Master chef, Gordon Ramsey, Raymond Blanc, Heston Blumenthal...I am not...but one thing I do know is that I like to cook!
I enjoy making something out of nothing...when you open the fridge and make something up out of things you probably forgot you had in there. But then those that know me well, know that doesn't happen very often.
Some say...that I can only clean my windows at night.........and that I eat laptops for breakfast...all we know...is that i'm called Bert! LOL (for those that don't watch Top Gear, that joke is wasted).
I do have a mild case of OCD...which isn't a bad thing really, I don't think...rather be someone that likes everything to have a place and everything be actually in that place. But when it comes to food...I like to know what I'm having.
Is planning ahead for meals really so bad? I mean, it beats getting home and ordering a Dog Kebab or Heart attack Pizza. I like to be prepared..."Failure to prepare...prepare to fail!!!"
When I cook, I try to use fresh ingredients so i'm not consuming all those artificial additives and preservatives...and calories!....I like to save my calorie intake for beer...or Vodka...or the old favourite...Sambucca!
Whilst you may think you're eating healthy because you use fresh meats and brown rice...it's the sauces that usually mess things up and take the calorie count into the curry stratosphere (most curry's are around 1000 calories....but boy they taste good)...keep an eye out for the Lamb Curry recipe that I'll post in the next week or so...deeeeeeelicious.
So what I've prepared for you here is a great way of ensuring you know exactly what's in your sauce. It can be used as a base sauce for lots of things...Bolognese, Lasagna or even a spicy chorizo dish. It's all about what you add to it once you have the base sauce. I make lots of it, pot it up and keep it in the freezer so I can just take out what I need, when I need it.
Now, for those of you that are Italian...or Sicilian...humour me...I'm English...and I've taken direction from various sources...and true to form, no two Italians can agree on how to make the best sauce...so imagine how difficult it is for us English to get it right!!! I've just taken my interpretation and made it to how I like it. With that said, it has had the seal of approval from a true Sicilian Mum...If you're ever in the Walton On Thames area, you have to visit Alio's Delicatessen http://www.aliosdelicatessen.co.uk/default.html I live a stones throw away from the store on Terrace Road. Joe (the guy who runs it) is really friendly and will give you all sorts of cooking tips and ideas...will let you try things from the deli counter before you buy and humour you immensely with the banter between himself and his side-kick Massimo...but it's his mum that taught me how to make my sauce...and she tries it to make sure it's up to her high standards...'very good for an Englishman' she says!
A visit to their store will have your mouth watering...as you wander round the isles looking at all the fresh ingredients, you can smell the amazing aroma of the latte's and espresso's being served...and the incredible Panini's. And then you lay eyes on the deli counter...mmmmm...an array of olives in all sorts of flavours, prosciutto, Parmesan...and my favourite...Arancini!!!
A deal can also be had on the vast display of wines they stock...a great way of washing down your favourite Italian food!
So...get on with it Bert...ok ok...let me share my secret sauce... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZzjKVL7lUY&context=C30c888dADOEgsToPDskLvJ7ZWoqe0dSIIudFM5Vj4
So give it a go...it's really easy...
The ingredients you will need are:
3 jars of passata sauce (or you can use Napoli tinned chopped tomotoes)
4 cloves of garlic
half a tube of tomoto puree
a table spoon of olive oil
a very small amount of beef dripping
A table spoon of sugar
a load of cracked black pepper (to taste)
a good helping of salt (to taste)
Oregano
4 Fresh Basil leaves
Make sure you've got lots of left over chinese plastic pots or good sealable freezer bags.
And Julie's favourite thing to do is to use warm fresh bread to clean the saucepan out once you've emptied it!!
I enjoy making something out of nothing...when you open the fridge and make something up out of things you probably forgot you had in there. But then those that know me well, know that doesn't happen very often.
Some say...that I can only clean my windows at night.........and that I eat laptops for breakfast...all we know...is that i'm called Bert! LOL (for those that don't watch Top Gear, that joke is wasted).
I do have a mild case of OCD...which isn't a bad thing really, I don't think...rather be someone that likes everything to have a place and everything be actually in that place. But when it comes to food...I like to know what I'm having.
Is planning ahead for meals really so bad? I mean, it beats getting home and ordering a Dog Kebab or Heart attack Pizza. I like to be prepared..."Failure to prepare...prepare to fail!!!"
When I cook, I try to use fresh ingredients so i'm not consuming all those artificial additives and preservatives...and calories!....I like to save my calorie intake for beer...or Vodka...or the old favourite...Sambucca!
Whilst you may think you're eating healthy because you use fresh meats and brown rice...it's the sauces that usually mess things up and take the calorie count into the curry stratosphere (most curry's are around 1000 calories....but boy they taste good)...keep an eye out for the Lamb Curry recipe that I'll post in the next week or so...deeeeeeelicious.
So what I've prepared for you here is a great way of ensuring you know exactly what's in your sauce. It can be used as a base sauce for lots of things...Bolognese, Lasagna or even a spicy chorizo dish. It's all about what you add to it once you have the base sauce. I make lots of it, pot it up and keep it in the freezer so I can just take out what I need, when I need it.
Now, for those of you that are Italian...or Sicilian...humour me...I'm English...and I've taken direction from various sources...and true to form, no two Italians can agree on how to make the best sauce...so imagine how difficult it is for us English to get it right!!! I've just taken my interpretation and made it to how I like it. With that said, it has had the seal of approval from a true Sicilian Mum...If you're ever in the Walton On Thames area, you have to visit Alio's Delicatessen http://www.aliosdelicatessen.co.uk/default.html I live a stones throw away from the store on Terrace Road. Joe (the guy who runs it) is really friendly and will give you all sorts of cooking tips and ideas...will let you try things from the deli counter before you buy and humour you immensely with the banter between himself and his side-kick Massimo...but it's his mum that taught me how to make my sauce...and she tries it to make sure it's up to her high standards...'very good for an Englishman' she says!
A visit to their store will have your mouth watering...as you wander round the isles looking at all the fresh ingredients, you can smell the amazing aroma of the latte's and espresso's being served...and the incredible Panini's. And then you lay eyes on the deli counter...mmmmm...an array of olives in all sorts of flavours, prosciutto, Parmesan...and my favourite...Arancini!!!
A deal can also be had on the vast display of wines they stock...a great way of washing down your favourite Italian food!
So...get on with it Bert...ok ok...let me share my secret sauce... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZzjKVL7lUY&context=C30c888dADOEgsToPDskLvJ7ZWoqe0dSIIudFM5Vj4
So give it a go...it's really easy...
The ingredients you will need are:
3 jars of passata sauce (or you can use Napoli tinned chopped tomotoes)
4 cloves of garlic
half a tube of tomoto puree
a table spoon of olive oil
a very small amount of beef dripping
A table spoon of sugar
a load of cracked black pepper (to taste)
a good helping of salt (to taste)
Oregano
4 Fresh Basil leaves
Make sure you've got lots of left over chinese plastic pots or good sealable freezer bags.
And Julie's favourite thing to do is to use warm fresh bread to clean the saucepan out once you've emptied it!!
No comments:
Post a Comment