Stuffed Mushrooms

Going vegetarian is something I try to do at least once a week, not only because I have turned a little bit health conscious but because it really is amazing the amount of things that you can do with the humble vegetable. This recipe is quick and easy to make and is also a winner for all calorie counters.

 

2 servings

Ingredients

• Calorie controlled cooking spray

• 4 large mushrooms

• 1 onion

• 1 garlic clove

• 1 lemon

• Small bunch of fresh thyme

• 3 courgettes

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 100g spinach

• 100g quark

• 1 spring onion

• 50 ml water

• 1 sweet potato

• 1 aubergine

• 1 red pepper

• 150g brown rice

Method      

1.    Preheat oven to 180c/Gas mark 4

2.    Chop the sweet potato, aubergine, red pepper and one of the courgettes into bite sized pieces. Spray with calorie controlled cooking spray and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. turning half way through

3.    Cook rice by packet instructions (normally boil for around 20-30 minutes)

4.    Chop the onion and crush the garlic and add these to a large frying pan and fry with cooking spray until softened

5.    Zest the lemon and dice the remaining courgettes. Add to the frying pan with thyme leaves, soy sauce and spinach. Remove from the heat

6.    Thinly slice the spring onion and mix in with the quark. Add to the frying pan

7.    Spoon this mixture into the mushrooms and place in a roasting tray. Pour the water into the tray and bake for 15 minutes, until the filling is golden.

 

Atomic Burger, Bristol

Atomic Burger was an experience I will never forget in a hurry. Walking into the small tightly packed restaurant you are soon slapped in the face with memorabilia, from Superhero posters and Ghostbusters to Star Wars storm troopers you really feel like a kid in a sweetshop (or a big nerd in a burger restaurant).

First Impressions
I visited on a Sunday evening and safe to say the place was dead, there were two other diners in there and they were already on their desserts so soon my dining hell was about to be experienced, eating in a restaurant with just me, my companion and the staff...

The concept of Atomic Burger is simple. Select a burger from the comic book style menu, decide if you want beef, chicken or veggie and then ponder over the side dishes.

The Food
The menu itself is in keeping with the theme of American heroes with burgers such as the 'Dead Elvis- Swiss cheese, American cheese, bacon and onions', 'Daisy Duke- crispy bacon, American cheese and smokey BBQ sauce' and the greatly named 'Forrest Gump- plain and simple burger standing proud'. For non-burger fans they also have a selection of hot dogs.

I went for the 'Messy Jessie' a beef burger with goats cheese, rocket and red onion marmalade with a side of sweet potato fries (£8.95). My companion (who has a very hearty appetite) opted for a 'Dolly Parton' a double stacked beef burger with American cheese and 'Trailer Park fries', chips topped with cheddar sauce, pulled pork and crispy onions (£12.90).

When the food arrived we were both overwhelmed with the size of the sides let alone the huge burgers that were put in front of us. 

My burger was packed with rocket and red onion marmalade which was lightly spiced and delicious. The goats cheese however had very little flavour despite being a great big slab of it which was a little disappointing as I am a huge goats cheese fan. The burger was obviously made of good quality beef and was well seasoned but was very very moist which resulted in a soggy-bun situation (something big burger fans will be all too familiar with). The sweet potato fries were as expected, nothing to shout about but nothing to complain about either.

My companion loved his burger and said again that his was nice and moist (his bun also disintegrated mid meal). The bacon was lovely and crisp and there was 'just the right amount of cheese' for his liking. He was however underwhelmed by his side, when served the cheese sauce was already lukewarm and there was hardly any pulled pork to be seen.

We both failed to finish our colossus sized meals, however this may have been because we sampled some of the milkshakes on offer which were almost a meal in themselves.

Lasting Impressions

Despite being alone in the restaurant for almost the whole duration of the meal I felt neglected by the staff. We were not offered refills on our drinks and we had to leave our seats and walk almost into the kitchen to ask for the bill.

It is a great place to visit if you are a nerd at heart and just want to stare at the memorabilia (as my companion did throughout the whole meal) or if you are a big burger fan with a hearty appetite. Overall I feel the idea of Atomic Burger is great, the theme, menu and prices look great but it comes at a cost in terms of service.

 

Atomic Burger
189 Gloucester Road
Bristol, BS7 8BG
Telephone: 01179 428600
Website: http://atomicburger.co.uk/

 

 

Snow Brownies

This recipe all began when a close friend of mine asked me to bake him a birthday cake, I love baking cakes but this was to serve a lot of people so wanted something that could be cooked on mass and could be divvied up easily. These brownies are so easy to make and should probabaly come with a health warning but believe me they taste amazing and are definitely a crowd pleaser.

16 Servings

Ingredients

• 375g dark chocolate
• 300g white chocolate
• 375g unsalted butter
• 350g sugar
• 225g plain flour
• 6 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180c/Gas mark 4
2. Line a 33cm X 23cm brownie tin with greaseproof paper and set aside
3. Break up the dark chocolate and melt together with the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat stirring regularly
4. In a large bowl mix togther the sugar, vanilla and eggs
5. When the chocolate mixture has cooled down beat in the sugar mix
6. Combine the salt with the flour and carefully mix into the chocolate
7. Break up the white chocolate into small chunks and fold into the mixture and transfer into the tin
8. Bake for around 25 minutes. When the top is dried and pale brown the brownies are ready, they will continue to cook when removed from the oven so do not cut up until completely cooled.