Often as not I have a couple of Chorizo knocking about in the fridge and a bag of frozen prawns in the freezer. I certainly have a bottle of Catalan Vermut in the house unless I drunk it the night before. Thereby I can knock a version of this up in 5 minutes when friends unexpectedly drop by, even if the coriander is missing. It is always well received though there is never any vermut left afterwards.
As grand as it looks it really is quite difficult to cock up cooking a cochinillo. It is barely worth a recipe but try this.
Supposedly devised by Constance Spry for the coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth II, her recipe bears a remarkable resemblance to Jubilee Chicken made for the silver jubilee of George V in 1935. And if she can plunder history then so can I.
As may be assumed from its title, the chief purpose of a Corpse Reviver #2 is to rouse the drinker back from the dead. It can certainly work a treat, the morning after a lively wake.
Daiquiri is the name of a beach and an iron mine near Santiago in Cuba. Supposedly it was created by an American mining engineer, Jennings Cox. However, more than a century before, Royal Navy sailors were given a daily grog ration of rum, water, lime juice, and sugar to combat scurvy.
Goslings from Bermuda, makers of Goslings Black Seal rum since 1857, trademarked Dark ‘n’ Stormy and technically this is the only rum you should use. Well bobbins to that. It is decent spiced rum and works well in the context but nobody wants their choice of spirit dictated to them. Drink what you wish and be damned. Let them sue.
In the original recipe he claimed that it was invented “by the author and three officers of H.M.S. Danae after having spent seven hours overboard trying to get Capt. Bra Saunders’ fishing boat off a bank where she had gone with us in a N.W. gale.” but then he was always one for a good yarn.
There used to be, and maybe still is, a Spanish tapas bar, in a basement on Charlotte Street, which claimed to be one of the oldest in London. It stayed opened very late so we would nip down there after work, certainly after licensing hours, and get silly. One of its house specialities, which should give you a sense of the depravity of this establishment, was a Depth Charge, although perhaps it was just the depravity of our crew.
A Victorian English classic but not for everyone, Devilled Kidneys make an offally good start to the day. Serve on thickly buttered toast or bread fried in lard or goose fat if you are feeling up for it.
For a long time Disfrutar has been my all time favourite venue, and, to me, defined what all top end dining should aspire to. I have made an annual pilgrimage to worship at the pass since it first opened its doors in 2014. The day after my first visit it was voted the best new restaurant in Europe. It is now rated the best in the world.
Such a simple a drink, yet it is so ingrained in culture. Over the course of the 20th century, the Martini became increasingly dry. Starting in the 1920s at a ratio of 2:1, gin to vermouth, 6:1 is now the norm. The ‘Montgomery’, named after the Field Marshal’s penchant for attacking only when in possession of great numerical superiority, is 15:1.
It wouldn’t be right to talk of breakfast without including tea, at least in passing. Not just any tea in this case but Earl Grey, that smoky brew, high in caffeine, that is flavoured with bergamot, a cold-pressed oil from the rind of bergamot orange fruit and originally gifted to the 2nd Earl of Grey by the Chinese.
There are two cocktails that say Christmas like no others: Eggnog and Snowballs. Wait until it snows, pour out the eggnog, put Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics on the gramophone and empty Santa’s sack around the Christmas tree. Howdy Ho!
Very much a family affair, the Celler is run by the three Roca brothers. Joan, is head chef, Josep the sommelier and Jordi, the youngest, the pastry chef. They grew up in their parents’ modest restaurant, Can Roca, There, in 1986, they started their own place in an adjoining building, relocating to the current venue 20 years later. The year after they were awarded their third Michelin star.
Less famous than other ‘Mexican’ cocktails and that is unfortunate. It makes for a great thirst-quenching summer pick-me-up. Surprisingly the components work wonderfully together; each, individually, are some of my favourites. If you layer it up, it can look very impressive. Definitely one for Instagram, kids.
By now everyone has heard the story of how it originated when a unnamed model asked for: “something to wake me up, then fuck me up.” Who it was, Dick Bradsell took to the great jump in the sky.
This works equally well accompanying a salad, fish
or as a palate cleanser.
The story goes that one of the chefs at El Bulli, Ferran Adrià’s now legendary restaurant in Roses, was tasked with knocking up a post service snack for the team. He was completely knackered so just grabbed a pack of crisps and a few eggs and made this in minutes.
In 1732, 28 wealthy Quakers from Philadelphia leased land from the Lenni-Lenape tribe, on the banks of the Schuylkill River, just out of town. There they built a clubhouse, or ‘castle’ as they called it, then declared independence and seceded, announcing that they were now the Colony of Schuylkill with its own governor, council and sheriff.
Popularised by Trader Vic’s, the Fog Cutter, or, as they call it, the Samoan Fog Cutter, was, like Mai Tais, likely created by Donn Beach of Don the Beachcomber Fame in the 1930s.It is not a drink for the faint-hearted.