Byron - A Tasty Burger in London

The quest for the perfect burger in the UK poses a fun challenge.  Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant chain gives you a fine one, but unfortunately, the burger changes.  Sometimes it's Italian-inspired, other times it's more American.  The quality of ingredients is always high, but often the flavor isn't exactly what I'm seeking at that moment.

Byron, the London chain that has multiple locations, offers a consistent burger that thankfully pushes all my buttons.  It's like someone picked into my brain and came up with 3 characteristics that I most love about hamburgers, putting them all together.  From the American school of burger-making, the meat is not manhandled too much into a dense hockey puck.  The sandwich takes advantage of its British roots and comes with a sharp, tangy mature cheddar cheese.  And the coup de gras is that the burger is charred on the outside, pink all the way through and even a little bit raw in the middle, which the French embrace.

Now, not everyone would want mature cheddar or a rare, bloody hamburger.  Byron thoughtfully allows you to specify how well-done you'd like the meat and allows you to choose from a variety of cheeses that include Monterey Jack and American.  You can also get bacon, portobello mushrooms and avocado.  You can choose the condiments.  A default burger comes with iceberg lettuce, tomato, red onion, and a bit of mayonnaise.  There are a million choices to be made, which I think also comes from the American school of dining.

But wait!  Your choices aren't over yet!  What sides do you want?  You can have french fries, special skin-on chips, courgette fries (gorgeously straddling the line between tempura and beer-battered), and macaroni and cheese.  There's also milkshakes and fun American-inspired desserts like cheesecake, brownies or a sundae (which the Brits insist on calling Knickerbocker Glory). 

When it comes to describing this marvelous culinary treat, I think Homer Simpson says it best, "Mmmm.....burger."

Hyde Perk Bistro - London

Somehow I ended up with the chance to see Totem, the latest Cirque du Soleil show, at the Royal Albert  Hall in London.  Amanda and I had an hour to kill before curtain, so we wandered by Hyde Park in search of some munchies.  We dodged the raindrops and came across the Hyde Perk Bistro, a cozy little venue with a surprisingly extensive menu.  There were pre- and post-theatre meal options along with breakfast served all day and specials like the lovely leek, potato, and rocket soup I enjoyed.  Amanda got the pain au chocolate and hot chocolate (gotta give props to a girl who lives large and orders everything chocolate).  After our meal, we ordered takeaway sandwiches for our journey home after the show.  I happily chewed my brie, cranberry and lettuce on walnut bread as we drove through Old Brompton Road and saw the National History Museum, the Victoria & Albert, Harrod's and Harvey Nichols.  My compatriot's sandwich looked just as delicious with its mozzarella, tomato and pesto goodness inside an enormous ciabatta.  Hyde Perk was such a great, lucky find on a rainy afternoon! 

Ren and Stimpy's Chicken Pot Pie

Ren and Stimpy are a vulgar animated dog and cat duo that had odd adventures in the 90s.  One of their favorite dinner dishes was Chicken Pot Pie, that great childhood classic many of us treasure.  I thought about them traveling in their space ship as I was making this dish and sure enough, after I served it to my family, Major Obvious thanked me in his best grating Ren voice, "Thank you for my Cheeeckin Pot Pie."

Pie Crust
(Pate Brisee recipe from Martha Stewart Living)
Ingredients:
Makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies.

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
2. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.                   
   
   
   The Pot Pie 
   heavily borrowed from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook
   
   
   Ingredients
   6 skinless chicken thigh fillets 
   4 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ in. pieces
   2 zucchini, cut into ½ in. pieces
   1 onion, chopped
   4 T. flour
   1 c. chicken broth
   ¼ c. Cognac
   1 t. dried tarragon
   1 ½ t. salt
   pepper to taste
   a knob of butter and a glug or two of olive oil
   
   pastry for a single crust pie
   milk
   
   Directions
   Lay chicken thighs in a single layer in baking dish. Salt and pepper.  Bake at 350, 20-25 minutes. Let the chicken cool and then cut chicken into 1 inch pieces.
   
   Blanch carrots in boiling water for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and blanch 2 minutes more. Drain.
   
   Warm butter and olive oil in large dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add broth, and whisk until thickened. Stir in Cognac. Cook over low heat until thick. Stir in tarragon, salt, and pepper.
   
   Fold in chicken and vegetables. Pour mixture into deep casserole or soufflé dish. Roll out pastry and place on top of dish. Trim pastry and crimp edges. Brush milk over top of crust. Cut steam vents.
   
   Bake at 400 for approximately 30 minutes.

Triple Caramel Shampoo Birthday Cake

Sweet Pea had her 7th birthday a couple of weeks ago.  I tried a new cake recipe for her special day instead of the usual chocolate cake.  When I was putting the finishing touches on the cream and making it look fluffy on the cake, Bacon walked into the kitchen and exclaimed, "That looks great!  It looks like a head full of shampoo!"  Well, I don't know if that was the look I was trying to emulate, but the dessert was a big success.  Slice, eat, repeat.

Adapted from Fine Cooking magazine and Best American Recipes 2005-2006.

INGREDIENTS
3 cups whipping cream
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS
In a 2-quart saucepan on medium heat, gently bring 2 cups cream to simmering.  

Meanwhile, put 1 cup sugar in another medium pan on medium heat. Leave undisturbed until sugar begins to melt and darken. Gently swirl pan to distribute sugar. Remove from heat when sugar has all melted and is dark amber, about 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325F.

While stirring constantly with wooden spoon, slowly pour in hot cream to make caramel. Return pan to burner. Turn heat to low. Boil gently, stirring often, 5 minutes. Set aside at least 30 minutes, stirring often, until cool.  Set aside 1 cup of the caramel for the batter and store 1 cup of the caramel in the refrigerator.


Grease and line with parchment paper two 8" or 9" cake pans.*   Using electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter and remaining 1-1/2 cups sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time until blended. Scrape sides of bowl. Beat on medium-high until fluffy.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. At low speed, mixing until barely incorporated, beat 1/3 of dry ingredients into batter, then 1/2 cup caramel, then 1/3 of dry ingredients, then 1/2 cup of caramel, then the remaining dry ingreidnets.  Scrape sides of bowl. Finish blending gently with spatula.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake on lower rack of oven until tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes.  Flip cakes out of their pans and cool completely on rack.

When ready to assemble the cake, bring refrigerated caramel to room temperature (a quick 3-5 seconds in the microwave can help if necessary).  Spread half of it between the two cake layers and set the other half of the caramel aside.

Whip the remaining 1 cup cream until firm peaks form. Fold in the rest of the caramel, leaving streaks. Makes about 12 servings.

*You can use a Bundt pan for this recipe...just drizzle the caramel sauce over the cake and then serve with dollops of whipped cream on the side.