For the very first post I put up here I wrote about the Star and Dove (that link may not work right now, I think they're re-doing their website), a local pub which does phenomenal food. Seriously, these guys are going to get popular once word gets out so book up while you can. I was treated to a meal there for my birthday a couple of months ago, but wanted to leave it a respectable amount of time before I posted a review.
The deal with the Star and Dove (the Dining Room, at least, the bar food is slightly different) is they take recipes from the 12th to 18th century and recreate them with modern techniques. It's quite an odd sense of disassociation when you order something spelt lyke thys, and end up with a very contemporary looking plate.
I'm going to put my cards on the table here. I love stuff that is made to look like other stuff. Love it. I know it's gimmicky, but God help me, they brought a candle to the table and lit it and told us it was the butter for our rolls. For reals. It even had little dribbles of wax down it. How am I supposed to deal with that? Because if it isn't 'clap your hands and giggle like a child' then I may have chosen the wrong option.
We got aperitifs too. I love it when there's aperitifs. It's a little extra free gift to make you feel like you're getting your money's worth. Ours was a take on the flavours of a Waldorf salad. A rich celery veloute, with a fresh pickled walnut, crumbled apple jelly (they clearly like their gelling agents here - this was a jelly that looked and felt like sand, but would melt in your mouth), and a crisp of filo pastry.
My starter was a soft, tangy fresh buffalo cheese that matched perfectly with chicory and truffle honeycomb, while Pete had... I don't even know what to call it. It was like a ball of fish stock wrapped in smoked haddock and bacon cream so when you cut into it it would ooze more fish. In his words, it was the fishiest fish that ever fish. Fish. I'm not a fan of fish myself, but he assures me that if you did like fish you would probably like this fish. Fish.
My main was Welsh salt duck breast, with a liver mousse in a crispy pancake. I was conflicted about ordering this, because I love duck but really don't get on with liver. I needn't have worried. Although powerful tasting, the mousse avoided that graininess of texture that I dislike, and really tasted more like a fierce blue cheese than anything. Pete had a Carpet bagger steak, which was fillet steak stuffed with goose liver and pate. As you can tell, they are really offally versatile (do you see what I did there? I'm very amusing).
Puddings were amazeballs. Pete doesn't even like puddings all that much, but I've still managed to convince him to go back a number of times just so we can have a cake or dessert in the bar downstairs. I had 'Beetroot Salad', which involved beetroot candied, jellied and crisped and served with chocolate ganache, while Pete had a clotted cream and brandy ice cream, shaped and dipped in an orange gel to make it look like an orange, and served with orange curd. Stuff that looks like stuff. Love it.
So well played, The Star and Dove. Well played. I shall return anon.
Tuesday 30 April 2013
Friday 26 April 2013
Playing with: Liquid Smoke
Sometimes I find an ingredient that intrigues me, and I start using it in loads of things even when I don't know how. I did it with tamarind paste (great with couscous, less so on toast), and now I'm doing it with liquid smoke.
Apparently it's been kicking around the States for ages but it's clearly not a big thing in the UK. Probably because our experience of barbecue flavour is less 'smoke' and more 'fire-lighter fluid and sooty rainwater'. Anyway, I heard about it off of that Food Network, and finally found some in Dr Burnorium's Hot Sauce Emporium. And I've been playing with it ever since.
Liquid smoke is basically water which has had smoke bubbled through it, so it's a really authentic smokey (Smokey? Smoky? Smokey.) taste. The main thing you need to know about it is you DO NOT NEED MUCH OF IT. Seriously. This shit is strong. If you want to be subtle you have to add it a drop at a time.
It's a nice addition to chilli con carne, and it's good at making vegetarian bean stews feel more substantial. An extremely basic but perfectly serviceable version would use:
1 drained can black-eyed beans
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 diced white onion
1 clove crushed garlic
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp paprika
Cook everything on a low simmer for half an hour with the lid on, and a further 15-20 min with the lid off until it reduces to the right consistency.
That's what I would consider a traditional use of liquid smoke, but if you don't experiment you'll never find anything new. Yes, you'll make a few crimes against nature along the way, and the townspeople will no doubt curse your name as the 'Bringer of Abominations', but that's what being a scientist is all about. So here are some more counter-intuitive uses you could try. Be thankful I did the research so you didn't have to.
- Salted caramel sauce (add a TINY amount)
- Apple sauce (to go with pork, not puddings. Also, 'Pork not Puddings' would look good on a t-shirt)
- Chilli beef stir fry
- Mashed potato
I've also created my own barbecue sauce based around liquid smoke, but you could use this same recipe without it. This can be used as a sauce on it's own, or as a marinade for meat before it goes in the oven. You will need:
6 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp black treacle (or 2 of dark muscavado sugar)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Whisk everything together in a bowl until the treacle has dissolved, then check it's to your taste.
The sauce is quite thin which is perfect for a marinade, but if you want it thicker then heat it gently in a saucepan and whisk in 1 tsp cornflour dissolved in a drop of water. Stir until thick.
Once I made the sauce I stored some of it in a tomato:
And marinaded some chicken breasts in the rest.
After a couple of hours I griddled the chicken and served them with garlicy green beans and mash.
Liquid smoke then. I suspect it's going to be one of those things I use sparingly and when the mood strikes me rather than regularly. It hasn't changed my life, but this barbecue sauce really is a cracker.
Apparently it's been kicking around the States for ages but it's clearly not a big thing in the UK. Probably because our experience of barbecue flavour is less 'smoke' and more 'fire-lighter fluid and sooty rainwater'. Anyway, I heard about it off of that Food Network, and finally found some in Dr Burnorium's Hot Sauce Emporium. And I've been playing with it ever since.
Liquid smoke is basically water which has had smoke bubbled through it, so it's a really authentic smokey (Smokey? Smoky? Smokey.) taste. The main thing you need to know about it is you DO NOT NEED MUCH OF IT. Seriously. This shit is strong. If you want to be subtle you have to add it a drop at a time.
It's a nice addition to chilli con carne, and it's good at making vegetarian bean stews feel more substantial. An extremely basic but perfectly serviceable version would use:
1 drained can black-eyed beans
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 diced white onion
1 clove crushed garlic
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp paprika
Cook everything on a low simmer for half an hour with the lid on, and a further 15-20 min with the lid off until it reduces to the right consistency.
That's what I would consider a traditional use of liquid smoke, but if you don't experiment you'll never find anything new. Yes, you'll make a few crimes against nature along the way, and the townspeople will no doubt curse your name as the 'Bringer of Abominations', but that's what being a scientist is all about. So here are some more counter-intuitive uses you could try. Be thankful I did the research so you didn't have to.
- Salted caramel sauce (add a TINY amount)
- Apple sauce (to go with pork, not puddings. Also, 'Pork not Puddings' would look good on a t-shirt)
- Chilli beef stir fry
- Mashed potato
I've also created my own barbecue sauce based around liquid smoke, but you could use this same recipe without it. This can be used as a sauce on it's own, or as a marinade for meat before it goes in the oven. You will need:
6 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp black treacle (or 2 of dark muscavado sugar)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Whisk everything together in a bowl until the treacle has dissolved, then check it's to your taste.
The sauce is quite thin which is perfect for a marinade, but if you want it thicker then heat it gently in a saucepan and whisk in 1 tsp cornflour dissolved in a drop of water. Stir until thick.
Once I made the sauce I stored some of it in a tomato:
And marinaded some chicken breasts in the rest.
After a couple of hours I griddled the chicken and served them with garlicy green beans and mash.
Liquid smoke then. I suspect it's going to be one of those things I use sparingly and when the mood strikes me rather than regularly. It hasn't changed my life, but this barbecue sauce really is a cracker.
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