Food & Drink Round-Up January 2020

In this post I share some of my food and drink highlights from last month, bringing together the best of the blog and my social media during January 2020.

Includes American pancakes (twice!), a perfect pizza, Indian street food, tasty local beef in a country pub, whisky tasting and more.

Indian Snacks & Chutneys for a Thali Tray

A couple of days into the new year and I had a marathon cooking session making Indian snacks plus chutneys to go with them. I also had to photograph them for use in future blog posts.

It’s surprising how much longer it takes to cook something when you have to keep breaking off to take pictures and write down exactly how you made it!

Mind you, it was worth it for the feast we had later that night, eaten on traditional Indian thali trays.

Clockwise from the top there was vegetable & cashew rice, lamb curry, cucumber & mint raita, onion bhaji, aloo bonda potato balls, crunchy salad. In the middle are tamarind & mint chutney and coconut & coriander chutney.

The Aloo Bonda potato balls and Coconut & Coriander Chutney posts are now on the blog. The Onion Bhaji and Tamarind & Mint Chutney will be coming soon.

The One Dim Sum & Noodle Bar

The first place I ate out at in 2020 was an unassuming little place in Newcastle-Under-Lyme. Doing a roaring trade in takeaway, The One Dim Sum & Noodle Bar has a few tables as well.

Going there was a spur of the moment thing. It was a Saturday night and other half and I fancied something tasty where we could try a few different things, but nowhere fussy. And we didn’t want to take too long about it either.

I thought The One ticked all those boxes. Read my review of The One.

Breakfast & The Eternal Question: Red or Brown Sauce?

We don’t have a traditional British fry-up very often. But when we do, it tends to be either in a cafe or B&B. On the odd occasion we have one at home, it’s almost always other half who cooks it.

So it was an unusual breakfast, that first Sunday in January, when I got the frying pan out and produced this.

I’m not sure what the experts at The Fry Up Police would make of it though. There were no beans, toast or fried bread but there were poncy roasted cherry tomatoes. However, in my defence, those tomatoes did need using up

Of course you can’t post anything involving sausage, bacon and eggs in Britain without the eternal debate of ‘red or brown sauce?’ rearing its head. That certainly was the case with that breakfast.

So I couldn’t resist, a couple of Sundays later, posting the above image with a cheeky claim to have conducted an experiment to discover which is better on a bacon sandwich.

One happy consequence of the debate kicking off all over again was James of Seed Chocolate‘s comment asking whether I’d tried Daddy Cool’s Chilli Sauces, and in particular the Broon Sauce? I hadn’t.

Then Daddy Cool himself joined the conversation, the upshot of which was that I was gifted a bottle of said Broon Sauce as well as his hot Reaper Ketchup.

Look out for my social media posts in February when I’ll try out the sauces handmade just over the border in Derbyshire.

Rye & Sesame Crackers

Fed up with over-packaged, over-processed shop bought crackers which often contain palm oil, I’ve been making my own for about a year now. They’re surprisingly easy with a basic mix of just flour, salt, water and a little olive oil.

In January I baked a rye and sesame version and they were so good I updated my original post for Easy Homemade Crackers with this variation.

When I post on social media something I’ve cooked which is based on a blog recipe from a while ago, I love it when people come back and say they’ve been making it lots too. That was the case with these and also when I posted a batch of my Easy Seed Crackers.

Although I have the stats to show which of my recipes blog posts you’ve been looking at, unless you tell me then I don’t actually know how many of you have made the recipe.

It would be great if you could rate and comment on any of my recipes you’ve tried. 😀

Having said that…. I am absolutely rubbish at remembering to comment on other peoples’ blog posts. Must try to do better!

Book Review: Keep Calm & Fanny On!

In January I posted my first full-length book review on Moorlands Eater.

I started Kevin Geddes’ Keep Calm & Fanny On! The Many Careers of Fanny Cradock knowing little beyond the public persona of the TV cook with a reputation for being a ‘difficult woman’.

But through his entertaining yet thoughtful book I came to learn about her huge output also as a novelist, journalist and businesswoman.

Published on the twenty-fifth anniversary of her death, I thought the book a timely look at the life and work of Fanny Cradock, highly recommending it. Read my review of Keep Calm & Fanny On.

Fish Recipes

One thing I’d like more of on my own blog are fish recipes. It’s weird that I have so few, because I usually eat fish at least twice a week.

I do tend to cook fish very simply though and wonder if I hold back because I think my fish dishes are too simple for the blog?

Take the wonderful, baked haddock dish you see above. I made it several times in January and it’s gorgeous. In the breadcrumb topping is lemon zest, Parmesan, garlic and black pepper. It takes hardly any time to put together either.

Should I post the recipe? Of course I should! I just need to take the time to note down the amounts of ingredients and the actual timings rather than getting carried away with the excitement of cooking and eating it.

Cafe Apollonia, Leek

Most Saturday mornings we’ll go into our local town of Leek for a spot of food shopping and maybe some brunch or lunch.

We often have our cocker spaniel Larkin with us which is fine because the town is pretty dog friendly. Just take a look at the number of Leek listings in my guide to Dog Friendly Eating & Drinking in Staffordshire.

But there’s still a few places we can’t take him. So one Saturday in January we decided to leave Larkin behind so we could try Cafe Apollonia at the corner of Market Place and Derby Street.

Correction: I’ve since discovered that Cafe Apollonia IS dog friendly downstairs! See my February round-up for details.

It’s incredibly popular with only a few seats free both downstairs and upstairs on our visit.

I went for American pancakes, blueberries and maple syrup. At first I was disappointed that my blueberries weren’t warmed; I like it when the juices run! But I ended up really enjoying it. There was a good portion of maple syrup and the pancakes were impressively light and fluffy.

The full English breakfast coming out looked pretty good too, so I think I’ll be going back for one of those. Sorry, Larkin.

Pizza with Fennel Salami

As well as independent cafes and bars, Leek is also known for its independent shops. One of my favourites is Pronto Deli on Sheep Market where I popped in that same Saturday.

They’ve everything you’d expect in a good deli: cheeses, cooked meats, antipasti, cakes, pastries, bread, quality biscuits, chocolate, honey, preserves – you name it.

The thing I buy most often in Pronto, along with cheeses from the Staffordshire Cheese Company, is fennel salami.

I love it on a homemade, tomato-less ‘white’ pizza and made one for dinner that night.

Also on there is shredded spring onion marinated in garlic and olive oil, mozzarella, Parmesan, a teeny bit of Cheddar and some black pepper.

Absolutely perfect, even if I do say so myself!

American Pancakes with Blueberries (again)

In no rush to get out to walk the dog one drizzly morning in January, I decided to make some American-style pancakes for breakfast.

It must have been those ever-so-fluffy pancakes at Cafe Apollonia that gave me the idea as I don’t think I’ve ever made the American version before.

I must say I was pretty pleased with my first effort. I topped the pancakes with frozen blueberries which I pinged in the microwave plus maple syrup and a dusting of cinnamon.

Lovely with a blob of my homemade yogurt, strained through muslin to make it thick, Greek-style.

Sunday Lunch at The Greyhound Inn Warslow

After a Sunday morning walk along the Tissington Trail in Derbyshire in beautiful winter sun, we made an impromptu decision to have lunch back home in the Moorlands at the Greyhound Inn Warslow.

It’s been on my list of dog friendly places to visit for a while and after a decent pint and a roast beef dinner I’ll be including it in the next update of my guide to Dog Friendly Eating & Drinking in Staffordshire.

I particularly enjoyed the tender, tasty beef from Gap Farm. The farm’s practically on the pub’s doorstep so you can’t get much more local than that!

Streat Graze & Bar, Stone

Another venue I finally got around to trying was Streat Graze & Bar in Stone. Streat serves up tasty, generous portions inspired by Indian street food.

With an emphasis on tapas style eating, it’s a great place for sharing.

You won’t find the familiar curries of British Indian restaurants, but plenty of great value dishes, some with a bit of a twist. Read my review of Streat Graze & Bar.

Whisky Night at The Old Mill Smokehouse

I think the real highlight of January was being inviting to a Whisky Night at The Old Mill smokehouse in Leek.

We enjoyed a fantastic dinner with each of the four courses accompanied by different whiskies which were specially selected by whisky expert David Wood from Distilled Events.  Read all about the Whisky Night here.

Chinese Cookery

One of the gaps in my food knowledge is Chinese cooking. But I’m starting to put that right and will eventually share some recipes on the blog.

One simple dish I made in January was chicken with peanuts. In the sauce is Shaoxing rice wine, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, spring onion, rice vinegar, chilli, sesame oil plus a little chicken stock & sugar.

Quick to make, it was really enjoyable with some stir-fried green veg, brown rice and a crunchy cucumber salad.

I hope you enjoyed my highlights for January. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to hear about my February food & drink.

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