meemalee

Egg and Bacon Tarts So Sainsbury's contacts me.  They say, "Next month is Organic September - a month long promotion of organic food by the Soil Association - and to celebrate this, we'd love to send you a box of our seasonal goods from our SO Organic range for you to come up with some recipes". I think, "Meh, I do like a cookery challenge. All right then".  The allotted time and date arrives. There's a knock at the door, and a cheerful driver says, "Here's the delivery for Miss Bunty Fairweather*".  I think, "Eh?" and say, "Um, I am expecting a delivery, but my name's MiMi, not Bunty". He looks perplexed and shrugs.  I say, "Are they all organic products?" and he says, "Yes", and hands the goods over since the address is right and he doesn't really give a monkey's what my name is.  I put the bag on the kitchen table and empty its contents excitedly. So. There's milk, ...

Where's your self re-cocking-spect? Apparently people hate those posts where errant bloggers go, "I'm so sorry for being AWOL" or "So you're probably wondering where I've been". I'm just going to say I was ill which meant I stopped giving a shit, but now I'm back. Anyway. A Cock Tale The Ginger Pig is one of those semi-legendary butchers, and one fine day, they're kind enough to offer me one of their new 100 day French chickens to play with (cook, I mean. Not befriend. That would be weird). I can go for a cock or a pullet (Google those words, and an awful joke comes up which you can probably guess), and I choose the cock.  They then offer me a choice of prepared or intact - I've had cockscomb in salads before, and I love me some chicken feet, so I figure I can make good use of the extra bits, so  I say, "Bring it on".   Friday, my office doorbell rings and a nice chap appears with a beautiful ba...

Scotch egg! Scotch egg! How I love thee! For the uninitiated, Oliver Thring gives good background on what a Scotch egg is and where it came from. This is not a Scotch egg . The formula for what makes a good Scotch egg is very simple: Soft-Boiled Egg + Seasoned Meat + Breadcrumb + Deep-Frying --> Heaven in a Sphere A far cry from those supermarket horrors comprising hard, greying eggs rattling around in a case of pappy sausagemeat and moist crumb, never mind what Wikipedia says, a Scotch egg should be warm and cossetting, with meat that yields and a yolk that dribbles. So I am delighted to announce that I'll be one of a distinguished panel of judges at the Scotch Egg Challenge on Tuesday 9th August Tuesday 20th September (postponed due to the troubles in London ) at that marvellous pub called The Ship in Wandsworth to decide who makes the best Scotch Egg. Open to professionals, pubs and restaurants alike, if you'd like to enter or want more details,...

You are the bitter, I am the sweet You are the griddle, I am the meat You are the trick, I am the treat You are the circus, I am the freak It's Christmas time, and I while away many a lunch hour in Leadenhall Market, admiring the turkeys on display at the Butchers and staring wistfully at the treats on the Comptoir Gourmand stall, when I notice the ultimate in glossy food p0rn appear in a number of establishments - namely the Forman & Field mail order catalogue. I pop one into my bag and then spend the evening circling all the things I want to get, before realising I can't really see any of it any more because of all the marker pen. Anyway, Forman & Field puts an end to my choice paralysis by asking if I'd like to take part in a challenge called the Forman's Love Cook-Off . The aim is to see which of a number of blog types can come up with the "best" Valentine's Day menu using a mystery box of Forman & Field goodies. Of course I say ye...

It's the year 2000. Tandoori Palace on Histon Road. We've just had a rather nice curry, when my boyfriend turns to me and says, "These chocolate mints taste a bit odd". I try one and grimace, and I say to him, "They're orange, you idiot" ... Green & Black's are looking for an Assistant for their Head of Taste, Micah Carr-Hill. That's right - they're hiring a Chocolate Taster, possibly the BEST. JOB. IN. THE. WORLD. The recruitment site says the following: " Do you plan what you are going to cook and eat several meals in advance? Does the science and technology of food excite you? Can you discern between acceptable tastes and excellent ones? Do you love chocolate? Do you want the opportunity to build a career doing what you love? Green & Black's is looking for an assistant to the Head of Taste ". Successful applicants will be asked to undertake a series of tests, and some of us blogging folk have been invited to take pa...

The national dish of Burma is called mohinga , a kind of fish chowder with lemongrass and banana stem that's served over rice vermicelli noodles. But arguably the most famous Burmese dish is one called ohn-no khao swè - Coconut Chicken Noodles. The reason for this is that ohn-no khao swè is generally considered the predecessor of the famous Northern Thai noodle dish Khao Soi - a dish so beloved that it has spawned its own fan sites and even essays . Apparently "khao soi" doesn't actually mean anything in Thai, so it's very likely that the name is just a derivation of khao swè, the Burmese word for "noodles", which literally means "fold pull" ie the method for making noodles. To add support to this theory, outside of Burma, ohn-no khao swè is also known as khao sway, khauk swe, khaot swe and my absolute favourite, cow suey. That's what happens when you try to transliterate a non-Roman language like Burmese. " Ohn-No Khao Swè ...

Asking me if I love MasterChef is a bit like asking if a bear sh*ts in the woods. I decided to write a blog because I'm working on a Burmese cookbook, and I wanted to know if people would like what I said, but the thing that actually got me started, the first thing I ever wrote about , was MasterChef. I've had some folk comment that me putting virtual pen to paper about MasterChef is a waste of my "time and talent", that it's low-brow and inane, but goddammit, I'm a big girl and if I think it merits attention , then who the hell are they to disagree? The fact is, I adore MasterChef with every fibre of my being. It's emotional, it's visceral, it's ludicrous, it's compelling. By the time you get to the final, you're right there with them, rooting for the competitors, wanting to adopt each and every one of them, to give them all a big hug and to tell them that everything's going to be all right (okay, this may just be me). But would I e...