mwnch

I love dessert wine and this pudding is a great, simple excuse to open a bottle.

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Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

From Unhappy Meals by Michael Pollan

To which I’ll add:

Act ethically.

In an attempt to encourage animal welfare and sustainability in food production - high hopes!

One of those traditional classics that many have lost and deserves to be refound. A great piece of British lamb will be offended unless at least accompanied by a tangy home-made mint sauce.

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With my liking of the two fat ladies and all-things-medieval I’m looking forward to Clarissa Dickson Wright’s TV programme ‘Clarissa and the King’s Cookbook‘. In this documentary, Clarissa cooks from The Forme of Cury, a 700-year-old scroll that was written during the reign of King Richard II by the chefs of his household.

If you fancy cooking some original medieval recipes, like Roo Broth or Ryse of Flesh, you can view images of The Forme of Cury on pbm.com or the text is available on Project Gutenburg.

Watch the programme tomorrow on BBC Four Wednesday 7 May 2008 at 9pm.

Rick is certainly in my top three TV cooks. I feel able to call him by his first name as I once saw the back of his head in his Padstow deli as well as the infamous Jack Russell Chalky (RIP) tied up outside - bosom buddies. Whilst the conquest of Padstein is a bone of contention to some locals and leaves me feeling a little queasy (how long before Ricks Burgers opens on the harbour-front?) I’ll leave that particular bone for the ghost of Chalky to grapple with rather than adding it to my personal cupboard.

His enthusiasm for food is catching, his obsession with ingredients pre-dates the current trendiness for local, seasonal produce - strangely, (for a TV cook) I think he even had a vegetable garden before they became the essential tax-deductible accessory for the celebrity chef. I particularly like his travel programmes, when abroad Ricks passions seem to be amplified and the dialogue and film footage manage to be both evocative and inspirational. I never thought I’d like to travel through France on a barge or drive across Sicily in a Land Rover until I saw RS do it.

Finish all that off with the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, which is the scene of some of my favourite restaurant meals — one can’t ask for much more from a chef.

If you want a fish cookery book, then I don’t think you can go far wrong when choosing one of Ricks…

From a wide variety of sources from Elizabeth David to an old Sunday Times cook book, I’ve adopted a fast then slow method of cooking meat.

To begin with, smear your turkey with butter then clothe in a layer of fatty bacon.

Then in an oven preheated to 220C / 425F / Gas 7, sear the turkey for 50 minutes.

Then baste the bird with the juices from the pan and cover with foil.

Return to the oven, with the heat reduced to 170C / 325F / Gas 3 for the amount of time as follows depending on the size of the turkey:

Baste every 20 to 30 minutes. The end result will be the tastiest, juiciest turkey!

I’ll start with some honesty - some of the things that I make seasonally from our own produce are not things that I especially relish … jars of chutney that remain gathering dust or that blackberry jelly that is just a bit too ‘thick’. This is definitely not one of those. I prefer using vodka to gin, but the recipe will work equally well with either.

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I’ve been a great drinker fan of Tomos Watkins ales for a few years so I was intrigued to see that they’ve sold out (in real ale terms) and introduced a Lager to their range.

I’ll happily drink any style of beer so personally, I wasn’t repulsed as some beer drinkers may be and thought I’d give it a go.

This is a light, in both colour and taste lager with a pleasing amber glow, a mild and gentle fizz and a pleasant and not overpowering flavour of hops and malty body. Certainly not as sweet and sugary as many modern lagers (no bad thing) and so it’s a thinner more refreshing drink, albeit still packing a 5% punch.

Nice … roll-on the Summer I think there’s work for magic lagyr to do…

An easy method for poaching a whole fish such as a salmon or trout given the correct equipment. You’ll need a pan big enough to accommodate the fish without touching the sides. A fish kettle (pictured) is perfect.

Place the fish in the pan.

Add cold water to cover the fish and add whatever stock ingredients you have to hand or prefer. Any of: Onion (quartered), parsley stalks, chopped carrots, bay leaves, celery, whole peppercorns. Don’t add salt.

Cover & place the pan and its contents over heat.

Bring to the boil then immediately remove from the heat.

Leave covered and allow to cool to almost cold - the fish will be cooked.

Okay, so I better put the record straight, this is not a sospan (sauce-pan), neither is it rusty (just a bit aged), but it is my favourite kitchen utensil. I believe it belonged to my Grandmother, then my Mother and now me - so a family heirloom. Made completely from cast iron and certainly not non-stick, it is great for pan frying and then finishing in the oven.

Nice hey?….

I’d love to hear of other peoples favourite pieces of kitchen furniture…