Pam Brunning

With pork, beef or lamb you can move it into a warming draw if you have one or turn the oven off and leave the door open a bit. With beef and lamb I give a joint at least 30min of its cooking time at 200°F anyway - I find it finishes cooking better that way. Chicken is a different kettle of fish. Whatever you do with it the steam from the inside will make the skin soggy - the best bet is to eat the skin straight away while it is still crisp!!

You have to have a really sharp knife with a good point - it is hard work with tough skin. My husband has talked for years of inventing an electric scorer with blades set at just the right depth but has never got round to it. If you score too deep it lets the juices out and they sog the crackling. All the pork joints in the supermarkets in the UK are just slashed and not properly scored. I just rub the rind with a little oil to keep it moist until the fat starts to melt. I slice some carrot and onion into a dark coloured pan and lay the pork on top, put some water in the pan enough to cover the veg and cook at 200C for about 2 hrs. Keep an eye on the water when it dries up and the veg starts to brown add more water. Rest the meat for about 20 min while you pour off the pan juices, skim the fat then use a spoonfull of fat to make a roux in the pan with a bit of flour, pour the juices back in the pan and boil up scraping all the crusty bits from around the pan. If I need more gravy I add some stock but this time I didn,t need to.

That lasagne looks great. Cold and wet Easter in the UK so decided on comfort food too. Roast pork - it was delicious with lot of yummy gravy. We finished the pork today for lunch on crusty bread.

Not normally into cheesecakes as the other half doesnt like the texture of them very much but this one is a cheesecake for people that dont like cheesecake! It is very light and refreshing.

We reviewed The Fat Duck for the IWFS journal Food & Wine in 2005. For anyone interested my report is below. I won’t bore with all the photos it is just bits on plates the same as it is today, in fact it doesn’t sound as though it has changed much, still very expensive theatre! Pam Brunning report for IWFS F&W The Top Restaurant on the Planet When is a restaurant not a restaurant? When it is the Fat Duck – it is pure theatre. When Ruth Reichl, editor in chief of the legendry US food magazine Gourmet landed at Heathrow she was asked by passport control, “Business or pleasure?” “I’ve come to eat,” she told him. “Business then,” he replied brusquely. “Nobody comes to London to eat for pleasure. I wish you luck love. Don’t you know that English food is terrible?” Ms Reichl and her team of restaurant critics proved him wrong. “The food across all levels is fantastic,” was her verdict. She enthused about everything from a toasted cheese and onion sandwich, made with Montgomery cheddar and thick slabs of French Poilâne bread, from a stall in Borough Market, to the gastronomic heights of The Fat Duck. Our visit was instigated by the gift of a voucher for dinner, received from some very close friends (IWFS members) that insisted we could not go through life without telling them exactly what we thought of Heston Blumenthal’s revolutionary techniques. Three days after I booked the Restaurant Association announced that The Fat Duck had been voted top restaurant in the world. So, just a week after the award, at 7pm, on a wet April evening we sat with bated breath awaiting the sixteen course tasting menu with accompanying wines, compiled by a man that is said to be ‘turning gastronomy on its head’. Act 1. Green Tea & Lime Mousse poached in liquid nitrogen. The mousse was sprayed into a spoon then immersed in a bowl of liquid nitrogen. It emerged hard and ‘smoking’ – pop it straight in the mouth we were told. A crisp cold shell that dissolved into an ethereal lime flavour on the palate, a great performance Act 2. An oyster shell containing two slithers of oyster sitting on a bed of passion fruit jelly and horseradish cream finished with a thin paper thin crisp of caramel laced with pepper. The oyster was inconsequential, the horseradish and pepper heightened the palate bringing the passion fruit through rich and creamy. Act 3. Pommery Grain Mustard Ice cream drizzled around with red cabbage gazpacho. The ice cream was fine once you have got your brain around savoury ice cream. The gazpacho was by far the worst flavour of the evening – rotting cabbages. Reminiscent of my childhood when we lived next to a field of cabbage that was often left to rot when the bottom fell out of the market. Act 4. Jelly of Quail, Langoustine Cream with a Parfait of Foie Gras. A pepper crisp again garnishing a teaspoon portion of the parfait, floating in the Langoustine cream, which hid a layer of quail jelly in the bottom of the dish. Delicious, subtle flavours that melded well together. With the above courses we drank a Lustau Fino Sherry from southern Spain. Act 5. The infamous Snail Porridge. The thought of this dish is the reason I didn’t get himself here sooner. What a revelation, don’t think snail liquidised into a porridge, as most people do. A thick soup of cooked oats with parsley and garlic butter swirled in to give a bright fresh green appearance and good flavour, topped with half a dozen snails (cooked, naked snails contrary to some of the cartoons in the press!), garnished with a julienne of Jabugo ham and shaved fennel. An fascinating dish, served with a very pleasant 2002 Grüner Velliner Smaragd Achleiten, Nikolaihof from Austria. Act 6. Roast Foie Gras. A small (approx. 3cm) square of perfectly cooked foie gras dusted with fresh chamomile, with a garnish of almond fluid gel, two streaks of cherry preserve and a cherry. Wine, a 2003 Tokaji Furmint, Szent Tamas, Szepsy from Hungry. Act 7. Sardine on Toast Sorbet. Another much maligned dish, no it’s not sorbet made with sardines on toast. A teaspoon of sardine flavoured sorbet served on two wafer thin slices of marinated daikon (mouli), a small ballotine of boned mackerel, some pearls of caviar and a thin tuile of toast on top, an interesting combination. With this we drank 2002 Riesling Trocken, Gold-Quadrant, S. Kuntz, Mosel. Act 8. Salmon Poached with Liquorice. Another small square, this time wrapped in a very thin liquorice coat. The salmon, poached slowly, was moist and so translucent that it appeared to be raw. This was served with two spears of ‘Pertuis’ asparagus, pink grapefruit, ‘Mammi’ olive oil and a grating of liquorice which was performed by the waiter with a flourish. One of the most outstanding dishes, but just as you were really starting to enjoy the flavours they were gone! The 2001 La Grolaigt Veneto, Allegrine fron Italy with this was the best wine paring of the evening. Act 9. Poached Brest of Anjou Pigeon Pancetta. The pigeon was lightly cooked, pink, juicy and very tender. The pancetta, filled with meat, quatre épices and pistachio, was crisp and delicious, a lovely contrast of textures. Another great course, I could have eaten a double portion of this one too. The wine was 2002 Yerring Station, Shiraz-Vionier, from the Yarra Valley. A hard wine that needed more ageing but softened a little with the pigeon. Good, plain brown and white bread was served with the option of salted or unsalted butter. We kept stocked up on this as we had been told by friends that they went home hungry. The next three courses we felt constituted the ‘interval’. Acts 10. A white chocolate disc with some beads of caviar on top which we were told to place on our tong and leave to melt. Fine, white chocolate and fish - I think I missed the point of that one. Act 11. Mrs Marshall’s Margaret Cornet - a tiny cone of ginger ice cream with which we were given a card telling us the story of Mrs Agnes B. Marshal ‘The Queen of Ice Cream’, the first person to make ice cream using liquid gas in 1901. Act 12. Pine Sherbet Fountain – a tub of sherbet with a straw – a miniature of the ones we used to have as kids – the trouble was mine was empty! With these was a tiny box of parsnip crisps. Act 13. Mango and Douglas Fir Puree with a Bavarois of Lychee and Mango with blackcurrant sorbet. Beautifully presented, the bavarois was light and creamy but once the resinous flavour of pine hit the palate it overpowered the subtle flavours of the lychees. The blackcurrant sorbet was also very intense. With this was served 1989 Beerenauslese Reichgraf von Kesselstada. Act 14. Carrot and Orange Tuile topped with a Bavarois of Basil accompanied by beetroot jelly. After so many sweet things the savoury bavarois was quite an assault to the taste buds. Act 15. Smoked Bacon and Egg Ice Cream with pain perdu and tea jelly. A creamy ice cream with a slightly savoury, smoky flavour, resting on a purée of sun dried tomatoes accompanied by a square of bread that was caramelised on the outside and soft and moist in the centre. I am not sure where the ‘perdu’ came in, my dictionary it translates as waisted, ruined, sunk or god-forsaken! Along side was served an egg cup of tea jelly. On the whole we found the sweet courses disappointing. A glass of 1984 Vin Santo, C. Argiros from Greece was satisfactory. Act 16. Praline Rose Tartlet, a tiny crisp praline shell filled with a rose jelly. The Finale - Coffee was not included in the £97.50 a head tasting menu, by this time we decided hell, what was another £4.50 a head! One cup of good strong coffee served with Leather, oak and tobacco chocolates. The tobacco were very like a good cigar, soft and cool to start and then the heat hit you at the back of the throat. The leather and oak were rather nondescript. The staff put on a brilliant performance, every one was word perfect in their detailed knowledge of the composition of the dishes and the wines and the service was impeccable. The wines, served in Ridel glasses of course, were interesting, some matching the food better than others. We thought that £67.50 a head for what were rather meagre portions was rather over the top. There was better value to be had selecting from their vast wine list. I had a chat with the maestro himself, a quite, unassuming man who has not let fame got to his head. He oversees nearly 40 people, working in a very confined space, the atmosphere is relaxed and happy, and they are obvious gaining much enjoyment from what they are achieving. Service at 12.5% was £42.44. A once in a life time experience, I am told. I think my next report will be on a sandwich in Borough Market! The Infamous Snail Porridge

I get freeze dried raspberries from European Freeze Dry www.europeanfreezedry.com and they do raspberry powder and I think they ship worldwide - its worth a try. It comes under Home Ingredients.

Many thanks for the pie recipe Blether

Hi Anna Can you explain what a Chinese pork docker is like and post a photo of it please - I am very interested. Does anyone know where you can get one in the UK. I have looked on Google but can't find one.

Decided to try ground elder soup this year as we have a lot in our wild garden. For those interested it is also called ‘gout weed’ - so if you enjoy a drink and suffer, this is the stuff for you! I made a light vegetable stock - boiled a potato in it - to give a bit of thickening and just wilted a bunch of well washed leaves in the stock then liquidised and sieved it. It was a very subtle flavour - I think I will use a few more leaves next time but it was very enjoyable. No need to worry about getting gout in the spring now!

The chicken and the pie look great. That pastry looks relay flaky - I would love the recipe too! How long did you brine the chicken for? We used to sell our own cured chicken in our farm shop - it was very popular. It roasted up nice and brown like yours, we used brown sugar in the cure. I now have to go and do something with half a leg of lamb. We had the other half the other night, it was good flavour but a bit tough roast pink, so I am going to pot roast this piece I think.

That taramasalata looks good Blether - havn't made it for ages - you have inspired me, must get some cod's roe next time out. I bet it costs more over here. Isn't it smoked as well as salted?

Egale that is the whole point I am making - yes I know processed foods are laden with salt. They are also laden with MSG to an alarming amount. They are both natural products but poison in a large quantity. That is the reason I stick to making everything myself. See http://www.laleva.org/eng/2005/05/obesity_epidemic_caused_by_monosodium_glutamate.html

Le Creuset is wonderful on my induction hob as you can heat it up vey slowly but I never had any problem with cracking on gas. Of course you will get better browning and caramelization in raw cast iron, as it is a dark colour. Anything cooked in a dark pan browns better. I always use dark pans in the oven for roasting, particularly potatoes, it makes all the difference to browning. Cakes baked in light pans will be lighter in colour than those baked in a dark pan. ‘Gourmet’ proved this years ago in their development kitchens.

Thanks all. To tea smoke I put a double layer of foil, scrunched up a bit, in the bottom of the wok then spread over about 60g of Assam tea mixed with 2 tbs. dark brown sugar and put a rack on top - not touching the tea but low enough to get a lid on. Put your fillets on the rack, cover and put on a high heat. I reckon it takes 10 minutes to get to temperature, I then give it about 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets. Switch off the heat and leave for 5 minutes without taking the lid off to finish smoking. Sea trout fillets are lovely done this way and I have done duck breast but they take a lot longer of course. The wok I keep for this job, is quite thick cast aluminium, times will vary with the thickness of the wok. I used a tin one once and it didn’t work very well. Even with the extractor on the whole house pongs of smoke, but it’s not a bad smell and it is worth it! I love samphire but it has to be young shoots as it gets very woody when older.

Those fish look good and so does that smoothie but unfortunately if I had one of those I would be acid all day! Waiting for bacon to come out of cure so, as I had some crumpets, I made this today. I fried the crumpets until nice and crisp (I always fry in sunflower oil) then topped it with well caramelised sliced tomato then mushrooms and finished with an egg, yum yum!

Thank you to all for your help. Here we are, first I filleted the top third and tea smoked it on my wok for 14 minutes from cold. It was very good, good texture and subtle flavour. Last night I put the rest of the fish in foil on a bed of samphire with a little lemon grass, red chilli and seasoning - not too much salt because the samphire is salty. I poured over some dry vermouth, sealed it and baked for ½ hour until the point of my knife came out of the centre of the fish just warm. Filleted it and served with a hollandaise sauce thinned with the reduced vermouth juice. The fish had a firm flesh, slightly sweet flavour, which was added to by the vermouth and the samphire had stewed in the fish juice. The only down side was that the vermouth had spoilt the bright green colour of the samphire but it was all yummy!

Thank you Doc for your comments. I will certainly keep up the red wine medicine - I have been on it for many years! Having lived on a farm for over 50 years I have indulge in cream, butter, cheese, eggs, all types of meat with a good proportion of fat to give it good flavour - in fact all the things, that according to the medics, are bad for me. BUT I have never had a Big Mac. I believe that if you eat proper food and not processed junk that is full of trans fats and chemical additives and that you are also careful to buy your raw materials from reliable sources, it must be the right way to live. I try to make every thing we eat, and then if we eat out occasionally it won't matter if a dish contains something nasty! As for salt - wars were fought over salt - it is one of the most maligned substances around today. Remember Salt is the policeman of taste, it keeps the various flavours of a dish in order and restrains the stronger from tyrannising over the weaker Malcolm De Chazal. Salt is essential not only to life but to good health. You have around 250 grams, a cup full, of salt in your body, working to keep you alive human blood contains 0.9% salt. Salt enhances the inherent flavour of foods and magnifies their aromas. There is always an optimal amount of salt required to bring the flavour of any ingredient to its peak, this is where the experience of the chef comes to the fore in well crafted dishes. It takes years of knowledge to be able to add just the right amount of salt so that it cannot be individually identified. The three main ingredients in murdering beautiful food are salt, fat and sugar, says Raymond Blanc. All enhance flavour but when they are overused, they slaughter it. Salting of vegetables is a very precise art as the length of cooking time is relative to the amount of salt taken up. Potatoes boiled for 20 minutes will take up much more salt from the water than green beans, which only take 5 minutes. My point is that if you dont eat processed foods that are full of salt, the amount of salt used to just enhance flavours wont overload your system to excess. I agree angevin a large plate of food is a complete turn off. I cant come to terns with your Thai and Vietnamese theory though - surely you will be loading on MSG to start with??

Yes they are farmed - just try googleing it. I like the idea of smoking a fillet, I think I will tea smoke it like I do salmon. Thanks.

I have just bought a lovely wild grey mullet - 1.25 Kg anyone have any good ideas of the best way to cook it?

I like the look of the pork chops and the chicken. I had a duck crown so decided to slow roast it for a change, I never seem to get the skin crisp enough for my liking when it is still pink. It crisped up beautifully and the celeriac, parsnips and sweet potato I roasted underneath it were good too. I served it with red wine sauce.

Hi Nadyacat What colour is the green chilli aioli? I always think as aioli as a rich mayonnaise as opposed to a much lighter hollandaise made with hot butter. I would think you best purée the chillies first and pass through a sieve and stir into the mayonnaise - bit tedious but that might do it.

Last night I did what I call my ‘west meets east’ chicken curry. Lots of cardamoms, cumin seeds, ginger, chilli flakes all laced with tinned tomatoes and yoghurt and finished with crème fraîche. Yum Yum

Many thanks all. We lunched at Washbourne Court some years ago and it was excellent, has anyone eaten there recently? I rather favour trekking over to the Walnut Tree if nothing else comes up but there is plenty of time yet.

I have been trying restaurants in the Thames valley recently with a view to organising a spring lunch for our local members. I thought I had found somewhere when we had a good lunch at Danesfield House the other week. I negiociated an all inclusive price for 20 - 30 people in one end of the Orangery restaurant then they told me I would have to pay £200 room hire on top!! That was the end of that. Today, it being a lovely day we decided to try Boulters Restaurant at Boulters Lock, Maidenhead. I have known this place for many years and it has a checkered history. It has recently had a £2.5 million refit and they have done an excellent job. Light, bright and airy with fantastic views down the river and the big plus - the food was good and the place was buzzing. Head chef is Daniel Woodhouse who has been with the Roux Group amongst others. The cuisine is modern British and our lunch was light, beautifuly presented and full of distinctive flavours. Terrine of chicken, leek & foie gras, with apple chutney & toasted brioche had a good proportion of foie gras layered with the chicken. The fillet of rainbow trout was served on a bed of very flavoursome Lyonnaise potatoes with perfectly cooked curly kale and celeriac puree. This was dressed with a foam with an interesting flavour - a lighter celeriac fragrance? Puds were very good too. Nougatine parfait and apricot coulis was served with intensely flavoured caramelised apricots. A very light well risen lemon meringue pie souffle was served with raspberry ice cream that was pronounced a bit too sharp. We had a very good Rose Prosecco at £23.50 2 courses - £14.95, 3 courses - £19.95 They gave me a very reasonable all inclusive for a Saturday lunch at the end of April. It is good find some places that are keen to do business.

David, The Sportsman wowed me the first time we went, that is why we went back. The food was still good but the service was appalling and no one explained their pricing system before we ordered - once again down to bad service, that was what I complained about. As I had told the people that we took how wonderful it was it was embarrassing to say the least. I gather the service is now very good and I hope in some small way my moans helped to put things right and that they are going from strength to strength. It is no good to praise everything when there are holes or they will never get things right.