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Risotto

I normally make a lemon and rocket risotto, however when I made this risotto I had no lemons or rocket! So I made this variation which was very tasty and went down well.

In a large frying pan, place some olive oil and butter. Then add some finely chopped onion. I also added some diced pancetta.

Soften the onions.

Bring up the heat.

Add the risotto rice and ensure that the rice is coated in the oil and butter. The key I have found to a good risotto is using good risotto rice.

Not having any chicken stock, I added some beef stock and some dried Italian herbs.

Keep topping up with stock to ensure that the rice doesn’t dry out.

Once the rice is virtually cooked I added a large handful of grated parmesan and some freshly ground black pepper.

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Pork Chop

I do quite like a pork chop now and again, though loin steaks appear to be more popular with people these days, the bone in the pork chop helps to stop the meat from drying out. Where possible I try and buy outdoor reared pork, as I have found that it has a lot more flavour than the pork you usually buy.

I cooked this pork chop by roasting in the oven, after adding some seasoning.

It was lovely and tender, delicious.

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But you said….

So there I was at Cribbs Causeway doing some late night shopping when I decided I wanted a bite to eat. So a quick decision was made to go to Café Rouge…

But you said….

Yes I know I said before that I wouldn’t go again to Café Rouge….

So….

However I had a Tesco Clubcard voucher on me, and that is one of the few places at Cribbs that takes them… so despite my reservations about Café Rouge based on previous visits, I decided to eat there.

The fixed price evening menu wasn’t an option as you can’t use the Tesco vouchers with it. So I looked at the full price menu and decided to go with the Bavette steak.

Traditional French cut of steak marinated in rosemary & garlic, best enjoyed rare, with French fries and melted garlic beurre maison.

I hadn’t tried a steak before at Café Rouge so was slightly apprehensive. I did though as the menu recommended ordered the steak rare. The Bavette is a flank steak so if cooked medium or well done it will be a tougher than say a sirloin.

When it arrived it did look very nice.

So as I cut into the steak I was still wondering if I had made a mistake. However in the end I was quite pleased. It was a little more done than I would have liked, which meant it was slightly tougher than I think it should have been. The fries were crisp, but over-seasoned. I did find them not entirely disagreeable, and there was a nice portion. I wasn’t too impressed with the butter so didn’t pour it over my steak. The main reason for ordering a steak is the steak and I was pleased with the dish. As with any dish ordered from a chain such as Café Rouge you are relying very likely on system cooking rather than home or chef cooked food. However in this case the dish exceeded my expectations and I did finish the plate clean.

Unlike previous visits to that Café Rouge the service was much much better, fast, efficient and friendly. The place was quite busy, so I was pleased with the unexpected much better level of service.

So despite my reservations I in the end had a good meal, good service and may go again.

Really?

Well I did say may…

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Jamie’s 30 minutes, now fastest selling

BBC News is reporting that Jamie Oliver’s latest book, Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals, has become the fastest selling non-fiction title of all time.

Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals has sold 735,000 copies in 10 weeks, beating the previous record held by comedian Peter Kay’s memoir, The Sound of Laughter. Delia Smith’s How To Cook (Book 1) is the bestselling cookbook of all time, with more than a million copies sold. Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals, which contains recipes for 50 quick three-course dinners, was made into a television series for Channel 4.

I quite enjoyed the series, but I also enjoyed the Guardian’s attempts to cook his recipes in 30 minutes.

In his new book, Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals, Jamie proves that, by mastering a few tricks and being organized and focused in the kitchen, it is absolutely possible, and easy, to get a complete meal on the table in the same amount of time you’d normally spend making one dish! The 50 brand-new meal ideas in this book are exciting, varied and seasonal. They include main course recipes with side dishes as well as puddings and drinks, and are all meals you’ll be proud to serve your family and friends. Jamie has written the recipes in a way that will help you make the most of every single minute in the kitchen. This book is as practical as it is beautiful, showing that with a bit of preparation, the right equipment and some organization, hearty, delicious, quick meals are less than half an hour away. You’ll be amazed by what you’re able to achieve.

Regardless of how you feel about Jamie Oliver, if it makes people think more about what they eat and how they cook, that has to be better them then relying on microwaved freezer meals.

Buy Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals.

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Roast Pork

I cooked a very nice loin of pork at the weekend.

Like most times I roast a joint, for the final hour I added chopped vegetable, though this time I also added apple, well it was pork.

Those may look sausages under the joint, but they are in fact carrots. By placing carrots under the pork, it adds flavour and stops the joint “steaming” in its juices and roast more evenly. Just in case you were wondering you can eat the carrots, but I add them to the gravy.

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More roast potatoes

After posting about how I made my roast potatoes, I cooked them again.

One of the key processes is the par-boiling which softens the potatoes and ensures they get really crispy.

For me the other key processes are leaving them drained par-boiled potatoes to dry before placing them in a hot roasting pan with hot oil. I know that some swear by goose or duck fat, and I do quite like that, but recently I have just been using a bit of sunflower oil and olive oil for flavour.

Other times I have added flavourings to my roast potatoes, this has included rosemary, onion, garlic, pancetta or a combination.

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Pizza Express

So there I was needing a bite to eat, I had had no lunch and it was looking like that working late that night I wouldn’t have a chance to get anything decent to eat and would have to grab a takeaway…. didn’t fancy that.

Luckily I had in my pocket some spare Tesco Clubcard Reward vouchers that were about to expire, so I thought lets use these, have a really nice meal, but where?

Well (from the title of this blog posting) you guessed I went to Pizza Express. Using the vouchers does restrict you to specific places, I had considered Café Rouge, but traffic was bad and to be honest did I want to be disappointed again? So the only place left from which to choose was Pizza Express. I have been to Pizza Express quite a few times before and have enjoyed my meals there. I also quite like their range available in the supermarket.

I did consider not going, as the place was empty (well it was late afternoon) and I wasn’t really wanting to be the focus of all the staff as the sole eater in the establishment, however time was against me and I was hungry!

As I was hungry I decided to have a starter and though there was a fair bit of choice, I went in the end for the Calamari Al Forno, breaded calamari with house dressing.

So no rings here then! More chunks of squid that were breaded and cooked. I did like the presentation and it was a nice portion, not too small and not too big. Alas the calamari was a little chewy, partly I guess as it was either overcooked (unlikely) or double cooked (more likely). The house dressing was a wet mayonaise with probably too much vinegar, but there was lemon for those that like me who prefer that. I did eat them all up and did enjoy it, it’s just I know that calamari can be so much better than this, however this is much better than a lot of calamari I have had at other places.

After my started I went with a Romana Pizza Pollo Pancetta.

This pizza has a stretched very thin base, similar to those (allegedly) you can find in northern Italy. The base was covered in red pepper (peperonata) sauce and topped with chicken, yellow peppers and what was suppose to be crispy pancetta.

Not this was really nice, what I did like was that it had flavour, wasn’t salty (as some pizza places to do with their pizza) and looked great. The chicken looked to be real chicken that was ripped and placed on the pizza, rather than processed pre-sliced chicken you can find on some pizzas. The yellow peppers were nice and crunchy. However one slight problem, the crispy pancetta looked like it had been replaced with proscuttio! It was neither pancetta or crispy. I didn’t complain as it was still nice, but it would have been nice to be told that this is what they had done.

I was quite full at this point, however the waiter pointed out that they had a selection of small desserts served with a coffee. Now that sounded just right. So I went with the Caffé Merenghina and my choice of an Americano.

The dish comprised os a small individual lemon pastry tart topped with a, in my case, slightly droopy meringue. The tart was great, not too sweet and not too tart and just the right size. The coffee was also decent.

The bill (I already had a coffee) came to just £21 which wasn’t bad at all in my book for a really nice meal. I will be going again.

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Hot buttered toast

Bread Toasts

There is something very nice about hot buttered toast. Whether it be for breakfast or afternoon tea (in front of a roaring log fire). Hmmm, now where’s the toaster!

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Pork leg steaks with a spiced apple stuffing

Most of the supermarkets now have a “cook at home” food, Waitrose is no exception and they have their “Easy to Cook” range.

We recently tried the pork leg steaks with a spiced apple stuffing.

Described as “succulent English pork leg steaks with a spiced apple stuffing, topped with apple butter and wrapped in English bacon” they looked really nice and sounded delicious.

It did sound tempting.

After cooking the pork according to the instructions, I sliced the steaks and they appeared to be quite tender.

The problem was the flavour or to be more specific the lack of flavour. Now most pork you buy doesn’t have much flavour, outdoor reared or free range generally does. These steaks lacked any depth of flavour. Not a problem, the spiced apple should enhance the pork as should the apple butter. Hmmm, well they didn’t the apple flavour was also missing and the spice though there, was so subtle you quite easily missed it.

It was a pity as this did some a really nice dish, but the lack of flavour and general blandness of the finished dish was very disappointing. Next time I think I will make it myself.