As you may have realised I’m a huge Heston Blumenthal fan, really I am. I have a couple of his books, one I’m constantly diving into for tips, tricks and recipes, I’ve also spent a small fortune on a meal at The Fat Duck with his second restaurant Dinner high on the list of places to visit. However as much as his restaurants interest me, they don’t really interest my wallet, my visit was a single lone treat, what really inspires me is his cooking techniques. Continue reading
The nights are drawing in, the weather is getting colder and all I want to eat is big bowls of comfort food, the sort that sticks to your ribs. The type of food that warms, fills you up and only comes served in massive portions, the type of food I like to eat all year round. Last week I made a huge pot of Oxtail stew, thick, rich and meaty served with wedges of crusty bread, it was the perfect foil for the night of whisky drinking it accompanied. Continue reading
Hands Down, the Best Burger You’ll Ever Eat | TheshoeboxKitchen. Check out this blog for the recipe, that and the blog as a whole is excellent.
I’ve just come across a brilliant burger recipie, and made it for my tea, it might not be the best burger you will ever eat in your entire life, but its pretty dam good. Its the shmashed technique for cooking them that really works, that and beef with plenty of fat, I always use the basic beef mince from the supermarket at around %20 fat.
Here is my attempt, I did in in my kitchen that doesn’t have an extractor fan so it got very smokey even with the door and windows open, but it was totally worth it.
Da Perio has been around for five years, over in Irby on the Wirral, however recently it has been gaining quite a bit of press attention for its food. I didn’t want to write a full review, due do it not being in Liverpool, but as its only a short drive, I thought I would include it here. I visited with Beatrice for diner a few weeks ago, and realised that not only is this is a trip worth making, it was one I will make again.
Da Perio is classic Italian cooking at its best, it provides high quality ingredients cooked extremely simply, and thats it. It doesn’t add 18 different ingredients to each dish, al a Jamie’s Italian or any of the so called fine dining restaurants in the Liverpool. The chef here knows that a great piece of beef, such as my main of Cotolette della Nonna Emma, is just perfect covered in herbs and bread crumbs and fried in good olive oil.
Stuffed Pepper with Capers
Our other mains and starters showed the same understanding, that simplicity and an understanding of seasoning is the best way to make fine ingredients sing. The beef and prosciutto ravioli in a sage butter, was delicate and tasty, the pepper stuffed with mince (yes you herd me right, the 70’s diner part stalwart) was bursting with flavour and surprisingly light, the accompanying capers were nicer than anything available in the shops. Our sides of red wine broccoli and purgatory beans, were both excellent and the Admiral tuna was perfectly cooked. The deserts we had didn’t quite show the same delicacy of touch, theSemifreddo al cioccolato, which although tasty was very big a quite heavy. The Cannolo Siciliano was fragrant and subtle in flavour but the pastry was a touch hard.
Cannolo Siciliano
You do not get Italian food this good in Liverpool. Thats all I need to say, its better than anything we have to offer, reasonably priced, offers big portions and is a worth a short drive. Just make sure you book, as its very popular.
I really love pork pies, and have made several, with varying results, before. This weekend I thought I would give a raised crust pie another chance, and due to having some stewing beef in the fridge opted for a beef, onion and tomato pie. I browned the beef before putting it into the pastry (hot water crust), with some chopped deseeded tomatoes and raw onions. I baked it in the over for 20 mins on gas 7 to start the brown the crust and then for two and half hours on gas 4. I’m really rather pleased with the results, my best pie to date.
