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Have a go to recreate your own dim sum banquet!

I love dim sum, and trips to London always tend to include finding somewhere to indulge in great dim sum. This week was New World on Gerrard Place, which is fantastic for that full-on traditional dim sum experience with trollies madly dashing around the room.

Then there are great modern versions of dim sum, with Yauatcha being my favourite, for both the dim sum and the macaroons. And for quick dim sum whilst shopping there is always Ping Pong, which is great for good food in a hurry, and great cocktails too. But to attempt it at home? Where do you begin?

Channel 4 have got a small selection, which all look tasty and good, and I also like Asian Online Recipes has a more comprehensive selection. You’re going to need to stock up on things like soy sauce and Chinese flavourings and spices, as well as more unusual ingredients like won ton wrappers. The Asian Cookshop is a great online source for not just Chinese ingredients but also Thai, Japanese and Indian.

If you’re the visual type, then there are plenty of videos over on You Tube. There’s a great one for steamed buns, which is one of my favourite dim sum recipes. You could create a whole banquet working through all of these videos, and it may make some of the tricky moments easier to follow. I looked at Amazon, and there aren’t huge numbers of books devoted just to the subject of dim sum. I like the look of Dim Sum Made Easy by Lucille Liang, and also the authentic looking Chinese Snacks by Huang Su-Huei.

To be honest, if I had won ton wrappers in this weekend, I would spend all weekend trying out these recipes and techniques. If I’m going to be snowed in, I may as well use the time to good use! And there’s something about filling the kitchen with more exotic scents that fills the day with warmth. Go ahead, change the air around you!

Fabulous picture of a great dim sum spread by Looks Like Amy on Flickr.

I imagine ours is not the only post Christmas fridge with a whole heap of leftovers to work thr0ugh, and actually their part of my New Year’s resolution. There are some awful stats around each household throwing away between £420 and £610 worth of good food every year, all going into landfill.

And this year, we’re going to do throw out an awful lot less. Which does mean organising the whole family (those that follow me on Twitter may now I have threatened to divorce Dr T over the food he wastes through not labelling or putting it away properly). But we need a bit of a clear out first! So, yesterday we got through:

Upmarket & varied leftovers

Mid way through

Ta dah! The finished faux pastor

So, here’s hoping there’s less waste heading out from our household. And if Dr T needs more inspiration, then I shall be taking him to The Ministry of Food exhibition at the Imperial War Museum come February!

It’s been a busy morning here at FGH HQ, with a whole load of cooking going on ready for trick or treating tonight. I decided to eschew the easy option of the bags of multi coloured goo and sugar from the supermarket, and go for homemade versions.

This has involved MGG poring over the pages of Ghoulish Goodies, one of the books I featured in the Friday Five about cookbooks dedicated to Halloween. I really love it, and there are great ideas for everything for chocolate treats to cookies and full on cakes. Sadly, the whistling past the graveyard cake will have to wait for another day!

First up, Zombie Eyeballs (they’re monsters in the book, but we took a little creative licence). Perfect to make with kids as no cooking involved, although I would probably melt the butter and possibly warm the peanut butter next time, as these were a little crumbly to put together. But MGG was not to be defeated:

Rolling zombie eyeballs

These need an hour or so in the fridge before the final step: a roll in chocolate, leaving enough space for a cornea and a mini Smartie for an iris!

Next up, Funny Bones. These were fun and games, as we are obviously not as fond of pretzel sticks as they are in the US. I thought I might be in luck and they’d be in the Christmas snack section, but sadly not. We had to make do with a box of Mikado biscuits, but of course this meant the chocolate has taken on a slighly marbled effect. I did think about nibbling all the milk chocolate off first, but thought that probably contravened several health and safety regs!

Bones awaiting their dipping

Once dipped, these just need a few hours in the fridge to firm up. What are the joints? Well, there are uses for mini marshmallows other than for sprinkling on hot chocolate!

Next up, eye of lizard. To be fair, these started out as monster toes, but they spread a lot during cooking, and also the M&Ms split their casings. This gives them a slighly surreal eye look, so we have renamed them into that classic cauldron ingredient!

Eye of lizard heading for the fire

So next up we just need some paper cones, a Halloween menu and we’re ready to go. Unless Dr T has taken the batteries out the doorbell again! But after all that, this is what they have in store:

Zombie eyeballs

Zombie eyeballs anyone?

Eye of dragon

Eye of Dragon

Funny bones

Dem Bones

Happy Halloween, may all your treats be tasty!

If you spot a quince, grab it!

I had moments of pure envy this week! Thomasina Miers was tweeting that she was experimenting with quince, poaching them with vanilla pods, and then making them into a custard. Which all sounded delicious, but there’s been no sniff of a quince around here yet!

And I have such a hankering to try to make quince cheese, that Spanish delicacy known as membrillo, as there’s a piece of Manchego just winged its way into the fridge direct from Best Foodie Friend’s recent trip to Spain. I’ve never tried making it before, but have tucked into it quite a few times (a particularly good example served up at Iberico in Nottingham, always worth a lunch stop).

If I spot some, then I am buying as many as I can afford as soon as I see them. And I’m inspired by the quince jelly recipe over on The Cottage Smallholder. If you want something different, then have a try of some of the quince recipes over on Historic Food, or just read them as it’s fascinating!

Supply of quinces seems to be a bit hit and miss though, so the only way to really be guaranteed a crop each season is either adopt someone with a tree, or grow one yourself. Trees Online have a number of varieties on offer and not knowing anything else about them I would start with a Champion Quince Tree. Although may just find it has a high opinion of itself!

This option would mean a very long wait for Membrillo though, so I am tempted to order some from Bellota at Food Full Stop. If it’s for someone else, you could go the full hog (no pun intended) and order their gourmet selection which includes a whole host of other goodies such as Jamón de Trevélez, Salchichon Ibérico and Chorizo Ibérico, as well as the membrillo.

Quince photo by erix! on Flickr.

The perfect martini?

Last night Dr T and I enjoyed a cultural night out at Nottingham Playhouse to see their production of Blithe Spirit. From this one would deduce that essential kit in many households of the time was a cocktail shaker and a ready supply of martini glasses!

There was a long debate on the way home as to exactly what made up a dry martini, although both of us were quite sure it bore no resemblance to the dry martini and lemonade beloved of our parent’s generation. And the answer seems to be there is no one recipe for the “perfect” dry martini.

There is much agreement that you need the right equipment, and ice. There must be ice and apparently not any old ice. No to tap water ice, but am assuming filtered or best Evian would be ok! And of course it’s not going to taste as smooth if you use Tesco’s Basics Gin or Vermouth rather than a more premium spirit.

So that brings us to the recipe: gin meets vermouth, end of.

Or rather the start of endless combinations. For a dry one, it would appear to four parts gin to one part dry vermouth might be a good starting point. Shaken together over ice then strained into a martini glass.

The extra dry martini could be 12 parts gin to 1 part dry vermouth, and one source quotes the perfect martini as 4 parts gin, 1 part dry vermouth and 1 part sweet vermouth. You could garnish it with everything from olives to cocktail onions to slivers of orange or lemon peel.

But really, it’s all about the spirits. And we’re not talking about the ghosts of either Mrs Condimine. According to the World Spirit’s Festival in January, the best gin in the world was Blackwoods’ Vintage Dry Gin. It certainly sounds like it would be perfect for the job, and also wouldn’t just taste like neat alcohol due to the mix of local botanical ingredients from the Shetlands.

I have to be honest, I’ve never tried it, but I guess could be persuaded to give it a go. My personal favourites in the gin department are Plymouth, Bombay Sapphire or Hendricks, although not sure how purists in the martini field would view the cucumber note in the Hendricks. Personally I think it would be a great addition.

Vermouth really seems to come down to a choice between Martini and Noilly Prat, and given that it’s called a Martini, I might be tempted to plump for that. Although if the bottle looked nice, I might go for the Noilly Prat. Or both.

And then you need good glasses to serve it in. Which seem to be everywhere in recent times, but if you think you’re going to develop a taste for these then frame good liquor with good glass. I like the simplicity of the ones from LSA, which are classy and unfussy, pure of line, which is what a good martini should be.

So, my darlings, I’m going to waft off now and dress for dinner and wait to be shaken, not stirred!

Fabulous photographs courtesy of Mustard Faith on Flickr

More jam, less Jerusalem

It’s one of those big events in our village today: the annual horticultural show. Oh yes, there are still horticultural and village shows going strong, and there has been competitive pumkin and bean growing going on for months. No tales of sabotage yet but still time for that to surface!

As well as veg and fruit growing, not to mention the fresh flower arrangement inspired by a film title, there are all the culinary classes too. So for today’s Saturday session here’s a recipe recommendation from some of my favourite blogs and sites for each of the classes:

1. Jar of Jam – tip here, nothing exotic ever wins. Or perhaps that should read nothing exotic of mine ever wins. Really I think what you want is a classic raspberry, possibly strawberry. But if you wanted to push it just that little bit further, but still keep it sounding classically British sounding, then I would go for the Blackberry & Apple jam that’s featured on The Cottage Smallholder. Like a little jar of autumn in a jar. Although it rather depends on when your show is theough, as this isn’t going to work for early summer!

2. Jar of Lemon Curd – hard to make this one distinctive, so it’s all going to come down to quality ingredients. Looking at the recipe on Gastronomy Domine, Liz Upton recommends American Meyer or Sicilian lemons if you can track them down. Failing that I would suggest you need unwaxed organic lemons, and the best eggs you can find.

3. Jar of Marmalade – no fruit specified, but I think you can guarantee at our show there is currently little point in entering lime, lemon or even ginger and kumquat marmalade, no matter how delicious! You preferably have to have been organised during the short Seville season and laid away a jar or two ready for the big day. Not from a blog but my favourite food writer, Nigel Slater, shared his recipe for Seville orange marmalade earlier this year, so I’d happily give that a go.

4. A jar of chutney – I’m not sure of the technical difference between a pickle and a chutney, they would seem to be one and the same to me. If only for the very beautiful colour I imagine it goes, then I would try the Beetroot Chutney from Allotment Growing. That said, quite partial to the taste of beetroot too!

5. Fruit cake – so many possibilities, from the light tea bread type to a full on well matured Christmas cake. With no specification, I would think most people would go tea bread type. Which might give you an advantage if you went moist and well matured. Who knows? The judging of these things are a thing of mystery. I rather like this Treacle Fruit Cake recipe from Celt Net, which feels traditional but with a twist.

6. Six savoury vol au vents – seriously, did anyone ever make vol au vents? I mean even if you were going to serve them, you bought the frozen ready made cases, right? And as even Nigella buys ready made puff pastry, then surely not a single one will be made from scratch? I would be tempted to do the full on nostalgia and attempt the mushroom and chicken my mum always made, which always seemed to involve a tin of Campbells’ condensed mushroom soup. Surely the only way to approach this class is with irony?

If you really want serious award winning stuff, then I would guess you couldn’t go far wrong by following the recipes of the WI. There are books on preserves, bread and even tarts! That should keep you in rosettes for a while!

There's a glut about

Well, not quite, but tonight’s dinner challenge is a different use of courgettes with every course because, like many of you who might grow your own, there’s a courgette glut still on.

I have to admit to not being the biggest fan of the courgette, but I’m coming around. I think it’s too many years of it being served up wet and soggy, either on is own or in some awful bastardisation of ratatouille. More rat than touille I always thought. But I think tonight’s three ways might be about as far away from that as you can get.

Firstly, we’ll be starting with Courgette Hummus, from the Gastrokid cookbook and as featured in last Sunday’s Observer. Sadly, it’ll probably only use up a max of 2 courgettes as there are only 7 of us. Doesn’t sound like you can go too far wrong with this combination of flavours though, what with all the parsley, basil, lemon juice and olive oil. It may just prove to be a way to get more veg into kids, rather than contributing anything distinctive on the flavour front, but it does look a very pretty shade of green. I shall reserve judgement.

Main course is somewhat easier, as there’ll be grilled courgette. This is the way to serve courgettes to non believers, as it is with many veg. Roasting or grilling really brings out a different side to the flavours, slightly sweeter plus that slight smokiness. Of course, chucking good olive oil and rock salt on helps a lot as well!

And for dessert, I’m going the obvious route, which is Flora’s Famous Courgette Cake out of How to be a Domestic Goddess. Although being slightly undomestic goddess like, I will not be whipping up a lime curd this afternoon, although it is worth doing when time allows. If you’re not convinced by the sound of the cake, check out Mouthfuls of Heaven’s report from when she gave it a go.

Whatever is left from the glut I’m thinking of grating and freezing for going into cakes and soups over the winter. Unless anyone has any other interesting recipes for me to give a go? Go on, let me in on your courgette secrets! From A Forkful of Spaghetti comes the delightful sounding courgette pickle, so that’s a good start!

Photo by Indigo Goat.

For fairly unimaginative reasons, I was in Stoke on Trent yesterday, a first. Well, Hanley, which is the city centre of Stoke. Confusing! But, like any good foodie, I’d done my research, just in case of some foodie time out. And what results! There were three things on my list: pie from Pieminister (fail, the shop is no longer there), ice cream from Quadrelli’s (fail, ran out of time) and a trip to the market to buy oatcakes.

Success!

Nothing like the Scottish versions but very yummy

Now, just in case you are confused, these are nothing at all like Scottish oatcakes. As you can see from the photo, they have the distinct look of a small pancake, and tastewise are more akin to a Breton galette. If you want to try them at home, there’s a good recipe and brief history on the Allotment Growing website. This is not just regional food, this the food of just half a county.

Most places round about served them stuffed with cheese and bacon, or any combination thereof. We bought 12 for £1.80 from The Original Oatcake Stall in the market, and brought them home to experiment. The bag also contained a very good looking black pudding.

Hmm.

So, I give you lunch today at Tarver Towers: Staffordshire Oatcakes with Black Pudding and Caramelized Apple.

Not quite the average use of an oatcake

I have to admit, you couldn’t eat this every day, but it was divine. The oatcakes have a bit more body than a pancake, the black pudding was nicely spiced with good, uneven chunks of fat giving away its handmade origins, and the apple was a good combination of tart and sweet. If I was to change anything, I would use eaters not cookers next time, just as they would hold their structure a bit better.

Needless to say, dinner will be a meat-free affair! If you want to try them without getting into the kitchen, then you can get them by mail order from StaffordshireOatcakes.com, who will send them anywhere in the world. They also have some very amusing car stickers. I also took to the mugs from Moorland Pottery, particularly the one bearing the legend “A Sagger Makers’ Bottom Knocker”. I have vivid memories of John Noakes doing this job! Also check out “They’t once, twice, thray times mar lady“!

For those of you with foodies not from Stoke, then you might like to know they also now have suitable wares for gifts for Geordies, Scousers, Yorkies, Brummies and now the Welsh. I think we might be having a pair to recognise our mutual heritage: You Can Take The Lass Out of Yorkshire and How Green is My Valley.

Bacon and it's many guises

I’d been debating all day what to write about tonight. I had two possible subjects I’d been batting around all day, but Helen Browning made my mind up. She was on the radio talking about Pigstock, which is being held at her farm and pub the weekend after next, and sounds great fun. If you don’t know Helen (how could you not?) she has been producing the most amazing organic bacon for nearly 20 years, and you should be eating it!

There’s a music festival at the pub, but she was talking about spending the weekend with the pigs, even camping under a pig arc if you wanted to! The website seems short of info, so best to give them a ring! Sounded great fun, be brilliant with kids. Possibly less so with the vegetarians. And try the bacon before you go, it’s great. I always look out for her van at country fairs, much better than a lot on offer.

The reason I was thinking bacon was down to an article that covered Mo’s Bacon Bar by Vosges (one of the few chocolate brands I would bring back from the US). Sounds unlikely but I’m prepared to give smoked bacon and milk chocolate a go. Not to mention More Cupcakes with their BLT, bacon maple and peach bacon BBQ cupcakes. And for the drinkers, then it’s all about Bakon Vodka.

Yes, you read right! A premium potato vodka with a savoury bacon flavour, they say it’s the only one you will ever want to make a Bloody Mary with. Sadly, it only appears to be available in the North West states of the US, but could make a trip to Seattle more interesting! If you’re not heading that way any time soon, then I found a recipe for making your own here.

For more close to home options for the bacon lover in your life, try the following:

1) Check out the many tshirt designs on Zazzle and Cafe Press. I like the Haiku about Bacon tshirt and the Delicious Pig Bib for mini foodies from Bizarre T Shirts.

2) For a box of gold medal winning deliciousness, then try the selection pack from Ramsay of Carluke. Good enough to be one of Rick Stein’s food heroes, good enough to go between two slices of bread in this household!

3) Get it crisp and get it fast, with a microwave bacon crisper from Lakeland. Perfect for late night, post pub munchies in a hurry.

4) For an on the go bacon hit, try Uncle Oinkers Bacon Mints. Each one tastes like a slice of crispy bacon with a hint of mint for extra punch.

5) Do it yourself, or at least learn how to. River Cottage do a day’s course of Meat Curing and Smoking, where you will learn, amongst other things, how to make your own bacon. You get food tasting and a two course lunch, not to mention being in the beautiful Dorset countryside. There are dates throughout the rest of the year, check the site for details.

I have such a weakness for bacon, I’ve even had to cook a few slices during the course of writing this! Lunch tomorrow will be spinach, mozzarella and bacon salad with a mustard and maple syrup dressing. Can’t wait!

Go on, bring home some bacon now!

Photo courtesy of Shawnzam.

Tandoori Chicken

It’s hard to eat badly in France. Except when it comes to things like Chinese and particularly Indian food. So we came back with a huge craving for a good curry, and Dr T has been busy in the kitchen ever since!

Which made the choice for this week’s Saturday Session easy! I would point you to Mamta’s Kitchen, which bills itself as a family cookbook, and it does have the feel of all those dishes you would grow up on and then really miss when you left home. Started by Mamta Gupta when her daughters left home, it has grown and grown, having been started in 2001.

If you’ve not made Indian food before, then try that most popular of dishes, Tandoori Chicken, it’s pretty straightforward. Unless you’re Heston Blumenthal, when I seem to remember it required a JCB and a big hole in your garden to build a tandoor. Not strictly speaking necessary.

Of course, you can’t just stop with the chicken. You’ll need some bread, and a side dish or two. Not to mention perhaps a few Kingfisher lagers or a fabulous glass of Lassi.

Go on, it looks miserable outside, cooking this will fill the house with delicious aromas and be one hundred times better than anything you pick up from the supermarket!

Photo courtesy of thebittenword.com