Pecan Smoked Chinese Chicken Aspic with Walnuts and Mushrooms

Frankly I would be lying if I said that this dish wasn't inspired by Lea Linster's Aspic Duck Foie Gras Terrine dish. I set out to create something that would be pretty, presentable, simple(-er) to assemble that would also be an interesting combination of earthy flavours.

Variation on Heston Blumenthal's Filtered Consomme

I love Heston's series "How to cook like Heston". The problem I found with the recipe on his consomme with the chicken was - frankly - that unless you buy yourself an expensive chicken and don't mind shelling out at LEAST 15 - 20 euros/pounds for the ingredients - you end up with a consomme which is more salty than "chickeny" - and - frankly - rather uninteresting. The touch of a jasmine flower helps hide this fact.

A beef shank with the marrow add so much flavour, you'll never think again about Heston saying that you'll never think again about consomme.

100% working Aga Beef Jerky

One of the more delicious things in life is beef jerky. However it is extremely expensive to buy in packets, a 25 gram bag costing almost £4. As per usual I set out to conquor the market by producing my own more cheaply.

Pad Thai - a shortcut that works

In my search for getting that authentic taste out of real ingredients that make up traditional dishes I have always managed to fail when it comes Pad Thai. The pad thai I used to eat in Nong Khai in Thailand was exquisite but I never learned to make it from my neighbours during the brief time that I was living there. Recipes on the web and in books never seemed to come even remotely close to what I wanted.
I did however have a massive craving for pad thai recently but as it was late on a Sunday I did not have all of the ingredients - this however I think will surprise you enormously - you don't actually need the thousand and one hard to find ingredients. Have a look at this.