Seeking America - The Diner

I could probably count on one hand the amount of times I went to Bdubs to eat some hot wings back in Ohio.  I actually really hate them. I'm far too OCD to want to have a meal that constantly requires you to wipe your hands and face - or so I thought.

With it being Freedom Month July and me being homesick, I've turned to craving something I didn't even eat that often at home.  I'm not sure how this works! Who would have thought that those sauces I once dished out to wing-hungry patrons would be all I could ever ask for?

Buffalo Wild Wings' delicious range of sauces

I've realised, that even while some places claim to sell 'hot wings' they're really offering mild wings.  I've even found myself pouring tabasco sauce hoping they'll at least smell like they're hot! I don't know where this wing monster inside of me has come from, but it's been on a mission.

I went to the The Diner not once, but TWICE in one week to get my American fix.  Day 1 I tested out their hot wings, which came with the ever essential bleu cheese dip, and also ordered - get this, a chilli cheese dog.  HAHAHA!! ME? Eating a whole chilli cheese dog?  Yes, I damn well did! The amount of times I complained to people for liking Skyline Chili and I turn around and eat this beast? It's insane.

The Diner - Hot Wings

The Diner - Chili Cheese and Bacon Dog

The Good: FINALLY a real hot dog bun!! So soft and sweet, I've missed you.  Also, crispy bacon on a chili dog? That's some Man v Food action there.  Also, the bleu cheese dip was to die for.

The Bad: Who in their right mind breads hot wings? I was so disappointed as I have no bigger food phobia of eating things that make a mess, than I do of things that are breaded and then made soggy by a sauce.  They also weren't hot (as in spicy). But I ate them and I was satisfied enough from the seriously OTT hot dog in front of me.

The second time around, I figured I could trust the place for breakfast.  

The Diner - Lumberjack Breakfast

Fluffy pancakes: check

Served with heaps of bacon and scrambled eggs: check

Powdered sugar: sweet check

Filtered Coffee: check

Maple Syrup: served in a small pot that you pump fastfood ketchup in to - fail!

Once I was able to get the staff's attention again I did get more syrup, but honestly, you can't serve me pancakes that look like that and then syrup that I can lap up with one lick.  That being said, The Diner gets the biggest points from me for being as close to home as the so-called American chains in London get.  I was very impressed, very full and always left with a very happy taste in my mouth.

The Diner - Camden can be found at:

2 Jamestown Road

Camden Town

NW1 7BY

http://www.goodlifediner.com/

Nearest Tube: Camden Town

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Jubilee Extravaganza Day 4 - English Roast

After our lovely curry the night before, we finally reached the end of the Jubilee Weekend and I celebrated by randomly cooking a dinner for my friends!

Sunday Roast - There's not much for me to say on this weekly English dish.  Although, as someone who likes to cook, improvise recipes and present visually pleasing and tasty meals, I've always got to put my own twist on things!

As I was trying to do only British themed activities this weekend, my roast (which is basically a lightweight Thanksgiving dinner to my American readers) couldn't include my staples of mac n' cheese, some form of green veg in pork and vinegar and cornbread. Tragic, I know.

I did make a roast chicken that was meant for 2-3 but fed 5 in the end!

Orange and Herb Roasted Chicken

Orange and Herb Roasted Chicken

I'm not very good at recipes but here goes

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 orange cut into quarters
• 1 onion cut into quarters
• 1 sliced clove of garlic
• fresh thyme, rosemary and sage
• 2 tablespoons of softened butter
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon of oil (I think I use EVOO)
• Dried mixed/italian herbs if you want

Pre-heat oven to 210ºC. Run the chicken under cold water, plucking any extra bits that are still on it and rinsing out the cavity completely. If there are any necks or giblet type thingies get rid of that. If you know how to make gravy with it, go for it but I normally have these already removed.

Place chicken on its back on a clean surface or even in the pan you'll be cooking this in.  At this point, I start thinking of the chicken as a little person that's getting a massage and going in the sauna for a bit. (Don't judge me, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen by myself - gotta stay entertained!)

In a small bowl mix the butter, salt, pepper and dried herbs (if you're using them) together. With the cavity facing you, just at the top you should be able to lift up a bit of the skin and fit most of your hand underneath the skin over the breast. (If you're squeamish about touching meat, imagining this as a massage helps!) The slit between the skin should go down to the legs as well. Keep using the butter mix and massaging the chicken under and over the skin, front and back, until you're happy with the seasoning. This butter mix will also help the chicken have nice and crispy skin.

Transfer the chicken to the pan if it's not already there and top with more salt, pepper and dried herbs if you wish.

Take one orange quarter and squeeze over the chicken. Put one quarter inside the chicken, another quarter behind a wing, and the last quarter behind a leg diagonal from the orange wing.

Take one onion quarter and put inside the chicken, use the other 3 to put around the chicken behind the wing and leg with no orange and peel the last quarter to sprinkle around the chicken.

Put several slices of the garlic inside the chicken and sprinkle the rest around him er her er it. :) See, it becomes my little friend before I send it off to the nice warm sauna. 

Decorate it with the fresh herbs as you wish. I normally tuck rosemary sprigs on its legs, and put a mix of the herbs inside the chicken.  Finally prop the wings behind its neck like it's lying back and kicking up its legs to relax (this helps the wing tips not to burn). People wrap up the legs with poultry string for the same reason, but I never have a problem with them burning. 

Drizzle a bit of oil at the bottom of the pan.  Set in the oven, on the middle rack, for however long the pack tells you since it depends on the size. I think this bird took about 30 - 45 minutes but you want it to look like the second picture up there (obvs). If you see it turning brown too fast, turn down the heat. If by 30 minutes it's not brown enough, turn it up to 220ºC for the last 10 minutes or so and it should be good. 

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I also had my first stab at Yorkshire Puddings, which must've been created when someone didn't know what to do with their excessively soupy bread mixture. I found this recipe online, followed it to.a.T. and created these bad boys as my cornbread replacement!

Best Yorkshire pudding recipe evar

Gorgeous yorkshire puds on the first try!

I'm stil amazed by how they work, how do they grow like that?!!? Apparently the trick is heating the pan to cooking temp with vegetable oil before adding the batter. The more oil, the more they rise. The hotter the pan, the better they rise.  Give it a try!

Here's the final dinner feast!

Orange and Herb Roasted Chicken, steamed broccoli, roasted carrots and potatoes, Yorkshire Pudding, gravy

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And finally, I may have broken my 'no American' things rule a bit with dessert. Well technically it's Sicilian, but who cares - it's my beloved Cassata Cake that I blogged about over a year ago.  I haven't made it since moving to England, and to be honest it's a bitch of a cake to make. It takes up your life, but it is WELL worth it once it's done. I normally try to save it as a summer weather cake as it's heavy in fruit and cream ingredients, but, well, like I said I haven't made it since moving to England. (Will it EVER be summer here!?)

I wanted to make a Jubilee themed cake so here are the results.

Cassata Cake

Click here for the recipe: http://arielcking.blogspot.com/2011/03/cassata-cake.html

This was my first time making everything, even the cake from scratch (I normally use box cake)! Very pleased with the results!

Building a Cassata Cake 

So that's that for my English Roast and Jubilee Weekend.

If you have any questions, have tried these recipes before, or have similar dishes to share let me know in the comments!

Soul Food a la Europe

I think the biggest qualm I've had since moving to London, is that I miss American food.  I miss the taste, I miss the smell, I miss the convenience, but most of all I think I miss the diversity.  I'm sure some Brits could argue that the UK is a hub of diverse food, but in my opinion 15 curry shops and twice as many kebab stands isn't my idea of diverse.  It breaks my heart when I go to the shop, ready to make some sweet Mexican food and the only "Mexican" flavours they have come from Old El Paso (Oh how I miss the days of Goya) and to be quite frank, when asked if I want peppers on my burrito I want to punch someone in the face. If I wanted a fajita I would've asked for one damnit - get those peppers outta here!  Recently I've been craving what I consider to be the tastiest food ever - soul food.


To be honest, this post is a bit of a disgrace to soul food, as what I actually made is far too healthy to be listed in this category.  Nonetheless I was determined to get some form of collard greens, cornbread, fried chicken and/or pork in my belly.  Being in London, I was a bit limited, so I settled for a bag of mixed veggies, some drumsticks and I made cornbread...sorta.


I'm quite used to seeing the happy Quaker guy on my box of corn meal so I'm weary of anything outside of that.  I had to make due with whatever was eventually found at the shop, but it seemed to be ground a lot finer than the typical corn meal.  I used the standard recipe sans the Pam cooking spray since I haven't seen any of that here either.  Also I forgot to pay attention to the recipe whilst shopping and didn't have any milk!!! Luckily I made some buttermilk pancakes the day before and had leftover buttermilk and yogurt.  I took the last of my buttermilk (about an ounce) and filled a measuring cup to about 3/4 with that and the yogurt.  Poured that in to the cornbread recipe and added about 1 cup of water and had my milk substitute! It actually worked quite well!!


For the chicken, I decided to bake it rather than fry.  I love baking chicken because you don't have to add anything to it for it to taste great. EVOO, salt, pepper, high heat, 20 mins, done. The second day I made this I added rosemary and diced potatoes and had a mini English roast.  I made gravy the English way as well.  Granules + boiling water. I've never seen anything like that before. I still like the natural way (juices from the meat your cooking + flour + stock etc) but this was quick and worked just fine.  And of course, I can't do just what a recipe says, so I added some sauteed mushrooms and onions to the mix. Good choice!


The veg was a pre-selected assortment from Sainsbury's; broccoli, carrots and green beans and 'courgette' (aka zucchini).  I couldn't find any greens that I trusted to taste the way I wanted.  But let me tell you, when mom makes baked mac n cheese, collard greens with vinegar and ham hock, and cornbread I mix it all together it put it directly in my face. Words can not describe the deliciousness that comes from these dishes, but I shall try.  Everyone loves butter, everyone loves cheese, and how can you not like pork?! If you like them all, your mouth will be happy having them all at once.  But I digress, I didn't make this, I just steamed the veg and went for the healthiest half-assed 'soul food' meal I've ever made.  Someone's rolling in their grave right now.