Incandescent!

Further to my recent rant about supermarkets discontinuing products – please now replace rant with incandescent!

Whenever you hear the big shots from the big supermarkets spouting, they always utter the same mantra – “we care about our customers” yadda, yadda, yadda.

Last week I was putting the final touches to the preparation for my forthcoming class. I'd promised Arancini – aka Italian rice balls made with leftover risotto, stuffed with Taleggio cheese. I decided that I'd plate up with a balsamic glaze.

Like everyone else I take shortcuts occasionally and so added the glaze to my shopping list – guess what - one big fat gap on the shelf where it should have been. There was every form, depth and quality of balsamic vinegar known to man and then some. The assistant couldn't say whether it was discontinued or when the shelf would be re-stocked.

Actually it was immaterial since I needed the glaze there and then.

Someone should alert these people to the fact that their customers do not have the time, or the inclination for that matter, to spend 2 hours trawling around supermarkets looking for a product that they have been pushing at us for some while – food fashions clearly don't last that long these days.

What a cheek – here's my solution – make it yourself :

Balsamic Glaze

50g/2oz demerara sugar

250ml/9 fluid oz balsamic vinegar

Place the sugar and vinegar in a medium saucepan (19cms or 7½” in diameter) and heat slowly, stirring allowing the sugar to dissolve. Bring to the boil, then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes – until the glaze is reduce by half. It should coat the back of a spoon. Decant into a clean jar with a lid – fridge it.

It looks like this :

You know how they say something good comes out of something bad – oh brother it certainly does. I won't be buying balsamic glaze any more so there!

P.s. If you'd like chapter & verse on the arancini check out the Italian label - “My antidote” for the recipe and a step by step photo guide.

Making the most …

of that Miso Marinade :

Miso Roasted Chicken

Serves 3

3 chicken fillets – approximately 150g/5oz each

Miso Marinade – here's a quick reminder

3 tbsps miso paste

2 tsps soy sauce

2 tbsps mirin

1 tbsp dark soft brown sugar

Mix the ingredients thoroughly into a paste. Box and set aside. Add the marinade to the chicken an hour before roasting to give it time to infuse, use one large strong plastic food bag.

Foil tray, 23x23cms or 9”x9”

Make up the marinade - set aside and fridge it until an hour before you want to cook.

An hour before cooking place the fillets into the marinade, seal the bag and ensure that they are coated – fridge until ready to cook.

Pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Tip the fillets and the marinade into the foil tray, cover with foil. Set your timer for 15 minutes. Place the tray on a baking sheet and into the oven. At the end of the time take out the tray, remove the foil, turn the fillets over and place back into the oven for 10 minutes.

Serve with whatever takes your fancy - go on a fridge forage or serve on top of stir fried noodles and veggies or rice if you prefer - I foraged and discovered sweet peppers and baby new potatoes and roasted them both.

Here's my dish :

Oh – I didn't use all the chicken fillet so it's in the freezer – another meal for another day.

P.s. Check out chicken fillet deals – I got 950g (2lbs approximately) – 6 fillets for £10 – great value.

The moral of this missive ...

… speed was essential here – I hadn't got the time before I went away to do anything la-di-da or fancy and I now realise the benefits – it's a win, win and oh a win.

Other than the slow cooking of the braising steak there's no work involved - the mash and turning the stock into a gravy beyond all gravies is easy, peasy.

In dividing the steak and stock in two if I haven't heard by the time I return home what the arrangements are I'll just pull out one steak and one stock for H's supper.

Then of course it might be a “sarnie situation”. H is despatched to the butchers to corner the bacon market.

We've now got it all covered. I hope you're keeping track here.

Safe journey home from Whizzer's – there's nothing quite like a mission!

Still no word about arrangements so as already mentioned I pulled out steak and stock. Lunchtime – with apologies for lateness it's an overnight stay if that's okay – of course it is. Break neck speed to the freezer retrieving remaining steak and stock.

Just the mashed potatoes and reduce the stock for gravy to do later. It's a good job I pulled out a frozen cheese sauce to go with a beautiful cauliflower – just in case. Note to self, steam the cauliflower whole, set the timer for 20 minutes then lift out and leave on several layers of of kitchen roll to enable it to drain completely.

… and breathe.

Here's the dish :

Served with cauliflower cheese and petit pois.

Verdict … “beautiful”.

Was it worth the fifteen minutes I spent prepping the braising steak for the slow cooker … you betcha!

P.s. You might want to offer your guests a spoon too, to scoop up the leftover gravy. In the North we have a less refined custom but much more satisfying – use small pieces of crusty bread to dip and mop up the remains.

Here's SPUD

… aka Shepherd's Pie Upside Down.

SPUD

Shepherd's Pie Upside Down

940g braising steak – 1kg will do it doesn't

have to be precise

980g beef stock - ditto

Glug of rapeseed oil

salt and pepper

2 x beef stock pots

salt and black pepper

I zoomed to the butchers and bought 3 x trays of cubed braising steak for £10. A good start! A little patience is required here – using a large frying pan heat the rapeseed oil, place braising steak in the pan – it should sizzle – season with salt and pepper. Don't overload the pan, brown the meat and then set aside in your slow cooker making way for the next batch and repeat until you've browned all the meat. If you insist in ramming it all into the pan it will turn grey and stew – it's not a good look.

Add a litre of water to the juices left in the frying pan, bring to the boil then add the stock pots – stir until melted – pour carefully into the slow cooker with the meat. Pop the lid on and slow cook for four hours.

Switch off, cool and then divide the stock between two “pour and store” freezer bags and divide the meat between two in strong freezer bags.

Place your treasure in your chest (freezer) to await further travel arrangements!

Have you ever …

waited ages for a bus or a train and then three come along all at once?

It's the same in our house with visitors – there must be something in the air!

I'm off to visit my Sister for a few days – after all we girls deserve a spot of retail therapy and bargain hunting.

Before I set off we do our usual “catch up, is everyone ok” call to the big kids who remind us they are away shortly, in Sussex on a mini break. They ask if they can break their return journey home and pop in to see us. Their journey home is not just around the corner – 5 hours – 270 miles approximately and that's on a good day with the wind in the right direction! That's code for food too – I say this with love since there is no greater pleasure for me than to cook for people who appreciate it and they do.

Erm, then I realise I can't be in two places at once – in particular cooking at home for lunch on Saturday or it may be an evening meal and an overnight stay. Crikey, sort this one out.

A brainwave … slow cook braising steak, freeze the steak and the stock. Boom!

I make sure I add Maris Piper potatoes to the shopping list – mashed potatoes is another good idea.

Done and done.

Fast forward – I'm now with my Sister and bringing her up to speed. I'm trying to explain how I'm going to serve the dish – keep it simple - in a large bowl so that it's easy to control. A generous portion of mashed potato and an even more generous ladle of steak and gravy - “Oh, says Whizzer (my nickname for my Sister) it sounds like an upside down shepherd's pie.”

Genius!

Nearly there!

Assembly :

Split your brioche buns and either warm in

the oven for a couple of minutes or toast lightly

Drizzle aioli on the bottom of the bun and add your

slice of coated and fried halloumi

Top with your miso roasted mushroom, add

another generous drizzle of aioli, enough so that

it oozes out – if you don't get it on your fingers and

down your chin, add more – complete with the brioche “hat”

This is what it looked like :

Ta dah!

I am my own worst critic and I loved it – Lucas and Sam were very complimentary. My best effort yet.

Miso Mushroom Burger – the marinade

Miso marinade

Serves 4

4 x Portabello mushrooms, peeled and stalks trimmed

3 tbsps miso paste

2 tsps soy sauce

2 tbsps mirin

1 tbsp dark soft brown sugar

Mix the ingredients thoroughly into a paste. Box and set aside. Add the marinade to the mushrooms an hour before roasting to give it time to infuse, use one large strong plastic food bag or divide between two.

When you're ready to cook, pre-heat your oven 150fan/170c/Gas 3.

Place your marinaded mushrooms into a foil tray and roast for 15-20 minutes.

10 minutes in to your mushrooms roasting time, heat the oil for the halloumi in a frying pan (29cms/11” diameter) using enough oil to cover the base – the pan is the perfect size for the four slices. Coat each slice of cheese both sides. Test your oil with a small piece of bread – it will sizzle when it's ready. Fry each slice for 2 minutes then turn and repeat. Keep the halloumi warm, wrapped in foil, whilst you're plating up.

In case you're not familiar with miso paste, I used brown rice miso - it is available in most large supermarkets.

Just so you know what you're looking for :

Nearly there!