Pancake Day

I hadn't heard of Pancake Day until I arrived in the UK - I always heard it referred to as Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday in the US. I'm not too knowledgeable about religious things but pancakes are something I can solidly support (even English pancakes, which are much thinner than American pancakes). Our friend A once worked as an au pair in France and the family had a fabulous pancake making machine - she was so delighted by it that she bought herself one before leaving. It only made sense that the machine should be put to work on Pancake Day - it has six little circular areas in which you pour pancake batter and it cooks them to perfection with no sticking. This meant an endless supply of pancakes for a dozen people, along with an abundance of different fillings. There were even separate bowls of savory and sweet pancake batters - above is a sweet pancake topped with ginger chocolate sauce (bought at the Ferry Plaza farmer's market in San Francisco), strawberry slices and toasted slivered almonds. Heaven in a bite. Other combinations of note were goats cheese & creamed spinach, and smoked salmon & cream cheese & asparagus.

James Rotisserie and Cafe

21 James Street
London
W1U 1DS

I used to live on James Street, back in my student days, so it holds fond memories. It's certainly changed a lot since then - this cute cafe was certainly not part of the landscape. F and I were having a wander around Marylebone and ended up here to get a snack and some hot drinks - she got a hot chocolate and an apricot danish, and I had the pain au chocolat above. It was served warm, though I suspect it was microwaved. Flaky, buttery and with rich dark chocolate in every bite, it was sweet refuge from the cold downpour outside. I seem to remember a lot of gilded birdcages in the cafe as well - a touch of whimsy.

Best Cocoa Brownies

So after reading about these brownies, not once but twice, I was convinced that it was time to try these out sharpish. Thankfully all the ingredients are things I tend to keep in the kitchen, so it was the perfect thing to do when I was home one afternoon, feeling under the weather. Chocolate fixes many ailments, and the scent of them baking was enough to cheer me up.

Note: do not be dumb like me and try to stick your metal bowl full of butter, sugar and cocoa directly on the stove. Ugh. The simmering water method works but next time I might melt the butter first and then mix in sugar and cocoa.

Best Cocoa Brownies
Makes 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies (I advise smaller since they are so rich)

10 tablespoons (141 grams) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (280 grams) sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (82 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup (66 grams) all-purpose flour

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F / 165°C. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

2. Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot. It looks fairly gritty at this point, but don’t fret — it smooths out once the eggs and flour are added.

3. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

4. Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

5. Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

Blossom

City Point, Unit 1b

1 Ropemaker Street

London 

EC2Y 9AW

I used to get takeout sushi from Blossom for dinner at least two or three times a week. Alas, the dinner expenses were eventually revoked and then with the discovery of Whitecross Street Market, even lunches were a rare occurrence. But on rainy, dismal, cold days, it's a good choice when meeting people who work in the offices above - no need to even carry an umbrella. Seafood bibimbap was chosen for its warming qualities - along with a bowl of miso soup that was included, it thawed out my icy fingers quickly. My favorite part is the screaming hot stone bowl that it comes in, frying bits of the rice that get stuck and quickly cooking all of the raw shrimp, salmon and mussels in the bowl once they're mixed in. I throw in the accompanying kimchi as well to make it a bit spicier and then remember to eat carefully so that I don't burn my tongue. Fantastic.

Sorry I have no picture - that is totally due to my own stupidity, I somehow deleted it. Oops.

Viet Hoa

70-72 Kingsland Road
London E2 8DP

Viet Hoa is the first Vietnamese restaurant I went to in London, back in 2006. Little did I know that I would end up moving into a place only 10 minutes away by bicycle - and that it would undergo a complete renovation, setting itself apart from the other Kingsland Road Vietnamese places with its modern and clean  design. Apparently we can even expect a bar area to open soon.  Thankfully, the renovation has not changed the tasty menu, and there has only been a slight increase in prices. C and I had fried tofu to start and then both ordered the Bun Xa with pork and lemongrass. This is a giant bowl of rice vermicelli noodles, grilled pork, bean sprouts, coriander, crushed peanuts, fried shallots and a fish-sauce based marinade that you pour in and mix with everything. Every bite is full of sweet, salty and sour flavors balancing against each other, and all for under six quid. I will be back.

Special Smoked Salmon

While at F's birthday party, I ate some smoked salmon that her partner A had doctored and was delighted by it. When asked how he made it, A said it was simple - just put smoked salmon, lemon juice, chopped coriander and minced garlic together in a container and let it sit, ideally for at least two hours, before serving. I tried this at home with smoked salmon trimmings and boy it is good. I'm not giving quantities because it's mostly to your own taste - I really like coriander, but not raw garlic, so I have a lot of coriander and just one clove of garlic in the container I made. Add enough lemon juice so that all of the salmon is moistened, but not so much that it is swimming in it. If you want to gussy it up, like at the party, you should use posh slices of smoked salmon rather than the trimmings, but the trimmings are just fine for my lunches at home. I have it over warm toast.

Linguine alla carbonara di salsiccia (Sausage Carbonara)

A asked if we could try another recipe from Jamie's Italy, and this is what we picked out. Freaking delicious, this is - go and make it as soon as you can. Original recipe is below, with my substitutions in parentheses. The lemon zest and parsley in the sauce really gives this a unique flavor and cuts through the richness of the egg and cream and sausage and bacon.

Linguine alla carbonara di salsiccia (serves 4)

4 Italian sausages (I used 6 Sainsbury's pork with pancetta and parmesan sausages)
4 slices of thick-cut pancetta, chopped (I used 4 smoked streaky bacon rashers)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
455g dried linguine (I used 500g)
4 large egg yolks
100 ml double cream
100g freshly grated Parmesan (I used 40g)
zest of 1 lemon
a sprig of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
extra virgin olive oil (I omitted)

With a sharp knife, slit the sausage skins and pop all the meat out. Roll little balls of sausage meat about the size of large marbles and place them to one side.

Heat a large frying pan and add a good splash of olive oil (or not). Gently fry the sausage meatballs until golden brown all over, then add the pancetta (or bacon) and continue cooking for a couple minutes until it's golden. While this is cooking, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the linguine, and cook until al dente.

In a large bowl, whip up the egg yolks, cream, half the Parmesan (or all of it if you are only using 40g), the lemon zest and parsley. When the pasta is cooked, drain in colander but reserve a little of the cooking water, and toss the pasta with the egg mixture back in the pasta pan. Add the meatballs and pancetta and toss everything together. The egg will cook delicately from the heat of the linguine, just enough for it to thicken and not scramble. If the sauce is too thick, add reserved pasta water, a little bit at a time, until the sauce becomes smooth and silky. Sprinkle over the rest of the Parmesan (or not), drizzle with olive oil (or not) and serve.