Lamb Kebab

I am getting increasing interested in Turkish food. It seems to me there is a great deal we don't really know about what seems to be a very interesting mix of east/west. So, after watching Anthony Boudain in Istanbul the other day - I had to cook something this weekend. I suppose slightly disappointingly I went for Kebab....but I certainly wasn't disappointed.

I have a great book on Turkish Cooking and indeed - if you click the link you'll see the front cover is the meal I was attempting.

Only a few major ingredients - a good start



I need to get some of those very flat skewers



Unfortunately it was simply too wet for the outside BBQ :o(



However - they turned out superb



Served on a bed of fried pita, fresh tomato juice and yogurt. Lovely...



...if not a bit turd like !

Chicken Yakatori

Great little one this. I was on the way home trying to think of something simple yet interesting and flavorsome. Bingo!

Japanese sauces can be quite simple - Saki Mirin and Soya can make something quite divine



We had some left over - they were fantastic



Grilled with the sauce



And served with sesame spinach. Yum

Monday night risotto

What's in the larder.....?




I believe the idea of a good risotto is to 'fry' the rice in butter. OK - let's give that a go...



And just as important: let the rice drink a good slug of wine before the stock



Mucho stiring



Is it done yet?





Not three bad !

Smoked Balinese Duck

I didn't watch Rick Stein's Fast Eastern Odessey. To be honest I'd got a bit fed up with him.

However, I got the cookbook for Christmas - and it is superb. I shall be cooking a lot from it - basically because it's not the 'usual suspects' - as I shall demonstrate....

This one caught my eye as I was reading through - and when we had a diner party with some new frfiends I thought why not...



I'd already bought some Candle nuts - so it was good to be able to use them as part of the paste





Now the duck needed to be lightly smoked. The recipe suggested smoking in a wok - and I had some woodchips..........



Hmm....That's a lot of smoke...



OK - so after about 10 minutes I needed to take the duck outside !

It turns out that wok based duck smoking should only be tried if you live in a Chinese country house (i.e. no windows and lots of drafts)! My house still stinks (not in best books)...



looks damn good though !





And now for the next strange step. Duck, paste and water in a roasting bag. This needed a trip to Asda - who ever uses a roasting bag, and why ?



After about 4 hours slow and low



And the result...



Not that impressed. It was a real mess to serve. The slow and low worked very well - but meant there was not chance of 'carving' the meat off - the duck simply fell apart. OK - but somehow not so cool for the diner party - lots of little bones etc etc. I think I may have also over smoked the duck - it was quite a powerful flavor, and the rest of the Balinese paste didn't shine through. Oh well. You win some - you lose some.

Also did a coconut salad





And some sweet shiitake mushrooms

Beef, lager and Shiitake Pie

My brother got me and Lou this excellent book for Christmas. I'd not seen it before - always a pleasure to get a great cookbook that is a surprise. And I predict many post from it...watch this space.

Anyway, I'd woken up with a kinda fusion head on - and wasn't sure what I'd actually cook. I happened upon this original sounding recipe - and away we went..

A lovely mix of the old and the east



A superb enamel pie dish came with the book - thanks Russ



And after a long braise - a sweet, deeply flavored base for the pie. Lots of beef, mushroomy flavors and overtones of Chinese with the star anise, cinnamon and orange juice



Say no more



Bok Choi and Sweet Potatoes finished it nicely

Jamie's Piccalilli

After watching Mr Oliver make this lovely looking Piccalilli on the box the other day - I decided to do some myself for Xmas pressies.

An impressive list of ingredients starts it all off



Followed by a long soak / brine...



the essential ingredient



Christmas made easy...



I'll update in a few months when it's matured

Tofu and Mushrooms

We knew we were going out for a Sunday pizza lunch, so I'd planned for a light weight vegi supper

I saw these in the Chinese supermarket. They were 'fresh' but vacuum packed. I was suspicious....





But didn't need to be - they turned out to be perfectly acceptable mushrooms....



Marinaded the Tofu



And a quick stir fry later