Mens Cookery Club

I don’t know about anyone else, but for me, seeing my Dad on telly, in the newspaper or in a bookshop window for the last 20 years has been a strange, sometimes very difficult, but ultimately enriching experience. In life, we need people to identify with, to validate us, to exchange affirmations, to say “No your bum doesn’t look too big in those leiderhausen”. So, when that fickle mistress Fame comes sweeping into your life, be it directly or otherwise, it fucks with your head man. Chat to mates, lovers, wives-go to any pub, cafe, restaurant, supermarket and I’m sure you’ll be able to strike up a convo about football, women , knitting, kids, in-laws etc. But pull up a pew in your local and say “My Dad’s in the Daily Mail again” or, in my dads’ case “I bumped into that Dame Edna Evarage in Wogans green room again last week” it’s unlikely that the response will be “Me too”.

Anyway the point is all kids want are love & their mum & dads’ approval, and I’ve finally got it from my Dad. I’ve inspired him & he inspires me. So big up my Dad & check out his blog http://keithfloyduncorked.blogspot.com. WORD IS BOND, YO.

I can barely keep with Sensi’s global peripatetic, for this week, we reached North Africa. Personally, I had never tried Harissa, so my palate has again been educated and I am very pleased about it. You can easily buy this stuff ready made. But that’s no fun. Even Redeye, with his whimsical fearful ways was up for making this from scratch, especially as it will last for a couple of months in the fridge. I say that it will last but the one we made at MCC did not. Gert Lush, as they say in Tunisia.

Ingredients

• 2 Red Peppers
• 2 Green chili
• 2 Red chili
• 5 chunky garlic cloves
• A teaspoon of fennel seeds
• Pinch of saffron
• 1/2 punch of cumin
• 1/2 punch of corriander
• 2 seconds of olive oil

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Sensi seems to have a knack of globalizing our collective palate. He well and truly spiced it up in an asian style with this fantastic creamy Dahl. We even made the unleavened bread (ie, without yeast) to go with it. You can see the recipe for chapati in an earlier post along with a green chili chutney. A veritable vegetarian feast that’s sure to bring on a sweat.

Ingredients

• 6 chunky garlic cloves
• 1 thumb of ginger
• 1 green chili
• 1 medium onion
• 2-3 seconds olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground corriander
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon mild chili powder
• 500g Puy lentils (about 3 D-cups)
• 1 can coconut milk

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You can’t have bangers and mash without gravy. Gravy is the sauce of life. The fuel of winter. That which lubricates our very soul. I could go on but I fear I may alienate our honoured reader. Anyway, if your experience of gravy is a brown lumpy mess, let me enlighten you. (Actually, it is quite lumpy but that’s because of the mushrooms).
Ingredients

• 1 medium red onion
• About 8 – 10 mushrooms
• A splash of balsamic vinegar
• A splash of soy sauce
• 1/2 pint of chicken stock
• salt and pepper

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Ok. To start with I shall give the dictionary deffinition of “braise”. Mainly because, if you you asked me, my answer would begin – um, er, well um, you know it’s sort of….blah, blah. So; “braise” v. to fry (food) lightly, then stew slowly in a closed container”. Now you know. We had braised cabbage with our very English bangers and mash, of which you can see a picture a few posts ago. A picture that my wife pointed out, looks rather phallic. Well, it is a men’s cookery club.

Ingredients

• A splash of Olive Oil
• A splash of water
• 4 pinches of fennel seeds
• Savoy cabbage (the wrinkley one)

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This chutney complimented the Dahl last week in a sweet and saucy kind of way. Again, like many of the details of a good meal, you think that this is one of those things that you buy from the shop to save time. But let me tell you, you can’t buy this kind of flavour or the satisfaction in creating it when you nip down to Sainsbury’s and grab it off of a shelf.

Ingredients

• 1 Kilo of Tomato’s (About 9 large ones), quatered and skinned
• 2 big cooking apples, peeled and sliced
• 2 large green chilli’s, de-seeded
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 large man thumb of ginger, finely chopped
• 4 large punches of sugar
• 1 mugfull of Malt vinegar
• Cummin Seeds, good pinch of

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Ok, I admit it, I don’t know how to spell it. Suffice to say that I will stand corrected by the hoards (!) of readers appalled at my ignorance. Anyway we made chapata bread to go with the Dahl we made last week. It was an un-necessary detail that actually rounded the meal off beautifully.

Ingrediants

• 1 D-cup of Whole meal flour
• 1 D-cup of chick pea flour
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• 1/2 a mug of warm water
• butter

“D-cup” are your standard fair bra sizes, but before you grab your better halfs bra from the wardrobe, you may want to put your hands together to form a bowl and fill that up instead.

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Ahhh, pudding. And about flippin’ time. What is a life without pudding? A bit thinner I suppose. But as winter looms forth and generous baggy clothing becomes the general attire, those worries can be placed upon the metaphorical shelf of life until the spring begins to warm us again. As redeye said to me the other day “have you got something under your shirt”? Alas, “No”, began my curt reply. It also finished there, too. This Tiramisu is so ambrosial, one portion is never enough.
Ingredients

• 4 eggs (separated)
• 4 Tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 a cup of double cream
• A cup of strong coffee
• A teaspoon of honey
• Packet Amaretti biscuits
• 500g Tub of mascarpone
• Vanilla essence
• 4 squares of good quality chocolate (grated)

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