The summer holidays are upon us, and this year Polly and I were off to Texas together; our 20th wedding anniversary was to be celebrated. Now Texas conjures one thing and one thing only in my mind: BBQ. It’s not so much a cooking style but a way of life over there and a lot ofContinue reading “Texas BBQ: A Journey Through Old and New Schools”
Category Archives: Beef
Mastering Asado: A Complete Guide to Short Ribs
I realise that having a blog and writing about all the food one has cooked inevitably sounds like blowing one’s trumpet. This week I cooked something so delicious my trumpet blowing is going to sound like when Han, Luke and Chewie got their medals from Leia Over a period of about 5 and a half hours,Continue reading “Mastering Asado: A Complete Guide to Short Ribs”
Fun with a Flambadou
A what? A flambadou is used to melt fats or butter over whatever it is you are preparing to add flavour and to add a last-minute scorch of heat to finish off the cooking. It consists of a metal cone with the wide opening at the top and a much smaller hole at the bottomContinue reading “Fun with a Flambadou”
A word on time (not the Stephen Hawking kind)
I noticed with a degree of horror today that is now 6 months or so since my last post here. I’ve wracked my brains and cannot really come up with any particular reason for the hiatus other than sometimes real life gets in the way. In this case my professional life has been pretty all-consumingContinue reading “A word on time (not the Stephen Hawking kind)”
The Fire Cage
The Fire Cage Polly and I went backpacking around Argentina 20 years ago. It was a transformative experience for me in many ways, not least in the pure joy to be had in going to a restaurant where the menu only consisted of about 10 courses of meat. You name it. Bif de Chorizo, BifContinue reading “The Fire Cage”
Late-night dirty fries
This is the kind of dish that people NEED after a long day. Now whether you have spent your day watching England v India at the test cricket, or on a great long walk around Cornwall, or, as we did, in our mates’ garden doing a kind of mini festival there comes a point whereContinue reading “Late-night dirty fries”
Post March 29th fun
Until I had my first glass of beer at Tom and Grace’s house, I’m not sure I had really appreciated or comprehended the extent to which I missed the simple pleasure of the company of other people. Sure, I am back at work and see friends from there all the time, but conversations tend toContinue reading “Post March 29th fun”
Leftover Beef Chilli
A little while ago, I made a massive slab of beef rib which, despite us piling into it as though it might be the last meal we had in this life, resulted in a substantial amount of leftovers. It’s usually one of the benefits of cooking big joints and it tends to mean that youContinue reading “Leftover Beef Chilli”
Forerib of Beef
There’s a great section in the book “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” by Samin Nosrat in which she describes the beneficial effects of salting joints of meat before you cook them. One could read it and think her advice a little counter-intuitive as, after all, we want juicy, succulent steak and the action of the saltContinue reading “Forerib of Beef”
Braised Ox Cheeks
If you’re feeling a bit glum about the world, then I can only recommend this dish as a means of improving your mood. It’s a piece of cake to make and, although it takes a long time overall, for the chef it’s mostly waiting around for things to happen. The recipe is essentially made like a good old-fashioned stew, of the kind you can find inContinue reading “Braised Ox Cheeks”
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