The Food Diaries

French Vampire’s Kiss Cocktail

I may have been inspired by the recent flood of vampire-themed shows and films to come up with this cocktail but quite pleased with its relative simplicity (despite the number of spirits included in it):

- 25ml Sweet Vermouth (my new favourite is Lillet Rouge, produced in France since the 1800’s rather than the ubiquitous Martini Rosso)

- 25ml Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat is also my current favourite)

- 25ml crème de cassis

- 75ml Bombay Sapphire Gin

- 20ml Pomegranate syrup (or grenadine)

Shake vigorously in a cocktail shaker quarter filled with ice. Serve strained into two chilled cocktail glasses and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Byron Burgers

Dinner with the girls at Byron Burger. A relatively new burger joint in the cool new Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush London. I’m super fussy with burgers eaten outside of the US but these were fab, as were the courgette fritters, the A & W soda, the aioli mayo……

There are seven branches dotted around London.

Sriracha - the miracle Chilli sauce

Sriracha (pronounced SIR-rotch-ah) is the generic name for a Thai hot sauce named after the seaside city of Si Racha. It is made into a paste consisting of chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, salt and sugar. However, in its American incarnation (as devised by an enterprising immigrant from Vietnam looking to introduce a sauce as iconic as Heinz ketchup and drawing on a family recipe) it has become a hugely successful condiment. Produced under the name of Huy Fong (the freighter ship David travelled on to America) it bears little resemblance to its Thai namesake nor can it be easily replaced with the ubiquitous Vietnamese-style hot sauces.

Here’s are some fab things I’ve used with this sauce:

- Add to some Japanese mayonnaise and you have fab little dipping sauce

- A richer addition to a Bloody Mary than tabasco

- Perfect for a prawn cocktail

- Goes great with scrambled eggs

- As in the above photos (with creamed carrots and peas)

Or try this NY Times recipe for Rice cracker encrusted tuna with spice citrus sauce

I brought a bottle back from LA (where it is produced), and am not sure where you can get some in the UK. You may need to beg a visitor from the US to bring you a bottle. Or if you are feeling enterprising here are instructions on how to attempt to make a home-made version.

Matching Burgundies to Food - a fine wine and food extravaganza

On the menu:

Pol Roger Champagne (Brut Extra Cuvee de Reserve, non dose)

+ Mini crab vol au vent

Bourgogne - Les Perrieres (‘06 - Simon Bize)

+ Pan-fried foie gras with pears (Raymon Blanc recipe)

Bourgogne - Maison Dieu Pinot Noire (‘99 - Nicolas Potel)

+ Lamb Shanks with mustard and mash (Nigel Slater recipe)

Gevrey-Chambertin 1 Cru - Les Cazetiers (‘90 - Serafin)

+ Cheese selection

Passion fruit jam (with lemon curd tarts):

Scoop out the pulp of around 10 passion fruits into a small saucepan. Add 150g sugar and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the consistency thickens (think honey). Pour into a jam jar and refrigerate. This will keep for some time and can be used to drizzle on cakes, meringues, etc.

How I served it:

At Ottolenghi (where this recipe comes from) they serve it drizzled on lemon curd meringue tarts. Here’s my easy at-home recipe for last minute desserts.

Fill mini butter pastry cases with lemon curd (I bought both ready-made at M & S). Place a dollup of passion fruit jam on top and serve.

Wheat-free pasta with a cavolo nero pesto

This is inspired by a River Cafe recipe for cavolo nero pesto (a Tuscan kale/black cabbage which can usually be found at this time of year in farmer’s markets).

- 1 head of cavolo nero (de-stemmed - hold one end of each leaf firmly before stripping off and discarding the stem)

- 3 garlic cloves, peeled

- Large handful of pinenuts (or ground almonds which I prefer for its lighter flavour)

- Olive oil to taste

- 200g corn pasta fusilli

- 1 cup frozen peas

- mixed chopped fresh herbs (parsley/mint/chives)

- Crushed chili (optional)

- Parmesan for sprinkling

How to put it together

Place the cabbage and garlic in a pot of boiling water. Drain once cooked (about 4 min). Place the cabbage and garlic in a food processor with the nuts and process. Drizzle in olive oil till it reaches a glossy consistency.

Boil a pot of water, and cook your pasta (adding the frozen peas about 3 minutes before draining). Add large spoonfuls of the pesto. Drizzle with additional olive oil if desired. Sprinkle with the herbs and chili and parmesan. Season to taste.

Serves 2.

Ok - I confess. This piece of salmon has travelled many miles to get to my table here in London. It was caught off the coast of Norway, and then vacu-packed within 3 hours of being caught. My Norwegian friend then flew over to my sister’s in Paris and presented it to her as a gift. She then jumped on the Eurostar to come visit me here in London, where quite conveniently I was hosting a sushi party - where the salmon had pride of place.

Boy was it worth the trip!

Albion Caff - Shoreditch, London

Brunch, coffee, lunch, late lunch, early dinner, etc. - there is always a time and a place (and something fab to order to match) at the Albion. I love to hate Terence Conran but he has a really annoyingly nice place in the ground floor space attached to the Boundary Hotel. Super British menu (cauliflower cheese, sausage and mash, fish and chips, rhubarb crumble). Fresh baked goods come out of the oven every hour (and no surcharge for a basket of bread for the table - a rare thing in London), the puffiest pies (chicken, savoury pumpkin), and ok - the best kedgeree I’ve ever had (and easily better than mine).

Oh, and the desserts are not bad at all either.

You can also sign up for a stangely useful twitter feed - let’s you know what has just come out of the oven. Particularly convenient if you live/work in the neighbourhood.

My order:

- Red and golden beet salad with goat’s cheese curd

- Kedgeree

- I couldn’t find room for our table’s shared plate of Sticky toffee pudding - but it looked divine

Ottolenghi!! Upper St, London

Lunch at one of my favourite spot ever - Ottolenghi. Big clean white space and communal tables. Large displays at the front of the food on offer. Right-hand side is full of vibrant salads, roasted vegetables, and beautifully prepared meats and fish. Left-hand side groans with giant meringues, plum tarts, chocolate fondant cakes, banana caramel cheescake, croissants, and my ultimate favourite - passion fruit and lemon curd meringue tarts. Yotam Ottolenghi himself made an appearance - always a good sign.

Grilled Sardines

Off to the best fishmongers in town (Steve Hatt) to buy some fresh fish for an upcoming Sushi Night that am helping to organise as part of the Dinner Club. Was hoping to pick something up for a light lunch as well, and just my luck! Found some super fresh, gutted and filleted sardines (I can’t be bothered otherwise, and normally fishmongers grumble about being asked to do this fiddly task).

How to prepare:

Drizzle the sardine fillets with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place under the grill, skin side up till the it starts to bubble and turn golden (3 minutes or so).

Serve on finn crisp, with a dollop of horseradish and some chopped chives.

Roasted Duck Breast, orange root vegetables and red currant sauce

Had a friend over for dinner who was delayed, so rather than stick to my old standby of seafood risotto got inspired by some duck breasts I found at the corner supermarket. So went home and browsed through some recipes to come up with the combo below, which worked really really well - and it took no time at all.

Recipe:

- two duck breasts, skin scored (though not through to the meat)

- 1 tbs honey

- 1 tbs soy

- 1 tbs whiskey (optiona)

- 1 small butternut squash

- 1 sweet potato

- a handful fresh thyme (or 1 tbs dry)

- 1/2 cup red wine

- 2 tbs red currant chutney

Marinate the duck in the honey, soy and whiskey. In the meantime, cut the butternut squash lengthwise, core and cut into wedges (don’t bother peeling them). Do the same with the sweet potato. Place in a roasting dish and set aside.

Take the duck breasts out of the marinade and fry in a pan on a medium heat, skin side down for about 5 minutes and much of the fat has melted away. Turn over to the meat side and fry for an additional minute. Take off heat and place the duck aside on a plate.

Spoon out most of the fat from the pan and into the roasting dish to coat the vegetables. Add some thyme and salt and pepper and place in a preheated oven (200c) and roast for 10-15 minutes, turning over occasionally.

Meanwhile, return the pan to the heat, and add the wine and scrape up the bits to coat. Once the wine has reduce, add the red currant chutney, stir, and turn off heat.

Take the vegetables out of the oven and add the duck breasts, skin side up and return to the oven for about 10 minutes (for medium). Turn off heat, leave oven ajar and let rest for 5 minutes. To serve, slice up the duck thickly, spoon over the sauce and serve the vegetables on the side.

Serves 2-3 (depending on the size of the duck breasts)

Dinner and Drinks in Shoreditch, London

Dinner at the always inspiring Saf Restaurant (a vegan restaurant where much of the menu is cooked under 48°C). Surprisingly for a vegan restaurant, the cocktails and wine menu are equally inspired. If I had a personal chef, I would eat Saf-style vegan food everyday and would be the happiest and healthiest person on the planet!

What we ate:

- Vegetable maki (made with parsnips)

- Beetroot ravioli (see photo above)

- Pad Thai

- Pumpkin risotto (one of a very few dishes cooked above 48°C)

What we drank:

- Black Forest Martini (cherry bark infused Woodford Reserve bourbon, framboise,
cointreau, cassis)

- Jasmine Pearl Martini (Jasmine green tea vodka, organic peche, lemon juice, raw
cane sugar syrup)

Then onto Callooh Callay Bar (remember Alice in Wonderland’s Jabberwocky poem?) where the cocktails are equally inventive and the staff super welcoming and friendly.

What we drank:

- Full Marks (Maker’s Mark, walnut liqueur, dark cacao liqueur, whiskey barrel bitters, port)

- Prosecco Cobbler (Prosecco, Triple Sec, Apricot brandy, Maraschino, lemon, orange, and pineapple)

- Rockin all Clover (Beefeater 24, raspberry and Earl Grey syrup, lemon, Maraschino, egg white)

Cauliflower Couscous served with falafel

Have been meaning to try this concept for a while now - a carb-free version of couscous.

Recipe:

Take one head of cauliflower and cut up into chunks. Pass the pieces through the food processor and there you go, cauliflower couscous!

From there you have a few options:

- Stir-fry with some olive oil

- Bake in the oven with olive oil

- Stir-fry with some olive oil and then mix with regular couscous

Seasoning options:

Mix into the raw couscous before cooking any combination of the following: nigella seeds, sumac, ground cinnamon, ground cumin, ras el hanout, chopped raisins, flaked almonds

How I served mine:

I went for the stir-fried option with lots of the seasoning, which I then mixed together with cooked barley couscous. I then served it up with carrot falafel (store-bought at Waitrose), rocket salad, and a Greek yogurt dip (pound together some garlic with a bit of salt in a mortar and pestle and then stir in some strained Greek yogurt to taste). Sprinkle everything with chopped mint and chives.

Full Marks Cocktail

Full marks (pun intended) go to Andrea the bartender at Callooh Callay (a fab spot in Shoreditch, London), who came up with this award-winning cocktail. It is a concoction made up of Makers Mark Bourbon, Dark Cacao, walnut liqueur, whisky barrel bitters, and port and marasca cherries.

Here’s my attempt to recreate this at home. I managed to track down the walnut liqueur and the rare whiskey barrel bitters (!), but am still searching for the mascara cherries (had to make do with the somewhat nasty and artificial maraschino cherry).

Results? It more or less looks and tastes the part, but really, is not up to par with Andrea’s, which is much darker and complex in flavour. I may have to pay the bar a visit very soon.

Home-made biscotti (though not home-made by me, but by my friend Olivier, who is a great baker).

Did you know, biscottimeans twice-baked in Latin? These biscuits were traditionally baked in this manner in order to ensure they were dry enough to be preserved longer.

Though am not normally a fan dry/crispy biscuits, freshly baked biscotti are a real treat.

Recipe:

A basic recipe has 2 cups flour to 3/4 cup sugar to which is added 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbs lemon rind. Then add in 125g butter cut into little pieces and mix together till a coarse meal is formed. Now add 1 cup coarsely ground roasted hazelnuts, as well as 3 eggs (first beaten together with 1 tsp almond extract) and mix till a dough is formed.

The biscotti are first baked in long slabs (at 150 degrees celsius for 35 minutes) , and then cut into 1/2 inch slices (once cooled), and then baked again until they are toasted and dry (10 minutes on each side).

Note: If you find the dough too dry to form the slab you can moisten it with a couple tbs milk.