Posts

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Poached Chicken

I do quite like poaching chicken, it allows me to cook chicken quickly and keep is tender and moist.

However the downside is that it can look a bit unappetising.

Here is what I did recently when poaching chicken, though it might be worthwhile talking about the poaching itself.

I take a pan of water, add some herbs, some onion, a carrot and if I had other veg I add that.

I bone the chicken and place in the pan and simmer for ten minutes.

Remove allow to dry for a while.

I then place the cooked chicken onto a roasting tray, and drizzle them with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

I then roast them in a hot oven for ten minutes to give them some colour.

As a result quickly cooked moist and tender chicken with colour.

I served it with a vegetable risotto.

Done.

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KitKat Crunchy

Sometimes I wonder why I bother.

I was feeling peckish, so having very little choice from the vending machine, I went for the KitKat Crunchy.

This is basically a BIG single stick of KitKat.

For me it most certainly did not hit the spot.

I don’t know why, maybe it was the mood I was in, but it didn’t feel quite right.

So next time, either no chocolate, or possibly an original KitKat!

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Cajun Prawns

I made this dish as part of a tapas selection. The key is to make the sauce and add the prawns at the last minute.

In a frying pan, soften some onions, after they have softened add some Cajun spices. I don’t like adding the spices too early as they can burn.

Add some chopped tomatoes and some tomato puree.

Cook for a while.

Add raw prawns and let them cook.

When they are firm and pink they are cooked, be careful not to overcook them, as this will make them rubbery.

Cajun Prawns

Done.

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Thorntons

I am currently eating and enjoying some Thorntons’ chocolates. Very nice they are too.

One downside, means that I don’t really like eating (cheaper) boxes of chocolates from the likes of Nestle or Cadburys.

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Apricot Delight

Apricots

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in today’s Guardian writes about the golden wonder that is the apricot.

A juicy, ripe apricot, eaten straight from the tree, is one of the sweetest treats summer has to offer. But this brilliant fruit pays dividends in other ways, too …

I was only thinking yesterday that I usually only taste apricots either in a yoghurt or fromage frais or in apricot jam.

Think I might need to look at this fruit again.

Photo source.

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Chicken and Irish Sausages

Well I mentioned I had purchased Paul Rankin’s Irish Pork Sausages again.

This time I roasted them in the oven with chicken, red pepper, mushrooms and pancetta.

Chicken and Irish Sausages

I served it with a lemon risotto.

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Pringles are “not crisps”

Pringles are “not crisps”

BBC reports on a court ruling which says that Pringles are not crisps.

Pringles, the popular snack food in a tube, are not potato crisps, a High Court judge has ruled.

Their packaging, “unnatural shape” and the fact that the potato content is less than 50% helped Mr Justice Warren make his crunch decision.

This is all a tax avoidance issue and nothing really to do with crisps and non-crisps.

Photo source.

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Gala Pie

How on earth did pork pie with egg come about?

Did a baker one day, go oops…. dropped an egg into that pork pie mix, ah well maybe no one will notice…

Special request perhaps?

Are there other variations which didn’t work, and as a result never saw the light of day…

Ah pork pie with strawberry yoghurt, hmmm nope that doesn’t work for me.

And why is it called a Gala Pie?

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Are you a “supermarket tart”?

Are you the kind of shopper that supermarkets love, the type who always shops at the same supermarket on a regular basis?

Tesco, Morrisons, etc… love you, as you are often more loyal to them then your employer or even your family!

Well the BBC reports that in these times of economic turmoil, the days of the loyal supermarket shopper may be coming to an end as we become more price sensitive.

Many supermarket-goers are wedded to their brand of shop. But as people begin to draw in the purse strings, some are starting to see benefits in being a more promiscuous consumer.

Evidence suggests once loyal shoppers, who in the past have been faithfully wedded to a single supermarket brand, are starting to experiment with younger, cheaper models.

However will these changing habits last? According to the article, no.

…as shoppers have more money again they will revert to old habits.