Krispy Kreme Burgers

So if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram (if not, why not?!) you will know that Mr P&P has gone away for a few weeks.. and you will probably have noticed that I'm being a tad.. pathetic about it.  When he and I didn't live together, I did miss him a bit when he went away, but, because it was my flat where I had a routine that didn't involve him, it didn't feel like he was missing... if that makes any sense at all.  Don't get me wrong, there are definite plus sides to him not being here- it's tidier, I get to stay up watching TOWIE (don't judge me) and beauty bloggers on youtube as late as I like and best of all is there isn't a hoodie hanging over every single door in the house (his most annoying habit). I've always loved my own space and company, that never changed, but there is definitely a Mr P&P shaped hole in my life that nothing can fill.

The nature of his job means he is going to be away more and more, probably for even longer periods of time so I really am going to need to get a grip, sharpish. But the fact is, quite a few things have gone to shit since he's been away, but mainly the food-side of things. He left two weeks ago and since then I haven't cooked anything that hasn't involved piercing a film lid or is served on toast... call myself a food blogger?! Disgraceful.

Before I was with him I was single for a long time (through choice) and I always made the effort to cook myself something decent, something blog-worthy, almost every night- partly because I enjoy cooking and partly because I used to despise people who said things like "cooking for one just isn't the same"... I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise to those people who I sneered at in my head, because you're right. My cooking, it turns out, is all about him!

So anyway, for those of you who haven't already clicked off in disgust at my self-indulgent ranting, The burgers!!  The one in the picture above was my inspiration- people tell me it is from Man VS food, a programme which, surprisingly, holds absolutely zero appeal to me, what inspired me is the fact that I LOVE burgers, ADORE Krispy Kreme and totally dig the whole sweet and savoury together thing. So, imagine my excitement when I discovered that  The Globe pub in Brighton was selling the very objects of my desire.... 

After being near hysterical with anticipation all day, being presented with the above was somewhat... underwhelming.  All of the glaze on the donut had melted so it was soggy, the burger was tiny- I know I'm a glutton, but me and my dinner date Emma literally hovered them up in about five bites. There was something not quite right about the meat, don't get me wrong, it wasn't off, it just wasn't right. I wouldn't recommend it at all. Fabulous concept, woefully average content, the menu looked so promising too, shame. 

Still hankering after the holy grail burger that I knew this combo had the potential to be, I went to Krispy Kreme and bought a dozen assorted donuts and used this Jamie Oliver "cracking" burger recipe to put inside.  

Mr P&P is not a fan of the whole sweet/savoury thing and declined my offer of one of his own (yes, both of the above are mine) and opted for bog-standard buns. 

I chose a maple-glaze, my all time favourite Krispy Kreme, and an original glaze as well.  The latter actually worked a lot better as it was less gooey and was more of a background flavour to the delicious burger rather than the dominant one. I LOVED them, I forced Mr P&P to try a bite and he said it was "disgusting"- I posted a photo on my Facebook and Instagram and I got a mixed response on there too so it's obviously a marmite-type scenario.  I however, will be making them again soon!

What do you think? Love or Hate?

REVIEW: Food for friends, Brighton

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you will realise that I am FAR from being a vegetarian, the thought of consigning myself to a life without meat is a very bleak thought indeed, however, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Brighton's flagship vegetarian restaurant- Food for Friends so when I got the opportunity to go there for supper last week I jumped at the chance.

The light, as is often the case in restaurants in the evening, was a problem with regards to the photos, some are a bit shadowy but I think the beauty of the food still shines through!

Salt-baked celeriac with chargrilled leek
 and smoked confit egg yolk - £6.45

As soon as I saw this on the menu I knew it had to be mine.  I love every ingredient used and I was intrigued to see what a confit egg yolk would be like having only ever had meat or vegetable confit.  The celeriac was delicious and cooked al dente and the leeks were chargrilled with a lovely smokey taste whilst retaining their texture. All the veg was lightly drizzled in cabernet sauvignon dressing which lifted the dish beautifully.

But the egg yolk, oh the egg yolk was absolute perfection. Warm and the perfect mix of runny and squidgey. I loved it.

Goat's cheese, fresh herb and potato confit terrine
with apple chutney and toasted fruit bread - £5.95

This was my Mum's so I only had a (large) mouthful but it was delicious. The apple chutney worked perfectly with the charred creamy cheese and the fruit bread was crouton-crisp on the outside but soft and fruity within.  All very lovely but for me, my starter was the winner.

Warm mild ewe's halloumi salad - £11.95

The salad leaves were tossed in a mango dressing with avocado, wasabi-roasted cashews and perfumed mango. The different flavours and textures complemented each other perfectly, I would've liked the wasabi to have been a bit more prevalent, but other than that I couldn't fault it. Generous sized portion too.

Portobello mushrooms stuffed with feta, pinenuts
and sundried tomatoes - £12.95

As ever, I had to order something with mushrooms in as I get to eat them so scarcely at home due to Mr P&P's staunch refusal to eat them.  They were lovely, the stuffing was really nice and crusty on top but creamy inside with a slight crunch running through it from the pine nuts. 

Onion boulangere

They were resting atop a slab of onion boulangere with a side of al dente green beans, red & green pesto and creme fraiche. 

Everything about this dish was so well put together and filling, I didn't feel even slightly bereft  (as I'd feared I might) at the unfounded lack of flesh on my main course plate. Absolutely gorgeous and something I would be keen to recreate at home (when Mr P&P is out, natch).

Triple-cooked chips with truffled mayonnaise - £4.50

With hindsight these were an unnecessary item, ordered due to my previously mentioned fear of a purely vegetarian dish not quite being substantial enough.  My pet peeve in restaurants is undercooked chips, if there is anything but a soft and fluffy inside they go straight back.  I eyed these slightly suspiciously when they came out as they weren't on the spectrum of borderline-cremated that my tastes usually require. I needn't have worried, they were fabulous.  The truffled mayonnaise was fairly unremarkable but it didn't matter as I used them primarily to mop up the pesto on my plate.

Sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce
and cream - £5.95

This was Mum's and she declared it to be one of the best, if not the best sticky toffee pudding she'd ever had.  It was actually meant to come with icecream rather than cream but as our other dessert choice came with icecream too we decided to switch it up a bit.

Banana fritters in a rum batter with soaked raisins
and vanilla icecream* - £5.95

For me the absolute highlight of the meal was this dessert. I have rhapsodised to anyone who will listen about how friggin' AMAZING it was.  

*When looking at the menu again whilst writing this review I was amazed to discover that this dessert is suitable for vegans.

The rum batter tasted almost exactly like a super crispy version of the donuts that you buy at funfairs or on Brighton pier (I ADORE those donuts, but I'm always very dubious about the cleanliness of the oil in which they are fried) with a very slight hint of booze. The banana was still fresh and yellow in colour  (rather than the often grey/brownish offerings you often get at a Chinese restaurant) and the soaked raisins were plump and juicy.

Vanilla icecream has got to be my least favourite flavour, in fact I never eat it, just always substitute it for cream or custard- this vanilla icecream was the exception to that rule,  I loved it.

After scraping our dessert plates clean we were stuffed to the point of needing to (discretely) undo our top buttons!  

The service was brilliant, friendly and attentive (without being stifling)- the whole experience was brilliant from start to finish. They cater extremely well for those with food sensitivities with many dishes being gluten free and a large proportion offering a vegan option to the listed menu items. I would recommend to everyone bar those who have an intransigent stance on a "meal not being a meal without meat". I however, will be back!

RECIPE: Key lime pie

I wasn't going to write this post tonight, it's been a long day and I'm completely drained of energy and enthusiasm for anything other than eating, watching Breaking Bad (I <3 Jesse) and lying on my new bed. Bleuuuurgh my new bed, it was meant to be such a pleasure, a treat, a luxury to come home to at the end of a long day, BUT, because of the complete and utter incompetence of the BELLENDS who work for Dreams the whole experience has morphed into a nightmare (no pun intended).  I would elaborate but it makes me angry, TOO ANGRY, and believe me, I have vented white hot rage all week at anyone who will listen.  However, if anyone is considering buying a bed from Dreams, comment below and I will be happy to share my horror story in the hope of changing your mind.  

Anyway I digress... the actual reason I am forcing myself to write this and post it tonight is because of a little.... idiosyncrasy of mine.  If you look to the right of this post you will see my blog's archive, if you click on 2012 you will see that I posted every single month of last year, and if I don't post today there will be a month missing from this year's archive- I'm sure you are all now thinking "chill out you OCD-ridden maniac, who cares!?" But I do care, I care very much- I'm sure the reason for this is all deeply freudian, but whatevs. Also, the fact that the lime slices on the pie aren't the same size makes me feel extremely uneasy.

So there you go, a, perhaps unwanted, little glimpse into the way my mind works... I've seen loads of other bloggers, although admittedly not food bloggers, doing posts listing 50 facts about themselves recently, the incredibly self-indulgent side of me would quite like to do one too, but I doubt anyone who reads this blog would give a shit and more than likely feel I over-share enough as it is!!

So, this tart- I found the recipe on a blog which I quite like Laura Loves Cakes and she apparently adapted it from the BBC Good food website.  I've pretty much followed her recipe to the letter- but mine is bigger and her photos are better.  FYI It is an ABSOLUTE nightmare trying to find a rectangular fluted loose-bottomed tin so a round one will do just fine.

I took this tart round to Chloe and Dan's- I've done posts about the spectacular dinners Mr P&P and I have had at their house here and here . Now I have even more of a reason to love going round there as they have given me a beautiful and ridiculously adorable God Daughter- Delilah Peaches (see below).

I bought her that hat and also a reindeer snowsuit for Christmas and took numerous photos of her modelling both so she is probably going to fucking hate me when she gets older.  I ADORE her, and all though I have zilch to offer her in the way of spiritual guidance, we are going to have untold amounts of fun.

Ingredients:

600g of gingernut biscuits

200g butter

6 egg yolks ( you can use the whites to make meringues)

100g of caster sugar

8 limes, zest and juice

2 lemons, zest and juice

1 lime to garnish

2 x 397g cans of condensed milk

The listed ingredients made a giant pie so you could halve the quantities if you only have a 20cm round tin or smaller rectangular tin.

• If you have a food processor blitz the gingernuts until you end up with crumbs. if you don't then put them in a ziplock bag and pound/roll over it with a rolling pin.  Then melt the butter until entirely liquid.

• Pour the butter into the gingernut crumbs and thoroughly until it looks like coarse sand (as above).

• Tip the buttery crumb mix into your tin and press into the tin and up at the sides to create a pie crust/biscuity rim (that sounds SO wrong) then bake in a 180 oven for 15 minutes until crispy.

• Put the lemon and lime mix in a large mixing bowl along with the egg yolks and sugar.

• Beat together using an electric whisk until the mixture has almost doubled in size, then add the condensed milk and citrus juices and stir until thoroughly combined.

• Pour the filling into the pie and bake for another 20 minutes or so until it is just set.  Then top with the slices of lime, and if you are as much of a weirdo as me, make sure they are the right size or it will take some of the enjoyment out of consuming it.

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