British Strawberries were particularly good in the summer of 2006 when this recipe was published in my Sunday Mercury column. This well-known dessert gets its name a Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who toured New Zealand and Australia in 1926 as part of her world tour. As is often the case in defining a recipe’s history you find claim and counter claim about where and who invented this dessert……..some say Australia and some say New Zealand, but I’m persuaded by the fact that the first know recipe for this dessert was published in a rural magazine called The New Zealand Dairy Annual in 1929. Historically, the name has been used to describe three distinct desserts: a four-layered jelly cake (the first to bear the name which did come from Australia and which is no longer baked); a coffee flavoured meringue; and the pavlova as understood today, a fluffy meringue that is crisp on the outside and soft in the middle.

Ingrediants
100g (4oz) Caster sugar
2 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1tsp cornflour
½ tsp White wine vinegar
125g (5oz) Mascarpone cheese
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1 tsp Caster sugar
300g (12oz) Strawberries

Method

1. Preheat oven to gas mark 2 (300 F/150 C).
2. Lightly grease a large baking tray.
3. In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form then add the salt.
4. Gradually whisk in the sugar a little at a time and keep whisking the meringue until it is stiff and glossy.
5. Now mix in the cornflour and the vinegar and whisk for a further 2-3 minutes.
6. Tear a piece of baking parchment the same size as the baking tray.
7. Use a pencil and draw four three-inch circles onto the parchment.
8. Lay the parchment pencil side down onto the greased baking tray and smooth it down.
9. With a large kitchen spoon fill the four circles with the whiped meringue using the circles as a guideline.
10. Once your happy with the shape of the meringues make a slight dent in the centre of each one.
11. Bake on the middle shelf for 45 minutes then turn down the oven to gas mark 1 (275 F/135C)and bake for a further 15 minutes then remove from the oven.
12. In a small stainless steel saucepan combine the lemon zest and juice with the teaspoon of sugar.
13. Bring to a simmer, allow the volume to reduce by half and then cool in the fridge.
14. When the lemon mix is cool stir the mascarpone in gradually.

To Serve
Put a few cut strawberries into each meringue, then top with a good dollop of mascarpone cheese then more strawberries and enjoy.

Chef’s Tip
Don’t fill the meringues up until the last minute or they will get too soggy.

When cooked in a dessert, pears can sometimes end up too sweet and disappointing. Combining fruit and cheese means the pears don't become too cloying and the other ingredients create a balance. Physalis is a wonderful, yet undervalued, fruit that seems to be used only as a decoration which is a shame. It's related to the tomato, so its acidity balances the pear and cheese wonderfully.

INGREDIENTS
200g(8oz)Cream cheese
2 medium eggs
1tbsp caster sugar
500g (1lb 4oz) block puff pastry
3-4 ripe William pears
100g (4oz)physalis, washed and cut in half
1tbsp clear honey
Juice and zest of 1 lime
10Og (4oz)raspberries (optional)
1 egg, beaten

METHOD

1.Roll out pastry into a rectangle measuring approximately 38 x 26cm. It should be nomore than 5mm thick. Trim off any excess and keep the trimmings.
2.Roll pastry on your rolling pin and transfer
to a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
3.Brush the beaten egg around the edges of the rectangle, then use the pastry trimmings,re-rolling if necessary, to make long, 10mm wide strips.
4.Brush the strips lightly with beaten egg
then twist gently as if making cheese straws as you lay them onto the base to create a 10mm wide border, then refrigerate.
5.Combine the sugar, lime juice, zest and cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat well, until the sugar and liquid have been absorbed into the cheese.
6.Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then refrigerate the cheese mix.
7.Preheat oven to 190sC/375eF/gas mark 5.
8.Spread the cheese mix on to the pastry base inside the border.
9.Quarter the pears and remove all the seeds. Cut each quarter into two to three slices and arrange neatly on top of the cheese.
10.Scatter the physalis cut side up then brush the fruit with the honey.
11.Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown. -
12.Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle on some of the raspberries before cutting and serving.

CHEF'S TIP
I used Quark cream cheese because it's low in calories. The fresh raspberries add colour to the dish plus a little more acidity but, if you wish, you can leave them out.

*This recipe appeared in my column in the Sunday Mercury in January 2007

“I knew I’d be lucky to find any shop selling barbecue charcoal in January because all large stores remove items once there out of season, but luckily my local garage still had a couple of left over disposable barbecues which I snapped up. Although it was a sunny January day the nice lady behind the counter thought I was being a bit too ambitious to be barbecuing so early in the year. You see I’d woken up the other morning with a idea of putting a new twist on pepper steak and I wasn’t going to let a little thing like winter get in my way.”

Ingredients
2 x 200g (8oz) Fillet Steaks
100g (4oz) unsalted butter
1Tbsp Black peppercorns
1 Tbsp Brandy
1 Bag of rocket leaves
1 Punnet of baby plum tomatoes
2 Handfuls of wood chips
2 Rashers of streaky bacon
1dessertspoon of Olive oil
1 disposable barbecue
1 disposable tin foil tray the same size

Method

1. Soak the wood chips in cold water at least 2 hours before you need them.
2. Wash rocket leaves and baby plum tomatoes, then drain.
3. Cut up the butter into small pieces so that it will soften quickly.
4. Light barbecue per the instructions.
5. Crush peppercorns in mortar and pestle but not too fine.
6. Mix butter and peppercorns together then add the brandy, stirring well until brandy has been absorbed into the butter.
7. Shape the butter into a few small "scoops" using a dessertspoon then place the scoops onto a tray covered with parchment paper and refrigerate.
8. Wrap one rasher of bacon around the side of each steak, using a toothpick to pin it in place.
9. After the barbecue coals have turned grey (about 40 minutes) and are tempered, this is to avoid flare up on the grill. Drain the woodchips and carefully make a bed of them on the lit barbecue. There needs to be enough woodchips so the steaks can rest on the chips not on the grill.
10. Cover the steaks with the disposable roasting tray and allow them to smoke for 10-15 minutes. Check once every five minutes to make sure the steaks are smoking not grilling.
11. Once steaks are smoked, remove the bacon and any woodchips stuck to them and brush fillets with olive oil.
11. Carefully remove woodchips from top of the barbecue into a fireproof tray then grill the steaks to your liking, making sure to seal all sides of each fillet to seal in the juices.
13. To serve, place a little mound of rocket leaves into the centre of each plate. Scatter a few
plum tomatoes onto the rocket. Place on the steak and top with the peppercorn butter.

Chef’s Tips
Most large supermarkets or hardware store that sell barbecue equipment in the summer will also usually sell wood chips. There are various types like Oak, Hickory but you can also find wood chips from various fruit trees including Plum, Apple and Damson.

I recently discovered the link on the Ask the Chef feature was broken. So I am redoing it.

In my newspaper column I get lots of questions on a weekly basis...but so far only a hand of brave souls have taken advantage of having a real life chef on tap to answer your cooking questions.

If you have a question ..you think I might be able to help you with then drop me a line.

chefkevin1@hotmail.com

From time to time I will be taking you into my confidence and explaining the inner workings of the restaurant business, giving you perhaps a new insight into “The Biz”
This series of articles will go under heading “Dishing The Truth”. I hope you will join me for this chance to look beyond the kitchen door.

It’s a little know fact that even in good quality restaurants Microwave Ovens play an important role. Whilst they are not generally used to actually cook food, Microwaves are often used to reheat components of the meal.

During the day various potato, rice or pasta dishes are cooked and chilled perhaps even pre-portioned up. Then during the final phase of cooking these various garnishes will be reheated in a microwave for say 30-45 seconds then the various components come together in the plating. Using microwave ovens in this way give a kitchen so much more flexibility as to how many components a dinner can consist of.

Lots of types of food benefit from being heated up as and when required rather than being kept hot all through the dinner service, thus improving there colour and texture. For example a puree of minted peas can stay vibrant and green or braised red cabbage a deep rich red, glossy and spicy.

Likewise homemade steamed sponges and various sweet dessert sauces can be quickly heated as and when required. Being able to heat custard without it burning or skinning is very helpful.

Improving Your Microwave Skills

Here are just a few pointers to help improve your microwave skills.

Almost everything that is reheated in a microwave benefits from being covered with cling film to hold the moisture in.

Remember even modern microwave ovens tend to heat things unevenly (this is the reason that microwaves have turntables to counteract that).

A few short blasts usually works better than one long one.

In a professional kitchen I avoid reheating seafood or meat in a microwave because it can make it dry and inedible. However if your at home you are reheating your whole dinner cling film it and the vegetables will help hold in the moisture of the rest of the meal.

Pasta will reheat better if it’s already in a sauce…if not then add a little water and then drain the pasta well before serving.

If you are reheating a sauce or gravy then only half fill the container then cling wrap it to avoid it boiling over in the microwave.

Purchasing Tips
When looking to buy a microwave I don’t want one with a grill.

Buy the one with the highest wattage you can afford.

Preferably one that is stainless steel both inside and out.

Health Concerns?
Before writing this piece I took the liberty of reading a few of the articles on the dangers of microwave ovens. I read varying claims and counter claims about the safety in using a Microwave oven and the effects it has on food and human physiology. I’m not a scientist so for now I will conclude that using a microwave oven seems safe as long as you follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Safety Tips
When heating liquids or semi-liquid foodstuffs remember to stir it from time to time to prevent hot and cold spots in the food.

If you heat foods up in plastic containers don’t put the lids on because the trapped steam may cause the lid to fly off violently.

© 2006-2008 All rights reserved. No content on this website including, but not limited to, text and photography may not be reproduced without prior explicit written consent.

Just incase you didn’t know the British Asparagus season started several weeks a go (officially on StGeorge's Day) on April 23rd.

Living in the county of Worcestershire I am very lucky to be surrounded with Asparagus Farms, that sell bunches at their farm shops.

I've been lucky enough to eat freshly picked Asparagus in Europe, in the USA but for me the clear winner by a country mile is the British...I'm not sure why but I don't know any celebrity chef that disagrees with me on that one.
In fact the pick of the very best in the UK for my money is a farm called Red House Farm in the town of Harvington.

If you live anywhere near Harvington then you must come and buy some.

The thing that always blows my mind during the short Asparagus season is you can go into the big chain supermarkets and still see Asparagus from other parts of the world, that was probably picked 10 days ago being bought by shoppers that have no idea that just 2 miles down the road the local Asparagus was picked this morning.

Even enthusiastic cooks need quick cook recipes, the kind you can use after a hard day at work. I’ve designed this to use just a wok to avoid a “traffic jam” of dirty pots and pans in your sink. I finished the dish by using ready made stir fry noodles to make it even easier.

Ingredients
250g (10oz) Pork fillet
1 pack of medium stir-fry noodles
1 dessertspoon of chopped ginger
1dessertspoon of chopped garlic
1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped
½ large red pepper deseeded and sliced thinly
150ml chicken stock
3tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1 dessertspoon of chopped coriander
100g (4oz) bean sprouts
1tbsp vegetable oil
Soy sauce

1. Trim off any fat or sinew from the pork fillet, then cut the pork into thick matchstick size pieces.
2. Heat a non-stick wok on a medium heat, then add the oil, garlic, ginger and stir for one minute.
3. Add the pork and continue to move the ingredients around the wok to prevent the ginger and garlic from burning.
4. Cook the pork until it is lightly browned then pour the mixture into a large bowl.
5. Wipe out the wok, then return to the heat adding the chicken stock and bring it to a boil.
6. Add the peanut butter stirring well, and simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of your spoon.
7. Turn the heat down to low and add the red pepper and green chilli.
8. Cook the sauce for 3-4 minutes then add the pork mixture and the wok noodles and stir occasionally.
To serve
When the pork is hot add the coriander, bean sprouts and a few drops of soy sauce and serve.

Chef’s Tips
I used pork fillet because it is very lean and it cook quickly though you could substitute a different cut of port such a loin….though must cut this longer because it’s a tougher cut of meat.

The pretty decorations on the top of the dish are simply deep fried carrot and parsnips, if you wish to do them this is how.
Use a speed peeler to cut thin regular strips from the a carrot and a parsnip, then lay them on paper towel and sprinkle very little salt on them then cover with a second sheet of towel.
*This is to absorb the moisture the salt draws out. After a few minutes pat the vegetable strips dry with more towel and then deep fry first the parsnip then the carrot.
They might seem still a little limp when you remove them from the oil but they will crisp up on some towel after a few minutes.

In recent news a so-called revelation was headlined in the tabloid newspapers in England "E numbers are harmful to children." It’s hard not get angry at this headline not just because it’s true, but the common sense evidence that something is badly wrong with the foods we have allowed our children to eat has been around for some time.

Just look at the growing number of children with all kinds of maladies from attention deficit, increases in the numbers of children suffering from a food allergy just because many parents continue to allow and in some cases champion junk food over a healthier plate of real food.

Ill-informed parents believe if it is low in sugar then it is good for their kids,
But if they took the time to read the labels they would realize low in sugar usually means high in artificial sweeteners like Nutra-sweet or Acesulfame K which is about 200 times sweeter than sugar and has in American lab tests been linked to cancer.

Parents give many poorly thought through reasons as to why their precious children are allowed to eat such poor quality, chemically laden, high in salt and fat food.

“My son is a fussy eater”….or “they are teenagers and they are just going through a phase”… “It’s peer pressure from their school friends..what can I do?”

No one is born a fussy eater…it is purely born out of conditioning by the family members around the child from a very early age. Some parent’s pass on their own food dislikes to their child, which again narrows the choices. Kids can quickly learn to negotiate at the dinner table what they will and wont eat.

My own 5year old daughter drinks fruit juices, water or occasional milk or weak cup of tea. She is not allowed drinks with artificial sweeteners or fizzy pop.
She eats a balanced diet of meat, fish, vegetables and fruit because her mom and I cooked her real food. No frozen dinners and trips to Micky D’s are very rare..usually when she visits her auntie. I don’t allow her pudding until she has eaten all of her dinner.

As parents Yvette and I have held firm against the many pressures out there that allow children bad food choices. Making this happen isn’t always easy or convenient but it’s the right thing to do. After working a 12-hour day cooking in a hot kitchen it’s not easy to come home and begin doing some food preparation, but what I feed my daughter is more important than the brand of trainers she wears.

Even good restaurants have sometimes caved in and bought a bag of chicken nuggets to accommodate their customer’s wishes…but how can parents in good conscience sit down to wonderful food whilst allowing their children to eat such harmful rubbish?

I don’t know how some directors of food companies can sleep at night knowing how harmful their products are and yet still they are sold and promoted at young children.

Like many other people my first taste of a Bakewell dessert was Bakewell Tart, which has a short pastry crust, a thin layer of raspberry jam and then almond frangipane and is a standard classic English dessert. However recently I discovered that Bakewell Tart was just an inferior upstart and that the original Bakewell dessert was called a pudding and was invented in the Derbyshire town of Bakewell in the 19th century. Ironically the “pudding recipe” is lighter, tastier and easier to make so I do hope you will try this recipe soon. The only remaining mystery is how the inferior version became so well know throughout Great Britain?

350g (14oz) Puff pastry
75g (3oz) Unsalted butter
90g (3 ½ oz) Caster sugar
5 large eggs
125g (4 ½ oz) Ground almonds
A few drops of Almond essence
3 Tbsp raspberry jam
100g (4oz) Fresh raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 190C (gas mark 6)
2. Lightly butter a 10” quiche dish and roll the puff pastry out until it is about 4mm ( ¼”) thick.
3. Once you have lined the dish with the pastry don’t trim off the excess.
4. Crush the fresh raspberries with a spoon, mixing in the raspberry jam then spread the mix evenly onto the pastry.
5. Cream the sugar with butter and almond essence until it is white and fluffy.
6. Gradually stir in one beaten egg at a time, together with a little of the ground almonds, making sure each egg is well mixed in before adding another.
7. When all the eggs and ground almonds have been incorporated pour the mix into the pastry case and spread the mix gently and evenly with a palette knife.
8. Use a small sharp knife and trim off the excess puff pastry then crimp the edges to give a neat finish.
9. Bake on the middle shelf for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is set and the top is lightly brown.

To Serve
Allow the Bakewell pudding to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serve with custard or cream.

Chef’s Tips
If you wish you can egg-wash the crimped pastry edge before baking and dust the finished pudding with a little icing sugar.

Unfortunately the number of quality butcher shops seems to be shrinking in the UK even in this current climate of wall to wall cooking TV shows.

Now I’m not talking about the type of butchers where most of its meats are straight out of the freezer. I’m talking about butcher’s who smoke their own bacon, make their own sausages, pork pies, faggots etc and often have won awards for their products. Quality butchers often source much of their meat locally, which is good for the local economy, cleaner for the environment because of the fewer miles driven.

If I’m honest there are times when I buy my meat from one of my local butchers and times when due to my busy lifestyle I do a one-stop shop at the local supermarket. Generally speaking when you buy your meat from a supermarket the prices may be lower but so is the quality.

So what else can you hope to get if you buy your meat from your local butcher?
Free advice on how to cook what you are buying plus information about where the meat came from. Suggestions on trying new cuts or dishes you have never tried before and hopefully a better quality.

I like to pose a few questions to the non-vegetarian people that visit my site.

1.) Do you have a favourite butcher shop you use or do you buy all of your meat from a supermarket?

2.) Has a traditional butcher shop become irrelevant?

3.) Do you ever seek advice from your local butcher, on what to cook and how to cook it?

4.) If you don’t currently use a butcher what would tempt you to try?

5.) Do the short traditional opening hours of UK butcher shops prevent you from using them?

As the words of the song go.. “Dont it always seem to go that you dont know what you’ve got till its gone”…

Historically the short operating time of butchers shops was because of the lack of refridgeration. Around 1900 most butchers shops had open fronts. Marble slabs were place in the display windows; these were washed down at the end of the day. Meat storeage in butchers was cooled by blocks of ice, before the invention of refrideraters. The floors were covered in sawdust and salt was generally used for cleaning.

Meat was handled in a more robust way at retail and wholesale levels. Most people would now be horrified at the level of hygene, but the view was that all meat would be washed and cooked thoroughly, so the risk of contamination was small.

The USA doesn’t have many butchers shops because almost all meat is bought from large supermarkets. Quite clearly this could be the same in the UK in the not too distant future.

When I lived in America for almost 14 years I never saw leg of pork joints for roasting because, all legs were made into ham. It was rare to see any other offal other than liver and game was practically unheard of. The choices on the meat counters were fairly static, no shanks of lamb, very little seasonal differences except for certain obvious holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Not that butchers even good ones are all perfect. I personally find it annoying that even if the butcher’s shop closes at say 4.30pm or even 5pm some butchers will long before hand empty their window displays and clean down. How can I be tempted into making a purchase when there is nothing on display? In this highly visual information age butchers need to check out the supermarkets and fight back with imaginative and informative displays. After all supermarkets are constantly looking for ways to personalize there inpersonal products. Things like gourmet sausages and more recently putting the photos of the farmers who raise and supply the meat on the packaging. Now I’m not about to suggest that butchers should do the same because the neither have the time nor the money but they could look for ways to interact with their customers more. Perhaps do some tastings/sampling to let the people try before they buy, maybe even combine with other food and drink retailers to help engineer other food/business opportunities such as a food and wine tasting or even organize a food demonstration as an add on to an exsisting event or festival….in other words do things that supermarkets can’t or wont do to increase business and the locals awareness of the quality of the butcher. I also think we need to convince TV chefs to hilight the importance of quality butcher's on our high streets.

Dear All,

March 2008...and I've been essentially off line for 8 long months.
It started with a decision to buy an apartment last May a few miles from my old cottage address. Then I waited some while to have a phone line connected and many phone calls on my mobile later I got one then I got disconnected. then I made more phone calls and got reconnected...and then disconnected again..God Bless BT.
Well at the moment I have a phone line and hopefully an internet connection in 5-7 days...I've made some good friends in India spent countless hours being promised things..which were then broken.
In the end I contacted OFCOM and complained and BT gave me a new account, money back ...but I am still getting bills I don't owe them...so I will keep you posted.

Other news
I'm still writing my newspaper/recipe column for the Sunday Mercury
and still get occasionally recognised in the supermarket...Aren’t you whatizname? from the Mercury is the usual challenge.

Toasted Foot
In the middle of all this whilst in Southwest France I got scalded rather badly on my right foot. Which kept me off work and even away from my column for 2.5 months. Anyway it’s now fine except for a scar; at least I did not lose any movement as was first thought. Through all this my family have been wonderful and very supportive.

I'm back now and hope to get the dust shook off this blog and add lots more content.

Tesco are about to butcher my high street
Currently I'm trying to help my favourite butchers (of which there are 4 quality shops in Stourport fight Tesco whom plan to build a large store on the outskirts of town. Even though it will add extra traffic congestion to the one way system....even though there are already 3 supermarkets in Stourport (one of which is a Tesco Metro store).

If the butchers go then perhaps the greengrocer and even the florist and the high street will end up boarded up or filled with Poundland stores. Not that I have anything against Poundland, I'd just like to keep the quality master butchers we have that offer a very wide range of quality home products. One of the butchers is licensed to sell game and another smokes his own bacon and makes award winning pork pies.

Since I joined the fight late the deal may have already been done, but in the meantime I have been contacting a few famous colleagues of mine hoping they can help my cause.

Richard answered his own phone
Amongst the people I phoned was the Earl of Bradford who is also a food and travel writer...and bless my socks he answered his own phone!
So stay posted and thanks for reading this.