Spittoon Extra

Fish Pie Recipe - From The Billingsgate Market Cookbook

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:25:00 +0000

Apart from the occassional sardines on toast and a near regular take-away fish and chips with mate Phil, fish is seldom on the menu round my way.

Receiving a copy of the - rather excellent - Billingsgate Market Cookbook is bound to change this sorry state of affairs. The reason for fish being absent from the weekly shopping basket is simple - I really don't know what to do with them! Wrapping a trout or mackrel in tin foil is about as far as my culinary skills take me. The cookbook - complete with instructions on how to prepare fish - offers a host of recipes for about every type of fish availble in the UK. If you can't find one type of fish they offer suggestions for a suitable replacement.

The local butcher has a small fish counter and Waitrose isnt too bad either but the place to buy fish in Oxfordsure has to be the fish shop in Oxford's covered market; I can't recommend it highly enough. Frozen pollack from Waitrose is the base for this dish however. It's cheap, being part of their Essentials range, but coupled with the addition of a few large, juicy prawns made for a lovely, rich dish. Boiled eggs, having eaten the last, scrambled, for that mornings breakfast, were omitted.

The Recipe:

Billingsgate School Fish Pie (serves 6)

450g white fish fillets such as coley, hake or Pollack

900ml semi-skimmed milk

1 bay leaf

90g butter

1 finely diced leek

90g plain flour

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon dired English mustard

3 hard boiled eggs, quartered

2 tablespoons chopped dill

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Salt and pepper

For the mashed potato topping

1kg King Edward potatoes

25g butter

120-150ml hot milk

Salt and pepper

1-2 tablespoons grated Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 190C/375F/G5.

Bring the fish and the bay leaf in the milk to the boil and poach over low heat for 5 minutes or so until cooked. Strain the milk into a jog and set aside. Remove skin and bones from fish.

Cook the leek in the melted butter until soft. Stir in the flour, cayenne pepper, nutmeg and mustard and cook for further minute. Blend in the reserved milk, bring to the boil stirring continuously simmer for 2-3 minutes. Should be nice and smooth. Add the eggs, herbs and fish, season. Pour into a large ovenproof pie dish.

Prepare the topping: cook potatoes until tender. Drain and allow to dry for a minute or two. Mash with butter and some hot milk. Season. Spoon over the fish. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the pie hot and bubbling.

Photos of Portugal - from the SudExpress

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:45:34 +0000

I've been to Portugal - for the Wine Bloggers Conference in Lisbon. The Conference weekend was excellent and I managed to taste more Portuguese wines than I'll ever have time to write up. Some were good, excellent in fact, others were not. Really not.

The fun part though was getting to Lisbon in the first place. No cheapie EasyJet from Luton option for us (I travelled with DougieBoy who has written up a little post on the same) instead a rather more romantic, individualistic, adventurous method of transportation - the train.

Beginning at the St. Pancras Champagne Bar on the Thursday morning - we had to start the day in style - the EuroStar took us to Paris Gare du Nord, a hop on the metro down to a waiting TGV at Gare Montparnasse that screamed us down to the Spanish border, then a walk across the platform to the waiting SudExpress (trains are so much better when named!) which was the overnighter to Lisbon. We arriving at 11 the next morning. So simple, so easy and so much more exciting than an 'plane. More expensive obviously but with a drop of Taittinger and a little red Burgundy to wash down a grandiose picnic the whole journey was sublime.

These pictures were taken really early in the morning as we crossed into Portugal. Incredible fog, low light levels and exceptionally grubby windows does not make for decent photo opportunities but these I think are about passable, imparting as they do a sense of movement. Not at all my usual 'style' but evocative none-the-less in an out-of-focus, monochromatic way.

Photos from Iberica, 195 Great Portland Street, London

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:40:36 +0000

Iberica, 195 great Portland Street - a Spanish restaurant )opened September 2008) with knowledgeable Spanish staff, furniture and fittings imported from Spain and a nice little deli attached. Was there last Wednesday with Dougie-boy to sample the lunchtime Expressions menu (£16 which includes a glass of Tio Pepe). A few photos here with full details of Iberica's wine and tapas menu on Spittoon.

Just have to say though that, being a devotee of all things Spanish, this meal was superb. We met the owner and chatted to the chef, Santiago Guerrero (always a nice touch) about his use of the finest, freshest ingredients and his ambitions. Basically the sherry is matched with those ingredients that are traditionally tricky to pair well with wine - such things as artichoke and anchovies. Overall a marvellous selection and highly recommended.

Pear, Gorgonzola and Walnut Salad

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:40:38 +0000

You can forget your Jamie Oliver magazine and chuck out the latest issue of Olive or Delicious; the most inspiring food magazine I'm found recently has been the Autumn 2009 issue of the free Waitrose Seasons Cookbook.

Stewed Apples, Greek Yoghurt and crumbled Amaretti biscuits (or walnuts and/or served on toasted brioche) was one delicious Sunday treat from the little magazine. The Chocolate Pecan Tart is about to enter the oven while the 'Hog Roast' Rolls were delicious and utilised some windfall apples some friendly soul in Brightwell had plonked in a box. All came from the Waitrose cookbook.

This autumnal salad isn't blessed with an atmospheric photo but is almost discarded as a 'Try This' suggestion. Perfectly ripe pears, sliced, served with a little Gorgonzola cheese topped with a few crushed walnuts and the last of the home-grown salad leaves. A drizzle of Farrington's Classic Vinaigrette completed the 'light lunch' or starter. (The vinaigrette by the way is superb and made from cold pressed rape seed oil).

Had a few problems getting a suitable wine match though. An expensive (£12 from Threshers) Chilean Viognier was disappointing both in terms of matching the food and delivering value-for-money while a Dolcetto was also suggested. A £3.99 Californian non-vintage white proved equally suitable and virtuous to boot.

It's Late! But It's Still Great - DMBLGIT Results

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:00:14 +0000

Sorry for the delay in posting the results - all down to a combination of work deadlines, a delay with a judges scoring and so on. I should say a huge thank you to this months two judges the lovely Helen of FoodStories and man-about-town Douglas of Intoxicating Prose. Along with myself they have selected the following images as winners of this round of Does My Blog Look Good In This.

Overall Winner: Bake In Paris with this stunning shot of Black Sesame Macaroons

Second Place to Food Is Love with this stunning and colourful drink entry

Third Place with a delightful rendition of Bacon and Eggs is Taste Buddies/All Things Nice

More Photos From Lille

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:00:35 +0000

The Lille Trip was organised by some EuroStar PR people and a great day out it turned out to be. A variety of food bloggers came along - the day starting at St.Pancras station at 6 (which meant a 3:30am start for me from Oxfordshire) and ended back at the stations champagne bar - for those with stamina - that same evening. Demonstrating that for £59 return a day trip to the continent IS a possibility.

Those who came on the trip, most of whom have already blogged about it, are:

Niamh http://eatlikeagirl.com/

Chris http://www.cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.com/

Helen http://helengraves.co.uk/ - who seemed to blame me for a champagne fueled hangover the following day! Moi??

Helen Yuet Ling Pang http://www.worldfoodieguide.com/

Krista http://www.londonelicious.com/dining/

Liz Upton http://www.gastronomydomine.com/

Margot http://www.coffeeandvanilla.com/

Michelle Minnaar http://www.greedygourmet.com/ who has managed to pen three posts concerning the trip 1/2/3

Kang Leong http://londoneater.com/ - the best person to get 'lost' with in a foreign city

Stephen and Kerri http://dinnerdiary.org/

Ms Marmite http://marmitelover.blogspot.com/

Bread in Lille

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:30:02 +0000

If you follow a few UK food blogs you can't have escaped the mention of a foodie outing to Lille. For some reason I was invited along as well... before the combination of wine at lunch, a beer tasting and champagne hit home I managed a few photos.

How many bread shops do you know illuminated by a chandelier? Shame I neglected to bring my polariser to wipe out those reflections but the first does show the buildings opposite. What I failed to notice at the time was that some of these loaves appear burnt..

Does My Blog Look Good In This - August 2009

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:20:42 +0000

Damn stupid name for a foodie-photo challenge... but having run the event for the last couple of years I thought it was about time for me to host again.

Jeanne hosted last month; and a few delightful images floated to the top to receive the coveted winners accolades. Nip on over to Cooksister to revel in the mouthwatering marvels and view the full gallery of entries.

In case you were not aware there is a PDF download for entrants; head on over to the dedicated DMBLGIT page on Spittoon Extra for all the details.

Entries should be sent in by the 20th of August using the email address above; subject DMBLGIT please. The full album is being hosted on Picasa (slideshow below). Original, text-less, food/drink related photos only please that were posted on a blog during July 2009.

Celebrity Equinox - A Final Three Photos

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 12:23:09 +0000

No food pics; they really not terribly good. A combination of poor lighting, shaky hands and no tripod. Can't take a still life while sitting down... instead a rather delightful photo of Liz Upton of the mighty Gastronomy Domaine and two final pictures from the Celebrity Equinox. The Liz photo was taken during a cocktail mixing demonstration.

Celebrity Equinox - Another Three Photos

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:20:27 +0000

Not too happy with the way the Celebrity Equinox food photos came out - put it down to shaky hands, poor lighting and a high consumption of bubbly; so I probably won't be publishing them. Which still leaves quite a few others... such as these!

Celebrity Equinox - Three More Photos

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:10:57 +0000

So it was true; Jay Raynor was on-board the Celebrity Equinox. He has even penned his verdict on the meal over on Word of Mouth. Despite my mention of him yesterday he didn't reciprocate. Only young Douglas was so honoured...

Three more photographs. This time with a linking theme...

Celebrity Equinox - Three Photos

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:35:03 +0000

Apparently Jay Raynor was on-board the Celebrity Equinox; more interesting were Julia Parsons, Liz Upton and Douglas Blyde. So too was Craig Butcher but we didn't meet. Three photos... more tomorrow.

A Final Three Photos From Madrid

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:40:52 +0000

The first two in this little batch of photographs were taken in the Real Jardin Botanico - a small set of gardens and hot houses a short walk frm the main railway station. The third photo is from one of the many tapas bars I managed to squeeze into the few short days I was there. Flickr hosts the full set of photographs taken in Madrid...

Yet Three More Photos From Madrid

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:57:32 +0000

A Morcilla Tapas

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:25:45 +0000

The photo shows dish that inspired this Tapas round of Waiter; a Morcilla dish eaten during my recent trip to Madrid.

As with all things tapas, the freshest ingredients matter most but simple and quick cooking are also important. Attempts to recreate this dish have moved on from using black pudding (it works but doesn't have the same texture and contains more fatty lumps) to using the 'real thing' from Spanish deli Brindisa.

The morcilla is fried in a little olive oil, an egg is added and 'stir-fried', mix in a handful of toasted pine nuts too. Serve on top of a slice of toasted bread spread with a little homemade tomato sauce (Spanish tomatoes roasted for 15 minutes or so with olive oil and herbs, then pushed throough a seive). You'll have to play with specific quantities...

As it is the height of summer, and fewer people are inclined to blog at this time of year, we have extended this edition of Waiter until the end of July; plenty of time to submit your ideas on tapas. I just adore Spanish tapas - so lets see your ideas!