Eat Slurp Burp

Tia Maria Cheesecake

2014-02-15T18:47:00.000+00:00

I love making baked cheesecakes, they always go down well in my family. The sticky toffee one has been a favourite of ours for some time now, you can check out the recipe here. During the last family gathering I decided to have a go at a different flavour.

This Tia maria one spotted here on the BBC good food website not only looked great it tasted great too ! that said the Tia Maria flavour was very delicate and I would certainly add more next time or maybe a shot of espresso to bring out the flavour. But here is the recipe I followed.

For the biscuit crust

85g hot melted butter, plus extra for greasing

14 plain chocolate digestive biscuits, finely crushed

For the cheesecake

3 x 300g packs full fat Philadelphia cheese

200g golden caster sugar

4 tbsp plain flour

2tsp vanilla extract

2tbsp Tia Maria

3 large eggs

285ml carton soured cream

For the topping

142ml carton soured cream

2 tbsp Tia Maria

Cocoa for dusting

8 Ferrero Rocher chocolates

Ingredients for Tia Maria Cheesecake

Method

1 Heat oven to 160C/fan 180C - 370F/ Gas 4.

line the base of a 25cm spring form tin with baking parchment.

Blend butter and biscuit crumbs. Press onto the base of the tin, bake for 10 Mins, then cool.

2 Increase the oven temp to 240C/fan 200C - 475F / Gas 9

Beat the cheese and sugar with an electric whisk until smooth ( I used a stand mixer )

With the beaters still mixing add the flour, vanilla, 2 tbsp Tia Maria, eggs, and 285ml soured cream.

3 Grease sides of the cake tin with butter. Pour in the mixture and smooth.

Bake for 10 Mins, then turn oven down to 110C/fan 90C - 225F / Gas 1/4 for 25 Mins. ( at this point the mixture seemed too loose so I baked for a further 25 Mins )

Turn off the oven, then open the door and leave to cool inside the oven for two hours.

Don't worry if it cracks a little ( mine did) the decoration hides this.

4 Mix together 142 ml soured cream and Tia Maria, then smooth over the top of the cheesecake and chill. ( I left mine overnight )

5 To decorate simply sieve good quality cocoa powder over the top ( I used Green & Blacks Cocoa ) and Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

Delice Au Cassis

2014-02-15T17:33:00.000+00:00

This Christmas I wanted to make something a little different for dessert to offer the family. After the usual extra large roast we all put on for Christmas, traditional Christmas pudding (although lovely) is rather heavy and can result in everyone feeling sickly stuffed. This Delice Au Cassis fits the bill perfectly. Not only does it act as the show stopper but it's very light to eat and tastes Divine. You only have to look at the list of ingredients to know it will taste great.

In his book Deserts James Martin describes this desert as an advanced pastry but one of the best looking and tasting deserts in this book. I'm not a very confident desert maker but I had tried this many years ago and remembered how well it turned out so I decided this was the one to end our Christmas feast.

Admittedly making this desert isn't the easiest of tasks to do and during it's construction I did curse myself for taking it on. I think I must have used every pot and pan, bowls, stand mixer and hand mixers I own and my poor partner was dragged into the process to help and constantly wash up but it was all worth it. It was a triumph and I will make it again but maybe not too soon......

This desert includes an Italian Meringue which is on a separate recipe page from the Delice Au Cassis. So for the benefit of people who don't have the book I will show in this blog how I did the whole desert.

It's best to think of this desert in stages as its made up of layers. Fruit puree, fruit mousse, fruit glaze, Italian meringue, whipped cream. The only easy part is the base which calls for a ready made sponge Thank The Lord !

One change I did make was I used Blackberries instead of Blackcurrants as I had lots in the freezer from my allotment and this was the perfect way to use them up.

Ingredients.

For the sugar syrup.

375g Sugar

325ml Water

30g liquid glucose

For the Blackberry Puree.

350g Blackcurrants

50ml of the sugar syrup (already made)

For the Italian Meringue.

3 egg whites

80 ml of sugar syrup ( already made )

For the Blackberry mousse.

4 1/2 gelatine leaves and a bowl of cold water to soak them in

Blackberry puree - bar 4tbs from what you've already made

12g Powdered milk

1/2 Vanilla pod

3 Egg yolks

25g Caster sugar

Italian Meringue - from recipe above

200ml Creme De Cassis

400ml Double cream

For the glaze

3 gelatine leaves - and a bowl of cold water to soak them in

50 ml of sugar syrup - (already made)

3 tbsp Blackberry puree - already made

For the base.

Ready made sponge flan to fit a 25cm/ 10in flan ring ( 6cm / 2 1/2 in deep)

Blackcurrants, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries for decorating.

First thing make the sugar syrup which will be divided up into portions later in this recipe.

To make the syrup, place the ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for about 3 minutes, skimming the surface if necessary. If using a saccharometer, the reading should be 30c Beaumé or 1.2624 on the density scale. Press the syrup through a conical strainer and leave until cold before using.

Puree the Blackcurrants in the blender with 50ml of the syrup, then pass the puree through a conical strainer.

Reserve 4tbsp of blackcurrant puree and set aside, this will be used for the glaze.

Soak 4 1/2 gelatine leaves in cold water for 15 minutes, then drain.

Put the rest of the puree in a saucepan with the powdered milk and vanilla pod; bring to the boil.

To make the mousse whisk the yolks and sugar in a bowl until they form a ribbon. Pour the boiling puree onto the egg mixture, whisking continuously, then pour back into the pan over a low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until the mousse coats the spatula. Do not boil.

Remove from the heat and stir the drained gelatine into the mousse. Discard the vanilla, then strain the mousse into a bowl and leave to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin forming.

Place the sponge flan onto a serving plate. Place a 25cm flan ring, 6cm deep, onto the sponge and cut around to make the base.

Mix together 50ml syrup and 1 tbsp puree and brush over the sponge.

To make the Italian Meringue measure 80 ml of the syrup and reheat, when it reaches 110 C / 225 F on your thermometer start beating your egg whites in an electric mixer until stiff. When the sugar syrup has reached 121 C / 250 F take it off the heat. Your egg whites should now be well risen and firm. Set your mixer to its lowest speed and gently pour on the cooked sugar in a thin stream, taking care not to let it run onto the whisks. Continue to beat at a low speed until the mixture is almost completely cold - this will take around 15 minutes. The Meringue is now ready to use.

When the mousse is lukewarm, gently fold in the meringue, then the creme de cassis.

Using a balloon whisk. Beat the double cream until it forms a ribbon.

Using a spatular, gently fold the cream into the mixture.

Now assemble the dessert immediately, before the mouse sets. Fill the flan ring with the mousse, leaving a 3mm gap at the top. Smooth over the surface with a palette knife. Place in a freezer or very cold fridge for several hours.

To glaze, soak the remaining 3 gelatine in cold water for 15 minutes,then drain well. Mix 150ml syrup with the remaining puree and stir in the drained gelatine. Then pour the glaze on top of the desert. Quickly blowtorching the glaze removes any air bubbles and gives it a mirror like finish. Leave it to set in a fridge.

To remove the ring, heat the outside with a blow torch for a few seconds, then slide the ring up. Decorate with fruit to serve.

Speakeasy bars of Liverpool

2014-01-18T03:30:00.000+00:00

Readers of my blog will know I have a soft spot for roof top bars, there's nothing like enjoying a glass of something cold with a view to die for ( a lazy sightseer) . But what of the winter when most rooftops are closed ? Step forward the speakeasy !

My new passion for this style of drinking den began when I visited a couple of speakeasy's in London during my birthday weekend in October. Most notably "The Blind Pig" ( slang for a speakeasy) & "The mayor of scaredy cat town" but more of them in another blog.

A speakeasy was a term used for an illegal drinking establishment during the prohibition era in America between 1920-1933 and so called because owners of such establishments would encourage their patrons to "be quiet" or " speakeasy" so not to attract attention to the law and the name stuck.

Most drinking dens were forced to go underground or pose as some other establishment altogether but inside I imagine they would have been magical , dramatic , heady and thrilling with a small amount of fear of being arrested thrown in to the mix... A good night out in my view.

You can watch this video clip on the history of the speak easy HERE or check out this quick reference on Wiki HERE.

Not surprisingly after prohibition ended in 1933 most establishments disappeared.

Today we see a massive return of bars based on the speakeasy era and they are popping up regularly in most cities. They have become trendy, retro and some uber cool but for me it's the fun of finding them and sampling their wonderful drinks.

Still in-keeping with secrecy most speakeasy's do not have a sign outside or will pose a some other establishment. For example this bar "Dusk till Pawn" in Manchester's Northern Quarter posses as a Pawn shop.

Some are hidden within a bar e.g behind a secret bookcase, through a Smeg fridge, through a W.C cubicle etc. Some bars require you to know a secret password, others a punch code to be entered into an electronic keypad.

Speakeasy bars like regular bars serve beer, wine and spirits etc but it's all about the cocktail. It's here where bartenders love to show off their creativeness. The classics are still there along with twist on the classics but you will also find some downright weird and wonderful concoctions served in equally dramatic receptacles.

BERRY AND RYE

After enjoying a few speakeasy's in London I decided to check out a few in Liverpool. First up was " Berry and Rye". Clue to this bar's whereabouts is in the name. It's on Berry street, look for the building with two black doors and blacked out window. Only one door will open, the one with number 48 on it won't budge but the other will. Once inside you will encounter a thick black curtain step behind this and you are in Berry and Rye.

Berry and Rye is very small inside but it felt very cosy, a bare brick interior and very dimly lit.

Intimate booth seats with industrial lights hanging overhead line the way to the bar which is in the middle. The rear of the bar where we sat is a little more spacey with a longer table for groups. We were brought glasses of iced water whilst we looked at the cocktail menu which is cleverly hidden in between the pages of old books.

The music and atmosphere was great but I was itching for the ghost of Duke Ellington to pound out some tunes on the piano I was seated next too.

The cocktails were very good but I was slightly disappointed with my Singapore sling, it seemed to have the addition of soda water which in my view weakened the taste slightly. That said I've only ever had a sling once before and that was at the Long bar in Raffles hotel when I visited Singapore. The recipe there does not include soda and I make them at home to the same recipe so for me it's just a question of personal taste but you'll find no other gripes here. Berry and Rye is a fab place, one which I will certainly revisit and recommend.

You can follow Berry and Rye on Twitter @berry_and_rye

Whiskey....blues.....jazz.....Gin.

Open 5pm-late Monday to Saturday. 7pm- 1am Sunday.

81LTD

This is by far the most intriguing speakeasy to visit in Liverpool in the way of gaining an entrance.

81ltd is an invite only bar, firstly you have to find it's location? The clue is "you will find this bar above the best place to enjoy a stein and a brine" ? If I said beer and hot dogs ? Still no ? Then a quick Google of that clue would bring you to .... (Spoiler alert) ..... Salt Dog Slims ! Located at 79 Seel street.

OK now you know where, how about getting that invite ?

Well firstly 81ltd is hidden behind an electronically locked door and you need to get a code to unlock that door.

So I followed 81ltd on Twitter @81ltd and politely asked how I go about receiving an invite?

The reply was Hi, text your name and party size to 07803 361 052 and @slinkybears will text you back with this evenings code. Slinkybears by the way is the hostess who greets you once inside so be sure to say hello with a smile.

I loved this, very clandestine like and sets you up for a night of intrigue if nothing else .

Arriving outside Salt Dog Slims we were met by a burly bouncer who we informed we were here to visit 81ltd, he asked us if we had the code then pointed us in the right direction at the very back of the bar. Once up some stairs you are met by this black door complete with electronic key pad, punch in the code and your in ! First impression is you've arrived at the hall of mirrors and it's very disorientating (in a good way) but at the end we were met by a very pleasant hostess (@slinkybears)

Inside you'll find a bar that stretches the entire back wall, there are cosy booths opposite and a segregated table behind bars that looks almost like a prison cell.

Atmoshpere was very lively to the point of club like by the end of our visit, a DJ belted out some wicked 80's tunes.

The cocktail menu here is superb, I wanted to drink my way through it for the names alone !

"Siberian truth serum", "Paddingtons Marmalade", "I left my heart in a Venezuelan Whorehouse"

Quite a few come with interesting story's attached , one drink in particular "Captain Monkey's tail Curler" instructs you to ask the bar tender to tell you the fantastical story of how the gin in this cocktail got it's name.

The one thing I noticed with 81ltd as with some of the speakeasy's in London, is you don't leave by the same door you came in. it's key to keeping the secret alive.

Another bar on my hit list was Dillingers, this secret bar is hidden behind this bookcase in Sapphire lounge on Bold street. A private party put a stop to our visit.
So I will be updating this blog after my visit.

Jenny's Bar

Many years ago I visited (at the time) a very upmarket restaurant in the business district of Liverpool called Jenny's seafood restaurant. It's the very same place that is now Jenny's bar. Stepping in immediately transported my back to that snug little basement restaurant. Jenny's bar is the sleeker big sister of Berry & Rye.

Similar to some speakeasies I've visited in London the bartenders here dress in early Victorian style. I love a bar with table service, It's impeccable here. My visit was just before Christmas and I had been drinking cocktails with festive ingredients. I couldn't find a suitable one on menu. Not a problem here the bartender can knock up any drink you like off menu, he suggested a Brandy Alexander. It was Divine! My partners Grasshopper was equally wonderful.

Sorry about image quality, Jenny's is a very dimly lit bar and using flash in bars and restaurants is a bit of a no no for me.

Brandy Alexander

Inside Jenny's you will also find a Whisky emporium style shop just inside the doorway. Besides Whisky you'll find spirits, liqueurs and bitters, everything you'll need to make your cocktail.

I picked up some Bobs chocolate bitters whilst there. I will certainly be making this a to go destination when looking for specialist drinks, there's no where like it to my mind in Liverpool. And whilst there it would be a sin to not try another cocktail !

Jenny's bar can be found in the business district of town. At the Old Ropery, Fenwick street. Just look for the old Jenny's seafood restaurant sign that still hangs over the door.

You can follow Jenny's on twitter @jennys_bar

whiskey business @LplWhisky

Some Place

After discovering the whereabouts of this bar I was immediately intrigued to try it, for three reasons. In no particular order!

1) This bar was brought to fruition by the same team as Berry & Rye and Jenny's bar!

2) It's a Speakeasy!

3) I love Absinthe !

I just knew I would be in for a treat. Some Place is a beautiful little speakeasy bar specialising in Absinthe and Absinthe based cocktails.
lovingly nicknamed by many as "the green fairy" she's certainly sprinkled her fairy dust here.

I won't wax lyrical of the drinks infamous history or the era of all its famous drinkers,You can Google that! And this wonderful site on everything you want to know about the Absinth ritual

But soon as you enter Some place you'll encounter a seating area that looks like it's been reserved for Hemingway.

In a haze of dark green light you'll encounter simple sleek style tables stretching the length of the place, murals and framed art work of historical absinthe drinkers by Liverpool based artist Michael Lacey line the walls which gives it a quirky vibe.

The star of the show without doubt are the beautiful Absinthe fountains that line the bar.

Skipping the cocktail list for once we decided to drink Absinthe the traditional way. After all the fountains were too pretty to ignore. Our bartender ( who was a very knowledgeable chap) filled the fountain up with iced water then set three glasses of the green nectar under each spout. A cube of sugar was then placed on a perforated Absinthe spoon. The taps were turned on, slowly dripping the iced water on to the dissolving sugar which then dripped into the green liquid, a term known as Louching . This gives the Absinthe a cloudy appearance, and the sugar sweetened the bitter Absinthe, it's a mesmerising ritual, pure theatre.

In true speakeasy style there is no sign for this bar.

Clue to finding Some Place - The bar is in Seel street, look for the green light so look up as you walk Seel street.

(Spoiler alert ) it's above Zanzibar .

Coq Au Vin

2014-01-05T18:31:00.000+00:00

Now winter has truly taken hold this is the time I like to make those comforting winter dishes. Stews and casseroles are very easy to make and take up hardly anytime at all.

Usually I like to chuck everything into the slow cooker and let it bubble away whilst I'm at work. Today however I started cooking too late for a slow cooking method.

So after looking at chicken casserole recipe's on the Internet Coq Au Vin seemed to fit the bill, aside from the prep you will have your casserole in around one and a half hours. I love french cooking and anything simmered in wine is a winner for me so Coq Au Vin it was.

There are many different versions out there but they all use the similar holy trinity of veg, Onion, carrot and celery along with bacon or Pancetta and wine, very similar to Beef bourguignon. A stew doesn't have to be followed to the letter for example if the recipe calls for one carrot and you have three use them ! This is what I did with this recipe which is loosely based on a Nigel Slater recipe. You can view this here.
I Just added what I had left in my fridge. So here is how I made my Coq Au Vin.

Have a go it's delicious.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken cut into six pieces, you should get 2 breasts, two thighs with drummers attached, two wings.

40g Butter

130g Cubed Pancetta

1 large onion roughly chopped

3 Carrots 1 diced the other two roughly chopped ( for texture)

3 Celery sticks roughly chopped

2 fat cloves garlic sliced
2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp spoons of Cognac

1 bottle of Burgundy wine

Couple of bay leaves and a couple of sprigs of Thyme

Shallots however many you want

Large handful of mushrooms

Start by chopping all your vegetables and weighing out your butter and flour.

Next joint your whole chicken into various cuts . The carcass can be used for stock so there is no waste.

Season your chicken pieces with salt and pepper.

In a large casserole pan melt half the butter and fry the Pancetta until it's just starting to turn golden then lift out of the pan and set aside.

Add your chicken to the pan and cook till the skin is a light pale golden colour then turn and cook the other side. This should only take a couple of minutes each side.

Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and set aside with the Pancetta.

Next add your onion, carrots and celery to the pan and cook gently till the onions go slightly translucent.

By now the base of your casserole pan will start to develop sticky brown bits, this is normal and where Much of the flavour will come from. At this point add your garlic and cook for a minute longer.

In a separate pan add the remainder of the butter and colour your mushrooms and shallots.

Return your Chicken and Pancetta to the casserole pan and add the flour, cook for a minute then add your Cognac and wine. Give the whole pan a stir scrapping as much of the sticky bits of the base and sides of the pan as you can.

Add the herbs , Mushrooms and Shallots.

Turn the heat down to a simmer and cover your casserole pan with a tight fitting lid. Let the casserole simmer away for around one hour.

After one hour check if the chicken is cooked through , if it is lift out and set aside.

Turn the heat up under the sauce and reduce by half, then return the chicken.

I served the Coq Au Vin with creamy mash potatoes and Brussel tops.

Lemon cheesecake cocktail

2013-11-18T17:13:00.002+00:00

Say cheers to the holiday season with this beautiful drink.

I adore this cocktail, I first tasted this at Restaurant bar and grill Liverpool. The smell of it before you even get to taste it is Devine!
This was definitely one I wanted to recreate at home, and so I was thrilled to get the recipe from the mixologist.

Despite it's name this cocktail boasts the holy trinity of festive smells and tastes, Cinnamon, Gingerbread and nuts making it the perfect Christmas tipple.

Visually it looks very much like that distinctive smooth yellow drink Advocaat we all associate with Christmas.

So this year why not try this cocktail as the perfect alternative to Eggnog.

I used the Monin range of syrups. You can find these in any good supermarket, generally in the coffee section but if you have trouble finding a stockist, Costa coffee outlets sell them. It's the brand they use to flavour their coffee's.

Ingredients

20ml Pinot Grigio

25ml Limoncello

5 ml Gingerbread syrup

5 ml Cinnamon Syrup

20 ml Frangelico hazelnut liqueur

20ml cream

10ml milk

Glass style - Martini glass

Method - Shake with ice - Strain

Garnish - Sprinkle with cinnamon

Method

Simply shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice just long enough for the cocktail shaker to feel cold, about 15 seconds. Pour into a Martini glass and dust the top with Cinnamon.

Happy Christmas !

Sticky Walnut, Hoole, Chester

2013-10-09T15:03:00.001+01:00

You had me at Hello !

Over the last couple of months I've read nothing but praise and compliments heaped on a small neighbourhood restaurant in the village of Hoole on the fringe of Chester.

Head chef and owner Gary usher has had a brilliant career before setting up sticky Walnut, you can read about him and the team HERE on the website.

"Sticky Walnut" I liked the name, the look of the restaurant and I liked the menu. Since my partner and I were having an overnight stay in Chester we decided to take the opportunity to eat here.

Once booked it instantly became the focal point of our visit, ( that's what being a foodie does to you ! ) Sticky Walnut instantly had us with it's charm, I love neighbourhood restaurants, we have a couple of good ones at home. This one in particular nestled in Charles street, has a very similar look and feel to Lark lane in Liverpool close to where we live and had us feeling right at home.

Intimate, rustic with upstairs dinning too.

Fantastic looking menu, I could have easily chosen several dishes off this.

We both chose the same starter, Oven roast beets, sticky walnuts, spicy pumpkin seeds, fresh ricotta.

We both loved this dish, it was the perfect start to what turned out to be a very enjoyable relaxed dining experience. The combination of ingredients were brilliant, colourful and vibrant. What I thought even more clever about this dish was just how well the textures worked too. Slight al dente beets with crunchy candied walnuts, soft whipped ricotta and a little spice but total nuttiness from the pumpkin seeds, it was just fantastic.

My mains - Braised lamb neck,courgette salsa, goats cheese and potato gnocchi.

I love neck of lamb and all inexpensive cuts of meat that benefit from long slow cooking.

This lamb was meltingly tender and full of flavour, the courgette salsa had a fabulous deep tomato flavour accompanied with little pillows of goats cheese Gnocchi. With the addition of a side order of truffle and Parmesan chips, this dish was all kinds of right !

My partners main - Rolled and stuffed belly pork, crispy crackling, smokey bacon lentils.

Too wrapped up in my own meal to taste a morsel of my partners I was assured the pork was moist , tender, flavoursome and the crackling was to die for. The smokey bacon lentils where equally enjoyed and was a welcome change to a bed of mash ! However any carb fix was supplied by a couple of the truffle and Parmesan chips.

Sides to share - Hand cut truffle and Parmesan chips.

I would imagine the picture says it all how perfectly crunchy these chips where by the look of them but let me tell you the insides were perfectly fluffy and the taste of earthy truffle and slight saltiness from the Parmesan without doubt put these in the best chips I've ever had category.

My desert- Dark chocolate and cherry mousse, honeycomb.

I struggled between two deserts but plumped for a classic combo of chocolate and cherries and it was good. The honeycomb although in the picture looks like a big solid chunk that you would struggle to bite elegantly was in fact very airy, crumbling easily and with a slight bitter caramel taste was perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the cherries and richness of the chocolate.

My partners desert - English plumb Eton mess.

If Eton mess is on the menu my partner will be hard pressed to pick anything else ! Described as English plumb my partner was delighted that some traditional raspberries amongst other berries was also in there. A real winner.

What I also love to see is a restaurant where children are eating what's on the menu, I witnessed three couples each with a very young child happily tucking in to proper meals. Great to see parents introducing young children to good food.

Another mention to the Two young front of house staff ladies who were attentive and very pleasant during our time at Sticky Walnut, a real asset to any restaurant.

Lucha Libre, Liverpool

2013-08-28T17:28:00.001+01:00

Strange as it may seem, it was eggs that brought me here. After seeing an image of a dish called Chilaquiles, a dish of tortilla chips, salsa, and cheese, reminiscent with nachos and cheese which we all love No? but this dish was topped with two fried eggs.

I realised how much I love eggs, a staple of the food world but equally synonymous with finer dishes like steak tata, eggs Florentine and souffle.

My thoughts turned to breakfast dishes like mashed avocado on toast topped with fried egg and a dash of Tabasco, gloriously unctuous. Huevos rancheros, and my fave eggs Benedict and who doesn't love dipping hot buttered soldiers into dippy eggs?

Then on to lunch, frittata, omelets of all descriptions, egg and chips, egg mayo sandwiches, and a picnic ain't a picnic without scotch eggs.

Classics like corned beef hash has to be topped with gooey fried eggs, same with special fried rice, bubble and squeak. I'll even chuck one on top of beans on toast.

I could go on but lets get to Lucha Libre .......

My partner had sent me a text during the day suggesting we eat out that night and for me to choose where? I suggested Lucha Libre, I just had to try that dish after all I was now in the mood for eggs!

With a no reservation policy we went handy and arrived at 7pm. The restaurant was already busy with most of the tables taken. Once seated we were quickly given the menu and drinks orders where taken whilst we decided what to eat.

We drank tequila cocktails with pomegranate syrup, lemon juice, Moledo Negra beer and the obligatory Vanilla salted rim.

My drink pictured above was a Mezcal cocktail, a very smokey Del Maguey Vida, watermelon, hibiscus, lime & pacifico with an orange salt rim.

Below Chilaquiles the dish that brought me here !

Chilaquiles , tortilla chips smothered in a mild salsa roja, molten cheese served with fresh coriander, jalapenos, & fried eggs.

I'm glad to say I loved this dish it was every bit as nice as I had imagined. Fresh and crisp, the crispness coming not only from the tortilla chips but also the pickled red onions and slithers of radish, it was not over cheesed and all stuck together like you sometimes find with dishes of this kind. The eggs were the star attraction, rightfully on top like a crown. Piercing those golden yolks added that unctuous gooeyness it was divine!

This Quesadilla was the surprise favourite. My partner not liking pineapples didn't expect to like this at all but it was a clear favourite with us both! And now a convert to pineapples ( well hot ones anyway)

This quesadilla called the "Gringa" was filled with marinated belly pork & grilled pineapple. A great combination of savoury and sweet wrapped in a hot flour tortilla.

Pil Bil slow cooked pork marinated in orange juice & achiote, served with pickled red onions.

Again beautifully marinaded pork but I can't say any more about this dish as by now we were both stuffed and after one bite we were beaten !

Sides were re fried beans and red rice, again they were hardly touched due to the extremely full bellies.

We had a great time at Lucha Libre, great food , fun environment and knowledgeable staff. Would highly recommend .

The Goshawk, Mouldsworth Cheshire

2013-08-17T13:00:00.000+01:00

We currently have our house on the market and looking to relocate to a village in Cheshire. We both thought it was a good idea to spend much of our free time exploring the areas we like and consequently eating at the local pubs and restaurants. The plan being when we eventually move, these areas will not feel totally strange to us. A good plan we think and we are having fun doing so.

On one lazy Sunday afternoon drive through west Cheshire with a plan to stop off at any pub that took our fancy, we found ourselves driving through the small village of Mouldsworth and came across The Goshawk. A striking looking country pub complete with window boxes, hanging baskets, and attractive shrubbery. It was one of those pubs that makes you step on the brakes.

On this occasion we just had a drink and a look around, we liked the look and feel of the place and the menu was appealing so we made a mental note to visit and dine sometime soon. There is also a very large and new looking decking area with plenty of tables which overlooks a bowling green and fields, very picturesque.

Last week we tried and failed to get a reservation as they were totally full but this week we managed to bag reservation. On arrival we were given the opportunity to either sit in the bar and peruse the menu with a drink or be seated right away. We were starving so wasted no time.

The Goshawk is lovely inside, interlocking dining areas with wooden floors open log fires although not lit as its summer but this place will be a nice cosy snug in the winter. The menu which you can view HERE has a good combination of typical Gastro fare, sausage and mash, steak and kidney pies and burgers but it also has more refined dishes like Hake in parma ham, crayfish salad, lobster etc... So there's something for everyone.

The wine list is good and in particular a good selection of wine by the glass for those who are driving. Those who like good beer will love this place too with many guest beers on offer.

We decided to skip a starter and dived straight in to the mains, we both fancied a steak.

I ordered a 10oz Ribeye and was cooked medium perfectly, juicy and pink with a nice charred flavour from the grill, this came with the most awesome bowl of chunky chips, really crisp outsides and fluffy inside, two meaty flat mushrooms and the usual garnish of a baked tomato. I also ordered a béarnaise sauce which came in a little pot, divinely buttery with a hint of anise from the tarragon , it was so good the chips were dunked in too!

My partner had the Surf and Turf, same steak, medium rare topped with four massive juicy prawns and was equally enjoyed.

We were quite full after our steaks but had saved just enough room to sample a couple of puds. Passion fruit creme brûlée and Strawberries & Lime cheesecake with a citrus syrup.

The creme brûlée was Devine and served with two shortbread biscuits. My only gripe was the custard was a little more set than I like. I prefer a more smooth thick silky brûlée but this in no way detracted from the taste and the crack test of the topping was a winner, smooth and as thin as glass, top class.

Although this looks like a large potion I was told this cheesecake was very light and tasted great.

One other thing that stood out to me, as strange as this might seem but I loved the fact the wine glass that my wine was served in was absolutely sparkling clean, you could actually feel it when you picked up the glass. Who doesn't love a clean glass ? but it's rare. This was a large 250ml glass which they serve in a little carafe so you can top up as you need too, a lovely touch.

Service was a little slow between courses but this was not a problem. Everything came out fresh, piping hot and most importantly it all tasted great .

We are both looking forward to making the Goshawk one of our locals.

Duck & Waffle, London

2013-08-07T18:03:00.001+01:00

Oh here we go, a restaurant on the 40th floor with a 360 degree view of London.

Readers of my blog will know this place is right up my street.

Duck & Waffle is the restaurant inside Heron Tower, Bishopsgate.

After taking the fastest lift I think I've ever been in to the dizzying heights of the 40th floor you first arrive in a very cool looking bar even from here your looking down on the Gherkin.

Inside is very spacious, bright and airy with breath taking views of London. I'm already a happy bunny.

After our waiter described the menu to us and how the dishes would be served, basically not in the order we ordered but as each dish was ready, confusing at first but as the menu is small plate (tapas) style we didn't mind too much. There are plenty of small dishes to choose from or larger dishes for the table.

We ordered a mixture of dishes to share, BBQ spiced crispy pigs ears,
Roasted octopus / chorizo / lemon / caper.
Pollock meatballs / lobster cream / parmesan.
Harissa spiced Herdwick mutton sliders / lime creme fraiche / charred tomato jam.
Spicy ox cheek doughnut / apricot jam.

And a couple of cocktails to wash it all down with, a whiskey sour for me and a Spring Negroni for my partner.

The BBQ spiced crispy pigs ears arrived in a brown paper bag complete with red wax seal. A fun way to start the meal.

These were lovely the BBQ flavour was good and they were very crunchy, but half way through I noticed the thin white strip of ear through the coating and it became off putting and I became a bit squeamish. My partner however loved them.

The octopus was a dish my partner chose, beautifully presented. I'm not a fan of seafood in general but I did try some of this and was surprised, very tender but the octopus didn't taste of much. The flavour of this dish came from the chorizo and capers.

The mutton sliders where very good but very small they were gone in three bites . I know, I know ! sliders are small but at £8 a pop they were not good value, £16 for these two little burgers !

Pollock / lobster cream / parmesan

This was one of the tastiest dishes for me after the sliders, the pollock meatball itself was very subtle but the lobster cream and parmesan gave lots of flavour, I could have easily ate both of these but I was sharing.

Spicy Ox cheek doughnut / apricot jam was a huge Disappointment.

Added this second picture just so you can see how big they were and with not enough filling inside they were too doughy and heavy, the sweet and spicy coating just didn't do it for me. Dipping it in the apricot jam made it more palatable but this was a dish neither of us could finish, we just didn't like it enough.

Our experience was souring as we still hadn't received our cocktails we had ordered at the beginning of the meal. We had to remind our waiter, It seems they had forgotten. The restaurant was not that busy ? When the drinks eventually arrived our waiter kindly said they were on the house.

After the long wait the drinks were not great and we had to send them back which made us a bit uncomfortable as I hardly ever send drinks or food back. But at a cost of £24 for two drinks that were unpalatable (for us ) it was the right thing to do.

My partners spring negron left a really awful bitter taste in the back of your throat, very unpleasant and the whiskey sour tasted way to artificial, I 'm not a hundred percent on this but I felt the foamy top was the culprit, I think an artificial chemical emulsifier had been used to give the frothy white head. I understand lots of bars will now use this and not raw egg whites in their drinks for fear of salmonella.

It did look rather pretty like a lemon meringue but to me it was no Whiskey sour.

The waiter replaced our drinks for two others but I'm afraid these were not great either.

What we felt was although Duck & Waffle is a lovely environment to have a meal, the service was hit and miss the food although OK for most parts, is very over hyped and over priced. As you can see from the bill and this was without the drinks added.

We've eaten far better (set lunches ) at Michelin starred restaurants for the same price.

Bone Daddies Ramen Bar. Soho London

2013-08-05T18:18:00.000+01:00

On our recent trip to London we had decided to make dining a more casual affair. We had read rave reviews about Bone daddies and with it's no reservation required policy this fitted the bill perfectly.

This was my very first ramen experience. I had read the queues can be quite long at lunch time so waited till 15 minutes after opening time to pounce.

We opted for a seat in the window just me and my partner facing the world outside as the tables are bench like and your likely to be forced to share it with strangers, which ain't a bad thing in general but the very idea of slurping noodles in front of strangers is a bit daunting.

Within minutes of us being seated the place started to fill up the music and Atmosphere cranked up a notch it was buzzing.

Inside Bone daddies

In front of us was an array of condiments garlic and crusher, hot chilli oil, soy sauce, sesame seed grinder and eating implements chop sticks, bibs (very necessary) for first timers and hair bands for those with long hair to tie back a brilliant touch, not that I needed it.

Choice of ramen was great, we both opted for the Tonkotsu the idea of a broth made from pork bones for 20 hours was too much to pass. We also ordered an extra portion of Cock scratchings ( deep fried chicken skin ) to you and me.

Whilst waiting for our ramen we supped on Asahi's and soaked up the atmosphere. Once the ramen arrived we donned our bibs and got stuck in.

Tonkotsu ramen - With spring onion, chashu pork, 20 hour bone broth, soft boiled egg, crispy garlic, spring onions and extra cock scratchings.

I was a bit disappointed with the broth at first it seemed to lack the flavour I imagined but after everything started to mix together it became more tasty with every mouth full.
I always struggle with noodle or rice dishes as they seem to fill me up very quickly and it happened again, when I had finished it looked like I had hardly ate anything but I was truly stuffed. I was gutted I couldn't even fit in The green tea or black sesame ice cream everyone raved about and said so to our waitress. when she told us it wasn't on the menu that day I breathed a sigh of relief I hadn't missed out because of my own doing.

Feeling sorry for us she brought over this ice cream covered in sweet sesame seeds on the house ! so bravely we tucked in and I have to say it was the most delicious ice cream I have ever had.

Evidence of the polished of ice cream.

Bone Daddies was great fun, we loved it. good tasty food, great upbeat staff and the music was fab, I could have stayed all day.

MEATLiquor London

2013-07-31T18:36:00.000+01:00

Although I love a burger as much as the next person burger joints have never featured on my list of to go restaurants, but all that could change. Street food when done well can command as much attention as the high end dining scene. It's down to the quality of the ingredients and when cooked brilliantly there will be people queueing round the block. Remember my post on Bubbledogs? hot dogs and Champagne! ( read it here ) I rest my case. Every now and then is not too bad for you, right ?

The burger scene is uber cool at the moment with the foodie elite in London, so on my last visit to the capital I decided to make a burger joint my to go destination and see for myself.

Recently two American Giants Shake Shack and Five guy's have taken up residencies in Covent garden but reviews are more a miss than a hit. Two other names bandied about on Twitter, Patty and Bun and MEATLiquor. also get rave reviews so I felt in safe hands there.

After much deliberation we decided to go with MEATLiquor, leaving Patty and Bun for our next visit. I liked the story of how MEATLiquor came to be, the story of Yianni Papoutsis whom after spending a few years driving his mobile grill "Meat wagon" around London and every major festival, feeding masses of meat loving punters he decided to take up a more permanent residence in Welbeck st, Marylebone.

Jaime Oliver showcased MeatWagon on Jaime's great britian. You can see Jaime visiting the Meat Wagon HERE.

The talk of two hour queues snaking around the block can either be off putting or intriguingly enticing. But this is Monday afternoon 15 Min's after opening time and feeling smug we walk right in. It was quite empty but believe me half an our after we were seated it started to fill quite quickly.

With it's unglamorous position under a multi story car park the interior is much the same.

Dark and moody, lit only by blood red neon lighting. Walls and ceilings covered in sinister graffiti style illustrations. A mish mash of bench style tables and side diner style banquettes. I fear i've pulled up a chair in the middle of a slaughter house. It is quite simply the Devils crib!

Should you need to use the W.C doors are marked Chick or Dicks !

But it works, after all you are here for a dirty burger, pretty surroundings and tablecloths just wouldn't do here.

The burgers here are big and messy. Each table provided with a whole kitchen roll only confirms you need to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in for you'll be wiping half of it off your chin.

Menu is fun, burgers listed as Bulls, chicken under Birds, anything made from vegetables listed under Rabbit food and deserts referred to as sweet stuff.

A very good and extensive cocktail list. So much choice I had to send our waiter away 3 times till I made my decision.

We both chose the Cheese burger, the MeatWagon original, beef, cheese, red onions, pickles, lettuce, mustard , ketchup.

Side orders of ordinary fries, fries smothered in melted cheddar cheese and onion and a portion of Slaw Southern style.

Portions were huge and we immediately knew we had over ordered. One portion of chips and slaw would go round a few people easily.

Food images not great due to low lighting, I never use flash photography in restaurants so you will have to take my word this food looked as good as it tasted.

The MeatWagon original cheeseburger.

Near to perfection as you can get, juicy beef patty still pink in the middle, nice caramalisation charring the outside. A final splash of water and a couple of seconds under a closh softens the bun giving it that shiny glaze and just the right amount of condiments to not overpower the taste of the burger itself. I loved it .

Drinks were also very good, we ordered a Space Gin Smash
Plymouth navy Gin, lemon juice, sugar, apple juice, elderflower cordial, mint and grapes.

Henrietta fizz
Finlandia vodka, shaken with fresh pear, fresh lemon juice and strawberry topped with fizz.

Could have easilly stayed for a while longer going through the cocktail list but sadly we had a train to catch.

Tom's Kitchen - Somerset house London

2013-07-27T15:22:00.001+01:00

I love visiting London, I was born here but have lived in Liverpool my entire life so visiting London always feel special and for a foodie it's heaven on earth. My reason for visiting this weekend was to see Goldfrapp in concert, the destination Somerset house. But whilst we're here we got to eat and drink, right ?

This trip we decided not to do our usual ritual of bagging every meal at Michelin starred restaurants and being restricted to dining at the only available times they had on offer, to the more casual approach of walking in off the street, places like Bone daddies, Ramen bar or to do the burger scene at much talked about places like Shake Shack, Five guys, patty and Bun or MEATLiquor.

That said we did have to make two reservations. Readers of my blog will know I have a love of eating & drinking high in the sky. Duck and waffle (being the highest) was not a place we felt we could just turn up at and get lucky but more of that in another post.

Our only other reservation was made at Tom's Kitchen a chef (Tom Aikens ) who's style of cooking I love, British comfort food with French influences. Tom's first restaurant in Chelsea (Tom Aikens) achieved Michelin star status. He then opened the first of his brasserie style restaurants again based in Chelsea and more recently the second Tom's Kitchen at Somerset house, the very same place we were going to see Goldfrapp so I wasted no time securing a table.

To find the restaurant you have to walk through the courtyard of Somerset house. We arrived straight into the bar area were we were promptly asked if we would like a drink. We declined at this point but thought it very attentive as it was a hot hot day . The Dining area is split into three rooms , we were walked through two of them to the final one nearest the kitchen and seated in the middle of the room which at first felt awkward as it's slightly raised up from the lower more comfortable looking banquets, these however were reserved for four diners.

As we were eating early 3.30 we were given the Brunch menu. You can view this HERE.

Then promptly offered the cocktail list. Tom's Kitchen had cleverly put together a cocktail list named after all the bands playing the Somerset house summer series. I naturally chose Goldfrapp~ Black Cherry

I would not normally chose a Bourbon based drink, but it was a fitting tribute to our visit. And ordering out of my comfort zone paid off. My partner however chose Band of Horse sticking with her beloved Gin ( Traitor )

For starter I went for Risotto of the day which was Lemon and herb. This was absolutely Divine, creamy, silky, lemony, with big shavings of Parmesan, wasn't to sure what herbs were used but I think I detected Tarragon as there seemed a hint of anise.

My partner chose the Cesar salad and loved it.

For mains we both chose pork belly with braised endive and pearl-barley risotto

We both loved the pork belly, meltingly tender, the crispy crackling was so thin and crispy you could eat it like a big porky crisp. We both disliked the braised endive it was far to bitter but endives are bitter so that's not a criticism just personal taste. The only thing I would change about this dish was the sauce surrounding the risotto, it was too sweet for my taste I would have much preferred it to be rich and savoury.

I couldn't finish this dish, stupidly I thought the the pearl barley risotto accompanying this dish would be a small portion as the pork belly was the main ingredient. But there was a healthy portion of it.

I wrongly ordered. Two Risottos, who does that ? That said this was my first taste of a risotto not made with rice and it was fantastic.

We were both too full for desert which was a shame as I would have liked to sample the full hit at Tom's Kitchen but we left very full and happy.

Good food, good drinks and Music a pretty perfect day in my book ;0)

Rhuby Spritz the perfct summer cocktail

2013-07-16T20:56:00.001+01:00

One of the most memorable cocktails I've had was during a visit to the OXO Tower London last summer, it was called Rhuby Spritz. A rhubarb vodka muddled with redcurrants and charged with soda it was the perfect British summer drink.

I say British as not only are rhubarb and redcurrants quintessentially British, the vodka in this cocktail is made by British distiller William chase, a Hereford potato farmer who brought us Terrell's crisps.

In Williams story he describes whilst travelling in the USA looking for packaging equipment for his crisps he stumbled upon a small distillery making potato vodka and thought this could be a great new chapter in his life. He reportedly sold his crisp business for £30 million deciding it would be more fun to make vodka ( have to agree there ) Chase vodka has since gone from strength to strength. In 2010 Chase was crowned the worlds finest vodka by a panel of 30 judges at the San Fransisco world spirit competition, beating the likes of Poland and Russia.

Distilling in a bespoke copper batch pot and using potatoes gives Chase vodka a natural sweetness and a much better taste than traditional methods of using cheaper wheat or rye grains.

I'm a big fan of trying to reproduce cocktails at home that I have tried and loved. Especially the classics that have an interesting story attatched to them. Although Rhuby Spritzs not in that category I loved it enough to want to make at home.

So I wanted to find out how to make this drink using the exact ingredients.
The Mixologist at OXO kindly gave me the recipe.

Chase vodka is not cheap at £35 a bottle but the quality is amazing, and the taste of rhubarb comes through superbly.

Ingredients to make a Rhuby spritz

Ingredients
6-8 Redcurrants
1/2 tsp Caster sugar
15ml of lemon juice
50ml Chase Rhubarb vodka
Soda water

Glass style - Tall fluted - Highball
Method - Muddle - Shaken - Charge with soda
Garnish - Slice of lemon - String of recurrants

Method
Muddle 6-8 redcurrants with a 1/2 tsp caster sugar and 15ml lemon juice in a cocktail shaker
Add a double shot of Chase Rhubarb vodka, ice & shake
Strain into a glass filled with ice
Stir and top up with soda water
Garnish with a slice of lemon and some of the redcurrants.

Rhuby Spritz the perfect summer cocktail

Enjoy!

Random recipe challenge

2013-07-03T18:20:00.000+01:00

I currently have 128 Cook books at home plus several cocktail books and like a lot of people who love to cook I can't resist buying them but do I cook from them all, the answer is No.

So when I spotted Dominic Franks of @belleaukitchen throwing out a challenge to his Twitter followers to cook a random recipe I decided to give it a go.
The rules of this months challenge was to count your cook books from left to right, stopping at number 30 then choosing page 30. Cooking what ever recipe was on that page, no cheating!

Admittedly I prefer to cook a recipe that has a photo to illustrate how the finished dish should look so when page 30 had not one but two recipes and both without pictures I was already out of my comfort zone.

The 30th book on my shelf was "The Great Garlic Cookbook". The first recipe on the page 30 was for real taramasalata. My partner and I are not great fish eaters so didn't see the point in making something that won't be eaten.

The other recipe was for "Sorbet (sherbet) Tomatoes", again not a recipe I would ever choose to make but this is a challenge after all.

After my initial thought of yuk I thought about another sorbet I had eaten recently and liked very much, cucumber and mint at a restaurant called Fraiche ( you can read my review of Fraiche here ) which was lovely, so not all sorbets are of the desert kind, saying that a Tomato is officially a fruit !

This recipe did not require too many ingredients or expensive ones so what the hell, in for a penny in for a pound !

The only change I made to this recipe was instead of freezing the tomato juice in an ice cube tray which would take an age ( not a patient cook) I decided to use my Sorbet / ice cream machine. Ten minutes over a couple of hours, no contest !

Ingredients

This is how I made Sorbet ( sherbet ) Tomatoes
(Serves 4)

2 large beefsteak tomatoes

Salt

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Freshly ground black pepper

A generous handful of fresh mint leaves

Juice of 1 large lemon

10g / 2tsp of sugar

2 egg whites

To serve

Sprigs of mint

Preparation

Halve each tomato horizontally, scoop out and reserve seeds and cores.

Sprinkle the insides of the tomato shells with salt and turn upside down to drain.

Smear the inside of each tomato shell with the crushed garlic and sprinkle with pepper.

Press the tomato seeds and cores through a sieve to extract the juice .

Make up to 2/3 cup 150 ml 1/4 pint with water.

Combine the mint leaves, tomato juice, lemon juice and sugar in a blender. The mixture should not be too smooth.

Pour mixture into an ice cream / sorbet maker and churn. This only took around 10 minutes due to the small amount of liquid.

Whip egg whites with a couple of pinches of salt until it forms soft peaks.

Fold egg whites into semi frozen mixture.

Freeze until firm, stirring occasionally.

Pile the sorbet (sherbet) into each tomato half and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Verdict : very pretty on the plate, the tomato sorbet was nice and subtle against the stronger taste of the tomato itself. Definitely a summer dish, but felt they were a little bit large.
Too much coldness for a starter. Would prefer these a bit smaller as a palate cleanser or refresher. Nice but if I am honest I wouldn't be in a hurry to make again.

The point of this exercise was to challenge myself, I enjoyed the Idea of making something I would never have attempted. Looking forward to taking part again next month.

The Fishpool Inn, Delamere, Cheshire.

2013-06-19T18:26:00.001+01:00

The Fishpool Inn

The Fishpool Inn is a pub my partner and I have drove passed many times over the years. Every time we do I always say "one day we should pop in for a drink". Well Friday evening we finally popped in for that drink and boy were we glad we did.

The Fishpool Inn is owned by the Nelson hotels group who also own the Pheasant at Higher Burwardsley another favourite of ours.
Now much larger than the original pub, the Fishpool Inn has undergone a 2.9 million pound extension / refurbished and it's truly stunning ! You can look at the gallery HERE

The interior is a real talking point, and not unlike some Kenyan safari lodges we have stayed in whilst on holiday.
Split between many different spacious areas and some cosy little snugs.
Seating made from beer barrels, antler horns, and cosy banquets. Walls are adorned with Animal heads, riding paraphernalia and quirky ornaments. There's even an upturned boat under a glass ceiling.

We sat at the end of the bar and ordered a couple of drinks. I fancied some pork scratchings

but was told they had run out, on seeing our disappointment the manager told us he would see if the kitchen could give us some pork crackling, and this is what he produced ! Now that's staff who go the extra mile ! and on the basis of that and the fact the place looked fantastic we promptly booked a table for the following evening.

Pork crackling

The following evening on arrival the we were told that service was a bit behind but we could be seated at our table and order some drinks, we were promptly given the menu to peruse and drink orders were taken.

The atmosphere was loud and buzzing but in a good way, staff were attentive and friendly.

And if I'm honest we didn't notice any lapse in service at all.

Our seat in front of a cosy range fire

For starter I ordered Crispy duck fritter, with smoked duck and poached gooseberries, sticky orange syrup.

The smoked duck was cold which I didn't expect but the duck fritter was really good, shredded bread crumbed and deep fried, but the hot and cold thing worked well together the way cold ham and hot mashed potatoes or warm boiled egg on a salad nicoise do, the poached gooseberries adding a little sweet and sour element, I loved it .

Tiger prawn pil pil, Tiger prawns cooked in olive oil, garlic, fresh chilli with torn basil leaves, garlic bread.

Came served in it's on little pan. I was told it was devine , prawns where plump and juicy with one to peel yourself so you could get your hands in there, sauce was packed full of flavour and the garlic bread was great to mop it all up.

After tasting the crackling the night before it seemed only right I should taste the pork it was from, so I ordered from the Inka charcoal oven.

Slow cooked belly of pork, sliced rhubarb compote, sage and onion creamed potato, creamed English peas, red wine and port reduction.I swapped my mash for gratin potatoes.

What a lovely plate of food this was, the pork was meltingly tender and plenty of it, crackling was great. Nice even colour, no burned bits to spoil it, creamed peas were dotted with little nuggets of bacon which gave a nice saltiness , the potato gratin was perfectly cooked and the red wine and port reduction was deep and rich and brought the whole thing together nicely . The one thing missing from this dish was the rhubarb compote ? it wasn't on the dish at all , that said I hadn't noticed till I got home and re-looked at the menu so no harm done I suppose.

Also from the Inka charcoal oven my partner ordered the Roast breast of corn fed chicken, summer vegetable panache , gratin potatoes, Alsace bacon, button mushroom and shallot sauce.

The chicken was cooked to perfection still nice and juicy, vegetables nice and tender with just the right amount of bite. great gratin potatoes. The sauce was raved about, the shallots came through and had a lovely sweetness to it.

I was really full after the meal but I was encouraged by the waitress to have dessert, not one to really have to have my arm twisted I opted for baked banoffee cheesecake with honeycomb ice cream.

The cheesecake was nice but a little dry but all that sauce and ice cream helped to balance it out. I couldn't finish this but only because I was stuffed to the hilt . My partner opted for a mixture of sorbet and ice cream which she loved.

All the ice creams and sorbets served here are local from the Cheshire ice cream farm which we know very well .

All in all we had a fantastic night and one we will definitely return to and a place we would recommend.

Cholmondeley Arms, Malpas Cheshire.

2013-05-26T19:20:00.001+01:00

I had always fancied visiting the Cholmondeley arms ever since reading Clarissa Dickson Wright's (of two fat ladies) autobiography "Rifling through my draws" this is the place Clarissa stays when she wants to get away from it all to write. Locals talk of seeing her popping in and out of the kitchen and sometimes sitting at the bar chatting and mingling with the locals. She also rates the food quite highly. So when we found ourselves near Malpas last year we made a point of popping in for Sunday lunch.

I was not blogging then, but after a house viewing this afternoon in Kingsley, Cheshire we found another opportunity to drop in to the Cholmondeley arms for lunch.

Set in the beautiful Cheshire countryside the Cholmondeley arms was formerly a Victorian village schoolhouse on Lord Cholmondeley’s estate. Dating back to 1862 the school was converted in 1988. The old schoolhouse was originally converted into a village pub by Julian and Ginny Harrison and Guy and Carolyn Ross-Lowe whom Clarissa talks highly of in her book.

Cholmondely arms is the kind of pub you imagine a real country pub to be.
A sandblasted bare brick interior with very high ceilings, bunches of hops hang on the walls and decorate the bar. It still has that old school feel to it with a mish-mash of wooden tables and chairs, menu's and drinks lists written on Blackboards.

There is a very large beer garden to the front and side of the pub which was heaving with diners, not surprising as we had glorious weather today.
Inside was quieter when we first arrived but that soon started to fill quite quickly. On both of our visits we have found the pub to have a great atmosphere, staff are very friendly and the food is fantastic. I couldn't recommend this place highly enough.

If you find yourself in the area pop in you won't be disappointed!
You can check out there menu HERE

Oh and if you are partial to a drop of Gin they serve over 200 types! and if you drink too many they have fantastic quest rooms. Check rooms and rates HERE

Charming entrance to the Cholmondely arms

The Sunday lunch today was as good as we remembered. Prime roast rib of Cheshire beef, was cooked to perfection with roast potatoes, red cabbage, fresh seasonal vegetables with yorkshire pudding and gravy.

Sue's iced Grand Marnier Souffle

Custard and gingerbread tart with roasted rhubarb

The Botanist, Alderley edge

2013-05-19T21:13:00.000+01:00

Two of my favourite things are eating and spending time down on my allotment so when I spotted this quirky eatery in Alderley edge that has been designed to look like the inside of a potting shed my interest was high.

Checking out the menu on The Botanist website and reading some rave reviews had me picking up the phone immediately.

Me and my other half was spending time with friends in Cheshire this weekend so we decided we would book Sunday lunch on our way home but after showing our friends where we were eating, they also loved the look of it so our booking for two was changed to four.

The Botanist really is a very interesting place to eat. Decor is rustic and film set like. Colours of pale wood and duck egg blue are beautiful, walls are adorned with pitchforks, spades, galvanised watering cans etc and display cabinets filled with plant pots and other gardening Paraphernalia made great talking points.

The food was fantastic my partner and I had the roast beef which was perfectly cooked pink and juicy just how we like it. The beef was accompanied with a giant yorkshire pud, roast potatoes, stuffing and a side dish of the most amazing tasting veg, carrot's, Parsnips and cabbage which had all been cooked in a garlic butter, the gravy nice and meaty in flavour. The little pot of horseradish cream was devine, punchy and nose stingily good.

Friend 1 had the roast chicken sunday lunch and raved about it, she also said it was the best gravy she had ever had in her whole life! While friend 2 chose the Botanist deli board choosing four items from a list of 16, this was also served with Turkish flat bread. A clean platter confirmed her enjoyment.

Drinks menu is very good especially the cocktail menu which offered some very interesting combinations and twists on the classics. Staff where very attentive and friendly.
Overall we had a fantastic afternoon in a fantastic restaurant and one we will certainly recomend.

The Leibster Award

2013-05-16T20:25:00.001+01:00

I was very surprised and thrilled to be nominated by @Gingeybites you can check out her fabulous blog Here. Alex, Aka @Gingeybites is the person who put the blogging idea to me and I haven't looked back since. It's been a great outlet for me to wax lyrical about restaurants I've visited, recipes I love and cocktails I like to shake. There is also a section for my allotment but as yet not posted anything on that page, weather wise I've not had a great start on growing anything this year, everything is very late going in the ground.

I've also been very busy getting my house ready to go on the market so my blogging has also been a bit slow recently. I plan to move to a semi rural area where I long for a garden large enough to have a vegetable patch so I can grow my own veggies at home. Also looking forward to the country life and devoting more time to blogging my recipes and the likes.

So concidering my blogging has been a bit slow of late I feel honoured to be nominated ! thanks Alex :0)

The Leibster Award. Here it is in a nutshell: "The Liebster Award is for bloggers with under 300 followers and the rules of the award is that the nominee must link back to whoever awarded them, write 10 random facts about themselves, answer the 10 questions from the award giver, and then nominate other bloggers and make up 10 questions for them to answer. it's a great way for new and undiscovered bloggers to meet new people, get more followers and find some blogs that they want to follow."

Task 1 - Ten random facts about me :

I have flown a plane, ( a small one )
I once hosted a radio show on Elle fm In Livepool for a short while.
Contrary to popular belief that only men have sheds, I have two! one on my allotment and one at home. I believe it would put most men's sheds to shame! P.s the one at home has curtains on the windows.
I once put tinsel in the blender to make glitter.
I use to be a dog groomer and once had to give a dog the kiss of life ( seriously )
I've had numerous electric shocks one rendered me temporarily blind for a couple of seconds . I even get shocks of people, I'm full of static !!
I'm coming up to 20yrs in my current job.
I'm addicted to lipsol.
I love roof top bars.
If I were queen I would ban chewing gum off the face of the earth.

Task 2 - Answer Alex's question

When and why did you decide to start a food blog ?

           I started my blog in November 2012 because I realised I was posting more and
           more Images of food I had eaten in restaurants I had visited or food I had made
           at home on Facebook. Not wanting to flood my time line fit to bursting with foodie
           pictures I decided another outlet was in order. One day Alex of @Gingeybites asked
           me on Twitter if I blogged? Thats when the light bulb in my head switched on thus
           Eatslurpburp was born.

    2.    If you could only eat one vegetable for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

           For me the Potato is the king of vegetables, baked, fried, mashed, boiled, roasties,
           CHIPS ! so versatile and so dam tasty. You can even make vodka from them.

    3.    Red sauce or brown sauce?

          That depends on what I'm eating, but mostly red.

   4.    If you could have anyone to your house for dinner, who would it be and why? you can
          invite four people.

          My father who died 20 yrs ago, would be lovely to see and chat to him again.
          I'm going to cheat here and pick a double act as one choice as they come as a pair
          and that's Mel Giedroyc and sue Perkins, they would keep the dinner party
          entertained.

   5.    What's the one ingredient you can't live without ?

          Garlic.

6.    Favourite take away?

         Definately Chinese, hot & sour soup, salt & pepper ribs, crispy duck with pancakes,
         chicken with spring onion and ginger, beef in oyster sauce, and of course fried rice
          Yum!

   7.    What's your most embarrassing food secret ?

         Fish finger butties!

8.    What's your favourite style of cooking and why ?

         French, I love rich dishes, wine sauces, garlic & cream. naughty but nice.

9.    Cheeseboard or cheesecake ?

         That's a really hard question, but again depends on what I've eaten beforehand?
         after some meals you need something sweet so would pick cheesecake ( has to be a
         baked one ) If I was going to have a few more glasses of wine after dinner then I
         would pick a cheeseboard.

  10. Who inspired you most as a young cook and what did you learn frm them ?

        My mother who lives in Spain. My parents separated when I was young and I used to
         visit her in the summer holidays. She introduced me to foods I had never encountered
         before at home like aubergines, garlic, swordfish and dishes like paella. They all
         seemed very exotic. I was also introduced to Indonesian cuisine. My mothers favourite
         restaurant was in the next village to where she lived. I was also introduced to a devine
         chocolate spread we used to spread on baguettes for breakfast called Nutella. Nutella
         was unheard of in England then. I also remember being blown away by a style of
         Swiss cooking called Raclette my mother used to set this up at the table. I felt very
         sophisticated and grown up cooking at the table with my very own little frying pan.

Task 3 - Nominate other bloggers.

Some of the blogs I read have already been nominated so to keep it interesting I shall pick different ones that I don't think have been nominated yet.

@ellie_bee42       ellie-bee-baking.com
Ellie is an avid baker and tweeter and is always posting interesting bakes.

@nicolelwaterman www.missfridaysfeast.blogspot.com
Nicole food alway's looks amazing and I love her blog name.

Rebecca Hills @g_streetbite   globalstreetbite.com
Rebecca has been to some very exotic places and her recipes reflect this brilliantly.

My 10 questions should you choose to accept this challenge :

Which chef would you choose to cook you a private meal and why ?
Where would your ideal dinning destination be and why ?
What would you have for a last supper?
What's the most memorable meal you've ever had?
What do you love most about food ?
Your on a desert island - what 3 ingredients would you take with you?
Your down to your last £10 what food would you spend it on ?
If you had to eat the same thing every day what would you choose?
If you opened your refridgerator right now what would you find?
What is the most bizzare thing you've ever eaten ?

Clementine, Chocolate and Hazelnut biscuits

2013-05-15T12:45:00.000+01:00

Ingredients

40z/110g butter - room temperature
40z/110g caster sugar
grated zest of one clementine
1 egg
9oz/250g plain flour
1tbsp cocoa powder

Method

In a processor or by hand, beat the butter, sugar and zest together until light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg and a pinch of salt.
Lightly toast the hazelnuts, I find this gives a better flavour.
Add the flour and hazelnuts and mix in gently.
Shape the dough into a log about 2in/5cm thick and wrap well in cling film. Leave to chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
To bake, heat the oven to 350F/180C/ gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with none stick paper.
Cut the dough, straight from the fridge into 1/4 inch / 1/2 cm slices and arrange, well spaced on the baking tray.
Bake for about 12 minutes (the exact time will depend on the thickness of the biscuits) until very lightly coloured.
Lift the hot, still soft biscuits onto a wire rack to cool and crisp up.

Wild Garlic and Lemon Risotto

2013-04-29T17:50:00.000+01:00

Wild Garlic

Wild garlic seems to be on trend at the moment, over the last few weeks I've seen countless recipes using it. Most probably because it's in season, spring has sprung and the foragers are out in force.

I loved the ingredients in this recipe posted on Lucy Antal's Grab Your Spoon Facebook page, so when I spotted wild garlic this weekend at my local farmers market at Lark Lane, Liverpool http://www.larklane.com/farmersmarket/ dinner was decided.

You can see the original recipe here http://www.wellseasoned.co.uk/recipes/wild-garlic-and-lemon-risotto/

Risotto is a very quick and easy meal to put together, I like to have the prep done in advance so when you fancy eating, it can be on the plate within twenty five to thirty minutes.

Ingredients

1 small white onion, finely diced
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely crushed
Risotto rice (110g for 2 people)
A tiny pinch of dried herbs (dried sage and rosemary – just a pinch of each) Salt and Pepper
Vegetable stock ( I made up a litre using four teaspoons of Bouillon stock powder, used most of this save a ladleful )
1 small glass of white wine ( I used a Sauvignon blanc, it's citrus and grassy notes perfect for this )
A splash of rapeseed oil
A knob of salted butter
Handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
A handful of freshly wild garlic
1 Lemon (zest only)

To dress the dish: ( original recipe calls for 1 pot of Well Seasoned Wild Garlic, Basil & Mint Pesto) I did not have this so just used the other two ingredients.
1) Parmesan shavings
2) Baby Rocket

Prep
Finely chop onion and celery, crush the garlic, zest the lemon, grate parmesan and weigh the rice.

Method

Heat rapeseed oil and a knob of butter in a large saucepan.
Add the celery, onion, garlic and herbs and fry gently until slightly softened.
Add the rice and continue frying for 4 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper.
Make up the vegetable stock and keep it warm.
Add the small glass of white wine to the pan; this should simmer immediately. Let the alcohol evaporate for 2 minutes.
Add the hot stock, a ladleful every few minutes and constantly stir the risotto until the stock is absorbed. Keep the heat low, the risotto should be only just bubbling.
The rice will take roughly 22 minutes to cook. The texture should be oozey.
Once you are happy that the risotto is cooked and seasoned well, turn the heat off and stir in the Wild Garlic, the lemon zest and the Parmesan, and let it rest for 4 minutes.

Tip! If you’re feeling indulgent stir in a little knob of butter at the end, this makes the risotto even richer and glossier. Serve in warm bowls, garnish with some Parmesan shavings, baby rocket leaves and a drizzle of rapeseed oil.

The worlds first sky butler dining, The Singapore flyer.

2013-04-21T17:35:00.000+01:00

Marina bay centre with the Singapore flyer far right

I am a sucker for dining in unusual places, so when a friend recommended we try dining in the worlds tallest ferris wheel whilst in Singapore my ears where well and truly pricked.

I love drinking on rooftop terrace bars, so dining on the worlds largest ferris wheel with a 360 degree view of Singapore is right up my street.

The wheel was constructed between 2005 and 2008, with a total height of 165m (541 ft) 42 stories, making it the tallest ferris wheel in the world. Situated on the southeast tip of the Marina centre's reclaimed land, the wheel is 150m (492 ft) in diameter, built over a three-story terminal building which houses shops, bars and restaurants.

Checking their website an advertisement for the Singapore flyer read:

"Indulge in our premium Sky Dining experience which now comes with exclusive Gueridon service, a new 4-course menu, wine pairing options, personalised butler service, magnificent skyline views – all in the comfort of a spacious capsule, atop the world’s largest Giant Observation Wheel".

Dinner for Two Package Includes:
2 Rotations (approx 1 hour)
Exclusive check-in (Express Boarding)
In-flight Host
4-course Fine Dining Menu (Dinner) with Dessert, Coffee and Tea served in-capsule
Flyer Lounge access*

Sounded great so further research had me checking out some video footage on YouTube. One video in particular showed waiters bringing in plated up main courses on the second revolution from where I assumed had been prepared from a kitchen in the vicinity.
You can see the footage click here.

It looked fantastic, but sadly it wasn't we had no such service, the word Gueridon in the advertisement had gone unnoticed and if I'm honest I'd never heard that culinary term before.

A description of this I found meant :
Gueridon service is a form of food service provided by restaurants to their guests. This type of service encompasses preparing food (primarily salads, main dishes such as beef stroganoff, or desserts) in direct view of the guests, using a "gueridon". A gueridon typically consists of a trolley that is equipped to prepare, cook and serve food. There is a gas hob, chopping board, cutlery drawer, cold store (depending on the trolley type) and general working area.

However this was truly an amazing setting for a meal and offered without doubt the best views of Singapore, from the wheel you can see the whole Marina bay area, which houses the iconic Marina bay sands hotel, The Helix bridge, which has been brilliantly constructed to resemble DNA, the art and science museum and a fantastic floating stage which was a footbal pitch on our trip. You can also see beyond to about 45 km (28 mi), including the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan, as well as Johor, Malaysia.

Singapore flyer capsual

After being seated the first course of butternut squash soup was served up, this was nice and tasty but on the small side and served with what looked like a slice of bread cut off a baguette. Not great, how hard is it to serve up a nice roll ? but there was also something else missing ? wine ? we asked our waiter if we could order some wine. "Sorry was the reply, you need to order that before you enter the capsule".

Stunned, we explained we had arrived about 15 minutes before our original reservation required us to do so. We presented ourselves at reception then taken to the flyer lounge and within two minutes of us being there we were led by a member off staff straight into the capsule of the flyer.

Not once where we offered a wine menu or asked if we would like to order drinks let alone inform us this is what we had to do!
We were gob smacked, the waiter was left in no doubt we thought this was unacceptable and he made a telephone call down to reception. Even that was a farce, we were told we could only be offered house red or white, and had no idea what it was, there was no question of choosing a cabernet or merlot, etc it was this or nothing!

Next up was a crab salad, nothing special just ok.

The not so special Crab salad

By now we had completed our first revolution, when the capsule reached the bottom in rushed the waiters with 4 glasses of wine and what looked like trays of airline food.

Evidence of our £79 meal being delivered to the capsual like airline food !

I was gob smacked again. The waiter began to plate up and by time it reached our table it was stone cold, no heat whatsoever to any of our meals. We sent our meals back. For some reason I thought he had the means to reheat them in the capsule but he began to plate up a second batch, again all stone cold ! By now we were not a happy bunch, we had paid in advance from England at a cost of £79 per person.

As the waiter retrieved our untouched plates he asked us if we'd like desert !

Words failed me at that point, it was a good job we had said "no" as within two minutes we had reached our second revolution and were all being ushered off without so much as a cup of coffee ! As the wheel doesn't stop we had to get off quickly.
Completely incensed all four off us asked to speak with the manager.

The stone cold main course

After raising our complaint for over 45 minutes with a manager we seemed to be getting nowhere, they have a non refund policy ! we were offered another evening with discount ! not great when we were homeward bound to England that evening. " come back in six months then" was his reply " we'll make sure you get a discount" Oh lordy this wasn't easy. "who in the right mind would travel all the way from England to Singapore to have a discounted meal?" was our reply.

Even more infuriating was the manager had to keep going off to speak to someone more senior than him on the phone. We ended up leaving with a promise of an e-mail response !
It was our last night, we had a flight to catch there was nothing else we could do !
we left bitterly disappointed and hungry and totally out of pocket.

Since then I have to say despite our grievance with the meal, we received an email within a day of our return with the offer of 50% refund which we think is fair as after all we did get to have two revolutions with a soup, salad and a glass of wine.

Here are some pics of the fantastic view.

Marina bay area, Singapore

Gardens by the bay and giant greenhouses

The art and science museum

Lamb steaks with pesto butter beans

2013-04-15T20:10:00.000+01:00

I have a slight addiction for butter bean mash at the moment so when I spotted this recipe card in Sainsbury's today for lamb with pesto butter bean mash I was sold.

If your looking for something qick and easy to make, this can be knocked up in 20 minutes. Give it a go it's utterly delicious.

This recipe is for four people. I halved this for two.

INGREDIENTS
270g pack tomatoes on the vine
2tbs olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 x 410g butter beans, drained and rinsed
300ml chicken or lamb stock made with 1 stock cube
75ml creme fraiche
2 tbs pesto
2 x 220g of lamb rump steaks
200g of spring greens

METHOD
1) Preheat the oven to 180 C fan 160 C, gas 4. Put the tomatoes on a baking tray and top with half a teaspoon of the oil and the oregano roast for 15 minutes.

2) Heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil in a pan and cook the onion for 5 mins; add the garlic for the last min. stir in the butter beans, stock, crème fraîche and pesto simmer for 5 mins.

3) Brush the Lamb steaks with the remaining oil and season with black pepper. Heat a frying pan over a high heat, add the steaks and cook a 3 to 4 mins on each side. Remove the steaks from the pan and allow to rest. At the spring greens to the pan and stir fry for 5 minutes.

4) Serve the stakes on top of the pesto butter beans and spring greens, With the roasted cherry tomatoes on top.

Lamb steaks with pesto butter beans

Singapore sling

2013-04-14T12:38:00.003+01:00

On my last vacation I managed to tick off one of my bucket list goals of having a Singapore sling in the long bar at Raffles hotel in Singapore. But there was one small problem, understandably as Raffles sell over 1000 of these drinks a day they are pre mixed.

Undeterred to try a proper one I made a note of the recipe and once home sourced the drinks needed.

Ingredients
Metric Measurements as printed on the original raffles Hotel menu.

30ml Gin.
15 ml Cherry Brandy.
120 ml Pineapple Juice.
15 ml Lime Juice.
7.5 ml Cointreau.
7.5 ml Dom Benedictine.
10 ml Grenadine.
A Dash of Angostura Bitters.
Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry.

Method

Shake with ice. Strain into an ice filled collins glass.

Garnish with cherry and slice of pineapple.

Recipe for those preferring to use fluid oz

1 1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce cherry heering
1/4 ounce Cointreau liqueur
1/4 ounce benedictine
4 ounces pineapple juice
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/3 ounce grenadine
1 dash bitters

A fantastic cocktail, every time I make a singapore sling I will now be able to visualise walking the beautiful courtyards of Raffles and of course sipping at the long bar with the mechanical fans wafting over my head. Oh and I mustn't forget, to make it truly authentic I must have a bowl of monkey nuts.

Ingredients for a Singapore sling (Raffles)

Forgive the terrible attempt to garnish, In my eagerness to get home and make them I forgot to but Pineapple and cherries. Glace it had to be :0)

A Singapore sling at the long bar, Raffles hotel Singapore

2013-04-11T21:14:00.002+01:00

I love a good cocktail so when I found myself in Singapore it would have been a sin not to visit Raffles hotel and have a Singapore sling in the long bar where it was invented, (Allegedly)

According to Raffles the Singapore sling was invented in 1915 by their head bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. However there are countless stories questioning if the version served today is the original version or if indeed the Raffles version is a true sling? but I was not going to loose sleep over this I just wanted to enjoy the legendary drink in the legendary bar ( by the way the original long bar is not where it is now, but that's another long story )

I wasn't going to let my dreams of sitting where Hemingway, Noel Coward and Rudyard Kipling to name a few sat sipping the sling be marred by these little discrepancies!
I have also read Ngiam Tong Boon invented this pretty pink drink to encourage women to drink with men. Whether this is true or not ? I love this idea.

The hotel itself is beautiful, very colonial in design. Your left in no doubt this would have been the place to stay and be seen by the the upper class British colonials in it's day.

The long bar is designed in the style of a 1920's plantation. Slow moving mechanical fans wafting above your head are mesmerising to watch, the atmosphere had a great buzz feel to it. That said it is a bit of a tourist trap and unfortunately the drinks are pre-mixed but this is no surprise, and expected they sell over 1000 a day !

I also loved the little boxes on the tables filled to the brim with monkey nuts, the tradition is to eat the nuts and throw the empty shells on the floor, a strange tradition when littering in Singapore is heavily finned! But great fun.

Granola

2013-04-10T18:51:00.000+01:00

I really like granola, but it's quite expensive for a small amount and after paying over a fiver for a packet of artisan granola blend at the weekend at Knutsford market I was inspired to have a go at making my own.

Reading through a multitude of recipes it seemed there was hundreds of different ways to make granola but rather than follow a recipe I decided to stick to the formula which seem to be dry ingredients, rolled grains, nuts and seeds, dried fruits, spices and salt. Then the wet ingredients and sweetener, honey or maple syrup, oils and add the ones I like.

What I did learn though is that the type of oats you use is very important it seems that good old fashioned rolled oats is best for granola, Old fashioned oats are thicker and perfect for the texture of granola. Quick cooking and steel cut oats are generally a no no as they have been cut into thinner pieces, steamed and rolled so when combined with the wet ingredients can result in a mushy mess.

This is how I made mine, cooking time was around 50 minutes in total. Maked about 700g.

Ingredients

8 Tbsp honey

300g rolled oats
40g sunflower seeds
40g pumpkin seeds
75g skin on almonds, chopped
30g desiccated coconut
50g sour cherries
50g dates, chopped
50g dried apricots, chopped
50g cranberries

Ingredients for granola

Method

Preheat the oven to 150c / gas mark 2
In a large bowl mix the oats, seeds, nuts and coconut.
Heat the honey in a saucepan to warm through and loosen it's thickness. Pour over the oat mixture, mix well to coat all the ingredients, spread on a large baking sheet.
Pop the mixture in the oven for 20 minutes, check after 20 minutes and fork through to break up any clumps.Put back in the oven.
Check every 10 minutes forking through often, till you feel your not far off the desired colour and texture your after.
Add the fruit and fork through to distribute evenly. Cook for a final 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool before forking through again to break up any clumps, store in an airtight container for up to one month.
Serve sprinkled on top of yogurt or with poached fruit, also great by the handful as a snack.

Add honey and mix oats, seeds, nuts and coconut

Spread ingredients on to a large baking tray

Finished Granola

The finished granola stored in an aitight container