One of my favourite food is pub food. Something about how hot oil renders its superpowers to whatever ingredient is in it. It's definitely artery-clogging so it's not advisable to eat this type of food every day. However, once in awhile, it's good to indulge in greasy glory.

It's the weekend and I thought, why not go pub food lunch on this fantastic Friday.

Tip 1: if you don't have time to buy fresh squid rings, use the frozen ones... they taste as good as the fresh ones once they're cooked.

Ingredients:
250 grams squid rings
1/4 cup all purpose flour
salt and pepper
oil for frying

Serves 2 appetizers

Directions:
Heat oil until it's suitable for deep frying, 375F is the best temp.

Mix flour, salt and pepper in a medium size bowl.

Dredge your squid rings in the flour mixture, shake excess flour and deep fry them, 2 minutes.

Fish them out from the pan and rest it on a kitchen towel to soak excess oil.

Best eaten with Greek Oven Roasted Potatoes, Beer-battered Fish and Tartare Sauce. 

Enjoy your pub food!

-AcousticChef, cookin one tune at a time!

I just recently discovered the sheer pleasure of spoiling myself with cheese. Once a month, if not twice, I plan to have different cheese combinations and just eat them at leisure on a family day... weekends mostly.

Make it simple by having one type of each:
1. soft cheese such as Brie or Camembert
2. firm cheese like Asiago
3. blue vein cheese like Stilton or Roquefort

Serve it on a cheese board or your choice of serving plate with pecan nuts or walnuts, grapes or dried apricot. and some crackers.

It's a real pleasure to enjoy with a glass of good wine.

-AcousticChef.... cookin' one tune at a time!

I love caprese, in a pasta or as a salad... something about it that's so comforting.

Ingredients:
3 small eggplants cut into slices
coarse cooking salt
8 cherry tomatoes
350 grams bocconcini cheese
fresh basil leaves

Italian Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon red vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Grill eggplants until browned.

Cut cherry tomatoes in two and gently mix with bocconcini and some sea salt.

Combine all ingredients for italian dressing.

Drizzle 3/4 of italian dressing to the bocconcinis and tomatoes. Arrange eggplant slices and basil leaves the way you want to present it.

Chill bocconcinis for 15 minutes or up to 3 hours. Just before serving, drizzle remaining dressing.

Enjoy!

-AcousticChef.... cookin' one tune at a time! 

I love potatoes ever since, mash it, fry it, bake it, boil it, love 'em all! This version is new to me, it's sort of in the oven getting baked but it's boiling coz it's in water and according to the recipe, it should end up roasted. Trivial... very trivial.

Tip 1: if you're using chicken buillon, then lessen your sea salt, go by feel
Tip 2: this takes ages so do something else while you're at it :)
Tip 3: snatch the caramelized ones first before someone else does!

Ingredients:
8 large potatoes, peeled, cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves, minced. Add more if you want but don't make it less
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup water
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 lemon, juiced
sea salt
fresh coarse ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 420F.

Spray your pan with oil.

Put all ingredients into the baking pan and give it a good toss.

Bake for 40 minutes.

When a nice golden brown crust has formed on the potatoes, give it a good stir to expose the white underside. Season lightly with a bit more sea salt and pepper and a light sprinkling of oregano.

Add 1/2 cup more water if pan looks to be getting dry. Pop back into the oven and brown the other side.

Enjoy!

-AcousticChef.... cookin' one tune at a time!

I only prepare baby potatoes with my salmon en croute... boiled in water and slathered with melted butter, showered with sea salt and pepper.

Then I found this recipe which I tweaked a bit ... this is now my new fave!

Ingredients:
10 baby potatoes
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup herbs
knob of butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the first six ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Heat it until it boils. Lower down the heat and continue to simmer for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Drain and cut each into two. Put a knob of butter, salt and pepper, lemon zest and herbs. Mix all together until potato halves are well coated.

Fast and easy... enjoy your tatters!

These was gobbled too fast so... photos next time!

Original Recipe
Bon Appetit | March 2006

Surprisingly enough, I got hooked by this dish at our Caferia. Yes, it's not often cafeteria serves great tasting food but that's just how it is at ours. Sad to say, they have a vast list of dishes that in the last two years, I only managed to eat this four times.

I tried requesting a repeat to the Chef but I got a resounding "No". There's a schedule to follow... hmp!

So, I found out how to make it... woohoo!

Tip 1: Remove as much water from the spinach to keep it creamy instead of soupy
Tip 2: If you want this recipe with a kick, add a small red chile or a dash of chili flakes and 1/8 tsp black peppercorns together with the onion
Tip 3: If you want it really, really soft, wilt it longer than 3 minutes.
Tip 4: This side dish is best served with fried or dried dishes such as fried fish, steaks or roast, or fried chicken. 

Ingredients:
1/8 cup water
12 ounce baby spinach leaves
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/8 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup whipping cream

Serves 5 as a side dish

Directions:
Heat the water in a large pot. Once bubble starts to form, add half of the spinach and toss until it is wilted. Transfer it onto a strainer. Wilt the other half the same way. Press the spinach against the strainer to release all the liquid. Once rid of every possible liquid, chop spinach coarsely then set aside.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and bay leaf until onion is softened, about three minutes. Whisk in flour and salt. Cook until it is pale gold and the aroma becomes smells nutty. Constantly whisk for about three minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk. Boil it until it's thick, strirring for another two minutes. Strain the sauce into a medium bowl.

Heat cream in the same saucepan over medium heat until it simmers. Add the strained sauce and whisk until it is smooth and is starts simmering.

Add Spinach and stir until heated through. Season with salt and pepper and end with a dash or two of nutmeg.

Bon Appetit!