Paris Photos - Just because...

A little taste of our weekend in Paris. If we had food markets like this in the UK I would be a very very happy lady...

Ashburton Coookery School

The real reason for going to Devon was to spend a day on the Gastro extra course at Ashburton Cookery School. This was a one day course which we thought might be fun to do before middle sister has her baby and we'll not be able to escape together so easily.

And it was fun! We started with making a starter of curried mussel soup. A nice light soup packed with flavour. Although neither of us were too keen on muscle so it was a bit more of a curried veg soup with the odd mussel in it! Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it. We also made yummy bread, which came out really well. A lot better than my bread normally does! I felt like I learnt quite a bit from the bread making bit as it's improved my confidence a lot and taught me a couple of tips.

Our main was pork medallions with braised fennel and a creamy taragon and haricot bean sauce. My only criticism of this was that the haricot beans weren't quite right with the meal to me but the sauce was lovely and the pork good to cook as it's not something I normally cook. Oh and this also came with a shallot tarte tatin! Yummers!! And another thing I've always wanted to make (tarte tatin that is) but haven't quite had the confidence to.

For pudding we griddled pineapple, peppered it, added passionfruit sorbet (which they showed us how to make) and a spiced syrup, which was lovely and had a great chilli kick. Plus a couple of extra bits. Although by this time a little full as we were eating all we made :)

Finally a picture of me and of instructors. On the right is Phil who was lovely and really helpful, on the left James, equally lovely and you might recognise him from the Restaurant on BBC2 or 'Out of the Frying Pan'.

Highly recommended, even if you are relatively confident just to pick up a few tips. I now feel much more confident about my seasoning as we were told that our seasoning was good :) I would definitely go for it also if you have no confidence in the kitchen as they do all levels of teaching and the instructors are great.

2 days in Devon Part 1

To start my holiday this week I tottled off to Devon. It was a grey miserable rainy day and as I sat on the train I thought just how leaving London was taking some of the stress from my shoulders. And then the sun began to come out and I steadily was getting closer to my destination. I arrived in Ashburton and joined my sister and her friend in a little cafe with a garden. Lunch followed by the yummiest cream tea. Great homemade scones with yummy cream and jam. And to continue the Twitter debate I must admit to putting cream first then jam...

We were staying at the accommodation which the cookery school ran. Our room above we both thought was just lovely. The cookery school was Ashburton Cookery School, of which more on the next post... Then a gentle afternoon, a stroll in the sunshine and catching up with my sister. She's very patient with my moaning but also offers a different perspective on some of the things I moan about. So we dined and then off to bed to make sure we were ready for the next day!

Sweet William

It's a grey day in London today, but that's okay, we needed some rain and I had a hangover this morning so felt a bit grey too. We have guests this evening for dinner, smoked makerel pate and smoked salmon for starter, sirloin steak and homemade chips with bearnaise sauce for main and then homemade individual summer puddings for pud, followed by a little bit of cheese. Yummy hopefully!

It's also a long weekend here in the UK and an ever longer weekend for me as I'm off all next week. Woohoo! Work is tiresome at the moment, I feel like I'm fighting a lot and firefighting too. It'll be great to have some time away from it all. Although it won't be a quiet week. A cooking course in Devon followed by a wedding in Bedfordshire and then a girls weekend in Bath. What fun! Hope you all enjoy a lovely weekend, long or otherwise!

Creme Caramel - Recipe

As promised the recipe I used for the creme caramel I made the other day!

For custard:
500ml milk
Vanilla pod
6 eggs (4 yolks, 2 whole)
125g caster sugar

For caramel:
100g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

Boil 500 ml milk with a vanilla pod split in two. In a mixing bowl blend 2 whole eggs, 4 egg yolks and 125g caster sugar. Gradually add the boiling milk (having removed the vanilla pod), whisking it quickly. I do this quite slowly to avoid the eggs cooking, or start slow and then speed up once it's all cooled down a little. Then you have your custard.

Put caramel ingredients into a heavy bottomed pan and heat until the mixture turns a pale caramel colour at 160C (I don't have a sugar thermometre so just guessed at what pale caramel was, it changes so quickly though!). Pour the caramel into the mould and tilt until it has covered as much of the sides as possible and it stops flowing.

Pour the custard into the moulds, place them into a bain marie and cook in a preheated oven at 190C (375F, gas mark 5) or until the custard is lightly set. Take the mould out of the bain marie and allow it to cool completely.

To get it out dip into boiling water for a short while then turn out onto dish, this should help remove the caramel stuck in the mould and get it all out all over the custard... Mmmm

Enjoy!

Creme Caramel - Success!

So on Monday I managed to tick off number 3 from my list. Which made me very happy! It also made J quite happy and our friend A who was joining us for a Bank Holiday lunch.

I got the recipe from Larousse, amazingly enough the only cook book I had with the recipe and off I went... Below the little beasts before they were turned out on to the plate.

The yumminess in its glory. Sorry I am bragging but I was amazed they worked and looked like they should, plus they tasted pretty good too... Hopefully you can see the vanilla throughout the caramel and custard (I only put it in the custard but somehow it ended up in the caramel too).

The only slight problem I had was with the caramel, I think I did something wrong as my moulds now have a rock solid layer of caramel at the bottom. Exceedingly hot water will be the only thing getting that out, although I have tried I promise!

If anyone wants the recipe I used leave me a comment and I shall get it for you!

Cupcakes

It was J's birthday a couple of weeks ago and the day before I had the day off, so what better to do with my time than make cupcakes for everyone coming to his birthday drinks. I had been given a cake recipe book for my birthday last year and never made anything from it so decided now was the time.

The top cakes are Mojito cupcakes, surprisingly Mojito-y with rum, lime and mint in them. I didn't go for the meringue icing but thought my rum and lime butter cream worked pretty well. The bottom cakes are chilli chocolate cupcakes. Supposed to be served warm with a melting centre, instead served cold but with a moist texture,

Much fun to make cupcakes seeing as I normally avoid them like the plague as they scare me but now I think I'll give them more of a shot and try and make them look prettier next time...

Polpo Soho - Review

On Sunday J and I went to Polpo in Soho for the first time. We were joined by a couple whose wedding we went to in January and who we hadn't seen properly since. They had agreed to be our willing companions to our first foray into this Italian bacaro. And I think they were pleased with what they found...

The Pizzette Bianca.

We went for about nine dishes between four, a couple of meaty dishes (fabulous lamb), some fish (Octopus salad and Fritto Misto), some vegetables and a little bit of bread. Plus a couple of little starters to warm up us. Each dish was well presented, appetising and colourful. It's my kind of food, simple, full of flavour and not fussy. Don't get my wrong I love haute cuisine every now and then but on a warm Sunday afternoon I want food which simply tastes good.

We also had puddings, and after that all of us felt just right. Full but not stuffed, the ideal balance.

But Polpo is more than just great food, it has a friendly atmosphere and a relaxed feel. From the phone call to book the table to the welcome and the waiting staff all were just right. Attentive but not overly so, friendly, willing to give advice but not without asking first.

So in a very simple conclusion I would thoroughly recommend Polpo. If you're with people who don't mind sharing and want great food, a lovely atmosphere and a good meal - Go!

Bread

First apologies for the appaling picture quality but I somehow wanted to show you the bread I made on the weekend. Having not made bread since I was a little girl and had mummy's know how to guide me on the way I was a little concerned as to how it may turn out. I also had foolishly decided that I was to serve this to my dinner guests as I had not form of biscuit to go with my cheese.

It was great fun making it, feeling the lovely dough between your fingers is just wonderful and working the dough as you knead it makes both your hands and head feel better. Kneading while thinking is something not to underestimated. And the pride when it came out of the oven, was hollow when knocked from the bottom and tasted like bread!

I used a recipe from The Imaginary Cafe and it was both simple and successful and so now highly recommended from myself also. I then tried a slight variation on Sunday having discussed with sister recommendations for making it and purchasing a loaf tin. I am yet to try my next loaf but it looks better and I am looking forward to giving it a shot.

So there we are, all my quietness and then all I've been up to is making bread!

What I cooked for Valentine's Day

J and I like to mark but not celebrate Valentine's day. I buy him a card, he forgets (or maybe buys one a few days later when he gets round to it) and we try and use it as a good excuse to spend some time together. He's been absurdly busy at work these past few weeks and so the opportunity to sit down together, cook together and eat together was too good to miss.

So on Saturday after meeting my friends for lunch I toddled off to Harrods food hall, at Christmas I had been given a gift card and now seemed like a good time to put it to use. And look what I found!

Yummy langoustines, all pink and pretty and looking ready for the pot. After a little consultation of Georgio Locatelli's Made in Italy cook book (incidentally one of my favourites) we had our rough recipe and off we went. Between us we managed to cook the dinner below:

Linguine with langoustine, served with pan fried scallops. Decadent and probably excessive for a Saturday night but also yummy and a great meal to enjoy together.

For pudding I tried my hand at custard to use in a Bread and Butter pudding. Surprisingly easy to make is custard, my recipe this time from Larousse. And then we settled in to watch a movie and finish the wine!

For me a wonderful celebration of my love for my husband and for the food, wine and most importantly time we get to spend together. Hope you all had lovely valentine's celebrations too, M x

Argentina - Asado and Steak

One of our favourite parts of the holiday was all the fabulous meat we ate. Lots of great steaks and yummy lamb. So below some photos of our steaks and asados. One thing to note however if you go to Argentina, they don't eat their steak rare, so if you like it that way keep asking, eventually you'll get a rare steak.

Kai Mayfair - Review

As a follow up to my last post I thought I should tell you about Kai. We went there because I had won a voucher for it in a raffle and we like to go to nice restaurants to celebrate our anniversary. So this year it worked out as Kai. The restaurant is nicely decorated, somehow it still feels Chinese but obivously upmarket. We had a big table which was kind of separate from the rest, although in some ways that was good.

We figured since we had the voucher that we didn't need to worry too much about how much we spent, so J had soft shelled crab for his starter and I had steamed scallop and king prawn. Our starters were both lovely. They came out at different times but this was fine as we had been warned. And both were dishes you wouldn't cook yourself at home, which always makes the restaurant experience feel more worthwhile.

Then on to our mains, I had beef in a pepper sauce and J lamb. If I'm honest I was not so impressed with our mains. My beef's sauce tasted a little shop bought and wasn't great and J's lamb just wasn't much of anything.

I then figured I would push the boat out and have a pudding. I had the 'not to be missed' pudding which involved pumpkin cream, something I should have been wary of from the start. Again, nice enough but not amazing. Especially for the price.

Which takes me to my next point, this place is expensive, starters start at around £15 and go upwards and upwards. Mains are of course more expensive. Now I don't mind expensive when I feel like it's worth it. And I think our starters were, but for the mains and pudding I felt less happy with the amount it cost. Although I knew the ingredients were of good quality for that much I expected something more amazing.

However the service was superb, very nice staff, nice atmosphere.

So in summary I don't think I'd recommend it, I think it's just a little too expensive for what we had. If you really want to go and spend lots of money then have the starters and avoid the pudding I had and you'll probably have a lovely dinner!

Automat - Review

Last night J and I went to Automat for dinner. We had to go in fairly early because it was so busy! But we think it was worth it. We kicked the night off with Moscow Mules, the perfect way to take the edge off a long week. For starter I had a roasted tomato, avocado and mozzarella salad. It was nice, full of flavour with a yummy dressing. J had a chopped salad with mozzarella, classic diner starter as he put it. Both were good.

And then we were on to the main item, the burger! We both had the Automat cheese burger with fries. As seen above. Sorry for the blur we were trying to take photos without flash! The burger was yummy, meaty, simple and with a toasted sesame bun. Plus the bottle of Argentinan Sangiovese/Malbec we chose to go with it was lovely.

We finished up with a shared apple pie and a glass of Tokai 5 puts. Fabulous! I would recommend this place for an expensive American Diner experience which is worth the money. Plus if you like Burgers this is a good one!

And on that note, check out this link, J has started a blog to document his missions to try and find the best burger in London. So if you're intersested in that kind of thing head on over :)

I forgot the meringues

Making bernaise sauce requires egg yolks but no whites. I normally just throw the egg whites down the sink (naughty, I know) but this time I thought I'd use them to make meringues! And I'm pleased I did. Using an online Rachel Allen recipe, I whipped up a little batch of loveliness. Swirled with a bit of Vanilla essence right before baking and spooned on, not piped, I was pleased with the crunchy exterior and sticky interior. Next time I shall also make the fruit compote and whipped cream... But for now I am just munching through my meringues. Yummy :)

A gastronomic Saturday

We had the first weekend in London together for an age! After finishing up at work with J's help we were over in Paddington and thought a nice walk to Marylebone could be in order. The weather was glorious!

And so we ended up at the Ginger Pig... Home to fabulous butchers and a mouth watering selection of meat. Seeing all those great steaks it seemed a good idea to purchase some giant rumps ready for dinner. A big fat meaty dinner.



We decided to make Bernaise Sauce to go with our steaks, and of course chips! Bernaise recipe was courtesy of Michel Roux Jr, whose cookery book I have, which is okay. Well the bernaise recipe is more than okay because it was delicious!! The book I am mixed about to be honest.



And boy was it a good steak, chips and bernaise. I was a happy girl, husband, good bottle of wine and giant plate of food!



Having been to the Ginger Pig, which happens to be next door to La Fromagerie, we couldn't resist just popping in for a small lump of cheese. For those London based readers if you like cheese and have never before been to La Fromagerie, go now!! It's cheese heaven, the European equivalent to Neals Yard. So much choice and you get to try it all too. So making your mind up is an even longer process, but a better one too.

We ended up with three cheeses, a lemony goats cheese, an Irish blue and a Southern French nutty hard cheese. I can't quite remember the names, but Cashel for the Irish Blue, and Napoleon for the French. The goats cheese I have no idea I'm afraid.



And there ended our gastronomic Saturday evening, and boy was it my kind of evening. Something we've not done for so long which was just so pleasant. Great food, time with J and a glorious London day. What more could you ask for?!

On Changing Habits...

Following my realisation recently that I was steadily gaining weight I have been thinking about ways of changing my habits. Habits of eating crap and drinking too much, and habits of not doing enough exercise.

So when I was at home this weekend I got talking to my mama. She was talking about the way we think about food, and how we can change this. Describing to me a large colleague who whenever she saw cake would think mmmmm cake, versus a slim friend who would see cake and think urgh cake got me thinking about how I react to cake and whether changing this could help. I currently think of cake as... Big grin, mmm cake, how much can I have?, quick get in there, urgh too sweet, mouth tastes gross, drink loads of water, feel fat.

So my mama got me thinking, maybe part of my problem is my habit of eating sweet things too often, rather than occasionally as a nice treat. Perhaps I need to change the way I think. I know that a sugary rush will make me feel sluggish after. I don't actually like chocolate that much after the first bite. I find it tends to coat my mouth with an odd taste. But I eat it because everyone else does. And I don't want to be seen not to. Odd huh? And foolish.

My sister and I have often talked about this too, about really thinking about what you are eating and what it will do for you. So I am going to try and change, little by little my approach to these things. I'll let you know how it goes, if it goes at all...

Shampers Wine Bar/Restaurant

J and I were walking through Soho one day trying to avoid the hustle of Carnaby Street and wondered past this lovely looking wine bar which had an enticing menu outside. We thought about it stored it away in our heads and then carried on. Recently following a long day at work we fancied dinner out, J works in Soho and so I suggested Shampers since it had looked good.

We wondered in were shown to a table in their downstairs section and then started studying the menu. To be honest my first thought was that it was more expensive than I had expected but it all looked good. I wasn't too hungry so I went for two starters while J had a starter and a main.

I started with mini chorizo which were yummy but nothing spectacular, not exactly difficult to fry a chorizo! J had rollmops, something I don't like so I didn't get to try them but he said they were nice. Our starters were okay, not great but reasonable.

Then for my main I had a goats cheese and lardon salad. I expected to have a nice slice of fresh goats cheese on top of my salad and ended up with a fried piece of goats cheese. Again nice but nothing too great. J had a steak sandwich, it looked okay and he said was nice and his chips were definitely nice!

All in all okay, but for it's prices just not good enough. There are so many places in London from which to choose from to eat and I really think that if Shampers are trying to sell themselves on their food they need to up their game.

Incidentally on another night out we ended up in Browns in Mayfair, cheaper, nicer and better service. Perhaps a lesson learned for us...

Hangover food

A belated post to an awful hangover a while back but I thought I might branch out and share a recipe with you. J was suffering awfully and I felt pretty rotten too and I had a healthy hangover, one where you desire good food not junk. And so out came the lentil soup and along came bowls of yummy restoring food.


I boiled up some green lentils for about 40 minutes until they were nice and soft, with some thyme and pepper for flavour. Meanwhile I softened down a chopped onion and added in garlic and a chopped carrot. When this was all well cooked I added a tin of chopped tomatoes and a couple of teaspoons of hot paprika. Let this cook down until the lentils are ready. Half drain the lentils, I decided to leave some of the cooking water to try and retain the goodness from it, and then add in the tomato sauce and cook for a little while longer. Before serving throw in a few handfuls of spinach, this needs about 1 minute to cook. Finally served above with a big dollop of greek yoghurt and a drizzle of olive oil.

And there is the cure to my hangover that Saturday, and boy did it work!

Mmmm cheesecake

So today I have not been having the best day at work. Then I bought myself a plum cheesecake... and things are getting better :)

Perhaps this could be because it combines my love of both cheese and cake. And that it is absurdly bad for me but ridiculously yummy!

Hope you are all having lovely humpdays

Hibiscus

J and I went to Hibiscus in Maddox Street for his birthday last week. We had been given a voucher for it as a wedding present but one of our friends and took the chance to use it. The restaurant was small, smaller than I had expected but nice, soft muted colours with some nice artwork and comfortable chairs.

Seeing as we had the voucher we treated ourselves to an aperitif but decided to go for the lunch menu which was three courses, a glass of wine and coffee with petit four for £33 (about $50). The amuse bouche was a little hisbicus juicy drink with a foam on top and yummy little balls of something inside. We both enjoyed that and they served proper bread with yummy butter. And then our starters. J had a chicken liver and foie gras terrine which was lovely. I ordered a Royale of Parmesan cheese with some asparagus something which I had no idea what it was. It turned out to be a squidgy, soupy something which had an odd taste which I couldn't identify. I have to admit to being a little bit disappointed.

We then got our mains, J a spatchcock quail with some veges which was lovely, great taste, looked nice, ticked all the boxes. I had a fillet of silver mullet with spring leeks and black grape jus. The fish was nice, not amazing but nice. However the leeks had been pureed and were bright green and tasted odd. Neither J nor I could put our finger on quite why it wasn't very nice but there was something odd all the same. And as for the grapes, there were a couple of little halves but not really very much else grapey.

Our puddings redeemed the meal somewhat, Whimberry Clafoutis and Barley Malt ice cream with a green tea syrup. It was yummy! And finally some really very good petit fours.

All in all, okay but not somewhere I would rush to recommend. It just wasn't great and my meals weren't great at all. A shame really as I had been looking forward to it but onwards and upwards to the next restaurant!