Welsh Christmas Reflections

It's my first Christmas at home for two whole years, airfares from Australia sky rocket at Christmas (pardon the pun) and I never had enough time off to make the long trek home worthwhile. So this year I am determined to make the most of it by living in the festive moment and appreciating every second.

My favourite food writer and chef Nigel Slater has the same ethos as me about Christmas, it's a time of year that always evokes memories, the smell of the turkey and brandy butter, the real pine Christmas tree because I always insisted that anything else wasn't really Christmas.

This year I took the time to appreciate the little rituals that I craved when I was away, one such ritual being the decorating of the Christmas tree, a seemingly small task steeped in memories. Handmade baubles from when I was nine that still catch the light, decorations that were bought with loved ones gone by. All little time capsules to the same cold day many years ago. The baubles seem to hang there as festive mirrors to the past helping us to remember wonderful times of the past, make us appreciate the present and think about the future.

Every year I make a culinary contribution the most noteworthy being the famous glazed ham of 2008, sticky with fortified and freshly squeezed citrus fruits served with simple salads and crusty bread. This year inspired by Nigel's thickly rimmed specs and beautiful words I will be attempting his lemon curd trifle adorned with crystallised violets and crushed pistachios with a homemade mincemeat sponge soaked in brandy and laden with cream.

As i'm burning the custard and curdling the curd (isn't that the point?) i'll take extra time to appreciate the moments this year, feeling very lucky not to be travelling and seeing new things but for once to be home enjoying the familiar.

Merry Christmas and Nadolig Llawen from Wales

The Walk: Nottingham's Worst Kept Secret

The Walk Cafe
12 Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham NG1 2GR
Tel: 0115 9477 574 Website: www.thewalkcafe.co.uk

Due to work commitments I had left Christmas shopping until the very last minute so the last but one Saturday before Christmas was set aside to bite the bullet and brave the hoards of Nottingham folk in the city centre.

To give me enough fuel to be able to shoulder barge groups of jeering teens and side step mums with triple buggies I decided it was time for a warming hearty lunch. I wandered around Delilah for a while assessing the food situation. Deciding it was too cold to sit outside (are these people mad?) I was just about to give up hope when I smelt a waft of fish and chips and spotted a small sigh. Ah ha I had finally found 'The Walk' cafe, Nottingham's worst kept secret.

Nottingham veterans had previously recommended 'The Walk' as having the best fish and chips in town, I was excited! One thing to note is don't come here if you aren't very hungry for fear of ordering from the children's menu. Luckily three days of stress and sneezing had left me ravenous. I settled on the battered haddock and triple cooked chips with mushy peas. A highlight was watching the super slender fashionistas trying to order. Now should I share a small plate of calamari with you or split a salad? I was having no such thing, my food was arriving as nature intended, piled up on a massive piece of slate!

Triple cooked chips.

I really enjoyed my lunch, the fish was beautifully cooked and the chips definitely put some meat on my cold bones. The highlight was the mushy peas, just like grandad used to make. I swallowed it all up and prepared to brave the Christmas crush. I will return to try some panko covered schnitzel for some Australian nostalgia and maybe a massive slice of cake.

Recession? What recession?

As it's the festive season it seems fitting to end this post with a  rubbish cracker-esque expression, so Merry Fishmas everyone. Here's to some festive eating before more wonderful adventures in 2012.

From Deli with Love: Part 1

It's no secret that I'm a little bit in love with delis. They are wonderful places, even during my student poverty days in Mumbles I still saved a few coins to buy two slices of imported Italian thickly cut ham stuffed with basil and rosemary to wedge between two slices of freshly baked white bread with a much-too-thick layer of salted butter.

So being still relatively new to Nottingham I am determined to scope out some lovely delis to while away some hours with the paper and a frothy coffee. My journey starts with one that is in it's infancy, a mere one month old and conveniently located close to work.

Smythsons Deli
361 Derby Road, Lenton NG7 2DZ
Tel: 07403 771491 Website: http://www.smythsonsdeli.co.uk/
At the moment cash only (just like all the trendy places)

Spot the fridge of beautifully made lavender ice cream

I first heard about Smythsons when an Australian colleague recommended it as having half decent coffee and some good sandwiches. With my desire for a coffee that comes somewhere close to a De Cleiu (sigh) I headed down for a spot of lunch.

What I love about this place is how great the staff are, from the looks of the 'good luck' cards that adorn every piece of spare space this is a cafe that has a whole lot of love. My coffee was great, and takeaways are good value at £2 for a small (a nice change from the long queue at Costa).

Creamy coffee and the Good Food Magazine..perfect

The owners are savvy with food and offer a lunchtime deal of a sandwich, some Yorkshire crisps (of course, this is Britain) or a bag of nuts and seeds and a coffee for £5. Interestingly last time I was there I noticed that they now deliver to offices within a 1 mile radius! Amazing.

The focus is on good local produce as it always is these days, an assortment of hams and cheeses adorn the counter and you can select any weird and wonderful combination to put in your sandwich or panini. I opted for the salami, comte cheese and chilli jam (a favourite combo at Number 8 Deli in Bridgford). The panini was pretty good, not amazing and the doorstep sandwiches are better. They have a hot and healthy lunch special every day and the day I visisted they had a hearty warming veggie chilli, a steal at £4 (50p extra for a wedge of that great bread).

Giant doorstep sandwich packed with love and a posh ploughmans

The current crowd seem to be intrigued passers by and academics. Due to it's location next door to Subway I suspect they may gather some customers that fancy some decent, non mass produced food for their lunch.

The highlight for me is the coffee, the cappuccino is frothy and delicious and becoming my favourite morning pick me up on the way to work.

I will return over and over again and look forward to trying a posh ploughmans for lunch (I had stilton food envy) or even stretching to buying some of their great looking handmade pastas and sauces for an easy dinner. Well done Smythsons, you are a welcome dot on my horizon.

Ein tisch fur eine person, bitte: Flying solo in Berlin

One of the things I love about my profession is that you never know what is around the corner, there I was innocently minding my own business watching X Factor and stuffing my face with M&S food on a quiet Saturday night when I received an e-mail, I had been selected as a scholar to attend a very prestigious conference in Berlin. Before you could say EasyJet, I had booked my flights and planned my food itinerary.

Berlin streets in autumn

After all of my work commitments had finished I took the train to Alexanderplatz and wandered around Mitte to find somewhere for dinner. My trusty lonely planet app had raved about ‘Zoe’ a hearty but classy eatery hidden on Rochstrasse in Mitte. However, as I wandered aimlessly up and down Muntstrasse with my stomach growling beginning to get impatient. Considering grabbing a pizza in the station a glitter of tea lights and canopies caught my eye down a side street. First of all I was impressed that they thought that anybody would ask ‘konnten wir einen tisch draussen?’ on a crisp German winter’s night and second of all the menu had been scrawled in German on a chalkboard. Having no idea how much this restaurant cost, I decided to try my luck and grab a tisch fur eine person. The waitress was obliging. Success!

Dinner at Lebensmittel in Mitte

Rochstrasse 2, 10178 Berlin Germany

Tel: 03027596130, Website: http://www.infoseek.de/lebensmittel-lieferservice.html

Sometimes there is nothing more wonderful than eating alone, I do concede that a handsome partner or giggly friend is the ideal but sometimes I really relish eating alone. The place was packed with loving couples and old friends, candles adorned each table (hence the poor quality photos) and there was an oak table full of Riesling, I may have accidentally stumbled upon my idea of seventh heaven. By day the ‘restaurant’ is a fresh produce supermarket/deli with market fresh vegetables, good bread and a selection of wonderful cheeses, beer and wine. By night it is transformed into a cosy eatery, wonderful let’s eat.

Fresh bread and butter yum

I started with some beautiful bread that I had spotted behind the bar slathered liberally with salted butter and washed down with a crisp glass of German Riesling and studied the menu. There appeared to be no staple menu which always pleases me, the seasonal specials of the day were smudged in ink on page and all, obviously, in German. The only word I recognised was the organisch pork loin served with cabbage wrapped dumplings. Yum, ja bitte!

Organic pork loin and dumplings (and more wine)

The pork was beautiful and falling off the bone, it was slathered in some rich jus on a bed of..I want to say white asparagus but I’m probably wrong. The dumplings were everything I wanted them to be. Sometimes there is nothing better than a plate of dumplings, perfect for a cold night. I sat for longer and ordered another glass of Riesling. My fears that this meal was going to cost my airfare home were unfounded as the whole experience came to a modest 30 euro including drinks and tip. I left wondering whether I had stumbled across a lovely local haunt and everyone there thought that I was a true Berliner, I guess the complete inability to speak German may have given it away. Nevermind, big day ahead…time to plan breakfast in the East.

Breakfast at Café Hilde

Metzer Strasse 22 10405 Berlin

Tel: 03040504172 Website: http://www.hilde-berlin.com/

I was staying in the wonderful East side so started my morning with a little wander around some of the back streets by my hotel. It was autumn and a crisp -2, the trees had just began to colour and had not lost all of their leaves, it was beautiful. I wandered around for a while before deciding it was time for a pit stop



East side building with autumn leaves



Street art and culture

I had read about Café Hilde in my search of ‘the best breakfasts in Berlin’, it had come highly recommended as a good stop for fantastic coffee and beautifully constructed cheap breakfasts. I certainly was not disappointed. The breakfast menu is predominantly divided into small eats such as cheese stuffed croissants and other pastries or beautiful sounding platters including gravlax with salad and eggs. I opted for the cheese and meat plate and was presented with such a wonderful plate of food that it may be my favourite picture of all time. An array of salamis and smoky German Black Forest ham was lovingly presented with fruit, salad and chunks of goats cheese, cheddar and soft fresh bread.

Cheese and meat platter

The atmosphere was soft and calm with soul playing quietly on the radio, young people tapping away on their various apple products and antique furniture arranged sporadically but beautifully.

If I lived in Berlin (a girl can dream), I would come here every morning. After my feed was over the waitress asked if I had enjoyed it, I couldn’t describe to her how much I had as I gloved up and prepared to test my spatial awareness and map reading to see the heart of Berlin and importantly pieces of the wall!

Lunch at Kafer

Deutscher Bundestag, Platz der Republique 1, 11011 Berlin

Website: http://www.feinkost-kaefer.de/dt_bundestag/ Entry by reservation only, passport clearance checks required

A visit to the Reichstag building was top of my priority list when I first found out I was going to Berlin, not only was it steeped in history but it also boasted one of the best views of the city and an architectural masterpiece by way of its impressive space age glass dome. You have to book this visit in advance or prepare to queue up and passport checks are mandatory. I decided to make my visit extra special by concluding my tour with lunch in Kafer adjacent to the glass dome.



View from the ground Reichstag Building

 

View inside the magnificent dome




My understanding before I visited was that Kafer was not cheap, however I was pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere is formal, when I arrived tables of artistic looking crinkly eyed smiley Germans were arriving with their wives dressed in their finery and nearly all sporting some trendy pair of thick rimmed black specs. There were a few shifty tourists lurking around sneaking a glance at their maps and enjoying the atmosphere. I was seated in the atrium by the window so I could see the glorious view over Berlin.

The menu is well constructed, you have the option to eat light and not spend too much (my main course was 16 euro) or eat a pile of schnitzel which will set you back a whopping 30 euro. I opted for the pork meatballs with a potato and gherkin stack and shaved truffles, washed down with a local glass of fizz (6 euro per glass). Had I been entertaining a friend or German lover I would have liked to pick from the impressed encyclopaedic wine list. However, drinking a bottle of wine alone at the top of a building a mere 3 hours before ones flight is not recommended so a glass suited me just fine.

The food was wonderful, rich and heart stopping. I was presented with another lovely basket of bread and salty butter (I love a good bread basket) and had friendly attentive service despite sitting solo. Wishing I could speak German I loved observing the tables of elderly hipsters toasting their day with bottles of German sparkling and tucking into their perfectly crafted starters of poached eggs and salmon.

Pork meatballs, shaved truffles and potato stack at Kafer

Unfortunately for me it was time to leave Berlin with a belly of good food, an artery full of good butter and some new friends. Auf Wiedersehen Berlin, I hope to party in you soon.



London Supper Club: Pie, Champagne and Chilli-Infused Tequila

Part 1: Putney and East London

Moving from the bustling metropolis of Melbourne with it's non-stop cafe culture, hip trendy bars and beautiful food wasn't easy. To say that eating a Greggs pasty and drinking a murky cup of coffee in rainy old Nottingham doesn't compare would be the understatement of the year. However, I took comfort in the realisation that London was a mere two hour train ride away and better than that, Jedward's hair told me that East Midlands trains go there every half an hour (I'm not hallucinating, it was on a billboard). With my lust for city living re-ignited I quickly booked my tickets and got to work on some serious planning.

My idea was simple, explore a suburb a month, do something cultural like go and see some art or maybe a show and then partake in some serious wining and dining followed by a nice dose of cocktails. My companion on this journey was trusty foodie and all around London adventurer CD, an old housemate and fellow PhD survivor. We vowed to see the city through fresh eyes and I vowed to write all about it.

I arrived at the majestic St Pancras station late in the evening, I was instantly hit by the beauty of this structure. To top it off my companion informed me that St Pancras is also home to Europe's longest champagne bar, well it would be rude not to toast to that along with my first proper pay cheque in Great Britain (and first hefty student loan payment...sigh).

The Champagne Bar
St Pancras International http://www.stpancrasgrand.com/

My first experience at the champagne bar was magical, I sipped on a glass of chilled rose while my companion enjoyed a glass of classic Moet. The atmosphere was truly lovely watching the world go by. The bar was full of loved up couples probably toasting some post-Parisian engagement, men in suits looking at the ladies and groups of women catching up on all of the news. After the indulgence was over a proper catch up over some food was on the cards and we decided to seek out a substantial and warming dinner. Eliminating any super fancy options we decided to go close to home and eat pie, this was part a nostalgia trip as during our poverty stricken house share days we often wiled away the evenings with a comforting Birds Eye chicken pie and enough mash to feed an army. Delicious, on to the review.

Putney Pies
136 Upper Richmond Road London SW15 2SP
Tel: 02087041117 http://www.putneypies.co.uk/

Unfortunately for me and for you I did not take any pictures of the pies (I'm a blog rookie) so I will just have to paint you a picture with the gift of description. As it was unseasonably warm (don't you just love a 27 degree day in October) we decided to perch next to the window and enjoy the cool breeze. The interior was rather lovely and had a cool fashionable warehouse feel to it, we noted as the rich pastry and mounds of mash darted past us, this was a good idea.

Jumping past the starters and straight to the delicious pies we ordered a pie each, chicken and leek pot pie for me (£7.45) and venison, ale and juniper berry (£8.50) for my dining companion and some mash and greens to share. My pie arrived and was delicious, buttery light pastry and a creamy chicken centre. The mash could have done with a little more seasoning (but I'm just being snobby and comparing it to my food heaven buttermilk mash experiences in certain fancy steakhouses in Melbourne so we can let that one go). We shared a bottle of crisp zesty pinot grigio (£18.95) which was light and fruity and the whole meal only came to around £40. A comfort food bargain.

I would recommend Putney Pies for a casual meal with friends if you are after simple, honest food (which let's face it apparently we all are these days). According to our hip and rather flirty waiter the place was packed a mere hour before we arrived so it is best to arrive early or late if it is a Friday or Saturday night. With a full stomach and an early start to prepare for, we got ready for a day of gastronomic adventures.

Fifteen London
15 Westland Place, London N1 7LF
Tel: 02033751515 http://www.fifteen.net/

I am a regular at Jamie's Italian and I find the food to be of good quality and value for money, although the menu doesn't change as often as I would like. I was keen to dine at his original flagship Fifteen to see whether the food was a notch above the standard fare. When I found out that our art exhibition was just around the corner then it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

We couldn't get a booking for the restaurant for the time that we wanted so opted for the Trattoria instead. As we entered the atmosphere was wonderful, the place was busy but not too loud and this being Jamie's the decor was understated and cool. We started with a round of cocktails, CD had the special, prosecco with a peach puree (£6) while I ofted for Fifteen's take on a margarita awash with fresh chilli's and tequila (£7.95). Having tried a lot of lovely, inventive cocktails in my time I must say that this was memorable, it was tangy with a hint of lime and real chili which gave a lovely kick to balance out the acidity. I highly recommend this for an aperitif, a real knock-your-socks-off digestion starter.

Our waitress arrived and explained the menu, we decided it would be silly not to go for the £15 lunch special each which gets your bread and sexy (I will explain in a minute) olive oil to share, a Fifteen signature anti-pasti plate (pictured) and either the pasta, risotto or tortillini of the day. My dining companion opted for the hearty slow cooked ragu while I chose a rather interesting sounding tortillini filled with fresh beetroot and an orange glaze. It's worth spending a moment to talk about the olive oil, it was supurb. Dousing a piece of fresh house made bread into the oil felt decadent and naughty as if slathering bread liberally with salty melted butter. It was a relief to know that thanks to all those lovely good fats, this oil might make you a little chunkier (it's worth it) but it won't block up your arteries. With that in mind we polished the lot off and eagerly awaited the platter.

I spotted the anti-pasti plate from another table and already began salivating. It was as good as it looks if not better. The buffalo mozarella was creamy and scattered with herbs and chili, the aubergine was chargrilled and tossed in some marinade most likely lemon, herbs and oil. I didn't brave the onions for fear of integestion but was reliably informed that they were tasty. The meats were delicious as well as the signature giant (and possibly Sicilian?) olives that Jamie always manages to source. Shiny and bitey they always look and taste like they have just been plucked out of a sunny Italian olive grove in the Tuscan hills. We were now fresh out of cocktails and moved on to a beautiful delicate Italian white wine that complimented the nibbles perfectly (Fifteen selection Gargenga 2009, Veneto). Our wine was positioned far from our reach prompting a debate as to whether in these fancy places the wait staff are ever tempted to take a swig, I'm sure they aren't.

Full to the rafters we prayed that the main would take a while to arrive and thankfully it did. C's ragu was rich and delicious while my tortellini was delicate, light and flavoursome. The beetroot filling was earthy and fresh and the pasta was cooked perfectly with a little bit of bite. I finished the whole delicious plate too engrossed to take pictures. This will be rectified next time.

Our whole meal concluded with a dessert to share, a fig and frangipane tart with sweetened mascarpone, this was light and not too sickly and finished a really lovely meal. The bill was very reasonable for the quality of ingredients, service and standard of cooking. The lunch deal makes the whole experience affordable for a regular visit and I'd love to go back to brave a grappa or just grab a lovely cocktail and a sharing platter with friends for a quiet night out. We didn't feel rushed and spent a leisurely afternoon enjoying our wine and absorbing the atmosphere.

As we tricked off to enjoy East London's finest nightlife, a bit of a dance and a memorable cab journey I knew my London experience was drawing to a close.

I will leave you with the image of Putney Bridge in the baking unseasonable heat and look forward to my next (much more chilly) visit.

Farewell London I will be back to see you soon.

And on this day...a blog is born

After much debate and discussion I have finally started my food and travel blog and it feels wonderful! The aim of this blog is to share my experiences with great and not so great food in Nottingham and around the rest of the globe. I have taken inspiration from Melbourne and Sydney-based food blogs that became my Australian survival guide during my two year living experience in both cities.

When I get time I love to cook so I would also like to use this space to share some recipes that are dear to my heart (including the best lasagna in the world!) as well as tips on where to eat out in the UK. So for now, buckle up and prepare for the foodie read of your lives!