Vegetarian @ Maida Hill Place 30th Jan

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Our next event is a vegetarian dinner at Maida Hill Place in support of their Vegetarian January (click to see other events) 

So due to popular demand, I've gone through our menu portfolio and have been doing some vegetarian development in the kitchen!!

Now all the dishes below can't be on the menu, but for those amongst you who have expressed an interest in a veggie night it should give you an idea of what to expect.

All comments welcome!! As are funky menu ideas!! : )

How to Book

palm of heart salad w/ beef tomato & shredded white omelette topped w/ egg yolk butter croutons & poppy seeds

snowburst nectarine w/ ultralight crepe served w/ grapefruit & basil syrup

vegetable soup w/ vegetarian haggis & poached egg 
topped w/ spring onion, black sesame and sesame oil

popcorn icecream & salted caramel fudge maple cookies w/ maple syrup

spicy arancini w/ poached egg, pea butter sauce on a bed of peas

cauliflower soup w/ gorgonzola, basil oil & parsnip crisps

chocolate delice w/ iced chocolate strawberry, white whiskey sauce & sesame & pistachio tuile

carrot cake (foodlab style) w/ carrot tuile & orange carrot and thyme ice cream

rosemary butter crostini

banana tatin w/ banana & whiskey creme, passion fruit & passion fruit sorbet

onion soup w/ basil crostini & spinach

pistachio oil cake w/ white chocolate & pistachio foil - petit four

hand crafted almond biscotti

smokey linguini

salted caramel & vanilla cake w/ black olive ganache & thyme & orange syrup

sage infused aubergine stacks w/ micro mushroom ketchup

sweet potato tortilla w/ oyster mushrooms noisette and rosemary bread

aubergine w/ cardamom spiced honey

roast sweet potato w/ spicy coriander dressing

vegetarian haggis w/ caramelised apple & thyme

dwarf snowburst nectarine w/ pistachio spears & basil served w/ black olive ganache - petit fours

cauliflower couscous w/ preserved lemon and medjool dates

thai basil & carrot salad w/ black sesame & cracker bread

asian style spicy orange sauce

Recipe: How To Throw A Supper 'Lip' Club for Movember

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab for Movember

All donations of £10 or more to ferdiesfoodlab Mo Space  are entered in our the prize draw! (unless anonymous of course!)

 PRIZE: 2 SEATS at the head of the ferdiesfoodlab banquet, any available date! (worth £100)

To donate check out the ferdiesfoodlab Mo Space 

Current entrants: 0     Chance of winning: 100%

 

Even if you only pledge a fiver via the ferdiesfoodlab Mo Space it will really help, every pledge counts!! 

If you want to throw a supper club - a supper fun way to fundraise -  First of all sign up for your own Mo Space here, and click register. This will allow you to collect donations!


Throwing a supper club is simple if you get all your Mo Bros & Mo Sistas involved! Here's the basics

skinning the fish for the Ceviche

ingredients (serves as many as you want!)
for the supper
some drinks,
some people, 
a menu idea (recipes in Movember book - see here)
some food
a fat chunk of NASA ('nice and safe attitude' or 'naise an saif ackitude' as Joy would say!!)
and somewhere to eat together

for the garnish
couple more drinks
some righteous tunes, aye!
a little conversation!!

When I were a lad . . . . . . all we had was a  ZX spectrun with 48Kb of RAM

 

apparatus / equipment
spatula for keeping naughty Mo Bros & Mo Sistas in check, spank!
wooden spoon with cake mix on (carrot is often better than a spatula)

Table's ready - guests are all pitching in!!

method 
Get all your Mo Bros & Mo Sistas to come early and help you with the prep and the cooking (good for social bonding innit).
Make sure everyone has a drink and a job and the tunes are flowing.
It doesn't have to be 6 courses, rack and mac and a sticky toffee pudding will do (maybe add a green starter).

Rack and Mac . . . . sings with delight, lush!

thinking ahead 
Don't forget to have a camera, to catch the fun.
Make sure the shopping is done and the drinks are in before the Mo Bros & Mo Sistas arrive! (doesn't hurt if they bring a few drinks of course!)
Sounds easy right? But you won't be laughing when you've run out of gin and tonic, and you realise you don't have any pork shoulder! Someone's going to have to go for replacements and necessaries!!! (never happened at the foodlab! ahem cough!)

Nice Mo Bro!

what could go wrong? (notes)
* You forget to tell everyone it's for Movember and give them a link to your MO SPACE so they can donate.

* You're completely battered before you've done all the required prep, could get messy! Get all your chopping done early!
 
* Somehow I didn't raise any Mo!! Make sure everyone knows it's for Movember

Don't forget to have a little fun along the way - it's for a good cause - MOVEMBER

to serve 
Make sure your plates are warm and everyone has something to eat that agrees with them!! ENJOY and remember to give!

techniques used 
A little bit of love . . . always : ) 
Some camaraderie. 
A little showboating - where appropriate!
A little lubrication - right from the start (very shortly after the love), fix the Mo Bros & Mo Sistas a wee dram as they arrive!
 

Thanks for coming Mo Bros & Mo Sistas Big smiles, CHEERS!!!!!

links 
Please donate here!
Create your own Mo Space HERE!

~ menu ~ 

Sustainable White Fish Ceviche Edamame

Arroz al Horno w/ con Verduaras (Asparragos y Judías) y Salsa Picante

Dessert Cointreau Sorbet

~

(recipes in the book)

~

Here's what we did last week!

SOME SUGGESTIONS (some with recipe links)



Perfectly formed Baps (use 90g for pictured)

 

Will You Marry Me - Slow Roast Lamb and Roasties

Nothing like a fresh loaf of Homemade Bread - use 700g of this dough in a loaf tin for a lovely bit of bread!

Pan Fried Duck Breast w/ Vegetable Green Curry & Noodles - use your imagination for the green curry!!

It's the little touches that can make a dish, we use Micro Shrimps fried in clarified butter to garnish our Vietnamese pancake sushi. Crispy little fellas went down quite well! 
 

Two tone Mac and Cheese - Tomato on the bottom and a gorgeous Cheese Sauce on the Top!! (post coming) There was a lot of complaining when I cooked this for an unsuspecting person who shall remain nameless - needless to say plate was clean on return!!! : )

Smoked River Cobbler, Plaice & Salsa Picante w/ Coriander Black Rice and Wonton Crisp Salad










 

Rack of Lamb - Classic, simple, tasty!

Rub with a little oil and salt, sear in a heavy based roasting tin, until golden (pic) roast for 15-20min @ 200C

No mate! On the front of your face!! Your Mo's gone east!

Recipe: Sausage Rolls - Christmas treat! (These rock! Mum's are much better!! But these still rock!)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

First things first! No sausage roll is ever going to beat the sausage rolls that my mum's made for time immemorial for the family at Christmas -  and sometimes on my birthday fair amount of bargaining for that to
happen though! - years of honing and perfecting!

That said you can always practise! I was clearing bit of space in the freezer and found a couple of bits of pastry too small to be useful on their own, but together . . . . it might just work! A little more hunting rewarded me with a couple of rather nice looking sausages which I put on the side immediately to defrost (whilst putting the pastry in the fridge). A quick root around the fridge found me some chives that wouldn't have lasted much longer, and a little thyme. All I needed now was an egg for shiny loveliness and I was good to go!

I made these sausage roles in about 10 minutes flat from spare parts! It's really just an assembly job!

INGREDIENTS (makes 12 mini or 4 man size)
150g flakey pastry (buy if you want, but here's how to make it!!)
2 good quality sausages
6 pieces of pepperoni
5g chives
3g soft thyme
1 egg for wash and seal

APPARATUS
rolling pin
pastry brush

METHOD (preheat oven to 220C / Gas Mark 7 / cooking time ~20m)
Beat the egg in a bowl.
Finely chop the pepperoni, chives and thyme.
Remove the casing from the sausages and add the meat to the chopped ingredients.
Mix them all together and using a little flour on the counter roll into a sausage shape about 1inch (2.5cm) in diameter.

Cut in half at it's centre  - one sausage for each piece of pastry!
Take the pastry from the fridge and roll it out into an oblong, around 9 inches (~23cm) wide, and 3mm (1/5 inch) thick. Then cut along it's length into 2 pieces.

Take one of the sausages and place it at the top of one of the lengths of pastry and roll it towards you leaving an inch wide flap, brush this with egg, and finish rolling towards you.
Cut it into 6, 4cm rolls and and brush with beaten egg. Place on a greased baking tray.  

Repeat for the second roll.
You can cut them to any size you fancy!
Pop them in the oven for 20mins or until golden brown! 

 

(I usually check them after 15 minutes)

Cracking treat for all the family!! : ) Thanks Mum!