Le Cochon Aveugle, York

For many years, D and I lived very happily in the beautiful city of York and even though it hasn't been home now for nearly a decade, I still feel my heart squeeze a little in my chest when I go back for a visit. There is something about this ancient city that is utterly timeless; so although when we went last weekend it was the first time we had set foot there for two years, it felt as familiar and comforting as popping down the road. Not that it has been without its changes and casualties - looking more closely at the shopfronts that sit beneath the stone facades we saw that several dear old friends have gone, including the little shop where I bought my wedding ring.

We try not to take it too personally that, since we left, the food scene appears to have improved several fold. It's almost as if they were waiting for us to go. In the recently released Top 100 UK Restaurant Chart, York had no fewer than three entries which is a massive change from back when we were banging the drum for the under appreciated J. Baker's and complaining about the dearth of other options. We still haven't made it to Roots (by Tommy Banks of Black Swan at Oldstead fame) but can confirm that the other two, Skosh and Le Cochon Aveugle are both excellent. And, selflessly doing our bit to support the hospitality industry (how long do you think we can use that excuse??), we made our way over to the latter for lunch.

This comes across as quite a serious restaurant on the website - a blind tasting menu, no substitutions, no children, turn up on time, sit quietly and do as you're told. But don't be concerned; the experience is far more relaxed than this might lead you to believe - with smiley, friendly staff and an elegant-but-not-stuffy dining room.

Yes, you have to eat what you're given with no prior warning, which I know is not for everyone, but you are in good hands here. The influence is broadly French classical but many of the courses are lighter, fresher and draw more from the natural landscape than this might imply. A tomato water, infused with basil and cucumber and drizzled with the most exquisite olive oil was the perfect way to wake up our taste buds at the start of the meal...

...while a scallop ceviche with lemon and seaweed ice and elderflower vinaigrette showed again a real knack for balancing bright, zingy flavours.

At the other end of the spectrum, we fell in love with the boudin noir macarons. The boudin was soft, iron rich and full of spice and contrasted amazingly well with the crisp, sweet macaron. Seriously, these things were good - and we were delighted to learn that they are sold as a bar snack at the restaurant's sister wine bar just down the road. 

And the absolute highlight of the savoury courses were these amazing, buttery potato pancakes topped with braised lamb shoulder, black garlic and sheep's' yoghurt. Strictly speaking, this was an adjunct for the lamb and navarin sauce, but packed such a punch that it ended up outshining the main event.

Seasonality is clearly a big driver here, and it was wonderful to see British strawberries pop up on the menu - this vanilla ice cream with fermented strawberry juice and tarragon oil was a turbo-charged take on the classic strawberries and cream...

...While the custardy, caramel sweetness of the accompanying brioche Pain Perdu made for one of the most indulgently pleasing bites of the whole meal.

It's so exciting to be dining out again that it is entirely possible I have lost any critical faculty that once I possessed, or, at least, it is currently severely impaired by the sheer blissful novelty of eating in a restaurant. But I do genuinely think that Le Cochon Aveugle is an absolute little gem of a place. Skosh is, possibly, more on trend, and Roots benefits from a high profile association but LCA is still a little gem that is well worth attention. Hopefully the York food scene will come back from the last eighteen months stronger than ever - which will give us plenty more excuses to pop back.

Le Cochon Aveugle

37 Walmgate

York

YO1 9TX

2018 - the year in review

As with most years, 2018 was like the curate’s egg – good in places.  For the most part, it involved a lot of keeping on keeping on.  Work ramped up and became considerably more stressful in the latter few months for various reasons beyond my control – bad.  I struggled a bit with my continuing digestive issues which began to have an impact on my mental health – tedious beyond belief for all concerned.  But there were no big upsets, or dramas or traumas – good.  We had a couple of lovely trips away, including a few days in a little shepherd’s hut in York which I never got around to detailing on here – excellent.  Yet again, I have managed to end the year lighter than when I started it, mainly thanks to a successful re-acquaintance with WW back in the summer.  That may have trailed off a bit of late but I am keen to get stuck back into it now we are emerging from the month of December, when somehow it becomes normal to eat mince pies for breakfast.

Dishes of the year is a tough one to call.  We went back to Raby Hunt and loved it every bit as much the second time around but given that many of the dishes were almost exactly the same as the ones that we had eaten previously, I don’t feel quite right to hand over another coveted trophy to them. 

An early contender was most definitely the stunning duck dish that we had at Joro in Sheffield.  We liked it so much that we recreated it at home for our Easter Sunday lunch, and I am not convinced that our version wasn’t even better!


The duck at Joro

The duck chez nous

But, to be honest, the thing that still stands out for me is this little fellow.

Pizza, Jim, but not as we know it

This was the scallop sashimi, spring truffle and togarashi spice “pizza” that we ate in Skosh back in June.  As mentioned above, I never really got around to talking about our York trip in much detail but we were lucky enough to eat some wonderful food and this dish was just head, shoulders and upper chest above pretty much everything else we’ve eaten this year.  Put it this way: we liked it so much that we immediately ordered a second one.  It sounds weird, it sounds like everyone’s idea of badly done “fusion” but the combination of flavours, the delicately balanced marriage of the sea and the forest floor, was absolutely sublime.  Skosh changes the menu pretty regularly, so I doubt I’ll ever get to have it again.

Dessert of the year came in the closing moments, and it may sound ridiculous when we’ve eaten at some truly wonderful venues, including Il Ridotto in Venice where we were served the most glorious, challenging pudding combination of truffle, ginger and pumpkin which was as strange and wonderful as it sounds.  Yet nothing can compare to the dessert that D made me for my birthday this year – the sticky toffee parkin.  A mash-up of the traditional sticky toffee pudding and the Yorkshire parkin.  I have the recipe and I will be blogging it shortly.  If you like sweetness and spice then you will adore this, I promise.

Sticky toffee parkin

And an honourable mention to the Guinness cake that I ate during my first visit to the Rusty Shears.  The thought of this still makes me smile.

More icing than cake

At home, we’ve been dousing everything with sriracha and coriander and green chilli chutney – sometimes both at the same time.  My palate is becoming better and better at tolerating heat and I’m really beginning to learn how, like a pinch of salt or a drop of acidity, it can really bring cooking to life.  If I was going to commend one recipe to your attention this year it would be the chutney / sauce / salsa / whatever because it is such a good fridge staple.  I can think of few savoury dishes that would not be enhanced with a hefty splodge of this stuff.

As ever, I’d like to thank everyone who pops by and reads my little blog.  I still enjoy writing it after all these years, as a chronicle of adventures both at home in the kitchen and further afield.  And while it may not be a diet blog per se, it still stands as testament to the fact that I will never quite give up on trying to nudge the scales down to unremarkable levels. 

To all of you I wish a very happy New Year and here is to great things for all of us in 2019.

Mr P's Curious Tavern, York

I wrote a post about the lovely Skosh a couple of weeks ago and failed to mention the other York venue that we visited that day which is equally worthy of note.

Andrew Pern is the holder of one of Yorkshire’s six Michelin stars at The Star Inn at Harome. In recent years he has started to extend his empire, and back in 2013 opened The Star Inn The City in York which I think (checks archives) that I have written about here. It’s a bit more accessible in terms of price and style than the mothership and was a very welcome addition to the York restaurant scene back in the days when not a lot seemed to be going on. Now, Mr Pern has opened a second York venue: Mr P’s Curious Tavern, and it was to here that we repaired on a sunny Friday lunchtime at the beginning of May.

It has to be said though, we were labouring under a slight misapprehension – based on the name, we were expecting a pub, and popped in for a pint and, perhaps, a sandwich. It is not a pub (even if it does boast an impressive bar with a be-yoo-tiful array of gins) rather, a restaurant serving what our waitress described as “Yorkshire tapas” which description I quite like, although I suspect many Spaniards may object strongly to the cultural appropriation. We left having consumed rather more than we were expecting (although certainly not as much as we could have done), and not really minding a bit.

The highlight was probably the potted confit duck – as the name suggests, this was gloriously rich but the richness was admirably countered by the fruit and nut topping which also added an interesting textural contrast to the silky pate.

 
Also recommended are the great big crispy, salty rings of calamari with an unbelievably moreish seaweed salad cream. I can never resist fried calamari when I see it on a menu and these were well handled.

The décor and the way in which the food was described and subsequently presented was quirky and kitsch which I personally find appealing but, I suspect, could be highly irritating to those who favour clean lines and white linen. Such people would do well to steer clear (and perhaps take themselves off to the slightly more ascetic sensibilities of Skosh). For the rest of us, there is much to enjoy here and hurrah to Andrew Pern for finding more ways to bring his celebrations of Yorkshire food to us Yorkshire foodies.


Mr P's Curious Tavern
71 Low Petergate
York
YO1 7HY
01904 521177

Skosh, York

Long-time readers will know that, up until 2012, D and I lived in the beautiful city of York. Although we are now settled in our little corner of North Leeds, it took a long time for me to stop missing my former home. But one thing that Leeds always had going for it over York was the food scene. Beyond the myriad of chain restaurants (presumably there to provide a sense of the familiar to York’s massive tourist population) and the plethora of pubs, there weren’t that many places that I’d recommend to a foodie friend. And the fact that our beloved J. Baker’s Bistro Moderne closed its doors not long after we left seemed like a sign from the universe that our move to Leeds was the right one.

Now, though, it seems as if York is beginning to up its foodie game. Andrew Pern is extending his city empire (of which more in a later post), there is a fabulous looking little street food market tucked away near The Shambles and Skosh has opened its doors to the paying public. As soon as we read Jay Rayner’s rapturous review, we knew that we had to go, a conviction only strengthened by the fact that the head chef there previously cooked at another late lamented friend, Van Zeller’s in Harrogate.

Skosh is situated on Micklegate, home of the Micklegate Run – a string of pubs in close enough proximity that hen parties minimise the risk of falling off their heels while they stagger between them. I would not let this put you off – you generally can’t move for hen parties in York and there is little danger that they will teeter their way into Skosh.

If you were a cynical sort, you might think that the people who designed the place did so by ticking every current trend box they could think of. There is the open kitchen at the back where the chefs toil away in full view of the diners. The menu of small plates rather than courses. An ironic take on an item of fast food. A multitude of global influences. But the minute you actually start to eat, all is forgiven. Because the cooking is really rather wonderful.

We started with a hen’s egg apiece – cheesy froth covering bosky mushrooms and a brief, sour kiss of vinegar. It was the only one of the dishes (according to our waitress) which did not particularly lend itself to sharing and I for one am glad that we got one each – we used our fingers to clean the inner shell of every last delicious smear. Oh, and talking of finger licking – the Skosh fried chicken with brown butter hollandaise was utterly fabulous; if everything was served with brown butter hollandaise, the world would be a better place.

Having had a slightly later and larger lunch than expected, we tried to be restrained with regards ordering but couldn’t resist a dish of mackerel and eel “kabayaki”, one of several dishes which nodded towards Japan. The fish was sticky and sweet and a joy in its own right, but became still further elevated by a swipe through the delicately saline oyster cream. It was undoubtedly a good choice but now, reading back through the menu as I write this, I mourn slightly that I missed out on crisp lamb belly with charred hispi and sumac, and chargrilled octopus with black olive caramel to name but a few.

On to “afters” and we simply couldn’t resist one of the two savouries on offer – a toastie with Baron Bigod brie, winter truffle and pickled turnip. Goodness, but this was a perfect combination. And, finally, a chocolate moelleux accompanied by a miso caramel ice cream which was so good that it reduced us both to silence (and more plate licking). If you are a fan of salted caramel than I urge you to try miso if you see it pop up on a dessert menu – it might sound slightly peculiar but it is utterly delicious.

So there we have it – an excellent new addition to the York restaurant scene (thank you, Mr Rayner for the tip off), which, judging by the busy, buzzy atmosphere when we were there is going down pretty well. Great news for York – and the perfect excuse for those of us who miss the place to travel back there even more regularly.

MPM: 24th April 2017

There was no fasting for us last week (we were on holiday. At least, we were off work.  And we certainly don't need much excuse to avoid it).  I haven't checked the scales, but I suspect that a little bit of over indulgence over Easter will have nudged that needle up so we are back to two fast days this week with our nominated Days of Pain and Misery and Soup for Tea being today and Wednesday.

And, predictably, today has been rather horrid thus far.  I think fasting is made worse if you avoid it for a while.  My body has apparently forgotten just what it is like to be deprived of calories and gone into full on whingeing child mode.  I am filling up on fluids and reminding myself that tomorrow I can eat EVERYTHING.  As a psychological trick, it is surprisingly effective.

This is what the meal plan looks like this week:

Monday: soup

Tuesday: moussaka.  A Valentine Warner recipe that we originally intended to put together during the week that we Cooked his Book.  It was bumped but now it is back and I am very much looking forward to it, especially having seen Rick Stein eat moussaka on TV the other day (the Good Food channel are currently showing his Venice to Istanbul series).

Wednesday: soup

Thursday: er, moussaka again.  D is out for a team meal so I shall content myself with leftovers and trashy TV.

Friday: we're off to our beloved York to check out new-kid-on-the-restaurant-block, Skosh.  It had a fabulous write up in the Guardian recently, so we have high hopes.

Saturday: while in York we intend to visit an old haunt of ours, Henshelwood's deli, wherefrom we shall buy cheese, charcuterie and an eff-ton of their superlative chicken liver pate.  This shall all be consumed, carpet picnic style, on Saturday night with homemade bread and a yummy sounding Ottolenghi yoghurt and horseradish potato salad.

Sunday:  D is making pork and juniper sausages - a recipe of his own devising.  We shall probably end up eating these as sandwiches, with vestiges of the carpet picnic on the side.

And that's it from us this week - enjoy whatever it is you happen to be cooking and eating and have a FABULOUS bank holiday weekend!

Book review: "The North Yorkshire Cook Book"

A shamefully long time ago, on arriving back from our Scottish trip, this was waiting on my doorstep.

Not literally, you understand, Postie had managed to get it through the letterbox. But what better way to celebrate being back in Yorkshire than by reading about its lovely food?

The recipes contained within its pages have been provided by restaurants and specialist food shops from across the region (a full directory is included in the back). Because these venues range from high end dining to smaller cafes and delis, so too do the recipes vary massively in style. Personally, I like that - the book is a treasure trove of unexpected delights - but those who prefer their recipes books to focus on one particular ingredient or style may not be so keen.

Some of the places featured in the book are well loved haunts of ours: Norse, in Harrogate, have submitted a delicious sounding mackerel tartare recipe, while Rafi's, the spice shop that we used to frequent in our York days, offer up an intriguing Moghul style roast lamb dish that I'm very keen to try. There are also some nice bakes to be found - the Ye Olde Sun Inn bread flavoured with honey is definitely on my to-make list.

Some of the recipes are for restaurant style dishes (presumably because they have been written by, er, restaurants) and thus not for everyday - the plate of Yorkshire pork designed by Guisborough Hall sounds amazing but is not something that I'm going to knock out for a weeknight supper (although it would be perfect for a posh Sunday lunch party). Again, I like that - I'm a confident cook and not averse to spending a bit of time in the kitchen for something truly special, but it won't be for everybody.

What's really lovely about this book is that it shines a spotlight on some really special little corners of North Yorkshire - most of the recipes come with a little introductory page with some history and information about the venues which is a nice touch, as are the lovely accompanying photographs. If you were a foodie paying a visit to York or Malton, the directory would give you a pretty good idea of the places to check out (assuming you are like us and basically spend your holidays lurching from meal to snack to meal).

As a celebration of our little corner of the world, this is an absolute treasure of a book. It costs just 14.95 of your English pounds and can be found on Amazon - so you don't even have to come up to North Yorkshire to buy it, although who wouldn't want to visit this most beautiful part of the world? And, to whet your tastebuds still further, I hope to be sharing a recipe from the book with you in the next week or so (assuming I pull my increasingly lazy blogging finger out). Stay tuned!

(PS I was sent a free copy of this book to review. You know the drill - yes, I like free stuff but I try and be honest because if I can't be honest with you, dear blog readers then with whom can I be?)

The Chef's Table at the Dean Court Hotel, York

As regular readers will know, D and I lived in York when we were first together and a little piece of my heart will always belong there.  But York, in common with a lot of British city centres, suffers (when it comes to food) from a preponderance of middle of the road chain restaurants that squash out many of the more exciting and innovative independent ventures.  York is heavily reliant on its tourist trade and what the tourists want, it seems, is certainty.  And they can be certain that they will get something perfectly decently edible in Pizza Express or Jamie's Italian or Wagamama.  I wouldn't be such a hypocrite as to criticise people for it, but it is a shame that the UK food scene, outside of London at least, is at constant risk of becoming homogenised.

I always felt that York was missing some good, high-end-of-middle, quirky little bistro type places, especially once the late lamented J. Baker's Bistro Moderne closed its doors.  Le Cochon Aveugle got a fantastic write up in The Guardian earlier this year, and I've enjoyed the meals that I've had at The Star Inn The City, but you'd have thought (hoped) that there would be scope for more.  Well, the team at the Dean Court Hotel are very keen to make their restaurant a contender.  And with that in mind, a group of hungry people were invited across to a Chef's Table event last week in the stunning DCH dining room, which is situated literally in the shadow of York Minster.  If there is a better view in the city, I'd be very surprised.

We had to admit, while chatting to the hotel manager, that as York residents it would never have occurred to us to go there for dinner, and apparently this is a perennial problem for them, as is the fact that their guests tend to favour the safety of the City Chain Restaurant over their own hotel's dining room.  And that's a shame, because there is a lot to like about this venue.

There is the view from the dining room, of course.  But there is also a snug little bar in which to enjoy a pre (or post) dinner snifter, there is a very friendly team of front of house staff and there is, potentially, some very nice food.  The chef, Benji Thornton, is a lovely chap who is obviously extremely passionate about what he does.  He not only has an excellent eye for plating but an instinctive knack for interesting flavour combinations.  As it was a Chef's Table, Benji cooked the first couple of courses in front of us in the dining room, talking us through the ingredients and techniques he used (and throwing out a few extremely useful tips including the fact that if you want your food to taste good you need to add butter.  Lots and lots of butter).  Also in attendance was one of his suppliers, a forager who had brought with her the biggest mushroom that I have ever seen.  Seriously look at the thing!

Giant mushroom

Chef at work

I really loved the fact that Benji was so excited about making using of foraged ingredients - not just the mushroom but beautiful herbs such as wood sorrel as well - and that he drew so much inspiration from his home county and its amazing produce.  The pairing of Yorkshire rhubarb with duck and a five spice jus was particularly successful and one that I fully intend to "borrow" for my own kitchen.

Pigeon, beetroot, mushroom

Duck, rhubarb, five spice

The main problem with a Chef's Table is that it is taking the chef away from the kitchen.  The team downstairs, who cooked the dishes behind the scenes while Benji was entertaining us, were, I think, a little timid with regards the seasoning (Benji himself was very generous with the Maldon Sea Salt, so I doubt it is generally an issue).  The other problem is that it is difficult to time things perfectly - the food wasn't served until after Benji had cooked and plated his sample dish and, with regards the duck especially, the meat had started to cool by the time it reached the table.  Again, I doubt that this would be the case if you were a guest at the restaurant ordering from the standard menu.

Chocolate, salted caramel, strawberries

I've since studied the DCH menu in more detail and there are some seriously exciting sounding dishes on there (the idea of confit chicken wings with pea and wasabi soup is making me feel very hungry indeed).  When we talked to Benji, he said that he was very keen to create plates of food that celebrated the ingredients without being over complicated but nevertheless there are some cheeky little twists that sound most intriguing and, I am sure, everything is presented absolutely beautifully, as evidenced by the pictures above.  If you're in York and fancy something a little different then why not give this place a try?  The enthusiastic team there deserves our support and York itself deserves more eateries that are prepared to do something a bit different and a bit exciting.

I was invited to the Chef's Table event at the hotel and did not pay for the meal - however, all opinions expressed are my own and are honestly stated.  I am impervious to all forms of corruption, even edible ones.

DCH Restaurant at the Dean Court Hotel
Duncombe Place
York
YO1 7EF
01904 625082
http://www.deancourt-york.co.uk/dining.html

Of scales, Italian food...and capricious cats

Firstly, weigh in results...

Previously on WWF: -46lbs
This week: -2.25lbs
Total loss: 48.25lbs

Yay!  Just over half of my gain kicked into touch.  Another really good week and I could be into Fresh Fat (TM...Love Cat, I think).

It feels like ages since I had a proper catch up with you all, so this will be a bitty post while I try and remember all that I wanted to say.

Firstly, Minx continues to prosper and has taken over her rightful place as Queen of the Household.  She is definitely a Mummy's girl but D continues a determined, treat ridden campaign to turn her.  What's that, you'd like a picture?  Happy to oblige!

Isn't she beautiful?  On a more serious note, taking in a rescue cat hadn't really featured on my radar at all before I started to research but it is a real pleasure to see her gradually come out of her shell and grow in confidence.  She still has plenty of skittish moments - and trying to get her into a box in order to take her to the vet for a check up this week was NOT fun.  But she is a very affectionate creature underneath the nervousness and it is lovely to watch that emerge.  

On a food front, what have we been up to recently?  Well, we went for a lovely dinner at Sara Danesin Medeo's supper club in York the other week.  For those of you who aren't Masterchef groupies, Sara was a finalist back in 2011 and now works full time as a chef, running a regular supper club from her house on a (I think) weekly basis.  The food was delicious and reasonably priced, and Sara herself was absolutely lovely.  Despite the fact that she must have heard the same questions every single bloody week, she was more than happy to chat about her time on Masterchef, which we found fascinating.  She runs cookery lessons out of her beautiful kitchen and D and I are quite tempted to go and learn about pasta making with her at some point.  We had such a lovely evening that we promptly re-booked the next day - we're taking my parents along at the beginning of December.  Highly recommended if you want somewhere special to eat in York (although she is currently booked up until November so you do need to get in there well in advance).

No more meals out planned for a while which is, of course, good news for the diet.  I have an exam coming up in six weeks so I really need to put my head down a bit - but once that is over and done with we're flying out to Barcelona for five days, so plenty to look forward to as I grind my teeth over Capital Gains computations.  I'm trying to avoid doing diet maths - whether I'm two pounds or ten pounds or a stone lighter by the time we go then that will be something to celebrate.  

So come on guys, fill me in - what's new with you?

The Star Inn the City

After the sad demise of Jeff Baker's place last year, the York restaurant scene has been crying out for a decent higher end place to dine.  Enter Andrew Pern, the chef proprietor of the Star Inn at Harome - famous for one of the best gastropubs in the country and for being where D and I got married (although I notice that we are not yet name checked on their website).  If I tell you that the Star is where top notch, "proper" pub chef Tom Kerridge chose to celebrate his 40th birthday that might give you an indication of how splendiferous it is.  Anyway the Star now has a sister venue on the banks of the River Ouse in York and last night we toddled along to check it out.

 

The Star Inn had a Michelin star for years and is definitely at the fine dining end of the gastropub spectrum.  The York place is a bit less formal in terms of food and service and is the kind of restaurant that caters for a varied crowd - from large groups of revellers to romantic couples.  Impressively for such a large, airy building it manages to encapsulate the lovely cosy feel of the country place and the location is terrific - I can't wait to go on a summer evening and watch the sun set on the river through the huge windows.

 

Beetroot ravioli, goats' cheese

But, of course, big windows and a wood burning stove will only get you so far if the food isn't up to scratch - and thus it is with gread delight that I can report that the food was absolutely wonderful.  Just take a moment to go and look at the menu (I'll wait) - isn't it just jam packed with dishes that you want to bury your face in?  Andrew Pern has been a huge advocate of using local produce since way before it was trendy, and has a knack of sourcing amazing ingredients then treating them with an appropriate amount of respect and this shines through in the cooking.  I just can't decide what the highlight was - although the confit duck leg with chorizo "baked beans" might just edge it over D's scallop and pork belly combo.

 

Confit duck leg, chorizo baked beans

A minor niggle - no complimentary bread.  I am very fond of bread.  But I forgave them when the espressos arrived with mini chocolate tarts teetering on the saucers, all biscuit crisp pastry and a dark kiss of a filling.

 

Coffee, chocolate tart

So hurrah for York having a lovely new place to eat, drink and be merry.  The bar area is open to non diners which makes me very happy and a perusal of the breakfast menu, which is served from half eight in the week and from nine at the weekend, makes me even happier.  I can see this becoming a regular haunt, and while it may never quite replace JB's in our affections, it is likely to come perilously close.

 

The Star Inn the City

Lendal Engine House

Museum Street

York

YO1 7DR

01904 619208

A sad day for York foodies

Our beloved J Baker’s is closed.

We thought that it had looked quiet lately. But still, this was unexpected and rather sad. If ever I had a sentimental attachment to a restaurant it was that one, as my many mentions of it on here might have indicated. For me, the food was never anything less than delicious, but more than that, it had wit, humour, flair all rooted very firmly in locality and nostalgia. I shall miss it very much and am glad we made the effort to go back there recently.

On a wider point though, it is bad news for the York restaurant scene which (in my opinion) has never been as good as it should be. There are, in common with many cities in the UK, too many chains and, among the non chains, too many mediocre middle of the road establishments that are frightened to offer anything different. With the wealth of tourist footfall through the city, I would have thought there is plenty of scope for more dining experiences akin to J Baker’s. Sadly, it looks like I'm wrong.

I remain hopeful that Jeff Baker has merely opted for a change in direction – a comment on the York Evening Press website referred to him moving to another city -  and if that is the case then I wish him well and hope to dine with him again someday soon. And, to ease the blow, Andrew Pern of the superlative Star Inn is opening a new place in York this autumn which I am very, very, very excited about. After all, this is the man to whom I entrusted my wedding breakfast.

J Baker's Bistro Moderne: NOT a York based fairy tale

Whatever the lovely Peridot may believe, J Baker's superlative restaurant in York does open occasionally.  Their opening hours do look to have been reduced recently; I hope this is an indication that Jeff is planning to rest on his laurels a bit rather than one of straitened economic times, but who knows nowadays.  Anthony's in Leeds has demonstrated that even top quality places in vibrant city centres can suffer in this sad, post-recession day and age.

Anyway, D and I went to JB for dinner last night to celebrate the fact that I passed an exam (hurrah!) and also just because we hadn't been in ever so long....it turns out that I still miss York terribly.  It also turns out that walking is a dangerous sport for me - I did something distinctly odd to my left calf while traversing from the bus stop to the office (about three minutes) which means that stairs are currently problematic (difficult when you live in a four storey house).

That aside, looks at the yummy stuff we had to eat:

Yum.

Yes, that's right, I got the Picasa app recently and am now totally au fait with this collage thing...

But, seriously, can I draw your attention to perfectly cooked spiced duck breast - dense and tender of flesh, crispy of skin (main, left).  Or mussels steamed over local beer with butter and peas (top, centre).  Or a crispy, filo wrapped, delicately seasoned take on a classic pork pie (bottom, right).  The only sadness for me was that the set dinner dessert was rice pudding, which is one of my very few pet hates.

Fantastic restaurant, beautiful city, happy foodie.  The only sadness for me was the look of approbation from the home scales this morning but still.  Some meals are worth it.

A place called home

I've almost certainly mentioned on this blog before that although I now live in God's Own County (Yorkshire for the uninitiated) I was born and grew up down south, at the part of the Underground map where the District Line meets the county of Essex, only moving in my early twenties. Leaving the house I grew up in was relatively painless in the end. It happened while I was at university and during that period so many things were in a state of transition that it didn't register as much as it might have done a few years earlier. And I always assumed I'd go back. Not to the house you understand, but to The South, to London, because that is what graduates, clutching their shiny new degrees, did.

It never happened and somehow, eleven years later, I find myself a kind of expat. By which I mean I think that I think of myself as a Southerner living in the North. They don't let you declare yourself a Yorkshire(wo)man until you're third generation.

And now I'm moving again, from North to West Yorkshire. And, oh,  the wrench at leaving York is far more acute than leaving Essex. I guess it's because my really formative years took place here, my  real growing up.  In the last ten years in this, my beautiful city, I have had my first proper job (it involved chocolate), and my first flat (damp and nasty).  I got my heart broken a little bit and bruised a couple in return and, of course, I met the man that I would end up marrying. It was in York that D and I had our first date, at a grotty pub that happened to be handy for the station, in York that we made our first home together, spent our first Christmas, probably had our first big fight. York is where I think of as home.

I don't want to leave.

But then, what is home, really?  Is it a physical place?  Or is it just anywhere that the people you love are?  I suppose the very fact that my heart now belongs so firmly to the grim North is evidence that the concept of home is more than geographical.  It is love and memories rather than bricks and mortar.  And so, although I got a bit sniffly when I looked round our little flat, devoid of furniture, and will get a lump in my throat when I walk down High Petergate towards the Minster, I must be brave and resolute and accept the idea that in a little while they'll be a whole new set of Leeds based memories and a home built there too.

I leave you with one of my favourite views of York taken by D a few years ago. And I promise to follow this up at some point with something more relevant to this blog - a Foodie's Guide to the capital of Yorkshire.

Meal Planning Monday - 9th July 2012

And there it was gone. The weekend, that is. How was it for you? Despite the dire weather predictions we managed to eat ice cream in the sunshine on Saturday afternoon and yesterday cooked Sunday lunch for my father in law, a slow roast shoulder of lamb to die for (recipe to follow). All in all, very pleasant indeed.

So, on with this week’s meal plan. And in a shock development, I’m actually at home all week! No gallivanting whatsoever.

Tonight we’ll be having a chicken and summer vegetable pot pie with mash. Pot pie, I have recently learned, is what you call it when your pie just has a pastry lid but no walls. Aka dieter’s pie or less-fun pie.

Over the next three nights in no particular order:

• Spaghetti bolognese, made with lamb mince and the rich, delicious, tomatoey gravy left over from our lamb shoulder roast at the weekend.
• Spiced couscous with griddled halloumi and a warm salad of courgettes and broad beans.
• Salmon gnocchi bake. We’ve got some frozen salmon in the, er, freezer which isn’t really nice enough to eat just as a fillet but will be fine in this kind of thing. I first saw this recipe mentioned on another MPM post so, whoever you are, I thank you! I adore gnocchi.

Friday night we’re out for the evening, Saturday we’re off to the parentals for a fishy barbecue and Sunday….hmmm. We might end up picking at leftovers, or I might buy a chicken to roast to provide D with the basis for some meals next week while I’m away (again). So, undecided. But hey, this is more of a plan then I’ve managed for a while so I’m pretty pleased. For more meal planning fun, as ever, scoot over to Mrs M’s.

Postcards from....not quite the edge

Time appears to be getting away from me a bit at the moment. So let’s take a minute, maybe make a cup of tea and have a quick catch up.

Firstly, workwise: I have an increasingly long list of things to do before I finish my current role at the end of August (this assumes I will take a week of leave before starting my new role in September – and I’m feeling increasingly guilty about planning for that even though I have leave that needs using up before my new leave year starts.) Although I am very good at making to do lists, I am less good at ploughing through them, so at the moment I am just watching the spreadsheet grow with a slightly mesmerised expression.

Secondly, housewise: the estate agent has informed us that everything should go through in about 8 weeks. We have started looking at new places to live. I am trying hard to focus on the positive things as far as possible (the fact that I’ll live with a twenty minute walk to work, the fact that Leeds has lots of nice shops, the fact that I’ll have some spare money to spend in said nice shops). Readers of this blog may know that optimism is not a strong suit of mine and I am spending a fair amount of time wanting to handcuff myself to the living room radiator and refuse to leave my beloved flat. I suspect D is losing sympathy and I can’t say I blame him.

My chimp continues to make loud noises (how can I possibly be expected to think about dieting when I am SO. STRESSED.) But I lost three pounds last week and, miraculously, am on track to record another pound this week. Perhaps all that stress has boosted my metabolism.

I have a couple of recipes I want to post here since I prefer this to be a food blog with a touch of navel gazing rather than the other way round. Also I want to reassure people (hello, Mum!) that I am eating something other than cheese on toast which is my usual recourse in high stress situations. We had a very nice stir fry last night. You probably don’t want to hear about stir fry though. I mean, it’s vegetables and prawns cooked in a bit of oil with some garlic and chilli and ginger and soy. Very tasty but simple stuff and not a whiff of authenticity about it.

Speaking of authenticity, has anyone else seen that Gok Wan now appears to have a cookery show? Now, I am all for anyone who makes women feel better about their own bodies and have a definite soft spot for Gok, but I’m slightly confused as to how someone makes the leap from television stylist to television cook. And probably a bit jealous that there is no such easy route from, oh, say, civil servant. But if any television producer should ever stumble across this blog then I think it is a MARVELLOUS idea. It could be all about austerity cooking – you know, lean recipes for lean times.

Have a lovely weekend peeps – we’re off to the races tomorrow as part of our extended Farewell to York tour. Any tips are welcome below.

Recipe Corner – Mrs Scrooge’s Piccalilli

We ventured into York on Sunday. For the uninitiated, York, whilst a very beautiful city with many fine features, is what can only be described as a Tourist Trap. Especially around this time of the year when the main street seems to play host to one rather twee Christmas market after another.

Yes, I know. Bah humbug.

I love Christmas, I really do, but the advent of Internet shopping has spoiled me utterly and I can no longer bring myself to love Christmas shopping. I found myself in the Marks and Spencer’s food hall shooting imaginary death rays at all the old age pensioners who had decided that, despite the fact they have the ENTIRE WEEK to go and do their shopping, Sunday – and the Sunday two weeks before Christmas at that, is the very, very best time to venture out for mince and onion slices. The American tourists who were absolutely fascinated by the contents of the tinned goods aisle – apparently they don’t have Heinz Cream of Tomato soup in the States - were also on the end of my patented Beam of Death.

It was my husband that made me brave the ravening hoards to purchase the ingredients for homemade chutney. And it’s a good job he did really – I should have made it a couple of weeks ago but I’ve been shamefully disorganised. Last year I went it for a Nigella recipe inspired by all good flavours of Christmas, but this year I’m experimenting with a slightly simpler spiced apple recipe which I think will work beautifully with strong cheddar. It spent the night burbling away to itself in the slow cooker which made the whole process even more painless than usual. I’ll also be revisiting a fabulous piccalilli which I discovered a few years ago on the Waitrose website and which is reproduced below. This stuff is truly fantastic so I try and remember to make enough to both give away and retain a jar for us.

The only ingredient in this that the dedicated Weight Watcher needs to worry about is the sugar. I would therefore reckon on a single point for a good dollop.

Ingredients

700ml malt vinegar
2 tbsp coriander seeds
500g cauliflower, broken into small florets
2 onions, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp English mustard powder
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp Tumeric
2 tbsp ground ginger
150ml Cider vinegar
100g French beans trimmed and sliced
½ cucumber, quartered and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
200g granulated sugar

Makes 1.7kg

Place the malt vinegar and coriander seeds in a large pan and bring to the boil, at which point add the cauliflower and onion and simmer for about five minutes until slightly softened but retaining some crunch.

Meanwhile, put the mustard, flour, turmeric and ginger into a small bowl and gradually whisk in the cider vinegar to make a smooth paste.

Add the remaining vegetables, garlic and sugar to the pan and stir over the heat for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved. Drain over a large bowl to collect the vinegar.

Put the mustardy mixture in the pan and bring to the boil. Gradually add the malt vinegar back in and then allow to simmer for 10 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon. Now replace the drained vegetables and take off the heat.

The piccalilli can now be spooned into sterilised jars (the easiest way to do this is to run them through a hot dishwasher) and kept for as long as you can resist it. Not very long in our household.

Home on the Grange

As per my last post, my eating habits appear to have devolved recently. What better way to get those foodie juices flowing this weekend than to hit up the vibrant York restaurant scene?
Unfortunately, our beloved J Baker's was fully booked on Saturday night. Well, I say unfortunate; it is always gratifying to know that plenty of people share your good opinion of a place, I just wish they'd leave me a table. Anyway, we ended up at The Grange Hotel instead which has the advantage of being a mere five minute totter down the road from our flat.

Last time we ate here, they obviously had a chef with some high falutin' ideas - although I can't remember the details I do recall a tasting menu and a parade of very small amounts of food on very large plates. They have reverted back now to a more bistro like approach which is rather less exciting for a dinky food enthusiast like myself, but probably a safer bet for a kitchen that, on Saturday at least, didn't always get the balance of flavours bang on. For example, the vanilla cider shot that accompanied a mini pork pie and pickled onion starter was rather heavy handed vanilla-wise which left it far too cloying to complement its platefellows; a shame, because it was easily the most exciting sounding dish on the menu.

Mini pork pie with cider shot and pickled onions (from a very weird angle....)

There were some nice moments though. The stand out dish for me was a chargrilled rump of lamb with ricotta, sun dried tomatoes, and basil jus The lamb was as pink as a blushing bride and buttery soft, a truly delicious piece of meat that stood up surprisingly well to the bolshy Mediterranean flavours. It came with crispy gnocchi - which I take to have been pan fried in the manner of Nigella's rapid roastini, and which will be sure to make an appearance on our home menu before too long.

Chargrilled lamb Mediterranean style

Two courses each plus a shared pud, a bottle of wine and a double G&T apiece and we paid just over £50 a head which is not bad at all. And it certainly got me more in the mood for (proper) food, as I actually managed to serve up a home-cooked meal on Sunday (and we'll gloss over the fact that three out of the four constituents were home cooked a couple of months ago and retrieved from the freezer). Hey, baby steps...

The Grange Hotel
1 Clifton
York
YO30 6AA

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I survived

So, the hen night. Despite requesting a discreet, classy affair I nevertheless found myself walking through Central London in a pink tutu with matching sequinned cowboy hat on Saturday afternoon. I did what any girl of my generation would do in such a situation and channelled Carrie Bradshaw for all that I was worth.

It was a fabulous afternoon that started with afternoon tea and champagne and ended, via a cocktail master class, in a piratical themed burlesque club. I probably drank a fortnight’s worth of points, but if you could earn activity points for laughing it may well have balanced out. My beautiful girls did me proud.

Having abandoned D for the night, it was only fair that we have a little celebration of our own when I returned (slightly bloodshot, but unbowed) to Yorkshire. And so it is I bring to your attention a second York institution in as many weeks, Le Langhe.

We were first introduced to Le Langhe, which is a delicatessen and importer of Italian food, when they ran an evening at the York Food Festival a few years ago. The produce that they sell is simply exquisite, even if the owners, a husband and wife team, are a little scary. Don’t let that put you off. In a time where a lot of small businesses have been struggling, Le Langhe has actually expanded; moving from a tiny city centre shop to a much larger establishment set a little walk out of town. Not only do they sell fantastic meats, cheeses and breads, they also serve up coffee and light meals in an adjoining café restaurant space. They have a fiercely loyal following among the people of York, some of whom make a weekly pilgrimage there.

D’s haul provided a stupendous Sunday night carpet picnic: olives and sundried tomatoes, slick with oil, ham cured in Barolo wine, braesola, a sharp, fruity cheese which had been aged in Chianti and an unctuous Gorgonzola, ciabatta and foccacia to be dunked in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and finally a luscious fig and almond tart.  We washed it all down with Prosecco. 

Olives!

Gorgonzola!



Bread!

And there we go – a weekend full of laughter and friends and amazing food and far more vodka than is good for one liver.  Normal (WW) service had better resume shortly...

Curry Night (2)

In which we are introduced to a York institution and cook a delicious (Miss) dahl.

Sometimes, only a curry will do. But long time WWers, and indeed anyone who takes so much as a passing interest in the calorific content of their scran, will know that those fragrant foil trays from their local curry house are drenched in oil and ghee and all manner of fattening things. An Indian takeaway consisting of curry, pilau rice and half a naan will easily set you back over a day’s worth of points.

I don’t know an awful lot about genuine Indian cookery, but I have started in recent years to dip my toe in the water. There are few things more satisfying than making a curry from scratch – toasting and blending up all the spices…if I could just get over my bread baking phobia I’d be well on the way to calling myself an official Earth Mother. But for those days where one just can’t be bothered, there is always Rafi’s.

Rafi’s is a modest looking little shop, tucked away behind the York Minster. The premise is simple – you request a curry and they make up, fresh, before your eyes, a pack of spices that will form the basis of it. Just add water, simmer for a few minutes, then tip in raw ingredients to suit and pow – curry in a hurry and no need to wash out the pestle and mortar. They recommend that you make it up the day before you wish to eat it to allow the flavours to develop, which is no great hardship. The results are delicious – the curries have the depth and complexity of flavour that one would expect to find in the very best curry houses, but without the gleaming slick of oil on top. Having closely examined the content of last week’s bhuna pack I decided to point it at 1 tbsp of oil per portion (assuming 4 portions) which I suspect is slightly on the high side. I added king prawns, onion, celery and a diced red pepper and cursed myself for not having any mushrooms. The result was a gorgeous, medium hot king prawn bhuna for 5 pro points.

Rafi’s do mail order, so if you are a curry fan, I would urge you to check out their website. And if you’re ever in York do go for a browse around – they sell all manner of yummy looking pickles and sauces.

Meanwhile, I would also like to commend to your attention this rather delicious split pea dahl recipe, which I served on the side. It came from a blog and is presented here with only the minorest of tweaks – but unfortunately I can’t remember which one, so if it was yours then I apologise for not giving credit where it is due. If it is any consolation, I thought it was delicious. I’m eating leftovers for lunch today.

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 piece of ginger, about 1 inch long, grated
Small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1-2 tsp dried chillies
1 tbsp garam masala
200g yellow split peas
1 tomato, diced roughly
Large handful of fresh spinach
Salt
Tbsp vegetable oil
Lemon juice
Fresh coriander, to garnish

Serves 4, 5 pro points per serving

Heat the oil in a pan and when it is hot and shimmering, add the mustard seeds. When these start to pop (expect a few to come flying across your kitchen) add the onion and cook until starting to soften and then add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further couple of minutes, being careful that nothing starts to stick or burn.

Next, add the garam masala, chillies, chopped tomatoes and turmeric and stir fry for another minutes or so, until the spices are deeply aromatic. Now is the time to tip in your split peas and a good pinch of salt. Stir the peas around to get them well coated in spice and then add enough water to cover and simmer on a low heat, with a lid on for about 45 minutes. Check regularly and top up the water as necessary. At the end of cooking the peas should still retain some bite – you’re not looking for mush here.

Cook’s Note: As with any curry the flavours will develop on sitting, so I would recommend doing up to this stage a few hours before you intend to serve and then cover and let the peas sit and ponder their existence for a while.

Just before serving, chuck in your spinach (it will reduce down dramatically, so use slightly more than you think you need) cover, and put over a low heat for about 5 minutes to allow the spinach to wilt. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and some fresh chopped coriander.