Relish

Lentils with chorizo and warm vinaigrette

2010-10-06T13:00:00.001-07:00

A super fast evenin meal for when you come home needing to feed immediately before you get grumpy with your nearest + dearest. Not that I get grumpy when I'm hungry but my evil twin does .

Anyway.....here's how to make....today in the style of Gordon Ramsay

Hot pan.....chorizo slices.....sear
Onion.....dice.....garlic....chop
Add to pan
Lentils.....drain and rinse.....add to pan
Staarvey Farm vinaigrette.....errrmm.....shake it baby.....big pour into pan
Heat the lot.....garnish with parsley.....lentils with chorizo and warm vinaigrette....done

I like to follow this with chillin on the sofa and an episode of ugly betty. I'm sure old Gordon does the same

Wasabi potato cakes

2010-10-04T13:05:00.001-07:00

Have been doing a recipe book cull today. The Gate cookbook made it thru on this recipe

To make them....

Make up some mash, then add wasabi, butter, sesame seeds and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Fry shallots in sesame oil, then add soy sauce after 5 mins

Now to shape your cakes. Using a food ring or round pastry cutter .....put a layer of mash..... Spoonful of shallot..... Another layer of mash. Push the cake out of the ring. Flour the cake and fry in oil until crispy n brown on both sides

Burmese noodles with prawns

2010-10-04T12:54:00.001-07:00

Perfect tea for a rainy day

Recipe robbed from Times newspaper :-)

Double chocolate bread n butter puddin

2010-10-03T15:39:00.001-07:00

Take 1 chilly day. Add a long weekend working. What do you get? A serious dessert requirement. Cue individual double chocolate bread n butter puddings mmm mmmmm

To make simply....
Butter 4 ramekins
Butter about 10'slices of thick cut White bread.
Cut out circles from the bread. Yes it helps if they're the same size as your ramekins
Now put one circle of bread (butter side down) into each ramekin followed by chunks of White and dark chocolate. Repeat bread-chocolate-bread
In a mixing bowl beat 3 whole eggs. Now add 200ml double cream, 200ml whole milk, 80g golden caster sugar and a big splash of vanilla extract. Mix to combine
Pour the egg-milk mix over the bread, pushing the bread down and adding more mix to thoroughly soak it
Leave for 10 mins to absorb then bang them in the oven @ 160C for about 20 mins

I made some custard to go with mine. Done!

Tonight's dinner - courgette n red onion frittata

2010-09-03T16:01:00.001-07:00

Aka 'let's see what's lurking in the fridge and make dinner without the trauma of going out to the shop' thought that title might be a little on the long side though.

Easy peasy to make this:
Fry 1 courgette, 1 red onion + 1 White onion in a large frying pan. In a mixing bowl crack 6 whole eggs, add 2 big handfuls of grated cheese ( I used roast onion and sage IOM creamery cheddar) and lots of black pepper.
Pour your egg mix over the fried vegetables, give it a good stir and stick the whole lot in the oven at about 180C for 10-12 mins till the middle is set

Enjoy!

Gaggenau at IOM Kitchens

2010-09-01T14:45:00.001-07:00

Got to join in on demo day at IOM Kitchens last week. Kathy , nice demo lady, was over from Gaggenau, super swish appliance people, to show us their steam oven and normal oven. Here we have gorgeous blueberry n almond tart mmm mmmm

Relish Cooks.....with Tanroagan

2010-05-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

Read an article in The Times today including one of my least favourite words......Foodie....that word really gets up my nose. People who say ‘Oh I’m a real foodie’ T*****s. Why do we have to have such a silly name to categorise someone who enjoys good food? In Italy we’d be called humans.

Things are busy busy in the Relish camp this month with cookery classes, demonstrations (cookery ones, rather than the ‘Maggie Out’ type) plus various catering bits and pieces. I harvested my first wild garlic of the season and used it in homemade mayonnaise for the lovely St.Johns WI ladies who came to the cookery school for a night out.

And I’ve had a cookery book binge, exciting times. I can particularly recommend the following:
‘Gourmet food for a fiver’ by Jason Atherton, chef at Maze. I went there last year you know.
‘Eat Me’ cupcake book by Xanthe Clay, slightly annoying tone and some poor piccies but good recipes. Love the look of the Bollywood cupcakes
‘Dough’ by Richard Bertinet. Using his French style kneading technique even I can make edible bread. Result.

Errm anyway where was I? Oh yeah, we’re at Tanroagan this month. Hanging out with, chef and owner, Joan Mowatt. I am addicted to their scallop/foccacia starter and chocolate rolo brownie dessert, yum. I have even managed to persuade Joan to teach a class at the cookery school, wahoo!

Joan has plenty of experience in the catering trade, having owned a hotel in Lincolnshire before moving to Island to retire. So, the retirement hasn’t exactly gone to plan as her restaurant is always packed.

Joan loves her desserts just as much as me so she has treated us to ‘Gorseflower Pannacotta’ which uses an abundance of local produce. The gorse flowers, cream and milk.

Gorseflower Pannacotta – serves 6

You’ll need to collect a few branches of gorse and pick the flowers. The prickles are super-sharp so definitely arm yourself with gloves and scissors. Or if you’re like me forget both and feel the pain!

700ml double cream
100ml milk
100g gorse flowers
110g caster sugar
3 gelatine leaves

Put the cream, milk, gorse flowers and sugar in a heavy-based saucepan and bring gently to the boil. Take off the heat and leave to infuse for 40 minutes.

Soak the gelatine in cold water for about 5 minutes, until soft and pliable, then remove and squeeze out all of the water. Bring the gorse flower mixture back to the boil, remove from the heat again and whisk in the gelatine, making sure it has dissolved. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, pressing the gorse flowers to extract as much flavour as possible. Leave to cool, then pour into lightly oiled dariole moulds (about 130ml capacity) cover and leave in the fridge overnight to set.

Great served with coconut sorbet to complement the coconut-y flavour of the gorse flowers.

Full article with photos and video in the Manx Independent around 7th May

Next month we’re with the lads down at Paddy’s Market as they prepare for the Queenie Festival

Cupcakes a-go-go

2010-04-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

I had a little book buying binge on Amazon. 5 new cookery books....exciting times. This incuded a couple of cupcake books as I had a job coming up that required the mastering of the cupcake.

The client wanted some fun pastel ones to appeal to all of the guests aged 6 months to lots of months. I used the Primrose Bakery book, their amounts were absolutely spot on, I'd highly recommend it.

I did some more classic ones for .....ahem....testing too :o)

These are now a Relish service, just starting the next commission......

Spice crusted potatoes

2010-04-15T06:12:00.001-07:00

These little beauties are proving very popular at the moment. Either as a big buffet bowl, or with a tamarind dip as a little finger food-y canape wotsit.

Dead simple to do. If you 're making ahead then boil the new potatoes until they're cooked through, then leave aside to cool. Then follow Step1. but you 'll only need to put them in the oven for 10mins to crisp up.

If eating straightaway then:

1. Prepare spice mix....for 1kg of spuds use...
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp veg/groundnut oil
Bash the seedy ones up in your pestle and mortar, then combine with the rest of the ingredients.

2. Put your potatoes in the roasting tin then distribute your spice/oil mix evenly. Then into a hot oven they go for about 35-45 mins until golden brown.
Done!
Ooooh let's have a closer look at those tantalising tubers
We had them for dinner with carrot and coriander salad. Some lucky clients got them with 'Harissa coated legs of Loaghtan lamb'

Ellerslie Rapeseed Oil - 2 recipes

2010-04-08T04:48:00.000-07:00

Aaah spring is here and with it rain, snow and sleet. Lovely!

For my column I went off-campus at Ellerslie farm in Crosby and was joined by Pentti Christian who has been selling his rapeseed oil since September 2009 after 3 years of research and development.

Pentti is a sheep farmer by trade but had seen the value in diversification. The original plan was to grow rapeseed to produce biodiesel, however they soon realised that they could produce a high quality food-grade product from their crop.
The 3 years of development included growing test batches of rapeseed and building his own bottling machine.

The rapeseed is a fantastic multi-purpose crop. The seed is pressed and the oil used for the Ellerslie Oil. The waste is used as sheep feed as it has a great high protein content to keep them happy. And the ‘hay’ is used as bedding for horses, better than the usual barley hay as the horses won’t eat it.

Pentti tells me that the health benefits of this oil are fantastic ‘It has half the saturated fat content of olive oil, and much higher levels of omega 3, 6 + 9’ These are the fats that are great for brain function, immunity...oh and they make your hair and nails look great too, Pentti is a walking advert for it!

But I mainly use it for it’s great taste. It has a strong nutty flavour which works really well with Asian dishes. Has anyone else noticed how ‘nutty’ is the trendy flavour to reference??? I think Heston started it all and where he leads I am happy to copy.

Honey and Mustard Dressing – Pentti’s classic dressing

1 tsp honey
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp French mustard
100ml Ellerslie Oil

In a jam jar, put 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp wholegrain mustard, 1 tsp French mustard and top up with Ellerslie Rapeseed Oil (about double the volume of the other ingredients). Shake vigorously (you have put the lid on, haven’t you). Tada! It’s done.

Garlic stir-fry oil – super simple multi purpose oil

100ml Ellerslie Oil
3 cloves garlic

Into a cold frying pan pour about 100ml of Pentti’s oil. Add 3 cloves of finely sliced garlic. Put it on a very gentle heat, watch it carefully and as the garlic just begins to change colour take it off the heat. It will keep cooking in the oil.
Use this oil to get a stir-fry started or as a garlicky salad dressing

Check out our video on www.iomtoday.co.im for the full tutorial - it should be online by 16th April

Ellerslie Oil can be found at the following stockists:

Anagh Coar Butchers
Bry Rad Sexy Veg (Ramsey)
Butlers Choice
Deli @ 35
The Good Health Store (Port Erin)
Greens Restaurant
Isle of Man Farmers
Mostly Manx
Paddys Market
Peel City Butchers
Radcliffe Butchers (Castletown)
T & P Kermeen (Onchan, Port Erin and Andreas)
Tynwald Mills
W.E. Teare Butchers (Ramsey)
Willaston Butchers

New cookery school timetable

2010-03-29T03:10:00.000-07:00

The new timetable....it's here....covering May through to November with loads of classes. We've got a new guest tutor, Joan Mowat from Tanroagan Seafood Restaurant, who will be joining us on Saturday 2nd October. Plus I'm teaching got a new class 'Just Desserts' on Saturday 16th October.

The school is also available for private hire, perfect for special occasions or just a fun day out with friends.

Vegetarian Cooking – Part One
Saturday 8th May – 9.30am to 2.30pm
You will be introduced to a variety of vegetarian ingredients and flavourings for both sweet and savoury dishes and show how vegetarian meals can be interesting and delicious as well as nutritious. Dishes include Sweetcorn fritters, Massaman curry, Blue cheese biscuits and Wild garlic frittata.

Midweek Meal Masterclass – Part 2
Sunday 9th May – 9.30am to 2.30pm
Such a popular course we're running Part 2. Add new meals to your day-to-day repertoire such as Lemon and garlic chicken, Lamb tagine and Braised pork belly with fennel. You don't need to attend Part One before Part Two

Breadmaking with Liz from The Good Loaf
Sunday 23rd May – 9.30am to 2.30pm
Guest tutor Liz Devereau, expert baker, returns to show us the art of traditional breadmaking. Learn how to make and knead the dough, shape 6 different breads from 1 simple dough and take a huge bag of goodies home with you. Plus a simple foccacia and savoury scones, an action packed class with lots of hands-on work.

Midweek Meal Masterclass – Part 3
Saturday 11th September – 9.30am to 2.30pm
Due to demand we're running Part 3. Add new meals to your day-to-day repertoire such as Cumin scented chicken curry, Chorizo and red onion warmer, Chicken and squash one-pot and Choc chip cookies. You don't need to attend Part 1 or 2 before Part 3.

Gujurathi cooking with Meena - Part One
Saturday 18th September – 9.30am to 2.30pm
Meena returns showing us the essentials of cooking from the Indian state of Gujarat. Learn your base of Shak (curry), Dhal, Lassi plus how to roll Chappatis like a pro (Meena's Auntie!)

Cook with Joan from Tanroagan
Saturday 2nd October – 9.30am to 2.30pm
We’re delighted to welcome Joan Mowat, owner of Tanraogan Seafood Restaurant, as our newest guest tutor. Final details are just being confirmed however this class will feature a starter, main and dessert adapted from the restaurant menu.

Introduction to Thai Cooking
Sunday 3rd October – 9.30am to 2.30pm
Kathryn teaches Thai dishes inspired by her travels to the North of Thailand. Featuring Massaman curry, Red curry with duck and bamboo shoots, Tom yam, plus the delicious Mango sticky rice.

Just Desserts
Saturday 16th October – 9.30am to 2.30pm
A brand new class, in homage to Kathryn’s finely honed sweet tooth. You’ll learn the secrets of Crème brulee, Chocolate bread and butter pudding plus sweet pastry in the form of Mango and lime tart.

Gujarathi Cooking with Meena - Part Two 'Street Food'
Saturday 6th November – 9.30am to 2.30pm
Meena returns to show us the ‘junk food’ of India. Delicious street food including Samosas, Pakoras, Chutneys and Chai. You don't need to complete Part One before attending Part Two.

• All courses are £79 per person - includes recipe booklet and lunch
• Class sizes limited to 6 attendees
• Gift vouchers are available for all of our courses
• Please bring an apron and sharp knife with you, we provide everything else

Hopefully see you soon at the school,

Kathryn @ Relish

E: info@relish.co.im W: http://www.relish.co.im T: 07624 453324 B: relishiom.blogspot.com

Relish news - Dates for your diary

2010-03-18T04:23:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

As usual life is busy in the Relish corner of the world. Research trips to London and more recently Harrogate, oh and loads of actual real work too. For a peek at what I got up to in Harrogate as a pupil at Bettys Cookery School check out the post below

So you want to know what's coming up over the next few weeks?

First up, Saturday 27th March. Milntown House will be hosting their 2nd restaurant evening. On the menu are dishes such as Carpaccio of beef, Confit duck with juniper reduction, Chocolate bread and butter pudding, hmmmm I promise that not all of their dishes begin with 'c'. For more information or to make a booking contact Jen on 818091.

On Friday 2nd April (Good Friday) and Saturday 3rd April, from 10am to 3pm, Paddy's in Port St Mary is holding a special two-day Easter Market, showcasing the best and most delicious produce the Isle of Man has to offer. There'll be stalls with mouth-watering treats, freshly-made food and drink to go, live music and Easter-themed activities for the family. Just a few of the treats to choose from: Cocoa Red chocolates, The Good Loaf, Staarvey Farm, Ellerslie Oil, Radcliffe's Butcher, Marianne's Flowers, continental cheese and charcuterie selection, plus all of Paddy's usual delicious fresh and smoked fish. Oh and I'll be there too, selling Indian street food under the watchful eye of Meena!

Heading into May the cookery classes rev up again:

Saturday 8th May - Vegetarian Cooking - including Massaman curry, Blue cheese and poppy seed biscuits and wild garlic frittata

Sunday 9th May - Midweek Meals II - including Lemon and garlic chicken, Braised pork belly with fennel and Linguine with prawn and avocado.

Sunday 23rd May - Breadmaking with Liz from The Good Loaf - learn how to knead and shape like a pro. Including 2 kneading techniques, 6 different shapes and a simple foccacia.

Have a great Easter,

Kathryn @ Relish

Bettys Cookery School - Patisserie Course

2010-03-18T04:07:00.000-07:00

Wee Jan and I were treated to this class for Christmas.....thank you Roger!

Here you can see Mum's thank you present for him. I must confess that her Sachertorte icing came out waaay better than mine. Mum also averted disaster when someone's tea towel caught fire!

Within the day we learnt Sacher torte; lemon & strawberry torte and a fresh fruit tartlet made with pâte sucrée & crème pâtissière

I think creme patissiere would feature in my 'Condemned Man' meal.

I'd highly recommend a tip to Bettys. We fitted a huge amount of technique into the day, had lovely lunch and were sent home absolutely laden with goodies.

Sarah's Girls - Private cookery lessons - Sticky Asian Pork

2010-03-11T01:14:00.000-08:00

Sarah and her gang of girls from 'Hysteria Lane', Glen Vine invited me to teach them a set of 6 night classes. We've just done Week 2, so I thought you'd like to see some of the recipes.

The girls are all busy with families so we're focusing on easy family meals to begin with. So we had to have 'Sticky Asian Pork', this recipe is soooo quick to prepare and really really delicious. Please make it :o)

The sauce sounds weird but it works, trust me!

Sticky Asian Pork
Serves 4
Prep: 5 mins (plus marinating time)
Cook: 30 minutes

Ingredients
• 500g pork fillet
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp vinegar (rice or white wine)
• large knob of ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 tbsp peanut butter

Marinate the pork in the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and ginger for anything from 0mins to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, put the pork into an oven proof dish, cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes.
Mix the peanut butter thoroughly with warm water until it forms a paste. Alternatively you could use a satay sauce mix.

Review - Ottolenghi Knightsbridge

2010-02-21T12:52:00.000-08:00

So I'm back on the rock after a few days in London. Looks like I'll be eating dhal for the next week after 'investing' heavily in various London eateries.

So where did I make it to?

Ottolenghi - Motcomb St branch
Leiths cookery school
Hummingbird Bakery - Old Brompton Rd
No. 10 - Schezuan place we went to last time
HiX Soho

Plus...errrm...Pret and Marksies....but you probably know what they're like

I was sooo excited about going to Ottolenghi, their food is definitely my cup of tea. Delicious filling salads with loads of herbs/spices and amazing cakes, all beautifully presented with loads of colour.

I hit the salads in the form of

Chargrilled broccoli with chilli and garlic
Green beans and mange tout with hazelnut
Roasted aubergine with saffron yoghurt
Courgette with feta
Roast fillet of beef with a l0vely dipping sauce (watercress and mustard I think)

Then after much consideration I went for carrot cake and a vanilla/mascarpone friand style something for dessert.

Everything was beautifully presented and chock full of flavour

They have 4 branches over London, I'd highly recommend a detour :o)

London calling.....wahooooo!

2010-02-10T02:59:00.000-08:00

I'm off to London next week for a few days of hard work......hehehehe........'research' in the capital's eating establishments. In order to provide the best quality eating experience for my cookery school + catering clients back here. Yes, I am doing it for you! My dedication knows no bounds.

Possibilities include....Mark Hix's new place in Soho, Tim from Island Seafare/Paddy's Market was there last week and recommends it. Well he does supply them with queenies so it's must be good!........Leiths Cookery School to watch a few demos........L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon looks pretty slick so may be graced with my presence.

Meeting up with my brother so expecting some Italian goodies..........Andrew if you are reading this.....get to the shop please

Relish Cooks column.....hits Manx Independent

2010-02-07T02:15:00.000-08:00

On the first week of every month I'll be gracing the pages of the Manx Independent with my new cookery column. Featuring loads of local food-involved people.

First up I headed to Teare's Butchers, where Mark butchered a lamb. Then I toddled off to the cookery school to cook Lamb Tagine. See it all in photos/video here at http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/Relish-the-chance-to-tuck.6042744.jp

There's no knead for that...

2010-02-07T01:56:00.001-08:00

Hahahaha........am I the only person laughing at the hilarious food pun?

Much as I can appreciate the care and attention that goes into kneading and shaping a hand-made loaf......sometimes I just can't be bothered doing it. Enter *da-da-da-da-daa-daaaa* this fab little no-knead loaf.

The recipe was developed by a little lady called Doris Grant in the 1940's, if you google 'Doris Grant loaf' you get tons of hits. Okay I accept, not many of you will be joining in on that one.

2tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
700g wholemeal flour
200g white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
7g fast action yeast
850ml warm water

Grease 2 large loaf tins (if you don't have loaf tins you can use any tin with a side 3cm of higher).
Mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl, then add the oil and water. Mix well with a spoon, at this point it will look highly unappetising. Divide the mix into your tins, then cover with tea towels and leave to rise (doesn't have to be in a warm place) until the mix has doubles in size. Mine took ages because my kitchen was chilly that day, about 3 hrs. Be patient otherwise your bread will be too heavy.

Cook the bread in a hot 200degree oven for 40 mins, until they are crispy and golden. Then take them out of their tins and give them another 10mins in the oven. Give the base a tap, if it sounds hollow, it's ready.

It comes out fairly dense, a good healthy bread that freezes really well.

I have been enjoying mine toasted with avocado/lime juice/sesame seeds/salt/pepper

Mmmmm canapes

2010-01-27T05:27:00.000-08:00

Had a little canape job on last week, only 40 people so nice and easy. Thought you might like to see what the finished result looks like so here is a wee selection.

First up 'Curry Puffs' these had a samosa style filling .......potato, pea, loads of spices......often I do these with minced chicken too which are Stokesy's favourite for packed lunch.

Aaah the 'Garlic Butter Popcorn' you all know that savoury popcorn is well trendy nowadays? Course you do! I went for individual bags rather than serve a big bowl of popcorn, not only does it look a lot cooler, it is also waaay more hygienic.

I made the popcorn for gathering at home with garam masala, chilli and butter.....t'was good

Last, but certainly not least 'Meringues with Baileys cream, toasted hazelnuts and chocolate', I guess these little beauties are my signature canape. I would tell you how to make them but I'd have to kill you.

I managed to eat 15 one day, in my defence they are quite small :o)

Italian night with Big Momma, CB + BB

2010-01-19T01:45:00.000-08:00

After scoring big on the food front when my brother came from Italy for Xmas we had to have a go at an Italian-ish evening. We soon discovered that this ended in us stuffed to the gunnels with carbohydrate and having to undo top buttons.

To begin we had a nice little antipasti plate: Bresaola from my bro :o) , chorizo from errrm Spain, some nice little mozzarella balls with basil/olive oil/parmesan, then I made foccacia with a cumin/coriander/salt crust. Foccacia as taught by Liz on the Bread Making day at the school.

Next up....pizza :o)

We used a Jamie recipe which you can read in full here in our piccie CB helpfully demonstrates the flour well method. Look at the determination in his face, grrrrr mix it!

Him hungry ug!

After much friendly 'discussion' re. toppings we went for a few options: red onion/mozz/chorizo, mozz/tom/basil (me being boring.....ahem...classic) and a meaty feast option aswell.

Cookery School - Midweek Meals II

2010-01-19T01:34:00.000-08:00

A new set of victims arrived at the school on Saturday - Helene with Sue and Jean, Naomi and Alex. Several of them had been given the day as a Christmas present (a VERY good present hahaha). As the name suggests this class is all about giving you ideas for when you're brain dead after a hard day at work/chasing kids and need some sustenance.
On the menu:

Lamb tagine with herby couscous
Prawn and avocado linguine
Crispy pork belly with fennel, served with braised cabbage
Lemon and garlic chicken
Cardamon and banana raita for puds

It was went swimmingly, everyone's dishes turned out really well. The Lamb Tagine came out top in the opinion poll.

The dessert got a mixed review, memories of biting into whole cardamon pods and just a plain old dislike of raisins, put a couple off. But we agreed that a substitute for cinnamon and leaving out the evil raisins would be perfectly acceptable.

Alex and Helen put the finishing touches to the dessert. Lovely sprinkling action.

Sorry everyone but I failed to get a photo of Alex in his cute kitten apron, d*mn! Maybe next time. Note to other men attending, if you wear your girlfriend's apron to class you will get stick for it.

MIdnight snack - welsh rarebit

2010-01-12T01:56:00.000-08:00

Stokesy and I had a hankering for a little late-night sustenance so decided to try a traditional Welsh Rarebit, it is essentially cheese on toast for people with too much time of their hands.

Here's what you need:

4 slices bread
big knob of butter
1 leek, finely sliced
2 handfuls of grated cheddar - we used the IOM Creamery black peppercorn one
2 tsp worcester sauce
1 egg
1 tsp mustard

Toast your bread while you make the topping. Sweat the leeks in the butter til soft. In a bowl combine the rest of the ingredients, then add the leeks, it should be a mushy paste (ours looked rather unappetising at this point). Then just spread the mix over your toast and lash it under the grill til it's lovely golden brown.

I couldn't decide which sauce to have so tried tommy sauce, brown sauce and Reggae Reggae with it. The Reggae was top of the list for me. Hey check out my super-glam slippers, Nigella you have no competition from me.

Easy dhal with stir-fried corn and courgette

2010-01-12T01:48:00.000-08:00

This dish represents a perfect January meal: Delicious, Nutritious and Cheap!

The dhal was super-simple. Just boil 300g of any lentil with 1 litre of water salt, 1 tsp and 1tsp of garam masala. In a separate pan fry onion, garlic, ginger, 1tsp chilli powder and 2 chopped tomatoes. Once the dhal is cooked just stir the fried mixture through it then top the whole lot with coriander. Lovely.

The side dishes were:
1. Stir-fried corn with chilli - errrmm....for this you should stir fry tinned corn with chilli!
2. Courgette with sesame seed and ginger - pretty easy again, stir fry all of the ingredients together.

If you get your timing right you can use only 2 pans. Perfect :o)

Salted caramel ice cream

2010-01-08T03:58:00.001-08:00

If you're thinking that salted caramel ice cream sounds a bit odd then get with the program! Everyone knows that it's well trendy....maybe even a little bit 2009.

It is really really disgustingly delicious, salty gooood, caramel gooood, ice cream goooood. What's not to like?

I topped it with shards of salted caramel, they look super-cute don't they.

For the ice-cream......serves4

150g caster sugar
225ml double cream
150ml milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp Maldon sea salt

In a pan put 120g of the sugar and 40 ml of water. Boil until the sugar melts and turns a golden caramel colour (5-10mins).

While the sugar is boiling whisk the egg yolks and 30g caster sugar in a large heat-proof bowl until pale and thick.

Once your caramel is ready add the cream + milk to the caramel pan then bring back to the boil. When it's boiling i.e. bubbling up the sides of the pan, get your glamourous assistant to vigorously whisk the eggs mixture, whilst they're whisking quickly pour the bubbling caramel mix onto the eggs. Whisk for another 30 seconds. Then pour the mix into a wide, shallow container to cool.

Once cool churn in your ice-cream machine (I just got a Cuisinart one from Butlers Choice, yaay for me!) or use the still-freezing method (booo for you). Once churned to thick consistency you can store it in the freezer. We had it with shortbread, roasted apples and the salted caramel shards

Creamy coconut curry with aubergine and courgette

2010-01-08T02:23:00.000-08:00

I actually learnt this one at Ballymaloe back in..........hmm when was I there??.....2008-ish......anyway.....I hadn;t made it since then. So as I was working late left instructions for Stokesy and came home to lovely dinner, my preferred recipe testing method.

The boy did good! And here's how you can recreate the magic at home...serves 2 greedy b*stards

1 aubergine, cut into chunks
1 courgette, cut into chunks
1 tsp black mustard seed, whole
2 tsp fennel seed, ground
1 tsp cumin seed, ground
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp oil, sunflower/groundnut/rapeseed
2 tbsp plain flour
300ml coconut milk
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp salt
1 chilli, finely chopped
lime wedges
fresh coriander, roughly chopped - we didn't have any in but would have been better with it

In a large frying pan dry fry the vegetables until browned. Remove and set aside.

Now heat your oil in the same pan, then add the spices, stirring while then toast gently for 15secs. Add the flour and keep stirring for 2 mins (you're making a kind-of roux to thicken the curry), it should be fairly dry and change colour slightly.

Add the coconut milk, tamarind and chilli. Heat through then add the aubergine and courgette back into the pan. Taste it and add more salt, lime juice or water so it's just right. Stokesy added about 1 tsp salt, juice of 1 lime and 150ml water.

Serve with rice and coriander over the top.......yum!

Tip: This would be really nice with big prawns added for 1 minute of cooking time at the end. The leftover coconut milk freezes really well

Testing testing - on the menu for January

2010-01-08T01:59:00.000-08:00

After a Christmas/New Year of making almost nothing new at home it was time to get motivated, get the books out and plan some new menus. Luckily Mitler (aka Big Momma) and her accomplices CB + BB got their cooking mojo back which encouraged me. So.........new stuff cooked in the last week (which will follow on da blog) has been:

Creamy coconut curry with aubergine and courgette
Welsh rarebit with leeks
A new dhal with stir-fried sweetcorn and chilli
Salted caramel ice cream
Self-saucing chocolate pudding

Plus.....still to come!!!

Duck ragout - from Maze cookbook
Pork belly with fennel - actually an old favourite but we haven't had it for ages - pre-blog!
Crispy Chinese belly pork
Slow braised shoulder of lamb - Heston-style
Kharma soupra - from the Leon book
South Indian rice soup
Spicy lamb pastry
Shellfish bisque

Yes, you guessed right, I got recipe books for Christmas. The Fat Duck, Anjum's New Indian....oh and Stokesy gave me a really rubbish Indian one which I generously passed on to my brother :o)

However, since Christmas I have treated myself to a few little purchases which have just started arriving....wahooo! Maze by Jason Atherton arrived yesterday and currently in transit are: Caramel (Trish Deseine), Ottolenghi and Cook at Home with Peter Gordon (the guy that runs the Tapa Room where we had amazing brunch in London)

Oh and I've just done my Spring/Summer menus for the catering side of things....I'll post them up too so you can check them out.

Chrimbo Eve

2010-01-05T08:52:00.000-08:00

Aaah Christmas Eve. Time for relaxing with nice food and drinkies. No red meat/poultry on the menu for us tonight cos our friend Heidi is a pescatarian. Luckily I've had a monster trout in the freezer awaiting its fate for a couple of months (thank you Annie for the monster trout!). In fact I had nearly all of the ingredients in stock...wahooo! *mental note* must get out more

So on the menu........Italian-style trout en croute......you will need....

1 large trout fillet

200g puff pastry, rolled out nice and thin - freeze the rest for another time

1 tbsp sun-dreid tomato pesto

2 large tomatoes, in thick slices

1 ball mozzarella

Fresh basil

1 egg

And using my handy step-by-step piccies this is how you do it.

1. Spoon the pesto onto the centre of your rolled out pastry, spread out to match the shape of your fillet. Lay fillet on top (Pic 1), tear over the basil, add salt/pepper.

2. Lay the tomato slices down the centre of the fillet, then tear the mozzarella into chunks and place that over the fillet (Pic 2)

3. Now crimp the edges in a very loose/messy way (Pic 3), egg wash the visible pastry bits and bung it all in the oven for 35 mins at 200C(180C fan)

And here's the end result. To accompany Green salad plus Stokesy made couscous salad with loads of herbs, sun-dried tomatoes plus the oil from the tomatoes (hahaha there goes his rough tough builder image...sorry Stokesy!).

December food happenings on the rock

2009-12-02T02:22:00.000-08:00

Plenty going on over here for Christmas. Here are details of all the Farmers Markets and other places where you can go to fill yourself with lovely food before easing into elasticated trousers after Christmas :o)

Greetings from the Relish Catering Kitchen. It’s a busy time for us here but I’ve squeezed in the time to let you know about plenty of food related events happening on the rock in the run up to Christmas.

If you’re stuck for that elusive Christmas present remember we do vouchers for our cookery classes. What better present is there than teaching a loved one how to cook (.....better meals for you hehehe)??? For more information go here on our website or just give me a call. They can be emailed out so yes you can ring me on Christmas Eve.

Coming up......

2nd + 3rd December Murder mystery nights at Tanroagan Restaurant. A great fun way to enjoy good food & meet new people with a brilliant excuse to get dressed up in fancy dress! Each murder mystery has its own theme and this Christmas it is 'Hidihi Campers' as they present 'The Strange case of Nobby Knees', where a murder has taken place at the Happy Bottom Holiday Camp in Piddling by the sea. These nights are very popular and with only limited tickets available you need to book fast! Tickets are £30.00 per person and include a glass of punch on arrival, 3 course dinner with homemade bread followed by coffee & homemade chocolates. To Book call: 612355 or email: fish@tanroagan.co.uk

3rd December – Farmers Market @ Tynwald Mills, St. Johns in the courtyard area outside the Neb Cafe (11 am - 3pm)

5th December - Douglas Farmers' Market at the Villa Marina colonnades (10am - 2pm)

10th December – Farmers Market @ Tynwald Mills, St. Johns in the courtyard area outside the Neb Cafe (11 am - 3pm)

11th December - I.O.M.Farmers' Markets, Ramsey will be having Christmas Evening Markets at the Corner of East Street, Ramsey to coincide with Ramsey Late Night Shopping (6pm-9pm)

12th Dcember – Christmas Farmers' Market, Ramsey will be on at Albert Road School (10am-1pm)

16th December – Evening Farmers Market @ Tynwald Mills, St. Johns in the courtyard area outside the Neb Cafe to coincide with late night shopping at Tynwald Mills (6 - 8pm)

17th December – Farmers Market @ Tynwald Mills, St. Johns in the courtyard area outside the Neb Cafe (11 am - 3pm)

19th December - Douglas Xmas Farmers' Market at Villa Marina Colonnades, mulled wine mince pies and maybe even hot roasted chestnuts (10am - 2pm)

20th December - Castletown Xmas Farmers' Market will be in the grounds of the S100 club house, just off the bypass (1.30pm - 3.30pm)

18th December - I.O.M.Farmers' Markets, Ramsey will be having Christmas Evening Markets at the Corner of East Street, Ramsey to coincide with Ramsey Late Night Shopping (6pm-9pm)

19th + 22nd December - Paddy`s Market in Port St Mary will be holding their Xmas Continental Market under canvas, there will be plenty of stalls plus music and gluvine :o) 19th (10 - 2) and 22nd (5 - 9)

23rd December – Evening Farmers Market @ Tynwald Mills, St. Johns in the courtyard area outside the Neb Cafe to coincide with late night shopping at the Tynwald Mills (6 - 8pm)

24th December - 'Christmas on the Hill' on Christmas Eve at Tynwald Hill (4.30pm). Not entirely a food/drink thing, although they will be giving away free mulled wine, mince pies, juice and star biscuits.It is an outdoor re-enactment of the Christmas story - lots of animals, angels, carols, newborn baby and band!

I hope you have a great Christmas, it’s back to the kitchen for me!

Kathryn

@ Relish - Cookery School and Outside Catering
T: 07624 453324
E: info@relish.co.im
W: www.relish.co.im
B: relishiom.blogspot.com

Churros and Hot Chocolate

2009-11-17T05:58:00.000-08:00

This is something I have been wanting to make for ages, but hadn't got my butt in gear and got on with it. Then last week I get home and Stokesy has pulled it out of the bag.......Churros and Hot Chocolate on the table................wahoooooooo! And check out the vague heart shape....aaaah....there goes his reputation.....sorry Stokes!

Anyway, I am pleased to report that they were absolutely delicious. Nice light churros (dinky doughnut) and thick, rich hot chocolate with a hint of chilli.

So Men I suppose you'll want to know how to make them for your ladies

Serves 4 - Ready in 20 minutes

For the chocolate
225g plain chocolate, with at least 60% cocoa solids, broken up
800ml full-cream milk
Large pinch chilli powder (optional, but recommended)

For the churros
Sunflower oil, for deep-frying
100g plain flour
150ml full-cream milk
2 medium eggs, beaten
50g caster sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1. In a large, deep pan, heat the oil for deep frying the churros to 190°C or until a piece of bread takes 30 seconds to colour. Preheat the oven to 150°C/fan130°C/gas 2.
2. Bring the milk and 150ml water to the boil in a pan, add the flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cool slightly, then gradually beat in enough egg to make a smooth but stiff, glossy mixture.
3. Roll the batter into your desired shapes. Bust out the hearts, you know you want to! Fry for 4-5 minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp and golden brown. Lift out with a slotted spoon onto a baking tray lined with kitchen paper. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and toss with the churros gently until lightly coated. Pop in the oven to keep warm while you cook the rest.
4. Bring the milk to the boil in a small pan. Add the chilli powder, then take the milk off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Then add your chocolate, stirring until completely combined. I used my little cappucino frother to get some foam going. Stokes used it to spray the walls with hot chocolate, oops! Pour into hot mugs.
5. Dunk churros into hot chocolate and sink into sugar induced warm snoozy feelings

© delicious. magazine

Philly mush rump rice

2009-11-17T05:52:00.000-08:00

Yes, as you can tell from the title this is a dish of my own creation, a taste explosion borne from an exploration of the nether regions of my fridge.

Left over rice was transformed into........Philly Mushroom Rice. We had some lovely short grain brown rice in the fridge from yesterday's curry. Finely slice mushrooms, and fry in garlicky butter until browned, chuck your rice in the pan and heat through very thoroughly (no food poisoining for me thank you), the rice can even brown a little bit too. Then take it off the heat, dot with blobs of cream cheese (must be full fat!) and add a handful of chopped parsley.

We had this with rump steak and stir-fried brussels, but I reckon it would make a nice light meal just on it's own.

BBQ Ribs - Take 2

2009-11-17T05:45:00.000-08:00

Having loved the Jamie Oliver ribs soooo much we had another go at them. This time I cooked them under foil and added a big splash of water to the roasting tin, in an attempt to keep them extra juicy. Then I went out and left Stokesy and his ma to do the rest! Hahaha the best type of cooking......when someone else does it for you. When I got home they had added the marinade (honey, beef stock cube, sugar, butter, salt) and the ribs were out to rest. The meat looked even better than last time. I spotted there was loads of sticky beef fat (mmmm sticky beef fat) left in the pan so used it to do these mini roasties.
In a very small nod to the health of our arteries we served up with stir-fried brussels. Dee-licious!

And the winners are.......

2009-11-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

The cookery school and Butlers Choice ran a joint competition over the summer to win either a special edition Global knife or a day at Relish Cookery School. The comptition had over 2000 entries from the agricultural shows and Food and Drink Festival. And the lucky winners were.....Kirsty Barber and Paula Elliott

Kirsty Barber, from Ballaugh, won the limited edition Global knife. Paula Elliott, was over from Ireland visiting family in the South of the island, won a day at Relish Cookery School.

Well done Ladies! I hope you enjoy your prizes

Sticky beef ribs drool

2009-10-22T02:02:00.001-07:00

Reports from London will be heading your way shortly, as soon as I find the right cable to connect phone to PC! In the meantime I've not been slacking........having taken delivery of my Jamie's America book it was time to try out the BBQ beef ribs.

Simply get a huge hunk of meat from your friendly butcher. I used beef short ribs (they are dirt cheap yippee), covered them in a mix of chilli powder/mustard/black pepper/oil/salt then cooked them at 140degrees for about 4 hours. They should fall apart pretty easily after that. Then mix your marinade, into saucepan goes honey/brown sugar/butter/beef stock cube/a splash of water, heat that lot up then pour over the meat. Give it a good massage while you're at it! Jamie's recipe says to return it to the oven for 45min, but I just gave it a short 15 mins.

JO also said to cook it uncovered the whole time, but I think you'd get a better result if you covered your roasting tray in tinfoil. We had it with coleslaw and jacket potatoes. Nice!

Bread Making - Bertinet method and Lebanese flatbread

2009-10-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

So we're back from London, I'm sad because we had such a great time and really treated ourselves to loads of gorgeous meals. Now it's back to the grindstone!

In her Bread Making class last week Liz recommended Andrew Whitely's 'Bread Matters' as essential reading so I got a copy from the library last week. The combination of better knowledge of what exactly goes into a commercial loaf plus Liz's tuition making it look so easy has made me more motivated to make bread for home.

Luckily for me Stokesy Jnr and Snr got rained off at work so I had an assistant in the shape of Stokesy Snr. First we made a 500g batch of 1:1 white:wholemeal using the Bertinet method. Then we had a go at lamajun, a lebanese flatbread I had seen in the Ballymaloe cookbook awhile ago and had been lingering on my must-do list. I'm sure you all have a must-cook list on your kitchen wall?? Oh just me then. Once I've got my new magazines/books in I run through all the cookery literature I own and pick out loads of new things to make over the month. What a thrilling life I lead!
The flat bread was simple: 275g white flour, 225g natural yoghurt mixed together to form a soft dough. I added a little extra water as ours was too dry. Portion into 50g chunks, then roll each chunk out til about 10cm across, you'll need plenty of flour on your worktop. Then dry fry your flatbreads on both sides in a preheated frying pan.

Once then are golden on each side you add this lovely topping: 1tsp thyme leaves, 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, 1/2tsp sea salt, 2 tbsp olive oil. Mix the topping in a little bowl then use a pastry brush to brush over each flatbread. We dunked ours in hoummous but all agreed that it would be nice Italian style with garlic butter and tomato sauce. YUM!

Stokesy Snr just called back round to shape the loaves with me, I'm just waiting for them to prove for the 2nd time......hang on.....they're in the oven now. Woohooo! Lovely bread in 20-ish minutes :o) There they are up at the top of this post

Sunday brunch @ The Tapa Room

2009-10-20T06:44:00.001-07:00

This was meant to be Sunday brunch at Lantana, but when we got there it was shut...boohooo. So we headed over to Marylebone High Street and The Tapa Room which I had seen recommended on the Time Out website. We had to queue for 25 mins just to get a seat. My brother having the perfect timing, arriving as we sat down! Hmmmm.....but would it be worth the wait?

Apologies for the single (and quite frankly rubbish) picture. We were starving and I totally forgot, by which time we had all shared out our dishes. You can even see my brother's fork diving in for more....get back!

A quick look at the menu indicated that this would be a very very very good brunch. Loads of Aussie-style dishes, man those Aussies can dish out a killer brunch! Since my return I have learnt that the head honcho there is a guy called Peter Gordon (he's Kiwi...sorry!) and he had an article in the December 09 issue of delicious magazine. So there you go.

We had......Paprika roast potato, sweet potato, caramelised onion, feta, and edamame tortilla with salsa rossa, Greek yoghurt and greens
Sweetcorn and blueberry fritters with avocado, tomato and rocket salad
Hot-smoked salmon, two poached eggs and spinach on walnut toast with yuzu hollandaise

Accompanied by cake, smoothies, hot chocolate and a very strong Bloody Mary.....YUM!

This place tied with No.10 as our best find of the weekend........a return journey will definitely be scheduled. Their lunch menu looks amazing too :o)

Saturday night @ Mesam

2009-10-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

After stuffing ourselves at lunchtime it was time for something a bit lighter Saturday night. Meeting up with my brother and his friend at a little Iranian joint on Warwick Rd, which was handily only 1/2 mile from where we were staying. However......I totally messed up the directions. leading to an unexpected. 45 minute pre-dinner stroll. Stokesy HATES walking so I was in the bad books by the time we got there.

Dinner was flatbread, herbs, yoghurty/shallot stuff, hoummous and kebabs

Friday night @ No. 10

2009-10-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

Errm not quite No. 10 Downing Street but a really good Schezuan restaurant called No. 10, down an alley opposite Earls Court tube station. Stokesy and I came straight from the airport to meet Kerry, Brett and my brother, Andrew.

The food was soooo good. We had a load of stuff to share including.....Dim sum - Prawn Ha Kow and Pork Siu Mai.....Steamed sea bass with chrysanthemum.....Green beans with crispy pork (above)......Aubergine something nice (top pic)....Chives with egg.......Crispy duck with veg. It should be noted that all of this came with copious amounts of chilli.....oh and it was a really good value meal. All that food, plus a couple of other dishes and a few beers came to £100 for 5 including service. Bargain!

Great start to the weekend. Oh and it was nice to see Kerry/Brett/Andrew........hahaha

Off to Da Big Smoke

2009-10-15T03:21:00.000-07:00

Yes me and stokesy and heading to the capital........no not Douglas.......London! Wahooo!

Food related plans have obviously been made :o)

These include lunch at Moro......I love love love their recipe book......I'm so excited about going....have checked out their menu online. Ooh go on....have a look. I reckon I'll have Grilled aubergine and yoghurt salad with crispy lamb and chilli butter.......followed by.....Wood roasted pork with patatas pobres and churrasco sauce....YUM!

Have booked dinner at Maze......hey did you see it on Masterchef last night?........looking forward to it even more now.....hmmm what do I fancy here??.....in homage to my Scottish roots......Cornish canon of lamb with confit shoulder, spiced turnip fondant, Granny Smith purée and haggis sauce.....oh and all of the desserts :o)

I want to make to a few other places too.........Ottolenghi for their amazing salads.........Primrose Bakery + Hummingbird Bakery for big cake!!!..........I also hope to find somewhere with nice caiprinhias :o)

2010 timetable and catering menus...wahoooooo!

2009-10-15T03:19:00.000-07:00

Well here's the moment you've all been waiting for....okay maybe not quite on the edge of your seats.......hanky at the ready X Factor Final...but not far off! It's the......da da da da da daaaaaaa......2010 cookery class timetable. Here are the classes timetabled so far: Midweek Meal Masterclass II, Gujurathi Cooking II, Oriental Delight, Vegetarian Cooking, Bread Making. Full class details can be found here. All classes are £75 and gift vouchers are available. Hey what a great Christmas present :o)

Next 'momentous' bit of news is that the Autumn/Winter catering menus are now available. Like the sound of Garlic Butter Popcorn? Fennel Crusted Pork Belly? Apple and Champagne Icecream? Just a few of the delicious new dishes on the menu. Relish specialises is catering for Weddings - Private Parties - Corporate Events. So give us a call and we'll provide delicious food for your event, large or small.

I'll leave you alone now to recover from the excitement,
Kathryn @ Relish

Relish - Cookery School and Outside Catering

W: http://www.relish.co.im/ T: 07624 464271 B: relishiom.blogspot.com

Bread Day @ Relish

2009-10-12T09:12:00.001-07:00

A new class at the cookery school......yippee! Sunday was Bread Making Day with Liz from artisan bakery The Good Loaf. Our participants were: Angela and sister Jan, Marie and son Robbie, plus Andrea and Michelle.

The day began with two different methods for making a basic white loaf 1. The traditional British knead and fold 2. The noisy French twist and slap!

Next up: a simple 'no knead' foccacia topped with tomatoes and basil. Perfect for a party buffet!

After coffee break we discussed the essential bits of kit while making scones. Robbie has a dairy allergy so substituted the butter/milk and still got a great result.

Then it was time for my favourite bit. Shaping the dough. Liz showed us a huge variety from 1 simple white bread mix, let's hope I can remember them all: Baguette, Epi (a baguette variation, shown below), Simple Loaf, Twisted Breadsticks, Breadshots, Fougasse and Rolls

If you fancy a go, Liz is booked for a return visit on May 23rd 2010.....give me a call (07624 453324) or email info@relish.co.im to book a place

Food & Drink Festival 09

2009-10-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

Oooh ooh ooh that's me! Supervising some big Hairy Biker bloke dealing with some squid.

Can I give my excuses for the non-posting now??? Well I was super-busy doing the 1st Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival. I was hosting the Food Live Theatre which saw demos from The Hairy Bikers, the I Love Manxchef finals, plus loads of demos including Tim Croft, Tanraogan, ISle of Man College, Butlers Choice plus booze from Okells, Bushys and The Shore.

The event was a massive success, I think they got 8000 people through the door. The demos were certainly packed out......so hopefully the event will run again next year...wahooo!

France - sugar work

2009-10-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't previously been too keen on sugar work after burning several pans, welding spoons to the worktop and covering the floor with caramel strands. But we conquer our fears and work through our weaknesses etc etc oh and caramel tastes good too so there's some motivation.

Mitler absolutely nailed the caramel basket.....here she is with her handiwork

We also made a sheet of salted caramel (top pic). Just pour your caramel onto a sheet of silicone paper then sprinkle liberally with Maldon sea salt

and then....and then...and then........later in the week Mitler melted some left over caramel down with mascarpone, salt and water.....then we mixed it with plain ice cream to make...........salted caramel ice cream yuuummmmmmmmmm

Music to cook to......

2009-10-04T07:03:00.001-07:00

.......a new feature :o)

I'll be giving you the best music selection to get your cook on to.........this week's top 3. It's best if you assume a cheesy DJ voice for the next bit

In at number 3........oh baby it's....Nasty Girl - Notorious B.I.G.
Here's one for all you lovers out there............ our number 2........You Are - Estelle featuring John Legend
This week's number 1........playing daily in the Relish Kitchen........Feelings Gone - Basement Jaxx featuring Sam Sparro

Big Porkin' baby

2009-10-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

Last night in France meant it was time for us to get creative, think up (squabble over!) our own 2 course menu then cook it over the day for service in the evening.

On the menu tonight madame et monsieurs....

Main: Braised pork belly with crunchy crackling with mushroom and walnut duxelle, on potato rosti....and ON THE SIDE roasted carrots and green beans with garlic butter

Dessert: Chocolate souffle, salted caramel icecream with walnut shortbread

I think we did pretty well, worked in perfect synchrony as a team..hahaha not too much squabbling anyway. The pork was absolutely gorgeous, melt-in-the-mouth, we did it in the sous-vide at 80degrees for 18hrs.

I've since done it for a cookery school using the following method. I overheard 1 woman say it was the best pork she has ever tasted..wahooo!

Method: Pork belly in roasting tin on top of 3 stalks of celery, water up to just below fat/skin line. Cover with greaseproof, then tin foil. Into oven at 170 for 1 hour, then 140 for 1 hr, then 120 for 3 hours, then I had to go to bed so I jut switched the oven off and left it in.In the morning I just took it out, removed the skin and did the crackling thing with it, then removed the bones from the belly before reheating it. It was super-tender and v delicious....oh and I did loads of SALT and fennel seeds on the skin.yum!

Sorry the France posting is 1. late 2. all out of sync......I'll get more pics up over the next couple of weeks........i promise miss!

Day One - Lurverly Lamb

2009-09-21T12:49:00.001-07:00

So, first day proper at school. Quite a few in our class: The American contingent, the Kiwi family, the lovebirds, Simon on his work experience, the Irish/posh Scousers, globe-trotting Jeff plus the dictators......Mitler and Kitler

Our first challenge was getting the main for the evening meal on the go. Med veg ragout and pommes dauphinoise for sides. yes I know, I'm virtually fluent. Top quality local produce on offer here...yaay!

Here's our finished dish. The lamb was cooked in a scorching hot oven for 23 minutes then left to rest under a mountain of towels for a couple of hours. Yes it does get fully cooked through and turns out as delicious pinky, tender, properly rested meat

France......wahoooooooo

2009-09-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

So Mitler and I have spent the last week in South West France at the 'Cook in France' cookery school. We didn;t really have any expectations....but were worried that there may be 'weird' people on the course. In the end we needn;t have worried about that.....all very nice, fairly normal people.

Sunday night was our welcome dinner. Up top you can see our main of confit duck, creamy mash and peas with a balsamic reduction. Oh I forgot to take piccies of our drinky nibbles, which included the delicious garlic butter popcorn. Dessert was pannacotta with figs and hazelnut biccies. What a great start to the week. We sat down for dinner with enough wine to sink a ship.....thanks to the fantastic efforts of all involved we had to send for reinforcements in the form of the miniatures from our rooms.....tut tut

Preparations

2009-09-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for our trip also involved some complex non-food weighing and measuring. Getting a week's worth of gear under 10kg was tricky!

So now youw know, a small pair of flip flops = 300g

Vive le croissant!

2009-09-11T01:33:00.000-07:00

I head off on holiday tomorrow to.................a cookery school in France.....wahoooo! So expect a plethora of posting. Not taking laptop because being a Scroogey McScrooge I refuse to pay £millions extra for cabin baggage, so the plethora will occur on our return.

Here's where Mitler and I are off to www.cookinfrance.com leaving Stokesy and Jake to do whatever it is men do when they are alone *shudder*

Au revoir mes amies! I will try to use all 10 words of French that I know while I'm there :o)

Beet and chocolate cake

2009-08-31T14:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a lovely squidgy beet and chocolate cake. I confess that sometimes I just make it without the beetroot because I can be bothered cooking them. Then I just grate some beetroot into the icing sugar to give bright purple (natural coloured) icing.

This recipe will be in the brochure for the Food & Drink Festival over here on 26/27th September.....but here's a sneak preview

Ingredients

For the cake:
230g self-raising flour – from Laxey Glen Four Mills
100g cocoa powder
200g caster sugar
100g dark chocolate
125g butter – courtesy of Isle of Man Creameries
250g cooked beetroot – nurtured by Robin of Purely Plants Produce
3 large eggs – laid at Staarvey Farm

To serve:
350g blackberries – from a hedgerow near you
250ml double cream – courtesy of Isle of Man Creameries

Method

Preheat the oven to 1800C . Butter and flour a 18cm (7in) round cake tin.

Sift together the flour and cocoa, then mix in the sugar. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a very low heat. Puree the beetroot, whish the eggs then stir them into the beetroot. Add the beetroot and chocolate mixtures to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes before turning out of its tin. Serve with a scattering of blackberries and big dollop of double cream.

Choccy love bomb

2009-08-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

My Friday night schedule was a private dinner party for a family, the night before their daughter's wedding. With romance in the air I added some luuurve decorations to their dessert of chocolate pots. I didn;t have any mini piping bags so had to make my own, a tip for you...remember to fold over the opening at the top....I didn;t so covered myself in melted chocolate. oops

The breakfast of champions

2009-08-31T13:47:00.001-07:00

The heaven sent combination of bacon and fried yolk-still-runny egg mmmmmmmmmm.

Anyone who disagrees with the runny yolk needs their head examined (Mitler!).....why oh why wouldn't you want runny yolk?????!

This tasted even better because it was prepared for me by Stokesy.....cheers fella!

Excuse me Waiter, I think there's a.....

2009-08-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

......mole in my soup! Check out the amazing sweet potato/mole!!!!!!!!!!!!

Show recipes - Southern and Royal - Part 2

2009-08-13T03:35:00.000-07:00

Sticky beef stir-fry with cabbage and cashew nuts - Serves 4

o 2 tbsp vegetable oil
o 2 x 200g Manx sirloin steaks, trimmed of fat + thinly sliced
o 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
o 2.5cm piece fresh ginger, finely sliced into strips
o 50g unsalted cashew nuts, chopped
o 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
o 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
o 3 tbsp light soy sauce
o Pinch of chilli flakes
200g Manx green cabbage

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat. Add the beef, in 2 batches, and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Remove the beef and set aside.
2. Add the garlic, ginger and cashews and stir-fry for just a minute, then add the sweet chilli sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, chilli flakes and 100ml water.Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage to the sauce and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then return the beef to the wok to heat through

Queenie stir-fry with spring onion - Serves 4

o 1 tbsp Ellerslie Farm rapeseed oil
o 1" root ginger finely sliced
o 2 cloves garlic finely sliced
o 2 bunches Manx spring onions, finely sliced
o 24 Manx Queenies
o 50ml soy sauce
o 50ml water
o 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan, add the garlic, ginger and spring onion and fry for a minute or two until softened.
2. Then add the queenies and cook for a further 2 mins until they have browned slightly, add the soy and water, taste add more water or soy if required then sprinkle over the sesame seeds. Eat immediately!

Ground lamb with Hoummos and pine nuts - Serves 4

o 2 tbsp pinenuts, lightly toasted
o 3 tbsp Manx rapeseed oil
o ½ large Manx onion
o 1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
o 170g Manx lamb, minced
o 1 tub of hoummos – ooh a Delia-style cheat!
o Sprinkling of paprika
o A few leaves of Manx flat leaf parsley

Method
1. Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat and lightly toast the pine nuts.
2. Remove from the pan and set aside
3. Add the olive oil to the pan and gently fry the onion until golden. Add the cinnamon.
4. Now turn the heat up and when the oil is sizzling add the lamb. Use a fork to the break up the lamb. You want it to be nice and crispy/browned.
6. Add the pine nuts and remove from the heat.
7. Put the hoummos into a serving dish and layer the lamb mixture on top. Sprinkle with paprika and the leaves of parsley. Great with pitta bread

Edith’s choc chip cookies - Serves 4

4oz butter
4oz caster sugar
5oz plain flour
1/2tsp baking powder - thoroughly mix with the flour
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz porridge oats
6oz chocolate, smashed into big pieces, use your preferred ratio of dark:milk:white

Method
1. Put all ingredients except the chocolate into your mixing bowl and mix/Kenwood until combined.
2. Add the chocolate and fold in gently using a large metal spoon. Arguments frequently occur in my house due to over stirring and the breaking up of the chocolate chunks. Hmmmm
3. Put big blobs of the mixture onto your baking sheet (use silicone paper) then bake in the oven at 180 for 12 minutes. Great with cream

Show recipes - Southern and Royal - Part 1

2009-08-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

Kipper and mustard pate - Serves 4

Ingredients
o 1 pair of filleted and deboned kippers
o 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
o 2 tbsp Manx butter, melted

Method
Place all of your ingredients in a medium size bowl.
Simply mash together with a fork. Taste and add more mustard if necessary. Delicious served with crusty bread and green salad

Crab pate - Serves 4

Ingredients
o 100g mixed brown and white cooked crabmeat
o 75g melted butter
o 1 garlic clove, crushed
o Black pepper
o Lemon juice

Method
Place all of your ingredients in a medium size bowl.
Simply mash together with a fork. Taste and add more pepper or lemon juice if necessary. Delicious served with crusty bread and green salad

Mexi-Manx Beef Tacos - Serves 4

Ingredients
o 300g minced beef
o 2 tbsp oil
o 1 large onion, finely chopped
o 2 cloves garlic, crushed
o 1tsp ground cumin
o 1 fresh chilli, finely chopped
o Dash of soy sauce
o Salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar

Method
Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until soft and golden. Increase the heat and add the minced beef, frying until brown. Add the cumin, soy sauce and chilli. Taste and add salt, pepper and sugar as required.Serve with salsa, grated cheddar and tortillas

Mayonnaise - Makes 250ml

Ingredients
o 2 Manx egg yolks
o ½ tsp Dijon mustard
o 1 dessertspoon white wine vinegar
o Good pinch salt
o 200ml Ellerslie Farm rapeseed oil

Method
Put the egg yolks into a bowl. Add the salt, vinegar and mustard, and mix. Gradually add the oil, drop by drop, whisking all the time. You should start to see the mixture thickening. Keep adding the oil as you whisk until there is none left. Season to taste.
It should be smooth and creamy in texture, looking absolutely nothing like the mayo you buy in the shops :o)
NOTE: If you add the oil too quickly the mixture will split i.e. it will look thin and the oil will just float on top. If this happens, break another egg yolk into a clean bowl and pour the split mixture into it, drop by drop, whisking all the time until it emulsifies

Quesadillas - Makes 1 quesadilla

Ingredients
o 2 tortillas
o 1 large handful of grated Manx cheddar
o Salad – tomatoes and lettuce make a good combo

Method
Place your frying pan over a medium heat and wait for it to heat through. Add one tortilla, then your fillings, the other tortilla on top. Wait for the bottom tortilla to brown, flip it over, brown the other side. Voila! Remove from the pan, cut into triangles and eat.
TIP: Try the different flavoured cheddars i.e. black peppercorn or sweet chilli

Super Berry Smoothie - Serves 1

Ingredients
o 300ml Manx milk
o Large handful of Manx berries – Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blackcurrant all work well
o 1 Banana
o Frozen Ushtey

Method
Put all ingredients into a blender. Hit the button! Drink!

Thai Pork Noodle Salad - Serves 2-3

Ingredients
o 350g minced Manx pork - fried until crispy
o 20 pods of Manx peas
o 1 handful of Manx green beans, boiled for 4 minutes (blanched being the fancy chef term)
o 1 bunch Manx spring onions - finely sliced
o a big handful of peanuts
o 2 tbsp fresh Manx coriander, roughly chopped
o 2 portions of egg noodles - cooked according to packet instructions

Dressing
o 2 tbsp Manx rapeseed oil
o 1" ginger grated
o 1 clove garlic grated
o 1/2 red chilli
o juice of 1 lime

Method
Combine main salad ingredients in a big bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in a jam jar and shake well. Add the dressing to the main salad, give it a good stir and leave for 5-10 minutes so that the flavours from the dressing can be absorbed by the rest of the salad.
Tip: For extra flavour pour over the pan juices from cooking the pork over the noodles.

Royal Show 2009

2009-08-12T04:39:00.000-07:00

The biggest show of the summer is the Royal Agricultural Show in Sulby so we hit the show with loads of demos, again trying to raise awareness of the quality and variety of local produce on offer.

Particular thanks go to:
Butlers Choice for providing the equipment for the kitchen. Go down to their shop on Castle Street in Douglas if you're after some kitchen kit
Isle of Man Meats for providing the delicious beef, lamb and pork
Staarvery Farn for proving the herbs for the competition ingredients test
All the demo-ers.......some who looked very scared!

Dishes included:

Mexi-Manx beef tacos (Ray Craine - beef farmer)
Queenie stir-fry (Bry Radcliffe - the veg man),
Kipper and crab pates (Paul Desmond - fishmonger and kipper smokehouse)
Choc chunk cookies (Steve Martin - cereal grower)
Mayonnaise (Pentti Christian - rapeseed oil producer)
Berry smoothie and quesadillas (Dougie Coole - dairy farmer)
Queenie Pie with Samphire (Joan from Tanroagan Seafood Restaurant)
The perfect steak (Phil Teare from Isle of Man Meats)
Mushroom and Ale soup (Kathy from Greeba Mushrooms)
Secret ingredients queenies (Richard from The Shore Hotel, Gansey)

I'll put all of the recipes in a separate post here and here

It was great to get the farmers involved, talking about how they rear the animals and grow the produce for our tables. Bry Radcliffe made an entertaining appearance, although I'm not sure where his line of questioning on my fitness regime was going!

We also had the northern heats of the I Love ManxChef contest.......Claire (below with her stir-fried lambs liver, Jessica (above with her blackcurrent sorbet), Lizia and Chris (queenie stir fry) battled it out. Lizia was crowned the winner making Brazilian croquetas, a little taste of home for her, using Manx ingredients. She sells them at the Ramsey Farmers Market on Saturday mornings so you can go down and sample them. Full write-up at ilovemanx

Weather was perfect, attendance was high, all in all a good day out :o)

Homemade Crunchie

2009-08-12T04:30:00.000-07:00

Mmmm. A nice little pressie brought round to my house by my demo assistant Lucy which naturally got demolished in very little time by me, Stokesy, Wee Jan and my brother (home from Italy....hmmmm without food presents I now realise!)

Thanks Lucy!

To make it at home:

25g unsalted Butter
200g caster sugar
4 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp Bicarbonate of soda
200g good quality milk chocolate
1-2 tsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Grease a 20cm square tin with the butter.
2. Melt the sugar and golden syrup together in a heavy based pan over a low heat.
3. Increase the heat to medium and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is thick and a dark caramel colour.
4. Remove from the heat and immediately whisk in the bicarbonate of soda so that the mixture froths up.
5. Pour into the tin and leave to set at room temperature for about 2-3 hours.
6. Grease a large sheet of foil with the vegetable oil.
7. Once set, bash the honeycomb into large shards/splinters.
8. Melt the chocolate in a microwave oven or in a bowl over a pan of simmering (not boiling) water.
9. Dip the shards of honeycomb into the melted chocolate and place them on a lightly oiled foil sheet.
10. Leave to set in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Cupcake test day @ The Good Loaf

2009-08-12T04:24:00.000-07:00

A catering client wanted some cupcakes for her party. I'm not bad at baking but I thought I'd call in the experts so I headed down to The Good Loaf bakery to get Liz and Sarah's help.

Before I arrived Liz had made two varieties of sponge base. Then Sarah got cracking on the icing and decorations. Yum!

Man Flu Medication

2009-08-12T04:16:00.000-07:00

Yes we had a spate of man-flu in our household last week. Stokesy had to have to day off from work and so I got to be Florence for the day (woohoo). Florence dispensed some hot and sour soup to blast through those blocked sinuses. It makes a great breakfast. To make Florence's man-flu-fighting soup:

Put 500ml water, 1 chicken stock cube, 1 tsp tom yam paste, 4 slices of ginger into a saucepan and heat for 5 minutes to get the flavours going. Now add 3 tbso coconut milk, shredded cabbage and sweetcorn. Heat for another 3 minutes and taste (sometimes it needs more tom yam paste ot coconut milk or stock). Eat with a wedge of lime for extra vitamin C boost.

On Day 2 of his near-death experience he needed more cheering up.....bring out the smiley faces in porridge!

Lunch for Wee Jan

2009-08-12T04:08:00.000-07:00

Not wanting to enjoy a weekend off without doing just a little bit of cooking I got roped into doing a lunch party for my ma. She helps me out loads for work so it's a fair exchange.

On the menu was: a side of hot smoked salmon from hot Tim at Island Seafare in Port St Mary, a boned out leg of lamb with garlic from Mark at Teares in Ramsey, a basil and tomato frittata made by me. For side dishes we had some nice, simple summery options of roasted new potatoes, gujurathi green beans, green salad and loads of different bread s from Liz @ The Good Loaf.

For puds: White chocolate and raspberry tart (another special commision from Liz), meringues and loads of summer fruit

I have one bit of advice from that day.......don't put a glass plate in the oven for more than 5 minutes. Due to my tireless experimenting I have discovered that it will explode quite soon after that.....oops

Southern Show 2009

2009-08-12T03:47:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a very busy few weeks. Starting with the Southern Show at the end of July. I got to host the demo kitchen for DAFF and the I Love Manx people. This involved getting loads of different food-related people, some more willing than others, up to bring local food to the attention of the masses. We also ran the first year of the I Love ManxChef contest.

Dishes included: Ground lamb with hoummous (with Graham Crowe), Sticky beef and cashew stir-fry (Ray Craine), Thai pork noodle salad (Sean Dean in the piccie above) plus loads more. All the recipes can be found here and here

The lovely Samantha Honey-Pollock won the southern heats of the competition so she goes through to the final at the Food & Drink Festival in September at the Villa Marina. For all of the recipes and a full write-up of the competition go to the ilovemanx website

Bread Day in the Relish Test Kitchen

2009-07-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

I watched an old Jamie Oliver tv show whilst spending some quality time bonding with my sofa at the weekend. He made gorgeous twister bread with chargrilled veg filling.....it looked so good that I had to make it. Stokesy will happily eat bread all day every day so I knew I had a willing test audience.

I had a second batch of dough left over so did foccacia with rapeseed oil and dried herbs. It came out a bit too doughy for my liking, so it looks like I'll have to retest......oh well!

Sweetcorn Fritters

2009-07-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm second sweetcorn blog recipe in not very long. I ate loads of these fritters 2 summers ago when me and the Stokes spent the summer MX-ing in Canada. The corn there is sooooo good.

Now I am going to treat you with a proper recipe for this....hold on....I have used all gluten-free ingredients because I used this recipe on a gluten-free coking class I did last year. You can substitute plain flour if you want.

 325g can of corn kernels, drained
 4 spring onions, finely chopped
 2 tbsp fresh coriander
 2 tbsp rice flour
 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
 1 egg
 oil for frying

Combine all of the ingredients except the oil. Stir well.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Drop 4 tbsp of the corn mixture into the pan – avoid overcrowding. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, on each side, or until golden brown – turn carefully to prevent the pancakes breaking. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Delicious with sweet chilli sauce

Summery Fish Pie

2009-07-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

Facing a weekend of no cooking work I fancied having friends round for dinner. I took charge of dessert (egg custard tart) whilst my guests got on the case with the main. Step up Heidi and Michelle! Oh and Coffee Bean helped out too.

They used a Jamie Oliver recipe for a light fish pie with no cream and loads of veggies. From my position of sitting on my tail at the kitchen table (drinking ginger beer yum) it all looked pretty easy ;o) I can assure you it was absolutely delicious

Lunch at Meena's - Sweetcorn and peanut curry yummmmmm

2009-07-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

I went to help Meena with some pictures for her body art project. We negotiated a good exchange, I take the pictures....Meena makes lunch. Suits me! Meena teaches a class at the cookery school so I knew that I was in for a tasty meal.

On the menu was sweetcorn and peanut curry, freshly made chapatis and lightly spiced lassi. I even got to practise my chapati rolling skills. Thank you Meena!

Thai Pork Noodle Salad

2009-07-16T09:52:00.001-07:00

After a celebratory evening out for Stokesy's b-day we needed a day of rest and hangover food. Some more than others, mentioning no names, but I managed to watch Basil at his track day whilst Stokesy 'rested' on the sofa.

To make this deee-licious salad you will need:

2 portions of egg noodles - cooked according to packet instructions

350g minced pork - fried until crispy

20 pods of peas, podded by your hungover boyfriend

1 handful of green beans, boiled for 4 minutes (blanched being the fancy-pants chef term)

1 red onion - finely sliced

a big handful of peanuts

2 tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Dressing -

1" ginger grated

1 clove garlic grated

1/2 red chilli
juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp peanut or sunflower oil

Combine main salad ingredients in a big bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in a jam jar and shake well. Add the dressing to the main salad, give it a good stir and leave for 5-10 minutes so that the flavours from the dressing can be absorbed by the rest of the salad. I also pour over the pan juices from cooking the pork.....mmmm yummy pig fat. *Note* if you are one of my nutrition clients then I'd prefer that you ignore that last line

Here you can see Stokesy mentally portioning out the salad.....hmmmm 2 spoonfuls for Kathryn, the rest for me.

IOM Today come to school

2009-07-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Rachel (shorthand expert), Annabelle (fishatarian), Mike (missed dessert!) and Gary (queenie virgin) from IOM Newspapers came to the school today to photo and film me teaching them a couple of recipes. They requested local + seasonal....so that's what they got. Who says I can't do as I'm told?!

I'll post links to the video and photos as soon as they're online.

On the menu:

1. Queenie stir-fry with spring onion, ginger and tiny carrots
2. Raspberry shortbread stack with blackcurrant puree

And for once I am actually going to provide you with proper recipes......here ya go...

Queenie stir-fry with spring onion and baby carrots - Serves 4

1 tbsp Ellerslie Farm rapeseed oil - from Pentti on 472717
1" root ginger finely sliced
2 cloves garlic finely sliced
1 bunch baby Manx carrots - From Ken on 880370
2 bunches Manx spring onions finely sliced - from Bry Radcliffe
24 Manx Queenies - from Desmonds in Ramsey
50ml soy sauce
50ml water
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Heat the oil in a wok or large pan, add the garlic, ginger, carrots and spring onion and fry for a minute or two until softened. Then add the queenies and cook for a further 2 minutes until they have browned slightly, add the soy and water, taste and more water or soy if required then sprinkle over the sesame seeds. Eat immediately.

Delicate shortbread biscuits - Makes 25

170g white plain flour - Laxey Glen Mills
110g butter - IOM Creameries
55g sugar

Put the flour and sugar into a large bowl. Rub in the butter. Gather the mixture together and knead lightly. Roll out to 7mm thick. Cut into rounds with a 6cm cutter. Bake in the oven at 180˚C for 8-15 minutes depending on thickness. These biscuits burn very easily so keep a close eye on them.

Serve layered with whipped double cream, soft fruit and fruit coulis. Thank you for Ken Maynard for the lovely fruit too, blackcurrants and raspberries. Thank you to the sparrows for leaving me some!

Queenie Festival....including celeb chefs woohoooo!

2009-07-09T11:54:00.001-07:00

Pictures courtesy of Isle of Man Queenie Festival

Queenie Festival 09 was a great success. I was taking care of the Food Theatre where we had a load of queenie/seafood demos. A big thank you to Butlers Choice (ask for Sue on 614805) for sponsoring the demo kitchen, they provided Global knives (yes, you should be jealous), Le Creuset pans, Induction hobs and loads more.

On stage we had Mitch Tonks and Mark Hix, top seafood chefs from the UK. There are loads of photos here on flickr. We also had Joan from Tanroagan showing us Queenie Pie with samphire, Anne from The Wine Cellar matching wine and seafood, Paul from Moore's smokehouse with his kippers and crab, plus the Laxey School recipe book crew including their star chef Richard.

Chargrilled summer veggies with chilli dressing

2009-07-09T11:48:00.001-07:00

Forgive me father, for it is a long time since my last blog. I know, I've been a bad girl, leaving you all alone. But I've got a good excuse.....errrmm.....the dog ate my blog? No, I've been working my tail off, getting ready for some food events over here. I'll post a bit about them shortly. But more important is the piccie of my dinner above :o)

Chargrilled veg.....mushrooms from Greeba Farm and courgettes from Kim's allotment (cheers Kim!). These were cooked on a hot griddle whilst I mixed up the dressing. For this you will need:

2tbsp Ellerslie rapeseed oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 clove garlic, big pinch sea salt, 1 red chilli

Throw that lot into your pestle and mortar, and bash it until emulsified. Then drizzle it over your hot veggies. Yum

DTL Girls - NIght out at Relish

2009-07-01T09:00:00.001-07:00

The girls from DTL (Dept of Tourism and Leisure) came over to Relish on Friday night for some R&R. This came in the form of Massaman curry and Chocolate Truffles......plus they got to check out Stokesy in his pinny. Down girls!

We started with a chocolate tasting, well they had been at work all day, I didn't want any of them fainting on me. Next we made the curry paste and did veg prep. Then they learnt the secrets of seasoning Thai-style. A sprinkling of coriander, roasted peanuts and perfectly sliced limes completed the dish.

After dinner the girls shaped then dipped the truffles in more chocolate, making sure they did plenty of tasting along the way. Now that's what I call a Friday night!

Summer events on IOM

2009-06-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

Summer is approaching and with it a whirlwind of food events. Yippee!

I Love ManxChef - Get involved with this fantastic cookery competition and show us what you can do with local produce. I know that lots of you have been to the cookery school and would be perfect for this. So just go to http://www.ilovemanx.org/ download an application form and I'll see you at the heats.

New timetable - Yes it's that time of year, the new cookery school timetable is here. With loads of dates, brand new classes and a new teacher for our bread-making class (hi Liz). Check it out at www.relish.co.im/cook_school.html

Queenie Festival - We're doing the final date of the Queenie Roadshow @ Tin Bath Championships this Saturday. Then it's all down to Port St Mary for a whole week of queenie activity including Seafood Theatre on Saturday 4th July 11-5pm, I'll be hosting and celebrity chefs Mitch Tonks and Mark Hix, specialists in all things marine will be hands-on and giving us queenie-inspiration. For details of the week-long event go to http://www.queeniefestival.com/

Manx Food Fair @ Tynwald Day - 6th July 2-5pm - Get yourself down to the DAFF Forestry Headquarters in St. Johns for food stalls, demonstrations and tastings from local suppliers. I advise coming with an empty stomach.

My dedication to work knows no bounds, so I have been tirelessly testing and consuming kilos of local produce to prepare for the food shows over the summer. Last night's success was Mushroom and Pak Choi Stir-fry. Mushrooms from Greeba Farm via Shoprite, Pak Choi from Dot (Purely Plants Produce) via the Ramsey Farmers Market.

Ingredients - Serves 2
2 large handfuls of mushrooms - thinly sliced
1 head of pak choi - roughly chopped
Splash of sunflower oil, soy sauce, worcester sauce, sweet chilli sauce
Sesame seeds

Method
Heat your oil in a big frying pan. Add the veggies and all of your splashes, keep stirring. Add a splash of water a put a lid on your pan for 3 minutes. Remove lid, sprinkle with sesame seeds and devour.

Apologies for the misty looking photo, steam was causing me issues!

I Love ManxChef - The launch

2009-06-23T03:07:00.001-07:00

Last Friday saw the launch of a new cookery competition on the Isle of Man - I Love ManxChef

We're looking for people who can cook local food with flair. A modern look at Manx ingredients is bound to score well with the judges, or knock us out with your grandma's winning cake.

For the launch, with the help of Phil Gawne MHK (that's a Manx politician) and Ray Craine (he's a farmer yessir), we created an array of dishes:

Miniature steak sandwiches with homeade mayo and mustard cress
Pan-fried plaice with Gujurathi-style beans and a curry foam
Quesadillas with black peppercorn cheddar, shredded lamb and crispy lettuce
Rhubarb Fool with rose petal garnish

Sounds pretty good hey! It was Manx produce top to bottom, the only exceptions being the sugar/salt/spices.

For more information and to download an application form go to: www.ilovemanx.org

I love summer salads...

2009-06-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

......so you will be seeing a vast array of them over the coming months. The organic veggie box from Dot is really fantastic and contributing greatly to my salads. I have even cracked out my official summer serving bowls......woohoooo!

Here we have fried mushrooms (from www.greebafarm.co.im), herbs from Dot, a big pile of leaves from Mill @ the market, quite a few more leaves from my enormous 'garden', chickpeas, feta........all topped with a new oil from Ellerslie Farm, extra virgin cold-pressed rapeseed oil, the colour is fantastic....oh and it tastes pretty good too. It should be on general sale in a month's time. I'll update with details of when + where.

So I thought I'd done pretty well with this, but I was serving to a tough crowd (Stokesy's parents). Kenny didn't like the wait and Helene picked out all of her mushrooms. There's just no pleasing some people.

Inside the Creamery

2009-06-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

The first rule of the Creamery Research Panel is: you do not talk about the Research Panel. The second rule is: you DO NOT talk about the Research Panel

Here you can see my cheese hamper, reward for giving my highly respected views (stop sniggering at the back please) about dairy products. Black peppercorn is my favourite at the moment. I had old-school cheese on toast last night, cooked by Basil, thanks Basil! Me and Stokesy had been out on the bike all day and I was too snoozy to make my own food. Basil brought round lasagne and....... Angel Delight!!!!.....My god, I didn't realise that anyone ate that stuff anymore. Tempted though I was I managed to resist and settled for things unable to withstand nuclear holocaust.

Daily Mail visit to Relish

2009-06-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

A journalist from the Daily Mail was over on the Island last weekend. As part of her tour of the island she got to spend an evening with me and an assortment of people from the food industry. Lucky her! Here's what we had:

Beer Tasting – The Manx Pure Beer Act of 1874 prohibits the use of anything other than malt, sugar, hops, yeast and water. Local breweries Bushy’s and Okells work within these guidelines to produce a vast array of beers

Hot smoked salmon – Award winning hot smoked salmon from Island Seafare
Horseradish cream – dug out of the ground this morning by Robin of Purely Plants Produce
Green salad – grown in the Relish kitchen garden
Salad dressing – utilising cold pressed extra virgin rapeseed oil grown and processed at Ellerslie Farm in Crosby. A brand new product.

Arabian rack of lamb – A pure and natural habitat combined with excellent animal husbandry, all found on our Island, produces the best quality meat. Provided by Isle of Meats and butchered by Mark at Teare’s Butchers
Carrot, cumin and coriander salad – organic herbs from Staarvey Farm
Spiced potatoes – the first week of new potatoes on the Island

Gooey meringues – local free range eggs from Dot @ Purely Plants Produce
Rhubarb compote – from a green fingered friend
Softly whipped cream – Isle of Man Creameries is a co-operative, operating since 1934. It produces outstanding milk, cream and most recently, an award winning range of cheeses.

Chocolates – newly developed chocolate creations from Cocoa Red
Unfortunately I was too tied up to take loads of photos, but above is a recreation of the rack of lamb (with different side dishes, the eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted). Hopefully her visit to the school will sneak its way into an article somewhere

Jurassic Foot...raaaarrghhhh!!!

2009-05-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

Leafing through the internet I came across The Townmill Bakery this wicked little place down in Dorset. It combines an artisan bakery with a cafe. They included some recipes on the site including this one for Fruit and Nut Bread aka Jurassic Foot.

I loved the shape so gave it a go. They have loads of bread recipes on their website, definitely have a look. I feel a research trip is required :o)

Plant Watch! Kitchen Garden

2009-05-21T13:27:00.001-07:00

I am the least green fingered person in the world, having committed mass murder to a herb garden last summer. However my friend Kim (the lucky owner of 8 very green fingers) persuaded me to give the old growing thing a try. She has started a small business selling seedlings and these funky little instant gardens. Okay I confess that the main reason I agreed was because the pots she had looked cool.

As I only have an indoor windowsill to 'grow' things on she picked out the appropriate seedlings and helped me to create my garden. There were only babies when they arrived but seem to be thriving. Although Stokesy watered them last night and they've looked a bit sad since then.......I'm suspecting overzealous watering......he is not taking the blame but who else could it have been?????

Oh if you want a cool garden like mine give Kim a bell on 819434

Relish newsletter - June events

2009-05-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

Summer events, news and recipes

Well it's all go here at Relish. Apologies for news drought, I know that people have been waiting impatiently beside their inboxes for the latest goings-on.

Queenie Roadshow - TT Week - On behalf of Tim Croft at Island Seafare (your man for queenies and gorgeous hot smoked salmon on the island) I will be undertaking a cooking tour of the island. Armed only with a frying pan, several sharp knives and, of course, some queenies I'll be showing people ways to enjoy this wonderful, local, sustainable product. Dates include: Peel Day on Mad Sunday, the Grandstand (Monday 8th June) and Ramsey Sprint (Tuesday 9th).

Isle of Man Queenie Festival - 29th June - 4th July - I'll be doing another lap of the island with the Queenie Roadshow to build up for Marine Week. Then it's down to Port St Mary for the Manx Queenie Recipe Challenge (3rd July). I'll be hosting the competition as 2 finalists battle it out to be crowned King of the Queenies. For full details and to enter your recipe go to http://www.queeniefestival.com/

Food Theatre @ Queenie Festival - 4th July - To be found down on the quay in Port St Mary. Yours truly will be hosting the day and cooking too. Also showing us how it's done will be Joan from Tanroagan Restaurant, whilst The Wine Cellar will be there to do some seafood-friendly wine matching. Other chefs to be confirmed..........maybe even some off the telly.....oooh I say celebrities!

Manx Food Fair @ Tynwald Day - 6th July - What a great weekend for foodies on the Island! To rounding off the weekend head to Tynwald for more Food Theatre featuring Ellerslie Oil, Greeba Mushrooms, Tanroagan, Island Seafare, Friends of Laxey School with their recipe book, oh plus that girl from Relish will be cooking and hosting. She gets around that girl!

So I hope to see some of you at the events, no heckling please!

Kathryn
Cookery School and Outside Catering
T: 07624 453324
E: info@relish.co.im
W: www.relish.co.im

Cookery School - Victoria's birthday

2009-05-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

Victoria's friends (from left - Tracy, Trudi, Rosemary + Glenna) arranged a surprise birthday present for her.......for all of them to attend the cookery school for the afternoon. They had a busy session ahead of them covering......Poppy seed + blue cheese biscuits, Pea + ham tart, Massaman curry, Mini pavlovas and Chocolate truffles to finish.

The girls took on various roles. I think it's fair to say that some were more of the supervisory nature (!) whilst others were in the 'flour up to the elbows' department. Victoria got special dispensary though as she had had her nails done......oh and of course it was her birthday.

Mmmm Massaman curry. Everyone loved learning how to taste/season the curry with fish sauce/lemon/chilli/sugar at the end. Making the difference between a good curry and a great one.Here's the birthday girl...............showing off the mini pavlovas, perfectly decorated by her and Trudi.

Everyone enjoyed themselves and went home well fed and watered. When I asked Glenna what she had gained from the course, she said 'Five pounds!' hahahahaha

Essential Kit: The rubber glove

2009-05-13T10:18:00.001-07:00

Don't worry, I'm not letting you into some dark and sordid corner of my bedroom life (that's on my other blog hahaha). But the rubber glove is an essential part of kitchen kit. Perfect for people who are a bit squeamish about touching raw meat/fish, but also very useful for reducing cross-contamination when making a variety of dishes. So don't panic if your partner comes home brandishing a box of these.......as long as they leave them in the kitchen ;o)

Chilli bread

2009-05-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

I wandered lonely as a cloud.......around the internet and found this recipe for Chilli Bread on another blog. I usually get all my bread from Liz at The Good Loaf but she had very rudely gone on holiday for a couple of weeks, leaving Stokesy and I high and dry. I just can't face eating commercially produced bread anymore so I had to roll up my sleeves and do the deed myself. I was absolutely made up with the result

375g wholemeal strong flour

375g white strong flour

3 teaspoons salt

2-3 teaspoons chilli flakes

7g sachet of dry yeast

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl

Add 450ml water (at room temperature)

Combine into dough & knead until elastic - around 5/10 minutes

Leave to rise in bowl (cover with damp cloth) for 2 hours

Knock back & shape into 'tin' shaped & pop in a floured tin

Leave to rise again for 45 minutes

Cook for 15 minutes at 230 ° c then for 20/25 minutes at 200 ° c until cooked

Leave to cool on rack

Cookery School - Jenny + friends

2009-05-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Jenny and her intrepid followers (Trudi, Simon and Clint) had a day at my cookery school on Sunday. Lucky them! They'd thought long and hard about what they wanted to learn and decided to go for broke with some technical dishes. The day started with slow braising the pork for the main course, making pasta dough for the starter, filleting the fish (with the aid of my special examination gloves) and then a quick break with some Thai noodle soup (it's important to keep your strength up).

Here Jenny and Simon team up to roll out some perfect sheets of ravioli......there was very little marital squabbling which is very different from my house!

The first dish we worked towards was 'Open ravioli with poached trout, creamed peas + lettuce, topped with a dill foam'.......so nice and simple ;o) Everyone worked together to get the dish out. Trudi + Clint on pasta, trout and foam duties. Jenny + Simon doing the honours with the creamed peas and lettuce. As you can see from the picture it was a success. Layers of light pasta with delicate trout and vegetables in between. A lovely summer dish. Nice work team!

Next up.......Slow braised pork with pan-fried gurnard, plus a nice beany tomato-ey stew with a grain mustard sauce and lovely crispy crackling. Did the team keep it together and get another perfect dish out??? Course they did! This time Jenny + Simon were on fish duty whilst Trudi + Clint put the sauce together.

I think Clint was just checking that he had the biggest portion..........very sensible.

A good day for all involved :o)

Tamarind + Peanut curry

2009-05-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

I find there is nothing quite like calculating my tax liability to make me go around turning lights off and the thermostat down...............and cooking a cheap b*stard meal. So that calls for veggies, pulses and spices. On Meena's Gujarathi cooking day she showed us a Tamarind and Peanut curry, stupidly I never wrote down the recipe so it's taken me a couple of goes to get somethig even vaguely approaching her version. Try this:

2 tbsp sunflower oil

2 large dried chillies

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp ginger, cut into thin strips

1 tbsp tamarind puree

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

3 handfuls peanuts

1 handful cauliflower, cut into small florets

Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan then add the dried chillies and mustard/cumin seeds, fry until the seeds pop and start trying to escape from the pan. Now add the ginger and tamarind puree. Stir for 1 minute then add a long pour of water, salt, sugar, peanuts and cauliflower. Lid on and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Taste, as you may need to add more salt or sugar. It seems like a lot of sugar but the tamarind is so sour, it needs it.

House of Mannanan

2009-04-28T12:36:00.001-07:00

After a quick turn-around after cookery school it was down to Peel to do a dinner at the House of Mannanan. The only small problem being that there was no kitchen to from and initiall...no lighting! You can see me working in the dungeon once we got some lights hooked up

Candy from Finishing Touches had the table all set up.....ooh doesn't it look lovely. Candy was also very helpful with the 'no kitchen' issue. Her house is just round the corner so I finished cooking the main (Lamb Tagine) in her oven and then ferried it to the job where I had a hot cupboard. Easy!
Mmmm canapes. I love canapes!!! I love making them all cute and pretty.......oh and eating them of course. Here we have frittata with roasted tomatoes and wild garlic flowers. I got the idea for these as I was driving home on Thursday and saw the flowers absolutely everywhere. Aren't they gorgeous?

Starter was big sharing platters of hot and cold smoked salmon with pots of dill + mustard mayo and lovely crusty bread. Mmmm mmmmmmmmmmm

Beautiful Buns

2009-04-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday daytime was 'Beautiful Buns' day. Learning the art of baking was: Anna, Angela, Viv and Callum. On the menu......Rhubarb and Ginger Upside-down cake, savoury scones, shortbread cookies, pastry turned into Pea and Ham tart and Torta di Ciocolatta (Italian style tiffin). Needless to say it all turned out perfectly and a good time was had by all.

Pea and Ham tart with lovely crispy/crumbly pastry

Michelle's victoria sponge

2009-04-28T12:25:00.001-07:00

The Dictator (Michelle) treated me and Stokesy to Sunday lunch a couple of weeks ago. She reckons that it is high pressure cooking for me because I'm so fussy. Me? Fussy? How ridiculous.

Anyhoo.....she came up trumps with this gorgeous cake for puds. Real strawberries, plus strawberry jam and cream as a filling is a winner as far as I'm concerned. Nice work Michelle!

Spring.....ba-doing!

2009-04-17T13:59:00.001-07:00

Spring is officially is progress. How do I know this? Because Manx asparagus is in season....yeeha! My brother kindly brought me some round as a present (yes my Italy-residing brother, but no goodies from Italy this time boohoo).

The Stokes and I had the asparagus tonight with mayo and pan-fried steak, plus those beautiful little puppies above. We have been perfecting our chip technique and have settled on the following method:

Cut potatoes into big chip size chunks

Boil in unsalted water until tender

Remove from water and leave to steam dry on a rack

Now deep fry for about 10 minutes until golden brown

Add lovely sea salt and dive in!

Post-Ashburton.....what happened next

2009-04-08T14:22:00.000-07:00

I've been back from cookery training for 10 days now and have tried to cook plenty of things from the course to refresh my memory. So far:

Slow cooked pork belly (as above.......check out the crackling)
Feathered steak with black pudding topping
Potato rosti
Egg custard tart
Blue cheese and sesame biscuits
Apple mash
Fat chips

After eating rich restaurant-y food for two weeks I have to admit I had a real craving for other flavours when I got home. I had to eat my favourite Thai curry Khao Soy, get some Indian flavours in with a Tamarind, Peanut and Potato curry and generally eat loads of fruit and veggies to try to de-butter my arteries.

Oooh baby

2009-04-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

It looks so innocent doesn't it. A little egg custard tart sitting demurely, a little oozy around the edges but not a bit show off dessert. But beneath it's exterior lies a new range of delicious-ness that makes you eat it all before you friends come round so that you don't have to share it.

Stokesy has been demanding egg custard tart since we ate it at The Elephant in Torquay (Oh yeah The Elephant, brilliant restaurant have the squid risotto). Because I am such a dutiful girlfriend (stop sniggering people who know me) and pander to his every need there was only one thing to do.....make it! Joe at Ashburton kindly gave me a recipe and I used their version of sweet pastry too. But naturally took all the credit when it turned out super tasty.

Special Offer...in a hedgerow near you

2009-04-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the lack of blog recently. I was all worn out after the Ashburton blog-a-thon so was giving myself some time to regroup. But do not fear, I was not slacking in the food department.

First up, available free, only effort required is a brisk walk in the countryside.................wiiild garliiic!!! (say that in the style of a game show host, it sounds better)

I am no expert in wild food, foraging etc, but even an idiot like me can identify wild garlic. Growing mostly in shady woodland and on verges. Hmmm a picture would help wouldn't it. I will go and take a pic of some over the weekend and add it in.........oh and it smells like shop garlic so you can't go too far wrong. The hardest thing is working out which patch to pick as, unfortunately it always grows in popular dog walking areas. Yes I'd always advise washing it before use.

You can add it raw to salad, it's good cooked into scrambled egg, but I turned it into wild garlic pesto and put a blob into a plain potato soup cos I'm a big show-off. To make the wild garlic pesto:

Large handful (thoroughly washed) wild garlic

75 ml olive oil - the good stuff

small handful pine nuts

small handful of grated parmesan

salt and sugar (yes sugar, the garlic can be slightly bitter) to taste

Throw the whole lot in a food processor and blitz for a minute. Some people reckon that wild garlic doesn't make your breath smell. They are liars.

And finally........the last days at Ashburton :o(

2009-04-01T04:04:00.000-07:00

Yes it is sad, the courses are over and I am back on the rock. But I have learnt so much. I am putting together my spring/summer catering menus now and it was great to have all of this to draw inspiration from.

Open ravioli with poached trout and dill foam

2009-04-01T03:55:00.000-07:00

Okay so the last few dishes from the week. By the way we did way more than I have posted up. Jo is giving Rob a hand with his ravioli. My word, that's a long one.

Peta made this lovely layered sheet of ravioli. Looks wicked doesn't it!

And the finished dish. I think that warrants a ......Ta daaa! Layers of mussels, clams, peas, braised lettuce, cream, ravioli and trout. Topped with a dill foam. Yes a dill foam, check it out! I thought it was some high skill chef thing well out of my reach but it's not too hard to do. Of course you will have to bribe me to tell you the secret.

Don't get in the way of these ladies

2009-04-01T03:44:00.000-07:00

If you see a group of ladies gathered around bowls of melted chocolate and semi-formed truffles do not attempt to disturb them. You can see the focus on their faces.

Rob took the truffles a stage further after this picture and decorated them with beautiful chocolate swirls and finishes. Unfortunately my chocolates had a...errrmm.......accident and didn't want their photo taken. Okay the real reason....they were all tucked up safely in my bag to come home. I was planning to share them with Stokey when I got back to the rock. But.....I was on the train to London and got a bit hungry. So I went to the train station shop, the trauma of being face with the reality of 'normal food' after two weeks of gorgeous food, it was so depressing! I think I had a choice of Ginsters pasties or a packet of Monster Munch. So, not wanting to pollute my body with E numbers...........the chocolate truffles sacrificed themselves for the greater good. Mmmmm they were so good :o)

Apple and champagne sorbet

2009-04-01T03:39:00.001-07:00

I have never had champagne sorbet before, it's not really served in Ramsey :o( but it should be! I'll definitely be teaching a version of this on my Easy Summer Entertaining class so you can get some bubbles in your life.

The sorbet was accompanied by roasted fruit and ladies fingers biscuits. Yes we made the biscuits, I don't think Rob would let us use the packet ones somehow. Rob was our teacher/chef for the last three days, he was very good, with loads of top tips. His story about his knife and fingerless Fernando winning goriest story of the week. Well done Rob!

Shellfish Bisque with spring rolls

2009-04-01T03:34:00.000-07:00

Mmm I love shellfish bisque and I love spring rolls. Luckily for me some genius at Ashburton decided to do a starter combining the two. This makes a lovely light summer lunch (until you eat eight spring rolls....oops)

Braised pork belly

2009-03-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

This was one of my favourite dishes of the course and will definitely be appearing on my menus in the future. The pork belly was meltingly soft, the crackling was salty and crunchy (mmmm salt), whilst the flavours of the mushroom/chorizo accompaniment mingled together with a little paprika kick. Oh and it looks wicked too. I love the way the colours all seem to have come from the same paint chart.

Mmmmille feuille

2009-03-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

Technically this isn't a mille feuille, it is a trois feuille but I don't think we need to worry too much about that. I've been feeling very French the last couple of weeks, perhaps due to the high levels of salt, butter and cream coursing through my veins.

Anyway, where were we? I'd usually do this with plain shortbread and strawberries in the summer but this is a lovely variation to use when berries are out of season. Shame on you people buying soft fruit out of season (very close relatives of mine, mentioning no names W** J**, bad food karma for you).

Week 2 @ Ashburton - Red mullet nicoise

2009-03-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

So it's back to the stove for my second week of training at Ashburton. What a great dish to start the week with. The colours are just fantastic! Oh and it tasted pretty good too.

We had a new chef today, Stuart. He is lovely. Here he is putting the finishing touches to our main for the evening tasting.

Final dishes - Surf n Turf and Lemon tart

2009-03-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

Ponce about for long enough with your presentation and this is what you get (oh and slightly cold food in my case). Beany tomatoey stew into little piles, topped with crispy fried mackerel, slices of pork belly and all finished with a meaux mustard sauce.........oh and don't forget to crush the crackling and add that as sprinkles (ooh I like my sprinkles). Ta daaa! Perhaps Gordon Ramsey should change his catchphrase from 'Done!' to 'Ta daaaaa!'

Nestling in that group as we all looked on in amazement........Penny was putting the perfect brulee crunchy top onto our lemon tart.

The finished lemon tart

Ooh what a motley crew. Here you can see our group in their full.........errmm.......glory

Day 5 - Fish fish fish

2009-03-23T12:10:00.001-07:00

We had a new boss today, David. He showed us how to fillet flat and round fish, prepare squid and scallops.

I loved preparing the squid.......hmmm I enjoyed eating it even more though. The tentacles are absolutely the best bit. Pan-fried very quickly with a splash of sweet chilli sauce added at the end.

Ready for a squid fact??? Course you are! Squid is the most widely eaten seafood on the entire planet, so there you go.

Creme success!

2009-03-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

Now look very closely at this creme brulee.............notice anything strange or different about it?

For those of you that our chef Darrin didn't phone to tell the momentous news.............the vanilla seeds are evenly distributed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bet you're kicking yourselves now. Usually the seeds all fall to the bottom of the dish as the brulee cooks and solidifies. Darrin had a little experiment with these ones and his theory was a success. Of course I would tell you how he did but then I'd have to kill you.