Sandwich tastic

After the castophries of firstly the sandwich that was from the Lovin Oven in Newport on Friday and then forgetting to take both my breakfast and lunch to work with me today I decided to treat myself to a Chandos Deli special.  This time I opted for a hummus & chilli jam baguette and it was very nice.  My main critique being that the bread wasn't at its best but that's what happens if you buy yesterday's and compared with the Lovin Oven's cheese baguette, which in fact should have been described as a plastic square mank baguette I can only be grateful to the shining beacon of sandwich light that is Chandos Deli.

Best blog dinner yet (fish pie)

During my sushi making class I was advised that before trying to cut sashimi  with proper sushi quality fish I should first practise on a lower grade fish and make fish pie or something from it.  Knowing my desire to do this Dom happily volunteered to make fish pie using a recipe once again from the Billingsgate market cookbook.  We therefore brought a lump of salmon from Rocks Fishmongers on Whiteladies Road, which I was rather impressed by as it had the  best range of fish I've seen in any fishmongers in Bristol.  When we got home I then cut the fish as I had been taught and all went well.  Dom then took over in the kitchen department and created what I can only describe as magic.  The fish pie had dill in it and tasted delightful.  We used soya milk rather than normal for the sauce  but you wouldn't have known the difference and you'd have to ask Dom what other great things were in it if you really want to know.  It was ever so tasty though the sauce had a great flavour to it and the feeling it gave was one of overwhelming comfort food and snugliness.  Overall marks: 9.5, my only critique being that I felt it could have had the tiniest extra amount of seasoning.

A Friday delight

Last Friday Dom cooked a chickpea & aubergine tagine.  The tagine was built up to be what only can be described as a unmitigated disaster by Dom but contrary to her tales of woe it was actually very tasty.  She served the tagine with couscous that I flavoured with Harissa powder, lemon and black pepper. The flavours in the tagine were very good, subtle and not overly spicy. The aubergine was nice and the chick peas which  were from dried were a delight.  As a side note the chick peas were what had caused the tales of woe which we endured earlier on in the night. We had got them out and soaked them overnight but neither of us had realised that they needed boiling for an hour and half until nearer the time and therefore hindering the quick after work dinner that was intended.  Dom however rose to the challenge and dinner was served at 19:30.  Overall marks 8.75.

Pepper suprise

Tonight I decided to give my Yo Sushi cook book a second chance after the trick that was the Katsu sauce, this time putting my faith in their firecracker rice.  Some might say that this was a gamble as although Ash eats the rice a lot at Yo I've never actually tried it.  The recipe was very easy and the resultant meal was pretty tasty.  The main problems being that I only had dark soy not light as the recipe suggested so mine came out a bit brown looking, I put way too much spring onion on the top and finally there was a bit much pepper in it.  I need to go now and take some indigestion tablets but overall marks were a  7.0.

Undercooked rice and other ingredients

Last night Dom cooked black beans and rice a la one pot cookbook.  This dinner took  about 2.5 hours to cook and by the time it was done or not so done we were both very hungry.  Overall the flavour was good possibly a bit too much stout and also Dom had added sugar at one point as she was concerned that the flavour was a bit bitter.  This just had the effect of a strangely sweet initial flavour.   The salsa that she served with it was very nice but my personal view was that it could have had a bit more heat.  The main problem however was that Dom used brown rice, this meant it didn't actually cook in the stew.  After an hour of waiting patiently from the point that we added the rice, we gave up and ate it as it was.  Which in this case was as hard as anything and I still have jaw ache today.  Overall marks 5.5, nice in principal but the execution let it down.

A word of warning

This is to be my last post of the day and its a cautionary tale, chocolate and pink pepper does not taste nice!

Brownie day ( not like the guides!)

Apologies for the picture quality, lighting wasn't very good.  Today we spent half the day packing up the dining room in preparation for moving.  After this mammoth task I decided we needed a treat.  I'd made these Brownies a few weeks ago based on a Jamie Oliver recipe but with the addition of orange zest, orange juice and chocolate chips and the results were splendid.  One of the most chocolatey things I've ever eaten.  Once again they didn't let me down and cheered up Dom no end.  I'm going to give them a 9.0 out of 10.  P.S.  They had about half a bottle of brandy in them as well.

Japanese day mark 2

Last night I once again made suhi, this time we had a fusion dinner by serving it with veg spring rolls and prawn dumplings.  We also had edamame courtesy of our visit yesterday to the oriental supermarket.  My sushi rice wasn't as good as on previous occasions although I felt the seasoning was a little better.  Not sure whether I didn't let it cool down enough or whether it was the water quantities but it didn't seem as sticky as usual.  This time I used prawn, avocado, red and yellow pepper for my fillings and it all tasted pretty good.  The accompaniments weren't so good though faults as follows:

• Edamame:  Slightly overcooked
• Spring rolls:  I didn't fry them in enough oil so they had a burnt flour taste and the filling wasn't  as nice as some
• Prawn dumplings:  I used a metal steamer which they got stuck to and therefore I lost some of the filling.

Overall I'd give myself a 9.0 for effort and a 7.5 for results.

Watershed lunch

As I had to pop into work for a bit yesterday we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at the watershed.  There I chose the veggie koftas served with pitta, taboulah, salad and a yogurt and minty sauce.  The koftas were nice with just enough chilli and the pitta was nicely warmed.  The salad was a bit bland with not a lot of dressing on it although it was not enough for me to fill in a feedback form as Paul had done on a previous occasion.  The only real let down on the whole afair was the taboulah as it was rather bland, no where near enough parsley, mint or seasoning.  Overall I'd score it a 6.8.

Cheat's Mushroom Lasagne

This is from one our veggie cook books entitled 500 vegetarian recipes and usually works quite well.  The theory is quite simple rather than pissing about layering and cooking in the oven.  You cook the lasagne sheets first and just layer the mushroom gunk inside.  You then grate parmesan on the top.  This time Dom used the tea tree mushroom that we'd picked up in the chinese supermarket the other week.  I was a bit scared by them as they looked quite alien but they were very tasty and you could slightly taste the tea tree flavour although it wasn't unpleasant at all.  All in all a good effort with overall marks coming in at 7.9.

Tired pasta dinner that looks a bit like sick!

Before I start my post proper I just need to acknowledge that the above picture makes the dinner look very much like sick.  This is in no way a reflection of the dinner that Dom provided to me last Sunday night and more a reflection of my sloppy camera work.  We were meant to be having a roast last Sunday but after cycling 28 miles, a household world record neither of us were in any state to cook.  We therefore opted to move Monday nights planned dinner forward by a day and had smoked salmon and courgette pasta with the new addition of red peppers.  This was one of the first things that Dom ever cooked for me and is one of the many reasons why I married her.  The dinner has evolved a bit over the years as it started out with creme fraiche which has been substituted for Alpro soya cream and smoked ham which has now been replaced with smoked salmon.  This time Dom used Morrison's Salmon with dill and lemon marinade and I must say it worked rather well.  All in all 8.4, marks were a little bit higher as it went down so well due to the cycle!

Olive Shed Shop

Last Sunday we decided to cycle into Bristol to see Dom's grandparents.  Feeling rather brave or maybe rather stupid we went the hilly way.  After and an hour and a half having lived the dream and cycled over the Cliffton Suspension Bridge ( thanks to Mr Brunel).  We arrived at Dom's grandparents.  After popped in, left our bikes and had a quick catch up with them we left them to their lunch as we had our eye on the olive shed shop.  After looking at their menu and debating over the spinach and chickpea pie we decided to opt for the veggie platter.  Dom made the alteration of having an artichoke heart rather than the ricotta and feta stuffed pepper that it came with as standard.  Feeling brave I made no substitution.  Along with the pepper the platter came with hummus, 2 stuffed vine leaves, a  sundried tomato, some bread and some mixed leaves and I have to say it was all delicious apart from the pepper which perhaps was a bit creamy for my taste buds..  Overall I'd rate it 8.5 although think it would be a bit better if you could have more choice.

Overcooked Vegetables

Last Saturday I was struggling for meal ideas and went for a dinner I'd cooked for the first time not too long ago.  This was Salmon with a cream and Mushroom sauce with mustard mash, green beans and mustard mast.  Since both myself and Dom are a bit dairy intolerant I used Alpro soya cream which works rather well.  I used to have a bit of problem cooking fish indoors. On any type of camp fire or barbecue could cook it perfectly but as soon as it came to cooking it in an oven it would be dry and overcooked! Recently though I seem to have overcome this problem and the salmon was cooked perfectly, unfortunately the same could not be said for the veg and once again the word pub carvery springs to mind.  Overall marks 7.8.

Egg & mushroom sarnie

Last Saturday I was feeling a bit hungover so went for the usual cure of an Egg & mushroom sarnie, which in my opinion you can't beat.  The reason for the hangover was that I only had two beers in the house so once I'd finished those my only option was to drink red wine.  Unfortunately in my head once you change drinks it's like starting again so after half a bottle of red wine I was a bit drunk.  Egg & Mushroom sandwich ( well actually roll, if you want to be pedantic)  was very good. Dom made it and put lots of black pepper in it which is always good. Only real fault was that the bread wasn't of very good standard.  All in all 8.5.

Vegetarian Chilli

I've got a bit behind again but have been inspired after watching the film Julie & Julia, so bear with me for the back log.  This meal is from the Thursday before last, may be an odd way of saying it.  This was a Dom dinner and consisted of TVP, kidney beans, courgettes and butternut squash.  I believe it was rather good although having a little trouble remembering as it was over a week ago. I believe I gave it a 8.0.

Kedgeree Tuesday

On Tuesday we went supermarket shopping which meant a quick dinner was needed and resulted in one of my favourite Dom dinners Kedgeree.  Unfortunately the last  time we had this Dom was a bit heavy handed with the chilli and my mouth was on fire for the next hour or so.  This time Dom was therefore a little bit overly cautious and therefore it didn't have quite as much heat as I like (fuzzy bugger aren't I?).  The kegeree which was based on a recipe from the Billingsgate Fish Market recipe cook book, that my mum brought Dom for last Christmas, was very nice as always though.  As are most of the recipes in that book that we've tried so far.  Overall marks 8.0.

Sunday Roast

Have got a bit behind so am posting about last Sunday today, have not been eating a roast at this time in the morning and it will probably be quite brief.  With a roast I think its key that all components are correct, if one lets you down then the whole meal is let down.  So will deal with each component separately

1. Strange vegetable bake thing :  Since turning pesky I have been struggling to find something to replace the meat in my roast dinner and I have to say this isn't it.  It was a Tesco thing that I brought and tasted of fake powdered cheese, not nice at all.
2. Roast potatoes:  As usual these were rather good, flavoured with garlic, pepper an lemon.
3. Carrots: Dom only likes raw carrots really so I try to just blanch them with the heat, in this case though she felt they were a little overcooked for her taste buds although I felt they were fine.
4. Broccoli:  One word overcooked, a la carvery style
5. Leeks:  Probably overcooked from an outsiders point of view but all in all the way I like them.
6. Gray:  Ah gravy how I love thee, probably the most important part of the entire meal, the gray and when I say gravy probably more like red wine sauce was pretty good although perhaps didn't have the fullness of flavour that it sometimes can have.

Overall marks were probably a 7.25.  Must do better.

Sunday Fry Up

It being Sunday Dom cooked us a fried breakfast this morning although I'm not sure whether it counts as a fried breakfast as the only fried thing was the egg.  I had 1 fried egg, some tomatoes from our garden, beans 3 hashbrowns and a big mushroom.  Everything was cooked very nicely although my egg was a bit brown and crispy on the bottom and the mushroom stalk as usual was a bit tough.  It was overall more confirmation that Dom's breakfast standard has increased in recent weeks.  Marks out of 10 would be 7.9.

Prawn and Spinach curry

After yesterday's energy expulsion I thought we needed an easy dinner so had in my head I'd make one of my prawn and spinach curries.   Freakishly Dom also had the same idea so I set about cooking it.  I'm not sure what official categorization my curry comes  under as its a recipe I've made up myself and basically consists of lots of cumin, cumin seeds, coriander powder, tumeric and of course chilli cooked up with tomatoes and at the end adding spinach, prawns and spinach.  As usual the curry came out good the only real fault was that the spinach gave off a lot of water that I didn't cook off before serving which resulted in some wateriness on the plate.  Overall I'd give my dinner a 7.8, Dom gave it a 8.5.

A Long Cycle

On Friday I left my car at work which led to the inevitable task of needing to get it back, in order to make it a bit more fun we decided to cycle in to collect it.  At just under 17 miles following the Avon way and then the Avon trail into Bristol it was the longest cycle that we'd attempted to date.   The first part of the route followed the path of the M5 to Portbury and was very nice with slight hills in places.  We then went through Pill which was a bit confusing as there was a lack of signs and then we cycled in along the river to Bristol.  Obviously I was then  quite hungry as my porridge breakfast could only sustain me for a certain amount of time.  We originally intended to eat at the Tobacco Factory but somehow their menu didn't seem stodgy enough after the cycle so we settled for the Lounge instead. We both had the Crayfish ciabatta with lime mayonnaise and some chips to share.  The sandwich in itself was very tasty but the mayonnaise was bit runny which led to both of us especially Dom getting into a terrible mess.  The chips were in fact fries and they were plentiful.  All in all marks out of 10 would be a 7. Okay for a snack in town but nothing special.

Pizza Friday

Since it was mine and Dom's third wedding anniversary but we were too tired to go out we decided to get out favourite takeaway pizza from Murray's which is an Italian restaurant in Clevedon.  In the spirit of the anniversary we decided to get two different ones and share.  The first was a con funghi which we added extra egg and spinach to and the second was a con carpinhi which came with anchovies, capers, black olives and red onion.  As usual the standard of pizza was good although possibly they'd been in the oven a little too long.  The con funghi with the extra ingredients was possibly a little watery and maybe lacked an ingredient to give it a depth of flavour.  The con caprinhi was good but possibly a little salty.  Overall marks out of 10 was 7.5.

Dom's random collection of ingredients dinner

On Thursday night Dom had quite a few different ingredients that needed using up, this included smoked tofu, tomatoes, and courgette.   What could she do with these various ingredients?  We and the cats looked on in anticipation and what was created was to put it mildly was different.  She deep fried the tofu in cajun spice and made a ratatouille with the courgette and tomatoes.  Finally she served with rice, results of which are shown below:


The ratatouille was very nice and the texture of the tofu was also very good although it had a bit of an odd smell, think it might have been burnt cajun spice.  Overall though they didn't really work together.  An overall mark of 6.25.

Thai Wednesday

Tonight Dom cooked Pad Thai, which is one of my favourite Dom dinners. When we were at the oriental supermarket at the weekend one of the things we picked up was chili oil which Dom tried out tonight.  It turns out it was quite hot and my mouth is still a bit on fire.  The other experimental ingredient in tonight's dinner was smoked Tofu that we procured from the hippy health food shop on Gloucester road the other week.  The smoked tofu was very nice but the smokey flavour didn't go so well with the Thai flavours. There was also a lack of prawn in mine.  All in all a score of 8.5 but it is usually a 10.0.

Lunch at Gourmet Burger Kitchen

Today was stage 1 of Shelley's leaving party which took place in gourmet burger kitchen.  I'd been once before and had fond memories of the puy lentil burger so was anticipating good things. Thankfully I was not disappointed and as burgers go it was pretty good. The only things I would say was it was possibly a bit dry, the chips were maybe bit greasy, which wasn't a great problem as I'd had to promise Kerry could have the major share as she was panicking about the concept of chip sharing, and finally on the menu it said it came with thai green curry but this appeared to be with red onion relish which was the accompaniment to another burger.  Overall dining experience was very good mainly due the company and amusing conversation about what was appropriate behavior to announce your arrival in your new neighborhood. Marks for food: 7.5, Marks for overall experience: 9.0.