Category Archives: Food

Brits love French cheese

Raclette cheese

Wow! In 2012, almost 115,000 tonnes of French cheese were exported to the UK, according to this recent article in The Guardian. Of that, just under 2,995 tonnes were “pressed cooked” cheese, which includes abondance, comté, beaufort and emmental – up from 1,631 tonnes in 2000. Quelle surprise!

The UK’s 50 best tea rooms

Milestone Hotel

In honor of National Afternoon Tea Week this week, check out The Independent’s 50 best tea rooms! I’m sad to say I haven’t been to any of these (I’ve only ever been to the Ritz Hotel in London for tea!) but will add them to my list for a future visit!

Ever been to any of these? What’s your favorite British tea room?

End Marmite neglect

Have you seen this?

I’ll admit I might be getting a visit shortly. I find that American toast is a sad sort of substitute for the kind of perfect British bread that had served as the every day vehicle for Marmite spread on our visit to the U.K. this spring.

Is your Marmite well kept or does it need to be freed?

Thanks to Lillie for the email!

The secret ingredient to perfect scones

Maybe it was hearing this story on NPR’s “Fresh Air” last week, but I’ve had “America’s Test Kitchen” on the brain and wanted to test drive one of their recipes.

This weekend, I decided to try a new current scone recipe and why not see WWATKD (What Would America’s Test Kitchen Do?)

Their cream scone with currants recipe proved to be ridiculously amazing and even better than the Epicurious recipe that has been my go-to scone recipe for the past year. Scone agnostics need to check this out.

Cream scones with currants

The secret ingredient? Cream. I know. It’s not very British. But tasting is believing!

Cream Scones with Currants

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes and chilled
1/2 cup currants
1 cup heavy cream

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a food processor to combine, about 6 pulses. Scatter the butter evenly over the top and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few slightly larger butter lumps, about 12 pulses.

2. Add the currants and quickly pulse once to combine. Transfer the dough to a large bowl. Stir in the cream with a rubber spatula until the dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

3. Turn the dough and any floury bits out onto a floured counter and knead until it forms a rough, slightly sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Press the dough into a 9-inch pan. Unmold the dough and cut into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on an ungreased baking sheet.

4. Bake until the scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

IMG_1477

One American’s English trifle

Strawberry Trifle. Photo credit: Susan Jones.

Strawberry Trifle. Photo credit: Susan Jones.

Did anyone else hear the summer trifle story that was featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered” this week?

As part of their Taste of Summer recipe contest, they asked readers to submit their favorite “found recipes” and Indiana resident Susan Jones submitted this recipe for strawberry trifle, which she found on a country walk one day. (Presumably someone had thrown out lots of recipes and this was among the stack). It turned out to be a winning recipe for Jones.

One look at the recipe would make any Brit shudder. It’s a completely Americanized version of trifle, made with – horror of horrors! – Cool Whip and cream cheese. And having said that, I should add that I haven’t made it, but I can also nearly guarantee that it is absolutely delicious. Cool Whip + strawberries + angel food cake = an instant winner, no matter how you cut it. Blasphemous but true!


Recipe: Strawberry Trifle

16 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
12 ounces whipped cream or Cool Whip
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 angel food cake
3 quarts fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
Fresh mint

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until creamy. Add whipped cream and vanilla. Cut angel food cake into small squares. Slice all but 3 or 4 strawberries. Gently mix sliced berries in bowl with 1/4 cup sugar; let sit for 15 minutes. Cover the bottom of a large trifle dish (clear, stemmed bowl) with a layer of the cake squares. Follow with a layer of cream cheese mixture, then strawberries. Alternate, ending with the cream cheese mixture on top. Garnish with reserved whole strawberries and mint leaves. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.

Percy Pig turns 21

percy pig turns 21

Percy Pig turns 21 this year! If you’ve never had a Percy Pig gummy sweet from Marks & Spencer, you don’t know what you’re missing! I like to think of myself as a gummy connoisseur and Percy Pig puts every Haribo and Trolli sweet to shame.

Read more on how Percy became the sweets dynamo that it is today. And order some Percy Pig paraphernalia from Marks & Spencer online!

Happy birthday, Percy! And have a happy weekend!

Jamie Oliver’s Recipeas

Recipeas

When we were visiting Notting Hill this spring, we happened upon Recipeas, one of Jamie Oliver’s kitchen shops. Have you heard of it?

I have nearly a dozen Jamie Oliver cookbooks and am a faithful fan of his TV programs, but hadn’t heard a peep about Recipeas. Taking a walk inside, I was struck by this charming little deli/cafe/cook store that also offers cooking lessons. So many intoxicating aromas! So many wonderful breads, olive oils, wines, cheeses, items perfect for packing into a picnic! Yet it was intimate and cozy, not intimidating or snooty.

I will definitely think of booking some lessons on our next trip over! Some classes center around a specific dish like beef wellington, roast pork belly or Thai green curry, led by cooking pros. Others focus on a technique like bread baking, filleting fish or rolling sushi. It might be the inspiration I need to get back into the kitchen with gusto!

Recipeas, 92-94 Notting Hill Gate, W11 3QB. 0203 375 5398.

The best fish and chips in London

Fish and chips at Masters Super Fish

We stumbled upon a truly excellent fish and chips shop on our last trip to London and I have to share … Masters Super Fish on Waterloo Road. It’s not much to look at – a simple hole in the wall that is reputed to be a favorite among black cab drivers. In fact, when we were there, we did see quite a few!

But we were there to get our fish and chips fix, not for the ambiance. We had met up with my sister-in-law for a tour of Parliament, followed by a trip on the London Eye earlier in the day. It was the logical next step.

Whitebait and onion rings

We started with some whitebait (not for me!) and onion rings. The kids enjoyed the look of the whitebait and my son enjoyed eating it!

But the best bit was their fish and chips, which were accompanied by white bread, prawns and a pickle. I ordered the haddock and it was the best British fish and chips I’ve had in years. Great batter, fresh fish, enormous portions, good price. We will be back!

Masters Super Fish, 191 Waterloo Road, Southwark, London. SE1 8UX. 020 7928 6924

10 ingredients for a jubilant 4th of July bbq

Happy 4th of July! Whether you’re stateside or in Blighty, here are Boden‘s ingredients for a jubilant 4th of July bbq.

Independence Day Tips from Boden

I’ll see you back here on Monday! Enjoy the long weekend!

Infographic: The history of high tea

I spotted this charming infographic by Confused.com on Pinterest!

Infographic: history of high tea