The Red House Nether Broughton

Well I have to say that I was really looking forward to Sunday lunch out yesterday and had chosen the Red House at Nether Broughton (Leicestershire) to meet up with some old friends for an informal get together and some decent food.

We've been here a few times with the children and the food and service has always been great - in fact we went there for Mothers Day last year and I had a fab time!

So what has happened since?? This was the most disappointing meal out for a long time. we should have realized things were amiss when we discovered we were one of only 2 tables booked in for the entire lunch service. Previously we have always had to book in advance to secure a table.

The service was very friendly as normal and the menu, though limited, looked OK. I never have a problem with a limited menu because surely that means everything is cooked fresh as ordered?? The staff were friendly and made us feel welcome as well as welcoming children without a problem.

The starters looked great and we ordered 2 prawns tempura and a wild mushroom bruscetta. The prawns were OK but the bruscetta was lacking any depth of flavour whatsoever. It needed salt and pepper and the creamy sauce was bland with the wild mushrooms bizarrely adding nothing to the dish!

I'm not a big fan of roast Sunday dinner out so was delighted to see Steak & Kidney Pudding on the menu as well as the obligatory roast beef, pork and chicken. My husband & I both ordered the pudding whilst everyone else ordered a roast of some sort. The dauphinoise potatoes that came with the chicken were hard and tasted too garlicky (it was almost raw) and the vegetables were OK but a little dull. The biggest disappointment was the Steak & Kidney Pudding. Obviously heated up - dry filling and hard chewy pastry that was far too tough.

We skipped pudding but with 2 glasses of wine and a few soft drinks the bill for 4 children & 3 adults was just short of £100. What a disappointment and we won't be visiting again in a hurry!

Café Bleu, Newark

Yesterday I went to one of my favourite restaurants for a gorgeous lunch - Café Bleu in Newark, Nottinghamshire. The good news is that my husband actually works in Newark so we can usually wrangle a long leisurely lunch once in a while and with us all off on holiday tomorrow it didn't seem to be a problem!
This was my delayed (by my request) Mothers Day lunch treat so myself, Immy & Scarley trekked the 45 mins up to Newark and invited Grandpa (my father in law Richard) along too.
As always the food was completely delicious and I can't recommend this restaurant enough. The staff are always so welcoming and although pricey for a 3 course meal, for a light lunch it is almost affordable!
Imogen is now 10 and won't entertain childrens' portions (there is no childrens' menu which I always see as a good thing!) so promptly ordered herself the rack of lamb (at £17.50!!) served with a garlic mash and red wine jus. Heaven on a plate. Scarlett is only 7 but ordered the supreme roast chicken breast substituting the black pudding mash with some new potatoes instead. She ate most of this but enjoyed the complimentary freshly baked baguette and butter just as much!
Richard indulged with Moules Mariniere and frites which was delicious. The sauce was incredibly creamy and rich (sometimes at other restaurants the sauce can be a bit too brothy & watery for me) and delicious with the bread for dipping! My husband Jon had the roasted cod which I didn't get to taste and I had the most amazing beef bourgignonne which was served with pommes anna. The beef was all in one piece with the very rich sauce served on top. The beef was melt in the mouth and the flavour was out of this world! The fries are always great so we ordered a side just in case!
What I love about Café Bleu is that the portions aren't huge so there is always room for pudding!
So..the Creme Brule was served with a chocolate ice cream (almost as good as Jon's!), the vanilla pannacota was served with a passion fruit jelly and a choux bun (very delicious), the chocolate fondant pudding came with a pistachio icecream crumble and was swiftly finished off by Imogen!
The whole experience is great - relaxed, informal, great service and delicious freshly cooked food. Do yourself a favour - next time you are anywhere near Newark, pop in!

Come Dine With Me

I've just realised that no foodie/cooking blog could possibly be complete, without the obvious mention of the brilliant, "Come Dine With Me" on Channel 4! Within my workplace everyone is completely addicted - from the twentysomethings to the old timers like me! I'm convinced one of my colleagues is going to pop up on there at some time in the near future!

A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law was asking what on earth does one iron to these days now that she has viewed the entire back catalogue of Grand Designs (yes - even the ones where Kevin McCloud has hair!) and has no new Location Locations to look forward to?
"Come Dine With Me surely?" I questioned tentatively? Surely any self respecting person with Sky Plus series links not just the daily ones but the Sunday night Celebrity Special?
What is great about "Come Dine With Me" is the fantastic mix of people they manage to find - all in one town! I love the fact that everyone thinks they are the best cook ever but invariably have never heard of a "buerre blanc" or a "halloumi cheese"! They'd last five minutes on Masterchef!
The entertainment is always excruciating but my favourite bit (to quote Chris Moyles) is when they are as tired as a newt in the taxi home!! Everyone is always "shattered" rather that had a few too many! My ultimate favourite was the glamour model who was so "shattered" she slept through her own dinner party!
Anyway - the mother-in-law emailed this morning to admit to her first forage into the world of "Come Dine With Me" with news that the rest of the series is well and truly series linked on Sky Plus! What ever did we do before that??

Heston Blumenthal's Feasts

Heston Blumenthal's new TV series started on Channel 4, with the chef's totally surreal take on a Victorian Feast.

Using Lewis Carol's tale of Alice in Wonderland, Heston set about creating his version of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party for six specially selected guests. The lucky six were Rageh Omaar, Dawn Porter, Jemma Redgrave, Richard Bacon, Toby Young and Kathy Lette.

Drink Me
The guests were served a "Drink Me" potion as a starter, which comprised a bubblegum pink liquid, served in a specially designed drinking glass. The idea being to surprise the tongue with six very individual tastes of toffee, hot buttered toast, cherry pie, custard, pineapple and turkey. Seemingly an impossible task, but after infusing each of the original constituents in milk, straining, and with the addition of gelatin and colouring, the six flavours were stacked on top of each other within the glass. Judging from the look on each diner's face, the effect of the distinct flavours, was amazing and totally unexpected.

Turtle Soup
One dish thought of by Victorians as the height of luxury was Turtle Soup. While it is possible to legally buy turtle in some parts of the world, Heston felt that this might be a step too far for his guests and so hit upon the idea of another favourite of the Victorians, Mock Turtle Soup.

Taking calf's head and making a broth to form the Mock Turtle Soup was not enough for Heston. He filtered, froze and whizzed the broth and then put into watch shaped moulds and then finally covered the "watch" in gold leaf. His idea being to recreate the part in the story when the Mad Hatter dipped his watch in his tea.

The dish was served to the guests with the gold watch in a tea cup, together with a pot of hot water and a bowl containing a selection of delicious looking tit-bits.

An Edible Victorian Garden
For the third course of his Victorian Feast, Heston Blumenthal decided to deliver a Victorian garden to his guests and so a large board was constructed, filled with "soil" made from black olives, dried and chopped, a variety of salad and miniature vegetables, "pebbles" of baked new potatoes, plus fried eel and waffle cones and topped with deep fried insects, stuffed with an onion mayonnaise.

Yet another bizarre sight for the six guests, but they tucked in with delight to each and every corner of the garden and even managed to stomach the insects, which obviously tasted hugely better than they looked.

Vibrating Jelly
The dessert course took yet another unexpected turn as Heston explained that the Victorian's love of drugs and sex caused him to invent an Absinthe flavoured jelly, mounted on a base containing vibrators to induce a wobbling motion to the whole dessert. Add luminescence to further enhance the mind-blowing effect and you have a perfect way to round off a Victorian Feast - Heston Blumenthal style!

Each course devised by the chef, showed a level of genius that bordered on insanity, but Heston's thirst for knowledge into the history of cooking and also the science of food enabled him to acheive the seemingly impossible. The expressions of delight, wonderment, fear and laughter on the faces of each guest was magical and I wished I was there to enjoy the tastes too.

I eagerly await the next episode when Heston attempts to put his twist on a Tudor Feast.

Out for dinner on a Monday!

We don't go out that much but as it is a friend's birthday today we are going out to try a new local place for dinner! How exciting! It's a surprise of a curry like nature and it's our first visit so I will post a bit later what we think!
Well, what an interesting night! We ended up at a retaurant called Slate in Mountsorrel, near Loughborough. It used to be an old fashioned pub but has been revamped (as so many have!) into a light, airy, comfortable, young trendy restaurant with very friendly staff who made us feel very welcome.
We were there for a theme night of curry but they usually offer "traditional british food with a twist".. I was disappointed to see that their website was offering a Boxing Day brunch 3 months out of date - not a good reflection on the restaurant I always think!
So - on to the 4 course meal for the offer price of £10.95. We got a popadom each with a couple of chutneys for course 1, followed by a choice of 2 starters - we had one each. The samosa was mediocre and the meat option (I'm still not sure what meat it was!) was reconstituted so not entirely palatable! The main course offered a chicken dish and a slow cooked lamb option which were very tasty. Pudding were sweet dumpling things which none of us could eat as they were far too sweet!
Anyway - a nice bottle of wine and good company resulted in a good evening had by all but I would like to return to Slate to try their normal menu to see if that is where the chef's strengths are!

Hoste Arms in Burnham Market

For the majority of the time I enjoy cooking at home and get a great deal of satisfaction from knowing where I source my ingredients and by combining them to delight my friends and family.

Occasionally though it is nice to eat out, if only to obtain new ideas and recipes.

Last weekend was spent (thanks to a very generous gift from Jacque and Donald) at the Hoste Arms in Burnham Market, Norfolk.

We arrived on Friday afternoon in a stressed state after a hectic period in the office, but were immediately put at ease by the efficient staff and I was soon tucking into a delicious warm salad of crispy parma ham, black pudding, sauté potatoes and poached egg, accompanied by a reasonably priced bottle of Semillon Chardonnay. All the cares of the previous week disappeared within minutes.

Our table in the evening was situated in a cosy dining room upstairs, looked after by the ever attentive staff. I started with a the Tempura Squid, red onion and chilli, wasabi mayonnaise while Jon chose a bowl of Brancaster mussels steamed in garlic, white wine and parsley cream sauce. Both were superb.

Our main course was the “Arthur Howells”, 21 day aged New York rib steak to share. Served medium-rare, we were able to cut the meat like butter, and the plates were soon emptied, into our now bulging, stomachs. I declined a dessert, however Jon somehow managed to find room for the vanilla créme brulée, shortbread biscuit and pistachio ice-cream. Glutton!

Saturday dawned and following an excellent breakfast we set off to explore the north Norfolk coastline. Despite being the middle of February, the sun shone down and
on our return to Burnham Market, we settled down with a bottle of wine at the front of the hotel to watch the world go by. An idyllic afternoon.

In the evening, we returned to the cosy dining room upstairs at the Hoste Arms, this time I choose a prawn cocktail to start, Jon opting for half a dozen oysters, with a red wine shallot vinegar. For the main course, I selected the home made steak and kidney pudding, served with glazed parsnips and Chantaney carrots. Jon chose the seared sea bream with roasted shallots, sauté potato and spinach together with a saffron and brown shrimp dressing. Again I felt that I wouldn't be able to do justice to a dessert, however Jon chose the sticky toffee pudding with a toffee sauce, roasted pecan nuts and nutmeg ice-cream and our waitress brought me a second spoon, with a knowing wink.

Throughout our stay at the Hoste Arms, the food was wonderful, the staff could not have been more helpful and our room was delightful. We are now looking forward to making another visit, when time allows.