Tag Archives: Steak

How the Destruction of Pompeii Inspired Me To Write About Making A Steak and Kidney Pudding

Posted on by

28

Whilst sitting staring at the Boob Tube (as my father used to call it; well he might still call it that but seeing how he now has a 3D 50 inch Samsung LED job I suspect he doesn’t) I found myself watching a piece about the disaster that met the poor folks in Roman times in the foothills of Vesuvius. The mountain blew it’s load, so to speak, and many people died.

That took me back to my Geography degree (dead useful a geography degree in my current role as a corporate development ‘professional’ in a software company) and the time I studied the explosion of Mount St Helens.

Where the hell is this going? Oh yes, that infamous event reminded me of my latest creation – a ‘Steak and Kidney Pudding’. Why? Let’s take a look:

IMG_5604

Here’s a steak and kidney pudding; note the collapsing outer wall, the innards spewing forth. And here’s a shot of Mount St Helens:

StHelens

Note the similarities – the collapsed outer wall, the innards spewing forth….

Continue reading →

Surf and Turf, Atkins Style

Posted on by

26

You’ll all remember the Atkins Diet craze – eat fat and protein, a few green things, and watch those pounds fall away. And then suffer some unpleasant side effects, which we won’t go into here. Well I am on a diet but to be honest, now that I can fit into my Aqcuascutum* suit, it’s getting a bit difficult to maintain the motivation.

(*That’s not bragging, they’re on the verge of bankruptcy so I’ve heard)

So in order to a) fulfill the need to cook delicious food with b) my desire to pretend that I am still losing weight, I decided to revisit an old favourite – Surf ‘n’ Turf.

IMG_2226

Continue reading →

J. Paul Getty Inspired Burrito

Posted on by

34

Several years ago I found myself on a work-related trip in Torrance, CA. We had a day off, waiting for a plane back to London, so my boss decided we needed something to do. We went to the J. Paul Getty Museum and it was the most amazing place. I mean it’s got more European history in it than Europe has. Money walks, talks.

Anyway, despite the collection of Da Vinci artifacts (and so on) we saw, the thing that stuck in my mind was lunch (well of course it did, I’m a foodie right?).

A burrito. A burrito like nothing I’d seen before and like nothing I’ve seen since. It was the size of a loaf of bread, and had everything in it. So I of course had to (eventually) try and recreate it.

A burrito has meat, cheese and rice. Well the one I had back in LA did anyway.

IMG_2077

Continue reading →

Beef Braised in Honey and Soy

Posted on by

20

Nearing the end of my butcher’s blowout. This creation combines a cheap cut of meat with honey, madeira wine and soy sauce, served with bok choi (or pac choi, or bok choy, or pak choy or…you get the idea).

Its got some pretty intense flavours and comes from our very own psycho-chef Gordon Ramsay (by the way have I mentioned how much more pyscho he appears on American TV compared to UK TV? On UK TV he is a pussy cat – he does a show where he gets prisoners to cook in Brixton prison, and if he acted in there the way he does on Hell’s Kitchen USA they would serve him up with a side order of fries).

Continue reading →