELLZN5CDfEBLmuvpMmwTE8hvfCpgiVcXO6pUjR1kL8yynzJFhOefXY7/s1600-h/DSC_0010_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji7aeruEcP2drNIUUXauG_HZX90OaxSrZF9If8Twgux5vvKjkK22wTpXGMtg2VLs1LGp4E7OKPRWuBrDB0gREYbELLZN5CDfEBLmuvpMmwTE8hvfCpgiVcXO6pUjR1kL8yynzJFhOefXY7/s640/DSC_0010_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">...which was paired with grilled prawns and caramelised mango, the prawns beautifully sweet with a charred smokiness.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBUxcisiZgoSWA8KZFcpn5b6IuifEO-fkRdkwNQcl-9DC8umk3_tnU9dT1VE9I0Yqjl3iLbxJmS2YsDkE1QZpGN7tnP_uozQqzish6UUXb9vcCyA4nhe-Yw3aXhwF0Qaeen93mKLvDhQs/s1600-h/DSC_0012_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBUxcisiZgoSWA8KZFcpn5b6IuifEO-fkRdkwNQcl-9DC8umk3_tnU9dT1VE9I0Yqjl3iLbxJmS2YsDkE1QZpGN7tnP_uozQqzish6UUXb9vcCyA4nhe-Yw3aXhwF0Qaeen93mKLvDhQs/s640/DSC_0012_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Then an entertaining swipe at recreating the classic champagne cocktail: a glass of Chardonnay and brandy, sweetened with sugar and angosturas bitters was served with 'fizzy grapes': grapes infused with brandy and bitters. We were instructed to put one of the grapes in our mouth before taking a sip of the drink and then biting into the grape, and a lot of fun it all was too. The grapes themselves were quite amazing, infused and marinated into something very different in both taste and texture, I'd buy jars of them if I could.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVigSDI1jEzMw92_xWHTNmdFK7nC4w6WSstlgczQjUbv00fXHYK3mjGzWlacOa6H_7baZ_f4WIhYjX-ZtYIW4N1QTengihykK5qul6Oa0oXShj534bcL8IDl0UBVHJo-OkYoXFRS3hSTIG/s1600-h/DSC_0014_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVigSDI1jEzMw92_xWHTNmdFK7nC4w6WSstlgczQjUbv00fXHYK3mjGzWlacOa6H_7baZ_f4WIhYjX-ZtYIW4N1QTengihykK5qul6Oa0oXShj534bcL8IDl0UBVHJo-OkYoXFRS3hSTIG/s640/DSC_0014_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">This was matched with a roasted scallop with pickled grapes and pistachio. The grapes here were more like umeboshi plums after Ben had finished pickling them in red wine vinegar, the scallop thick, sweet and perfect.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcntJPO5wackv10BVpcNLYfNPuQuvpp8vbEIR_0NvS1FUo1eoeVCk-rltXBrHb-2W1-Ksh8BPY1DqsGRQN2a3yYTHOAL_1J_yWP2wXJUKPfW6kYFtWtC47_ocn8oRujR2st087GXK9Hmde/s1600-h/DSC_0016_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcntJPO5wackv10BVpcNLYfNPuQuvpp8vbEIR_0NvS1FUo1eoeVCk-rltXBrHb-2W1-Ksh8BPY1DqsGRQN2a3yYTHOAL_1J_yWP2wXJUKPfW6kYFtWtC47_ocn8oRujR2st087GXK9Hmde/s640/DSC_0016_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Next up was a cocktail of 'Japanese light lunch', cucumber chunks infused with vodka, 'soba noodles' made from poppy seed and biscuit infused vodka and a black pepper infused vodka with wasabi. The cucumbers tasted extremely alcoholic and somewhat harsh, the noodles the opposite although the reverse was true, we were informed. We were instructed to down the little pot of vodka and wasabi in one. I've eaten a lot of Japanese food but I've never had a lunch that left me feeling I'd just been punched in the face.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSKIZ7py4zhQEcNgbkqkB9-S-7iMpqS6G0B49ZvFuEq2GRDUXquTubdLLAK5MznHcFV5j2RQx8lQ_w8uRVC_Zfi7PFlWumfaxi-ju2KhNKm0apATQ8VbV31nbCfEqTX-X03TI43ftExsn/s1600-h/DSC_0017_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSKIZ7py4zhQEcNgbkqkB9-S-7iMpqS6G0B49ZvFuEq2GRDUXquTubdLLAK5MznHcFV5j2RQx8lQ_w8uRVC_Zfi7PFlWumfaxi-ju2KhNKm0apATQ8VbV31nbCfEqTX-X03TI43ftExsn/s640/DSC_0017_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">This came with a piece of salmon and three different types of radish, the salmon cooked sous vide with soy and sesame giving it a remarkable, soft texture that was delicious but I'm struggling to describe it without making it sound gross so I'll stop trying.</span></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Campari and soda was next, a fluffy ball of campari candy floss that you bundled into your mouth followed by a swig of club soda and then sit there looking wide-eyed at your dining companions whilst a party rages in your mouth.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Followed by a piece of mackerel with fennel and blood orange. The little fennel flower with this really sticks in my mind, such a delicate little tiny thing, it packed a real punch of fennel flavour.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPo3Y2Wh7fdKAlqhW_5tF3cRrJR9nkxqkaP0nphMRHPby56FyuZUe_8jx3Tuyawa_Rq9E_yMICrFvtu2jjEZyKB5HBGDEPMw00nkMa1c0wtyMN8Kg2ZIzVgQpLxdluIT1LvRLRwML8CfY/s1600-h/DSC_0021_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPo3Y2Wh7fdKAlqhW_5tF3cRrJR9nkxqkaP0nphMRHPby56FyuZUe_8jx3Tuyawa_Rq9E_yMICrFvtu2jjEZyKB5HBGDEPMw00nkMa1c0wtyMN8Kg2ZIzVgQpLxdluIT1LvRLRwML8CfY/s640/DSC_0021_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Then a margarita - tequila, lime juice and agave syrup that had been turned into one big foam and was served in dainty little cut-out limes.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yc-DY8uyq3coEyjQnklevUJUJsK_pc-I1fmFB1DtakKj77HZChBxadxv_SIeLz6o296ChxvnGVIZqcLQEQ9e4JbiWgflmsRemWdXSfvPknayPgvnf5sNICFHjQgP096ytZavFIDbrb0t/s1600-h/DSC_0024_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yc-DY8uyq3coEyjQnklevUJUJsK_pc-I1fmFB1DtakKj77HZChBxadxv_SIeLz6o296ChxvnGVIZqcLQEQ9e4JbiWgflmsRemWdXSfvPknayPgvnf5sNICFHjQgP096ytZavFIDbrb0t/s640/DSC_0024_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A dish of quail and coriander with an intense, delicious sweetcorn puree. At this point we needed to open the main door for a few minutes, I think cooking the prawns and the quails had proved a bit too much for the domestic-standard extraction hood in the open-plan kitchen.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMxAFy8TNsj52P6rZk4Xrqkcscz8YsarMthLC1hWxRQoCiohek6kCwyeTPGhKWTHkW3lcgTZSZ5fdkYOcOsiBz6uTmzYfbrFFYQDdVtPtoqVW78TjR_lxC7QGZvC2zVZGeNkCNnCSOEck/s1600-h/DSC_0025_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMxAFy8TNsj52P6rZk4Xrqkcscz8YsarMthLC1hWxRQoCiohek6kCwyeTPGhKWTHkW3lcgTZSZ5fdkYOcOsiBz6uTmzYfbrFFYQDdVtPtoqVW78TjR_lxC7QGZvC2zVZGeNkCNnCSOEck/s640/DSC_0025_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Now it was time for "cleaning the teeth", a toothpaste tube of minted rum, green peas and a white chocolate liquer. You pierced the silver foil of the tube and just squirted it all into your mouth, I wish I'd taken more photos here of (a) everyone trying to drink this and (b) what the drink actually looked like. It was green. Whilst we were all speculating how Paul got the drink into the tube our accompanying dish of yoghurt, whey and mint oil arrived - pretty as a picture to look at, beautifully rich and textured yet light and refreshing at the same time. It seems to be the one thing I didn't get a photo of, a great shame since it was probably my favourite of the evening which is praise indeed given the quality overall. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgul7Izrk2VU_4ikoadVBzPjKrq_g0FpbZ0USUH_4iTr8hjiitbdMrmcXLyWfvrTM3akjkc_7XhWM-6FPodLvv1BTjxfEI8Am85JvT0rrfz-Aq-IEFUCDhy2qRAylCSQvrciiq7yT7OYCIt/s1600-h/DSC_0030_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgul7Izrk2VU_4ikoadVBzPjKrq_g0FpbZ0USUH_4iTr8hjiitbdMrmcXLyWfvrTM3akjkc_7XhWM-6FPodLvv1BTjxfEI8Am85JvT0rrfz-Aq-IEFUCDhy2qRAylCSQvrciiq7yT7OYCIt/s640/DSC_0030_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We then got the night's biggest single piece of theatre as Paul prepared the Bohemian Breakfast for us at the end of our table. Setting fire to the contents of a metal jug he stood pouring the flaming contents steadily into another metal container as he calmly stirred and adjusted the fiery flow, once that was over he asked us how we'd like our eggs cooked. Before anyone could answer he was cracking one on the rim and stirring the contents in. The big trick is that we were all expecting a warm, gooey, half-cooked eggy slop in our glass and of course it was stone cold with no egg in sight. As the drinks were served an amused looking Paul realised he was going to have to spell it out to us that it wasn't actually egg that was in the egg that he cracked. This was a Black Forest ham infused bourbon(!!) with advocaat, maple syrup and condensed milk.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRzx2zMZBD59cUh0MW-wiqU4Wwi4q1I7Dya9RK3YN0Gr3Qeb8GJriOBC-z7nwvRd5F9RM8-AKvZ7Dzk2_M1m_8bNgu-xSeTRsiQc31lOm2tUlKihMYm3g3vqfIFNzrvBKPzyBKn68ixdvd/s1600-h/DSC_0031_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRzx2zMZBD59cUh0MW-wiqU4Wwi4q1I7Dya9RK3YN0Gr3Qeb8GJriOBC-z7nwvRd5F9RM8-AKvZ7Dzk2_M1m_8bNgu-xSeTRsiQc31lOm2tUlKihMYm3g3vqfIFNzrvBKPzyBKn68ixdvd/s640/DSC_0031_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The Bohemian Breakfast was accompanied by a toasted brioche with Wigmore cheese, the cheese grated incredibly finely and piled high taking on almost a whole new texture and going perfectly with the sweet toasted bread. This was many people's favourite dish of the night.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElFsePHv3dmb2hL-PYFcdlTjNKutwkuVWhhJqKTDLq589Xh_qD60PXwWBY-6w94ZKudIJTj4mUzMZSO0Okw3S3fJCfGnUSoCdMSYky20vbtOfoVbhN4d0LFTquu5MvdXxQoHAkL6jo7DL/s1600-h/DSC_0033_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElFsePHv3dmb2hL-PYFcdlTjNKutwkuVWhhJqKTDLq589Xh_qD60PXwWBY-6w94ZKudIJTj4mUzMZSO0Okw3S3fJCfGnUSoCdMSYky20vbtOfoVbhN4d0LFTquu5MvdXxQoHAkL6jo7DL/s640/DSC_0033_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Turning the corner into the finishing straight now and it's the salty caramel next: a shot glass containing Werther's Original infused vodka(!) with dark creme de cacao, condensed milk and honey. The foam on top was very salty, hitting your mouth just before the sweet caramel follows through. We were instructed to throw the whole glass back in one go although I seem to remember half the table had already done that before being told.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQn0hqN2YkW2b41wwWnuq5WjYVm0niO5_xYPYtTVEpT05JFZhhuJ2-hOOOG7qeuHudooCTpL5w7jIeQ3vnfRbNUwdz0g2WofpJdOKUdofCnx2FIefpF5QXN45c7j2EvkDfOUJpePNYkDpR/s1600-h/DSC_0036_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQn0hqN2YkW2b41wwWnuq5WjYVm0niO5_xYPYtTVEpT05JFZhhuJ2-hOOOG7qeuHudooCTpL5w7jIeQ3vnfRbNUwdz0g2WofpJdOKUdofCnx2FIefpF5QXN45c7j2EvkDfOUJpePNYkDpR/s640/DSC_0036_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">This came with pear and caramel brown butter and toasted flakes.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6gTjp4Ex9k90EXJGzlLOLb__dzr1_Fqj-ZcKw2wEiURFfvNM4b3bzkD_WiYajoC7Sp-BU_92wuU2bAO-ztWJvArGgt7V9TY24O7erzwv7UTsgBCFmnk3_xPZDWJRoCn84mq-KfV8WbrT/s1600-h/DSC_0038_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6gTjp4Ex9k90EXJGzlLOLb__dzr1_Fqj-ZcKw2wEiURFfvNM4b3bzkD_WiYajoC7Sp-BU_92wuU2bAO-ztWJvArGgt7V9TY24O7erzwv7UTsgBCFmnk3_xPZDWJRoCn84mq-KfV8WbrT/s640/DSC_0038_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Next up was a White Russian, a vodka and cream marshmallow in a coffee liquer.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBIOsHr1VEhxb4fO-Fzsxs4cY_JVN7yjq7oQREcNNEMHNFexLhye-P29iuqmXtulvZIpKqqOv41vuQjzhJSKlgTcohc4bF-xnqFZqytw3P3jxr1iQPfD6FRXXR0gToDfpW4Lchyphenhyphenf8UmhM/s1600-h/DSC_0040_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBIOsHr1VEhxb4fO-Fzsxs4cY_JVN7yjq7oQREcNNEMHNFexLhye-P29iuqmXtulvZIpKqqOv41vuQjzhJSKlgTcohc4bF-xnqFZqytw3P3jxr1iQPfD6FRXXR0gToDfpW4Lchyphenhyphenf8UmhM/s640/DSC_0040_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Accompanied by seabuckthorn & gingerbread. The seabuckthorns are little yellow berries that Ben had acquired in Copenhagen and these were delicious, he brought out a bowl of raw ones for us to try since we were all obviously very taken with them. I don't know what he did he to cook them (it's very possible that he did tell me at the time and I've just erm, forgotten) but they were certainly transformed from the tart rather sour little things they are in their raw state.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBqo-rtVDXAJ2octMWMkJRYVmLBEOFq4EPfSKixRk07VdgNeP8NCszMKyxrkGDBsdMN_C1lqjENTskFfuqKHZrS-f4YlE9NwQn8Lrhghnd8FCG21A0rE6kE4c13ifI7cVsGaBPz7e_Ytq/s1600-h/DSC_0042_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBqo-rtVDXAJ2octMWMkJRYVmLBEOFq4EPfSKixRk07VdgNeP8NCszMKyxrkGDBsdMN_C1lqjENTskFfuqKHZrS-f4YlE9NwQn8Lrhghnd8FCG21A0rE6kE4c13ifI7cVsGaBPz7e_Ytq/s640/DSC_0042_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Romping past the finish line saw Paul's final cocktail of the night - Amaretti biscuits. Biscuit infused vodka with amaretto topped with "effervescent sugar" which caused everyone at the table, as soon as they tried it, to try and say "oooooh! Space dust!!" whilst their mouths were popping furiously.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKZAKRmPzLz0oNgKvaMLulVOehBzXqgDXW4t5v6Y3a-3odcfacvJnlfqPbVi6LoFa4d25Mn_NwA0CkJONba1gQCj98MB_BvlsjSOyR6m4SlIajYCfPjtYZPNMzPeh3uKSjneSOxDYVoHw/s1600-h/DSC_0043_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKZAKRmPzLz0oNgKvaMLulVOehBzXqgDXW4t5v6Y3a-3odcfacvJnlfqPbVi6LoFa4d25Mn_NwA0CkJONba1gQCj98MB_BvlsjSOyR6m4SlIajYCfPjtYZPNMzPeh3uKSjneSOxDYVoHw/s640/DSC_0043_2_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">This came with a very soothing coffee milk and amaretto. Phew! And with that we were all left to finish chatting and comparing notes, swapping numbers and emails and trying to work out the best way home, time had flown and we were all surprised at how it had got so late so quickly. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I was surprised how excellent the food was, I was expecting something more along the lines of a few dishes to keep the booze-hounds happy whilst we ploughed through the cocktails but Ben had put a lot of thought and effort into matching everything Paul had got to throw at him, he's clearly a talented guy. I don't know what his plans are when his stint at the Loft is over, but he's a chef to look out for in the future.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It all added up to a very special evening indeed, the cocktails created and served with a wit and microscopic attention to detail along with the obvious creativity and intelligence behind them, it's hard to describe the kind of atmosphere and expectation that gets built up. Suffice to say the next morning was a major disappointment when my cappuccino tasted exactly like a cappuccino and didn't do anything special and my breakfast tasted just how it looked, no popping, fizzing, no surprises, not even a punch in the face.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-I_tsvJudcfMgmXJmJK7l_a6X7Ct68Bo9uNl-zVh9C4yad6CKnP2ICtQ8fJxJ-2wTMcjfFaxop5UYnND4KSxW8df_zMWYbasBeLaVe-pPNHr8D6IIdgg30vwUITyBqlDkgTUaqibL_mAK/s1600-h/DSC_0027_2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-I_tsvJudcfMgmXJmJK7l_a6X7Ct68Bo9uNl-zVh9C4yad6CKnP2ICtQ8fJxJ-2wTMcjfFaxop5UYnND4KSxW8df_zMWYbasBeLaVe-pPNHr8D6IIdgg30vwUITyBqlDkgTUaqibL_mAK/s320/DSC_0027_2_2.jpg" title="'Bohemia' stamped onto the bottom of the toothpaste tubes. Attention to detail" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Other evenings at the Loft Project can be </span></span><a href="http://theloftproject.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">found at their website</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Paul does (smaller) tasting menus of molecular gastronomy cocktails at Lounge Bohemia, contact details </span></span><a href="http://www.loungebohemia.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">on their website</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, I've also got </span></span><a href="http://icouldnteatawholeone.blogspot.com/2010/01/january-cocktails-lounge-bohemia.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">an earlier post</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> about them.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You can follow </span></span><a href="http://twitter.com/bgreeno"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ben Greeno on Twitter</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">MsMarmiteLover has a post on the evening along with more about Ben's cooking </span><a href="http://marmitelover.blogspot.com/2010/03/ben-greeno-and-lounge-bohemia-at-loft.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">on her entertaining blog</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></div>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-44397262322036293142010-03-03T01:43:00.000+00:002010-03-03T01:50:31.325+00:00English Winter Vegetable Kimchi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeCY6tsf446TH82jsi2dKj6FbRJ4E3fqnf1nWgAIKH1qH1Wr9Z439WHXa5Wo2ppNBFG7SVarlpJ_Ld9VD238t_7ikVzTnxYMPS2_9sRMVFeg6tcoGyrSza8AyO2L2zzxFEEp6YjjzlP61/s1600-h/flickr-1770090947-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeCY6tsf446TH82jsi2dKj6FbRJ4E3fqnf1nWgAIKH1qH1Wr9Z439WHXa5Wo2ppNBFG7SVarlpJ_Ld9VD238t_7ikVzTnxYMPS2_9sRMVFeg6tcoGyrSza8AyO2L2zzxFEEp6YjjzlP61/s320/flickr-1770090947-image.jpg" title="English winter vegetables yesterday" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Kimchi is Korea's famous fermented cabbage dish. Famous for being very, very spicy and also for having a perpetual presence on the dinner table, whether as a side to accompany everything else or as a small course on its own, it's said that there are as many recipes for kimchi as there are households in Korea such is the revered status of this humble-sounding recipe. It's usually made with Chinese cabbage, something more akin to our white cabbages with quite a pale green colour and thin leaves which are brined and then smeared in a potent mixture of chillis, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and other odds and sods before being left in a tightly-sealed container to start fermenting.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I've been in possession of a lot of cabbages these last few weeks. The particularly harsh winter has buggered up a lot of the crops from the small farms that supply the veggie bag that I pick up each week, but our seemingly indestructible Savoy cabbages have risen proudly to the challenge and it has now become a weekly ritual for me to sit in the pub after picking up my veggies with my head in my hands trying to think what the hell I'm going to do with them this week. Fermentation and pickling are ancient methods born from the need to preserve a surplus whilst preparing for the lean times of the year ahead and, frankly, any recipe that'll knock a whole cabbage on the head in one go is a recipe that's just shot to the top of my to-do list.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Ingredients</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1 Savoy cabbage</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">3 medium turnips</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">3 medium beetroot</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">small bulb/head of garlic</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">2-inch piece of ginger</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">80ml fish sauce</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">100ml hot Korean chilli paste</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">100g salt</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1 tsp sugar</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">4 or 5 spring onions</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">pair of rubber gloves</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5nNe3keeFlkavYiV8lZGyN8-TDAc-KKMBL0qBbeF6tbRval879l_ggZJmBQ__0B0uBIsGeXMBbCTXc3lpOeiWvVCuFojuRTJ_ArG8qyuIMWCsWAMturTtrur_YAnSC2QW-ea_XpiZAHQ/s1600-h/DSCF0319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5nNe3keeFlkavYiV8lZGyN8-TDAc-KKMBL0qBbeF6tbRval879l_ggZJmBQ__0B0uBIsGeXMBbCTXc3lpOeiWvVCuFojuRTJ_ArG8qyuIMWCsWAMturTtrur_YAnSC2QW-ea_XpiZAHQ/s400/DSCF0319.JPG" title="don't go to the loo after getting this on your hands. Really." width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Start by brining the cabbage: dissolve the salt in about 3 or 4 litres of water. Slice the cabbage into quarters, cut out the core from each quarter and then slice each quarter lengthways into thirds. It's a bit of personal preference here whether you want to keep the dark outer leaves or not: they're certainly tasty but pretty thick and chewy. I'd definitely suggest keeping them in but you could possibly slice them more finely if you're planning on having this more as a side dish to accompany something else. Plunge the leaves into the brine and leave them for 2-4 hours. Overnight won't hurt, but give them at least a couple of hours.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Once the leaves have finished brining, drain and rinse them. You should be able to feel straightaway the difference in the cabbage leaves, they should feel very crisp and squeaky to the touch. Prepare the chilli mixture by peeling and grating the turnips and the beetroot (use a very coarse grater) peel and mince/finely chop the garlic and the ginger (that's a whole bulb of garlic by the way, not a whole clove) slice the spring onions into one-inch pieces and then halve them and add all this into your biggest bowl with the chilli paste, fish sauce and the sugar. Some recipes call for more sugar, some have honey added, I think the sweetness of the beetroot and the turnip compensate for some of this, but it's still worth adding a teaspoon or so of sugar or some honey if you prefer.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7W3PTSb8BpBB5w0XB6sszjI3Rag9FwRCIfSAzRN-x2pUL0yc0KEswZFpKpM9NtSkQqIndLvTHUUAt7DWU20E6eOX1oIx5VTVqL1g5x-vKmVuOSfTLNic95eqcGWcKCm8N1RY-hE6S1fe7/s1600-h/DSCF0324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7W3PTSb8BpBB5w0XB6sszjI3Rag9FwRCIfSAzRN-x2pUL0yc0KEswZFpKpM9NtSkQqIndLvTHUUAt7DWU20E6eOX1oIx5VTVqL1g5x-vKmVuOSfTLNic95eqcGWcKCm8N1RY-hE6S1fe7/s640/DSCF0324.JPG" title="cabbage leaves after smothering in the chilli mix" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">One of the common ways of preparing kimchi is to leave the base of the cabbage intact during brining. This allows you to slather the chilli mixture in between the leaves quite quickly like flicking through the pages of a book but I don't think it works very well with Savoy cabbages since they're a lot more ridged and wrinkled than the smooth leaves of the Chinese cabbages. It's a bit more effort to work with the individual leaves cut off from the stem like this but I think it's worth it, and also the page-flicking method is only really worthwhile when preparing vast, industrial, quantities of the stuff - something most Korean women seem to do from what I've seen on the internet, but doesn't really apply here.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Put on the rubber gloves and smother the cabbage leaves in the chilli mixture making sure you rub it into all the nooks and ridges on the leaves. There's quite a lot written about whether you do/don't/should need to wear gloves, I've made it with bare hands and never had the chilli burn to my hands that is one of the most common reasons cited for needing them but trust me: wear them. Maybe it's different for women but you just really should wear them whilst you're doing this.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_hrX6EFPZ_UmJ9pC1c1a8M4rQOH9a2BhKxvDjY10Ba75lR6GMNKap1jo-eEiWuhAStjWW5CUg1ndrNRApRKG1mjbwK0CBtNbGC2pIy4ay1ooX8ddRyldhg5B8fFiUEdYi27HEJ8JhY3Nj/s1600-h/DSC_0032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_hrX6EFPZ_UmJ9pC1c1a8M4rQOH9a2BhKxvDjY10Ba75lR6GMNKap1jo-eEiWuhAStjWW5CUg1ndrNRApRKG1mjbwK0CBtNbGC2pIy4ay1ooX8ddRyldhg5B8fFiUEdYi27HEJ8JhY3Nj/s640/DSC_0032.jpg" title="finished article" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It's best to do this bit by dunking batches of leaves into the bowl and giving them a good slathering, once each batch is finished put them into a container large enough to hold them all that you can seal tightly, a glass jar or tupperware tub or whatever. Once the leaves are all done scrape in any remaining chilli mixture, seal and leave for a day or two somewhere reasonably cool/room temperature (i.e. not the fridge.) </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6jBkOidsBGB3Nh10_F7ZCxYwtrn9cErw3h14T77J10Trlswnk0zJZU7r-2ptbv8cSxl6mYeWjruXUCQyWSzp6xWzAHhsyfe-mlDqg4ii7pk0YnZA8cf8MoAEg9xivHaEKfOlUpXSdK0s/s1600-h/DSC_0033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6jBkOidsBGB3Nh10_F7ZCxYwtrn9cErw3h14T77J10Trlswnk0zJZU7r-2ptbv8cSxl6mYeWjruXUCQyWSzp6xWzAHhsyfe-mlDqg4ii7pk0YnZA8cf8MoAEg9xivHaEKfOlUpXSdK0s/s640/DSC_0033.jpg" title="mmmmm! Shame it's not the most photogenic of food" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Check it after a couple of days and you might see some little bubbles and smell and kind of mild pong which means it's started fermenting and you've got some kimchi magic going on! This is always quite exciting and you should taste a little bit just to see where it's got to. You can put this into the fridge now, or serve it up there and then, I've found it's better to leave it for another couple of days before putting in the fridge just to let the fermentation have a good go, I think this is probably because the Savoy cabbage leaves are that bit thicker, making this with Chinese cabbages you can really tell those extra couple of days fermentation, it all tastes a lot stronger quite quickly but that doesn't really seem to happen with Savoy cabbages in my experience. Obviously once it's in the fridge the fermentation rate goes down but it will still keep going and the rule of thumb seems to be that after about 3 weeks it's probably going to be a bit too fermented to be very pleasant, although I've never had any last that long.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As we're starting to see the first signs of Spring this week I imagine I'll soon start seeing fewer and fewer cabbages in my veggie bag which is kind of a shame, I love the way this works with Savoy cabbages and the turnips and beetroots. And I've still got a sodding big celeriac that needs something doing with it.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQ1XWt5sTRSLHUFj_yunuaJbQZVONQnNG_JqDcnWrOmF88O7-lE-1jNmfwDV8DHZjFgMulzmkbzr-fkj-dFYte4NtGPZlENvy82NLZbZvmY5vh4sxfs2Pr4TTkOvBLPaDRplGg69iZp7L/s1600-h/DSCF0323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQ1XWt5sTRSLHUFj_yunuaJbQZVONQnNG_JqDcnWrOmF88O7-lE-1jNmfwDV8DHZjFgMulzmkbzr-fkj-dFYte4NtGPZlENvy82NLZbZvmY5vh4sxfs2Pr4TTkOvBLPaDRplGg69iZp7L/s400/DSCF0323.JPG" title="wear them. Srsly" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you're in London the Korean/Japanese grocers in the Centrepoint building sell a good variety of freshly made kimchis if you can't be arsed with all that.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Cabbage field photo courtesy of </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/31818720@N00"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">pizzodisevo</span></a></span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-52146421289360475892010-02-04T01:50:00.000+00:002010-02-04T02:00:48.149+00:00Goodman: #blokeseatbeef<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetmJHAiOZCcm4dK2I-Q_7601GNu8FnS4a26WFW1IUYNZtjk0l5BAcolSq_8yCTtHXv1Ns1VBd4fnGpZUin6rV-ujg0PAH6r3yr8E8HdqRlqcUPUaCbn5aEyvHGfrFGStOtwiqpzqZsbp3/s1600-h/DSC_0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetmJHAiOZCcm4dK2I-Q_7601GNu8FnS4a26WFW1IUYNZtjk0l5BAcolSq_8yCTtHXv1Ns1VBd4fnGpZUin6rV-ujg0PAH6r3yr8E8HdqRlqcUPUaCbn5aEyvHGfrFGStOtwiqpzqZsbp3/s320/DSC_0094.JPG" title="Blokes eating beef yesterday" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A few weeks before Christmas, Twitter saw the organising of a ladies-only steak night at Hawksmoor restaurant, a casual comment from the food writer <a href="http://www.simonmajumdar.co.uk/">Simon Majumdar</a> along the lines of "well bollocks to you lot then, any blokes up for a men-only steak night?" (I'm paraphrasing. A bit.) and before you could say testosterone-fuelled-boozy-ball-scratching-beefy-banquet <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23blokeseatbeef">#blokeseatbeef</a> had enough gonads committed to the cause to pack out the private dining room at the back of Goodman steakhouse in Mayfair.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rJYIXNLrZeqwHC8fuB5rs9HuESVn_jZo9_-riskEtQsaYh-Uk0WEnr136PyXg2yEoK4yKlU6nqgwHpAue8eGDtJoDzGX0IlJzXAt-69Gv90x40TDXJyvgVAHGbdKzu2Kl5ZlbnlmQOGb/s1600-h/DSC_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rJYIXNLrZeqwHC8fuB5rs9HuESVn_jZo9_-riskEtQsaYh-Uk0WEnr136PyXg2yEoK4yKlU6nqgwHpAue8eGDtJoDzGX0IlJzXAt-69Gv90x40TDXJyvgVAHGbdKzu2Kl5ZlbnlmQOGb/s640/DSC_0037.JPG" title="18 kilos of beef" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I'd eaten at Goodman a couple of times before and I would have been more than happy if we'd just been a big gang of regular punters choosing from their regular menu but they went far out of their way to make it a very special event indeed, and not just with the range and quality of food and wine they obtained for the evening. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYVaakcFAk5IXuSqw8ojNlP9LBWtqp5DAraDfmb2lgl27lJJVkkb7LFJShuFt-ufiYexYqVBe9jSuTs9V7aNY4CbljaoY2mKlyzjoQReokBjMBzKzyUbcEJQ6GPr5YRvoMp0MAyRQ1fHk/s1600-h/DSC_0044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYVaakcFAk5IXuSqw8ojNlP9LBWtqp5DAraDfmb2lgl27lJJVkkb7LFJShuFt-ufiYexYqVBe9jSuTs9V7aNY4CbljaoY2mKlyzjoQReokBjMBzKzyUbcEJQ6GPr5YRvoMp0MAyRQ1fHk/s400/DSC_0044.JPG" title="the chef willing to fight anyone for the beef" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As we were settling in with glasses of fizzy Chapel Down head chef John Cadieux sent the evening's expectations into the stratosphere with an entertaining and knowledgeable presentation of the beef we would be eating. Four humungous slabs of ribeye sat on the table while John explained the 4 different breeds they were from (a USDA Hereford/Angus, Scottish Limosin, Irish Black Angus and Belted Galloway from the Lake District) how they'd been aged and the differences between them all, his expertise and passion for his subject much in evidence as he lovingly manhandled, sniffed, stroked, poked and prodded the goods. </span></span> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzVi_8VDYVkq4bkV7zQb9trmb9RHwZAdhiCbhuo0yxuBePXRWdjV-JG8JrhZxLlUBHzbKjbPn5rh1vT8cwEPnPesaU5Mv0jFalIEq2Vph_XUMev0rti35j4YauYzIFZUjvd4OBsOh01Xh/s1600-h/DSC_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzVi_8VDYVkq4bkV7zQb9trmb9RHwZAdhiCbhuo0yxuBePXRWdjV-JG8JrhZxLlUBHzbKjbPn5rh1vT8cwEPnPesaU5Mv0jFalIEq2Vph_XUMev0rti35j4YauYzIFZUjvd4OBsOh01Xh/s400/DSC_0048.JPG" title="not the corpse fancier, but a man who appreciates the smell of raw meat" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A plate of raw meat was passed round for us all to admire, the cry from one enthusiastic table of "my god, smell that, it's fantastic! It smells just like a corpse!" is going to haunt me for some time to come.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVr4DdvzJl3aqh7Gd7GZb8VCfyXABlpKIYqGbxPegmEHTL4lSWxpiEBUnRo6KJiRPoBbMkZLSA6WOYtMiCxteoM75czCBwtj_moU00Gw6KrxFxynBNBVanLyyPUs8zfyvHHWcTHjDOZhX9/s1600-h/DSC_0049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVr4DdvzJl3aqh7Gd7GZb8VCfyXABlpKIYqGbxPegmEHTL4lSWxpiEBUnRo6KJiRPoBbMkZLSA6WOYtMiCxteoM75czCBwtj_moU00Gw6KrxFxynBNBVanLyyPUs8zfyvHHWcTHjDOZhX9/s400/DSC_0049.JPG" title="I had to photoshop the drool out of this one" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Eager anticipation for John to get the ribs downstairs and start cooking turned into mild fear when he announced that what we saw was only half the beef they were cooking for us. 36kg in total. Between 25 of us. That weight includes the bones so you could say that it worked out at about 1kg of meat each, although given the bone gnawing I saw going on later in the night there's more than a few gentlemen who easily broke that estimate.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlPm65IDMv34uW37yU-SOuk-IXV4Qj947Zi7UicI-CtnV5Md4jZNR2PfXSZYbeHK7a_QNM5mudN8LudjOxyMf2zb4E1AyAsp9IQRYcr4cQ5BtXmSKf0PYYnpE1Mrb_oJS0Hwgl7-6MXA9/s1600-h/DSC_0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlPm65IDMv34uW37yU-SOuk-IXV4Qj947Zi7UicI-CtnV5Md4jZNR2PfXSZYbeHK7a_QNM5mudN8LudjOxyMf2zb4E1AyAsp9IQRYcr4cQ5BtXmSKf0PYYnpE1Mrb_oJS0Hwgl7-6MXA9/s640/DSC_0055.JPG" title="stunningly good smoked salmon dish" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A starter of Frank Hederman smoked salmon served 2 different ways was accompanied by a talk from the man himself who'd flown over from Ireland to personally deliver the fish.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-gvoI3UomgvN20WbIVFgJfCVZQO46FAjBXfxahQKax6VWcS5nKT2youo-P4V4NDKIJFuFzGDfZ4gC3hAVRu0MMVpATepYtZHOcXJzFypw0IcrlVM3glvh2GOuZRbFnPCManpm5Fl9tmVL/s1600-h/DSC_0056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-gvoI3UomgvN20WbIVFgJfCVZQO46FAjBXfxahQKax6VWcS5nKT2youo-P4V4NDKIJFuFzGDfZ4gC3hAVRu0MMVpATepYtZHOcXJzFypw0IcrlVM3glvh2GOuZRbFnPCManpm5Fl9tmVL/s400/DSC_0056.JPG" title="Frank Hederman in full flow" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A kind of mad professor of the fish smoking world knowing far more than any one person really should about such things, Frank was a very entertaining speaker enthusiastically explaining as we ate the fish itself exactly what was (and wasn't) needed to produce such a fantastic end product. Served simply in thick slices with just onions and capers it was a truly memorable starter.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCa2Bws_YQ0RLF0BfU2MQIyEylny8gQ_ti_IdymwvIkpB8IhQdAc9ACXd_TYQ_ija2IvVrRPHQIbmC4qP0gD01Rko2kUb8jvdvcd0mSetJra9JBx2Wzx9NdytPBsgh3zWwGNlt_LmUmTk/s1600-h/DSC_0063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCa2Bws_YQ0RLF0BfU2MQIyEylny8gQ_ti_IdymwvIkpB8IhQdAc9ACXd_TYQ_ija2IvVrRPHQIbmC4qP0gD01Rko2kUb8jvdvcd0mSetJra9JBx2Wzx9NdytPBsgh3zWwGNlt_LmUmTk/s640/DSC_0063.JPG" title="slices of number 1. I mean number 2 I think, or 3 possibly. Could have been 4" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The main event arrived to much excitement, the seemingly never ending plates of ribs just labelled 1-4, turning it into a blind steak tasting for us all to argue about the merits of each one as we ploughed through them. There was no clear winner by the end of the night when John and David Strauss, Goodman's general manager and organisational super-hero took a show of hands and revealed which was which with opinion divided right across all 4. Even as we were eating and debating the merits of the various plates ("has anyone got any more 2?", "I've not had any 4 yet", "that's not number 3, no way", "which one's this I'm eating?") individual opinions were swinging back and forth at dizzying rates. I suspect most people's favourite was the one they ate last, although that might well just have been me.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPO11csUhkSixxy3NYNDfzYPQ5QkehoB6Wz8AQkjQeF7J4fPADX3xXRgiaEtlpPFNqdyHQDcx9-38xmgeweSci_aMk9KtragQEPLphbORgF3YojwyAYdfjr0XbLhSbMsGOjfq7nivd5Swv/s1600-h/DSC_0060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPO11csUhkSixxy3NYNDfzYPQ5QkehoB6Wz8AQkjQeF7J4fPADX3xXRgiaEtlpPFNqdyHQDcx9-38xmgeweSci_aMk9KtragQEPLphbORgF3YojwyAYdfjr0XbLhSbMsGOjfq7nivd5Swv/s640/DSC_0060.JPG" title="much concentration as the serious business of the evening gets underway" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The side dishes included the delicious tobacco onion rings and their legendary creamed spinach (20% of your 5-a-day and 100% of your calories-a-day) and - with David obviously concerned we might be going home hungry - was all followed by a cheese course courtesy of La Fromagerie of Stichelton, Keen's cheddar and some Stinking Bishop which was well and truly living up to its name. Humming to high heaven it looked like it was about to crawl off the plate, sprout little cheesey legs and run away. The offer of a dessert of creme brulee or cheesecake was met with various noises ranging from groans and sobs to assorted belching and trumpety noises, the brave souls that managed to find the effort to raise a hand and pronounce one of them clearly enough to be understood deserve our admiration.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZBxLkJYT_rWjWW9WmvrwEO4Cm0UvsDMoBp6MESQ5H8ETDo1DcFfmh_bGBOtRXZnkJO_J908LReueLV6tSiRaZ5D9EwIi3gTj8ONYt7o9i58WxsVlrfTfjHVpIBmiLEo5Jt1guwDcHRL7/s1600-h/DSC_0074_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZBxLkJYT_rWjWW9WmvrwEO4Cm0UvsDMoBp6MESQ5H8ETDo1DcFfmh_bGBOtRXZnkJO_J908LReueLV6tSiRaZ5D9EwIi3gTj8ONYt7o9i58WxsVlrfTfjHVpIBmiLEo5Jt1guwDcHRL7/s400/DSC_0074_2.jpg" title="Port from the sinister side" width="266" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Argentinian wine producer Catena supplied a really wonderful Malbec to go with the steaks, along with a Chardonnay. I seem to remember a Chilean Cabernet/Carmenere appearing from somewhere and then some port on the table with the cheese, although being a New World version it was called Starboard.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rh2pelMe5VJmUHFWLfFKfd0igacoVMg1zqk9YhNqqygBntpPrMHpH-VI8mhSMX1KbmHKjf2jo4Ak68m5mz2ymvVn-dGfoCYeq2YrQTo3_CnNhiMNrHPXM2-OEW4of-E1RoZUgcewb8tx/s1600-h/DSC_0133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rh2pelMe5VJmUHFWLfFKfd0igacoVMg1zqk9YhNqqygBntpPrMHpH-VI8mhSMX1KbmHKjf2jo4Ak68m5mz2ymvVn-dGfoCYeq2YrQTo3_CnNhiMNrHPXM2-OEW4of-E1RoZUgcewb8tx/s400/DSC_0133.JPG" title="the real fun was downstairs in the kitchen" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Special mention must go to the ladies that waited on our tables, they quickly got the measure of us all and were friendly and helpful and made it seem effortless - something it certainly wasn't - keeping the vast quantities of food and plates flowing in and out of the busy room, at the same time making sure we were all kept well-supplied with whatever we were drinking and maintaining a very sturdy sense of humour about the whole thing.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtqrWMgpnEgyoaSwtCcRL2RcWFVUx-zdPDOldYoJILof8GaChrmEIsTqgq_KZtTud5Vot4OICOMU2_cTEpXyD_DTLBFfUvEBm7wMKue_5M8CqUKFs8TRpnl2nuE1v9l-o845uCMjtNJaX/s1600-h/DSC_0124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQtqrWMgpnEgyoaSwtCcRL2RcWFVUx-zdPDOldYoJILof8GaChrmEIsTqgq_KZtTud5Vot4OICOMU2_cTEpXyD_DTLBFfUvEBm7wMKue_5M8CqUKFs8TRpnl2nuE1v9l-o845uCMjtNJaX/s640/DSC_0124.JPG" title="backup beef in case we were still hungry" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Tours of the kitchen and the meat ageing room were popular and they did well to have got all of us round there by the end of the night, the Josper grills used to cook the steaks are a sight to behold when they're in full flow, and the meat room is something to experience when the door opens and the fan inside blasts </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">that smell</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> out all over your face.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8ZBRBTkovUzDGskm3iNG75A028U7IUTKZGOgS1RjzvrxipHQ4CL_Lap6ic0c_H3n6XCxBiyOJpep_ha9NWJcI_YtsUtVf_NIweH8q5iLI0r76xwYPcAshSx-3tpLSvdtHhUhxZlVbRL4/s1600-h/DSC_0120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8ZBRBTkovUzDGskm3iNG75A028U7IUTKZGOgS1RjzvrxipHQ4CL_Lap6ic0c_H3n6XCxBiyOJpep_ha9NWJcI_YtsUtVf_NIweH8q5iLI0r76xwYPcAshSx-3tpLSvdtHhUhxZlVbRL4/s640/DSC_0120.JPG" title="the fan" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A hugely enjoyable and memorable night out in every way, many thanks of course go to Simon himself for arranging things but as he's the first to admit most of the credit for the evening's success deserves to go to the generosity and enthusiasm of Goodman and their suppliers and their determination to make the event something special for all of us lucky enough to be there.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvnGP18QjV7vYnFwIt8gVIF8mn-rI43UKPkH7Guoy7-FtVuFpEEZaibydYKCxqVp5jUxh4C5pAy6cAQ_KQSrla4U9Zw2a_c0pGmsRQNOB1ayEcNCuIVMVESEmeuRfYhm6Tez6X1ZIO8mB/s1600-h/DSC_0138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvnGP18QjV7vYnFwIt8gVIF8mn-rI43UKPkH7Guoy7-FtVuFpEEZaibydYKCxqVp5jUxh4C5pAy6cAQ_KQSrla4U9Zw2a_c0pGmsRQNOB1ayEcNCuIVMVESEmeuRfYhm6Tez6X1ZIO8mB/s640/DSC_0138.JPG" title="not really sure about this one, appears to have been taken on the way home. It was that kind of night" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">search the </span></span><a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23blokeseatbeef"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">#blokeseatbeef</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> tag on Twitter for more pics, comments and blog posts about the evening.</span></span></div>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-49853501643081551042010-02-01T00:10:00.000+00:002010-02-01T00:10:54.807+00:00Jerusalem Artichoke Gratin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUP-o-oNjvW24sXhqPUCGYjZQudmdVhBlwaEJUK9Aqia6oimxiwEvnRDDlnyRsS7DQEb0E6HnJKbvxdXWgLOIyn10XXlRYmR4xrWsUaeiSvMX77VHJmkPUzwT7J0zBQ1TJ9AydapGI4dDm/s1600-h/3058842074_868416880d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUP-o-oNjvW24sXhqPUCGYjZQudmdVhBlwaEJUK9Aqia6oimxiwEvnRDDlnyRsS7DQEb0E6HnJKbvxdXWgLOIyn10XXlRYmR4xrWsUaeiSvMX77VHJmkPUzwT7J0zBQ1TJ9AydapGI4dDm/s400/3058842074_868416880d.jpg" title="A Jerusalem artichoke flower yesterday" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Jerusalem artichokes aren't from Jerusalem and they're not artichokes but other than that whoever named them hit the nail pretty much on the head. Reputation of their flatulence inducing properties, coupled with the fact that in their raw state they look more like something's gone terribly wrong at the potato farm means they're sadly under-appreciated by your typical home cook. This is a great shame, they're versatile and delicious, tasting similar to artichokes but with a more gentle and subtle savoury taste that means they can work very well with other flavours in a meal (rather than turning them into a car-crash as artichokes can do.) This recipe uses them to liven up a simple gratin into a much more interesting dish, it's also a rather sneaky way of introducing a few of them into a meal in a way that won't have people pulling faces and claiming squeaky bums in the manner that might greet a big bowl of roasted Jerusalem artichokes or a Jerusalem artichoke soup, which are more popular ways of serving them.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I think the farting effect is exaggerated, mainly because we all like to make bottom-burp jokes. It is something that only afflicts certain people, it's not the case that everyone gets the almighty trumps after eating a bit. Jerusalem artichoke's main carbohydrate is inulin rather than starch which some people can be very intolerant to, causing "a filthy loathsome stinking wind in the body" as a 17th Century gardner put it. The inulin content is nothing particular to Jerusalem artichokes though, chicory, onions and garlic for example all contain it in high concentrations.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Ingredients</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1 large potato</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">6/7 medium Jerusalem artichokes</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">5 or 6 slices prosciutto</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">parmesan cheese</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1/2 litre stock</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">nutmeg</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKeoYY-ymhRt1aAhaRBe_wYyijOfIpxmxAdRiO305io57Vf-yJrZF2uOEIrtrA-r1e0F5zvpxeYzUkZTSKWbvLHQTdVvLOH5rSGgwQ7MjvuI1H8i6SmiTtprkJGmO19xx-34NGoHmKAGU/s1600-h/DSCF0286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKeoYY-ymhRt1aAhaRBe_wYyijOfIpxmxAdRiO305io57Vf-yJrZF2uOEIrtrA-r1e0F5zvpxeYzUkZTSKWbvLHQTdVvLOH5rSGgwQ7MjvuI1H8i6SmiTtprkJGmO19xx-34NGoHmKAGU/s400/DSCF0286.JPG" title="halfway up the gratin ladder" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Put the oven on at 180 degrees. Peel the potatoes and the artichokes and then slice as finely as possible. I use a mandolin for this which is quite good fun but bloody dangerous when you're getting down to the last bit of a vegetable (if your concentration slips then your finger slips then eeeuuuwwww) if you've got a food processor with the right attachment use that, otherwise you'd better enjoy (like, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">really</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> enjoy) using a knife to chop things 'cos it's a lot of chopping.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAcOj-YkEMm_bzAKPShwKS7mjgTp4sM_uUeTQcqOaSVyKzmOt3ZY2odEvsv9k1FX3Do04LSMeviFH1aYtsR0ZdPo1OW48ZkJ3NmBcslhBaPhir8trrDjOF7_XcxPfkQ3EuqHNcWyxnAG9/s1600-h/DSCF0295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAcOj-YkEMm_bzAKPShwKS7mjgTp4sM_uUeTQcqOaSVyKzmOt3ZY2odEvsv9k1FX3Do04LSMeviFH1aYtsR0ZdPo1OW48ZkJ3NmBcslhBaPhir8trrDjOF7_XcxPfkQ3EuqHNcWyxnAG9/s400/DSCF0295.JPG" title="aerial view of a gratin" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Grease an ovenproof gratin dish with butter (or oil) and place a layer of potato and artichoke slices in the bottom, grate a little bit of nutmeg over and season with salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt, you might even want to omit it altogether since the ham and the cheese are both quite salty and depending on the stock you're using there could well be enough salt in the dish already. Add some torn/snipped pieces of prosciutto and grate a bit of the cheese over that, dot a little bit of butter on it if you're feeling really decadent and repeat to build up each layer in the gratin dish. Pour the stock over, grate a little more cheese on top and place the covered dish in the oven for about an hour. After an hour remove the cover, turn the over up to 200 and give it another 10 or 15 minutes to crisp up a little on top. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJI5jGJ5gbV9AUy-eetnXJixV4c-lYoAu0WWgYwggDkUJW7yloLsQqkCZ-dMqinEnGFKe9yo92_teRyYzaXY8mhvlRIZQP_S_zGK0KxrPVsL5-2dED3UpHm31IHDFHn4GdJrZFedFH4voO/s1600-h/DSCF0298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJI5jGJ5gbV9AUy-eetnXJixV4c-lYoAu0WWgYwggDkUJW7yloLsQqkCZ-dMqinEnGFKe9yo92_teRyYzaXY8mhvlRIZQP_S_zGK0KxrPVsL5-2dED3UpHm31IHDFHn4GdJrZFedFH4voO/s400/DSCF0298.JPG" title="lonely little pile of gratin trying to look tasty" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Jerusalem artichoke flower photo courtesy of </span></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingsbraegarden/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">KingsbraeGarden</span></span></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-82800845247240020762010-01-27T15:39:00.000+00:002010-01-27T21:39:41.237+00:00The East London Line<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tESyO_ijhDNest5C3KDsuhtCFSmRzhIZvxESqBevoLuwd4JDHrWtZrqJ3IdiDA9iyAdW9auclwWyJ-qikHpn8Dp_kd7Yz7BGMn8kgHJ6JYmjrkjF-AjkDdmNw-ME822VFaU3iOxGGd_U/s1600-h/east-london-line-extension+(1).gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tESyO_ijhDNest5C3KDsuhtCFSmRzhIZvxESqBevoLuwd4JDHrWtZrqJ3IdiDA9iyAdW9auclwWyJ-qikHpn8Dp_kd7Yz7BGMn8kgHJ6JYmjrkjF-AjkDdmNw-ME822VFaU3iOxGGd_U/s320/east-london-line-extension+(1).gif" title="The East London Line, later this year" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The all-new and improved East London Line is due to reopen later this year. As someone who's had the pleasure these last couple of years of watching, hearing - and occasionally when they've had the really big bits of kit out, feeling through my feet - Haggerston station rise up out of the old derelict railway lines opposite my front door, I've had more reason than most to ponder the changes it will bring. Personally, the first one that springs to mind is that the usual dawn chorus of sirens, horns and screeching brakes that gently lulls me from the warm embrace of sweet deep slumber will be enhanced by honking great trains grinding to a halt outside my bedroom window.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Starting at the top of the line, Dalston has a great community of Turkish restaurants that deserve to become more well known. Some are already quite well known like </span><a href="http://www.mangal1.com/index.htm"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Mangal</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> and </span><a href="http://www.qype.co.uk/place/72953-Testi-Restaurant-London"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Testi</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> but all of them are excellent places for cheap and casual meals of genuine quality, something that London doesn't do too well generally speaking, one of the reasons the little community of Vietnamese places more easily reached at the bottom of Kingsland Road are so packed out.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEc7S6o38nNExQ-iH1c-pB0QBnEQwM0N4V5xIulfvWwfrzzCXS0hVsGy42Hs5tHuU2Be-svIHlxiGWj7j8wT2djWXzAAiUoaPItDmEC9834KxBMRfJf0omnMLJofGFrIXxePOAV_dyaequ/s1600-h/DSC_0062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEc7S6o38nNExQ-iH1c-pB0QBnEQwM0N4V5xIulfvWwfrzzCXS0hVsGy42Hs5tHuU2Be-svIHlxiGWj7j8wT2djWXzAAiUoaPItDmEC9834KxBMRfJf0omnMLJofGFrIXxePOAV_dyaequ/s640/DSC_0062.JPG" title="animal parts at Ridley Road market" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The ELL will be also be connecting Dalston's mind-boggling, jaw-dropping and frankly scary Ridley Road market with the rest of the universe. This riotous stretch of road is mainly food stalls, much of it African and West Indian with random outposts of pretty much everything else in between. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Hr91kHzNaS0mhocATNpwkdOiz4EEq5BgSCugZuwM7lpZdxdbP2B21-0CO7YtPeDdUPKjEacxpCqP-Z-8xflzREOzgXeAOUOHX7WBOhS7klSivPV0X5uJ_agnESUR7aabdRXw7saxqdmw/s1600-h/DSC_0073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Hr91kHzNaS0mhocATNpwkdOiz4EEq5BgSCugZuwM7lpZdxdbP2B21-0CO7YtPeDdUPKjEacxpCqP-Z-8xflzREOzgXeAOUOHX7WBOhS7klSivPV0X5uJ_agnESUR7aabdRXw7saxqdmw/s640/DSC_0073.JPG" title="no idea. Absolutely no idea." width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">There's always something open 24 hours but Thursday, Friday and Saturday seem to be the main days and on Saturdays the place makes Borough Market look like an unpopular library.</span><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNjrt-vWixhKjeEo3_OwnJvzl3vZKZdLEAjHJnCHsgfBdJnp6waGp8icpIjpGe6fR5hvGeIDbu2Hi4GJT0SOGcODsSX4N6311kaopCBvybOTgcTFErJiq0Y5mbDVfKuOaVZHWPEewvj07/s1600-h/DSC_0074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNjrt-vWixhKjeEo3_OwnJvzl3vZKZdLEAjHJnCHsgfBdJnp6waGp8icpIjpGe6fR5hvGeIDbu2Hi4GJT0SOGcODsSX4N6311kaopCBvybOTgcTFErJiq0Y5mbDVfKuOaVZHWPEewvj07/s640/DSC_0074.JPG" title="that'll learn 'em" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Hackney seems to have more than its fair share of London's supper clubs/underground restaurants that have popped up in the last year, they all seem to be thriving still. Dalston station and Haggerston (one stop down and still thwarting attempts to sex it up as SoDa) station make the majority of them a lot more accessible. Water House, the uber-eco-warrior restaurant sibling of Acorn House sited on the Regent's canal, is also short walk from Haggerston station.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgud5Xq0FwTY84wEVr0IB4DbzHv2Oijsm-VDuVPow-hl0qIOTIftch09DxODYhwP9GPljzl79swjyjAolDKDYji9sygNEj74Gv0OfwGvdWxtb4WwHKbbTUfUjOVQcimGNKnmmNeqQygOMeu/s1600-h/DSC_0093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgud5Xq0FwTY84wEVr0IB4DbzHv2Oijsm-VDuVPow-hl0qIOTIftch09DxODYhwP9GPljzl79swjyjAolDKDYji9sygNEj74Gv0OfwGvdWxtb4WwHKbbTUfUjOVQcimGNKnmmNeqQygOMeu/s640/DSC_0093.JPG" title="Haggerston station, yum" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I don't think what really puts people off visiting all these places in darkest Hackney is getting there, I think what really torpedoes nascent visiting plans is the thought of how the hell they're going to get out of there after a night out and get home again. When you're more likely to see Operation Trident than a cab for hire, late night bus-hunting is a pretty unappealing prospect and I think that's going to be the real value of the ELL in people's minds.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidfssRdIyVcBvzjFyg-w6yAYXokmvj_ZeupXyVgRjpRjb68XQ2LFUU840w6zJiqk6fUn8iyZIaXJP-Bgm2B9dLN0LjuaprV1pvHaEf0pv7POTUPJqSES8E7I17dmfF12Wz6HsyVMf2zRin/s1600-h/DSC_0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidfssRdIyVcBvzjFyg-w6yAYXokmvj_ZeupXyVgRjpRjb68XQ2LFUU840w6zJiqk6fUn8iyZIaXJP-Bgm2B9dLN0LjuaprV1pvHaEf0pv7POTUPJqSES8E7I17dmfF12Wz6HsyVMf2zRin/s640/DSC_0065.JPG" title="sorry" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Next stop down is Hoxton nestling in the back streets behind the impressively bonkers <a href="http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/">Geffrye Museum</a> (with its herb garden open from April - October, herb fans) right at the top end of the strip of bustling, cheap and cheerful Vietnamese restaurants that define this strip of Kingsland Road all the way down to the Old St/Hackney Rd/Shoreditch High St crossroads. Several of them (including the super-popular Cay Tre down on Old St) have just completed total interior design makeovers, now looking a lot more upmarket. Whether this is a general trend in anticipation of a lot more traffic once the ELL opens up, a reaction maybe to Busaba's arrival in the area or just a coincidence I've no idea but they're starting to look a lot smarter. This part of town is hardly going to be affected much by any additional exposure although maybe Loong Kee Cafe will get some more of the attention it deserves, it's the last place on the strip past Song Que and right next to the Geffrye Museum itself and is very much one of the best of the lot to my mind but misses most of the passing trade.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4g3-fBGnjTzE40b0_cZ2fZjpqQuhmyXGqB3VXiFWtnoO9OSuC7mVbSAaBXoLp1weIUQUNXQBmVE7PvC6ibkEez-2v7rkdH5p6O00Jc-W9QH58nD8Vdmpn4xIO_GeZuaHqnO5Uqj72CXH/s1600-h/DSC_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4g3-fBGnjTzE40b0_cZ2fZjpqQuhmyXGqB3VXiFWtnoO9OSuC7mVbSAaBXoLp1weIUQUNXQBmVE7PvC6ibkEez-2v7rkdH5p6O00Jc-W9QH58nD8Vdmpn4xIO_GeZuaHqnO5Uqj72CXH/s640/DSC_0050.JPG" title="Shoreditch High St lego birthing chamber" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Continuing south the next stop is the mammoth Shoreditch High St station, looking more like a birthing chamber for gigantic lego blocks than a train station, providing quick and easy access to Brick Lane, Spitalfields and Shoreditch another few thousand South London bodies won't make much difference to the crowds already here.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTMJEjNVmBScK-Hy53tkstgxyViIJFZmXn7L8x_QFO94nmFGTRIbnDms8a5FRjiimevVPpszJdcN8pELPZWGDHxMjylGx8jUuqAGsGASqWwGPAk3Ulful3qma8nZrYYeXnJ1Wb_-zLky63/s1600-h/DSC_0091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTMJEjNVmBScK-Hy53tkstgxyViIJFZmXn7L8x_QFO94nmFGTRIbnDms8a5FRjiimevVPpszJdcN8pELPZWGDHxMjylGx8jUuqAGsGASqWwGPAk3Ulful3qma8nZrYYeXnJ1Wb_-zLky63/s640/DSC_0091.JPG" title="tumbleweed" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Next down is Whitechapel and Shadwell and the quality Pakistani/Punjabi restaurant enclave between them, most notably Lahore Kebab House and Tayyabs and now Needoo although there are plenty of other options that, much like the Turkish restaurants in Dalston, offer high quality meals out for fantastic value. There have been 2 or 3 new openings of these restaurants up Commercial St in the last few months too, again whether this is coincidence or anticipation of the ELL bringing in the punters or even the Olympic redevelopment that's reshaping so much of this area, I don't know.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Continuing south and getting dangerously close to having to cross the river now, the next stop is Wapping. I'm not sure how much the good citizens of Wapping will notice their underground station finally coming back on line, walking round large parts of it you could be forgiven for thinking most of them have someone to drive them everywhere. The wonderful <a href="http://www.thewappingproject.com/">Wapping Food</a> will no doubt be glad of service resuming though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Bracing ourselves and heading through the famous tunnel under the river our next stop is Rotherhithe. This is a rather different Rotherhithe to the one that the old ELL closed its doors on, it's regeneration a-go-go around here but I'll be happy to scoot down and pay a visit to the ancient, rickety old <a href="http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub109.php">riverside Mayflower pub</a> and its characterful restaurant upstairs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Heading further south from here and it all gets a bit vague for me, Canada Water is the next stop then Surrey Quays, both of which I know well enough to not particularly want to go back there, then in one direction we hit New Cross and off into Brockley, Honor Oak towards West Croydon and Crystal Palace. God knows what you can find in that direction, it's just a big "Here Be Dragons" on my mental map. The other direction takes us through perpetually up-and-coming Peckham and Peckham Rye (<a href="http://helengraves.co.uk/category/food-from-the-rye/">a bit like Ridley Road</a> but not quite so Bosch) and trawling through more of South London's nether regions up to Clapham Junction. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It'll be nice to be able to check out new places though. From my point of view any of the places south of Whitechapel are currently such a faff that it would take something out of the ordinary to get me there. At the very least it'll be comforting to know wherever it is, getting the hell out and back home will be quicker and easier.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last week Balfour Beatty handed over what they've done to TfL and a limited service of 4 trains per hour between Dalston and New Cross is expected to start running on April 4th (assuming nothing goes titsup with TfL's testing between now and then, I can confirm the tannoy at Haggerston is working loud and clear) with full service of 12 trains per hour between Dalston and West Croydon/Crystal Palace not expected to happen till around the end of May. </span></span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-14679529670208202032010-01-24T21:38:00.000+00:002010-01-27T21:38:54.229+00:00The St John Bacon Sandwich<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpIF8RmKb5JeIOU0unbd8G_jVVqJVc1FGJW8hvmGQG5mnBC-XtsZdO-3nXXHBv8hIWsUS5_EdqHv852-7OH7treLaaF4J8E9AG38jzeC94LvFY9d1Dfx8GCUTpzJr8X4-z_RPu3ZBsFUcx/s1600-h/DSC_0034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpIF8RmKb5JeIOU0unbd8G_jVVqJVc1FGJW8hvmGQG5mnBC-XtsZdO-3nXXHBv8hIWsUS5_EdqHv852-7OH7treLaaF4J8E9AG38jzeC94LvFY9d1Dfx8GCUTpzJr8X4-z_RPu3ZBsFUcx/s320/DSC_0034.JPG" title="the St John bacon sandwich yesterday" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">St John Bread & Wine in Spitalfields is the younger sibling of the original St John in Smithfield. Although following the same philosophy of nose-to-tail eating and simple dishes made from impeccable ingredients it's not just a clone of the mothership, the most obvious difference being the menu style. Rather than dividing their food up into starters and mains there's just one big daily changing list of dishes, the majority of them smaller ones chiming in around £5-8 with a handful of larger ones usually in the £12-15 bracket encouraging a more relaxed, mix-and-match-and-sharing approach to ordering and the atmosphere and service is accordingly more informal than back at base. They tend to be a bit more experimental here too, but the biggest difference is that for an hour or two each morning B&W opens for breakfast. There are always a few different things on the breakfast menu but you don't need to bother reading it, the one thing that's always on it is their monumental bacon sandwich.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">If you know anything about St John and Fergus Henderson then your expectations for the humble bacon butty will probably be extremely high and at £5.40 a go if you didn't have any expectations you will now, mainly along the lines of "this had better be bloody good". Happily what turns up is not only the best bacon sarnie you're likely to find in London it's also about the size of your head.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Three reasons it's this good: the bacon, the bread and how they cook it. It almost goes without saying that the bacon is as good as it gets, proper slices of Old Spot back bacon that are juicy and extremely tasty, not the dry shrivelled vehicles for delivering vast quantities of salt and preservatives that often pass for bacon. The bread is fresh from their own on-site open bakery that you can peer into from the restaurant. Proper bakeries aren't too common in London unfortunately, there are a few good ones around but to my mind nothing beats the fantastic bread produced here, especially the sourdoughs. You can wander in just to buy individual loaves and other goodies over the counter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The bacon's cooked and the bread toasted on big open flame grill; you can see the pleasing scorch marks on the meat and the bread, and you can taste the satisfying gentle charred smokeyness. They make it look so simple, but if you've ever tried toasting bread on a bbq you'll probably know how easy it is to get it all wrong, you either get the outside black and burnt and the inside barely warm or if it's spent too long on a non-incinerating part of the grill then it becomes dessicated just when you're not looking, your slice of bread suddenly takes on the texture of a brittle biscuit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">When Canteen opened up across the road from B&W in Spitalfields market they tried to ape the St John bacon sandwich - quality bacon, posh bread, all on an open grill - and they couldn't get the bread right, it kept turning up with that biscuity thing going on. Biting into your bacon butty to have the bread shatter into hard, sharp pieces, half of it on the table with bits of bacon and sauce, the other half cutting up the insides of your mouth is not pleasant. They seem to have gone the other way now, the last bacon sandwich I had in Canteen was made with 'plastic' ready-sliced bread with streaky bacon (not properly crisped up, argh) which some people will tell you is how a bacon sandwich should be made. These are people who have never had the St John bacon sandwich.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0hgdv49sTsDT3s9rhGqT8TLUaXm9gIP2qjcKq8FuB4Y1USb7U5TV1wLvYhxF_w4DcuyI8I2yXQ-L1ndyHoXrmzhnDS_Ccs4USbemQCmemsazcRZViEP6H2R31Ca4RMoCfYKyKiWmUyICS/s1600-h/DSC_0042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0hgdv49sTsDT3s9rhGqT8TLUaXm9gIP2qjcKq8FuB4Y1USb7U5TV1wLvYhxF_w4DcuyI8I2yXQ-L1ndyHoXrmzhnDS_Ccs4USbemQCmemsazcRZViEP6H2R31Ca4RMoCfYKyKiWmUyICS/s640/DSC_0042.JPG" title="granola, jams and marmalades - depending on the time of year - from the bakery counter" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The other vital ingredient for a bacon sandwich is the sauce to go with it, and at B&W you get a little pot on the side of home-made tomato ketchup. The lack of HP sauce may make some people want to cry but you should try it, it works fabulously. You don't want so much on that it gets in the way of the sandwich, I think the only reason there's such a tradition of dousing HP sauce everywhere is to try and make sandwiches made with the aforementioned shitty bacon actually taste of something. There's always Canteen over the road if you can't eat one without HP.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The bacon sandwich window only exists between 9 and 11am weekdays, 10-11 at weekends. I did hear a rumour that they were going to expand this and open a bit earlier but that doesn't seem to have happened. At 11 all the staff sit down in the restaurant and have a big communal lunch which is fun to watch. It does mean however that they're not shy about slamming shut the bacon butty window with the apparently starving chefs seeming to have their watches set a few minutes fast. Between 11 and 12 they serve an elevenses menu which usually consists of seed cake and a glass of Madeira which is very pleasant but it's no substitute for a bacon sandwich if you're 5 minutes late.</span><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Most hangovers are pretty powerless against such a beast, but if you're really struggling ask for a Dr Henderson. It's not on the menu, it's a drink made with Fernet Branca - an Italian liquer full of herbs - and creme de menthe named after Fergus Henderson's father. It's the last thing you want to see - it's bright green - let alone drink if you're suffering from the previous night's excesses but oh boy does it work. Drink it all down in as few goes as possible then just give it a minute or two to get your sight back and for the shaking and spasms and facial tics to stop, once the colour's returned to your cheeks you'll be ready to meet the rest of the day with a smile on your face. Although don't try driving or operating machinery. You'll occasionally see a Dr Henderson Ice Cream on the dessert menu which I find somewhat terrifying.</span></span><br />
</div>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-70303233394720421572010-01-17T22:57:00.000+00:002010-01-27T21:39:17.289+00:00January Cocktails: Lounge Bohemia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kN4sfAkZxx_6_gkQsdzQZrGNasQSaJX03kTGr-W_bL-G3lqpXDpALZhOETNz_3DwXR3jY_J2OpRn6qRdvARPvBMxceD1G2hd-JvodBaADgVTEzO2rrxX4LJQPBNY1r4KwEzwPypBRf7g/s1600-h/DSC_0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kN4sfAkZxx_6_gkQsdzQZrGNasQSaJX03kTGr-W_bL-G3lqpXDpALZhOETNz_3DwXR3jY_J2OpRn6qRdvARPvBMxceD1G2hd-JvodBaADgVTEzO2rrxX4LJQPBNY1r4KwEzwPypBRf7g/s640/DSC_0015.JPG" title="Lounge Bohemia yesterday" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Nothing sticks two fingers up to January's faddy exercise plans and hollow attempts at self-improvement quite like cocktails, and nowhere does cocktails quite like Lounge Bohemia. In fact nowhere else does anything quite like them. It's a pretty difficult place to just stumble upon, the entrance being an anonymous doorway on the unloved bottom stretch of Great Eastern Street, full of people hurrying through on their way to somewhere else. Their website is much the same, just an address and a phone number on it - no spiel trying to tempt you to visit, no menu, no gushing quotes and comments from customers, no map, no opening times, no nothing. All of which is very much in keeping with the whole attitude of a place that's discreetly doing exactly what they want, how they want - there's no standing at the bar here, if you've not booked seats they'll probably tell you to bugger off, if you're wearing a suit they'll definitely tell you to bugger off whether you've booked of not. You can sometimes get the impression they're doing you a huge favour just letting you in the place and talking to you. It's not to everyone's liking and there's plenty of comments on the various <a href="http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/bar-pub/1c14o8j/lounge-bohemia">review</a> <a href="http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/pubsandbars/lounge-bohemia-userreview-28371.html">web</a> <a href="http://www.qype.co.uk/place/164357-lounge-bohemia-London">sites</a> from disgruntled punters but that's why God put the <a href="http://www.thedrunkenmonkey.co.uk/">Drunken Monkey</a> just round the corner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The name refers to the actual place Bohemia, something you quickly guess once you're through the door as you pass through a corridor decorated with Czech newspapers, a small staircase at the end descends down into the bar proper. I'd have described the decor as "my Nan running wild at a jumble sale" but after I'd been here a couple of times I brought a friend who knows a lot more than me about design and cool things in general, and he had a field day pointing out the various design classics that the place is apparently furnished with. There are copies of Wallpaper* in the magazine racks. The menus (mainly drinks but some food too) are hidden inside hardback Czech novels (I'm assuming they're novels, they could be lawnmower repair manuals for all I know) where there's a terse list of their cocktails and spirits. The spirits list is pretty extensive but going for quality in depth rather than quantity: there's quite a small range of brands with each one available in several different types ranging from what you could find quite easily on the high street through to the ultra-rare, old and expensive bottles. Nestling in the corner on one page is their small selection of molecular gastronomy cocktails. I started with a classic dry gin martini ("olives, twist or cucumber?") which was as good as it can ever get, made with Tanqueray and stirred not shaken by Paul behind the bar. An Aviation was jealously guarded by its owner during its short life span, an attempt to try it deflected with "nah, it's not your kind of thing".</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWOGGKuONmh-NdybBrJxJ4nyDErQo7-51eDGBsOVG_-JRsDnZ-obPYah-ZNPDN4UvHVhQJqZzwQmQyn5sisAXpItpgPq2-FHYFQZmf3hPtB9yFXSinpy5V5T0pHvOliI7R3XLNftDT5oA/s1600-h/DSC_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWOGGKuONmh-NdybBrJxJ4nyDErQo7-51eDGBsOVG_-JRsDnZ-obPYah-ZNPDN4UvHVhQJqZzwQmQyn5sisAXpItpgPq2-FHYFQZmf3hPtB9yFXSinpy5V5T0pHvOliI7R3XLNftDT5oA/s640/DSC_0011.JPG" title="pouring the rum over the candy floss for the Old Castro" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Molecular gastronomy makes more sense in the world of cocktails than food, I think. Forever associated with the foams, jellies, odd-flavoured ice-creams and bicycle pump exploded tomatoes of chefs and scientists such as Heston Blumenthal, Ferran Adria and Herve This, the techniques and principles seem much more likely to be successful in a cocktail glass as something you'd actually want to drink, than served up for dinner as something you'd actually want to eat. They're certainly having a go here: the Old Castro turned up with a glass containing vanilla candy floss spun round a cinnamon stick (they have a proper candy floss machine on the bar, presumably just for this drink) and next to it a Cuban cigar tube containing barrel proof rum infused with different bitters and the lingering aroma of the cigar itself, the candy floss melts into the rum as it's poured over it. The Bubble Bath Martini is lychee liquer with lavender and poppy seed vodka. It comes with lychee, lavender and rose bubbles foaming up over the rim of the glass. It's served with a little rubber duck in it.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AHfqxwbO57cfdUdSgcp1eNHvIXJuqlJeWZk6rfZwGsHnL_J_m-SlPOgZefRl8FtJY8wECuFChQmXa1gR20GnsmOw3UrVaLB_QeYIOIz8XDsEjKRVsyJjzlacPwkYNcVShrs4OYrA2Duv/s1600-h/DSC_0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AHfqxwbO57cfdUdSgcp1eNHvIXJuqlJeWZk6rfZwGsHnL_J_m-SlPOgZefRl8FtJY8wECuFChQmXa1gR20GnsmOw3UrVaLB_QeYIOIz8XDsEjKRVsyJjzlacPwkYNcVShrs4OYrA2Duv/s640/DSC_0012.jpg" title="Bubble Bath Martini. Shame I didn't take the photo before drinking half the bubbles" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I swear I've never drunk bubble bath before but that's really what the martini made me think of when I tasted it. I know that doesn't make it sound very pleasant but it was really very good, it's more that it made me think of bubble bath with each sip rather than actually tasting like it but it was a lot of fun too. A little sweet for me to want more than one but that's what you get for ordering something with lychee liquer in it. The rum drink was really delicious, the theatre of the presentation matched by the strong smoky rum left behind, I could have drunk several of these quite happily.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhDxKWHs7eRP_ySDFg0K1zMfocEbU0Dwm2KTH3hyphenhyphen21a3YkmayDa95WKFuviejXzY9-oz-LyUDQF3Rq-8JaF-hhPTkNJuRH6PzdUHUT7i1tsafAEsjNyfhkv5e_9fbt50ZAhA6kWxHY9xP/s1600-h/DSC_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhDxKWHs7eRP_ySDFg0K1zMfocEbU0Dwm2KTH3hyphenhyphen21a3YkmayDa95WKFuviejXzY9-oz-LyUDQF3Rq-8JaF-hhPTkNJuRH6PzdUHUT7i1tsafAEsjNyfhkv5e_9fbt50ZAhA6kWxHY9xP/s320/DSC_0009.JPG" title="teeny tiny bites of food. The mushroom pate has actually got a teeny tiny mushroom sitting in the middle which you can't really see properly." /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The food is worth a quick mention too, they serve a small range of bite-size snacks which are all tiny and complicated - this isn't a bowl of nuts and pretzels joint - but delicious, they'll often give you a few freebies when you sit down, but not always. Besides the three molecular gastronomy cocktails on the menu there's also a 5-course molecular gastronomy cocktail tasting menu available which you need to order in advance - it reads like Heston rewrote Alice in Wonderland pumped full of hallucinogenics and I'm looking forward to an excuse to try it sometime soon. Paul is a mixologist much in demand from the sound of it so if he's busy elsewhere then the tasting menu isn't on. There's a lot to love about this place, not least that it's a proper quirky one-off, they won't be rolling the "Lounge Bohemia concept" out anywhere soon, it's a place with character and personality that can leave you wandering back up the stairs and past the old Czech newspapers with a huge smile on your face if you let it. Assuming you're not stamping back up in a huff on your way to the Drunken Monkey.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6bypSi3_Ur1ak8VQCQH99WRN0mRcWMCITagpUC5azeqWjUMt1WuhVrVNK4rfWb66a4qImk4wI9ICrTk-kLkKo4xnAy3SaTMghQl09VI3SvaF4QQ-x3ecHCM_Hv3p1KPUWsSZulKsdDS9/s1600-h/DSC_0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6bypSi3_Ur1ak8VQCQH99WRN0mRcWMCITagpUC5azeqWjUMt1WuhVrVNK4rfWb66a4qImk4wI9ICrTk-kLkKo4xnAy3SaTMghQl09VI3SvaF4QQ-x3ecHCM_Hv3p1KPUWsSZulKsdDS9/s640/DSC_0013.JPG" title="you know it's been a good night if you're looking at this at the end of it" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Phone number for reservations <a href="http://www.loungebohemia.com/">on their website</a>. That wasn't a joke about the no-suit dress code.</span></span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-26603593509585304562010-01-10T22:51:00.000+00:002010-01-27T21:38:44.097+00:00Monsieur M<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTyIzPdqQLGXT7scs-EmJHhirh-9EjRHpHayL4jK0wzbINcmBq7yG-T6Qnyj8ai8T6ybENLZ_hVmDrbdKZFgwf_Xi6W5BFSzCfnoAzopaIEeUKSJKYciFWcyPThyphenhyphenbT765l-RuwZQNsh7B/s1600-h/IMG_0080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTyIzPdqQLGXT7scs-EmJHhirh-9EjRHpHayL4jK0wzbINcmBq7yG-T6Qnyj8ai8T6ybENLZ_hVmDrbdKZFgwf_Xi6W5BFSzCfnoAzopaIEeUKSJKYciFWcyPThyphenhyphenbT765l-RuwZQNsh7B/s400/IMG_0080.jpg" title="Monsieur M yesterday" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Monsieur M opened around the start of December in part of the old Shoreditch Town Hall building on Old Street, billing itself as an "Indochinese" restaurant. The building itself is quite fascinating: a large and imposing Baroque exterior in Portland stone, all pillars and carvings and reliefs, saved from disuse and dereliction at the start of the 21st century by the formation of the Shoreditch Town Hall Trust. The central couple of halls are impressive and quite beautifully restored although the last time I went to anything in one of the smaller rooms squirrelled away in the little warren of dusty corridors and up creaking staircases I was reminded more of The Shining than anything else. The building was the scene of the public inquest into the death of Mary Kelly, the last - and by far the most gruesome - of Jack the Ripper's murders. The story that emerged from the hearing caused a sensation with journalists from all over the world attending and enthusiastically reporting back to their readers the shocking, grisly details, cementing the murderer's legendary status that fuels a mini local economy in "Ripper Walks" and talks which still thrives today. Once the borough of Shoreditch became part of Hackney in the Sixties the Town Hall was no longer needed and it served as a boxing venue until a young Joe Bugner killed an opponent there in a fight early on his career which led to Hackney banning boxing altogether, causing Shoreditch Town Hall's decline to such a state it was put on the 'at risk' register in the '90s before the formation of the Trust finally brought a new lease of life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Not the happiest history for a building to have, but it's now managed and marketed as an all-purpose events space, hosting everything from weddings, arts & crafts fairs and music concerts to meditation classes and indeed, Indochinese restaurants. I'm not sure what the strict definition of Indochinese is but here it means a mixture of Thai and Vietnamese, quite a brave thing to do in these economic times when you're sandwiched between Cay Tre and the imminent new branch of Busaba on one side and Kingsland Road's army of Vietnamese restaurants on the other.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Monsieur M occupies the west wing of the building and has its own entrance. It doesn't look too inviting from the outside, there's big red illuminated signage and lights by the doorway that let you know something's there but Shoreditch Town Hall wasn't built to encourage hungry people to drop in for a look-see. It's pleasant enough once you're through the door however, with the odd Buddha lying around and the large bare walls painted in bright slabs of colour, the lighting subdued enough with little tealights on the table to give it a bit more atmosphere in the evenings - a welcome touch with most Oriental places at this level making your typical Wetherspoons look like Sketch. It's a bit of an awkward space - to be expected I suppose seeing as it's shoehorned into a few Town Hall rooms - and It's obviously not somewhere that expects you to linger for too long, the bare wooden tables with wooden stools quickly convey that message, the high ceilings and hard surfaces make it noisy and lively pretty quickly and you certainly aren't going to spend much time pondering your choices from the menu since they only have three items on it, along with a couple of side dishes, all of which change daily.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypwNrvZyMyGaUybn5rO1gckLkj30GtPXYteg2b0EXUzgkNguMk-jXtRne5OM0bnlLX8SF0o3i2Hgjvq42j54PuWm_Z2BsEKiWdqRsqBZZs491uh2Qc4vOzNyhDuIX0ph_-g9-w7Kr4Ox5/s1600-h/IMG_0075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img title="there's a bit of a red theme going on" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypwNrvZyMyGaUybn5rO1gckLkj30GtPXYteg2b0EXUzgkNguMk-jXtRne5OM0bnlLX8SF0o3i2Hgjvq42j54PuWm_Z2BsEKiWdqRsqBZZs491uh2Qc4vOzNyhDuIX0ph_-g9-w7Kr4Ox5/s400/IMG_0075.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">On my last visit (an unscheduled lunch stop to thaw out after being caught in the snow on Saturday afternoon) the choices were a chicken Thai curry, "bun pork balls" (Vietnamese pork meatballs with vermicelli noodles) and pho, the famous Vietnamese beef noodle soup, the two side dishes were summer rolls and chicken in pandan leaf. And that was your lot. Each main had a vegetarian option (where the meat was replaced with tofu) so you could possibly argue (like the waiter) there were 6 mains available but I wouldn't believe you. Summer rolls and pho are big favourites of mine so deciding what to have took a couple of seconds, the summer rolls arriving in the blink of an eye. A rather daft mistake to make was serving them in a hot-out-of-oven bowl causing the delicate rice paper skin of the cold rolls to start sticking to it. The rolls themselves were decent enough although they were vegetarian ones (no choice here) so no pork or shrimp in them which would have made them a bit more interesting but they were fresh and lively, packed with herbs and crunchy cold noodles and cucumber and a thick dipping sauce topped with peanuts and a slight sour tamarind tang to it that was very tasty.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7PGqE52-i2eFkapmkqXbNL1qmbvtoGxPWxjZM7DJP52pvtKtffcRlItFbLi192KoesdeaCAxJjGFP0e9O_BECZXny05IXUmbh8d9PLN6_CRnyZUv_aPDg7x4mHH0OkEL3euGSHqESdtA/s1600-h/IMG_0074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img title="shame the photo can't capture how hot that bowl was" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7PGqE52-i2eFkapmkqXbNL1qmbvtoGxPWxjZM7DJP52pvtKtffcRlItFbLi192KoesdeaCAxJjGFP0e9O_BECZXny05IXUmbh8d9PLN6_CRnyZUv_aPDg7x4mHH0OkEL3euGSHqESdtA/s400/IMG_0074.JPG" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">This was just passing the time really till I could see what they made of the pho. Talk about coals to Newcastle, if you're going to choose just 3 dishes for the day and you've got about 15 Vietnamese restaurants within a 5 minute walk (including Song Que which is pho-tastic) then you're going to have to be pretty confident you've cooked up something special, I thought. What turned up was decent enough, generous helpings of good quality steak and brisket cuts of beef and dense, very finely minced meatballs sitting in a broth that was okay, laden with a nice mix of herbs and noodles. What on Earth they thought they were doing serving red pepper on top I do not know but I never want to experience it again. It's a shame it was all made up in the kitchen though, order pho in any of the restaurants nearby and it's very much a DIY affair, the table quickly loaded up with herbs, beansprouts, chillis, limes and other odds and sods depending where you are, for you to add to your liking as you progress through the soup. The only addition supplied here was a little bowl of fiery, smokey, oily chilli sauce since there was nothing very spicy about the soup as it was served.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2o-_4hsHvDPadwEGqwPvvrNfuUEQpZHmX4jxlYQjx2unHk6UEmpi4r3sbUtOxMjzZ9VOGyBkRjxI5IDqJDiwPJikYZ1yQ3oyey8t5RZDx9iaBNolaQ6dyqLaIuHt6BiAvvnbtcX770F8r/s1600-h/IMG_0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img title="red pepper on pho - a punchable offence" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2o-_4hsHvDPadwEGqwPvvrNfuUEQpZHmX4jxlYQjx2unHk6UEmpi4r3sbUtOxMjzZ9VOGyBkRjxI5IDqJDiwPJikYZ1yQ3oyey8t5RZDx9iaBNolaQ6dyqLaIuHt6BiAvvnbtcX770F8r/s400/IMG_0077.JPG" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I really quite liked Monsieur M though as I trekked back out into the freezing snow and wind, there's an endearing enthusiasm about the place. No-one I know has been wowed into raptures by the food but also they've only got positive things to say about it and with the place holding about 80 or 90 covers the 3-mains-only daily changing menu shows a commitment to quality over quantity that is refreshing to see. From talking to the staff there they're hoping to bump up the number of choices on the menu a bit "once we've found our feet properly" and I hope they get the chance to, and it's a good choice for a friendly pitstop when you're happy to take what's on offer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Main courses £7.60, sides £3.60, details on </span></span><a href="http://www.monsieurm.co.uk/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">the Monsieur M website</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span></span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-71840801728725883002010-01-08T22:48:00.000+00:002010-01-09T19:29:47.563+00:00Caponata<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOYOEXC1ln1kxuzA-j3jy-cNyVJUXQtNHbfVQgZq7B2M_DKGComE3VMpQ1GoIgVYk4mKWE8Ao4vm9F1kKvi-L8YUScSWYgLCx4wUHixems48UvDFIWR4wn5EV8oJN9Vw9Od5b0wvLdpOF/s1600-h/599006695_712516732f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOYOEXC1ln1kxuzA-j3jy-cNyVJUXQtNHbfVQgZq7B2M_DKGComE3VMpQ1GoIgVYk4mKWE8Ao4vm9F1kKvi-L8YUScSWYgLCx4wUHixems48UvDFIWR4wn5EV8oJN9Vw9Od5b0wvLdpOF/s320/599006695_712516732f.jpg" title="an aubergine flower yesterday" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I've never really got the hang of aubergines. Cooking them at home as always ended up being infuriating rather satisfying, I think one of the reasons is that the bulbous purple beasties don't really taste of a whole lot on their own. They're pleasant enough but one of those things that only suddenly come alive and start singing once they're shacked up happily with oils, spices, cheeses, herbs, tomatoes, lamb, almost anything now I come to think of it but they need something. Even the simple-looking aubergine salads going round on the Japanese kaiten restaurant conveyor belts have a platoon of oils, spices and vinegars strong-arming the aubergine into making something tasty. This recipe is the exception that proves the rule of my inability to deal with aubergines in my kitchen, there's quite a lot going on and what I like so much about it is the balance between the extremely salty, sour, sweet and bitter ingredients, with the aubergine sitting happily in the middle pulling it all together, shamelessly taking the glory off the back of everyone else's hard work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Caponata is an Italian dish, usually translated as an aubergine salad. The variations are legion however, including everything up to octopus, herring, tuna, anchovies and even beef not to mention most other vegetables under the (Mediterranean) sun getting chucked in by one recipe or another. What they all have in common though is the classic aubergine/tomato pairing cooked in a sauce balancing the sweet and sour, salty and bitter. This recipe doesn't have any unnecessary extras, just the essentials and it cooks down into quite a dense, intense, rich dish that is delicious served straight away or left to cool down to room temperature. What's really great about it is that you can store jars of it in the fridge for ages where it transforms into a kind of chutney which goes well with practically anything and is a nice accompaniment to liven up a mid-week dinner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Ingredients</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">2 medium sized aubergines or 1 large one</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1 teaspoon cocoa powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1 tablespoon brown sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">2 tablespoons capers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">good handful of black olives, pitted and halved</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1 big juicy garlic clove or a couple of ordinary ones</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1 onion</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1 tin chopped tomatoes (or about 5 real ones)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">a few chopped basil leaves</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Heat the oven to 180. Chop the aubergines - some recipes say to peel them, but I don't bother. I can see why, some people think the skin is a bit too tannic but I like it and I think it makes the dish look more, erm, auberginey. Slice them lengthways then again into quarters or sixths if it's a big one, then slice them across into pieces about 1cm thick. Fry these until they've taken on some colour then cook for a further 5 mins with the onion and the crushed garlic, you want to halve the onion and slice it into thin disks to give the final dish a bit more texture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Frying aubergines is always a bit of a sod since the things soak up any oil immediately, so putting the oil in the pan first never really works unless you're frying them about 5 pieces at a time - the road to insanity - and also one of the reasons it's common to get oily, greasy aubergine dishes served up since it's so tempting to keep adding some more oil when the previous lot just disappears in front of your eyes. I first put them in a bowl and give them a quick mix by hand with some oil in an attempt to try and get it vaguely evenly distributed, an alternative is brushing each piece but frankly I'm buggered if I can be bothered with that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As the aubergine pieces cook their spongy absorbent structure slowly starts to collapse, the pieces shrink a bit and change colour and the oil starts to ooze back out (which is why you don't want to keep adding it as it disappears at the start), the sizzling noise changes and you can suddenly smell aubergine, similar to cooking mushrooms once you've fried the water out of them and they start to cook properly in the pan. This is very satisfying (I'm quite easily pleased) but some people would rather stop before that stage, mixing in the onion and garlic to cook whilst the aubergine pieces are just a bit coloured but before they've started really cooking down. This is fine, you're left with a dish that's not quite so dense, but they'll cook fine, it's just personal preference, I'm more a fan of giving them a proper cooking at this stage and a slightly more gooey final product.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3LOs82m1l-joQFq8_SVv9QcRclGq7C4BcxtgAQ6dXhfbEPU2Nm8kzR_TJdWFPXn_hccl7i7zIinbsCiNCwRwMRg5WGSJFteapnc40C3mEiytEygMH4aV2EcviJKduYJLrzwdgYDKQe0Y/s1600-h/DSCF0280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3LOs82m1l-joQFq8_SVv9QcRclGq7C4BcxtgAQ6dXhfbEPU2Nm8kzR_TJdWFPXn_hccl7i7zIinbsCiNCwRwMRg5WGSJFteapnc40C3mEiytEygMH4aV2EcviJKduYJLrzwdgYDKQe0Y/s400/DSCF0280.JPG" title="can you tell what it is yet?" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">So anyway, once you've got all that out of the way add everything else, pour another half-a-tomato-tin's worth of water in, season with salt and pepper and put in the oven for about 35-45 minutes, taking it out halfway through for a stir and to make sure it's not sticking, add a bit more water if it is. The photo above is what it looks like after it's done, I've thoughtfully scraped some away from the side of the pan so you can see how thick it is. Some more chopped basil leaves and pine nuts are nice additions to serve, or possibly <a href="http://icouldnteatawholeone.blogspot.com/2009/12/smoked-anchovies.html">some smoked anchovies</a>.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAsFV7oKmk-wnD-r_yUyAThQoXYH-RnpGMS7zpqGAAHktOzBAmmHeiiAmPg_ZcCVSha_z1oxaS3H5CwBZxxrMIkzT2QTkd3NrRhbYiCDFDIesNR9oqKumA_Q_eok9J_F9T9onedKO3oQN/s1600-h/DSCF0292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAsFV7oKmk-wnD-r_yUyAThQoXYH-RnpGMS7zpqGAAHktOzBAmmHeiiAmPg_ZcCVSha_z1oxaS3H5CwBZxxrMIkzT2QTkd3NrRhbYiCDFDIesNR9oqKumA_Q_eok9J_F9T9onedKO3oQN/s400/DSCF0292.JPG" title="took me ages to get those basil leaves arranged like that" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and be sure to make enough to put in the fridge for a few days.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiddwX1qLcdDTDDaZPNjReFciQNWZWv2BY-ruoEdwNArbydfN77M11497gWh3gj9iPXr682gzazDzlGDnwr7CmUvrK9JEn0VIgdNT-DoVR4O4iCoqDHZPyrd7KxJ8zMATkmeJ8VtfQDFbN/s1600-h/DSCF0307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiddwX1qLcdDTDDaZPNjReFciQNWZWv2BY-ruoEdwNArbydfN77M11497gWh3gj9iPXr682gzazDzlGDnwr7CmUvrK9JEn0VIgdNT-DoVR4O4iCoqDHZPyrd7KxJ8zMATkmeJ8VtfQDFbN/s320/DSCF0307.JPG" title="the real point of the whole exercise" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Aubergine flower photo courtesy of </span></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/matsuyuki/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">matsuyuki</span></span></a><br />
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</div>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-52856122838547374232009-12-29T10:43:00.000+00:002010-01-09T19:30:05.791+00:00Fire & Knives<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOA6CH8bbaTFlpYHFT-wRf5moVAA4XaN7jvTd4dIfVI70wc6peYJvtNl3Xi9qCwGMLQ6wlwjQw3h02AqrdLsVjO-STZYYA1QufI0hXveKDUEc7ujU2HKcGeO8jQRDs3eek5B1PWLw-gCp/s1600-h/175.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOA6CH8bbaTFlpYHFT-wRf5moVAA4XaN7jvTd4dIfVI70wc6peYJvtNl3Xi9qCwGMLQ6wlwjQw3h02AqrdLsVjO-STZYYA1QufI0hXveKDUEc7ujU2HKcGeO8jQRDs3eek5B1PWLw-gCp/s400/175.gif" title="Fire and Knives yesterday" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I was lucky enough to pick up a copy of Fire & Knives from the market at Brick Lane just before Christmas. It's a new 'Food Quarterly' that launched in November and turned out to be the perfect little xmas present to myself, the ideal accomplice for those frequent periods of lying on the sofa recovering from overeating and drinking, usually with a glass of something and a box of Belgian chocolates nearby and several family members dozing around me, paper hats sliding slowly down over their eyes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The first thing you notice about Fire & Knives is how beautifully it's presented, the thick paper and distinctive, colourful layouts combining to make it a pleasure to just hold and idly flick through. It's obviously been a labour of love to produce and you get the same impression from the writing within, editor Tim Hayward puts it best in his foreword:</span><br />
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<blockquote><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Fire & Knives had to be about love of, enthusiasm for and fascination with food, in all its aspects. It could never be about being a 'connoisseur' - literally 'one who knows' - it had to be about being an amateur - 'one who loves' … so we gave our writers a simple, one line brief: write as an amateur about something you love.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBI_cmBQsqpPKccevLmDwu-9M8NRjH_X2Tn1s6WAxisBgiS3RV32zf147-d0xNYy7BjpjOB4Ig8HgATbu9vUTEsZqaiWMPYUp3tDvhmWHayI8dmAmXsm_G9mrL3itUX1g7cROP17acIjM/s1600-h/hot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBI_cmBQsqpPKccevLmDwu-9M8NRjH_X2Tn1s6WAxisBgiS3RV32zf147-d0xNYy7BjpjOB4Ig8HgATbu9vUTEsZqaiWMPYUp3tDvhmWHayI8dmAmXsm_G9mrL3itUX1g7cROP17acIjM/s320/hot.jpg" title="Thermos Collector Monthly cover story" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">And when you finally stop flicking, skimming and browsing and settle down to read, you find a wonderfully eclectic range of topics and writers all taking their brief very seriously. There's Matthew Fort wrestling with the question of defining English cooking and Tom Parker Bowles confessing the extent of his cookbook addiction, there's a couple of striking photo-essays, a touching portrait of a Bengali women's inner city vegetable growing and cooking community round the back of Spitalfields City Farm, a culinary expedition into poorly-mapped territory trying to cook with tobacco, a faces-at-the-window peek into the privileged dining rooms of City institutions, a surreally funny bit of quail-related fiction, an hilarious skewering of dining-scene pretension sneaking in as a restaurant review and a wide, quirky spectrum of other entertaining, thought-provoking and unexpected articles each as diverse and original as the last one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">They're all about food of course but like all the best writing so many of them are about so much more, food as the context that we live our lives with each other, those we love, those we barely know; the hooks around which we form our memories of times and places that we carry with us forever. It's a pleasure to read and I'm looking forward to issue 2 already. You should too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Details of subscriptions on <a href="http://fireandknives.com/">the Fire & Knives website</a>. No details on there about shops carrying it but I believe there's a few places in London, Foyles and Books for Cooks spring to mind. Hassle <a href="http://twitter.com/fireandknives">them on Twitter</a> for locations near you.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pictures pinched from their website.</span></span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-4344583231210094762009-12-20T22:18:00.000+00:002010-01-09T19:29:47.563+00:00Smoked Anchovies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gXKodjLAPBMsh9lqlxqL6z9Jm1Nb4YR_5BIBvv37wmoTOkFwTyGAgMRSshIi9NdvfCUubzkcbBc72VFDP2704iL9q5BiZ2VGnyi5nNrBmnUv0JrjuYhISltm9NeLSMH3APYQregXVm8f/s1600-h/113789859_dc8c90d643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gXKodjLAPBMsh9lqlxqL6z9Jm1Nb4YR_5BIBvv37wmoTOkFwTyGAgMRSshIi9NdvfCUubzkcbBc72VFDP2704iL9q5BiZ2VGnyi5nNrBmnUv0JrjuYhISltm9NeLSMH3APYQregXVm8f/s320/113789859_dc8c90d643.jpg" title="some anchovies off for a smoke yesterday" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I always found the idea of smoked anchovies to be utterly, utterly minging. I'd see tins of them on the shelves in Brindisa and pass them quickly by, making little gagging noises and sticking my tongue out at them as I did so, but one day after spending a small fortune in there (they sell lots of nice things) they insisted on giving me a couple of tins for free. I thought that asking if I could perhaps have something different for free was just too cheeky and I couldn't exactly shout "MINGING!" and chuck them across the shop so with a watery grin I took them with away me. This was shortly after they'd opened their deli in Borough Market so I guess they were eager to impress; the price of a tin has almost doubled since then so it looks like it's worked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">You'll be surprised to hear that after opening a tin I discovered that they weren't the honking little abominations I was expecting, they were in fact the Best Thing Ever. Looking back I've no idea why the thought of them made me want to hurl, I've always loved anchovies. The intensely salty cooked tinned ones can add depth and a savoury quality to almost anything, especially if it involves tomato sauce or roast lamb and as for the marinated, preserved fillets - boquerones - that you see in Spanish tapas places and delis, well I could eat my bodyweight of those and be back for more the next day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">These smoked ones though, they're very special. Toothsome fleshy fillets of fish like the boquerones but the slight vinegar sharpness is replaced with a gentle, softly sweet smokiness. It's a flavour that's obviously there but subtly so, serving more to bring out a smooth full-on umami hit from the fish itself. Left to my own devices I'll happily just eat the whole tin with nothing more than a glass or 2 of chilled manzanilla but if other people are expecting feeding as well I'll brush off the biscuit crumbs, put on some pants and try to dish them up in a slightly more elegant manner.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7RgIwbywGCs48QBAU52rNdubfwd55MJA6BRRBAJ11SQDMwbP79ZKrz6vZaY5VE8OZPADrcJ-7cptxIY8Z9gog_7cCCG1hQWa_rCiJOr0BAZ32JzKSoAhSyQ8iYrFDyp9I9Z_VRBAIb4U/s1600-h/DSCF0270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7RgIwbywGCs48QBAU52rNdubfwd55MJA6BRRBAJ11SQDMwbP79ZKrz6vZaY5VE8OZPADrcJ-7cptxIY8Z9gog_7cCCG1hQWa_rCiJOr0BAZ32JzKSoAhSyQ8iYrFDyp9I9Z_VRBAIb4U/s400/DSCF0270.JPG" title="weird sex" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Smoked anchovies and scrambled eggs on toast is quick, easy and comfort sex on a plate. The eggs need to be creamy (I don't mean with cream in them, just cooked to a creamy consistency), go easy on the salt, I like to put a pinch of chilli powder in mine, not enough to make them hot but I like the lift they get from a little pinch. Creamy eggs is the real key though, anchovies and creamy eggy things is quite a classic combo, the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesselvidge/3537002522/">parmesan custard with anchovy toast</a> at <a href="http://lecafeanglais.co.uk/">Le Cafe Anglais</a> being the pinnacle of mankind's achievement in this sphere. Until someone invents parmesan custard with smoked anchovy toast, that is.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwb5N8lJRxaHZqUW32mNlBblH4xgmjjLZp3eXx5mXoGBGpTe9cNkxqO3i0qbKPo0ktvAFua5qy6yDDUBqnmO9c6y8IjdL5I2eiqdP5Ei6Ajnxawt2V4v6CF0MalGulqYrZ6MMlWBkvS78J/s1600-h/DSCF0273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img title="oh I'm going to eat you little fishy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwb5N8lJRxaHZqUW32mNlBblH4xgmjjLZp3eXx5mXoGBGpTe9cNkxqO3i0qbKPo0ktvAFua5qy6yDDUBqnmO9c6y8IjdL5I2eiqdP5Ei6Ajnxawt2V4v6CF0MalGulqYrZ6MMlWBkvS78J/s400/DSCF0273.JPG" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Purple sprouting broccoli with smoked anchovies is my favourite and a great example of something already wonderful improved with smoky anchovy magic. Purple sprouting broccoli deserves be revered as much as asparagus and it's at its peak in these cold winter months. Think of this as a winter version of asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, but better.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKyhSpd37kSFXUqM_EZ1Yx8I2EHU5lTJvMixkktWXhLcxphR2xlhwMzEI1kYdauMDR3_uLMMVRJ9ndiWAF6wDNm2BRCpMv5O_bO9U9P2ouoYXcO_9VPzGAHqzQDgNy38oBAFjpxev_NQrG/s1600-h/DSCF0276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKyhSpd37kSFXUqM_EZ1Yx8I2EHU5lTJvMixkktWXhLcxphR2xlhwMzEI1kYdauMDR3_uLMMVRJ9ndiWAF6wDNm2BRCpMv5O_bO9U9P2ouoYXcO_9VPzGAHqzQDgNy38oBAFjpxev_NQrG/s400/DSCF0276.JPG" title="mmmm, how do you get it that fantastic brown colour?" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">And finally I also love this bruschetta from the River Cafe which remarkably (a) only has 2 ingredients and (b) only takes about 20 minutes to make: mix some cherry tomatoes, slivers of garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, roast in an oven for about 15 mins at 200C/400F/gas 6. Meanwhile warm through some borlotti beans tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little red wine vinegar. Mix the beans with the tomatoes, I like to get them a bit crushed and mangled, it looks a bit rough but it's quite entertaining to prepare. Spread on toasted sourdough bread, and lay fillets of smoky fishy alchemy on top. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">You may notice the last step appears to be missing from my photo, and indeed by the time I'd make the bruschetta I'd eaten all the anchovies. I find this to be a common problem, if you're planning on making any kind of dish with smoked anchovies then I strongly recommend allowing for the fact that you'll have already eaten half the tin before you need to use them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">More details on </span><a href="http://www.brindisashops.com/products/fish/anchovies/?id=304"><span style="font-size: small;">Brindisa's website</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> (they're £6.50 for a 100g tin in the shop)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photo of (live) anchovies courtesy of </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/team_awesome/"><span style="font-size: small;">Team Awesome!</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> on flickr</span></span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-11961761327758502052009-12-18T23:50:00.000+00:002009-12-19T01:14:08.864+00:00Galvin Cafe De Luxe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGnF8p6P-6t3rTVrPx8LgG2V6_9Nf4tuUl5sY-OiyxVGlITUAF9q6QcPROKouoPKj7jMpsjnLeIA7qPS5OPYU3WLhftJC5s7yk9eyeQBnRoBFzH61L9qo7w2w-AV626FsDVaWg3C5H6sz/s1600-h/IMG_0061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqGnF8p6P-6t3rTVrPx8LgG2V6_9Nf4tuUl5sY-OiyxVGlITUAF9q6QcPROKouoPKj7jMpsjnLeIA7qPS5OPYU3WLhftJC5s7yk9eyeQBnRoBFzH61L9qo7w2w-AV626FsDVaWg3C5H6sz/s400/IMG_0061.JPG" title="Galvin Cafe De Luxe about to be blown away, yesterday" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The Galvin brothers opened Galvin La Chapelle to quite some fanfare a few weeks ago </span><a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/restaurants/review-23775499-brothers-push-the-boat-out-at-galvin-la-chapelle.do"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">and</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.doshermanos.co.uk/2009/11/galvin-la-chapelle-in-spitting-distance.html"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">it</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.london-eating.co.uk/36563.htm"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">seems</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/19-11-09/galvin-la-chapelle/"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">like</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/reviews/22386.html"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">every</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/restaurants/6718070/London-restaurant-guide-Galvin-La-Chapelle-London-E1.html"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">blog</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/reviews/galvin-la-chapelle-35-spital-square-london-e1-1837123.html"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">and</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/food/805401-raise-the-roof-for-galvin-la-chapelle"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">newspaper</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://rwapplewannabe.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/galvin-la-chapelle-spitalfields/"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">and</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.foodepedia.co.uk/restaurant-reviews/2009/nov/Galvin_La_Chapelle.htm"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">restaurant</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://eatlikeagirl.com/2009/12/12/lunch-at-galvin-la-chapelle/"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">website</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/292225.html"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">you</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/669083"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">can</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/london/view/102118/Galvin_La_Chapelle"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">think</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.thelondonrestaurantreview.co.uk/displayrecord2.asp?RecType=2&EntryID=6696&LBID=102670&LBLive=1&Adrz=Galvin+La+Chapelle+restaurant+35+Spital+Square++London+London+E1+6DY"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">of</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.restaurant-guide.com/galvin-la-chapelle.htm"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">has</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.hot-dinners.com/Restaurant-Reviews/The-City/galvin-la-chapelle"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">weighed</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> in with a review of the place recently. Generally speaking they're all very positive although there seems to be a common theme of being distinctly underwhelmed by the whole experience, the high expectations from the Galvin brothers previous ventures, the rather dramatic setting of their new place and the prices charged making it quite common to see reviews ending with rather wistful noises about what could/should have been.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">But whatever, something that seems to have gone pretty much uncommented on is the cafe operation attached to the side of the main restaurant. Wandering past it tonight in freezing temperatures, snow coming down horizontally at 100mph thanks to a biting wind that was whipping up my trousers and on the verge on unmanning me, that was all the excuse I needed to pop in and investigate. Open from 8am doing breakfasts and through the day with a 'plat du jour' at lunch and into the evening it's a much more ordinary looking affair that backs out onto Bishop's Square than the spectacularly housed restaurant with its discreet Spital Square side entrance into the renovated St Botolph's church. It's actually a bit surreal sitting as it does beneath several floors of brand spanking new City Lifestyle designer apartments, which you can gaze up at from within parts of the cafe thanks to the glass ceiling and the two small outdoor seating areas. It reminded me a little bit of the Blueprint Cafe, the restaurant above the Design Museum on Butler's Wharf where you can look out on one side straight into several of the swish riverside flats next door to it and watch the residents pottering around as you eat your dinner. Or maybe I just need to curb my voyeurism.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Sitting at the bar, still with my coat and scarf on (although I'd taken my gloves off - I do know how to behave in these places) I ordered a gin martini and took a look at the menu whilst waiting for me to come up to the same temperature as the rest of the room. The martini was decent enough, the "twist" of lemon peel (about 1/4 of a lemon) somewhat over the top but it was nicely chilled and did a good job of warming me up, the poor waiter who was sent diving through the doors into the wet arctic gale to rescue some chairs that were being blown away could probably have done with one too. The menu reads well, it's full of things you want to eat (assuming you're not a vegetarian) and it's not easy making a normal-sized-person choice - onion soup, snails, steak tartare, herrings, fois gras terrine and a choice of oysters amongst the starters, pork belly, bouillabaisse, steak, boudin noir stick in the mind from the choice of mains although they're all described in much more attractive detail than that.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrzPphabfrL-0g723hAUOe-SIeVF8PHH6uBiVB-43yyyAE3qJYX_jOgTuF9u4MitTnzUfnlNTiZVv5LY7Stglon3XiybJXZJoObYemJ75TKQOahsv9W2BPwVtVTbdjMcglKEvJMT750Xj/s1600-h/IMG_0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrzPphabfrL-0g723hAUOe-SIeVF8PHH6uBiVB-43yyyAE3qJYX_jOgTuF9u4MitTnzUfnlNTiZVv5LY7Stglon3XiybJXZJoObYemJ75TKQOahsv9W2BPwVtVTbdjMcglKEvJMT750Xj/s400/IMG_0052.JPG" title="I'd like another 3 of these please. No, all on one plate's fine" /></a><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I had ham and celeriac remoulade starter and am kicking myself for not being able to remember the name of the ham - air-cured and sliced wafer thin with large pristine white fatty borders it was stunningly good. Parma, serrano, iberico, san danielle, whatever, if it's previously been part of a pig and it's been cured then I'm a big fan of it and this rated up there with the very best I've had, beautifully soft and moist with a deep but gentle flavour that forces you to slow down and savour every mouthful. The celeriac was spot on too, a classic pairing to be sure, but so often it's the kitchen cocking up the straightforward things that really dispirits me - the shonky mayonnaise, flabby chips, bland aioli, too-sharp ketchup, fridge-cold butter, gloopy bearnaise, bacon that looks like it's been microwaved.</span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Next up was confit leg of duck with braised lentils and black pudding, not quite as successful but I still would have licked the plate clean if the place hadn't been so busy. The duck had a nice crispy skin but the meat itself was too dry, the former probably causing the latter. The lentils and black pudding were delicious, rich and hearty, the black pudding of the soft and crumbly variety that you can almost spread on stuff and just right for this dish. Other dishes getting wheeled out around me look great, the onion soup and the bouillabaisse in particular. I think if I had my time again I'd order the onion soup followed by two ham and celeriacs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">All classic stuff that you'd expect to see really, and the cafe menu reads a lot more like a shorter version of the menu from their first restaurant, Bistrot de Luxe. Comparisons with it's grand conjoined twin are inevitable though: La Chapelle has a Cote de Boeuf (for 2) the cafe offers a rib eye steak (for 1); La Chap serves a pavé of halibut, in the caff you get a wood roast sea bream; LC can do you a tagine of "squab pigeon", CDL a confit duck leg; in the churchy bit they have a "Feuillette of baby leeks, salsify and hazlenut emulsion" (oh yes they do) and well, I think you probably get the point. La Chapelle is big and elaborate, impressive to look at and hitting all the aspirational pressure points in the bodies of the expenses-fuelled City lunchtime wheeler and dealer with the clinical expertise of a Bangkok soapy massage. The Cafe De Luxe on the other hand sits quietly round the back with its low ceiling and funky zinc bar and little tables, serving familiar food that people want to eat and sending them on their way with a proper happy ending.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A couple of other points worth mentioning: the menu for the cafe has a "from the wood oven" section with only 4 items on it - a tarte flambé and pizzas (one of which was a pissaladière, a white pizza) - but which sounded impressive, just one or two ingredients on each suggesting a confidence that reeled me in, I nearly ordered the ceps pizza. I didn't see a single one served unfortunately but am keen to return and investigate what's quite an odd little section to be sitting in the middle of their menu. I don't recall a "from the wood oven" section in the La Chapelle menu although I'm sure it must be used for some of the dishes, they can't have installed such a thing in their kitchen just to knock out pizzas for the cafe. A final thumbs up goes to the wine list, predominantly (but not totally) French they have a good size proportion available by the glass (175ml), small pot (250ml), large pot (450ml) as well as the bottle. Not the whole list unfortunately, but it's nice to see them making an effort that more places should be making.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Details of all the Galvin restaurants can be f</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">ound </span></span><a href="http://www.galvinrestaurants.com/"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">on their website</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">. They don't mention the hand-dryers in the toilets that will blast the skin off your hands if you're not careful - be warned.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bugger, the name of that ham is really winding me up, noix de something I think, ggnnnnnnnnnnn</span></span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-14426720146646894172009-12-15T00:25:00.000+00:002009-12-19T01:14:18.395+00:00Dose Espresso<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YjMlYuliDQIl1-Gw3Wycq1hL1DM0G0ZUO5hYdkkLzJcBkJiWa-WF83KMw_wD-rW9ERuMoB1m_J3Dfi0e5LmDXLeGDpTjj-WzgKwrINVsF_gQ60Am56CYlrfZz4WMgOGpx313ejsGXNi1/s1600-h/IMG_0046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YjMlYuliDQIl1-Gw3Wycq1hL1DM0G0ZUO5hYdkkLzJcBkJiWa-WF83KMw_wD-rW9ERuMoB1m_J3Dfi0e5LmDXLeGDpTjj-WzgKwrINVsF_gQ60Am56CYlrfZz4WMgOGpx313ejsGXNi1/s320/IMG_0046.JPG" title="dose espresso, yesterday" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">London's history with coffee and coffee houses goes way back, Lloyds of London famously starting life as a coffee shop back in about 1690. They were the places men (no women allowed) would meet to swap news, debate the politics of the day and conduct business, or at least that's the accepted version of events. Looking at the historical context though, this was the time of the famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin_Craze">Gin Craze</a> and given the phenomenal rate of alcohol consumption - gin or otherwise - at the time, everyone was obviously off their heads one way or another and the coffee house's explosive rise in popularity was mainly because the speed-freaks needed somewhere to hang out away from the alcoholics. Of course news was swapped, politics discussed and business conducted: everyone had to do something whilst they were whizzing their caffeinated nuts off waiting for someone to invent amphetamines and playstations. Once that happened though, the level of sophistication in London coffee culture really plummeted and never showed much sign of recovering until recently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The last couple of years have seen a real change thanks to Australians and New Zealanders opening up coffee houses in the image of those back home. Little places with lots of personality run by people who care deeply about what they sell, the environment they sell it in and the care and attention given to serving their customers. It seems nothing special, just a smile and an acknowledgement of your existence when you enter, a friendly, polite enquiry as to what you'd like whilst actually looking in your direction, any questions you may have are met with words strung together that convey knowledgeable charm and courtesy, even stretching to a bit of casual chat and banter if you can cope with it, they make it look so simple it can leave you bewildered.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPazKXb7xbFPofwzTlXa6c7i4LO7z9-71ZXd4qaw_Vj0N8yrgxlouWWYJTPl6uVqp1IgXjhtsjbKgyb_iQeQg6ZZDC1grA11QrleC9zAfiQ8QgGsxOiccmzKlPj_8ZYQZXsWfCS_iXmqs/s1600-h/n47889525987_1771350_8407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPazKXb7xbFPofwzTlXa6c7i4LO7z9-71ZXd4qaw_Vj0N8yrgxlouWWYJTPl6uVqp1IgXjhtsjbKgyb_iQeQg6ZZDC1grA11QrleC9zAfiQ8QgGsxOiccmzKlPj_8ZYQZXsWfCS_iXmqs/s320/n47889525987_1771350_8407.jpg" title="is it supposed to do that?" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The best cup of espresso-based coffee I've had in London (and I've had a few) can be found at one of these establishments, Dose Espresso by Smithfield Market where on a drinks menu featuring all the usual suspects you can also find the mighty Dose. There are many, many things that have to go right to make a great espresso, most of them can be face-scratchingly frustrating to get right on their own, trying to get them all just right in combination with each other is enough to drive a sane man to melt his face off with the steam wand. "DIalling in" an espresso blend to a machine for that perfect shot is an art and a science to which certain people seem quite happy to dedicate their lives; luckily for the rest of us James of Dose Espresso is one of those <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">nutters</span> beautiful people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The Dose itself is made by using a dose of coffee large enough for a triple espresso, this is tamped down, plugged into their beast of a machine (<span style="color: #600a1d; font-family: Avenir, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">a La Marzocco FB-80 semi automatic with night sights and grenade launcher) </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">and then the steady flow of thick, oily-looking, foaming pitch scrutinised intently as it oozes out to produce a drink not much bigger than a single espresso. It's obviously a delicate art to get one of these things to come out properly and I've seen James throw away several attempts before producing something he considers worthy of serving, muttering and shaking his head at whatever he's seen that's rung the big Fail bell in his head before slinging the used grind and the offending drink in the bin and starting again.</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2pz4CaH6en8AO6PsUb6bBT_gQwwE5RSWEo63IA11yqSWHJsHTHqzb6OyAMXAllD-BvbjWbtilRKeYVkb92oT9aBZL4-CZwZmSeEJFoe2L_2ZCqfBlZ5UHkwhDSf7Okl_FSlb4kS9XQgt/s1600-h/IMG_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2pz4CaH6en8AO6PsUb6bBT_gQwwE5RSWEo63IA11yqSWHJsHTHqzb6OyAMXAllD-BvbjWbtilRKeYVkb92oT9aBZL4-CZwZmSeEJFoe2L_2ZCqfBlZ5UHkwhDSf7Okl_FSlb4kS9XQgt/s400/IMG_0045.JPG" title="starting to settle - you can't quite see the little shamrock drawn on top" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The end result is quite astonishing though, both to look at and to taste. To start with it sits on the counter in a little glass and you have to actually <i>leave it to settle</i>, sitting there like a little pint of Guinness for tiny people with tiny hands. You stand there watching your drink slowly materialise in the glass, the black body gradually taking shape from the bottom as the fine bubbles slowly migrate and settle into a shiny crema at the top of the glass. It goes without saying that it tastes wonderful, the details will vary according to the the particular beans that have been used that day, as well as Square Mile's seasonally varying blend of espresso they have bags of guest coffees acquired for James by fellow coffee worshippers on their travels. What makes the Dose a really stand out coffee though is the remarkable body and texture it acquires from whatever voodoo goes into compressing all that coffee grind into a little garden gnome pint glass. There's an amazing mouthfeel, a smooth and fabulously rich body gliding across your taste buds seducing everything it touches, wonderfully balanced, strong and gentle, an iron fist in a velvet glove if ever I tasted one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The only real problem is ordering one. "Hello, I'd like a dose please.", it's not very dignified but it's worth it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oozing espresso head photo courtesy of Dose, full details <a href="http://www.dose-espresso.com/index.html">on their website</a>.</span></span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-87169404028082278312009-12-12T14:50:00.000+00:002009-12-12T15:03:05.152+00:00Turnip Soufflé<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmy_4E63n4wxHeO4Ad4Xw6b7J58ZY6Fsdbv9MXIav3EbXAzFtgcQ4ncMc36G6jLi7ygz0mqTiUXgxI3maf-Y1P1QKdIo98ITPx6K_gAAoK4YyqioMSEs5cqFImq4ki1TxanfwhtSQju1Ii/s1600-h/IMG_0048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmy_4E63n4wxHeO4Ad4Xw6b7J58ZY6Fsdbv9MXIav3EbXAzFtgcQ4ncMc36G6jLi7ygz0mqTiUXgxI3maf-Y1P1QKdIo98ITPx6K_gAAoK4YyqioMSEs5cqFImq4ki1TxanfwhtSQju1Ii/s320/IMG_0048.jpg" title="some confused turnips, yesterday" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">What's in a name? Quite a lot if you're a turnip. There's no glamour in being a turnip, your name's a byword for idiots and stupidity, at least in England it is for a generation raised on Baldrick's obsession with them. If you need a quick image to convey "huge moron" to your audience then the turnip is your go-to vegetable, as Graham Taylor will quickly confirm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I don't think there's much of a culinary reason for this, in Eastern Asian cuisine you find daikon everywhere; it's usually translated as 'radish' and commonly looks more like a parsnip but it tastes more like turnip than anything else. Americans seem quite happy cooking turnips, especially at Thanksgiving, but with an American accent "turnip" doesn't sound quite so much a synonym for imbecile and daikon of course sounds more like a particularly cool Transformer (ninja->ferrari->ninja->ferrari->hiiiYA!->BrrRRMMMmm) but if you're the Sun launching a campaign to oust England's national football team manager, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/gallery/2008/jan/25/wapping?picture=332244880">calling him Turnip Head</a> is where you start.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Soufflé raises wide-eyed expectations, it says Michelin star, linen, candles, proper sexy serious cooking. You wouldn't ever see Baldrick excited about a soufflé <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_U7YfCA45w">in the shape of a thingy</a> or about his thingy being the shape of a soufflé. This recipe isn't one of those dinky little show-offs rearing up out of its single-seater ramekin looking for 'ooohs' and applause however, it's a big savoury bowlful to be plonked on a table, scooped up and shared out in wobbly spoonfuls.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Winter turnips aren't particularly great for much other than burying in soups and stews, Jane Grigson* refers to them along with swedes as "that grim pair" and how, compared to the French: </span><br />
<blockquote>we stick too much to the agricultural view, regarding the turnip as a coarse, cow-sized vegetable, suitable for the over-wintering of herds, schoolchildren, prisoners and lodgers.<br />
</blockquote><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Turnips have a soft, sweet pepperiness that goes well with other warm spices like cinnamon, cloves, cardomom and in the spring and summer there are plenty of interesting ways to cook them more simply than the egg-fondling vein-bulging stress of making a soufflé, but getting into winter this is about the only option I know of for doing something delicious with them. I'm always tempted to experiment more with the spicing in this dish, especially as xmas approaches, some star anise, cloves, a little juniper, I suspect I'd end up with something smelling and tasting very festive and exotic indeed, however I always shy away at the last minute towards something that I know to work. I think this is the power of the soufflé to intimidate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Ingredients:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">turnips - about 5 or 6 of the smaller ones or a couple of big ones. After peeling and cooking and mashing you'll want about 200g, so aim for 300-350g of unpeeled raw turnips if you're weighing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">butter - 50g</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">flour - 50g</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">egg yolks - 4</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">egg whites - 5 (I know, just chuck the other yolk away, don't try and keep it in the fridge, really)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">breadcrumbs - good handful</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">grated parmesan - good handful</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">chopped parsley - good handful</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">milk - 125ml</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">cinnamon, cayenne pepper - big tsp each</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Peel and dice the turnips and boil in a pan of salted water till soft (15-25 mins) drain - keeping about 150ml of the cooking liquid - and mash. Don't worry about mashing to a fine puree, I prefer the end result to have some texture (lumps) and they can be a bit of a bugger to mash smooth anyway. Squish the mashed turnip into a sieve to get most of the water out and leave in the sieve to drain a little bit more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Whilst the turnips are cooking/draining prepare your soufflé bowl and the egg whites: you'll need a soufflé dish about 1-2 litres greased all round with some butter. By 'soufflé dish' I just mean anything that'll survive in the oven and is a vaguely sensible shape, I've no idea what my 'soufflé dish' was originally intended for, it looks more like a flower pot than anything else, but it's a decent size and seems to cope with oven temperatures so far. Tip in the breadcrumbs and the parmesan and jiggle and turn the bowl around until the insides are all nice and evenly coated. Gently shake out any excess and keep it safe to go on the top of the souffle before it goes in the oven. Whisk the egg whites in a big clean dry bowl until they're getting to the soft peaks stage.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3u3QkdxHaJOYVtXi1-BIjut0cfq3f594Q5Y2Tj0XJQr70Xew7SSxdxnO7p6qURNYOZhN5JEXXFCQmvO1XhL8b2XILwYS-e6OHVkdQiJAbDW8U28jZA8eoTVac02CP5M3MJQH26KHjInn/s1600-h/DSCF0259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3u3QkdxHaJOYVtXi1-BIjut0cfq3f594Q5Y2Tj0XJQr70Xew7SSxdxnO7p6qURNYOZhN5JEXXFCQmvO1XhL8b2XILwYS-e6OHVkdQiJAbDW8U28jZA8eoTVac02CP5M3MJQH26KHjInn/s400/DSCF0259.JPG" title="parmesan and breadcrumbs blurred all round the inside of my souffle bowl" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Melt the butter in a pan, once it's foaming stir in the flour and let cook through for a few seconds. Pour in the milk and the turnip cooking water that you kept back earlier, stir through until smoothly combined then mix in your pureed turnip. Once this is all looking well and good remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolks, one at a time. Make sure you give them a thorough, vigorous stir as they land in the pan, you don't want them sitting there cooking. I usually have the yolks all in one bowl and slowly try and roll them out one at a time. This doesn't always work, sometimes a couple will plop out together but no matter, you just have to stir twice as vigorously.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Once the yolks are all safely stirred in check the seasoning and stir in the cinnamon, cayenne and parsley. It should taste pretty strong at this point, probably a bit too strong, adding the egg whites will dilute it. Finish whisking the egg whites off, another couple of minutes until they're at the stiff peaks stage, then gently fold into the turnip mixture a spoonful at a time. Again don't worry too much about perfect folding and having little lumps of egg white in the mixture, no-one will know, it's more important to avoid stirring and beating the air out of them. Pour the mixture out into your soufflé bowl, sprinkle the rest of the parmesan/breadcrumb mixture over the top and put in an oven at 200C/400F/gas 6, ideally on a metal tray that's been heating in the oven to make a hot base for the soufflé dish, for 30 mins or until the top looks like this:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJawynlPA6K1sz8gXAtiitXvMurfaJ14I5asGOk6H8kk1euiNuGGXwmWm1v0JGweaBnN98auQ0GU966VGjAFNF8410FsH7-Y_EH16zV0th9pqfv8TagX2TSwf7iM5N1LvDgj8yTGKkP8ro/s1600-h/DSCF0260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJawynlPA6K1sz8gXAtiitXvMurfaJ14I5asGOk6H8kk1euiNuGGXwmWm1v0JGweaBnN98auQ0GU966VGjAFNF8410FsH7-Y_EH16zV0th9pqfv8TagX2TSwf7iM5N1LvDgj8yTGKkP8ro/s400/DSCF0260.JPG" title="aerial shot of a souffle" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">* Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book. This recipe is based on her jerusalem artichoke soufflé recipe in that book.</span></span><br />
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</span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-25145813753830832172009-12-09T19:36:00.000+00:002009-12-11T22:45:32.331+00:00Woodcock<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYe68pkiU5wXlOwt5qtgeXE5sf9lh8giwm5EWqz0Z4Q27LQ3uQ3Xq8CB72138Ii4Kw6UQfrBQliTo02-U7R-W_Jg-4b6WJTfQK8zKA1H-9Y0MCvUiWMr3OF7cAPckb-27ZCj0miW75wZx2/s1600-h/472551926_091dac64e9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYe68pkiU5wXlOwt5qtgeXE5sf9lh8giwm5EWqz0Z4Q27LQ3uQ3Xq8CB72138Ii4Kw6UQfrBQliTo02-U7R-W_Jg-4b6WJTfQK8zKA1H-9Y0MCvUiWMr3OF7cAPckb-27ZCj0miW75wZx2/s320/472551926_091dac64e9.jpg" title="A woodcock yesterday" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: medium;">I love the autumn for lots of reasons, mainly food-related. Best of all is game, all of it. From the furry rabbits and hares and deer to the various feathered ex-birds that spring up in market stalls, butchers and on menus all over the place. Grouse is the big one for game season, the one with the foodie reputation, the hype, the glamour and the star billing, there's column-inches in the press with forecasts for this season's shooting, stories about Grouse shoots on the moorlands spun various ways to fit the news outlet's particular stance on these things. They don't get much more iconic than grouse, they're fantastic eating and there's a real sense of occasion about ordering one in a restaurant. The real highlight of game season for me though, is the woodcock.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: medium;">You don't see them on restaurant menus very much, which I'm sure contributes to making being sat at a dining table with nothing between me and a little cooked woodcock such a source of pleasure. They're highly migratory little birds and although I think there is a residential population in the UK, a larger number migrate here at the start of autumn making most of the shooting. This means a pretty unpredictable and erratic supply and on top of that if you do see one, they're <a href="http://www.shootingtimes.co.uk/woodcock/about/88516/About_the_Shooting_Times_Woodcock_Club.html">very tricky little buggers to shoot</a>. Whatever the reasons, if the hunters think they've got their work cut out trying to find them and shoot them it's nothing compared to trying to find them and eat them in a London restaurant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: medium;">Woodcock's empty their bowels before they take off. This gives me twinges of guilt, rather than shooting and eating them surely we should be encouraging every bird to do this, especially the sodding pigeons, but I don't dwell on it. What it means is that you can roast the whole bird, guts and all. Roasting it this way heightens the flavour of the flesh itself then after cooking you scoop its guts out - intestines and everything - into a hot pan with a little stock and perhaps some booze, before spreading the roughly chopped and mixed offal onto some fried bread. I've seen various ways of doing this described: some say you should salvage just the liver from the pan after a minute's sizzling and that should be chopped and spread with the rest going towards sieving and saucing, others tell you to discard everything except the intestines(!) and chop that up for your pate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: medium;">The other interesting thing about roasting woodcock is that you leave the head on as well, you need to protect it with some tin-foil so that after cooking the head can be removed, split and the brains scooped out as a delicate little accompaniment. Quite an undignified end, sitting in an oven with a little tin-foil hat on and your innards cooking inside you but I think it's worthwhile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: medium;">The best woodcock I've eaten is at <a href="http://www.stjohnrestaurant.com/">St John restaurant</a>. As with everything else they do there's no distractions or superfluous extras, it says just "Woodcock" on the menu and that's just what you get:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzy4oMsixc2Xci4dQWr95dJWbe1rEJzPGpsK7E-gnLlCZciuqYcydheDryTs6d5cer_GEEhHLuV6zqJ1Y62fNc7YsJFv2L5GIalHgssQnKiina2vx9fNBqkGPnP8BX2BpDNtDn-7r4Due/s1600-h/IMG_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzy4oMsixc2Xci4dQWr95dJWbe1rEJzPGpsK7E-gnLlCZciuqYcydheDryTs6d5cer_GEEhHLuV6zqJ1Y62fNc7YsJFv2L5GIalHgssQnKiina2vx9fNBqkGPnP8BX2BpDNtDn-7r4Due/s400/IMG_0041.JPG" title="bird, guts and brains" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: medium;">Although I suppose the 'watercress up bum' could be considered a distraction. You can see the pate on fried bread in there and the split head, they thoughtfully provide you with a little teaspoon so you can scrape out the brains:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVTEJPRWSCUznXxk0BxXdajr2rA_A_iUAwhQo4eUMkgs4LJDkUtRzdieDkeocYKkm3FMwNzhnr_v3aOn3KotI4INg4VkSKLrVOKR_tkXivYNkHvqY4tMuL3n2BIJilrMpAHNlU_UOIgna/s1600-h/IMG_0042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVTEJPRWSCUznXxk0BxXdajr2rA_A_iUAwhQo4eUMkgs4LJDkUtRzdieDkeocYKkm3FMwNzhnr_v3aOn3KotI4INg4VkSKLrVOKR_tkXivYNkHvqY4tMuL3n2BIJilrMpAHNlU_UOIgna/s320/IMG_0042.JPG" title="the brain spoon" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: medium;">I just remembered to get a closer snap of the half-skulls before polishing off the brains in the other half:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMhTMT7fdyl4ydLs08jUlhyXud8ovm-4sONcHJNbxjQzIldMyPzU5a6jU5hLMBnPTaPHjTYzZxgPjWL1zYHMbQhLR5XQqOz3fZgYBMeshPoPuA9TNnv4bwk3fAdnI05IopWZyyNqZrJNc/s1600-h/IMG_0044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMhTMT7fdyl4ydLs08jUlhyXud8ovm-4sONcHJNbxjQzIldMyPzU5a6jU5hLMBnPTaPHjTYzZxgPjWL1zYHMbQhLR5XQqOz3fZgYBMeshPoPuA9TNnv4bwk3fAdnI05IopWZyyNqZrJNc/s400/IMG_0044.jpg" title="bird with half a brain" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: medium;">The bird itself tastes amazing, it's pretty strong on that gamey taste that some people find so off-putting, skirting the rotting-meat/putrescence suburbs of the flavour wheel but with a sweetness that balances and lifts the whole experience; the meat has a wonderful bloody mineral tang to its flavour and is very rich and dense. The fried bread/pate combo is an extremely intense hit of offaly meaty goodness, just the right consistency - not too rough, not pureed - and with a gentle hint of some booze in there too. The brains, well, they're just hilarious - they don't have a strong flavour of their own, they taste creamy and feel rather soft and fluffy initially, that gives way to some firmness and solidity in texture as you bite into them, very enjoyable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: medium;">It's a tricky art stopping game birds drying out too much in the cooking, they need a hot oven for a short amount of time and you usually see them sold with their breasts larded with strips of bacon to that end. You'd expect somewhere like St John to have this down to a fine art and this was cooked to perfection, the pan juices from the gut-cooking obviously used to raise the dish a little further. Game birds like this aren't cheap, grouse and woodcock have been in the £27-£30 bracket on the menus in London I've seen this season and they'll be higher than that if it's a bad season ('bad' from a hunting/eating point of view, I imagine for the grouse it's a 'pretty chuffed' season) but they're worth every penny and one of the things I love most about this time of the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: small;">Woodcock usually appear on menus towards the end of Nov through to the start of February, best bets in London are probably to give </span><a href="http://www.rules.co.uk/"><span style="font-size: small;">Rules</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> a call or keep an eye on the </span><a href="http://www.stjohnrestaurant.com/menus/"><span style="font-size: small;">St John menu</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> at their website (it's updated twice a day)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">photo of (live) woodcock courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7958548@N03/">guizmo_68</a></span><br />
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</span>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-41024033271310558012009-12-02T20:31:00.001+00:002009-12-12T15:26:22.901+00:00Welsh Rarebit<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87l3-PCtVKOchyphenhyphenJHZpdt7qv0vZhZvi5TCEg9kwJVjZAToY_MDGHek0Jvy0dMnCHAZbVHiveOpNDFkpOIMIdUQ_UcAFYMQhvLqDZjIytI3zKbX-edQ5Nb83YD7yQNlphOTxqKIKLtB_D83/s1600-h/4065495099_55a7d2e28c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87l3-PCtVKOchyphenhyphenJHZpdt7qv0vZhZvi5TCEg9kwJVjZAToY_MDGHek0Jvy0dMnCHAZbVHiveOpNDFkpOIMIdUQ_UcAFYMQhvLqDZjIytI3zKbX-edQ5Nb83YD7yQNlphOTxqKIKLtB_D83/s400/4065495099_55a7d2e28c.jpg" title="welsh, yesterday" width="400" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">The weather's been grim these last few weeks, the rain, the wind, the cold, the cold winds, the windy rain, the cold rainy wind, ok I'll stop there. It has an effect though, looking out of the office window at 5pm and it's already pitch black, fighting through dark sopping wet pavements filled with people huddled up against the cold, heads down, minds anywhere except the unpleasant present. My mind is usually on what I'm going to eat next and the more shitty the weather, the more deeply my imagination voyages into warm steamy comfort food territory.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">One thing in particular had been on my mind over the last couple of weeks but what with the various pies, stews, slow-roasts and fish & chips that had been crowding my rather short-range radar recently it hadn't got a look in. After 2 steps out of the office this evening my hair was sodden, my whole head icy wind-whipped, my shoes full of freezing puddle launched sideways by taxis and buses and my body temperature had plummeted right down into regions that required emergency cheese-on-toast.<br />
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Welsh rarebit is not just cheese on toast, however. Well, technically it has cheese in it and it's on toast but it's a lot more than that, which is why this evening found me with the rain rattling against the windows and the wind shaking bits off the building outside whilst I was happily pottering about in my warm kitchen making a few glorious gooey, savoury, crunchy slabs of spicy rib-sticking comforting orgasmic pleasure. I'm not serious of course, no-one really had an orgasm during the eating, despite what the noises might lead you to believe.<br />
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Welsh rarebit - I'm not getting into the rabbit/rarebit debate, I find rarebit hard enough to cope with, calling it a rabbit is just weird - is effectively cheese melted with beer, mustard, worcestershire sauce and spices into a thick sauce spread on toast and grilled into a bubbling crackling finish. There is actually cooking involved (not a whole lot, admittedly), and then you leave the mixture to set before carving out slabs to spread on toast and grilling it to melting popping perfection under a grill. The bread's important here, use a proper loaf of proper white bread, not some plastic wonderbread nonsense or wholemeal coated in pumpin seeds etc.<br />
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<div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">You'll need:</span></span><br />
</div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">knob of butter</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1 tbsp flour</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">cayenne pepper, paprika (either/or/both, I like both) 1 tsp each</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Worcestershire sauce - good long glug</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">mustard powder 1 tsp (or just mustard is fine, about 2 tsp)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">beer/stout 200ml (Guinness is popular, I used Meantime London Stout because it comes in bigger bottles than Guinness so there's more left to drink, and it's delicious)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Strong cheddar grated 400g (by 'strong' I mean weapons grade, I used Montgomery Cheddar)</span></span></li>
</ul><div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Melt the butter in a pan, once it's on its way stir in the flour. Once that's starting to smell biscuity stir in the spices, then the mustard powder/mustard and once they're living happily together pour in the beer/stout and the worcestershire sauce. Bring it back up to a simmer and start melting the cheese into it a handful at a time. Once all the cheese is melted in, give it another minute's simmering then pour into a shallow dish and leave it to set:</span></span><br />
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</div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWM9TTAVT2MAyaieNFoED_Ch7wGbosQ7xInpLs6NUendsDSHxJCVnr6LEC2O36KK6GR-UbubO0IQvPqcQUzYVwwdMWrDNrIk1zK8KM0opESj7yKpuUNbuqxScXHS5ziqrZpo5jxL5eyB8K/s1600-h/IMG_0035.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412207975160436706" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWM9TTAVT2MAyaieNFoED_Ch7wGbosQ7xInpLs6NUendsDSHxJCVnr6LEC2O36KK6GR-UbubO0IQvPqcQUzYVwwdMWrDNrIk1zK8KM0opESj7yKpuUNbuqxScXHS5ziqrZpo5jxL5eyB8K/s320/IMG_0035.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" title="hurry up and set, goddamn you" /></a><br />
<div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif; font-size: medium;">You can see I just used a wide bowl here to set mine, whatever you've got to hand is fine, it's a pretty hard recipe to ruin. Once the mixture has cooled and set to reasonably firm consistency (about half an hour-ish) heat up the grill, make some toast then slice/spoon the mixture on top in about a 1cm thick layer:</span><br />
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</div><span style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412208419403595074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_skGGQHdDyfFe4NBN2eiTFkxDKEDXrJPJJKyZ-bd1LRmb-hyK9l1XgWKSYEU_LWWtutoL-awKgT8CHjrs_zveKTxhbZBIuKDNuWnqaMOLnl7uc_0xJm4K9bM8zZaa7aQCIjwu6dLRo8y/s320/IMG_0036.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" title="La cuisine fantastique" /></span><br />
<div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Place under a hot grill for a few minutes until the it's bubbling away and taken on some colour. There will probably be gooey bits sliding down the side of the toast as it cooks. This is fine.</span></span><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: #0000ee; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412208912833695570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvfKH7_J5-XHjD6fbJm9BtdgjSwtWH8gDi-XUsScV4kUArmpRBF-52XHmC0lwnD_gatG2f3jvAAXNZU00Rl4RhjEBd3azzxmTMkUiWCXQFNzxyaUoktya914ON4_jZNokJtEC0F7FIZA4j/s320/IMG_0039.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" title="not burnt, just badly photographed" /></span></span><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif; font-size: large;">One of the pleasures of this dish is that it's never quite the same - I've never actually measured how much of anything I've put in it, and the ingredients vary according to what's on hand. This time round it was a little bit sloppier than usual (too much beer/not enough cheddar/not enough simmering after the cheese went in/playing the Clash too loudly whilst I made it? I don't know.) If I've got some parmesan lying around maybe I'll grate some on top before it goes under the grill. I prefer it with mustard powder but this time I only had Dijon to hand and in all the excitement of trying to remember to take photos I forgot to add any paprika and put it under a stone cold grill. But hey, guess what? It was still freaking delicious (once the sodding grill heated up), a lot of fun and very satisfying to make (always) and washed down with a good glass of red wine was just what was needed to cheer up a miserable, cold, wet night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif; font-size: small;">photo of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch train station courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonny2love/">jonny2love</a></span><br />
</div><div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">the rest are all my fault</span></span><br />
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</div></div>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-485793115410752300.post-47594469680270797082009-11-28T17:45:00.000+00:002009-12-11T22:31:32.987+00:00Civet Coffee (kopi luwak)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWbcYR4ZzM9q3TOZRhFpckVU648sdehuYeLvrH8B4Sc2scTQfTYBqbI5SbU_-I2axMP859_r0CwJwnvCoV4huhcpLd8z6awufZysd_3pH3XQrBeIuAQ3KCxJ49aPYagB3rC5bubHobZXw/s1600-h/civet.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="A civet yesterday" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412166549553773474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWbcYR4ZzM9q3TOZRhFpckVU648sdehuYeLvrH8B4Sc2scTQfTYBqbI5SbU_-I2axMP859_r0CwJwnvCoV4huhcpLd8z6awufZysd_3pH3XQrBeIuAQ3KCxJ49aPYagB3rC5bubHobZXw/s320/civet.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 291px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 220px;" title="A civet yesterday" /></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
Civet coffee is made from coffee beans that have been shat out by a little furry animal. Civets live all over Asia eating the raw coffee fruit which they only partially digest; by the time it </span></span><a href="http://coffeecivet.itrademarket.com/prod"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">comes out the other end</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;"> just the inner bean is left intact to be enthusiastically gathered by the locals. Although falling into the category of "who the hell first tried that?" (along with fermented shark, 1000 year old eggs and roquefort) you can understand the local's enthusiasm once they discovered the nose-bleedingly high prices they could charge for it.</span></span><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">Coffee fiends claim that the effect on the beans from the little creature's digestive juices during transit are what make it so special, the more pragmatic observer would point out that they are also fussy little buggers who will only eat the ripest, choicest fruit. No-one (except possibly a tea drinker) would claim that it's because there are still little bits of poo hanging in/on/around the beans, after collection they're thoroughly washed and dried before a roasting at temperatures high enough to kill any remaining bacteria.</span></span><br />
</div><div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">I've not seen the beans on sale in London before, Selfridges sell little foil packets of it pre-ground which kind of defeats the purpose if you ask me, and I remember reading a couple of years ago about a cafe in one of the big department stores selling it for £50 a cup, so I was quite excited at the chance to buy some actual proper beans. Once I got them home (and after lying down for an hour with some cotton wool up my nose) I opened up the packaging, took a look, and struggled to take a decent photo with the camera in my phone:</span></span><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1-h2bRWUMFRH4As74qgyBybkC_2Gb3GuM7yALZk4sxLNn26hajrnYiGM1qm2XoiURj2VChOvylh1QcuUcFl1lUKB8wFeei8UV7zO5IInHjaqHKU_sA9stAL54w4DlfEjsGi8VKQiBZnr/s1600/IMG_0034.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410429456010708658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1-h2bRWUMFRH4As74qgyBybkC_2Gb3GuM7yALZk4sxLNn26hajrnYiGM1qm2XoiURj2VChOvylh1QcuUcFl1lUKB8wFeei8UV7zO5IInHjaqHKU_sA9stAL54w4DlfEjsGi8VKQiBZnr/s400/IMG_0034.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 288px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">My first thought was surprise at how dark they were, roasted till some of the beans were practically black. Looking more closely at them they're glossy with a nice sheen but not a drop of oil (or turd) to be seen on them, this is a dark roasting they've had, I was expecting something a lot lighter. They smelt fantastic, rich, dark and chocolatey with a freshness and a layer of herbs and citrus over the top giving them an unexpectedly exotic quality, I pulled my nose out and into the grinder they went. My second thought as they were grinding was how unexpectedly small the beans were - although with hindsight, considering their origins it's pretty daft to have expected anything else. I suppose any civets keener on munching the bigger beans would pretty quickly prove to be an evolutionary cul-de-sac and pick up the civet equivalent of a Darwin Award on their way out.</span></span><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, the big question: did it taste like a little furry interloper had just dropped his kids off at the pool in my cup? No, of course not but also, unexpectedly, it was really rather good: lots of treacle and chocolate flavours, feeling very dark and rich in the mouth but with a real freshness and life to it and a very surprising lack of bitter kick, just a gentle bitterness that quietly makes its way up to the back of your tongue leaving a long, balanced and most pleasing finish. I was grinding these for a filter cup, a bit ruefully since after looking at them I guessed they were more suited to an espresso, but I'm thinking not now after tasting it.</span></span><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">I must admit to being surprised that this was actually as good as it was. The chance of trying something that's regularly seen as </span></span><a href="http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/fooddrink/a/kopi_luak.htm"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">an urban myth</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">, such is its wacky provenance, along with the comedy value of sharing it with friends and colleagues was too good to pass up but you'd need a much more refined palate than mine to find it any better than what's available from some of London's </span></span><a href="http://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">excellent</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><a href="http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">coffee</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.unionroasted.com/default.aspx"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;">merchants</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: medium;"> at a tenth of the price. There's also the issue of how much confidence you can have in the quality, consistency and origin of what you're shelling out for - in the wild the variety of beans available to the civet varies vastly across Asia and with the opportunity to induce nosebleeds from thousands of miles away, civet farming is more and more common with the animals only eating whatever they're given, which really could lead to crap coffee.</span></span><br />
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</div><div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: small;">You can try civet coffee for yourself at the </span></span><a href="http://www.caphevn.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: small;">Ca Phe Vn</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: small;">/</span></span><a href="http://www.banhmi11.com/"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: small;">BahnMi11</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><span style="font-size: small;"> stall on Saturdays at Broadway Market for £5 a cup (they call it "weasel coffee", the Vietnamese name)</span></span><br />
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</div>Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09235587054434169790noreply@blogger.com0