iPhone Presto Pronto App

Another Google results listing for ‘Presto Pronto!’ caught my eye recently – a cookery app for those with a pressure cooker (possibly a hard-core minority today methinks?).

I was taught how to use a pressure cooker by my Mum as part of my ‘domestic training’ before I left home for Uni – a bl**dy long time ago. Her Spag Bol was always cooked this way – and I left home with her old Prestige cooker and a spare gasket/ring/the rubber bit that sits in the lid. The beauty of these cookers is you get the same results from a 20 minute ‘blast’ as you can from a ‘long & slow’ 2 – 3 hour simmer. So a good option for slow foodinistas in a hurry (sorry – you know what I mean though…)

Pressure cookers save on energy, maintain goodness and flavour (you’re cooking in a sealed environment) and produce great results.

I’m on my second cooker – they last forever – and it gets used a couple of times a month in our house. Don’t be intimidated by the process – they don’t explode.

Long live the pressure cooker!

PS here’s a link to the app http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/presto-pronto!/id438064903?mt=8

Qype: Oyster Fishery Company Restaurant in Whitstable

Whitstable – Eating & Drinking – Restaurant – Seafood

A truly fantastic venue but really over priced for very standard food. On both occasions we’ve had fun ‘luvvie’ spotting but ultimately you go there for the food and i found we were down-grading our menu selection as the prices are more West End then North Kent.

The cod was well cooked and the (extra) chips perfect. My wife’s sardines were ‘nice’ but she’s a very forgiving diner and doesn’t like to make a fuss.

Overall a bit disappointing – hence the 3 star rating. (Rather than pay the exorbitant price for their oysters we went along the beach to the fishmarket and bought a dozen and an oyster knife for the same price as 1/2 doz. at the restaurant – enjoyed later by the family with a bottle of chilled Prosecco.)

(I was also stupid enough to leave my wallet on the table and didn’t realise until we were home (a good hour’s drive away). I had business cards in it but no one had the foresight to call or email me. It was held until I picked it up though.)
Check out my review of Oyster Fishery Company Restaurant – I am baldrick – on Qype

‘First came the bloggers…’

An interesting comment from the proprietor of a new restaurant:

We opened on Thursday night after a burst of PR and advertising to announce the launch.

First came the bloggers, followed on Friday by the first wave of critics and foodie celebs.

Successful sourdough – a first!

It took the best part of a week all told but here in all it’s fermented glory is my very first sourdough loaf! Thanks to the numerous blogs (too  many researched to remember them all…) I managed to create a ‘starter’ (aka ‘mother’) which now seems to have – literally – a  life of it’s own. The ‘top tips’ I’ve picked up are:

Use bottled or boiled & cooled tapwater as chlorine can kill the bacteria and stall fermentation

Add the starter to the main flour mix when the starter is actively ‘peaking’ (needs watching)

Keep the mix wet

Bake the loaf in a ‘dutch oven’ or suitable casserole with the lid on for the initial  bake – this creates steam and produces a wonderful glazed finish

The result is a glazed crusty loaf, beatiful moist crumb and lovely earthy sourdough taste.

 

£5.99 Carvery at The Lion Of Kent

Mr Surridge prepares to demolish a lunchtime ‘snack’. Don’t be misled by the proportions, Chris is a veritable front-row barn door of a man and those ‘chipolatas’ on the edge of the plate are in fact full size Cumberland sausages. Friar Tuck is indeed alive and well!

PS The ‘Tuckster’ has just informed me the Carvery goes up to £6.99 Friday’s and Weekends

Superb slow-cooked Nehari beef curry

A Simon Hopkinson recipe that may get easily overlooked as it uses a packet spice mix as the base for the sauce. Put your foodie concerns aside – this is a superb curry and will fill the house with ‘genuine’ restaurant aromas.

Very simple – I use shin beef (cheap) but this will easily adapt and I’ll be trying this with breast of lamb this week-end (another Hopkinson recipe). The spice mix cost me £1 in the local Spice Shop – most of the ingredients are probably in your kitchen cupboards.

Roasted raspbery jam

Image via Wikipedia

With a glut of raspberries to deal with the search for a great jam recipe revealed two very similar techniques – involving roasting the fruits in the oven. Rose Gray & Ruth Rogers in ‘River Cafe Cook Book Green’ and Italian ‘bible’ The Silver Spoon have similar approaches (not surprising given the Italian provenance of both titles).

Having tried this I would stress that – as with any jam making session – the ingredients get VERY HOT indeed – so take care. We also halved the recipe quantities successfully. So, pre-heat your oven to a good 200C and get two ovenproof dishes ready.

Ingredients

3kg fresh raspberries (thanks mother-in-law!)

2.5kg caster sugar

Makes 5kg

Place berries and sugar in separate dishes and roast for 30 mins. Remove both dishes and carefully pour the hot sugar into the fruits. Stir steadily to incorporate and watch in wonder as the fruits collapse, the sugar melts and ‘prestopronto’ you have instant jam!

Bottle in clean sterilised jars sealed with a wax paper lid.