A RECIPE: Avocado & tarragon bites

I’m a officially a canapé snob. I’ve always had an inkling it was in me but my true colours finally came out in all their elitist light at my wedding tasting. It has become a point of contention between my mother and I in the planning process. If I can’t serve amazing canapés then I would rather not serve any at all- which raises the question: is it worse to serve your guests bad food or make them go hungry? I’m not sure there’s a right answer to that question although I believe both scenarios will lead to a disappointing night.

The following are the types of canapés that make my toes curl- the food equivalents of nails on a blackboard. In some cases, perhaps even worse.

1/ Prepackaged canapés that have been in the freezer too long and have taken on that old freezer smell- a cross between freezer burn and salmon.

2/ Canapés that are deep-fried to disguise the cheap and/or flavourless interior.

3/ Canapés that require a description longer than is possible to individually taste in a single bite, just to make them sound fancy.

4/ Canapés that have been made too far in advance and taste a/ soggy b/ stale or c/ old.

5/ Fussy canapés that most commonly involve an generic pastry base on which a small tower of indecipherable ingredients are mounded.

6/ Awkward to eat canapés that require either a/ tipping your head back to eat b/ putting your glass down to eat or c/ crumbs down your dress.

7/ Anything on a skewer. What are you supposed to do with the skewer afterwards- pick you teeth?!

8/ Canapés that involve dipping. If everyone stuck to the one dunk rule then this would be marginally more acceptable but inevitably they do not and besides which, dips don’t look so pretty after they’ve been dunked in to.

My mother and I haven’t quite come to an agreement about whether or not our guests will be forced to starve at my wedding but if I had it my way- these avocado & tarragon bites would be on the list. I was given this idea by a visiting chef at my culinary school who for the life of me I cannot remember or I would be crediting. Who knew that tarragon and avocado on a salty cheese biscuit would make for such a winning team? Simple, pleasantly surprising to eat and with all the right textures- this kind of canapés makes me very happy.

CHEF’S TIP: Perfect fried rice

The Olympics may be over, but that doesn’t mean that we have to forget about Chinese food (except perhaps what’s photographed above). Celebrity chef Ming Tsai who hosts the show Simply Ming on PBS shares with us how to make the perfect fried rice and it’s oh so simple. The key is to make sure that the rice you use is dried out- and ideally a little crusty! Day old rice is perfect but if you are using fresh, lay it out in a thin layer on a large tray and place in the freezer for fifteen minutes uncovered before you use it. You’ll be given gold medals all around. Bring on London 2012!

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A RECIPE: Cheese biscuits

Trips back to the UK always leave me rather unsettled. Inevitably I always spends the first 48 hours bemoaning the rain, the filthy hot trains, the even filthier and reliably inconvenient tube service and the cost of absolutely everything. I find myself saying things like “my subway pass costs half the price in Manhattan” and “why can’t people dispose of their litter properly?” The kind of things that make me sound really old and boring. The kinds of things I’ve heard my mother say. Once I get over the initial discomfort and price shock I find myself embracing the cool damp weather and sitting around the patio table in layers of clothing because it’s not raining and the sun is periodically appearing so even though it’s bloody freezing we should enjoy the fresh air. It’s what we Brits do- we grin and bear it. My mother and I had the heating on in the car the other night- we slurped on mugs of soup for dinner (soup in August! Now that’s unheard of this side of the Atlantic) and in the evenings we pulled our chairs close to the aga with cups of tea.

And then there’s the food. I only realise how much I miss it when I head back these days. An apple that you can eat in it’s entirety without feeling greedy, big fat juicy raspberries, meat that is labeled where it’s from, without the worry that it’s packed full of hormones and granary bread-Oh! Granary bread and the butter!  The downside to my diet is that I always find myself reaching for processed foods more in the UK- the kinds of things I avoid like the plague in this country- flavoured yogurts, sausages, crisps, Bombay mix, sweeties, orange squash and mini cheddars. Is it dreadful that I miss mini cheddars so much?  Light and crispy little cheese biscuits that you can let dissolve on your tongue or plunge into taramasalata.

I blame my mother- mini cheddars have always been a family favourite-their moorish qualities kept them in every picnic basket and many a lunch box and Christmas stocking. Along with Licorice allsorts, Wine gums, Polos, Hobnobs and Cadbury’s chocolate we are a family united by tuck shop preferences. Although, when it comes to tea we are a family divided between those favouring the richly flavoured PG tips and those with thwarted tea taste buds who stand firmly behind the watery taste of Sainsbury’s Earl grey (bleh!). Mini cheddars hold a little space in my pinnacle taste memories- those foods you find yourself day dreaming about and reminiscing when you eat.

With little spare room in my suitcase, past the baked beans, Marmite and tea staples I was going to have to learn to make my own or leave the UK without them. I’ll agree that my version doesn’t look like mini cheddars but these come without hydrogenated oils- so I think that we can make visual allowances. Plus, they will make leaving coming home, so much easier.

On holiday!

I am off on holiday! Two whole weeks in cold rainy England, and I can’t wait. Will try to post, but I will most likely be working on my tan- and that could take rather a long time!  Back soon- though hopefully it won’t go too quickly.