Wednesday 30 January 2013

Anger and KitKats

Recently, Mrs. P. and I had rather bad days. We both, however, handled it rather differently. On the one hand, I expressed my displeasure with the HMRC by ranting incoherently and frothing uncontrollably at the mouth. On the other, Mrs. P. attempted to bottom out her anger with work related issues by purchasing these in preparation of a vicious and diabolically cruel taste comparison:




I think you can guess who managed a Zen like calm more quickly.

To make it more interesting, we decided on a blind tasting - each bar was de-robed, cut into thirds and eaten independently.





Coconut
A bit of a nothing really - so mistakable that both of us thought this was actually the Hazelnut bar - until we found that one later.

Choco Fudge
OK - quite thick and cloying. Neither of us thought this was up to much. The fudge was clearly chocolaty but didn't add much more than a standard KitKat chunky.

Hazelnut
Very strong with the nut flavour. This wasn't bad. Everyone loves a bit of Nutella and this is the closest we have to Nutella in chocolate bar form.

Mint
Undeniably the best of the bunch. The mint was present yet not too strong and the chocolate was a little darker than it's novelty brethren. Unanimously our preferred flavour of the four.

So, there was a clear winner in this test. However, we were also both agreed that none of the flavours brought anything fantastic to the party. The Peanut Butter bar is still head and shoulders above any of these offerings and we would be surprised if even the so called 'winner' sticks around for long.

Great Western - Tiverton

I have occasion to go to Tiverton perhaps once or twice a year. A pleasure that I often look forward to, thinking as I do, that I will take time to do some research and look at different hotels and places to eat. The reality of the situation invariably results in me booking the hotel the morning of the day I am due to arrive, arriving late that evening and deciding that dinner at the hotel followed by a couple of pints in the bar is by far the easiest, quickest and least tiring option available to me.


The Great Western is the default hotel of choice with good rooms at a decent rate and a bar that at least doesn't pretend the mass produced ale on tap is the real thing. But you are not here to learn about my bad time tabling, you want to know about the food. The menu always looks exciting. It tells you all the right things; local meat, seasonal produce and a paired down menu from which I order with eager anticipation.


The scallop and beetroot starter was great. Personally I prefer scallops with the roe attached but I know that is an acquired taste so I certainly wasn't expecting it! The beetroot was earthy, blended with a bit of cream and nicely salted. The combo worked for me and with the exception of the pretentious micro herbs, for which I'm sure there is a very valid reason but I'm afraid left me cold, was a really nice dish.


For main, I went for the venison steak. I was convinced by the alleged local and seasonal (buzzword bingo!) descriptions but it soon became unpleasantly clear that local and seasonal is no shield against poor butchery or an over enthusiastic chef. While I'm loathe to criticise attempts to bring venison back to the British table, this was just a poor job across the board. The cut was bad, containing gristle and membrane, and was served medium to medium well (I asked for rare), as well as under seasoned. Served with two massive mushrooms whose only moisture came from the garlic butter that had been applied, I did however like the chips; they were big, crispy and light, all the things chips should be.

I ended with the cheese course which, I'm afraid to say, was quite unremarkable. Mild cheddar, horrid goats cheese (I loathe goats cheese at the best of times), and a merely adequate Stilton finished me off. I retired to my room £30 the lighter. I'm sure I will return as I will, without doubt, forget to book anywhere else in advance. I am also as sure, that I will berate myself for not doing so.

Wednesday 23 January 2013

The Great Recipe Book Challenge of 2013 - January

With no little amount of trepidation, I informed Mrs P. that tonight was the night. She was going to have to girdle her loins, clamp her mainbrace and generally buttress her buttresses in preparation for our combined assault on the bunker of chilli.

Her only request was that I supplement the dinner with a couple of additional components that she could turn to if the going got too rough. Considering that she lets me cook pretty much anything I want, when she does ask me to cook something specific, I normally comply without too much grumbling*. And so, I complimented the menu with the requested chicken skewer and satay sauce combo to create a (slightly culinarily confused) fusion of India meets Indonesia. Pause for thought? Screw it, lets go!



First, the ingredients. One of the best things I discovered about this recipe, was how few ingredients it contains. I am a definite fan of simple recipes which rely on working flavours rather than complicated processes (see my thoughts on The Fat Duck). This one was shaping up well with the dhal being a very simple garlic and turmeric infused lentil slop** and the rest of the power coming through the Tarka, all against the back drop of a wholelotta chilli.



The turmeric did turn the lentils a rather violent colour early on. After an initial pause, I decided to push on anyway.




 The rice was on by this point and the dhal was simmering away nicely. The Tarka actually came togeather much more quickly that I was expecting and by this point it was pretty much done. The mustard seeds providing much more flavour than I had initially gave them credit for and having never used them before I had to admit I had been missing out.



A few minutes before service. Rice was steaming, the Tarka was off the heat and the satay
was awaiting its moment to gracefully enrobe it's grilled chicken love partner.



And there we go. Admittedly Mrs P. opted for a slightly smaller portion to ensure she could limit the damage. The end result being seriously tasty and a perfect example of something that I would never have cooked through choice but which I would absolutely cook again***. I'm pleased with how easily the dish came togeather and the hum of the chilli was fabulous with the garlic in the dhal and simple meeting of the tomato, onion and mustard seeds was such a great accompaniment that I can see that being a really nice snack with a naan. 

So a great success for month one of the The Great Recipe Book Challenge of 2013. I can't wait for February and now that the chilli recipes are out of the way, Mrs P. suddenly has more enthusiasm!



Dhal
115g split red lentils
50g small split yellow lentils
600ml water
1 tsp ginger pulp
1 tsp garlic pulp
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 fresh green chillis - chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt

Tarka
1 onion - sliced
1/4 tsp mixed mustard and onion seeds
4 dried red chillis
1 tomato - sliced (I used a bit of tinned chopped tomatoes because I had mistakenly eaten all of the fresh ones the day before!)

Fresh mint and coriander to garnish


Method:

Wash then boil the lentils in the water with the ginger garlic, turmeric and chopped green chills for about 15/20 minutes until soft.

Mash the lentils into a slop and add the salt.

Fry the onion with the mustard and onion seeds, red chilli and tomato together until the onion
has softened.

Serve with the garnish and add any left over chilli.




* Of course there was to be a little grumbling, you have to keep up a level of consistency you understand.
** I refuse to refer to it as anything more polite.  A chef might call it a lentil paste or mash, I, on the otherhand prefer to call it as I see it. A tasty slop, of that there can be no doubt. But a slop nevertheless.
*** It's good to have such a dish in your back pocket just in case we are visited by any unfortunatly vegetarian friends.

Tuesday 15 January 2013

The Lion And Herring - Great Yarmouth

Wow - a veritable flurry of posts in recent weeks, I'm even surprising myself it seems!

Mrs P. and I recently found ourselves in Great Yarmouth on a cold January Sunday. Neither of us had ever been before and as we both love the coast it seemed a sensible way to pass an afternoon. And as the wind slowly started to win the battle between its chill factor and our multiple layers of clothing we decided to sample one of the greatest treats available to the British coast. Fish and Chips by the sea.

I know. Just reading it brings back memories right? Seagulls, ozone the waft of vinegar on the breeze. Lovely. The dunes stretched for miles and the beautiful horizon was interrupted only by a dirty great big wind farm. A quick turn of the head provided a view of a dirty street lined with run down slot machine halls and boarded up old theatres/hotels/churches. Credit where credit is due; there were signs of redevelopment though, we walked round the side of one such dilapidated building to discover that on one side, it was apparently the town cinema, and on the other a lapdancing club. Clearly catering to a clientele who isn't sure which way the date is going to go until the last minute. OK, so perhaps this isn't quite the perfect coastal town we were looking for. 

However, I digress. It was fish and chips we were after and we eagerly entered the search term 'best fish and chips in Great Yarmouth' into our phone while the wind bit at our exposed fingers. In retrospect, the results should have been enough to tell us to abandon ship there and then.

1) Harry Ramsdens
2) Charcoal Steak House
3) Lion and Herring

Warning Will Robinson, Warning!!

If the best fish and chips in a coastal fishing town is a fast food chain we were in trouble. and so it proved. We decided to ignore the first two entries on the basis that a) we knew what Harry Ramsdens tasted like and b) we simply could not believe that somewhere billing itself as a steak house could serve the best fish and chips in town. So, instead we opted for the third choice of the great Google. Only a short walk away, the shop front was unassuming but inside was warm and smelled pleasantly of fried fish. Two orders of fish and chips plus a couple of cans of coke and the biggest gherkin known to man arrived and I was £12 quid down. Not a crazy amount to drop on lunch for two these days.



However, the enjoyment stopped there. The place was not busy and so the fish had been sat  under the heat lamps for god only knows how long and had gone so dry it was grey. Perhaps it was grey to start with? There's a disturbing thought. The batter was thin, and reminded me of breading rather than a batter but a least it was a bit crispy. Mrs P. remarked that if you didn't want a burger or sausage, they didn't have much of a choice; there was the very helpfully labelled 'fish' or you could order the 'scampi' if you preferred. I've got no issue with a cut down menu, hell only serve me one thing if you like but for pitys sake, make sure it is cooked properly. So much for doing their bit for sustainable fishing. 



The chips were uniquely average. Clearly cooked from frozen and managing to be both stodgy and limp at the same time and speaking of chips, one of my pet hates is watered down vinegar. I understand why places do it but it seems such a petty thing to save money on and you have to add shedloads which only serves to make the whole thing resemble baby food. The Lion hadn't just watered down their vinegar, they had replaced it altogether with water and a little bit of food colouring. When tourists come to Britain they want to try our national dishes, they want to eat the things that we like to eat. They want to eat Fish and Chips. Not only does it pain me when it's done this badly but it makes me want to stand outside and warn the people going in that it isn't all like this.   

Take some pride, people of Great Yarmouth - you survive on tourism both national and international but with representations of food, culture and your attitudes to both as is shown by the Lion and Herring, I weep for you.

Saturday 12 January 2013

The Palmerston - Dulwch

When you are 11, having a birthday so close to Christmas is rubbish. Seriously. Parents with children who have birthdays within the Christmas period will try and tell you otherwise but don't listen. They are on a binge of self justification and internal guilt reduction. My birthday is January 4 and my niece is December 26 and over Christmas we always share a knowing look. 

I try to assure her that as you get older though, things do get better. Christmas becomes less about presents and more about spending time with family. Birthdays are a way of extending that which is nice. Don't get me wrong though - people with birthdays through the year still get it easy, what would you rather do? Spend yet another day with the extended, or get back to your own house with your own bed and people who respect your toilet time as private time. 

I think I shared too much.

Moving swiftly on, this year for the anniversary of my arrival in the world, I was treated to lunch at The Palmerston in Dulwich. And I have to say it was very pleasant. The Sunday lunch menu was great value for money at £13 for a very decent plate of beef. The veg was also very tasty having been seasoned properly but it was the yorkshire which was a real thing of beauty. I have no idea what horribly unhealthy substance it was cooked in but by gum it was delicious. The beers were also very tasty if a little limited in choice but these things can be forgiven. 

If you are in the area I would certainly recommend that you drop by for a bite. The place was packed when we went and about half of the tables had been pre-booked, so get in early.




http://www.thepalmerston.net

I would certainly go back to try out the dinner menu and give the chef a chance to really show off. Perhaps next time!

Friday 11 January 2013

The Great Recipe Book Challenge of 2013

And so the Great Recipe Book Challenge of 2013 begins.

First, the rules: Collect all your recipe books togeather in a pile as so (even the ones you don't like, have been bought as presents but you've never looked at and the ones that you thought you would use but never did):





Second, count them. 21 if you were wondering.

Third, go to www.random.org and use it to pick one of the books at random.



Fourth, go back to www.random.org and choose a page in the chosen book.



Fifth, cook whatever recipe is on that page, or pictured on that page, at some point in the next month.

Sixth, remove that book from the pile and return to step 2 the following month.

Simples.

P.S. Mrs P. does not like the look of January.

Thursday 3 January 2013

Corean Chilli – Leicester Square

 I scurried past Corean Chilli a few weeks ago on the look out for a decent plate of grub and immediately noticed that it had the word ‘Korean BBQ’ written on a paper sign stuck with blu-tac to the window. A good portent as to the style and nature of the food within, I’m sure you’ll agree. Needless to say I carried on walking but this New Years Eve, I once again found myself strolling out of Leicester Square tube with Mrs P. on the noodle hunt and found myself outside the establishment. Curiosity got the better of me and we decided to risk it for a biscuit.

Once inside, it was warm and pleasant. No frills but certainly drier than the street outside which only lifted my spirits. Plus, once at the table and looking at my menu a quick squint was all that was required to tell me that my wallet wasn’t going to be punished if the food was horrid = double bonus.


 
First we were given some complimentary vegies. Generous and unexpected but not to everyones taste; Mrs P. stayed well clear. The seaweed was a bit slimy and made only bearable with the squirt of Sriracha they added. The beansprounts were, well, beansprouts. All in all, reasonably pleasant and certainly got me in the mood.


 
The Sweet Prawns were certainly that. The sauce was nice enough but it was like it couldn’t decide which way in the sweet or sour direction it was going to go. ‘Perhaps,’ the cynic in me whispered ‘it’s just a watered down bottled job’. Perhaps that is doing it a little disservice but either way it certainly didn’t grab your attention. The Prawns themselves were cooked well and straightfromthewok hot. However, the batter was clearly not man enough for the job and simply disintegrated into the sauce. Winners and losers there.


 
That theme continued with the mains; this was my ramen and while I don’t think I’ll ever be a fan of minced beef in soup there was a lot to like about this dish. The veg was crisp, the noodles soft and you could pick out the depth of flavour I love about these broths. But it was very one dimensional with very little else going for it. I wanted a bit of ginger and chilli to get the party started but instead I got a basic broth which although very tasty was simply that. Very basic. Portion size was excellent though and I couldn't get to the bottom of mine.

Mrs P. faired slightly better with her glass noodles. Garlic and ginger danced their way across the plastic plate to add some variety, but even she said that she was waiting for the big flavours to come in. As ever it’s the little things that matter; there was little right, but also little wrong and at the end of the day for a starter, two mains and three drinks for just £35 in central London, there was little damage.

I might go back, if I needed an immediate and cheap noodle fix, perhaps next time I’ll try that BBQ….