Time to eat…

One of my favourite sausages is the merguez sausage.

This is a North African spicy lamb and beef sausage that is really nice and meaty with a hot and spicy taste.

Merguez is made with lamb or beef, and flavoured with a wide range of spices, such as sumac for tartness, and paprika, cayenne, or harissa, a hot chilli paste that gives it a red colour.

I have had Merguez sausages in Cafe Rouge and have had trouble finding them for sale in my local suppliers.

However was pleased to find them in Taste.

Just grilled they were delicious.

Went out for dinner tonight, a spur of the moment kind of thing at a local pub.

For starters I went for what sounded like an interesting dish.

It consisted of slices of Bury black pudding topped with goat’s cheese and cranberry sauce.

Overall it was interesting but not really anything special. It lacked flavour and there was way too much salad on the plate.

One dish I seem to make much more on a regular basis is pan roasted chicken.

This is an easy and quicker dish than a simple roast chicken in many ways.

Start off with some chicken, either joint a whole chicken, or buy some thighs and legs (they have more flavour).

Place them in a pan with onions, pepper, pancetta, mushrooms, cubes of bread, herbs and a good dash of olive oil.

You can add other things as well such as sweet potato, parsnip, partially cooked potato, tomatoes, sausages and courgettes if you so wish.

Roast in a hot oven for about thirty to forty minutes.

The bread is a key as this will soak up the wonderful juices.

I did a double take when  first saw this kitchen gadget in John Lewis recently.

I could not believe that such a device existed.

Well it does and here is the photograph to prove it!

It is a toaster which you can use to also poach an egg!

Bizarre!

Tonight I cooked some calamari (squid in batter) and was well impressed with the results, melt in your mouth.

If all you have ever eaten are the “bake” in the oven ready battered calamari or under the grill “cooked” squid rings, then cooking fresh squid is something you just have to try.

You will find there is no comparison.

So take some prepared squid; you can prepare it yourself, or ask your fishmonger or buy it freshly prepared.

In a bowl mix some self-raising flour, some milk and the yolk of an egg (or you can use a beer batter). I also added some grated parmesan (just to be different).

Then coat and cook the squid in a pan of hot oil.

Serve straightaway with lemon segments, otherwise the cooked squid will go rubbery or the batter will go soft.

Delicious.

This is a nice pasta dish that is quick and easy to make.

In a large frying pan, fry off some pancetta and half a finely chopped onion.

Then add some mushrooms and freshly chopped parsley.

When nearly cooked, add half a tub of creme frache.

For the pasta  used a fresh egg and spinach linguine.

It only takes a couple of minutes to cook, mix with the sauce and then serve with a sprinkling of grated parmesan and ground black pepper.

Happy Star Wars Day

May the Fourth be with you…

I am probably going to be traditional and have roasted Ewok with all the trimmings…

How are you going to celebrate?

There is a skill in cooking a steak on a griddle, especially if you want it to turn out well and tasty.

My technique is not perfect, but I get some good results.

Firstly I heat the pan, the heat will be the guide to whether I am cooking a rare, medium or well done steak, though it must be, even for a well done steak, quite hot.

I take the steak, preferably at room temperature and rub seasoning and oil into the steak. This is black pepper, some Italian herbs and olive oil.

I prefer using ribeye, but in the photo below I was using sirloin, as I can’t always get hold of ribeye.

I do not add oil to the griddle.

Once the pan is hot, I then griddle the steak.

This ensures I get the nice chargrill lines on my steak.

I serve the steak with some freshly cut lemon.

Having written previously about my liking for Jack Daniels barbecue sauce, I have been experimenting with my own recipe for a barbecue sauce.

I take some balsamic vinegar, oil, honey, cajun spices, tomato puree (or even ketchup - which I have to thank Jamie Oliver for).

This I coat the chicken in and the roast in the oven.

When it’s a little warmer I intend to then finish it off over the hot coals of a barbecue.

Having mentioned Illy coffee before, which was after Listening to Windows Weekly I went out and bought some Illy coffee for my espresso machine.

When I use to visit Italy a lot I would always try and ensure that the coffee I drank when out and about was Illy.

Well let me just say, it is as good as I remember, it was almost perfect.

What would make it perfect, well drinking it in an Italian pavement cafe would make it perfect.