Panko Crusted Tofu with Lemongrass Broth, Noodles and Poached Eggs.

I've had a weekend of solitude and of relaxation, mix that with the return of Masterchef the Professionals and I start cooking - a lot! I had some smoked tofu to use up from earlier in the week and on researching tofu recipes, I came across this interesting Japanese influed recipe frmo Bon Appetit (all recipe credit goes to them, of course). This is a very nourishing and healthy recipe with a lot of interesting flavours and textures. I have changed the text in the recipe a litte bit as well as teh ingredients to match what I had to use on the day.

Panko Crusted Tofu with Lemongrass Broth, Noodles and Poached Eggs.

I have tried to organise this in sequential order for you to follow.

Serves 1 


Radishes and Tofu

• 5 small radishes, trimmed, sliced
• 50ml organic cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 packet of firm tofu - sliced thickly
•  2 tablespoons cornstarch
•  2 large egg whites
• 1/2 box of panko breadcrumbs 
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon  sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• Vegetable oil

• Mix radishes, cider vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt in small bowl. Cover; leave to absorb for 1 hour.
• Stack several layers of paper towels on work surface. Arrange tofu on towels; drain 30 minutes, patting tops dry occasionally.
• Whisk cornstarch and egg whites in shallow dish until cornstarch dissolves. Put panko breadcrumbs into another shallow dish. Mix salt, sugar, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder in small bowl.
• Working with 1 piece at a time, sprinkle tofu on both sides with salt mixture. Dip tofu into egg-white mixture, then crumb mixture to coat on all sides. Put to one side.

Lemongrass Broth

Ingredients

• 500ml water
• 1 handful of coarsely chopped cabbage
• 1 large white onion, coarsely chopped
• 4 fresh mushrooms
•  2 large whole lemongrass stalks, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
• 1 large head of garlic, cut crosswise in half
• 1/3 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 cup (packed) chopped fresh mint
• 1/3 cup (packed) chopped fresh tarragon

• Combine first 6 ingredients in large pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes.
• Turn off heat under broth. Add basil, mint, and tarragon. Steep for 15 minutes. Strain into another large pot, pressing on solids in strainer. Boil until reduced to enough for cover your portion of noodles. Season with salt and pepper.
  Noodles, Garnishes and Poached Eggs
  • Soba Noodles (enough for one portion - personal preference!)
  • 1/2 tablespoon hoisin sauce 
  • 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 large egg
  • Lemongrass Broth
  • 6 Radicchio leaves coursely chopped
  • Cook noodles in large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water to cool quickly and drain again. Transfer to large bowl; mix in hoisin and oil to coat.
  • Add enough oil to a pan to reach depth of 3/4 inch. H. Fry tofu, 4 pieces at a time, until golden brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
  • Bring Lemongrass Broth to simmer in large pot. Add radicchio. Add noodles; simmer 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Poach your egg (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/technique/how-poach-egg)
     Transfer each egg to small bowl. Add broth, noodles, and vegetables.  Top with 2 tofu pieces. Serve pickled radishes and eggs (eggs should be added to soup so yolks will enrich broth).
  
  
  
  
  
  

Busaba Eathai: The Start of a Saucy Relationship.

Busaba Eathai is one of those smaller chain restaurants that had always faded into the background for me. But that was because I didn't really know anything about it. What was this mysterious Asian-sounding enigma? One day I decided to do a little internet research. 

Busaba Eathai was created ten years ago by Alan Yau and calls itself a "casual dining chain" with 9 restaurants around London. But this year they've announced that they plan to double their estate over the next three years including two new London restaurants for 2014. 

Having limited experience in Thai cuisine myself, we decided to give it a try before seeing the anxiously awaited Veronica Mars film (It made my life - Veronica and Logan forever). I started with a Grapefruit Mojito with Vanilla, Mint, Lime and Chilli. I must say that I am not a fan of mojitos in general and don't understand the general excitement that surrounds them but this was absolutely delectable. Tart yet sweet and incredibly fresh grapefruit juice combined with a web of complex and intricate flavours. Plus there wasn't too much mint - my main issue with mojitos. 

To eat, I had the Sen Mee - which is only described as 'beef, capellini, spring onion and dried chilli'. I was presented with a heaving plate of fragrant, moreish noodles dispersed by tender, succulent beef, fresh spring onions, garlic and chilli with a good smack of heat. I could not stop shoveling this into my mouth. It was extremely undignified and I could have eaten a second plate (my tongue said yes, my belly said later). The most interesting part of the dish was the lashings of egg that runs through the dish. It was the perfect touch of umami to an already fantastic plate of food. 

After this first visit, I was quick to tell friends about the experience and returned just a few weeks later to a different location. This time, feeling extremely confident about what awaited me, I was less apprehensive in ordering. 

Straight for the hard stuff, I ordered a Green Tea infused Whisky Cocktail with Pineapple and Honey. Again the flavour combinations were spectacular and the usual bitter taste of green tea was enhanced perfectly by the honeys sweetness. I was so infatuated by my memories of Sen Mee that I did order it again, this time with a side of Chicken Wings with Pandan Leaf. Although appearing measly in size, these crispy and rich little morsels were not lacking in taste. There were different to any chicken wings I have tried before and I welcomed the change, proving an extremely versatile dish. My dining partner ordered the Southern Fish Curry made with Tilapia, which had a beautifully fragrant and silky sauce. Tilapia is one of my favourite fish and it brings back memories of when I first moved to London - everyone should visit Club 182, Wembley. This curry was served with a very generous fillet, which did the fish justice.

So as Busaba Eathai expands it's empire, I hope that they a.) open a restaurant near to my house - please come to South West London, and b.) I also thoroughly suggest you give them a visit. Even if it's for a quick bite to eat - the atmosphere is lovely, the food sumptuous and the prices great value. 

Breakfast at Holborn Dining Room

It may not be as catchy as Breakfast at Tiffanys, but that doesn't mean you should be any less enthralled by the classy charm of Rosewood London's newest edition, The Holborn Dining Room.

Attending for a leisurely breakfast on a beautiful Saturday morning, we were greeted and sat in a cosy booth for two. With all the character of a Parisian bistro and the sophistication of The Savoy, this airy and stylish dining room is instantly enchanting.

Staff were delightful although we we're frequented by a number of different servers and very keen to offer up their knowledge and passion for the different dishes.

We started with a fresh mint tea and a refreshing earl grey, followed by a fresh grapefruit juice that had the perfect balance of sweet and sharp. I dined on Poached Eggs, Kale and Holborn Beans, while my companion sampled Eggs Benedict and Crushed Avocado and Tomato on English Muffin.

My beautiful mounds of delicate, white flesh burst with the satisfying and vibrant egg yolk that accompanies a perfect poached egg, soaking my kale and merging with my beans. The 'holborn beans' were deliciously sweet and smoky, made with luscious pancetta and cooked for over a day to develop their flavour. I could have eaten double the portion of this dish and perhaps some hot, buttered sourdough on the side for dipping and scooping.

The perfect poaching and fresh yolks continued with the Eggs Benedict, covered with a delectably rich hollandaise and crisp toasted muffin. One of the stand out components to our meal was the avocado, one of the ripest and most creamy fruits we have come across in a while - unusual for Britain. Mixed with juicy, sweet tomato and layered onto a sumptuous muffin base, this particular dish did not last very long. 

The whole experience was a delight and we plan to return for dinner very soon! 

Easy Weeknight Puttanesca

Is anyone else still feeling a little bit lazy post Christmas and wishing they'd done a little more lying around and a little less doing "stuff"? The return to work has definitely been a shock to the system for me and I'm lacking any kind of energy in the evening to cook. 

The temptation to order pizza is growing greater but with this date night standard pasta recipe, you'll be glad that you got.off the sofa. Plus you won't have those greasy cardboard boxes to deal with.

Fresh Pasta with Puttanesca Sauce

This recipe is sans olives. I would recommend including a handful of chopped black olives at the end.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
Fresh Pasta (type and amount is to your discretion)
2 cloves of Garlic, crushed
5 fresh Plum Tomatoes, chopped into chunks
1 tin of Plum Tomatoes
100ml Red Wine (I recommend a Sangiovese)
5 tinned Anchovies, finely chopped
1tbsp Capers, finely chopped
1 Shallot, finely chopped
A Hunk of Butter
1tsp Dried Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Heat a saucepan, add your hunk of butter, crushed garlic, anchovies, capers and oregano. Stir for a few minutes until the mixture gains colour.

Add your shallots and fresh tomato and turn down the heat. You want to sweat these until soft in the already fragrant mixture.

When the shallots and tomatoes have softened, add the red wine and increase the heat. You want to boil off the alcohol content aggressively for a minute or so.

Now add your tin of Plum tomatoes and simmer for ten minutes until you've got a luscious, thick ragu-like sauce. Add any salt and pepper at the end of the cooking process.

I served mine with a fresh garden salad (dressed with olive oil), garlic ciabatta.... and the rest of that Sangiovese!

A Winter Salad

Let's face it, we've all over indulged during the Christmas period. The warm fuzzy feeling has worn off and we're all left feeling a little regretful and wobbly. Or is it just me? But winter doesn't have to mean stews and roast dinners, there are some beautiful vegetables in season and it's time we remembered them.

Winter Beetroot Salad with a Wholegrain Mustard Dressing and Fresh Spinach

Serves 2

3 Different Beetroot varieties (try to get hold of a Golden Beetroot for its delicate sweetness)

1 Small Packet of Fresh Baby Spinach

1 Small Red Onion

1 tbsp Whole Grain Mustard

1 Garlic Clove, thinly sliced

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp Cider Vinegar

Method

Roast your beetroots and red onion in the oven for 1 hour at 160C.

Let them cool slightly before thinly slicing your beetroots and red onion. 

Mix together in a bowl with the baby spinach.

In a jug or small container, mix your mustard, garlic, cider vinegar. 

Slowly add the olive oil, whilst whisking the mixture.

Pour over your salad and use tongs (or your well washed hands!) to ensure the dressing covers every little leaf.

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans with Colcannon

For a few months now, we've been getting a weekly mini veg box from Riverford Farm. It's something we've always considered, but they managed to get Rob to sign up on a door to door visit and it's completely changed the way we're eating. Each box delivery is an exciting event as I never know what's coming (although I could look online but that would be cheating). They also gave us a fantastically thick Riverford cookbook for all our vegetable using needs. We've had to be a lot more creative in our food and generally only need to buy some meat if necessary for our dish. So here is a recipe for a veggie filled delight, plus a naughty bit of bacon.

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans with Colcannon

Serves One

Ingredients

Fresh Green Beans

4 Rashers of Bacon/Pancetta (preferably streaky smoked bacon)

Two Medium Potatoes

A Handful of Cabbage/Kale or another Leafy Green

Butter for Mashing

Salt and Pepper

Gravy to Serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Prepare your green beans by washing, trimming the tops and bottoms and then separate into two piles.

Wrap each pile with two rashers of bacon and season with salt and pepper.

Place into a small baking dish with a drizzle of olive oil and place into the oven for 25 minutes (or until the bacon is as crispy as you prefer)

Boil your potatoes until soft. I like to keep the skins on for extra nutrients but you can peel them before boiling if you prefer. 

Wash and slice your cabbage or other leafy green into strips.

Once your potatoes are soft, drain them and mash with a knob of butter. You can also add a bit of cream here if you'd like for an extra touch of luxury.

Add your greens to the mash and stir through. 

Transfer your mash/greens mixture to a hot, well oiled or buttered frying pan and saute for 2 minutes to ensure you've got a few extra crispy bits.

Serve your parcels with the mash and a nice helping of gravy.

Lancashire Hot Pot

The lack of warm weather (is it June already?), is really starting to get to me. When the sun does come out, it's generally accompanied by a bitter wind and my summer clothes are still safely packed up in the top of my wardrobe. Although Lancashire Hot Pot is the perfect meal for cold, winter nights, I think this year's "summer" allows us to extend the cosy menu for a little bit longer.

Lancashire Hot Pot is both one of mine and Rob's favourite dishes. It is the easiest dinner to cook and tastes fantastic. We've both explored different recipes for this classic and between us have come up with our ideal version. With about 10 minutes of prep, plus an hour and a half in the oven. You can put your feet up and turn the TV on whilst you wait for the oven to work its magic.

Lancashire Hot Pot

Serves 2

Ingredients

400g Lamb Neck Fillet

1 Large White Onion

2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

1 Large Baking Potato

250ml Lamb Stock (preferably homemade)

Salt and Pepper

20g Butter

Method

Preheat your oven (non fan) to 180C.

Chop your lamb neck into generous chunks and season with salt and pepper. 

Finely slice your white onion.

Mix the lamb and the onion together and put into a deep casserole dish.

Place your fresh thyme on the top of the mixture.

Using a mandoline (or your awesome knife skills), slice your potato width ways as thinly as possible.

Make up your stock and pour over the filling until it just reaches the top of the lamb. It's best to err on the side of caution with the stock as you don't want your pot to be too watery. Don't worry if you have some left over. We used a homemade lamb stock (made up from lamb carcass, carrots, onions, butter and herbs), but a stock cube or stock pot would also be fine.

Lay your potatoes on the top. Slightly overlap them so you're covering the entire dish.

Sprinkle some black pepper over the top and dot bits of butter onto the potatoes.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. If the top is becoming too crispy, cover it with a lid or tin foil.

Grilled Marinated Lamb and Stove Top Dauphinoise

Weekends. They call for long, lazy cooking for delicious and indulgent dinners. I like to spend at least one day at the weekend exploring a new recipe from one of my books, taking my time while I prepare it and enjoying the warm fullness I feel as my head hits the pillow. Weeknight meals are often quick, rushed and convenient (unless you fancy eating at 10pm - which is fine for Rob but a little less ideal for me), so the indulgence to be able to cook anything I like on a lazy Saturday or Sunday is enough to get me excited for the weekends.

Grilled Marinated Lamb and Stove Top Dauphinoise

If you're stuck for a weekend meal, this one is a good mix of quick and slow. The slowness coming from the overnight lamb marinade and dauphinoise and then a final quick grilling of the lamb that fills your kitchen with the most delectable scent. These recipes come from Nigel Slater's Real Food.

Serves 2

Lamb Ingredients

- 4 large Garlic Cloves (crushed)

- 2 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

- 4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- 2 tsp Herbes de Provence

- Freshly Ground Black Pepper

- 2 Lamb Fillets (about 250g each - I would recommend Neck Fillets)

Dauphinoise Ingredients

- 500g Waxy Potatoes (Charlotte or Maris Peer are the best for this)

- 1 packet chopped Pancetta

- 2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)

- 2 Handfuls Fresh Rocket (Arugula)

- 200ml Double Cream

- 100ml Whole Milk

- 30g Grated Fresh Parmesan

Method

Mix together all your ingredients for the lamb marinade and massage into your lamb fillets. Leave overnight if you can, but if you're doing it on the same time then make sure you leave it for at least an hour.

Thinly slice your potatoes. If you've got a mandoline then that is ideal, but if not then take your time with a sharp knife to get some thin slices.

Fry your potato slices with some butter until they are beginning to brown slightly.

Add your pancetta cubes and fry until they are nice and crispy. 

Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so.

Add your rocket to the pan with the double cream and milk. If you can add a lid to your pan at this point then that's perfect. I didn't have a lidded frying pan, so I made a substitute lid out of tin foil. 

Cook at a low/medium heat for 10 minutes.

While your potatoes are cooking away, take a griddle pan (ideally) and get it nice and hot. Add the lamb and give it a good press down so that grill lines will start to form on the meat. 

Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes. You want your lamb to still be pink inside. Cook for longer if you like you're not a fan of this. 

Remove the lamb from the pan and place on a chopping board. Cover with tin foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid from your dauphinoise and stir in a your fresh parmesan. Cook for a few more minutes and then remove from the heat.

You're now ready to serve! :)

River Cafe Risotto Milanese

Risotto is one of those dishes that I have always struggled with. The same could be said for rice in general. It seems to be my downfall. Last year I tried a Sausage, Red Wine and Broad Bean Risotto, which was the most successful that I'd been but it was far from traditional. It was time to take it back to basics and learn from the best. Recently having purchased the original River Cafe Cook Book from a charity shop, we have been working our way through Italian classics. I am now in love with the idea of spending a summer in Italy, exploring different pizzas, pastas and wine and pottering round on a Vespa in a white sundress. Finally, I have discovered why risotto is so often raved about. The Risotto alla Milanese is a rich, creamy and satisfying dish and although it does take a lot of love and attention to achieve, the finished result is well worth the effort.  

Risotto alla Milanese 

from The River Cafe Cook Book

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
300g Arborio or Carnaroli Rice
1 litre Chicken Stock
150g Butter
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 White Onion, peeled and finely chopped
75ml Dry White Wine
175g Parmesan, freshly grated

Method

Heat the chicken stock. 

Melt 75g of the butter and all the oil in a large saucepan. 

Gently fry the onion until soft. 

Add the rice, and off the heat, stir until the rice becomes totally coated; this takes only a minute. 

Return to the heat, add 1 cup of hot stock and simmer, stirring, until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid. 

Add the saffron. 

Continue to add more stock as the previous addition is absorbed. 

Nearly all the stock will have been absorbed by the rice; each grain should have a creamy coating and yet still be al dente. 

Add remaining butter in small pieces, the wine and the parmesan, being careful not to overstir. 

Mexican't.

Editor's Note: This post is purely my personal opinion on a popular restaurant chain. We should be able to enjoy all of the food we pay for - whether it be a fast food chain or a Michelin starred restaurant.

I want to take a minute to talk about big corporate chain restaurants. In London, these seem to be the places that attract a lot of tourists because people like familiarity and that they know what they're going to get. Often these chain restaurants are owned by a larger group. The one I want to talk about particularly today is The Restaurant Group PLC that own Frankie and Bennys, Garfunkels and Chiquito (to name the most well known). 

I must admit I've never been to a Garfunkels but when I was younger (2005 - 2008 era) I did enjoy Frankie and Bennys and Chiquito. Frankie and Bennys has continued to remain just about acceptable to me, but I felt that Chiquito had seriously declined in quality. I hadn't given it a chance for quite a few years, so when the opportunity arose to visit, I thought I had better give it one final chance. 

"Here at Chiquito we’re passionate about food! Our dishes are made with the tastiest of ingredients, packed full of flavour to really tantalise your taste buds. Whether you’re looking for a tasty treat or a light bite, our menu features this and much, much more! Sizzling specials, hot fajitas or Mexican favourites for the more adventurous."

Rob and I booked at table for 6pm on Saturday night at the Leicester Square branch. No stranger to a constant stream of people, this location should run like a well oiled machine. We thought booking at 6pm was a safe bet as this is very early for a Saturday night dinner in the capital. Arriving in Leicester Square (a place we usually avoid like the plague) was an ordeal in itself and we had to fight out way through hoards of tourists to reach the restaurant.

We arrived a little early (5.50pm) and were sent to the bar by a friendly hostess and told that our table would be ready by 6pm and that we should come back when our taser-like alarm thing started vibrating. The restaurant itself was already heaving and had a nice atmosphere, my hopes were on the rise. But standing at the bar, waiting to be served we noticed that the till said something a little unusual - "Welcome to Frankie and Bennys".

That was not a good sign. Rob and I exchanged looks that were a mixture of amusement, confusion and dread. The time hit 6pm and we hadn't been served for drinks yet, let alone alerted that our table was ready. The bar was packed and it did make me feel like I was vying for attention in a club, not a restaurant. Being a person of small stature, situations like these can be more than a little intimidating. We were finally served and I paid about £10 for a large Monte Verde Sauvignon Blanc from Chile and a Corona. I was hoping for a tequila based cocktail - but at £8 a go and watching the amount of alcohol going into these cocktails, I decided that I'd better not.

The Sav Blanc was a little bit rough, but I felt like I needed a soft wine-y pillow for what was to come. As a relatively patient woman, I decided I would give them until 6.15pm before I went to ask about our table. We were summoned at 6.10pm. It could have been worse, but considering how early it was, I worry how long we could have been waiting had we arrived a few hours later.

Our table was acceptable and our waiter was actually very good. I want to stress now that his service was excellent and I couldn't fault him at all. He could do so much better. Having just released a "new spring menu", they've also had a menu overhaul in terms of design and actually they looked pretty smart. The length of the menu, however, was terrifyingly long. You all know my opinion on overly long menus.

We were also presented with a dish of popcorn. I'm still totally flummoxed by this now. Back in the 'good ol' days', you were brought complementary chips and salsa. This was screaming corporate cutbacks. What was worse was that the popcorn tasted like Doritos. It was just utterly perplexing. Despite my rumbling stomach, I couldn't bring myself to really eat this.



So let's talk about the food. We ordered 3 starters between us, a main each and desserts. This came to about £50 without drinks. £50 is quite a large chunk of money for us, so you'd hope that it would be well worth that cost.

Round One: Starters

Ordered:

• Proper Garlic Bread (£4.95)
• "Our take on a classic! Our garlic flatbreads are oven baked and oozing with garlic & herbs. Choose to have yours with or without cheese."
• Nachos for One (£4.95)
• "An individual portion of tortilla chips, stacked high and covered in Texan cheese sauce, jalapeño peppers and melted cheese. Topped with guacamole, sour cream and salsa"
• Deep Filled Potato Skins with BBQ Pulled Pork and Cheese (£5.45)
• "Scooped, baked and filled to the brim. Choose your filling of chorizo, sweetcorn & cheese, sweetcorn & salsa or BBQ pulled pork & cheese" 

Firstly, I just want to say -since when was Pulled Pork a Mexican dish? One of the main issues I have with Chiquito is their branding as a Mexican restaurant. They serve so many American dishes that they would be much better off calling themselves a Latin American restaurant. Also, what defines "proper" garlic bread? In any case, this came with the weirdest tasting garlic butter we've ever eaten - neither of us could put our finger on what the odd taste was. The flatbreads were extremely doughy and not a pleasant texture. The Nachos for One were potentially the highlight of my meal. The only thing I would say about this was that they were inoffensive. The Potato skins were also pretty inoffensive, but one of my potatoes had a huge black growth on it. Don't expect any actual meat texture from the pulled pork either.

Round Two: Main Courses

Ordered:

• Baked Enchiladas (£13.95) - Spicy Chicken Variety
• "Three rolled flour tortillas baked in the oven, filled with Texan cheese sauce and your favourite filling. Topped with our signature tomato sauce, melted cheese, sour cream and guacamole. Choose your filling: Veggie five bean chilli V , beef chilli, spicy chicken or BBQ pulled pork"
• South Western Meatballs (£13.95)
• "Seasoned pork & beef meatballs in our signature tomato sauce served over sliced peppers, onions and Mexican spiced rice. Topped with sour cream, salsa and guacamole."

Up to this point, I had tried laughing off a dire situation but this is where it started to get grim. Rob's enchiladas had barely any sauce and on trying a bite, I just got a mouthful of something that tasted like cardboard and had the texture of wood chips. The presentation of my dish was just appalling with an explosion of what I will assume is parsley. Where do I begin with the meatballs? I felt like I was eating the leftover remnants of someone's castration. The smooth texture was alien and they were sickly sweet. The "tomato sauce" was nowhere to be found and the entire thing was covered in their "go-to" triad of guacamole, salsa and sour cream. The rice was dry. I did enjoy the few onions I found lurking underneath my meatballs. I couldn't finish it, it was just abysmal. Poor Rob ate his - I think he was just very, very hungry.

Round Three: Desserts

Ordered:

• Churros (£4.95)
• "Delicious soft dough, fried until crispy and golden. Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and served with a pot of chocolate flavour sauce for dipping."
• Golden Nugget Cheesecake (£5.45)
• "Chocolate & smashed honeycomb cheesecake topped with chocolate coated golden nuggets."
• Vanilla Cheesecake (£5.95)
• "Smooth vanilla flavour cheesecake topped with red berry compote and served with vanilla flavour ice cream."

We love churros. They are one of our favourite sweet things. They are also hard to get wrong. But guess what? Despite a tasty cinnamon sugar coating, the insides weren't cooked through. This left us with a nice crispy outside but filled with uncooked, gooey dough. The chocolate dipping sauce didn't really taste of anything - not even chocolate. The decorative strawberries were clearly well past their best. I attempted to order the Golden Nugget Cheesecake but was informed that I couldn't have that because it was "too frozen". Great. So I opted for the plain version. I have never seen such a gelatinous coulis.  We nicknamed it "the polyfiller cheesecake" - where is my buttery biscuit base? Awful texture, awful flavour. Disgusting.

I also spent most of the evening lightly sweating (a rare occurance for me - someone who is always cold) and every time an order of fajitas was brought out, the smell of burnt toast filled the air. I was constantly worrying if I was having a stroke. My poor taste buds had not been tantalized, they had been tortured.

Posh Fish and Chips

So it's that time of year again - Masterchef time! Is it just me or does it seem to be showing a lot more than last year? Not that I'm complaining... Around this time of year I get it into my head that I need to make my dishes look arty and cook fondant potatoes and make foams from everything. Alongside my healthy diet, I decided to "masterchef-ify" classic fish and chips.

Posh Fish and Chips

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 fillets of Plaice

400g potatoes

A handful of frozen peas

A Squeeze of Lemon Juice

1 clove of Roasted Garlic

1 tsp Tarragon
1tsp Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
20g butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Fish
Start by creating a foil package for your plaice fillets. Then carefully lay the fillets down and cover with lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper. Seal the parcel.
Place in a preheated oven at 200C for 25 minutes.

Potatoes
Cut your potatoes into chunks and place into cold, salted water.
Bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes are soft.
Drain the potatoes and return to the saucepan.
Add 20g butter, rosemary and salt/pepper to taste.
Mash the potatoes rustically so they are not smooth but more "crushed".

Pea Puree
Heat the peas in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes until tender.
Place in a food processor with a squeeze of lemon juice, your roasted garlic, salt and pepper.
Puree the ingredients while the peas are still hot.

Pea Soup with Crispy Pancetta

I was listening to Jay Rayner's 'The Man Who Ate the World' on the way to my physio appointment this morning and during his time in Paris, he came across a dish in Guy Savoy where the peas in his pea salad had all been individually split. This got me obsessing with peas all day. I needed some peas in my life - stat.

We had some deliciously thin pancetta to use up also, so I thought the remedy to my cravings would be to make an indulgent pea soup and use pancetta as croutons. I did a lot of internet research to find the best pea soup recipe and decided to try Felicity Cloake's "Perfect Pea Soup" recipe for The Guardian. She uses bacon in the recipes but I took this out and replaced it with the pancetta topping. So here is my adapted version.

Pea Soup with Crispy Pancetta and Creme Fraiche

To Serve Two

Ingredients

15g butter
2 spring onions, chopped
4 rashers of pancetta
225g frozen peas
375ml of vegetable stock
Squeeze of lemon juice
Creme fraiche, to serve

Method

• Melt the butter in a pan and add your spring onions. Allow them to soften in the foamy butter. 
• Add the peas and let them defrost a bit. 
• Add your hot stock and allow to simmer for ten minutes.
• Add a squeeze of lemon juice and stir.
• Using a stick blender, smooth the soup and allow to rest on a low heat whilst you make the croutons.
• Bring a small frying pan to a high temperature and add the pancetta. They will crisp in under a minute so make sure they don't burn. 
• Dish the soup into bowls and add a small quenelle of creme fraiche to the centre. 
• Lay your crispy pancetta on top! 

Chilli, Lime and Ginger Mackerel with Soba Noodles and Greens

These past few weeks haven't been the best for me. I've been suffering with excruciating back and neck pain and have been off work for a long while now. Having to stay indoors and not be able to even dress yourself is pretty depressing. So I wasn't eating particularly well until I decided that I couldn't take any more. I had to make this pain go away. I spent a long time researching the right diet to try and help me and found a lot of information on foods with anti-inflammatory properties. It was worth a shot. So for the past few days I've been eating wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, and foods with good oils such as oily fish, avocados and olive oil.

Tonight is the first time I've cooked a proper meal for myself in days and it involves all of these aspects. Using inspiration from my Wagamama cookbook, I developed the following recipe.

Chilli, Lime and Ginger Mackerel with Soba Noodles and Stir fried Greens

Ingredients

1 fillet of chilli, lime and ginger mackerel (£1 from Tesco)

1 tbsp Lime Juice

1 tbsp Mirin

1 tsp Nam Pla 

1 tbsp Chilli Oil

Soba Noodles

Fresh greens (I used kale, brocolli and spinach)

Salt and Pepper

Method

In a bowl, mix the lime juice, mirin, nam pla and chilli oil. Add the mackerel fillet and gently massage to cover in the marinade. Season with salt and pepper. Leave to rest for 1 hour.

Chop your greens. 

Boil a pan of water.

It will only take you about 5 minutes to cook this entirely, so make sure you have everything to hand.

Add the noodles to your pan of water - simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Pour the remaining marinade into a frying pan on a medium heat. Add your greens and stir fry in the liquids for 2 minutes. 

Push the greens to one side of the pan and place your fish, skin down on the other side. 

Cook your fish for 2 minutes on the skin side and 1 minute of the flesh side. 

Drain the noodles and all your tasty components up.

A Belated Happy New Year

Hi everyone!

I'm extremely sorry for my absence over the Christmas and New Year period. I was so busy cooking and then sleeping from having eaten too much that I haven't had time to write anything coherent. Now we're head first into January and the ground outside is covered in an unfamiliar white powder, I can share all that we did over the festive period.

I brought out my mince pie recipe again and tried my hand at a non-fruit Christmas cake for the office. It was based on lebkuchen spices and decorated in the manner of a traditional Christmas cake. I used Paula Deen's recipe from the Food Network, which you can find HERE. With a little additional whisky in the batter.

We also went to Taste of Christmas at the Excel center. What an incredible experience. We were lucky enough to pick up the tickets with our Tesco clubcard points and traveled via the cable car from North Greenwich. This was great fun on it's own and gave us a beautiful view of the surrounding areas. Taste of Christmas did not disappoint on the freebies - we tried everything from cheese to rum to chutneys to my personal favourite - Sipsmith's Damson Vodka. Delicious. There were plenty of places to buy food from. We sampled dishes from Cinnamon Kitchen, LIMA, Jamie Oliver's Fabulous Feasts, The Bowler, Yalla Yalla (an old favourite) and Union Jack's Hot Dogs.

My favourites were LIMA's delicate and flavourful Ceviche and the hearty delicious meatballs provided by The Bowler (which have since acted as inspiration for a catering menu that I have recently designed). 

There were plenty of chefs giving talks and running demonstrations and we were lucky enough to catch The Fabulous Baker Brothers showing us how to make Bacon Porridge and a quick Soda Bread. They tried (in vain) to get the crowd to sing a carol or two with them, but it seemed that the event go-ers weren't as charismatic and exciting as these two.

Another highlight were these tempting Salted Caramel Choux Buns for £1 each, provided by Choux. One wasn't enough but when we returned later for more, they had sold out and I'm not surprised.Next time I'm thinking about a party, I may be giving these guys a ring. 

This Christmas was also a time of experimenting and trying things outside of my comfort zone. So I tried profiteroles from scratch by following a classic Prue Leith recipe. Choux pastry has always been something that I'd been afraid of and I genuinely had no reason to be. I would pick choux over shortcrust any time! For my birthday we had a French themed evening where I cooked a big Bouef Bourguignon (one of my favourite meals) and had a buffet of wine, cheese and oysters. I had a go at shucking an oyster last summer but this time I had half a dozen to get through - somehow not as fun as I remember. They were delicious as always.

If you're a fan of the GBBO (Great British Bake Off), you make have seen them attempt the Austrian chocolate cake, Sachertorte, in the technical challenge. With my incredible new Christmas present, I decided to have a go myself. If I was going to fail, I might as well fail in style. Having never actually eaten proper Sachertorte, I had to trust Rob to tell me that it tasted something like the original should. As chocolate cake went, it wasn't my favourite but the apricot jam and the ganache topping added a nice new dimension.

Rob and I ended up cooking Christmas dinner where we had chicken with all the usual trimmings. A tip for next year is add pancetta to your sprouts! Delicious. We repeated our well rehearsed roast routine on New Year's Day with a gorgeous Rib of Beef. I can't take credit for the meat as that was handled by the master of meat that is Robert White.

Finally I want to share my new toy with you:

You can be jealous now.