3rd Wednesdays

Danger, Death and Dinosaurs » 3rd Wednesdays

By: Steve on June 22, 2012

Ahoy there,

This month we got together to enjoy some decidedly spicy pies from Gareth whilst the ever-ebullient Nick educated us about skinless animals, animatronic dinosaurs and bicycle racing.

Presented here in the order they were meant to be covered, Nick postponed this portion of his presentation until we had all finished our pies, for obvious reasons.

Animal Inside Out is an exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London and is adapted from Gunther von Hagens’ Body Worlds. It features 90 plastinated animals and capillary specimens displaying the intricate insides and inner workings of some of the world’s most spectacular creatures:

Nick then introduced us to the Walking With Dinosaurs Arena Spectacular, an adaptation of the popular BBC series, that brings an array of prehistoric beasties to full-scale, startling life:

And finally, Nick revealed his passion for Alleycat Racing – an unofficial sport undertaken by bicycle couriers who race through cities around the world.

Nick shared two short videos with us to illustrate the passion and adventurism of this underground pastime. The first was a reflective mood piece simply called Alleycat that followed one rider, who explains how it’s not actually a race. The riders are given a set of markers or objectives and it’s entirely up to them to devise the fastest route to hit them all.

The second video was a trailer for Line of Sight a documentary film by Luis Brunelle that’s been ten years in the making. You should really just watch it:

Following this, Nick announced his intention to take part in next year’s Alleycat Race, competing in the non-courier category. We all wish him the very best medical attention.

Gareth managed to create some pre-pie hype this week by announcing that he’d made it so spicy that it was almost at his own spice-tolerance limit, which is in itself pretty high. Thankfully we were all able to enjoy Gareth’s pies (my own spice tolerance is ridiculously low) and he’s been good enough to share the recipe with us for you to sample yourselves:

Gareth’s rustic flavours of the Basque Country pie filling…

Makes about 1 big family pie.

About 4 big chicken thighs
Spicy chorizo ring
Good handful of butter beans (soaked overnight then boiled hard for 20 mins)
Bulb of garlic
4 tablespoons of oregano
1 teaspoon of crushed chillies
Smoked Paprika
4 large peppers
2 large Onion
2 cans of plum tomatoes
A good glug of olive or rapeseed oil

Method.

• Rub the chicken thighs in a good amount of smoked paprika.
• Put in the oven and roast. When done, remove skin and take the meat off. Set aside for later.
• Finely chop the onions and garlic and chorizo.
• Cut the peppers to whatever size you prefer.

• Put a good glug of oil in a big pan and heat.
• Add the onions and fry until just before golden.
• Add the peppers and fry until soft.
• Add the chorizo and garlic.
• Add about 4 teaspoons of smoked paprika, 4 tablespoons of Oregano and the chillies.
• Add butter beans and cooked chicken and give a good stir.

• Finally add the tinned tomatoes, give a good stir and let the flavours cook together for about an hour.

Stick in a pie or eat with bread on its own.