Blog for 2003

19/10/2003: On Web Design

local wrote:

Now I wonder how important cross-browser coding actually is. How many browsers do I have to test, which versions?

I have two philosophies on this question.

The first is the philosophy I apply when making my own website — I stick to the standards and let any browser that can’t handle it be damned. If 99% of browsers don’t work on it, that’s fine by me. (OK, so I have added a few little workarounds for IE6, but nothing major)

The second philosophy is similar and is what I use for other people’s websites. Again, write to standards, but make sure it works more or less perfectly in:

• IE 5+ (Windows)
• Netscape 6+
• Opera 7+
• Konqueror

and make sure the content is readable and the site is navigatable in:

• Netscape 4.x
• IE 4 (Win)
• IE 5 (Mac)
• Opera 5+
• Lynx

Now, the best way to do this, is to follow my smiple (sic) 7 point design
procedure:

1. Content

Start with the content. It may be cliche to say so nowadays, but content really is king.

2. Markup

Mark up the content…

01/09/2003: Pork Dijonaise

Ingredients

Pork

• 2 pork steaks
• 2–3 tablespoons of dijon mustard
• 150g single cream
• 1/2 glass dry white wine
• butter

Accompanying vegetables

• about 10 new potatos
• green beans
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• butter

Method

Put 2 saucepans of water on to boil for the vegetables. Heat a little butter in a frying pan.

Fry the pork in the oil for about 8 to 10 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, put the new potatos in one of the saucepans to cook.

When the pork is done, take it out of the pan and leave it somewhere to keep warm. Add the cream, mustard and wine to the frying pan, stirring continuously. When thoroughly mixed, put the green beans into the second saucepan.

After about 4 minutes cooking, drain the beans. Put them back into the dry sauce pan with some butter and the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds. Put the beans and pork onto a plate. Pour the mustard sauce over the pork. Drain the potatos and put them on the plates as well. Put a large knob of butter onto the potatos and then season them with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

01/09/2003: Quiche Lorraine

Leave out the bacon for a vegitarian option! This recipe is based on one by Andreas Wohr.

Ingredients

Pastry

• 200g flour
• 150g butter/margerine (not low fat!)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• salt
• 6 tablespoons water

Filling

• 250g–300g medium chedder
• 4–6 rashers smoked bacon, grilled and chopped
• 4–6 eggs
• 30g butter, melted
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2–4 mushrooms, chopped
• 125mL milk
• salt and pepper
• ground nutmeg

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Mix together the flour, butter, baking power, salt and water in a bowl into a doughy pastry. Put this into a flan dish and blind bake it until
it is golden brown.

While it is cooking, stir the eggs, cheese, bacon, butter, mushrooms and milk in a second bowl until thoroughly mixed. When the shell is cooked, spoon the filling into it and smooth it down. Sprinkle it with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Place back in the oven.

The quiche will probably take between 30 and 45 minutes to cook. When done, it should be golden brown on top and set (it shouldn’t wobble too much!). A final check is to put a knife into the quiche and withdraw it - if the knife is clean, then the quiche is cooked!

01/09/2003: Pork a’l’Orange

This can be served with the same accompanying vegetables mentioned in my
recipe for Pork Dijonaise or with some crusty French bread.

Ingredients

• 2 pork steaks
• 1 orange
• 250mL orange juice
• 2 sprigs of parsley
• thyme
• salt and pepper
• butter

Method

Heat a little butter in a frying pan. Fry the pork in the oil for about 8 to 10 minutes on each side. When the pork is done, take it out of the pan and leave it somewhere to keep warm.

Add the orange juice and a little thyme, salt and pepper to the frying pan. Heat ferociously, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile cut thin cresent-shaped slices of orange. Arrange them on serving plates with the pork.

When the volume of orange sauce has reduced to approximately half, pour it over the top of the pork. Decorate with a sprig of parsley and serve immediately.

31/08/2003: Chocolate Cheesecake

I found this recipe somewhere on the Internet, but I can’t remember where. All I can remember is that it’s by a guy called Glenn. I’ve changed it slightly (metricised the units, added a little more in-depth explanation).

31/08/2003: Toad in the Hole

Toad in the Hole is a classic British meal which thankfully contains neither frogs nor potholes.

Ingredients

• 6 pork sausages
• 2 eggs
• 100g flour
• 50g butter/margerine, melted
• 100 mL water
• 50 mL milk
• a pinch of salt
• 1 onion
• ¾ teaspoon of sage
• a little oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

There are too many complicated recipes for batter out there. Try mine – it’s easy! Pop the eggs, flour, butter, water, milk and salt into a blender. Blend. Set aside. You now have batter.

Fry the onion in the oil until transparent. Add sage and fry for a couple more minutes.

Arrange the sausages in a casserole dish and pour the batter over them. Pour the onion mixture on top.

Bake until the mixture has set (usually at least 40 minutes!). Serve plain, or with a rich gravy.

Variation

Wrap each sausage in a rasher of smoked bacon first!

31/08/2003: Shepherd’s Pie

For some reason, there seem to be a bunch of recipes out there for Shepherd’s pie that use beef. Obviously, a real shepherd’s pie must use lamb or, at a push, mutton! Recipes involving beef, while delicious, are properly called “Cottage Pie”.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 650g minced lamb (fresh or forzen — doesn’t matter!)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 handful of peas
• 1 carrot, chopped
• mixed herbs (see below)
• 2 tablespoons of Vegemite/Marmite or 1 tablespoon of Worchestershire Sauce
• 2 tablespoons of tomato pureé (optional)
• 2–3 servings mashed potato, made a little runnier than normal with milk and butter
• gravy powder or cornflour
• 1 stick of celery, chopped (optional)
• 100g grated cheddar (optional)

Which Herbs?

I tend to use either a lot rosemary, balenced out with a little parsley, sage and thyme; or plenty of mint with a bit of parsley. I’ve heard good things about lavender though!

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Fry the onion, celery and carrot until…

31/08/2003: Roast Leg of Lamb with all the Trimmings

This should serve 4 or even 5! You may want to also serve it with some autumnal vegetables (such as swede, parsnip, carrot, cauliflower, brocolli or spinach) although I haven’t included details of how to cook them here.

Ingredients

Lamb

• half a leg of lamb
• 1 large glass red wine
• loads of rosemary, preferably fresh
• 3–4 cloves of garlic
• salt and pepper
• vegetable oil

Roast Potato

• 4–6 large potatos
• chopped rosemary, preferably fresh (optional)
• flour
• salt and pepper
• goose fat or another fat or oil

Sausages

• 12 chipolatas or thin sausages
• 12 rashers streaky bacon

Yorkshire Puddings

• 2 eggs
• 100g flour
• 50g butter/margerine, melted
• 100mL water
• 50mL milk
• a pinch of salt
• goose fat or another fat or oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place the lamb leg onto a baking tray. Poke about 12 holes into the lamb with a sharp knife. Insert garlic and rosemary (a sliver — about ¼ — of a clove of garlic and 3–4 leaves of rosemary) into…

31/08/2003: Spaghetti Bolognese

Yes, I know Spag Bol isn’t actually Italian, but it is Italian-style. The sauce doesn’t just have to be served with spaghetti - any other pasta will do, as would chips, baguettes, garlic bread or jacket potato.

Ingredients

• 450g tin of chopped tomatos
• 500g of lean minced beef, frozen
• 4 rashers of pancetta or smoked bacon
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 to 4 mushrooms, chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 glass of red wine
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of dried chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon of dried chopped oregano
• a little beef gravy powder or cornflour
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
• 150g dried spaghetti
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of mushroom ketchup (optional)
• 10 black olives, sliced (optional)

Method

Grill the pancetta or bacon until it starts to crisp. Then leave to cool. Once cool, chop as finely as possible.

Fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they start to become transparent. Then add the minced beef. Cook the beef, stirring occasionally, until it has browned. Now…

31/08/2003: Penne Gorgonzola

Simple but tasty pasta dish.

31/08/2003: Neopolitan Sauce

A very simple Italian tomato sauce, suitable for pasta.

31/08/2003: Dahl

A classic Indian lentil-based mild curry.

31/08/2003: Chicken Curry

This is a korma-like chicken curry.

31/08/2003: Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Traditionally, Carbonara sauce includes raw egg, but that of course carries with it a risk of salmonela infection. My recipe instead uses white sauce as a substitute…

31/08/2003: Thai Pork Curry

Spicy Thai-style pork curry with a creamy coconut sauce.