Friday 31 May 2013

63 - Asparagus with Bacon [Esparragos con Tocino]


1/4 of the way there and eating better/ happier than ever before. Still I had some lovely bacon and asparagus to use up and knowing already that this is a winning combination decided it would be a good dish to do both of them justice and to mark this [not very prolific] milestone!

The Verdict:
Brilliant. Simple but brilliant and having gone through the frying/ blanching process earlier in the week with the asparagus I was expecting the wait but its worth it. Top technique for perfectly cooked asparagus! 

Taste :    4/5 Simple Genius
Time :  2.5/5 20 mins
Visual :   3/5 Cool
Magic :   3/5 Works Well


62 - Tuna Meatballs [Albóndigas de Atún]




Also I like tuna meatballs. They are meaty, light and pretty tasty. Still when I tell people I'm making Tuna meatballs they look at me in an unjustifiably curious manner. Conversely I think they are odd for I much prefer warm to cold Tuna [Sushi aside because Tuna Sashimi is just amazing] and the thought of a tuna mayonnaise sandwich is pretty stomach churning. 

Pine Nut Puzzle : The recipe called for pine-nuts. The supermarket sold one bag for £4 in the whole foods shelf and the same amount for £1.75 in the dried fruit/ baking section. Both were the supermarkets own brand. Why. In the end I used some linseed instead because it goes better with fish in general and are crunchier. 

The Verdict:
These are great and held together much more than the meatballs I made earlier in the year. Lovely flavour, addition of lemon with the chilli worked really well in complementing the Tuna. Happy dish. 

Taste: 4/5 Complimentary
Time : 4/5 10 Mins
Visual: 3/5 Held Together
Magic: 3/5 Nice One.

61 - Fried Dates Wrapped in Bacon [Fechas Envuelto en Tocino]


Simple one today. And potentially a great one. Dates is something I never eat until I find myself in the Mediterranean and every-time I do I remember that I like them as much as I like figs. Which is quite a lot. I am always reminded though of the scene in Indiana Jones where the dates are poisoned. Maybe I should have a monkey nearby next time just in case.

The Verdict: This is really good. It has the salty/ sweet combination which anyone who's eaten bacon with maple syrup knows its an absolute winner. Simple and very very tasty.

Taste :     4/5 More Please
Time  :    5/5 7 Minutes
Visual : 2.5/5 Needs a Plate Full
Magic :   4/5 Lovely.


Also I've found my new favourite biscuit after a packet mysteriously appeared [then less curiously vanished] at work. They are Italian biscotti - possibly [hopefully] from Lidls and taste like the chocolate/ vanilla elements to Neapolitan ice-cream. I ate them yesterday with strawberries just to complete the triangle. So good.



Thursday 30 May 2013

60 - Bacon and Cheese Eggs [Tocino y Queso Huevos]

 Mornings. Every day has one and every day I can't handle it. This morning however I made some breakfast. More eggs but with some brilliant bacon. 

The Verdict:
Boy am I getting fed up of eggs. I don't think I've ever eaten as many eggs as I am currently doing. Still this was tasty and again the bacon was the hero of this dish saving it from banal obscurity. Good breakfast effort. I did burn it slightly after the contents of my cupboard decided to fall on me and throw paprika across the kitchen. 

Taste :     3/5 Meaty Eggs
Time  :     4/5 7 Minutes
Visual : 2.5/5 Burnt 
magic : 2.5/5 Getting There...



In other news (as if the description of more breakfast eggs was not thrilling enough) I'm excited to announce that I have a ticket to go to the Cerviche pop up restaurant in Edinburgh come July. Genuinely thrilled and can't wait! Plus it means I'll be the proud owner of a Peruvian cookbook so can shake up the tapas (maybe I can avoid the baby eels in vodka)...

Also I had strawberries for lunch. 

Wednesday 29 May 2013

59 - Stuffed Mushrooms [Champinones Rellenos]



Another simple, healthy dish. Made even healthier by elminating the use of any oil. ( and by using a pioneering new technique of pushing onions around a cold pan for five minutes before realising the oven wasn't on). I never used to be the biggest fan of mushrooms at all and still find many species taste unpleasantly earthy however I've come round to mushrooms recently and this recipe sounded quick and interesting. If nothing else I had feeling that it would look great and after a run of odd looking dishes felt it was time for something more inspiring. 


The Verdict: This was really, really good. The lemon and garlic went perfectly with the mushroom and it was juicy and flavourful without even a hint of anything earthy. I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this and how good this tasted. Knowing that its quick and super healthy is a complete win. 

Taste : 4.5/5 Surprisingly Great
Time :     5/5 7 minutes
Visual :    4/5 Cute
Magic :    4/5 Ace.

58 - Asparagus with Vinegar and Garlic [Espárragos con Vinagre y Ajo]


Asparagus is a weird vegetable. Very Mediterranean and also in season. This asparagus was found in a local shop, was huge and infinitely better than any prepackaged supermarket attempts. The recipe called for 2kgs of it but as I'm not feeding a small army, decided a few fingers would do the trick. This was a recipe which given the simplicity of the ingredients was unnecessarily complicated in process and involved frying then blanching and blending to get the final result.




The Verdict:The asparagus was lovely and the many stages involved were clearly necessary to get a lovely cooked texture. The flavours were great however over-blending the breadcrumbs and the addition of slightly too much vinegar created a more mushed rather than rustic texture. Once agin thsi tasted infinitely better than it looks!

Taste : 3.5/5  Seasonal
Time : 2.5/5   25 mins
Visual :   2/5  Mush.
Magic :   3/5  Awesome Asparagus

57 - Rice with Sausage, Bacon and Bonito [Arroz con Salchichas, Tocino y Bonito]



Time to exploit some local shops. I had a day working from home so I could catch up/ work on being a person again. It almost worked but certainly gave me time to use some more local ingredients. 3 minutes from where I stay are some lovely little vegetable/coffee/flower/butcher shops which as I work out of town, I never have any opportunity to explore. So having a day locally and with time to cook meant that something crazy had to be made. (Perhaps influenced by the incredibly cheap and mind-blowingly strong expresso from the Sicillian cafe - possible the best coffee I have ever had in the UK comes from this place and as it works out at 75p a shot its really rather awesome). This dish was chosen because it sounded a bit mad, involved a lot more green than usual and used soy sauce which is odd. 

The Verdict:
The bacon from the local butchers was UNREAL. Easily the best thing about this distinctly odd dish. This was just a bit weird but sadly not strange enough to be interesting. While it was nice to eat something with a distinctly non-Spanish flavour had it not been for the bacon this would have been rather plain. Ultimately it tasted like a Chinese side dish of fried rice. Bit salty and not bad but certainly not as exciting as I'd hoped for given the ingredients. Plus it has celery which added a nice crunch but is a vegetable that outside of soup stocks I tend to avoid (entirely due my ex who once grated some celery into a pile of lovely mashed potato creating a fibrous potato hair ball which was the most un-swallowable thing I've ever had the misfortune to put in my mouth) . I think due to the lack of herbs I should of added more olives than I did to compensate.


Taste:       3/5 Great Bacon
Time :    2.5/5  40 mins
Visual :  2.5/5  Special Rice
Magic :     2/5  Weird

Monday 27 May 2013

56 - Eggs with Chicken [Huevos con Restos de Pollo]


So another egg-based breakfast. Pretty tasty though even if I'm far from talkative. 


The Verdict:
Yup. This worked. 


Taste:     4/5 Lightly Spiced.
Time:     4/5 10 Minutes.
Visual :  3/5 Better Than Some.
Magic :  3/5 As Eggs Go - Pretty Good.

55 - Prawns With Potatoes [Gambas con Patatas]



Prawns and Potatoes.. What's not to love?


The Verdict:
Apparently nothing.

Taste :                   3/5 Yip.
Cost :                     4/5 Incredibly Reasonable.
Speed of Service : 3/5 Reasonable.
Magic :                  3/5 As expected.

Friday 24 May 2013

54 - Moroccan Baked Cod [Marruecos Bacalao al Horno]


Completely in love with Moroccan flavours this week, still had some cod to use so time for another fish dish. I've never eaten a lot of cod before (true and it was only last year I had my first fish supper too... and I try to call myself a Scot) and I have to say its pretty tasty and completly inoffensive which is good as there are many more cod recipes to come. I have also run out of words this week,  which I am blaming on my work... or maybe the weather . Unless of course there is a link between Moroccan cooking and word loss.. as long as its tasty it works for me

The Verdict:
Yip. That works. That works well. Its amazing how different this tastes from last night's dish despite the fact there's only one difference in ingredients. Its on a Spinach and Ricotta tortellini base because I had some and why not.

Taste :   4/5  Another Winner
Time :    3/5  25 Minutes
Visual :   3/5  Splat

Magic :   4/4  Sure Thing

Thursday 23 May 2013

53 - Cod With Chili and Tomatoes [Bacalao con Chile y Tomate]


Time for more white meat. This sounded tasty and is a break from the usual affair. As well as fresh tomatoes I used some sun-dried tomato with chili because well I had it open. I only used a little so as not to completely deviate from the recipe. Ahem. Once again I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients but considering I'm eating much the same tomorrow you can probably guess! 


The Verdict:

This was really, really good and was demolished in about 3 minutes flat. I don't really know what else to say today except that this was excellent. 

Taste :   4/5  Lovely
Time : 3.5/5  15 Minutes
Visual :  3/5  Messy
Magic : 4/4   You bet


Wednesday 22 May 2013

52 - Morrocan Grilled Meat [Marruecos Carne a la Parrilla]

Because I had the ingredients I decided on another moorish lamb dish. The actual recipe said pork but mentioned that lamb was the traditional meat choice so went with that. These are also supposed to be skewers however a lack of long sticks prevented that....


The Verdict :
It's pretty much exactly the same as dish number 50 however that dish was also incredibly awesome. Happy tummy all round.

Taste :  4.5/5 Moorish
Time :      3/5 20 Mins
Visual :    3/5 Chops
Magic :    3/5 Nice Flavours

Tuesday 21 May 2013

51 - Garlic Prawns [Gambas al Ajillo]

Another overnight marinade. These could of been eaten straight away but I guessed there would be no harm in leaving the flavours to nfude overnight...




The Verdict:
I guessed correctly. These were lovely. Simple and flavourful and lassie in the flavour combination that this was a winner and a dish it would be hard to get wrong.

Taste :  4/5 Classic
Time :   5/5 5 mins 
Visual : 4/5 Fresh 
Magic : 3/5 Expected Greatness

50 - Moorish Lamb [Arabe Cordero]


Wow. 1/5th of the way there. This may be far easier than I thought. I also can't believe how quickly time is passing. So it's back onto some meat. I'm entertaining again tonight so felt that something special was required. After returning tired from he hen do I prepared ahead and marinaded this overnight to get maximum flavour release...

The Verdict:
This is pretty good. The lemon, nutmeg and chilies taste wonderful and there is a lovely but not overbearing garlic sweetness. Effective and incredibly yummy...

Taste :  4.5/5 Moroccan Lemon
Time :   3.5/5 20 Minutes 
Visual : 2.5/5 Better Than The Photo - Honest
Magic : 3.5/5 Tasty Meat

Monday 20 May 2013

49 - Poached Eggs, Bacon and Black Pudding on Toast [Huevos Escalfados, Tocino y Morcilla de Pan Tostado]

Despite not suffering from a particularly hangover we decided that just in case one should appear to go for an epic breakfast at a lovely cafe off Glasgows Dumbarton Road. It was so lovely to see the girls and I must admit when it came to leave I got rather misty eyed. Still I'll see them all at the wedding in a month, exciting lovely times......

The Verdict :
Completely epic. Even if the waitress did drop one of the original eggs on he way over. Completely winning combination with the sweet basil singing through the creamy eggs. Such a great alternative to a fry up which I tend to find rather dull anyway. Looked fab, tasted fantastic although I had to get the lovely marriane to help me finish....

Taste :                   4/5 Creamy
Cost :                     4/5 Fair Price
Speed of Service : 2/5 Slow
Magic :                  3/5 Yup.

48 - Blue Mussels in Tomato and Red Wine [Mejillones Azules en Tomate y Vino Tinto]

So it was the hen weekend of my lovely gorgeous friend Alison. After an amazing day of laser tag, spa and wine it was time to head out for dinner. We ended up heading to Sartis n Glasgow and had a truly Mediterranean experience in-rushed, generous and filing. We had such a gorgeous meal but of all the wonderful maze dishes we had this was an absolutely cracking dish. It's very rare that I get to eat something which is my favourite colour so decided to make the most of them....

The Verdict :These a without a doubt the best mussels I've ever had. The broth was an amazing tomato and wine based affair and was so seductive that I may have fallen in love. Being blue was merely a bonus. The portion was huge which was a good thing as I couldn't stop eating them....WOW!
Taste :                      5/5 Incredible
Cost :                        4/5 Slightly Pricey but Huge Portion
Speed of Service :    3.5/5 Mediterranean Madness 
Magic :                     5/5 Blue Magic




Friday 17 May 2013

47 - Spicy Chorizo Pinchos with Peppers and Chili [Pinchos de Chorizo ​​Picante con Pimientos y Chile]


Spicy breakfast pinchos? What's not to love?!? Im all set for a  day of work followed by a weekend of girly nonsense at my friends hen do. Clearly this called for some kind of breakfast tapas to get me going. I decided on more pincho's to use up some open ingredients before I leave for a few days and because I couldn't face any more tortilla/ egg-based dishes. This one sounded great, I love fresh, spicy food so I thought why not, it is Friday after all. Anyone who has ever had the misfortune of dealing with me in the morning knows that I'm the arch nemesis to sweetness, light and cannot comprehend the meaning of the word graceful. Hence poor tapas book I may have covered you in a kettles-worth of water. I am very sorry. Slowly this book is getting very wrecked, at the end of it I think I'm going to buy a new one and compare the damage. 

The Verdict:
These looked great, tasted awesome and using a freshly baked cheese roll only made it slightly more epic. Don't really know what else to say about them except that they were just ace. 

Taste:   4/5   Bang!
Time :   5/5   3 Minutes. Boom.
Visual :  4/5   Fiery 
Magic:   4/5   Affirmative.

46 - Tuna Pinchos [Pinchos de Atun]



Another quick one made between packing for the weekend and meeting a lovely German friend. Once again it was a case of using up already open ingredients. So not very adventurous but fits the bill.

Verdict:
I used Sun-dried tomato puree in place of the standard affair when cooking the tuna because given the option why wouldn't you. Slightly bland overall and not the most exciting Tapas ever but filling and tasty and quick so ultimately not a bad one at all.

Tatse:    2.5/5 Slightly Bland
Time :    4.5/5 10 Minutes
Visual :     3/5  Looks as it Tastes
Magic :  2.5/5  Tuna Sandwich