50 Shades of Chocolate

Grey is so….gray. Chocolate is better. Also you can’t dribble grey over your significant other and, well, whatever.

Also, there could well be 50 shades of chocolate. I’ve no idea. Brown is brown, chocolate is chocolate…but of course it isn’t. Chocolate is a whole world of bittersweet fantasmagorical wonderment. Combine it with cream and strawberries and you have a gourmet-gasm of amaze-balls. Sorry, getting carried away.

Lets get down to business, so to speak. It was pancake day yesterday and so we celebrated with Strawberries and Cream Pancakes with Chocolate Sauce.

Cheese and Chicken Pancake Stacks

I think I’ve given up trying to be a gourmet chef. I’ve tried, God knows I’ve tried. But it’s hard. The attention to detail. The need for quality ingredients. The hours of preparation. But, in reality, I’m more a Man v Food kind of cook: pile it high and …eat it.

For this session I tried to create something that employed food rings – I mean anything that requires food rings has to be haute cuisine right? Even cheese and chicken pancakes.

Cheese ‘n’ Chicken Pancakes

Back in the day, I mean way back, I was a kid. Yes I was 12. And so it was at that ripe young age that I created my first proper culinary creation. Cheese ‘n’ Chicken Pancakes. I don’t remember the details but I do remember Ma in the background, making sure I didn’t ruin her pots and pans.

Crispy Peking Duck Pancakes with Hoisin Sauce

Here’s a dish that takes me back to my time in the Orient. Actually I’ve never been but if I had I’m sure it would. In China they can turn a duck into a multi-course banquet. Every bit is used (and I mean every bit). In this version we are a little more conservative.

Traditionally the duck is hung (not alive) in a dry, cool, drafty place. My wife, being vegetarian, didn’t fancy the idea of bathing with a dead duck in the bathroom (actually I never broached the idea). So I followed Jamie Oliver’s quick and dirty method. (Or you can try the vegetarian version here).