Gousto

At the end of November last year we received our first box of four meals for two from the Gousto Kitchen. All free, courtesy of an offer shared by our son, James. 

We are now half way through our fifth box... and still not feeling at all guilty about being reasonably confident and accomplished cooks who occasionally 'slum' it with a food delivery service! Initially, we were attracted to the idea of relieving the strain of everyday cooking while we planned and prepared Christmas meals and treats. Events since - busy, dramatic, sad and time-consuming - have meant that a box of ingredients gives us the chance to draw breath.  

I've put together an album of pictures in the PHOTOS section of this blog, showing each recipe cooked so far. It will be updated as often as possible. The interesting thing will be to see what happens to the balance between Gousto's prescriptions and our normal practice... food which we plan and cook from scratch ourselves.  

We are resourceful people and the Gousto boxes simply offer another resource for us. The process will be under review. With the arrival of ingredients such as smoked Basa fish fillets produced just down the road in Grimsby we are immediately reminded that alternatives are available.

We will almost certainly return to previous (cheaper, healthier?) habits soon. However, one thing that has not been sacrificed is flavour. For that and, at the very least, short-term convenience it might be worth considering Gousto or any of the other delivery companies. There are many introductory offers which could tempt you.

Blogging For The First Time

Blogg... George Blogg.

Chef... Michelin starred chef.

Never eaten his food before but we are booked at Gravetye Manor Restaurant for lunch with Cheoff's Mummy for her eighty-ninth birthday next month... we will be Blogging for the first time.

Normally I'd give you a post-prandial low-down but this particular visit raises a few points which I'll share now before the event.

How do we prepare ourselves for such an occasion? A birthday treat for someone who is unreservedly loved and admired by her family, friends and neighbours. The poignancy that her husband, my very recently deceased step-father, is definitely not able to join us. What to wear? Who will drink and not drive? We'll bring those and many other thoughts and considerations to the table. Some will have been resolved before arrival. Some, like our menu and wine choices, we will work through while there.

The most intriguing (I must stress, not the most worrying) question for me is how I'll react to eating food from a chef whose training includes a stint with David Everitt-Matthias in Cheltenham. Regular readers will know the love/hero worship/recourse to stunning recipes which are generated by my favourite chef. The fact that the immensely talented Phil Howard has also been a formative influence might easily fan the fire of fearing how well chef Blogg will pass muster. But no. As I stressed, I will have few worries. I have reached the point where I very reluctantly make comparisons in the face of alternative approaches to ingredients and their potential. We will simply be in different, but safe, hands. 

I like the fact that Chef Blogg all but dismisses presentation from his approach. That is surely a mildly disingenuous suggestion of his. Every dish will most likely look as pretty as a picture while delivering the more important elements of flavour and texture which come from a full understanding of cooking. Let's face it... with a bountiful garden of produce on his doorstep, our chef stands a chance.

I will enjoy everything put before me... even if it is the enjoyment of being challenged by something new or unexpected. 

But, above all, I am looking forward to sharing that enjoyment with the person who will celebrate another year of being on this earth. Mum has in fact already been to a different Gravetye Manor... one from over thirty years ago. Being in the days of 'Nouvelle Cuisine', certain of her fellow diners still remember leaving and having a midnight fry-up back at home! No such prospect for us. Chef knows what he is about and I think we are all wise enough to let him hold sway.

Ah, George should perhaps be told... my Mum is also a terrific cook. So, I admit that a few cheeky comparisons might be made after all!

Let's finish with a delicious and enticing video of what we are expecting... outstanding ingredients treated with respect and, dare I say it, perfectly presented. I might even ask Mum to help me with a review here in due course.

A Star* From Yorkshire

Pressed Terrine of Yorkshire Gammon with Fried Ledstone Quail Egg, Spiced Pineapple Pickle, Mustard Seed Dressing

This is a really pleasing take on the classic gammon, egg and pineapple. 

Before I get down to the business of convincing you that this is not such a challenging recipe and will handsomely repay any small effort, here is the genesis of it appearing in our kitchen. 

Diana Henry's, 'The Gastropub Cookbook' received as a present (not in 2003 at publication... probably around 2008).  
Made note of various recipes and restaurants from that book, especially Andrew Pern's Yorkshire pub. 
Finally (July 2014) booked for lunch at The Star Inn, Harome for our thirty-eighth wedding anniversary. 
Duly enjoyed that lunch as a lovely, memorable meal which I then reviewed at some length. 
Unwrapped 'Black Pudding and Foie Gras' on my sixty-fifth birthday last year. 
Travelled up to Harome later that same day and had one of my finest ever birthday meals** (I'm being very honest. It was wonderful... but other chef's still force their way into that roll-call). 
Gave my new recipes proper consideration and determined to include this terrine as part of our Christmas food. 
Made and enjoyed as planned... and will be made and enjoyed again.  

The recipe is available here if your order for Andrew Pern's first book hasn't yet been delivered.  

We all know the rules by now. So, here is your starter for ten... out of ten. 

This is some of what you will be getting up to when you make your own. 

Two generous ham hock ends here with their cooking vegetables and aromatics. Meat waiting to be stripped and shredded. 

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Layering up makes the whole thing start to look very promising. I would be grateful if you don't share this post with my Mum... she's been wondering what happened to her Le Creuset dish for quite some time now! 

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With the addition of jellied stock and an overnight fridge vacation you should have a thing of beauty whose 'joy' is unlikely to last for ever... so you'll just have to make another! 

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I sliced the whole thing, keeping four portions for that evening's starter, and froze the rest. They made a dainty supper at Christmas with the last of the pickle and a discussion of the latest Star Wars movie. More contact with stellar stuff! 

The pineapple pickle and the dressing are very easy to make. I did use quail eggs but if they are tricky to find I'm sure you could substitute a confit yolk from a chicken. A whole large egg would have to be carefully placed or trimmed so as not to hide the slice of terrine. 

I failed to be truly authentic... Grimsby isn't in Yorkshire! But our quality butcher and a lady whose quails lay eggs for doorstep sales are within half a mile of our house. 

This recipe had been available to me for ages before I made it. Please don't make the same mistake. Make this your next job in the kitchen. You will be rewarded with a perfect, scaled-down version of a pub classic.***  

* Star/Starter/Star Turn: delete where applicable. 

** That terrific sixty-fifth birthday meal last October is still nagging at me. Not just visions of the wonderful Yorkshire produce and its cooking but the memories of lovely people who made it possible. Those particular 'stars' at Harome need proper recognition... expect my overdue review soon. 

*** Hey, if you really don't feel up to the (minimal) challenge, at the time of writing this is on the menu at the relatively new venture, 'Star Inn The City', York!

Scott Barnard Dessert

Dark chocolate ganache, banana and passion fruit sorbet and cocoa nib tuile

It took eleven months... but I finally got round to making my version.

The following picture is taken from a thread on Scott Barnard's Facebook page. He had just posted details of a dessert cooked by him on Masterchef: The Professionals. My comment at the end was made in January 2016 so when December arrived I thought it was high time I came up with the goods!

Here is a link to Scott's Facebook recipe generosity.

And 'muddy stilettos' (a well-shod blogger who isn't too careful where they step?) has also published a version including the panna cotta which I added to my efforts.

Passion fruit purée and cocoa nibs were ordered from the very useful souschef.co.uk and things began to take shape. 

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Blitzing that caramel produced an incredibly fine powder and resulted in a lovely thin sheet on melting. I cut these into generous tuiles which, although large, were delicate enough to dissolve in the mouth rather than creating a chewy stickiness.

The sorbet is a stunner. Anything with passion fruit is a winner with me but the addition of banana here makes the whole thing into a heady tropical cocktail (without the alcohol!)

I had doubts about the panna cotta while I was making it. The mix, although sieved, was rather thick even before adding gelatine. I will modify this in future, creating a more fluid mix by doubling the milk content. The friends who I shared this with were very forgiving but it's an element which needs correcting. 

The soil is a much-needed combination of texture and bitterness amid all the silky luxury of chocolate and cream.

Among so much competition, the ganache just about managed to survive as the centrepiece. I was really pleased with its texture and richness. They were set in metal rings and it's the first time I've released things from such a mould with a quick flash of a blow torch around the edge. As each cylinder slid perfectly free I had a tiny, foolish notion that I might be able to survive in a professional kitchen.

This was a delight to make. It's not as demanding as some online comments suggest... and my strong suspicion that all would be worth the effort was proved undeniably in the eating.

Scott recently reviewed his year since making it to the finals of 'Masterchef: The Professionals' on his Instagram account. As you can see, he has an exciting 2017 ahead, taking on the duties of cooking as head chef at Crockers -Chef's Table-

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I can't guarantee that I'll make it to Potten End straight away but I'm certainly going to make any more recipes which chef sends our way. Good luck, Scott... and thanks for all the delicious inspiration.

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Has Bean - A Grown Up Selection Box

Not just for grown ups. Immediate apologies to anyone with children who already like coffee but I reckon the majority of youngsters were perfectly happy with much stickier, sweeter stuff than this.

It was an early gift, given on the day before Christmas Eve. Having gathered two sons and one of their partners safely in from Nottingham for five days of festivities I was (rather needlessly and reluctantly... oh, go on then) thanked for my driving duties by the appearance of this coffee treat.

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A few days before, my Christmas top-up order had already been dispatched. Then I saw that excited tweet from Mr Has Bean, Stephen Leighton. A last-minute additional order beckoned but I managed to fend off temptation by completing a batch of peanut butter caramel truffles with a dusting of cocoa instead!

No wonder Steve was pleased with his creation. The presentation is just delightful and is a perfect tribute to an iconic Christmas tradition flipped into coffee form.

And I got my very own after all. Each product is packed a little smaller than the online order options but the most expensive of them weighs in generously at double any of the others. My favourite bean from Brazil is there, along with three which are new to me. The only problem with such a perfect gift was deciding how long to soak up those lovely, thoughtful design and presentation choices before ripping into the quality contents.

Here are links to what was on offer in this selection:

COSTA RICA SANTA TERESA 2000 LA MONTANA WHITE HONEY ETHIOPIA X GEISHA

COFFEE FLOWERS (not beans but worth trying for an interesting infusion... as is their Cascara)

NICARAGUA FINCA LA ESCONDIDA PULPED NATURAL LAURINA

 BRAZIL FAZENDA CACHOEIRA DA GRAMA PULPED NATURAL YELLOW BOURBON

NICARAGUA FINCA LIMONCILLO NATURAL ETHIOSAR

EL SALVADOR FINCA ARGENTINA ESTATE WASHED BOURBON

There are always great subscription offers along with the feast of single estate beans and blends to delight in at the Has Bean website. Bear in mind that the list varies as availability changes. Post-Christmas, all links to this selection box now draw blanks. I'm pretty certain it was a terrific innovation only added last December. If it was as well received elsewhere as it was here at 'Cheoff Towers' (son, James, added one for himself!) then it'll hopefully reappear at the end of this year. It might not have quite the surprise impact of 2016 but I'd still love to see a new version. Nostalgia, perfect presentation and great coffees... Excellent!

Must sign off now and email young Stephen to plea for the same in 2017 and ask him why he only has one bean from Brazil available at the moment. Ooh... and I'll pull a shot from my unexpected but very welcome extra espresso supply while I'm at it!

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Of course Santa could be a redhead. Wanna make something of it?... cut out the bottom of the box and you can!

Dinner with friends

Pop-up restaurants. They're a fairly recent phenomenon... but one which I hadn't experienced until going with Mrs Cheoff to eat at one of the latest to appear in Healing, Grimsby.

It would have been a feast for the senses without any of the ensuing food. We found ourselves in a converted and very tastefully modernised turn of the century house. That's the turn of the twentieth century, you understand. A lovely meshing of generous original living space with terrific additions of architectural space and truly classy Modernist furniture reproductions dotted around. Of course, Modernism was finding its expression at the same time as the fabric of this house was being built in a style which looked back at the Arts and Crafts movement. So, I enjoyed seeing the two approaches side by side and 'making friends' with each other.

The kitchen is given over to completely contemporary design. There are no barriers between chef and diners. And the chef is available for a running commentary on his cooking and for relaxed chatter as our meal is prepared. 

A prawn cocktail to start. I know... rather old-hat. But the dressing, with texture and flavour in abundance, elevated this beyond the realms of nostalgia and into the territory of "Why don't we do this more often?' Fab.

More good, honest elements for our main. Essentially steak and chips, but brought to us only after perfect cooking of meat to our requested finish. I went for not quite as bloody as hell! How lovely to hear the sizzle of a pan under the command of the most attentive of chefs. Spicy wedges of potato and softer succulent mushrooms just needed a few salad leaves - which duly appeared. Accomplished planning and cooking was confirmed through each mouthful of perfectly seasoned flavour.

A lemon tart was the predictable but utterly welcome finale to the meal. Deep and tangy. You can't buy this sort of excellence from Tesco (I think this one was bought at Sainsbury's!)

Deep, dark Italian wine was terrific. Coffee quality was perfectly acceptable... you know how fussy I am with my coffee!

We were now truly relaxed, well fed and smiling fairly helplessly with the whole wonderful occasion.

I've left this most devastating information until the end. I am sorry to say that unless you have two friends as generous and as accomplished and as genuine as Michele and Paul you will have to make your own arrangements... sorry. There will be further reviews of 'proper' restaurants here but, for now, I sign off with the happiest of thoughts at having those truly good people in my life.

* I won't use these pages too often to extol the virtues of such personal relationships but I couldn't resist with this one. Thank you to our favourite Healing inhabitants!

#101TTDBNT: Number 7a

#101TTDBNT: Number 7a: Stop using silly mock cockney titles right now... most unbecoming

I did say I would.

There... that's done.

Let's move on.