Jamie Oliver is back in the news.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has cooked up a storm in a South Yorkshire town where his latest TV show is accused of portraying residents as “thickos”.
Wispa back for good
Monday sees the re-return of the Cadbury Wispa.
After selling twenty million last year in a seven week trial, Cadbury have decided to bring the Wispa back again, this time for good.
Curry Webcam
An Indian takeaway in North Staffordshire is offering customers the chance to see their food being cooked online via a webcam in the kitchen.
See the video (UK only).
Chorizo Frito al Vino
I do like this dish which is simply the spicy Spanish sausage, sautéed in red wine.
I have started using Tesco’s Cooking Chorizo which is not as hard (or as chewy) as the traditional dried chorizo which you can buy from most supermarkets.
Just a note you are buying the whole sausage and not the thinly salami style sliced version.
My method is to cut the chorizo into slices about quarter of an inch thick. Fry in a large frying pan until sealed on both sides and just starting to go a little crispy. At this point I add the red wine (Spanish red wine is best, but I am sure you can use any good red wine).
Cook the chorizo for a few more minutes.
Serve as part of a tapas or with salad. The red wine with the chorizo makes a wonderfully spicy sauce which you can dunk warm soft bread into.
Photo source.
Hot Stuff
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in his weekly Guardian column plays with hot stuff and does stuff with chillies.
There’s a lot more to chillies than how hot they are – the range and complexity of flavour from pepper to pepper really has to be tried to be believed.
Great article which shows that there is more to chillies then the mouth burning Friday night curry or the green ones available at the supermarket.
Yo Sushi
Wanted a small supper this evening, to eat on the train.
Thought about getting a sandwich, but in the end decided to get some sushi to take away from Yo Sushi.
To be honest I have no idea what I had, but it wasn’t bad, very nice.
Final word on nutrition and health
After an exhaustive review of the research literature, here’s the final word on nutrition and health.
- Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
- Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
- Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
- Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
- Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
- The French eat foie-gras, full fat cheese and drink red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.
Fish Supper
One thing that I cook quite often and enjoy during the summer months (though not that we have had much of a summer) is a fish supper.
This photo is from a recent version and included baked cod, griddled scallops, griddled squid and prawns cooked in olive oil.
The cod was drizzled with olive oil and baked in the oven for ten to fifteen minutes.
The scallops were scored with a checked pattern on one side and griddled on a hot pan.
The squid “pockets” were sliced on one side and opened out. On the inside I scored a checked pattern. These were then griddled inside face down. When cooked on one side, turn them over and cook the outside; at this point they will curl into rolls. Serve with the tentacles cooked as well.
The prawns were simply cooked with a little olive oil and black pepper.
Served with lemon wedges, salad and crusty bread.
Delicious.
Risotto
In a large frying pan, place some olive oil and butter. Then add some finely chopped onion, red pepper, courgette and pancetta.
Soften the onions.
Bring up the heat.
Add the risotto rice and ensure that the rice is coated in the oil and butter.
Add a splash of white wine.
Now add some chicken stock.
Keep topping up with stock to ensure that the rice doesn’t dry out.
Once the rice is virtually cooked, add a large handful of grated parmesan, some chopped parsley and some freshly ground black pepper.
Serve, garnish with a few slices of lemon.
Squid, nicely done
The Guardian has some really nice squid recipes on their website.
Preparing and cooking squid is easier than most fish. The only thing to remember is not to cook it for too long. If grilling, the pan must be extra-hot so the squid cooks in only a minute or two. Otherwise, it goes tough.
If you have read the blog, you will know that I am a fan of squid. There are three very nice recipes in the article.