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The perfect Italian steak

There is a skill in cooking a steak on a griddle, especially if you want it to turn out well and tasty.

My technique is not perfect, but I get some good results.

Firstly I heat the pan, the heat will be the guide to whether I am cooking a rare, medium or well done steak, though it must be, even for a well done steak, quite hot.

I take the steak, preferably at room temperature and rub seasoning and oil into the steak. This is black pepper, some Italian herbs and olive oil.

I prefer using ribeye, but in the photo below I was using sirloin, as I can’t always get hold of ribeye.

perfect steak

I do not add oil to the griddle.

Once the pan is hot, I then griddle the steak.

This ensures I get the nice chargrill lines on my steak.

I serve the steak with some freshly cut lemon.

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Barbecued Chicken

Having written previously about my liking for Jack Daniels barbecue sauce, I have been experimenting with my own recipe for a barbecue sauce.

I take some balsamic vinegar, oil, honey, cajun spices, tomato puree (or even ketchup – which I have to thank Jamie Oliver for).

Barbecued Chicken

This I coat the chicken in and the roast in the oven.

When it’s a little warmer I intend to then finish it off over the hot coals of a barbecue.

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Oh I got some Illy

Having mentioned Illy coffee before, which was after listening to Windows Weekly I went out and bought some Illy coffee for my espresso machine.

When I use to visit Italy a lot I would always try and ensure that the coffee I drank when out and about was Illy.

Well let me just say, it is as good as I remember, it was almost perfect.

What would make it perfect, well drinking it in an Italian pavement cafe would make it perfect.

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My second quiche

Well having made my first quiche, I went ahead and made another.

Quiche

I was inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe I saw on his At Home series, though this is not quite the same as he used potatoes and asparagus  in his.

First I cooked the pastry case blind, I will admit to using ready made pastry; well it is easier and faster at times.

Once this has cooled, in a pan I cooked some onions off with red pepper, mushrooms, parsley and pancetta.

These were then placed in the pastry case.

I then in a jug, mixed four eggs, some cream and a splash of milk.

This I poured into the pastry case.

I then placed the quiche in the oven, and topped up the egg mixture (which I may have spilt if I did this before I popped it into the oven).

The quiche is then baked in the oven until the egg has set and has gone slightly brown.

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Where we go…

The blog is back up and running after my hosting service moved their servers from the UK to Germany!

Apologies for those who were trying to access the blog.

We’re back…

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Cheeseburger

Well not sure that was such a good idea.

On the train (a First Great Western high speed train) and decided to have something to eat from the buffet car and ordered a cheeseburger…

Hmmm, well that was not such a good idea.

It was not very nice and rather salty as well (contained nearyl 5g of salt, when you consider that your recommended daily allowance is 6g then that’s a lot of salt).

It reminded me of the burgers I use to make and sell at Travellers Fare Buffet back in the late 1980s… so things haven’t changed much!

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Fancy a bit of squirrel?

So there I was driving to Bristol on the A38 when I pasted Taste. I decided to pop in and see what was available.

As well as all the nice fish and deli stuff on sale, the butcher’s counter was selling squirrel for £2.90 ($5.80).

Hmmm.

Decided it wasn’t for me.

It’s not  as though I am not willing to try new foods, I remember eating octopus in Venice once and alligator in an Old Orleans restaurant in York back in the early 1990s.

However squirrel did not appeal.

Probably because I think of squirrels as just rats with good PR and I don’t think I want to eat rat!

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Cup of coffee? That will be £50 please.

Fancy a cup of coffee at Peter Jones in Sloane Square, well it could cost you £50 ($100).

The BBC reports:

A gourmet coffee blended from animal droppings is being sold at a London department store for £50 per cup.

Jamaican Blue Mountain and the Kopi Luwak bean are used to create Caffe Raro which is thought to be the most expensive cup of coffee in the world.

Kopi Luwak beans are eaten, then passed, by the cat-like Asian palm civet, and sell for £324 a kilogram.

Not sure I fancy a cup even if I could afford the £50 price.

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Asparagus Quiche

As I was making this asparagus quiche, it occurred to me that I hadn’t ever made a quiche before.

Asparagus Quiche

So this is my first quiche.

I was inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe I saw on his At Home series, though this is not quite the same as he used potatoes in his.

First I cooked the pastry case blind, I will admit to using ready made pastry; well it is easier and faster at times.

Once this has cooled, in a pan I cooked some onions off.

These were then placed in the pastry case.

I then in a jug, mixed four eggs, some cream and a splash of milk.

This I poured into the pastry case.

I then added some cooked asparagus.

I then placed the quiche in the oven, and topped up the egg mixture (which I may have spilt if I did this before I popped it into the oven).

The quiche is then baked in the oven until the egg has set and has gone slightly brown.

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Help, we need somebody…

BBC reports on how Starbucks is trying to get its customers to come up with fresh ideas.

Coffee chain giant Starbucks is hoping its loyal customers may be able to brew up the bright ideas to help turn around its struggling fortunes.

The company recently launched a website offering its US customers the chance to pitch ideas for how the firm can improve its stores and operations.

Here’s some free advice Starbucks…

Make better coffee, nicer environments and lower your prices.

Oh and free wireless wouldn’t go amiss either!