Hi,

Since January 2011, Bottles and Cooks.com has over 1200 regular unique users.

To thank you for your support, I have dug out a few bottles from my cellar.

To enter the  competition, all you have to do is enter your details and the words “user competition” in the “leave a comment” section of this article. All entries will be acknowledged.

Your email address will not be passed on or used for anything other than for this competition. We will destroy the data when the competition ends.

Every month (deadline is 12.00 noon on the last day of each month) for the next 3 months (March-June), we will randomly draw a user from the pot of emails addresses submitted. Please, no spamming, no funny email addresses and one entry per user only. Once you have entered, you will stay in the draw until the competition expires. Winners will not be re-entered. However, this does not exclude you from winning the “review” prize if you enter articles on shopping experiences or dining experiences.

My decision (E) is final for both the users and reviewers competition. Please also be aware that we will not guarantee the condition of the wine. As far as we are aware, the wine has been kept in perfect conditions.

If you live in the UK, I will try to get the bottle to you within 2 weeks. If you live outside the UK, you will receive wine vouchers to the value of £150 (per draw) if we are unable to get the wine to you because of logistic or “local laws on alcohol import” . If we can’t find a suitable wine merchant in your country, you will receive a cheque to the value of £120. Please note that the vouchers and cheques are only applicable to non UK residents there is no cash alternatives. All winners outside the UK will bear the cosequences – if any-  of exchange rates changes, commission and local or import tax.

If we can find a suitable wine merchant in your country to issue vouchers, there will be no cash alternative. By entering the words user competition, you will have read and agreed to the rules. We will disqualify enteries that have not followed the above procedures.

The first competition will run till the end of March 2011.

For this competition we are offering abottle of  Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1989. There is also a bottle of the same wine on offer for ALL reviews submitted from now till 31 March 2011

Parker gave it 90 and said: It is a medium weight clasic Lafite. It is elegant, restrained……..Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025.

I had a bottle the other day and it offered elegance and smoothness that the modern day wines from the New World lacks. It is currently available at over €1,000 a bottle from certain sites!

Good luck. The competition starts NOW!

E

February 2011

Address: 115 Charterhouse St, Smithfield, London, EC1M 6AA

Telephone number: 020 7250 1300

Website: http://www.foxandanchor.com/

Date of last visit: see review on 11 November 2010

Date of visit: 17 February 2011

Approximate cost per head: £20 plus for 2 courses.

Comments on wine list/beer: Several types of guest beer. Prices have gone up by more than the 2.5% increase in VAT. London Glory is £3.80 a pint whilst Camdon larger is £3.95 a pint.

Cooking Style: British – old fashion

Summary:

Three of us went there for lunch. The place was surprisingly empty for a Thursday lunch time.

The beers and largers are just as good as before although you are now talking about nearly £4 a pint.

The pie menu has also changed. There is no more rabbit. Instead we now have Kentish Pudding. The rest of the menu remained the same, you can still get dishes such as cheese on toast, oysters etc here. Proper old fashion fare.

We all started off with the Scotch Egg (£6.15) for 2 the eggs were served warm with the yolk still runny. You also get a slightly curried mayonnaise  in a mini sauce boat. It was good but I have to admit that The Royal Oak (Paley Street) is better. I am glad to see that home made Scotch egg is making a come back onto pub menus.

Two of us had the Kentish pudding (£13.95) whilst another had the lamb shank pie  (£13.95).

The Kentish pudding was a suet pudding with a creamy chicken and veg interior. The pudding seems to have been steamed and then baked as there is a golden crust on it. It was served on a pile of mash. The pudding tasted fine but deep inside me, I am not sure that a cream sauce goes well with the suet pastry and mash potato.

The lamb shank piewas a lamb shank stew with a top pie crust and  the shank bone protruding from the crust. Mt friend K gave it a pretty good review.

For a pub in the City, this place is neither cheap nor pricy but the beers are good and the food tasty.

By the way the sausage rolls and pork pies by the bar looked really good.

E

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/masterchef-judge-falls-foul-of-inspectors-2218201.html

see also my review of  Top Floor at Smith of Smithfield on 1 November 2010.

Remember AWT had a similar experience at the Greyhound – I actually quite like The Greyhound as AWT is always there and the food is good. 5 Fenbraury, 29 August and  2 October - all in 2010

Worst for food offence so far is Kam Tong. It had to shut down for 3 months. Mind you, I went when it re-opened and the food is not as good as before. See 15 July 2010

E 

Feb 2011

RICE

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/feb/17/how-to-cook-perfect-rice

The easiest way is to buy a rice cooker and follow the instructions. The Chinese, Japanese and Koreans and most SE Asians have all moved over to rice cookers in the past 40 years. It is completely fool prove and will also (with certain makes) work as a slow cooker/steamer. From around £30. Try John Lewis and your local Chinese Supermarkets.

SALT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/17/gourmet-artisan-and-sea-salt-trendy

I noticed this in my recent travel to NY. Nearly every posh restaurant offered several variety of salts.

E

Winner of the competition is up under Competition.

The Bordeaux First Growth draw will be announced on Sunday 20 February 2011.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/dining/16appe.html?_r=1&ref=dining

I was surprised to find this as I didn’t think that this sort of food would catch on in the USA. I am actually surprised that Fergus Henderson (St John) didn’t put something like this together.

The best Choucroute Garnie recipe can be found in Robert Carrier’s Great Dishes of The World (ISBN o 7221 2147 4). My first cookbook and still one of the best. I was inspired by him after a meal at Hintlesham Hall.

Briefly;

Line a deep earthware casserole with thin layers of pork fat – I simply use streaky bacon.

Add one very thinly sliced onion, then layer on top slices from an apple and two cloves of finely minced garlic. To this add a layer of washed sauerkraut – I simply empty a jar into a sieve and leave it under a running tap for 30 minutes. Put in a piece (500g) of salt pork (gammon or ham – smithfield or york uncooked). Then add 6 juniper berries or 2 shots of gin and several grinds of black pepper. Now repeat the layer of onions, apple and sauerkraut. Then pour in enough dry white wine till everything is covered. Cook in a meadium over 130 degrees C  for 6 hours.

Two and half hours before the cooking is finished, add a loin of pork (500g). If you are using shoulder, trim the fat and and add it 3 and half hours before the cooking finishes. An hour before the cooking finishes, add garlic sausages, frankfurteror vineea sausages. Make sure that there are still enough liquid to cover everything if not, add more wine.

This is a great dinner party dish. Enough for 10  

Do not add salt as the gammon/ham should add enough salt. Taste the liquid at the end. If it needs salt, add a little.

E

PS You could try using salt beef (uncooked) instead of the pork. It gives a completely different flavour. With salt beef you do need to add salt at the end.

February 2011

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/executive-lifestyle/a-vine-romance/story-fn6n4hga-1226002371806

A very good idea. It is very eary to grow grapes in the UK. The plant will yield lots of leaves – it is just the quality of the grapes that can be a problem.

E

February 2011

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/plants/8323516/Flavour-saviours-Herbs-for-cooking.html

E

February 2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/feb/15/consider-lard

Apparently, lard is bweter than butter and margarine – transfat!

E

February 2011

Address: The Green, Steventon, Oxon OX13 6RP (Just pass The Green in the direction of Abingdon). 

Telephone number: 01235 821230

Website: www.theoldfarmhousebakery.co.uk

Special note: Only Open Wed-Fri 9.00-17.00, Sat 8.30-13.00. Also appear in various farmers market

Summary:

A nice little modern bakery sited on the Meadows Farm Estate  and is listed as a Rick Stein Food Hero.

They do a nice range of pies and pasties, cakes and breads. I had the sausage roll (70p) – a bit salty, the beef pasty (£1.70) – could do with more mince, and the cheese and onion slice (£1.60).

The sourdough rye is a bit on the light side. However, the pumpernickel– which will last 2 weeks according to the baker – is supreme.

We’ll worth a visit when you are in the area.

E

Feb 2011