Grouper Fish Head Pot

My wife said she has been very working really hard last week and I thought what's a better way to reward her with her favourite dish - one of her favourites! And because we are expecting a special guest in August to try my speciality so I need to start practising now. I went to London Borough's market this morning in search for fresh fish head.

I've sourced the same fish heads from the same fishmonger in the past, today I decided to look around to see if I have other alternative. First stop, I saw a Grouper (aka Coral Trout back in Australia). It's very fresh and its eye as clear and sparkly as my wife's ;-) I spoke to the guy who is busy arranging bream on the front counter. He told me the fish head is actually not for sale as he need it to make fish soup. I've asked him to name a price and I'll decide if I want to buy it or not. I think he really does not want to sell it to me, he weighted the head and decided for a long time before quoting me £10. I thought its on the expensive side so I declined the offer and walked off to my usual fishmonger. Unfortunately, today they don't have halibut fish head.

I cannot go home empty handed right? So I have to execute my Plan B. Luckily, my favourite grocer has morel mushroom today - Bulgarian not French, but hey, beggar cannot be chooser. Then off I went to buy 2 pieces of sirloin from Ginger Pig and 2 pieces of bone marrow. With a fall back solution safely in my hand, I'm starting to think the fate of a perfectly good fish head to be thrown into a pot of London water. I have to rescue it from such a savage scheme, so I thought a tenner it is then. I went back to the fishmonger and see if the offer still valid. He recognised me immediately and gave me a wink. I'm not sure what that wink meant, "now I have that sucker in my net" or "damn, I should quote him £15." Later, I comforted myself for paying extra because they will clean the fish for me while the other does not ;-)

Mean little bugger right? But one fresh bugger...hohohoho....my wife going to suck its eye out!

Just after a quick fried coated with flour. Ready for the next stage - stew in my favourite le Crouset pot. I don't have the end result as we are too busy eating!


My Plan B: Morel from Bulgaria

Need to soak in very salty water in order to....

I didn't believe it when I first researched on how to clean morel mushroom, now I know!

Sirloin from Ginger Pig

End Result

A way to say Thank You

I've injured myself 2 weeks ago. Its only a thumb but to a house husband it meant my wife needs to help out around the house. She washed the dishes but still unwilling to wipe the dining table though ;-). But the best part of it is she bathed me :-) For those who have not try it, get a knife and cut yourself now and hope your wife is as good as mine. After 2 weeks of tender care, my wound started to heal and I'm able to return to my normal post. So I went out to Billings Gate market to get some fresh produce to cook a special Thank You lunch for my wife - Linguine with lobster and langoustine.

For her...

...for me.

Thank you for looking after me for the last 2 weeks. OK now, I gotta go back to wash more dishes ;-)

Jordan trip, Dec 2008 - Wadi Raam

You may not have heard of Wadi Raam, but you must have seen it in movies like Lawrence of Arabia and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (where it was represented as Egypt).

I went to Wadi Raam with my tour group and we stayed there one night to experience desert life and the Bedouin culture. We rode into the desert on Jeeps and also rode on the camels for a segment. We also went by the visitor centre which is located right opposite the Seven Pillars of Wisdom (the mountains in Lawrence of Arabia's book) and it has a good exhibition about the local fauna and floral history.

As far as sleeping in the desert goes, I think one night was really enough. It was winter time and it got really really cold at night. The tents that we had was basic but there are running water which was a blessing.

France trip, Oct 2009 - Gavage

Gavage refers to the force-feeding of ducks or geese in order to fatten their livers in the production of foie gras. We were in the region of foie gras and we feel we should see how our food come by and we visited a goose farm.

Luckily, there are a number of farms which are opened to visitors. At the goose farm of "Des Granges", you can just walk into the feeding shed during any of its feeding time.


In general, the geese were free to roam and they were constantly picking at the ground, looking for food. They look clean and healthy, much better than I expected.

During the feeding, the geese are herded into the feeding shed and locked into compartments with 8-10 birds to a compartment.

It is not that crowded but small enough so that the feeder doesn't have to do too much chasing to get to each bird.

He held each bird's head with his hands and then locked its body into position with his thighs. There is a machine which holds all the food and the food is distributed through a slim metal feeding tube. The feeding is performed 2–4 times a day for 2–5 weeks.

A bird after the feeding

Then the birds are slaughtered and prepared into various geese products which you can buy at the shop. It seemed that no parts are wasted in France. Even the neck is saved for stuffing.

The goose farm grows their own corn for the feeding. The corn is left to dry and then they are picked and stored away for future use.

This photo is taken elsewhere but it shows how they store their corn.

France trip, Oct 2009 - Bordeaux, behind the scene

Bordeaux is the home to the 5 Premier Cru wine, namely Château Latour, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion, Château Mouton-Rothschild .

After our tour around the Fifth growth Château du Tertre, the only way is up, right? So we decide to drive around Margaux and Pauillac in search of the First growth château.

But before that, someone started this:

It seems that SOMEONE just can't resist plucking bunches of plump grapes from the vine! Note: VL wasn't the plotter. She just took charge of the 'loot'

A beautiful château near Château Latour.

Following a certain someone's example, here are more photos of the crime in action at Latour:

In front of the famous tower of the Latour estate!

Then we moved onto Château Lafite-Rothschild. Lafite-Rothschild was placed at the top of the list of the premier grand cru and it has been consistently one of the most expensive wine producers in the world. A bottle of 1787 (once owned by Thomas Jefferson) also holds the record for being the most expensive bottle of wine in the world, after it went for USD$156,000 in 1985. The château surely produces enough to maintain its very fine grounds:

After all the obligatory posed photos, we went back to our shameless old ways again:



Last but not least, we visited Château Lafite-Rothschild, another one of the Rothschild estate:

This estate is actually much better organised. In front of the château, there is actually small plots of land that show the grapes by type. So we tried the grapes on each plot and selected (i.e. plucked) the ones that we liked.

It was certainly a group effort :-P

As if this isn't enough, you probably won't believe what happened next: we made face masks from the grape skins. SP was inspired by Caudalie brand and its very expensive Vinothérapie Spas. If we can't afford to go to the spa, why not do our own? It is all very easy:

Step 1: remove juice from grapes. Keep the grape skin and seed, both high in polyphenols--proanthocyanidin (PCO), a kind of anti-oxidant.

Step 2: create a relaxing spa environment with fluffy towers, pillows and soft music. For a more economical option, deck chairs and seat cushions will do.

Step 3: Apply the mask and wait 5 minutes. Make fun of your spa client in the mean time as she can't smile or move a muscle.

I felt fully rejuvenated after my spa treatment and I am sure my friends have a good laugh too :-P

So what happened to the juice, you may ask? Well, we weren't going to let the "First growth juice" go to waste.

The juice was left in the fridge to 'ferment' overnight and the boys actually drank it in the morning for breakfast. No tummy troubles were reported.

So that's it, we are jointly responsible for the reduced production of 3 of the 5 First growth château in 2010. But if you ever ask me about the grapes in person, I will absoluetly deny having done it!

France trip, Oct 2009 - Armagnac tasting at Château de Cassaigne

Château de Cassaigne was built in 1247 by Montassin de Goalard, abbot of Condom. It was once the country residence of the bishops of Condom.

The estate is now a major Armagnac producer. We went there one afternoon for Armagnac tasting. The wine tasting is free and the French guide can speak some English. She also happens to be very pretty. So while the boys were busy taking photographs of the French Mademoiselle, I turned my attention to the very generous samples

Spices that you can taste in an Armagnac. Just learn a few and you can pretend to be a connoisseur! :-P

Samples. There are more sweet aperitif and digestif in the fridge.

The pretty mademoiselle

I even get to sample of the infamous pruneaux à l’Armagnac (prune soaked in Armagnac).

They stocked Armagnac from all years. And there is a price to match as they age.

Barrels

SP's favourite is the local Floc de Gascogne (a local aperitif).

Some 30 years old stuff

Deers fighting. Don't worry. Nobody got hurt.

The grounds of the château are also beautiful and we had a fun time feeding the deers with weeds pulled from the ground.