Polpo Feast at home

Emily got me the Polpo cookbook as part of my Christmas present after we visited their restaurant last summer and fell in love with their Italian (or Venetian to be more accurate) style tapas called Cicchetti.

The book is beautifully designed with an unusual binding, the illustration of an octopus on the front and lovely photography which includes lots of shots and stories of Venice making me want to go.

I had a flick through and wanted to make everything but decided on things which wouldn't be too tricky as the first attempt. I know Mat loves the deep fried risotto balls called Arancini which we tried when we went to Polpo so decided to make those and half my work by making loads of risotto the night before and saving some to deep fry. I used Jamie Oliver's trusty basic risotto recipe instead of the one from the book. After the risotto has cooled roll into a ball with a small piece of mozzarella in the middle and roll in fine cornmeal (or polenta). Heat up some sunflower oil (enough to cover the balls) and deep fry for 2-3 minutes.

I served this with some hot chilli shell-on prawns (again really easy) just fry in oil, chilli and garlic until cooked or hot if using pre-cooked prawns. Delicious.

A bit of greenery seemed like a good idea too especially in January when we are suppose to be eating healthy and also to balance the deep fried arancini so I decided on the raw courgette (or zuccini as they call it) salad. The courgette is finely sliced, mixed with rocket and a lemon, olive oil and parmesan dressing, the extra parmesan I popped on top stopped it being too virtuous. This had loads of crunch and flavour - I will definitely be putting raw courgette in salads again. Lemon, rocket and this green veg is a great flavour combination.

But I think the show stopper of the meal was the crostini topped with prosciutto, fig and mint. Simply toast slices of a baguette, top with the ingredients, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over and season. As with all the dishes serve immediately - and we ate immediately too, everything was just perfect bitesize mouthfuls of deliciousness.

Even though a little effort compared to going to the restaurant, I cant wait to make more. Homemade pizza's will be made very soon I think. Thanks to Em for the pressie - I will cook you something from it on your next visit (might even be all this).

Homemade Blackberry Gin

Around November I spotted a recipe in the Waitrose food magazine for Blackberry gin and thought I would give it a go to hand out as Christmas presents. I tried a friends homemade damson vodka the previous year which was delicious and sounded really simple.

I purchased a huge Kilner jar which I sterilised by heating in the oven and filled with layers of 900g blackberries and 500g caster sugar popping a vanilla pod split lengthways in the middle. I then topped up with 70cl Gordon's gin, as it is going to be flavoured by the fruit a cheapish london dry gin is ideal something like Hendricks would be wasted in this mix. Once sealed I gave it a shake to help dissolve the sugar and popped it in the fridge. For the first week I gave it a gentle shake everyday and just once a week thereafter. It fermented for six weeks but can be up to eight.

After six weeks I strained the liquid through a sieve and decanted into bottles - I got approximately 1200ml of gin so I made little tags and gave them out as presents which included serving suggestions such as neat with ice, lots of lime and fever tonic or topped up with prosecco. It was delicious and seemed to be well liked enough for me to do it again next year.

OXO Tower

By far one of the flashest restaurants I have been to this year is the OXO Tower for a friends 30th birthday treat - set in the iconic building on the Thames with the most incredible views of London - it felt like a real fine dining treat.

We watched the fog roll in over the skyline as we were recommended wine by the sommelier and tucked into our three course dinner presented on crisp white linen. It was a great experience but I decided not to take photos for two reasons - the first I just wanted to enjoy it, and the second - there is a blue lighting scheme which would just make all the food look grey and not do it justice.

I went for crab wrapped in a cannoli style casing but had massive food envy of the lobster tempura served with a clear consomme one of the girls had. This I followed with the Venison with pistacho and even though on my way to being too full I went for the hazelnut pannacotta - perfect after the rich meat of the main. We all got stuck in to the birthday girl's Chocolate Plate - four heavenly puddings in one dessert.

This felt special - the views, the food and the company all made it... but there was something missing. It may have been the vast high ceiling and weird blue tinge to the lighting but it had a coldness, it is one of those places I am glad I have experienced but I do not feel the need to rush back and take others, which surprised me.

Ultimate Christmas Dinner 2012

Ultimate Christmas dinner began one snowy Saturday three years ago and has now became a traditional gathering with friends - each bringing a different course (or crackers in the case of Mat), lots of booze, secret santa round the table and playing a hotly contested game of Cranium of Girls VS Boys.

This year there was no snow but a ridiculous amount of Prosecco and an intense game of Cranium which resulted in the boys winning and closing the led on the girls of three games to two (we have also played this on Ultimate New Years Day and Ultimate Easter).

I was in charge of a starter so went for a posh prawn cocktail from BBC Good Food (two people at the dinner had only ever experienced prawn cocktail in crisp form). Made with lots of fennel, lemon juice and tarragon it avoided the sweet tang usually associated with this 70s classic and was instead fresh and light. I used Taste the Difference king prawns from Sainsburys and I think this made a big difference to the flavour, especially the ones with the shell on I used to decorate it with. The homemade soda bread was great to mop up the sauce with.

This was followed by a full on lamb roast dinner and two puddings - the first an old skool black forest trifle served in individual jam jars and the second a fully homemade chocolate log - delicious.

No meal would be complete without a cheese board but the hosts managed to pull out one which was so stinky it had to be put away pretty quick. Somehow we even managed to squeeze in some macarons about 11 o'clock.

One of the highlights are the secret santa pressies which I even better when they are something to play with. The monster hand puppet transfers were a big hit!

It was a great day even though the journey home involved me being unsure if I was going to be ill from the over indulgence of food and booze... but strangely I am already looking forward to next year.

Prawn & fennel cocktail

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 4 heads fennel , trimmed

• 1 tbsp caster sugar

• 2.5 tsp Maldon sea salt

• juice 1/2 lemon

• 500g cooked, peeled king prawns

• handful chervil leaves, roughly chopped

• handful tarragon leaves, roughly chopped

• 8 small handfuls mixed salad leaves

• 1 lemon , cut into 8 wedges

For the rouille:

• 1 small red chilli , deseeded

• 1 garlic clove

• pinch saffron strands

• 300ml good-quality mayo

Method:

• To make the rouille, use a pestle and mortar to mash chilli and garlic to a smooth paste. Bring the saffron to a simmer with 4 tbsp of water. Stir saffron water, garlic and chilli into the mayonnaise and put in the fridge, until ready to use.

• Cut the fennel into quarters, remove the cores and use a Japanese mandolin or sharp knife to slice as thinly as possible. Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the fennel for 1 min until just wilted. Drain and tip into iced water. Drain again and use a cloth to wring out all the excess water, then leave in the fridge.

• To assemble the dish, season the fennel with the sugar, salt, a decent grinding of pepper and the lemon juice. Cut most of the prawn tails in half, saving a whole one for each serving. Mix the chopped prawns into the fennel, then add the chopped chervil and tarragon and enough rouille to bind everything together (about 6-7 tbsp). Half-fill 6-8 martini glasses loosely with the fennel mix. Place the mixed leaves on top, then a whole prawn tail, then drizzle with the fennel juices that will have collected at the bottom of the bowl. Serve straight away with a wedge of lemon.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

• 170g/6oz self-raising wholemeal flour

• 170g/6oz plain flour

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 290ml buttermilk

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas 6.

• Tip the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl and stir.

• Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk, mixing quickly with a large fork to form a soft dough. (Depending upon the absorbency of the flour, you may need to add a little milk if the dough seems too stiff but it should not be too wet or sticky.)

• Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly

• Form into a round and flatten the dough slightly before placing on a lightly floured baking sheet.

• Cut a cross on the top and bake for about 30 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

Feast

We Feast - A pop up food market and bar in the grand but worn out setting of an old post sorting office in Islington, London was the place for a full-on food fest last Thursday.

The building had big gapping holes in places and huge heaters which only managed to singe the hair of those standing a couple of metres away, any further and it was like being outside but at least there was a roof (pretty hand when it started to rain). To be fair the state of the place all added to the charm, we arrived and the place was bustling, everyone crowding around the different food stalls trying to decide what to tuck into or having made there decision sitting on the long communal tables drinking winter cocktails, camden brewery beers or Prosecco with a band playing in the background.

Myself and Mat went for the first thing we saw with pulled pork on - it was layered on a white bean mash and included a little sausage too, a cassoulet from The Charles Lamb, a pub in Islington. Everyone else wanted to look at all the stands and make sure they were making the best decision, where I am a grab what I fancy as I go kind and hope I don't get too full.

Next stop was three oysters from Randall and Aubin, a restaurant based in Soho which specialises in seafood. I went for one of the classic sauces on each - lemon, tabasco and a shallot vinegar. These were amazing and even only the third lot of I have ever had, I think they were freshest and best - maybe they are just growing on me more each time. I still can not get Mat to try them though.

We then grabbed a bottle of Prosecco to drink whilst we queued up for Anna Maes mac n cheese. I did have a little wander around (and left Mat in the queue) with the bottle of Prosecco in my coat pocket (I have large pockets on the winter coat, handy as I was trying to eat at the same time) and grabbed a little shot glass filled with ceviche from a stall aptly named Ceviche. Based in Soho this restaurant was offering meaty morsels of fish cooked only in lime juice in a bitesized portion served with raw red onion, perfect before I moved on to what I now consider my main meal of the night.

I could not resist Anna Maes mac n cheese topped with pulled pork, Mat did not want to share so we got one each and made with three different cheeses it was delicious but so stodgy, I finished it but it was struggle after everything else I had eaten so far.

The place was starting to empty out so we grabbed our final dish of the night and waddled to a table with our bottles of prosecco. We all went for some sweet waffles covered in chocolate or cherries from Waffle On (just one of the great puns spotted throughout the evening) and huddled together for warmth and chatting.

The only thing we did not see was a Bompass and Parr installation of a huge pickle chandelier - the pickles apparently conduct electricity and set fire. It was a great evening out and I will be looking out for the next one they organise.

Disco Bistro

The beginning of December always marks a time where I will be eating lots, drinking more and exercising less and this year looks like it will be no different as we have lots of foody treats planned.

To kick things off we went to Disco Bistro for a friends birthday on Monday night. This restaurant has popped up in a proper old fashioned London boozer, The rising Sun - a short stroll from the grandeur of St Pauls with a more formal setting upstairs and snack in the bar.

Upstairs is quite a collective and eccentric scene with an old routemaster chairs, a taxidermy squirrel with a lamp in its mouth and a bit a blackboard scribbling by graffiti artist Pure Evil. The food and menu are both small but in my opinion perfectly formed.

We went for some snacks to share instead of a regular starter, these were presented in plastic baskets and felt quite dirty (but in a good way) until you bit into them and realised the ingredients were actually quite fancy.

Savoury doughnuts filled with cheese and served with a warm apple sauce, spicy chilli chicken wings with a goopy and moorish marinade and my favourite a lobster corn dog - the outside looked artificial but the lobster inside was meaty and had such a huge hit of seasidey flavour.

In total contrast the mains were beautifully presented and of a smart restaurant standard. The deer came medium rare with spiced pumpkin puree, cabbage and pickled pear plus there were popped barley on top adding an unusual texture of grown up Rice Krispies. It was a great flavour and texture experience on a plate and really pleasing to the eye. I fell in love with that little bambi on a plate.

Everyone else was equally impressed with their mains - a crackled hake wrapped in deep fried pig skin and a saddleback pork chop with a perfect duck egg but I think mine won best dish as it was such a feast for the eyes.

For pudding I went for the cheese from Brocknall farm - the cheese is produced in such small quanities they only sell it to four restaurants, Disco Bistro being one. It was beautiful - strong but creamy and perfect served with quite a sweet dressing and pickled onions.

They are only there for a few more months but I tempted to go back and try the Disco Burger in the bar.

A Pre-wedding Party

Mat's brother was getting married and due to lots of people travelling to Dover they decided to make a proper weekend of it by having a get together the night before. Its a great idea as people get chatting before the wedding and get to know each other over a glass or two of wine.

It was held in the National Trust visitor centre on top of the White Cliffs and even if in the dark was a great venue. All day his mom, myself and a few other family members prepared the buffet, there were quiches and cupcakes, sandwiches and pizza. It was the first time i had ever seen pinwheel sandwiches which look great but are so simple - cut off the crusts, roll out the bread with a rolling pin, spread with pate or layer up smoked salmon, roll up and slice into discs.

One of the things I was in charge of were the triple decker cucumber sandwiches, which looked very pretty layered up and the herby cream cheese really lifted them to something special. They even turned out like the picture on BBC Good Food.

I also made peanut butter squares (from a recipe by Lorraine Pascale) the night before, which I can't wait to make again as they are really easy and I loved eating all the leftover bits that fell off as I tried to slice them. Even Mat who hates peanut butter and was disgusted I was creating something he hates so much - tucked in and is now a convert.

I also made individual baked cheesecake cupcakes with raspberries and a white chocolate and lemon biscuit base - quite weighty as baked cheesecakes generally are but still delicious.

Peanut butter squares

Makes 16

Ingredients:

• 150g/5½oz butter

• 200g/7oz dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa solids) or milk chocolate (or a mixture of both)

• 250g/9oz digestive biscuits

• 200g/7oz soft light brown sugar

• 300g/10½oz crunchy peanut butter

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

• Line a 20cm/8in square tin with baking parchment, leaving some excess paper hanging over the edges (this makes it easier to lift out once set).

• Melt the butter in a large pan over a low heat.

• Snap the chocolate into squares and throw into a small bowl. Melt in the microwave in 30 second blasts, stirring well between each addition or sit the bowl over a pan over simmering water. Make sure that the bottom of the pan does not touch the water or the chocolate may ‘seize’ and go really grainy and stiff.


• Blitz the digestive biscuits and brown sugar in a blender or food processor to give fine crumbs. Tip them into the melted butter. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix together so everything is well combined.

• Tip the mixture into the lined tin and press it down really hard with the back of the spoon. It needs to be really compact and tight. Then pour over the melted chocolate, tilting the tin back and forth a bit so that the whole thing is evenly covered. Pop in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up (or the fridge for an hour).

• Once the chocolate is set, remove it from the freezer (or fridge). Lift it out of the tin with the help of the baking parchment. Remove the paper and then use a sharp knife to divide it into 16 squares and serve.

Raspberry cheesecake cupcakes

Makes 10

Ingredients:

• 8 white chocolate cookies

• 45g/1¾oz butter, melted

For the filling

• 300g/10½oz cream cheese

• 1 tbsp plain flour

• 90g/3¼oz caster sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 free-range egg, plus 1 egg yolk

• 3 tbsp soured cream

• 100g/3½oz raspberries

• lightly whipped double cream or crème fraîche, to serve

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line a muffin tin with eight muffin cases.

• Blend the cookies in a food processor until they resemble fine breadcrumbs. (You can also do this by placing them in a plastic bag and bashing with a rolling pin).

• Stir in the melted butter until well combined. Press the mixture into the base of the paper cases, reserving a tablespoon to garnish.

• For the filling, beat the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth, then stir in the plain flour, caster sugar, vanilla extract, egg and egg yolk and soured cream and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

• Put a few raspberries in the bottom of each case, reserving some for garnish, then spoon the cream cheese mixture on top.

• Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheesecake filling is set, but still slightly wobbly in the middle.

• Remove the cupcakes from the oven and set aside to cool for 30 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the tin, transfer to a plate and chill in the fridge for at least an hour, or overnight.

• To serve, carefully peel off the paper cases and top the cupcakes with a spoonful of whipped cream and a few raspberries. Sprinkle over the reserved biscuit mixture.