England Meets Italy...Nom, Nom, Nom!

When Walid from TrustedPlaces asked Sara and I if we would like to participate in a fun Cook-A-Thon that would bring together bloggers (food and others), TrustedPlaces members, food photographers, everyday cooks, chefs, food journalists and media personalities we were thrilled. The event, organised by TrustedPlaces and Annie of Going Underground, would be similar to MasterChef and teams would compete to create a 3 course meal to be judged by a panel of expert judges. Eek! We were even more delighted when we found out that we would be teamed together. We know each other through our blogs and met last year on the Gastro Tour of Borough Market also organised by TrustedPlaces.

Having signed-up for the cooking-fest the next step was to decide what to cook. The rules were simple: cook a three course meal for four people in two and a half hours. We would have one and a half hour’s use of the cooker and at least one of the dishes had to be cold and uncooked. Being in different countries it was somewhat tricky to get together before hand to decide on our menu, but that was fine; we’re bloggers, we’re used to conversing over the internet (we don’t get out much). And so started a chain of emails to come up with our menu.

Sara and I were clear from the outset that we wanted to use good quality, seasonal produce, as we do as much as possible in our every day cooking in our homes across the water from each other. We knew we would have access to a farmers market on the day of the event so that criteria would be easy enough to meet. As we started to discuss ideas for dishes over email the concept of an Italian/English fusion started to form. We wanted to keep the dishes simple and true to our similar styles of home cooking. It didn’t take us long to come up with menu, which we named ‘England meets Italy’:

Other than working out our timings and the ingredients we would need all that was left was to wait for the big day. I was looking forward to seeing Sara again, and to cooking with a fellow food blogger, which I’d never had the opportunity to do before. Sara was also looking forward to the event, which she was flying in from Italy especially for. Here’s her diary of the lead up:

I leave Italy on a rainy friday evening, with pine-nuts and capers in my suitcase: I'm still wondering how it passed through security!

While I was packing, my husband looked at my little bag of Italian goodies, probably thinking I'm really going nuts! But he's used to it! I'm a food nut, junkie, addicted, whatever: I LOVE food!
And when Walid, a few months ago, asked me if I would be interested in participating in a cook-a-thon in London, together with other foodies, well, I was more then happy! I was ecstatic!
And when he told me my team mate would be Julia, from A Slice of Cherry Pie, by then I was completely in heaven!!!

Back to the airport, our plane is, of course, delayed. So I go through the program once again, feeling more and more excited! I think about my italian friends asking me "Ma scusa, vai fino a Londra per una gara di cucina?" ("Sorry Sara, are you really planning to go to London just for a cooking competition?"). It came natural to me answering, "well, yes, I'm going as far as London, but I could go as far as Australia, just for the sake of food and fun!"

In the weeks before Julia and I went through daily mails, exchanging how to work out our menu, what and where to shop, what and when to cook everything. And excitement was already rising! We were going to cook in an unknown kitchen, surrounded by unknown appliances, together with other 20 (mostly unknown) people! And we were going to cook a 3 course meal for 4 people together, which we had never done before!

On the plane I go through our workflow once again, estimating time for every passage. We both knew we would have to work hard at the start and at the end, but in the middle we would have time to look around, chat, have fun!

We land in a grey but not so cold London, we take the train to the city and we begin to think where we are going to eat tonight.

Despite all is said in the world about food in England, there is thousand and thousand of choice! For Friday night we chose a Thai restaurant, near Victoria and near our hotel: convenient and extremely good! And our food adventure begins!


In the days leading up to the event I started to worry a little: this was a Masterchef-style cook-off with some very talented cooks; was our menu too simple, how would it turn out on the day when we hadn’t even practiced? It seems I wasn’t the only one worrying, as Sara’s diary shows:

On Saturday we wonder around shopping, we go to the British museum and at night we try to meet my friends Maz and Nicole, fellow contestants in Sunday's NomNomNom. But they are stuck home trying the menu! And then I panicked! Julia and I didn't even think about it! We chose dishes we are familiar with, mixing Italian and English ingredients, dishes that can be cooked in less then 2 hours, dishes that we know turn out well...but we didn't try them! And the day after, on Sunday, when the competition began, it turn out that almost everybody tried their menu! Oh my gosh! Were we too sure of ourselves? Or had we simply planned a menu that was too simple?


Well, there was nothing else for it now; we would just have to go with it and hope we could pull it off. Time for wooden spoons at dawn!

Sara and I met early outside Cookery School where the event was being held and headed off early to the farmers market and Waitrose, armed with shopping lists and Onya shopping bags that we had been kindly given. I’ve been carrying mine around on my key ring ever since and it’s been coming in very handy for shopping, cutting out the need for plastic bags.

The farmers market had a fabulous selection of produce, as you can see from the pictures below:















After the market we headed over to Waitrose to get some final ingredients and who should we meet but a fellow team member, the lovely Nicole from the IT Girls, who blatantly admitted spying on us! Shocking underhand tactics! I present to you photographic evidence below:



Having been coerced into talking about our menu we quickly decided to scarper and head back to Cookery School, where we were greeted with wine and goodies freshly baked by the fantastic staff at the school.







Meeting all the other teams was lovely - it was so nice to meet people who all shared the same passion for good food – but it did nothing for our worries; everyone seemed so organised and their menus sounded fantastic. Never mind, we were here to meet great people and have lots of fun, and that’s just what we did!

Sara and I got off to a good start, working very well together. We chopped and stirred, rolled and baked, while chatting to the other contestants and taking photographs. We soon realised that we would have a lot of time in the middle when there would be nothing to do but there would be a mad rash at the end as many of the elements of our dishes had to be done at the last minute – poaching the salmon, cooking the asparagus, dressing the salad. The challenge was going to be the hob and oven space as we were sharing two hobs and one oven with four other teams. Sure enough it all went crazy in the last 45 minutes of so, slap stick comedy style, as we danced around each other while keeping an eye on the ticking clock. With just seconds to spare we finished the dishes and plated up. Phew!



All that cooking made us hungry and finally we could sit down to try all the fantastic food that had been cooked, while the judges made their decision. During the dinner Walid and Annie said a few words and special guest Jo Hemmings had a little chat with us about food and sex (Did you know that cooks make the best lovers?). We also heard from Action Against Hunger the very good cause the event was raising money for.





Finally the judges were ready to announce the winner and a hush descended upon the room. And the winner was...‘England meets Italy’! Wow. Let me tell you Sara and I were stunned; we genuinely hadn’t thought we stood a chance.





Sara's fabulous pastry on the crostata was the star of the show and soon everyone was asking for the recipe. Not one to deny you I give it to you here, along with the others we made (all recipes serve 4):

Cherry Tomato, Mozzarella and Watercress Salad



Ingredients
A couple of handfuls of red and yellow cherry tomatoes
4 vines of cherry tomatoes
2 balls of buffalo mozzarella
2 handfuls of watercress
2 handfuls of rocket
A few shavings of parmesan cheese
6 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar

1. Put some watercress and rocket on each plate.
2. Halve the loose tomatoes and add them to the salad leaves
3. Top each salad with slices of mozzarella, cherry tomatoes on the vine and some parmesan shavings.
4. Mix the olive oil and vinegar and drizzle over the salads.


Poached Salmon with Asparagus and Caponata



Caponata is a typical Sicilian sweet and sour dish that can be eaten hot or cold, alone or as a side, at noon or at dinner, perfect for every occasion! We chose it to complement incredibly flavoursome poached organic salmon and seasonal asparagus.

Ingredients
4 organic salmon fillets
16 asparagus spears
Salt

For the Caponata:
4 aubergines
1 onion
2 tablespoons
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cans of tomatoes
3-4 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
Olives
Capers
Pine-nuts
Salt and pepper

1. Dice the aubergines and finely chop the onion.

2. Slowly fry the onion in the oil until softened then add the aubergines and slowly fry them too.

3. Add the tomatoes and a few tablespoons of water and cook slowly.

4. After 45 minutes, add sugar and vinegar, stir, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally.

5. After a further 30 minutes add the olives and capers.

6. Check if the aubergines are cooked enough, then add pine-nuts and salt and pepper if needed.

7. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, deep enough to cover the salmon fillets. Once boiling add the salmon, turn off the heat and leave to poach for 10 minutes, until cooked through.

8. Boil the asparagus for 3-6 minutes, depending on thickness.

9. Serve the salmon and asparagus on top of the caponata.


Crostata with English Berries



Crostata is a typical Italian dessert, fairly simple and very widespread. Basically is a crust of pasta frolla (sweetened short crust pastry made with eggs) filled with different filling, such as marmalade or jam (crostata alla marmellata), in which marmalade or jam are cooked together with the crust, or thick custard and fruits (crostata alla frutta). For the NomNomNom we choose to fill it with a thick custard made with organic milk, free range eggs, organic flour and sugar topped with fresh and delicious English berries: blackberries, raspberries and strawberries.

Ingredients

For the crust, to cover a 24 cm round cake mould, and some biscuits with the remaining pastry:
300 g flour
150 g unsalted butter, room temperature
100 g sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg

For the custard:
500 ml whole milk
6 egg yolks
3 tablespoon sugar
70 g flour

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180°C.

2. Dice the butter and lightly mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Work it as fast as you can, trying to obtain a perfectly combined ball of pastry. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

3. To make the custard warm the milk in the microwave oven.

4. Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, mix together egg yolks, sugar and flour. Slowly pour the milk in the egg mixture and put it on medium heat. And now the trick: attach and hand mixer to the nearest plug and begin to blend the custard while cooking. Continue cooking until it thickens: it must have the consistency of a very thick yogurt. Once thickened transfer it to a bowl, cover with plastic, trying to touch the entire surface of the cream, and refrigerate until completely cooled.

5. When the pastry has rested enough, roll it in a thin layer and cover a buttered cake mould.

6. Fork the surface of the pastry, cover with parchment and cover it with ceramic balls or rice or dry beans and cook for 20-25 minutes. Remove the parchment and continue cooking the cake for another 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Let it cool on a rack.

7. When both the cake and the custard are perfecly cool, assemble the cake. Cover the cake base with the custard and cover the custard with mixed red and black berries.




After dinner we had a raffle in aid of Action Against Hunger and then it was off to Soho for the after dinner party hosted by Courvoisier and SpinVox for some delicious brandy cocktails to round off a fabulous day.

Special thanks to Walid and Annie for organising such a fantastic event.





But that's not all! The next stage in the event is a competition for the best on-line record of the day, so the teams have been writing, editing and posting. You can view all the entries, including this one at www.webjam.com/nom_nom_nom/participants. Enjoy the entries and don't forget to vote for your favourite (which of course will be Team 3: England Meets Italy!). While you're there you can enter into a charity raffle to raise money for Action Against Hunger to help save lives by combating world hunger.

The Art of Simplicity

An Apple a Day gets Thrown Away

Well actually 4.4 million* to be precise. That's 4.4 million whole apples thrown away every day in the UK. Pretty shocking, isn't it? According to research* a third of the food we buy is thrown away. I'm sure many of us are often guilty of buying too much food, letting it sit in the fridge and then throwing it out, I know I am.

I've been thinking a lot about recycling lately; my borough has recently introduced an improved recycling system whereby householders are encouraged to recycle everything they can, supermarkets are charging for plastic bags and our carbon footprint is in the news more than ever. When it comes to our food waste recycling is great, but even better to cut down on the waste in the first place.

The "Love Food Hate Waste" campaign aims to raise awareness of the need to reduce the amount of food that we throw away, and how by doing some easy and practical things in the home we will benefit our purses and the environment. The campaign is run by WRAP, who is also responsible for encouraging recycling and home composting. WRAP is funded by the government and works to encourage and enable businesses and consumers to be more efficient in their use of materials and recycle more things more often. This helps to minimise landfill, reduce carbon emissions and improve our environment.

To find out more about the campaign, and for great tips and recipes take a look at the website. There's a handy article on there about how you can save money on your food bill which you can go to directly by clicking here.

I'm going to do more by trying not to over-buy food in order to reduce my own food waste, and by using even more of those things in the back of my fridge that would otherwise be thrown out. Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing the meals I make out of them and I hope this will give you some inspiration and between us we can start to cut down on our food waste and help to make a difference.



*Source WRAP

Asparagus, White Wine and Crème Fraîche Linguini

Ingredients
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
A glass (about 300ml) of white wine
4 heaped tablespoons of crème fraîche
Enough linguini for two people
12-16 asparagus spears (depending on thickness)
Salt
Black pepper

1. Simmer the linguini in boiling salted water
2. While the linguini is cooking finely chop the shallots and crush the garlic and fry them in a knob of butter for a few minutes
3. Add the white wine and allow to sizzle so that the alcohol burns off
4. Stir in the crème fraîche and simmer until it thickens and reduces by about half
5. Snap the woody ends off of the asparagus and slice each spear into bite sized pieces. Add the asparagus to the sauce, put on a lid and cook for just a couple of minutes until the asparagus is cooked
6. Once the linguini is cooked drain it and stir it into the sauce. Season to taste.

Serves 2

Food 2.0 Project: Nom, Nom, Nom event

Tomorrow I’ll be teaming up with Sara from The Kitchen Pantry to take part in a fun cook-off being organised by Annie Mole of Going Underground, in partnership with TrustedPlaces.com.

The event brings together food bloggers, TrustedPlaces.com members, food photographers, food journalists, food authors, everyday regular cooks, influential bloggers & senior members of leading UK based internet companies. 12 teams of 2 will be creating a 3 course meal to be judged by a panel of experts and the general public online after the event. The event will be supporting the charity Action Against Hunger. You can read all about it here.

Next week I’ll be posting a diary of the day and you’ll have the chance to judge the best on line record of the day and vote for your favourite. Watch this space!

BBC Olive Magazine: Bloggers’ Local Haunts

Recently I was interviewed by BBC Olive Magazine for a feature on food bloggers’ favourite local restaurants across the country. It’s a great article and nine other bloggers appear in it including my ‘In the Bag’ co-host, Scott from Real Epicurean. You can read it in the June edition which is out now.



While I’m here I’d like to say a very big thank you to Sylvie at ‘A Pot of Tea and a Biscuit’ for awarding my blog the 'Arte y Pico Award', how lovely! As the lucky recipient of the award I get to pass it on to 5 other bloggers. It’s always difficult to choose just a handful for these things as there are so many fantastic blogs out there. But after some thought here are the bloggers I’d like to give the award to:

A Wee Bit of Cooking
Food Stories
Frolicking Foodie
Cafe Lynnlu
The Belly Rules the Mind

The guidelines for the Arte y Pico Award are:

1. You pick five blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and the link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4. Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

Messing about in Boats (and on bikes and in Parks)

We’ve been so fortunate with the weather here in the UK; it was gloriously hot all weekend long in Kent. We certainly made the most of it and did the typical Brit thing of dragging out the barbecue (or in our case buying a new one) as soon as the sun comes out. In fact we had a barbecue two nights in a row - well hell, it’s not often you get such great barbecue weather here in good old Blighty and even rarer to get it over an entire weekend.

Saturday was spent pottering around, doing washing, mowing the lawn and sitting out in the garden, and I planted up some herbs in pots. Let’s hope I don’t kill them like I do every other plant that has the misfortune to be owned by me. I think these herbs stand more of a chance though as I’m going to be able to get some good, and well needed, advice over on my forums. We’ve now got a forum dedicated to growing your own produce; 'The Veg Patch', which is great. Hopefully this will mean that my herbs last me throughout the summer and perhaps even beyond.









On Sunday we were invited out on a trip on my Brother and Sister-in law’s new boat. We had a lovely morning sailing in the River Medway and we got to spend time with our baby niece which was just wonderful. Next we headed back towards home to visit my cousin, his wife and their little girl, our gorgeous God Daughter. We all rode our bikes to a local park where we sat down with ice lollies and then we headed to the swing park. I’m not sure who had more fun, our God daughter or me! I went up (and down) the slide with her, bounced on the sea saw with my cousin’s wife (yes we are both over 30!) and had a go on the swings (I should add at this point that we were alone in the park so not depriving any other children or making a spectacle of ourselves in front of anybody but us!). I hadn’t done that in years and it brought me right back to my childhood. It was one of those days that make you feel warm and smiley inside. Just spending time with loved ones and enjoying the great outdoors on a beautiful day. That's what memories are made of.

Asparagus: In the Bag

The short but glorious British asparagus season is underway now, and we can enjoy this fabulous vegetable in its prime once again. Be sure to make the most of it while it lasts as it’s only here until the end of June.

The sooner you can eat asparagus after picking the better, as its sugars turn to starch very quickly, so try to buy it as fresh as possible and don’t leave it lying around for days in the fridge. It hardly needs any cooking at all - just 3 to 5 minutes depending on its thickness – and you can boil, steam, grill or roast it; you can even serve it raw.

Asparagus not only tastes fantastic but it’s really good for us, being full of vitamins. It’s particularly good for pregnant women, as it’s high in folic acid; 80g contains 60% of the recommended daily allowance*. It’s also said to be an aphrodisiac so perhaps a good pre-pregnancy vegetable too!



Over at Real Epicurean Scott is hosting May’s ‘In the Bag’ event and how could we not make asparagus the feature? The bag also contains eggs and parmesan cheese for you to whip up a dish with. You can make all kinds of dishes with that combination, whether classic or something more original. I’ve opted for classic for my entry with the indulgent, buttery hollandaise sauce poured over griddled asparagus; a fantastic combination. I made this into a salad with spinach, watercress and shaved parmesan.

*Source http://www.british-asparagus.co.uk/

Think English Summer, Think Pimm's

After the snow in April we now have a heat wave in early May. It’s all very bizarre but I’m not complaining. For a start I’m enjoying lunching in the garden, slathered in sun cream; wearing sandles and strappy tops; and having every window in the house flung wide open. I’ve also enjoyed my first Pimm's of the season; a bottle picked up on my way home from work yesterday and poured into a tall glass with lemonade, ice, fruit and mint.

Pimm’s is surely the quintessential English summer drink and it’s not difficult to see why. It’s wonderfully refreshing with a hint of spiciness and is absolutely delicious laced with summer fruits and mint. And here’s a random fact for you; it was the very first alcoholic drink I had as a married woman! We said our vows on a gloriously hot summer’s day in June on the terrace of a beautiful Kentish house in front of our friends and family. We signed the register and then descended the steps onto the green lawns and were offered the most welcoming glass of Pimm’s I’ve ever had. I’m smiling now just thinking about it.

For the perfect summer Pimm’s fill a glass with ice and pour in 1 part Pimm’s No 1 with 3 parts lemonade (which I forgot in my haste and excitement last night, so my cocktail was a rather large 1 part Pimm’s to 2 parts lemonade...cheers!). Mix well with a stirrer and add a sprig or two of mint, some cucumber if you like (although I don't usually), and pieces of fruit such as lemon; apple; strawberries; orange. Or better still mix up a large jug-full and take it into the garden to enjoy with friends.

Fresh Mussels for a Late Lunch

It’s been a beautiful weekend here in Kent, and it’s not often you can say that on a Bank Holiday! Yesterday Rob and I took a trip to my favourite fish monger at Whitstable Harbour (which I think I may have mentioned once or twice on this blog!) and I picked up some beautiful fresh mussels for a late lunch. They’re the quickest thing to cook and are so delicious, especially when served with a broth and lots of crusty bread to soak it all up. I tried this recipe from Antony Worrall Thompson which was very nice, although a little too buttery for my taste so I’d cut back on that if I made it again. Don’t forget the golden rule with mussels; discard those that are open (and don't close when you tap them) before you cook them and discard those that are closed after you’ve cooked them.



I hope you’ve all had a fabulous weekend too. It may be back to school tomorrow but it looks like the good weather’s here to stay so that’s something to smile about. Have a great week!

In the Bag: Cooking the Month of April - The Round up!

Sadly the seasonal Jersey Royal potatoes in April's bag have been somewhat hard to come by this year, and those that can be found have been very expensive. We've therefore only had a handful of entries, which is a shame, but nonetheless they've been fantastic entries; as always. If you are able to get hold of these potatoes and can splurge out I hope these recipes inspire you, but not to worry if not; we'll have May's bag stocked full of brand new seasonal ingredients for you very soon - so watch this space.

Ian of 'The Pie Times' was so inspired by the event this month that he entered not one, but two dishes! Take a look at his inspirational Watercress Soup with Feta, Potato and Thyme Bread and the Spring Salad he made with what he had left over. How frugal!





The lovely Helen from 'Food Stories' baked a beautiful sounding and looking Jersey Royal, Watercress and Feta Bread with Greek Basil.



Our 'In the Bag' co-host Scott presented us with a mouth-watering Poached Fillet of Beef on a Cauliflower Cheese Puree.



My own creation was Jersey Royal Potatoes with Feta and Watercress Sauce.



"In The Bag" is a monthly food event run by Julia from A Slice of Cherry Pie and Scott at Real Epicurean