The Ultimate Recipe Book by Angela Nilsen

A few days ago I picked up a copy (for less than half price) of The Ultimate Recipe Book produced by the BBC Good Food magazine, written by Angela Nilsen.

I read almost all of it through the same night.

Nilsen has picked 50 classic recipes and not only researched the history of each one but looked up as many recipes and variations as she can, sought advice from top chefs and experts and then tried out different options until she's achieved her ultimate version of each dish.

I love the way that each recipe includes an introduction to the dish, comments from various chefs and experts and then feedback on some of the steps she took during the trial process which really helps understand why she's gone for the final ingredients and steps she provides for the final recipe.

Most, but not all have photos of the finished dish.

I'll be trying out recipes soon!

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Kitchen Equipment Geeks

Pete and I are definitely becoming kitchen equipment geeks. Hence this long and rambling post about our new pans, ice-cream machine and food processor!

A few weeks ago we (well, Pete mostly) decided we wanted to replace several of our very aged and cheap pans with some really decent new ones. We weren't fussed about getting a set, just getting the best pans for the job.

We decided to keep a few existing pans - our non-stick stock pot with glass lid, a large cast aluminium (heavy) Berdes Aga saute pan and our existing wok together with one or two other pans. But we wanted some new saucepans and a new small shallow frying pan.

Being quite anal I started thinking about our main criteria and then asked for feedback on a food chat board. Lots of people gave me recommendations for various brands/ models as well as a few warnings against others. And so I did what I always do in such situations, I made myself a document listing all the various makes in the running, looked up their technical specs online and added those to the document and then copied the various quotes from all the people into the document against the relevant brand/ model.

Which left us with one clear winner for the stainless steel category and one in the non-stick category.

Of course, having expensive tastes, we had settled on Meyer Anolon Commercial Clad (which has a 3-ply construction with an aluminium core sandwiched between s/steel exterior and interior). Eeek, expensive! But, aware of some of the good deals we'd found recently, we checked out 3 TKMaxx stores (one near us, one on the way to my parents' house and one near where I work) and to our delight found 3 pans in the Commercial Clad range for not very much at all - firsts, not seconds. This was about a month ago and Pete (who does the majority of the cooking) is extremely pleased with them and is looking after them with slightly alarming tenderness.

Our choice for the non-stick was SSK Titanium range which one poster on the food chat board described as "bullet-proof pans which even metal utensils just don't scratch". He also postulated that the Titanium range sold by Professional Cookware were made by SSK. They look identical apart from the brand logo and when he asked Pro Cookware they said their pans were made by a German company to the same design as their own but using rebranded castings for the logo. We couldn't find any of these pans at a particularly reduced price anywhere so went to the Professional Cookware shop in the Hatfield Galleria this weekend and asked outright whether their pans were made by SSK. Yes, she said, adding that we really knew our pans! No, I just know the right people to ask for advice! We went ahead and bought just one small frying pan. And Pete seems to be in love with it so far.

Also a few weeks ago we went ahead and bought a Magimix Le Glacier 1.1 Litre ice-cream machine. I'd decided on one for my birthday but the model I initially decided on became unavailable (Amazon cancelled my order several weeks after I made it) and it took me a while to decide upon which model to go for next. Anyway, it's one of the inexpensive models which require the bowl to be pre-frozen for at least 12 hours (preferably 24) before use but we've used it a few times so far (on low-fat fruit yoghurts since I'm trying to lose weight again) and we're pleased with it.

Completely coincidentally, this weekend we also purchased a Magimix Cuisine food processor. Our extremely old Braun processor (must be about 20 years old) died about a fortnight ago so I did my anal, online research plus posted on that food chat board again. Given our main criteria the most recommended option was a Magimix though we weren't sure whether to get the 3200 (said to be suitable for feeding 3-4 people), the 4200 (for 4-5) or the 5200 (for more). Also there was the standard lid or the XL variation (with larger feed tube) to choose from. We did a search for the best prices we could find online and then went to John Lewis to see all the models ourselves. The 3200 was definitely too small. The 4200 and 5200 weighed the same and had the same footprint and yet the bowls for the 5200 were bigger so it was an absolute no brainer to go for the 5200 in the end. Especially as the model has three bowls, a large one, a medium one and a small one which still makes it easy to process smaller volumes when necessary. We liked the range of included attachments too. And, whilst JL prices for most of the models were abou £10-20 above the best online prices, their price for the white 5200 was £11 less than the best price we'd found anywhere. So we bought it!

We'd arranged to cook an Indian meal for some friends on Monday night. Because I'm a moron I hadn't realised my mobile wasn't on so we didn't get their message on Saturday morning that they couldn't make it. So we bought all the ingredients. We decided to go ahead and cooked the entire feast eating half on Sunday night and half on Monday night. During the preparation we really tested the food processor and you can colour us very impressed indeed. If we had any doubts about paying so much for a food processer we now understood that you really do get what you pay for! We chopped a large volume of onion, finely and quickly grated small volumes of ginger and garlic, julienned a cucumber, chopped a mix of herbs and spices which we then mixed into minced lamb, created a coriander and green apple fresh chutney... and later we whipped left-over egg whites and made meringues. We still have the dough attachment and the citrus press to try. Oh and I like the way that this processer actually comes with a storage box for the various accessories.

So there you have it, the story of Pete & Kavey: Kitchen Equipment Geeks!

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Very Mini Restaurant Review: Mestizo, nr Warren Street, London

On Monday I met a friend for dinner. We went to a Mexican restaurant called Mestizo which was an interesting experience. Not the nicest of immediate locales, though perfectly safe and only a 2 minute walk from Warren Street tube station. The food was better than most Mexican I've tried in the UK (which is usuallyTex-Mex rather than Mex). Quite meat and cheese heavy but I enjoyed it and it was very reasonably priced too. They also have a tequila bar which a very extensive tequila menu, for those interested.

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My Dough Elephant from La Lotta

Our favourite local Italian restaurant, La Lotta, is practically our second home - we go there far too often. :-)

Bob, the manager, is very good with kids and often invites the younger ones to make things from a piece of pizza dough which he then cooks in the pizza oven and either lets them have or puts up on the wall above the pizza oven.

As I'm a big kid I first asked to do the same on my birthday, some years ago. I've occasionally done so again since. So when we were there with a friend recently and the restaurant was unusually empty, I decided to indulge.

I made the penguin first. It's bad I know which may be because I used a rabbit cookie-cutter, then twisted the rabbit ears and head to one side so the ears made a beak, then cut one ear off, then added wings. Not good. So I was thinking aloud what to make next when Pete threw down the elephant challenge. I think he was trying to think of something I would make an even bigger mess of but oddly enough, the elephant came out rather well. The ear sprang back to a smaller size as I stuck it onto the body making this look more like an Asian elephant than the Africa one I'd actually intended. But the body puffed up like a calzone which was rather cool and the lines I'd knifed onto the trunk are actually visible!

Rather like a proud 5 year old, I'm rather too pleased with my efforts, which now adorn the wall above the pizza oven. They replaced the lizard/gecko thing I'd made a year or so previously as the head had fallen off anyway!!!

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Blue Slushy Rocks!

Taken on New YEar's Day after slurping a lovely blue slushy!

I know it's not sharp but I was holding the camera infront of my face and just guessing and probably moved during exposure!

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French Chocolate Macaroons!

I've long loved French macaroons with their crispy shell, gooey interior and flavoursome filling - and indulged in quite a few during our fortnight in France a couple of months ago.

During that trip I purchased not one but two recipe books dedicated to the macaroon.

I've been planning to make some over the Christmas break and Pete and I finally made these beauties yesterday!

We're rather pleased with them!

The macaroon biscuits are much paler than those in the recipe book because I decided not to add food colouring, which appears in pretty much every recipe I've come across. And they are a touch flatter than those in the books, though only a little. I assume their mixture is a touch less liquid than ours was and so allows one to make slightly taller circles of goo on the baking sheet.

But the taste and texture is just perfect - had I bought these from a shop in France I'd not have been disappointed!!!

(And YES that photo really is of the ones we made!)

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Restaurant Review: Moti Mahal, London

Friday night one of my best friends treated me to dinner as her Christmas gift to me. We went to Moti Mahal in Great Queen Street (between Holborn and Covent Garden tube stations).

Last year we went to Zaika for Christmas and we’d been planning to visit Benares this year. My friend lives in Canada and we meet about once every six weeks, when she’s in London for work. Last night’s date was made at the last minute as she thought she’d still be at a client’s site in South Africa but her plans changed last minute. Unfortunately, a few hours notice for a table in Benares (on a busy Friday night) was unlikely (though I did phone and check just in case) so instead I booked us a table at Moti Mahal, 45 Great Queen Street, between Covent Garden and Holborn.

Having eaten a few times at a Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi (when visiting family) I had been keen to try one of the London branches for some time. Moti Mahal is quite a Delhi institution. I expected the same as what I’d experienced in Delhi – familiar annd tasty dishes cooked very well at reasonable prices. Apparently, although the other London branches are more along the lines of an above-average curry house, the one we visited was something else entirely.

The food was absolutely fabulous. Really, really good! And far more refined and elegant than standard curry house fare.

After cocktails we were served an amuse bouche of carrot and celery soup in miniature white mugs. On top of each mug was balanced a dinky disk of pastry with a chutney or vegetable compote on top. Luckily I couldn’t taste the celery so enjoyed the thick, carroty soup.

For starters we shared:

Sagar Rattan - Scallops seared with onion seed and coriander stem, tamarind glaze, pan fried Devon crab cakes

The scallops were meltingly soft, coated in an unctuous brown sauce that complimented without overwhelming their flavour. The tiny crab cakes were rimmed with a ribbon of aubergine peel and full of flavour.

Barra Peshawari - Tandoor roasted lamb chops with kashmiri chillies, cumin mash, spiced puy lentil salsa

The lamb was beautifully flavoured and very soft. A touch too hot for my wussy preferences but still delicious.

For our mains we shared:

Khyberi Nalli - Braised lamb shanks glazed in the tandoor, tomato and green pea upma, orange and mustard cress salad

I don’t think I’ve ever had a lamb shank with such tender, meltingly soft, beautifully flavoured lamb. The meat quite literally fell off the bone and the spices were subtle enough to let the flavour of the lamb shine. I even sucked the marrow out of the bone end – lamb marrow is one of my very favourite things! We both thought this dish was a highlight.

Paneer Akhrot ka Salan - Paneer, walnuts and peppers simmered in Hyderabadi ‘Salan’ sauce

The paneer and sauce were very nice though without the wow factor of the other courses and I wasn’t as keen as I hoped on the walnuts in the dish.

Crab Pepper Fry - Crisp-fried spiced soft-shell crab, shrimps, red onion, green mango and ginger

Wow, this was spectacular! Tender crab within a soft crunchy shell that itself was encased in a thin but spicy batter and then deep fried. Even with the strong spices the crab was still part of the whole. Served with king prawns and other vegetables, we cut it down the middle and had half each. I’d only had soft shell crab in oriental cuisines before. This Indian version was fabulous and another of the evening’s highlights.

With our mains we had a saffron pulao rice and a plain naan, both good.

Greedy as ever, we made room for desserts:

Custard apple kulfi, summer berry soup

A nice variation, was delicious though I couldn’t discern the custard apple flavour I did enjoy the bite of pistachio nuts within the kulfi. The soup was more of a sauce in which the tower of kulfi was stood and was nice enough.

Christmas pudding, whisky ice-cream

My friend seemed to enjoy this dessert. No Indianisation applied to it.

The bill before cocktails, wine and tip was about £85.

Both of us had really enjoyed our 9 course degustation menu at Zaika last year, though we’d agreed that the starter dishes were far better than the main course dishes there. We both agreed that we had enjoyed the majority of the dishes at Moti Mahal more.

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