Bolognese Pasta Bake

There's a credit crunch on in the UK. Interest rates blah blah, mortgages blah blah... I hate these buzz phrases as a rule so to break it down - stuff is expensive. No, REALLY expensive. Switch the $ for a £ and you've about got it. i.e. double it... ish... Self catering is the way to go and nothing feeds the masses like pasta and with time on my hands an authentic ragu was a possibility. Measurements are casual; its all to taste; get the basics in order and tinker with it as you will.



Recipe Ingredients for 6

2 lbs lean ground beef (I used Aberdeen Angus - arseholes to the credit crunch)
1 large onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic minced (not authentic but delicious)
1/2 cup of diced celery & carrot
1 large can of tomatoes
1/2 cup of tomato puree
salt & pepper
olive oil
(ragu purists may add a bay leaf or a spoon of milk at the end of cooking; perhaps a hint of nutmeg too)

2 cups of Bechamel / white Sauce (homemade or from a jar at a push)
1 cup grated parmesan
1 pack of pasta (I used spirals for their kid friendliness)

Recipe Directions

1. Saute the onion & vegetables until softened in a tbs of olive oil then add the meat and cook until browned.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, give a good stir and cook at the merest bubble for 3 hours or so stirring occasionally.
3. Taste for seasoning and remove from heat.
4. Make the white sauce in the usual way or cop out and add a jar of ragu cheese sauce or white sauce mix.
5. Cook the pasta and drain. Mix into the Bolognese sauce and place in a large oven proof dish.
6. Pour over the white sauce and top with copious amounts of cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes until cheese is bubbling.

Frankie & Benny's, Romford

For all my pontificating about the superiority of English Chinese food, pie & mash and great sausages; there's one area in which my adopted home town of Jupiter, Florida reigns supreme. That would be the high street chain restaurant. I can go to any of the biggies, Chilis, TGI's, Applebees, Duffy's etc., with the whole family and eat without fear of bankruptcy, food poisoning or post dinner hunger pangs. I can choose from a vast menu and know with some degree of confidence that whatever comes out of the kitchen will be edible. It may not be perfect but it'll do the job. None of these provisos apply here. Welcome to the chain restaurant experience in Romford. Welcome to Frankie & Benny's.

There aren't so many 'sit down' places to eat in Romford. There are non-kid friendly pubs, a tapas bar and of course a golden arch but a middle of the road place for a family pitstop leaves you few choices. The menu covered all the basics - how could you go wrong with a 'New York Italian Bar Restaurant'? Pizza, pasta, burger... sounded good.

Heeding my own advice about chain restaurants, I went simple, a burger. Easy. Dr. Dave went with spaghetti & meatballs; smart choice I thought, even my 3 year old can make that. If there's anything a place like this should do well its simple meatballs and pasta. I can honestly say this was the worst burger I've ever had and I'm not too proud to eat a dogburger from a van in Romford market either so that's saying something! It was clearly frozen; there was nothing homemade about it; the texture was too fine, it was gritty with bone, it was not only a frozen burger, but a cheap one at that. The chips were below average and the whole thing was thrown together with zero care. Dr. Dave's meatballs were atrocious also. I wouldn't have been surprised to see Titleist written down one side they were that hard. They were also dry beyond belief, flavorless (unless red pepper and freezer burn count as flavor) and to add insult to injury the pasta was completely devoid of sauce. Mimi had a pizza and that was OK, probably the best thing about the place apart from the service which was provided by a very sweet and overworked girl. Oh and it was about $50 for 2 dishes and a kids pizza...

Frankie & Benny's is a great concept, the music is fun, the atmosphere is good but ultimately the food is an abomination and on this basis; FUGGETABOUDIT!

Toad in the Hole & Melted Onion Gravy

Not real toads of course; this dish is actually sausages baked in a Yorkshire putting batter and nothing to do with toads and holes at all. I guess that somewhere in history somebody decided that was its general appearance and named it such.

Obviously its not your typical summer eating but on a July day in London with the temperature only just nudging 70 degrees (from the wrong direction) it was a great choice, not to mention a family favorite. Right on cue the weather warmed up and we decamped to the garden. Typical!

Recipe (serves 4)

8 excellent quality sausages (think Wholefoods or Greenwise)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 cup eggs

salt & pepper

for the Gravy

1 tbs butter

1 large onion

slug of red wine

1 tbs flour

1 tbs mustard

1 x carton beef stock

Recipe Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


2. Place sausages in an ovenproof baking dish and cook for 10 minutes.


3. Whilst these are cooking, prepare the batter by pouring the flour into a bowl, make a well in the center and incorporate the eggs. Gradually add the milk and a pinch of salt & pepper. You can get creative here with herbs if you wish, especially if you're using a flavored sausage; e.g. add some fresh oregano for an Italian sausage etc.,


4. Remove the dish from the oven and slowly pour the batter around the sausages. Return to the oven for a further 25 minutes or so until the magic happens and your batter starts scraping the roof of the oven. The batter will be risen, crispy around the edges and with a good squidge in the center.

Gravy

1. Thinly slice one large onion and add to a pan with a tablespoon of butter and slowly melt over a medium pan until soft but not brown.


2. Add the flour and stir until cooked followed by the wine, mustard & stock.


3. Reduce until thick and syrupy.

Chinese Takeout, UK Style!

Nobody does Chinese food like the English. Certainly not my local in Jupiter, FL or any of the joints I've been in to NYC, Chinatown or otherwise. I'm bored of hearing how great New York Chinese food is. I've been there. I've had it. It ain't so great! If that's what you're used to then fine but English Chinese is a revelation. There's something about the fragrance, the intensity of flavor - no doubt achieved with a good dusting of the MSG shaker - that just can't be equalled in my opinion. You can keep your low sodium, steamed, non fried, non fun food; this is the real deal.

After a six month hiatus from this elusive nosh we ordered big; special fried rice, sweet & sour chicken balls, lemon chicken, pancake rolls, ribs, sesame prawn toasts & chicken chow mein with a spicy chicken chaser. Don't be fooled and look at the photos and think for a nano second that this looks like the stuff from your local in FL; appearances can be deceiving. This had flavor.

There's an old saying that half an hour after eating a hearty Chinese takeaway, you're craving another. I strongly dispute that. A decent antacid and a litre of water perhaps. There's a good reason I only crave this food at six monthly intervals - it takes you that long to rehydrate.

Robins Pie & Mash, Romford

Today was a red letter day in my youngest daughters developmental calendar. She accompanied me on a trip to a very special place to have a first taste of her English heritage at Robins Pie & Mash shop in Romford.

If you were lucky enough to be born East of the center of London like me, you will surely have been raised on this classic British dish of pie & mash & liquor. Not liquor in the traditional sense of course; I mean Essex can be a little rough but we draw the line at spirits for infants. It's actually a green parsely sauce. Its quite delicious in a creamy, light, inoffensive way. Its the major player on the plate, with the beef mince pie and school dinner style mash. Ceci put her two teeth to excellent use and we shared a single pie & mash happily; just the pair of us.

Robins is fantastic for quality and value. It's new to the town center, spotlessly clean, friendly staff and great prices from £2.80 for a single. I actually don't think I've ever had a pie like Robins, the pastry was as crisp on the bottom as the top. Nothing worse than a soggy bottom! A truly great venue for big girl bonding time!

Starbucks, Lakeside

Is there a true and valid reason why a drink that costs $3.05 in Abacoa, Florida should cost £3.05 ($6.10) in Lakeside, Essex? The drinks menu was identical to the one I see every day in Jupiter, FL only the currency signs had changed. Suzy Orman says the first thing you should do to save money is cut out that coffee habit.... In the UK at least, I agree!

Codfellas, Essex, England

If there's one dish that's synonymous with England, it has to be fish & chips. Tourism TV shows paint a romantic picture of cobbled streets, seaside towns, and eating straight out of the paper. Codfellas isn't exactly in that mold but what it lacks in quaint village ambiance it delivers in its authentic product. When fish & chips are done right they are a revelation. Light crispy batter, fresh cod or plaice and perfect thick cut chips with salt and enough malt vinegar to refresh your sinuses.

After a long day travelling we were all exhausted and far too weary for complicated food choices so the chippy it was. I always have roe & chips. I'm the only remaining family member who appreciates this delicate pink wedge of fish eggs, battered & fried. Its heavenly. Dad went with plaice (why don't they skin it? Whats the point of battering something you wouldn't want to eat?!) and I'm dismayed to tell you that Dr. Dave had a hamburger. On a previous chippy visit he had asked for 'white meat chicken' and the astounded owner said, 'its all white meat - its CHICKEN'!!! Since then he's known better than to question their wisdom and played it safe.

There's no getting away from the fact that this is a total greasefest. Embrace its heaviness, its battered fattiness and carb-laden starchiness and don't tell your cardiologist.