Day 25 - Junk Food

Monday, Monday. The start of a new week.  Gerry had the day off today which is always good news.  I worked out, fixed breakfast and then settled down to yet more interview prep.  We also took a little trip down to the local Poundland.  It really can be a little gem for the odd thing that you need and they do some very reasonable food staples such as sauces and baking goods.  We also succumbed to McDonalds on the way home.  'No!' I hear you cry but Gerry had been looking forward to it since we set off and who was I to deny her? I opted for the simple cheeseburger and it does still astound me that a simple bun, thin pattie, cheese slice and relish weighs in at a whopping 295 calories.  Thank the lord that I resisted the chips at 330 calories.  It was nice at the time but it really didn't fill me up at all, so a mini salad was prepared when I came home, which was delicious.

To make the most of the day, we decided to try out a new pub where we live. Well, new to me at least because I've never ventured through the doors in the last five years that I've lived here. The pub is called The Railway and to be honest this will probably be our first and last visit.  While it was clean and we were served promptly (it was pretty empty though), I wouldn't say it was a welcoming pub and it has about the same more charm as any other chain-style drinking establishment.  Needless to say we drank our drinks and left.  We ventured further up the road to a friendlier pub The Lion. I know some might say it's not really a pub more a less glorified bar but it's just a little more cosy with an open fire and the wine is very reasonable.  We also opted for one of their food platters to share.  I've not eaten anything else at this pub and I was very much looking forward to their House Starter Board.  It was, however, a little disappointing. It boasted 'handmade hoisin and duck spring rolls, salt and pepper quid and Mexican corn fingers', all with their respective dips.  The reality wasn't really anything special, although it was nicely presented.  The spring rolls were a good size but the duck was overpowered by the hoisin sauce it seemed to have been soaked in.  The squid rings were tiny and battered to oblivion and had I not been told I might not have known what they were.  The Mexican corn fingers were better because at least you could spot a kernel or two of sweetcorn amongst the ingredients.  All in all not something I would pick again, which was a shame as I do like the sound of the rest of the platters.  However, would it be a case of the old Chinese proverb -  'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me...?'

We left a little underwhelmed and with my interview tomorrow it was not the day to be tearing up the town with further drinking.  For dinner I'd done a switch from the originally planned and delicately spiced Chicken Korma to something quite trashy.  Perhaps it's the NHL games that Gerry is watching at the moment or the upcoming Superbowl on Sunday and the fact that I'd read all about these new snacks to try for the day over at Closet Cooking.  Whatever it was I had a massive craving for hot dogs.  Yes, that's right small frankfurter sausages wrapped indelicately in finger rolls smothered with onions, relish and sauce.

To start I preheated the oven to around 150C, planning to pop in 4 rolls to warm through for the last 10mins of cooking.  Meanwhile, I sliced an onion and simmered them in a small pan of boiling water for around 15mins.  This made them nice and soft and after draining I caramelized them in a pan with oil, butter, brown sugar and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.  I cooked over a low heat for another 10mins or wo until they took on some colour.  Finally I heated 4 frankfurter sausages through in a saucepan.  This was not to be culinary masterpiece otherwise I would have used a much better calibre of sausage.  All that was left to do was assemble everything.  I split the rolls, lay the dogs down, spooned over the onions and added mustard and relish.  Bloody awesome! If I'd be hungrier I totally would have made some fries to go with it and I'm very much looking forward to trying this method by Oggi at I can do that!

Hot Dogs

Day 13 - Master Baker

Today I baked. I am not good at baking. I once tried to make my little sister's 21st birthday cake.  It was an ambitious affair which involved 21 layers in the shape of a dinosaur - she is a fan.  However, after 18 eggs and only one, very large *single layer* I had to admit defeat. It was a sad day - I cried.  However, I am buoyed by recent culinary conquests so I thought I would have another crack at it.

I decided to go down the cookie route because really how hard can it be?  I mixed, I kneaded, and formed 16 balls of chocolate chip batter.  Each was squashed into a small round shape and popped into the oven for 12 minutes. All should have been well, however, I had not anticipated the balls spreading as they cooked, so what I ended up with was almost a sheet of cookie.  Ghastly school girl error. I had to divvy them into 16 square shapes and leave to cool.  Surprisingly they were warm and chewy and actually quite tasty, especially with a cool glass of milk.

Homemade Cookies & Milk

Today also marked the consumption of burgers and fries at a diner in Camden. Gerry had another rare day off, Monsieur, with these days off, you are really spoiling us, and after our drinking hijinks last night we shuffled slightly slower than normal over to Camden Market to scope out a new bag for me and new earrings for her.  It really was a traipse due to a terrible overland rail service that thwarted us initially and we had to resort to tube and bus. However, we got there in the end and immediately headed to The Diner. We ordered a couple of Modelo beers with burgers and fries. Gerry opted for a fish burger and wet fries while I stayed safe with a cheese burger.  Service was prompt and friendly and the food pretty good.  Not gourmet by any means and the fries weren't nearly as good as they could have been but it was comfort food which sated our hunger and slight hangover. Fed and beered we set off for the Lock and Stable Markets, where we managed to pick Gerry up some nice new earrings. I struck out on a new bag as nothing grabbed me as much as my current legendary Mans Bag.  It will live to see another day before replacement.

With the sun heading south we took to the bus and made our way home.  Dinner was another quick stir fry, tasty but not much to write home about.  It does make me realise though that when I'm tired and can't be bothered there are still dishes that take less time than a microwave meal.  It's a good lesson I should remember more often because its often all too easy to fall prey to the lure of takeaways or readymade meals.  Right off to bed as the eyelids are drooping.