Tuesday 27 February 2007

A few of my favourite things




I had been running around in the rain all morning doing boring things like going to the bank and laundry so I thought I would treat myself to one of my favourite things; a bowl of jerusalem artichokes in truffle oil. Pure heaven. It amazes me that just two ingredients can make such a fantastic dish. I just peel, slice and boil the artichokes and dress them in good truffle oil, nothing simpler.

While I was eating it I was thinking about all the other things I apsolutely adore eating. Here are the top 5 (in no particular order):

1. Oysters with shallot vinegar (and maybe a pint of stout)
2. English asparagus with hollandaise
3. Perfectly cooked blue steak with bearnaise
4. Dover sole meurniere
5. Moules frites

With the jerusalem artichokes I guess that is technically 6 but who's counting!

Thursday 15 February 2007

Cherries




My best friend made me a book of food related poetry last year. Here is one of my favouries:

A handfull of cherries
She gave me in passing,
The wizened old woman,
And wished me good luck -
And again I was dreaming,
A boy in the sunshine,
And life but an orchard
Of cherries to pluck.

Bodega D' Tapa






I went to Bodega D' Tapa for an early Valentine's meal last weekend. It is a wonderful place, completely unpretentious (unlike the customers who were sat opposite us) and just like eating in someone's front room. It does not profess to be a restaurant, the menu is simple and the service very relaxed, but that is why it is so good. We had a bottle of house wine which for £9 I thought was excellent and a few plates of tapas. The olives with whole marinated garlic cloves and 100 year old sherry vinegar were delicious, very fresh tasting. We had pate with toasted bread and peppery olive oil that was good but not outstanding. The chorizo in red wine was gorgeous, very smokey, slightly spicy and served in a generous portion. We had this with cazuela de frijoles, which complimented it perfectly, and a basket of bread to mop up the juices. We weren't very hungry as I had made a huge lunch earlier that day so we only managed four dishes although somehow we managed two bottles of wine. Consequently we were quite drunk but we had a wonderful time and with a little help from the waitress/cook (who spoke very little English) it really felt like we had popped to Spain for the evening!


The meal for 2 including 2 bottles of wine was £35


Bodega D' Tapa 111 Church Street, Brighton.Tel. 01273 674116.

Saturday 10 February 2007

Our Kitchen




We were all sat around the kitchen table as we were every morning and every night. It was covered with papers and a few beers and the girls were gossiping. I was thinking about how much I loved this place. The kitchen in our house has been host to many an interesting conversation. It is our gossiping room, our councelling parlour, our bar, the centre of our feasts and parties, the home of arguments, tears and hours and hours of laughter. I had always wondered why kitchens have this feel about them. Maybe it is the warmth, the food, the activity. maybe I will figure it out in the course of writing this blog.