I don’t normally watch enough TV to trip over something noteworthy enough to write about, and whilst this show is not without its annoyances, it’s still worth 25 minutes of your time a week to see Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets

Raymond Blanc is picking on one theme per episode and then filming 2 or 3 demonstration recipes in a corner of his own massive production kitchen at Le Manoir, cut with a video of him visiting another expert in that theme. It’s directed in a documentary style rather than presented straight to camera, which means you get some of the interaction between Raymond and his army of Sous Chefs as well as an insight into how much difference Being Prepared (and having an enormous professionally equipped kitchen) makes.

I’ve watched the first two episodes on the iPlayer so far, Chocolate and Apples and both had recipes that looked excellent and easy to do at home. One of the high points for me was seeing just how simple chocolate mousse is to create but the most entertaining piece so far was Raymond shouting down a corridor for one of his minions to literally run into the orchard and climb trees in his chef’s whites until he finds a handful of Bramley apples, with the camera crew bouncing along after him like Challenge Anneka.

I’m not the only person who’s spotted some omissions though, anything that could be perceived as product placement has been consigned to Auntie’s cutting room floor. This is annoying because brand and the artisans behind it really make a difference when dealing with top-end chocolate, so you can’t go out looking to buy some when Raymond enthuses about the quality of the chocolate he’s using.

It’s presented very naturally, with an awful lot of Voila and Tres Biens interspersed into the commentary which helps keep your attention on what is a rare opportunity to see a master at work

The last Whisky Lounge tutored tasting session in York was a detailed study of Glenmorangie, with a rare opportunity to trace the development of flavours from New Make Spirit through to the most developed Signet

As ever, Eddie’s talk covered way more detailed information than I could ever hope to note down, but unusually for one of these evenings, I can actually read some of my scribblings, although the words make noticably less sense as the whiskys wore on..

The evening started with a pint of remarkably good D.A.V.E. (Dark and Very Enjoyable) from Yorkshire’s Great Heck and a chance to chat to a few of the professionals in the audience, but soon we were swept off to go learn more about Single Malt Whisky.

I managed to scribble a few insider tips came out of the discussion: Isle of Arran is looking very good at the moment and Bruichladdich’s own Port Charlotte is consistently Outstanding. I’m wishing I’d bought a bottle or three when I was there last autumn.

Carrying on from something that Jim McEwan mentioned last September, Eddie said that this year’s Big Thing is wood management, even more whiskys are coming to market that have been aged in extremely specific barrels that the Scottish distillers contracted from the Americans to make and use from specific forests on north facing slopes in the best micro climates. Only time will tell whether this level of detail in the maturation process becomes noticable.

One of the more frequently asked questions is why is Scottish whisky aged in first or second fill Bourbon casks? It’s evolved from pure economy, a second hand Bourbon Cask can be had in quantity for about £50, whereas a top tier Sherry Butte from somebody like Chateaux Y’Chem or Sauternes can fetch easily £500. This is offset by the Sherry barrel being twice the volume of the Bourbon cask and that the sherry effect becomes noticable after only 2 or 3 months whereas spirit cannot be called Whisky until it’s been aged for at least 3 years.

Another Whisky Fact is why 40% and 46% are such commonly used bottling strengths. This comes down to marketing and consumer expectations, 40% is the weakest that the spirit remains clear to look at after chill filtering, whereas 46% is the minimum required if you don’t chill filter. Appearance is incredibly important to the mass market for whisky, which is why the majority is chill filtered.

Enough rambling, on with the whiskys. Glenmorangie’s house style is one of the lightest of all the Speysides, coming from some of the highest, thinnest stills in the country. Notes of fruity citrus and grasses should be present throughout, with perhaps a faintly nutty finish.

* The Astar was the whisky of the night for me, closely followed by the Nectar D’or. Neither are my usual preferred style of Whisky, but they’re both characterful and distinctive and would be a good addition to anybody’s collection.

This quick recipe from last weekend was the outcome of a reduced-to-clear packet of ready made pastry from the supermarket and the results of a thought process that started with a ‘how hard could be it?’. Pasties make for good, portable food and haev a tradition stretching back many years. You can stick just about anything inside, but this one is a fairy simple yet still acceptable variant on cheese and onion.

Ingredients

Makes 2

Half a packet of ready made pastry
2 or 3 new potatoes
3 big or 4 medium shallots
100g mature cheddar
half a teaspoon smoked paprika
a medium egg

Cheese and Onion Pasty Ingredients

Method

Boil the potatoes for about 7 minutes, or until they’re just tender all the way through, but not falling apart

Whilst they’re cooking, finely slice the shallots and start to gently sweat them off in a bit of olive oil or butter.

Chop up the cheese into thin slices

Split the pastry into two, and roll out into circles about 5mm thick. Not too thin, so that it can support its own weight when holding in your hands but not so thick you can’t fit any filling in.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain and leave them to cool, then slice them thinly.

Cheese and Onion Pasty Assembling

Build up the filling in the middle, piling up the layers to get as much filling and as little air in as you can. Add a pinch of paprika on top to give a little colour.

The final step is where the controversy begins, how one folds and crimps one’s pasty is akin to how one wears one’s baseball cap. Allegedly.

I went for the fold it over horizontally and then crimp from the edges back towards the filling approach. Others heavily favour the fold both edges towards the middle and crimp across the top.

Cheese and Onion Pasty Sealed

Thoroughly beat the egg and use a pastry brush to coat the topside of the pasty, including sealing the crimp. This also helps give a nice golden finish.

Bake in a moderate oven for about 25 minutes

I found a handful of good youtube videos showing how to do the traditional Cornish Rope ranging from expert presenters in their own kitchens to a commercial scale piece. You’ll just have to use your imagination for how I did mine (it’s the same, but on its side)

Mine turned out perfectly edible both fresh from the oven and cold for lunch the following day, but this recipe breaks from my tradition in that the readymade shortcrust pastry isn’t as good as properly home made lard pasty pastry for holding its own weight and texture.

Cheese and Onion Pasty

About 4 minutes into this video is a good close up of the process: