Dining-Room Kirkcaldy

🥩Recipe Of The Day🥩
Boeuf Stilton
I came up with this beef stew tonight from scratch so I wanted to share it with you.
... It is wonderfully rich, tasty and decadent and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather share it with.
I had a few ingredients that had been in the fridge for a while so they needed using up and I’m always very keen not to waste food if I can help it so here it is.
You can add or subtract ingredients as you see fit; it would probably be lovely with parsnips or maybe butternut squash.
I’m going to call it Boeuf Stilton, I think. It was going to be a Bourguignon but I changed my mind at the last minute.
Ingredients
3tbsp Extra virgin olive oil 1kg best stewing steak you can find - good marbling essential 10 shallots, diced 3 rashers smoked back bacon, chopped 4 cloves smoked garlic Half a turnip, diced Handful carrot batons 600ml Rich beef stock 250g Stilton cheese, crumbled Few sprigs of thyme Few sprigs of rosemary
Method
Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan.
Heat half the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the meat really well in batches then set aside.
Drizzle more oil into the pan, turn down the heat slightly and add the shallots, bacon and garlic and fry until the onions start to brown, about 5 min should do it.
Add the turnip and carrots, pop the lid on and sweat for 10 minutes.
Scatter over the flour, stirring until the flour turns brown.
Tip the meat and any juices back into the casserole and give it all a good stir.
Pour over the stock, add the crumbled Stilton, season and bring to a simmer then cover with a lid and place in the oven for 3 hours or until the meat is as tender as you like it.
Serve it up with creamy mash, it’s really all it needs.
From my kitchen to yours, with love x
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🥖 Recipe Of The Day 🥖
Ciabatta!
Here’s another one from the archives while I work on tonight’s Boeuf Bourguignon.
...Continue Reading

🍮Recipe Of The Day🍮
Ravishing Rhubarb Crumble
I gave myself a day off from cooking up a storm yesterday.
... Instead of making everything from scratch I stayed in bed until 1pm, took the dogs down to the beach for a bit of a frolic then came home and shoved a Buffalo Farm steak pie in the oven for dinner.
I couldn’t have got that more right. Deliciously tender chunks of steak in the richest, sauciest gravy and encased in crisp, buttery rough puff pastry, it was absolutely perfect for a Sunday night treat.
What I did make for us, though, was a sweet, tart and tasty Rhubarb Crumble for dessert.
There is something very reassuring about a crumble, it’s a real family favourite and here is my recipe just for you.
At this point I’m not sure how I ever found time for work, I seem to be busier than ever...
For the filling
800g rhubarb (chopped into chunks the length of your thumb) 100g caster sugar 3 tbsp port
For the crumble topping
280g self-raising flour 170g butter (straight from the fridge) 100g light brown muscovado sugar
You can add 100g of chopped nuts to the crumble for extra bite if you wish. I’m not keen on nuts as a rule.
Method
Tip the thumb-length chunks of rhubarb into a saucepan with the golden caster sugar and the port.
Cover and simmer on a very low heat for 15 mins, shaking the pan occasionally.
When soft (but still holding its shape) pour the rhubarb into a medium size ovenproof baking dish.� Heat oven to 180C fan.
To make the topping, rub the self-raising flour and chilled butter together with your fingers until you have a soft, crumbly topping.
Now add the light brown muscovado sugar and the chopped nuts if you’re using them.
Mix together with your hands.
Scatter the topping over the rhubarb and bake for 30 mins or until golden brown on top.
Serve piping hot with a big jug of thick homemade vanilla custard, fresh double cream or creamy vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
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🐔Recipe Of The Day🐔
Someone guessed Coq Au Vin last night.
And they were right!
... Arguably the most comforting of all the comfort foods, this dish is one of my absolute favourite things in the world.
I understand that not everyone has flameproof casserole dishes so feel free to do it all in a large sauté pan then transfer it to an overproof casserole dish for the final push.
That’s how I’ve done it here.
It needs a fat, ballsy red to go with it; maybe a good Argentinian Malbec or a spicy, fruity New World Shiraz.
It’s also fantastic with a big dollop of sexy, creamy, buttery mash
I need to go and lie down.... Enjoy it, it’s the berries!
Ingredients
30 g butter 1 tbsp. sunflower oil 220 g streaky bacon rashers, cut into strips 8 small shallots or pickling onions 250 g button mushrooms 30 g plain flour 500 ml chicken stock 600 ml red wine 1 bouquet garni 1 large garlic clove, crushed Salt and black pepper to season 2 tbsp. chopped parsley to garnish 6 chicken thighs or a whole jointed chicken (skin on, bone in)
Method
Melt the butter with the oil in a large flameproof casserole.
Add the chicken and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until browned all over. Lift out and drain on kitchen towels.
Add the bacon, shallots or onions, and mushrooms to the pot and cook over a high heat, stirring, until golden brown.
Lift the mixture out of the pan with a slotted spoon and leave to drain thoroughly on kitchen towels.
Add the flour to the pan and cook for three to five minutes, stirring constantly with a balloon whisk, until lightly browned.
Reduce the wine in a separate pan to around 300 millilitres.
Gradually pour the stock into the casserole, then the wine, whisking until smooth.
Return the chicken and the bacon mixture to the casserole. Add the bouquet garni and garlic.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil, cover, and cook in a preheated oven at 180°C/gas mark 4 for 45 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork.
Sprinkle the chicken with the chopped parsley.
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So Gary proper choked at the dinner table last night when his wine went down the wrong way.
Poor bloke’s face was purple.
I didn’t blink.
... I didn’t even put my cutlery down.
I *might* have rolled my eyes.
If this *does* go on until July I’m going to be on the news...
Lockdown.
Day 6.
Recipe of the day coming shortly 😉
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Who can guess what tomorrow’s recipe of the day will be?
🙂

🦌 Recipe Of The Day🦌
‘Barry Bambi’
Or, as Tom Kitchin calls it, venison with celeriac, orange, smoked garlic and pancetta
... How is everyone? How are you all coping with lockdown?
We’re pretty good here, all things considered. Gary is able to work from home, the dogs are loving having us around more and I’m really enjoying cooking for all of you, I hope you are too!
We picked up some delicious meats and veg from The Buffalo Farm the other day (open till 5pm every day except Sunday) and there was 1kg of venison in the box.
Their venison is *so* tasty; rich, tender and well hung, just like the man I thought I’d marry.
It is perfect for this delicious kitchen supper from the venerable Tom Kitchin himself.
Scran & Scallie in Stockbridge will be one of my first stops when this madness is over, he really understands Game and how to get the absolute best out of it.
These quantities easily serve 6 hungry people or 2 people for three days; I reckon the whole thing cost around £22 so it’s excellent value too when you break it down.
Be brave, it’s a casserole, you can’t go wrong!
1kg Venison haunch, cut into 2–3 cm pieces Plain flour, for dusting Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper Olive oil, for cooking 25g Butter 50g Pancetta lardons 1 Onion, peeled and chopped 1 Celeriac, peeled and diced 3 Carrots, peeled and diced 2 Smoked Garlic cloves, peeled and chopped 8 Juniper berries 1 Bouquet garni 1 Orange, zest finely pared 3 Oranges, juiced 75 cl Full-bodied red wine 250ml Chicken stock, or more if needed 1 Tbsp Parsley, chopped
Heat the oven to 160°C.
Dust the venison lightly with flour and season with salt and pepper.
Heat a heavy-based ovenproof sauté pan (or flameproof casserole) over a medium heat and add a good drizzle of olive oil. You will need to brown the venison in two batches.
When the oil is hot, add half of the venison pieces with half of the butter. Colour the meat all over for 4–5 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Repeat with the second batch.
Return the pan to the heat and drizzle in a little more olive oil. Add the bacon lardons, onion, celeriac, carrots, garlic and juniper berries. Lower the heat slightly and sweat gently for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the bouquet garni and orange zest and sweat for another 2–3 minutes. Pour in the orange juice and let bubble to reduce by half.
Return the meat to the pan and pour in the red wine to cover. Bring to the boil and skim off any scum from the surface. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
Season with salt and pepper, put a lid on the pan and place in the oven.
Cook for 1 ½ hours or until the venison is tender, checking occasionally and topping up with a little more stock if needed.
Scatter the chopped parsley over the stew just before serving.
It’s like a hug from the inside out; let me know how you get on!
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Here’s good white bread recipe as well; never lets me down 🙂
Yeast is difficult to get right now but usually one of the supermarkets has it so give it a try.
Makes the house smell great too!
... 15g Dried Active Yeast 1 tsp Caster Sugar 500g Strong White Bread Flour 1 tsp Salt 15g Unsalted Butter (Softened) 300ml Warm Water
Place 150ml warm water (50ml boiling water and 100ml cold water) in a 600ml measuring jug. Sprinkle over the yeast and sugar, whisk well and leave in a warm place until the yeast froths up about 1 cm. This will take about 15 minutes.
I used the utility room with the tumble drier switched on.
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl and rub in the butter. Stir in the yeast mixture and a further 150ml of hand hot water.
Mix together until a soft dough starts to form. Turn the dough out either into a lightly floured surface and knead for 10min by hand or into the bowl of a stand mixer and knead on medium while you have a cup of tea.
The dough should be smooth and elastic now.
Return the dough to the mixing bowl and cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave in a warm place until doubled in size.
Pre-heat your oven to 230°C (210° fan) and lightly oil a 2 lb bread tin.
Turn the dough back on to the work surface again, punch back the dough and knead for 5-10 minutes.
By hand is definitely best this time.
Shape the dough into a loaf shape to fit the tin and place in the tin. Cover with loose, oiled cling film and allow to rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size and has come to the top of the tin.
Sprinkle the dough with a little flour to create a crisp, rustic coating on top of the bread. Place in the centre of the pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 200°C (180°C fan) and cook for a further 15-20 minutes until the bread is risen and golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped underneath
Serve with homemade jam and salty butter 🙂
Enjoy!
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🐓 Recipe Of The Day 🐓
My absolutely unassailable culinary hero is Keith Floyd.
I grew up in the 70s and 80s when the world outside Continental Europe and South East Asia was only just waking up to the myriad approaches to gastronomy that we know today.
...Continue Reading

Thank you to everyone looking after us at this difficult time 👏❤️

8pm tonight 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 ❤️❤️
Remembering all the great NHS Staff, Key Workers and the 500,000 volunteers all doing the country proud! ❤️❤️

A freezer pack plus a veg box and a few other bits (plus some stuff for our neighbours who can’t get out) to see us all through the next few weeks.
Fresh as you like, beautifully packaged and in plentiful supply at this lovely local farm shop.
Best to phone ahead and order; they’ll even take it out to the car for you if you call them from the car park when you arrive.
... Get involved.
01592 646252.
They’re open until 5pm.
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🍝 Recipe Of The Day 🍝
Since everyone is completely obsessed with pasta and tinned tomatoes (both in plentiful supply at Aldi and M&S respectively) at the moment I thought I’d share this fool-proof crowd pleaser with you.
I’ve been making this for decades having first been taught it in Paris of all places.
... It is minimal preparation for maximum flavour, it takes about 30 minutes to make, you can adapt it for your own taste super easily, it can be vegetarian, vegan, gluten free... The ultimate in food flexibility!
You’ll notice the word ‘gently’ keeps coming up in the method. This recipe requires careful heat, nothing needs to be seared or boiled (except the pasta).
I have an induction hob and I didn’t heat the pan above 5 (of 9).
I hope you enjoy it!
Posh Penne (or Fancy Fusilli in this case)
Ingredients
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 medium hot chillies, finely sliced 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 handful basil leaves 1 decent aged Chorizo sausage, sliced 800g/1lb 5oz canned chopped tomato A glug of good Balsamic vinegar salt, to taste 400g/14oz fresh or dried pasta Parmesan shavings to serve
Method
Heat the olive oil gently in a heavy based pan.
Add the chilli and garlic to the pan. After about a minute, add the basil leaves and gently wilt them in the flavoured oil.
Add the Chorizo on a gentle heat and sauté for around 5-8 minutes until the juices have coloured the oil.
Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and simmer for at least 10 minutes, preferably longer, until the sauce has thickened a little and season to taste.
Add a glug of good Balsamic vinegar at this stage for the last 5 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta for a few minutes in large saucepan of boiling, salted water with a dash of olive oil.
Drain the pasta and toss it into the pan with the Ragu. Gently mix it up and serve with shavings of parmesan.
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🎂 Recipe Of The Day 🎂
We’ve spent the last 8 months having an extension and new kitchen built at our home and thank god for that because lockdown would have been a lot more unpleasant in the old 4x3.
Mind you, we have 30 sq m of extra space and I still nearly stabbed Gary yesterday for eating his Special K wrong...
...Continue Reading

🎂 Recipe Of The Day 🎂
If ever there was a time to feel a bit cosier about life, it’s now so here’s a little treat from my kitchen to yours to help banish the lockdown blues.
Say hello to The World's Best Cake.
... It's quite a claim for a cake that 'isn't even iced' but it's a worthy title, maybe even a little too modest.
This confection of marshmallowy meringue, rich buttery sponge and the most decadent crème pâtissière is delicious to consume and an absolute joy to make.
Give yourself time, switch on the wireless, make sure you have everything measured out before you start (there's a lot of washing up afterwards but you really don't care) and gift yourself an afternoon of total escapism.
For the cake:
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs yolks (save the whites for the meringue)
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons milk
For the meringue:
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
For the filling:
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups vanilla pastry cream (you'll have your own recipe for this but I'll publish mine later).
Preheat the oven to 350°F, with a rack in the middle position.
Line an 8-x-12-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
Beat the butter and 2⁄ 3 cup of the sugar in a large bowl with an electric stand mixer until light and creamy, about 3 minutes.
Add the flour and baking powder and mix well on low speed but don't over beat, 90 seconds should do it.
Add the egg yolks and milk gradually and beat for a further minute or until just combined.
Scrape the batter into the baking pan and set aside.
In a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites and the remaining 1 cup sugar to soft peaks.
Spread on top of the cake layer.
Sprinkle with the almond slices.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown and puffed. The meringue will look very puffed to begin with but it'll relax as it cools.
Cool on a wire rack in the pan. Transfer to a cutting board.
When the cake is cool, put the cream in a medium bowl and scrape in the vanilla seeds. Discard the vanilla pod. Beat to soft peaks with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes.
Cut the cake in half crosswise with a very sharp knife. Place one half of the cake on a serving tray and cover with the cream. Place the other half, meringue side up, on top.
Let the cake sit for 1 hour in the fridge before serving.
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💡 How Can We Help💡
As we are all only too aware, there is about to be tremendous pressure placed on frontline medical care in Scotland.
This will have a significant knock on effect on first responders, community service providers and charities locally and nationally.
... Many local organisations are stretched at the best of times. They survive on small donations and the goodwill of the community to provide their vital services to our most vulnerable neighbours and friends.
What we’d like to know is how we at The Dining Room can help.
We’ve got a bit of time on our hands at the moment, you see, and all the nail bars are shut...
Does your organisation need an extra pair of hands? Do you need stuff fixed? Can we run you somewhere? Maybe your service users don’t have anyone to run errands for them or just check to make sure they’re ok?
Observing the new social distancing conventions, of course.
Do you need some shopping done but you can’t face the madness?
Don’t worry, we’ve got sharp elbows.
Maybe you need someone to handle your social media while you’re busy?
Just let us know what you need by sending us a direct message and we’ll do what we can.
We are reliable, organised, motivated and bored oot oor nuts...
Please don’t be stuck!
♥️
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🌹Happy Mother’s Day🌹
We live in unusual times.
On this day last year, I was already at work.
... 160 booked across the day, not a single space to be had (even for my mother-in-law which I’ve never quite been allowed to forget...).
I remember the first table that arrived at 11:45.
Five lovely ladies from 6 years old to a certain age, dressed to the nines with fascinators in their hair they ordered a bottle of prosecco and a round of cocktails even before they’d sat down and they weren’t the only ones.
There is always such a sense of celebration on Mother’s Day, it feels a lot like Christmas.
It never feels forced though and that’s exactly as it should be.
My mum will be 84 next month but in her mind she is 25 and getting younger every year.
She doesn’t understand what’s going on right now.
She doesn’t understand why we can’t visit, why she has to stay indoors or why they’ve stopped making Coronation Street. She calls 30 times a day in some distress with so many questions, usually the same ones, and it makes me wish for the past.
But at least we *have* a past to conjure up for her.
At least we made memories and there are fun and laughter and celebrations to call up in her minds eye and that reassures her even for a few minutes.
I know that many of you are in similar boats today.
You have mums in lock down, isolated, quarantined in care homes or even stuck abroad with no way to see each other and hug and say I love you face to face and I feel that for every single one of you.
Whatever you’re doing today, tell them you love them by whatever means necessary.
It is a privilege that you can at least still do that.
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I fell into the hospitality industry by accident, you know.
It was never part of the plan.
It all started 8 years ago when I came back to Scotland and I needed a new challenge, a new direction in a life that had hit the buffers.
... My first role in the pub trade was at Fifty High Street where I learned things and met people that would change the path of my life forever
And then, my beloved Dining Room.
You can’t do this job unless you absolutely love it.
To be really successful at it, you have to pour so much of yourself into the role and you have to be a certain kind of person to do that.
You spend 14 hours a day on your feet. You miss birthdays, weddings, holidays, christenings.
You’re more of a concept than anything else to your dogs and your boyfriend.
When you’re not hosting and gossiping and catching up and serving delicious food and drinks to grateful patrons and friends you’re planning; when you’re not planning you’re cleaning, straightening, writing, polishing, tidying and adjusting.
There is never nothing to do.
You take *everything* personally.
Every kind word is a soaring high; every criticism an opportunity. You spend a lot of your time wondering if you can do everything differently, if you can do everything better.
You’re never truly satisfied.
Over the years there have been many days in the sun. I *love* this town and I’ve made real friends through this job that will stand the test of time.
Just as The Dining Room will.
Last night we closed our doors indefinitely for the first time in history.
These are uncertain times for all of us but there is one thing I can absolutely guarantee you.
We will be back.
When this is all over, when we and everyone we love are safe and healthy, we will be back and we’ll be bigger and better than ever.
We will use this time to reflect, to spend time with our families, to read, to laugh, to love and to feel the sun on our skin.
We will research, regroup and study our craft so that when we return we blow your fucking socks off.
That’s my promise to you.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your continued support.
We couldn’t have done any of it without you and we wouldn’t be doing it for anyone else but you.
Spread love, not fear.
Stay safe.
Martyn, Roddy and Colin x
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