SALTED OX TONGUE

I picked up a salted ox tongue at the Norfolk Food Fair on Saturday simply because I had never had tongue.

The tongue was an Angus tongue from Foxley Wood. If you wish to buy some quality beef for your Christmas meal or some other occasion, this farm is a very good choice. They start maturing Christmas beef in October.




The stall-keepers were two lovely ladies who gave me detailed instructions on how to cook the tongue. I promised them to write something about my experience.




Fist you need to simmer the tongue on low heat.



Skim the foam when it forms.



The tongue is done when you're able to insert a skewer easily. This will take a few hours. When the tongue is cooked, put a weight on it and let it rest. I think I used a fairly unorthodox method for this, as you can see below, but it worked.




Peel the tongue. The skin will come off very easily.




And finally, you can slice it.



I have served the tongue two different ways so far. Below you can see it with Hollandaise sauce. I have to say I didn't enjoy the sauce very much even though it's a classic.




The second time I fried plenty of garlic, an onion and tree tomatoes and added some balsamic vinegar. I added the sliced tongue into the mixture to warm it up. I also sprinkled some parsley on top. This worked much better.




The flavour of the tongue is quite mild. I have to describe it, I'd say it tastes a little bit like ham or seafood. The texture is very soft and tender, as you can see in the photo below. There are several types of tissue in the tongue and they all have a different flavour and texture.




Fridge-cold tongue is delicious on it's own. I'd imagine it makes a lovely sandwich.

NORFOLK FOOD FAIR

The annual Norfolk Food Fair was held on Saturday. This time the venue was The Forum in Norwich, not Gentleman's Walk as I think it has earlier been. I went there to have a look and this is what I saw.

A very uninviting view. No stalls in sight and not very many people.

In a tent outside.

Inside The Forum. Still not very many people and not many stalls.

Bondas and onion bhajis.

A bonda seemed to be mildly spiced chopped potatoes in a gram flour crust.

The people behind Chillis Galore being interviewed by BBC East.

Jellies and sauces.

The sausage van.

Sausage competition.

A bit busier at the sausage-tasting area, as you can see.

Trying a sample.

Sausages being prepared for tasting.

Inside The Forum again.

Some Foxley Wood produce.

A salted ox tongue.

In addition to what you can see here, there were also producers selling cakes, bread, juice, beer, jams, ice cream, cheese and of course mustard. In the sausage-tasting area there was a pot of Colman's mustard at every stand and they also had a stand of their own.

The event seemed to be smaller than in previous years. One thing I noticed was that there were no sweets on offer.

Maybe Gentleman's walk would be a better venue than The Forum because it's right next to the market, where you can find more local food. The Forum is a bit isolated, though convenient for rainy days.

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DOUBLE-DECKER BROWNIE CHEESECAKE

Can't quite decide between two cheesecake flavours? I didn't want to choose so I made them both – and a brownie!

This recipe is not just ridiculously easy but also gluten-free and fairly low-carb. The cake is very rich and creamy but not too sweet.

I'm using the recipe to enter the We Should Cocoa chocolate challenge, hosted by Chele from Chocolate Teapot.

The brownie base is quite similar to my marinated mud cake.

Makes approximately an 18 cm cake.


Brownie base:

50g chocolate
100g cocoa powder
100g unsalted butter
30g sugar
2 large eggs


Raspberry layer:

400g cream cheese
sugar to taste
a handful of raspberries, I used frozen


Lemon layer:

400g cream cheese
sugar to taste
lemon juice
lemon zest



To make the brownie base melt chocolate and butter and mix in sugar. Allow to cool.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time. If the batter splits, it's too warm so put it in the freezer for a minute or two. Continue as normal and it will become smooth again.

Mix in cocoa.

Bake in 200°C until firm. Allow to cool.

Prepare the fillings. You will find it easier if you soften the cheese by pressing it through a sieve before you mix anything into it. Spread the fillings on the brownie base.

Chill overnight to set.

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IMPOSSIBLE PIES

Film and food.

One of the owners of Looses Cookshop recommended the film Julie & Julia because I’m a food blogger myself. I know I’m very late and I don’t know why I hadn’t seen it yet. Well now I have and of course I loved it.

As most of you know the film is based on not just one but two true stories and works in two timelines. One is about Julia Child and the other about a contemporary food blogger Julie who is cooking her way through Julia’s book on French cuisine.

Even though I should probably relate to Julie more, I found Ms Child a lot like me: she’s very tall and loves butter. Oh, and there’s one more thing… the pearls. At one point Julie cries: ‘Pearls! The woman wears pearls in the kitchen.’

Honey, I wear pearls in bed. A lady needs her pearls.

Luckily for her, Julie starts to appreciate the beauty of pearls herself.

On to the food then...

The recipe is not French but it could easily be. I saw the original recipe here but it didn’t work so I had to adjust it quite a bit. Not much remains of the original but the ingredients.

The baking temperature was too low, there was too much flour, too much desiccated coconut and the instructions were a bit risky to say the least. You really want me to mix lemon juice with egg and milk? I did, actually, and luckily it did not split. The second time it did.

The original tag-line for the pies is ‘Impossible to resist’ but I think ‘Impossible to get right’ is more accurate.

Why are they called pies and not cakes? I don’t know.

The pies should have a firm, browned top and a sauce underneath. You just won’t get this if you use the amount of flour and coconut the original recipe quotes. I did try and below you can see the result.

The sauce should move into the hole but as there is too much flour and desiccated coconut, there is no sauce.

The second time I already reduced the amount of flour and coconut but it wasn’t enough. There was a lovely sauce at first but as the pies continued cooking at the table due to still being hot, the sauce firmed up.

The third time I used barely any flour and less sugar as well and converted all the measurements into volume for simplicity.

The pies were divine.


Impossible pies – made possible


6 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp gluten-free flour mix
7 tbsp desiccated coconut
0.5 tsp (2.5ml) gluten-free baking powder
zest of one lemon
5.5 tbsp coconut milk or milk
1 egg
1 tbsp melted butter, salted is fine
4 tbsp lemon juice


Mix together sugar, flour, desiccated coconut and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, mix together lemon zest, coconut milk, egg and melted butter.

Combine the mixtures and add lemon juice. Mix well.

Divide equally between two ramekins or small ovenproof dessert bowls.

Heat up the grill and brown the top of the pies. You can use a kitchen blowtorch if you don’t have a grill.

Bake in 200°C until the top is firm. The pies will be wobbly but will firm up slightly.

Serve when warm, not piping hot.

'Bon appétit!'

BYRON BAY GLUTEN-FREE COOKIES

Paul from Beyond the Bean sent me a sampling pack of Byron Bay cookies. I am in no way connected to either company and am free to write an honest review.

Byron Bay are an Australian company that also seem to have a UK branch since the cookies I received were baked over here. Although the samples I got are all gluten-free, they mostly do regular cookies.

The cookies reviewed are dark choc orange, sticky date & ginger with walnut, white choc chunk & macadamia nut, Dotty and triple choc fudge.

The cookies weigh 60g (about two ounces) each and are individually wrapped in order to be convenient for cafés. Boxes of cookies, and cookies of various shapes and sizes are also sold if you shop online. These 60g ones can be bought online by the dozen if you can’t find a local distributor. A quick Google search will give you a couple of websites.

To make the test a full experience, I paired the cookies up with a drink.

Ready to open the box, with my testing equipment a.k.a. mug ready.

Dark choc orange
With rooibos tea.



After coming home from work in the middle of the night I want a definite pleaser and this one seems like a safe bet: I like dark chocolate and I like orange, and I love the combination.

Being the first Byron Bay cookie I have laid my eyes or teeth on this looks a bit like an ice hockey puck: thick, circular and hefty.

At first I’m not too happy about the individual wrapping, though I understand it’s a necessity. My opinion changes in an instant when the orange aroma reaches my nostrils. It’s strong for something that’s not exactly hot straight out of the oven. The plastic does a great job at keeping the flavour and smell in.



The texture of the cookie is very dense and dry, very close to shortbread. The chocolate is of good quality but there isn’t enough cocoa in the dough. The flavour doesn’t quite live up to the expectation created by the lovely, strong smell. Maybe needs more sugar or butter as well as the cocoa?

A bad close-up of the texture. Very dense.

Overall the cookie is very satisfying and rooibos is the perfect drink to go with it.

8/10

Hubby’s verdict: Nice. Feels like a ‘real’ cookie, not a gluten free one.




Sticky date & ginger with walnut
Accompanied by English breakfast tea with milk and sugar.




After a good experience I was ready to go for something risky. This cookie is not something I’d buy for myself so I thought I might get it out of the way and leave the nicer cookies last. How wrong was I.

My Aussie cookie and my English cuppa on my English carpet.

Again, the smell is lovely: just slightly spicy and quite sweet. The texture is soft and very pleasant after the comparable dryness of the Dark choc orange cookie. The soft texture works well with the flavours of the cookie: it’s very comforting, sweet and has a perfectly harmonious blend of spices. A shortbread-like texture wouldn’t probably bring out the flavours equally well.

Texture.

No one flavour dominates and the balance is so good I can’t even tell what the exact flavours are. After a look at the ingredient list I feel silly for not realising it myself.

The dates are indeed sticky and are a nice contrast to the soft, crumbly dough.

I kept thinking about this cookie for a long time afterwards. It’s beautiful.

10/10

Hubby: Pretty good.


White choc chunk & macadamia nut
With sweetened apricot tea, no milk.



The cookie crumbles very easily but the texture has a very nice mouth-feel: soft and delicate, almost melting. Not a bit dry. Again, the texture suits the flavour.




The flavour is sublime. It is sweet, buttery and slightly nutty.

I’m surprised to find that this cookie ‘only’ contains 12% butter compared with 20 % of the Dark choc orange one. My message to Byron Bay: whatever you did to this cookie to make it so luscious, do some of that to Dark choc orange, too.

This has a very rounded and calorific yet sophisticated and delicate flavour. If you like shortbread, you’ll love this. The amount of bits in the dough is perfect, enough to create nice surprises and texture but not roughness.




A surprisingly elegant cookie. Amazing.

10/10

Hubby: Awesome!



Dotty (triple choc with Smartie-like sweets)
Not accompanied by a drink due to milk having run out and general weekend laziness.




A slab of medium-brown dough that photographs as grey. The sweets on the top are not very brightly coloured – some were even light brown, not an appealing colour to children. The packaging is more colourful and the name is simple and fun to appeal to children.




The cookie weighs a majestic 60g, as do the other varieties, so it’s maybe a bit too much for a toddler but that just gives mum or dad the perfect excuse to have some too. There’s a generous amount of chocolate and cocoa in the dough. Very filling and satisfying.

The only drawback remains the colours. I’d like to see a stronger warm shade in the dough and some brighter Smarties to replace the light brown ones.

Also, the sugar coating on the Smarties had cracked slightly during baking. I don’t mind but kids can be fussy. Maybe the chocolate recipe or the coating needs tweaking.




8/10

Hubby: OK but a bit too rich.



Triple choc fudge
With milk





Very chocolaty dough with a generous amount of chocolate bits. The promise of some fudge confuses me because I can’t find any. I’m surprised to find some toffee, though. Maybe a case of Australian versus British English?




Anyway, the toffee/fudge is a perfect addition to a triple choc cookie. It gives it a nice update. We’ve all had dozens of triple choc cookies, haven’t we, and they’re pretty much the same but not this one.

Very satisfying and sweet. I almost forget about the milk.

The amount of chocolate and other bits can be seen on the bottom of Byron Bay cookies. The top is cleaner, maybe to maintain an elegant image of the company.

9/10

Hubby: Good.



My overall view of the samples remains very positive. These are definitely something I'd pick up at a café but they seem to be hard to find. I suppose that's what Beyond the Bean are trying to fix, though.

After a quick Google, I discover that Café Bar Marzano at The Forum in Norwich should stock these but they didn't have any when I checked yesterday. Some larger Sainbury's stores should stock them too.

Dear reader, have you come across Byron Bay cookies? Where?