florence and pisa

As my career has progressed I have realised that I like to research and organise. So for the second time in four years I organised a city break for myself and my female colleagues. I am lucky that the females in my department are such good friends and all around the same age. Four years we went to Istanbul and it was fantastic.

This year we decided to go to Florence. It is a place that all eight of us had not yet been to and all wanted to visit. So in the Summer of last year we booked flights with British Airways for under a hundred pounds.

Florence is beautiful and much more than I had expected. Sometimes it felt that you are were walking in a film set because it just seemed so surreal. The biggest surprise was the food. Because there was so many of us I researched hard for restaurants that took reservations and served traditional food that was popular with Florentines and not so much with tourists.

Anyway below are some of the pictures from my trip. Highlights were the pizzas at O'Munaciello which were fantastic and the eat all you want buffet brunch (22 euros)at Obika which was just sublime. Seeing the Leaning Tower was also a bit surreal for for all the times you see it in images the lean in the tower is really breathtaking.

 Quirky Interior of O'Munaciello

 Antipasti

 One of the best pizzas I have ever had

 Ponte Vecchio Bridge at night

 View of the Al Duomo

 Tiramisu Masterclass

 Al fresco dining at Il Latini www.illatini.com

Rabbit Gnocchi

Rabbit, veal, beef, chicken, pork

 Brunch Buffet at Obika

The Leaning Tower of Pisa



chocolate covered strawberries

I know this is a bit of a shocker but I have never had a chocolate covered strawberry until today. I remember walking past Godiva, several years ago in NYC I think and watching the shop assistants preparing them in the window. They drew one hell of a crowd and I just thought its a strawberry with chocolate, right? Wrong.

So today I decided to make my own. There is no recipe involved. Its pretty straight forward. Melt some chocolate then dip the strawberries and leave to set.

The outcome is pretty amazing. So simple but so delicious. I have now seen the light and next time I have a dinner party I'll be making these babies to have with coffee.

focaccia

I love baking it's not a secret but I never bake savoury, always sweet.  So I decided to bake some bread and the first attempt was focaccia with rosemary and sea salt.

I think it turned out alright :)

I used this recipe.

bocca di lupo

I have never been a fan of Italian food. When choosing a place for dinner Italian was never on the list... until I discovered Bocca Di Lupo two years ago. This restaurant does not have any pizzas, lasagne or dough balls on the menu but what they do have on the menu is authentic rustic Italian dishes that I imagine an Italian grandma would make.
Bocca Di Lupo is located on an quiet side street in Soho. The main focal point of the restaurant is a long marble bar which is located in front of the kitchen. Unless you book weeks in advance you are more likely to be sat on this bar when dining. Some like this and some would prefer to sit in the rear restaurant area. I actually like sitting on the bar watching the chefs cook the food.

What makes this place so great is the simplicity of the dishes. The ingredients are high quality, seasonal and intellectually combined. The format of the restaurant comprises of a tapas style  menu where the dishes are to be shared. Each dish notes the region of Italy where it comes from. All the cured sausages are homemade by the restaurant and they are delicious. The menu changes daily.

My personal favourites, when available, are the selection of the fritter starters and the bruschetta.

Selection of the bruschetta

 Main course including their very good homemade sausage

P.S Bocca di Lupo is the big brother establishment to Gelupo. See previous post.

gelupo

I love food and I know living in London I am spoilt with the choice available to me. However one of the favourite places that my OH and I love to go is Gelupo. Gelupo is a gelateria that sells the most delicious kind of gelato that I have ever tasted including gelato in Italy.

The gelato is different in that they make it with milk instead of cream where possible. By keeping the fat content low and using a special freezing method the gelato is dense, intense and not too sickly creamy. 

The thing that we love most about Gelupo is the choice of flavours of both gelato and sorbets. On average there are 5 flavours of each available any given time. The flavours include mint (amazing), ricotta, coffee and honey, clementine, rhubarb crumble, rice, blood orange, rose, hazelnut, candied chestnut, coronation chicken (yes you read correctly), espresso, bergamont, pistachio etc the list goes on. Actually after trying to remember the flavours we have tried it is safe to assume we go to this place way to much.

Anyway we love this place and I highly recommend to any tourist to London to visit.

the silver spoon

Another wedding = trying to find a suitable wedding present.

I personally do not like buying from pre-picked gift lists as I find them impersonal. But at the same time I don't want to buy something that they already have or something that the couple will not like.

I have a wedding at the end of the month and decided to buy the couple the holy grail of Italian cookbooks. I know the groom likes to eat and the bride likes to cook so its a no brainer. Plus who doesnt like italian food?

We already have the cookbook as well as the french version. This cookbook is HUGE and takes two hands to carry if you know what I mean. It is well thumbed cookbook in our household as it has every italian recipe you could want plus more.

What sold it for us is that apparently this is the most sold cookbook in Italy. I think that says it all really.

You can buy it at Amazon here.

french madeleines with raspberries and fresh lemon curd.

I love Paris but who doesn't right? Living less than 15 mins away from Kings Cross St. Pancreas, OH and I have booked a day trip to Paris after the Summer. I can't wait. I have been to Paris numerous times and each have their own memories. 

This time, however, I want to visit the best thift store I have ever visited near the Gard de Nord. A chance encounter has now resulted in a long distance love affair ;)

I bought a new french cookbook by Rachel Khoo called The Little Paris Kitchen to bridge the gap until I go. I am not ashamed to say it but I want to be Rachel. I love her kitchen, her style and her bright lipstick! This is the stand out recipe for me, French Madeleines with raspberries and homemade lemon curd. So quick, easy but extremely delicious. I never knew fresh lemon curd was so easy to make. The only thing though is that you need to get a madeleine tin ..which for me is an investment as I know I will be making them again and again and again.

fresh out of the oven

delicious

claridges high tea

Fact. I love tea. This isle is famous for it's tea and it's tea drinkers. Unlike continental Europe, tea is drunk with milk...always.

Another fact. Tea is personal and everyone likes to drink it in their own special way. Strong, weak, little milk, a lot of milk, with sugar and without sugar. Its complex.

What goes best with tea? Cake. So my Scottish friend and I ventured to Claridges for High Tea. There is nothing I enjoy more than good conversation with an old friend over tea and cake and hence I thank the Universe that someone invented high tea.

I have been to The Dorchester twice before and The Ritz for high tea and so I wanted to see how another establishment did it. Checking out the Tea Guild Awards Of Excellence list we chose Claridges Again with anything that is good in London we booked months in advance to get a time and date that was convenient for us.

The hotel itself is steeped in history with photos all over the lobby of its famous visitors. With architecture and buildings being the main part of my job I really appreciated all the original art deco features inside.

The Lobby

The Tea Room

On to the tea. The choice of tea was excellent and the food was also excellent and unlimited. Yes you heard right, food at high tea is unlimited. All the high end establishments offer unlimited portions of cake and sandwiches but in reality there is only so much one can consume. 

In my opinion I felt that The Dorchester is the better place to experience high tea. The service is razor sharp and the food just seemed more memorable. They offer a sandwich, scone, pastry and chocolate course whilst Claridges only had the first three courses. By no means, Claridges was not bad but The Dorchester just edges in front on the service alone. The Ritz for me did not impress so it comes in third after The Dorchester and Claridges.

old style dining

More food. As we were entertaining visitors over Easter we had booked to eat at same places which for a tourist would be nice to experience.

We firstly booked to have Sunday lunch at Simpsons on the Strand. It probably offers the most decadent  and showy lunch you could ever have. It used to be an old men's club and now is open to the public serving food to which it has done for many many years. It is most famous for its Sunday Lunch which is carved by Chefs at the table. A man in the corner is playing the piano and its pure culinary theatre.

On to the food. The food is ok and it is very traditional but the meat was cold as it was constantly being wheeled from one table to another for carving. I would not go back specifically for the food but I would be happy to take someone there if they wanted to experience old style dining the British way.

 The old booths where the men used to play chess

The ornate decor

Traditional roast beef with yorkshire pudding.

We also went and had breakfast at probably my favourite breakfast place  The Wolseley. I love this place and I try and take all my visitors here. The food (especially the breakfast) is just amazing and the art decor interior, which is all original, is just gorgeous. It used to be the showroom for Rolls Royce back in the day and then Barclays Bank. It is now a restaurant that is open from 7am till late. The atmosphere is always buzzing and you are likely to see some celebrities. My favourite star spot was Roger Moore at this place. Anyway, celebrities aside the service and food is great which is why I always go back. The only problem is you need to book. You can walk in and chance your arm at a free table but more than likely during peak times you will not get this. The prices are also reasonable. Breakfast for 4 including a main breakfast plus a pastry and drinks was £50.

Eggs Benedict

The art decor interior

The grand ceiling

le gavroche

I love food. Its pretty evident in the number of posts so far. As mentioned I and the other half will eat anything and anywhere as long as it is good. It was my birthday recently and as a treat I was taken to Le Gavroche website. You have to book months in advance (3 at least) as it is so busy. This probably is not helped by the fact that the patron chef, Michel Roux Jr, is on TV a lot especially with Masterchef.

I don't want to bore you with the history ( find out more here ) of the place but it has a long and established one in London.  It is somewhere where I have always wanted to eat. 

Anyway the restaurant has 2 Michelin stars so there was high expectations. We decided to go for the dinner taster menu which comprised of 8 courses and cost 100 pounds. It is steep but at the end of the menu and having enjoyed every course it was well worth it as the quality was so high. The cheeseboard alone was like the shop display of Neal's Yard Dairy. So much cheese, so little space left in the tum (for the record I love cheese).

We even got to meet Michel Roux Jr ourselves and he came to chat with us after our meal. This alone made my birthday. 

Le Gavroche also does a reasonably priced 3 course lunch for 52 pounds but again if you can get the booking its worth it. 

Course 7 or 8. Dessert. 

yorkshire parkin

Yorkshire parkin is basically a ginger cake but is milder than the Jamaican kind. This cake is the easiest to make and only takes 10 minutes to weigh, mix and get the combined ingredients in the oven....this is only because I have made this cake so many times and know the recipe really well :).

This is the cake straight out of the oven.

We normally have it just with tea but we served it with ice cream above as it was a good contrast with the warm cake straight from the oven.

When the cake is completely cooled a sticky layer forms on the cake due to the golden syrup. In my opinion the stickiness makes the cake even more of a winner.

Ingredients:

225g/8oz self raising  flour

110g/4oz caster sugar

1 tsp ground ginger 

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 egg

200ml/7fl oz milk

55g/2oz butter

110g/4oz golden syrup



Method:

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Line a 22cm/8in tin.

Sieve the flour, sugar, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl.

In a small pan gently heat the butter and syrup until melted.

Beat the egg into the milk.

Gradually pour the butter and syrup into the flour and stir. The mixture will be thick.

Pour in the egg and milk and stir until smooth and pour into the lined tin.

Bake for 45min or until golden brown

tokyo diner

Met the OH (other half) in Covent Garden yesterday after work. A little incident whilst washing a delicate cardigan the night before and an uncouth drying technique = ruined cardigan. So went to get a new one. We were lucky we found a replacement half price in the sale so to celebrate the saving we went to get some Japanese food in Chinatown.  There are not many Japanese places in Chinatown compared to the Chinese choices as you would expect but I have always walked past Toyko Diner and wanted to try. Once sat down and looking through the menu I realised there was no Japanese people eating there which in my view means the food isn’t that good. I ordered the Katsu Curry and OH ordered the Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box.

Katsu Curry (Pork)

Chicken teriyaki bento box

Not feeling optimistic, I actually found the Katsu Curry quite good though I have had better. Its better than the Katsu served at Wagamama which is weird shade of yellow. The Bento box, in my opinion was lacking in some oomph. I just felt everything looked a bit sad in their individual compartments. Again I have had better and at £16 it was not worth the money. The Katsu curry by the way was £10.60.

I would go back for the curry if I needed a quick eat but with the Baozi Inn and Leung's (which are both great) round the corner I don’t know how likely this would be…but at least I know it’s an option.

peanut butter and chocolate cookies

Tried the oven for the first time last night. To be honest I prefer the old oven because it heated up quicker but alas I guess I have to get used to the new one.

I made peanut butter and chocolate cookies last night. I always use the same recipe from The Hummingbird Cook Book because quite frankly these cookies can’t be beaten in my opinion. They are crunchy but chewy in the middle plus I make them extra large too.  If I require chocolate in recipes in most cases I will always use Cadburys’ Daily Milk Chocolate chopped up. In terms of the peanut butter I prefer a chunky version for the added texture and crunch.

Do you like my jam jar glasses? They are actually old jam jars that indeed make great glasses. I discovered this tip when I was visiting friends in America over 10 years ago and my friends used jam jars all the time!

This is the recipe. They always turn out good.

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter

200g caster sugar
200g light soft brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
240g peanut butter
340g plain flour
2 1/2 teaspoons bicarb.
1/2 teaspoon salt
75g dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 170c/325f/gas 3. Grease and line a few baking trays with greaseproof paper.

2. Mix the butter and 2 types of sugar with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure all the ingredients are well incorporated. Turn the mixer down to low, and add the peanut butter and vanilla extract.

3. Then add the dry ingredients, flour, bicarb and salt, and mix until the dough is smooth. Stir in the chocolate until it's evenly mixed.

4. Arrange on a baking tray in balls with gaps between as these cookies spread. Bake for 10 minutes, or just until they start to turn golden at the edges and cracked in the middle. If they feel soft in the middle, still take them out, as they continue cooking after being taken out of the oven and this makes them perfect and chewy after they've cooled.

5. Enjoy with a glass of milk.

byron burgers

The new oven was fitted today and you would think we would use it straight away but instead we went out for dinner. The other half and I love eating out and trying new places.  We are not fussy where we go, from Michelin star to local cafe, as long as the food is good.

Tonight we went to Bryron Burgers website in Angel. A fairly new gourmet burger chain, I wanted to see if it could beat the burgers at our favourite place Hache website. The objective for the founder was to replicate the burgers he had experienced on a trip to America. I wanted to see if he had achieved this.

The other reason why I wanted to pay a visit was of the interesting decor. Each of Bryron's establishments have a different theme, probably with the message to say to customers that 'we are unique'.

New but "old" decor

I have to say the decor was more impressive than the food. we didn't want to make comparisons with Hache but in this case we had to to judge it properly. In a nutshell though Byron burgers are cheaper with the meal below costing £22 (2 burgers, 3 sides) but we agreed we would have paid the extra for a hache burger.

I have to say I was disappointed but I find that "cool" eating establishments in must cases don't deliver on the food.  

cherry and pistachio fridge cake

The oven is broken. We are getting a new one delivered and fitted next week. Until then all baking is off and meals are all made via the hob. Sometimes I just feel the urge to bake or make something and last night was no exception so I decided to make a chocolate treat with or without an oven.


I have made this before and it is so easy and you can mix and match the ingredients to no end.


Ingredients:
500g of melted dark chocolate (milk will do also)
300g of digestive biscuits
150g butter
50g of dessicated coconut
100g of shelled pistachios
100g of dried sour cherries (Sainsburys have them)
2 tablespoons of golden syrup

Method:
Crush the biscuits (I use a rolling pin) making sure you have a good mix of crumbs and chunkier pieces

Melt the chocolate, golden syrup and butter over hot water.

Mix in the melted mixture with the cherries, nuts and biscuits.

Press the mixture firmly in a clingfilmed lined tray.

Refrigerate for 2 hours until set.

Slice and serve.

I like to think that with all the nuts and dried fruit, this is healthy but it is so obviously not. Things like this don't last long in our household.

macarons

I had a meeting in Knightsbridge today and to be honest I do not venture to the West of London all that much. I only seem to go if a meeting requires it or if there is something I need from a particular place/shop.  Anyway, combining the two reasons, after my meeting I walked to Sloane Street to get the Tube back to the office. En route I walked via Lowndes Square
and onwards to Pierre Hermé on Lowndes Street
.

If you didn’t know, macarons are currently undergoing a revival. I have noticed the gradual but petite expansion of both Pierre Hermé website here and Ladurée website here in London. PH now occupies concession space at Selfridges and Ladurée has a relatively new shop at Covent Garden (a little sister to their other place on Piccadilly).  Both are good but Pierre Hermé is so much better. The macarons at Ladurée are not as refined and delicate in flavour or texture as the sweet morsels offered at Pierre Hermé.

Famous for their cakes and macarons with a long established history, Ladurée is a major tourist hotspot for those who want a taste of Paris but who can’t quite cross the Channel. Pierre Hermé on the other hand does not have the long established history but has made it in the UK purely on the basis that their offerings taste really good.  Having tried to make macarons myself, there is definately an art to it and so I appreciate how good you need to be to make them work.

My other half and I have tried most of the flavours including the seasonal ones that come out throughout the year. Today, I got the following flavours:  

Top row-Pistachio & Raspberry compote and Orange & Carotte with Ceylon Cinnamon

Bottom row-Green tea, chanterelle mushroom and lemon  and Blackcurrant

They are not cheap and work out around £1.40 each but for a little a treat after a long day they are really worth it. Best enjoyed with tea!

porridge

If there was an award for the best all round breakfast I think it would have to go to porridge. Note the “all round” description there as nothing will beat any breakfast that contains bacon in my opinion but for nutritional value, speed of preparation and cost I think porridge is the standout winner.

This morning was one of those mornings which made getting out of bed the all the more difficult. Though grey, wet, cold and windy these are the fundamental factors that make porridge the only real option to counteract these elements outside. So as the other half was packing his bag for work, I prepared the breakfast from a packet of oats, a mix of water and milk and a spoonful of golden syrup. Took less than 5 minutes. 

Having been born and brought up in England, all I had known was creamy, rich and sweet porridge. I then studied and lived in Edinburgh during the university years and on stepping foot in Scotland this all changed.  My flatmate at the time from Aberdeen made porridge from the following ingredients; salt, oats and water. In my opinion it did not taste good then and it still does not taste good now, however, I now make porridge with a mixture of milk and water as it breaks up the richness and heaviness of the gloop which can be a mission to get down the gullet so early in the morning.

The two bowls of goodness from this morning.