Welcome to the Habit - a seasonal treat of recipes, events and offers from the award winning team at Blackfriars restaurant. So sit back, relax and get into the Habit.


National sausage week sizzles at Blackfriars

Blackfriars has been chosen to host Britain's Landmark Bangers Competition for the second year in a row. The competition runs as part of British Sausage Week and will see a secret celebrity visit the restaurant on November 7th to take part in the judging process, along with a special panel of sausage experts. And this year, Blackfriars will be entering it's very own homemade sausages so keep your fingers crossed for us!

"Game is perfect to liven up those dark autumn nights" says Blackfriars owner Andy Hook. Here, he serves up his recipe for Game Terrine.



Method

• Turn oven to 160C.
• Mix around 500g of sausage meat and 200g or so of livers (chopped), add a 2 thick slices of bread's worth of breadcrumbs, one egg, a handful of flat leaf or curly parsley and thyme (chopped), a few juniper berries and a couple of cloves of garlic (chopped).
• Add a glug of red wine and a glug of brandy if you want to be extravagant, season with the sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
• Mix thoroughly, turn out a roll into a sausage the length of your terrine dish.
• Next you'll need a kilo or so of game meat - rabbit, pigeon, duck or even hare, chop and fry (in batches if necessary) in olive oil until golden brown.
• Mix in a bowl with pistachios, some cooked carrots (diced), and a handful of gherkins.
• Line terrine dish with the stretched rashers of streaky bacon and add half the game meat mix, lay the forcemeat sausage down the middle before heaping on remaining game mix. Fold the exposed strips of bacon over the top of the terrine and cover with kitchen foil and terrine dish lid.
• Place terrine dish in a roasting tin half-filled with hot water and cook in oven for 1 and a half hours (ensure it's cooked through).
• Press terrine as it cools with a block of snug-fitting wood and a couple of cans of baked-beans and leave overnight until completely cold.
• To serve the terrine, slice it thickly with a very sharp knife, put on a plate with a few dressed greens and some fruit chutney, serve with hot toast.

Our very own chef, Jimmy offers up 'Jimmy's Chip Tip'

'"For the perfect chip, try the triple-cook method: boil freshly-cut chips in salted water for a few minutes first; then fry in beef dripping at 150 to 160 degrees until chip starts to colour; drain and cool; turn fryer to 180 to 190 degrees and fry again until golden and crispy; serve immediately."

Fresh, local and seasonal is inscribed into everything we do at Blackfriars. We take 5 minutes to talk to our potato supplier, Lucy Carroll of Carroll's Heritage Potatoes.

What range of products does Carroll's Heritage Potatoes produce?

We produce twenty or so different varieties of heritage potatoes. We operate a seasonal calendar and have a number of different types of potato available throughout the year. A selection from our current season would include British Queen, Pink Fir Apple, Red Duke of York and Yukon Gold.

We really try to bring the potato alive and to branch away from the 'humble spud' so we grow some really unusual potatoes, such as the Highland Burgundy, which is a burgundy colour the whole way through!

Supplying potatoes direct to restaurants like Blackfriars also means that we have to grow a huge variety of potatoes as we try to meet our chefs' needs in terms of size and texture. Some potatoes are floury in texture, whilst others are waxy, and these different qualities affect what a chef can do with the potatoes.

We set Carroll's Heritage Potatoes up about three years ago, after we realised that we would like to know where our produce was going. We grew potatoes for large supermarkets at the time and there was no job satisfaction, as we never knew what became of the product. So, we took some Heritage potatoes to a local market and the response was fantastic. Then we began working with north east chef Terry Layborne and his encouragement made us realise that we could supply tailor grown Heritage potatoes to restaurants.

I went to the restaurant to have a look around the kitchen and to meet the staff and I tasted a wonderful salmon dish which came with crushed Ratte potatoes - direct from our farm. It's really great to be involved with a restaurant that uses so much locally sourced produce, and to occupy a space on Andy's famous table mats!

Not enough! I am always cooking and sampling our potatoes but I would like to have the time to learn some more exotic dishes.

Halloween - Friday 31st October at 7pm
Our first ever Halloween celebration is destined to be a night of fine food, ghosts and ghouls! Enjoy a 3 course meal in the restaurant before moving into the candlelit meeting rooms to be entertained by spiritual showman, Eddie Clairvoyant. Once the show's over, indulge in a drink and have your fortune told by experienced mystic, Torah.

If you're brave enough to book, then click here now!

£25 per person for a delicious 3 course meal and after-dinner entertainment.

Beaujolais Nouveau evening - Thursday 20 November 2008 at 7pm
Come and celebrate the release of this year's Beaujolais Nouveau with a French inspired feast and a bottle of the wine itself. Beaujolais Nouveau is a wine steeped in tradition and its release is one of the biggest dates on the wine calendar.

Blackfriars continues to host one of the biggest dates on the wine calendar with a 3 course French inspired feast including a 50cl bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau for just £35pp.

If you want to take part in this age old tradition then click here now

New Year's Eve - Wednesday 31st December 2008 at 7pm
Want to celebrate the New Year in true gastronomic style? Blackfriars is hosting its annual New Year's Eve bash this year with another culinary extravaganza and debauched tomfoolery - come and treat yourself to a feast of fun!

Champagne reception, 5 course feast, 1/2 bottle wine, mulled wine, coffee and mince pies/chocolate and fireworks for just £85pp.

Click here to book your place today

This month we had a five minute interview with Blackfriars' Michael Robson to find out exactly what it is that makes him tick. Here are his answers...

Name: Michael Robson
Position: Restaurant supervisor

• Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
  Elton John and Diana Ross - shes such a diva!
• 
  
• What is your favourite food?
  Blackfriars Yorkshire puddings, I once ate 12 in a row!
• 
  
• Have you ever met any famous people?
  Phil Tufnell judged the Sausage awards which were held here last year, he was quite entertaining.
• 
  
• What sort of music do you like?
  Elton John and Diana Ross, who else?!

The Observer has just launched its 6th annual Food Monthly Awards and we want you to vote for us! Visit http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodawards to vote.
Thank you!