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Celebrate with good food & good friends

It seems that wherever you go in the world, everyone is happy to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, whilst the other national saints barely get a look in even in their home countries! But lets not get all partisan about it, lets just get on with some eating and drinking!

1. Ok, you can’t really start St Patrick’s Day without a glass of Guinness. Possibly two or three. There again, loyalties are divided in Ireland, and so perhaps you should order in some Murphys. Or some of each, and decide for yourself.

2. A drop of the hard stuff? Well, there’s plenty of Irish whiskey companies willing to help you out with that! Bushmills and Jameson are probably the best known, but you could work your way through some smaller producers, and try something like Connemara, from the Cooley distillery. This is Ireland’s only independent distillery, and its newest, and the whiskey has been winning awards. Worth a try.

3. Taken the pledge? Ah, will  you have a cup of tea then? Go on, go on, go on. Swap your regular brew for something like Bewley’s Dublin Morning tea. Then there’s Barry’s Tea, which has everything from a classic blend to a gold blend, and a long history of good brews.

4. What appears in our supermarkets as Irish sausage is a poor excuse for a sausage. If you want the real thing then try Jane Russell’s Original Irish Handmade Sausages. These are high meat content sausages as they should be made, with only prime cuts and, as they say, no short cuts. Not only are there traditional pork sausages, but you could also try the beef and Guinness ones.

5. Should you be making a trip (and you may have to, as struggling to find a retail stockist) then it sounds like it is well worth checking out the Drumgooland Smokehouse in Co. Down. The hot smoked salmon has won awards, and they also have some interesting combinations such as gin marinated wild mackerel and smoked salmon fishcakes with lemongrass and coriander.

6. If you want to try a hamper full of Irish goodies, then check out the Irish Gourmet. For those with a sweet tooth, try the Battle of the Biscuits, which will give you not all biscuits but also cakes, honey and tea. For more all round tastes, then try A Taste of the Organic, which has smoked salmon, air dried ham, oatcakes and cheese.

7. Talking of oatcakes, I really like the Smoked Oatcakes from Dittys Home Bakery, for an added dimension to cheese and biscuits. You’ll find these in many places across the UK: I know I bought them first at Waitrose and you can find them everywhere from Forman & Field to Fortnum & Mason.

So, I’m sure there is a whole heap more you could explore, so probably best to get a flight and make a start. Dublin is an obvious choice, but my favourite is Galway. No need to wait until the Oyster Festival in September, there’s good eating and drinking all year round. If you want the rock star approach, you could stay at the G or for more pampering then try the Radisson Blu with the Spirit One Spa. Or I hear great things about the resurgence of Belfast, and especially about The Merchant Hotel, both for its restaurant and its bar. In fact, the bar has been voted Best Hotel Bar in the World, not to mention Best Cocktail Menu. If that’s not a good reason to go, then I’m not sure what other reason you need.

Sláinte!

Photo courtesy of biskuit over on Flickr.

Mexican Food Made Simple

I’m a couple of weeks behind the launch date, but I wanted to feature Thomasina Miers’ Mexican Food. I have had two of the best evenings at Wahaca, which takes Mexican food, and tequila, to another level for me. The difference between Wahaca and somewhere like Chiquitos is like the difference between Burger King and Hawksmoor. So, if you think you don’t like Mexican, buy this and experiment.

And if you love Mexican, buy it and enjoy cooking from it!

I’ve added a few others that will give you a different spin on Mexican, to show it’s not all tacos and cheese.

1. Mexican Food Made Simple – What else can I write about this? I love the way Tommi writes, I love the food her kitchens turn out, and I am buying this for myself if it doesn’t arrive on Mother’s Day. And think Mexican doesn’t cover sweet stuff? Check out the pancakes with vanilla ice cream, caramelised pecans and salted caramel sauce.

2. Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico – another great book for getting into the heart and soul of Mexican cooking. I like that reviews of this say the flavours of this are not Americanised, which is a positive in my view.

3. Essential Cuisines of Mexico – Diana Kennedy has been writing about Mexican cooking for over 40 years, and this is a fairly new updated and revised version of one of her earlier books. This will take you through the whole spectrum of Mexican cooking, from tamales to tortillas through to breads and desserts. It is said the Diana is to Mexican food what Julia Child is to French, so that’s not too bad a recommendation!

4. The Well-Filled Tortilla Cookbook – a little more amusing, and single minded in pursuit of the perfect filled tortilla. You can make it crispy or soft, bake it or fry it, and fill it with all sorts of stuff, savoury and sweet. I would think this was a great book if you have kids, as this is the sort of food I always find kids will try, as it has that level of interactivity to it. Not to mention it’s wonderfully messy to eat!

5. Tequila: A Guide to Cocktail, Types, Flights and Bites- well, couldn’t finish this without bringing out the tequila. Wahaca takes tequila as far from the Tequila Shots Girl as it’s possible to get, and this book is in that spirit (no pun intended). This will tell you all you need to know,what you should be tasting and what goes really well with it.

It may have felt like the endless winter, so spicing it up in the kitchen just may help it feel like the sunshine is back! A bit of spice can go a long way to cheering up cold, grey days! Enjoy!

What will you swap?

The annual Fairtrade Fortnight started yesterday, and I like this year’s theme around asking people to swap just one thing they regularly purchase for the Fairtrade version. Small steps to change always seem much more manageable somehow!

So, bananas and coffee feel a bit old hat, and many will already be buying fairtrade (or did 5 years at The Body Shop do too much brainwashing on me?) Anyway, what else could you swap?

* Swap your vodka for Fair Vodka, the first Fairtrade certified vodka, and the first quinoa based in the world. At last, a decent use for the stuff! And apparently it does it very well as it was voted best tasting vodka 2009 at the New York Spirits award. Does good and tastes good then!

* Swap your regular basmati rice for Suma’s organic & Fairtrade brown basmati. That’s such an easy swap of such a basic item that it almost doesn’t need thinking about.

* Swap a morning brew for a morning brew from Make Us a Brew. Strong, full on, English breakfast tea that is both organic and fair traded. Not to mention it has very cute illustrations!

* Swap your regular beer for something quite different from Mongozo. Fruit based, you could try something like the Coconut Beer, and still keep to your fair trade principles.

* Swap your spice rack to fairly traded spices. I love Steenbergs anyway, but even more so for the fact that there is a large range of fair trade options available from them, as well as being organic. Even if you only switch one spice, it’s a start. I’m starting with cinnamon sticks.

So, take one small step and make one small change. But equally, I want to make another plea, and that is not to forget our own farmers and small producers, that they equally deserve a fair deal. Please get out there and support those working hard, delivering great animal welfare standards and great tasting produce. Small producers making products the traditional way, or inventing new ways, to really delivery high quality products. Fair trade for all!

Just having a quick virtual browse round to see what’s new for Spring for the foodies, and here’s just a few of the things that have caught my eye:

Gluten free fishcakes

* From The Fish Society, a tasty treat for those needing a gluten free diet. Norcakes are fishcakes from Norway that have seen neither potato (so you get more fish) or a breadcrumb (so you get no gluten). Great sounding flavours, either Pollock & Lemongrass or Salmon & Dill. Perfect standby comfort food for me.

* I love TheDrinkShop.com, it’s such a great source of such a huge variety of different drinks, the stuff you don’t necessarily see in the supermarket. They’ve just listed SW4 Dry Gin, which I have yet to see on sale round here, or make it into my glass, but it sounds great. And I’m intrigued by the Bitter Truth Pimento Dram, which is pimento and rum. Could make for an interesting evening!

Light my Fire, with chocolate

* Always a sucker for chocolate, I like the cheeky bars that Jamie Oliver is doing, which include Light My Fire (dark chocolate with mandarin and ginger) and Get Fresh (dark chocolate with a hint of mint). The flavours are nothing new, but the chocolate is 72% cocoa solids, as well as organic and fairtrade, so on top of that to have great looking packaging is a real positive. Cheer someone’s day up, any day, with one of these.

* I know this won’t tick the local box, but it is seasonal. Natoora have Wild Pink Radicchio in from Verona, which they say is very nice grilled, and I would be tempted to try it in risotto, having made one before with “normal” radicchio. I am expecting this to be slightly less bitter than the red version.

* The Eden Project is one of my favourite places, but it’s a bit of a drive from here in the East Midlands. Pleased to see their online shop suddenly looking really snazzy and interesting with some great things on it. For the foodies, then there is the Olive Lovers Gift, which has an olive sapling, and a jar of their own marinated olives. This is going to be one of those taste good, do good gifts, going to support the ongoing work at the Project. They’ve got some great chicken houses too, if keeping your own is on your to do list this year.

So just a few new things that have caught my eye, that I’ll be storing away as ideas for great gift ideas for someone, at some stage, this Spring. What’s caught your eye? I’d love to know.

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We were discussing my slightly obscure taste in fragrance last night, which does tend to often include those that to some smell like an ashtray. I have an absolute passion for Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford, but can be found sniffing the original Dolce & Gabbana for Men with it’s leather and cigar smoke notes. And then there’s Feuilles de Tabac from Miller Harris…

Smoked olive oil from The Organic Smokehouse

Anyway, this addiction transfers across to food too (in fact everything except actually smoking, which I am not at all keen on), so this is my list of Valentine’s Day gifts for those foodies with a love of good smoky flavours!

* Starting with something fairly mild on the smoke front, how about a whole smoked chicken from Upton Smokery? Bathed in aromatic smoke and slow cooked, this would make a great meal, hot or cold. Plus wrapping up a whole chicken has got to have some great comedy value.

* Upgrade the extra virgin olive oil experience, with organic smoked olive oil from The Organic Smokehouse. This would make for a whole new flavour experience whether it’s mixed into a salad dressing, or just for dipping great bread into (I would think it would work really well with a good sourdough).

* For a great accompaniment to that olive oil, then how about Smoked Sea Salt from Halen Môn? Infused with smoke from Welsh oak, this has an almost sweet edge to it, like many tobaccos, and will give the foodie hours of pleasure in working out how to best make use of the unique flavour.

* Not really new news, but the tobacco truffles from Artisan du Chocolat are one of the most creative food uses of the tobacco flavour around. You can order them online, just make sure that you fill in the comments to specially request them. They have to be tried at least once in a lifetime.

* If you want to really push the boat out, then London Fine Foods offer a Smoked Hamper which has everything from smoked salmon and eel through to smoked duck and pigeon. Certainly plenty of smokiness to go at, although not for the vegetarian!

* If this flavour thing is bordering on an obsession, then how about learning how to smoke your own things? With

Benromach Peat Smoke

a day course in Cumbria they could learn to smoke cheese, meats and vegetables, looking at both hot and cold smoking, as well as brining. Plenty of hands on experience, not to mention eating and goodies to take home.

* For a smoke filled finish, then how about Benromach Peat Smoke Batch 2 Whisky? According to the tasting notes, this has a seriously smoky character, being complex, intense and challenging, and yet well balanced (so, that’s where I went wrong with my men, missed the last bit out! ) And if you like a splash of water, this will bring out treacle toffee and creamy notes. Sounds delicious. Now, if only I liked whisky!

There’s a fabulous article on cooking with tobacco in the first edition of Fire and Knives, and a subscription to that should be every foodies gift wish list. If they are inspired, and if your local tobacco merchants is a thing of the past, then try James Barber for a great selection of loose tobacco online. Just stick to smoky flavours, rather than taking up the evil weed!

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Hugh Johnson's Wine Book

It’s coming up to that time of year when normal sensible drinks seem to go out the window, and everyone thinks it’s a good idea to break out the Cherry B and the advocaat. Or that may just be in our house. Anyway, in a break from the rounds of cookery books, this week I’m taking a look at the the most wished for books in drinks and beverages, that would help educate about drinking, rather than necessarily your palate!

1. Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2010 – from an immensely popular and knowledgeable writer, this is the latest version, as concise and wide ranging as usual. If you travel a lot, this is a great book to carry around with you on your trips, to make sure you get the most from your visits wine shops overseas.

2. Good Beer Guide 2010 – of course, it’s not all about wine, and this is another popular guide each year. This really is the definitive guide to get a pint of real ale, if that’s your thing, from town to countryside. This also goes beyond just pubs though to give you a full rundown of the breweries producing real ale in the UK, from micro through to national breweries, so giving sources for some home drinking options too.

3. The Classic 1000 Cocktails - this should add some interesting twists to your Christmas drink options! This covers everything from long and short drinks, champagne based cocktails, and even hot cocktails, and gives the lowdown on equipment as well as key ingredients to have on standby for an impromptu cocktail party. I have no idea what a Barnaby’s Buffalo Blizzard is, but it sounds like one of those that would be rather difficult to say after one too many!

4. The World Atlas of Wine - this is a great book for those wanting to learn more about wine, from two giants of the wine world, Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson. This has been updated recently, and reflects the rapid growth of vineyards and producers in some parts of the world. This is a great book for the real enthusiast, and those planning trips to great wine producing parts of the world.

5. Brew Your Own British Real Ale - when I wrote about food trends at the start of the year, home made was definitely one of the big ones, and home brew within that. This is a classic guide that has been rewritten and updated, and has plenty of recipes for everything from old favourites no longer brewed commercially through to contemporary offerings. It could be the start of a lot of strange burping noises around the home, and that’s just in the brewing stage!

All of these should expand the drinker’s knowledge and possibly their repertoire for future drinking opportunities. Now, pass the advocaat please!

More to Cardiff than cheese!

After yesterday’s post about Stilton, it seemed only right to give a mention to the Great British Cheese Festival in Cardiff this weekend. More cheese than even I can get through, there will be all sorts to take your fancy. There’ll be tastings and masterclasses, so really from milk to plate.

But if you go to Cardiff and only do this then you’re missing out. It’s a city I love, and know a bit, mainly because Dr T is a Penarth boy, still with family in the area. We were even married in Cardiff, in the fabulous surroundings of City Hall.

So, these are my personal favourites to get the best out the area.

Staying – depends on your budget, and your mood. If you want the luxury version, or a spa on hand to recover from your cheese tasting efforts, then it has to be The St David’s. Sadly, since the advent of the barrage, they can’t show you the TV Robbie Williams threw out the window, but the gorgeous rooms will not disappoint. And a few spins around the thalassotherapy pool will leave you feeling well refreshed. For unique, individual and welcoming, then I would go for Jolyons. Apparently very popular with the Doctor Who and Torchwood cast, the rooms are cosy and Bar Cwtch is very chilled.

Eating – my favourite is definitely Le Gallois in Canton. Fantastic food and presentation, this is a treat for dinner, but if the fixed price lunch is on offer, it’s a great bargain. Two courses is only £20, and you’ll get great representations of local food to a very high standard. If you like Indian, then I recommend Spice Quarter in the Old Brewery Quarter. I took a friend from Amritsar, and she raved about it, so that’s a good sign to me. And if you’re still hungry, you’ll be needing chips from Caroline Street, also known as Chip Alley. But I’d be avoiding Champers. Long story, food completely unmemorable, entertainment provided by clientele unbelievable.

Shop – you have to visit Wally’s Delicatessen, it’s legendary, and deserving of the legend. Leave room in your coolbox amongst all the cheese for charcuterie from around the world, amongst a huge variety of things, in a very small space!

Drink – pint of Dark followed by a Pendeyrn Whisky chaser.

So, go and indulge in the cheese, but make sure you don’t miss out on everything else!

Fantastic Cardiff mosaic by Mooganic 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

Possibly posh, definitely festive!

It’s tradition really. Christmas always arrives at Harrods whilst most of us are heading for a well-earned summer break. If you feel the need for tinsel, Harrods already have their selection ready for you!

What about for the foodies? Well, there are already great hampers, but there are always hampers available, and the current ones are quite summery, so hold on a bit there. You could buy the foodie in your life the gift of a festive Harrods apron or a cookie cutter tea towel.

For any wine buffs, then I would consider the Wine Quiz Box from L’Atelier du Vin. There are quizzes on Bordeaux, Bourgogne and Champagne, so as long as you include some bottles for tasting, sounds like a good night in! 

I’m not sure if my next choice is for a foodie who loves whisky, or a foodie who happens to love great photography, but it’s a fabulous one off gift! Rankin has teamed up with Macallan, and the result is the Master of Photography 30 year old single malt. You get a one off, signed Rankin photo, with matching label on the bottle of 30 year old, of which only 1000 bottles are being produced. Each bottle has a different bottle and label, but each one contains the same soft and silky malt, with notes of macadamia nut, vanilla and sandalwood. It is really not cheap, but then neither is an original Rankin. A definite special gift for a special foodie!

So, not huge amounts to go on yet, but I’ll keep an eye on the site, just to see. Meanwhile, off to count the pennies to see how far off we are the Rankin bottle!

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.