Italian Cheese

It's that time of the month again.  The second Thursday and that can only mean one thing. Cheese Club!  Hundreds of people coming together to share in an evening of tasting cheese and learning a little in the process.  OK, so I perhaps exaggerated the total number of people, but since it launched 8 months ago, Homage 2 Fromage has gone from strength to strength and had to change venue three times to accommodate the hoards of Leeds denizens wanting to try new cheeses.

Tonight, at The Adelphi, we were treated to an evening of Italian cheese.  We had seven cheeses to chew over and for once I struggled to find a favourite.  They were all good cheeses, nice in there own way.  But not one of them blew my socks off.  Controversially, I'm not a fan of Gorgonzola.  I like blue cheese generally and always have room on my plate for some strong veiny cheese, but I just don't think it's as good as its own press.

Smoked Mozzarella di Buffala, seemed to divide opinion around the room.  I thought it worked quite well but the smoking process toughened the skin so that it was chewy on the outside and squidgy in the middle.  Provolone, Fontina and Asiago were all, again, nice but I won't be going on a mad cheese hunt to track them down.  I did rediscover my love of Parmigiano Reggiano*.  It's always in the house and added to so many dishes I lose count.  But eating it on its own in hefty chunks really lets the flavour shine.

The real treat of the night came in the form of Mario, a Barnsley lad with no trace of an accent at all**.  Mario is an Italian with a passion for the food of his homeland.  His passion is such that he still makes fresh cheese at home, the way that he was taught to when he still lived in Italy.  During the tasting, Mario dutifully kept a watching eye on his large pan of ewes milk.  By the time we had all gathered around, he had separated the curds from the whey and his first cheese of the night was born.  Mario turned his attention back to the whey and cracked on with making ricotta (re-cooked). this was a faster, hotter process and brought about the freshest cheese I have ever eaten.  It was so fresh that it was almost too hot to handle but it was so light and creamy that it was almost a dessert.  The perfect way to end the evening.

*parmesan to its friends
**joke

Beef Rendang

While I like writing about food, I prefer to write about the inspirations behind what we cook.  Inspiration has been thin on the ground of late and Tonight's Menu has taken the full force of the blow.  The last two weeks' musings are littered with posts no longer than a demi baguette.  Over the next week I'm aiming to rediscover my muse, become inspired by food again and get back to cooking.

Inspiration comes from the strangest places.  You can't really force it.  You'll be sitting there, minding your own business and it will hit you.  That's what happened to me last night.  Every day, we get a sheet from R's nursery, telling us what he's been up to and what he's eaten.  Yesterday he'd had beef curry and naan bread.  I wanted beef curry and naan bread!  I didn't get beef curry and naan bread.  We were all out of naan bread and to add insult to injury, we had no beef.

So this morning I set about rectifying the situation.  I already had to go food shopping but I amended the shopping list and set off.  Having slept on my need for beef curry, I dropped the naan idea and changed country.  I skipped across the Bay of Bengal from India to Malaysia and started making a fragrant and punchy curry paste.  I've not cooked beef rendang before and I don't know why.  It's so easy, the flavours are superb and the meat is so succulent after a couple of hours cooking that it knocks spots off a lot of the curries we get in the UK.

The paste consisted of lemon grass, ginger, garlic and chillies.  This was fried off in a little oil until the fragrances started to fill the kitchen.  Then braising steak, red onions and turmeric were added.  Once the beef had taken a little colour a tin of coconut milk and a pint of beef stock are poured over the meat and allowed to simmer for one and a half to two hours.  I think it's fair to say that we have a new family favourite on our hands.  Thanks nursery!

Cowboy Stew - Revisited

Having been away for the weekend and then straight back into work we're left with raiding the freezer for tonight's menu.  It's a good job that I have very little portion control when it comes to cooking for two people. 

Our meal consisted of the remains of the cowboy stew that I made on the night of the Spaghetti Western Orchestra in February.  The mood wasn't the same, the giddy expectation of that night had been replaced with exhaustion.  The stew still tasted as good as I had remembered, although we had already eaten all of the sausages.

Weekend Away feat: Tapas and Pulled Pork

As I alluded to on Thursday, we have just returned home from a long weekend away.  Our journey south first took us to Windsor on Friday, to spend the night with Z's Mum and Step-Phil.  We set off after breakfast and broke the journey up with a service station lunch.  Z and R had a brace of sandwiches between them and I, in a fit of gay abandon, had what can only be described as a Double Whopper*.  We made Windsor in good time and Z's mum was able to get a decent grandson fix before we put him to bed.

Once R was safely tucked up in bed, Phil and I cracked on with the the evening meal; Tapas.  Z's Mum had looked out recipes and bought all of the ingredients, all that was left for us to do was follow them to the letter and all would be fine. We cooked; garlic prawns, patatas bravas, garlic chicken, tortillia, albondigas, and of course, chorizo cooked in white wine (only because there was no sherry) and butter beans in tomato sauce.  The meal was finished with a gorgeous and light crema catalana that Z's Mum had cooked in advance.

On Saturday we left Windsor behind and hot-footed it to Poole for my niece's 3rd birthday party.  I used to work in a children's centre and love kids but I will never have the energy, or bottle, to be a children's entertainer.  The woman at the party managed to keep dozens of 3 year olds happy for ages and left them with just enough energy to sit down for a party meal of sandwiches, savouries and cake. 

After the party, my brother and I went to the local to watch the FA Cup final and to have a good catch up.  A few light ales later it was time to go to our hotel and try to settle R in his new surroundings.  Luckily he was so exhausted from the party he went out like a light.  He slept so soundly that Z and I got room service and ate in the room.  We shared a meat platter, a portion of garlic bread and a bottle of red wine.  For the record, I'm definitely not reviewing the hotel or the restaurant.

The 3rd birthday party aside the main event, and the reason behind the mad mileage this weekend, was the Christening of my nephew.  Hatches, matches and dispatches are the events that pull families together regardless of distance.  After the ceremony, at which all of the children were well behaved, we went back to my brother's house for champers and pulled pork baps.  Two pork leg joints had been roasted in a low oven overnight.  The meat fell apart as soon as you looked at it so there was no need for carving.  Crackling, stuffing and apple sauce made for a brilliant celebration lunch.

Today, bank holiday Monday, we have had to brave the traffic.  I normally try to avoid driving whenever a mass-commute is in effect but working on Tuesday meant we had to get home today.  After a bottom numbing 6 hour drive**, we finally made it back to Leeds.  What I really wanted was a huge salad to try and redress the balance of excess that the weekend had delivered. 

Alas, we arrived home after the shops had closed so we were faced with the contents of the store cupboards.  Z worked her magic and soon a tuna and tomato pasta sauce was born.  A glass of wine and some garlic bread accompanied this meal too.

*this is because it was a Double Whopper. I'm not really a fan of BK or McD's but no matter how much work Heston and his cronies put into saving the service station's beleaguered reputation, the food on offer really isn't that great.  We need to start taking packed lunches and having A1 layby picnics.
**including a couple of comfort stops for Z and R.

Italian Pork Loin Steaks with Roasted Peppers

It's been a long day / week at work and one that I don't relish repeating any time soon.  I can hack the hours.  I can field sales calls and pretend that I'm not me or that I am not at my desk.  I can even put up with listening to the strained tunes of the Zumba classes.  But the emotional side of dealing face to face with colleges and customers has really taken its toll.  I could do with a little R'n'R.  Which is lucky because this weekend, tomorrow in fact, we are heading down south to see family.

Our first stop will be Windsor to see Z's parents.  Then we're going deeper south to Poole for a 3rd birthday party on Saturday, followed by a christening on Sunday.  Monday we'll be driving all the way back to Leeds so that I can be back at work on Tuesday.  A nice relaxing weekend indeed.

Tonight we have found time to cook and eat a nice meal of pork loin steaks, from Swillington Farm, baked on a bed of peppers and onions and served with potato wedges.  We have also packed our bags and piled them all in the hall so that we can set off first thing in the morning.  I know Tonight's Menu has been a bit sub-standard* of late, but I will endeavour to remedy this just as soon as I can.

*who knew I had standards?

Aloo Gobi

Another late night at work means another night of Z in charge of the pots and pans.  We're going away this weekend, so she has also been tasked with emptying the fridge and using any fresh vegetables that are in the house.

After rooting around the fridge Z came up with the wherewithal to cook a great Aloo Gobi.  I last cooked a cauliflower curry back in March and to be honest I overcooked the veg.  Z was clearly paying more attention, as tonight's curry was full of properly cooked vegetables and a lovely thick sauce.

Prawn Miso Broth

The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that there was no post yesterday.  There are often delays in getting this daily food blog updated but on Monday there wasn't an evening meal to talk about, hence no post.  Instead of going home after work, I went to a debate about the pros and cons of Leeds having an elected mayor.  This is neither the time nor the place to discuss my feelings on the matter so I'll swiftly gloss over it.

Back to Tonight's Menu.  This week I am working late, so Z is once again in charge of what we eat.  Tonight she cooked a delicious prawn and vegetable miso broth with noodles.  Sadly we didn't have any udon noodles but you can't have everything.