I just had three pancakes.
One with bacon, mushrooms, cheese and tomato and the other two with sugar and lemon (well lime actually).
Oh and just to make it very clear I'm not talking about those horrible stodgy fat American ones, I'm talking the deliciously thin crepe type.
Whilst chowing down on the tasty batteryness I was pondering the pros about pancakes and realised there are many. So the lovely woman that I am I decided to share them with you.
1) They are so damn easy to make, well once the measuring is out of the way (which I usually leave to Mr P's expert eye).
2) No need for any fancy ingredients - the ingredients are just things you would normally just have in the cupboard, milk, eggs and flour, how much simplier could it be. Plus you can swap around ingredients, different types of flour, or add chocolate chips to the batter, etc.
3) They can provide hours of fun - tossing of said item is brilliant fun for all the family.
4) You can basically put anything on them - sweet, savoury, salty, sour. I dont think I've ever had a pancake I didnt like. I am always particularly enamoured by those doused with alcohol and set on fire.
5) Oh and another thing, they taste bloody amazing!
Pancakes are definitely not just for Shrove Tuesday... they're for life.
Saturday 8 October 2011
Sunday 24 July 2011
The Fat Duck
I may not have written this blog for months but I felt it was well and truly worth resurrecting to tell you all about Heston's gaff, The Fat Duck.
I decided to treat Mr P to a meal at the restaurant for his 30th Birthday and we went to the restaurant at 12.30 yesterday lunchtime.
For anyone who hadst visited Bray before, it is a quaint little village with a couple of little pubs, and of course a couple of Michelin starred restaurants. The Fat Duck sits discreetly at the side of the high street, it is almost missable and looks a little like someones house.
On stepping inside the door you are thrust right into the restaurant which is cosy and not particularly big, perhaps around 12-15 tables in there. The large amount of staff were hugely cheerful on our arrival, most either asking how we were or greeting us with a huge smile.
We were sat at our table and shortly afterwards a waiter arrived with a trolley of champagne and asked whether we would like to start with a glass. We thought it was rude not to and after deciding not to opt for a glass of champers costing over £100 I settle for a glass of rose champagne and Mr P plumps for a glass of Tattinger - a lovely way to start the meal.
This is swiftly followed by a little amuse bouche: Aerated beetroot with horseradish cream, a slightly crispy shell with a hint of raspberry with a creamy horseradishy inside.
Next came our nitro poached aperitifs. A man arrived with a bowl of liquid nitrogen cooling the fluid down to minus 100 and something. We had a choice of either gin and tonic, campari and soda or vodka and lime sour. I chose the G&T and Mr P chose the campari. Then for each the waiter squirted a ball of mousse type liquid onto a spoon before dropping it into the nitrogen and poaching it for a minute or so. He then told us to each it whole. IT was very cold and on the outside crunchy but on the inside soft, a great palate cleanser and a fantastic bit of theatre.
Next the red cabbage gazpacho with pommery grain mustard ice cream. I thought the soup was absolutely delicious, so refreshing and the ice cream, although a little odd to have freezing cold mustard it complemented the soup perfectly and was really delicious.
Next came a strange platter of moss placed in the middle of the table. We were each told to open a little plastic case which held a tiny piece of film which we were instructed to place on our tongues in order to fully taste the next course. We were presented with a small plate of truffle on toast - deliciously nutty and earthy and another small round bowl containing a layer of pea puree with quail jelly on top with crayfish cream on top of that and chicken liver parfait placed on top. We were told to eat the whole thing together and then left to enjoy the course with the aroma of the forest/moss swirling between us.
It was certainly an intriguing course with the moss scent heavy on the air and the earthy umami taste from the truffles. However the chicken liver combination was not my favourite my a long way and I found the quail jelly pretty gross to be honest, it reminded me of cat food, which is not something I am a particular fan of.
Next, the infamous snail porridge. After the previous course I was slightly dubious but was delighted with what I tasted. A pea green porridge with parsley, snails and shaved fennel on top. The snails were succulent and delicious. One of my favourite courses.
I am not usually a huge fan of foie gras for ethical reasons but I was not about to turn down The Fat Duck's roast foie gras with Japanese seaweed and crab biscuit and I'm very glad I didn't as it was absolutely delicious. Another of my favourite courses.
We were next invited to the Mad Hatter (of Alice and Wonderland fame)'s tea party. We were first presented with a bowl with an egg type shape with three mushrooms growing out the top and a little piece of beef. We were then given a cup with some hot water in it and were then given two 'golden clock' teabags, or what transpired to be beef consomme covered in gold leaf. We were told to stir the cups of tea before pouring it into our bowls. An amazingly odd but amazingly tasty dish.
Sound of the Sea was one of the dishes I had heard about before coming and so was particularly excited about and it was not about to disappoint. We were each presented with a beautiful seashell which had an ipod hidden in it and a set of iphone protruding out of it.
We were then given our plate of food with what looked like foam from the sea (vegetable and seaweed stock), three types of raw fish, seaweed and samphire on a bed of what looked like sand (tapioca with chopped baby sardines). A salty seaside delight.
Another course I was slightly dubious of upon reading the menu was salmon poached in licorice gel as I am not a huge licorice fan. It was however amazing. The licorice was only just tangible and the salmon was so lightly poached it was almost raw, really quite startlingly delicious. It was served with vanilla mayonnaise, artichokes and golden trout roe.
Next came the 'main course', lamb with cucumber (c. 1805). I cant really remember exacly what it was or what it tasted like but I know it was amaze, another of my faves.
The most amazing cup of tea came next with one side of the cup a warm tea and the other half cold. Wow.
The first dessert was macerated strawberries. I can hardly describe how amazing this dish was. We first got given a little cone with earl grey ice cream and some kind of jelly in it. That was amazing. Then the actual course was a combination of different types of strawberries with little pieces of flower, a pistachio and olive oil biscuit and a white chocolate blanket. Simply amazing.
The next dessert was however a little too rich for my liking, especially after 10 courses. The BFG was a black forest gatteaux with kirsch ice cream and a smell of the black forest (a spritz of something above your head as you ate). Tasty, boozy, but way too rich.
I am not a huge whiskey fan so the next course, despite being a clever idea was not to my liking. We were presented with a photoframe of Scotland with little bottle shaped sweets stuck onto different regions. On peeling each off you discovered which type of whiskey it was, how old, etc. Great for whiskey lovers.
Finally came, like a kid in a sweetshop, a bag of homemade sweeties with a sweetsmelling menu.
They were brilliant. The tobacco coconut was brilliant in such a fun little pouch. The apple toffee sweet which could be eaten in its wrapper was brilliant fun and most tasty of all way a queen of hearts card which tasted like white chocolate filled with jam printed like a playing card.
A very amazing meal. After four and a half hours both Mr P and I were very happy.
I decided to treat Mr P to a meal at the restaurant for his 30th Birthday and we went to the restaurant at 12.30 yesterday lunchtime.
For anyone who hadst visited Bray before, it is a quaint little village with a couple of little pubs, and of course a couple of Michelin starred restaurants. The Fat Duck sits discreetly at the side of the high street, it is almost missable and looks a little like someones house.
On stepping inside the door you are thrust right into the restaurant which is cosy and not particularly big, perhaps around 12-15 tables in there. The large amount of staff were hugely cheerful on our arrival, most either asking how we were or greeting us with a huge smile.
We were sat at our table and shortly afterwards a waiter arrived with a trolley of champagne and asked whether we would like to start with a glass. We thought it was rude not to and after deciding not to opt for a glass of champers costing over £100 I settle for a glass of rose champagne and Mr P plumps for a glass of Tattinger - a lovely way to start the meal.
This is swiftly followed by a little amuse bouche: Aerated beetroot with horseradish cream, a slightly crispy shell with a hint of raspberry with a creamy horseradishy inside.
Next came our nitro poached aperitifs. A man arrived with a bowl of liquid nitrogen cooling the fluid down to minus 100 and something. We had a choice of either gin and tonic, campari and soda or vodka and lime sour. I chose the G&T and Mr P chose the campari. Then for each the waiter squirted a ball of mousse type liquid onto a spoon before dropping it into the nitrogen and poaching it for a minute or so. He then told us to each it whole. IT was very cold and on the outside crunchy but on the inside soft, a great palate cleanser and a fantastic bit of theatre.
Next the red cabbage gazpacho with pommery grain mustard ice cream. I thought the soup was absolutely delicious, so refreshing and the ice cream, although a little odd to have freezing cold mustard it complemented the soup perfectly and was really delicious.
Next came a strange platter of moss placed in the middle of the table. We were each told to open a little plastic case which held a tiny piece of film which we were instructed to place on our tongues in order to fully taste the next course. We were presented with a small plate of truffle on toast - deliciously nutty and earthy and another small round bowl containing a layer of pea puree with quail jelly on top with crayfish cream on top of that and chicken liver parfait placed on top. We were told to eat the whole thing together and then left to enjoy the course with the aroma of the forest/moss swirling between us.
It was certainly an intriguing course with the moss scent heavy on the air and the earthy umami taste from the truffles. However the chicken liver combination was not my favourite my a long way and I found the quail jelly pretty gross to be honest, it reminded me of cat food, which is not something I am a particular fan of.
Next, the infamous snail porridge. After the previous course I was slightly dubious but was delighted with what I tasted. A pea green porridge with parsley, snails and shaved fennel on top. The snails were succulent and delicious. One of my favourite courses.
I am not usually a huge fan of foie gras for ethical reasons but I was not about to turn down The Fat Duck's roast foie gras with Japanese seaweed and crab biscuit and I'm very glad I didn't as it was absolutely delicious. Another of my favourite courses.
We were next invited to the Mad Hatter (of Alice and Wonderland fame)'s tea party. We were first presented with a bowl with an egg type shape with three mushrooms growing out the top and a little piece of beef. We were then given a cup with some hot water in it and were then given two 'golden clock' teabags, or what transpired to be beef consomme covered in gold leaf. We were told to stir the cups of tea before pouring it into our bowls. An amazingly odd but amazingly tasty dish.
Sound of the Sea was one of the dishes I had heard about before coming and so was particularly excited about and it was not about to disappoint. We were each presented with a beautiful seashell which had an ipod hidden in it and a set of iphone protruding out of it.
We were then given our plate of food with what looked like foam from the sea (vegetable and seaweed stock), three types of raw fish, seaweed and samphire on a bed of what looked like sand (tapioca with chopped baby sardines). A salty seaside delight.
Another course I was slightly dubious of upon reading the menu was salmon poached in licorice gel as I am not a huge licorice fan. It was however amazing. The licorice was only just tangible and the salmon was so lightly poached it was almost raw, really quite startlingly delicious. It was served with vanilla mayonnaise, artichokes and golden trout roe.
Next came the 'main course', lamb with cucumber (c. 1805). I cant really remember exacly what it was or what it tasted like but I know it was amaze, another of my faves.
The most amazing cup of tea came next with one side of the cup a warm tea and the other half cold. Wow.
The first dessert was macerated strawberries. I can hardly describe how amazing this dish was. We first got given a little cone with earl grey ice cream and some kind of jelly in it. That was amazing. Then the actual course was a combination of different types of strawberries with little pieces of flower, a pistachio and olive oil biscuit and a white chocolate blanket. Simply amazing.
The next dessert was however a little too rich for my liking, especially after 10 courses. The BFG was a black forest gatteaux with kirsch ice cream and a smell of the black forest (a spritz of something above your head as you ate). Tasty, boozy, but way too rich.
I am not a huge whiskey fan so the next course, despite being a clever idea was not to my liking. We were presented with a photoframe of Scotland with little bottle shaped sweets stuck onto different regions. On peeling each off you discovered which type of whiskey it was, how old, etc. Great for whiskey lovers.
Finally came, like a kid in a sweetshop, a bag of homemade sweeties with a sweetsmelling menu.
They were brilliant. The tobacco coconut was brilliant in such a fun little pouch. The apple toffee sweet which could be eaten in its wrapper was brilliant fun and most tasty of all way a queen of hearts card which tasted like white chocolate filled with jam printed like a playing card.
A very amazing meal. After four and a half hours both Mr P and I were very happy.
Friday 11 February 2011
whin.es weekly
Right, I tried not to, but you asked. Well, probably not you, but someone did. What you say? Another WSET update! Whoo!
A treat. Two treats because it's a bit bloody geeky and you might learn something.
This week was the last 'actual learning' lesson, we were looking at, hold your breath, bubbly wine, sweet wines, fortified wine and spirits. No actual, real, proper wine, the red stuff, but actually they are (apart from spirits) wines. Crazy. And before you ask, Johnny Swallow was, indeed, swallowing and gulping and finishing off whatever he poured, I'd assume about a bottle of wine, but this week a damn good mix of things.
We kicked off with a whip through spirits and distillation and that was actually interesting. You know you can distill pretty much anything that can be fermented and make a spirit? (and, unlike making wine or beer at home, a home-distilled spirits are illegal without a license!). Grapes, grains, fruits, vegetables, all sorts of things. Also, the distillation process is pretty cool too, you heat a fermented liquid, the alcohol boils before the water, then it evaporates, then you condence that and what condences is a high alcohol, colourless spirit. Brilliantly complex and it depends on what liquid you distill as to what it ends up as. Distilled wine = brandy, distilled beer = whisky, distilled cider = calvados, distilled blue agave = tequila, distilled anything = vodka. (essentially...).
After this, liqueurs, which are basically any spirit with added sugar and flavouring and a lower alcohol content. Simple. So the difference between a cherry brandy and kirsch is? Cherry brandy is a liqueur based on brandy with added cherry juice and sugar, around 20% abv and a redish colour (from food colouring). Kirsch is a cherry based spirit made by distilling fermented cherries and is colourless and about 40% abv. Got it.
Right, fizzy wine is brilliant, made and fermented and bottled under pressure so when you pop the cork all the trapped carbon dioxide escapes and makes the wine bubbly. Yeah! Two different methods. Simple method, big stainless steel tanks and the tricky (bloody complicated and labour intensive) method with bottle fermentation. You get good ones and bad ones in both methods. Have a prosecco, dry and fresh made in the tank method, inexpensive and trendy or have a Champagne, rounded and yeasty and expensive, made the tricky way. It's your call, not mine.
Sweet wines. There's loads of ways to make a sweet wine. Honestly, loads. Early harvest, late harvest, noble rot (I'll explain that one), freezing, adding sweet stuff (but oh no, not sugar, that's not allowed). There's more, but it comes down to two things. Concentrate the sugar in the grapes and ferment normally, or mess about with fermentation. It's clever, basically, when the alcohol level during fermentation reaches 15% abv the fermentation stops. The yeast just sort of panics and dies. If you've got loads of sugar in the grapes then there's still loads of unconverted sugar (sugar turns to alcohol during fermentation...) and the wine tastes sweet. The other way is to take normal grapes and ferment a little bit, then tip in a load of (essentially) brandy to increase the abv and stop the fermentation, leaving loads of unfermented sugar. The noble rot thing is cool, it's a rot that attacks and lives on the grapes, you need a misty morning to encourage rot and then a warm afternoon to dry the grapes out on the vine, so there isn't much water in the grape and there is lots of sugar. Clever huh? Good rot, like the good bacteria in Activia and the blue mould in Stilton, it tastes good and makes luciously sweet wines in a natural way. Who the hell discovered that? (Just like milking cows???)
Sweet wine technically covers port as well, as that comes under then heading of 'messing about with fermentation'. Sherry is a whole other story, a bit tedious and it tastes horrid (in, like, my opinion...) so I'm going to skip sherry. But not port, port is lovely, if you follow me on twitter, you'll realise that I'm a port convert. Geek fact, they're not called port because they're from Portugal but because they were historically for shipping crews (seamen...) and readily available at port, for journeys. Port wine, from the port, as in ships, not the country.
To make port, they tip in a load of brandy during fermenting red wine and then age it a bit in a barrel and you've got a full bodied, oaky, nutty, sweet redness, called port. Some are young, some get aged for 10 years and some get aged for 30 years in the bottle. The 4 main styles are ruby (young), tawny (a blend of vintages and aged in barrels for 10-15 and then blended again to make a nutty, brown port), late bottled vintage (single vintage, aged in barrel for 5 years but ready to drink when bottled), vintage (single vintage (not every year) and aged in barrel for only a couple of years and then aged in bottle for unto 50 years). 2007 was an amazing year for vintage port but please don't drink one until 2017.
I've got a mock test to do as homework this week and it should be a doodle, and a real test next week, I'll keep you posted. The pass rate is 85% for a distinction and that's my target. Roll on Advanced in September...
I was going to keep the WSET update short and do another 'Your Questions Answered' post, but I'll save that for another week, if you've got any questions or anything you want my opinion on then tweet me @whinesblog or email me dan@whin.es. Actually, if you want to know pretty much anything wine related I'll have a look for you, I'm not as quick or as thorough as wikipedia but I'm much more interesting.
A treat. Two treats because it's a bit bloody geeky and you might learn something.
This week was the last 'actual learning' lesson, we were looking at, hold your breath, bubbly wine, sweet wines, fortified wine and spirits. No actual, real, proper wine, the red stuff, but actually they are (apart from spirits) wines. Crazy. And before you ask, Johnny Swallow was, indeed, swallowing and gulping and finishing off whatever he poured, I'd assume about a bottle of wine, but this week a damn good mix of things.
We kicked off with a whip through spirits and distillation and that was actually interesting. You know you can distill pretty much anything that can be fermented and make a spirit? (and, unlike making wine or beer at home, a home-distilled spirits are illegal without a license!). Grapes, grains, fruits, vegetables, all sorts of things. Also, the distillation process is pretty cool too, you heat a fermented liquid, the alcohol boils before the water, then it evaporates, then you condence that and what condences is a high alcohol, colourless spirit. Brilliantly complex and it depends on what liquid you distill as to what it ends up as. Distilled wine = brandy, distilled beer = whisky, distilled cider = calvados, distilled blue agave = tequila, distilled anything = vodka. (essentially...).
After this, liqueurs, which are basically any spirit with added sugar and flavouring and a lower alcohol content. Simple. So the difference between a cherry brandy and kirsch is? Cherry brandy is a liqueur based on brandy with added cherry juice and sugar, around 20% abv and a redish colour (from food colouring). Kirsch is a cherry based spirit made by distilling fermented cherries and is colourless and about 40% abv. Got it.
Right, fizzy wine is brilliant, made and fermented and bottled under pressure so when you pop the cork all the trapped carbon dioxide escapes and makes the wine bubbly. Yeah! Two different methods. Simple method, big stainless steel tanks and the tricky (bloody complicated and labour intensive) method with bottle fermentation. You get good ones and bad ones in both methods. Have a prosecco, dry and fresh made in the tank method, inexpensive and trendy or have a Champagne, rounded and yeasty and expensive, made the tricky way. It's your call, not mine.
Sweet wines. There's loads of ways to make a sweet wine. Honestly, loads. Early harvest, late harvest, noble rot (I'll explain that one), freezing, adding sweet stuff (but oh no, not sugar, that's not allowed). There's more, but it comes down to two things. Concentrate the sugar in the grapes and ferment normally, or mess about with fermentation. It's clever, basically, when the alcohol level during fermentation reaches 15% abv the fermentation stops. The yeast just sort of panics and dies. If you've got loads of sugar in the grapes then there's still loads of unconverted sugar (sugar turns to alcohol during fermentation...) and the wine tastes sweet. The other way is to take normal grapes and ferment a little bit, then tip in a load of (essentially) brandy to increase the abv and stop the fermentation, leaving loads of unfermented sugar. The noble rot thing is cool, it's a rot that attacks and lives on the grapes, you need a misty morning to encourage rot and then a warm afternoon to dry the grapes out on the vine, so there isn't much water in the grape and there is lots of sugar. Clever huh? Good rot, like the good bacteria in Activia and the blue mould in Stilton, it tastes good and makes luciously sweet wines in a natural way. Who the hell discovered that? (Just like milking cows???)
Sweet wine technically covers port as well, as that comes under then heading of 'messing about with fermentation'. Sherry is a whole other story, a bit tedious and it tastes horrid (in, like, my opinion...) so I'm going to skip sherry. But not port, port is lovely, if you follow me on twitter, you'll realise that I'm a port convert. Geek fact, they're not called port because they're from Portugal but because they were historically for shipping crews (seamen...) and readily available at port, for journeys. Port wine, from the port, as in ships, not the country.
To make port, they tip in a load of brandy during fermenting red wine and then age it a bit in a barrel and you've got a full bodied, oaky, nutty, sweet redness, called port. Some are young, some get aged for 10 years and some get aged for 30 years in the bottle. The 4 main styles are ruby (young), tawny (a blend of vintages and aged in barrels for 10-15 and then blended again to make a nutty, brown port), late bottled vintage (single vintage, aged in barrel for 5 years but ready to drink when bottled), vintage (single vintage (not every year) and aged in barrel for only a couple of years and then aged in bottle for unto 50 years). 2007 was an amazing year for vintage port but please don't drink one until 2017.
I've got a mock test to do as homework this week and it should be a doodle, and a real test next week, I'll keep you posted. The pass rate is 85% for a distinction and that's my target. Roll on Advanced in September...
I was going to keep the WSET update short and do another 'Your Questions Answered' post, but I'll save that for another week, if you've got any questions or anything you want my opinion on then tweet me @whinesblog or email me dan@whin.es. Actually, if you want to know pretty much anything wine related I'll have a look for you, I'm not as quick or as thorough as wikipedia but I'm much more interesting.
Saturday 5 February 2011
A little trip to Oxord
Mr P took me away to Oxford for the weekend so we had a couple of days of wonderous culinery delights.
Breakfast: To get our journey off to a good start we stopped off at Rosie Lee's, a greasy spoon near our house. I had a sausage and egg sandwich and an orange juice - yum!!
Lunch: After arriving in Oxford and checking inot a b'n'b we decided to go check out an Italian, La'Cuccinia (or something like that) which according to Trip Advisor was the best restaurant in Oxford. As soon as we walked in we felt welcomed and the staff we really friendly and chatty. We couldnt decide what to have so Mr P and I shared half a Capriosca pizza (artichoke, ham, mushroom and olive), which was absolutely delicious, and half an artechoke ravioli with crab sauce, which was really really nice, but was perhaps a little different from what I was expecting as the sauce was green, not the pink crabby colour I was anticipating. It was really lovely though and the artechoke tasted so nice with a hit of chilli and some cherry tomatoes. I washed it down with a bottle of Morreti. The perfect start to a weekend away.
After lunch but before dinner we went for a couple of drinks in bars around town, one was called Branco where I had a clemintini (processco, clementine juice and campari) a little bitter from the campari but still very enjoyable. In another bar called the Duke of Cambridge I had a martini of which flavour I cannot remember but it included some passion fruit tastes and reminded me of Um Bungo, which can never be a bad thing.
Dinner: We went to a little French bistro called Pierre Victore. We had a bottle of pinot noir, which was light and lovely. Then for starters we shared some mussels in coconut milk, lime and chilli - not very French but nice none the less. For mains I had lamb with chorizo mash, some of Mr P's haricot vert and a delicious red wine jus. It was so so nice. The meat was pink and delicate and although I'm not entirely sure if it went with the smokey taste of the paprika I devoured the entire dish. For dessert Mr P and I shared a chocolate fondue with banana, marshmallow, strawberries and pineapple for dipping. I finished the meal with an espresso. A wonderful end to a wonderful day. I would go back without a doubt.
Breakfast: To get our journey off to a good start we stopped off at Rosie Lee's, a greasy spoon near our house. I had a sausage and egg sandwich and an orange juice - yum!!
Lunch: After arriving in Oxford and checking inot a b'n'b we decided to go check out an Italian, La'Cuccinia (or something like that) which according to Trip Advisor was the best restaurant in Oxford. As soon as we walked in we felt welcomed and the staff we really friendly and chatty. We couldnt decide what to have so Mr P and I shared half a Capriosca pizza (artichoke, ham, mushroom and olive), which was absolutely delicious, and half an artechoke ravioli with crab sauce, which was really really nice, but was perhaps a little different from what I was expecting as the sauce was green, not the pink crabby colour I was anticipating. It was really lovely though and the artechoke tasted so nice with a hit of chilli and some cherry tomatoes. I washed it down with a bottle of Morreti. The perfect start to a weekend away.
After lunch but before dinner we went for a couple of drinks in bars around town, one was called Branco where I had a clemintini (processco, clementine juice and campari) a little bitter from the campari but still very enjoyable. In another bar called the Duke of Cambridge I had a martini of which flavour I cannot remember but it included some passion fruit tastes and reminded me of Um Bungo, which can never be a bad thing.
Dinner: We went to a little French bistro called Pierre Victore. We had a bottle of pinot noir, which was light and lovely. Then for starters we shared some mussels in coconut milk, lime and chilli - not very French but nice none the less. For mains I had lamb with chorizo mash, some of Mr P's haricot vert and a delicious red wine jus. It was so so nice. The meat was pink and delicate and although I'm not entirely sure if it went with the smokey taste of the paprika I devoured the entire dish. For dessert Mr P and I shared a chocolate fondue with banana, marshmallow, strawberries and pineapple for dipping. I finished the meal with an espresso. A wonderful end to a wonderful day. I would go back without a doubt.
Friday 4 February 2011
whin.es weekly
John John Forrest Forrest wines.
The intro I got from Dr John Forrest this week was excellent. He's like a John Candy playing James Bond, cool and witty, friendly but deadly. Well not deadly, but he makes damn fine wine. The first thing he ever said to me was "Hi, John, John Forrest, Forrest wines" and since then, to me, he's been John John Forrest Forrest.
The Forrest winery in New Zealand is really interesting. With a bunch (great pun) of different labels to differentiate between the different styles of wines he makes, which also provides the customer with a clear indication they are different. You would almost think they different producers alltogether. There is the standard 'Forrest' label with excellent examples of classic New Zealand wines, the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are simply delicious. The 'John Forrest Collection' wines are tip top, usually aged, or late released expressions of Marlborough, the 2006 Syrah and 2004 Chardonnay really stand out. Also the 'Tatty Bogler' range, priced somewhere between the Forrest and Forrest Collection, but from John's vineyards in the southern region of the south island in Otago, a superb Pinot Gris and a Pinot Noir. The climate is cooler in the south, for slower ripening giving more gentle and delicate flavours. (Tatty Boggler is Scottish for Scarecrow, but in John's New Zealand accent it sounds like 'Titty Burgler' with I kept giggling at...)
Luckily, John flew into England last week and flew around some wine shops, did a wine tasting dinner and flew home. All in a weeks work. Luckily enough I got to meet the man himself, for the second time. It's excellent to see someone so passionate about the wines he produces and its refreshing to listen to him talk about them so candidly, with no pretense or ceremony, just "Here's a wine, I made it like this and it smells like this and it tastes great". (Obviously in more detail than that, but in that approach and style) His trip to the wine shop consisted of a twenty five minute run through of four of his wines (he makes loads, we stock about fifteen of his wines and there are more we don't stock).
The reason John was in the UK was to talk about and promote his two newest lables. The 'Doctors' range (John, technically, is Dr John Forrest) is his label for innovative and experimental wines. Grapes that are unusual to New Zealand such as his Arneis and Gruner Veltliner and anything else he deems experimental! Secondly, his 'Valleys' range, which are all single vineyard wines. The New Zealand climate can change pretty dramatically between small areas of land because of mountains and valleys and proximity to seas and winds. All that combined with different soil types, a single vineyard wine can have a distinct character within a much broader region such as Marlborough.
The wines we tasted were:
The Doctors 9.5% Sauvignon Blanc. John has worked long and hard, using pretty much trial and error, to produce a characterful, fresh and full flavoured Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but with lower alcohol. Nobody really knows how he did it but this one is zesty with minerality and just a touch of residual sweetness. Really very drinkable, good for lunchtime (perfect with a caeser or waldorf salad) or just with friends and some chatter.
The Valleys 'Awatare' Sauvignon Blanc. The Awatare vineyard gives this wine an old school freshness. Many modern style examples are getting drier and drier with more minerality, trying to compete with the French Sancerre style, but the older versions 5-10 years ago were much fruiter and livelier and this harks back to those wines. A 2010, 2005 if you will.
The Doctors Gruner Veltliner. The grape is native to Austria (no, not Australia, the European one, Austria) and makes some fine dry wines. I believe John is the only producer in New Zealand to produce wines from this grape. Cool huh? It's similar in style, like a Marlbourgh Sauvignon Blanc is to Sancerre, but it's got punchier and more pronounced aromas and is livelier to taste than its Austrian versions, however, it retains the buttery, oily component with an almondyness to it, very tasty, very interesting.
Tatty Bogler Pinot Noir. The cool climate, 2008 Pinot Noir was just plain lovely. Light bodied, low tannins and the classic mushroomy, cherry Pinot Noir we all love.
And that was that. I did like the fact that John had an inquisitive look at what other wines we had on the tasting counter that day, took one sniff of the Chateaux Musar (from the Lebanon) and tipped it down the sink. He bluntly refused to taste something that "Smells like a used band aid" and "Far to much like a hospital". Brilliant. I'm a little but miffed though, that I didn't get to go to the tasting meal, but it was expensive and sold out before I even realised it was happening.
John is planning a trip for (a VERY limited number of) Adnams staff to go out to New Zealand next March, yes 2012, and spend some time looking at vineyards and travelling around learning the climate and environment and much more. I would VERY much like to do that. Sooner if possible. John, if you're reading this...
You may think that I've been paid to write this by John (or Adnams) but I haven't. I'm just impressed with the sheer number of wine styles he produces, not just wines, but actual styles. Imagine how much work goes into growing, harvesting, fermenting, tasting, tweaking, bottling, packaging, marketing, promoting (and drinking) each wine! Go on. I did, and I wrote this.
All that and John still has time to say both of his names twice and introduce himself as John John Forrest Forrest. Amazing.
That's it for now, you can check out my website http://whin.es and follow me on twitter @whinesblog. You can come and see me in-store at the Adnams Cellar & Kitchen Store in Woodbridge, Suffolk. Should you wish.
The intro I got from Dr John Forrest this week was excellent. He's like a John Candy playing James Bond, cool and witty, friendly but deadly. Well not deadly, but he makes damn fine wine. The first thing he ever said to me was "Hi, John, John Forrest, Forrest wines" and since then, to me, he's been John John Forrest Forrest.
The Forrest winery in New Zealand is really interesting. With a bunch (great pun) of different labels to differentiate between the different styles of wines he makes, which also provides the customer with a clear indication they are different. You would almost think they different producers alltogether. There is the standard 'Forrest' label with excellent examples of classic New Zealand wines, the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are simply delicious. The 'John Forrest Collection' wines are tip top, usually aged, or late released expressions of Marlborough, the 2006 Syrah and 2004 Chardonnay really stand out. Also the 'Tatty Bogler' range, priced somewhere between the Forrest and Forrest Collection, but from John's vineyards in the southern region of the south island in Otago, a superb Pinot Gris and a Pinot Noir. The climate is cooler in the south, for slower ripening giving more gentle and delicate flavours. (Tatty Boggler is Scottish for Scarecrow, but in John's New Zealand accent it sounds like 'Titty Burgler' with I kept giggling at...)
Luckily, John flew into England last week and flew around some wine shops, did a wine tasting dinner and flew home. All in a weeks work. Luckily enough I got to meet the man himself, for the second time. It's excellent to see someone so passionate about the wines he produces and its refreshing to listen to him talk about them so candidly, with no pretense or ceremony, just "Here's a wine, I made it like this and it smells like this and it tastes great". (Obviously in more detail than that, but in that approach and style) His trip to the wine shop consisted of a twenty five minute run through of four of his wines (he makes loads, we stock about fifteen of his wines and there are more we don't stock).
The reason John was in the UK was to talk about and promote his two newest lables. The 'Doctors' range (John, technically, is Dr John Forrest) is his label for innovative and experimental wines. Grapes that are unusual to New Zealand such as his Arneis and Gruner Veltliner and anything else he deems experimental! Secondly, his 'Valleys' range, which are all single vineyard wines. The New Zealand climate can change pretty dramatically between small areas of land because of mountains and valleys and proximity to seas and winds. All that combined with different soil types, a single vineyard wine can have a distinct character within a much broader region such as Marlborough.
The wines we tasted were:
The Doctors 9.5% Sauvignon Blanc. John has worked long and hard, using pretty much trial and error, to produce a characterful, fresh and full flavoured Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but with lower alcohol. Nobody really knows how he did it but this one is zesty with minerality and just a touch of residual sweetness. Really very drinkable, good for lunchtime (perfect with a caeser or waldorf salad) or just with friends and some chatter.
The Valleys 'Awatare' Sauvignon Blanc. The Awatare vineyard gives this wine an old school freshness. Many modern style examples are getting drier and drier with more minerality, trying to compete with the French Sancerre style, but the older versions 5-10 years ago were much fruiter and livelier and this harks back to those wines. A 2010, 2005 if you will.
The Doctors Gruner Veltliner. The grape is native to Austria (no, not Australia, the European one, Austria) and makes some fine dry wines. I believe John is the only producer in New Zealand to produce wines from this grape. Cool huh? It's similar in style, like a Marlbourgh Sauvignon Blanc is to Sancerre, but it's got punchier and more pronounced aromas and is livelier to taste than its Austrian versions, however, it retains the buttery, oily component with an almondyness to it, very tasty, very interesting.
Tatty Bogler Pinot Noir. The cool climate, 2008 Pinot Noir was just plain lovely. Light bodied, low tannins and the classic mushroomy, cherry Pinot Noir we all love.
And that was that. I did like the fact that John had an inquisitive look at what other wines we had on the tasting counter that day, took one sniff of the Chateaux Musar (from the Lebanon) and tipped it down the sink. He bluntly refused to taste something that "Smells like a used band aid" and "Far to much like a hospital". Brilliant. I'm a little but miffed though, that I didn't get to go to the tasting meal, but it was expensive and sold out before I even realised it was happening.
John is planning a trip for (a VERY limited number of) Adnams staff to go out to New Zealand next March, yes 2012, and spend some time looking at vineyards and travelling around learning the climate and environment and much more. I would VERY much like to do that. Sooner if possible. John, if you're reading this...
You may think that I've been paid to write this by John (or Adnams) but I haven't. I'm just impressed with the sheer number of wine styles he produces, not just wines, but actual styles. Imagine how much work goes into growing, harvesting, fermenting, tasting, tweaking, bottling, packaging, marketing, promoting (and drinking) each wine! Go on. I did, and I wrote this.
All that and John still has time to say both of his names twice and introduce himself as John John Forrest Forrest. Amazing.
That's it for now, you can check out my website http://whin.es and follow me on twitter @whinesblog. You can come and see me in-store at the Adnams Cellar & Kitchen Store in Woodbridge, Suffolk. Should you wish.
Sunday 23 January 2011
Chicken and pasta
Mr P and I went out for brunch today. It's been yonks since I went out for brunch and I think it's greatly under-rated, in fact I might go so far as to say that brunch is the new lunch.
Anyway, we went to Joanna's - a nice restaurant in Crystal Palace. We both started off with a coffee - mine an americano and Mr P's a latte. To eat I had eggs benedict and Mr P had scrambled eggs with smoked cripsy bacon, an english muffin and mapel syrup, plus I had a glass of prosecco to top the experience off. It was absolutely delightful and I can't wait to go back and take other friends and family too.
After brunch I wasn't hungry until mid afternoon when I decided to have a cup of tea and a Jodans Frusli blueberry cereal bar.
Mr P made dinner after getting back from a trip to the gym and it was very tasty indeed. I didn't see him make it but my tastebuds tell me it consisted of chicken, pasta, tomatoes, olive oil, white wine, courgette, mushroom and some seasoning. Lovely jubbly and topped off with a glass of dry Muscadet. Yum. Just wishing it wasn't sunday night.
Anyway, we went to Joanna's - a nice restaurant in Crystal Palace. We both started off with a coffee - mine an americano and Mr P's a latte. To eat I had eggs benedict and Mr P had scrambled eggs with smoked cripsy bacon, an english muffin and mapel syrup, plus I had a glass of prosecco to top the experience off. It was absolutely delightful and I can't wait to go back and take other friends and family too.
After brunch I wasn't hungry until mid afternoon when I decided to have a cup of tea and a Jodans Frusli blueberry cereal bar.
Mr P made dinner after getting back from a trip to the gym and it was very tasty indeed. I didn't see him make it but my tastebuds tell me it consisted of chicken, pasta, tomatoes, olive oil, white wine, courgette, mushroom and some seasoning. Lovely jubbly and topped off with a glass of dry Muscadet. Yum. Just wishing it wasn't sunday night.
Saturday 22 January 2011
Mexican
Didn't have any breakfast as I got up late so by lunchtime I was ready for a carb overload and decided to try out a recipe I'd seen on Nigella's programme - marmite pasta. I love marmite and I love pasta but I wasn't sure how putting them together would go. I boiled some linguine, then added a knob of butter and a spoon of marmite, mixed it round a bit and then ate it. It was so so tasty - I think it would be perfect for getting home late after a few too many vinos, or the morning after a few too many - it was great. I shall defintely be having it again soon.
Mr P and I decided to go out on a bit of a date tonight, so we went for a Mexican and then to the cinema to see Black Swan.
The Mexican we went to is in Beckenham and called Dos Amigos and it's a lovely little place. On most of the tables you get sombreros and there was a singer in there last night so it felt almost as though we were on holiday somewhere and not in Kent.
We eadch had a cocktail while we waited for a table as it was fully booked, but after waiting 20 mins our table was ready and we decided to share some oliva and chorizo nachos for starter. They were alright but I'm not sure I'd have olives on nachos in the future. It was all the greta ingredients, nachoes, cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, chillis, olives and chorizo, but perhaps combining them is not the greatest idea in the world. Mr P loved them though.
For mains we had chicken and steak fajitas. Yum yum yum. They came with all the delcious trimmings and were so tasty. The meat was sizzling hot and seasoned to perfection. A lovely evening.
Mr P and I decided to go out on a bit of a date tonight, so we went for a Mexican and then to the cinema to see Black Swan.
The Mexican we went to is in Beckenham and called Dos Amigos and it's a lovely little place. On most of the tables you get sombreros and there was a singer in there last night so it felt almost as though we were on holiday somewhere and not in Kent.
We eadch had a cocktail while we waited for a table as it was fully booked, but after waiting 20 mins our table was ready and we decided to share some oliva and chorizo nachos for starter. They were alright but I'm not sure I'd have olives on nachos in the future. It was all the greta ingredients, nachoes, cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, chillis, olives and chorizo, but perhaps combining them is not the greatest idea in the world. Mr P loved them though.
For mains we had chicken and steak fajitas. Yum yum yum. They came with all the delcious trimmings and were so tasty. The meat was sizzling hot and seasoned to perfection. A lovely evening.
Friday 21 January 2011
whin.es weekly
First WWSET day! (Including mega-review)
The Wine and Spirit Educational Trust, or WSET is a internationally recognised qualification in, well, wines and spirits. It ranges from foundation ("Wine is made from grapes and come in 3 colours") right through to the Diploma. The Diploma is HARD, blind tastings and a written test to pass. In the blind tasting you have to pinpoint country and region, grape variety, quality and price points. Yeah, like I said, hard. Anyway, I'm on the Intermediate course (for now) which is basically level 2 of 4, which to be honest (and I'm not bragging) I'm pretty confident I'll fly through, I'm aiming for a distinction. The test is 50 multiple choice questions with a 85% score needed for a distinction or 46/50, I'll keep you posted on that.
Unfortunately the night before my first day of WSET was my staff Christmas party, combined with my leaving do. All you can eat Chinese and plenty of drinks, always a good night out, but let's just say, I felt worse for wares the next morning. Still, self induced, like every time before, carry on. I got up in plenty of time for the 45 minute drive to Southwold, but realised I'd left my car at the pub, argh! So, I quickly hopped on the bus, found my car, drove quickly and still arrived twenty minutes late, but guess what...I'd read the bloody info wrong and it started at 1.30pm not 1pm, so I was 10 mins early! A result, luck was on my side and I'm an idiot, but I still saw it as a result.
The actual course consists of six sessions, in each session we get to taste about 12 wines. The first session was just to get people who are not used to tasting and evaluating flavours and aromas into the swing of it. Therefore, we had a pretty mixed bag of wines to highlight differences in styles. The range in styles for this lesson was a one off, for the newbies (not like me, huh?), and much like I've done in the past with bartenders, but in a much more organised, and expensive way (Did I mention we tasted 12 wines?). Next week we're concentrating on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The other cool thing we did, and most enjoyable to me (I was starving) was food matching. We had a plate of: apple, peanuts, cold beef, smoked salmon, chilli Doritos, mature cheddar cheese and a mini caramel slice. We had tasters of: fresh Italian Soave, spicy Alsace Gewurztraminer, oaky South African Chenin Blanc, light Beaujolais, smoky South African Pinotage and Sweet desert Muscat. Then we had twenty minutes to trial and error our way to a wine match for each food. (Answers on a postcard) Believe me, some mixes are horrid and some were delightful.
The principles behind food matching are all well and good and I'm sure a lot of you listen to the TV wine pundits and chefs (Olly, Oz, Gordon and Jamie) and wonder what they're going an about and whether it really matters. Well, have a swig of a smokey Pinotage and nibble on some salted peanuts. Then bite an apple and a sip a fresh Soave. Try it. I did. It makes a diffence. It was excellent to put theory into practice and I highly recommend it if you have the time (and the inclination).
The only awkward bit was the spitting (you all want to know about the spitting right?), four buckets between 12. We were told to spit otherwise we'd be trashed by the end (I certainly would have been), and given a quick demo on how to spit elegantly by our course leader. Eugh. They were nearly full and a bit too sloshy for my liking by the end. I even think I got splashed on when someone spat a bit to vigourously. Double eugh.
Mega review time. I'll keep them short, promise.
2008 Soave Borgoletto, Fasoli Gino, £8.50. Light and crisp, floral and zesty, dry with medium acidity. 14/20
2007 Gewurztraminer, Rolly Gassman, Alsace, £16.50. Pronounced nose of roses and spice, with a nice full body. 16/20
2004 Chenin Blanc, Tierhoek, S. Africa, £10.99. Smoky nose like a beach bonfire, subtle tropical fruits. 13/20
2009 Beaujolais Villages, Chiroubles, Desmures, £9.99. Fruity, but great character, balance and tannins for such a young wine. 16/20
2007 Rolands Reserve Pinotage, Seidelberg Estate, Paarl, S. Africa, £15.75. Really pronounced, almost stuffy aroma, smoky with black fruits. 15/20
2007 Domaine Perrin, Muscat Beaumes de Venise, £9.99 (half bottle). A sweet late harvest muscat, doesn't smell sweet, but tastes sweet with lively pineapple fruit. A bit thin. 13/20
2008 Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, Cuvèe Prerstige, £7.75. Lots of aromas of pear, crazy dry, but creamy. Nice acidity. 14/20
2008 La Forcine Vouvray Demi-Sec, A. Bonhomme, £7.50. Nice fresh nose, a hint of sweetness (off dry), lemons and limes. 14/20
2008 Rosado Pirineos, Somantano, Spain, £7.99. Deep pink, few hints of fruit on the nose, a bit pithy and tired on the palate (because it is 2 years old...). 12/20
Blossom Hill (generic) Red, California, £4.49. Fruity and simple. Bit boring. 12/20
2008 Geyserville Zinfandel, Ridge Vineyards, Sonoma, California, £32.50. Save the best until last why don't you. Ridge make some of Californias top premium wines and are a total world away from the Blossom Hill. it's a blend of 72% zinfandel, 20% carignane, 6% petite sirah and 2% mataro, all from a single site, the Geyserville Vineyard. Smaller yields of hand harvested grapes, aging in American oak barrels and a commitment to quality mean this wine has a rich ruby red colour with lively black fruits and gental oak and spice on the nose. There is also excellent balance, nice tannins and a real complexity to this wine. Wowsers. 17/20
The Wine and Spirit Educational Trust, or WSET is a internationally recognised qualification in, well, wines and spirits. It ranges from foundation ("Wine is made from grapes and come in 3 colours") right through to the Diploma. The Diploma is HARD, blind tastings and a written test to pass. In the blind tasting you have to pinpoint country and region, grape variety, quality and price points. Yeah, like I said, hard. Anyway, I'm on the Intermediate course (for now) which is basically level 2 of 4, which to be honest (and I'm not bragging) I'm pretty confident I'll fly through, I'm aiming for a distinction. The test is 50 multiple choice questions with a 85% score needed for a distinction or 46/50, I'll keep you posted on that.
Unfortunately the night before my first day of WSET was my staff Christmas party, combined with my leaving do. All you can eat Chinese and plenty of drinks, always a good night out, but let's just say, I felt worse for wares the next morning. Still, self induced, like every time before, carry on. I got up in plenty of time for the 45 minute drive to Southwold, but realised I'd left my car at the pub, argh! So, I quickly hopped on the bus, found my car, drove quickly and still arrived twenty minutes late, but guess what...I'd read the bloody info wrong and it started at 1.30pm not 1pm, so I was 10 mins early! A result, luck was on my side and I'm an idiot, but I still saw it as a result.
The actual course consists of six sessions, in each session we get to taste about 12 wines. The first session was just to get people who are not used to tasting and evaluating flavours and aromas into the swing of it. Therefore, we had a pretty mixed bag of wines to highlight differences in styles. The range in styles for this lesson was a one off, for the newbies (not like me, huh?), and much like I've done in the past with bartenders, but in a much more organised, and expensive way (Did I mention we tasted 12 wines?). Next week we're concentrating on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The other cool thing we did, and most enjoyable to me (I was starving) was food matching. We had a plate of: apple, peanuts, cold beef, smoked salmon, chilli Doritos, mature cheddar cheese and a mini caramel slice. We had tasters of: fresh Italian Soave, spicy Alsace Gewurztraminer, oaky South African Chenin Blanc, light Beaujolais, smoky South African Pinotage and Sweet desert Muscat. Then we had twenty minutes to trial and error our way to a wine match for each food. (Answers on a postcard) Believe me, some mixes are horrid and some were delightful.
The principles behind food matching are all well and good and I'm sure a lot of you listen to the TV wine pundits and chefs (Olly, Oz, Gordon and Jamie) and wonder what they're going an about and whether it really matters. Well, have a swig of a smokey Pinotage and nibble on some salted peanuts. Then bite an apple and a sip a fresh Soave. Try it. I did. It makes a diffence. It was excellent to put theory into practice and I highly recommend it if you have the time (and the inclination).
The only awkward bit was the spitting (you all want to know about the spitting right?), four buckets between 12. We were told to spit otherwise we'd be trashed by the end (I certainly would have been), and given a quick demo on how to spit elegantly by our course leader. Eugh. They were nearly full and a bit too sloshy for my liking by the end. I even think I got splashed on when someone spat a bit to vigourously. Double eugh.
Mega review time. I'll keep them short, promise.
2008 Soave Borgoletto, Fasoli Gino, £8.50. Light and crisp, floral and zesty, dry with medium acidity. 14/20
2007 Gewurztraminer, Rolly Gassman, Alsace, £16.50. Pronounced nose of roses and spice, with a nice full body. 16/20
2004 Chenin Blanc, Tierhoek, S. Africa, £10.99. Smoky nose like a beach bonfire, subtle tropical fruits. 13/20
2009 Beaujolais Villages, Chiroubles, Desmures, £9.99. Fruity, but great character, balance and tannins for such a young wine. 16/20
2007 Rolands Reserve Pinotage, Seidelberg Estate, Paarl, S. Africa, £15.75. Really pronounced, almost stuffy aroma, smoky with black fruits. 15/20
2007 Domaine Perrin, Muscat Beaumes de Venise, £9.99 (half bottle). A sweet late harvest muscat, doesn't smell sweet, but tastes sweet with lively pineapple fruit. A bit thin. 13/20
2008 Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, Cuvèe Prerstige, £7.75. Lots of aromas of pear, crazy dry, but creamy. Nice acidity. 14/20
2008 La Forcine Vouvray Demi-Sec, A. Bonhomme, £7.50. Nice fresh nose, a hint of sweetness (off dry), lemons and limes. 14/20
2008 Rosado Pirineos, Somantano, Spain, £7.99. Deep pink, few hints of fruit on the nose, a bit pithy and tired on the palate (because it is 2 years old...). 12/20
Blossom Hill (generic) Red, California, £4.49. Fruity and simple. Bit boring. 12/20
2008 Geyserville Zinfandel, Ridge Vineyards, Sonoma, California, £32.50. Save the best until last why don't you. Ridge make some of Californias top premium wines and are a total world away from the Blossom Hill. it's a blend of 72% zinfandel, 20% carignane, 6% petite sirah and 2% mataro, all from a single site, the Geyserville Vineyard. Smaller yields of hand harvested grapes, aging in American oak barrels and a commitment to quality mean this wine has a rich ruby red colour with lively black fruits and gental oak and spice on the nose. There is also excellent balance, nice tannins and a real complexity to this wine. Wowsers. 17/20
Thursday 20 January 2011
Black bean chicken stir-fry
I was ravinous for some reason today so despite having my usual bran flakes on arriving at work I decided to also have some toast - brown with marmite on, it was certainly a treat.
For lunch I just had my ryvita with cottage, but somewhat excitingly it was a nice flavour of ryvita today - sweet onion and they were delicious.
I went to the gym after work so on returning home I decided to make rather a huge stir-fry consisting of a bag ofbean sprouts, a chicken breast, some mushrooms, half a red pepper and some black bean sauce all served with some brown rice. It was an ok meal, and way too much food but it filled me up nicely.
For lunch I just had my ryvita with cottage, but somewhat excitingly it was a nice flavour of ryvita today - sweet onion and they were delicious.
I went to the gym after work so on returning home I decided to make rather a huge stir-fry consisting of a bag ofbean sprouts, a chicken breast, some mushrooms, half a red pepper and some black bean sauce all served with some brown rice. It was an ok meal, and way too much food but it filled me up nicely.
Wednesday 19 January 2011
Pan fried tuna with asian noodles
Breakfast: Bran Flakes
Lunch: Two ryvita with cottage cheese and a cup a soup.
Dinner: Mr P bought home a couple of lovely chunky tuna steaks for us to have for dinner. We of course had them slightly differently as he is still sticking to his protein only diet in the week, so he had the tuna panfried with some mussels cooked with natural yoghurt... hmmm, he said it tasted better than it smelt, but I was a little dubious.
I on the other hand had a rather tasty little tuna steak which I rolled in some fresh coriander, shallots and spring onion and then fired it on a griddle pan for about three minutes each side. Alongside the tuna I fried some red pepper, then boiled some noodles and flash boiled some pak choi. I mixed the peppers, pak choi and noodles together, added some soy sauce and some more corriander and placed the tuna on top - delicious.
Lunch: Two ryvita with cottage cheese and a cup a soup.
Dinner: Mr P bought home a couple of lovely chunky tuna steaks for us to have for dinner. We of course had them slightly differently as he is still sticking to his protein only diet in the week, so he had the tuna panfried with some mussels cooked with natural yoghurt... hmmm, he said it tasted better than it smelt, but I was a little dubious.
I on the other hand had a rather tasty little tuna steak which I rolled in some fresh coriander, shallots and spring onion and then fired it on a griddle pan for about three minutes each side. Alongside the tuna I fried some red pepper, then boiled some noodles and flash boiled some pak choi. I mixed the peppers, pak choi and noodles together, added some soy sauce and some more corriander and placed the tuna on top - delicious.
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Marrow stuffed with couscous
I decided to have a marrow tonight which has been sitting in the fridge for a couple of weeks and I keep avoiding having it but tonight I decided to have it and it certainly wasn't worth the wait.
I was trying to be super healthy so I cut the marrow in half and scooped the inside of them out and put then in the fridge for 20 mins to cook. I then roughly chopped the indides of the marrow and added it to a pan with chilli, mushroom, red pepper, some coriander and salt and pepper and let that cook down. I then made my mediterranean couscous, which was simply from a packet and so I just added water, but it was quite nice and had a tomatoey taste with small pieces of olives.
I mixed toghether my begetable mixture with my cous cous and added it to my cooked marrow. It all looked rather tasty and colourful but looks can be very deceiving. The marrow was very very bland and the cous cous mixture, despite being tasty was pretty dry so after eating for about five minutes I decided just to eat the cous cous on its own, so it wasnt the most successful meal, if I were to make it again I would perhaps add some chopped tomatoes to it or something to make it a little more moist.
As I felt so dissatisfied I undid all the good work I'd done earlier on in the day by eating a bag of malteasers and a caramel kit kat senses.
I was trying to be super healthy so I cut the marrow in half and scooped the inside of them out and put then in the fridge for 20 mins to cook. I then roughly chopped the indides of the marrow and added it to a pan with chilli, mushroom, red pepper, some coriander and salt and pepper and let that cook down. I then made my mediterranean couscous, which was simply from a packet and so I just added water, but it was quite nice and had a tomatoey taste with small pieces of olives.
I mixed toghether my begetable mixture with my cous cous and added it to my cooked marrow. It all looked rather tasty and colourful but looks can be very deceiving. The marrow was very very bland and the cous cous mixture, despite being tasty was pretty dry so after eating for about five minutes I decided just to eat the cous cous on its own, so it wasnt the most successful meal, if I were to make it again I would perhaps add some chopped tomatoes to it or something to make it a little more moist.
As I felt so dissatisfied I undid all the good work I'd done earlier on in the day by eating a bag of malteasers and a caramel kit kat senses.
Monday 17 January 2011
Pizza Express
Had my usual breakfat and lunch... brna flakes, ryvita with cottage cheese (back to Tesco cottage cheese after a week of Sainsbury's - I've definitely decided Tesco is much better), slimmers cup'a'soup and then some carrot and celery - oh what a delicable treat.
In the dinner I went out with some of my lovely ladies, Jenny, Robyn and Chloe. We indulged in some Pizza Express as they had a great deal on four mains for £20, you really can't argue with those prices, particuarly when you all choose Romana based pizzas each over £10 - brilliant.
We shared a couplw of plates of dough balls as a starter while we waited for Jenny to arrive and had some nice red wine. Then for mains I had half a reine (ham, mushrooms and olive) and half a giardinera (asparagus, artichokes, peppers, and some other veg - very nice). Then for dessert we tried the new dough balls with nutella. Despite being utterly stuffed I managed a couple and they were suprisingly tasty. A wonderful evening filled with Italian food, wine and chats with some of my favourite people.
In the dinner I went out with some of my lovely ladies, Jenny, Robyn and Chloe. We indulged in some Pizza Express as they had a great deal on four mains for £20, you really can't argue with those prices, particuarly when you all choose Romana based pizzas each over £10 - brilliant.
We shared a couplw of plates of dough balls as a starter while we waited for Jenny to arrive and had some nice red wine. Then for mains I had half a reine (ham, mushrooms and olive) and half a giardinera (asparagus, artichokes, peppers, and some other veg - very nice). Then for dessert we tried the new dough balls with nutella. Despite being utterly stuffed I managed a couple and they were suprisingly tasty. A wonderful evening filled with Italian food, wine and chats with some of my favourite people.
Sunday 16 January 2011
Roast beef
Breakfast: Bran flakes
Lunch: Tuna pasta
Dinner: Roast beef with delicious roast pototoes, red cabbage, carrots, broccoli and gravy - yum!
Lunch: Tuna pasta
Dinner: Roast beef with delicious roast pototoes, red cabbage, carrots, broccoli and gravy - yum!
Thursday 13 January 2011
Sirloin steak ... again
Flew out to Copenhagen for work today so got up and had my usual bowl of Bran flakes before leaving to catch my flight from Heathrow.
Whilst on the plane I had a blueberry muffin, which was very poor, really crumbly and dry oh and also really expensive, so not a good choice by me.
We stayed in a really lovely hotel - I had two sinks in my bathrooms and white dressing gowns and clippers, any hotel which provides dressing gowns is a good hotel in my eyes.
Once we Had checked in we went for lunch in a bar connected to the hotel. I had seafood linguine which was absolutely delicious. The pasta was cooked perfectly with an assortment of prawns, mussels and salmon in a sauce including cherry tomatoes and capers. A really tasty meal washed down with a glass of red wine - perfection.
In the evening we went to a really cool restaurant in a slightly run down part of town. It was a lovely rustic Spanish type restaurant with mismatched chairs and wooden tables. Some waitresses bought round some plates of salsify which had been cooked almost like chips and I think they had been deep-fried and then topped with cheese - they were absolutely delicious and I could have eaten a whole plate of them.
For starters we had smoked salmon with a kind of potato salad, which alongside potato also had carrot and peas but was really lovely.
For mains we had sirloin steak cooked extremely rare - beautiful - and served with sliced potatoes and a tomatoey almost rattitouey like sauce. Really delicious.
The crowning glory was the dessert, which was a huge piece of meringue, perfectly chewy inside with hazelnuts and pecans inside. It was topped with cream and chopped peaches, pears and a chocolate and hazelnut sauce. We were definitely spoilt.
Whilst on the plane I had a blueberry muffin, which was very poor, really crumbly and dry oh and also really expensive, so not a good choice by me.
We stayed in a really lovely hotel - I had two sinks in my bathrooms and white dressing gowns and clippers, any hotel which provides dressing gowns is a good hotel in my eyes.
Once we Had checked in we went for lunch in a bar connected to the hotel. I had seafood linguine which was absolutely delicious. The pasta was cooked perfectly with an assortment of prawns, mussels and salmon in a sauce including cherry tomatoes and capers. A really tasty meal washed down with a glass of red wine - perfection.
In the evening we went to a really cool restaurant in a slightly run down part of town. It was a lovely rustic Spanish type restaurant with mismatched chairs and wooden tables. Some waitresses bought round some plates of salsify which had been cooked almost like chips and I think they had been deep-fried and then topped with cheese - they were absolutely delicious and I could have eaten a whole plate of them.
For starters we had smoked salmon with a kind of potato salad, which alongside potato also had carrot and peas but was really lovely.
For mains we had sirloin steak cooked extremely rare - beautiful - and served with sliced potatoes and a tomatoey almost rattitouey like sauce. Really delicious.
The crowning glory was the dessert, which was a huge piece of meringue, perfectly chewy inside with hazelnuts and pecans inside. It was topped with cream and chopped peaches, pears and a chocolate and hazelnut sauce. We were definitely spoilt.
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Sirloin steak with egg, beans and mushrooms
Breakfast: Bran Flakes
Lunch: Two ryvita with cottage cheese and a cup'a'soup
Had dinner cooked by Mr P's brother Howard who is staying with us for a few weeks. Had a delciously cooked mediium/rare steak with mushrooms, baked beans and a boiled egg. All cooked to perfection and all delicious!
Lunch: Two ryvita with cottage cheese and a cup'a'soup
Had dinner cooked by Mr P's brother Howard who is staying with us for a few weeks. Had a delciously cooked mediium/rare steak with mushrooms, baked beans and a boiled egg. All cooked to perfection and all delicious!
Tuesday 11 January 2011
Tapas
Once again I had my usual breakfast and lunch but had an epic fail on the diet front come mid afternoon when I decided a Lion bar and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps would be a good idea as I had forgotten to bring any carrots or celery and the apple on my desk wasn't quite exciting enough.
By the time someone's chocolate caterpillar Birthday cake came out at 5pm I had given up all hope of being healthy and tucked into a sizable slice.
For dinner I met up with my brother and we went to a tapas restuarant in Clapham called Carmen. We were both starving when we arrived so we ordered tonnes from the menu only to find we had ordered way to much, but I certainly didnt regret it as it was really yum and made me feel as though I was back on holiday.
We had:
Bread and butter (good old Anchor butter, which I am a huge fan of but havent had this year, so I gulped my bread down with huge hunks of butter - you can't go wrong with 'real' butter - none of this margarine malarky)
Chorizo in wine
Bell peppers stuffed with mince and topped with cheese (a surprise hit for me)
Calamari
Patatas bravas
Spanish blue cheese croquettes (very strong but deliious, with a lovely onion chutney, which complimented it beautifully)
Mushrooms in a spinach cream sauce
The restaurant was lovely with little rickey tables and chairs all packed closely together. Although a little cosy it felt really authentic and was a lovely evening.
By the time someone's chocolate caterpillar Birthday cake came out at 5pm I had given up all hope of being healthy and tucked into a sizable slice.
For dinner I met up with my brother and we went to a tapas restuarant in Clapham called Carmen. We were both starving when we arrived so we ordered tonnes from the menu only to find we had ordered way to much, but I certainly didnt regret it as it was really yum and made me feel as though I was back on holiday.
We had:
Bread and butter (good old Anchor butter, which I am a huge fan of but havent had this year, so I gulped my bread down with huge hunks of butter - you can't go wrong with 'real' butter - none of this margarine malarky)
Chorizo in wine
Bell peppers stuffed with mince and topped with cheese (a surprise hit for me)
Calamari
Patatas bravas
Spanish blue cheese croquettes (very strong but deliious, with a lovely onion chutney, which complimented it beautifully)
Mushrooms in a spinach cream sauce
The restaurant was lovely with little rickey tables and chairs all packed closely together. Although a little cosy it felt really authentic and was a lovely evening.
Monday 10 January 2011
Tandoori chicken with rice salad
Started off the week well with my usual bran flakes and some cottage cheese, ryvita, cup a soup, yoghurt, carrot ands celery combo at work.
LAst night I marinated some chicken breasts with a mixture made up of natural yoghurt, tandoori poweder, garlic and tomato purree and then cut grooves into the chicken and pasted on the marinate to leave overnight.
This evening I then just put the chicken in the oven for 25 mins and then served it with rice salad, which I made with brown rice, diced cucumber, red pepper and cherry tomatoes and a spoon of natural yoghurt. A delicious meal all in all. The chicken was extremeley succulent and the tandoori mixture was so so nice.
LAst night I marinated some chicken breasts with a mixture made up of natural yoghurt, tandoori poweder, garlic and tomato purree and then cut grooves into the chicken and pasted on the marinate to leave overnight.
This evening I then just put the chicken in the oven for 25 mins and then served it with rice salad, which I made with brown rice, diced cucumber, red pepper and cherry tomatoes and a spoon of natural yoghurt. A delicious meal all in all. The chicken was extremeley succulent and the tandoori mixture was so so nice.
Sunday 9 January 2011
Home made burger, chips and beans
Breakfast : Bran flakes with skimmed milk and a cup of tea
Lunch: Went to the White Horse in Parson's Green with some of my family and some of my sisters boyfriend Luca's family. It was a lovely gastro put with a good menu of top quality hearty meals and a great selection of roasts. While most people on our table plumped for roasts and sausage and mash (which smelt amazing!) I chose the Gressingham duck breast with dauphinoise potatoes, marrow gratin, green beans and a red wine jus. It was really really delicious. The meat was slightly cripsy on the skin but underneath was left very rare, which I loved although it might not be to everyone's taste. The potatoes were perfectly cooked, really soft. I was particularly impressed by the marrow, marrow is not the most glamourous of vegetables but can often be a little mushy. This marrow still held its shape and flavour and complemented the rest of the meal perfectly. A perfect sunday afternoon.
Dinner: MR P made some very nice home made burgers with chilli, lean mince, onion, tomato and some other things. We had them with home made chips and beans. Comfort food. Yum.
Dessert: We went to our local pub The Bridge House in Penge for a drink and I only had one drink - a very refreshing Aspalls blush (cider with a splash of blackcurrant cordial). I only had one drink so while the boys had their second I had a sticky toffee and date puding with vanilla bean ice cream and toffee sauce. I am a huge fan of any kind of butterscotch/caramel/toffee sauce, so this was most defintely a good choice!
Lunch: Went to the White Horse in Parson's Green with some of my family and some of my sisters boyfriend Luca's family. It was a lovely gastro put with a good menu of top quality hearty meals and a great selection of roasts. While most people on our table plumped for roasts and sausage and mash (which smelt amazing!) I chose the Gressingham duck breast with dauphinoise potatoes, marrow gratin, green beans and a red wine jus. It was really really delicious. The meat was slightly cripsy on the skin but underneath was left very rare, which I loved although it might not be to everyone's taste. The potatoes were perfectly cooked, really soft. I was particularly impressed by the marrow, marrow is not the most glamourous of vegetables but can often be a little mushy. This marrow still held its shape and flavour and complemented the rest of the meal perfectly. A perfect sunday afternoon.
Dinner: MR P made some very nice home made burgers with chilli, lean mince, onion, tomato and some other things. We had them with home made chips and beans. Comfort food. Yum.
Dessert: We went to our local pub The Bridge House in Penge for a drink and I only had one drink - a very refreshing Aspalls blush (cider with a splash of blackcurrant cordial). I only had one drink so while the boys had their second I had a sticky toffee and date puding with vanilla bean ice cream and toffee sauce. I am a huge fan of any kind of butterscotch/caramel/toffee sauce, so this was most defintely a good choice!
Saturday 8 January 2011
Curry!!!!!
Started well this morning on my diet and had a very low fat 'fry up', well it wasnt exactly a fry up, but it wasn't bran flakes at least. I had a piece of lean ham with dry fried mushrooms and half a tin of chopped tomatoes, yum. It was really enjoyable and made a nice difference to my cereal.
For lunch I decided to make a spicy sweet potato soup. I roughly chopped a leek and cubed a potato and dry fried them both and added a bit of water, some chilli, a stock cube and some salt and pepper. I let this simmer for about half an hour until it was all soft and then added the leftover sweet potato from yesterday. I left this simmmering for about 15 mins and added a little bit of cajun pepper, some salt and pepper. I then blitzed it all in the food processsor, put it back on the hob and then at the last minute added a spoonful of fromage frais. It tasted good, if a little spicey but it was a little thick and could have done with being a bit more watery so it didnt remind me too much of baby food. I'd make it again though.
After five days on the diet Mr P and I were both starting to feel the struggle, and as his brother moved in with us today for a few months we decided to go out for a meal to celebrate. After going for a drink we attempted to go to an Italian called Lorenzos in Crystal Palace. We were told it would just be five minutes for a table buti after wating for half an hour we decided to leave and get a curry at Gurkha Cottage.
It was so so tasty. For starters we had:
Tandoori squid - very nice with a definite kick
Prawn puri - delcious, soft, always a winner in my eyes
Then for mains we shared:
A chicken korma
Some lamb tomatoey based dish which was on the specials and was really nice
Dil Passandi - another mild dish with nuts
Pilau rice
Plain naan
It was all really good and we had a lovely evening.
For lunch I decided to make a spicy sweet potato soup. I roughly chopped a leek and cubed a potato and dry fried them both and added a bit of water, some chilli, a stock cube and some salt and pepper. I let this simmer for about half an hour until it was all soft and then added the leftover sweet potato from yesterday. I left this simmmering for about 15 mins and added a little bit of cajun pepper, some salt and pepper. I then blitzed it all in the food processsor, put it back on the hob and then at the last minute added a spoonful of fromage frais. It tasted good, if a little spicey but it was a little thick and could have done with being a bit more watery so it didnt remind me too much of baby food. I'd make it again though.
After five days on the diet Mr P and I were both starting to feel the struggle, and as his brother moved in with us today for a few months we decided to go out for a meal to celebrate. After going for a drink we attempted to go to an Italian called Lorenzos in Crystal Palace. We were told it would just be five minutes for a table buti after wating for half an hour we decided to leave and get a curry at Gurkha Cottage.
It was so so tasty. For starters we had:
Tandoori squid - very nice with a definite kick
Prawn puri - delcious, soft, always a winner in my eyes
Then for mains we shared:
A chicken korma
Some lamb tomatoey based dish which was on the specials and was really nice
Dil Passandi - another mild dish with nuts
Pilau rice
Plain naan
It was all really good and we had a lovely evening.
whin.es weekly
New years eve.
The new years party I went to was great. Most years I moan that the typical NYE celebrations are a let down, but this year, I had a good time. Cool. Well, I took photos of the eight bottles of wine we polished off so I could remember them (I skipped photos of the Guinness, Aspalls, Carlsberg, Fosters and Morgans Spiced). Here is a chronological review of the wines and the evening as a whole.
Tim's Cono Sur Chilean Pinot Noir. I got a text from Tim at 4pm saying "Picking everyone up about 6, bring drinks and sleeping bags". We got to the party just before 7pm (the invite said 7.30pm - 8pm) and the girls were still doing makeup and straightening their hair (later on in the night Kev would try and do the same). So we got our drinks in from the car. Tim had bought a Chilean Pinot Noir because the label had a bike on the front and Tim likes bikes (no score as he wouldn't let me taste it, he seemed to enjoy it though). By the time we got back inside the table was miraculously filled with all manner of nibbles (some very tasty cheese straws), I decided to hang by the food table and watch Kev get agitated when people started to help themselves to the three pizzas he'd brought along for his dinner.
Cara's White Zinfandel and drinking games. Once we were all settled and we'd finished filling up on cheese straws for the night ahead, we'd all found a comfy seat and we were wondering what to do next. We (naturally) opened the box of 'Adult Drinking Games'. They were all too pointlessly complex and we found ourselves getting bored with the instructions without even attempting to play. Frustrated we decided on a much simpler game, but all togther easier to lose. The game was name a celebrity, any celebrity, but the first name had to begin with the first letter of the last surname (Matthew Perry-Peter Stringfellow-Simon Amstell-Anna Friel etc etc), the forefit simply being having to 'drink while you think'. It's actually pretty tricky to think of ANY celebrity when your downing glass of wine and are being chanted at.
Cara was drinking some sickly sweet American White Zinfandel Rose. Zinfandel is a red grape and White Zinfandel occurred by accident when the cast off, unfermented juice from a hearty red got fermented in to a sweet pink wine (Cara's cast off White Zin scores a pitiful 8/20). Cara couldn't grasp the game, panicked and drank far to much. She had to stop and open another bottle and refill her glass on one turn. Kev kept jumping in on other people goes, mostly out of shock for finding an answer and I was pretty good (naturally). Other games worth mentioning were Indoor Giant (medium) Jenga and the Best Pass the Parcel ever (you had to be there).
Two Champagnes at midnight. Q. Who knows the words to Auld Langs Ayne anyway? A. Max, apparently. Me and Tracy had our Champagnes at the ready, 10 of us avidly watching and cheering on the Hootananny countdown clock. My Champagne was a treat to my chums and was (predictably) the Adnams Selection NV Champagne (which scores 15/20), which is nice and lively, a little yeasty and generally pretty tasty. Tracy's was a Christmas gift from her boss and also (predictably) excellent. It was the Heidsieck & Co, Gold Top, 2005 Vintage to be exact (And scores 16/20), much more full bodied and bready with the obvious depth from the single vintage bottle ageing. I actually remember the difference well because I was secretly a little gutted about being out-champagned. (After a little research today I realised that it's currently on offer at Majestic at £20 a bottle if you buy 6, so now I know). I quite happily finished off my bottle after the worlds worst rendition of Auld Langs Ayne, as the only words we could manage went "Shhhhould ooooooooooold acquaintance be forgot and naaaa na na naaaa naahhhhh, lllaaaa la daaah da da for the sake of Old Lambs Eyes....." followed by hugs and kisses and "More cheese straws anyone?"
Esther's Lindemans Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz. This wine started with a challenge, me being the 'wino' of the group, I was involved in a bit of late night blind tasting, followed by a bit of late night blind spilling. Esther opened a new bottle of wine and I asked if I could try some and was asked to guess the wine, I guessed American Merlot. The wine was a bit of a tricky one really a Merlot/Cab/Shiraz isn't just unusual, its three pretty bloody different grapes all mushed together, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are a classic mix but throwing Shiraz in is just a producer throwing all his eggs in one basket (grapes in his bottles?) for the sake of, presumably, cost and production volume. At least I got Merlot? Anyway the wine was ok (Lindemans Mega-Mix scores 13/20) and it ended being spilt on the floor after an over enthusiastic rendition of Yellow by Coldplay on the Xbox game Lips and a denial from a guilty Esther "It's normally me, but this time, honestly, it wasn't....".
Asti at 3am. Nobody needs Asti at 3am, but it was the one I got given for Christmas and I was determined to drink it. We were (surprisingly) still awake and finding things to eat and drink (the quesadillas we ate were probably the nicest thing I've had in a long time, if only I could remember what was in them and how they tasted). Asti is underrated and everyone was apprehensive, but it just grows on you, the super fizzy sweetness was actually pretty refreshing after a night of Guinness and red wine. A winner all round.
The Cote du Rhone I shouldn't have opened. It was 4am by now, the Asti had all gone and the night was obviously drawing to a close, but I had an empty glass and was determined to fill it back up. I am a fan of CdR and I knew I still had a bottle hidden for just this problem. It was the Cellier des Dauphins, CdR 2009, somewhere in my collection of empty wine bottles at home, I have the 2007 and 2008 vintage of this wine, it's £5 and comes in a funny, dumpy little bottle, but it's my go-to value Rhone (the 2009 scores 15/20 because it's better than it should be for £5). Well, the glass I poured myself was still in the glass when I woke up and the rest was still in the bottle. Nobody had touched it, not because we didn't lilke it, but because we clearly didn't need it.
A bottle of Kiwi Curvee? The eighth wine bottle picture I have absolutely no idea about. According to the picture it is a French Vin du Pays Sauvignon Blanc called Kiwi Curvee and seems to fit, chronologically, somewhere between the Lindemans and the Asti and around the time Tom disappeared.
That's it for now, you can check out my website http://whin.es and follow me on twitter @whinesblog. You can come and see me in-store at the Adnams Cellar & Kitchen Store in Woodbridge, Suffolk. Should you wish.
The new years party I went to was great. Most years I moan that the typical NYE celebrations are a let down, but this year, I had a good time. Cool. Well, I took photos of the eight bottles of wine we polished off so I could remember them (I skipped photos of the Guinness, Aspalls, Carlsberg, Fosters and Morgans Spiced). Here is a chronological review of the wines and the evening as a whole.
Tim's Cono Sur Chilean Pinot Noir. I got a text from Tim at 4pm saying "Picking everyone up about 6, bring drinks and sleeping bags". We got to the party just before 7pm (the invite said 7.30pm - 8pm) and the girls were still doing makeup and straightening their hair (later on in the night Kev would try and do the same). So we got our drinks in from the car. Tim had bought a Chilean Pinot Noir because the label had a bike on the front and Tim likes bikes (no score as he wouldn't let me taste it, he seemed to enjoy it though). By the time we got back inside the table was miraculously filled with all manner of nibbles (some very tasty cheese straws), I decided to hang by the food table and watch Kev get agitated when people started to help themselves to the three pizzas he'd brought along for his dinner.
Cara's White Zinfandel and drinking games. Once we were all settled and we'd finished filling up on cheese straws for the night ahead, we'd all found a comfy seat and we were wondering what to do next. We (naturally) opened the box of 'Adult Drinking Games'. They were all too pointlessly complex and we found ourselves getting bored with the instructions without even attempting to play. Frustrated we decided on a much simpler game, but all togther easier to lose. The game was name a celebrity, any celebrity, but the first name had to begin with the first letter of the last surname (Matthew Perry-Peter Stringfellow-Simon Amstell-Anna Friel etc etc), the forefit simply being having to 'drink while you think'. It's actually pretty tricky to think of ANY celebrity when your downing glass of wine and are being chanted at.
Cara was drinking some sickly sweet American White Zinfandel Rose. Zinfandel is a red grape and White Zinfandel occurred by accident when the cast off, unfermented juice from a hearty red got fermented in to a sweet pink wine (Cara's cast off White Zin scores a pitiful 8/20). Cara couldn't grasp the game, panicked and drank far to much. She had to stop and open another bottle and refill her glass on one turn. Kev kept jumping in on other people goes, mostly out of shock for finding an answer and I was pretty good (naturally). Other games worth mentioning were Indoor Giant (medium) Jenga and the Best Pass the Parcel ever (you had to be there).
Two Champagnes at midnight. Q. Who knows the words to Auld Langs Ayne anyway? A. Max, apparently. Me and Tracy had our Champagnes at the ready, 10 of us avidly watching and cheering on the Hootananny countdown clock. My Champagne was a treat to my chums and was (predictably) the Adnams Selection NV Champagne (which scores 15/20), which is nice and lively, a little yeasty and generally pretty tasty. Tracy's was a Christmas gift from her boss and also (predictably) excellent. It was the Heidsieck & Co, Gold Top, 2005 Vintage to be exact (And scores 16/20), much more full bodied and bready with the obvious depth from the single vintage bottle ageing. I actually remember the difference well because I was secretly a little gutted about being out-champagned. (After a little research today I realised that it's currently on offer at Majestic at £20 a bottle if you buy 6, so now I know). I quite happily finished off my bottle after the worlds worst rendition of Auld Langs Ayne, as the only words we could manage went "Shhhhould ooooooooooold acquaintance be forgot and naaaa na na naaaa naahhhhh, lllaaaa la daaah da da for the sake of Old Lambs Eyes....." followed by hugs and kisses and "More cheese straws anyone?"
Esther's Lindemans Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz. This wine started with a challenge, me being the 'wino' of the group, I was involved in a bit of late night blind tasting, followed by a bit of late night blind spilling. Esther opened a new bottle of wine and I asked if I could try some and was asked to guess the wine, I guessed American Merlot. The wine was a bit of a tricky one really a Merlot/Cab/Shiraz isn't just unusual, its three pretty bloody different grapes all mushed together, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are a classic mix but throwing Shiraz in is just a producer throwing all his eggs in one basket (grapes in his bottles?) for the sake of, presumably, cost and production volume. At least I got Merlot? Anyway the wine was ok (Lindemans Mega-Mix scores 13/20) and it ended being spilt on the floor after an over enthusiastic rendition of Yellow by Coldplay on the Xbox game Lips and a denial from a guilty Esther "It's normally me, but this time, honestly, it wasn't....".
Asti at 3am. Nobody needs Asti at 3am, but it was the one I got given for Christmas and I was determined to drink it. We were (surprisingly) still awake and finding things to eat and drink (the quesadillas we ate were probably the nicest thing I've had in a long time, if only I could remember what was in them and how they tasted). Asti is underrated and everyone was apprehensive, but it just grows on you, the super fizzy sweetness was actually pretty refreshing after a night of Guinness and red wine. A winner all round.
The Cote du Rhone I shouldn't have opened. It was 4am by now, the Asti had all gone and the night was obviously drawing to a close, but I had an empty glass and was determined to fill it back up. I am a fan of CdR and I knew I still had a bottle hidden for just this problem. It was the Cellier des Dauphins, CdR 2009, somewhere in my collection of empty wine bottles at home, I have the 2007 and 2008 vintage of this wine, it's £5 and comes in a funny, dumpy little bottle, but it's my go-to value Rhone (the 2009 scores 15/20 because it's better than it should be for £5). Well, the glass I poured myself was still in the glass when I woke up and the rest was still in the bottle. Nobody had touched it, not because we didn't lilke it, but because we clearly didn't need it.
A bottle of Kiwi Curvee? The eighth wine bottle picture I have absolutely no idea about. According to the picture it is a French Vin du Pays Sauvignon Blanc called Kiwi Curvee and seems to fit, chronologically, somewhere between the Lindemans and the Asti and around the time Tom disappeared.
That's it for now, you can check out my website http://whin.es and follow me on twitter @whinesblog. You can come and see me in-store at the Adnams Cellar & Kitchen Store in Woodbridge, Suffolk. Should you wish.
Friday 7 January 2011
Baked salmon with sweet potato smash and green beans
I haven't written my blog for ages and I've really missed it so I'm going to start picking it up every day again and as this is my 100th post it's a good time to pledge that I will start to blog again daily.
Christmas and New Year was a very busy time on the food front, with plenty of meals out and an abundance of cheese, chocolate and turkey. I also have rather a few bottles of vino over the festive period so I though I could do with a bit of a detox in January, so I have embarked on my first ever diet.
I have decided to do the Rosemary Conley Hip and Thigh diet after my mum suggested it had been a good one for her. Its a good one as I can still eat lots of different foods, its just cutting down on a any fatty products. You can even have two alcoholic drinks a day, which although I won't it'd nice to know that I can.
So today I had a bowl of bran flakes with skimmed milk for breakfast. I've been having this all week as part of my diet and is going well.
Mid morning it was someones Birthday in the office and so they had a cake. It was a really nice Haribo cake, which I've never seen before, but it was really soft sponge with creamy icing. Although I knew I shouldn't I had a slice and I didnt regret it - it was gorgeous!
For lunch I had two ryvita with cottage cheese, a thai flavoured slimmers cup'a'soup (very tasty indeed) and a fat free vanilla yoghurt. I've been enjoying my lunches on this diet as even though they are low in fat it seems as though I am having a decent amount of food.
I was slightly peckish in the afternoon so I had some carrot sticks and celery sticks I had prepared earlier.
Mr P has also embarked on a diet, but we are doing different ones, which is making mealtimes a little frustrating. He is doing the Dukan diet and is currently in the attack phase where he can only eat meat, fish, eggs and non fat dairy products. Tonight I decided to make something we could both eat and then add some carbs and veg to mine.
I put a couple of salmon fillets on top of some foil and scattered a packet of prawns over them. I then added some lemon juice, some capers, some marjoram and seasoned with salt and pepper before closing up the foil into a little package and putting it into the oven at 200 degrees C for 25 mins.
With my salmon I cubed a sweet potato and roasted it for about half an hour. I then added some chillli flakes, a spoon on fromage frais and a squeeze of lemon juice and lightly crushed them so they were half mashed - I think smashed is a giid way of describing that. I served it with boiled green beans. And for Mr P's I poached two eggs.
We both really enjoyed our meals and found them filling, which is a vbery good thing when you're on a diet. I will definitely be making my sweet potato thing again, it was delicious.
I had my first glass of wine this week - a glass of Chilean sauvingnon blanc/pinot grigio. I've never had a blend like this before but I really enjoyed it, very crips and went perfectly with my meal.
Christmas and New Year was a very busy time on the food front, with plenty of meals out and an abundance of cheese, chocolate and turkey. I also have rather a few bottles of vino over the festive period so I though I could do with a bit of a detox in January, so I have embarked on my first ever diet.
I have decided to do the Rosemary Conley Hip and Thigh diet after my mum suggested it had been a good one for her. Its a good one as I can still eat lots of different foods, its just cutting down on a any fatty products. You can even have two alcoholic drinks a day, which although I won't it'd nice to know that I can.
So today I had a bowl of bran flakes with skimmed milk for breakfast. I've been having this all week as part of my diet and is going well.
Mid morning it was someones Birthday in the office and so they had a cake. It was a really nice Haribo cake, which I've never seen before, but it was really soft sponge with creamy icing. Although I knew I shouldn't I had a slice and I didnt regret it - it was gorgeous!
For lunch I had two ryvita with cottage cheese, a thai flavoured slimmers cup'a'soup (very tasty indeed) and a fat free vanilla yoghurt. I've been enjoying my lunches on this diet as even though they are low in fat it seems as though I am having a decent amount of food.
I was slightly peckish in the afternoon so I had some carrot sticks and celery sticks I had prepared earlier.
Mr P has also embarked on a diet, but we are doing different ones, which is making mealtimes a little frustrating. He is doing the Dukan diet and is currently in the attack phase where he can only eat meat, fish, eggs and non fat dairy products. Tonight I decided to make something we could both eat and then add some carbs and veg to mine.
I put a couple of salmon fillets on top of some foil and scattered a packet of prawns over them. I then added some lemon juice, some capers, some marjoram and seasoned with salt and pepper before closing up the foil into a little package and putting it into the oven at 200 degrees C for 25 mins.
With my salmon I cubed a sweet potato and roasted it for about half an hour. I then added some chillli flakes, a spoon on fromage frais and a squeeze of lemon juice and lightly crushed them so they were half mashed - I think smashed is a giid way of describing that. I served it with boiled green beans. And for Mr P's I poached two eggs.
We both really enjoyed our meals and found them filling, which is a vbery good thing when you're on a diet. I will definitely be making my sweet potato thing again, it was delicious.
I had my first glass of wine this week - a glass of Chilean sauvingnon blanc/pinot grigio. I've never had a blend like this before but I really enjoyed it, very crips and went perfectly with my meal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)