Monday, August 31, 2009

Desperate Romantics

.

This BBC serial is an interesting development in the heritage drama genre: all the known facts of the Pre-Raphaelites’ lives are there, but cheerfully strung together with all the blatant sensationalistic plot devices available to the modern soap scriptwriter (Peter Bowker).

All amplified by production values (especially the music). The six episodes snapped and crackled along under fluent direction by Diarmuid Lawrence.

Reverent it was not - more like sheer effrontery, knowingly done - but hugely entertaining and cleverly preempting criticism.

Ann Mason’s Lizzie Siddal, well-cast with her beautiful Pre-Raphaelite features, was convincing in the role of the artistic talent and artists’ model trapped in a doomed love affair with Aidan Turner’s complex and irrepressible Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

She was one of several female characters - Effie Ruskin (Zoe Trapper), Annie Miller (Jennie Jacques) and Jane Burden (Natalie Thomas) all exploring the ambiguities of women’s status in the era - actually with a lot more subtlety than most such dramas, in spite of/because of the deliberately anachronistic scriptwriting approach(?)

Tom Hollander’s uptight and sexually damaged John Ruskin emerged as the cartoon baddy in this drama; Sam Crane’s sensitive Fred Walters as its conscience. Samuel Barnett’s John Millais was a naive baby spoiled by happy love and financial success; Rafe Spall’s William Holman Hunt a man tortured by the contradiction between his Christian beliefs and physical compulsions.

Bringing up the rear, Dyfrig Morris as the eponymous William and Peter Sandys-Clark as Edward ‘Ned’ Burne-Jones were a pair of comedy twins - Rossetti declaring in the final episode that William had a future in ‘design’. Leaving us to ponder on the future of historical genre television.

St Paul's

Jamie's Italian


My friend Mark is an enthusiastic foodie both by inclination and profession, so as he was visiting London recently a meal at Jamie’s Italian was essential. A party of us went to the Kingston branch.

Due to Jamie Oliver's celebrity the restaurant has been reviewed widely, but the reviews I read were mixed. Mark’s passion for all things new and foody in London meant we had a look at Jamie’s other new culinary project, Recipease. Although I cannot fault the quality of products in this shop or their presentation, I have my doubts about the basic mercantile premise. To me it feels too much like a pre-crash conceit; it’s not right for straitened times now.

So I approached Jamie’s Italian with low expectations, not at all alleviated by the massive queue outside at 8pm. No booking is accepted, one has to wait and queue. We were told it was going to be an hour’s wait before we got inside. It turned out to be 40 minutes. And I have to say no-one left that queue - in an area where there are other restaurants very readily available nearby.

They sent out a lady with a tray of tasty treats for us as we waited - a very nice touch. And once inside, we were given a table very quickly. The girls in our party spotted a better table apparently free (in fact, the best table in the whole restaurant) and upon asking we were immediately led to it - no trouble at all.

The staff’s attitude was perfectly pitched - friendly, efficient, helpful and knowledgeable, but not in your face the whole time. They’re around when you need them.

Jamie’s Italian offers classic Italian dishes - spaghetti bolognese is offered, for instance - interspersed with some interesting unusual things such as chickpea “popcorn” and “the best olives in the world” - peppery and meaty, almost neon-green giants served with crisp flat breads and a black olive tapenade. You’ll find it hard to select from the menu - there are so many tempting things available!

We opted for a spread of starters - the olives, bruschette with four different toppings, a sensational broad bean salad, the chickpea popcorn (gently spicy and indeed, with a slight popcorn texture - very moreish), and polenta chips. I’m not a fan of polenta but these had a light open texture and a cheesy finish which went down very well.

I struggled to choose between crab pasta and a steak for my main course, eventually opting for the steak. It was superb. Perfect thick chips accompanied it. Tracey had grilled chicken -if possible, this was even better. I always feel it is the mark of a good restaurant to do something seemingly simple dazzlingly well.

Our meal came to under £30 a head - not all of us had pudding (pannacotta, ice-cream scoops), but some had cocktails to start and we had wine and water. Jamie’s offers really superlative service and food in a wonderfully buzzy atmosphere at a very affordable price. It feels right now. I can't wait to go back.

Jamie's Italian, Kingston
19-23 High Street
Kingston KT1 1LL

Tel: 0208 912 0110
Fax: 0208 912 0111

hummingbird cake

.

This has to be the best name for a cake ever. Olive magazine recently included it in a feature on great American cakes, and I just had to try it. Just the thing for a bank holiday, I thought.

Apparently, the cake’s first documented mention was in the February 1978 issue of Southern Living magazine – the southern belle bible of gracious hostessing. It was submitted by Mrs L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina. To this day Southern Living claims the recipe is its most requested ever. From the South the cake made its way to the heady cosmopolitan sophistication of Manhattan’s booming celebrity cake industry, and from there is obviously well placed for world domination.

However, there is some evidence to suggest the cake actually originated in Jamaica - the hummingbird “Dr Bird” is Jamaica’s national bird, and there are intriguing references to something similar to the hummingbird cake being used by the PRs for the Jamaican national airways in the 1960s. So come on Jamaica, track down those printed references and make a claim to culinary history!

My oven almost derailed my attempt at this cake. Although it can roast chickens and ribs of beef without any trouble whatsoever, it consistently fails at baking cakes. Grrrrr. Olive said to bake for 30 minutes at 160C (fan oven) - well, it eventually took about 20 minutes mores. The crumb came out beautifully, but is cinnamony rather than anything else - banana and pineapple quite absent. I used just-ripe bananas from Sainsbury’s - it’s always better to use overripe splotchy brown bananas for cooking. There were heavenly pineapple smells in the baking process but clearly the pineapple itself was all baked away.

So, I would be interested to taste a professional attempt at this cake to taste the difference. I possibly may try again at some point - what I have is very nice, no doubt about it - but not up to all the hype. Still a major carrot cake fan here.

More picture of the cake and my process in making it are on my flickr stream.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The Last Lion: Ted Kennedy passes away

.

"And may it be said of us, both in dark passages and in bright days, in the words of Tennyson that my brothers quoted and loved, and that have special meaning for me now:

"I am a part of all that I have met
To [Tho] much is taken, much abides
That which we are, we are --
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end.

For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."

Senator Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (22 February 1932 - 25 August 2009), from his 1980 Democratic National Convention address (12 August 1980).


"Teddy represented the state of Massachusetts for forty-six years, eight months and nineteen days. That is nearly three months longer than all the years his older brother Jack lived on earth. ...
I am happy Ted Kennedy lost the Democratic primaries to President Carter. It was only after he lost that race - only when he came to terms with the truth that he would never be president - that he became the lion of the senate that history will justly remember him as."

Tom Degan, in a great tribute worth reading.

the great twitter summer starter competition

This round of Nickie Philbin’s twitter cookoff was highly competitive, with an array of tempting appetisers for judge Chef Gary Magnani of Horse and Trumpet to choose from.



@NickiePhilbin Gary has run restaurants in Australia, 1 Lombard Street in London, and has been at The H&T for 6 years. Now his results

@NickiePhilbin www.horseandtrumpet.comis fine dinning with rooms, winner of 2 AA rosettes, best restaurant award in East Midlands

@NickiePhilbin >Gary Magnani, Head Chef atwww.horseandtrumpet.comspent an hour going through every shot. Then back again Thanks so much




winners

@NickiePhilbin Most potential goes to @Andyqsmith“This had a great balance of ingreds that I can imediately see wd work well together

@Andyqsmith Posh cheese on toast! Melted camembert with pecan nuts

@NickiePhilbin “Gd texture mix, toast nuts separately then add to cheese before cooking wd add more flavour; lovely ingreds”


@NickiePhilbin 3rd goes to @shar13“lovely combination of subtle ingreds and textures”

@shar13 Prawns in smoked paprika with gazpacho chowder

@NickiePhilbin “I'm liking. Summery, paprika adds depth to prawns without overpowering, fresh salsa cutting through V Good”


@NickiePhilbin 2nd goes to....@edwardclarke“The way he has just finely chargrilled courgette will add flavour to salmon. Beautiful”

@edwardclarke salmon wrapped in courgette ribbons with tomato, basil and lemon vinaigrette

@NickiePhilbin “Summer on plate, delicately balanced,lightly char grilled,fresh flavs nicely presented”

@NickiePhilbin So @edwardclarkewill not be having us all to dinner! Outrage! Damn. I had my coat on ready,too

Part of the great charm of the competition is Nickie’s delivery of the results - the way she raises the tension puts the likes of Chris Tarrant to shame:

@NickiePhilbin So who has won? Who has entered every competition so far and had not great comments?

@NickiePhilbin Who could it be?

@NickiePhilbin Who's game has been raised.......please step forward.......your winner....


@NickiePhilbin >The winner is...@maggiephilbin ! I know! She has no idea! (Hiding stiffled fury) well done sis!

@maggiephilbin Halloumi cheese, butternut squash, fresh figs, peach and Parma ham

@NickiePhilbin “Like a lot, great textures,all works, croutons wd have added to it, good use of balsamic reduction”


finalists


@banerji1 Mixed vegetable bhajis with dips

@NickiePhilbin “Great fan of Indian cooking but bhajis not speaking to me of summer, would have made fantastic autumn entry”

@caalie Pears with pomegranate, parmesan shavings on bed of watercress

@NickiePhilbin “Like seasonality, not pomegranate fan, a walnut oil dressing wd bring out flavour.Great little starter”

@trevorlamont Electric pepper starter

@NickiePhilbin “Trev should know beer kept at 6C. Concerned bolt of electricity may take it too high and spoil!”



@M4ryDeNovo Seared scallops with salsa

@NickiePhilbin “I'm liking tomato/olive mix v summery lovely colours parsley wd be better.Cd be in bistro in Marseilles.”


@JimAnning Oak smoked salmon with dill and cream cheese spiral

@NickiePhilbin “Classic combination but it has been seen a lot”



@handbagpets Madagascan prawns with chili and garlic

@NickiePhilbin “Simply done, Spanish feel. Wd be v happy if someone gave me this. She hasn't over egged the custard”

@NickiePhilbin (didn't see custard as ingred. But glad she didn't over egg it. Easily done!


@stu_art_ist beetroot and goats cheese tower with cheese straws

@NickiePhilbin “Exc't use of seasonal underused veg classic maybe peppered twists or plain straws so not two che/se flavs”


@trevward stir-fry crab with blackbean sauce

@NickiePhilbin “Big fan of Asian cooking, this is maybe a bit too hearty for summer would be great in winter”


@TrinityRhapsody Cumin and courgette soup with tahini bread rolls

@NickiePhilbin “Courgette used as vehicle to carry flavours,Tahini may overpower courgette, good if chilled”


@NickiePhilbin Carpaccio of beef with truffle oil beetroot, horseradish sauce on bed of rocket

@NickiePhilbin “v good, roast baby beets wd give bigger flavour and u should lose parmesan. Nicely presented”


links


The Horse & Trumpet
Old Green
Medbourne
Leicestershire
LE16 8DX
www.horseandtrumpet.com

All entries can be seen in the photobucket group album.

Making my salmon wrapped in courgette ribbons.

Live tweeting the previous twitter cookoff: #summersandwich

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

pretty and delicious - salmon wrapped in courgette ribbons

Wracking my brains to come up with an entry for this month’s twitter cookoff competion "Summer Starter" (organized by Nickie Philbin), I remembered a very pretty recipe originally published in Loyd Grossman’s 1998 collection, the 125 best recipes ever: salmon wrapped in courgette ribbons with tomato vinaigrette.


Loyd credits Irish celebrity chef Paul Rankin of Roscoff in Belfast for this (the current Roscoff is the second incarnation bearing the name).

I made this years ago and it is indeed extremely pretty, but I remembered I had a bit of trouble with it - there’s some finicky chopping of ingredients. This thought inspired some procrastination, and as usual I was cooking at the limits of the competition deadline.

However, this time the gods of procrastination smiled upon me and I serendipitously discovered a few quick fixes which really work.

As long as one gets one head around the chopping bits, this is actually very easy.

1) Use a potato peeler (I have a Y-shaped one) to slice the courgette into ribbons lengthways.

2) My fridge was too cold and the salmon fillets semi-froze. This actually made them easier to chop! - I lay the courgette ribbon across the fillet to gauge how wide I need to cut the salmon.

3) Wrapping the salmon cubes in raw courgette strip as Loyd stipulates is actually quite difficult - there’s too much fibre in the vegetable to neatly cling around the salmon. Instead, I followed Loyd’s photographer’s food stylist’s lead (as deduced from the recipe photo) - I pre-chargrilled the courgette ribbons flat in a griddle, carefully removing them and wrapping the salmon pieces. MUCH easier.

4) After wrapping the salmon cubes with courgette and skewering them up, I baked them in the oven for about 8 minutes at 160C in a fan oven. Perfect!

5) The vinaigrette requires one to skin, chop and deseed tomatoes. There is no way around this - just go for it. Dunk tomatoes in boiling water for about 10 seconds - until the skins are visibly loose. Remove the tomatoes and (as soon as your fingers can stand it) peel them. Quarter the tomatoes, remove and discard the seeds, and chop the remaining flesh finely. Mix with 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 100ml olive oil, and a handful of chopped basil leaves. Add salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

6) Lay the skewers on plates, and dress with the vinaigrette.

This is a very fresh summery dish and looks extremely pretty and sophisticated on the plate. Also, it’s made out of simple, good and healthy ingredients. This would work as a starter or as a light main course.

Competition results.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

new idea from Rupert Murdoch!

.
Charge them!!!!

Roops has decided to take on the internet and make the bastards pay. No more free news for you. Even if you can continue getting it for free from everyone else.

Not a massive fan, so am quite pleased he will be putting all his content behind a firewall where it can do less damage. His company does not have a particularly inspiring track record with web initiatives.

Or, maybe this is the future. Hey Roops, any ideas on how to set up a pay per view?

Monday, August 03, 2009

Live tweeting the summer sandwich twitter competition

.

SummerSandwich
Originally uploaded by Benjamin Ellis




Anticipation and preparations

bubith had a new thought... hows about a humble chip butty of the #summersandwich ? prebought bread, butter and oven chips! What could go wrong?

M4ryDeNovo now in possession of home grown cucumber for #summersandwich talk about perfect timing from my Italian neighbour bless him

Andyqsmith @NickiePhilbin Okay it will be a team effort, Me and @nicolarse51 both tweeting live in just aprons, from a field #summersandwich

NickiePhilbin @RedMummy I hope you have managed to finish your badger bap for #summersandwich? ( Kill it first, mind)

Andyqsmith Bread making is going well so far #summersandwich http://short.to/l8ny

edwardclarke Quite concerned at all this bread making going on for #summersandwich. Shop bought just clearly won't cut it!!

Andyqsmith @edwardclarke You have to scratch bake!

edwardclarke @Andyqsmith but my #summersandwich is already photographed!!

Andyqsmith @edwardclarke Okay maybe it is a little late!. Did you buy it from Subway?

stu_art_ist @Andyqsmith Just getting a chance to catch up on tweets and pics, just how many 'BUNS' are you entering in the contest #summersandwich :))

Andyqsmith I feel I should apologise for my bottom, sorry. @nicolarse51 made me do it.

NickiePhilbin @Andyqsmith Those buns need no apologisng for. Just dollop of mayo...#summersandwich

edwardclarke @NickiePhilbin #summersandwich looks like it's going to be a bumper edition!

NickiePhilbin To anyone following me but not #summersandwich, I apologise for the next 30 tweets. Can't be helped, as coming up is JUDGEMENT TIME


Announcements begin - the chef’s tips

NickiePhilbin Like the Chancellor on budget day have my pot of tea ready to see me through the onslaught of #summersandwich RT people who may want results


SummerSandwich - Darius Zvinis
Originally uploaded by Benjamin Ellis



NickiePhilbin #summersandwich results about to be tweeted. Many thanks to our Chef Darius Zvinis from The Landings @landingsrestaur

M4ryDeNovo <<< has G & T for #summersandwich results, well have G & T cos its that time of the day!

NickiePhilbin Darius is Canadian with Polish roots, and thoroughly enjoyed himself -fav s/wich is roast pork & onion confit.

NickiePhilbin Tip - key to a great sandwich is good quality ingredients. Kept > eye on the quality of bread, and of the meats used

NickiePhilbin > Darius Tip - less is more. Great sandwiches can be spoiled by being too busy. Now – the comments from Darius...


Chef’s competition comments

NickiePhilbin we have@M4ryDeNovo – great bread! Too bad crusts were cut. Good example of less is more

RedMummy@NickiePhilbin No mention of roadkill or badgers then?


NickiePhilbin and @Andyqsmith @nicolarse51 - prob v tasty, great marinade. Presentation not best, but looked a lot of fun!

NickiePhilbin then @Redmummy - Not too keen on presentation. looks very tasty, especially smoked salmon.





maggiephilbin@NickiePhilbin Personally I liked @andyqsmith's presentation.

caalie@maggiephilbin I bet you did..!

NickiePhilbin and @edwardclarke - Pastrami looks good - this is key. Maybe too much flavour - perhaps gherkin, mustard and chilli would be enough



NickiePhilbin then @squidge1997 - you're like me in the kitchen - who needs recipes?! Very Creative and a lot of fun!






NickiePhilbin And @caalie - looks like a real sandwich! Some good flavours.





NickiePhilbin then to @annraulston - this made me laugh. More art than sandwich


NickiePhilbin on to @shar13 - very nice, very creative, an interesting combination which is definitely worth trying

caalie@stu_art_ist what are you doing? it's 6pm on #summersandwich night!


NickiePhilbin then @stu_art_ist - very creative and the flavours are there. How practical is it? It needs to make it to the table..


maggiephilbin @stu_art_ist Defend your sandwich!

RedMummy@maggiephilbin I'm still opting for the Homer Simpson sandwich!


NickiePhilbin so to @JimAnning - you know something about food. Great ingredients, properly put together, looks good.





NickiePhilbin then we have @bubith - this looks really great and really tasty


NickiePhilbin over to @maggiephilbin - a little crazy! (sandwich not person)



NickiePhilbin next @TrinityRhapsody - Nicely done, perhaps a little fussy

NickiePhilbin then (be still my beating heart) @nickiephilbin - too many ingredients, but a great steak sandwich

NickiePhilbin the lovely @TrevorLamont - it should have been a stella! :)

maggiephilbin@NickiePhilbin What do you mean crazy? It was bloody delicious.

stu_art_ist@maggiephilbin I can't Im too busy laughing... this guy was hard :))

NickiePhilbin lastly @handbagpets, best unjudged entry and best bikini

caalie@NickiePhilbin not sure if Jim's comment isn't a slur on the rest of us... #summersandwich

NickiePhilbin Darius decided to judge in two categories, fun and serious entries – or too hard to judge them against each other.


two minute pause - critique of judge - tweets *explode*

NickiePhilbin who do you think got what, want a rest for two mins to tweet before I go on?

maggiephilbin@NickiePhilbin Am just waiting to see which category he decided to put my entry in.

RedMummy@NickiePhilbin I need a couple of minutes to compose myself & mop up my tears at having my DIVINE presentation so cruelly criticised.

edwardclarke@RedMummy He's a very harsh judge! #summersandwich

RedMummy@maggiephilbin Who's in charge of ensuring next category is soup? I can do soup.

caalie@RedMummy yes, call for the next category quick before the winner decides it's summertreacle or something!

stu_art_ist@NickiePhilbin I'm exhausted after all that, not sure if tears are from laughing or stress :))

annraulston@NickiePhilbin That tweet was more than 2 minutes ago!

maggiephilbin@RedMummy Yes this is where we have to show what we are really made of and rehearse congratulatory remarks, for we have surely lost

RedMummy@maggiephilbin Am already sitting here with rictus grin in case passing Google streetcam catches me. (Muttering new & inventive swearwords).

RedMummy@edwardclarke Am mortified. Never thought I could be quite so badly upset by someone criticising my DIVINE presentation.

edwardclarke@RedMummy It was really good; the cheek of these judges!!

RedMummy@edwardclarke *clutching sides* *helpless giggling*

maggiephilbin@annraulston And you - clearly currying favour with judge with droll humour,

annraulston@maggiephilbin Absolutely! Humour key ingredient of this mad competition!

NickiePhilbin sorry, my tweet blew up, had to relaunch, not on purpose

edwardclarke@RedMummy He didn't like my innovative flavour medley either! Red cabbage needed for colour!! #summersandwich

RedMummy@NickiePhilbin Did you blow your tweet up with one of those culinary blow torches? I do SO want one of those. Not for cooking though.

stu_art_ist@maggiephilbin Never before has my finger been hitting the page refresh button so quickly......

M4ryDeNovo Tweetdeck decided to go belly up blasted thing

edwardclarke RT @NickiePhilbin: sorry, my tweet blew up, had to relaunch, not on purpose #summersandwich

stu_art_ist@RedMummy Fantastic... this is hilarious :)

M4ryDeNovo@stu_art_ist nor mine now!

NickiePhilbin sorry my laptop and twitter now playing up, trying to go too fast, will start, if delay, it is not refreshing


round 1 - fun category

NickiePhilbin Fun category tweeted first, good luck to all! Very strong category.....


NickiePhilbin 3rd - @TrevorLamont (might've won if it had been a stella...)


NickiePhilbin 2nd - @squidge1997 fantastic fun and clearly loves being creative



M4ryDeNovo go andy go andy go andy

NickiePhilbin and drum roll please we have the fantastic1st - @Andyqsmith and @nicolarse51 well done!

M4ryDeNovo yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh @andyqsmith result

TrevorLamont if the judge had sampled my sandwich i bet id have won after all it was carlsberg and probably was the best sandwich in the world


finals - the winners!

NickiePhilbin Next, serious category, the most highly coveted and highly fought after > Runners up - @JimAnning, @caalie & @bubith

RedMummy@stu_art_ist I have a callous on my "refreshing" finger!

M4ryDeNovo yeahhhh @bubith


NickiePhilbin 3rd - @nickiephilbin - it was the ginger with the steak that won me over (bristling with pride)

M4ryDeNovo ohhhh @nickiephilbin well done xx


NickiePhilbin 2nd - @shar13 - really like that combination of flavours next, our WINNER!!!

caalie@NickiePhilbin :) go you!

NickiePhilbin here we go, 1st - @edwardclarke - this just looked so tasty, maybe it's my Polish > roots.. Well done to Ed, winner for 2nd time!!!
.


NickiePhilbin Thank you to all who took part and to @caalie and @BenjaminEllis for taking time to take pics to Chef Darius

NickiePhilbin That concludes the votes from Norwegian jury. Over and out. Our fabulous winner @edwardclarke takes the prize again! >


Congratulations

RedMummy@maggiephilbin Go on then, congratulate @nickiephilbin for 3rd prize. Pass the tissues, please.

edwardclarke@NickiePhilbin Oh my goodness!! I take back everything I said about judge! He's fabulous!! #summersandwich

maggiephilbin@edwardclarke You have stolen title from me

edwardclarke@maggiephilbin But it was thanks to you I managed to upload the #summersandwich into the dreaded photobucket!

maggiephilbin@edwardclarke there you go - shooting myself in foot yet again. Should have left you beached up on sands of technofail

edwardclarke@maggiephilbin But you wouldn't because you're a kind lovely person!

maggiephilbin@edwardclarke :-))

M4ryDeNovo@edwardclarke well done you :O))))

RedMummy@edwardclarke SOUP, Edward. Just soup. Congratulations. Now think SOUP. Xxxxx

edwardclarke@RedMummy You've got it, darling!

edwardclarke@NickiePhilbin Haha! I also have Polish roots!! #summersandwich

maggiephilbin@NickiePhilbin well done sis. Am I alone in the crazy category?

M4ryDeNovo@maggiephilbin I think the judge is still trying to think up a category for some of us!

caalie@maggiephilbin I don't think you are alone in that category, the rest of us take care to disguise it on important occasions :)

NickiePhilbin@maggiephilbin yes, you all alone and gurning in crazy category

RedMummy@NickiePhilbin @maggiephilbin Good to see the sisterly love is as ever going into overload! x

stu_art_ist@edwardclarke Yeah for you :)) I bit you are just grinning cheek to cheek :))

annraulston@NickiePhilbin Fabulous fun and results! What is next month's subject?

caalie@edwardclarke congratulations :)

RedMummy@maggiephilbin Where's the smile? I also have Polish roots, my Mum was half Polish & half Russian. Does Darius not like Russians? Hrmph.

RedMummy@edwardclarke Look, a hearty Mazal tov. SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP (& chopped liver). X

stu_art_ist@RedMummy LOL, tears are becoming a regular feature during the cook offs, that was just so funny.... I think I am actually shaking :))

maggiephilbin Many congratulations to @edwardclarke and @andyqsmith/@nicolarse who take #summersandwich titles. Finalists here http://tinyurl.com/nr5oqc

RedMummy@stu_art_ist Tears so useful as they add sodium content to our recipes as we none of use salt any more.

caalie@stu_art_ist ditto - I just looove it!!


Next month’s challenge

edwardclarke I declare next month the month of the SummerStarter, so give free vent to your creativity! #summersandwich

edwardclarke Thanks everyone for a wonderful #summersandwich competoi

edwardclarke Gak ! twitter fail ! #summersandwich

edwardclarke Thanks everyone for a great #summersandwich competition, and especially to @nickiephilbin for organizing it!

RedMummy@nickiephilbin Yes, I second @edwardclarke's thanks to you for organising the comp & also to @maggiephilbin for encouragement! x

M4ryDeNovo Many many thanks to @BenjaminEllis @caalie @nickiephilbin @maggiephilbin and Darius the Lamont Clan had the best fun Again! Thank You :O)

stu_art_ist RT @TrinityRhapsody Well done to all #summersandwich entries. Have had such fun!!!

caalie@edwardclarke you'll have to watch out with the whole summer thing - I think we may have had it..

stu_art_ist@caalie I agree, next months will have to be #Autumnsomething , I'm looking forward to getting less summery with my ingredients :))

edwardclarke@caalie Yes, this month will definitely be the last we can exploit the #summer tag!

maggiephilbin RT @edwardclarke I declare next month the month of the SummerStarter, so give free vent to your creativity!

RedMummy@edwardclarke Seriously, well done you! X


Aftermath

M4ryDeNovo oh my giddy aunt I am slightly worried about @Trevorlamont's version of a #summerstarter

M4ryDeNovo@caalie I have no idea what he will do but it will not be normal he just doesnt seem able to do normal - bless him

edwardclarke Thanks too to @BenjaminEllis and @caalie for organizing the judging! #summersandwich

edwardclarke As a 2 times winner in the twitter tweet cookoff, I am launching a competition consultancy to aid competitors reach their full potential!

RedMummy Oh help. The Joshua is intent on washing his gerbils in bathroom sink. Does anyone have telephone number of emergency vet?

M4ryDeNovo Now Tweetdeck decides to work

M4ryDeNovo drank my G & T so fast in the excitement feel quite light headed now!

caalie@edwardclarke I sign up! I've never even ranked. What do I need to know??

edwardclarke@caalie I think main thing is to think visually - colour, texture, etc - get @BenjaminEllis to do his best artistic shot of your creation!

caalie@edwardclarke yes, he was willfully absent while I was creating!

stu_art_ist@maggiephilbin It was all happening so fast I didn't have time to savour all comments, will spend happy hour now back tracking :))

edwardclarke@BenjaminEllis Thank you! and thanks once again or the great judging photo set! #summersandwich

RedMummy@edwardclarke You obviously have a talent. You'll be in the Clapham local paper again! Remember to tweet the article! Well done! X

RedMummy@edwardclarke I'm just secretly relieved that my sandwiches didn't actually poison my father!

stu_art_ist@edwardclarke And you were worried about your shop bought bagel :)) Told you it would be fine :)

caalie@edwardclarke he was impressed with the pastrami. I was impressed that he could tell...

edwardclarke@caalie Heavens! It was just ordinary Sainsbury's pastrami!

caalie@edwardclarke hah! you've been outed :) I won't tell the judge. there were a lot of things I didn't tell him...

NickiePhilbin Have only just seen the fantastic @BenjaminEllis http://www.flickr.com/photo... #summersandwich they are wonderful!

stu_art_ist @BenjaminEllis Fantastic photos and words, thank you so much for making our fun and hysteria look almost professional :)) #summersandwich

JimAnning @landingsrestaur thanks for getting involved today in judging the #summersandwich comp. Much appreciated.


______________

loveclapham Any good suggestions for a local takeaway (that delivers... it's raining)? I want to try something new.

edwardclarke@loveclapham I've just won the twitter tweet cookoff again! Maybe I should start a takeaway service??!

loveclapham @edwardclarke Ooh, yes please! Award winning food to my door is definitely a good idea. Why not start now?! (congrats btw! what was it?)

stu_art_ist http://twitpic.com/cf3dn - unwanted #summersandwich cutter for sale, any offers welcome:) Swirls were so not in this month :))



landingsrestaur Chef Darius choose the winning sandwich in the cook-off #summersandwich! Enjoy our delicious Clubhouse Sandwich in our lounge daily!


Links

Photos of Chef Darius Zvinis judging the competition are courtesy of Benjamin Ellis

Landings Restaurant
66 Farnborough Road
Farnborough
GU14 6TH
@landingsrestaur on twitter

The monthly twitter cookoff competitions are organised by Nickie Philbin (@NickiePhilbin on twitter)

Next twitter cookoff competition: Summer Starter

Previous twitter cookoff competition: Summer Tart