Food Wine Sleep

The Italian words for garlic and oil are aglio and olio respectively. Not hard to see where this dish gets its name or its ingredients for that matter. If you love both of those things on their own you will love them together in this recipe. Someone once asked me what are the things I could not do without in the kitchen and after my knives of course, I would whole heartedly say I wouldn't even want to be a chef without quality olive oil and fresh garlic. Most people I know make their aioli with raw garlic but I like to roast the garlic first to give it that sweet nutty flavour as well as that lovely garlic flavour. Like I said you can throw out your jar of plain o...

The English have somewhat of an unfounded reputation for being a country with very little to offer the culinary world. A belief that may have been partially true 20-30 years ago, but certainly not now. Nowadays not many cities in the world can top London's cuisine and many of the best Chefs I have worked with have been English. Maybe they're such good Chefs because of the diverse food scene they come from, or maybe they are trying extra hard to shake off the remnants of that unjustified reputation. Whatever the reason I have learnt many things from English colleagues, and this recipe is one of those many things. As in most great recipes, what really makes this recipe is i...

Of all the barbecues I have had, one thing is certain of all of them. Regardless of how many other cuts of quality steaks I may have on offer, given the choice, my friends will always choose this one. I suppose I can't blame them, the lengthy marinading time means the meat absolutely melts in their mouths and that each and every ounce of it is permeated with the delicious Cajun spices. One other thing that is certain is that everyone that has it asks me how they can make it. I never tell them as then they will stop coming to my barbecues and I will have to start going to theirs and their beers are rubbish and their beer fridges not cold enough. So please don't tell any of...

A good Chicken Stock is the building block of many a good soup, sauce and stew. Quality home made stock is to the Chef as much a staple as good olive oil, butter, salt and pepper. Although there are many retail varieties of stocks now available, many of them I find too salty and contain a lot of unwanted additives. Plus I find something very enjoyable and therapeutic about making stocks for my kitchen. Not only can you claim to your quests that the entire dish is made from scratch but you will know exactly what is in the food you are eating.

Firstly to help us understand what clarified butter is, let us begin with what butter itself is. Butter is made up of three main components; around 80% fat and around 20% milk solids and water. When butter is heated, it melts. If it is heated for any length of time these components split apart from one another and settle into different layers. At the bottom of the heating vessel you will have a white cloudy substance; this is the milk solids and water. On top you will have the golden liquid known as clarified butter or what is know in Indian cuisine as ghee. Since the milk solids are what cause butter to burn, clarified butter can be heated to much higher temperatures...

A lot of people don't eat mussels at home. I think it may have something to do with the fact that they look so much different at the fish monger than how they do on a restaurant plate. Once you learn how to clean mussels properly you'll be eating them all year.

For a grain that mankind has been eating for over 5000 years and helps feed over 2/3rds of the world's population, it really is amazing that so many of us still don't know how to cook it. I suppose that may have something to do with the fact that there are close to 40,000 different varieties of rice on the planet, all differing in size, shape, absorption rates and just as many intended uses. The method of cooking rice explained here is equal to and not superior to the traditional absorption method but it is easy and very consistent and what I recommend to anyone having problems getting a consistently good result. It will give you perfectly cooked consistently fluffy in...

Artichokes are native to the Mediterranean countries and are widely used in the cuisines of southern Europe. They make a great addition to any salad or appetizer buffet. The edible flesh is hidden within the base of the leaves and in the artichoke bottom itself. The tender inner lower part of the leaves is of very subtle in flavor and great with a dip of either aioli, roast pepper salsa or simply drizzled with vinaigrette. Often on hot summer days, artichokes are served as a 'snack' or appetizer in bistros and street-side cafes with a nicely chilled medium to dry white wine. Young baby artichokes are of the same species and are great for grilling and roasting with roasted...

I'm not going to give you the time to cook your steak for, as it is a very individual requirement, you may have a really hot barbecue or you may have a not so hot pan, you may like your steak a few inches thick or you may like a very thin cut. I'm not going to tell you what is the ideal cut of steak or breed of cattle as again that is a very individual choice, if you would like some help in choosing a steak, please see our Tips & Techniques category and click on "Steak Cuts". I'm not going to tell you what is the ideal degree of cooked ness for your steak as that again is a very individual choice. I am however going to tell you the 7 fundamentally most...

I remember when I was young, well before I was a Chef, watching cooking shows and being amazed at their knife skills. They could cut up an onion into perfect sized uniform pieces in the time it would take my mother to peel an onion. I am sure (unconsciously of course), those cool TV Chefs were ultimately part of the overall motivation for my becoming a Chef much later in life.

Coloring easter eggs is one of the traditions I have the fondest memories of from when I was a kid. I am a strong believer in the upkeep of traditions and just a few days ago did the process with my own kids. Perhaps in terms of cooking and culinary delight not necessarily the most challenging recipe, but I feel that we need to honor traditions such as the coloring of easter eggs and besides that it makes a great spring table decoration for your Easter brunch or a nice gift to give away to your friends.

Hearty clam chowder, delicate seafood bisque, rustic fish stew and deliciously fresh bouillabaisse are just a few of the wonderful seafood dishes that require a good fish stock as their main ingredient. In fact countless dishes in traditional French cookery build on the solid foundations of stocks. That's why making stocks forms a large part of a Chef's first year in Culinary school. In this recipe I have used snapper carcasses, however feel free to use whatever your fish monger has on hand, however avoid excessively oily varieties such as salmon. Ask your fish monger and he can steer you in the right direction.

I learnt the recipe for this versatile marinade/paste/rub/dip from one of the worst head chefs I have ever worked for. I know, that's probably not going to make you want to cook it, but allow me to explain; Do we judge Rocky I on the fact that Rocky IV and V were subsequently made? No. Do we judge our favourite one-hit-wonder bands on their, mediocre follow up albums? No. Do we judge Bruce Willis or John Travolta on Armageddon and Battle field earth? No, we try to remember Moonlighting and Welcome Back Kotter instead. Well this is the logic I use to judge the head Chef in question and original source of this recipe. The man lets call him "Carl" may not have k...

Bearnaise and Hollandaise are, I believe, a couple of the major reasons many people dine out. I suppose they feel that these beautiful rich sauces are too difficult to make at home, what with all that clarifying, whisking, reducing and incorporating, but don't let these words or the actions they represent, scare you. Like all things cooking it's all about practice and once you've done it a few times you'll wonder why you never tried it earlier. So go on get to it, it's easy!

When I worked at a restaurant that specialised in breakfast I remember poaching over 400 eggs every Saturday and Sunday morning. I've never done the numbers that we used to do in that place. The other Chefs and I would arrive at 5:30 am to start service at 8:00 am. Right through until 11:30-12:00 o'clock it was go go go, and if one of the team was not feeling well, it was a nightmare as we had to carry one another through this insane service. Why would one of the team not feel so well? Well these are Chefs you're talking about here and they are not used to having nights off, so most weekends at least one of the team was hung over from a big night before. Unfortunate...

When it comes to organic food, I don't think I would be able to tell you the difference between an organic piece of parsley and a non-organic piece of parsley. However when it comes to chicken the difference is night and day. Organic chickens are more tender, the skin crisps better and the flesh tastes 100% like chicken. Non organic chickens are fed copious amounts of antibiotic growth promoters and the end result is unnaturally large birds with bland tasteless meat. Organic birds, even though usually twice as old when slaughtered are often still smaller than these unnaturally oversized counterparts. Having to feed and house the animals twice as long obviously adds a...

Mash Potato, sounds like a recipe right there doesn't it. Pretty simple dish to prepare, one would think, yet based on the amount of times I have ordered it and received something closer to cemented or watered potato, I thought it appropriate that we put a recipe of it out there. That and the fact that we receive countless emails requesting us to. Proper mash potato is something most of us remember from our childhood, rich, creamy, buttery flavour all whipped up into something that is surprisingly light and fluffy in texture. I think the reason for it reminding us of childhood is that, since adolescence most of us, (the western world anyhow) have been running to the hi...

A mirepoix is a finely diced mixture of; carrot, celery and onion. It is often sweated off in the first stages of a recipe to enhance the flavour of sauces, soups, stews and numerous other dishes. Although usually finely diced, some recipes, such as a stock recipe might call for, 'mirepoix roughly chopped' in this case it simply refers to the three vegetables of carrot, celery and onion. 'Mirepoix au gras' is simply mirepoix with meat and usually refers to the addition of bacon or ham.

Ever wonder how they get the skins off the tomatoes you buy in cans? It's really quite a simple process. In this tip I'll show you exactly how and also how to take the seeds out.

Next time you prepare a dish that leaves you with a lot of crustacean waste i.e. lots of prawn (shrimp), crab, lobster, or bug heads and shells do not throw all those wonderful bits out, instead knock up this oil and you will regret every time you did throw them out. With this oil in your fridge you will be able to add a beautiful richness to a plethora of dishes.

A correct flaky, buttery and light puff pastry or 'Pate feuilletee' is the most important ingredient to so many dessert and savory dishes. Preparing and baking the puff pastry takes some practice, is fairly time consuming and tedious process, but the final product will be so much more rewarding, whether you are making a vol-en-vent, mille-feuille or the famous Napoleon.

Reduced Balsamic is one of those incredibly simple items to prepare, it is simply Balsamic Vinegar that has been thickened by way of evaporation over heat. This is a great ingredient to have on hand in any kitchen. It's sweet yet slightly tart flavour not only is the perfect complement to many dishes but makes a very visually appealing garnish. Try it over grilled vegetables or salads and even on some desserts. When preparing this item I would not recommend you use your best and most expensive Balsamic vinegar as you will lose about 2/3rds to evaporation, however I would also avoid using a very cheap and acidic variety, as no matter how much you reduce these; they remain...

Roasting large joints of meat to the correct doness can be fairly difficult at times and once the roast too much done, there is no turning back anymore. The difficulty starts by getting people to agree on one uniform system. While in classical French cooking (and most of the European countries) only 4 degrees of doness (blue, saignant, a point and bien cuit) are used, in the rest of the world and certainly in English speaking countries we generally use five degrees of doness (rare, medium rare, medium, medium well and well done). Some even order the meat by percentages e.g. from 25 % for rare, to 70%, 80% and obviously 100 % for well done. Whatever method one prefers, the...

Bell peppers (capsicum) are pretty delicious and tasty as nature makes them, however roasted or grilled they become all the more tasty and more versatile. Once roasted they are the ideal addition to any antipasto, beautiful in a salad, perfect in a pasta and not to mention an amazing base to many beautiful sauces or soups

The term concasser as defined by the Larousse Gastronomique (The Chef's bible) defines it as: The French term for chopping or pounding a substance, either coarsely or finely. When skinned deseeded tomato pulp is finely chopped it is known as tomato cancassee. In this recipe it is the latter definition referring to the tomatoes that we explore. Tomato concasse although used in many traditional sauces, it can also be used many other ways; tossed through pasta, garnishing, salsas, bruschetta's and soups.

There are quite a few reasons why we truss or tie chickens ahead of the roasting them, if not just because, traditionally, it has always been done that way and sometimes we just should not question our culinary fore fathers. Something's just shouldn't be changed or abandoned to save preparation time. Firstly they just look better. Nothing worse, than birds with the legs and wings spread, 'lying' in a roasting pan when they come out of the oven. Secondly, if you are using a rotisserie or spit over a BBQ, the snug fitting legs and wings of a well trussed chicken will prevent uneven rotations. It will ensure that the chicken is not 'flapping' over and about on the spi...

When you whisk egg whites what you are actually doing is whisking air into them. The result is tiny little bubbles of air living inside your egg whites. It is these air bubbles that give egg white based desserts that light and airy texture. A great example to demonstrate how these little air bubbles live inside the egg whites is that of the souffle. A souffle consists of predominantly whisked egg whites, in other words eggs whites full of little air bubbles. These air bubbles when put in the oven expand (as any air does when heated) and it is this expansion of air trapped in those little bubbles that causes a well made souffle to so impressively stand up out of dish....

The French have a name for it and the Italians have a name for it. I'm not sure who created it (and who really cares?) it tastes great, is simple to make and can turn any fruit into a rich and impressive dessert. Ok, my money is on the Italians, but if you know otherwise drop us an email.