Digging my way out of a metaphorical hole

Took my mind off the lack of a job with some work on the allotment. Soon all of this will be a sea of veg - he said hopefully

Nice pint of Butty Bach...

at The Gate in Llanfrechfa

Video recipes

I'm looking to get Stephen Terry's YouTube recipe page up to a thousand hits in the next few weeks. I would really appreciate it if a few of you could spread the word

http://www.youtube.com/chefstephenterry

Welcome to the American restaurant dishing up Welsh food

I can't quite recall the details of how I stumbled across The Black Gryphon, Elizabethtown, but a few weeks back I found myself idly browsing the internet and up popped a Pennsylvania-based restaurant claiming to serve Welsh food.

Interest piqued I took a look at their menu and sure enough there it was. Not a vast list of Welsh nosh I'll grant you - pheasant sausages, welsh rarebit, Welsh winter pirogies - but intriguing enough for me to wonder, how did that happen? So, nosey beggar that I am, I got in touch.

Anthony Morgan is the co-owner/manager of The Black Gryphon and admits the Welsh angle is purely down to his family roots.

"My love of food started as early as I can remember. Being half-Welsh and half-Northern Italian food has always been around me but I'm the one who pushed to explore the Welsh side. I never got the opportunity to do it before so this appeared to be the perfect chance."

Anthony and his business partner Mike Cottle took over the restaurant - then called L.C Jordan's - in 2007, bringing with them a new name and a new philosophy.

"We wanted to base the restaurant on the Welsh foundation of using fresh and local produce", says Anthony.

"We spent about two weeks in and around Cardiff doing research for the restaurant before we opened and it gave me a the chance to learn more about my roots.

"Our menu's not 100% Welsh but we do have many items that are influenced by Welsh cuisine and we enjoy fusing styles together."

Sometimes however getting hold of the products the pair want on the menu can prove tricky.

"The ingredients for the dishes we obviously get locally and the Penderyn whisky we can occasionally get from the state liquor store. However what we'd really love is to get some Welsh beer in again. Unfortunately that is quite difficult."

So there's no chance of quaffing a pint from Tiny Rebel, Otley or even Brains' brewery in Elizabethtown any time soon - Welsh craft brewers take note. But will they be raising a glass of Brecon's finest to St David on 1st March or if Wales manage another Grand Slam?

"We do celebrate St David's Day but most folks around here don't understand since they only know St Patty's Day. 

"I wish I could see more of the Six Nations rugby matches", says Anthony, "but not around here."

Visit The Black Gryphon's web site

Search is on to find best Welsh Curry House 2013

Voting has begun to find the best curry house in Wales.

The competition, which was founded by events management service The Festivals Company and is now in its seventh year, will see more than 280 Indian restaurant compete for the title.

Talking about the launch of this year's competition managing director Berwyn Rowlands said,

"It feels like only yesterday that we started on our journey of discovery to find the best curry houses of Wales."

"I always get excited when we launch the competition, we received 13,000 votes last year and in 2013 I think we will see yet another increase as the people of Wales confirm their passion for Indian food."

Voting opened on the 4th of January and runs until the 31st, and if you can't find your favourite Welsh curry house don't despair. You can add it by going to the directory page for your region

Visit the web site at www.welsh curryhouse.co.uk

Are there changes afoot at The Three Blackbirds Inn, Llanfrechfa?

Sounds like The Three Blackbirds Inn, Llanfrechfa might be undergoing a refurb soon.

Tonight I overheard the landlady talking about the bar being shifted around to make more space for tables and the fitted seats that were around the corner from where the bar currently sits have been removed.

It would also explain the walkway that's been erected in the back car park.

If you know anything more then why not post below?

Possibly my favourite dish ever

This is from one of my favourite restaurants, The Thai House in Cardiff. There are absolutely no cooking skills involved whatsoever, it's all about the ingredients.

The dish is called Miang Kam and is basically a do-it-yourself snack from Thailand that involves making parcels by wrapping a combination of the the raw ingredients you see in the photo - which includes chilli, lime, tiny shrimp, nuts, red onion, coconut and a sticky sauce that tastes of a combination of soy and honey (or possibly maple syrup) - in 'Cha pu' leaves, or if you're stuck (as they were on this occasion) cabbage leaves.

I've never had this in any other Thai restaurant, though obviously I'm not claiming it's the only place that does it merely that I should get out more, but it's just about the most amazing combination of flavours you will ever taste.

You want proof? My mate Hazel, who used to work as a chef in The Dorchester, London back in the day was more impressed by this part of our meal, which was actually the appetizer, than either the starters or the mains.

That's not to damn the rest of the menu, but it's simply that this dish's simplicity makes the dizzying burst of flavours all the more surprising.

I'd really like to know if anyone else has had this in another restaurant in the UK.

Oh dear...

I've never lost a mobile phone before but that's what seems to have happened earlier this evening and I have to confess it feels strange. Strange because I had a mobile for almost a decade and barely used it but then as soon as i got a smart phone it was like a whole new world opening up.
Before then I hadn't bothered with blogging or Twitter, Facebook or YouTube but since getting my iPhone 3G - yes it was ancient, I know - according to my better half I 'hadn't been bloody off it'.
So right now I'm trying not to think about the fact that I - stupidly - didn't bother password protecting it and that it's distinctly possible that some chancer with no morals could be sifting through pictures and indeed account numbers from the last three-and-a-half years of my life.
Instead I'm hoping that the pictures of my grandson, my allotment, the beers my friends and I have  drunk, the restaurants my loved ones and I have visited have been squeezed into a gap in the car seat, a fold in the bed sheets or even better shoved down the bog, by a two year-old with the most mischievous grin you will ever see.
And if not hopefully someone nice at Sainsburys in Newport will hand it back to me tomorrow morning.