Badly needed update! From Browns Focus to Busaba Eathai to Princi

My web log is showing signs of neglect... back to norm soon I hope! Went to the Browns Focus Halloween Party last night. Cocktails by Nobu and Food provided by S&M cafe - a selection of three sausages with mash and mushy pea dips, roast beef and horseradish in mini yorkshire puds and mackerel pate on bread. Delicious! The cocktails were a mixture of so-so... pomegranate juice stains all over my hands and shirt, what a clutz.

Went to Busaba Eathai on Wardour Street for a late lunch in the midst of the miserable heavy rain. Can't help but order the Thai Calamari. Love it. Stuffed our faces on the Mee Siam although I think they were a little mean on the amount of coconut sauce.

What is that across the street? A new shop? It looks like the kind of place I need to see... NOW. Unable to tell whether it was a restaurant or a bar... It turned out to be the new Artisan Italian bakery imported from Milan, Princi... described to me by the helpful staff as the Armani and Dolce and Gabbana of bakeries. Prepare your tastebuds as everything in this bakery is mouthwatering. The breads here are baked in a wood burning oven on site and pops and crackles of the wood can be clearly heard. It only opened 3 days ago and it a joint venture with Alan Yau (Hakkasan, Cha Cha Moon etc.).

Carluccio's Canary Wharf, E14

Carluccio's Canary Wharf
Reuters Plaza,
London E14 5AJ
Tel. 020 7719 1749

Open: Mon-Fri 7-11.30, Sat 9-11.30, Sun 10-10.30

I had a craving for Spaghetti Bolognese during work and Carina had already made her way home so we had to eat East. We know what to expect at Carluccio's and it is only a 20 minute walk and DLR from home so I met her there after work. It wasn't too busy being a Monday night and was full of the suits and multinationals in suits. This Carluccio's like all the others we have visited is both a caffé and a foodshop where you can have breakfast, lunch, coffee, dinner and pick up finest Italian groceries from their larders and prepared foods counters.


The menus across all Carluccio's are the same, with 5-6 choices for each course. We shared the Paté Di Fegatini Di Pollo to start with, which was delicious. I love paté but with only two tiny pieces of Ciabatta soaked with Olive Oil, it was both messy and inadequate for the pot of paté.

Pasta Con Funghi - Egg pappardelle with a mix of shiitake, oyster, porcini and button mushrooms.

Our choices of mains were the Pasta Con Funghi and Spaghetti Alle Vongole In Bianco. Both dishes were solid although I was disappointed that the Italian waiter that served us offered to put Parmesan on the seafood dish and my girlfriend mistakenly accepted. Parmesan Cheese (if it's the real stuff, Parmigiano-Reggiano) is an aged cheese with salt in it. Purists argue that because seafood comes from the sea it is already salted and the parmesan will over power it, unless the seafood dish is made with a pasta sauce from southern Italy where the sauces are heavy and can take the salt. This was the first time in over 10 visits that this had happened at a Carluccio's. Despite this the spaghetti with clams in garlic and chilli sauce was light and not over seasoned. My pappardelle had a great selection of fresh mushrooms in a well balanced sauce with al dente pasta.

Spaghetti Alle Vongole In Bianco - A Neapolitan spaghetti with whole fresh clams, garlic, herbs and chilli.

To finish, we overate and had the Tiramisu and Cioccolato Fondente. Over indulgent. The bill came to £34.05 plus tip (Interesting article about pay at restaurant chains, click here).

The tables needed another wipe and all the menus we were brought over were sticky. Our waitress was on her first night and clearly didn't know the menu but that was ok! The food is predictable but good and we continue to return.

Note to self: They do not make Spaghetti Bolognese at Carluccio's

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 5)

Cheat's papparadelle with slow-braised leeks

I first saw this Jamie Oliver recipe on Jamie At Home and cooked it as directed along with the Porcini Pangrattato. I cooked this for lunch and was on a really tight schedule. I didn't have the time to make the Pangrattato this time. Also, for some reason this time the liquid had not reduced as much as last time and I ended up with too much of it! It was topped off with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Mushroom Risotto

So, this is my first attempt at making risotto, which I cooked tonight. And it turned out pretty good. A combination of recipes here with quantities adjusted here and there! Too much onion I think.

Mixed Mushroom Risotto
Serves 4

Preparation time less than 15 mins
Cooking time 30 min

Ingredients
A generous amount of olive oil for cooking onions
2 small onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
300g Vialone nano or arborio rice
200g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
10g dried porcini mushrooms
150ml dry white wine
1 litre hot vegetable stock
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
25g butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
100g freshly grated parmesan cheese, to serve

Method
1. Soak the mushrooms in hot water for 10-20 (as directed) minutes, then drain well. I tend not to use the soaking liquid in the risotto directly because it often has a gritty texture. At the same time heat the oil in a large, heavy based saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Heat gently to soften the onions for 4-5 minutes.

2. Stir in the rice and coat evenly in the oil. Pour in the wine and simmer, stirring, until the liquid has been absorbed. Add a 100ml of the stock and simmer, stirring again, until the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock in this way, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is plump and tender. Using this traditional method, you need to ensure that the stock you are using is really hot to ensure the risotto is evenly cooked throughout. Adding a small amount each time ensures the risotto rice becomes plump and tender. Cook for 20-22 minutes then remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand

3. To finish the risotto, heat a little olive oil in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms to the pan and fry for a few minutes.

4. When the mushrooms have softened, mix them through the risotto base and cook the rice for a further few minutes. Also add the soaked porcini mushrooms which you should chop roughly. Once the rice is soft (soft but with a little bit of bite, ever so slightly al dente), stir in three-quarters of Parmesan. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

5. To serve, place the risotto into the middle of four serving dishes and drizzle over a little white truffle oil and the remainder of the freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

Cheating chicken cacciatora

I tried out Delia's Shortcut Chicken Cacciatora tonight... and this is how it went. Not so many points for presentation but tasty meal with beautifully cooked succulent chicken.

Shortcut Chicken Cacciatora
Serves 2-3
50 preparation time.

What I used:
6 chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
500g jar of passata
olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 dessert spoon of
200ml dry white wine
2 caps of white wine vinegar

Heat the olive oil as per directed in a flameproof casserole. I am a bit more generous with olive oil so I add more than the 1 tbsp as directed. When it is adequately hot (not smoking hot) seasoned and seal/sauté them until them until they were golden. Whilst this is happening chop up the onions, garlic and threw them and the rosemary into a blender (I have a blender unit attachment for my hand blender), and gently blend using pulse so as to make a chunky mix rather than mush.

When the chicken is golden, place them aside on a plate with tongs and saute the onion mix until softened. This will take about 4-6 minutes. At this point, add the chicken back into the casserole and add the passata, white wine and white wine vinegar. Add a tad more seasoning and then bring to the boil immediately taking heat down to the lowest setting for about 45 minutes.

Tagliatelle alla carbonara

Keeping to the subject of eggs, this is one of our favourite quick recipes at home. It takes as long as it takes to boil water and cook pasta to make and is an adaptation of Jamie Oliver's Liguine all carbonara di salsiccia recipe. It also only requires the most basic of pantry ingredients.

Tagliatelle alla carbonara
serves 2
cooking and prep time: less than 15 minutes

2-3 slices of good pancetta diced or a packet of diced pancetta
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g of dried egg tagliatelle
2 large free range egg yolks
50 ml of double cream *
50-60g of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Spring of fresh flat-leaf parsley choped or substitute with the dry stuff
* - can be substituted with a slightly smaller amount of milk if no cream is available

Everything happens at once so read this in whole. Cook the pancetta in a fry pan on a low heat (very lightly oiled) for the recommended 5 or so minutes (or as per packet if packet) and whilst that is going bring a large pan of water to the boil, add salt and then the dried pasta. Cook according to packet instructions.

In a bowl, gently whisk the eggs, half the parmesan and the parsley and season with pepper until mixed. When the pasta is cooked, drain the pasta reserving a small amount of the cooking water, and immediaetly return it to hot pasta pan, throw in the egg mixture and cooked pancetta and toss quickly. The egg will slowly thicken to the consistency of a silk and smooth sauce clinging to the pasta. If it becomes too thick add some of the cooking water.

This dish needs to be served immediately. Sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan to taste and season if neccessary. Be careful with the salt as the Parmesan is already salty.

Check out this guy's Tagliatelle Alla Carbonara with five hour egg.

Signor Zilli

I really wanted to go to Malaysia Kopi Tian on Dean Street... unfortunately 42 Dean Street is no longer a Malaysian Restaurant but some Korean/Japanese place which didn't inspire. Wondering round in circles, Carina pressured me into choosing somewhere to eat before we went to Kevin and Frida's going away party in Holborn. Being next door, it seemed to be the best of the bunch...

Signor Zilli, 40 - 41 Dean Street, London, W1

Last visited: Never

Victim: The girlfriend

The Damage: £60

The Background: The long of the short. We opted for the pre theatre set menu. Carina - Clam and Mussels to start with, and Mushroom Risotto for mains. Fresh seafood, not overpowering on the white wine sauce, just right al dente rice and wonderful mushrooms. Me - Chargrilled Squid on bed of salad, and baked Salmon with new potatoes. Both winners. Accompanied by Pinot Grigio del Collio, Blanchis, probably more than slightly overpriced at £24 per bottle, this is still the perfect crisp and dry pinot to accompany this meal. What else? Why does no one mention the decor? The decor is awful. Some kind of pastel, roman-esque disaster. Despite that, the waiters were attentive, not unsurprising considering at it's busiest whilst we were there were only three other tables. Apparently it won Best Italian Restaurant... in 1996...

Verdict: I liked the food in general but in a city saturated with Italian restaurants, I have certainly had better (Passione, River Cafe) and worse (San Lorenzo), and I don't think we'll be going here again.