Pulchritudinous, portable and patriotic

How to cook the perfect scotch egg

One of Felicity’s perfect scotch eggs. Photograph: Felicity Cloake

The scotch egg needs no introduction – their English origins (they were created by Fortnum & Mason of Piccadilly in 1738), metropolitan modishness and comedy potential having already been thoroughly chewed over, digested, and the crumbs left out for the wasps on these pages. It’s got to the point where one can judge a pub’s level of culinary ambition by its attitude to scotch eggs.

The scotch egg, being robust, conveniently hand-sized, and utterly, ridiculously delicious, fits the bill nicely.

The Perfect Scotch Egg

Whatever you’re celebrating this weekend, a scotch egg will do you proud (vegetarians, if any of you are still reading, check out this recipe). Pulchritudinous, portable, and eminently patriotic, it’s the best thing never to come out of Scotland.

Makes 4

• 6 eggs
• 200g plain sausagemeat
  
• 200g pork mince
  
• 3 tbsp chopped mixed herbs (I like chives, sage, parsley and thyme)
  
• A pinch of ground mace
  
• 1 tbsp English mustard
  
• Splash of milk
  
• 50g flour
  
• 100g panko breadcrumbs
  
• Vegetable oil, to cook

1. Put four of the eggs into a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for five minutes, then put straight into a large bowl of iced water for at least 10 minutes.

2. Put the meat, herbs, mace and mustard into a bowl, season and mix well with your hands. Divide into four.

3. Carefully peel the eggs. Beat the two raw eggs together in a bowl with a splash of milk. Put the flour in a second bowl and season, then tip the breadcrumbs into a third bowl. Arrange in an assembly line.

4. Put a square of clingfilm on the worksurface, and flour lightly. Put one of the meatballs in the centre, and flour lightly, then put another square of cling film on top. Roll out the meat until large enough to encase an egg and remove the top sheet of clingfilm.

5. To assemble the egg, roll one peeled egg in flour, then put in the centre of the meat. Bring up the sides of the film to encase it, and smooth it into an egg shape with your hands. Dip each egg in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, then egg and then breadcrumbs.

6. Fill a large pan a third full of vegetable oil, and heat to 170C (or when a crumb of bread sizzles and turns golden, but does not burn, when dropped in it). Cook the eggs a couple at a time, for seven minutes, until crisp and golden, then drain on kitchen paper before serving.

What’s your favourite variety of scotch egg – and has anyone come up with a decent vegetarian alternative? And which other perfect picnic foods will you be indulging in this weekend?

Source: The Guardian Red more about the desired characteristics of this delight

The Mystery of Guinness’ Falling Bubbles

Have you ever noticed that the bubbles in a pint of Guinness, or any stout fall, yes, they descend down the glass…

Falling stout bubbles explained

Irish mathematicians may have solved the mystery of why bubbles in stout beers such as Guinness sink: it may simply be down to the glass.

Simulations suggest an upward flow at the glass’s centre and a downward flow at its edges in which the liquid carried the bubbles down with it.

But the reasons behind this flow pattern remained a mystery.

Now a study on the Arxiv server reports simulations and experiments showing the standard glass’ shape is responsible.

Many stout beers contain nitrogen as well as the carbon dioxide that is present in all beers.

Because nitrogen is less likely to dissolve in liquid, that results in smaller and longer-lasting bubbles.

Calculations show that a glass shaped “upside-down” would exhibit the opposite effect on bubbles

But it is the sinking bubble that has confounded physicists and mathematicians alike for decades.

Like many such “fluid dynamics” problems, getting to the heart of the matter is no easy task; only recently was it proved they actually sink rather than being the result of an optical illusion.

Now the University of Limerick’s William Lee, Eugene Benilov and Cathal Cummins have discovered the simple answer to the problem – and a test that can be carried out by consumers as well.

The team has been generally interested in the formation of bubbles in liquids.

“One of the things we found was it’s actually very easy to see bubbles forming in stout beer rather than in, say, champagne where the bubble formation process is much more violent,” Dr Lee told BBC News.

Drag race

But as has happened to a generation of like-minded scientists before them, the question of falling bubbles became their focus.

The team had the idea – borne out by calculations carried out by Mr Cummins – that the relative density of bubbles and the surrounding liquid could be behind the phenomenon.

A settling pint held at an angle shows both falling and rising bubbles in the same glass

“If you imagine your pint is full of bubbles, then the bubbles will start to rise,” Dr Lee said.

But the bubbles in a standard pint glass find themselves in a different environment as they rise straight up.

“Because of the sloping wall of the pint, the bubbles are moving away from the wall, which means you’re getting a much denser region next to the wall,” Dr Lee explained.

“That is going to sink under its own gravity, because it’s less buoyant, and that sinking fluid will pull the bubbles down.”

The bubbles, that is, are “trying” to rise, but the circulation that creates drives fluid down at the wall of the glass.

“You’ll see sinking bubbles not because the bubbles themselves are sinking, but because the fluid is and it’s pulling them down with it.”

The same flow pattern occurs with other beers such as lagers, but the larger bubbles of carbon dioxide are less subject to that drag.

Mr Cummins carried out calculations using a simulated pint and “anti-pint” – that is, the upside-down version of a pint glass – showing the effect at work; in the anti-pint, the bubbles rise as expected.

For those interested in experimenting in the pub, the effect can be best seen if a pint of stout is served in a straight-sided, cylindrical glass (not quite filled up).

If the glass is tilted at an angle while the pint settles, the side in the direction of the tilt represents the normal situation of a pint glass, while the opposite side is the “anti-pint” – and bubbles can be seen to both rise and fall in the same glass.

Source: BBC News

Sunday Art Fare

Arch with a View

The Party Bar

We all know that a bar needs drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

So a well stocked bar would have an assortment of beers, some spirits, some wine, some sodas and some fruit juice and, of course some ice.

But is that all?

If you are a ‘home-barman’ (or girl, I don’t discriminate, but I detest the term ‘bar-person’) you will probably offer mixed-drinks and cocktails.

I am a hobbiest-barman at home, and a professional at work, although I haven’t worked in a bar for many years. The last time was when I opened a restaurant in Puno, Peru for a travel agency in 2000. So I am familiar with bars.

So, what else does a bar need?

Orange & Lemon slices and mint leaves

Start with the standard, salt, pepper, white and brown sugar.

You’ll need garnishes, mint leaves, orange and lemon slices, pineapple leaves (if you are serving piña colada – always a favourite)

Angostura Bitters

Bitters, Angostura Bitters are essential.

Extras can include, celery salt, cinnamon sticks, liquorice sticks (make a great contrast with orange coloured drinks – especially at Halloween), Maraschino cherries, olives (green and black), cocktail onions, and things like grapes can always be used.

Tabasco Sauce

Extras like Tabasco sauce, and cordials are often handy.

You can add pickled onions, gherkins, coconut, chocolate and glacé (candied) fruit there is a whole host of stuff that you can use.

Of course, it all depends on what drinks you are serving and how fancy do you want to get.

Then there are little bits and pieces like straws, swizzle sticks and umbrellas, if you want to go the whole nine yards.

You can even say it with flowers

 

 

 

 

If you want some more flower ideas…

Check: Pansy Recipes

You’ll be amazed at what you can do.

Infinite Pizza

Sorry, this post was a lemon…

I’ll try again later.

How to make Pizza Dough

Sunday…

Pizza…

What more needs to be said?

Oh, yeah, homemade pizza!

“But the dough is so hard to make!” You all cry in unison.

No, it’s not.

Homemade Pizza Dough Easy Winelady Cooks tells you how easy it is.

Sunday Art Fare

Floris van Dyck: Stillleben (1613)

What are Aebleskiver?

Aebleskiver

Aebleskiver are a Danish treat dating back from the 1600s; at least that’s as far back as they can trace the particular pans that cook them. The Danish also serve them as a tradition at Christmas.

Basically they are a batter ball that can be filled with jam or covered with jam, syrup or dusted.

Æbleskiver (Danish plural meaning apple slices (singular: æbleskive)) are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere.

An aebleskive pan

Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover, æbleskiver are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover. – Wikipedia

Or you can read some more on Home on the Range

Or you can get a recipe from Maggie’s One Butt Kitchen

Or you can Google Aebelskiver…

Batter is poured into the oiled hollows and as they begin to cook, they are turned with a, skewer or fork to give the cakes their unique ball shape. Traditionally they were cooked with chunks of apple or applesauce inside but you rarely find these these ingredients in today’s modern recipes.

Variations with currents or savoury versions can be experimented with; try spinach, tomato and feta cheese for example, or just plain cheese.

Cooking aebelskiver

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee: classic party snacks

Party like it’s 1952: Xanthe Clay’s selection of slightly twisted tea-party classics

 

Source: The Telegraph Read more

 

 

Disgusting Drinks