My philosophy
This blog is dedicated to my love of eating, cooking, writing and reading about food. In it you'll find recipes, book reviews, restaurant reviews and various other food related bits and pieces.
My efforts to keep up to date with this blog have taken a bit of a back burner lately, but I sincerely hope to change that in the coming weeks. Things seemed to have dried up on the freelance front for me, so if anything I should be more constant with
Book it or
Cook it, but alas, I've been neglectful...
I've got lots of exciting things coming up- after struggling through with Bronchitis, I managed to 'crack' the recipe for Pecan Pie. When I say 'crack', I mean this in the sense that after coming home from 10 hour shifts at Delifonseca, I've attempted to make these seemingly cursed pies for Dafna's Cheesecake Factory.
Recipe after recipe failed to deliver on taste, texture and appearance and I made a few expensive mistakes (Pecans ain't cheap!) But after my toil and worry, my efforts were rewarded when I received a message telling me my third recipe was delicious- thank God!
A friend at The Liverpool Echo got in touch with me this week about contributing to a cook book too! So that's very exciting for me! I'll be writing a short piece on Delifonseca and getting some recipes in print and I can't wait!
I think I'm getting itchy feet though, I'm meeting with various aficionados in the city but am still looking at possible London ventures to kick start my career. At the moment I feel a bit too settled, I work all the hours that God sends and I feel like I'm not doing myself (and my five years at University) any justice. Turning 25 this summer is going to be a wake-up call for me I think, as it's been two years since I graduated, it's about time I put my knowledge to good use! I've opened lots of doors for myself and my passion for food in Liverpool, but I can't help thinking that I need to move on.... perhaps it's time I bid farewell to the Liverbirds?
So I'm bed ridden, on anti-biotics and feeling sorry for myself.... but the show must go on!
Whilst you're all outside enjoying the sunshine, I'll be stuck inside, dusting off the Book it or Cook it cobwebs and adding some updated material (finally!)
Think of me when you're having your picnics in the park, I'll be shackled to the oven testing out recipes (and trying not to cough into them!)
This months Goremet simply screamed at me from the Google search page... funnily enough we'd been talking about Spam in work today.... but by no means were we singing it's praises!
We were explaining to a young college student, what a foul and unhealthy addition it was to any kitchen cupboard.
I completely agree with the opinion above, realising it to be an outdated and unpopular product, but I didn't find it as offensive as I do now.
Overt thine eyes if you have baneful thoughts, as you may want to walk this plank, rather than
chomp on it!
Planked Spam? Planked Spam?! Is this meant to encourage excitement and adventure? A bright pink mass smothered in sugar and tarted up with tomatoes with piped potatoes as a border....? It would be greeted with tears, rather than cheers, if someone brought this to my table, they would no longer be welcome in my household!
I mean, I'm not being funny, but I'd rather drown myself in a bowl of cold, lumpy custard than face the harrowing task of carving up and eating this 'mother'....
The concept of placing a whole slab of spam in an oven proof dish, like some sort of sworded centre-piece just baffles me... and low and behold the relentless Spam-fest continues:
What's festive about this? I can't say it's traditional fare in my book. An upside down PIE which says to use biscuit mix???....perhaps they had it in mind when discussing ideas for the annual Monkey Buffet Festival in Thailand? I think these poor primates might be the only ones that could be impressed by this meat-flower, wheel of doom.....ugh!
Firefox, Talk Talk and Blogger have a lot to answer for, as I'd practically completed this review yesterday and in the blink of an eye, it was gone....
So here I give you my rescued, re-written review of Chaophraya (which should have been posted yesterday....)
After being granted the day off yesterday, it felt like a Sunday (as I was working on Easter Sunday). I woke up late, without setting alarm (something which I haven't done in some time) and rolled out of bed. I showered and got dressed (this is all after midday by the way!) and headed for town on the bus.
I trudged through the shops like many others, weighed down by my umbrella which is now part of my essential, everyday kit. I never leave the house with the threat of the impending rain on my newly straightened locks....
After waking up so late and having 'brunch' we found we weren't hungry at the customary times. I'd planned for some time, to take my partner out for Sushi as a treat, but unfortunately, Etsu was closed and I'm thoroughly fed up of Yo-Sushi!...
So, we continued clumping along the windy streets of Liverpool searching for somewhere good to eat. For some reason, we honed in on Liverpool One.... even after passing the San Carlo on King Street and salivating over the wide seafood selection.... We thought it was a bit too formal for our attire, so we thought we'd go down the casual route...
My boss, Candice Fonseca and my work-mate Emma Morris had been raving about Chaophraya since it opened and I can see why- Candice loves exotic cuisine (especially when they don't scrimp on portions) and Emma is a keen vegetarian and they have an extensive menu dedicated to those of us who choose not to eat meat.
Upon our arrival we were seated in the waiting area, but were quickly chaperoned to a table. You could just tell they'd had a busy lunch service, as lots of tables were being re-layed, just in time for the next influx of diners.
Before ordering, I thought I'd make use of the 'facilities' and boy am I glad I did! If you visit Chaophraya, I urge you to take a trip upstairs to the 'Royal' dining suite (the toilets also happen to be on this floor too!)
As we'd never eaten here before we decided to order from the set menu so we could sample a few different items. So we ordered the Set Sukhothai (at £25/head). This consisted of a shared starter platter including the most succulent, honey glazed satay skewers and fresh, juicy deep fried prawns.
After that colossal first course, I was genuinely quite full, but we pressed on with our mains. We were served three dishes- a beef dish with garlic and pepper, a Thai green curry and a duck stir-fry.
As individual dishes go, the beef was my favourite, by far. The meat was dark and flavoursome, not a strip of sinew in sight! The sauce was thick and tangy, without being overpowering.
The Thai green curry was excellent as well. The chicken was extremely tender, contrasting well with the crunch from the green beans. The sauce was piquant and a wonderful shade of green.
The duck was a little on the bland side, despite it being cooked to perfection, but I ate it all the same. After finishing what little I'd put on my plate (through fear of not having enough room for dessert), we asked the waiter if we could take the remaining food home. Shortly before dessert arrived, we were presented with three large takeaway tubs of food!
Dessert was light and refreshing, just what we needed after that mammoth meal! Again, this was a shared platter which consisted of; fresh fruit skewers (and a chocolate sauce to dip them in) a square of cake and a scoop of ice-cream to share.
Once we had fought it out as to who got the last strawberry, we settled up and were on our merry way....
We'll certainly be coming back to this place, as every minor detail in this restaurant has been considered. From the incredible food (and a sneaky window so you can see into the kitchen), to the tranquil water features, and baskets of towels in the bathrooms- nothing is left to chance. We were treated politely and well, and as the staff bid us farewell, one lady bowed graciously to us, which we both thought was a nice touch.
I bet you can guess my verdict... Book It!
Well, like most of the population, when the clocks went forward and the days started getting longer, I thought for a split second that spring might be approaching.... how wrong I was!
The freaky weather has made many of us (myself included) go back into winter (or hibernation) mode i.e hats, gloves, scarves and thermals! So whilst the weather limits us as to what we can do outside, I'm going to have fun reacquainting myself with my kitchen.
As my partner and I are working all through Easter, I thought it would be good to prepare some food in advance, so we could simply help ourselves, so I've stayed up past midnight baking pies and making some lovely Gammon and Lentil Soup (domesticated or what?)
I used the Waitrose guide on how long to cook the joint, using just plain water and I adapted a recipe I found on Not Delia. I added some bay leaves, parsley and oregano and replaced the carrot with some new potatoes and it's currently happily, bubbling away on my stove.
So after a hard day's graft at the Delifonseca stall (at the Chocolate Fair) in the unpredictable atmosphere of Liverpool One, I'll be glad to come home to a big bowl of homemade soup- yummy!
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Gooseberries