Woody the Foodie

BIG PAN COOKERY FOR YOUR PARTY

2012-01-07T12:26:00.000Z

BIG PAN MENU

From £7.50 per person (minimum 10 people)

Our “Big Pan dishes are cooked in a large paella pan above a gas burner

PAELLA

Vegetarian Paella - From £8.50 per head

Chicken Paella From £9.00 per head Seafood Paella - from £10.50 per head

TARTIFFLETE – Is a French dish of Potatoes, Bacon, Onion, Garlic & Cream topped with Relbouchon Cheese . It is unctuous and delicious. A vegetarian version is also available from £9.50 per head

CHOW MEIN or BIRIYANI – These are also 2 delicious alternative dishes.

Barbecue in Portman Square, London W1

2011-07-19T09:49:00.000+01:00

We were fortunate for the second year running to cater a barbecue for a company in the heart of London for over 100 of their staff and clients.

The menu was:
100% Sussex Beef Burgers
Locally Made Cumberland Sausages
Veggie Burgers
Fresh Salmon Fillets
Red pepper & Haloumi Skewers
Free Range Chicken Breast Fillets

Green Salad
Cherry Tomatoes
Coleslaw

All served on rolls made at The Home Cakery in Hove http://www.thehomecakery.co.uk/

Remembrance Sunday Lunch

2010-11-04T21:34:00.000Z

14th November 2010

Served from 12.30

1 Course £7.90 - 2 Courses £10.50 -3 Courses £13.00

Starters

Avocado & Crayfish Cocktail

Chicken Liver Pate

Leek & Potato Soup

Main course

Roast Chicken

Roast Lamb Shank

Roast Beef

All served with roast potatoes, Yorkshire Pudding & vegetables

Chargrilled Mediterranean Vegetable Rotazino

A cannelloni of vegetables topped with a cheese sauce

Desserts

Apple & Blackberry Crumble

Melt in the Middle Chocolate Pudding

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Served with a choice of custard, cream or ice cream

Cheeseboard -£2.00 extra

Coffee, Tea or Speciality Teas -£2.00

£1.00 per meal will be donated to The Poppy Appeal

Service not included

Please reserve your table 01273 441190 or email info@eatfoodlovefood.com

Sussex Yacht Club Christmas Menu

2010-11-02T17:18:00.000Z

Christmas Lunch or Dinner Menu

For Parties & Available all of December in the Restaurant

STARTERS

Stilton & Broccoli Soup

Chicken Liver Paté

with toast

Crayfish Cocktail

served on a bed of baby leaves

MAIN COURSES

Roast Sussex Turkey

served with a home-made stuffing and chipolata

Wild Salmon en Croute

Salmon wrapped in a pastry case with spinach & cream cheese

Mushroom, Hazelnut, Brie

& Cranberry Wellington

delicious ingredients wrapped in a puff pastry case

All the above served with Roast Potatoes & Seasonal Vegetables

DESSERTS

Christmas Pudding

served with cream & brandy butter

Chocolate Melt in the Middle Pudding

served with cream

3 Courses including coffee & a mince pie £16.00

2 Courses including coffee & a mince pie £13.50

CRACKERS & PARTY HATS INCLUDED

reservations preferred Call 01273 441190

info@eatfoodlovefood.com

Bangers On Bonfire Night

2010-11-02T14:53:00.000Z

CLUB NIGHT - 5TH NOVEMBER 2010

SAUSAGE NIGHT AT THE CLUB

ONLY £6.50

CHOOSE FROM A VARIETY OF SAUSAGES INCLUDING:

PORK & HERB, PORK & APPLE, PORK & CHILLI, PORK & LEEK,

LAMB & MINT, BEEF & MUSTARD

Served with either or both:

Mashed Potatoes or Chips,

Baked Beans or Barbecue Beans.

Fried Onion Rings

Coleslaw, Onion Gravy, Sauces & Relishes

DESSERTS FROM £2.50

CHEESEBOARD £4.50

SERVED BUFFET STYLE PLEASE RESERVE YOUR TABLE

01273 441190

"The Chef Doesn't Use Herbs"

2010-07-15T13:37:00.004+01:00

Why do some people think it acceptable to feed hospital patients, the elderly and those in care homes a boring, poor diet?

I work from time to time as a chef in the care sector. Most places try their best, but occasionally you come across a place that is so bad it takes your breath away.

On receiving a booking I make my way to the home or hospital, usually to be greeted by a manager and shown to the kitchen. This is exactly what happened last week.

My brief was to cook lunch for 30 in about three hours. Chicken Curry with rice and Chicken Pie with mashed potatoes. Pudding was Fruit Mouse.

I familiarised myself with the oven, the extractors and all the other gizmos.

Now to find the ingredients, found the chicken, but only two onions no garlic and no herbs not even dried ones. Luckily there was some curry powder.

I sent out for some onions and made a passable curry, the chicken pie was ok – just a bit bland.

No vegetables however, because “well they don’t like vegetables”. Not entirely surprising as the only ones on offer were the cheapest of frozen peas, frozen sweet corn (passable) and frozen broccoli (don’t get me started).

When it came to the pudding I couldn’t work out how to make a fruit mouse, with no recipe and only tinned apples or tinned fruit cocktail to work with and very little time. So I rebelled and made an apple crumble with custard, not the same with tinned apples, but it was ok.

I was due to work in this place all week, so I looked ahead to see what delights were in store on the menu. Bear in mind, that we were in the midst of a heat-wave. The following days menu was Lancashire Hot Pot. Chicken stew was the on offer a few days hence with rice pudding with sultanas as desert.

The entire menu reminded me of the school dinner choices I had back in the late 1960s, no effort was made to make the menu either seasonal or interesting.

The entire weeks fruit and vegetable order consisted of 2 kg of onions and a similar quantity of carrots and courgette. No salad and no fruit.

The following day I arrived to cook the Lancashire Hot Pot. I had purchased a pot of dried mixed herbs and some lamb stock cubes. I went to ask for the £1.40. To be told by the unit manager “Our chef doesn’t use things like that”.
“What does he use? “ I enquired

I was then led back to the kitchen in the manner of a naughty schoolboy and proudly shown a pot of Tesco’s gravy granules. “Well” the manger said “some chefs use different methods”. I was dumb struck and I didn’t get my £1.40. But I did use my stock cubes and herbs.

The pudding that day was banana custard, ok, not special, but ok. “Where are the bananas “ I asked. “Oh we don’t use real bananas, we use this” and was handed a packet of banana flavoured Angel Delight.

I never gave my children Angel Delight and the thought of giving Angel Delight to 30 fully grown adults no matter what their mental state just appalled me.

I didn’t go back the following day – I just couldn’t face it.

I have also worked in a hospital where I was told not to use fresh leeks and potatoes to make soup but used powdered soup instead. The same establishment criticised me for not knowing how to make sago. “What sort of chef are you if you can’t make sago?”.

Both the care home I recently worked in and the hospital I just mentioned are parts of groups. Other units within the groups offer a much better level of catering and food. Poor managers and lazy chefs have a great deal to answer for.

Good food well cooked will at least provide a better quality of life and with some luck provide a better and healthier outcome.

"The best Curry I've ever cooked"

2010-06-25T11:15:00.000+01:00

The Perfect Chicken Curry

Well last night they said, (daughter no.2 & wife no.1) to me that this was the best curry I have ever cooked. It was almost chicken Tikka Massala but not quite, not as sweet, not too hot. Anyway try it for your self. It’s very simple. Serve it with basmati rice and naan (that is if you can find some decent shop bought naan).

Serves 4

Ingredients.

Section 1

3 Chicken Breasts

2 Lime

200ml Live Yoghurt

Salt & Pepper

Section 2

2 tbs Vegetable Oil

2 Onions

2 Cloves of Garlic

1 Good lump of freshginger

I Red Chilli or 1 heaped tsp Chilli Powder

1tsp Ground Coriander

1 tsp Cumin Seed

1tbsp Turmeric

2 tbsp Muscovado Sugar

1 tsp Tomato Pureé

Section 3

2 Tomatoes

100ml cream or crème fraiche

Method

Dice the chicken breast, place in bowl. Squeeze the lime over the chicken.

Coat with yoghurt, season with salt and pepper and leave covered for at least 30 minutes.

Place pan on a medium heat, chop onions medium coarse, add to pan. Make sure the onions do not colour, Chop the remainder of the ingredients in section 2 and add to pan together with the spices & tomato pureé. Cook gently for at least 10 minutes.

Add the chicken & yoghurt mixture to pan and cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is tender & cooked through. Whilst the chicken is cooking, chop the tomatoes coarsely and add to pan for the last five minutes of cooking.

Check the chicken is cooked. Remove pan from heat, add crème fraiche. Return to heat while stirring. Serve with the rice

Have a BBQ & win the World Cup for England

2010-06-25T01:26:00.000+01:00

World Cup Barbecue 23^rd June 2010

Well England won because we provided a barbecue for a large firm of solicitors in Portman Square in Central London. Now if you want to make sure that England win the World Cup book us now for the quarters, semis & finals!

The Menu follows:

Meat

100% Sussex beef Hamburgers

Cheeseburgers (choice of cheddar, Stilton or Mozzarella)

Chicken Fillets

Chicken & Pepper Brochettes

Fish

Salmon Fillets

Sardines

Vegetarian

Veggie Burgers (home-made red bean and butternut squash)

Haloumi, Courgette & Pepper Baguettes

Served with a choice of home-made relishes, Heinz Ketchup, HP Sauce, mustard and flavoured mayonnaise, and a choice of white or granary rolls & salad garnish

Remember If you don’t book us England can’t win!

Yummy Veggie Burgers

2010-06-01T22:54:00.000+01:00

Yummy Veggie Burgers

I am not the keenest of vegetarian food fans but I had to find a decent tasting vegetarian burger as it had been requested by a client as part of a barbecue I was catering in June.

The commercial available veggie burgers were either tasteless, (the main feature of Quorn), coated with breadcrumbs, (at which point it is no longer a burger), or containing so many additives and ingredients not known to a simple chef that I felt the only course was to make my own.

I consulted widely (many thanks to KatetheBake) and came up with the following recipe which has a good taste, appearance and consistency but in no way beats 200 grams of the finest minced beef.

Ingredients

1kg Butternut Squash

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium onions

2 cloves garlic

I tsp dried or fresh oregano

1 teaspoon ground Coriander

500 grams red kidney beans (either cooked or canned)

Bunch fresh coriander, chopped (or cilantro if you are American)

Juice of 1 lime

150g dried breadcrumbs (or more to taste)

I tablespoon Xanthan gum

2 tablespoons Engevita

150g dried breadcrumbs (or more to taste)

Salt & Pepper to taste.

Method

1) Cut peel and de-seed the squash, cut in chunks, place on roasting tray sprinkle with, salt & pepper & drizzle with Olive Oil. Place in a pre-heated oven, 180c, for 40 minutes or until soft.

2) While the squash is cooking gently fry the onions and garlic till soft but not brown.

3) Place the cooked or tinned kidney beans in a food processor & process into a smooth paste. Add the oregano & dried coriander blitz or a few more minutes. The remove contents of processor to bowl.

4) Process the squash then combine with the kidney bean mixture. Add the lime juice, fresh coriander, Xanthan gum and Engevita. Add salt & pepper to taste. Start adding & mixing in the breadcrumbs until you get a mixture that will hold together in a ball.

5) Make into burger like patties. Heat oil in pan, cook patties for a minute either side or longer if cooking from frozen.

The patties can be frozen & cooked from frozen.

Baked Sea Trout with Pink Fir Potatoes & Hollondaise Sauce

2010-03-15T19:58:00.000Z

It felt like the first day of Spring the sun was shining and it was Shoreham Farmers Market. I walked to the always busy fish stall and bought a line-caught Sea Trout, a big boy weighing in at around 2kg more than enough for the three of us for supper. The fish itself had a bright eye and deep red gills the best signs of a freshly caught fish and less than a tenner. What a bargain.

At the vegetable stall run by Crumbs of Sussex (http://www.crumbsofsussex.co.uk) I bought some gloriously misshapen Pink Fir potatoes. Naturally I had to make some Hollondaise sauce so the eggs came from the local farm in Steyning and the salt free butter from the Bookham (http://www.bookham.com) cheese & pasta stall. With few suitable local vegetable around I bought some green beans & mangetout from the local Co-op.

Recipes

Sea Trout

Ingredients

Sea Trout

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Lemon Juice

Method

Brush some foil with the oil, place the cleaned fish on the foil, season well, sprinkle with lemon juice. Place in an oven pre-heated to 180c. Check after 20 minutes, if the flesh is soft & lifts easily from the bones it’s done, otherwise return to oven for a further few minutes.

Hollondaise Sauce

Ingredients

6 Egg Yolks

250 grams unsalted butter

Salt

Pepper

Lemon Juice

1Tablespoon Wine Vinegar

Method

Fine sauces such as Hollondaise and Mayonnaise hide terrors for some cooks but with care they are both simple to cook.

Ideally you need a double boiler – if you don’t have one place a bowl over a pan of near boiling water.

Place the egg yolks and vinegar in the top of your double boiler, whisking gently. Start adding the butter , roughly a teaspoon at a time letting the butter combine with the egg yolk, keep stirring gently all the time. Once the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove from heat. Place the top part of boiler into a bowl of iced water to prevent further cooking. Add lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste.

Cook your vegetables & potatoes to taste – I prefer mine al dente. What a lovely meal, mostly local and almost healthy!

Restaurants in Shoreham-by-Sea

2010-03-01T23:49:00.001Z

As a change from my usual blogs, I have written about some of our local restaurants. This appears as an article in The Sussex Newspaper.

Shoreham-by-Sea for a small town with a few thousand inhabitants, has well over a dozen restaurants and pubs where you can have some excellent food. The restaurants represent a range of cultures & cuisines.

When Brio’s Restaurant opened 18 months ago it became the third Italian Restaurant in Shoreham. Brio’s is located just near the Station in a building which once housed the infamous Burrels Pub. The restaurant specialises in Pizza and during the short time it has been open has established a good following, it is the only Italian Restaurant in Shoreham actually run by Italians.

The other two Italian restaurants are The Galleria & Tosca. Tosca is actually a break- away from the Galleria and by general consent the best Italian restaurant in the town. Apart from pasta & pizza Tosca have a range of more sophisticated dishes & daily specials. About two years ago Tosca took over the premises next door and is now by some way the largest restaurant in Shoreham and has ample room for large groups and parties. The staff are noted for their friendly and amiable approach and the clientele comprise all sorts and all ages.

When it comes to The Galleria, I must declare an interest; I live in the same street as this restaurant and have been harassed and harried by their anti-social parking and general lack of good neighbourliness. As a consequence I have not eaten there for some years but the restaurant does appear to be popular, however reports suggest that the food is not of the standard of Tosca.

There are one and a half Indian Restaurants in Shoreham Town Centre. The one is The Indian Cottage on Shoreham High Street and The Curry Place just round the corner is the half. The Curry Place was owned by brothers that fell out. The literally split the business, fortunately for brother number one the kitchen was on his side of the business so brother two was left with a restaurant without a kitchen, in other words a room with tables and chairs.

The Curry Place does continue to trade and brother two has opened a take-away next door. The Curry Place serves the usual range of food that you find in most Indian Restaurants but additionaly has some specials which are out of the ordinary, I can recommend the Tandorri Red Fish, (a whole red fish lightly spiced & baked in the Tandor). The restaurant has a light modern appearance.

By contrast The Indian Cottage is very much the traditional Indian Restaurant with thick plush red carpets, low ceilings and a menu that can be found in most Indian Restaurants in any town. The food is of a good standard and is rarely disappointing but on the other hand rarely reaches any heights.

Shoreham is lucky to have a Vietnamese restaurant, this The Shoreham Vietnamese Restaurant has been in the High Street for over 20 years. The standard of cooking is excellent and they not only have Vietnamese specialities but Chinese dishes too. The staff are helpful & friendly and the restaurant is comfortable & intimate.

The most recent addition to the restaurant scene in Shoreham is Chambers Restaurant. This restaurant can also be found in the High Street in what was once Shoreham Town Hall. The restaurant is well laid and well furnished and decorated and has the feel of a good traditional restaurant. The food is mostly British with other European influences. The service is slightly formal yet friendly and the food is presented with panache and elegance. I have eaten a variety of dishes and have always been pleased. The Scallops I had as a starter last time I went were fresh, sweet and excellently cooked. The venison I had was also cooked to my liking and served with an excellent sauce.

In my next contribution I will talk about the pubs and bars in Shoreham.

Brio Restaurant, 46 Brunswick Road, Shoreham-by-Sea , 01273 446 445

Chambers Restaurant, High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea, 01273 446 677

The Curry Place, 112 High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea, 01273 454 748

Galleria Restaurant, 22 East Street, Shoreham-by-Sea, 01273 440 404

Indian Cottage, 74 High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea, 01273 455 288

Shoreham Vietnamese Restaurant, 71 High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea 01273 453 370

Tosca, 41 High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea, 01273 441 001

Dinner for 125(ish)

2010-01-26T18:38:00.000Z

Dinner for 200 - easy enough, a disorganised client - not unusual, a badly arranged venue - par for the course. All three together a bit difficult.

I then adjusted the menu to allow for the lack of space at the venue, the menu was finalised as:
Starter: Crayfish Cocktail followed by Pheasant with a Cranberry, Orange and Red Wine Sauce served with Red Cabbage, Green Beans and New Potatoes in a Herb Butter, (recipes at the foot of the article) and a desert made by "a chocolate expert" which the client was to provide.

The evening went swimingly apart from the desert which turned out to be a cake called a Japonnaise from a local bakery chain. This confection turned out to be and iced chocolate sponge topped with chocolate butter cream.

The other thing the guest didn't seem to like was the fact that they had to to the washing up. The organisers decided that the guests at this £75.00 per head should roll up their ballgowns and do the washing up. To save money! They guests were not happy but it was for charity. Hey Ho!

Recipes:

Crayfish Cocktail
Ingredients:
Crayfish (shelled, allow about 8 per person)
Rocket
Mayonnaise
Lemon
Paprika

Method
Add the zest and the juice of one lemon to 250ml of mayonnaise, mix the crayfish in with the mayonnaise, coating well. Place Rocket in a glass or small bowl lay crayfish mayonnaise mixture on top, decorate with slice of lemon.

Pheasant with a Cranberry, Orange and Red Wine Sauce (serves 4)
Ingredients
2 Oven Ready Pheasants (allow ½ a bird per person)
1 Large Onion (sliced)
2 Oranges
250 gm Cranberries
Glass Red Wine
Garlic (thinly sliced)
Fresh Thyme
Flour
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Chicken stock

1 large casserole sufficient for all the pheasant

Quarter the birds and dust each piece with seasoned flour. Zest and juice the oranges.
Heat enough olive oil to cover the base of your casserole. Brown the pheasant in your casserole putting it aside when nicely coloured.
When you have finished browning the pheasant de-glaze the pan with the red wine. Gently cook the onion and garlic in the pan until transparent but not brown. (Add another drop of olive oil as needed)
Replace the pheasant in the pan pour in the orange juice and tip in the cranberries. Heat gently until it starts to bubble. Top up the casserole with the chicken stock so the pheasant is covered. Add the sprigs of fresh thyme. Place lid on casserole and put in oven for 2 hours on about 160c.
Serve with green beans and new potatoes.

This sauce and method also works well for Guinea Fowl

Bon appetite!

Moonstone - Sri Lankan Restaurant Hove

2009-12-17T23:36:00.003Z

Mrs Woody and myself set out on one of our infrequent forays to find a new restaurant to try.

Many years ago we visited Sri Lanka & loved the food so the opening of a new Sri Lankan restaurant was to us like an oasis amongst the mediocre run of the mill curry restaurants.

We did go to the restaurant on a cold night so we were looking forward to the warming tastes and the bold flavours we found in Sri Lanka only to be disappointed on all counts.

The restaurant had a minimalist decor, stripped pine floors and similar tables and brightly lit. The room itself struck cold and the owner only switched on the heating after being asked by myself.

The food itself was mediocre, bland and tasteless.

We shared all courses and had deep fried capsicum and deep fried tuna balls as a starter. Both were unremarkable.

For the mains we tried one prawn dish and one chicken dish and a couple of vegetable dishes. All dishes tasted the same. The sauces were uniform, sticky and red, the only taste note I could identify was cheap soy sauce.

We paid roughly £40.00 for our meal, including one beer and one OJ and left.

When in Sri lanka we ate excellent food with fresh tastes, hot spices, fruity flavours and bold & extravagant seasoning. This restaurant missed all these points and it was bleeding freezing!

Cranberries for Christmas

2009-12-09T21:56:00.005Z

Years ago in the midst of time I won a Gold Award for my Cranberry Sauce. That was back in the day (God how I hate that expression) when a Gold Award at The Great Taste Awards meant something.

Well, when a few days ago I ended up with a shed load of Cranberries left over from a function I got the old pan out and created.

Now if you want to make an award winning Cranberry Sauce just follow the recipe below.

Ingredients

Cranberries

Orange Juice

Sugar

You need half the quantity of sugar to Cranberries. (Eg 1kg cranberries - 500g sugar).

Place pan on a medium to hot hob.

First pour enough orange juice in the pan to generously cover the base.

Add the sugar, start to melt the sugar in the orange juice. If there appears to be insufficient orange juice for the volume of sugar, then add some more juice.

Once all the sugar has melted and you have an orange syrup add the Cranberries.

Stir the pan occasionally to coat all the Cranberries with the orange syrup. After a few minutes the Cranberries will start to pop. Once the majority have popped remove the pan from heat.

And that is all there is to it! Either bottle in sterile jars or keep in the fridge, will last for up to 3 months in a cold fridge.

Happy Christmas cooking!

Pasta with Sausages & Red & Yellow Pepper Sauce

2009-11-27T13:09:00.013Z

You know when you get stuck for things to cook you often revert to a list that you rotate. This dish is a family favourite easy and quick to cook.

This recipe comes originally from Marcella Hazan's book "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" The sausages the recipe suggests are Italian sweet sausages. I use a very herby sausage, made by my local butcher in Shoreham as my alternative. I also make no appologies for using tinned tomatoes - life is too short to skin and seed tomatoes!

The ingredients are:
3 peppers (2 red 1 yellow or vice-versa)
Olive oil enough to cover the bottom of your pan 1/2 cm or 1/4 inch
I medium onion chopped
4 sausages
Small tin chopped tomatoes
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan (some for cooking & some for the table)
Penne roughly 500 grams

First bake the sausages in the oven for about 20 minutes on 180c. While this is happening put the peppers which you have already seeded and cut into halves under a hot grill for a few minutes. Remove any charred skin from the peppers, then cut into pieces roughly 1 inch square (can''t work out what that is in cms).

Remove sausages from oven and slice into 1/2 inch pieces (roughly1cm ish)

Put your pan on a medium heat, add the oil to the pan, then sauté the onion until it becomes pale brown, cook the sliced sausage for a couple of minutes before adding the peppers which need gentle frying for seven or eight minutes. Then add the tomatoes and season well. Let the pan simmer for 20 minutes. Whilst the sauce is simmering cook the pasta. When the pasta is cooked sprinkle with Parmesan and some butter or olive oil and toss thoroughly.

Then add the sauce to the pasta. The sauce can be cooked ahead of time and reheated - I would not reccomend freezing.

Sticky Toffee and Chocolate Pudding

2009-11-03T09:00:00.005Z

Feeling in a pudding sort of mood and knowing that the only way I can keep three women in my life quiet I resorted to chocolate.

Gordon Ramsay's book "cooking for friends" has many simple recipes that are economic to produce and use mostly standard store cupboard ingredients. This sticky toffee & chocolate pudding has all those attributes. Apart from the medjool dates which cost around a fiver each. (Small exaggeration).

Prior to assembling the ingredients you have to rush down the corridor stripping off and getting dressed in whites (optional step, does nothing to improve taste of food). Prepare 8 small pudding basins or ramekins by buttering them, lining them with buttered baking parchment.

The ingredients are:

First ingredients:

200g dates pitted

175g dark muscovado sugar

250ml water

100g butter (lightly or unsalted)

1tsp vanilla extract

I tbsp strong coffee

3 large eggs

Second Ingredients

150g flour

50g cocoa powder

1tsp bicarb

1tsp baking powder

Sauce Ingredients

100g dark muscavado sugar

75g butter (lightly or unsalted)

250g double cream

Put the sugar,pitted & chopped dates in the water - simmer till soft. Add the remaining first ingredients and process till smooth. (Make sure you remove all the date stones otherwise you get a tsunami). Once processed put the ingredients in a bowl.

Combine all the second ingredients and then sieve into bowl containing the first ingredients folding and stirring gently. Once mixed divide evenly among the 8 basins or ramekins. Place in oven for 25 mins at190c or until the sponge is ready.

While waiting for the sponges to rise combine all the sauce ingredients in a pan and heat gently until all the ingredients are melted and combined.

Remove pots or ramekins from oven and remove sponges once they are cool enough to handle. Pour sauce on top. Serve with cream.

Mrs Woody ate one but daughter no. 2 managed two. I thought they were light and sweet and chocolaty - but I'm not keen on puds.

Chocolate Bread & Butter Pudding

2009-10-27T17:08:00.006Z

I am not the biggest pudding eater or maker in the world, though luckily with three women in the house I am blessed with a great audience for anything sweet.

Having loads of bread left over I decided to make a Chocolate Bread & Butter Pudding, I found a James Martin recipe on the BBC food web site.

The recipe is :

Ingredients
150ml/¼pt double cream
150ml/¼pt milk
55g/2oz dark chocolate
Splash Whiskey
2 free-range eggs
1 free-range egg yolk
55g/2oz caster sugar
4 slices white bread, cut in half.

I varied the recipe slightly by just using all single cream rather than double cream & milk. I also ommited the whiskey as I prefer my Scotch unadulterated and in any event would not be appreciated by the intended consumers.

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Place the cream, milk & chocolate in a pan and heat until the chocolate has melted. Stir gently to combine.
3. Place the eggs, egg yolk and sugar in a bowl and whisk until pale and fluffy.
4. Pouring gradually while whisking, add the hot chocolate milk mixture to the whisked eggs.
5. Transfer the chocolate milk and eggs mixture back to the pan. Heat gently, whisking constantly, until the custard has thickened.
6. Arrange the bread slices in an ovenproof dish and pour the chocolate custard evenly over. Allow to sit for at least fifteen minutes to absorb, then place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until set.
7. Remove from the oven and serve with lashings of single cream.

The entire recipe took less than 15 minutes to make. The pudding was delightfully sticky and eaten greedily - particularly by Mrs Woody who had thirds!

Visting with Heather Mills (Maccas Ex)

2009-10-18T19:41:00.006+01:00

It was a beautiful day today it feels almost like the last day of summer, Mrs Woody and myself decided to visit the café that has been taken over, by Heather Mills. (You know Heather Mills, she once married Paul McCartney, he was a guitarist and singer with a popular music combo of some note)

The café is located at Hove lagoon. If you have a picture of swaying palms, lissome tanned beauties and sandy shores - you have the wrong picture. Hove Lagoon is set between the main coast road & the sea. It is a kidney shaped concrete pool about 100m long, at the eastern end lies a playground, the playground café has been turned into what is now a vegan café called VBites.

VBites menu is strange for a vegan restaurant, they seem locked into providing ersatz meat products such as veggie burgers, sausages, bacon and ham and loads of other pretendy meat dishes, rather than grasping the nettle and offering proper no meat cuisine.

The entrance to VBites is situated between two public toilets (I studiously avoid any cheap jibes) it has been re-decorated and refurbished in a modern clean style with . The tables outside are uncomfortable park tables with benches attached.

I had heard from friends about the soya ice-cream so I took their advice and didn't have one. I have also recently tried a cappucino made with soya milk. (A nasty and life shortening experience). So Mrs Woody and myself declined any refreshment and walked a mile or so along Hove seafront, we drank acceptable filter coffees, she had a pastie and I had a chicken pie. The pastie was ok, the chicken pie was a mistake and it was a shame that a chicken had to die for the making of it.

All the places we passed along the seafront were busy with queues unlike Ms Mills establishment which was not particularly busy for such a beautiful day.

I think people in the area either would like a proper vegetarian restaurant with top quality food or a cafe serving REAL sausages, burgers and bacon - the current half-way house does nothing for anyone.

Carbonnade of Beef for a Winters Day

2009-10-11T19:55:00.012+01:00

I don't what it is about today but it feels like the first day of winter, perhaps it's because I'm feeling a bit coldy and slightly jaded. So I decided to make some real comfort food for supper.

Like with all stews and casseroles the quality of the meat is the most important thing.

I get my beef from John Howe from Chanctonbury who trades at our local Farmer's Market. John is a true eccentric (borderline nutter) he wears a boater 12 months of the year, wears tweed and drives a Landrover of indeterminate age. His stall is always decorated with signs against the EU and things foreign ("for the convenience of customers we do not accept euros"). He still insists in selling everything in pounds and ounces. However his beef, which comes from a fifty year old herd, is of top quality.

I always use a cut for stews called "Jews Fillet". (The Jews' fillet is part of the silverside and got its derogatory name because it was often disguised and sold as real fillet for a much higher price). Its a lean cut and the same price usually as any stewing or braising cut.

The other vital ingredient is the beer. Most recipes will say you should use a lager, as most of these beers are tasteless I use a bitter, but if you want a really strong flavour you can even use a stout.

The recipe for Carbonnade of beef is as follows:

Ingredients
1 kg stewing beef
4 Onions
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
500ml beef or veg stock
350 ml Beer
2tbsp Dijon Mustard
3tbsp flour
1tbsp brown sugar
Seasoning
White wine vinegar

Method

Fry the onions and garlic gently until golden, remove from pan and put in casserole.

Whilst onions are cooking cut meat into chunks and coat with seasoned flour.

Brown meat in pan in batches then remove to casserole. Put remaining flour in casserole coating onions and meat.

Add sugar to frying pan and de-glaze with stock, add beer to stock in frying pan, bring to boil. Pour over meat & onions in casserole. Add bay leaf, thyme, Dijon mustard.

Cook in medium oven for 3 hours at 160c.

Check for flavour if over sweet add a little wine vinegar. Serve with mashed potatoes and a green veg. (Did I tell you to remove the bay leaf)

Making Chocolate Truffles

2009-09-30T09:57:00.000+01:00

Never having made any sort of chocolate and being far from adept at making desserts (or should it be deserts, sometimes spell checker are no use) I started off the process with some trepidation.

After consulting several cookery books, checking recipes on line and taking advice from fellow bloggers I opted for a Nigel Slater recipe.

It is a simple recipe with few ingredients they are: 450gm fine chocolate, 275 ml whipping or double cream and cocoa powder for dusting.

Melt the chocolate gently making sure it is lump free. Whilst the chocolate is melting bring the cream almost to the boil. Add the cream to the chocolate. Chill for at least two hours.

Once the mixture has set have a stiff drink (RIP Keith Floyd). I tried to use two teaspoons to make the balls, but in the end I settled for a melon baller and 1 teaspoon. I did get into a bit of a mess making the first few. To tell the truth it looked like I had been attending a nursery art class. Chocolate everywhere.

Then I remembered reading the advice that you should dust your hands with cocoa powder, this does stop you getting into a total mess.

The result has been tasted by one wife, two children and one random friend of child 2. Wife and child 1 liked the result but found it a bit bitter, child 2 & friend thought they were really good. (3 each and feeling sick).

Excuse the quality of the pictures - I think I got chocolate ganache on the lens, this works far less well than Vaseline in all circumstances.

Shopping in Sainsburys

2009-09-25T14:37:00.000+01:00

Made a mistake today went food shopping in Sainsburys early on a Friday morning. A geriatric convention. Not many people but all of them moving so slowly, trying to get round them was a chore. Once at the till each one of the customers had to discuss their maladies, the weather, the trafic and the state of their colostomy bags. (Might of exagerated that a bit) A normal 15 minute shop took 40 minutes. Now don't get me started on the driving in the car park . . . . . . .

Masterchef the Professional

2009-09-22T12:27:00.000+01:00

This new serries does demonnstrate how inept pros professional chefs seem to be. The programme is divided into three sections. The first being a skill and knowledge test. Most of the professional chefs failed to trim an artichoke, make an edible bruchetta, make and dress a salad amongst other things.

The competitors, by and large seemed happy doing quite complex things whre appearance seemed to be the key but failed on the basics. Am I horiffied becuase I am such a great amateur chef (lol) or do I finally begin to understand why so many meals you have out are so poor.