HOLY FLAPS!

It was a wet Sunday and therefore a day for doing some baking. However I’d already enjoyed an action-packed weekend with an evening of whisky on the Friday Night, followed by a sly game of Darts in the Amber Valley and a catch up over a cup of the not so hard stuff in the industrial suburb of the town I reside in.

The record on the Player was Seal’s excellent sophomore effort “Seal II” . There’s something extremely uplifting about listening to this album on a wet Sunday Morning. The captivating voice and powerful arrangements, which somehow combine mild rave, trance and easy listening, are more than enough to motivate. The pick of the tracks are the storming opener “Bring it On” and the ubiquitous love song “Kiss From a Rose” . I say ubiquitous, it certainly was in the summer of 1995 when it was constantly on the radio during a holiday I took to Canada that summer. For me the record also brings back memories of long-gone, wet Sunday mornings lying half conscious on a sofa in a flat in Huddersfield while staring out of the window at the distant, dark hills of the Northern Peak District. It was during this experimental period in my life that I first picked up my copy of this wonderful album.

The ingredients of this recipe were as follows:

195grams of  Unsalted Butter.
195 grams of Caster Sugar.
195 grams of Porridge Oats
50 grams of Sultanas and Mixed Peel.
2 tablepoons of Honey.
1 teaspoon of Nutmeg.
1 teaspoon of Almond Essence.

The method to make this recipe is as follows

1. Mix together the Butter and Sugar until it is fluffy.
2. Add in Porridge Oats, Honey, Nutmeg and Almond Essence.
3. Stir together until there is a thick paste.
4. Pour into a high-sided, thoroughly greased baking tray and cook in the oven on Gas Mark 4 for 45 minutes.
5. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool down for 5 minutes.
6. Put in the refrigerator for 5 hours.
7. Remove from the fridge and cut the mixture into bite size squares to serve.

Initially I thought I’d blown it in making this recipe as when I took it out of the oven it was too runny. However by putting it in the refrigerator for a time I was able to make the ingredients solid again. The Honey and Almond Essence gave the flapjacks a genuine sweetness while the use of the Oats made the flapjacks high in fibre to create a sweet but healthy treat.

Crunch time- the flapjacks are neatly arranged on a plate for serving 

Smoked Shepherds

It was heavy cloud but there was no rain. The trees retained almost all their leaves and were very still in the slight breeze. Whether trying to make sense of the week at school, a term at university or, latterly, the events of the working week, I've always come back to the same wood over the last twenty years. Normally it's been with a Dog in tow. Various Dogs over the years have joined various incarnations of me in wanderings through the quiet security of the wood. It's the best place I know to switch off from the cares of professional life.

On this occasion the wood and the Dogg were aiding me in stepping back from a challenging, but not insurmountable, hurdle in my professional life that had raised its head that week. One the difficulties of doing the job I do is switching off from events at the office when I'm away from there. As I've got older I've learned to be less neurotic and anxious and learned to let go. On the last Sunday in September I found three ways to do this. The first was the walk in the wood.

The second way was music. On the player  when I got home was Dire Straits' superlative live album "Live at the Majestic San Antonio 16 August 1985". The album finds the band well into their record-breaking tour in support of their best-selling 1985 smash "Brothers in Arms". They are on form with strong versions of classics such as "Sultans of Swing" and "Walk of Life". However the pick up of the tracks is the deliberate, gritty opener "Ride Across the River".

The third way was creating a new recipe in the kitchen. I hit upon a vegetarian version the classic dish "Shepherds' Pie". I aimed to give the dish a smoky and earthy taste to reflect we were well now into the Autumn Season.

The Ingredients of this dish were was follows:

For the Filling:

One tablespoon of Caraway Seeds.
One tablespoon of Smoked Paprika.
One teaspoon of White Pepper.
One tablespoon of Tomato Puree.
One Leek, topped and tailed and sliced thinly.
One Red Pepper, de-cored and de-seeded and cut into small squares.
Two Shallots, topped, tailed, peeled and then diced.
Six Spring Onions, topped, tailed, peeled and then diced.
Three Hundred Grams of Quorn Mince.
Three quarters of a pint of Carlsberg.
A quarter of a pint of Vegetable Stock.

For the Topping:

Six Red Potatoes, peeled and cut into slices.
One Sweet Potato, peeled and cut into thin slices.

The method was as follows:

1 Fry in a Le Cresceut in Olive Oil the spices, Tomato Puree, Red Pepper, Leek, Shallots and Spring Onions on a medium heat for twenty minutes.

2. Add the Quorn Mince and cook for a further ten minutes.

3. Add the Carsberg and simmer for fifteen minutes.

4. Add the Vegetable Stock and warm through for ten minutes.

5. Steam both sets of Potatoes for twenty-five minutes.

6. Spread the filling in a rectangular, greased ovenproof dish.

7. Mash the Potatoes and spread over the top.

8. Bake for twenty-five minutes on Gas Mark Four until the topping is crisp.

In making this dish I had set out to create something with the taste of the smoked and earthy stews you find on the continent. I achieved this with the use of the Caraway Seeds, Smoked Paprika and the Carlsberg. The Tomato Puree meanwhile gave the filling a real richness and the Quorn Mince provided plenty of protein.

So as to ensure the topping was a little more healthy, I mixed the Red Potatoes with Sweet Potato which meant less starch that would turn sugary when consumed. It also made the topping a little brighter.

Smoked Top- the colourful pie is fresh out of the oven and ready to serve. 

Side on- the smoky filling sits well next to a sample of the topping

Scotch Cornered

I had covered almost five hundred miles in two days but the Dogg, The Panda (the make of car not the animal) and I had made it. We had found ourselves in the far North East at a converted cooperage overlooking the bay with stunning views inland to fields festooned with hay bales. The spire of a Church, that was almost steampunk in design, jutted up from near a set of thin trees huddled on a hillside. It was picture postcard stuff no question . 

The building we were in had a conservatory with a glass ceiling and the place had almost every facility you could think of. On the Sunday Night, which was the third one in September I was cooking for challenging and specialist tastes. 

I found inspiration from a cookbook of traditional Scottish recipes many of which seemed to be stews laced with Game and/or Beef. However it was necessary to make the chosen stew vegetarian so as to make it suitable for those I was cooking for. 

On the Player on the way up, and therefore fresh in my mind while prepping this meal, was Mark Knopfler’s peerless soundtrack to the film “Local Hero” . This film was set near to where we were staying and in fact the iconic phone box featured in the film situated at nearby village Pennan was once painted by my Genial Great Uncle. 

The album itself contains lots of atmospheric synth work, trademark twanging guitars, one song sung by the late Bearded growler Gerry Rafferty and “Going Home” a tune used regularly at football matches as well as an encore at Dire Straits concerts and his own solo gigs once Knopfler binned that band. The pick track however is “Stargazing” it may be short but it has epic qualities and is a good one to listen to if you’re looking for motivation to do something out of your comfort zone. 

The ingredients for this recipe were as follows: 

10 Ounces Green Lentils 

5 Red Potatoes Cubed 

3 White Onions fully diced

3 Shallots fully diced 

2 Cloves Of Garlic diced 

4 Rainbow Carrots Sliced thinly two yellow one purple one orange 

Tablespoon of Rosemary 

Tablespoon of Thyme

Tablespoon of Smoked Paprika 

Quarter pint of Vegetable Stock

Quarter of a pint of Red Wine 

The method was as follows: 

1. Boil the Lentils in a pan of water on the hob for thirty minutes. 
2. Fry the Potatoes with the Rosemary and Thyme in a deep frying pan for fifteen minutes.  
3. Add to the frying pan the red wine, Smoked Paprika  and the carrots and fry for a further twenty minutes.
4. After this add Onions Shallots and Garlic and fry for a further ten minutes 
5. Drain the Lentils and add them to the frying pan with the Vegetable Stock and stew everything for a further twenty five minutes . 
6. Serve with some boiled Broccoli.

The Rainbow Carrots which were yellow, purple and orange respectively added a sweetness and flavour to this dish. The Lentils and red Wine also provided a richness that would otherwise been provided by the game had I made this as a meat dish.

Far East Fish

It was Saturday, it was showtime it was work and it wasn't. It was attending a show at a former industrial hotbed in England. Myself and two of my dynamic colleagues were promoting our business at a show that featured a fairground, medieval battle re-enactments and a free massage. It was a successful day and round two of promoting the show was to start the following day.

It was early Saturday Evening by the time I got home and I decided I needed a spot of brain food in the form of oven-baked Cod. However I decided to put a different twist on it. I was inspired to do so by a fantastic book, that's written by Niki Segnit called "The Flavour Thesaurus". The book was gifted to me by two good friends residing in the land of Blonde Beer and Northern Mill Towns. This book looks at pairing different ingredients that work well together in recipes and there are some pairings that are unusual but effective. One such pairing involved pairing White Fish, Dill, Ginger Root and Turmeric in a way that chefs often do in Far Eastern Countries like Laos.

The ingredients for the meal of Baked Cod with a side of baked Sweet Potato pieces was as follows:

For the Baked Cod

2 Cod Fillets.
One tablespoon of Dill.
One tablespoon of Turmeric.
One tablespoon of Soy Sauce.
Four Spring Onions chopped up thinly and topped and tailed.
Five ounces of diced Root Ginger.
Sesame Oil.

For the Baked Sweet Potato Pieces

One Sweet Potato, topped, tailed, peeled and cubed.
One Red Pepper, de- cored de-seeded and cut into small squares.
One tablespoon of Ground Coriander
One tablespoon of Dried Mint
Sesame Oil

On the player was Tricky's  masterful1995 portrayal of Urban Grime filtered through the medium of trip hop "Maxinquaye". On tracks such as "Hell is around the Corner", "Black Steel" and "Ponderosa" Tricky tells dark tales of urban suffering and dark places. That morning as I walked past the crumbling red-brick terraces and bay windows framed by fading curtains on the way to the showground, I imagined similar stories to those Tricky told being enacted inside these houses.

The method then for this dish was as follows:

1. Cover the bottom of a high sided ovenproof glass dish with Sesame Oil. Add the Sweet Potato Pieces, Pepper, Ground Coriander and Dried Mint. Stir them together and then spread evenly throughout the dish.

2. Cook in the Oven on Gas Mark 5 for 45 minutes.

3. In the meantime put the Cod Fillets on a sheet of foil and lay the Ginger Root pieces and Spring Onion pieces on and around the Fillets.

4. Spread the Dill, Turmeric and Soy Sauce evenly on the Cod Fillets then use a brush to glaze the Cod with Sesame Oil.

5. When the Sweet Potatoes have cooked for 45 minutes remove the dish from the oven and stir it.

6. Wrap the Cod its accompanying spices and Spring Onions in the foil to make a parcel, place on a baking tray and add to the oven with the Sweet Potatoes. Cook the Cod and Sweet Potatoes for a further 20 minutes on Gas Mark 6.

The Pepper, Sweet Potato, Ginger Root and Spring Onion all came from the excellent local greengrocer close by to where I live. The dish itself lived up to and exceeded my expectations. I'm quite traditional when it comes to making dishes with Cod and prefer to make it with traditional English Root Vegetables or as part of Fish & Chips. However injecting Mint, Turmeric, Sesame Oil, Coriander and the Dill into the recipe took it in a new and delicious direction.

The Sweet Potato cubes, Red Pepper and spices cooked with them also provided a substantial but healthy adjunct to the dish and helped keep my energy levels for the forthcoming adventures at the show the next day.

Orange is the new white- the Cod and Sweet Potato are clustered together on the serving plate and give an authentic taste of Laos. 

Jockeying with the Bourbons

The first weekend in September 2018. A time to rest, a time to re-group and a time for Dogg and I to disappear off on a fourteen mile walk deep into the countryside so that I could reflect on an epic summer. Traditionally the first or second weekend in September is one where I do little bar a quiet walk, a spot of pottering and the odd cooking project. Self-care in this way after a busy summer is an important lesson I have learned over the years.

The weekend's cooking project was a spot of baking. I realised I hadn't put many baking recipes on the blog for a while. Accordingly I decided to make some Bourbon Biscuits. This was something I'd not done since an ill-fated attempt to do so back in 2009 for some erstwhile workmates during my infamous "Fat Elvis Years."

The preparation of the Bourbons was a two day process. On Saturday 1 September I made the dough for the biscuits using the following ingredients:

7 Ounces of Caster Sugar
8 Ounces of Margarine
19 Ounces of Plain Flour
The White & Yolk of 1 Egg
1 tablespoon of Drinking Chocolate

Neil Young’s 2010 effort “Le Noise” was on the player. The album finds Young teaming up with producer Daniel Lanois, famed for his work with U2 and Bob Dylan, who puts his own unique touches to Young's Sound and in the process helping create a record that is fresh and vital.

The method for this part of the baking was as follows:

1. Cream the Margerine and Sugar until fluffy.
2. Add the Egg and drinking chocolate and stir in.
3. Add the flour gradually and stir in until all the ingredients are combined.
4. Knead the ingredients together until a thick piece of dough is formed.
5. Roll out the dough into a flat circle.
6. Cut up into 18  rectangles that are of an equal shape as much as possible.
7.Cook in oven on a greased baking tray for 14 minutes at Gas Mark 3.
8. Leave to cool overnight in the fridge.

The next afternoon on 2 September it was time to make the buttercream filling. The record on the player this was Jethro Tull's professional and occasionally outstanding 1974 effort“Warchild”. The edition I listened to had a large number of bonus tracks that were as good as the original album and if you want to invest in the record I'd recommend this version.

The ingredients for the Buttercream were:

8 Ounces of margarine
8 Ounces of icing sugar
1 tablespoon of powdered drinking chocolate

The method was simply creaming all these ingredients together in a mixing bowl until I had created a pliable spread. I then spread the Buttercream on 9 of the biscuit pieces. Next I put the other pieces on top of each of the buttered pieces to make 9 Bourbon Biscuits.

I recall how I had also made these biscuits back in the early summer of 1997 as a thirteen year old with little behind me and how things had changed so exciting since then. The biscuits went down well with family and friends alike during the ensuing week and were definitely an improvement on the 2009 version I made of these biscuits.

Sunshine Shine Brightly on my Bourbons today- the biscuits after preparation were arrange tastefully for serving. 

Stacking the chips

"Have a good night" smiled hotel receptionist calmly as I barreled out of the double doors and into the glare of the streetlights. Across the road was the car park I sometimes used for the day job. It was empty save one car in the middle. As I walked along the pavement I could see the first bar in the near distance. I broke into a run, the adrenaline was pumping through me. I was already on a high from having a wonderful time at my cousin's wedding, located at a wood in the Midlands, earlier that day. I had spent a very important and enjoyable time with a number of family members I'd not seen for years. I was genuinely touched by the warmth with which I was greeted and received, which meant any initial nerves or doubts about the day dissipated, leaving nothing but wonderful memories.

Now it was time for part two. As I raced towards the tavern it was time to slow down. Tonight was an important night. It was necessary to make a proper entrance and that involved not looking sweaty and out of breath.

The summer was coming steadily to an end. It had already been so much better than I could I have imagined back in early spring when the death of a close relative and the voluntary disappearance of another part of the roster occurred in quick succession. Since that time I had been to another memorable wedding, a beer festival, started to resurrect my cricket career, hosted a birthday party and hung out with the best people I could ask for both old and new.

I nodded a confident "good evening" to the bouncer and wheeled into the bar where I found the group and the birthday boy hidden under dim lights. I switched on the torch feature on my mobile phone, held it to my face and introduced myself. Not long after that the lights went up and the food arrived. I found myself sharing a plate of homemade chips and so began the start of a night that was exciting, memorable and felt as wonderful as breaking out of jail.

That brings to me the recipe for today's blog. I was inspired to make my own homemade chips and to do them as well as possible as I wanted to cook them more than one person one day.

The record on the player was Elvis' 1969 effort "From Elvis in Memphis". The album is one that for him marked an exciting new direction that its own way was as much a part of his legend as his groundbreaking early records for the Sun and RCA Labels. It also re-ignited his career. It was an album to take inspiration from for that reason, as well as appreciating the darn good music contained within.

The Potato I used to create the chips was a Red Potato sourced from local greengrocer who also runs a tasty sideline vending Lion Bars.

I peeled the Potato and then cut it into pieces that were around six centimetres long, one and a half centimetres wide and roughly a centimetre to half a centimetre deep.

I put some Olive Oil into a frying pan and then warmed it up on a medium heat. As I didn't have a deep fat fryer available I knew that creating these chips was going to take concentration, precision and timing to ensure they weren't underdone or too burnt.

The trick I used was to fry them on a medium-sized hob on a medium heat for around forty minutes. The trick was to turn them very regularly, probably around every five minutes, to ensure they didn't get overdone and one side, be burned on the outside but raw in the middle. This means you have to spend a lot of time close to the hob not doing much else but it's definitely worth it.

I served these chips drizzled in Parsley, Dill, Spring Onion and Butter Sauce with some fillets of Mackerel that I had fried in my Le Cresceut. In doing so I seemed to have created some kind of sophisticated version of Fish & Chips. The time it had taken to make the chips was totally justified by the taste. Unlike Oven Chips these chips were soft, juicy, tasted of genuine Potatoes and didn't have the industrial taste I often associated with those type of pre-cooked chips.

A new recipe, a new direction? Let the good times roll.

Stage One- the finished chips are tastefully arranged on a serving plate

Stage Two- the Mackerel and Sauce are placed on top of the chips to give an alternate take on the popular dish of Fish & Chips.

Beef Bracket

I don't cook lots of meat dishes when I'm at my home. I think that's because when I lived with my parents we tended to eat together and enjoy a diet of vegetarian meals with a spot of fish thrown in. That was until the last four years of my time living with them when they went totally vegetarian.

Since I left their place I have tended to continue with a diet of vegetarian food with a spot of seafood thrown in. However I think on occasion it's good to have a proper meat dish to keep the diet balanced and the protein levels up.

Towards the middle of August, having hosted a memorable birthday party and tackled some professional challenges, I disappeared off to the hills with the Dogg and we took in a good seven mile walk. The walk included a sneaky wander over the top of a waterfall and down into the grounds of a famous stately home.

Later that day, following a much-needed siesta, I got on with the business of cooking a Beef Steak with a side of Watercress and White Wine with Blue Cheese and Shallot Sauce.

The ingredients for this dish were as follows:

One medium sized Beef Steak.
Three Sprigs of Watercress

Ingredients for the sauce:

A quarter of a pint of White Wine.
Three teaspoons of Olive Oil.
Five grams of Unsalted Butter.
Four Shallots; topped, tailed, peeled and finely sliced.
A teaspoon of Black Pepper.
A teaspoon of Malt Vinegar.
A teaspoon of Dried Chives.
A teaspoon of Dried Tarragon.
A teaspoon of Dried Thyme.
Ten Ounces of Blue Stilton.

On the player was New Order's sophomore 1983 effort "Power Corruption and Lies". Although they are best known for blissful, uptempo dance floor hits such as "Blue Monday" and "True Faith", this record finds them still very much in the grip of the dark legacy of Joy Division. This band of course was the one out of which New Order was formed. The present record does have much to recommend it from the humming opener "Age of Consent" to the languid remake of "Blue Monday" that is "5-8-6".

This dish was surprisingly quick to prepare and the method was one where you should cook the Beef Steak and the Blue Cheese, White Wine and Shallot Sauce concurrently.

The method for the Beef Steak was as follows:

1. Pour Olive Oil into the bottom of a Le Cresceut.
2. Warm the Olive Oil on a medium heat for two minutes.
3. Add the Beef Steak.
4. If you want the Steak well done cook it in the Le Cresceut, with the lid on, for six minutes on each side. If you prefer it more rare then cook it for three minutes on each side.
5. Serve on a plate with the Watercress as a side and drizzle with the Blue Cheese, White Wine and Shallot Sauce.

The method for the Blue Cheese, White Wine and Shallot Sauce was as follows:

1. Put the Olive Oil in the bottom of a sauce pan.
2. Add the Butter, Black Pepper, Vinegar, Chives, Tarragon and Thyme.
3. Warm these ingredients through on a medium heat. Once the Butter has melted add the Shallots.
4. Simmer the ingredients for five minutes.
5. Add the Wine and continue to simmer for another six minutes.
6. Add the Blue Cheese and once it has melted into the Sauce, then serve the sauce by pouring it over the Beef Steak on the serving plate.

Although the Blue Cheese made the sauce quite rich, the side of Watercress and the White Wine in the sauce itself gave the dish a freshness that was much needed following the muggy conditions on the walk earlier in the day. The tasteful Beef Steak meanwhile resembled one of the rich looking Beef Bracket Fungi I had spotted in the grounds of the stately home earlier that day.

Tu aimes Le Bifteck? A spot of steak surrounded by Watercress and covered in flavoursome sauce.