Prawncrackers

That's it for another year, no Indian mangoes have been seen for a whole week. It's been a very long season, almost four whole months - nearly twice as long as previous years. Not many Kesar or Badami but loads of Alphonso, I could and did buy boxes every week. However the top quality examples didn't come in till late April. The first half of the season had me sucking a few wrong uns! How is it where you are? Anyway I have one Alphonso left from a box bought last week, pictured below amongst a box of fat Pakistani Chaunsa mango bought today. Last one of the year, I really need to savour it:

It feels strange to discuss pork pies in relation to Charcuterie. But I suppose if anything is representative of British Charcuterie then it's our great pork pie! My favourite is Sainsbury's own brand (in the grey wrappers), no lie, I've eaten plenty and it ticks all the boxes for me. The meat is lightly cured and seasoned. Good thin savoury layer of jelly. The pastry is light, not too thick, and not too thin. It has the best base of any pork pie I've ever eaten, beautifully solid and sturdy. When you cut it open the base snaps like a biscuit but melts in the mouth with lardy goodness. Thinking about it now it really is the pastry that separates a good pork pie from an average one. A lot of hand-raised butcher pies have too much pastry that is far too heavy and dry, a real turn-off. Hence I am deeply suspicious of fat fluted pies. I've heard of the Michael Kirk, they're from the Black Country aren't they? Anywhere in Brum that sell them? As for Charcuterie (non-UK) in general, apart from the usual suspects in London; Brindisa, Selfridges, Harrods etc I dunno. Sounds like we need intelligence on really good Italian delis, hopefully someone can pop up with suggestions.

I make some bostin fully cured sausages, salami, chorizo etc, though only in the cooler months. Want me to PT you when I get round to doing another batch?

Have you made here yet David? The missus and I had a really terrific lunch last week. It would be an amazing first to say we beat you to it! Incredible value, 3 courses for £25. We had a couple of extra drinks that made the final bill a little shy of £80. But if you consider that includes 3 amushe, good bread, petit fours etc and the central London location then i'm surprised if they make any money from punters like me. The absolutely outstanding dishes were the Spring Truffle risotto with Reduced Chicken Jus and (for us) the main attraction, the Golden Louis XV. Marvellous stuff, the only negative point was my main of bream was on the very small side.

I don't think I've ever had a quality beef burger. Sure I've enjoyed burgers from the usual fast food suspects but I know they are what they are; cheap and easy. In the UK recently there have been more upmarket burger chains appearing with names such as Gourmet Burger or Handmade Burger. They promise another level but the all ones i've tried have been middling at best, the meat usually dry and tasteless. To be honest I think I prefer a McD quarter pounder! Then it occurred to me that I should really make my own, obvious really. So after reading the burger topics on the forum I ground my own chuck and the result was easily the best beefburger I'd ever eaten. Cooked to medium with blue cheese, onions and fries: The chuck steak was from Jack O'Shea's concession in Selfridges. I was only there to pick up some Hermé macarons but along with the beef I also spotted some bottarga. Intriguing stuff, I've never tried it before, so ignoring the hefty price tag I snaffled some. Opening the vacuum packed lobes of dried salted mullet roe today the smell was instantly familiar. To anyone of Cantonese extraction that is! It's that smell we're all used to, a cross between the sweet aroma of dried scallop and the sharp tang of your mum's home dried fish. Both my wife and I knew right away that we'd enjoy it. Superb stuff, I grated a single lobe into fluffy pile of orange zest: Now earlier in the week I was at the International Food Fair here in Brum and stopped by the Italian deli stall to check out the pasta. There was some lovely golden eggy linguine that I thought would be perfect for the bottarga. As I went to pay for it I mentioned, partly to impress the lovely Italian lady stall-holder, that I meant to eat it with bottarga. She was impressed but then outright refused to sell it to me. No, no, she said you must have it with strong spaghetti! Ok, you've talked out of a sale here because I didn't buy anything else but she was adamant so I just thanked her and left. So Spaghetti alla Bottarga it was tonight and she was right, it was the perfect match: We also had a baked sea bass tonight but so enamoured was I of the pasta dish that I forgot to take a photo till after we'd eaten it. But even after having been devoured it still looks so appetising, so here it is too:

Dude we are so loving the panda, food looks great too!

It's a rare mid-week occurrence that I manage to get three courses out for dinner. But with a couple of good friends visiting and the wonderful sunshine today I felt inspired. I was always going to cook Monkfish wrapped in Prosciutto and Risotto (saffron, asparagus, peas & shoots) as a main dish for them. So with the excess prosciutto that I bought I draped it over fig, mozarella and rocket for an easy bruschetta starter. Dessert is my standby made yesterday; warm Bakewell tart and ice-cream:

I boil mine for 10 mins in a pan never the rice cooker. The yolks always turn out perfectly for me. I cooked Prawns with salted duck eggs recently, a variation of hzrt8w's "golden shrimp". Boil a couple of eggs, cut them open and scoop out the yolks and lightly smash them (eat the whites separately if you want a salt fix). Cover prawns in starch and deep fry till semi done, set aside. In a little oil (a scant tablespoon) gently fry the yolks, they will magically dissolve into a paste. Add the prawns, increase the heat and coat with the salted egg yolk sauce. The prawns should be slightly crispy and very rich tasting.

It's been a few weeks since I last posted dinner, great meals everyone. I'm particularly enamoured of robirdstx's grilled lobster and ribeye steak combo last week. An American classic that I need to make for myself, how did you get the tail to stay so straight? A skewer? Last couple of days I've cooked some old favourites; Char Siu and Chicken Rice: and yesterday i cooked Halibut for the first time. Simply fried and served over a saffron crab risotto, it was a really wonderful dish. The freshly cooked crab and halibut worked so well together. The dollop on top was the incredibly savoury brown meat, yum:

Any luck with your Alphonso mango hunt Nickloman? I bought three boxes of Alphonso from AK Supermarket last week but Goldens' have stopped selling them. You find that once the Pakistani "honey" mangoes come in they start to dominate the market. Though saying that there is a surefire source of all kinds of mango in Brum - the Wholesale Market. I went this morning and Alphonsos are £4.50 for 1/2 doz.

To the OP, C.Morris, hopefully you are still reading this thread and haven't been paralysed by all this useful info... because I have something to add. My first 'proper' knife was also the Shun cleaver, after using cheap stamped knives (so called Sabatier Chef's knives) for so many years the step-up was a revelation. I don't think I need to go into details again with all the converted here. What I found interesting about the Shun cleaver was that out of the box it didn't work like a Chinese cleaver because it has such a round belly. I only really appreciated this when I chipped it badly chopping up a poached chicken in the Cantonese manner bones and all. Of course I wouldn't do such a thing now but giddy with the newly found cutting power I rushed to do the job. I will never forget the hideous dinging sound as the edge chipped when I hit the thigh bone. These were big chips too, a good 2-3mm into the edge over 3cm of the middle of the blade, I was gutted. But I resolved it by getting a coarse diamond sharpening stone, ground out the chips and reshaped the blade altogether. I ended up with a flatter belly and it now cuts so much better than it did before. It actually cuts like a Chinese cleaver, straight up and down rather than by rocking. Even though I've gone on to acquire many more excellent knives, this cleaver is still my go-to. Now I'm not saying you should regrind your Shun cleaver because as it is it's still a great knife. I only did it out of necessity but for a Chinese cleaver it's too "rocking", I think you're missing out on the real experience of using a Chinese cleaver with superior steel. It may be something to consider after you buy your general purpose chef's knife. Btw if I was in the market for one I would consider the 240mm Hiromoto. I have the 270mm stainless slicer, it has great edge, easy to sharpen and good value for money, if the 240mm chefs is as good then I would not hesitate in getting one. Hope that has helped.

Don't go too early, they usually unload their vans around 10am at both those places. But most importantly don't buy it all up, save some for me!

I am your man for finding Indian mangoes in Brum. The alphonso season started infeasibly early this year, the first week in March - I've been keeping track of it in this thread here. The early season mangoes weren't great but the past two or three weeks they have been incredibly sweet. If you know Brum well then try: - Golden supermarket at the top of Springfield parade, Stratford Rd (about 0.25m from Jyoti's). They even have a car park. Rai & Chaudry at the opposite end of the parade will also do but inconvenient if you're driving. - A K Supermarket, Coventry Rd, Small Heath, opposite the park. The best fruit in the whole city. If they do not have Alphonso do not pass over the Badami or Kesar mangoes, they are just as good. Good hunting.

It's like you read my mind. Did my first bit of smoking this year, yesterday. Just some chicken and baby back ribs, in fact it was my first time bbqing ribs. The flavour was wonderful and it was a big hit. Though some bits were a bit over done but came out like sweet pork candy, not bad for a Chinese Brit eh? The trout looks spetacular btw

Thanks Kim but you forget I'm English of Cantonese descent; so catfish, dogfish, redfish, bluefish, anyfish is good for me!

Two very different dishes that called for caramel. Yesterday was Vietnamese Ca Kho or Catfish in caramel fish sauce. Tonight was spiced pear tart tatin, served with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream. It would have made for an interesting meal together. Can't think of many other savoury dishes with caramel though, is it only in Vietnamese cuisine that it occurs?

I've not been doing much cooking recently because I've been busy studying for some professional exams, but as long as Kim is then I know the Dinner thread is in safe hands This first dish was from a few weeks ago, wonderful Rogan Josh from Camellia Panjabi's book made with beef short ribs. I was reminded of it because there was another portion of it in the freezer and I ate it again today, it was lush: Whilst I was studying my wife made a spinach, goats cheese & potato quiche. It was her first attempt at pastry and we were both delighted with the result: The past couple of days have seen me back in the kitchen with time to cook. The first dish I made was my wife's favourite of fresh crab with freshly made vermicelli. I saw a recipe for asparagus & parmesan wrapped in brick pastry in the Times the other day that made a nice crispy accompaniment to the soft pasta and crab: The last of the game in the freezer was a wild duck. So it was simply roasted, served with potato dauphinoise, more asparagus and a marsala sauce:

Cheers for the tip fella. I popped in on my way home from work yesterday and picked up some lovely asparagus. It is as you say exactly what a farm shop should be like, great stuff. Ordered a whole Tamworth pig for next week too, £2.50 per kilo is comparable to what i've been getting from my usual supplier, so we'll see what the quality is like.

I have only ever used my takoyaki pan to make takoyaki! Can anyone think of any other uses? Making canapé sized omelettes maybe, or a very heavy and inefficient ice cube tray...

The best pasta I make is with duck eggs and saffron, like in the dish pictured. You don't need a lot of saffron either with the method I use. Buy saffron strands because the powdered stuff has little flavour and is more for colour. So for about 150g (about 2 portions) of flour take half a pinch of saffron strands and grind them in a mortar with a pinch of salt to a fine powder, then in the same mortar crack the duck egg yolks and a little water if required. Beat it well so all the saffron is incorporated, you literally only need a few strands with this method. The salt has a dual purpose of grinding the saffron and breaking down the eggs but not enough the affect the pasta, works a treat.

I know nothing of these chefs but from what I've seen I'm actually siding with Aiden. That Mountain geezer would wind me up no end, he's acting like a complete tool.

Strong, silent will do as a euphemism for idiot distracted by footie! Glad you all like the grub. The steak wasn't as marbled as some of the grain-fed beef porn you get in the US or Japan but the long aging made for tender and tasty eating. I know it was good because even though I'd sliced it up so meticulously I found myself gnawing at the bone anyway! Blether, that is a heavy 12" saute pan with a tight fitting lid made by Stellar. I know not of any of their other stuff but I know that this pan is a wonder. For such a big pan it has a short handle and you can stick the whole thing in the oven so it doubles up as a roasting pan too. It can easily hold a whole shoulder of lamb with the lid on. As for my pizza method, this was on the bigger side for me and took 15 mins in a 240C fan-assisted oven. I got some nice spring from the dough this time, crisp base, chewy crust, just right. My tomato sauce is made by softening shallot with garlic and dried chilli then adding canned tomato, tomato puree and a little ketchup. Cook for 15 mins max then blend. That's all, I like to keep it relatively neutral because the same tomato sauce will be adapted for other dishes.

Baked in foil in a very hot oven foil for 12mins or so. No never grilled, the smell would drive my missus nuts. I did use to do the cover with boiling water thing but it does dilute the intense smokey flavour too much for me.

Hmmm nice big sloppy pizza topped with my own homemade salami & chorizo, few onions, anchovy and three cheeses - smoked cheddar, tallegio and parmesan. It was touch and go whether it would slide off the peel but I've got the flick down nowadays, get in there: And a wing rib of Hereford beef, dry-aged for 6 weeks and done the slow method with butter. Served with a blue cheese, chicory & lettuce salad and chimichurri sauce which I forgot to photo: Edited to say: Whoops double post!!