ur-food

Grilled polenta

2012-01-17T08:49:00.000+01:00

Cooking polenta

Adding chilli, garlic and rosemary, and cooling

Slicerd and fried

Served with a spicy tomato sauce

Definitely one to try again - I'm always slightly sceptical of polenta, but this recipe really works

Halloumi

2012-01-17T08:42:00.001+01:00

Halloumi, marinated in chilli and oregano, grilled, then served with a herby couscous

Tempura

2012-01-17T08:41:00.000+01:00

For the sake of balance, trying an alterntive Tempura recipe - this one from Ottolenghi's Plenty.

Still tasty, but much oilier

Curried bubble and squeak

2012-01-08T17:20:00.000+01:00

Cooking up a lightly curried bubble and squeak for an easy Friday supper

Topped with a poached egg, for some meat-free protein

Spicy Chips

2012-01-08T17:19:00.000+01:00

Homemade chunky chips

Roasted in fennel, cumin, coriander, cayenne and black pepper

Served with a tomato and feta salad, and a yoghurt dip

Aubergine baked

2012-01-04T08:22:00.000+01:00

Aubergines, shallow fried, and then baked with a rich tomato sauce, a little mozzarella, and plenty of parmesan

Tempura

2012-01-04T08:20:00.000+01:00

January is vegetarian month, so it appears - but plentiful fresh tempura made it somewhat acceptable

Fish and chips

2012-01-02T17:17:00.000+01:00

A pub lunch in Wrexham, with an excellent haddock and chips

Not convinced by a melon-heavy salad, but you can't have everything

Second Christmas

2012-01-02T17:16:00.000+01:00

'Christmas Day' on the 28th with the family was a more traditional meal - turkey with stuffing, sprouts and a giblet gravy

Boxing Day 2011

2012-01-02T17:15:00.000+01:00

A plump pheasant roasted with sausages and bacon

Served with a cold ham, dauphinoise potates and plentiful condiments

Christmas Day Food

2012-01-02T17:13:00.000+01:00

A slow cooked piece of brisket of beef

Cooked for 5 or 6 hours, and served with all the trimmings

Early Christmas

2011-12-18T18:04:00.003+01:00

A giant goose from the butcher's for a pre-Christmas feast with friends

It did fit in the oven (just) and has left me with at least a litre of goose fat for future roast potatoes

Served with sausages in bacon, gravy, roast potatoes, sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts, bread sauce, and braised celery

Vietnamese salad

2011-12-18T18:03:00.001+01:00

This one always looks fantastic - seared steak with avocado, mango, chilli, soy, oyster sauce, ginger and garlic

Carbonara

2011-12-18T18:02:00.001+01:00

Unoriginal but very tasty - River Cafe carbonara for a tasty Sunday evening supper

Asian salmon

2011-12-18T17:59:00.001+01:00

Salmon fillets baked in foil with soy, miring, chillis and lime juice

Served on steamed rice, with stir fried vegetables in oyster sauce

Easy Sunday lunch

2011-12-04T18:28:00.000+01:00

A slow roasted shoulder of lamb, served with the carrots and potatoes it was cooked with

Put in at 7.30, falling-apart-tender by lunchtime

Belly pork

2011-12-04T18:26:00.000+01:00

A favoured recipe - belly pork marinaded in fivespice, sichuan and black peppercorns, salt and sugar

Slowly cooked over a water bath, so you get a crispy top and juicy meat

Served with steamed rice and pak choi

Dinner in Bratislava

2011-12-04T18:23:00.000+01:00

Dinner in Bratislava

Starting with a squab and foie gras dish, with wild mushrooms

Followed, somewhat unimaginatively on my behalf, by a peppered steak

Disneyland Resort Paris

2011-11-28T20:59:00.002+01:00

A weekend of fun and mostly fried food in France

The highlight clearly a trip to 'The Earl of Sandwich', a destined-to-fail French chain of British style sandwich restaurants

Partyfood

2011-11-28T20:57:00.001+01:00

A rare night in alone, so Tesco Finest* ready prepared party food it was - tempura prawns with a homemade chilli soy dipping sauce

Smoked haddock

2011-11-28T18:13:00.000+01:00

Smoked haddock, served on a bed of crushed poatoes, with fresh babyleaf spinach

Asian Salmon

2011-11-28T18:11:00.001+01:00

Salmon baked with soy, chilli and garlic, served with pan choi in an oyster sauce, and fried rice noodles

Vegetables in Paris

2011-11-16T09:10:00.002+01:00

Mon Viel Ami in Paris - a rare vegetable focused restaurant

Started with a range of carrots in vinaigrette

Followed by a fricassee of wild mushrooms with spinach and a poached egg

Finished with the last of the autumn's raspberries with a sorbet

And a digestif

Dinner in Paris

2011-11-15T21:44:00.003+01:00

Dinner at Josephine 'Chez Dumonet', starting with an endive and Roquefort salad

Followed by a bistrot classic - rib of beef with Sarladaise potatoes and a great bearnaise

Oxtail stew

2011-11-06T22:23:00.002+01:00

Experimenting with a new cut - a couple of oxtails slowly cooking down with red wine, onions, carrots, celery and bay leaves

Three or four hours later it's removed from the bone, the sauce is reduced, and it was served with fresh savoy cabbage and mash. Great - and the cheapest stew I've ever made!

Homemade chicken pie

2011-11-06T22:19:00.000+01:00

Leftover roast chicken and spinach going into a nutmeg-heavy chicken pie filling

Two pies, appropriately decorated with a shortcrust pastry

Cooked until golden

RSJs

2011-11-06T22:15:00.000+01:00

RSjs for the annual birthday feast - a goat's cheese and golden beetroot starter

Geist in Copenhagen

2011-10-23T21:26:00.002+01:00

To Bo Bech's Geist in Copenhagen, for some stunning food

A dry martini to start

'Potato, cheese and chestnut'

'Zucchini, sorrell and shrimp'

'Turbot, fennel and cheese'

'Charred red deer and beetroot'

'Suckling pig and artichoke crisps'

'Air in air in air in tiramisu'

Truly imaginative food, and an exciting space - a buzzing crowd with a view over a calm kitchen

Sunday roast

2011-10-16T16:41:00.000+01:00

Roast chicken and all the trimmings

A partridge risotto

2011-10-09T16:00:00.000+01:00

Seared partridge breast on a plain risotto

Chicken in a mushroom sauce

2011-10-09T15:59:00.000+01:00

A Gordon Ramsey recipe. Tasty, but requiring at least ten pans.

Chicken poached, then sauteed, in a white wine and mushroom sauce, with fried potatoes and wilted spinach.

Steak frites at home

2011-10-08T18:30:00.000+01:00

A good ribeye with a homemade béarnaise, spinach, mushroom and fine cut chips

Polish food

2011-10-02T17:33:00.000+01:00

An atypical (I imagine) trip to Poland, during which I mostly eat excellent sushi!

Some softshell crab rolls, and some tuna and chilli rolls

Rabbit ragu

2011-09-25T13:34:00.000+01:00

A jointed rabbit, slowly simmering with tomatoes, onions, leeks, herbs, red wine and stock

The sauce was strained, the meat shredded, and both were served with pappardelle for a sturdy Sunday lunch

Pigeon salad

2011-09-25T13:32:00.001+01:00

Pigeon breasts in the butchers' today, so a quick salad with croutons, pancetta and sherry vinegar

Hoxton Apprentice

2011-09-24T13:30:00.000+01:00

A great dinner out at the Hoxton Apprentice in London

Started with a goats' cheese and caramelised red onion tart

Followed by roast poussin with parmentier potatoes

Thai green chicken curry

2011-09-24T13:28:00.001+01:00

Comfort food

2011-09-24T13:28:00.000+01:00

Gammon steak with fried potatoes and cauliflower and broccoli cheese

A fortnight in France

2011-09-11T19:12:00.001+01:00

Salmon broth

2011-08-17T21:31:00.000+01:00

Lightly pached salmon in an oriental noodle soup, with stir fried pak choi, ginger and chilli

Barbecued chicken

2011-08-17T21:30:00.000+01:00

Another outing for the Moro barbecued chicken

With plenty of zaatar, fresh thyme and lemon juice

Served with red rice, a tahini sauce, a tomato salad and a cucumber salad

Summer fruit

2011-08-01T18:32:00.000+01:00

Strawberries, raspberries, cream and sugar

Chicory salad

2011-08-01T18:31:00.001+01:00

Fresh, crunchy chicory with roquefort, ripe pear and walnut oil

Unhealthy breakfast

2011-08-01T18:31:00.000+01:00

Bacon, fried bread and a fried egg for an unhealthy but tasty breakfast

Summer supper

2011-08-01T18:28:00.000+01:00

A summer supper of barbecued chicken with zaatar

Served with some great red rice, and a watercress salad

Gnocchi

2011-08-01T18:27:00.000+01:00

Gnocchi, baked with tomatoes, spinach and mozzarella

Summer again

2011-07-27T20:57:00.000+01:00

A sunny evening, after what feels like months of rain

So a simple dinner outside - parma ham, tomatoes, avocado, anchovies, grilled ciabatta, garlic and olive oil

Fresh broad beans

2011-07-27T07:29:00.000+01:00

Podding a vast pile of broad beans

To produce a small pile of double podded beans, which were mixed with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt

Served on toasted ciabatta with homemade houmous

Weekend away

2011-07-17T19:08:00.000+01:00

A weekend away at the Pennyhill hotel and spa - celebrating with a dirty martini

Summer pudding

2011-07-17T19:05:00.000+01:00

A traditional summer pudding, with some chantilly cream

Made with blackcurrents, redcurrents and home grown raspberries

Sunday roast

2011-07-17T19:04:00.000+01:00

Roast loin of pork

Served with carrots in thyme, gravy . . .

. . . cabbage, roasted onions and roast potatoes

Wahaca

2011-07-09T18:57:00.000+01:00

Lunch at Wahaca in Westfield, London

Started with tortilla chips with a nice fresh salsa and guacamole

Followed my a mixed dish - plenty of small tortillas, the best of which were the slow cooked pork

Lunch in the sun

2011-07-09T18:55:00.000+01:00

Roasted aubergines with a tahini sauce, a beetroot and goats' cheese salad, bruschetta and a green salad

Roasted garlic pasta

2011-06-28T13:19:00.000+01:00

Some fresh green garlic from the garden, roasted with thyme and olive oil

I wish you could smell this! The garlic was still young, so it wasn't too strong - just a nice mellow flavour

I squeezed out the roasted garlic cloves, and cooked with a little double cream and some more thyme leaves, before adding to orecchiette

Out for a curry

2011-06-28T13:17:00.000+01:00

Out to the Mumtaj - best curry house in St Albans

Dinner outside

2011-06-28T13:16:00.000+01:00

Summer has finally arrived, so a relaxed dinner of penne carbonara outside

Out for lunch

2011-06-28T13:11:00.000+01:00

Out to the Wicked Lady in Wheathmpstead - nice room, and good pub food. Main course only, so I went for the Pork Milanese

With some rosemary frites. Not really frites, but nice nonetheless.

Food for thought

2011-06-28T10:17:00.000+01:00

Dinner out at The Duke of Cambridge in Islington, for the first 2degrees discussion dinner

Sustainably sourced and tasty food, starting with a roasted vegetable salad

Followed by lamb on a fregola salad

Food was great, as was the company

Smiths of Smithfield

2011-06-25T08:13:00.001+01:00

An impromptu midweek burger at Smiths of Smithfield - great venue, and fantastic chips, but I still prefer the Byron Burger!

Father's day Sunday lunch

2011-06-25T08:12:00.000+01:00

Rib eye steak with a peppercorn sauce, dauphinoise potatoes and sauteed courgettes

Roast duck

2011-06-19T12:14:00.001+01:00

A slow roasted gressingham duck, with apples and potatoes roasted around the bird. Served with some freshly picked cabbage in jjuniper berries, and a red wine sauce.

Homemade garlic bread

2011-06-19T12:13:00.000+01:00

Fresh green garlic from the garden, so some homemade garlic bread with plenty of parsley

Sunday leftovers

2011-06-12T14:14:00.000+01:00

Leftover salmon, samphire and potatoes pepped up with chives, capers and lemon juice

Coated with flour, eggs and breadcrumbs, then shallow fried in sunflower oil

Served with a fresh green salad

Last of the brioche turned into pain perdu, with the remaining raspberries

Chicken tagine

2011-06-12T14:04:00.000+01:00

Chicken thighs with fennel, coriander, olives and preserved lemons

Weekend summer lunch

2011-06-12T14:01:00.000+01:00

WHole poached salmon

Served with suffolk marsh samphire

Jersey royal potatoes

Fresh raspberries

Chicken noodle soup

2011-06-12T13:58:00.000+01:00

Fresh chicken stock with noodles and fried mushrooms, pak choi, chilli, ginger and garlic

Roasted aubergines

2011-06-08T12:48:00.000+01:00

Roasted aubergines with a saffron yoghurt, basil leaves and roasted pine nuts

Purl for cocktails

2011-05-30T07:54:00.000+01:00

Impressive cocktails - this ones rum in a poison bottle with wood smoke, cooled by liquid co2

While here we have a gin martini cooled with a liquid nitrogen frozen lemon peel, and a range of aromatic bitters on the side

Quick starter

2011-05-25T19:13:00.000+01:00

An impromptu starter - cherry tomatoes in olive oil, basil and salt, on garlic-toasted day-old sourdough

Belly pork

2011-05-25T19:12:00.000+01:00

A nice thick piece of belly pork ready for slow roasting - rubbed with szechuan peppercorns, black pepper, salt, sugar and fivespice

Posh fishfinger sandwich

2011-05-25T19:11:00.000+01:00

Frying fishfingers - five for the sandwich, one to sustain me while making the sandwich

Served with homemade tartare sauce and freshly picked sorrel

Sunday burgers

2011-05-16T09:19:00.000+01:00

Homemade potato wedges and lamb burgers from the butchers

Serranitos

2011-05-16T09:18:00.000+01:00

Tasty pre-starter bites - grilled baguette with spiced pork, roasted sweet pepper and serrano ham

Summer risotto

2011-05-16T08:21:00.000+01:00

Asparagus risotto. The tips and stalks are cooked separately, and then I blend the stalks and add them at the end

Slow cooked sausage pasta

2011-05-16T08:19:00.000+01:00

A regular favourite - slow cooking spicy Italian sausages with red wine, onions, bay leaf and chilli

Finished with parmesan and cream, and served with penne

Out to Maze

2011-05-07T18:42:00.000+01:00

Starting with an expertly made dirty martini

Started with a sharing plate of chorizo, potato and tomato . . .

. . . and another of cornish fishcakes with a fennel salad

Main course was a piece of USDA prime Creekstone ribeye, with bearnaise sauce, chips, gratin of spinach and grilled mushrooms

Chicken tagine

2011-05-07T18:37:00.000+01:00

Chopping fennel, onion and garlic for a slow cooked chicken tagine

I marinaded the chicken in cumin, coriander and ground ginger overnight, and then browned off before adding the veg, olives, saffron and some rich chicken stock

Gently simmered for an hour and a half, and then served with couscous and fresh coriander

Chicken curry

2011-05-07T18:32:00.000+01:00

A quick curry with leftover chicken from the long weekend

Spring lamb

2011-05-02T16:11:00.000+01:00

A half leg of butterflied lamb, marinaded and grilled

Served with asparagus and dauphinoise potatoes

Thai Saturday

2011-04-30T22:03:00.000+01:00

A Thai green fish curry with cod and crabmeat, served with steamed rice

Paella

2011-04-30T19:01:00.000+01:00

A chorizo, spinach and pork fillet paella

Friday lunch

2011-04-30T19:00:00.000+01:00

A quick round of pancakes for the three of us

Roast monkfish

2011-04-28T19:43:00.000+01:00

Crushed new potatoes, sizzling in olive oil and butter

Monkfish tail, wrapped in parma ham and roasted

Served with fresh samphire

Lazy Tapas

2011-04-28T19:42:00.000+01:00

Premade supermarket tapas - white beans and manchego cheese; meatballs in spicy chipotle sauce

Spring lamb

2011-04-28T19:41:00.000+01:00

Rack of lamb served with rosemary-roasted potatoes and broccoli

Barbecue season

2011-04-28T19:40:00.000+01:00

Breaking out the improvised barbecue for the first outside cooking of the summer

Sausages with homemade potato wedges

Served with a tomato salad and a mustard mayonnaise

Roast pork

2011-04-17T18:59:00.000+01:00

A slow roasted shoulder of pork, cooked for 6 hours until it could be carved with a spoon

Spring lamb

2011-04-16T17:56:00.000+01:00

Lamb chops for a summer evening supper

Grilled with thyme and garlic

Served with new potatoes, roasted peppers and salsa verde

Lunch in the sun

2011-04-10T17:56:00.002+01:00

Coq au vin from the freezer for lunch

Served with some beautiful buttered papardelle

Friday dinner with friends

2011-04-10T17:55:00.001+01:00

After the terrine, main course was a grilled boneless leg of lamb, served with dauphinoise potatoes, grilled red peppers, a tomato and shallot salad, and a salsa verde

Finished the meal with cheese

Game terrine

2011-04-10T16:14:00.002+01:00

Venison, rabbit, duck, bacon, chicken liver and sausagemeat, ready for a game terrine

Whizzing up the 'forcemeat' with sausagemeat, herbs, brandy, red wine and chicken livers

Dicing the game, before building up the terrine

Lining a cast iron terrine with streaky bacon, before layering the forcemeat and game

Served with homemade chutney, gherkins and salad

KaiWeCare dinner

2011-04-05T19:23:00.002+01:00

Dinner out in London at the KaiWeCare pop-up, organised by Mat Follas. A spectacular menu with 9 courses and 21 chefs, including 4 Masterchef winners and numerous Michelin starred chefs

The 'Pre-Starter' was a tasting of beetroot textures with elderflower curd

The starter was for me the best dish - a rare breed scotch egg, warm tartare sauce, pea shoots and an English quail, summer truffle and buttered kohlrabi pie

The intermediate course was saffron-poached tiger prawns with piquillo pepper salsa, sherry reduction and olive oil foam

The main course tasted much better than it photographed! Slow cooked New Zealand lamb, broccoli puree, smoked garlic puree and Olde Yorke cheese with akmonds and wild garlic jus

A fascinating pre-dessert - carrot juice 'toast' (above) to dip in an eggshell filled with a coconut jelly 'white' and a carrot juice 'yolk'

To finish a dark chocolate delice with lavender ice cream and a burnt orange syrup

All this was followed by cheese and petit fours

A truly memorable night - great food, and in all over £60k raised for the Christchurch earthquke work

Mothering Sunday

2011-04-03T21:08:00.001+01:00

Lunch out at The Pheasant in Brill, in Oxfordshire, for Mother's day

A good piece of slow cooked pork belly with colcannon and green veg

Lunch with friends

2011-04-02T21:07:00.001+01:00

Lunch with friends - a pair of delicious summer pastries - the first with sausage and parsnip, and the second with butternut squash, halloumi and black olives

The first outside lunch of the year

Leek risotto

2011-04-01T21:06:00.001+01:00

A homegrown leek and tarragon risotto

Made with fresh stock from the weekend's chicken

5 years of blogging

2011-03-27T21:03:00.001+01:00

So, five years to the day since I uploaded my first blog picture. That's about as long as Twitter has been around - they're probably kicking themselves they didn't start a food blog instead. That micro-messagingwill never take off.

Anyway, a suitably complex, if not photogenic, dish to mark the occasion. Anthony Bourdain's coq au vin. As seen above, this involves cooking pretty much everything separately, and then combining with the strained, reduced cooking liquid at the end. These shallots were poached then sauteed.

The end result was worth the effort. I served it with polenta, and you could taste all the different components perfectly.

Lunch for one

2011-03-26T13:39:00.000+01:00

Mozzarella, tomatoes and ripe avocado

Leftovers

2011-03-21T21:40:00.000+01:00

Bubble and squeak, cooking slowly so it gets nice and crispy

With the last of the Sunday roast, and plenty of apple sauce

Sunday lunch with friends

2011-03-20T20:02:00.000+01:00

Roast loin of pork, cabbage, roast potatoes, carrots and plenty of crackling

Followed by the first rhubarb crumble of the year

Pigeon and sausages

2011-03-20T20:00:00.000+01:00

Frying a pair of pigeon breasts

Served with a sweet and sour crabapple dressing and fresh leaves

Followed by a somewhat more traditional sausage and mash