This was an odd one.

But it worked wonderfully...

I MADE GIN RISOTTO.

(And I'd like to apologise for my lack of posting too; life has been manic manic manic: Staying up all night for the Summer Ball, helping to redesign the university's former magazine as a newspaper, heading home for the Jubilee and having generic course start up meetings... Basically life has been packed. Although I've still been cooking like crazy, I just haven't had the chance to sit down and write about it all. SO I'm terribly sorry. But recipes are on their way...)

I cooked this gin risotto over the weekend when Jamie was here to stay. I've been playing around with the idea for a while now but its taken me a while to get on and try it, and I have to say it worked surprisingly well.

I have to admit that there was a moment when I accidentally hot boxed the kitchen with gin when I thought, "THIS IS NOT GOING TO WORK!" but I persevered and it did. Jamie said she thought it made all the other ingredients stand out just that bit more. I say you can subtly taste the gin. I served this with baked cherry tomatoes and it's lovely. Try it and see...

What you need for two servings:

1 red onion, chopped

50g butter

2 teaspoons of dried rosemary

150g risotto rice

1 cup of gin 

1 oxo cube

Green beans or any other green vegetables you happen to have around

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

2 handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

What you gotta do:

1. Melt the butter in a pan. Add the onion and the rosemary. Fry gently for a minute.

2. Add the rice. Stir until coated in butter.

3. Add the cup of gin and let the alcohol evaporate off. (Important note: don't sniff the steam that evaporates off. You may feel as if you're about to die. And I do not recommend this...)

4. Add about a pint of water and an oxo cube. 

5. After about ten minutes, add the vegetables, the lemon juice and most of the Parmesan, leaving some behind for serving.

6. When the rice is cooked and the liquid has all evaporated off, season with salt and pepper and serve with Parmesan cheese and some baked tomatoes. ENJOY.

And here's how you make baked tomatoes:

8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half.

2 handfuls of Parmesan cheese.

Salt and Pepper.

Olive Oil.

1) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2) Place the tomatoes cut side up in a shallow dish. 

3) Sprinkle with substantial amounts of parmesan.

4) Season with salt and pepper then drizzle with olive oil.

5) Bake in the oven for twenty minutes until the cheese is melted and the olive oil is bubbling. Serve with the risotto, or simply eat with toast for a light lunch.

Rosemary G&T

Gin. Officially sanctioned by the British government until 1751 to use up bad grain. Then they decided it was probably causing a whole bunch of new problemsand they should really stop letting just about anybody make it.

BUT just about anybody can still make a Gin and Tonic.

Somewhere over the last year or so I read the words "Rosemary" and "Gin and Tonic" in the same sentence. I think it was in a Sunday newspaper. But I can't remember which one or when. Point is, this is amazing. Someone called it "pure genius" on Friday night.

Also this particular Rosemary G&T was followed by a rather epic evening and I think this proves how truly amazing this cocktail is.

What you need:

Gin.

Tonic Water.

Sprig of fresh Rosemary.

What to do:

1. Put your Gin in your glass (I had a small glass so I used two capfuls of gin but if you've got a bigger glass, add more accordingly.)

2. Crush the Rosemary slightly and put it in your gin. Mix it up and let it sit for a minute or so for the flavour to come out a bit.

3. Top up with Tonic Water. You could add a splash of lemon juice at this point but you should be alright without it.

4. Drink. 

Rainy Saturday Cocktails

It's Saturday night and it's raaiiiinnning.

You've just eaten an epic meal cooked by the lovely Bryony and you can't be bothered to go anywhere or do anything. What do you do now?

Our fridge just happened to be full of other peoples' alcohol after friday night dinner-and-pre-drinks, and we maaay have decided to charge a little rent. In the form of three shots of gin and two of grenadine. (THANKS ED/JAMES :D)

And we came up with a super sweet cocktail I'm calling the Rainy Saturday.

Whatchoo need for one Rainy Saturday:

1 and 1/2 shots of Gin.

1 shot of Grenadine Syrup.

EITHER the juice of 1/2 a lime OR the juice of 1/4 of a lemon. (If you want it extra sweet, go for the lemon.)

Lemonade.

4 Mint leaves.

2 Frozen Raspberries. (Just put a pack of fresh raspberries straight in the freezer.)

3 Slices of Cucumber.

What to do:

Put the gin, grenadine syrup and the lemon/lime juice in a glass.

Grab the mint leaves to crush them ever so slightly. Add to the glass along with the raspberries and two slices of cucumber. 

Top up with lemonade, add ice and stir thoroughly.

Cut a slim triangle out of the remaining cucumber slice and stick it on the side of the glass. So it looks pretty.

And ta daaaa one rainy saturday cocktail. 

I have to admit it was slightly too sweet for me so next time I'll try it with carbonated water or something instead of lemonade. Its was still raather yummy though.