Tag Archives: beef

French onion soup

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French onion soup without a crouton or cheese

Sitting in airport hotels as a child, excited about the impending hours in the air. On family holidays to the Dordogne, days in the car, followed by weeks in the sun. In posh London restaurants for a special occasion. The eighties for me was full of French onion soup.

And then it just disappeared. Did I stop eating it, stop noticing it? Or was it just considered untrendy and old fashioned? Whatever happened, it’s only recently I’ve begun to rediscover it. The first taste brought memories of those airports, restaurants and rustic French tables rushing back. It was pure warm nostalgia. Continue reading →

Beef and stout stew

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Beef and stout stew

If you’re anything like me (gluttonous, food-obsessed and perpetually peckish) then healthy light meals will only get you so far on cold January nights. But bigger meatier fare doesn’t have to be totally unhealthy. It makes you happier, and a healthy mind leads to a healthy body, right? Right?.

With that in mind I spent a Sunday lovingly cooking this little beauty. And red meat aside it really isn’t particularly unhealthy. The motivation came after spotting a big ol’ hunk beef shin in Meat N16 (our local butcher), all gnarly and full of connective tissue. Just what you need for a bit of slow cooking magic. Continue reading →

Leftovers: cottage pie

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Cottage pie

I’m going bite-sized today. That’s bite-sized in terms of the blog post, not in terms of food. I rarely go bite-sized when it comes to dinner. Unless we’re talking elephant, or in this case very large bull, size bites.

When the nights close in we seem to become unaccountably busy, at both work and play. And sometimes, just sometimes, I may not have the time, or energy, to cook a proper dinner. Thank goodness for leftovers. Continue reading →

Beef ragu with linguine: the first of the autumnal dishes

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Beef ragu with linguine
There’s something about that first mouthful. Intensely meaty, enough oil to coat your tongue with a rich deep flavour. Very savoury, but with an underlying sweetness as well. There’s the slightest tang of decadence as the pleasure centres of your brain light up in oily delight.

If eating a slow cooked ragu sounds just a wee bit dirty, that’s because it is. There is nothing sophisticated or subtle about it. Slippery and sticky, strong and beefy, the moist saucy meat just slides across your tongue leaving wobbly-legged, dazed but wide awake taste buds in its wake. Pure gourmet porn, this is the sensuous libidinous mistress to haut cuisine’s sophisticated lady.

Continue reading →

Beef short rib ragu

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Short rib beef ragu

It was with a little skip of joy that I spotted some short ribs in The Ginger Pig on Lauriston Rd, home of Borut, the butcher king of London town. They were tucked shyly away behind some steaks, just waiting for some happy soul to come along and give them a home. And boy, I thought as I scuttled away clutching my treasure, do I have a home for you.

I’ve been itching to get my claws on some short ribs for ages, keeping a beady eye on all my local butchers. I’d seen them in the US, usually marinated and slowly barbecued until the fatty meat is falling off the bones. But here, where pork and chicken rule the BBQ roost, no sir, no short ribs. Continue reading →

The finer side of Georgia food

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Quail and grits

The States ain’t all about junk food, coffee and down home cookin’, contrary to much popular opinion. Yes, it is the home of the hamburger, and awash with salt-laden processed food and fast food joints. But, just like here, you can get good food, really good food, in the US.

Having been charged with cooking the Christmas dinner, we went hunting for some of that fine food. And I had heard rumours that one of them had an in-house butcher. Sure enough, we found an unmarked door with a button alongside saying “Press me” (or words to that effect). It was all very Alice-in-Wonderlandish, which for Georgia is downright weird. Continue reading →

A “simple” steak dinner

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Steak dinner

Do you ever have one of those nights where you think: “hmmm, i’ll just do something simple tonight, I have some steak, some veg, perfect.” Are those famous last thoughts or what?

To spin an unsubtle, allegory, I remember my parents deciding to redo their bathroom. They did it, and in the process realised that if they did that to the bathroom, then they should do this to the bedroom. And so on. By the time they finished the winds of change had well and truly swept through the house leaving nothing untouched. Nothing.

This is what happened to my *ahem* “simple” steak supper. Continue reading →

Beef Panaeng, prawn cakes and garlicy greens

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Beef Panaeng

I woke up on Sunday with a hankering for something fragrant, spicy and defiantly Thai. Not Chinese, not Japanese, Italian or Turkish. Not even Vietnamese. It had to be Thai. There’s something so comforting and yet explosive about the delicately balanced flavours and textures you get in a Thai meal. The heat, the sweetness and wonderful, dark, deep pungency. I love it. Continue reading →