Chocolate Brownie Cake

This cake jumped out at me from my BBC Good Food Binder when I was looking for something a bit different to my usual Sunday Lunch family get-togethers. It is very good being both nutty and sweet. It's not as deep as the picture they show but I put that down to Good Food being vague about the tin size. Mine was 25 cm.

I'm told it was very good and that I must make it again so that's a result. (I am dieting hard at the moment so didn't try it). It was certainly very easy.

I served it cold due to pressure on oven space. They thought it might be better warm.







Dinner at Lulu's

In case you don't know, I have a guilty secret. I belong to a band of dedicated but slightly bonkers women who are early-morning swimmers. At 6.30 every morning you will find me ploughing up and down the middle lane of the LA Fitness pool at Northwood. Well actually I swim backstroke so maybe I plough down and up.

There are about 20 or so of us who have been there for years and, on the whole, I don't mix with socially other than at swim time. In fact I know none of their surnames. Even Lulu's whose feast this was. (Actually I have seen her surname written down and it something like Tamagotchi, which made me laugh).

Lulu and her family fled from Iraq over 25 years ago and have lived in a splendid house in West London ever since. She seems, from her conversation, to entertain every night of the year and is forever being descended upon by Iraqi/Iranian friends and relatives. Lulu is a bit good at cooking and so I was delighted when she invited us swimmers (and a few gymmers) for supper last night.
In truth all I can do is add some photographs and a few comments. It was bloody amazing.

The Persian rice with saffron and nuts tasted even better than it looks. And she makes it in exactly the same Tefal rice cooker that I have. Must get recipe.

I forgot to take a picture of the tabbouleh but it was sensational. There were kibbeh too. And a fantastic bean/chickpea/lentil salad which she had derived, made and multiplied from the ingredients on the side of an individual M&S portion.

The salad at the back left was extraordinary. I've probably missed a vital ingredient but it was cooked aubergines and toasted pitta bread covered with yogurt, pomegranate and tomatoes and was just drop-dead gorgeous.

We also had baked chicken in pomegranate molasses and stuffed vine leaves. Divine.

The desserts too were wonderful. I adored the date and walnut sweetmeats below.

And the baklava which she cooks with an olive oil spray so that there are almost no calories. (Yeah right! Lulu is Twiggy like)!

And then there was this wondrous cake/pudding which translates from the Arabic as something like God's Gift cake. It's one of those bung it all in and it sorts out the colour-scheme for you whilst it's baking. The chocolate dense and the top a kind of creme caramel cheesecake texture. (Yes I know that's vague but I've never had anything like it). Another recipe to pinch. Although I may have to buy a fancy tin.

Just in case Lulu hadn't over catered enough there was also a foreign intruder by the name of Tiramisu (which actually wasn't boozy enough for me) but of course I had to try it. Slimming World can go hang this week.

We all came home with Tupperware or foil bags of leftovers and Lulu will be able to feed her family for a week on the rest. The company was great too. We had a Jewish girl from Sunderland, a South African, a Malayan, a Sicilian, a French lady who was brought up here, an Irish girl and 3 home grown, including myself.

A wonderful evening but I am spoilt now. Oh and the top tip? Don't bother making your own hummus when the M&S version is so good.

Spiced apple and ginger wine loaf

Like most people who are blessed with apple trees in their garden I have been looking for new ways to use up the glut. There are only so many apple pies and crumbles that my family will eat and my freezers are full to bursting - last year was a very good year too and I suspect that there are many packs of stewed apple still to be unearthed.

I was very pleased then to see this recipe from Diana Henry for a cake which contains ginger wine, a favourite of my husband.

The cake was very easy to make. I didn't bother with the apple topping as my friend Suelle had not thought it added anything. And I didn't bother with the icing as I didn't have any icing sugar in the house. Next time it will be iced and I shall take on board Suelle's suggestion of adding a chopped apple to the batter as my husband didn't feel it was "appley" enough. However he loved the spicy, gingery taste and the texture.

Definitely a cake to go into my repertoire. Which is why I'm blogging about it because otherwise I shall forget all about it.

Easy Chicken Tikka Masala

Yes I know. It's not authentic Indian etc. But I am not very good at curry anyway and  had all the ingredients in the house - well OK I omitted the fenugreek and the fresh coriander,  and I hadn't any cream so made up the shortfall with extra yogurt!

But this recipe is ace, a really good storecupboard meal, just as long as you have the Patak's Masala Paste to hand!

I am only blogging about it so that I can find it easily next time. And googling the recipe came up with huge lists of spices to grind alongside the paste. This did for us nicely. And painlessly . . .

Eating out in Dorset

I have just returned from my annual holiday with Liz and her brother. As per usual we ate out a lot. Our first port of call was Mat Follas' bijou little restaurant The Wild Garlic just up the road from our holiday cottage in Beaminster. I had been looking forward to it for ages and my meal didn't disappoint. Scallops for a starter were just right, and they were followed by one of the biggest plaice I have ever seen on a dinner plate, simply grilled with lemon and capers. Dave chose venison which arrived on a very cheffy plate of this and that complete with a pot of steaming pine needles to inhale. (Liz and I both thought lavatory cleaner). 

He didn't think it added much but the venison was very good. Liz chose cider braised pork belly, crackle and sweet potato which again came in a cheffy arrangement pictured above. The crackle was pronounced inedible because it was so hard. And her meal was disappointingly tepid. We shared a plate of cheeses and a selection of desserts. The cheese won hands down although Mat when questioned didn't know which cheeses were on offer. The puds looked lovely but the flavours lacked oomph.  Service was lackadaisical, dirty glasses being left on the table for ages for example. It was, however, pretty cheap for evening service. With drinks beforehand, a nice bottle of Temperanillo and a glass of pudding wine the bill came in at just under £140 for the three of us. And we saw Mat a few times, which was nice. (And by the way Mat the amuse bouche of carrot soup was revolting).

Yes, I would go back. It was just a shame that on that particular evening Liz didn't experience the wow factor.

Wednesday saw us returning to The Riverside Restaurant in West Bay. This really was a meal to write home about. Liz has been going there for years and says it never disappoints. I had been once before and had good memories. I started with my favourites. Oysters. Mmmm!

Oh how I love oysters. I love mussels too which is what the others had. All were delicious. And I could have eaten all the mains but settled on roasted wild sea bass with sea blite and a red wine jus. I didn't think it quite worked as the sauce tasted quite sweet and I'm not mad on fish with a sweet tang. It looked lovely though but I wish I'd had what Liz did, pan fried brill fillet with a leek, crab and mustard sauce.

The desserts were first class (better than Mat's I'm sad to say) and I chose an iced white chocolate, raspberry and almond parfait. It was a good choice. The others fared well too.

So, if you are ever in Dorset this is a fish restaurant not to be missed. I shall be back.

We spent Thursday morning on the beach and out on The Cobb at Lyme Regis, beloved by The French Lieutenant's Woman. Tempted though we were to go off on one of the many mackerel-fishing trips the unpredictability of the wind put us off. And anyway none of us are big mackerel fans. We had driven past Mark Hix's Oyster and Fish House but had decided to save that for another visit. As the wind increased and the sunshine began to disappear we hot-footed it back to the car and decided to find lunch out of town. In another town in fact. We had read that River Cottage had opened a canteen and deli in Axminster. We thought it would be very busy and that we would buy enough items from the deli to picnic with. In fact the canteen looked so warm and inviting we queued up for a table, not much of a queue either, perhaps a 5 minute wait.

The canteen does what it says on the tin. Seasonal fresh food simply cooked. My fish soup with croutons and rouille was perfect, Liz and Dave had corn on the cob which they both enjoyed. I then went for the organic beefburger which was, quite frankly, overcooked although the meat was tasty. Dave pronounced his pork koftas excellent and Liz's sardines in parsley and lemon were outstanding.

We had become seasoned chip eaters during the week and we all thought that those served here won first prize. Only Dave could manage a pudding. His blackberry pannacotta looked and tasted superb.

Lunch included a bottle of Rioja and came in at £68 which we thought represented good value.  On the way back to Bridport we passed the new River Cottage. It was a shame we hadn't realised our holiday cottage was in the same grounds as the original!



Lunch at The Waterside Inn

Once a year Liz and I treat ourselves to a very high quality (i.e. Michelin-starred) lunch out. Usually this is just after my birthday and my part is funded by the cheque my dad always gives me. But of course my dad passed away earlier this year and so I have been squirreling money away for this very special treat since then.

The Waterside Inn in Bray is very posh indeed. It is in a posh village (also home to Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck), it is in a posh part of the country (just to the west of Windsor) and it sits on a posh part of the River Thames. Last year the restaurant celebrated 25 years of holding 3 Michelin stars. Previously Liz and I had only eaten at a 2 star establishment, Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons, so we were expecting great things. And by and large we got them.

You drive down a narrow village lane and The Waterside Inn is at the end (as is a slipway leading into the river). You are waylaid by the restaurant's valet who parks your car for you. This is a first for me and certainly for my beaten-up old Honda. A friend had reminded me that he would need tipping on car collection but as he had only in fact reversed it into a space 5 metres away I felt that was a bit OTT. I was left wondering if he thought I might have gone down the slipway . . .

On entering the building I was greeted by a fairly frosty French receptionist who informed me that they would not be open for 4 minutes and would I like to wait over there (pointing at a couple of generously sized sofas). Liz was making her own way so this was fine by me. At that moment Alain Roux the head chef (and son of the great Michel) walked through in his chef's whites so I knew we were in good hands.

Liz arrived and we were ushered through the restaurant and out of the large glass doors onto the riverside terrace for our aperitifs. As it was such a lovely day we really reaped the benefit of the splendid views.

If you are feeling very flush you can book their boat (for £65 per half hour!) and take your drinks and canapés off for a little river trip. Sadly another party beat us to it. maybe next time (when I've won the lottery)!

Ah yes. The canapés. Absolutely gorgeous. I particularly enjoyed the carrot, ginger and vodka shot, and the little round one which was foie gras with something. You will have to forgive the fact that I had nothing to write on and forgot to get a copy of the menu on my way out so details of some of what we ate are a bit sketchy!

The restaurant itself is a bit tardis like, much larger inside than it looks. The clever use of mirrored panels all around the room also means you get to see everything that is going on, great for nosey people like me! We chose the 3 course Menu Gastronomique (basically the set lunch) at £68 for three courses. The other diners all appeared to be doing the same but this was hardly a surprise. We also noticed that all customers were drinking wine by the glass. Having seen the prices on the Wine List this was no surprise either. We both chose the smoked eel/celeriac/crispy egg as a starter. It was a very good combination indeed although the egg was a bit bland. Liz doesn't do eggs but I didn't feel inclined to help her out. The alternative was a creamy corn and prawn soup. The lady on the next table had that. It was decorated with popcorn. I am underwhelmed by great restaurants serving popcorn! Le Manoir used it last time I dined there.

It is now that I should mention the absolutely fantastic service. There were so many waiters running around that they reminded me of the penguins in Mary Poppins. But the service was faultless, friendly and they were all very French. They were charming to talk to as well. It was a bit like being pampered by a lot of lovely young men. Really top drawer. (And the waitresses were very sweet too).

I cannot remember all of the ingredients in our mains. Suffice to say that Liz had Red mullet and squid on a kind of potato wafer and I had roast rump of beef on spinach in a really rich jus serve with timbales of pearl barley which tasted nicer than they sound. It was topped with a lovely splodge of bone marrow, one of my very favourite things. Both mains were exemplary.

By now we were filling very replete but truly the best was yet to come. I think my dessert was probably the best dessert I have ever tasted anywhere. It's right up there certainly.

So we have a pistachio mousse with strawberries served on shortbread, strawberry sorbet and the best pannacotta ever which was enriched by having a trifley bottom. Just looking at the photo again makes me drool. Liz went for a passion fruit/mango sorbet/chocolate dessert concoction and pronounced it very rich but delicious.

 We were then escorted back outside to the river by yet another gorgeous boy where we enjoyed coffee (decaff of course) and wonderful little sweet treats. We must have sat there watching the world go by for a good hour. Really lovely.

 It was, as they say, A Grand Day Out. VAT and Service are all included and the bill, which boasted a large G&T and 2 glasses of wine, was £149. For a special occasion I don't think it can be beaten. Except by Le Manoir maybe.

We think next year's outing will be to Le Gavroche, if we can get a table.

Two good puds

 

A roast chicken dinner was requested by my second daughter this week. She and the boyfriend were off on holiday the following day and it is her default favourite meal. As Josh and his girfriend were also going to be in I decided that I would be a bit (but only a bit) adventurous with the puddings. I had a few packets of almonds in the cupboard (OK so I had six!) and thought I would give Nigella's Strawberry and almond crumble from "Kitchen" a whirl. It was dead easy and it was absolutely gorgeous. Puddingy and jammy at the same time. I urge you to try it.

The second pudding was this Squidgy Chocolate Torte which I have mentioned before. Again pretty effortless but very tasty. Think chocolate brownies and you'll get the sort of texture. This was a Very Big Hit with the boyfriend (my daughter's, not mine). I'm told it freezes well too so I will try and make a couple more before the school holidays end.

It says something that both desserts had completely disappeared by lunchtime the following day!