New Blog

New Blog
Afternoon all, just a brief message to let you know that from today I will be moving the blog to a new location. You can link to the new site from here for a while and as usual I will be posting links for each post on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
Thanks for all of your support, please keep coming to visit and letting me know what you think.
New blog URL: http://www.stuartwebsterphotography.co.uk
Stuart Webster Photography provide Food, Lifestyle and Commercial photography services throughout Hampshire and the UK.

Bucatini with Torunska Sausage and Mustard Dressing

Bucatini with Torunska Sausage and Mustard Dressing

Here is another ridiculously easy, super quick and extremely cheap dinner. The bucatini fills you up; the Torunska provides richness and the mustard dressing brings the whole dish to life.

Bucatini is a great pasta, long and cylindrical like spaghetti but heavier and with a hole down the centre like a straw. The hole allows the water to seep into the middle meaning the pasta cooks quickly and evenly.

Torunska is a Polish pork and beef sausage which is smoked for a fabulous rich favour. The smokiness is quite strong and really adds to this dish, as it's smoked it doesn't need to be cooked and can be eaten cold, although I prefer to sear it in a pan and warm it for this meal.

The Dijon mustard dressing brings something a little different and when it hits your tongue, makes your taste buds tingle.

Ingredients

Cooking time: 15 minutes | Serves: 1 (hungry photographer)

- 1 Torunska sausage, about 200g

- 75g Bucatini, cooked al dente

Dressing

- 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

- 1 tbsp Lemon juice

- 3 tbsp Olive oil

- 2 pinches salt

Method

Add the Bucatini to a pan of boiling water and cook until al dente, this is normally 1 - 2 minutes, less than it says on the packet.

Whilst the pasta is cooking, sauté the Torunska in a dry frying pan, you do not need to add any oil to the pan as the sausage will quickly release its own.

Now you have the pasta and sausage cooking you can make the dressing, add the oil, mustard, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl and mix together.

Once the pasta is cooked the sausage should have warmed through and be slightly golden, drain the pasta, put back in the pan, cover with the dressing and leave for 4-5 minutes with the lid on.

Now add the sausage to the pasta, toss together and serve. Finish with some freshly ground black pepper to taste and you are ready to eat.

Enjoy

Stuart Webster Photography provide Food, Lifestyle and Commercial photography services throughout Hampshire and the UK.

Penne pasta with porcini and parmesan

Penne pasta with porcini and parmesan

Today's lunch is another quick and ridiculously easy pasta dish, the rich meaty flavour of the porcini mushroom, the salty nuttiness of the parmesan creates a beautiful flavour combination. Grind over some black pepper to give a little bit of bite and you are done.

Ingredients

Cooking time: 15 minute | Serves: 1

- 75g dried Penne pasta, cooked until al dente

- 25p dried Porcini mushrooms, re-hydrate as per packet

- Parmesan cheese, to taste

- 10 - 15ml olive oil

- Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Add the pasta to a medium pan of rapidly boiling water and cook until al dente, normally a couple of minutes less than it says on the packet

Whilst the pasta is cooking re-hydrate the porcini, the instructions will be on the packet.

One the pasta is cooked drain and set a side, add the olive oil to the pan the pasta was cooked in, drain the porcini and add to the oil and warm though for two minutes.

Add the pasta to the oil and porcini and toss thoroughly.

Serve the pasta and grate over the parmesan to taste and finally the pepper.

Fifteen minutes and it's all done and ready to eat, enjoy

Stuart Webster Photography provide Food, Lifestyle and Commercial photography services throughout Hampshire and the UK.

Steak Pie

Steak Pie

In true English tradition last night we celebrated St. Georges Day with a good old pie and a bottle of local beer. The steak pie had big succulent chunks of steak slow cooked in a rich gravy laced with stout, utterly delicious with a pie crust was perfectly thick with crusty top sprinkled with toasted oats, fabulous and wholesome. Served with a big dollop of mushy peas to add flavour and colour the perfect partner and a bottle of good quality local beer. Badger - Blandford Flyer, this Dorset Ale is warming with more than a hint of ginger, the sweetness and medium body make it more than a little drinkable in fact on a warm summers day I'd suggest I could drink a whole lot of it.

A great way to celebrate St. Georges Day and be happy about being English.

Enjoy

Stuart Webster Photography provide Food, Lifestyle and Commercial photography services throughout Hampshire and the UK.

Scrambled Egg with Wholegrain Bagel

Scrambled Egg with Wholegrain Bagel

A simple but tasty breakfast whipped up in minutes and full of goodness and flavour, the nutty flavour chewy texture of the bagel compliment the soft egg and peppery rocket beautifully.

I believe Scrambled eggs are a very personal thing, I like mine slightly soft with a good pinch of salt and a splash of milk before cooking. Whisk up and pour into a medium hot pan with a good nob of melted butter, keep whisking gently throughout cooking, this is a slow gentle process to keep the eggs light and fluffy and not at all rubbery. I mixed in a couple of hand fulls of rocket once the pan was off the heat and served. Perfect for two.

Eggs from those great people at the Happy Egg Company and bagels from my local store.

Enjoy

Stuart Webster Photography provide Food, Lifestyle and Commercial photography services throughout Hampshire and the UK.

Ultra Turbo Bastard Sauce

Ultra Turbo Bastard Sauce

Snack Jockey Foods have done it again with this hot, spicy, fruity condiment.  I'm sure it would go with a whole host of meals but I decided to combine it with a simple toasted cheese and ham sandwich. The fruit goes well with the cheese, the hot and spicy elements of the sauce go perfectly with the cool and slightly salty ham and the whole dish is balance with my addition of sweet red onion hidden under the ham.

This sauce is one of those examples of not judging a book by its cover, whilst it is undoubtedly hot, the inclusion of fruits and spices bring it to another level which means it’s so much more than simply another spicy sauce.

Thanks as always to Alex at Snack Jockey Foods and Frank at The Chilli Shop.

Enjoy

Stuart Webster Photography provide Food, Lifestyle and Commercial photography services throughout Hampshire and the UK.

Coffee and Cake at Santo Lounge

Coffee and Cake


A great afternoon treat, fabulous coffee and the best of cakes find your local coffee shop and support them. Thanks to Alex for the treat and The Loungers for bringing Santo Lounge to Shirley.

Stuart Webster Photography provide Food, Lifestyle and Commercial photography services throughout Hampshire and the UK.Enjoy

Santo Lounge - Shirley, Southampton

Santo Lounge

Just a few images from the fabulous lunch I enjoyed at Santo Lounge in Shirley, Southampton. This uber cool lounge bar is a great addition to Shirley and certainly seems to be the new hot spot in the area. Whether you are looking for coffee and pastries, a chilled out lunch with the family or a great night hitting the cocktails with your friends then the Santo Lounge should be a place to consider.

My lunch date and I chose a selection of tapas and we were not disappointed. The shredded pork was sweet, tender and packed with flavour; the meatballs were moist, herby and served in a sweet tomato sauce and the sautéed potatoes with Manchego cheese provided a great accompaniment.  All in all a great lunch. Add to the great food their fine range of drinks, including the best selection of spirits I've seen in any bar for many years, and some of the richest, tastiest coffee we've had in a long time and we may have found a great place to hang out and enjoy life.

A full review will follow in the next couple of weeks but I can certainly recommend Santo.


Enjoy

Stuart Webster Photography provide Food, Lifestyle and Commercial photography services throughout Hampshire and the UK.

Dirty XXX Club

Dirty XXX Club

Snack Jockey Foods have pulled it out the bag with this one, Dirty XXX Sauce is as the jar says "every sauce you could ever want to put in your sandwich". A hot, sweet, smoky sauce with a smooth texture and a flavour that lingers warmly on the palate.

As a true believer in the classics I wanted to try this sauce with something I knew well and the trusty Club Sandwich seemed perfect, the combination of crispy salty bacon, sweet succulent chicken the slightly nutty flavour of Jarlesberg cheese finished off with the unique flavour on Dirty XXX Sauce was exactly what I needed for dinner. Sandwiching the ingredients in between two slices if nutty Harvest Grain bread bread rather than the traditional white toast worked for me although you could make this with pretty much any bread you want.

All of the fabulous Snack Jockey Foods sauces can be found at one of my favourite suppliers The Chilli Shop in Brighton Marina. Thanks to Alex and Frank for their great work.

Stuart Webster Photography provide Food, Lifestyle and Commercial photography services throughout Hampshire and the UK.

East Beach Cafe - Littlehampton

,

East Beach Cafe Littlehampton

East Beach Cafe, Littlehampton what an amazing place, I'd never visited Littlehampton so it was great to find this beautiful haven of fine food, great drinks and the friendliest of service. Huge thanks to Jo and her beautiful family for the invite to join them.

East Beach Cafe has tardis like qualities; from the outside it appears to be small contemporary structure perched perfectly on the expansive sea front. Once inside, it opens into a beautiful space with fabulous curved walls and ceiling which bounce lashings of light in from a panoramic window that runs the whole length of the south side facing out to sea. The window affords an amazing view whatever the weather.

The food menu is small but perfectly formed with great snacks, starters, mains, deserts and a sumptuous selection of pastries. Add to this a fully licensed bar, wine list and the best quality stock and this is a perfect place to eat and drink for so many occasions. On my visit it was full with families enjoying lunch, the happy chatter of little people, and parents and grandparents enjoying great food and drink. Although it was busy the service was still swift, attentive and polite which is sadly a standard that so many venues fail to achieve.

I went for a classic that from my experience does not appear on anywhere near enough menus, my Croque Madame was perfectly made for me with thin slices of white toast, succulent slices of ham, a richly flavoured cheese and topped with a perfectly fried egg with a warm soft golden yolk. The crispy toast, salty ham, warm gooey cheese all topped off with a rich and flavoursome fried egg create one of my favourite food experiences of all time. I chose a cappuccino to partner my Croque Madame, made with care it had a rich coffee flavour, light foam with a beautiful creamy texture and finished with dark bitter chocolate powder.

Jo went for a classic pot of tea and a huge cheese and tomato baguette made with the same quality of ingredients we'd experienced throughout our visit. Served with a little can of the most fabulous chips, golden and crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside, marvellous.

All in all the food was great and certainly will require a return a visit for a full on meal, the service was fantastic and the atmosphere so welcoming and relaxing that even the grotty weather couldn't put a damper on the day.

Thanks again to Jo for the company, it was great.

Enjoy

Stuart Webster Photography provide Food, Lifestyle and Commercial photography services throughout Hampshire and the UK.

Smoked mackerel on ciabatta with watercress and horseradish

Smoked mackerel on ciabatta with watercress and horseradish

Tonight's dinner was inspired a couple of days ago after a foodie chat with a friend and very tasty it turned out to be too.

A fresh ciabatta roll, crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle; layered with iron rich, peppery, crunchy watercress, a smoky and salty mackerel fillet with a lovely flaky texture and full of essential oils; all finished off with hot and creamy horseradish.

No instructions needed just warm the mackerel through as per the instructions on the packet, simply fabulous.

Stuart Webster Photography provide Food, Lifestyle and Commercial photography services throughout Hampshire and the UK.