Monday 27 June 2011

Auld fashioned rice pudding with a pot of jam and cream

Yes this is on our dessert menu and wow does it bring back memories. With the crispy golden skin  and the luxurious  split vanilla pod enclosed it has been a real head turner in the kitchen as well as out front.  The scent of the vanilla as it slowly cooks is a real joy.Thanks mum for bringing me  and my brother Alistair ,up on this wonderful pudding! The simple things are best in life and that goes for cooking too as this wonderful dish proves.

Banana leaf wrapped cod chargrilled with pesto crumb topping

As a customer was about to devour this exciting ,and very adventurious new summer dish we had just  put on the menu on saturday she asked''Can you eat the Banana leaf?''  I was momentarily lost for words!! Which must be a first...................''I'm not sure ''I said...looking confused.''Well you better go and ask the chef then'' she said in her best school teacher voice so I scuttled away to the kitchen and discussed it with Craig. I had created the dish but I wasn't about to confess I was one of the chefs! We had a brief discussion and decided no it was best not to .I think they were pulling my leg as  they burst into laughter when I returned to the table and told them ''no''.Very amusing.............. never mind I will know the next time I get asked!!

Grilled Figs with Somerset ''Tor''goats cheese and cardamon infused honey

I love Figs. This dish is on our specials board at the moment and as there are so many people who adore goats cheese it is a clever combination.

Aubergine Burger

It is fantastic to make food fun and exciting for everyone not just for high end dining and we are really proud of this wonderful aubergine burger that we are serving in our brasserie just now. It is basically a tian (a stack) of gorgeous char grilled meditterean vegetables,artisan goats cheese,sundried tomatoes and a topping of hand-made pesto.We put it sandwiched in a garlic toasted bread bun and it is about 8 inches high!
 By the way Edinburgh has got a fantastic food festival on this coming week-end at the meadows and I think it will be really worth going to especially when the organizers have gone to so much effort to bring you so many talented chefs. It is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the 1st 2nd and 3rd of July.I'm diffinately going to go and see the Waitross cooking school and Rachel Allen.

Sunday 29 May 2011

The ultimate Steak Sandwich with basil aioli and caramelized onions

I love a steak sandwich and I love really good toasted bread  to go with it (at the moment we are using focaccia made from the Great Northumberland  bread company at Cornhill and home-made garlic mayo.

We use Martin Redpath's cheviot Sirloin steak  and we tenderize it by  cutting a slice then putting it between two pieces of cling film and beating it flat. I used my rolling pin last night and I beat it so hard I broke it. I made the boys laugh in the kitchen I told the boys to think of somebody you don't like and beat the meat so it is beautiful and level and very thin. Then Chargrill the beef for a minute each side and while you are doing that grill the  flavoursome cut  bread after you have brushed it with garlic oil. (the smell will knock you for six). Drizzle some pesto over the bread, and heat some caramelized onions up and start making up your sandwich. You have to serve it while it is hot so you learn to prep well and work fast. The tender beef the caramelized onions the garlic the mayo the hot garlic bread..................is a true treat
A word of warning you can't be mean with the beef .In the sandwich I ate at The townhouse in Melrose on Friday and I would be lucky if I got 2ozs of steak in my steak sandwich and it was cut up so small  if you blinked you would miss the beef .At Sallyport the beef is the star. You can serve it with a warm potato salad or hand-cut chips and a  beautiful side salad.

Monday 23 May 2011

Crab,avocado and orange salad

The crabs we use at 1 Sallyport are brown crabs but that doesn't mean it is brown meat we use its just the name of the type of crab. It comes from  the north east coast and is supplied to us by Douglas Flannigan at Tweedmouth who diffinately has the best in the area. It is sensational mixed with with home-made mayo and seaonal ripe avocado which is full of goodness and tastes of summer. The orange segments mixed through a leaf salad with some chives is a perfect accompanyment. Throw in a few olives a glass of chilled fino sherry and you will feel your in  sunny Spain ( away from this wild windy weather!) Talking about oranges,having oranges freshly squeezed for you in the morning or indeed any time of day is an absolute luxury,especially when you think how many oranges it takes to get a glass of juice. We invested in this amazing machine from Zummo 3 years ago to take all the hard work and pain out of squeezing fresh oranges . The only down side is its such a fiddle to wash!
Oranges are such a  wonderful fruit that deserves  much  more recognition in the kitchen . The scent of an orange is awesome, a couple of strips of orange rind in a dish make such a difference and it is diffinately one of my favourite fruits  to cook with. I made an orange avocado and crab salad and an orange drizzle cake today.I'v got a lovely dish of lamb with cinnamon,star anise and orange.Also you can make  a stunning sauce  with caramelizing oranges to drizzle over your ice-cream. I'm trying to eat only  heathly food at the moment but its murder when your a chef as you've got to taste when your cooking all the time.You don't see many fat chefs mind you but that's different from healthy eating..................now where are my walnuts, pecan nuts,dried cranberries,grapes,Oh Avocado its really healthy...................so that's okay!

Friday 20 May 2011

Olive oil,Lemon and honey dressing

For a fruity dressing for your salad leaves try mixing 3 tablespoons of runny honey ,lemon juice and olive oil.Use sparingly and   dribble it over the leaves and  then finally ,at the last moment ,add a pinch of malden salt turn the leaves once more and serve

It is one of the biggest bug bears in the kitchen when the salad is under dressed or has got too  much dressing on .......................so every day ,at the pass I check the amount of dressing. Always I say to the chefs the leaves should glisten and taste taste taste.