Archive for the tag 'Food'

Tops Pizza, Ewell, be ashamed of yourself

Anatis January 19th, 2008

Paul called to ask if I wanted some takeaway and I said yeah, sure.

We settled on Pizza because we don’t have it much.

He went to get it, since it was on the way. Tops Pizza in Ewell. (Maybe if I put it in here enough people will find it via Google, so I’ll mention Tops Pizza in Ewell, Surrey, frequently in here.)
He got in, with his and my pizza.

He had a regular pepperoni.

I had wanted a Thin Crust Ham and Pineapple.
I opened the box and saw… cheese. I’m not saying Oh noes, there was a bit of cheese on it. I’m saying 95% of the pizza (and that includes the BASE!) consisted of melted cheese.

I pulled a face and my stomach turned at the sight of it. (I hate melted cheese, ok?) I said ok, I’ll stick it in the oven a few. So I tried to lift it…. and couldn’t. The middle was so melted and soggy, it stayed in the carton.
I peeled the edges of the unappetizing thing off and dragged great big wads of cheese of it (Tops Pizza, Ewell, Surrey!) trying to rescue the 5 bits of pineapple I found. Oh there was some ham, scattered into the cheese, too. So I stuck it under the grill, removing yet more cheese and getting some ham from the fridge. Under that cheese was bare base. (Tops Pizza, Ewell) That base, in the center, was two millimeters thin, if that. The rest was cheese.
Tops Pizza, Ewell Branch - have you EVER heard of the minor fact that there is TOMATO on a pizza?

Even after burning it to a crisp, it still tasted of nothing. Nothing. (Tops Pizza, Ewell, Surrey, England)
I should have taken a photograph, but honestly, I don’t want to even look at a picture, because it would make me feel ill.

Totally and utterly revolting. Pigs would turn up their nose at this slop.

Seriously, Pizza in the UK is the most revolting thing you can find. But I’m cured now.
That was the last one I’ll ever have here unless I make it myself.

Tags: , ,

Cookie Time!

Anatis November 27th, 2007

Yep, it’s that time of year again.

I’m baking. Today it was Butter-S’s.

Butter S

Those.

I will share… the recipe, that is.

You need:

375g (13oz) Plain Flour
125g (4.5oz) Sugar
1 Egg
250g (8.8oz) Butter
1 Eggwhite / Eggyoke
Coarse Sugar
Zest of 1 Lemon

First you beat the butter until it has a smooth, creamy/foamy consistency. Then you add the flour, sugar, lemon zest and egg and make a nice smooth STIRRED dough (don’t try to get there with kneading. :)) and give it one knead when smooth just to make sure it’s all nice and packed together.

Now take your dough and put it in a cool place until the dough is nice and stiff.
Make small middle finger long sticks, about the thickness of a little finger. Bend them into an S shape and put them onto a tray which has a bit of flour on it, or use baking paper.
When the tray is full, put it somewhere cold again to let the S’s stiffen (just like the dough earlier)
When they are stiff, dip the top-side of each S briefly into the eggwhite (you can use eggyoke too, but it might stain the sugar) and then into the coarse sugar, then put it back on the tray.
If you can’t find coarse sugar (I bring mine over from Germany), you can use something like sugar sprinkles, but I’d use white sugar because of the look. (In the UK you could use multicolored hundreds-and-thousands topping etc). Well, whatever works. :)
Once all your S’s are covered and back on the tray, put it in a preheated oven at 200C (392F)-210C (410F) and bake for about 10 mins until golden.
Let them cool and enjoy.
The above makes about 60 S’s. I generally make double that amount, because once those are done… they are gone faster than you can imagine.

There ya go! Hope the Americans have an idea of the weights etc now :)

Tags: , , ,

Would you like some pepper?

Anatis April 15th, 2007

Something I noticed…

Go to any UK based Italian Restaurant and order pasta.

Along with your pasta, you will have a person with a huge pepper mill arrive at your table, asking you if you would like pepper on your pasta.
Next time they do this to me, I am going to ask “Gee… I dunno? Should I? Your chef doesn’t season the food? Why don’t you leave that here so that when I’ve tasted it, I can add pepper if it’s not peppery enough for me?”

Sorry but it annoys the crap out of me. It’s patronizing.

Then there are the habitual salters.
You know the ones I mean.
The people you invite to dinner who load up their plate with food and - without ever taking a bite - toss a ton of salt over the food you just spent the last few hours seasoning just right.

What the hell is up with people? If you’re one of the habitual salters, next time you have some food, try it before you salt it. You might just find you like it better.

Tags: