Inspiration Chain - The Wagamama Cookbook.

The Inspiration Chain was started by Chris at Mince and Skirlie.  The idea is for you to pass on a copy of your most inspiring cook book to another blogger and they then pass on a copy of their favourite book and so on.  Chris started by passing on a copy of Ripailles by Stephanie Reynaud to Kate from Domestikated who then passed on a copy of The Wagamama Cookbook to me as a lovely early Christmas pressie.

I let Steve choose anything he wanted for tea and he asked for Chilli Beef Ramen.

Recipe - 

Serves 2.

Ingredients - 

150g beansprouts

250g ramen noodles

350g sirloin steak

a little vegetable oil

a little teriyaki sauce for brushing

1 L chicken or vegetable stock

2 tbsp chilli ramen sauce (see below)

4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced lengthways

1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced thinly

1 lime, quartered

6 sprigs of coriander

Method - 

1. Blanch the beansprouts in a large pan of boiling water for 10 seconds.  Drain reserving the water, and refresh in cold running water.

2. Cook the noodles in the reserved boiling water for 2-3 minutes until just tender.  Drain thoroughly and refresh under cold running water.

3. Heat a griddle or frying pan over a medium heat for 1-2 mins until hot and almost smoking.  Lightly rub the steak with oil, then cook for 2 mins each side until medium rare. Remove from the griddle, brush with teriyaki sauce and keep warm while it rests for 3-4 minutes.  Slice on the diagonal.

4. Divide the noodles between 2 bowls.  Heat the stock, stir in the chilli ramen sauce then ladle over the noodles.  Top with the beef, beansprouts, spring onions, chilli, red onion, 2 lime quarters and the coriander.

To make the chilli ramen sauce - 

Dissolve 2 scant teaspoons of sugar in 2 tbsp malt vinegar in a small pan over gentle heat.  Allow to coll then add 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce and 5 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce).

Wow - this was such a quick meal to sling together and it was just what we needed - so filling, satisfying and tasty!  Yum.

I can't wait to explore this book some more.  Japanese is probably my favourite food at the moment so I'm really pleased to receive this especially as my first recipe attempt from it seemed to be so simple and easy.  However, when looking through the drawer for some chopsticks to eat this with, I realised we don't own a single pair! What an omission.  We have a beautiful set of handmade sushi plates and saki cups but no chopsticks.  I think I'll wait until a birthday and ask for a nice set.

So, those who have been following my blog will not be surprised at all by the book I am giving away.

Of course, it's Appetite by Nigel Slater.  Here's a link to my post explaining why it is my favourite cook book.  If you want to win a copy of this book all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and be willing to continue the chain by posting on a copy of the cookbook which has most inspired you.  Unfortunately, it will have to be the paperback version now but it's still a lovely book.
I will choose a winner at random from those who comment by folding pieces of paper and having one of my children draw one - no high tech stuff round here!  The deadline for entering is midnight at the end of 31st December 2010. 

Here is the link to The Inspiration Chain so you can follow its progress.  Thanks Chris - fantastic idea!

Romantic Dinner For Two.

This is a bit of a staple for whenever we have a kids-free night.  It is quick and easy to make and we both love it.

It is simply - steak, dauphinoise potatoes and rocket and parmesan salad.  You'll notice from the photos I forgot to put the parmesan shavings on before taking the pictures.

For the dauphinoise potatoes we just use the really simple, un-mucked-about-with, recipe from Nigel Slater's Appetite.  The steaks are usually ribeye if we can afford it done rare (I slightly overdid these ones so they were medium but they were still fine).

Dauphinoise Recipe - 

Serves 4.

Ingredients - 

potatoes - waxy fleshed if possible, about 1Kg

garlic - 2 large, juicy cloves (we use about 4)

butter - just enough to butter the baking dish thickly

double cream - enough to cover the potatoes (about 600ml)

Method - 

1. Set oven to 160C/GM 3.

2. Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly.

3. Either cut the cloves in garlic in half and rub them round and round the dish, pressing hard to release the juices, or do what we do and just slice thinly and tuck the slices between the potatoes.

4. Smear the dish generously with butter.

5. Lay the potato slices in the dish, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.

6. Pour the cream over the potatoes - it should just come to the top of the slices.

7. Bake for an hour and a half until the potatoes are virtually melting into the cream.

  

My Favourite Cook Book.

My favourite cook book has been a bit neglected since the kids came along as I tend to make a lot of things from books aimed at Mummies cooking for kids or books aimed at little cooks.

However, I still love to drool over the writing and photography in my favourite book and I still make the odd thing from it.  Probably going to be inspired to cook something from it this weekend after writing this post.

It's this one - 

Appetite by Nigel Slater.

I think I got this book when I was still a student.  I was introduced to Nigel Slater when a friend lent me her Real Fast Food book (and which I actually have never returned) which was perfect for student cooking.  It's really chock full of ideas more than recipes for really simple but great cooking.  So, this led me on to seeking out more of Nigel's stuff.  I think I have almost all of his books.  

Appetite was probably one of my first introductions into "food pornography".  I'd love to be original and use a less cliched term but actually "pornography" really hits the nail on the head.  If you haven't seen this book before, I urge you to flick through it next time you're in a book shop (remember book shops where you could actually touch the books?).  I'll put some photos of pages to give you an idea but my camera is a little rubbish and you can't really get the proper experience of flicking through the glossy book on a computer.

Hats off to the food stylists and photographers.  This book makes you VERY hungry.  It makes me drool buckets.

But what good are photographs that make you hungry if you don't have recipes which are achievable and which make delicious, satisfying food?  Not much.  Luckily, though, this book ticks all my boxes.  Nigel Slater's food is generally uncomplicated, unfussy and obviously meant for people who love to eat.

And, in keeping with Real Fast Food, he gives you some basic structures of recipes but expands on them with loads of ideas for mucking about with them and generally adding your own twist.

"I want to tell you about the pleasure, the sheer unbridled joy, of cooking without a recipe."

And surely everyone knows that Nigel Slater is a most amazing food writer?  He really knows how to immerse you in experiencing the cooking and tasting while just sitting reading your Sunday paper.  All his books have been read by me in bed at some point.  I can't get enough. 

So what kind of recipes can you expect in this book?  Well, loads and loads if you were to try all the variations he gives you.  The chapters are divided into - soup, pasta and noodles, rice, vegetables, fish, meat, fruit, pastry, pudding, and cake.  He starts off with really simple things like "Classic, Unmucked-About-With Roast Chicken", "A Really Good, And Very Easy White Loaf", "A Whole Baked Fish For Midweek".  He then builds things up with his additions so you can actually make something very posh and impressive if you wanted to. I guess I have learned a lot of my basic recipes that I cook time and again from him eg. potato dauphinoise, sausages and onion gravy, various ways of roasting or pan-frying chicken.  But I also refer to this book whenever I am cooking for guests.  His ideas are ideal for allowing me to make a meal which is lovely but which is simple enough to not go wrong and means I don't have to spend all day stressing in the kitchen.  He very much points you in the direction of maybe making a bit of effort for one course, dispensing with a third course, and buying in good quality ingredients to make a no-cook starter or dessert, for example.  

He has about the first third of the book just yapping away about food and his thoughts about it.  I know that won't appeal to some people but it is great for me to dip into those pages from time to time and just remind myself about his main message which is that food should be simple and tasty.  He also has sections on getting hold of good quality ingredients, equipment, tastes and seasoning, what goes with what, how to reduce the work, and, of course, a section on seasonal eating.

Ten years later, I still think this is the best cook book by far.  It is hugely inspiring and always relights my enthusiasm for food.  And there is absolutely nothing scary about any of the recipes.  They are all very do-able.  I think it is still very fresh - his ideas about seasonal cooking, sourcing good ingredients, simplifying cooking without resorting to processed stuff are still very topical. 

"Cooking is about giving pleasure to ourselves and others.  So why do we continually beat ourselves up over it, turning the simplest of suppers into a bit of a palaver?"