Carlovski

Someone else mentioned this, but I concur, lemon zest really helps lift the dish, I sometimes even add a little lemon juice as well.

There was a sketch on a UK comedy show, where all the comedians are asian a while back which showed a big group of asians going for an 'English'. They took turns baiting each other to go for the Blandest thing on the menu, and then ordered 30 portions of chips!

I'd like to see ones that can actually be done well by home cooks, without needing extra equipment - e.g ones that can be cooked on a griddle, rather than in a tandoori oven.

I find a slug of toasted sesame oil gives something approximating the taste I get from my local (Not particularly high quality!) chinese.

There are a number of neighborhood type restaurants in the UK trying to jump on the contemporary indian bandwagon. Most of them can be summed up as offering the same food they always did, with different names, in smaller portions but with more fresh coriander. there are some good ones though.

Funny how most people put a maximum effort cap for a sandwich filling - you can spend hours cooking something to be served on a plate, with side dishes etc but any sandwich filling that tales more than 10 minutes isn't worth the effort. Slowly braised meat, thick with onions makes a great sandwich filling (I always thing it needs to be on a roll, rather than sliced bread - preferably a doughy, slightly chewy one) It also goes an incredibly long way - a coupl of kilo's of braised beef can make loads of sandwiches - good if you want to feed a load of people, and you don't even need to butter the bread!

Pasta and Rice - I tend to buy rice in 5/10 kg bags at a time, doesn't sound too bad, but as I only cook for myself, that is quite a lot! Pasta is because I always buy a bag/box or two whenever I go shopping, plus extra if I spy something particularly interesting.

One of the few dried herb mixes that is any use. I tend to stick to using it as a marinade/rub for pork and lamb. Especially Chops. Makes a great smell on the grill.

I was considering making a meal involving as many of Pepin's techniques as possible, especially all the amusing 'Cherry tomato Rabbit' type ones. I reckon I can get a good 20 -30 in there.

I always used to order a Mushroom double Swiss when in times of desperation (Normally hungry and waiting for a train - Big train stations nearly always have a BK franchise in the UK). Hardly anyone orders them, so you nearly always get a freshly made one! Of course you could be unlucky, and they decided to make one up that morning, and as I said, hardly anyone orders them... As someone who used to frequent such establishments, I'd say I find Burger King much better than McDonalds. But that still isn't saying much!

Ah, I didn't realise Shaun Hill was the Judge for the next round. I hope he felt guilty when he read your glowing review of the Merchant House on UKGourmet

Andy, Interesting stuff. Can I ask how you felt about the 'suggestions' of Bruce Poole? It seems to me that they stifled some of the creativity of your menu, and made it somewhat more restauranty (I think I just made that word up!), and 'safe'. Also, do you think your success on Masterchef was aided by the fact it was Shaun Hill as the guest chef? Your menu sounds like the sort of thing that would appeal to him - well balanced, fairly simple menu with bold flavours. I have seem some fairly awful things done in the name of presentation on Masterchef (Vegetables cut into the shape of tiny fish - And I think he actually won the whole thing)

Not as much for freezing as sitting in a big pan on the stove , but a wintertime staple is a hearty soup made with onions, pancetta, lentils and cannelini beans, spicked with a bit of chilli, and a glass of something alcoholic and slightly sweet - Marsala, Madeira or sherry usually. I warm up a portion of it in a separate pan, and add some sort of greens, to add a bit of freshness to the savoury depth. A last minute drizzle with olive oil and a copious amount of parmesan go well too. Another favourite is a sort of spanish lamb casserole I make. Cube some chorizo, and place on a medium heat in a big casserole dish with a small puddle of oil. Let the bright red fat come out and cook until they turn cripsy and coloured, remove and add cubed lamb which has been dusted with flour and pimenton. Cook in the chorizo infused oil (You may need to add some oil, depending how much fat the chorizo exuded) until well browned and then remove and place with the chorizo. Add a couple of chopped onions and a couple of cloves of garlic and sweat down on a medium heat. Add a Tin of tomatoes, add the meats and about 250 ml of dry sherry. Cook, covered in a 180 C oven for about an hour. Then add a couple of chunkily chopped red peppers, cook for a further 30 minutes, uncovering for the last 10 minutes or so. I sometimes add a tin or two of chickpeas - which makes it a complete meal, with a bit of bread, and maybe a salad. Add a good handful of chopped parsley - but not if you are going to freeze. And Chili of course. Somehow even better after freezing!

I can't think of a better use for it! If you have a great stock - a soup is the best way to show it off.

Always seems to me that the spinach in much of these spinach recipes is fairly redundant - I mean, cover a fairly mild tasting vegetable in bechamel, or a load of cream cheese and it could be anything! I seem to remember reading that there are two types of creamed spinach - the kind which actually does contain cream, or at least a 'creamy' sauce, and the kind that is simply spinach that has been slowly cooked for a long time in copious amounts of butter, until it an almost creamy texture - anyone have much experience of this kind? I am turning to the merits of frozen spinach though, perfectly fine for more robust treatments such as in sag dishes.

In the Uk there are are a lot of 'Tapas' places - not in the original sense of the word, but more like sit down restaurant type places, who serve Tapas like food. The quality is variable (There is a national chain, which is the most widespread, which has some reasonable things, and some really bad ones) - the independent, neighborhood style ones normally being better. There was also a bit of a boom in this sort of food in pub/pub-restaurants when Spanish food became 'The New Thai' (I know one place which went from serving Italian, to serving south-east asian to serving spanish food, in the space of three years!). As a Gastronomic experiences, none of these places are much good, but for an informal, fun meal with a group of people , with plenty of wine (Or sangria!) it can be good - the food is usually served quickly, you can try a wide variety of food, and it stimulates conversation - good for a post work on a Friday night for example. There is an interesting place near me which serves food in a similar style, but with a variety of food styles, all sourced with local ingredients. I went recently for a friends birthday, and that was quite enjoyable (If a little stingy on portions).

I personally don't see a problem - how is this different from a french restaurant serving oysters (Traditional sold on quaysides etc, as a food for the working classes).

Yeah, I have never really 'got' japanese food either. Also some of the textural elements of chinese cuisine - I don't really dig gelatinous and tastless!

Well I'd start by calling it 'thinly sliced' - not carpaccio. Sorry just one of my bugbears!

Great article Andy. That recipe sounds like just the sort of thing to whip up for a quick supper

The are not native to Britian, they were introduced in the late 16th.C from the Balkans, most likely as a Park specimen tree. Therefore, a cuisine is unlikely to have developed around them in the UK. yeah, same reason the italians don't eat tomatoes........

I loved the Moro cookbook (But I do have a bit of a thing for Chorizo, sherry and pimenton at the moment.). I find Nigel Slaters books handy for simple supper recipes, but one of the most useful ones I have got is the Conran cookbook, by Terence and Caroline Conran, along with Simon Hopkinson. There is a very good reference section (Most of the book in fact) covering pretty much every ingredient, along with availability, and pictures. The recipes are good, with some very 'Simon Hopkinsony' ones (If you have read any of his books, you know what I mean), but the best thing is the fantastic cross referencing througout the book - The recipes all link back to the relevant technique and/or ingredient and the ingredients link off to the recipes which use them.

All this Brining business is quite new to me, and I think must be more popular in the US than the UK. My question is, how is this different to the commercial processes which try and give the illusion of succulence to cheap supermarket meat? I try and buy meat that hasn't been injected with (admittedly a less wholesome liquid than straightforward brine) added liquid, at greater expense - why would I want to take it home and add my own?

If you look at the UK board, you will find a lot of mixed opinions. In the UK he went through a bit of a roller coaster of popularity. With the first couple of TV series, and books he was popular with pretty much everyone - he got a lot of people into food, had some good recipes and the programmes were entertaining. Then lots of other programmes stole the style of the show, and it no longer seemed as fresh. Then He sold his soul to Sainsburys, and after all his programmes where he is mates with his fishmonger, greengrocer and cheesemongers, and extolls the virtues of artisinal produce, he is popping up on every tv ad break, flogging supermarket crap. Jamie's Kitchen has sort of saved him in many peoples eyes, he comes across very honestly, and people have warmed to him again (Probably because not everything goes too smoothly - I won't spoil the plot here) The one issue I have with the programme is that it focussed too much on the 'problem' students, probably more entertaining TV, but the students who did turn up every week, and made good progress etc didn't get as much attention.

i don't get that at all. i'm not a St john man - can't get my mind round quails' heads and fried tripe - but how can anyone who likes food not go for lobster, caviar, scallops or foie gras??????????????? Well, there are plenty of people who don't 'Do' seafood (And yes, some of them do frequent high end restaurants). If they then also don't like offal, there isn't a lot left for them. Most menu's always have at least one 'Safe' (Or light - not a lot there for ladies who lunch either!) starter - a salad, pasta, soup or maybe a slightly less threatening terrine! etc. I personally think all starters sound good (And I am a sucker for a decent omelette Arnold bennett, even a mucked around with version!)