Thursday 30 July 2015

Jamie Dear, You Are Among Professionals Now

Fanny Cradocks TV career more or less came crashing to a halt in 1976 when she was a mentor and judge on the Big Time, hosted by Esther Rantzen. Fanny was tasked with advising Devon housewife and amateur cook Gwen Troake with her menu for a very splendid dinner. Fanny was not impressed, at all, and didn't hide it from the cameras, chiding poor old Gwen, letting her know in no uncertain terms her menu was NOT suitable now that she was among professionals. These days TV cookery shows are plentiful, but are the judges any fairer than Fanny?


Would Fanny be at the helm of Masterchef the Professionals, if lovely Monica hadn't gotten the job? In 2014 Scotlands own Jamie Scott was victorious - but he insists when I talk to him that Monica was much more generous than Fanny! 'Monica was always at my table as soon as my dish was finished to taste what I'd made and check on my techniques.' Ah, so she didn't destroy your confidence even before you'd starting cooking? How unusal! 'Although, it was great to see Fanny at the forefront of TV cooking as a pioneer in a male dominated world, at that time' he shares with me. I'm sure Monica appreciates Fanny paving the way for her!

Fanny Cradock Jamie Scott Masterchef Foodies Festival

Jamie is appearing at this years Foodies Festival in Edinburgh for the first time - and he's excited at the thought of a big crowd! 'I watched Adam Handling in the rain last year - it was a wash-out, but Adam was great. I wore shorts and sandles which was a shame. This year I'm hoping for sunshine and I'll be dressed professionally in all the gear.' For Fanny this would be full ballgown, but Jamie isn't so sure this is really him. 'I'm working, so I'll be in my chefs whites and dressed properly for the job' he told me. But we can expect to see some skirt...

Fanny Cradock Jamie Scott Masterchef Foodies Festival

Beef skirt. I feel a little like Fanny asking 'Brambles?' to poor Gwen but Jamie assures me it's a cut of meat. He likes to showcase great Scottish produce and providers - so we might just see said skirt, Highland Wagu Beef, perhaps some scallops from Oban and probably more than a dash of Scottish vodka. Now we are talking a language I understand! Like Fanny, Jamie trawls through the old recipe books of Escoffier for inspiration. He has a passion for bringing forgotten recipes and ingedients, like Gentlemens Relish and Mushroom Ketchup, into todays cooking. 'If it worked so many years ago why wouldn't it work nowadays? We have better equipment now - not big stone ovens - so things cook better and taste fresher. I like the classics, but reinvented and made more accessible.' Like me with Fanny!

Fanny Cradock Jamie Scott Masterchef Foodies Festival

Jamie has loads planned after Foodies - including more festivals, pop-up restaurants, some guest chef-ing in Arbroath, Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and Norfolk, as well as cheese and gin trails around Scotland. Cheese and Gin? I'm there! Fanny would be so proud, I am sure she would take well to Jamie, sharing his passion for classic food. There will be NO yukky faces pulled at Foodies as we all watch in anticipation to see the wonders that Jamie will unveil for his winning menu. I'll be checking round the large crowd for skirtage, so don't be alarmed if you see me.

Fanny Cradock Jamie Scott Masterchef Foodies Festival

I am delighted to be an Official Foodies Festival Blogger. See you at the Festival!













Tickets:
Tickets are on sale now at www.foodiesfestival.com or by calling 0844 995 1111

Friday adult day ticket £10.00 (£8.00 concession)
Saturday or Sunday adult day ticket £13.00 (£11.00 concession)
3-day adult ticket £20.00 (£16.00 concession)

Friday VIP ticket £35.00
Saturday or Sunday VIP ticket £38.00
VIP tickets include a welcome glass of bubbly, access to the VIP tent with private bar and refreshments throughout the day, priority entry to food and drink masterclasses, a goody bag and a showguide.
All children aged 12 and under go free to all Foodies Festivals when accompanied by an adult.
Open times:
Friday 7th August: 11am – 7pm
Saturday 8th August: 10am – 8pm
Sunday 9th August: 10am – 7pm

Monday 27 July 2015

It's A Mystery, to meat

Fanny Cradock starts Part 22 with some wise words which form a classic French riddling ruling - 'Les chefs sont faits, les rôtisseurs sont nés' - but sadly her motto is lost on me. She's chatting about roasting meat you see, and while cooks may be made and roasters born, for this vegetarian apprentice, Fanny's techniques and tips for butchery and brawn are just unsuited, irrelevant and incompatible.

Fanny Cradock Grilling and Roasting

Fanny tries her best to get me to appreciate the well-hung. Her advice is 'You cannot expect a prime roast from really fresh meat.' The problem seems to be that if it is under-hung, and Fanny gives no advice as to what that might be, then it needs to be cooked slowly. Add to the puzzle that it should be carved 'properly' too. Beef thinly, lamb or mutton in thick 'collops', pork half way between thick and thin, not quite covered by the phrase 'medium thick.' A quandary for me. Fanny's grandmother described paper-thin slices of pork in the same way as she described thin slices of plum cake - that they 'taste of the knife'. I am so glad I need not pay much attention to this meaty part, nothing makes any sense already!

Fanny Cradock Grilling and Roasting

Fanny turns her considerable hands to boning. She has several skills to show, and does so in an array of jarring pic-strips. She transforms a saddle of lamb (whatever that is) into a 'winged victory' with a very sharp knife. She bones and stuffs the enigma that is a leg of lamb, wearing what appears to be pyjamas, which is presumably crucial. Does one do it early early in the morning, or just before bed? Fanny sees pointless (to me) boning as essentially a 'job of excavation' that requires no skill. Except the skill she is demonstrating. The confusion continues with a mind boggling selection of grabbing, scraping, paring, rolling and slipping. I'm stumped.

Fanny Cradock Grilling and Roasting

Meat sometimes needs to be boiled, sometimes grilled. The dilemma strikes me as avoiding cooking all the goodness out of it and ending up with bits of army boot soles, so Fanny advises being gentle and tender. As ever. Except with bacon, which needs to be grilled until it resembles the ridges of the Loch Ness Monsters back. Fanny also tries her hand at Tournedos, which aren't twisting cyclones as I suspected but instead involves covering a piece of meat, breast of game, poultry and very occasionally fish with a thin slice of raw unsalted pork fat. Fanny calls it barding. The conundrum continues.

Fanny Cradock Grilling and Roasting

Oven roasting looks as if it is all about disguising unsightly things with teasing trimmings of puff pastry or spreading crusty domes of breadcrumbs on top of the hunks of flesh. It's no good for me. Reading between the lines, the show of grilling and roasting has the appearance of merely being an array of outfits and accessories - Fanny poses in a different ensemble for each pic-strip. This meat game is a complete enigma to me. I'm clearly not a born roaster so I'll continue to hang out with the well hung and considerably less confusing veggies instead.

Fanny Cradock Grilling and Roasting

Thursday 23 July 2015

Foodies Festival Flashback + Ticket Giveaway

Sometimes life swings past so swiftly, even when most of mine is spent delving into the past with Fanny Cradock! The Edinburgh year is punctuated with many sensational events, but it is always August that either fills Edinburgers hearts with joy, or dread... It's festival time! Personally, I love it, the whole city is full - full of people, full of fun, full of excitement and full of festivals! Depending on your viewpoint too, Edinburgh can be full of Fannys.

Fanny Cradock Foodies Festival

Celebrating it's 10th year as part of the Fanny-less fun is Foodies Festival. Last year I chatted to a few celebrity chefs who were appearing in the demo tent, asking them about food, festivals and Fanny! Poor them, I don't think it was their usual kind of interview... Three of my favourites are set to make a welcome return this year, and I am excited to see what they are up to for 2015!

Fanny Cradock Foodies Festival

Adam Handling made his debut last year, and chose to wear his 'lucky pants' instead of a Fanny-inspired ballgown. They seemed to work - he was a hit with the crowd. His motto is 'smile or get out of the kitchen' but Adam himself admitted to being a little nervous about his appearance... Surely not this year though as 'Team Adam' returns?

Fanny Cradock Foodies Festival

Mark Greenaway claimed to be way too modern to remember Fanny, but he captured some of her cheeky spirit by having a laugh with the audience while he cooked. Interaction was a key feature of Fannys performances too, but Mark reckoned that he wouldn't look as good in a ballgown. I think we need to start a campaign to bring the ballgown back to food demonstrations? Or just to life in general.

Fanny Cradock Foodies Festival

Edinburgh's very own incredible Spice Man, Tony Singh, was a natural highlight of Foodies last year, with his inventive dishes that could be easily recreated at home. Tony told me he was more influenced by the late great Marguerite Patten than Fanny, but brought some of Fannys flair and colour to wow the audiences. This year Tony has stripped down for a pop-up restaurant 'Road Trip' at the Apex Hotel in the Grassmarket during August. It's the food that's stripped down, not Tony but there still will be lots of spicy fun to be had! Stripping and spice, but still no ballgowns. Sigh.

Fanny Cradock Foodies Festival

If you fancy joining Adam, Mark and an impressive list of others at Foodies between 7th and 9th August then what better way than to win some of the free tickets I have to giveaway? Just leave a blog comment saying what your preferred day would be, complete the Rafflecopter thingy-me-jig below, which will select winners at random after the closing date of 27th July 2015 and keep your fingers crossed! Previous entires from last weeks post will be collated with these. If you are the less optimistic type you can buy tickets instead direct from the Foodies Festival. If you win, you don't *have* to speak me at the Festival, but I will be there enjoying it all again - watch out for more Fanny Foodies Fun blogs in coming weeks,  and maybe some ballgowns...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am delighted to be an Official Foodies Festival Blogger. Prizes are offered by Lanyard Media representing Foodies and will be sent directly from them to you if you win. See you at the Festival!













Tickets:
Tickets are on sale now at www.foodiesfestival.com or by calling 0844 995 1111

Friday adult day ticket £10.00 (£8.00 concession)
Saturday or Sunday adult day ticket £13.00 (£11.00 concession)
3-day adult ticket £20.00 (£16.00 concession)

Friday VIP ticket £35.00
Saturday or Sunday VIP ticket £38.00
VIP tickets include a welcome glass of bubbly, access to the VIP tent with private bar and refreshments throughout the day, priority entry to food and drink masterclasses, a goody bag and a showguide.
All children aged 12 and under go free to all Foodies Festivals when accompanied by an adult.
Open times:
Friday 7th August: 11am – 7pm
Saturday 8th August: 10am – 8pm
Sunday 9th August: 10am – 7pm

Monday 20 July 2015

Seventies Salad

I'm going to ask you to close your eyes in a moment. Just warning you. However you'll need to read on just for a little bit to find out why on earth I would ask you to do so. Don't worry, I'm not going to flash up a photo of yet another crazy creation from Fanny Cradock, well not just yet. No, I want you to shut your peepers and think of your childhood salad. Oh dear, I should've said that once you've thought of it you need to open them again and continue reading. I do hope you've worked that bit out all for yourselves...

Fanny Cradock Egg Salad

What did you see? I'd hazard a guess if you saw a boiled egg on your plate that you, like me, are a child of the seventies, or before. No salad was complete in our house without one. A little bit of lettuce, maybe some cucumber for special occasions, some pickled beetroot from a jar (which I never touched), perhaps a spring onion but always a hard boiled egg. Fanny too thinks that eggs are ideal for a summertime salad. She lived in a time before 'salad' meant pre-packed pillows of Frisee, Radicchio and Wild Rocket.

Fanny Cradock Egg Salad

Fanny, years before dearly beloved Delia, first of all ensures that we know how to boil an egg. She brings a small pan of very ordinary domestic tap water to a fairly fast boil. Eggs should then be lowered in on a tablespoon to avoid cracking and cooked for eggsactly (sorry) seven minutes. Drain down the sink (just incase you had other ideas). Fanny then turns on the cold tap and runs it over the boiled eggs still in the pan until they themselves are cold. Tap the eggs very gently all around against the side of the sink to peel away the shells in seconds without 'unsightly fingernail marks.' Quite.

Fanny Cradock Egg Salad

This technique from Fanny also means that the yolk will not be black against the white inside, which, Fanny says, frequently results from not chilling the egg instantly. Check it for yourself, slice the eggs in half lengthways and arrange them in the centre of the plate to begin the salad. No black. Fanny first surrounds the eggs with a 'ring of carrots' which can be either cut by hand laboriously or with ease and speed with a mandoline. Fanny always gives unbiased choices. Fingers must be kept out the way when using the mandoline. I have a guard on mine. Fanny had assistants.

Fanny Cradock Egg Salad

Fanny shreds some white cabbage for an additional ring and skins tomatoes to make petal shapes for added decoration. For maximum appeal, Fanny flavours some mayonnaise with the juice of an orange and pipes it into rosettes in-between. Fanny does say that this is only when she is feeling grand and leisurely, otherwise she'd just plonk the mayonnaise down in a bowl separately. It's essentially a deconstructed coleslaw with a boiled egg, but Fanny makes it seem much grander, in a leisurely way. Using the mandolin keeps the carrots crisp and crunchy, and the whole salad is quite lovely. Did you have hard boiled eggs in your salad? Oh I do hope you've opened your eyes again ready to enjoy the full effect.

Fanny Cradock Egg Salad

Thursday 16 July 2015

Fannys Foodies Festival Freebie

Fanny Cradock wasn't really known for giving things away for free... Let's just say she was generous in so many different ways, but why give something away for nothing if you could sell it? The weekly partworks were jammed full of 'special offers' on must-have kitchen equipment for all aspiring foodies. To tempt you even further Fanny supplied special tokens that you could collect and exchange for items from her Dream Kitchen range... Aspirational.

Fanny Cradock Foodies Festival

Whether it was that must have set of knives, salt and pepper grinders or a deep fat fryer she was curiously using a few pages back, if Fanny had a whiff of additional sales she was quick to swoop in. Thankfully I am slightly more generous. Although I say 'I' it is actually the good folks of the Foodies Festival who are being generous here not me. But of course I am being generous in sharing the opportunity to share in their generosity. Think of it as my way of making up for the Angry Chinese Men...

Fanny Cradock Foodies Festival

I have three pairs of tickets to the Edinburgh Foodies Festival at Inverleith Park from 7th - 9th August to giveaway. Free! Not sure what Fanny would reckon. Maybe I should've thought of a way that I could have sold them instead? Or ask you to collect tokens from my weekly blogs just to be in with a chance of winning them?

Fanny Cradock Foodies Festival

Foodies Festival is bigger and better than ever in this, it's TENTH Anniversary year in Edinburgh. You can read all about it here. If Fanny were around still, she would of course be appearing in person in the Chefs Theatre, she would have her assistants whipping up soufflés in the Street Food Avenue and poor Johnnie would be pushing the Dream Kitchen must-haves on the Cradock Stall in the Producers Market. I am sure it would all be renamed Fannys Foodies Festival, and quite right too.

Fanny Cradock Foodies Festival

If you want to be in with a chance to win a pair of the free tickets on offer, just complete the Rafflecopter thingy-me-jig below, which will select winners at random after the closing date of 27th July 2015 and keep your fingers crossed! If you are the less optimistic type you can buy tickets instead direct from the Foodies Festival. If you win, you don't *have* to speak me at the Festival, but I will be there enjoying it all again - watch out for more Fanny Foodies Fun blogs in coming weeks, all for free!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am delighted to be an Official Foodies Festival Blogger. Prizes are offered by Lanyard Media representing Foodies and will be sent directly from them to you if you win. See you at the Festival!













Tickets:
Tickets are on sale now at www.foodiesfestival.com or by calling 0844 995 1111

Friday adult day ticket £10.00 (£8.00 concession)
Saturday or Sunday adult day ticket £13.00 (£11.00 concession)
3-day adult ticket £20.00 (£16.00 concession)

Friday VIP ticket £35.00
Saturday or Sunday VIP ticket £38.00
VIP tickets include a welcome glass of bubbly, access to the VIP tent with private bar and refreshments throughout the day, priority entry to food and drink masterclasses, a goody bag and a showguide.
All children aged 12 and under go free to all Foodies Festivals when accompanied by an adult.
Open times:
Friday 7th August: 11am – 7pm
Saturday 8th August: 10am – 8pm
Sunday 9th August: 10am – 7pm

Monday 13 July 2015

Regretful Eggs

I am sorry. I'm not normally quite this flustered when I flick over the pages of the Cradock Cookery Programme. Usually I feel excited, intrigued, curious, eager, confused, impatient to get started, or puzzled how I'm going to make Fanny's creation work, but today I feel crestfallen and, well, a little bit embarrassed. I feel I must reluctantly give an apology before I even start... What has got me so guilt-ridden? They are just simple Egg Mayonnaise Tartlets, but Fanny calls them Angry Chinese Egg Men.

Fanny Cradock Angry Chinese Men

I am sorry to the entire nation of China, to each and every one of the 1.357 billion people who live in the vast country, and the many millions more who live elsewhere around the world. That's a lot of remorse. I'm not sure that Fanny ever travelled to China, or even met anyone from the East, but perhaps in a different age her negatively stereotypical 'rather cross men' were more funny than offensive? I wonder if Fanny would feel repentant today? Or is it just harmless fun?

Fanny Cradock Angry Chinese Men

I am sorry to Wrights Flour who sent me some Golden Pastry Flour to try. I am sure they were not expecting to see their treasured product transformed into a tartlet case decorated to look like some kind of representation of a distraught Chinese Man. Those distressed farmers growing the wheat, the hardworking millers grinding the flour, the happy-go-lucky packers and shippers who ensured it came to me in perfect form. Regretfully, for this.

Fanny Cradock Angry Chinese Men

I am sorry to the chickens on Over Langshaw Farm, who diligently ate their organic feed and strutted their stuff confidently around the yard waiting to lay set after set of gorgeous eggs, only for them to be boiled up and added to a layer of mayonnaise, with a top layer coloured green. I am sorry to the humiliated Tomato Growers who unwittingly provided the little hats. I am sorry to Wilton who not only never would have expected their harmless food colourings to be used like this, but presumably did not design their decorating pens thinking that someone would follow Fannys instructions to create an angry representation of a Chinese Man on an egg.

Fanny Cradock Angry Chinese Men

I am sorry to other bloggers who have selflessly opened blogging link-ups to help to showcase and share sensational (not sheepish) food blogs with their readers. Poor Dom at Belleau Kitchen will be mortified to see these linked to his Simply Eggcellent challenge but I'm ashamed to admit this is how Fanny liked her eggs in the morning. I'm distraught to add these to the Pastry Challenge from Jen and Lisa, but these were very quick to put together... I reluctantly link to Treat Petite, Egg Mayonnaise and Tomatoes say summer to me, but will Stuart or Kat ever speak to me again? Before I reveal these very Angry Chinese Men, here is a picture of the ones shamefaced Fanny made, just so you don't direct your disdain to me.

Fanny Cradock Angry Chinese Men

Last but not least, I am sorry to the little Chinese Men themselves. I'm guilty of having no idea at all why they have been disguised as mushrooms and plonked in a little pastry boat filled with grass. Or is it water? Or something else? No wonder they are angry.

Fanny Cradock Angry Chinese Men

Thursday 9 July 2015

Recalling Appalling Tarpaulin

There's one pudding (yes, just one) that I have really never liked at all, ever. Loathed it. We had it a fair bit when I was young but the thought of it made me feel ill with dread all through the meal. Back then it was a case of 'you are not leaving the table until you've eaten it' so you can imagine me sitting there for hours and hours, wishing and hoping that it would magically disappear, slowly shovelling the smallest amounts into my downturned mouth, trying to force it down. Even today, I shudder when I think about it, such was the horror of the... Rice Pudding.

Fanny Cradock Rice Pudding

It was the really thick, absolutely black tar-like canvas-feel topping it had as it emerged from the oven that made me quake. I've heard other people say for them, this is the best bit, but it made me want to heave then, and now, just thinking about it! I didn't want it anywhere near my plate, or my mouth. There's no rhyme or reason for it I suppose. Thankfully Fanny seems to share the repulsion, with her recipe for a colourful, fruity alternative which does not have the 'tarpaulin top' that gives me the heebeegeebees.

Fanny Cradock Rice Pudding

Fanny makes her version by mixing Patna Rice with sugar, vanilla, fresh (or tinned) orange juice and ordinary tap water before baking under a light covering of ordinary domestic foil in a medium oven. Fanny doesn't specify a time for this, just until 'it reaches the consistency you like.' Clearly she hasn't been listening, I don't like the consistency at all. I struggled to find pudding rice in the supermarket - clearly I've never searched for it, ever, but I'd assumed it would be easy enough to find. Perhaps the whole world shares my feelings about rice pudding? I did spot some Thai Sticky Rice which said it was ideal for puddings though... Rats, there was no escaping this one!

Fanny Cradock Rice Pudding

To spice up the rice a little, I added a few drops of luscious Cardamom Holy Lama Spice Drops which I was very kindly sent recently. Orange and Cardamom are a celestial match. The drops are divine, really intense and as the name suggest, you only need a drop or two. For a pudding like this it seemed to make sense rather than adding ground spices. The heavenly smells coming from my kitchen are making me think that perhaps Rice Pudding might not be so bad after all?

Fanny Cradock Fried Bananas

Nothing with Fanny is ever that straightforward, so while the pudding is baking I whip up an accompaniment in the shape of Fried Breaded Bananas. As their name suggests, they are bananas cut down the centre ('because they look prettier'), rolled in beaten egg and enclosed in breadcrumbs before frying. Fanny arranges them in a fan display with a nut on the end, for no apparent reason. They taste like you'd imagine. They don't distract me long from the dreaded rice pudding though - but I needn't have worried. It surfaces without the dreaded tarpaulin top, and retains its orange glow - no black in sight. It's like a jammy marmalade-y risotto consistency, and with the kick of warm cardamom is, erm, lovely really. Just don't make me have that black-topped heavy duty tarpaulin stuff ever again.

Fanny Cradock Fried Bananas

Fanny Cradock Rice Pudding

Monday 6 July 2015

Birra, Pizza, Pasta - a few-a Ma Favorita things...

I was called a name this week. It wasn't by those nasty neighbours who I've never really liked that much who sneered and jeered as I sauntered by in full get up. It wasn't behind my back by the new intake of freshly whipped assistants keen to impress in the kitchen. It wasn't by dear old Johnnie when he discovered that I'd used the last of his vintage Chianti to oomph up todays experimental lunchtime soufflé. No, it was by young, Hull-born, Italian chef and London-based restauranteur Joe Hurd. He called me a Mangia Foglia. It turns out he wasn't being offensive at all, it's just an Italian term for Vegetarian, seemingly. I'm a Leaf Eater.

Fanny Cradock Italy

I was invited to eat leaves while experiencing a Pizza and Pasta Masterclass with La Favorita and Birra Moretti ahead of the Gran Tour pop-up beer and street food festival, popping up at Summerhall from the 9th -12th July. We were in the experienced hands of the lovely Manuel from La Favorita and Joe, who showed us to spin, stretch, slap, slide and hand-crank our way to Italian perfection. It might sound like we were breakdancing, but we were cooking, learning and laughing, honest. All with a cold beer in our hands.

Fanny Cradock Italy

Although Fanny was often critical of the range and diversity found in Italian cuisine, she did her very best to promote it. Back in the 1970's when most of us were only just getting to grips with Spaghetti Bolognese, sprinkling dried parmesan from our storecupboard tubs or going 'wild' with Lasagne, Fanny was publishing her Common Market Cookery book focused on Italy. Fanny's version of Italian food you understand, but mostly fairly authentic. Ish.

Fanny Cradock Italy

She sashayed round Italy for the Nationwide programme on the BBC and encouraged us to delve deeper to rediscover the regional Renaissance recipes using a whirlwind of polenta, pomodoro and parmesan. What on earth would she have made of todays trends for Italian street food, wonderful gelato and beers? No doubt get her food colourings out to create a special pizza for La Favorita - perhaps based on the colours of Il Tricolore?

Fanny Cradock Italy

So how do todays Italian offerings compare? At La Favorita, Manuel wow'd us with expertly made (our own creations magically disappeared, I imagine the staff thought they were so good they ate them...) hand-stretched, wood-fired pizzas, fresh and inspiring toppings, even a melting, flavoursome vegan cheese made an appearance. To go with the freshly made pasta Joe created a simple Salsa di Pomidoro by sweating the finest tomatoes, garlic, chilli, shallots, olive oil and basil before our very eyes. According to Joe, we just won't accept the 70's style of Italian food anymore, why would we when we can all easily travel to Italy and we all know more about the ingredients, flavours and dishes.

Fanny Cradock Italy

As we settled down to munch on our own work (ok, I'm pretending we made these spectacular pizzas now), eat more leaves (for me) and throw back another beer, we were reflecting on all that we had learned throughout the Masterclass. Poor Joe though, he clearly hadn't learnt enough himself. He was keen to swot up and learn from the real deal - Fanny herself. I've got a new name for him in return, Fanatico di Fanny. I wonder what tips he picked up, will he change his recipes and embrace the 1970's once more? We'll find out at the Gran Tour on Thursday. No doubt he'll squeeze a last minute Fanny Cradock Italian Masterclass into the programme? See you there?

Fanny Cradock Italy

I was invited along to the La Favorita Masterclass by Chris from Cow PR and will be enjoying more Italian fare and masterclasses at the pop-up food and beer festival, the Birra Moretti Gran Tour in Edinburgh at Summerhall from Thursday 9th July. Advance tickets are priced at £10 plus a £1 booking fee. This allows you to enjoy two Birra Moretti, two dishes from any vendor and a gelato.

Thursday 2 July 2015

Fannys Firenze Frenzy

Fanny was a very well respected (at least that's what she said) travel correspondent before she transformed herself into a cookery writer and TV Chef. She'd scribble about anything if she got paid in reality, but she loved gadding about, dashing off columns and banging out books mainly about aspirational but perhaps achievable European travel from 1950's onwards. With Johnnie by her side, she selfishly packed up her trunk and toured round for the Bon Viveur Guide to Holidays in Europe. It was the TripAdvisor of its time. She invented it - they were the original Judith Chalmers and Michael Palin. Fanny just loved to get away, especially to Italy and in particular to Florence.

Fanny Cradock Florentines

Notwithstanding, Fanny warned that Florence, despite it's 'gay friendliness', explosion of floral displays and people who were 'incredibly interested in your well-being' (did she mean overly nosey?), had 'climatic conditions' which produced heat that even the Romans considered intense. Well-to-do Italians flocked there for the winter. The travel guide, like many today, gives average temperatures year round, but Fanny introduces a new comparison to give her untravelled readers an idea of what these temperatures would be like. She compares and contrasts the average temperature in Eastbourne. So in July while it would be an imaginable 60F on Englands' coastline, in Florence it would be tropical at 81F. Strange how the Eastbourne Scale didn't catch on...

Fanny Cradock Florentines

If you can bear the heat, Fanny recommends lots to do while in Florence. The most important of which is to shop for straw goods in the aptly named Straw Market. She couldn't get enough straw. In addition to shopping Fanny recounts the delights of the Firenze Golf Club, the Winter Opera Season (December and January), a wealth of Art and Architecture and in summertime you can watch the locals play football in funny costumes. What more could you want from a forgiven jaunt? It all sounds so perfectly civilised.

Fanny Cradock Florentines

Except the food, which Fanny describes as 'running the gamut from A to B' using the adjective 'limited' as a harsh warning. She then, of course, goes on to list a huge variety of food that you can get, and better still that you should bring home with you. Exotic items like Aubergines and her beloved Pimentos. She lets readers and possible travellers know to expect an excessive use of cheese, far too much frying, out of proportion tomato sauces, inordinate amounts of pastas and for everything to be served with an abundance of oil, which Fanny notes is disastrous for the 'untrained stomachs.' Don't ask how she knows, but Johnnie looks sheepish.

Fanny Cradock Florentines

Fanny does recommend Florence for sweet little biscuits however, and recreates her version of a Florentine in the partwork. She melts butter with sugar, adding in chopped almonds, flaked almonds, chopped glacé cherries (Il Tricolore if you please) and a little cream. Fanny leaves this mixture to cool before blobbing teaspoons-full onto trays and baking them for 12 minutes. They spread a lot (did she miss out the flour?), and emerge like super thin shards of brown glass, ready for their characteristic chocolate bases, swirled with forks into wavy patterns. They sum up Fannys review of Florence - gay and colourful, baked in heat unknown in Eastbourne, cultured and exotic, crisp and sweet, although a little greasy with copious amounts of butter. Presumably by the time you return from Florence your stomach has been trained to cope.

Fanny Cradock Florentines