Bakewell Pudding

A camping holiday in the gorgeous surroundings of the Peak District was not going to be complete for me without a pilgrimage to Bakewell.  This was the birthplace of the Bakewell Pudding, made even more famous (particularly to masses of southerners) by Mr Kipling's Bakewell Tart.  I know their pastry tastes of cardboard.  I know you can feel the icing corroding your teeth as you bite through it.  I know the almond flavouring was what Agatha Christie had in mind every time she described that tell-tale almond scent of cyanide.  Despite all this I am quite partial to these, especially the newish Bakewell Slices they do as this equates to more almondy goodness with less pastry. 

Back to Bakewell: The Blonde and I were in an outdoor kit shop when the very friendly shop assistant started chatting to us about our plans.  She explained to us that a Bakewell Tart was the variety topped with icing and a cherry, but that 'pudding' referred to the true Bakewell delicacy.  She also told us where to go to find one, and the story behind the origins of the Bakewell Pudding. 

According to her, there was already a pie which featured a layer of almond filling topped with jam.  A maid at the Rutland Arms hotel in Bakewell once made the mistake of putting the jam into the pastry first and the almond mixture on top.  The resulting pie was serendipitously better than what was intended and the Bakewell Pudding was born.

We were also advised where to go to buy a truly authentic Bakewell Pudding- The Bakewell Pudding Shop is one of these places and off we went to get a pudding.

By the time we ate it, the paper bag it came in had turned translucent which left us in no doubt about the health credentials of this treat!  Aesthetically the pudding wasn't that impressive.  Nicely burnished on top but otherwise all the same shade of pastry beige. 

The crust was flaky pastry, rather than the shortcrust we were anticipating.  I think the jam layer was plum jam, at any rate the sweet fruitiness was complemented by a a hint of a woody/bitter note.  The almond topping was quite custardy, rather than the sponge cake-like affair used by Mr Kipling.

I enjoyed it, and think it merits 7/10.  It was quite aptly less synthetic and more subtle than the tart version.  It was also more filling, due to the fat content no doubt! 

In the course of researching the Bakewell Pudding further for this post, I've discovered that it should be served warm.  As with most pastry dishes this would make the pastry seem lighter; it would also make the filling less dense and I think maybe elevate the Pudding up to 8/10.

Teatime

Culturally and genetically I am conditioned to believe that there are very few situations that can't be improved by a cuppa. 

When it comes to black tea I often like it strong with a little milk.  This is something that can be achieved in a mug with PG tips.  For a bit more attention to detail, a single variety teabag can be used, or even tea leaves.  I had tried this once with Assam leaves and found that the tea which resulted had a fuller taste than tea made with an Assam teabag of the same brand (Twinings, for anyone who wants to try this.)  I didn't do a blind tasting, however, so it could just be that I wanted the leaf tea to taste better.

I had forgotten the ways of leaf tea until I spent the past month living on an island with The Teaboy and The Panorama, who are very serious about tea. They use loose leaf tea, and had several varieties of leaves with which they make different blends.

Their English Breakfast blend was 2 parts Assam: 1 part Kenyan: 1 part Ceylon.  It ticked the box of being strong, but managed to retain flavours from the individual components.  The 'best cup' was particularly good.

My 'best cup' of tea is when a teapot is being used, you have drunk half your cup of tea, and then top up your cup from the teapot.  You might think the same effect can be achieved by starting off with less milk in the first cup of tea but for some reason it doesn't seem to work like that.

Also of note from the afternoon teas with The Teaboy and Panorama were the generous provision of biscuits.  Hobnobs with their English Breakfast blend was especially tasty.  I also managed to consume an indecent amount (Teaboy, I apologise) of Lotus caramelised biscuits.  This was partly because I was trying to see if they go as well with tea as they do with coffee- they don't- but also because they are so tasty!

Rump

The cow outline in the branding and naming this place 'Rump' is 1 part tacky and 4 parts fun-  I love how explicit it is about the fact that you'll be chowing down on a bovine backside.  It's definitely not for the squeamish, but neither is a steak cooked very much to the blue end of rare.

Lots of places err on the side of overcooking steak, so that rare becomes medium rare and so on.  This was not a problem at Rump, and my steak was mostly underdone for an order of rare.  Happily the quality of the steak was such that I still enjoyed the blue parts of my steak. The Diver's steak was  a more uniform thickness than mine, so ended up perfectly rare throughout; I had a touch of food envy over this.

One drawback of ordering rare steaks is the fact that the steak doesn't stay warm for long if served on cold plates, as it was at Rump.  We went on a sweltering summer evening which meant that this wasn't a problem, but it definitely would be on a colder day when I'd want my steak to be warm.  

The flexibility of the menu is perfect, allowing you to select a steak by cut and weight, but without including so many options that you get a reading-induced headache from trying to decide what to have. 

The steaks were served with salt and ground pepper dishes on the side. I'm a big fan of a light dusting of both on steak and this means that everyone can achieve their perfect seasoning.  The steaks did come with a green chopped harb sprinkled over them which I am 90% sure was basil (the steak itself was dazzling my tastebuds so I was quite distracted) and although not a combination I'd have thought up myself, worked very well.  It also tied in nicely with one of the side dishes we ordered, tomato onion and basil salad.

Other non-food observations about Rump? The wine and cocktail lists looked good though I'd hate to say more having not actually sampled them.  There was an information leaflet on our table about wine tasting nights held there which I liked- it shows enthusiasm on the part of the management and a keeness to share this with others (and yes, a good way to promote yourself and get diners to part with more cash, but from a buisness point of view I applaud this.)  The set-up inside was rustic industrialism: the tables in the bar area were made of irregular planks of wood that were cross sections through a tree trunk, complete with bark, and the chairs were luxury bar stools in cream.  The walls were successfully made to feel like they had been geometrically chiselled out of a rockface somewhere, rather than being part of a building on Putney High Street.

I liked Rump.  The steak itself was nudging 9/10 but it's getting 8/10 for not quite cooking my steak to my specification and the cold plates.

String Bean Thoren

The Fiesta has cooked this many times, sometimes to accompany her famous curries (example shown), more often to appease the demands of hungry housemates who quite frankly think it is awesome.

Aromatic, subtly spicy, and fresh, the Thoren is a great example of Keralan cuisine.  I am reliably informed of this by The Fiesta herself, who is allegedly half-indian.

Green beans, cooked to a perfect bite, are always a favourite of mine, and combining this with crunchy mustard seeds and soft coconut works wonders.  The recipe is below; my only suggestion would be to use stock instead of water, omitting the salt.

• 1.5 tbsp sunflower oil
• 0.5 tsp black mustard seeds
• 0.75 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 tbsp chopped green chillies
• 4 tbsp chopped onion
• 1 cup string beans, chopped into lengths of about 2cm
• 0.25 tsp turmeric powder
• 0.75 tsp salt
• 5 tbsp water
• 10 curry leaves
• 0.25 cups grated coconut

1. Fry mustard seeds in sunflower oil until crackling
2. Add ginger, chillies and onion, continue to fry for about 3 minutes
3. Add string beans, turmeric powder, and salt, fry for about 1 minute
4. Add water
5. Cover pan and cook for 3 minutes until the water has evaporated
6. Add curry leaves and coconut, heat through and serve.

Tesco Finest Swiss Milk Chocolate with Caramel Pieces

Aha.  This is where the Swiss thing starts to look up: the introduction of cows and more to the point, milk, to the equation.  This chocolate is a winner.  My only reservation is that it should be approached thinking 'sweet tasty treat involving chocolate' rather than thinking 'this will be chocolate bliss'.  Chocolate plays an accompanying part here, rather than being a stand-alone star.  Indeed, the star of the show is the caramel, first glimpsed in jaggedy shards when the  the chocolate breaks in a slightly crumbling way.

The taste is super-sweet, and actually reminded me of a good egg custard more than anything else.  There is a definite presence of chocolate there so it passes the "if I shut my eyes would I know this was chocolate" test.  This is the kind of delectation where I say "one piece is enough, any more would be far too sickly."  Then I proceed to take my chances with the sickliness.  Enjoyed with restraint, (which The Diver is more capable of doing than I am), it's the childhood joy of too much sugar tweaked to a- slightly- more adult palate.  Rated 8/10.

The Ship Inn, Lymington

At the end of a long day, and a too-long time, at the dayjob, what greater pleasure could there be than meeting up with a friend for dinner?  That is exactly what The Smiler and I did a couple of weeks ago.

I've been The Ship Inn before, and was keen to return for a second
visit.  Although it was empty when we arrived- yes, 6pm is the end of a long day if you start it early enough!- it did not feel soulless like some places can.  It would be classed as a gastropub but somehow manages to avoid the cliches; it has the feel of a very laid back restaurant, and despite the obvious nautical theming, pulls it off without resorting to kitschness or ending up plain tacky.

The menus are always fun to read and agony to chose from- everything from fresh seafood to steaks and pubgrub.

The Smiler decided that the homemade tortillas accompanying the Chili Con Carne were too good to resist, and they did not disappoint.  Her choice made me hanker after autumnal foods, and because I had resolved to order seafood in a coastal town, after lots of deliberation I chose the smoked haddock risotto.  This came with a poached egg and shaved parmesan on top and was wonderful.

I'll let you into a secret: I'm not a huge egg fan, spent 10 years of my life avoiding them, and only now am I beginning to start to appreciate them.  So the fact that this dish was a hit with me even when topped with a poached egg shows just how good it was.

Risotto and smoked haddock are both wonderful comfort foods, in fact poached smoked haddock is such a comfort food that it has been known to cure a hangover for me.  On this occasion however there was no hangover, just succulent chunks of haddock amidst creamy risotto.  The poached egg yolk poured out adding richness to the rice and adding a subtle flavour to the rice base.

Overall it was gorgeous; one I will be trying at home, and although the portion seemed small, like all risotto it was perfectly filling.

                                                                               http://www.theshiplymington.co.uk/

           

Pizza a la Bond and Jones

Last Wednesday I was invited to dinner with Bond and Jones.  Jones has been a workmate of mine for the last 8 weeks, and although the nature of the dayjob means I am now off to pastures new, I will be staying in touch with Jones.  Not least because she can turn out an amazingly good homemade pizza.  Bond is her fiance, and it was lovely to meet him after hearing so much about him.

I will be asking for the recipe and posting it on here in due course.  Even better for the tall tales of provenance, I believe the recipe is actually from Jones' mother.

It involves handmade dough, which is briefly cooked in the oven before toppings are added.  Bond and Jones assures me this gives a crispier finish, although this could also be down to the special pizza pan it was cooked in... I will know once I have tried to bake it in the absence of a special pan.

I helped out with assembling the topping.  We put on tomatoes, pepperoni, basil, feta and cheddar, then baked it.

We ate it with Wairau Cove Sauvignon Blanc which I have already written about- I'm pleased to say that it met with the approval of the hostess and host.

The verdict? 8/10.  I need the extra 2 points for when I start playing around with topping combos.  It came out of the oven crisp (as promised), but the base retained some chewy stodginess (in a great way, believe me).  The toppings were good, and the way the cheddar made a browned crust over the softened feta was quite something.  The feta also stopped the cheddar/meat fat fest from becoming too overpowering.  I don't think it took much longer to do than a packaged pizza, and assuming a well-stocked store cupboard, it would make a great store cupboard meal.  I'll update on my own attempts at this one!

Prego Rolls and lemon peel in steak marinade

The Diver prepared some Prego Rolls for a recent lunch. 

I will track down and post the exact recipe, but the marinade for the steak involved garlic, red chilli, lemon juice and lemon peel.  The steak is fried then removed from the pan and kept warm while the the bits from the marinade are fried.

The roll is then composed as shown in the old-school cross section diagram below, plus a photo of the sad view that results when greed overcomes the needs of this blog.

Ciabatta Roll

Black Pepper

Rocket

Vine Tomato

Peppadew Pepper

Gravy

Fried bits of marinade

Steak

Butter

Ciabatta Roll

So, basically a steak sandwich, but what elevated it to bloggability was the genius of the marinade.  The combination of garlic and chilli is always a winner; it was the lemon that surprised me with how much it added to the taste. 

Within the roll there are two types of flavours: the warmth of the steak/garlic/chilli/tomato/pepper/gravy flavours, and the summer time freshness of the rocket, tomato, and fresh bread.  The success of mixing these two flavour groups while still being able to taste each one independently lay in the use of lemon peel. The oils in the lemon peel helped the lemon flavour to meld with the butter, which drew the lemon freshness and summer flavours into the richness of the butter and the warmer flavours.  It has to be tried to understand just how good this is.

It rates 8/10, had the ciabatta been heated it would be an easy 9/10.

I'd like to try this marinade with lime peel and juice instead of lemon; I think it would add a more oriental flavour, the best bread and salad ingredients for this one will take some thought.

Waitrose Stem Ginger Ice Cream

Mmmmmmmm No picture of this one so you're going to have to conjure up your own image!

Imagine you have a mouth full of ice cream- quite light in consistency and very basic (but oh so good) in flavour: no vanilla, no nothing, just cream.

But this light cream is the perfect base to hold chunks of zingy crystallised ginger, which adds a spicy bite and a sugary crunch. And some of the ginger is inside dark chocolate, which you have to bite off (or melt off) going through rich cocoa to find the ginger. All inside the cream.

Perfect. Not too sweet or rich or spicy or chocolately but still assertively flavoured with a great texture. In fact so good, I have just upgraded my rating from a 7 to 8/10.