Skiing, when snowfall has been, poor gets rather tricky. Beach holidays without the sun are pretty miserable. Camping in torrential rain is not much fun ( well actually camping in any weather is not my idea of fun) and fishing weeks without water are impossible.   So when I headed up to the beats on the river Findhorn ( this is a technical term for parts of the river you fish and not a highlands music festival in case you wondered) it was somewhat alarming it had not rained in a while and none was imminently due.

Now being Scotland the group of 20 fisherman and fisherwoman we were to cook for were all pretty upbeat that some would be along soon. Anyone who has spent anytime north of the border will have had experience that this country does changes of weather extremely well.

As the week progressed the river got lower and sadly dead wild salmon were spotted on the bare bones of the river. This can be due to a lack of oxygen causing disease to spread rapidly amongst other factors.   Those fish that were alive had tried to bury themselves deep in the river as hate too much light as it makes them feel distressed, so fishing was impossible.

By day 5 no fish had been caught but somehow morale amongst the entire group stayed high. I would like to think it was entirely down to the amazing breakfasts, afternoon teas, dinners and spectacular picnics we were making for them…but I think Mr Berry Bros & Rudd had something to do with it.

On the upside of this, the lack of rain around May meant the grouse chicks, which hatch around then, stand a good chance of survival. They rely on moderate weather to survive their first few weeks as well as an abundance of insects and bugs to munch on. So hopefully it should be a great season come the glorious 12^th. 

Salmon fishing season roughly lasts in Scotland from February to October, Rainbow trout, which can be found in the same rivers, can be caught all year round ( though they weren’t playing ball either).  Wild salmon fishing is illegal on Sundays ( as is shooting game birds) and in Scotland unlike England you do not need a rod licence, just a permit for the river you would like to fish.

It was a fun busy week cooking for the group but I did manage a few little escapes to the river myself with my favourite Scottish spaniel. This however  resulted  in every outdoor shot I tried to take of the river being photo bombed by the dog.

Getting to cook a wild salmon next to the banks it was caught on is one of my top culinary moments every year so I think I was more disappointed than the group that none could be caught. The rain has come down since my week there, too much at some times which can be equally as devastating, but there are of course something’s we can’t control, interfere with and manage, especially in wild habitats.

It also means this postcard recipe has to focus on something other than wild salmon…..

Providing a delicious and varying picnic was a fun part of the week and as the group had expressed they were game to eat anything we enjoyed providing a diverse spread.

Every morning we packed picnic baskets full of goodies. There were game scotch eggs, spanakopita’s, freshly baked rolls stuffed with; rare roast beef, freshly made coronation chicken, peat smoked salmon Scottish honey and mustard roast ham, venison sausage rolls, freshly baked brownies, bakewell tarts, soups, salads and this postcard recipe… venison pasties.

This week

Wild Salmon caught: 0

Rainfall: 0 mm

Picnics packed : 120

I’m driving : the dependable range rover

Times Photo bombed by spaniel dog: 43

Venison Pasties

makes about 12

5 tbs olive oil

100g butter

700g Venison meat cut into small ( 1cm approx) chunks

2 onions peeled and diced into 1 cm cubes

4 garlic peeled and finely chopped

300ml game, beef or chicken stock

100ml Beer or Guinness

200g peeled and 1 cm cubed potatoes ( waxy best)

Lea and Perrins sauce ( to taste)

2 – 3 tsp Corn flour mixed with 2 tsp water water

2 egg yolks mixed with 2 tbs milk

1 kilo rolled all butter puff pastry,

Pre het the oven to 140ªc

In a large frying pan sauté the onions and garlic in 3 tbs of the olive  until soft ( about 15 mins)  then place into a large ovenproof dish .

In the same pan add the rest of the oil and butter and brown all the meat and add to the sautéed onions.

Deglaze the pan with the beer or Guinness and add to the meat.

Add the stock, season with salt and lots of pepper then seal with baking paper then foil.

Bake for 3 hours or until the meat is really tender.

Meanwhile cook the potatoes in salted water until tender and drain.

Once the meat is cooked, add a good few splashes of lea and perrins and check for seasoning . Then add the corn flour and water , stir well then gently mix in the potatoes.

Leave to cool completely.

Pre heat the oven to 180°C.

Cut the pastry into   16cm circles.

Brush one side with etc egg yolk mix.

Place a few spoonful’s of the venison mix in the middle then fold up the edges and crimp.

Brush the outside with the egg yolk mix and place on a lined baking sheet.

Repeat to you have used up all the meat mix or pastry.

Bake for 40 mins or until piping hot and golden.

Leave to cool then wrap and take to the river bank/ park/ kitchen table.

Nest postcard from my week at the Hay on Wye festival

The post Venison pasties appeared first on Philippa Davis.

From an early age much of my time has been spent on and off stage so I’m well aware of what it takes to make a production run smoothly. All going well on the face of it we see the actors entering and exiting at the appropriate moments,  impressively and seamlessly remembering their lines (we hope) and brilliantly drawing us into their world.   What we tend to forget as an audience member however is how much work has to go on backstage to achieve all this.

People have been working tirelessly on costumes, props and  scenery.  Directors, musicians , techies and other crew have all shed blood, sweat and probably tears to get the show on the road and not to mention the gentle cajoling , ego massaging, support and camaraderie that has gone on to hold it all together by everyone.

What has all this got to do with venison sausage rolls I hear you ask?! And how can she possibly link this thespian theme to her latest job cooking for a Highland partridge shoot? Well…

Up on the Cawdor estate near Inverness, it’s hard not to get drawn into a dramtic mood, not least because it is the home of the Scottish Play (or Macbeth for those of you who are less superstitious). Add 42,000 acres of extraordinary Highland landscape, endlessly changing light, some of the best field sport in the country and boundless amounts of fresh air and you can understand how one can easily become theatrical.

Shoot jobs are always busy as there are a lot of hungry men (and more and more so women) to feed.  Despite November being quite late in the season to still be eating outside the group was game to have their lunches up on ‘the hill’, the in the know term for on the moor.

I am always delighted to to be heading out on these adventures, braving the elements, dirt tracks and overcoming the challenges of transporting and serving a top not lunch to the middle of nowhere. The shooting crowd are definitely a set who love their food so ones efforts to go all out are always appreciated.

As the chef your day starts early in the lodge kitchen doing a big cooked breakfast and preparing the elevenses baskets for the game keeper to takeaway for the gun’s mid morning snack. Once breakfast is cleared away the preparing and packing up of a top notch lunch to be served way up on the hill can begin.

Food has to be carefully packed along with tables, tablecloths, plates, candles if the day is dark, flowers, wine (of course) and fire wood into the trusty Range Rover and driven across narrow bridges, winding tracks across babbling burns and reversed down slippery paths to a bothy hidden in the depths of the moor. Undoubtedly more fun than an office job I imagine.  Once there, everything is unloaded come rain or shine or wind (though often in Scotland a bit of all three) and set up, the wood burner lit, hot soup made ready to serve and the wine opened in anticipation for the arrival of the hungry and often cold and wet guns.

On one of the days on our way to the bothy we had to pause on the hill as the beaters (people with flags energetically waving them on command whilst walking down a hill to flush the birds towards the guns and not Harry Potter like children on broom sticks playing quidditch), were making their sweep ahead of us.

Turning on our radio to the channel that the head  keeper and beaters were using we received  instructions to wait there for a wee while longer.  Not wanting to scare the birds off course we switched off the engine and due to our remote location and therefore lack of signal to Radio 4, listened into the “ backstage” working of the shoot.

Like a director of an enormous production (think Aida on a Verona scale) the head Game keeper directs his backstage crew to flush the actors (partridge in this case) onto the stage (the area surrounding the pegs) where the eager audience (the guns) get to take their shot.

In this case however the actors (partridge) are more temperamental than the worst of divas and it takes great skill and combined effort to get them to fly where and when you want them.

Listening to the instructions was a bit like listening to the shipping forecast, you enjoy it and are strangely addicted but don’t quite understand all that is said.  None the less it was hard not to get swept up in the team effort of getting the birds in the right place and the building excitement of whether it would pay off.

“ Flag up, flag up !!!!! “ was repeated many times and moments later a flurry of flag waving from the guys and girls on the hill.

“I canny see Eion , get oot ‘o the gulley” !! also seemed to be a popular communication.

The crackly line coupled with the heavy Scottish accents meant I couldn’t follow the script exactly but the most entertaining moment was when one group of partridge was spotted flying too far left, the beaters were directed to reposition themselves sharpish to correct the flight path and I distinctly heard in My Fair Lady meets Braveheart style from one of the keepers:

“ come on…come on!…come on !! …come on Beaters, move yer bloomin’ arse!” .

The ripple of gun fire a moment later indicated the move was successful and that the guys on the hill had done a good job. Then came the sound of the horn indicating the end of the drive and our cue to get a move on to the bothy to set up lunch.

During a lunch the game keeper will inform the head of the party their current bird count ( bag), if their booked number has already been met and if it has if they would like to carry on, for a second act.  Invariably  the answer is yes, unless the weather has turned really foul, so once the feast is finished they all had back out for a few more drives.

At the end of the shoot day, once the show is over, everyone returns back to the lodge and the day’s bag is laid out for the count. The beaters, dog handlers, game keepers and guns gather round for a wee dram and exchange highlights and tales of the day and it is at this point that the backstage crew can take their bow and be thanked for a tremendous show.

For this postcard I want to share with you my new favourite snack I like to make for the elevenses basket namely venison scotch eggs.  To qualify for a good elevenses shoot snack the food has to be able to survive  transportation, easy to eat with one hand, hearty and  suitable for ketchup or Tabasco (that’s a must according to Lord L who apparently is a connoisseur when it comes to elevenses).

Scotch eggs are totally worth making from scratch as you can get the eggs perfectly cooked ( unlike the obligatorily over cooked shop bought ones)  and the meat perfectly seasoned.

These Venison ones have the advantage that the meat is known to be full of minerals and iron and is low fat.. which in my book translates as you don’t have to feel so guilty about scoffing a whole one.  I have to say on a personal note that when Lord L is not looking you should also try it with crab apple jelly as its mix of tart and sweetness pairs beautifully with game flavours.

This week

Best bag: 434

Best Bag: Bottega Veneta

Every home should have: A piper

I used : 94 local eggs

Butter usage : off the charts

I’m driving : a Range Rover

Venison Scotch Eggs

Makes 8

800g venison mince

2 slices white bread

10 eggs

splash of milk

200g bread crumbs ( panko are the best) placed in a small bowl

100g cornflour, placed in a small bowl.

1 litre veg oil for frying

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil.

Gently plop 8 eggs in and cook on a high heat for 7 minutes.

Gently drain and fill the pan with cold water and a few handfuls of ice.

Once the eggs are cool peel them.

In a large bowl season the venison mince with salt and pepper.

Break the bread into bits, crust and all, and splash on some milk and 1 raw egg. Mush about then mix well into the mince ( if you are feeling fancy you can add 2 cloves finely ground clove and 1 tbs of finely chopped parsley but for me home made venison scotch egg is excitement enough).

Take 1/8 of the mince and wrap around 1 of the cooked eggs. It is easier if your hands are wet.

Repeat with the other eggs.

Then break the last egg into a bowl and add a splash of milk and beat. 

Dip each of the meat wrapped eggs into the cornflour, then egg mix then breadcrumbs.

It is less messy if you dip every egg into the cornflour, then every egg into the egg, then finally the breadcrumbs otherwise you end up with breaded fingers.

Pre heat the oven to 200°C

Heat your oil in a deep pan, When hot ( a small lump of bread when dropped in should go brown and crispy in seconds) fry the eggs individually until golden ( a minute or so) then lay on a flat baking tray nicely spread apart.

Once they have all been fried, bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes.

Remove and transfer onto a wire rack to cool a little.

Eat warm or cold as the perfect elevenses snack.

Next Stop …Thanksgiving

The post Recipe | Venison Scotch egg appeared first on Philippa Davis.

Singapore swing

Jet lag? Ha ! After a 13 hour flight, when I had planned to snooze but managed to turn it into a movie marathon I landed in time to see Singapore in the midst of waking up and swinging into life.

Singapore is the ultimate melting pot, with food and other cultural influences from Malaysia, Indonesia , China, India, Peranakan (locally born but descendants of mostly Malay immigrants who married local women) and Eurasians.

With no better way to stay awake then amuse myself with food markets I dropped my bags and headed straight for Little India.

Starting in the Tekka Centre in the area of Little India, a wet market (fresh food) with Hawkers centres ( communal eating spaces spattered with a range of incredibly cheap and delicious fast food outlets, it was immediately apparent I was not in Kansas/Dorset any more.

Exotic and colourful looking vegetables and fruits caught my eye at every stall, fish and crustaceans I had never seen were boxed on ice and been sold at rapid speeds and the smells of spices and foods that shouted ‘you are in the far East’ distracted me at every turn. Yes, I loved it! No prizes for which culture Little India centres on but perhaps a free cake for anyone who can identify all of the below.

Come lunchtime, although I didn’t think I was ready to eat (it would have been around 3 am back in Blighty) I didn’t want to miss a food opportunity so slipped into a recommended Indian restaurant. When unsure of protocol whilst travelling it is always best to hang back a bit, see what locals do, then have a go. So having loitered for a bit I bustled into the restaurant, headed to the back to wash my hands then grabbed a table. Luckily for my experience enjoyment I was then joined at my communal table by 3 locals an Uncle, niece and friend who clearly saw I was not from around there so gave me the low down on what was good and then decided to order for me. A large tray lined with a banana leaf arrived with a lentil dahl, a spinach dish and some pickle. Quickly a waiter came and added a mound of steaming white rice to it ( none of that supposedly healthy brown stuff we seem to be focusing on in the UK thank you very much). Then another waiter came round with buckets of soupy looking stuff that they then artfully throw onto your leaf. This was all very exciting apart from I was slightly concerned that here you authentically eat with your right hand (never your left as that’s for loo duties) and I was of course keen to try. Watching the others I dived in and yes it was messy (well I was in compared to them) but it’s a powerful way to connect with your food. There was also a super tasty shark curry, a chicken one and a salty refreshing drink made form curd but for fear of turning this into a war and peace length postcard I will suffice with saying they too were all delicious.

The next day was more about the Chinese markets but this time I was lucky enough to go with a friend who knew what they were doing, seeing and buying.

Stacks of different greens, all sounding slightly similar so not a chance I could ever repeat their names, bags of dried fish, mushrooms and innards, that are used to flavour soup and another stretch of exciting hawker stalls selling delicious dumplings, breads, fried delights, rice, noodles, roasted ducks and more all were a joy to encounter.

Keen to get into the kitchen to get to work with some of these ingredients we choose a selection of Eastern delights and headed home. This postcard recipe is for the lotus root fritters I made that evening.

This Week

Every home should have: Air conditioning and lots of fridge space.

I’m loving : the energy of the East.

Butter used : 2 packs (pretty impressive since they don’t really go in for that sort of thing here.

I’ve tried : 27 new foods.

Im travelling by :plane, taxi, MRT

Its: hot and humid (just though I would mention it as apparently quite cold at present back home :).

I got: caught in the afternoon down pours… twice.

I learnt in time : when making meringue in hot and humid clients, so it doesn’t collapse and become sticky, you need to cook it for longer and lower as well as adding a few tbs of icing sugar to the mix.

Lotus fritters

These make great little pre dinner nibbles. You can make the mix an hour or two in advance and then fry them when needed.

Makes about 40.

4 Chinese dried black mushrooms (if you cant get these you could use a few fresh oyster mushrooms and fry them with the onions)

1 tbs olive oil

1 red onion peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped

1 x yam (about 800g in weight )

20g coriander, washed, dried and finely chopped.

4 spring onions finely chopped

1 finger of garlic , peeled and finely grated.

1 tbs sesame oil

1 tbs light soy sauce plus extra for serving

2 eggs lightly beaten

2 tbs corn flour

To cook

2 – 3 tbs sunflower oil

To serve

1 x lime

Soak the mushrooms in just boiled water for at least 30 mins (they are quite tough so need a long time to soak) then remove the stalks and finely chop them ( you can use the tougher stalks to flavour soups or stocks).

Fry the onion and garlic in a pan with the olive oil on a low heat until just softened.

Peel and grate, on the large side, the lotus root.

In a large bowl mix everything together.

To cook: heat a frying pan with a little sunflower oil, In batches dollop teaspoon size mounds of the mix into the pan and fry both sides on a low to medium heat for about 1 minute each side.

Lay onto kitchen paper then serve warm.

To serve: sprinkle with a little extra soy and a squeeze of lime.

Next stop… Hong Kong.

The post Singapore swing appeared first on Philippa Davis.

Gone Fishing.

This week, in order not to feel I was mindlessly cooking and gobbling lobster after lobster I have taken the time to learn a little more about this delicious crustacean.

Theoretically, a lobster can live forever. They have an enzyme called telomerase, which prevents the DNA from becoming damaged as it replicates – for us mere humans it is the shortening of the DNA strands that is thought to age us. What can however pluck the lobsters from their mortal coil are disease and various predators, including me.

In order to grow a lobster has to molt its shell. In the first year they do this about 40 times, the second year about four times, the third and forth years about two or three times and in the forth to sixth years about once a year. Once they reach age 7, which is roughly when they will be big enough to be eaten they usually molt once every two or three years. For Maine lobster it is about now in the year that they decide to do this.

The lobster sheds its shell then puffs itself up with water to stretch the new softer shell that was underneath until that too hardens. For eating purposes I think it is best to avoid these softer shell lobsters as although easier to get the meat out it can be quite watery and the yield much lower, particularly in the claws.   On a side note, a lobster who has lost one claw is called a cull and for the poor things that have lost both they are called a pistol.

When catching lobsters in your own pots there are strict rules about what you can keep and what you must release. Size is important. It must be between 3 ¼ inches and 5 inches from the extreme rear of the eye socket to the end of the carapace – which is the head section of the shell. You are forbidden to take a female if she is baring eggs or if she has a notch in her tail. The fishing area around Main have introduced a system where if you find a female that produces eggs but otherwise would have been ok to take, you put a notch in its tale to the right of the middle flipper. This will be noticeable for a couple of years and stop others from taking the egg producing lobster even if it doesn’t have any at the time of catch.

From a chefs and diners perspective it is amazing to cook and eat so many lobsters in a short time span and totally get to grip with cooking times and preferred methods of preparation. I have given you a few recipes and methods below after this postcard recipe for when you next want to indulge in a lobster fix.

Besides the luxury of having an endless supply of lobster and getting the chance to cook it in every which way, my highlight of the week was …catching my first fish.

I will try not to embellish the story and let writers’ creativity move it too far from the truth but it was far more exciting than predicted.

Our early morning start (by 5:30 am we had our backs to the shore) was soon followed by a lecture, but not in boat safety or tips on how to cast. No. I had once again made the mistake of joshing with a fisherman that I couldn’t quite see what would be fun about fishing that and that I suspected  a fishing boat was basically  a floating ‘man shed’.  Luckily the lecture was short and took mostly the form of just you just wait and see. I think this was due to the fact neither of us had had our morning coffee fix.

Traveling at a certain number of knots over a certain distance of nautical miles ( ok I clearly didn’t listen properly to that bit) we eventually stopped the boat and prepared to fish. Our aim was to catch some mackerel to use as bait to catch some striped bass – large silvery fleshsy white fish that are rather popular around the US of A’s East coast.

To catch the mackerel you dangle a line into the water dotted with bright lures and consistently sharply pull it up and then let it sink so it catches the mackerel’s eye.   I did this for about 10 minutes to no effect thinking well at least it was kind of a work out but then found myself gradually becoming transfixed by the waves, the sound of the water and continual motion of my surroundings.   I still hadn’t caught anything after 15 minutes but curiously noticed my involuntary reluctance at handing over the line.   My fishing partner caught one in about 5 minutes, which made me even more determined to take back the line and get one.

I shorty did and then riding on the high caught another two at once. Total pro I know !

The mackerel were kept alive and hooked up to a bigger rod, which we floated out to sea to try and lure a striped bass on to. I could tell you how within the first 10 minutes we both caught impressive three feet fish and which would have fed the North End of Boston but I would be lying. We watched the lines bob up and down for about an hour then as there were no takers packed up and went home. Anticlimactic? Not in the slightest, there is something incredible about being out on the sea early in the morning; very peaceful yet demanding and I can at least feel myself getting hooked.

The lobsters are now partying as my bags are packed and I am heading to Logan airport to hop back across the pond.   For this postcard recipe I give you the brioche recipe I used for making that East Coast traditional sensation: lobster sandwich.

This week;

Lobsters dispatched: 23

Mackerel caught: 3

The Field Magazine: have published my article on top shooting salads and recipes for what to do with this season’s grouse.

Top wine drunk: a delicious Peter Michael chardonnay from California

Brioche

 Definitely not one of my quicker recipes but I admit I am kind of obsessed with making it now I have mastered the perfect sugar / butter ratio in the mix.

 The Sponge

2000
ml warm whole milk 

9 g dry active yeast

1
large free range /organic egg

500g plain white flour

The Dough

100g caster sugar

5g fine sea salt

6
large free range / organic eggs, lightly beaten

350g plain flour 

180g cold salted butter plus 2 tbs. approx. extra for greasing

The glaze

1 egg

1 tbs. whole milk

 I used an electric mixer fitted with a kneading attachment but you can make it

by hand if you don’t mind getting sticky and messy.

Also it was pleasantly hot in the States, so if making it somewhere cooler your

resting and rising times may be longer.

Method

The sponge

Put the milk, yeast, egg and 250g of the flour in the mixers bowl, turn on to a

low speed and mix for a couple of minutes (you can do this stage by hand or with

a wooden spoon if it looks like it will be easier ).

Once mixed remove the bowl from the machine and sprinkle over the other 250g

of flour.

Leave at room temperature for 1 hour, it should be at least doubled in size and

the coating of flour cracked.

The Dough

Grate the butter with a cheese grater on the large side then leave out to soften.

Once ready add the sugar, salt, eggs, and 200g of the flour to the sponge.

Place the dough back in the machine with the dough hook and turn on to a low

Let it come together then add the rest of the flour.

Turn up to a medium speed and mix for 10 mins.

The machine may need stopping and the dough pushing back into place as it can

wrap itself up the dough hook.

After mixing add the butter in three stages over a couple of minutes it should

incorporate itself into the dough but again you may need to turn off the machine

and give it a helping hand.

The dough should be shiny, and feel quite moist in comparison to a basic bread dough.

Place the dough in a large buttered bowl and leave to rise at room temperature for 2 – 3 hours – it should double in size.

After this rise knock the dough back, form into a ball in the buttered bowl. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 6 hours.

By then it should have risen again and is now ready for its final rising and baking.

Shape the dough into loaves – you can make a regular loaf or make 6 balls placed side by side in two rows depending what you want.   It will be just over double in size when baked so choose the appropriate pan/ tin.

Leave at room temperature, covered loosely with some buttered cling film for two hours till doubled in size.

Pre heat the oven to 190°C place a baking rack near the bottom of the oven and a baking sheet at the top (this will help the loaf not take on too much color).

Mix the egg and milk for the glaze together.

When risen and ready brush the loaf with the glaze and bake for 30 mins. On the bottom rack.

Once cooked leave to cool for 5 mins then remove from tin.

Delicious warm/ cold / as is /toasted and especially good when used for a lobster sandwich.

Lobster methods,

Do NOT over cook your lobster – it becomes rubbery.

DO keep the shells it makes the most amazing stock

To boil a lobster;

Fill a large pot with water, bring to the boil and then add a good dash of fine sea salt.

Add your live lobster then place on the lid. Cook in small batches so the water comes quickly back to the boil.

A 1 ½ lb lobster needs to cook only for 10 mins, It will have turned a lovely shade of red and the meat will still be moist. Leave to rest for a couple of minutes before serving as it will carry on cooking and be perfect.

Smoking

This is my favourite way to prepare and eat them.

Plunge them live into boiling water for 3 – 4 mins – you just want to kill them.

Pre heat your smoker to 200F

Cut up the top of the lobster tail with a pair of scissors and put some cracks in the claws.

Stuff with a few spoonful’s of butter studded with chilli and coriander or garlic and parsley.

Lay some foil on the racks in the smoker and place your butter-stuffed lobsters in there. Add some wood chips to the coals (I like using apple wood for this task as it is mild enough not to mask the flavour but still adds that smoky wonder.)

Smoke for 40 mins. Serve with any buttery lobster juice caught on the foil poured back over the lobster.

Stock

The shell contains an amazing amount of flavour and should never be just chucked away. Place them in a large pot filed with cold water and bring to a boil, turn down and simmer for 40 mins then strain.

Reduce this to get your intense lobster stock. NOTE if you boil the stock with the shells in for too long it becomes bitter.

To BBQ ; get your BBQ to a high to medium heat and make sure the grills are clean. Prepare a flavoured butter such as chilli and lime or garlic and parsley.

Crack the live lobster in half by cutting down through the shell head first then along the tail – they do not feel pain in the same way we do so try not to feel bad while it gives you the evil eye.

Remove the claws and place them on the BBQ for 4 – 5 mins then place the split tail on flesh side down and cook for 3 mins each side. It will go translucent each side.

Next stop

Marloes, Wales…

The post Recipe |Brioche appeared first on Philippa Davis.

Prawn on the Fourth of July

If you think the British are obsessed by the weather you should talk to a Bostonian. Throughout the year they get it all from heavy snow, storms and high winds to bright blue skies and sunshine. I guess  as lots of people are boat and or fish orientated it’s natural the weather will be of constant interest.

‘People say that if you don’t love America, then get the h**l out, well I love America!’ (Tom Cruise and Philippa Davis)

I arrived to dark skies, rain and in need of a jumper. I could have stayed in Blighty for this, I thought, but with everyone cheerful the sun would come out tomorrow, I settled into my new home for the next few weeks.   The next day… oh boy did the sun come out and then set with the most theatrical display.

The first big party we held was July 4^th celebrations; we had 35 adults and about a dozen kids coming. I decided to tone down my English accent for the day, though I did sneak in a very English dessert of Eton mess into the menu. For mains, as its all about lobster here, we decided on roasting 37 of them and smoking 20 lb of baby back (pork) ribs. It was truly a veritable feast!

The party was a wild success with kids and adults all tucking into the sweet buttery crustaceans and getting messy with the ribs. Desserts were practically all demolished (haha!) and at around 10 the fireworks of Boston and the surrounding towns started popping up into the sky. To go with this, the amazing Boston Pops orchestra broadcasts live with a program including the Indiana Jones theme tune, the 1812 and of course Stars and Stripes. We thought the party might wind down post fire works but there was a sudden second wind and the left over ribs got raided from the fridge and were totally scoffed.

With the ribs taken care of the only thing I still had to deal with was the left over lobster. Last time I got my hand on this many I made enough stock to fill a bathtub, though frankly it wasn’t totally to my liking. This year, having picked off the last of the lobster meat with some help from half a team of Ivy League Football players 😉 I gathered my buckets of shells and had another go. The trick is to bring the stock to a boil with the shells in, cook for 30 – 40 mins, strain it and then reduce the stock down. If you leave the shells in too long the stock goes very bitter. The stock was/ is delicious (I have 20 litres to use up) so I am planning lots of lobster flavoured soups, bisques, paellas and risottos. That or a fishy bath.

On a none food note I watched my first cherry stone spitting competition and putting it politely I couldn’t quite believe the diversity of peoples ability. As soon as I got home I grabbed a bowl of cherries and headed to the bottom of the garden to try it for myself, turns out, I have a new skill.

This week

Lobsters massacred: 52

‘Have a nice days’ I have been wished : 31

Cherry stone distance personally spat : 5.5m

I’m reading: The Lobster, Guillaume Lecasble

4am texts from my least/most favourite sister who keeps forgetting I’m in a different time zone: 5

Smoked prawn with avocado and chilli crostini.

 Its hard not to get obsessed about smoking, the results are delicious but there is something primal and wildly rewarding in the skill it takes to get it right. From making ones own salt rubs and bbq sauces to taming the heat and perfecting the amount of smoke.

So for this postcard recipe I will share with you one of my new favourite foods to smoke – prawns.

We served this as an ‘appetiser’ on July 4^th.

You will need a smoker, lump wood charcoal, and wood chips like apple and hickory.

Makes 20 crostini

20 large raw peeled prawns

2 tbs olive oil

200g butter melted

Rub

4 tsp fine sea salt

3 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Avocado

2 ripe avocados

1 small clove garlic

2 tbs olive oil

2 tsp chopped green chilli

juice from 1 lime

2 tbs. chopped coriander

To serve

1 loaf ciabatta

Extra sprigs of coriander

Squeeze of extra lime juice.

Mix the prawns with the olive oil

Mix the rub ingredients together then toss through the prawns with 2 tbs olive oil, leave for 30 mins.

Meanwhile light your smoker and get it to reach 200 °F

Once at temperature, lay a large piece of foil shiny side down, tip on the prawns (discarding any juice that may come out of them) then pour over the melted butter. Add your chips to the coals and close the lid. Smoke for 30 – 40 mins , they should be cooked and smokey.

You can eat then warm or leave them to cool.

To make the avocado spread,

Peel and de-stone the avocado and roughly chop, add the rest of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

To serve toast the ciabatta, smear with the avocado mix and top with a smoked prawn. Squeeze over a little extra lime and garnish with a leaf of coriander

Next week, unfortunately for the lobsters, I’m sticking around…

The post Recipe | Smoked prawn with avocado crostini appeared first on Philippa Davis.

Goodness, gracious, great balls of…. Power.

 You can follow me on twitter and Instagram for more photos and snippets of my week

Twitter : phollowphilippa

Instagram : phollowphilippa

I have had a very exciting (manic) week cooking for a fashion shoot involving  one of the worlds superest supermodels and one of the UK’s most fabulous designers. I had been called into action rather last minute so at double speed I whipped up some menus, started the ordering, booked my flights and began to pack.  With a couple of hours to go before leaving I get a call.

“Hi Philippa , is it possible to make a few changes to the menu….”?

“Sure,” says I “ What would you like “?

(flexibility and being uneasily flustered  is a must in my line of work).

“You know all the food has to be vegetarian..”?

“Yes, sure that’s no problem”

“…And can you make some vegan”?

“Sure”

“…and some sugar free”?

“….? Ok.”

“…and can you make some gluten/wheat free,  sugar free , chocolate vegan quinoa cookies”?

“Erm…..”

This job was clearly going to be a fun challenge and very much involve up to date food trends and interests. Alarm bells began to ring as the location was rather remote and I imagined the local shop would not stock ingredients such as quinoa and goji berries. Time to call in some expert help to do a last minute emergency shop.

My mother, who is knowledgeable in these matters,  was happily eating her Sunday lunch until I bounced into the kitchen and kidnapped her to drag her to Waitrose.  Giving her a job brief on the way I instructed her to grab anything I may find useful for the week and humbly apologized for not listening closer when she had told me about all this stuff before.

I had never used half the things she was popping into the trolley; coconut oil, soy yogurts, these things called chai seeds (apparently they are all the rage) agave syrup (vegan sugar alternative), almond milk (who knew they had breasts?)…. I tell you I have never had such a trendy looking trolley. It was bizarrely exciting to think of the new possibilities ahead.

Having done a fast pick in the local woods of tender wild garlic and knowing I had ordered enough other fruit and veg to start a market stall I felt in a good position to combat any requests that could arise during the week.

With any job I like to have an arsenal of tricks up my sleeves, and particularly with fashion and film shoots there is an array of people to feed.  Members of the cast and crew are likely to sneak into the kitchen at any time hoping you have this or that. There is the more health conscious model, actors, designers, make up artists who crave healthy treats (like afore mentioned quinoa chocolate wheat free vegan cookies) and then there is the hard grafting runners, technicians and location managers who really need a big bowls of pasta and lumps of caramel chocolate to keep them going from dusk till dawn.  With many of the crew used to city life where you can get anything pretty much at any time it is always best for the catering department to be well prepared.

So upon arrival first on the to do list was to make this stash of treats and snacks.  My mother had shouted at me before I dashed through airport security not to forget ‘it’s all about power balls!’ (yes, odd looks from fellow passengers did ensue).  For anyone who doesn’t know, they are healthy balls that can replace sweet treats made of nuts and dried fruit. They are sugar free, vegan friendly, paelo positive, and yet supposedly delicious…Ill be the judge of that I thought!

It turns out that power balls are delicious (actually vegan chocolate quinoa cookies aren’t half bad either).  So I made a stash of each and waited in anticipation for someone to pop into the kitchen looking for something special…

Within 1 ½ hours of arrival the charming tailor came in

“Hi darling, don’t suppose you have any energy bars, we are starving!!”

“Well as a matter of fact,” I beamed “How about some power balls?”

‘Oh super!” he cried, grabbed a handful and dashed off back to the shoot.

The power balls were clearly a success as a runner was sent in for another handful only ½ hour later and I realised my mother was right, it is all about power balls.

This week:

Fashion envy levels : High

(Surprisingly) delicious gluten/vegan treats made: 9

Bacon sandwiches requested and denied: 11

Bunches of herbs used :54

Power balls

These are really are a tasty healthy treat and with no sugar, gluten or dairy they are basically guilt free…

The measurements are a rough guide as you will see when making them if they need more dry or wet ingredients.

Date, brazil nut and goji berries

250g dates ( with stone removed)

75g brazil nuts

75g whole blanched almonds

1 tbs  goji berries

50g desiccated coconut

Soak the dates in boiling water for a couple of minutes till just soft. Drain well.

Blitz the nuts in a food processor till finely ground then place in a bowl

Blitz the drained dates till roughly a paste.

With your hands mix the dates with the almond and add the goji berries till you have a manageable “dough”.  Add more nuts or dates if necessary.

Shape into balls (slightly smaller than a golf ball) and roll in the coconut.

Then they are ready to eat!

Store in a cool dry place in a sealed container.

This recipe has huge possibilities so once you get the hang of them try different ingredients like;

Mango, ginger, lime and almond

Or

Apple, fig and hazelnut

 Next postcard from London and on giving my first cookery class…

The post Receipe | Power balls appeared first on Philippa Davis.

The Thigh who came in from the cold..

Having recently been on quite a few flights I realise you don’t have to be in Sherlock’s league to decipher the purpose of everyone’s trip.  For instance:

-Dublin to London early morning flights to City airport are full of suits, ties and busy Blackberries off to seal their deals (though afternoon City flights are full of suits, no ties and a few empty miniature bottles).

-London to Inverness flights are full of well spoken tweeds, Barbours’and swathes of cashmere off to inspect their Highland acreages.

-February half term flights are packed with stressed out parents, grunting teenagers and excited children, with at least 5 layers on who tend to waddle round like sweet little star fish, all off to clog the Alpine slopes.

In my experience this makes security very slow as everyone has to peel off their various coats and jackets to go through the scanners then put them all back on again. I think the game is to wear as much as possible in order to keep the weight of the  checked-in bag under 15Kg.  To be fair to parents probably to get a child dressed once a day is stressful enough, let alone having to do it twice and in a busy airport .

However it all seems worthwhile when you get to the end of the journey and you see the first glimpse of those beautiful snowy mountains.  Which for me this week were the ones surrounding Tignes in the French Alps.

I was working on behalf of the delightful company Bramble Ski, who although mainly based in Switzerland and Austria, are now venturing into France and have snapped up the lushest chalets in the Tignes resort.

Tignes is not perhaps the most beautiful of  ski resorts, there are a fair few 60s/70s/80s monster builds, but the new chalets and hotels are all very attractive and more importantly to the keen skier, there is a fantastic expanse of skiing area, pretty much guaranteed snow and high chance of one of the longest seasons in the Alps.

The job began with a mammoth shop in Bourg St Maurice, a town  just below Tignes, where my chalet host had to patiently wait for 3 hours as my bus from Lyon got caught in every traffic jam going that day.  Having spoken to the clients about their food preferences before leaving Blighty I had a rough idea what to cook for the week but bearing in mind that you are heading up to 2000metres and despite knowing there will be a few small shops for emergencies, you are never quite sure what you will find.  You have to be super organised and prepared… and depending on your idea of fun it can be a bit of a struggle lugging shopping around in blizzards and on ice rink like pavements once there.

The food as you can imagine for such an action packed holiday needs to be nourishing and energy boosting.  There is a definite trend however by day three having had a few croissant breakfasts, hearty mountain lunches (often involving cream, butter and excellent fries) and some 5 course evening meals, clients are crying out for something lighter and I note don’t make it through to the cheese board.  Then by the end of the week, maybe through exhaustion, hunger levels are back up and there is a final push to make it thorough the canapés, starter, main, dessert and the cheese board after their final days skiing.

This postcard recipe is based on a canapé idea given to me form the chef from the adjoining chalet, who came out for the busy half term week.  The thai flavours really do pack a punch and they have a fantastically light texture.  You can replace the chicken with raw fish.

This week;

Job high: 2000 metres

Job low: not being able to get out and ski on some cracking sunny days

Milk drunk: 14 litres (there were quite a few ‘petits enfant’)!

Pain au chocolat to croissant ratio : 2:1.

Altitude baking disasters that had to be discarded: 1

New canapés added to repertoire :3

Abominable snowmen avoided : 3

Thai flavoured Chicken sesame balls

Two raw free range/ organic chicken thighs

10 g green chilli with seeds and membrane

15g ginger

15 spring onion

1 garlic glove

1 egg white

20g coriander (stalks and leaves)

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

50 g of toasted sesame seeds

1)Place everything (apart from the sesame seeds) into a food processor and blitz till a paste (about 2 minutes).

2)Spoon out into a bowl and form into 16 small balls.

3)Roll the balls in the sesame seeds and pop them onto a baking tray.

4)Place in the fridge for 30 mins or until ready to use ( you can make a day in advance).

When ready to eat

5)Pre heat the oven to 180°C then bake for 15 mins or until cooked through and piping hot in the middle.

6)To serve squeeze  a little lime juice over each one, and place on a skewer topped with a coriander leaf.

(You could also make this into a main course and serve with fried garlic and soy rice and greens).

I’m here for another week so will be whisking up more Alpine postcard recipes for you to try…

The post Recipe | Thai flavoured chicken and sesame balls appeared first on Philippa Davis.

Feeling crabby ?

I have just come back from cooking for a delightful dinner party in the magical city of Edinburgh. Having recently made quite a few trips here I have to admit I am falling for its charms. Effortlessly classy and littered with magnificent pieces of architecture it really is a grand place. The dinner was for 18 guests and was being held just because the hosts felt like throwing a party for their friends! My day started early as I had to drive into Edinburgh and I wasn’t sure what the traffic would be like, luckily my biggest obstacle seemed to be getting out of the drive…

The days menu read as follows…

Nibbles

Mini crab cakes with chili sauce

Red radish with butter and salt

 Roast cherry tomato, mozzarella and hazelnut pesto crostini

Black olive and anchovy tapenade with oregano crostini

Pea, pecorino and mint crostini

Smoked salmon with warm blini with sour cream and mock caviar

Main

Rare roast fillet of beef with freshly grated horseradish mixed with crème fraiche and yogurt 

Goose fat roast potatoes with new season’s garlic and rosemary

Green lentils with mustard and soft herbs

Roast beetroots and carrots with thyme and butter

Vignole  –  asparagus, artichokes and peas cooked in white wine, pancetta and mint.

Green salad with rocket, baby gem, linseed, herbs and French dressing

Dessert

Gooseberry and meringue ice cream

There is a definite trend of changing the format of dinner parties. I find a surprising number of clients are keen to move away from sitting at the table for hours and labouring their way through countless courses. Instead more canapés /amuse bouches are being ordered and eaten with the pre dinner drinks, the starter skipped altogether and the main course to be served help yourself style to suit everyone’s portion control ideas. I personally think both the formal sit down and this more casual approach can work really well, but it’s about knowing your guests and how relaxed you want the occasion to be.

For this postcard recipe I will share with you one of the pre dinner nibbles that went like hot cakes… well they were actually hot cakes with crab and chilli sauce. They make a super tasty nibble or you can up the size and serve it as a starter or main course with some salad and coleslaw.

On another note….

The Observer Magazine has launched their 2014 food awards, with a category for Best UK based Food Blog. I would be delighted if you fancied voting for me and philippadavis.com. Voting can be done on line at http://www.theguardian.com/observer-food-monthly-awards   you can vote by:

1)registering your email with the Guardian

2) via a face book account

3)with a google+ account.

Many thanks to anyone who feels compelled to do this!

I am now re -packing for sunnier climes and skipping off to the south of France to cook down near the Camargue…

Crab cakes with Chilli Sauce

Chilli Sauce

1 red chilli

½ tspn sherry vinegar

½ tsp cumin

1 tsp finely chopped coriander

1 tsp olive oil

1)Finely chop the chilli (discarding the seeds)

2)Mix in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

This can be made at least several hours in advance or until you are ready to serve the crab cakes.

Crab cakes

Makes 12 bite sized crab cakes or 4 big ones

40g breadcrumbs
½ tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of paprika
2 tbsp parsley finely chopped
250g white crabmeat, in chunks
1 egg, beaten
Plain Flour, to coat
Vegetable oil, to cook

1)Put the breadcrumbs, mustard powder, seasoning and parsley in a bowl and stir well to combine. Add the crab and stir gently

2)Add the egg and mix

3)Roll into balls then flatten gently into disks (they may seem a little fragile but they will firm up a bit and seem to hold together when cooked).

4)Chill for 30 minutes.

5)In a frying pan set on a medium heat add 1 tbs vegetable oil. Fry the cakes till lightly browned each side and hot all the way through ( about 1 1/2 minutes each side).

Serve immediately with a ¼ tsp of chili sauce on top of each and garnish with a small rocket leaf for a flash of colour.

The post Recipe|Crab cakes with chilli sauce appeared first on Philippa Davis.

           Are you sitting uncomfortably………………….?  Good. Then let me begin.

For my Halloween special I thought you might like some sweet treats that are fun to bake with the family,cup cakes that look like mummies and that have scary faces on them.

Too unoriginal?

How about something that used up all that scooped out pumpkin, like pumpkin pie or pumpkin gnocchi with nut sage butter?  I am yawning myself.

Which is why I decided, what I really wanted to share with you this cold and dark Halloween (I am in Scotland so the chances are high of it being really cold and dark and possibly wet too) is the secret behind this rich…  Chocolate Truffle Mixture.

Ha! Trick!

That is actually a bucket of cooked blood that was about to be made into delicious Black Pudding.

On my last few jobs, cooked breakfasts have been required, some asking for everything you could ever hope to find on you plate in the morning, others requesting a more bespoke twist – Lightly scrambled garden eggs, streaky bacon and avocado or Black pudding, fried duck egg, granary toast and apple jam – a plate I would very happily start my day with.

Having long been a great admirer of black pudding and it’s Spanish spicier cousin morcilla, I thought it would be fun to go and watch it being made.  Most importantly I think it is delicious but I also have the approach that if the animal is going to be killed and eaten then we should use as much of it as possible, including the blood.

My first job in London was at Lidgate butchers in Holland Park, so I am well versed in butcher banter and so happily trotted off to  William Ovens in Lanarkshire, a local butcher to the good folk of Biggar and whose haggis is so good private jets have been charted in to collect them, but thats another story…

The two butchers Iain and Ian, presided over by the boss Mr Jimmy Bogle happily welcomed me in to witness the weekly Tuesday making of the 22 kilos of black pudding they sell every week.

“ You’re  not squeamish  are you?”

Iain inquired with a glint in his eye as he came out the cold room with a big bucket of blood.

I am not at all squeamish , unless of course I am presented with a child’s nappy to change, so we pressed on.

Firstly they take beef suet, which is kidney fat, and run it through a mincer with 10 litres of cooked blood.  It looks a bit like chocolate turron ( a spanish soft nougat).

Next into the mammoth mixing bucket goes about 12 oz of fine sea salt, 7 lbs of oatmeal, and a good few handfuls of seasoning that includes cloves and cinnamon.  Its given a good mix around then a 3 litre bucket of 1 or 2 day old blood is poured in.

Surprisingly the blood was ox’s and not the more commonly used pig’s.  Ian or was it Iain(?) delighted in telling me it was the apprentices job in the abattoir to keep the fresh blood moving before it coagulates and to keep removing any lumps and strands that formed. The poor apprentice is practically stuck under the carcass performing this task.  At this point he looked up again to see if he could detect signs of queasiness from me. I am made of sterner stuff having grown up with animals that were reared purely for our family dinner table, one gets very practical about these things, although I have to admit I would not want to be the said apprentice, especially after a heavy night out.   Once fully stirred the mixture gets packed into the sausage machine and is pumped into the skins that have been soaked for about 1/2 hour to make them more pliable.

They are cooked in a water bath at 80 c for 2 hours before being cooled down to sell.

This is unlikely to be something I ever try at home unless I try and reenact the ways of “The Good Life” but it was extremely interesting to watch.  If you would like to add black pudding to your Halloween menu why not serve it fried as part of a salad with spiced buttered quince and frisee lettuce with mustard dressing or crumble it up once cooked and toss it through a hearty thick ribboned pasta with cream, parmesan, chopped watercress and egg yolks.

I am now off to the North Yorkshire moors for to cook for a grouse shooting party which looks set to be fun, though not for the grouse..

The post Postcard 13, a tricky treat for Halloween appeared first on Philippa Davis.

The Emerald Isle

I am extremely fond of Irish Soda bread.  Firstly because it tastes so good with butter, and secondly because it saved my arms from looking like the incredible hulks.

Back in my restaurant days I had to make a lot of bread.  I would go to work earlier and earlier to keep up with the demand. I kept telling myself all that kneading was like a free Pilates class sculpting my arms but it is hard to describe the joy after one of my customers  (a retired Vicar) offered to bring his Irish wife in to teach me to make soda bread.   Ten minutes in from them arriving for my master class the loaf was already in the oven and we were sipping our second cup of tea.

Irish Soda Bread

In a bowl whisk together;

1 cup self raising flour,
1 cup wholemeal  flour,
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of Soda,
1/2 teaspoon of fine salt

then mix in with a wooden spoon 1 cup of buttermilk.

Use your hands to bring together into a loaf shape (  a round is traditional with a cross slashed into the top)

Bake for 30 minutes at 180 c in a fan assisted oven, its done when you tap the bottom and it sounds hollow. 

I frequently use this recipe and was not aware of any variations until I was on a recent job in Dublin. I was asked to make afternoon tea for some of the clients relatives who were to pop by later that day. In amongst the cheese scones, coffee eclairs and pots of Barry’s tea I decided to add the Irish Soda bread and serve it with horseradish butter, smoked salmon and lemon wedges, it was surely going to be a hit at this gathering….

Indeed the guests devoured it and as I was clearing away the empty platter and being complemented on the bread recipe the matriarch of the family chipped in that of course she always rolled her soda bread in oats before baking it. That sounds lovely, I thought, and then someone else said they always put caraway seeds in…again I thought that sounds delicious. My favorite idea however was had I tried making it with “the black stuff” …….Guinness, now you’re talking!

Guinness Soda Bread rolled in Oats with Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Butter

Makes 1 small loaf

I use a measuring jug and do it all by volume.

1/2 pint self raising flour
1/2 pint wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoon brown sugar

Tip all these dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

Pour in 1/4 pint of Guinness and 1/4 pint buttermilk.  Bring together into a round loaf, scatter some rolled oats onto a baking tray and roll the bread in them until it is coated all over.  Slash the top with a cross ( legends dictates this lets the evil spirits out  – I think it looks good) and bake for 35 minutes in a preheated 175 c fan assisted oven.

Cool on a rack then slice, slather it in horseradish butter ( I mix 3 tbsp soft butter with 2 tsp horseradish sauce)   and serve with smoked salmon and lemon wedges.

Job done! My bags are packed and next I am crossing the Irish Sea and am off to the west country …..

The post IRISH SODA BREAD appeared first on Philippa Davis.