munchmun.ch

How to peel garlic in a hurry

Ben — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:21:19 +0000

Here, John Oxton gives an effective demo on how not to take any nonsense from garlic.

Seafood in Hastings

David — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:50:14 +0000

When I was last back home in Hastings I visited White’s Seafood & Steak Bar, although the name may sound a bit trashy “Surf and Turf” it’s a nice little restaurant that serves great fresh seafood.

I’ve not had Escargot before, it wasn’t bad. Dripping in garlic butter and quit chewy, but not bad.

For a main I had Thai style swordfish, tenderly cooked and served on a bed of noodles, pak choi and mango slices. It was quite spicy so the mango made a nice addition.

The Boiling Pot, Austin TX

Ben — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:58:59 +0000

Austin, supported by an annual influx of geeks every year, supports an intimidating quantity of eateries. Joyously, many of them are very, very good indeed.

One of the more unique experiences is The Boiling Pot, a seafood restaurant of simple premise: Make selections based on the number in your party and the quantity of seafood you’d like to consume, and shortly after an inevitably large bowl of shellfish, potatoes and sausage will be emptied onto your table.

Tables are lined with greaseproof paper (crayons are provided for entertainment before food arrives), the food is emptied right in front of you. Your only cutlery is a small wooden hammer, for breaking the shells of crabs and lobster legs. A pot of butter is available as condiment, the rest is up to you and your quickly greasy fingers.

It is, to be blunt, brilliant. The food is good and the dining experience unpretentiously fun; how uptight can you be, eating with a mallet?

Tea Scones

David — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:50:36 +0000

A family recipe. Well, a recipe I got from my family. For all I know it came from a Delia Smith book.

As yet untested, but very nice when other people have made them.

Now that summer is approaching and afternoon tea is more appealing this recipe is due a test run.

Ingredients

225g self raising floour
1/2 level tsp salt
25g caster sugar
1/4 pint Milk
Milk for brushing

Instructions

Heat oven at gas mark 8 or 230c.
Rub butter into flour, add sugar, add milk. Mix to soft dough with knife.
Roll out to 1/2 in thickness and cut out 2in cutter.
Place on baking tray, brush tops with milk, bake for 7-10 minutes.
Let cool on a wire rack

Posh cheese-on-toast

David — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:42:02 +0000

For a quick snack you can’t beat cheese on toast.

This wasn’t meant to be posh, it ended up that way because there was only posh bread and cheese in the kitchen

As much as the fridge is always stocked with cheese, it tends to be posh ones, not huge blocks of cheap cheddar. The only bread in the flat was a loaf of rye bread, honestly, you couldn’t make it up…

Left: Slices of Brie, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprig of Rosemary for a bit of flavour.

Right: Slices of Ossau Iraty (a French Ewe’s cheese), more olive oil, and lots

Verdict? The brie one was alright, though the rosemary did nothing. The ewes cheese one came out pretty close to normal cheese on toast. Pretty tasty.

Paella for lunch

David — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:27:07 +0000