Yorkshire Dales Food

One Man and his Campervan back on TV

cwildman — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:59:57 +0000

During the summer of 2010 we were invited to help Martin Dorey author of The Campervan Cookbook to cook up a treat in his VW van whilst he was camping in Malham. One Man & his Campervan is a BBC2 series first aired in February 2011. Repeated in January 2012, starting on the 3rd Jan BBC2 at 1pm & shown every day that week, our episode should be on Friday the 6th, camping and eating Yorkshire Chorizo at Gordale Scar, Malham in the Yorkshire Dales.

Check out our previous post here Yorkshire Dales Food Blog for more info or you can see the recipe on the Yorkshire Chorizo Website here www.yorkshirechorizo.co.uk.

One Man and his Campervan, Martin Dorey is now available to download from iTunes.

Festive tipples – Christmas Drinks made easy with wine expert Olly Smith

cwildman — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:57:44 +0000

What drinks to serve at Christmas is always a challenge. What goes with Christmas dinner? What’s the best fizz to get everyone in the party mood and is it Sherry, Port or mulled wine with those delicious mince pies?

Celebrity wine expert & top bloke, Olly Smith, who we did The C4 Secret Supper Club TV program up at Malham Tarn with in 2011 is also involved with The Glass House wine bar and restaurant on the P&O Cruises ship Azura and in this capacity is here to help and recommend some of this year’s festive tipples that will truly get you prepared for the party season.

In the video Olly Smith makes wine recommendations to accompany Christmas lunch. He chooses interesting “off the beaten track” wines which will pair well with the celebratory meal. Sponsored by P&O Cruises but as I’m a fan of both P&O & Olly and the wine recommendations look great, I will let this blatant advertorial onto the blog!

Some of the wines recommended by Olly include

Coates and Seely Rosé Hampshire sparkling wine £29.90, available from www.slurp.co.uk
Frog’s Leap Zinfandel 2008, California £22.79, available from Waitrose
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference 12 year old sweet Pedro Ximenez sherry (with Christmas pudding) £7.99, available from Sainsbury’s

Breakfast with Rosemary Shrager at Fodder

cwildman — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 09:50:04 +0000

Fodder in Harrogate the Local Food Shop run by The Yorkshire Agricultural Society is a shining example of how a local food store should be, with a fantastic selection of Yorkshire’s finest foods and a great Café to boot. I was lucky enough to be invited along to enjoy Breakfast with our host Rosemary Shrager who delighted us with her tales and anecdotes about The Great Yorkshire Breakfast, the subject of her new book, (this sounds a bit like the One Ronnie Parkinson show sketch!)

Rosemary demonstrated the perfect scrambled egg (slowly – slowly), poached quail eggs (cut the top off), Hollandaise sauce, potato scones (very easy, I promise not to buy them ready made again) and one of her childhood favourites kedgeree, whilst all the time keeping us amused with her stories, experiences & still having time to berate Fodders Head Chef from time to time.

Breakfast followed the demo and included eggs benedict, kedgeree and stewed fruit with ice cream.

Rosemary’s book is available now and includes sections on the Full English, Healthy Breakfasts, Brunch, Munchies, Special Occasion Breakfasts, Indulgence, Breads, Jams & Preserves and Drinks.

Rosemary Shrager’s Yorkshire Breakfast

Beef Rissoles with Creamed Horseradish

cwildman — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:43:24 +0000

After a wonderful Family Sunday Lunch of Best Yorkshire Beef, Yorkshire Puddings, carrot & turnip, green beans, roast potatoes, mash, lashings of gravy and my own creamed horseradish what to do with the leftover beef! I know, who has leftover beef! I did choose quite a large joint deliberately as we do usually love cold beef salad or beef sandwiches. I wanted to try homemade rissoles, something I have not had for many a year and brings back fond memories of one of dads more unusual but classic lines, whilst I was working in the Family butchers shop I got caught taking a breather, sitting atop a bench “that counters for rissoles not a***holes” says my mild mannered father!

So here is my attempt at a modified Delia recipe for Beef Rissoles.

Ingredients:-

8oz/225g leftover beef or lamb (I used leftover Silverside of Beef)
1 small onion
1½ oz/40g fresh white breadcrumbs
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 level tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, crushed/chopped
1 egg
salt & pepper
wholewheat flour
rapeseed oil

Method:-

chop trimmed meat & onion finely in food processor
place in bowl and add rest of ingredients
mix well until well blended and form in your hands into balls and then flatten into a fishcake/burger shape
coat each rissole in flour
hot shallow fry in a little oil

We served with home-made chips, onion rings, beans and creamed horseradish, delicious.

Kong’s Cantonese Restaurant, Skipton

cwildman — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:19:55 +0000

Earlier in 2011 The Commercial Pub on Water Street, Skipton was transformed into a Chinese Restaurant or Cantonese to be precise, an improvement on the tired pub? The boys decided I should take them to try it out!

The restaruant boasts an a la carte menu and are happy to prepare specific dishes off menu with notice, we tried the buffet, which was extensive and with many well know dishes to keep the kids happy such as hot & sour soup, salt & pepper ribs, crispy won-tons, chicken satay, prawn toast, oyster sauce wings, sweet & sour chicken, chicken in black bean, king prawn with spring onion & ginger and many more but it also boasts some more unusual dishes like Mongolian chicken, green lip mussels, a lamb dish and spicy kung bo. Some great dishes at an affordable price, good value, quality and super hosts, well worth a visit for a better than the norm Chinese style buffet.

We did have a laugh at the china plates made by that famous fine bone china manufacture “Cathay Pacific” no less!

Kong’s Cantonese Buffet, Water Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire is the Sister restaurant to Kong’s in Bradford. We visited on a Wednesday evening, 1 adult, 2 kids, 2 rounds of 3 drinks, Total bill £33.

www.kongsbuffet.com

American Food Production Infographic, WOW!

cwildman — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:19:35 +0000

Staggering figures on American Food Production for Thanksgiving, 221,000,000 pounds of Turkey! that’s approx 45 Million Turkey’s! I wonder how many are free range! and what additives? “May contain up to 4% of a solution of Water, Salt, Spices to Enhance Tenderness and Juiciness.” Butterball. Ingredients, Turkey, Water, Salt, Modified Food Starch, Sodium Phosphates, Natural Flavorings. Think I will stick to Yorkshire Free Range Turkey. with ZERO additives!

Source: Frugal dad

M Kitchen Pop-up Leeds

cwildman — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:08:28 +0000

A three day pop-up restaurant at Canal Wharf in Leeds opened Yesterday, Wednesday the 16th of November before touring the UK, Birmingham, the Custard Factory and Manchester, Triangle Shopping Centre are to follow, a very interesting PR take from no other than Morrisons!

The M Kitchen is a new ready to eat range put together by Morrisons with help from a remarkable line up of Chef’s, products from the range include Nigel Haworth’s Lancashire Hotpot, Aldo Zilli’s Pizza Calabrese (wish I had tried this just for the Salsiccia Italian Sausage and Nduja), Bryn Williams’ Shepherd’s Pie (with a Madeira wine twist), Atul Kochhar’s Chicken Korma with rose petals, and the even the great Pierre Koffman’s Beef Bourguignon.

The setting on Canal Wharf in the old Olive Press building, currently empty, was perfect, a great location on the Leeds Liverpool canal and a ready made space for a pop-up, all be that it probably took an amazing amount of preparation for just 3 days! and the smell of fresh paint lingered a little.

After a glass of refreshing Champagne (Morrisons own The Best Champagne Brut @ £19.99) ciabatta & olives were served at the table and our order taken, the staff are knowledgeable and are touring with the pop-up.

For starters I choose the Pulled Pork with rice, beans and tortillas, the divine pastry straw style tortillas a great touch. Accompanied with a fruity Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, again from The Best Range @ £7.94 a bottle.

Dumfries House Shorthorn Beef Fillet Steak, really excellent, well hung, tasty, perfectly cooked as ordered, melt in the mouth steak, served with watercress, wholegrain mustard & a silky smooth mash, just wish I had noticed the side orders before I ordered! sweet potato gratin, spinach & rocket salad, sweet pea and broad bean puree and crinkle cut chips were all available. I tried the full bodied Aussie Shiraz from Geoff Merrill a good choice with the steak, £8.49.

Tart au Citron & a selection of British Cheese, the Cornish Blue & Quickes Cheddar put the Tarte au Citron into the shade and I wasn’t too keen on the Spanish Moscatel @ £7.99 50cl (with the tart not the cheese!).

This is a brave move by Morrisons using the pop-up trend to launch a ready meal range and they have pulled it off very well, great location, super service and fab restaurant quality food, all in all a fantastic lunch that I would of happily paid for! If you fancy trying any of the above yourself you may still be able to make a free booking at one of the venues on the M Kitchen website otherwise try them yourself at a Morrisons supermarket near you. Can’t believe I just said that!

I also managed to try the Chorizo in red wine as when chatting to the lovely ladies on the next table they insisted! and very good smokey mini chorizo they were.

Le Charcutier Anglais – Marc Frederic

cwildman — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:03:36 +0000

Le Charcutier Anglais – Tales & Recipes from a Gamekeeper turned Charcutier. Charcuterie recipes, ancidotes and tales! Marc-Frederic, Britain’s only French registered “Boucher – Charcutier – Traiteur” shares his true-life stories along with recipes that he has acquired over the many years that he has lived and worked in both Germany and rural France. His talent in butchery and skill in charcuterie is extraordinary and it is no wonder he is constantly travelling the breadth of the UK and mainland Europe sharing his knowledge to those who wish to learn this disappearing skill.

This book will be here for generations to come, a true legacy in how it will help save our food heritage. Getting connected to your food couldn’t be more fun!

“Ah at last, a recipe book that can be read in bed, what a refreshing change. You can’t help but share the content with your partner, it’s brilliantly written.” Tanja Bodtmann – Germany

“Join a true meat hero on a gastronomic adventure. Humour, history and brilliant recipes make this a book you can’t put down.” Stephen Plume, aka The Sausage King, founder of www.sausagefans.co.uk

Marc-Frederic has decided not to retail his book through the larger online bookstores, but instead he is reaching his readership by the scenic route, selling via; farm shops, cookery schools, delicatessens and small, good food retailers.

You can buy online from www.yorkshirechorizo.co.uk or www.paganum.co.uk

The perfect Christmas Gift for the foodie carnivore!

Format: Hardback, Pages: 192, ISBN: 978-0-9569899-0-1, Publishing date: 1st December 2011, RRP: £30, P&P £5

Sloe Gin

cwildman — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:47:22 +0000

We have a fantastic crop of Sloe’s this year, the blackthorn bushes are full of big juicy fruits, so here is a simple method for Sloe Gin ready for Christmas, to drink yourself or bottle for Xmas gifts, Frugal Xmas – !!

You will need:-

1lb Sloes
8oz Sugar
1 Litre Gin

Method:-

get out for a walk and forage for blackthorn bushes, pick sloes minding those nasty blackthorns!
prick sloes with pin or if you cant be bothered meticulously pricking a couple of hundred sloes then freeze & defrost & squish a bit!
add sugar, gin & sloes to large sterilised kilner jar or wide mouth bottle & give a good shake
shake every day when you pass the bottle for a week
store bottle somewhere cool & dark and shake every week
after 2 months or just in time for Xmas, sieve through muslin (or pillow case!) and bottle into clean bottles
drink with friends, great nightcap or fill the hipflask for Xmas walks/shoots.

Previous post on Sloe’s and Cheap Gin here http://wp.me/p82EP-qY

Yorkshire Life Food & Drink Awards

cwildman — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:59:32 +0000

Yorkshire Life Local Food Producer of the Year

Me receiving our award at The Hotel du Vin, Harrogate, sorry about the Cheesy Smile!

Other winners at the awards included:-

Yorkshire Life Newcomer of the Year – The Fat Bagder, Harrogate
Yorkshire Life Hotel of the Year – Swinton Park, Masham, Ripon
Yorkshire Life Small But Special Accommodation of the Year – Grassington House, Grassington
Yorkshire Life Dining Pub of the Year – The Star @ Sancton, Market Weighton, York
Yorkshire Life Neighbourhood Restaurant of the Year – Jeremy’s Scarborough
Yorkshire Life Traditional Pub of the Year – The Kings Arms, Wakefield
Yorkshire Life Farmers Market of the Year – Headingley Farmers Market, Leeds
Yorkshire Life Restaurant of the Year – The Pheasant, Harome
Yorkshire Life Chef of the Year – Simon Crannage, Swinton Park, Masham, Ripon

Read more on the Yorkshire Life Website – Yorkshire Life Food & Drink Awards 2011