Yorkshire Chorizo: That’ll Do, Pig

March 17, 2016March 17, 2016Leave a comment

I think anyone in the UK should be justly proud of our produce. We’ve been the butt of rubbish jokes about British food (and teeth) for way too long thanks to people who can’t read or order properly from menus. You know, the kind of people who go to London on holiday and eat at Wetherspoons and then try to claim our cuisine is poor and uninspired.

We’ve also had this weird stigma about promoting food that isn’t necessarily native to this country as our own. Never mind that chicken tikka masala was invented here, and that curry should actually count towards our national repertoire… Never mind that we produce some of the finest cheeses and cured meats in the world…

Well, I say it’s time to celebrate all of the fantastic produce we have here, and all of the farmers, butchers, bakers and artisans who slave away to make it. And I’d like to start with this fabulous chorizo from Yorkshire, which was kindly sent to me by Chris Wildman – the chap who makes it!

Made to an authentic recipe in Skipton, North Yorkshire, this cured pork sausage is made with the finest smoked Spanish paprika and can be eaten straight from the packet, or barbecued, fried or boiled. (I cannot wait to get some of this on the BBQ when the season starts!) I thought long and hard about the best recipe to showcase the gorgeous flavours of this chorizo (and it certainly is one of the best chorizos I’ve ever had!), before deciding that simple was best.

What better combo for chorizo than some garlic and tomato? Showcasing the slick, oily paprika that oozes from the meat, this pasta sauce delivers crispy nuggets of deeply savoury pork, along with the sweet-sourness of the tomato and the heady tang of garlic. The best part is, you can make the sauce in as long a time as it takes to cook the pasta. And the second best part is that it’s so simple I don’t even need to give you a recipe…

To prepare, chop your ingredients, then put your pasta on to the boil. While it’s cooking, fry the garlic and then the chorizo in the pan with some olive oil until slightly brown. The chorizo will release some of the gorgeous paprika into the oil, and this is what makes this sauce so delicious! Then, add some chopped tomatoes and fry. The quantities are up to you – I used three large salad tomatoes and 130g of Yorkshire Chorizo for two people, but you can make a sausage stretch to four very easily by upping the amount of tomatoes in there.

When you’re done, you’ll end up with this delicious concoction – which I guess looks more like a salsa than a sauce! Top your pasta (I cooked 100g of dried spaghetti per person) with the chorizo and tomato mix, and dig in…

Or, you could try using this as a topping for bruschetta or toasted sourdough bread. Or on top of a jacket potato! Or as a sauce for some grilled chicken or salmon… It’s such a versatile recipe, and thanks to the quality of the ingredients, it’s delicious and so simple to make.

Purchase Yorkshire Chorizo at www.yorkshirechorizo.com. Because of the natural preservatives in the chorizo, it can be kept at room temperature and therefore sent via the post! Each sausage costs £7.50, including postage and packaging, and there are three flavours – garlic, original, picante, plus you can also buy Yorkshire Salami too! How will you cook your Yorkshire Chorizo?

Shaken Cocktails: The Stylish Way to Get Sozzled

March 8, 2016April 26, 2017Leave a comment

I’m a massive sucker for ‘X of the month’ clubs, recipes, cocktails, gin, and amassing excuses to use a coupe glass. So I think Shaken was actually designed entirely with me in mind – it combines all these things into a monthly delivery designed around a lead spirit, which always changes and varies from gin, to whisky, to vodka. Inside the box, you get recipe cards for the cocktails, a booklet about the lead spirit, and the ingredients to make the cocktails! All you need to do is get the bar equipment ready and nab some lemons and limes!

The box I tried was the gin introductory box, and features two cocktails based around Broker’s gin (and the booklet has interesting info about the spirit as well…) The theme is the Prohibition era – think glamour, jazz, Speakeasys, and illicit boozing under cover of darkness and via secret knocks.Inside the kit were the recipe cards and booklet, plus five glass bottles containing 200ml of Brooker’s gin, 30ml of green chartreuse, 60ml of maraschino, 10ml of absinthe and 10ml of creme de violette.

The first cocktail was Aviation, served in a chilled martini glass – a combination of gin, maraschino, creme de violette and lemon juice, stirred with ice. This pretty blue drink has a delicate floral taste like parma violets, backed up by a heady punch courtesy of the Broker’s.

With the subtle hint of blue and the sweet taste of flowers, this is definitely a feminine drink, but don’t let that fool you! Just like all the most formidable women, it looks pretty but it packs a punch.

Now let’s move onto Last Word – an exotic and mysterious combination that includes the green fairy herself – a rinse of absinthe! I’d never actually had an absinthe cocktail before, so I was intrigued to try a drink that included a spirit with such an infamous reputation, joining the ranks of absinthe drinkers such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Oscar Wild and Charles Baudelaire. Rest assured, the amount of absinthe in Last Word is nowhere near enough for you to dissolve into the legendary deranged behaviours or hallucinations the myth of the la fee verte would have you believe. Combined with gin, maraschino, green chartreuse and lime juice, the absinthe rinse in Last Word imparts a subtle aniseed flavour to this tart and medicinal tasting drink, which also has hints of liquorice and cherries.

Each Shaken box has enough ingredients in it to create two cocktails for each recipe, with enough of the main spirit left over for you to try that on its own – so, five bar-strength drinks in all!

If you want to join the monthly subscribers as an Explorers’ Club Member, the cost for each box is £24, including delivery (but I have a money-off code, below!). Each month, you’re emailed ahead of time about that month’s box, and if you prefer, you can swap it out with the gin or whisky introduction boxes. Also, you can cancel any time, and even skip boxes too!

Shaken also has an online shop with gift certificates, one off boxes and full sized bottles of each box’s lead spirit. Shaken’s Gin, Whisky and Espresso Martini boxes are available at their shop for £29 each – I think these are awesome for a dinner party or gathering! I’m definitely signing up, and I know a certain friend of mine who may well be getting one of these beauties as a gift in the next few months!

Follow this link to get £10 off your first Shaken box:http://bit.ly/1WS87u7, making it just £14. You can choose from the gin box that I trialled, or the whiskey box, which includes Four Roses Small Batch bourbon, Campari, sweet and dry vermouths and orange bitters to make a Manhattan and Boulevardier. Hmm… I may have to do some more ‘research’ on this one. You know, just to test it out…

Thanks to Shaken for sending me a box to try. All my opinions are my own!

Battle of the Hotdogs: It’s Going Down in Charlotte Street!

March 7, 2016July 26, 20161 Comment

If you head to Charlotte Street in London on hotdog related business, you may find yourself plagued with a decision the likes of which you’ve never faced before. Because in Charlotte Street there is not one, but two great hotdog places, both very close to each other, both very trendy and Instagrammable, and both selling delicious food.

Now, I don’t know you, but I’m going to assume you’re similar to me, and only eat hotdogs once a day. So that means I’m going to have to help you decide which one to visit. Don’t worry, I’ve done my research.

Let’s start with Bubbledogs – arguably the trendiest of the two. You can’t book in advance but mysteriously when you go in, they’ll ask you if you have. I’m allergic to speaking on the phone, but if you are socially minded you might want to try ringing them to see if they’ll put you on the secret booking list.

Bubbledogs’ USP is the fact that they serve champagne with their hotdogs (which came first? The concept or the name? I like to think they just made up the name first and then decided the only possible way to go ahead with a business called Bubbledogs was with champers and sausages… But I digress…) Because of that, the room is dominated by the glorious bar, dotted with dimmed lighting, and the exposed brick walls are adorned with cute pics of pups in various poses. Seats are high stools with higher tables – a pet peeve of mine, as I like to lounge when I eat. I assume I’m related to some kind of high up Roman senator or something.

The drinks selection is by far the biggest part of the menu. The food almost seems like an afterthought – but don’t worry, because as much care is lavished on the hotdogs as it is on curating the wine list. I plumped for the rose and waited patiently for my food to arrive before I supped away.

Making a decision on the hotdogs was pretty difficult – before I arrived I’d fancied a Sloppy Joe – chilli, cheese and onions – but on the day I wanted something sour and strong, so I ordered a Reuben with sauerkraut, Russian dressing and melted Swiss cheese, along with a helping of sweet potato fries.

It was delicious, but I still yearn for that hit of chilli and wish I could go back for a second helping of a Sloppy Joe – there’s just something unbeatable about that combo! Props go to Bubbledogs for the super traditional squeaky dog, springy, smokey, and savoury, and the soft, sweet brioche roll, as well as the fries, which were so crisp I could have shattered them against the bar.

On now to Herman ze German, which actually has several restaurants in London, offering a decidedly more rustic take on the humble hotdog.

Cheap and cheerful is the name of the game here, and there’s also a lot more variety on the menu – you can order your hotdog without a bun, or even *gasp* skip the dog entirely and go for something completely different… as long as it’s German, of course…

You’re supposed to fill out your wipe clean menu with your choices in a marker pen, and take them up to the counter to have your order taken – in reality, it’s a bit fiddly and unnecessary, and because the drinks options aren’t properly listed, you’ll still have to order those verbally. I’d recently tried currywurst in Germany (a country I have now visited twice for a grand combined total of three hours – and no, it wasn’t a layover!), so I went for a bratwurst with crispy onions and fries. Again, if I could reorder, I would go for a bockwurst – the bratwurst lacked the smokey taste I feel is essential for a hotdog.

Interesting, the dogs are served on a French baguette style bun – I always prefer my dogs on a sweet, soft, bun, but the bread was perfectly baked, chewy and robust. The crispy onions are a great addition, and of course, just like at Bubbledogs, there’s mustard and ketchup available to add to your heart’s content – but Herman also offers mayo too, which is great if you’re pretending to be Belgian.

Finally, don’t forget I said you could order other items – it wouldn’t be a German restaurant without a schnitzel! Crispy and moist, this breaded chicken breast comes with a salad, so you can pretend you’re being healthy while you eat fried food.

On the Instagram level, I have to score Herman higher simply because there are two window seats which afford great daylight for those sneaky snaps, and the seating is a lot nicer too, although still has that cafeteria vibe thanks to the metal and wood furniture and the benches. Food-wise, I preferred Bubbledogs’ hotdog (but I still must try that bockwurst!) and bun, but Herman offers a more family friendly experience, is a little cheaper, and has a wider range of options.

My verdict? Go to Bubbledogs for style and substance, and go to Herman ze German for a heartily good nosh. And, try their melon and gin cocktail, it’s delicious!

Find Bubbledogs here at www.bubbledogs.co.uk, and Herman ze German here at www.hermanzegerman.com. Both are located on Charlotte Street in London, but Herman ze German has outlets in Soho and Charing Cross too…