Monday, November 30, 2009
Cheeses
Huong Viet (Revisited)
12-14 Englefield Road
N1 4LS
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Crusty Macaroni and Cheese

Pumpkin Pie

POUR into pie shell.
BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
2 cups sifted flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon plus 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons butter(141g), melted, plus extra
butter for greasing pans
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
2 jumbo eggs, beaten
6 ounces warm corn kernels
4 ounces cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 1/4 loosely packed cups)
6 tablespoons chopped scallions (spring onions here)
Minced fresh jalapeno peppers to taste (1/4 to 1/2 cup), seeded
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (coriander here)
1. Preheat the oven to 425F. (220C)
3. In another bowl whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, milk, and beaten eggs. Add the dry ingredients, and just combine. Then fold in the corn kernels, cheddar cheese, scallions, jalapeno, and
cilantro.
4. Pour the mixture into buttered baking pan. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Black Bean Salad
Double Dark Spice Drops
I joined an email recipe exchange and this is one of the ones I received. Apparently it's a variation on a King Arthur flour recipe, and I've twisted it a bit more to make it easier to make in the UK (no semi-sweet chocolate chips here, sadly). If you like dark chocolate and not-too-sweet, really soft almost-falling-apart cookies, you'll love these.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 190C. Line baking sheets with foil.
La Perla
11 Charlotte Street
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Bean Chili (or Spicy Bean Stew)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 glass red wine
3 small onions, finely chopped
500ml vegetable stock
1 tin chopped tomatoes (400g)
2 tbsp tomato purée
Salt and pepper
500g mixed, dried beans (I used a mix of kidney and azuki beans)
90-Minute No Soak Beans
500g dried beans
1/2 tbsp salt
Preheat oven to 120C/250F. Pour beans and salt into an ovenproof, lidded dish (I use my Dutch oven). Top with enough water to cover the beans by an inch and a half. Bring to a boil on the stove. Cover pot with lid and put it in the oven for 75 minutes.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Mangal Ocakbasi

10 Arcola Street
Cheeses

Snickerdoodles (Revisited)
For H's birthday, I decided to make some snickerdoodles, but this time I was determined to follow the recipe much more closely in the hopes that they would come out the correct size and shape (unlike last time). The first dozen that I baked came out perfectly (see above), but then I think maybe my oven is hotter than the dial says it is, because the rest started getting super brown and they weren't developing the cracks in the top anymore. This is why I'm not that fond of baking - one tiny thing is off and it all goes a bit wonky. Oh well, at least I managed one batch of proper snickerdoodles for H...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Koba
11 Rathbone St
London
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Pizza Express
99 High Holborn
Monday, November 16, 2009
Gallipoli Cafe Bistro
102 Upper Street
London
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Jamie's Italian
11 Black Lion Street
Brighton
Caponata

Thursday, November 12, 2009
The Cove

Monday, November 09, 2009
Laguardia, Spain (Part 3)
Laguardia, Spain (Part 2)



Laguardia, Spain (Part 1)
Thursday, November 05, 2009
The Britannia
Wasabi

34 Villiers Street
London
WC2N 6NJ
*Guest post by Andy*
If the price of sushi usually puts you off, check out a Wasabi (there are 11 in London, you can't miss 'em). Four pieces of Salmon Nigiri, four Salmon Hosomaki, two Salmon Tobiko Rolls (with avocado, yellow pepper, flying fish roe and mayo) and a Tuna mustard Onigiri (rice ball) came to just 5.70 for takeaway. That's enough to feed two small people or one really hungry one - and it’s good for you! The sushi here is displayed wrapped in plastic, individually or in pairs, which you can pick and mix from the chiller with the empty boxes provided. Not the most environmentally sensible way of doing things, with all that packaging, but it keeps the hypothetical flies off. Then there are the combination sushi and sashimi boxes, edamame, and funny Japanese desserts. Or go to the counter for hot miso, bento and noodles. And don't forget your wasabi paste, pickled ginger and soy (5p each - when was the last time you paid 5p for anything?) I'm not sure what a sushi pro would say about the quality, but to someone who doesn't know any better, like me, Wasabi's wares taste amazing - the fish is fresh and the avocado is ripe. It's the only fast food place I know where you end up feeling better after eating.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
National Geographic Cafe
83 - 97 Regent Street
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Zigo's

*Guest post by Andy*
It was Pizza Express, or Zigo’s. Two Italians. One I’ve been to about a hundred times, in various locations. The other sounded like a shot in the dark. So in we went. To start, M and I went for the avocado salad, which featured raw mushroom, slices of brown toast cut up into croutons and little evidence of the advertised vinaigrette. For my main, I chose their tagliatelle carpigliana, which the menu described as pasta with spinach, pine nuts, Gorgonzola and mascarpone in cream sauce. I like blue cheese, but I didn’t want a whole cow’s worth, so I asked the waitress to go easy on the Gorgonzola, and they did, to the extent that when the dish came I couldn’t taste any Gorgonzola. M, who ordered spaghetti bolognaise, said he could have made a better one at home, while J’s American Hot pizza was “sub-supermarket standard”. Oh, and the bottle of red we ordered would have been fine for 3.99 but at 13.95 was sheer theft. Three lessons learned: Just because it’s on Upper Street, doesn’t mean it’s ok; don’t try to mess with recipes; and finally – crucially – don’t go to Zigo’s.
St. Christopher's Inn

Corney & Barrow
London EC2Y 9HT