I am into Sake but my experience is limited. I understand that you can drink sake hot or cold and the better sake is usually drunk cold – any one care to comment?. I also understand that you can easily pay over £100 a bottle (retail) – I had once –  and if you are in one of the expensive Japanese restaurants, you will need an amereican express centurion (black) card to have the omakase and top sake.

For those of you that want to get the basics, here is the official web site:

http://www.japansake.or.jp/sake/english/index.html

If you want a more in-depth understanding, wikipedia has a very good article on the brewing etc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sake

The one extra bit that I shall add is that koji is a mold (Aspergillus oryzae) which is also used in the making of miso. Just remember, yeast is a fungus.

If you want to try the bottom end, you can pick a bottle up for less than £10 in Waitrose. For the top end, try Japan Centre.

http://www.japancentre.com/

Eddie

January 2010

Anti aging food

his article deals with anti aging food. I usually have berries with my porrage so I am ok.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article6986044.ece

Good Carb

Amanda Ursell is the other half of Raymond Blanc. She is usually pretty good.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article6979738.ece

Address: The Riverside, Oracle Shopping Centre, Reading

 

Telephone number: 0118 9511311

 

Website: www.lsq2.co.uk

 

Date of visit:  12 January 2010

 

Approximate cost per head: From £10

 

Comments on wine list/beer: Bottle beers including Peroni, Kronenberg, San Miguel @£3.50 for a bottle, decent wine list (you can get a reasonable bottle for around £20), excellent cocktails from around £6

 

Summary:

 

This is the sister branch of LSQ2, Green Park (by the Madjeski Stadium), Reading.

 

I have eaten in the Green Park restaurant several times on my way to see Reading or London Irish. The reason is very simple. You can park “free” if you have a meal and its 10 minutes walking distance to the stadium. Car parking near the Madjeski is £8 and it’s a longer walk so you might as well go for a good meal.

 

To start with, the restaurant is housed in what used to be the ground floor of Branagans. It has a glass front over looking the Grosvenor Casino so there is plenty of light. Similar to Green Park, it has an open kitchen – very US.

 

The food is what I would called modern bistro – anything from Nasi Goreng to Steak and it’s served “artistically”.

 

On Monday to Saturday 12-7, they served a set meal (with around 4 choices per course) for £9.95 for 2 courses. I had the ham hock and Nasi Goreng – I asked for the Ox Cheek but they were out of it.

 

The ham hock turned out to be a large rissole sitting on a bed of sweet sour dressed red cabbage with a thin ring of swede around it. It is very visual- the red and yellow contrast. Try it.

 

The Nasi Goreng was exactly as I expected – had it at Green Park for £10. You get a mould of the fried rice with a fried egg on top. Two strands of chicken sate and a little bowl of salad.

 

Both courses were very good and of a reasonable size.

 

For the a la Carte, you are talking about £12 for a main course with the fillet steak at £25. They do a Wagyu Burger for £12.95. Wagyu is the western imitation of Kobe Beef – special diet and messaged etc… Its so tender that you can cut it with a fork. When I was last in Harrods it was going for nearly £100 a kilo for the fillet. Other than the tenderness, I can’t taste the difference between this and “normal” beef. Once you have minced it up, you no longer need “good” beef! Please let me know if it’s any good.

 

It was nice to be out again after being snowed in. By the way, check out the loos, they have amazing taps – its like a dish.

 

Eddie

I am afraid that there was no winner for the Dec competition.

For January, I offer a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille by Angelo Gaja. This wine was made from his property at Santa Restituta. It is a single vineyard Brunello and 1997 was one of the best year in the 90s.  I can’t find a score but Parker rates the 2001 at 94 and the 1997 is a better wine.

See also http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/sugarille/1997

Location: Torridon by Achnasheen IV22 2EY

Web site: www.thetorridon.com

Telephone number: 01445 791242

Date of visit: 8th December 2009

Approx. cost per head: £45

Comments on wine list/beer: Broad but shallow wine list, great whisky selection

Media link:

Review:
We were staying in Torridon for our honeymoon in a converted boathouse by the loch; we did much of our own cooking but ventured up to the Torridon hotel one evening to sample their offering.

The hotel is a converted Victorian shooting lodge, so visualise turrets, high timbered ceilings with ornate inlays, stags heads on the walls and massive fireplaces with roaring log fires. It looks the part, and the absence of Scottish accents amongst most of the staff doesn’t take away from the authentic ambience. We caught them during their last week before the hotel closes for the winter; I thoroughly enjoyed joking with the live-in manager about how Jack Nicholson went mad in the Shining under much the same circumstances. She thought I was hilarious.

Pre-dinner drinks and canapés were served in the drawing room by the fire with a huge (but sadly artificial) Christmas tree keeping us company, this was odd because the hotel is surrounded by 120,000 hectares of mixed fir forest; possibly some strange Scottish health and safety thing, what a shame, I hope the person who came up with that one slipped on the ice we’ve had recently.

A good range of Gins was on offer so I went for Hendricks which was served well and the canapés were tasty enough; the slice of local ham hock stood out.

We were then moved into the dining room for dinner. This room has the most spectacularly ornate ceiling which has been spoiled by some more recent and very poor quality interior design below it; we decided they have tried to blend the old and the new but not very successfully.

Service was smart and attentive; there were only 6 covers that night so they weren’t really pushed.
We opted for a 5 course set menu starting with a jerusalem artichoke veloute; very good and made us smile because we had been nattering to the gardener earlier in the day and artichokes were the only thing still coming out of the garden at that time of year. Most of the fruit and veg served at the hotel during the middle of the year is home grown.

Next up was hand dived scallops from the loch outside with cauliflower puree; these were amazing and even my other half who is uncertain about shellfish loved them. A rare treat down south, but these are everywhere in this part of Scotland (see my Applecross Inn review).

For our mains we had venison and halibut; both were perfectly cooked and full of flavour but badly let down by their accompaniments; the fish was swimming in a sickly creamy sauce which totally overwhelmed the dish, and the rosti served with the venison had become soggy throughout.

Two puddings followed, a lemon posset which was good and a jelly concoction which was less good.
During the meal we drank a bottle of Trinity Hill pinot noir; we had this as one of the wines at our wedding, so were being sentimental, but it’s always reliable and paired well with the venison, Oh, and with the halibut too, sort of, There was no sommelier present during our visit.

Feeling slightly underwhelmed we took coffee in the cosy drawing room and talked about how with a few tweaks this could be a great restaurant; it’s worth a visit for the stunning scenery and setting as well as the eccentricity of the building, and perhaps the full menu holds some (for us) undiscovered gems. The chef cooking for us was apparently a recent replacement for a long-standing predecessor, so is probably finding his feet still. The time of year and remote location may also have presented difficulties for sourcing ingredients; however our issues were all with things that could be corrected through greater effort, skill, and a good eye for design.

Post-script…
The hotel also owns the Torridon Inn, a pub in the grounds of the hotel. This serves great home-made burgers and would have had a selection of 4 real-ales were we not there on the day before it closed. Two days after we left the Highlands it began snowing, and it hasn’t really stopped since with avalanches reported in the Torridon range, so both of these places are best visited in the Spring or Autumn (midges in the summer) and a 4×4 or at least something with good ground clearance is recommended for the lanes in these parts.

Michael le Brocq

Location: Wester Ross IV54 8LR Northern Highlands

Web site: http://www.applecross.uk.com/inn/index.htm

Telephone number: 01520 744262

Date of visit: 10-12-09

Approx. cost per head: £15

Comments on wine list/beer: Great local ales, basic wines

Media link:

Review:
The Applecross is remote, accessed by either 15 miles of winding mountain track that is closed by snow December – March or by a coastal route which is only marginally less scary. Before you venture out there it’s probably best to decide if you would prefer death by drowning in an icy sea Loch or death by plummeting down a mountain side into a scenic but very cold Glen. Four wheel drive is essential, a blindfold for your passengers may be advisable; or earplugs to block out their screams as you ‘intentionally’ lose the back-end on yet another blind hairpin bend.

If you get there alive and still have an appetite you will find the Applecross Inn and one of the most friendly welcomes imaginable. It’s a small elongated pub looking out over the Loch towards the mountains of Skye on the horizon, check out the website; it really looks like that.

The Inn is a seafood pub, where anything that lives in the Loch outside and is edible can be ordered. 24 hours notice will secure you a lobster from a pot owned by the pub, they only need the notice so that someone can get up early and paddle out to the traps to pull one up. Applecross prawns are in fact langoustine and fine fat juicy ones at that; we had a few platefuls of those simply pan-fried with a little garlic butter with chips and fresh bread and it was one of the best meals out we had in the Highlands. There’s a wide variety of other fish, seafood and local game on the menu which changes according to what’s good, what’s in the net, or what got a bullet in the head the week before.

I drank a delicious local beer from Skye called Red Cuillin, and sure enough that’s the colour my eyes were the next morning, the new wife went for the Malbec off the short but adequate list and all in all we had a fantastic time sitting by the fire, watching the spectacular purple sunset and eating top quality fresh seafood. The Inn sees many visitors and is apparently rammed in the summer and autumn; it’s one of those places were the guest book says it all and we will certainly be going back to try the oysters and whatever else the Isle of Skye brewing company wants to throw at me.

Michael le Brocq

When I went to Waitrose yestwerday, I noticed that the only veg left on the shelf  is sprouts. This one works quite well. It by Sophie Grigson.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/gratinofbrusselsspro_87597.shtml

Well, as I can’t get out to eat in this weather, I thought that I might as well write up about the next 3 interesting cookbooks.

Memphis Blues Barbeque House by George Siu and ParHeffelfinger. ISBN 1-55285-914-2

This is a BBQ book from the soul. It covers types of BBQ, meat and veg recipes, BBQ equipment, wood and smoking, tools and wine. You will need to be serious about BBQ before embarking on this book and if you do attempt anything, try inviting a few friends around to share in your labour. A lot of the recipes are slow cooking and takes 8 hours on the barbie.  24 hours including marinade etc.

Anyway, here are 3 recipes:

Tot’s coffee BBQ sauce

1 onion

15 ml oil

250 ml strong coffee

60 ml tomato ketchup

30ml cider vinegar

1 table spoon of dark brown sugar

1 pinch of chilli powder or qtr teaspoon plus

Chop thge onion and saute in oil until brown. Heat the coffee in a saucepan until it is reduced to a qtr of its original volume or use 60mls of expresso.

Add the ketchup and sugar to the pan of coffee, whisk, then add the onions and cayenne pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes and serve. For a smooth sauce, blend with a hand blender.

Brisket Rub

qtr cup of sweet paprika

qtr cup salt

qtr cup of dried parsley

1 tablespoon  (TBS) of dark brown sugar

1 TBS of garlic powder

1 TBS onion powder

1 TBS dried oregano

1TBS ground black pepper

1 teaspoon (TSP) mustard powder

1 TSP cayenne powder

1 TSP celery salt

qtr TSP ground cumin

qtr TSP chilli powder

Combine well and use. Can be stored in an air tight jar for up to 6 monmths.

Smoked Beef Ribs

Short rib of beef – 3 ribs (approx 7 lbs) good for 3 large servings. These are proper ribs not a rib roast.

Brisket rub

Apple wood chips

Rub rib all over with the rub. Heat up a BBQ – gas or weber – one side only . Get the temperature to approx 160 degrees C. Put the rib on the unlit side of the bbq, put the wood on a shallow foil tray on the lit side. Cover and cook for 4 hours. Check the charcoal (if used) and apple wood from time to time to ensure that the bbq is still lit and the applewood is smoking for at least 3.5 hours. Stand for 15 mintes and cut between the bones. Serve.

The Ethnic Paris Cookbook by Charlotte Puckette and Olivia Kiang-Snaize. ISBN 1-405-32805-3

If you like exortic cooking, then, this is the book for you. Paris attracts a different sect of immigrants (french speaking) than London.This book covers the North African Countries – Algeria, Morocco etc, French speaking Africa – Cameroon, Senegal, SE Asia – Vietrnam, Cambodia, Laos… and Mioddle East – Syria sand Lebanon.

Lamb Maffe

1 whole head of garlic, peeled

3 inch of root ginger

1 large tomato, sliced

half cup water

1 and qtr cup of oil

2 onions, finely chopped

1 leg of lamb cut into bite size cubes

2  cups of smooth peanut butter

6 carrots sliced into batons

1 fresh chili, minced. take seeds out if you want a less hot version.Please remember to wash your hands

2 stock cubes

3 bay leaves

3 corgettes, sliced

Blend  the garlic, ginger and tomato with the half cup of water until smooth.

Fry onions and lamb until brown. Add the blended mixture, stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add thge peanut butter and mix, then add everything else except the corgettes. Cook for 30 minutes. Fry the corgettes until berown. Add to the pot. Cook for another 10 minutes or until the meat is tender. Add water or a drop of white wine if the saucwe is too dry. Serve with rice, cous cous or pita bread.

If you are worried about the garlic, add a bunch of parsley to the pot half way through the cooking. Remove the parsley before serving.

And finally,

New Jewish Cooking by Jason PRanGnell (Bevis Mark Restaurant Cookbook). ISBN 1-9045734-4-4

I went to Bevis Mark about 2 years ago with a Jweish Friend and I picked up this book there.

Bevis Mark is next to the Bevis Mark Synagogue – oldest in Britain. They serve more than traditional Kosher food. The new dishes are still kosher.

Jewish food is interesting because although the Jews have adopted a lot of the food in the countries they lived in e.g. Snitzels, very little has changed over the last few hundred years because of the strict diet requirements. Jason Pragnell has modernised the food and there are new surprises such as soya milk ice cream with Amaretto and peppers with black bean sauce.

 Seared Tandoori Tuna with cucumber and raddish salad

Marinade:

    2 TBS tamarind paste

    2 TBS ginger puree

     1  TBS tomato puree

      1 TSP (each) of ground cumin, ground fennel seeds and smoked paprika

 1 piece of tuna allow 4 ozs minimum per person. This has to be very fresh.

Marinate the tuna for 30 minutes. Heat an oiled  cast iron or heavy duty frying pan until smoking. Add tuna and cook for 30 seconds each side.

Cool the tuna and place in a freezer for 30 minutes. Slice (thickness of a slice of sliced bread).

For the salad, slice cucumber, radish, toss in mayonese , give it a squeeze of lime juice from half a lime, toss again.

Place sliced tuna ontop of the salad and serve as individual portions. I don’t know why they didn’t call this “spiced” instead of tandoori as the fish is fried rather than roasted or baked.

Eddie

January 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/02/supermarket-wine-rules-review

Let me add my bits as someone who have drank thousands of bottles – I kid you not.

1. The year is more important that the “Chateau”. In a good year nearly anyone can make good wines whilst in a bad year, only the top end growers can selectively pick their grapes. Differet countries have different good and bad year.

For a vintage chart, use Berry Brothers’

http://www.bbr.com/vintage-chart?linkid=leftmenu

2. Understand the type of wine you like: for example, relying on the grape type is not reliable at all. Chardonnay taste very different from different parts of the world. In Burgundy, it’s nearly all chardonnay for white wines yet its taste very different, depending on the area (terre). The temperature of the summer and the type of soil drives the taste.

3. Try to go for a red with at least 3 years in the bottle, preferably 5. Whilst white is ok after a year. This is only a guide as some wine “closes” after 3 years and will need several years before it comes round again.

4. Do not store you wine in the kitchen unless you want to drink it within weeks. Heat is a killer. On the other hand, do not allow the wine to drop below 4 degrees C  as water expands at this temperature which push on the cork and you could get air into the bottle.

5. Understand the character of the region. For example, Australian red wines are likely to be strong tasting and high on alcohol (15%) whilst bordeaux is going to be around 12.5% alcohol and more “elegant”. With France, even in the “same area”, it can be very different e.g. medoc v pomerol. Again, Berry Brothers’ site is good on this.

http://www.bbr.com/wine-knowledge

Eddie

January 2010