The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Denmark

It has not been easy for me to establish any real ancestral connection with any of the countries involved in the FIFA World Cup 2010 to an extent which truly justifies my representing them in this event. Although I am of course aware that no such justification is necessary and I will maybe dabble as a guest here and there as the tournament progresses, I wanted to represent one country with which I can at least appear to establish some form of tentative bond.

In common with most of the other inhabitants of the UK, my heritage will of course be mixed with particularly the Normans and the Saxons of Mainland Western Europe at some stage in the distant past. The most obvious connection which I can claim to a country participating in the FIFA World Cup 2010, however, is that my maternal grandmother's family name was Haldane. There is much debate as to the origins of the name Haldane in Scotland, with some advancing the theory that it was of Norman introduction in the 12th Century, as opposed to earlier Danish introduction. At least for the purposes of this event, however, I am coming down firmly on the side of the more obvious Danish theory and taking the opportunity to guest today as a cook for the country of Denmark.

When most people in the English speaking world hear the words, "Danish," and, "Food," it is probably safe to say that a great many will immediately think of sweet pastries or bacon. There is naturally, however, a great deal more to Danish food than pastries or bacon, as I have found in researching this article. The climate and geography of Denmark means that hardy grains and vegetables form a large part of the Danish diet, as does fresh fish. I had several ideas pencilled in for this project but as soon as I came across Bagte Fiskefilet, I knew beyond doubt what I was cooking.

Bagte Fiskefilet translates at least loosely in to English as, "Baked Fillet of Sole." The fillets are baked in the oven with butter, before being served with a sauce made of butter, lemon juice and prawns/shrimp. I have taken the liberty of using an unfilleted lemon sole here - purely for greater substance in the presented dish - and adding a little parsley to the sauce for colour.

Ingredients (Per Person)

1 lemon sole (gutted - head and tail removed)
2oz butter
2 tsp of roughly chopped prawns/shrimp (pre-cooked)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp freshly chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

I have served this dish with some boiled new potatoes in butter. If you choose to do likewise, the first step will be to get your potatoes on to boil.

Preheat your oven to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6. Spread a large sheet of aluminium foil on a baking tray and place the lemon sole on it, dark-skinned side uppermost. Make three diagonal cuts across the top of the fish. Use 1 oz of the butter to place a little in each slit and the remainder in the cavity of the fish. Season lightly with salt and pepper and carefully wrap up the fish to form a sealed but loose package. Place it in to the oven and cook for fifteen minutes.

As the sauce takes less than a minute to prepare, wait until the fish is ready and remove it from the oven. Put the butter and lemon juice in to a small saucepan and on to as low a heat as possible while you carefully unwrap the fish - due to escaping steam - and transfer it to the plate. When the butter is almost melted, add the parsley and shrimp/prawns and season with black pepper only. Stir with a wooden spoon to simply heat the shellfish through before carefully spooning the sauce over the fish and serving.

This dish was incredibly easy to make and being such a lover of fresh fish as I am, I was in no doubt that I would enjoy it but I can honestly say that it was even more delicious than I had anticipated and I very much hope you will try it out for yourself at home.

(Note that serving it with Denmark's most famous liquid export is wholly optional!)

The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - England v USA

After all the build up, all the talking, all the hype and all the bravado, the FIFA World Cup 2010 is now upon us. It is time for the players and the coaches who are in South Africa as you read this to put up, or shut up. On Sunday, 11th July, 2010, one of thirty-two national captains will lift the biggest prize in sport: the FIFA World Cup.

It is to food, pleasure and partying, however, that the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 is dedicated. Whatever takes place on the pitch is beyond our control. It is now my greatest pleasure to introduce you to those who represent their countries on the first contributary day of The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 and I hope very much that you will take the time to view the efforts of both ladies, from whichever side of the Atlantic divide you happen to originate. They have both put in considerable effort, for which I am eternally grateful. If you like what the ladies have shared with you, please take the time to let them know via the links provided to their own websites. If - for whichever unimaginable reason, you don't - you can contact me via the comments option at the bottom of this post. The fault will undoubtedly be a technical one on my part...

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to introduce to you, Marie Rayner and The Thrillbilly Gourmet, cooking for England and the United States of America, respectively. The order in which they are featured is simply that by which FIFA have billed the match.

Cooking for England: Marie Rayner

When Gordon asked me to participate in this fabulous cookery event , being held in association with the World Cup, I was quite chuffed to say the least!! The World Cup is one of the most popular set of football matches here in England, and with it being held in South Africa this time around, that makes it even more special. The whole neighbourhood where I live is one huge testimony to the loyalty of England football fans, with every house being festooned with England Flags and bric a brac! Although I am originally from Canada, I am just as up for this big match as anyone else. I absolutely love this adopted country of mine, and it’s people . . . and I especially love the food here. I put a lot of thought into this dish which I think represents some of the best of what England has to offer in both food and tradition. This is what I aim to achieve each day on my own page, The English Kitchen, where I am debunking the myths of English Cookery, one recipe at a time. This dish is a wonderful meat fest of gargantuan proportions . . . salt marsh lamb (if you can get it), meaty pork sausages, bacon chops and beautiful British rump steaks . . . all grilled to perfection and placed inside individual plate sized traditional Yorkshire puddings, with a tasty garnish of grilled tomatoes and mushrooms. With true English Roasties on the side as well as some tasty cabbage, leeks and peas, this is a dish fit for a king, or at least a group of hungry Footie fans! Go England!!

*Pundit Pudding*
Serves 4

The best of England, served up in your very own Yorkshire pudding bowl! Do plan ahead as the batter for the puddings needs to sit out for an hour at room temperature before baking!

4 Lamb chops, trimmed
4 Small rump Steaks
4 small bacon chops
4 thick and meaty Butcher’s pork and leek sausages
Butter, melted
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 Large Tomatoes
4 Large Mushrooms
For the Pudding:
2 large free range eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp salt
1/2 pint milk, at room temperature (1 1/3 cup)
140g plain flour (1 cup)
a little oil or dripping



Make sure all your ingredients for the pudding are at room temperature before beginning. Beat your eggs together in a large measuring jug until very light. Whisk in the milk. Sift the flour into a bowl along with the salt. Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients all at once, pouring them into the well, and then whisk them in, slowly incorporating the dry mixture from the sides until you have a smooth batter. Now, this is the important bit . . . COVER IT AND LET IT SIT ON THE SIDEBOARD FOR ONE HOUR.

Preheat your oven to 230*C/450*F. Place a small amount of oil or dripping into each of four medium sized pie tins. (You will want ones with a six inch base) Place the tins on two baking trays and then put them into the hot oven to heat up until the fat is hot and sizzling. Remove from the oven and quickly divide the batter amongst each muffin cup, filling them about 2/3 full. (You may not use it all.) Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until well risen, browned and crispy, reducing the oven temperature by 10 degrees every five minutes.

While your puddings are baking cook your meats. Preheat the grill to it’s hottest. Brush the steaks and chops with some melted butter and sprinkle with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the sausages on a rack in a grill pan and grill for about 7 to 8 minutes, turning frequently. Add the lamb chops and the rump steaks. Continue to grill for another 5 to 7 minutes, allowing 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove to a heated plate and keep warm. Now grill the bacon chops, allowing 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove to the heated plate and keep warm.

Slice the tomatoes in half and brush each half with some melted butter, along with the mushrooms. Place all beneath the grill and grill for about 5 minutes. Remove from the grill and season to taste.
Remove the crisp and fluffy puddings from the oven and tip out of the pie tins. Place each one on a heated plate, right side up. (So that it looks like a bowl) Place inside each: one lamb chop, one sausage, one bacon chop and one piece of rump steak. Garnish each with half a grilled tomato and a grilled mushroom.
Serve immediately with some crisp roasted potatoes and a green vegetable on the side. (I used lightly sautéed Savoy cabbage and leek mixed with some tender spring peas.)

Bisto Gravy and Brown Sauce are completely optional!



Cooking for the United States of America: The Thrillbilly Gourmet

For the brine -
1 qt of buttermilk, preferably whole milk buttermilk but any will do
cut up chicken - I use packages of legs - 12 at a time, or breasts, or both, even a whole cut up chicken
kosher salt

For the sauce:
1 cup mayonnaise - don't worry about homemade, by the time you've cooked with it, it won't matter
2/3 cups apple cider vinegar
1 Tbl lemon juice
1 tsp salt
4-5 cranks freshly cracked black pepper
cayenne pepper to taste - the mayonnaise cuts the heat a lot, so I use 2 tsp, or even more

1. Mix all ingredients for the sauce well, and refrigerate. I try to do this several hours ahead so the sauce marries and mellows, but even twenty minutes is good. Before you use it, save some for dipping at the table. You'll only need about half for saucing on the grill.
2. Place the chicken in a large container, and cover with buttermilk. Make sure it's submerged, and refrigerate. Up to over night is good, but try for at least four hours.
3. A couple of hours before you barbecue, drain the chicken and place it on a baking sheet or over a rack and allow it to air dry for a while. You don't want to lose the buttermilk, but you do want the chicken skin as dry as possible so it will crisp.
4. Remove the chicken from the fridge while you preheat your grill. Crank it up - high as it will go. You want lots of heat in there.
5. Salt the chicken on all sides well with the kosher salt. Turn the grill to low, or if using charcoal, find the 'cool' spot. For breasts, the total cook time is 30 minutes. For legs and thighs, the time is 20 minutes - with that said the interior temp with the grill lid shut should stay at just over 400F. You also want to turn the chicken so the skin crisps well on all sides.
6. Once the chicken is nearly done - just a few minutes to go - apply the white sauce with a brush. Keep the lid closed as much as possible so that the sauce adheres well in the heat. I usually douse one side, close the lid for 3-4 minutes, flip it over, coat the second side and repeat. The sauce will burn easily, so be careful.
7. Allow the chicken to rest for at least 5 minutes - 10 if you can wait long enough, and you're good!

England v USA - The Football (Soccer) Match

England and the USA have met in the Group Stages of the World Cup before, back in 1950, in Brazil. At that time, England were the favourites to win the trophy and expected to not only beat the USA, but to do so extremely convincingly. Soccer then was probably even less popular in the USA than it is now and the USA were quoted at an incredible 500/1 to win the tournament. The result?

England 0, USA 1

I hope that these two magnificent recipes have inspired you to cook in advance of the match tonight and to enjoy it to the full. Whoever wins on the pitch tonight, there can be little doubt that both of the above recipes are winners and that the Unofficial World Cup of Food has certainly started in style...

The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Update

It is precisely one week today that the biggest sporting event of all, the FIFA World Cup, kicks off in its nominated destination for 2010, South Africa. This is the first time that the four-yearly tournament has ever been held on the African continent and it is likely to prove to be something special, for that fact alone.

As advised a couple of weeks back, I have decided to invite and engage the assistance of a number of food writers from around the world to showcase their talents on this blog during the month long tournament, preparing a dish representative of their respective countries, on a date upon which their country is actually playing a match. I have labelled this project, "The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010." I hope that you will pay a return visit to see some of the dishes prepared in relation to this project and meet some of those people who will be creating them. With this in mind, below is a short guide to some of the writers who will be featured in the first week (approximately) of the tournament and the countries they will be representing... I have to keep some things back as a surprise!

Saturday, 12th June

This one day had to be a special one, for the reason that England and the USA open their campaigns against each other. As the majority of readers of this blog are in one of those two countries, I decided to feature both!

Cooking for England will be Marie Rayner and for the USA, The Thrillbilly Gourmet (aka DixieMockingbird).

Sunday, 13th June

Representing Germany will be Chef Keem, sharing with us some Bavarian delights, which I personally love so much.

Thursday, 17th June

Colene Pefley from the USA has kindly agreed to, "Guest," feature on behalf of Mexico, a country of which she has substantial knowledge of the food and culture.

Saturday, 19th June

This day will see Susanna Duffy cook for Australia, as her country goes up against Ghana on the field of play.

The 2010 World Cup is likely to be a very different spectacle for me personally from the 2006 tournament in Germany. At this stage of the lead-up four years ago, I was counting down the hours until a couple of friends and I flew out to Munich to take in the first couple of weeks of the event. Unfortunately, only two of us actually made it out there but we set off with high hopes of actually getting match tickets, ideally for the Brazil v Australia game which was taking place in the city during the period of our stay. We were offered two tickets on the underground market - at a cost of US$2,000 each! Needless to say, we watched the match on TV in one of the city's biergartens...

It was my first taste of the true atmosphere of the World Cup and the multi-national, multi-cultural spirit which it incorporates. I will never forget until the day I die being one of two Scots sitting in the huge Michaelibad Biergarten in Eastern Munich on a beautiful, scorching hot day as Germany prepared to play a match. I think that we were the only two foreigners in the place and the roar as untold thousands of Germans rose for and sang, "Deutschland Uber Alles", certainly made the hairs stand up on the backs of our necks. It was a fantastic spectacle, however, and an incredible experience.

What will follow on this blog over the next few weeks is my humble attempt to bring some of that variety, entertainment and multi-culturalism to food. I hope that all who follow it are in some way at least educated and entertained.

The tournament itself? UK bookmakers Ladbrokes still make Spain the favourites to lift the trophy, followed by Brazil, Argentina, England and Holland, in that order. Time will of course tell...

The FIFA World Cup, 2010 (South Africa) - Special Food Feature Coming Soon!

The FIFA World Cup is the most eagerly anticipated sporting event on Planet Earth. The finals of the tournament take place once every four years, following an approximate two-year qualifying campaign, and last for one calendar month. Thirty-two nations from around the planet, all hoping for the glory of scooping the greatest sporting prize of all, the FIFA World Cup.

So what has the FIFA World Cup got to do with what any of us may intend having for dinner tonight, or indeed any night during the course of the tournament? Won't most people simply sit in front of their TV with some microwaved meal or some takeaway fast food? No doubt many will, but hopefully - with the indispensable assistance of some other food enthusiasts from around the world - I can encourage many of you to make a little bit of extra effort this time around and add a whole new dimension to your enjoyment of the FIFA World Cup.

In simple terms, what I intend to do - for the duration of the tournament - is feature a whole host of dinner suggestions from around the world, representative of one of the countries which happen to be playing a match that particular day. As World Cup tradition dictates that the first match of the tournament always features the host nation playing another country who happen to have been drawn in their group, Friday, 11th June, will feature something representative of South Africa. That was always my intention from the outset.

With regard to Saturday, 12th June, I initially appeared to have hit my first major snag. I am aware that the vast majority of readers of this blog are in either the UK or the USA. Although the UK does not compete as one team in the World Cup, England are featured and not only were England and the USA drawn in the same group (one in eight chance!) but they both play their first match on the same day...against each other! "Which to feature?" was my first thought...

Inspiration fortunately saved me in due course: why not feature both? Particularly as the day in question is a Saturday and a majority of people will have more free time than on a weekday, why not ask an American chef/cook to go up against an English chef/cook in advance of the match itself? Two very different dinner suggestions on the same day: two for the price of one! More details on that one to follow very soon...

I will update in advance on the blog which countries you can find represented on each day, throughout the tournament, as and when I can. I very much hope that whatever happens on the pitches around South Africa, the culinary diversities which we can and will explore here can be appreciated by all who view them.

As for the World Cup itself? At the time of writing, UK Bookmakers, Ladbrokes, make Spain the pre-tournament favourites, followed by Brazil, England, Argentina and Germany, in that order. Interestingly in this respect, no European team has ever won the World Cup when it has been hosted outwith the continent of Europe. Time will of course tell whether that is about to change...