Chocolate Jenga

The Christmas period hasn't quite ended yet and I'm still feasting away on a daily basis. On Tuesday, I was invited to a friend's house party and was welcomed by quite an impressive spread. Here is a list of some items that were on offer; cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, sandwiches, home made burgers, pizzas, chicken wings and home made potato wedges. For dessert there was a home made chocolate sponge cake too.

However, despite all that's been mentioned, the item that most caught my eye was the chocolate finger Jenga tower. Constructed from a combination of milk and white chocolate Cadbury's fingers, it was stacked at about 20 fingers high. It was certainly the party piece that caught the attention of all the guests that evening.

After much admiration though, it was time for the game of Jenga to begin. It was suggested that the culprit who removes the finger that causes the tower to tumble should consume the remaining fingers but that idea was quickly dismissed by the majority. It's certainly a challenge worth considering for future parties though. I'd like to add that rather than adding the finger removed from the tower to the top of the tower as you would do in a conventional game of Jenga, we simply ate the finger.

In case you're wondering, I removed my finger with consummate ease, opting for a white chocolate. Unfortunately the girl that whose turn was immediately after mine wasn't so skilled and the tower tumbled in what was only the 6th turn. Everyone then seemed to dive in like vultures and below is what remained. There was an attempt to construct a smaller tower from those remains but it wasn't worth the effort.

The tower was certainly a (brief) talking point of the night prior to it's demolition. I personally think it could actually be used as a ice breaker at a party. Maybe you'll consider creating a chocolate finger Jenga tower in your next party or a variation of it? Feel free to share any other food related party games or show pieces you've seen before.

What's on your chips?

Christmas is looming and for most people they've been winding down with everything done and dusted. Myself on the other hand has just returned from helping out at my parent's chippy for the Christmas Eve rush. You'd have thought that most people would be saving themselves for the big feast tomorrow but it appears as though they favour warming their stomachs alla Joey Tribbiani.

It became apparent to me tonight that despite the fact it's not on the menu salt and pepper chips is requested very often (and we happily oblige). What has become of people and where did this all begin? Is salt and vinegar simply not enough? There are also an array of sauces available; curry, gravy, sweet and sour and even tomato ketchup but yet folk like to be different and creative. Cheese is another popular addition to chips but more commonly served in kebab shops.

Historically, the two condiments of salt and pepper have been used in spare ribs or chicken wings and they are often very popular appetisers in Chinese takeaways and restaurants. I'll admit there is often slightly more to it than just salt and pepper, with the addition of diced chillis, onions and peppers. As you can see in the image above, this is also the case with salt and pepper chips.

In case you were wondering, I did end the night with a portion of salt and pepper chips to share with my brother. So tell me folks, what's on your chips?

Who ate all the pies?

Quite clearly... it's me that's eaten all the pies! Today my dinner consisted of a Pieminister Moo Pie that is basically a steak and ale pie. I first came across the Pieminister brand at a friend's house and at the time they were only available from Ocado. However, recently I've started to notice them showing up in my local Tesco and the Junk Food Connoisseur just couldn't resist.

The Pieminister range is certainly in the Premier League of pies where as Holland's I'm afraid to say would be lucky to get into the Championship. At £2.99 each they aren't exactly cheap and is certainly something you should only be treating yourself to occasionally (read on for more reasons).

The filling within the pie is very generous, the steak very tender and sauce was exceptionally tasty. I generally prefer my pies to be slightly moist but the filling is more than sufficient and additional gravy wasn't required. At 643 calories, the Moo pie is rather epic and with some additional trimmings it can easily top the 1000 calories mark for a single meal.

As mentioned above, the Pieminister range is available from Ocado/Waitrose and most recently Tesco. Their website states that the pies are also available in pubs and restaurants.  They have a large range of different fillings and also produce sausage rolls and sweet pies. I'm having a difficult time deciding which filling to try next, suggestions welcome!

Lady of Leisure

Today was day four of being a lady gentleman of leisure and I'm thoroughly enjoying the time off work. The day began with a brisk run to work up an appetite (as if I need to, who am I kidding?) before heading out for dim sum with my grandparents, uncle and aunt. Remember kids, I may ramble on about unhealthy food and snacks but I want to promote regular exercise in your life you couch potatoes.

My family are regulars at Tai Wu on a Wednesday so it was nice to finally be able to join them for their last visit there this year. Besides, it's been a while since I've been for dim sum and with the knowledge that this day was dawning the cravings had developed.

For those that don't know, dim sum is essentially like tapas where food is served in small plates with multiples of each item. The idea is to go in a party so that you can order numerous different dishes and sample many if not all of them as each item is generally bite-size.

I'd say that a majority of the dishes are steam-cooked or deep fried. The most common items are probably the steamed dumplings, steamed buns and steamed rice noodle rolls. The dishes popular with Chinese people are chicken feet and beef tripe. It is also quite common to order a main dish of rice or noodles to accompany the smaller dishes and again this shared between you and your party.

Unfortunately I have no photos to show you as I was far too hungry to remember to take them. Terrible aren't I? Looks like you'll just have to drag yourselves down to Chinatown one lunchtime and visit the various establishments that serve dim sum. The most popular places are Tai Wu, Tai Pan, Glamorous and Pacific with some of them providing a trolley service during certain days of the week so that you see before you pick. Happy feasting but remember to exercise regularly!

An unlikely candidate

It's not often that a new snack hits the market and makes such an impression on me. Especially when it's a snack produced by a company that's renown for making bread. It's my Uncle I have to thank for introducing me to Warburton's New Baked Pitta Chips. Some would say I'm a marketer's dream when it comes to food in particular snacks.

Warburton's claim that they contain a third less fat than regular chips which is a bonus for the waistline especially in the lead up to Christmas. However, fat content has never been a attribute to judge a snack on. As a side note, they are offering two bags for £2 at Ocado so grab them quick. Who says I don't offer money saving tips as well?

I've tried both the Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper and Sour Cream & Chive and must say the latter tastes far superior. The flavour is very intense and from that first bite you find yourself wanting more.

Having done some research, the baked pitta chips are available in the following flavours:

• Sea Salt & Malt Vinegar
• Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper
• Sour Cream & Chive
• Oriental BBQ

Overall verdict, tasty and very moreish. Don't say I didn't warn you but you'll find yourself fighting with your friends over the last chip!