Ten Bells Pop Up....OMG!!!

Well well well I never! 

Can I just say this article that I perused today in the Metro on my way to work is about my fave pub in London and actually apart from it being part of Ripper history, as in Jack the Ripper.. horrible thought I know but so fascinating, i dont know why it's my fave!

I think it's the feeling you feel as you walk in and think you're taking a step back in history....or is that just my mental imagination.... maybe not so much now as they moved the bar to the centre of the pub! why would you do that??? I still don't understand!

Anyway this seriously was one pub that I encouraged everyone to experience, if you didn't feel it upstairs then you sure did when you walked down the teeny staircase to the lavatories! a combo of graffitied walls, low ceilings, piping, and awful toilets which felt you were a million miles away from anyone! But time and time again I wanted to go see it just one more time....to the point I used to make my friends just go in to go and walk downstairs how cruel was that, and I always wondered why they came back with that confused are you for real? look on their faces...like I said 'know the history live the experience!' and they sold Fruli's!! another big tick on the tickbox!

Once there was even a real stuffed dog on display on the bar! and as much as my love for dogs is widely known I still found it amazingly fascinating! and just odd!

So.... the article I read this morning reads like this:

Upstairs room? OMG really? now that's amazing and I want to see! like NOW!!!

But luckily....I have till January 2012! yes please .....please.... please! Mirek? please? I don't ask for much but this one thing would actually make my year!  x

Oh and for once I don't care about the food! Did I actually say that? But I must admit it would make a massive difference :-)

Pretty special!

No 80 today was smelliliciously good! A combination of spiced apple, cinnamon, cloves..roast lamb, potatoes and all the trimmings. Amazingly delicious and wow what a stuffing! No stuffing just literally satisfyingly stuffed..

It was my first pre-Christmas Christmas dinner with the Tillers and Prettys! What can I say? Two words...Pretty Spesh!

The biggest and juiceyist leg of lamb i have ever eaten, roasted garlic, shallots, potatoes and red wine gravy! As Mirek would say 'Yummas'! As I would say 'Thank you Steph, yes please!'
Followed by Kate's amazing Christmassy Crumble...ooooh naughty!

The kids were on top form, entertaining everyone, George told me my hair was the colour of custard..insult or compliment I wonder? Hmmm the fact that he's 4 is known for his Innocent Georgeisms and has the most interesting imagination meant i took it as a compliment ha how could I not! Thick and gloopy didn't even come to mind! How could it when it was said with this grin...

Just gorgeous! The kids ate like they had never eaten before...,more meat..more veg and please sir can i have some more! Aww just wonderful to see!

Lottie shyfully acted out her lines for her Christmas concert, and happily said that she no longer wanted to be Mary as she was quite happy to be Alien 4 because she had 5 more lines to learn than Mary did, then she sang what seemed to be the longest song ever and wasn't even her song in the hope that whoever had that part may pull out giving her the chance of stardom...bless her!

Joseph...oh Joseph was just Joseph... happy...excited and full of energy, considering he finished off the leg of lamb that was quite an achievement!

What a day and what brilliant quality company! My first taste of Tiller Christmas left me wanting lots more! x

OH Nigella!!!

Thought I'd do a quick little blog post in tribute of good ole Nigella for the silent laughter this little video brought to me this lunchtime... check this big beauty out

I also wanted to point out that the only thing this woman has ever made me wanna taste from her voluptuous innuendo filled presentation of dishes is her 'Marmite Spaghetti'...oh yes mamma!

This has got to be one of the simplest things I or you can or will ever make!

Crucials 

• Spaghetti
• One spoonfull of marmite
• Big knob (stop it!) of butter
• Salt and pepper
• Grated cheese

A Real Quickie

• Boil the spaghetti
• Drain and add a big knob of butter
• Add one spoonfull of marmite and stir
• Season with salt and pepper
• Top with grated cheese

That's it! 

Easy, tasty and something I'm quite sure can turn those Marmite Haters into Lovers!

Cottage Pie

What always confuses me about cottage pie and shepherds pie is which is with beef and which is with  lamb. It's one of those things you are always told "shepherds = sheep, cottage = beef" but I never seem to remember even when the above seems pretty straightforward.

This recipe is for cottage pie, simple, meaty and using up lots of things in my fridge :-)

Crucials

• One onion (i used half red and half white)
• Two cloves of garlic
• One leek
• One carrot
• Four chestnut mushrooms
• One beef stock cube
• Two big spoonfulls of Passata (or tomato purée)
• 500 grams of lean minced beef
• Salt and Pepper
• Glug of Lea Perrins
• One teeny pinch of sugar
• One tea spoonfull of mixed herbs
• Four medium potatoes
• Glug of milk
• Knob of butter
• Chunk of mature cheddar (optional)

Mincing

• Chop the onion, carrot, leek and mushrooms and fry gently in a big saucepan with crushed garlic
• Sauté so its soft
• Sprinkle the beef stock and stir in
• Add the tomato passata/purée
• Season with salt and pepper
• Add a glug of Lea & Perrins
• Cook till so the meat is cooked through and browned
• Sprinkle with sugar and add the herbs
• Continue to cook on a low heat and stir regularly

Mashing

• Peel and boil the potatoes
• When they're soft, drain and add the butter, put the lid on and shake so they break up
• Add a glug of milk and mash the potatoes till soft and fluffy 

Pie Pie

• Preheat the oven at 200degrees
• Add the mince into a pie dish and cover with mash potato

• Sprinkle strong cheddar over the top and bake in the oven for approx 30mins until cheese has melted and top has crisped and browned a little

Serve with peas or green side salad (iceberg lettuce, cucumber and celery) nom nom we both had more than second helpings!

Chicken, ham and leek pie ala'Tenby

OMG it took a lot for me to do this today considering the hangover from hell I have from Amy's hen night at Kanaloa. It was nearly substituted with ham egg and chips, but oh no i suddenly got my oompth  back and gave it a go.

Looked online at about 6 recipes and decided some were a little too simple and others were far too complicated for my brain and taste buds today so thought I'd take bits of each and do it my own way.

Here it goes, this one is sooooo good you really must try!

Crucials

• Two leeks
• Six chestnut mushrooms
• Chunk of Ham (as per my ham joint or use thick sliced ham approx 3 slices)
• Half an onion
• Two chicken breasts
• One centimetre slice of butter
• One Big Spoonfull of plain flour
• Three quarters of a pint of chicken stock
• Three big spoonfulls of thick double cream
• Half a lemon
• One sheet of ready rolled puff pastry
• Salt
• Pepper

Making the Filling

• Chop the onions, mushrooms and leeks
• Slice the chicken breasts into strips
• Cube the ham into small pieces
• In a large saucepan fry the mushrooms, onion and leeks and season with salt and pepper, fry slowly so it sautés and doesn't burn

• In a separate saucepan melt the butter and once melted add the flour stirring constantly, when it gets to a thick pulp add the chicken stock and stir rigorously, it helps using a whisk
• When it's smooth add the cream and continue to stir until all the lumps have gone and its a creamy sauce texture
• Stir it into the veg mix above
• Add the raw chicken and allow it all to boil, then reduce and let it simmer
• Squeeze in the lemon, add the ham and stir
• Simmer for approx 20mins until chicken has properly cooked through

Pie pie

• In a pie dish, add the filling
• Cover the pie dish with the pastry
• Whisk an egg up and brush the egg on the top of the pie 
• Bake for approx 35-40 mins until the pie is golden

Made with love for my hungover Mirek  x

Serve with creamy mash potato!

Pappa Spoon inspired Sweet Orange Honey Baked Ham

I tried this ham a week ago when my dad made it and I literally couldn't stop picking, it's absolutely delicious.

The only problem was that I didn't have all the right ingredients so had to improvise a bit with the cloves and spices.

Crucials

• One smoked gammon joint (I used a Tesco value joint about £3.50)
• One carton of orange juice
• One onion
• Cloves and Spices (which I didn't have but I did have a sachet/tea bag of mulled wine spices, so used two of them)
• 4 bay leaves
• Three big spoonfulls of Honey
• One spoonfull of wholegrain mustard
• Half a lemon
• Glug of orange juice
• Crushed chillis
• One spoonfull of soft brown sugar

Cooking the ham

• Put the ham in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil
• Once it starts boiling, turn it off, drain the water and place back into the saucepan
• Pour over the carton of orange juice so it half covers the ham 
• Pour cold water over the top so it covers all of the ham
• Chop the onion in half and add it to the saucepan
• Add the bay leaves and one sachet of the cloves and spices

• Bring to the boil then turn it down and simmer for approx 3 hours
• Remove from the pan and cut off most of the fat and skin from the top, however make sure you leave a thin layer 
• Criss cross the top of the ham with a knife cutting through slightly to the meat
• Place into a roasting tray

Making the Glaze

• Mix the honey, lemon, glug of orange, chillis, brown sugar, cloves and spices and mustard together 
• Spoon over the glaze covering all of the ham and making sure it seeps in through the criss cross

Roasting the Ham

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
• Place the glazed ham joint into the oven for approx 25-35 mins until the ham is roasted

• Make sure you baste the ham every 10 mins with the glaze and juices from the roasting tray
• If the juices and glaze start to burn a bit in the tray then transfer the ham to a clean roasting tray for the last 10 mins

So sweet and soooo delicious and perfect for Christmas.

Spicy roast chicken, rice and a bit on the side

I nicked this idea from Jamie's Great Britain, having watched him make it and considering how much it made us dribble I thought I'd give it ago but slightly adapted of course.

Top Tip Essential: Marinade for at least one hour

Crucials

• One whole chicken
• Three big cloves of garlic
• Thumb size piece of ginger
• Three small fresh red chillis
• Two big spoonfulls of tomato puree
• One spoonfull of ground coriander
• One spoonfull of turmeric
• One spoonfull of garam masala
• One spoonfull of curry powder
• One tea-spoonfull of dry chilli
• Two lemon
• One spoonfull of sea salt
• One tea-spoonfull of pepper
• Two big spoonfulls of natural yoghurt
• Half a red onion
• A quarter of cucumber
• 10 small plum tomatoes
• Glug of olive oil
• Glug of white wine vinegar

Making the marinade

• Grate the garlic cloves and the ginger into a mixing bowl
• Squeeze in one whole lemon
• Add the chillis, coriander, tomato puree, turmeric, garam masala, curry powder, sea salt, pepper and yoghurt and stir into a thick paste
• Place the chicken into a dish and slice through the skin and the chicken meat all over the breast and legs
• Make pockets under the skin and deepen the slices
• Fill the pockets with the marinade and work it into the chicken and over and under the skin so it's covered
• Marinade for as long as possible in the fridge

A good roasting

• Heat the oven on 225 degrees
• Place the chicken into a roasting tray and shove half a lemon squeezed slightly into the cavity
• Place on the middle of the oven and roast for approx 1.5-2  hours
• Baste the chicken every half hour with the juices
• It needs to look burnt on the outside because of the yoghurt, which you can scrape off after

A bit on the Side

• Chop the tomatoes, red onion and cucumber into small pieces
• Season with salt and pepper
• Add a glug of white wine vinegar
• Add a glug of olive oil
• Stir and serve

Serve with basmati rice and a squeeze of lemon...delicious

So annoyed, it looked so delicious i couldn't wait to cut into it and so forgot to take a pic of the whole chicken straight from the oven!

It was soooo good, we had second helpings and there's plenty left over for lunch tomorrow x

Time for a forking spoonfull

Oh and how could I forget! The clock! Another little Tenby discovery..how apt!

Tasty Tenby

Wow what a beautiful place! I really didn't expect it to be as nice as it was when I booked our 2 nights away in Tenby, took us long enough to decide that's where we wanted to go and do you know what confirmed it? An article we saw in the Metro on the way to work one morning about a guy who caught the biggest cod (think it was cod) and it would have been a world record if he hadn't of eaten half of it haha!.

4 hours from London, the hotel was lovely, people so friendly, nice hilly walk to the beach, little bit windy so grateful for ear muffs and Barbours and when we got to the coast we were gob-smacked, breathtaking views, the most amazing beaches, beautiful houses and just so tranquil it's exactly what we needed.

Discoveries galore, every corner we turned was aww look at that, wow look over there...just beautiful (that's been my fave word for the last few days).

I'm not going to write about our whole time away but I do want to share some of the best bits....

We found the most amazing hidden restaurant/pub it's called The Plantagenet with open fires, candles and vintage delights..

There we had our first taste of Tenby..delicious, local seafood fish cakes and mussels mariniere..Mmm Mmm Mmmmmm

Wanted to go back the next day but it was closed and instead we got stalked by the chef haha 

That night we went back to the hotel for dinner as the reviews had been so good and we had the best steak we've ever had ever! It really doesn't look that great in this pic so I wasn't going to share  but I had to just cos it was :-)

Sorry upside down couldn't rotate for some bizarre reason!

Next day we went back to the beach to explore the caves and look for crabs...plenty of caves but no crabs! Check this out...

So much to see and discover, so quiet and so romantic..loved every second.

For lunch we stepped into The Bay Tree, now from first impressions I reckon it could have been pretty basic but once again the taste of Tenby didn't fail to surprise us..Mirek must have had the best homemade chicken, ham and leek pie i have ever tasted something I would never have chosen but has now been added to my list of 'must makes'..buttery and so full of flavour it really was amazing!

I was still longing for my Plantagenet mussels so had some again, not quite as good but good!

The rest of the holiday we spent on the juke box in local pubs, warming up next to log fires and chasing the tide. I can't wait to go back, especially for the sail out to see the seals.

12 Bellys, 6 Rellys and Aunty Hanna

Wow...what a feast and a great toast to Beryl! Still can't believe I never met her, but I feel like I have with all the wonderful stories and anecdotes.

Aunty Hanna's new home was special, my eyes wandered round transfixed at all the ornate trinkets and treasures, two tables beautifully dressed like a vintage tea party, olives, pistachios and mini cheddars on the side...aww Beryl would have loved it!

Funny funny night, my still mouth hurts from laughing...Mirek on top form.. Stephen and his bum arms...and PA trying to force feed us with 48 bottles of the best red wine..and books about the Nigerian Civil War..think I might give that one a miss!

The meal was delicious...Pea mousse and bacon shavings with asparagus and baby gem for starters.

Main was sooooo tasty, paprika pork, rice, green bean salad and mini gherkins yum yum, going to make this one Ala'Spoons and share on here soon...

Now I'm not a great fan of desserts, give me a cheese board any day but Mmmm Mmmm mmmm zesty lemon mousse and sweet orange sponge tart to finish the evening was a perfect Topper!

Lovely evening had by all x

Porking Lovely!

The Scotch Hen Egg was delish! The peppery pork, perfectly cooked egg just YUM!  The Pork Pie was lovely but not delicious the pastry a little bit too soft, lacking the buttery crunch when freshly cooked ...would have been YUM if we bought it 3 days earlier! 

But overall we were happy with our F&M delights...even if it was a little bit too early...

Forking & Mason

Lovely afternoon in London, first stop 'Jo Loves' new pop up shop in Mayfair...gorgeous! Next stop..shop..2nd stop..more shop...3rd Fortnum & Mason in search of truffles and goddess olives! No truffle man and no goddam olives.. of all the places I would have expected them but Oh No..and I never would have expected to see these......

BBQ Flavour Worm Crisps, Chocolate Covered Ants and Thai Green Curry Crickets...WTF!! Do people really buy and eat these??? Get me out of here I say, until I saw these....

4 plump pork pies...Mmmmm now you're talking! £14 for 4! Shall we? Oooh yes please thank you sir...just one to share and one Scotch Hen Egg! Picture to follow after brunch tomorrow....

We continued to explore the amazing food hall on the ground floor amidst the champagne n cheese chitter chatter from the rather posh bar, we soooo didn't want to go and join them we'd much rather be the annoying tourists taking pictures of all the amazing discoveries, being smiled at by jealous fellow tourists wanting and contemplating doing the same and then we found this....

Being Polish I've had my fair share of vodka or have I? Scorpion Vodka?? Edible Scorpion Vodka? Why???  Really? Yes really! Could you enjoy that? The only fun I can see in enjoying that bottle is nervously playing a drinking game and getting to the last bit and seeing what poor forker will get to crunch on that beast??? Pure josie grossy gross!

Disgusted we continue our F&M exploration.....but where's Mirek gone?? Found him! With the biggest bottle of Tabasco sauce I have ever seen..WOW that's one hot muther forker!

Amazing and I still can't actually believe that was my first trip to F&M in 36 years??? the fact that it's a 10 min walk from work is actually quite delightfull..I was more excited in there then i was in Selfridges...I'm so glad I don't have a sweet tooth cos if I did I think I would actually be obese!

Lest We Forget...

Goddess Olives and Calamari...yes purrrlease!

Cheated tonight...dinner on Taste London with half of Kandy, Karen...oh so delish!

Goddess olives and Calamari ..Mmmmmm 'Goddess olives' can someone pleeeeease tell me where you can get them??? Waitrose surely must sell them? I'm in desperate need of a purchase!

Anyway nothing better than great company and great food! Thank you Please x

Creamy Chicken Curry

I came across this recipe I think on  'Saturday Kitchen' one morning, but of course I adapted it in my own concoctive way.. it's really yummy, creamy and as good if not better then you would get in a decent Curry House according to Mirek, love him!


Top Tip Essentials: Coat the chicken with spiced flour seasoning before lightly frying and adding to your sauce


Crucials

• One onion
• Three/four chicken breasts
• One red pepper
• Half a pack of mushrooms
• Two big spoonfulls of peas
• One red chilli
• One lime
• One can of coconut milk
• Half a big tub of greek yoghurt
• Black pepper
• 200ml of chicken stock
• Three spoonfulls of plain flour
• Two spoonfulls of Garam Masala
• Two spoonfulls of Turmeric
• Two spoonfulls of Medium Curry Powder
• One spoonfull of Ginger

Preparing the chicken

Mix the flour, garam masala, turmeric, ginger and black pepper in a mixing bowl


Curry concocting

• Chop the chicken into cubes and add to the bowl of spiced flour mix and stir so all pieces are coated 
• Chop the onions and fry until clear in a large deep frying pan
• Slice the mushrooms and add to the onions until they start to brown
• In a separate frying pan fry the chicken pieces until they are golden and brown approx 5 mins then put to one side
• Chop the red pepper and chillis and add to the onions
• Prepare the chicken stock and add to the onions, peppers, mushrooms and chillis
• Pour in the coconut milk and yoghurt and stir
• Add the curry powder
• Add the chicken pieces and peas
• Simmer for approx 20-25mins

Serve with basmati rice and a squeeze of lime...delicious!

Give me Soft Shell Crab anyday!

Writing a brief whilst watching MasterChef Professionals making fresh crab salad using white and brown meat from the main body of the crab only.

Two observations:

1. Dead man's fingers?? what's that all about? not only do they look gross but they're poisonous?
2. Wow what a waste of meat!

Give me soft shell crab from Roka or Yauatcha anyday!

Spice + Spice + Spice = X curry

Loved this article today in Stylist magazine illustrating the maths of spices!

Wild Mushroom, Pancetta & Pea Risotto

Lazy Saturday afternoon on the sofa pre-fireworks, watching endless episodes of Australian Masterchef & Come Dine with Me made us really hungry for comfort food, something tasty, not too heavy and warming before we head out to the Rec to meet the others for the works....what can be more comforting then creamy yummy risotto ooooh and made with the wild mushrooms mum gave us.


Top Tip Essentials: Keep stirring


Crucials

• One Onion
• Knob of butter
• Two cloves of garlic
• One pack of cubed pancetta
• Four chestnut mushrooms
• Handful of wild mushrooms
• Lots of parmesan
• Two pints of chicken Stock
• Half a pack of Arborio risotto 
• Handful of Peas
• Spoonfull of oregano
• Spoonfull of mixed herbs
• Fresh basil
• One lemon
• Salt and pepper

Making the stock

• Add the wild mushrooms into a measuring jug and pour enough hot water over them to cover them
• Leave for 5 mins
• Add a chicken stock cube and pour more hot water to make two pints of stock
• Season with pepper and a spoonfull of oregano

Riiiiiisotto

• Chop and fry the onion with the garlic in the butter
• Once the onion goes clear, add the pancetta and season with salt and pepper
• Add the chestnut mushrooms and fry for a couple of mins
• Squeeze in half a lemon
• Add the risotto rice
• Stir and fry for a couple of mins until all the rice is coated
• Pour in the chicken and wild mushroom stock and stir and let it boil for one minute
• Reduce the heat to simmer
• Keep stirring every time the juices start to settle and become absorbed by the rice
• Add the peas
• Keep stirring 
• Add a spoonfull of parmesan and the mixed herbs
• Season with salt and pepper
• Stir until it forms a really creamy consistency (approx 35mins) you may need to top it with a little more hot water
• Taste to check texture of rice
• When it's ready serve and add loads of fresh parmesan
• Top with fresh basil leaves

Deeeeeelicious!

Picking Porcinis

We used to go mushroom picking as kids, every Sunday as the weather changed from Summer to Autumn, wellies on, baskets and pen knifes in hand off we went..dad taught us which mushrooms were edible and which ones weren't, you learnt quickly as kids, searching under trees, pulling leaves back with our sticks, we found all sorts, amazing toadstools, puffballs we kicked till they burst with clouds of smoke, it was so much fun and trying to find and pick more than my sister made it even better!

Between us we'd pick hundreds then we'd get home dad would clean and prepare them, as we watched on, 50% of them would be crawling with worms and maggots yuk disgusting and what a waste but guess that was all part of the experience, seeing how many mum could dry and turn into her amazing sauce which we ate with onions and cream and fresh bread!

Mum and dad still go most weekends throughout September and October, combined with a pub lunch its a perfect Sunday really...but the only problem now is that I have to beg and plead for her to share them with me, "you only need a few" she says, "Joanna that's enough you don't need anymore!" Ha she's so protective of them as they collect and dry them to last through Xmas and the rest of the year to follow before it's mushroom season again.

 Check these bad boys out a basket full of fungi delights....

Pappa Spoons with two hand picked Prawdziwki...he's a Fungi!

She gave me a batch they picked a few weeks ago reluctantly but proudly and then combined them with real 'prawdziwki' (porcini) mushrooms they brought last weekend all the way from Poland.

The taste is so amazing and until you try them you will never appreciate the power and richness they bring to any dish!

Three Wholesome Words

Whole Foods Market

Putting someone else's words on your plate...

Dare you cook without a cook book? reads a headline on Alexis Gauthier in the Evening Standard tonight! Yes yes yes I heard myself say with a big smile in my mind! 

This makes me happy to read and this image made me happier...  but I did feel a tad of contradiction as I contemplated what recipe to put up as my next post!

Amirekanjo sausage combo

An ole time fave of mine and something I look forward to lots in the Autumn months... traditional sausage'n mash. Deeeeelicious! Got home tonight...weather horrid, miserable, windy, raining, frizzy hair just wanted to be home in my jamas! Mirek had everything going...potatoes peeled and boiling, waitrose toulouse sausages baking in the oven, onions chopped into rings and chestnut mushrooms ready to fry..the only bad thing about this dinner is the smell in the house! Good job we have ridiculous amounts of candles!

Anyway I'm not going to write out a recipe here as I pretty much reckon that most people would do it the same way, how can you possibly go wrong..so I just wanted to share this:

Oh and did I say how much I LOVE Autumn!

Sushi & Manuka

Two things I never used to like until I tried it properly properly! M&S, Sainsburys overpriced Sushi didn't quite tickle my taste buds but cheapo sushi from a proper sushi shop in Soho now you're talking!

Don't get me wrong it does become a bit sickly if you have too much, but I've recently managed to curb my temptation to buy more cos it's cheap and oh do I enjoy it ..... highly recommended, check out this lunchtime delight!

Obviously there was a couple of small pieces I left to the side so not to clutter the plate for the pic, £4 what a bargain!

Manuka Honey....never really understood the hype about honey?? sweet sickly rich and sticky...not for me until I tried Manuka honey drizzled into hot water this morning over a coffee at The Milk Bar with my rather poorly client. It was actually rather nice! Try it he said, it's soooo good for you! So it should be for £20 a pot! What?? And you get an extra pot for 1p at Holland & Barrett...brilliant! Add some lemon, dark rum...yum yum!