Fresh Lamb Burgers and Roasted Garlic with Chunky Chips and Rocket Salad

Starter: Large Flat Mushroom, Stuffed with Brie, Fresh Herbs and Basil Pesto
Main: Fresh Lamb Burgers and Roasted Garlic with Chunky Chips and Rocket Salad
Dessert: Oven-baked Pinapple, sprinkled with Fresh Cinamon

Overall Rating 7

Clare's Rating 7.04

Clare here,

I am still in a bit of a mood, as I put more effort into this meal than the first when I scored so highly. Maybe that was the problem. There were so many fresh herbs involved and so many pans on the go at once, that I lost track of the meal.
Saying that, I was still surprised that the boys scored me so low on presentation, for example, as
I am quite generous with my pointage when it comes to the slop they plate up.
The starter was not magnificent, but it sufficiently whet the pallet for the main.
The chips were the best I have ever tasted, even if the burger was bland.
By the time I came to prepare and serve the desert, I was in a foul mood, so you can imagine my delight when I tasted an oaky, smoky, sugary taste on the crunchy exterior of the pineapple, followed by a juicy, warm liquid centre. OH DELIGHT! So what about the ballsing pointage? B*tards?
Briefly, the food was ok in general and deserved a higher score than that given, so humphhhhh.


James' Score 6.625

When I walked into the flat the smell of fresh herbs being cooked was fantastic and reminded me of all that we'd missed over the last weeks. I thought the menu was interesting and when all is said and eaten, it pretty much worked. The highlight for me was the chunky chips, which were the best chips I've ever eaten. The lamb burger could have done with a bit of a kick - I take on board Clare's intention of grilling peppercorns on top, but you don't get points for intention. Overall I think Clare took on a bit too much here. Presentation is always good but it's also important to get the main bits right. Clare's got the hump a bit since the ratings, but I'm sure she'll bounce back - or slate us when we're up! We'll soon find out.

Knocker's Score 7.0625

This meal was a delight , it filled my stomach and made me happy but there was something lacking in every course that could have been done better, needless to say the lamb was slightly overcooked and could have done with something mixed into the burgers, the source was excellent which saved the main dish. But i can not forget the chunky chips wich were hand reared from a potatoe farm in dublin and cooked to perfection so that has caused alot of attraction in the west end of London.

Anyway the end of the world is tomorrow so who gives a feck, and as a result i have emptied my wine rack and am getting well pished. so if we are still here next month i will will be creating an amazing three course meal to die for.

Chicken wrapped in Parma ham and stuffed with Cumberland Sausage (Hairy Bikers)

Hi, Knocker here,

GT was cancelled again as Clare couldn't make it, so I thought I'd knock something up anyway. I saw this one on the Hairy Bikers show in the series when they were travelling around up north. I do like the hairy bikers as their dishes are not that difficult to make yet tasty. I thought I'd do this sausage based recipe after visiting The Harp again, where all they have is sausages on the menu and I got the ostrich sausages a couple of weeks ago. They sell out quickly and when I arrived yesterday all they had left was one steak and kidney sausage (yes, steak and kidney!), so me and Schedule shared it. A little unusual, but very tasty. By the way, there are plans afoot for me and Schedule to start a London pubs and walks guide in the next weeks, so keep checking the blog.

Chicken wrapped in Parma ham and stuffed with Cumberland sausage (and sundried tomatoes)

Remove the sausage meat from their skins and stuff into sliced cavities in the chicken breasts. Also add sundried tomatoes, although not essential - I didn't. Wrap the chicken in the Parma ham and douse generously with mixed herbs. Place in the centre of the oven at 200 degrees (or in the case of our oven, turn the oven on and keep checking).

Serve with seasonal vegetables - or carrots and sweetcorn!

Enjoy.

Until next time,

Love Knocker

Gorgonzola filled burgers with garlic stuffed mushrooms and tomatoes

As GT was cancelled this week due to unforeseen circumstances, I decided to try out a meal solo.
I cheated with the burgers - they came pre-made from Marks and Sparks, and delicious they were too!

I had a few mushrooms and a couple of tomatoes languishing in my fridge, so I thought I'd try something I'd never done before.

I removed the centre of the mushrooms and stuffed them with chopped garlic mushed with butter. I took my two remaining tomatoes and cut lines across them and stuffed them with chopped garlic. I then poured olive oil over it all and stuck it in the oven with the burger.

I then took a half red onion that had seen better days and reduced it in a frying pan, adding sugar when it was fried, so that it was glazed and lovely and sweet.
Never one to ignore presentation, even when I'm on my own, I plated it with a bed of the onion, the burger on top and the tomatoes and mushrooms around the plate.

I wish I had done this for a GT night, because I think I'd have scored highly!

Washupability - 5/5. There were hardly any dishes to clean.

My score - 7/10. I cheated with the burgers.

Salmon and Ricotta Pancakes

James here,

gourmet tuesday was cancelled this week as I had to go away with work. Next week is cancelled as well due to holidays. So Clare gets a fortnight to conjur up her next masterpiece and prevent a Knocker backlash.

We kind of agreed to try and put something on the blog every week so as to keep some momentum. So while I appreciate many of you (39 different viewers across 3 continents!) are only checking in for Clare and Knocker’s reviews, it’s up to me, here in the outskirts of Leeds in a hotel with a power cut (I was watching Napolean Dynamite – good film) to come up with something from the past.

Salmon and Ricotta Pancakes

Last night in the hotel, when the power was working, I watched the the Channel 4 Dispatches programme, Sandwiches unwrapped. It was essentially going on about the £5bn sandwich industry and whether we are truly getting in our sandwiches what it says on the packaging and should the packaging be more explicit about some of the bad stuff in the sandwiches (amounts of fat etc). Now I don’t want to bang on about sandwiches in shops because you make your choice. In some places you pay the premium for your filling of choice (I’m sure we’ve all visited the all-day breakfast in baked bean bread after a night out) and in others you don’t chose ones with meat in, because you can’t trust the quality and hygiene. When it comes to organised buffets at events or training courses however, you don’t get the choice – or rather, you get the choice of quarter sandwiches of; cheese and pickle, tuna and mayo, ham and cheese, egg mayo, chicken and mayo, and the one that exists in no other situation - coronation chicken. Now this is of course absolutely fine. It’s sustenance to get you through your event. However, it would be nice to see a little more originality.

Such as, Salmon and Ricotta Pancake (BBC website) which is an incredibly easy and light dish, and is rather appropriate for this warm weather we’re currently having. When I made this I couldn’t find any ricotta so made it using cottage cheese instead, which probably works just as well. The combination of salmon, cottage cheese, chives and avocado is incredible and I’ve even had it with jacket potatoes instead of beans and cheese! There’s next to no washing up as well and I reckon this is ideal for a cheeky showing off to guest on a Saturday lunch. Of course, you'd just need to have salmon, cottage cheese, chives and avocado in fridge so might have to think ahead in this instance.

If you're into sandwiches you might want to try these links.
British Sandwich Association
http://www.sandwichproject.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwich
http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/sandwiches.html

I feel a whole lot less odd!


By the way, we’ve finally started to fix the weekly herb-buying issue by planting our own herbs in pots. It was quite an obvious solution really and thanks to the people who recommended it. I got sage, rosemary, thyme and oregano from the stall at the Ealing Jazz festival on Sunday. Great festival – especially with a cooler bag to keep the beers nice and chilled.

As I mentioned earlier, next week is cancelled due to holidays, so I’m going to try and cajole Knocker into starting his guide to London pubs that do simple food and serve a nice drop of Carling. It’s quite important that we support pubs in these difficult times, as apparently ‘nearly four pubs per day are closing’ due to the credit crunch, smoking ban and cheap booze in supermarkets. Not quite sure what ‘nearly four pubs’ means but we get the message that this is serious. By my reckoning that means that there will no pubs left in the UK by 2047. It doesn’t bear thinking about. And if everyone starts piling down the Wheaty.....well....!

That said, some pubs need a kick up the @@@@@. Went to The Black Lion on the river at Hammersmith at the weekend. Where every other pub on the river was mobbed this one was half empty. At £10 for a barbecued burger, 15 minutes to pay the bill and an automatic service charge, it’s not hard to see why. It’s a real shame as it’s a nice pub and has herbs in the garden. On another sad note, they’ve done up The Blue Anchor on the river so it's no longer a dive and looks like every other renovated pub.

And finally, ….Northern Foods has relaunched Fox’s buscuits. This is not particularly interesting in itself, but it reminded of a brilliant website http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/ Genius!

And absolutely finally.... it's fantasy football time again, so don't forget to start up a league. We quite like this one http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ and I'll be trying to defend my title again this season. Because I won it last season. Beating everyone else in my league!

Until next time.

Cheers

Clare's first foray

Overall rating 8.54

Starter - Honey and mustard glazed chicken salad with toasted pinenuts and goats' cheese

Main - Roast whole rainbow trout with red chilli, avocado and lime salsa and a fresh basil oil.

Dessert - Papaya skewers with a passion fruit coulis.

I was rather nervous about preparing and serving my very first meal to the boys, so I felt that I had to make an effort. I was going to do two courses, but in the end thought a three course affair would probably gain me more pointage. The starter went down well, especially with the Knocker - meister; James was slighty less impressed.

The delivery of the whole roast trouts - bearing in mind that the oven has only got one heat - was surpisingly successful. I was particularly proud of my salsa. James enjoyed same, whereas Knocker found it a tad over cooked.

I wanted to include a dessert in order to impress, but I knew that I would be pushed for time, so I opted for the papaya skewers, having sourced a bag of fifty skewers at the pound shop. The final course was both tasty and refreshing and I was rather proud of my first effort.

I did have a theme for the night which I asked the fellows to guess. They couldn't get it. Can you?

Washupability - 5/5 - I managed to clean up as I went along, without any disruption to our socialising.

Clare's score - 8

Knocker's score 9.124

This was an entertianing meal which involed some great tasks but I would like to say that if you could cook like this then you would live forever

James' score 8.5

Clare's introduction has taken presentation and complexity to a new level. A higher level, which is a little concerning. Overall the meal was excellent and you would quite happily pay for this in a good restaurant. That said, the starter could have done with a tad more goats cheese and I'm not a big trout fan - too many bones, so a bit fiddly. The dessert was on the money and not the type of thing you would knock up yourself, so nice to have someone make the effort. Still a little concerned about the expectations of me and Knocker making this amount of effort in the future.


Clare's answer is, it was carb-free.

Courgette & feta baklava (starter) and monkfish in parma ham (main) - James

Starter - Courgette and feta baklava with tsatziki (Waitrose recipe)

Main - Monkfish wrapped in parma ham with a bed of peeled and roasted peppers and tomatoes (Michel Roux Jr recipe in Guardian, 20/7/08)
Overall rating 7.25

This was a bit beyond my capabilities. Peeling peppers baked in the oven and peeling tomatoes and filou pastry and trying to get hold of monkfish and filou pastry (Tesco's and M&S had sold out so had to go all the way to Waitrose in West Ealing) and an oven that has one tempature -hot, and then the washing up (which Knocker reckons I haven't finished because it's still on the draining board)!!!! But there is a sense of satisfaction out of a hard graft, even if it is not enough to make me dry the dishes. I think this went relatively well. I would recommend cutting out all the fiddly stuff, like the starter and the sauce for the main course. If I had to do the starter again, I would have a go at doing in little parcels. Tsatziki is so easy but yet again it's the old problem of buying herbs just for one meal. I was speaking with Ray and Jack down the Wheaty the other night and we reckon we should secretly plant herbs in all the front gardens and parks in Ealing so you can just take a sprig on your way home. Warren the new guvnor from the Haven says he'll put some herbs in his beer garden, which is a great idea and we'll have to keep him to it.

The monkfish and parma ham was incredibly easy, just fry it for a minute or two and then put in the oven for 6 minutes - just like the recipe says.

A couple of final things to mention - it's the last day of the jazz festival in Ealing this weekend so that should be good fun day in the sun, and try out the Japan Centre at Picadilly for a meal. A bit expensive but delicious.

James' rating 7.5

Clare's rating 7.75

I had been led to believe that James was not able to complete a succesful and succulent menu. I was, therefore, well prepared to level harsh pointage at him. As you all know, I was rather critical re Knocker's meal of the previous week, but if you look closely, James' scoring was lower than mine, so, give me a break, ball bags.

James' starter was a filo delight, filled with goat's cheese and greenery. He added a homemade tsatziki on the side and by the first mouthful I had given it an 8 out of 10. The filo was crusty on the outside and the interior was melt - in - the - mouth deliocious.

The main looked as though a disaster was on the cards. Monk fish - never attempted before - enwrapped with parma ham - was going to break his cooking boundaries and take him light years away from his previous cookery knowledge. BUT HE DID IT!!!!!! As Kocker will testisfy, had he cooked the monkfish for a nano longer, it would have been bland, rubbery and a waste of a very expensive fillet. However, even though the cooker only operates on hot, hot, or hot, he managed to achieve the exact texture and the monkfish, combined with parma ham was formidable!

Last point - on pointage - 7.75 - and for all my critics, I'll think you'll find that I provide the highest score for this evening.

Knocker is rather moody this evening, we are not sure what his problem is, but I think he'd like to sack me from the group. The only thing preventing him is the thought that he'll lose popularity points. He is, as I speak, throwing a tantrum and hitting the computer with his glasses.

It has been a pleasure. Speak soon xxxxx.

Knocker's rating 6.5

Hi there, this was an amazing meal although I wasn't happy with the first course, but the fish was cooked to perfection and I would recommend this to anyone. The man has got class and to get monkfish cooked the way he did it, I am truly amazed. I gave him an average of 6.5, which sounds bad, but the fish saved him from being a total wipeout.

(One small aside from Clare - Knocker is in a seriously bad mood tonight and so is not inclined to be welcoming of a glorious meal such is what was offered this evening. DO NOT PAY ANY ATTENTION TO HIS COMMENTS).

Rustie’s Carribean Corned Beef and Rice

James
Summer’s playing havoc with the schedule with everyone off at one event or another. This week was cancelled because Knocker was off at the Jools Holland gig at Kew Gardens and next week because of the opera in the park (Walpole Park). To try and keep a bit of momentum we’ve decided to catch up on some of the menus over the last six months. This one was from a couple of months ago and to be honest one of my few real successes. It was written at the time when this blog was imminent!!!!

I met Rustie Lee at Waterstones in the Mall on Ealing Broadway at her book signing and invested £20 in her latest book, A Taste of the Caribbean, Culinary delights from the original celebrity chef, which of course I got signed. What a lovely lady. She entered the bookstore and brought the whole place to life. Truly the original celebrity chef. As work is a bit busy at the moment I asked if she could recommend a quick and simple meal and she pointed me to this one. The description reads, “this is a very quick, easy recipe, but very filling – great for family meals” – she was not wrong.

This was a really easy meal to cook, just 20 minutes. Best to prep everything first and then just throw in a big wok as and when required. I’d never used ginger before so this was surprisingly exciting, considering it was corned beef at the core. Understanding how to grind ginger was beyond me, so actually just grated it with a cheese grater. I am aware this might be the same thing. The recipe required chopped tomatoes, which I couldn’t find in M&S (shame on them), so had to go to Sainsbury’s, which only had tinned organic tomatoes (which is of course good, but still shame on them as well), so paid 30p more than expected. Good tip to have tinned tomatoes in as you always need them. The whole recipe does raise the old question about getting hold of small amounts of herbs and I’m not sure what to do with the ginger and the thyme that’s left over. Herb gardens at work could be the way forward – for those who don’t have gardens. Tempting to cordon off a part of haven green as a big communal herb garden that we can all take a cutting from on the way home.


Overall rating 7.25


Washingupability 4/5 - because of nice pace of cooking you can get most of the washing up done while cooking.

Knocker’s Rating 7.5 Cleared up the plate and had seconds.
Nice and spicy. Wouldn’t change the recipe but would cut the peppers smaller.

James’ Rating 7
Nice and filling. Good spice to it. Surprisingly blended. Ginger works well.

Drink: Barcadi Breezer – Coconut.
Knocker 8/10 as an accompany drink nice and refreshing. Tempted to even have down the Wheaty on a Super Sunday.
James 6/10 Not sure I could drink more than one. A bit sweet for me in spite of my sweet tooth, but went well with the meal.