Any Port in a Storm

Taken on an iPhone 4s with Instagram

Wine is awesome, thought not ALL wine is equally as awesome as the next. With the credit crunch still looming and money not going as far as it used to, I’m going to teach you an easy trick to make your wine money go much further. I tend to find the best red wines have a deep, punchy character, very similar to port. So, if you buy a bottle of red that’s not quite hitting the spot, add a drop of port and it transforms your humble glass of wine into an absolute zinger. You can pick up a half decent bottle of port for around £8 at the supermarket (think of how many bottles of wine you could rescue from the depths with a few drops of port in each glass)

A short and sweet blog to help you spend less when times are hard. 

Moules and Cullen Skink



Taken with iphone 4s and Instagram

It's been a little while since my last update, I've moved house to a smaller kitchen and the lighting isn’t quite right for a good photo (along with stacked pots and pans not looking good in the shot) but I threw together a hearty meal last night which deserved an entry. Now, those of you who have read my blog will think this is a bit of a cheat as it's just a combination of 2 previous posts fused together. Mussels and Cullen Skink, delicious. I saw a photo of this on Pinterest and thought I'd have a go. The nights are drawing in again and this hearty autumnal soup will keep you going until you need to start prepping the turkey.

If you have some potatoes and shallots in the cupboard and some milk and wilting rocket in the fridge, you can make this on the cheap no problem. Pick up some smoked haddock fillets from the supermarket (the yellow dyed ones are just fine – contrary to what the telechefs tell you), buy a small pot of cream and small bag of live mussels from the fish counter. I've never used the cooked mussels or frozen mussels but I'm sure they'd be fine too. Buy a small crusty loaf as a tear and share.

To start, clean and de-beard your mussels, leave them to the side in some cold water until you need them. Poach the haddock in enough milk to cover them. If you have a bay tree outside or some bay leaves in the cupboard, throw one in with a few peppercorns to give it a little boost. Keep your eye on the pan because milk has a tendency to over-boil, after a couple of minutes remove the fish and set aside on a small plate to cool. Remove the peppercorns now because if you leave them in they'll be an unpleasant peppery crunch when you're eating it later. Add a big glug of milk to the pan and throw in your diced potato and sliced shallots. I tend to use rooster potatoes because they're floury and cook quite quickly. Simmer the potatoes in the milk until just cooked, add the cream and mussels to the pan and put the lid on (it's best to have a pan with a glass lid so you can see if the heat is on too high). Give the mussels 2-3 minutes before you open the lid and flake in the haddock. Just before you serve, chop up some rocket and throw it into the pan. Serve with some crusty bread and a little more rocket. No need to salt and pepper because you seasoned the milk earlier with the haddock and peppercorns. Enjoy

NB. You have two choices with the mussels. Because there'll be quite a few in the bag, you can either put them all in and when they're cooked, remove half of them from the shells. Or, you can only cook half of them and have moules and frites the next night. I chose the latter, mussels are far too tasty not to have them 2 days in a row!

Surf & Turf boyger (said in a New York accent)

taken with an iphone 4s

Just a quick burger blog for you. I thought I’d give this one a try, we knew we wanted burgers tonight but what kind? Chilli burgers? Bacon and cheese? Sun-dried tomatoes and pesto? So many options. Wandering past the fish counter I suddenly thought ‘surf and turf’. Lobster was a bit rich and prawns would be all over the place so I went straight for the seafood sticks. Mayo or ketchup? How about both, marie rose sauce it is then. Topped with a few slices of avocado and fresh rocket, you’ve got yourself a tasty treat.

TIP. You always see chefs peeling avocados then cutting them up. If you want to save on mess, cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and then use a table knife to cut strips into the avocado. Do not cut through the skin. Then, use a dessert spoon and curve it under the skin of the fruit and you’ll get clean slices of avocado to use. Pour a little lemon juice over then to stop them oxidising and going brown.

To make a quick marie-rose sauce use a large dollop of mayo with a squirt of ketchup mixed with a little bit of Worcester sauce and lemon juice, season to taste and start building your burger. Seafood sticks cost next to nothing and you can buy avocados individually so you don’t have to spend the earth to try something new.

enjoy