Monday 12 September 2011

It's a mans world after all!

For decades people have fought for equal rights and opportunities and yet we still hear that 'it's a mans world.' I have been working as a chef for fourteen years but I had to claw my way to the top.

Women have always been known to do the cooking at home, feeding their husbands and children, but women cooking for the public is a different matter, unless it's a bake sale!

I wake up every morning knowing that even after all these years I still have to fight for my job. If I let my guard down, men will take over. Working in the catering trade has always been a dog eat dog world but now I'm getting told that it's a mans world.

What are we expected to do about it? I, for one am not wasting all the hard work it took to get where I am now and one day, who knows, maybe people will say 'it's a womans world.'

Thursday 18 August 2011

Toffee and pecan ice cream with white chocolate pieces

I made this at work the other day and it's delicious. Try it, I hope you like it.

Ingredients:
300ml whole milk
1 vanilla pod
4 large egg yolks
100g castor sugar
300ml double cream
Toffee and pecan cookie dough with white chocolate pieces

Method:
Heat the milk with the vanilla pod until almost boiling, then remove pan from the heat and put to one side to cool. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and pale but not too frothy. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and put back on the heat until almost boiling. Pour the milk on to the egg mix and stir continuously. Return the custard to a clean pan and heat gently. Continue stirring until the custard coats the back of the spoon. Leave the custard to cool. It will cool quicker in a clean bowl. Lightly whip the cream until thick and floppy. Fold the cream into the chilled custard. Stir in as much as the cookie dough as you want. Spoon the mix into the ice cream machine and churn until ready. If you don't have an ice cream machine then you can pour the mix into a tub and freeze but stir every hour until frozen to prevent ice crystals.

Thursday 4 August 2011

Dorset food and drink.

I have just received this years Dorset food and drink booklet. It was really nice to see my name as one of the contributors.

I really enjoyed doing the reviews. You never know where you are going to end up! I hope I get the opportunity to do them again next year.

Not bad for my first piece of work published (apart from my poems)! I just hope it is the first of many. Fingers crossed.....

lindsaymerton.blogspot.com: Mojo Steak

lindsaymerton.blogspot.com: Mojo Steak: "Serves 4 Ingredients: 1 Orange, zest and juice, 1 Lime, zest and juice, 2 Cloves of garlic, chopped, 1 Dessert spoon of ghost chilli s..."

Mojo Steak

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 Orange, zest and juice,
1 Lime, zest and juice,
2 Cloves of garlic, chopped,
1 Dessert spoon of ghost chilli sauce,
1 Pint of olive oil,
2 Jalapeno chillies, finely diced,
4 Sirloin steak,
 Salt and pepper for seasoning.

Method:
Mix all the ingredients together to make the Mojo marinade. Season the steaks and place in a tray. Pour the marinade over the steaks and place in the fridge for 24 hours.

Pan fry the steaks until cooked the way you like them. (Place of little of the marinade in the pan whilst you are cooking them for extra flavor). Serve with hand cut chips and rocket leaves.  

If you like really hot, add an extra jalapeno chilli or more of the ghost chilli sauce.

I hope you enjoy this as much as my customers did. It goes lovely with a glass of full bodied red wine.

Thursday 7 July 2011

Food Reviews

I have recently dined at the George Albert hotel which is situated next to the Clay Pigeon shooting grounds. It was a fantastic meal. The food was all cooked to perfection and the waiting staff were friendly and efficient.

They have a Table d'hote menu which you can have two courses at £15 and three courses at £19.50 or you can choose from the a la carte menu which ranges between £4.50 - £8.50 for starters and between £13.95 and £22.95 for main courses. The desserts are set at £5.95 and there is a daily specials menu from £7.95. If that is not enough, they do an all day carvery on sundays from 12.00 until 8pm.

They have a function room that can cater for 350 people which is perfect for weddings. They also have a licence to conduct civil ceremonies. If you would like to get married here, they have 39 bedrooms including a bridal suite.

I would really recommend the George Albert hotel to anybody. The experience is great!

Monday 20 June 2011

Wessex Belle Dining Train

I can not believe my luck!

I have just been asked to do a review for the Wessex Belle Dining Train. It sounds really great but unfortunately I'm working. Can you believe my bad luck.

Thursday 2 June 2011

The kitchen corner

THAI STYLE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
2 breasts of chicken, cooked and diced
4 sticks of lemon grass
4 spring onions, sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2cm of root ginger, finely diced
2 red chilies, finely diced
3 pints of chicken stock
noodles (as many as you like)
oil for cooking

Method:
Heat a little oil in a pan and sweat off the spring onions, garlic, chillies and ginger without colouring. Add the chicken stock and the lemon grass. Bring to the boil and add the chicken and noodles. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the lemon grass and share into 4 bowls.

The launch of a space shuttle

On the 14th of May 2010 I was holidaying in Florida. My husband, Simon, sister, Paula and brother-in-law, Gareth and I had gone to one of the Disney water parks for the day. It was fantastic. The sun was sizzling, we were burning, especially Simon, but we were having so much fun. 

We had heard on the t.v that morning that a shuttle was being launched from the Kennedy Space Center. We knew the traffic would be bad so we wanted to go somewhere for the day that was out of the way. 
 
We were enjoying the waves in the surf pool when it was announced over the intercom that Atlantis was just about to be launched. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stand and watch.

It was an amazing sight. I could not believe how well we could not only see the rocket but feel it too. I felt privileged to be witness to what we later found out was the final journey for Atlantis. 

Every single person, no matter what nationality, was frilled to see the launch. People were crying, cheering and shaking hands. The atmosphere was awesome.

Atlantis has been to space 32 times. On flight STS-132, which is the name of the last flight, 3 spacewalks were conducted whilst it was docked to the orbiting laboratory. Atlantis was cleared for landing on 26th May 2010.

We all have things that we want to see and do before we die, memories we want to make, well that is one thing I can cross of my list. An experience I will never forget.

Thursday 19 May 2011

Dancing Hippopotamus

There is a dancing hippopotamus,
His friends call him Theodopalas.
His muddy back and muddy paws,
Are not as clean as his giant big jaws.
He dances all throughout the day,
His friends all shout "hippo hooray".
As night draws in, the moon appears,
The hippos shout the victory cheers.
Although he dances very well,
The others think that hippos smell.
The moral of this tale will be,
There's more to hippos then you will see. 

The kitchen corner

I cooked my husband and I a mushroom risotto for dinner tonight and it was really nice. I thought you might like to try cooking it for yourselves, it's such a simple dish.

WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO
(serves 2)

Ingredients:
350g Arborio rice
1/2 Onion, finely diced
1 Clove of garlic, crushed
Wild mushrooms, as many as you like
Approximately 2pts of mushroom stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for cooking

Method:
Gently sweat the onions and crushed garlic in a pan without colouring. Stir in the rice and cover with the stock mix. Stir regularly and keep topping up with the liquid until the rice is cooked. Whilst the rice is cooking, heat a little oil in a frying pan and gently cook the mushrooms. When the rice is cooked, add to the mushrooms and mix together. Season to taste.
Serve with shavings of parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Writing reviews for Dorset food and drink

A short while ago I applied for a job writing reviews for the Dorset food and drink guide and I was surprised to receive an email letting me know that they are going to put me on their books!

During the months of July and August I will be eating out in various restaurants, with my guest and then writing a review on the food, drink and atmosphere etc.
 
I can not wait to start, I wander where I'll get sent.
Wish me luck!

Thursday 12 May 2011

The kitchen corner

HAWAIIAN CHICKEN
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
4 Boneless breasts of chicken
4 Slices of back bacon
4 Pineapple rings
Grated cheese for topping

Method:
Place the chicken breasts on the char-grill or BBQ and cook evenly on both sides until the juices run clear. Whilst cooking the chicken, char-grill the pineapple rings on both sides. Cook the bacon until crispy. Place a piece of bacon on each breast of chicken, top with the pineapple and a handful of cheese and grill until the golden.
This dish goes really well with a seasonal salad and chips or potato wedges.

My very first time blogging

This is my first ever blog and I am excited. I have so many ideas of things to write about that I just don't know where to start so I'll begin by telling you about myself.

I am a head chef working in Bridport. I have a great team and enjoy what I do. I love food and thought that I would write a regular kitchen corner with recipes that you might like to try and anything that is happening at the restaurant where I work.

I am also doing a creative writing course which is brilliant and at the moment I am learning about journalism. Part of the course is writing articles to get published. If I write anything interesting I will post them on here as well.

I am also a poet. I have had several poems published but have loads that are unpublished which I would love to know what you think of them. I will write some on here, please feel free to be as brutal about them as you like.

Wish me luck.