January 30th, 2010
I know that it is not good for you and probably actively bad for you never mind not good. Salty, fatty and with a teeth breaking crunch, there can be few foods even bar snacks that are less healthy than Pork Scratchings. If that is not enough to put you off then there is a strong chance that you will eat some bristly pig hairs if you have enough
scratchings.
This does not stop them being the best bar snack in the world and one that I genuinely love. So much so that at University a friend and I used to buy them from the butchers by the carrier bag. The soft texture of the salty fat followed by the firm deep crunch of the skin and if you are really lucky there will have been some crunchy meat for a real mix of textures and a great bundle of porky deliciousness.
All things are not created equally and just as the scratching is not the healthiest, not all scratchings are the tastiest. As a rule of thumb avoid the ones that you can’t see the actual scratchings through the packet, clear plastic bags are a sign of tastiness.
I have not taken the love of the scratchings so far as to make my own (yet) but here is a recipe if you fancy having a go.
Tags: bar food, Pork Scratching
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January 11th, 2010
There is something that is brilliant about sausages, I really enjoy them in all their guises, but in this rich tomatoey stew they really pep me up especially from the cold that we are currently seeing in the UK. I know that the 5 inches (15cms) is not really a lot of snow in many places but we are unused to it. The snow proved to be difficult but the ice that followed prevented me from driving the half hour to work and put me in a two hour freezing bus ride from which the feeling in my feet has only just returned.
So to warm and cheer myself up I made the recipe below and it really hits the spot, with a bit of a warm Mediterranean feel to make you feel warm inside.
Ingredients
4 – 6 Sausages depending on size and appetite
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin Butter Beans
1 small red onion thinly sliced
2 table spoons tomato puree
12 cherry tomatoes halved
Herb de Provence
Salt /Pepper
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Colour the sausages in a large heavy frying pan, then add the onions and sweat them down.
When the onions are sweated add the beans and tinned tomatoes cook for 5 minutes before adding the tomato puree.
When the sauce is starting to thicken remove the sausages and chop them into bite sized chunks, then return to the pan.
Add the Cherry Tomatoes and Herbs cook until the sauce is good and thick, about 5 minutes. Then season and serve.
Looking around I have found a couple of good looking recipes for sausages with beans.
Tags: butter beans, sausage
Posted in Beans, Sausages, recipes | No Comments »
January 3rd, 2010
This is a great old pub with some interesting history going back to 1585. The pub has many good features, but my favourite has to be the superb cosy inglenook fire.
There was a friendly atmosphere in the bar that was full of locals, the pleasant burble of conversation that seemed to come from more people than where in evidence in the pub. We were sat in the restaurant side of the pub, which was almost empty but considering that it was the day after boxing day it is not exactly surprising.
The pub had some good beers I had the Larkins Traditional Ale which was a very drinkable session ale. I had the steak and ale pie with chips and slightly watery winter vegetables, the pie was generously laden with steak and a rich, delicious gravy. The steak would have benefitted from cooking for an extra 30 minutes stewing and I always feel short changed when a pie only has a lid and no sides or base even when it is delicious. The wife had the lasagne which was alright without being spectacular.
Overall a good pub with excellent beer and tasty food, friendly atmosphere and a perfect place to finish the 2009 Good Beer Guide before starting to look at the 2010 Guide.
Tags: Crown Inn, Groombridge
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December 23rd, 2009
Christmas is great because it is an excellent opportunity to enjoy good food and drink with family and friends.
Christmas day food can cause a trip around the wine cupboard, this is not for me though I prefer something tastier to run in tandem with my dinner. The best beverage, in my opinion, to match with food is beer. So on Christmas day I will be sticking with this rule.
This year we are starting with the retro cool of prawn cocktail for the starter, the sweetness goes perfectly with a wheat beer.
The main course is a traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings, this like most turkey dishes goes excellently with a good lager like Pilsner Urquell.
The rich Christmas pudding for desert goes superbly with a good stout.
Tags: Christmas beer
Posted in Beer Pairings, Food Days | No Comments »
December 19th, 2009
I have just watched the Hairy Bikers twelve days of christmas, I love the enthusiasm that they have for all cooking. I thought that they would struggle to get the seven swans from the Queen, even more so when Dave got greased up and jumped in a lake. They ended up with a superb ale, from Severn Vale brewing.
Tags: Christmas, Hairy Bikers
Posted in Celeb Chefs, Food Days | No Comments »
December 13th, 2009
I have just had the first mince pie of this years Christmas season, it was a shop bought pie which was tasty but does not hit the spot like a really great home made mince pie.
Does anyone have a recipe recommendation for great mince pies?
Tags: Mince Pies
Posted in Food Days, recipes | No Comments »
November 12th, 2009
There is something annoying about missing the last bus, but it is more annoying when the only reason that you miss it is because it is too full for you to get on. This gets more annoying when the 10 minute bus ride is replaced by a 50 minute walk. The only upside to the bus debacle is that when we arrived at the restaurant I was fit to eat a horse. Thankfully we did not need to have a reservation, just an appetite.
Croma is a vibrant pizza restaurant in Manchester city centre that has a sophisticated feel. The restaurant offers excellent pizzas at great value, which has lead to a large following.
The cold and the journey needed battling to restore our strength. The best way seemed to be Martinis, I opted for the Classic whilst the wife headed for the Croma Martini a fruitier choice.
To start we shared some of the ridiculously garlicky Garlic Mushrooms and the Mediterranean Charcuterie, both were delicious. This was followed by a Garstang blue and Goats Cheese pizza for me and a Chicken Caesar Salad for the wife. The pizza was superb the strong tasting Garstang Blue is a delightful cheese and contrasted really well with the chalky goats cheese.
The wife loves the Tiramisu at Croma more than any other dessert that we have had anywhere. I think that if she could have only one pudding ever again it would be this. I had the ultra rich caramel cheesecake, it was well balanced by the ice cream.
Tags: Croma, Manchester, pizza
Posted in Restaurants | No Comments »
October 20th, 2009
There has been a bit of controversy about which biscuits are the favourite of the Prime Minster (Kit Kat). I was not surprised to find out that Nick Clegg likes a Rich tea, bit bland.
So I thought that I would come clean let the world know that despite being a fan of the Garibaldi my favourite is the fig roll. What is it with Fruit in biscuits, delicious.
Tags: Biscuits, Fig Roll, Gordon Brown
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
October 12th, 2009
I have to do regular courses in Manchester city centre at weekends for my day job, this normally means catching a quick sandwich from a supermarket. This is as tasty as it sounds, which is not very, so it was very pleasant to be able to go to the MFDF Festival tent this weekend.
So I had some starters and ginger chicken from Chaophraya. The prawn toast was the best that I have ever tasted, it was thin diagonally sliced baguette with prawn and sesame thickly layered on top and all deep fried. The chicken satay was really great both fresh and tasty, the meat just fell off the stick. The Ginger Chicken was excellent although it appeared that there was the same blurring of the lines between chicken and turkey that the wife is very fond of. The chicken was full of fresh ginger and chillies so it had a quite pleasant punch of heat.
It was only a shame that I had to go back to the course because the beer tent next door was full of interesting beers that would have worked excellently with the Thai food. I think that I would have headed for the All Gates California, an excellent straw coloured beer.
Tags: Food Festival, Manchester
Posted in Food Festival | No Comments »
October 9th, 2009
I love having a dig through the cook book shelf, especially when I have bought some ingredients that I am not sure what to do with. Anyway I have a pound of Beef Skirt that I was not sure what to do with it except to cook it slowly for a long time.
The recipe that decided on was the Colorado Beef Chile from Appetite for Ale a superb CAMRA book by Will and Fiona Beckett, which has some really good recipes incorporating beers and the ideal beers to match with them. It is a good answer to those who believe that only wine works with food. I particularly like the suggestions for beer and food menus.
I have dabbled with recipe a bit and added some tinned tomatoes just because I love my chilli tomatoey, because I don’t have chilli molido and even though I cook the meat for hours doing the same with the beans seems a bit of a faff.
Ingredients for 2
350g Beef Skirt
Good glug of Mild Olive Oil
2 small or 1 medium onion chopped
3 cloves of crushed garlic
1 heaped tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp of plain flour
1 tin red kidney beans
1 tin chopped tomato
3 tsp mild chilli powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp hot chilli powder
2 tsp cumin powder
150ml beef stock
200ml lager
Splash of red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Trim the fat and gristle from the beef and chop it in to very small cubes then brown in a casserole (in batches if necessary) with some of the oil. Then return all of the meat to the casserole, add the onions with the rest of the oil and cook until the onions are soft but not coloured. Add the chilli, cumin, flour and tomato paste, and cook for half a minute before adding the stock, lager and tomatoes. Stir this all through the meat and bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down and simmer for 3 hours topping the liquid up with extra water if necessary. Add the beans when there is 3/4 of an hour left to cook. Add the vinegar and a little mild chilli to pep the dish up, season to taste.
I have some good looking alternative chilli recipes, especially the pies.
Tags: Beef, Beer, Chilli
Posted in Beef, recipes | No Comments »