Wednesday, 18 February 2015

Food trip to Liverpool's Almost Famous Burgers.

When it comes to dining out I like to try different food establishments each and everytime. So when it came to planning an evening out I was stuck for any places I haven't already been. Until a relative of mine mentioned a place called Almost Famous in Liverpool. Quoting he had the best burgers ever from there...Now I was curious.

Located on Parr street Liverpool only a few minutes walk from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. When travelling to Almost Famous I initially walked straight past! As a newbie to this place I had no idea of their logo! And spent a few minutes walking the wrong way up the street. No name signifying the establishment on the outside of the building. Which I later noticed a few customers did scan the outside to see if they were in fact at the right place. Maybe this could be a future plan for the company. 



My first thoughts on the layout was very colourful! Plenty of staff attending to other customers with plenty of smiles on their faces! Nice to see!

After sitting down and viewing the menu I loved how minimal it was! Not too spoilt for choice but well varied to suit different tastes with pretty reasonable prices. I eventually decided to order a River Phoenix burger and pig n waffle fries! 



Once decided on the food I would be consuming, ordering at the bar, staff where very pleasant and helpful whilst deciding upon drinks to accompany my meal. The room began to fill up rather quickly considering it was close to dinnertime. Hungry faces swarmed in as others where tucking into their delicious looking food that where placed infront of them. Quoting a gentlemans comment of absolutely lovely! I looked forward to devouring mine! 

From order to serving  it took 10 minutes! I was very impressed! At first sight of the meal put before me I felt like I was in an episode of Man vs Food!!! 


River Phoenix burger contained:
Double 100% freshly ground beef steak pattys, Cheese, Bacon, Bbq fried onions, frazzles, chipotle ketchup, bacconaise, bbq sass and fresh chillies. 

Pig 'n' waffle fries contained:
Waffle fries, pulled pork, redneck bbq and bleu cheese sauce, jalapeño and onions.

I know! Not a meal for any diet goer!
But what a delicious meal this was! Dripping in sauce and succulent beef a perfect burger! Colourful, flavoursome and packed with different textures. I thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience at Almost Famous Burgers! 

Will most definitely be dining there again!


Theredheadchef x



 


Thursday, 12 February 2015

Fish tapas

For a different take on regular tapas we are served today. This dish consists of plaice goujons, tuna fish balls and tempura prawns. Show off culinary skill for friends and family. 



Ingredients:

1/2 hake fillet
1 egg
75g flour
75g breadcrumbs 

2 tiger prawns
65ml soda water 
1/2 beaten egg 
30g plain flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Tuna pieces 
1 tbsp olive oil 
Chopped flat leaf parsley
1tbsp breadcrumbs
8g onion, finely diced
1/4 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 tbsp milk


Method:

Cut the fillet into strips and pané in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and set aside in the fridge until required. 

For your tempura batter put soda water into the freezer until it comes ice cold but not frozen. 

Run a sharp knife down the back of each prawn and rinse. Pulling away the dark cord, pat dry and put into the fridge to chilled until required for deep frying. 

Place your tuna, onion and garlic onto the chopping board and chop into a coarse paste. Mix in the breadcrumbs, flour and lemon rind until well combined.

Add the egg, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. With moist hands shape your mixture into walnut size balls. Toss into some flour and shallow fry until cooked. 

For the prawns mix together the soda water water, bicarb, flour and beaten egg. Dip prawn into the batter then deep fry until prawns are pink and float to the top of the oil. For goujons cook Until coating is golden brown and float the same as the tempura prawns.

 Serve either hot or cold. 



Friday, 6 February 2015

Pork cordon bleu with tagliatelle





Ingredients:

1 pork fillet
slices of honey roasted ham
4 slices of mature cheddar cheese
Breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
Large knob of butter
Vegetable oil

Method:

Cut your fillet lengthways and into 4 equal pieces. Lay one piece in between two sheets of cling film and using a rolling pin, bash the pork so that it flattens out not too thin though. Set it aside and repeat with the remaining pork.

With each piece of flattened pork lay the ham followed by the cheese and seasoning to taste. Fold over just short of half way and enclose  Press down firmly. 

Carefully with each escalope dip into the beaten egg then drain excess and the press into your breadcrumbs.

Cover and chill until required.
Preheat the oven to 190 C / Gas 5.

Heat two frying pans with a little butter and oil for frying. 

 2 escalopes per pan and gently brown on each side. 
 Add more oil if needed. 

After about 5 minutes remove and place on a baking tray.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Serve immediately with freshly cooked tagliatelle.