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D is for........

3/30/2016

After the plethora of ingredients for the letter C, the letter D finds the contents of the ingredient cupboard a little more sparse. However, it does contain one of the best types of meat that you can cook with.
D is for Duck. Whether it be duck breast, leg, livers (or even the gizzards) it’s a wonderful ingredient to work with and can be served in a multitude of ways.

Looking back, I struggle to recall a time when I have disliked eating, or cooking with it.
The beauty of duck is the fact that it can transcend so many types of cuisine. Whether you prefer the Confit Duck Leg from a traditional French menu, or enjoy a taste of Peking Duck from Chinese cuisine, the potential uses of duck is so varied. One of my particular favourite recipes involves smoking the duck breast and serving it with an orange and hazelnut salad. Duck has a real gamey flavor which is enhanced by the addition of smoking. However, you need to be aware that it needs to be smoked to no more than a medium or the meat becomes too tough. When cooked correctly, the meat should literally melt in your mouth!

This week, I feel a change of pace is in order. Instead of talking about my experience of this particular ingredient, I want to talk a little about the history of eating duck. But that in itself becomes complicated, as no one is quite sure when duck began to be served as a meal. It has appeared on menus for a long time and there is evidence of it being used as far back as 4000 years in China and Egypt!

At that time, the ducks were migratory birds and therefore what was served depended very much on the time of year. As ducks began to be bred specifically for eating, the range available significantly slimmed down. As I’m sure you will recognise, a large amount of duck is consumed in the Chinese market. Within Europe, it is not as popular due to the demise in duck farming during the war - and can be noted from the proportions of duck available compared to other meats in the supermarket!

Back in 2008, I had the incredible opportunity to appear on the first series of Masterchef Professionals. I reached the quarter finals where the brief we were given was to produce two dishes in an hour and a quarter. For the main course, I chose to cook one of my duck dishes combined with artichoke in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go my way (due to an errant pan of Artichokes!) However, the dish itself was, and remains, one of my favorites and appears in one of the Masterchef cookbooks. If you are planning a dinner party – or simply a romantic meal for two, it is definitely worth the time and effort. I like to use the Gressingham or Goosenargh breeds which are both from England

If you haven’t noticed already, we are running a pop up restaurant night at the Palm House in Weymouth. For £35 you get canapes, free glass of prosecco, 5 course meal and petit fours to follow. This is an absolute steal for what you receive and well worth it. Click here to view the menu and visit our Facebook page to purchase tickets

C is for.........

3/23/2016

Coriander, Chocolate, Carrot, Chive, Cheese… All great ingredients that begin with C. The list is endless and the choice is so varied. But the C that I realized was my favourite ingredient was “Cheek”. Whether it’s beef cheek or pig cheek (and to some extent the cheeks from fish), cheek is an absolutely superb ingredient.

Braised slowly in red wine with a myriad of herbs and spices, it was served simply atop mustard mash with a sauce made from the braising liquor. The flavour was intense and the meat literally fell apart in my mouth. The collagen (part of the cheek) had cooked to a point where it gave up its structural duties. Put simply, it was delicious and unlike anything I had tried.
Not long after, I encountered beef cheeks. Slow braised beef cheeks with simple plain mashed potato were like pig cheeks, but a whole lot tenderer. Cooked for over 12 hours – again, in order to break down the collagen – it was then left to rest in the liquor overnight. The cooking liquor was subsequently reduced to a thick, flavoursome sauce. Finally, when everything was ready, the beef cheeks were reheated in the sauce and served with a simple, creamy mashed potato.

In my opinion, braised cheeks are a much underutilized dish. I cannot think of anything better on a cold evening than tucking into soft braised beef or pork cheeks with a helping of creamy mashed potato and rich, succulent jus.
When I look back, it seems that many of my ‘firsts’ came at the time when I was working at the hotel in Henley. We had a braised Venison Osso Bucco on the menu (served with celeriac and a beetroot ice cream). Up until now, I had experienced the confit process of cooking meats (cooking slowly in lots of fat) but braising – this added a whole different dimension. Flavour could be packed into the liquor used for braising the meat, and then this liquor could be reduced to make a rich, unctuous sauce. This worked well with numerous ingredients such as duck legs, short ribs and lamb shanks. Then I was introduced to Pork Cheeks!

So, if you ever get the opportunity to try some beef or pork cheeks, I implore you to do so. Unfortunately, beef cheek has undergone somewhat of a renaissance in the last few years and therefore are not as cheap as they used to be. However, they are still a much cheaper alternative to the more expensive cuts of meat that most of us are familiar with.

As a small catering company, we have the ability to source our ingredients specifically to fit each function we do. If you are thinking of having a Birthday or Dinner Party in the Weymouth, Portland, Dorchester or surrounding area then please contact us. Your guests would be sure to enjoy a dish of soft melting pork cheeks with celeriac (another awesome C ingredient!) and caramelised apple.

Click here to visit our home page.

B is for.........

3/14/2016

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Butternut Squash.
Definitely one of my favorite vegetables to work with - and to eat. There is something about its sweet, yellowy-orange flesh that ignites a culinary flame. Although it is primarily a winter vegetable, its ability to be stored for a long period of time has enabled us to enjoy it all year round.
I wish I could provide you with a witty story where I can wax lyrical about how the butternut squash came into my life and changed my world! But alas, it is one of those ingredients that seems to have gradually found its way into my food and onto my menus. Looking back, I don’t remember it much as a child but it seems to feature more in my later teenage years. My earliest memories are the homemade soups, cooked by my mother - and the fact that it was that little more palatable than its other squash and pumpkin cousins.

In my professional career, the butternut squash really made an impact when I was working in a small hotel near Henley-on-Thames. On Sunday lunch, we would serve a delicious risotto containing roasted chunks of butternut with Parmesan and sage. It was such a simple dish but done to perfection. The butternut gave a sweet and autumnal contrast to the saltiness of the Parmesan, with the sage subtly coming through at the end.
To create this dish, the squash itself had not undergone any major cooking process other than being roasted, yet the impact on the overall flavour of the dish was incredible. There is enough sugar in the butternut that it caramalises itself without the need to add sugar. This is why it is such a favorite ingredient of mine. It packs such a strong flavour without the need for excessive preparation time and complex cooking processes.

Some of the ways I have served butternut squash include chopping into cubes, tossing it in a few herbs and spices and then roasting it in the oven to eat as an alternative to potatoes or chips. I have also added a little bit of spice, sweated it down in a pan and turned it into a soup. Most recently I’ve begun to experiment more freely with the foods I use. So I lightly coated it in some cinnamon, roasted it and turned it into an Ice Cream, to mixed reviews from a number of my peers! But in my opinion, this made a great accompaniment to homemade apple crumble.

I’m going to leave you with a simple recipe this week. You can buy butternut squash whole or you can buy it ready prepared. In this day and age, the reality is that a lot of us don’t have the time to peel and dice a butternut along with all the other things that need preparing. So, if you have the time, then get one whole, but if not, there is no harm in buying it ready diced (thought you wont get the seeds which are great when roasted in a little olive oil and salt)

500g diced Butternut Squash
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Cayenne
2 Tbsp Dried Mixed Herbs
2 Cloves Garlic Finely Chopped
Salt
30ml Olive Oil

Turn the oven to 190°C. Get a non-stick tray and have it heating in the oven. Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl. Cover with a plate or a lid and shake the bowl for 10-15 seconds to make sure all the butternut becomes covered. Pour the contents of the bowl onto the hot tray in the oven and shake to distribute evenly (avoid having too small a tray or the Butternut becomes Squashed!!)
Every 5-7 minutes turn the butternut using a thin fish slice. After about 25 minutes, it should be soft in the middle and brown around the edges. Remove and enjoy as a side dish, on its own or tossed into a salad.

Hopefully you have enjoyed this weeks ingredient. I am still deciding on C as there are a few ingredients that begin with that letter. Have a good week and don’t forget to check out the rest of our website

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A is for..........

3/7/2016

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Anchovy.
One of those ingredients that you either love or you hate.
When I grew up, I was definitely in the latter group. To me, they were tiny little packets of salty, fishy nastiness that seemed to appear on my pizza. One of my earliest memories of the food is being given a slice of pizza that was overpowered by the smell of anchovy. Like so many before me, I was put off before I even tucked in.

Fast Forward 20 years, and my whole conception of the anchovy was turned on its head. I was working as the Head Chef of Beaujolais in Bath - a classic French Bistro that delighted patrons of the city for over 30 years, under the ownership of JP. Now this is a man who has a genuine love for food, and had shown that over the years in his restaurant. I remember one occasion where he and I were involved in a discussion about using anchovies in some form on the menu. Being quite set in my ways, I was determined that these little brown devils were not going to make their way onto my menu! Not only did I not want to be serving an ingredient that I particularly disliked, but felt sure that the clientele would not take to it either.

Well, it turns out that what I had been fed as a child, was only one form of the anchovy you can buy. I had been brought up on Salted Anchovies - which more often than not, come from a tin. The grainy and gritty saltiness that I remember so well, often comes from over processing and prolonged storage. Luckily, JP introduced me to Marinated Anchovies. These kind are lightly pickled, often flavoured with garlic and herbs, then kept in oil. They were a whole different ‘kettle of fish’. No longer did I get the overwhelming fishy flavor but instead, I was treated to a pleasant saltiness that didn’t leave me gasping for water. They had the texture of a small fish, which was rather pleasing. I was blown away! I couldn’t get enough of these anchovies. They became a great accompaniment to Caeser Salads, added extra depth of flavour to fish stew and made me actually want to eat Pissaladière!

This opportunity also allowed me to develop an understanding for the salted anchovies. I discovered that they weren’t all processed as badly as the ones I experienced when I was younger. Over the years, I have found that salted anchovies could go well with dishes like Roast Lamb. And the possibilities for working with fresh anchovies are endless . . . But maybe I should save that for another time!

There are a few points in my career where I have felt like it was a Eureka moment. That day a few years ago, changed a part of the structure of my cooking DNA. I now feel blessed that I can use such an amazing and varied ingredient in my cooking.

I won't leave you with a recipe this time but when I get to “B” then I can promise you something that you can cook at home with little effort and lots of flavour!

Thank you for reading and hopefully you will check out the rest of this site to see what we can offer. Alternatively, check us out on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter

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