Going to the dogs!

I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce you to our pack.


This is our beautiful Standard Poodle; Flora.  Flora is 14 years old, almost blind and mad as a box of frogs.  We think she's a bit like 'Patsy' in AbFab.  We love her dearly, though.  She struggles a bit with her mobility these days but she still gives it a go running after the youngsters.  At the moment she's being walked separately from the others as it's a bit muddy over the fields and she's not great at keeping upright but come the Spring she'll be well and truly back with the pack.




This is our 7 year old Giant Schnauzer, Freya.  She's a huge lump of a thing who thinks she's a lap dog but we love her to bits.  She is the gentlest, loveliest dog you could ever wish to meet.  The Woo actually calls her 'Best Dog in the World'!  Her favourite occupation is running after Bobby on a dog walk; barking loudly and incessantly.  I'm surprised the poor little bugger isn't as deaf as a post by now.  We nearly lost her to GDV the year before last. She had to have emergency surgery and it was really touch and go for a while but she pulled through and you wouldn't know now how close a call it was.

...and so to the aforementioned Bobby; our English Springer Spaniel.  Bobby is a 6 year old rescue dog and was originally mine before I met Woo.  You wouldn't think that now as she is his firm favourite and the only time I get any attention is either when she is out, busy or I have food!  Bobby is a renowned thief who will steal any food, any how, any where...he has actually been witnessed stealing whole cheeses from the breakfast bar during one of our famous (or is it notorious?) cheese and wine parties.  A loveable rogue about sums this one up.

Angel was our first Greek immigrant.  We fell in love with her on our second trip to Skiathos in June 2014.  She was found starved and with a broken leg; tied up outside the wonderful Skiathos Dog Shelter on the island.  I was lucky enough to fly out and collect her in the July and bring her and four other dogs back to the UK via Germany.  It's a long story...maybe to be told another time.  Angel is now very much part of the family and, as you can see, a lot better of than the poor starved thing that was abandoned outside the shelter.



Finally we come to Kouki.  Named after the beautiful Koukinaries Beach on the island; she came to us in the early summer last year.  We holidayed there, as usual, in June and fell in love with her at first sight.  She's as bright as a button and within a few seconds on her first walk with us identified which pocket I had the treats in and spent the entire time trying to mug me!  Kouki has what I would describe as an 'independent spirit' - she's a right little minx!!  She's probably an even more prolific thief than Bobby and we have had to completely 'Kouki-proof' the kitchen cupboards, the shoe cupboard; in fact we can't leave anything, literally anything, lying about.  It's like having a two year old child in the house.  Kouki's two main claims to fame are - teaching the others how to chew through six cans of dog food and eat the contents - and climbing up onto the breakfast bar and eating some chicken which had been left there as a trap.  We actually caught her on the kitchen Mac which had been cunningly turned into a CCTV camera by The Woo!



So that's our pack.  We might be completely mad having five dogs (and the cats - don't even get me started on the cats!) but they fill every day with joy and we love them to bits.

PS If you want to find out more about the Skiathos Dog Shelter and the wonderful work done by Jan, Lee, Bob, Lou and their volunteer helpers you can search for it on Facebook.

Lobster night

Woo and I usually have a couple of frozen lobsters tucked away.  We pick them up for a fiver each whenever we see them in Lidl.  They're small but good for things like lobster thermidor or a pasta dish but I tend to buy fresh live ones from Billingsgate Market if we're feeling particularly foodie!

We decided to get a couple out of the freezer at the weekend with a view to a lobster night this evening,  Sam's in as well and he's up for a bit of spicy grub so I'm doing my version of aragosta del diavolo (Devil's Lobster).

I started things off earlier today by making the lobster sauce that I will add to the tomato base later.  First off I cut the two defrosted lobsters in half and took out the meat from the tails and claws.  This was cling filmed and bunged in the fridge.  I broke up the shells into a bowl and turned my attention to the hob.  In a large pan I softened one sliced onion in about 50g of butter.  I then added a tablespoon of tomato puree and cooked it all out for a minute or so.  Into the pan then went the lobster shells, 500g of fish stock and a glass of white wine.  Once this was warmed through I added a good lug of brandy and flambeed it to get rid of the alcohol.  Everything was brought to the boil and then the pan was covered and left to simmer for about 30 minutes.


It was all left to cool for a bit and then I used a food processor to blitz the whole lot up; shells and all.  This was then passed through a sieve to leave an unctuously rich lobster sauce which I will use to boost the diavolo base later.

At this stage you could just add the chopped up lobster meat, season and simply serve stirred through some spaghetti, linguine or even tagliatelle - the choice is yours and it makes a great light supper as the sauce can be made during the day or the day before and simply reheated with the lobster meat in it.

But now to the main event!

I like to batch cook sauces as it makes great economic sense and also is a great labour saver if you're a bit pushed for time or fancy a night off cooking and just want to eat from the freezer.  Freezing stuff isn't cheating - its all still home cooked from scratch and I know exactly what's gone into anything I make!  This quantity of sauce will serve 6-8 people so I will take out what I need for us and then freeze the rest.

In a large pan I softened four big fat finely chopped cloves of garlic, a couple of teaspoons of chilli flakes and a teaspoon of dried oregano in about six tablespoons of olive oil.  I then added a tablespoonful of tomato puree and cooked it out for a minute or so.  Into this then went a couple of shot glasses of brandy and the whole lot was cooked until the alcohol had evaporated which took a couple of minutes or so.  Lastly, in went a can of chopped peeled cherry tomatoes, a couple of bay leaves and the tomato can full of water.  The water will cook out and leave a lovely thick sauce.

The whole lot was brought to the boil, covered and then left to simmer on a low heat for 30/40 minutes.

I used cherry tomatoes because I think they add a sweetness which complements the lobster and work well with the robust heat of the chilli flakes but a simple can of chopped or plum tomatoes is just as good.  I make no bones about it, though...this is a fiery dish and not for the feint-hearted!  If it's too hot for you when you do a final taste before serving just run a little cream through the sauce before it's stirred through the pasta.

After half and hour I added the pre-made lobster sauce to the pan and carried on with the slow simmer.  At this stage I also put a pan of salted water on to boil for the pasta.  I'm using linguine this evening because the slightly thicker, flatter surface takes up the sauce really well but the choice is yours...the pasta rules are only hard and fast if you're Italian!

In ten minutes or so the two sauces were heating up nicely and thickening well so I decanted half off into another pan and set the remainder aside to cool down prior to freezing.  I then added the chopped up lobster meat and 300g of cooked prawns.  A few minutes cooking to heat the shellfish through and then I drained off the pasta and stirred it through the diavolo sauce until it was well and truly coated.  Into bowls with a garnish of chopped parsley and we were good to go.  Chunks of crusty bread on the side and job's a good'n!

Leftover roast goose risotto with orange and pomegranate salsa

We had a New Year's roast goose yesterday and had a load of meat left over so I've come up with this seasonal version of a risotto to use it all up.

I started off by soaking some dried mushrooms in boiling water for half an hour or so.  Every risotto needs mushrooms but the ones you get in supermarkets can be either boring or expensive.  We have a large jar of dried mushrooms bought from Bookers which contains Oysters, Boletes and Cloud Ears.  This is a great earthy mixture and should compliment the goose perfectly.

If you've had goose you'll know it's quite heavy and fatty.  If you haven't had it...you should!  To counteract the fattiness I decided on an orange based salsa...

Whilst the mushrooms were rehydrating I segmented two oranges and put them in a large bowl.  To this I added half a finely chopped red chilli, a good handful of pomegranate seeds, a dash of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.  All mixed together, cling-filmed and stuck in the freezer.  I'll mix in a handful of freshly chopped mint just prior to serving

to freshen it all up and balance out the hot and sweet flavours.

Now on to the risotto!  Woo's already keeping me company in the kitchen rustling up a meaty, ricey treat for the dogs' supper and her son, Joe, is on his way home so best get cracking!

In a large pan on a low heat I sweated off a chopped shallot in some butter and to this I added the other half of the chilli I didn't use in the salsa.  This I kept in one piece and will remove after about five minutes or so. I want a bit of heat but not too much.  I would normally add garlic at this point as well but the goose was stuffed with a whole head of garlic and a couple of satsumas when it was cooked yesterday and I used the carcass to make the stock I'll be using so there will be plenty of garlic flavour going in anyway.  Once the shallots are nice and creamy it's time to add the rice.  

So, to the pan I've added about 250/300g of carnaroli risotto rice and stirred it in to thoroughly coat it with the softened butter.  I've used carnaroli rice rather than arborio because it has a firmer texture and is longer grained and seems to hold up better during the slow cooking needed for a decent risotto.  You can use either though it doesn't really matter unless you want to show off in a blog!!

Once the rice has cooked for about a minute or so its time to start adding the stock a ladle at a time.  Let each addition get sucked up by the rice and then add another.  Keep going until the rice is soft but still has a slight bite to it.  You can't really take your eye off the ball with a risotto and you certainly can't rush it so listen to some music and enjoy the experience.

In goes ladle after ladle of my goose stock and after about 5 minutes about half a glass of white wine.  I've got the stock over a low heat in a pan one ring over so it's an easy job!  Woo and I are having a Dry January so the only wine being consumed this evening is already in the pan!  After about 20 minutes it was ready for the next step.

I've chopped the rehydrated mushrooms into rustic chunks and pan wards they go, closely followed by the shredded goose meat.  Tasted and seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - always taste before seasoning when using leftovers as they will have retained at least some of the seasoning from the original cooking.  You can add more but you cant take any away!

It's all coming together now so out of the fridge comes the salsa and in goes some chopped mint.

...and into the risotto goes a handful of parmesan cheese and the same of chopped parsley...one minute more for the cheese to melt in then all done and ready to serve!

New Year's Resolution

I can't believe it's been almost two years since my last post. So much has changed since then. I'm still living in Tonbridge with my Woo, still own Kylie the Campervan, still love all things food but the old Kylie's Kitchen thing is no more; hence the blog name change and change of direction.

We now own five dogs; two of which we rescued from the beautiful Greek Island of Skiathos, still have anything up to four cats; depending entirely on their feline comings and goings and both Woo and I are still heavily into everything food.

I cook three days a week; one day doing a bit of volunteering for a Luncheon Club at Tonbridge Baptist Church, two days a week at the Derwent Day Centre also at TBC and have recently done a bit of cheffing for a local catering company. Rumour has it they might be taking me on regularly so watch this space!

I love to cook and love trying out new recipes; some already established, some with a bit of a twist and some completely out of the bald old head of mine!

So...leave a message and say 'hi' if you're an old friend having a bit of a re-visit, a new friend in the making or just a passer by in this wonderful food journey of ours.

Please feel free to share this blog with friends. I will be doing regular updates on Twitter and Facebook so any feedback either on there or here would be greatly appreciated.

I'm glad to be back and am looking forward to developing this new version of my blog.  Watch this space!

Roasted cod loin

The Woo was out with the girls this evening doing a recce on the El Mariachi restaurant in Tonbridge.  I dropped a few of them in town and then back home for supper and a glass of vino as Alan (of friends Gill and Alan) was going to be picking them up.

I'd picked up a lovely piece of cod loin when I finished work and decided to curry it up a bit and have it with some pillau style rice.

The cod was rolled in a dry mix of polenta, garam masala and cumin seeds.  This I started of by pan frying on all four sides in quite a bit of butter for about a minute each side.  The whole lot was then popped into a 180* oven for about 15 minutes.  Every five minutes or so I took it out and gave it a good basting with the hot butter in the pan.  I rested this for a few minutes when it came out of the oven.

For the pillau rice I used a mixture of basmati and wild rice which we have become completely addicted to.  It has the freshness of basmati with a lovely rustic bite from the wild rice.  I cooked the rice and then gently fried it in loads of butter with softened red onion, chilli, garlic, turmeric, mushrooms and peas.  A good sprinkle of chopped coriander and some seasoning finished it off prior to dishing up.

I sprinkled the cod with sea salt and had it on a bed of the rice.  On the side I had some curry mayonnaise.  This was simply some nice oily mayo with a bit of hot curry powder and chopped fresh chilli stirred in.


I think it worked.  Next time I might try fennel seeds instead of cumin, though.

Paprika chicken

The Woo fancied a bit of spicy chicken and, as her word is more or less my command, I stopped off at Hayward's on the way home from work and bought a couple of chicken legs.  We love our chicken but we're not great fans of breast meat.  We prefer the thighs/legs for their much deeper, chickeny flavour.

I marinated the legs in some olive oil, loads of garlic, chopped chilli, half a teaspoonful of smoked paprika and a touch of salt and pepper.  They were then briefly pan fried to colour and whacked in a hot oven for about 20 minutes; basted frequently with the oozy paprika butter than developed in the pan.  The skin goes quite black but it doesn't taste at all burnt...just lovely and spicy/sweet.

I served this with some spicy mushroomy, garlicky rice with a little chopped spring onions (found in the fridge) stirred in at the last minute.  It was fresh and spicy...and CHEAP!

Braised red cabbage

Yesterday I picked up a free range rack of pork that my work colleague, Ros, had reduced to only five quid a kilo.  Bargain!  With my discount... Bargain Bargain!!  We decided to save it for tonight as The Woo had a night out with the girlies yesterday evening and Sam and I opted for the chippy instead of me cooking.  A very nice cod and chips from The Diamond fish shop in Martin Hardy Way certainly set me up for the evening.

The pork was roasted on a bed of onions, sage and garlic with a good lug of red wine to get the gravy started.  With this we had roast potatoes and my braised red cabbage.  I do this quite often and with the addition of some chopped apple near the end of cooking time it goes so well with pork.  It's just as good with cold meats and cheese too, freezes well and keeps for a good while in the fridge due to the slight pickling effect caused by the balsamic vinegar and sugar.

So for braised red cabbage...

In a large pan I slowly cooked a couple of largish red onions in about half a bottle of red wine.  To this was added about half a teaspoon of ground coriander, a teaspoon of ground cumin, some sea salt, a good lug of balsamic vinegar and about an equal quantity of sugar.  I didn't taste it until the red onions had gone completely soft and gloopy after soaking up some of the red wine.  This took about 30 minutes on a slow simmer with the lid on.  How vinegary/sweet you want it is really a matter of taste so now's the time to adjust with a little more of either the balsamic or the sugar.  I had mine just about right as we prefer a slight tart edge to cut through the roasted pork.

At this point I added a finely sliced red cabbage, stirred it around a bit and then bunged the lid back on and forgot about it for an hour or so.  The idea is that the cabbage slowly braises in the wine and soaks most of it up so you end up with a lovely soft cabbagy, oniony, winey pan of goodness.  After an hour I checked it, tasted it in case it need a little adjustment of seasoning and then turned the heat of until just before serving time when I warmed it through with a chopped apple stirred in.  With the pork this evening I wanted the apples still with a little crunch to off-set the softness of the cabbage.  As a late night snack with cheese or tomorrow with whatever---the apple goes soft too and the whole thing is the epitomy of unctuousness!