Can of Worms

11:34:02 o'clock BST

I do hope readers of this blog have visited my main food blog at blog.co.uk...just click the link below.

www.wannabetvchef.blog.co.uk

It now has about 56 entries.

Because I have so much material I have even started a sister blog called  wannabetvchef eXtra   just click the link below.

www.wannabetvchef.blogspot.com

 

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16:01:30 o'clock GMT

A Moving Speech

 

I’ve only been blogging for about seven weeks..but I’m enjoying it greatly.

Since I started from a point of total ignorance about blogging, it’s been a steep learning curve.

 

I’ve tried creating my blog at several different blog sites, to find the one best suited for what I am trying to achieve, which is a well read interesting blog that looks professional and is a useful source of information.

 

                                                WannabeTVchef

I have therefore decided after much agonising to move Can Of Worms from AOL to www.blog.co.uk. and to use my other blog name wannabeTVchef.   So go to the box in the margin labelled favourite sites and click on   www.wannabetvchef.blog.co.uk

 

                                                     .....a million

I’d like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the people that have visited my little blog.....your interest and encouragement is very much appreciated.   I do hope you’ll make the switch and continue to follow my blog at the new location.   The photos are larger, the site looks slicker and there will be lots of interesting new features in my blog...such as

“Ask the Chef”    Your chance to ask me cookery questions via email that I will personally respond to.  The questions can be about recipes, planning a menu for an important dinner party or if you need advice on kitchen equipment. 

 

                                                Hands Up You Bloggers

If any experienced & knowledgeable blogger in the midlands could help me for an hour or 2 to teach me the in’s and out’s of blogging in plain English.  I offer the reward of free dinner if the advice/help bring’s me more traffic.

 

 

 

 

 

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15:11:52 o'clock GMT
Feeling Happy
Hearing jazz

Sometimes….when you are cooking for famous people your too busy in the kitchen to get your hands on memorabilia such as menus, that’s usually snapped up by the wait staff and even the other guests.  Luckily this time I did manage to get a signed photo that reads…

“To Kevin Ashton, best wishes from Ronald Reagan”.

 

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00:44:20 o'clock GMT

Chicken stuffed with Black Pudding© Kevin Ashton 2005

Black pudding has re-emerged as a popular British dish in the last 10 years, and yet its versatility is still mainly untapped.   Too often overcooked or of poor quality to do it justice.   George Stafford in Derbyshire makes one of the best, but if your not lucky enough to live in Stanley Common then source your black pudding from a good local butcher.   Don’t be afraid to ask for a sample to taste, particularly if your a regular customer.

 

2x 175 gram chicken breasts (skin on)

10 grams tarragon

100 grams quality black pudding

4 large pitted prunes

200 ml chicken stock

125 ml whipping cream

1.5 teaspoon grain mustard

10 lightly toasted walnut halves

1 Tbsp olive oil

1.   Remove the fillets from the chicken breasts & place between two pieces of cling film.     

2.   Use a rolling pin or meat hammer to gently bat out the fillets until they are double in size, set aside.

3.   Trim off approximately 20 grams (3/4 oz) of meat from the sides of each breast, whilst keeping it’s original shape.

4.   Roughly cut up the black pudding removing the skin and put the chunks into a food processor, add the prunes and puree until smooth.  Pour in 25 ml of whipping cream, the chicken meat you have trimmed from each breast and mix for a further 2-3 minutes. 

5.   Carefully cut a 10 cm (3.75 inches) pocket or flap along the longest side of each breast.   The pocket should go in about 5 cm, but try to keep your knife flat so that you don’t cuta hole in the breast. 

6.   Stuff each pocket with half of the mix (don’t worry if you have a little mix left you can always fry as a fritter along side the breasts).  Now place a flattened fillet over edge to seal it, then refrigerate.

7.   Simmer the chicken stock down until it has reduced by half, then add the rest of the cream and the grain mustard. Remove the tarragon leaves from the branches and add 3/4 to the sauce, taste.. season then add the rest if needed.

8.   Preheat the oven 190 C (gas mark 5) & season both sides of the chicken with salt & pepper.

9.   Heat a non-stick frying pan then add the olive oil and the chicken breasts and cook on a medium high heat for 6-7 minutes, making sure both side are golden brown.

10.  Transfer the chicken to the oven and cook for a further 7-8 minutes until cooked through.

To Serve

Carefully slice each chicken breast into 3 and arrange on warm plates then pour some of the sauce around the plate and sprinkle on the walnuts.

 

Chef’s Tips      

Any kind of green beans would go well with this dish and I like to boil a few diced baking potatoes with their skins on and a couple of garlic cloves in the water.  Then drain well and mash with a little butter.

© Kevin Ashton 2005

 

*It's been pointed out to me that not every one reading this will know what black pudding is so I am going to post a link below which will take readers to the free on-line encylopidia  wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding

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14:09:41 o'clock GMT
Feeling Chillin'
Hearing Classical
 

This old saying comes from the fact that food is more easily swallowed if taken with a small amount of salt.   So before believing every august word printed or uttered in our media we would be wise to remember that unfortunately some media types don’t let truth to get in the way of a good story. 

Sometimes in my experience famous people are quite different to the image portrayed in the media.  For instance Alexander Haig a former Secretary of State for Ronald Reagan was often written about in a bad light and the media never feel obligated to “balance the books” and paint a more complete true picture of the person. 

 

I was helping with a series of dinner parties on the Enterprise V, a 168ft motor yacht in 1993 (Enterprise V is still in the top 50 largest yachts in the world).  Each evening’s cruise down the Potomac river brought a guest list of the movers and shakers of Washington D.C.  On one such cruise Mr Haig was befriended by a young girl who’s parents were taking no notice of her, she was obviously bored being the only child at this swanky do. 

For the whole cruise this very important man took on the role of Grandpa, and showed great delight in being “adopted”.

For my part, it was great to see the human side of Alexander Haig, so different to the image painted by the media.

 

© Kevin Ashton 2006

 

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13:52:58 o'clock GMT
Feeling Hopeful
Hearing jazz

 

25 years ago a vegetarian customer trying to eat in a non-vegetarian restaurant was at best  treated like an inconvenience and even worse in some places. It was quite some while before  interesting and tasty vegetarian dishes began to appear.  

 

Today that unspoken pariah status has moved to customers who have food allergies or intolerance’s.   It’s estimated that by 2015 up to 40% of the population will suffer from a food intolerance or food allergy.  If that unfortunate prediction becomes a reality then restaurants will need to completely rethink how they operate and accommodate people who have to be so careful what they eat.

 

The forward thinkers out there will get a jump on their competition by approaching the problem as a business opportunity.  That said as a chef  I know that we in the kitchen will be given even more job responsibilities without any extra staff or pay (as usual). 

 

There are lots of difficult scenario’s that could be detrimental to mainstream restaurants.  If owner’s ban the use of certain ingredients (such as nuts) for fear of legal/financial comebacks. Or the focus on ingredient information (in the case of bought in foods) or the handling/storage and seperation of ingredients become so intense that it lessens the focus on the quality of the cooking.  Perhaps if extra staff is needed it might push up the cost of eating out?

 

We need to look at the other end of the problem...and find out why the numbers of  allergy sufferers continues to grow and ask the question.… Can we reverse the trend if the food is free of pesticides, E numbers, hormones and growth enhancers?

 

Last year I managed to get my hands on a copy of a book called the Allergy Catering Manual by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson.   Both allergy sufferers and restaurateurs will find the book full of useful information.  Though I thought some of the advice was impractical, other parts were imminently sensible and would help both the customer and the restaurant.  You can find more info at www.allergycateringmanual.com

 

                                                      What’s in a name?

 

On a slightly less serious note, some years ago whilst living in the US I dated a very nice lady by the name of Susan.   Originally, Susan worked in the retail business but decided to change profession (in retrospect perhaps to work similar hours to make it easier for us to see each other)….but I was too young and immersed in my own work at *The Hay Adams to really notice her sacrifice.

 

After taking several management courses Susan took the position of assistant manager at a pizza restaurant.  At the time of her joining the restaurant it was one of five successful area restaurants owned by a group of partners.  A few months into her new job the partnership decided to split up.  Two partners kept 3 of the pizza restaurants; the other 2 restaurants (including the one Susan worked at) were retained by the other partner, Joe. 

 

The original concept of all five restaurants  was simple but had proved very successful. You collect your raw pizza base from a counter go to the topping bar

(just like a salad bar) where the customers could top their own pizza with anything they liked.  You then handed you pizza back in at the counter and it was cooked and brought to your table.

 

Joe had kept the 2 prime locations in return he had to change his recipes and come up with a new name.   Joe spared no expense and hired a top Washington PR Company to come up with a new name and logo.  Wanting the re-launch to be a media event Joe really pushed the boat out by hiring a big name daytime soap star to headline a day of activities, which included autograph signing, get photographed next to your local sports star and freebie bags & balloons for kids.  

 

It was all so carefully planned and the local TV news & radio teams turned up to give the re-launched restaurants maximum publicity.  On top of all the expense of the re-launch day Joe paid $100,000 dollars for the new name the PR Company came up with.

 

When Susan told me the planned new name, I could not believe my ears or that such an astute businessman had paid $100,000 for that!   As the soap star attempted to unveil the new name the material got snagged on the neon letters.  As this minor problem was sorted out and the name revealed, a child shouted …look Mom…Pizza Poison.    The unfortunate misreading of the new name seemed to ring around the place, and was even captured by the news cameramen.   Pizza PiesON was in fact the new name but it was soon called by all Pizza Poison.

 

The PR whiz explained that the PiesOn part referred to the fact you built your own pizza pie, I told him if you had to explain the name to people, perhaps it wasn’t the best choice.

 

18 months later the doors closed for good on Joe’s 2 restaurants, for some reason people didn’t want to buy their pizzas anymore……go figure?

 

P.s The TV star played the part of a doctor in the long running day time soap General Hospital another one of life’s little ironies.

*The Hay Adams in a top rated hotel just across the road from the White House.

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17:43:26 o'clock GMT
Feeling Mischievous
Hearing sound of the log fire roar

If the title of the entry is confusing, don't worry the recipe isn't.

It just struck me when looking back on my previous scribblings that the piece titled

"One I did early" had a picture of a dish I call Spinach Roularde, but no actual recipe

so here it is, hope you will give a try.

Spinach Roularde with Tomato Basil Sauce© Kevin Ashton 2003

 

When hosting a dinner party often the guest list includes vegetarians, which for non vegetarians cooks can be a scary prospect or lead to some thing very safe and boring.

Here is a great dish that is easy to prepare and even easier to serve.

Don’t be scared by the name.....just think of a savoury swiss roll made of spinach and filled with cream cheese & mushrooms.

 

Spinach Roularde with Tomato Basil Sauce© Kevin Ashton 2003

 

One bag of fresh spinach (300grams) well washed

I packet of dried porcini mushrooms (optional)

250 grams Cream cheese

227grams of Chestnut mushrooms (washed & sliced)

1-2 cloves of garlic (peeled but don’t chop)

6 large organic eggs (carefully seperate yolks from whites)

<SPANLANG=EN-US>30grams melted butter

<SPANLANG=EN-US>pinch of plain flour

1 swiss roll pan (approx 9 inch x 13)

 

Method

 

1.)         Reconstitute the dried mushrooms and let sit for 30 minutes before going to

             the next step.

2.)        Gently fry the sliced chestnut mushrooms in half the melted butter together with

             the garlic. 

3.)        When golden brown add the porcini mushrooms and half the water you’ve

             soaked them in and continue to cook on a low heat until all the liquid has

            evaporated, then remove from the heat and cool, then refridgerate.

4.)        Wilt spinach in a stainless steel saucepan (there should be enough moisture from

            washing the spinach to make adding any unnecessary) then drain well pressing

           out the water, season with salt, pepper & cool down.

5.         Brush the swiss roll tin well with melted butter then line with baking parchment,

            then brush again with butter and dust with plain flour.

6.         Put cold spinach in a food processer and chop well.        

7.         Whisk egg yolks until they turn pale yellow & stiff, then fold into chopped

            spinach.

8.         In a seperate clean bowl whisk the egg whites into a stiff “meringue”, then gently

            fold into the mix.     

9.         Spread mix onto the lined swiss roll tin evenly using a palette knife.

10.       Bake in a hot oven (gas mark 6) for about 8-12 minutes until firm to the touch

            but not brown.

11.       Turn cooled roularde out onto a clean tea towel, gently removing paper then

            gently turn over the roularde again.

12.       Pick out the garlic cloves from the cold mushroom mix then stir into the cream   

            cheese and season if necessary with salt & pepper.

13.       Spread the cream cheese mix onto the roularde gently making it as even as

            possible.

14.       Roll up the roularde, starting fairly tightly and keep an even thickness, then wrap

            in the tea towel. Let the roularde “set” for one hour before slicing.

15.       Cut 2 one inch slices and gently warm & serve with a tomato & basil sauce.

 

*Chef’s Tip

If you’ve always wanted to know how to make a really great tomato sauce then look for next Sunday’s recipe!!

 

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00:16:45 o'clock GMT

Whenever I have rubbed elbows with anyone famous from celebrity chefs all the way to American Presidents, I have always found them to be polite and gracious. 

On the other hand my sister-in-law who used to be in the catering “biz” has one or two humorous tails of famous people being rude.  She told me about the American singer Andy Williams stay at The Grand Hotel in Birmingham.  He spent several days being as rude as he could to all the staff before getting his comeuppance.  You see Mr Williams liked to leave his shoes outside his room at night so the night porter could polish them….then the next morning he would pick them up together with his newspaper off his doorstep.  This particular morning however the bedroom suite door blew shut, leaving Andy locked out and worse he was only wearing a hotel bath towel!  A fellow guest raised the alarm but due to the rudeness of the singer for the past several days, the staff took over an hour to rescue him.

 

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17:51:51 o'clock GMT
Feeling Mischievous
Hearing nun

I'm still learning how to improve the look of my blog and home page but......

pisst....if you wanna see something scary go to

http://hometown.aol.co.uk/macfanonapc/myhomepage/cooking.html

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17:25:55 o'clock GMT
Feeling Mischievous
Hearing the wind in the trees

I am happy and encouraged by the number of times this blog has been read but still I haven't got any interaction going? and thats what I'd like.

Have got the settings wrong?

Can readers leave comments?

Has anyone tried one of my recipes yet?

I'm new to blogging and fairly new to writing so any encouragement would be appreciated.............or am I blogging a dead horse?..........hee..hee

 

http://hometown.aol.co.uk/macfanonapc/myhomepage/cooking.html

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