The Crown Inn Munslow

This award winning restaurant is located in the small village of Munslow in south Shropshire.  It was formerly the Hundred House and in the 17th century the local court room. You enter the restaurant up steep stone steps and once inside it is warm and enticing.

Arriving just in time for our 7.30pm dinner reservation it was pleasing to be invited to take our pre dinner drinks to the comfy leather sofas to mull at our leisure over the varied menu. Local Shropshire and Welsh produce with a modern and interesting twist are the theme.

www.crowncountryinn.co.uk/

The starters are priced at a very reasonable £6.95 and our choices included an unusual beetroot and marscapone risotto with feta cheese and a substantial crostini topped with home made black pudding, tomato and local bacon. I opted for the proscuitto ham with warm roasted vegetables, pickles and olives. Look at the presentation which gives you a good impression of the quality at The Crown Inn.

Main courses at £11.95 are equally good, perfectly cooked venison, cod wrapped in panchetta and filo pastry and slow cooked lamb resulted in three clean plates.

There are a decent range of dessert choices the orange and star anise panna cotta with warm roast plums was declared a particular triumph. The ample choice of cheese were entirely local including a soft and creamy brie from Wales. These were served with home made oat biscuits.

The early December weekend with friends is a regular event and food always features prominently The Crown Inn certainly achieved the standards of a high quality restaurant and the relaxing comfortable service is an added bonus.

The Minnis Bay Bar and Restaurant

Thanks to friends who enjoy their food earlier in the year I was introduced to this gem of a restaurant located overlooking Minnis Bay near Birchington Kent.  Do not be put off by the understated exterior inside there is a warm welcome, great views and exceptionally good food.

Visiting on a bright November lunchtime the restaurant had a steady stream of customers. On my earlier visit on a February Saturday the atmosphere was buzzing and every table was full.

Three of our party of four opted for the scallops with, bacon black pudding and pea puree which was delicious

Pork belly with vegetables was also a big hit

Our main courses included local venison prepared two ways, soft and perfectly cooked halibut and the two dishes pictured below of pork and chicken

All enjoyed with perfect friendly services and a wintery sea view

The Minnis caters for all tastes and welcomes all ages, the prices are very good and the quality of the food just right.

theminnis.com

Fine Dining

The result was unanimous, top prize for culinary skills at our hugely successful fine dining evening went to Jill for her dessert of morello cherry pie, home made ice cream, chocolate cups with cream and cherries and outstanding decoration. This was partnered perfectly by a Muscat de Beaumes de Venise.

The concept was simple enough dinner with a group of friends each preparing a course and bringing wine to compliment the dish.

Canapes got us started prawns with chilli mayonnaise, smoked salmon and lemon creme fraiche, parma ham wrapped pears and BLT cherry tomatoes with a glass of prossecco.

Sauvignon Blanc was the wine to accompany the creamy smoked salmon mousse with the clean fresh topping of limey guacamole. This was followed by a warm salad of pears with roqufort and shaved parmesan served with toasted walnuts with a light red Gamay to drink.

Next came pancetta wrapped stuffed chicken breast with mushrooms, braised onions, baby vegetables, fondant potatoes and a marsala, mustard cream sauce. The wine was a Chablis Premier Cru

An unusual and popular cheese course was a whipped camembert which has been steeped in wine served with a memorable Loire Valley L'Acacia Blanc.

The spectacular morello cherry pudding followed. Then came coffee with delicious home made petit fours.

At midnight our five hour feast drew to a close after a lively and fun evening. The beauty of this dinner is that the effort is shared, you put time and thought into your dish and relax and enjoy everyone else's.

Bridge House Beaminster

With its seasonally changing menus offering produce such as Lulworth rose veal, Witchhampton snails Mapperton lamb and Lyme Bay hake the restaurant at the Bridge House Hotel is a real treat to visit.

Situated in the picturesque market town of Beaminster West Dorset the 700 year old Bridge House was once a home for priests and is now a country hotel full of relaxed luxurious character. It offers exceptionally good food aptly described as "fresh modern with a hint of France"

www.bridge-house.co.uk

Our party of four visited on a Friday night when in addition to the the a la carte menu a fish menu was also on offer.

As you can see my starter of Lyme Bay crab mayonnaise, brown meat pate, confit tomato and spiced avocado ice cream was delightful to look at and a brilliant combination of flavours and textures. The scallops with crispy pork belly were equally impressive.

Our main courses included generously sized whole fried local plaice served with crispy thin chips and seasonal vegetables and soft tender steak with enormous rings of hot crunchy onions and salad.

I chose roasted monkfish with salt and pepper chilli squid with risotto, fennel and pac choi which was excellent

The desert menu looked inviting as well but we were just too full

With its choice of restaurant, brassiere or outdoor dining the Bridge House is well worth a visit.

Beaminster is a charming town and with its church, museum and individual shops there is plenty to occupy you for an hour or so. Mapperton House with its valley gardens built of three levels is just a couple of miles away www.mapperton.com

It is only a short drive to the bustling town of Bridport and the popular coastal spots of West Bay, Burton Bradstock and Lyme Regis.

Manoir De L'Aufragere & Moist Chocolate Cake

Some years ago I had a fun and enlightening weekend on a "gastronomic cookery course"  at Le Manoir De L'Aufragere an 18th century manor house in Normandy. Sadly this is not my opportunity to promote this great value break as L'Afragere is no longer open. (I am however currently trying to find out if the very talented Nicky has set up somewhere else)

One appeal of the dishes we cooked on this course was their speed and simplicity using great french ingredients with impressive results. Nicky showed how it is possible to prepare a dinner of three courses with canapés to start in a matter of an hour or so.

Moist Chocolate Cake was one of my top discoveries taking just 5 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to bake in the oven.

Take 200g Plain Chocolate (the cheapest supermarket own brand sold in packs of 5 bars - a Nicky tip during the french market town shopping trip part of the course)
3 tbsp hot water (from the tap)
125g Ground Almonds
125g Caster Sugar
125g Butter
4 Eggs

Heat the oven to 170 degrees and grease and line a cake tin
In a saucepan, melt the chocolate with the water, sugar and butter. Turn off the heat.
Add the ground almonds and eggs stir vigourously
Pour into the cake tin and bake for 30 minutes

Once cooked leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes then turn out on to a cooling rack

I served mine with raspberries and creme fraiche. This is a delicious dessert when really fresh and doubles up as  cake served with coffee the next day by when the consistency is more dense and fudge like. Assuming there is any left of course

Remembering that the L'Aufragere recipes are so worth sharing (with photos of course) gives me the legitimate excuse to cook them all again.

and here is the place itself

Charming Chillies

The brilliantly coloured chilli crop has been harvested and the greenhouse cleared out for another season marking the end of a summer of mixed success on the fruit and vegetable front.

Harvesting the chillies regularly has prolonged the fruiting which has lasted some four months (see my blog of 17 July for a great Chilli Jam recipe)

My predicament now is what to do with these beauties give there are only so many chillies you can eat, particularly the scotch bonnets with their heat rating of 9/10.

Searching around I came across this site www.worldofchillies.com/ which tells you pretty much everything you want to know about this varied and versatile  crop.

For the red chillies I opted for chopping the flesh with the seeds, blitzing in a food blender, cooking for five minutes in a saucepan with a little water, then putting a teaspoon of the mixture in each compartment of an ice cube container (kept just for this purpose).

Beware though the fumes at each stage are fairly overpowering so keep a door or window open for fresh air.

After freezing for a couple of hours the finished result can be easily stored in the freezer for direct use in a whole range of recipes.

More Soup

I have posted a couple blogs about soup, including Speedy Mushroom Soup on 4 May and Good Food Shows in late April. It was in the latter that I introduced my Morphy Richards Soup Maker and here it is

This one stop soup making machine turns raw ingredients into smooth creamy soup

From this

To this 

and it takes just 15 minutes to boil, blitz and blend. My top tip is to use a decent quality stock such as Knorr Touch of Taste concentrated chicken stock pictured and plenty of black pepper.

Bacon and Pea Risotto

It has been a while since I posted a recipe so here is my Bacon and Pea Risotto creation topped with parmesan and mixed herbs fresh from the garden. This was an extremely delicious, successful and quick dinner for one.

Fry 1 stick of finely chopped celery, 1/2 a chopped red onion, 1 rasher of thick bacon cut into small pieces (fat removed) and 1 small clove of finely chopped garlic in a little olive oil until soft.

Add 65 grams of risotto rice and mix thoroughly, turn the heat down

Add a splash of vermouth or white wine then gradually add 500ml of good chicken stock letting it be absorbed by the rice

Once the rice is almost cooked add 2tbs frozen peas and season with white pepper

Turn up the heat and stir occasionally until the peas are just cooked through and the risotto is very hot

To serve add finely chopped chives, parsley and grated parmesan cheese

Assiette Anglais

The first of our two course lunch at Assiette Anglais was no ordinary leek and potato soup but a smooth velvety creation, with a poached egg yolk and finely chopped chives.  It tasted as smooth and creamy as it looks.

This newish modern brasserie at 489 Liverpool Road Islington (5 minutes from Highbury and Islington tube) is situated in an unassuming row of shops. Inside the warm welcome was matched with friendly, informative, unobtrusive service throughout the lunch.

Trade in this restaurant which is open from 8 in the morning and also serves dinner was steady for a Tuesday lunchtime with couples, workers and families. The one menu covers the range of meals and is varied, tempting and changes with the seasons.

For main course we chose the signature assiette dish in meat (there is also a vegetable and a cheese version)

Delightfully presented charcuterie, terrine, baby carrot, fennel, red chicory and tiny roast onions were accompanied by savoury bagna cauda flavoured with just the right amount of anchovy and garlic. 

The bread was fresh and thinly sliced and replenished regularly and tap water in half litre bottles offered and refilled at just the right moment

Coffee a "flat white" and a ginger and lemon grass tea completed our lunch

This is a great little restaurant and is also excellent value at £5 for starters and £12 for main course the bill with water, coffee and bread came to £39 take a look at the full menu below

http://www.assietteanglaise.co.uk/menus.php

Ulster's Finest

There were far too many good things about our recent holiday in Northern Ireland to fill only one blog. I have already written about the outstanding north Antrim coast and mouth-watering food at the Bushmills Inn Hotel. This one is a bit of a mix of the other features not to be missed.

Fresh seafood, prime meat and an extensive range of freshly baked breads are going from strength to strength as the taste of Ulster link below describes

www.nigoodfood.com/

Of course no trip to this area is complete without sampling the superb smooth and creamy guinness.

Then there is the Bushmills distillery with the excellent value £7 tour complete with a tot of your choice in the bar at the end of the visit. There is a great upmarket souvenir shop as well.

Extensive types of traditional cheeses are a main feature.  I loved the selection served in The Bushmills Inn www.bushmillsinn.com with chutney, frozen grapes and the enlightening scroll

There are also plenty of outdoor activities in this beautiful part of the world, including walking, fishing, surfing and golf.  It is of course home to our celebrated and recently successful Ryder Cup team members Darren Clark, Graham Mc Dowell and Rory Mcllroy

Below is one final photo (well for now anyway) of surfing and the golden sand at Portrush

Bushmills Inn Hotel

On the stunning north Antrim coast just a couple of miles from the Giants Causeway is the Bushmills Inn Hotel. This coaching house circa 1680 has been authentically and regularly renovated to offer a delightful combination of an original charm with up to the minute comfort and facilities.

The food is exceptionally good. We recently stayed for three nights enjoying locally sourced starters such as onion and guinness soup, Rathlin island scallops with smoked pork belly and Kilhorne Bay crab macaroni.

Here are two of the main courses hake with leek, smoked bacon. mussels and shellfish sauce

and sirloin steak with shallots, mushrooms, bone marrow persillade and red wine sauce

The Causeway Coast has stunning scenery and plenty to do particularly when the weather is great. Attractions include the Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-rede rope bridge and Glenariff Forest Park. The National Trust beach at Port Stewart is worth a visit and Portrush is a great holiday town and of course there is the Bushmills distillery with guided tours and the opportunity for a tasting at the end. Try www.causewaycoastalroute.com/

The Ambrette at Rye

Halfway along Rye High Street with its beautifully preserved mix of medieval, tudor and georgian buildings is The Ambrette.   For chef Dev Biswal this is the second Ambrette following on from the highly regarded enterprise in Margate. www.theambrette-rye.co.uk

The restaurant is committed to the environment and its concept is to support the local community and the developing world. The style is to follow traditional indian recipes.

At 8pm on a Saturday the various dining areas in this double fronted beautifully restored building were busy and pleasingly calm. The welcome from staff and the relaxed friendly service throughout our meal was outstanding.

First to arrive was a pre appetiser of spiced fried potato with a light sauce which was the first of a number of surprise additional courses. Our starters included breast of wood pigeon with a game mince pate and marinated tandoori chicken with coriander and herbs both were tender and delicately spiced.

A tiny mug of tomato and lentil soup with a bahji arrived next in advance of our main courses which ranged from persian inspired cracked wheat and fragrant beef cake, aromatic breast of chicken stuffed with paneer in a cashew nut sauce and loin of pork in a goan style sauce of malt vinegar and garlic wine.

Next came small glasses of fruity granita which popped and fizzed in your mouth.  The dessert options included a create your own trio choosing three from any of the six on the menu. Pear mousse, chocolate silk and particularly a rose scented creme brûlée were a very acceptable combination. The chocolate samosas were intriguing and tasted good.

The Ambrette is a high quality and enjoyable dining experience and at £26 per head excluding drinks is also fantastic value.

Little Strawberry Cheescakes

BBC Good Food web site is a brilliant source of fresh cooking ideas and updates with impressive regularity. www.bbcgoodfood.com/ If you look today you will find little strawberry cheesecakes in the bottom right hand corner as "cake of the week"

The clever part of this recipe is that the butter and digestive biscuit base topped with a ricotta, lemon, vanilla, egg and cream mixture is placed into muffin cases which give the delicate and appealing crinkled edge. The cakes are baked for 30 minutes then left to go cold in the tin. Strawberry jam and half a strawberry complete the dish.

Serve with more strawberries, a sprinkling of icing sugar and cream.

Barbecue Time

Long hot days and warm nights at last and the Barbecue has been working overtime. Marinaded pork and chicken, king prawns, kebabs of monkfish and salmon and of course Korkers sausages have all featured over the last few evenings.

The new (in the sale) barbecue frying pan from Lakeland was put to good use in a delicious scallop and chorizo combination. The Rye bay scallops were brushed with olive oil and cooked for a minute or two on each side, diced chorizo was added and a sprinkling of salt, pepper and fresh chives.

From my substantial library of recipe books I often refer back to Ainsley's Barbecue Bible first published in 1997 this is packed full of easy to follow outdoor cookery ideas from around the world. The section on marinades, rubs and sauces gives unusual suggestions to flavour meat and fish using ingredients you will probably already have in your cupboard.

Lakeland is pretty much at the top of the list when it comes to shopping for cooking equipment and those handy utensils that you never even realised you needed. Their Windermere flagship headquarters is a delight to visit. In a handy situation adjacent to the railway station and close to the particularly high quality Booths supermarket.

My local Canterbury store is pretty good too and Lakeland mail order service excellent www.lakeland.co.uk

My latest purchase is a victoria surprise cake set made by Silverwood www.alansilverwood.co.uk on the front page of the link you will see this with instructions. Basically it has an additional base which is raised leaving extra space for deep soft fruit and cream fillings.

There is a simple recipe that comes with the tin and here is the finished cake first whole and then sliced.

Nizuni

Great service, a fine selection of good value Japanese dishes in a contemporary setting all make Nuzuni at 22  Charlotte Street W1 an excellent choice.

Starters including deep fried squid with wasabi mayo sauce, vegetable and fish tempura and crispy deep fried chicken with chilli sauce were all pleasingly presented, generous portions and very tasty.

My main course was blackened cod with soy and possibly most aptly cooked piece of fish I have eaten. 

Friends choose sizzling steak and a selection of sushi and sashimi which were also excellent

The sushi was so good that I enjoyed a small salty eel and sea urchin sushi plate in place of dessert

Paramount - The Birds Eye View

If you are in London and want a cool drink with a stunning view then I thoroughly recommend that you head to Centrepoint on the junction of New Oxford St & Tottenham Court Road. Here on the 33rd floor you will find Paramount bar with its stunning 360 degree viewing gallery. www.paramount.uk.net/

There is no charge for the bar but you do need to book which is easily done on line. When you get there the prices in the table service only bars are no more than you would expect to pay in London.

Our party of four visited at 6pm on a busy pre Olympics hot Saturday, the bar was very quiet and there were plenty of opportunities to admire the view from all aspects.

Here is what is waiting for you on your visit.

Mexican At Home

The first mexican restaurant I went to was Cafe des Amies in Canterbury for fajitas www.cafedez.com/ it is still very popular today.  We have also enjoyed great mexican food in the USA Southern States particularly in Scottsdale Arizona.

At home the Old El Paso range does us pretty well with a few additions www.oldelpaso.co.uk

Here are my tacos this really is a meal that takes just 10 minutes to prepare.

I do like to make the guacamole (although the one above was bought) mash a ripe avocado with a fork and squeeze over the juice of half a lime, add 1/4 finely chopped red onion, 1 chopped red chilli, and a finely chopped tomato (skinned) add salt and pepper and mix well.