Sam's First Subway

And so it happened on the 17th of August 2013 that Sam lost his Subways virginity. I know it is difficult to believe that someone so picky that he has no shame in asking for his signature "deconstructed burger" (no salad, no mayo, no gherkins, just a lump of meat between two pieces of bread) in both low and high rent places had not yet frequented such an establishment that is famous for making bespoke sandwiches, right down to the customer's choice of six flavours of breads. Yet, here we were on a lovely day in Windsor, looking for a snack of a lunch to tide us over until our big dinner with pals Becky and Charles. 

"You always make me try new things when others are around so that I can't make a scene!" Sam exclaimed, despite the fact that it wasn't even my idea to go there. Once our friends had heard that Sam had never tried Subways before, they were even more adamant to go! 

As we stood waiting in line for our delicious sandwiches, Sam almost started hyperventilating with fear. My attempts to assuage him with a calm explanation of the wide choices available (including several chicken flavours) did not reduce his anxiety, and it was only after we got to the front of the queue and he saw me order, that he finally got the idea, and ordered something to his liking. That being a beef pattie, with lettuce, olives and barbecue sauce. 

Needless to say, when Sam finally took a bite, much to his surprise, it was a pleasurable experience. The icing on the cake was topped off with the revelation that this store had unlimited refillable drinks. And so he was hooked.

For since we've introduced him to Subways, Sam has had no less than six more of their sandwiches in the last two weeks. All with the same beef pattie combination. I worry for what will become of him while I am away on exchange in Shanghai.....I fear Sam may turn into a Subway sandwich himself!

Sam's First Pancake Flip

Welcome to the second part of our come-back double bill!
Of course Sam has had pancakes before, and loves them like everybody else. Not even a picky eater like him could resist such a tasty dish. However, this post is about Sam learning to make his own pancakes, so that he can produce them on demand! (Not sure if this was a wise thing to do)
This all started when one lazy Sunday morning, I was in the mood for making pancakes. When Sam saw how easy they were to make, he quickly made up his mind to try and learn how to make them for himself.
We used Nigella's american pancake recipe from her "Nigella Express" book:
300 g flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
40 g caster sugar
2 eggs
500 ml milk
2 tbsp melted butter
This makes enough for two hungry people like us ;)
Whisk the ingredients together, and then ladle out into a hot, greased frying pan as thick or as thin as you like!

This was a big step for Sam, since he had planned to make pancakes all on his own for his stag do morning. Due to a change of circumstances, neither of the two stags ended up staying over, but this didn't deter Sam from making pancakes for three people at home on his own! Luckily, he didn't eat all of them, and I ended up being able to try some the following day, and they were pretty good!

Sam's comments: I like pancakes, and after seeing Eva make them, I realised that this was a simple dish that was probably at the right level for me to try to achieve on my own. They were easy to make, you just have to pay attention to the frying pan, to make sure they don't burn. The end result was delicious and was very filling, just what you need to gear you up for a stag weekend away!

Sam's First Potato Croquettes

Hello everyone!

We have been very busy with the wedding organisation, but now it's all over and we're back from the honeymoon, Sam's First Times is now back by popular demand! And we start off with a special double bill!

The first is a basic recipe of the deliciously crunchy potato croquettes.

Sam first discovered these in Barceloneta, where they make a delicious bacon version. In addition, his culinary interests have been expanding, after the discovery of a certain Nadia G, who popped up on the Food Network, one night when I was watching the addictive "Amazing Wedding Cakes". Her no-nonsense punky style combined with her Italian good looks and irreverent humour in "Bitchin' Kitchen" was obviously going to be a winner with Sam. Despite her obvious attractions, her recipes actually check out, and are thoughtful and encourage people to use quality ingredients in proper home cooked meals.
So we used her recipe for croquettes:
Four large Maris Piper potatoes (or any others good for mashing)
1 tsp of oil
1 garlic clove
A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
A handful of grated Parmegianno or other hard cheese
Flour for rolling in
2 eggs
Seasoned breadcrumbs

So, we started off with cooking the potatoes for about 15 - 20 minutes and then peeling the skin off (with Maris Pipers, the skins just falls right off after cooking).

Sam did the mashing, while I chopped the garlic. Nadia G recommends to lightly fry the garlic in the oil and then add it altogether to the mash

Then we added the chopped parsley and seasoning:

Of course, at this point, you would also add the hard cheese of your choice, but since Sam was involved, this had to be cheese-free. So I added a hefty pinch of Vegeta instead to give it some flavour :)

Once you've flavoured all your mash, you should leave the mix in the fridge for it to cool down enough to handle. Most recipes say leave for 30 mins or so.

After thoroughly washing your hands, you're then ready for the next stage - rolling into croquette shapes! Then roll in the flour, followed by the beaten egg.

At this stage Sam asked me what it meant to beat an egg - I think he thought it meant throwing them against a hard surface or punching them! Luckily I was on hand to give a quick demonstration with a fork.

Finally, roll the eggy croquettes into the breadcrumbs. We flavoured ours with some Nando's chip spice to give it some spice. The recipe suggests "Italian seasoning" but really, you can use anything you fancy.

Then we used our usual frying pan and just did a shallow fry, which seemed to work out fine:

We got ten croquettes from this recipe, which was just enough for our hungry appetites!

Overall, these were much easier to make than I imagined, and although it's not a weekday supper accompaniment, they still turned out quite well, and next time we'll try something more adventurous like putting bacon bits into the mash!

Sam: "It was nice to get back into the culinary saddle after a long hiatus. These were so fun to make, because there were so many different stages, and I got to dip things into eggs. As a rookie chef, it was nice to be doing something with your hands and they turned out really well. They tasted much better than supermarket ones! 9/10"