So, as I think I mentioned it was my birthday on Monday. It was also a bank holiday and once again I applaud my parents for managing to have me at the beginning of May near to a bank holiday weekend. I mean, it is pretty amazing that I rarely ever had to go to school on my birthday. Anyway, my parents, J and I … Continue reading Birthday afternoon tea at Opus Reserve bar, Radisson Blu Edwardian, Manchester
Now, this recipe was inspired by my utter obsession with the raspberry and white chocolate brownies that used to be on sale in my work canteen. They were little squares of brownie heaven that I have tried to recreate. Now these brownies are pretty squidgy and messy to eat but they do taste so wonderful its worth the sticky fingers. They are also pretty quick … Continue reading Raspberry and white chocolate brownies
As mentioned in my previous post I was at the Cake and Bake show at the weekend first with J, then accompanied by my parents. It was nice to go and absorb some knowledge and buy some cool kitchen stuff (zombie biscuits will be a definite blog post). I particularly liked all the demonstrations from various people in the food industry and as much as … Continue reading The Cake and Bake Show, Manchester
Well I have had an absolutely lovely weekend this past weekend. It started with dinner (tea if you’re Northern) and wine at my friend’s Miss S’ house on Friday night, followed by a trip to the Cake and Bake Show in Manchester on Saturday and Sunday (I got tickets for both days from a lovely chap on eBay). J accompanied me to the Saturday and … Continue reading Mud Crab Cafe – Didsbury
I’ve been curious about spatchcocked poussin since reading about it on Colourful and Culinary a few months ago. The BBC food website describes poussin as: A small, immature chicken, sometimes called a spring chicken, and weighing about 400 to 500g. Because the bird is only four to six weeks old, the flavour has not developed and there is not much flesh on the bones, but … Continue reading Spatchcocked poussin – here’s one I made earlier (or not!)
This dessert is definitely one of those unassuming looking ones that packs a great chocolate punch. It just doesn’t look that pretty when you’re cooking it (although the smell of dark chocolate is divine!). It’s the culinary equivalent that old cliché of the girl everybody overlooks through high school who arrives at prom night and everybody falls in love with her. As an added bonus … Continue reading Dark chocolate mousse dessert
Ok, I’ll work on the name. Now occasionally when I bake I tweak recipes. Well I decided to keep similar proportions to my basic shortbread but to tweak it so it was more flavoursome. In addition I was pushed for time so instead of creaming butter and sugar I melted everything bar the flour together. Using maple syrup and brown sugar resulted in a richer … Continue reading So I made up a biscuit recipe – “Easy maple syrup biscuits”
Originally I was going to share a recipe that I adapted from my favourite baking book, but I decided to just recommend the book to start off with. Baking Magic written by Kate Shirazi is a fantastic baking book for people of all abilities. (I know some amazing bakers who are terrified about how their biscuits will turn out). My baking style – great tasting, … Continue reading My baking bible – Baking Magic
I was lucky enough to have a weekend away in Edinburgh with J this weekend. I actually had the best time, good food and sightseeing is a pretty perfect way to spend a 5 year anniversary. Armed with several restaurant recommendations we actually chose our first restaurant due to its vicinity to our apartment (flurries of snow were coming down and it was too cold … Continue reading Mussel and Steak Bar Edinburgh
So I think I planned this post months ago after J and my holiday to Menorca. As well as being a completely beautiful place to visit I was surprised about the high quality of the food, especially seafood. I really shouldn’t have been; given that Menorca is pretty famous for its lobster stew. While we did consume a LOT of Spanish style dishes we were … Continue reading Menorcan Cuisine
The Bunfight 