Month: July 2011

A wonderful day – spa, Busaba and cake

Published on by Hanna3 Comments

I had the afternoon off yesterday to go to a spa with Jenny. We had some time before our appointment, so we started with the sauna and the pool. After an hour or so we had our hot sugar scrub that after having showered the sticky mixture off, left the skin feeling sooo soft. The next treatment was a full body massage which was wonderful, and after this we were feeling very relaxed. After a nice hot shower we felt reborn and went up to the hotel bar to have a wonderful fruit smoothie and a fruit platter, all included in the package, and that truly hit the spot.

By this point it was early evening and we were hungry, so we went to Busaba Eathai for dinner. I really like this place, founded by the man behind Wagamama and Hakkasan, it is cheap, really nice food in nice surroundings. Compared to Wagamama this feels more luxurious because of the dark wood decor and burning incense, but the idea is the same; you sit at communal tables and you can not book in advance.

We started with something to drink, of course, and I tried coconut water for the first time. It came with ice and fresh muddled raspberries and it was amazing. Why have I not tried this sooner?! I am definitely hooked now. Jenny tried an equally amazing mango lassi. It was silky smooth and tasted lovely.

We ordered quite a lot of food, vegetarian spring rolls with the best sweet chilli dip I have ever had, Pat King Talay was my choice (stir fry with squid, scallops, prawns and woodear mushrooms), Jenny opted for the Pla Sam Rod (talapia fillets with a gorgeous pomegranate sauce) and perfect coconut rice and Morning Glory as a side; water spinach with garlic and chilli – absolutely fantastic and Jenny said it tasted exactly the same as in Thailand.

A happy and content Jenny!

We were very pleased with our cheap eat, the bill only came to around £40, so very good value for money. It is definitely worth going, and it is best to come around or before 6pm to avoid the queue, but it would be worth queueing for a little while as well.

On our way to the restaurant we had noticed a few bakeries on the same street (Wardour Street) and we felt we had to have something sweet to finish off the meal. We noticed a new (for us at least) branch of the Hummingbird Bakery but they did not have much left to choose from this late in the day. Instead we went to the place next door; L’Eto who had plenty of good-looking cakes in the window. After a few minutes to decide we went for the lemon meringue pie and the mille feuille with strawberry and plum. The lemon filling in the pie was nice and creamy, and the meringue on top was the almost unbaked one which was lovely. The mille feuille has obscene amounts of cream in it, which we happily scoffed down. Delicious! This place seems to be great for lunch as well with fresh looking salads, chicken patties, baked salmon etc.

Another Friday, another weekend

Published on by HannaLeave a comment

This week has just whizzed by, although the weather has been grey and miserable. I love Fridays in general and this Friday in particular; because I have the afternoon off today to go to a spa with my friend Jenny and get pampered. After that we’re grabbing a bite to eat and, later on I will meet up with some friend and play boule and drink wine.

I have absolutely no plans for the whole weekend otherwise, and I love that feeling of freedom sometimes. I can do whatever I feel like. Maybe sunbathe if the sun is out, or maybe go shopping, visit an exhibition or stay in and bake and cook.

As mentioned above, London is not a nice sight today, grey and miserable and rainy, so I prefer this photo of the twilight in Lymington, near Southampton. Much nicer…

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Lemon curd squares

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

For our Midsummer lunch, I made a strawberry gateau with lemon curd cream, which was really nice when we left the house. An hour and a half later when we got to our friend’s house it was rather melted (because of a heat wave and being in the underground), and therefore didn’t look its best, so I will give you the recipe and pictures next time I make it.

I ended up with some left over lemon curd after making the cake though, and as I try to avoid throwing food away, I wanted to use it up. The result was these chewy squares with lemon curd and crispy oats on top.

I brought some with me to work, and they disappeared fast, and I kept a few for dessert the next day and served them up in the simplest way possible; with a dollop of lightly whipped cream. Delicious!

Lemon curd, about 500 ml

100 g butter

2 eggs

200 ml caster sugar

1 1/2 lemon

Grate the peel and squeeze the juice from the lemons. Place in a saucepan with butter and half of the sugar. Bring to the boil and wait for the sugar to dissolve. Leave to cool.

Beat eggs and the rest of the sugar fluffy and pour it into the saucepan. Let it thicken on low heat while stirring, it must not boil. Leave to cool and keep in the fridge for about a week.

Lemon curd squares, makes 20

450 ml plain flour

150 ml caster sugar

150 g softened butter

1 tbsp baking powder

1 egg

200 ml lemon curd

Topping:

150 ml oats

100 ml caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla sugar

50 g softened butter

Beat sugar and butter creamy. Add egg, flour and baking powder. Spread out in a 20×30 cm baking tray. Spread the lemon curd on top. Mix butter, sugar and oats and sprinkle on top. Bake in 200C for about 15 mins. 

Brunch and Henley Royal Regatta

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

In England some happenings are bigger than others. The Ascot’s, Goodwood and Henley Royal Regatta are a few of those, and so far I have only been to Henley.

Last year we had a picnic with friends there, but in the afternoon so many people arrived that we no longer could see the river although we were meters from it.

To avoid such nuisance we bought tickets to the Regatta enclosure, and this is (at least for us) the way forward. When we ventured out of the enclosure to look at the shops etc., it was too many prople everywhere.

Malin and Martin, Jess and Chris and us, started the dat with a brunch at our flat. We had champagne, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, croissants, mini quiches, blueberry muffins, bread, ham and cheese and things. It was a lovely start to the day and we all enjoyed it. But then again, who does not enjoy champagne?!

To brighten up the train journey out of London we had some more bubbly, then we switched to Pimm’s at the regatta. I love events like these, when you sit by the river, watching fit men row, looking around at all the pretty (and some horrible ones) dresses, Panamas and stripy blazers.

We enjoyed the early evening best though. When the serious people started to leave and the party crowd had not yet arrived. It was quiter and we could sit front row watching the rowing.

When the enclosure closed, we walked over the bridge into the village and had a nice meal. We must have been very lucky, walking in the six of us and managed to get a table!

Back at the train station, it was mayhem. There had been an accident on the tracks and several hundred people were fighting over the few taxis. Jess managed to find us one, and waiting for it we escaped the chaos and had a drink in a pub.

It was a perfect day with nice, but not too warm, weather and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Thanks guys!

Perfectly creamy scrambled eggs, serves six on a buffet

6-8 eggs

100 ml single cream

knob of butter

salt and pepper after taste

Heat up a teflon frying pan or sauté pan on medium heat. Add the butter. Beat the eggs with cream and season. Pour into the pan and lower the temperature. Stir the whole time with a wooden fork or a spatula, and watch the eggs slowly thicken. Remove from heat when a bit undercooked and keep stirring. Adjust the seasoning and serve.

Mini-quiches with Saint Agure and leek, 12 stycken

80 g softened butter

200 ml plain flour

1/3 beaten egg

100 g Saint Agure in cubes

10 cm leek, sliced

2 + 2/3 eggs (left over form the dough making)

300 ml cream

100 ml grated cheese

Mix butter, eggs and flour to a dough. Line 12 aluminium cases with it. Place blue cheese and leeks in the pastry cases. Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Mix eggs and cream, season with salt and pepper and divide between the cases. Bake in 200C for 20 minutes. Serve cold, luke warm och warm.

Blueberry muffins with almonds and lemon, makes 12

Oroginal Swedish recipe here. I made mine into larger muffins than the recipe suggests.

200 ml blueberries

125 g melted butter

150 g ground almonds

1 tbsp lemon zest

400 ml icing sugar

80 ml plain flour

5 eggwhites (about 160-170 ml)

Mix almonds, zest, icing sugar and flour in a bowl. Add the egg whites and mix. Add the melted butter and mix thoroughly. Place a few berries in each cake case, divide the mixture between the cake cases (fill them to 2/3). Bake in 200 C for about 15-20 minutes.  

Four course dinner

Published on by Hanna4 Comments

Our friends Malin and Martin have been staying with us Wednesday to Sunday last week, and we did the most of eating and drinking during that time. 🙂

On Friday we met up with them after work and walked to our favourite Terroirs for a glass or two. OK, two. We take most our visiting friends here for drinks as it is such a nice a place. We were a little hungry so we nibbled on bread and nice green olives before we headed home to eat dinner.

While I was cooking we had some Pimm’s and snacks and after half an hour or so we were ready to eat properly.

We had Delia’s smashing halloumi with lime vinaigrette as a starter, followed by lamb neck fillet with French potato salad and asparagus.

For dessert we had vanilla pannacotta with strawberries and raspberries and a pinch of icing sugar, followed by a cheese board, sourdough bread, crackers and port.

Yep, we were very sleepy and full after all this. The next day the gluttany continued with a big brunch and Henley Regatta, which I will post tomorrow.

Opera Tavern

Published on by Hanna5 Comments

Thanks to a great tip from Hanna aka Swedish Meatball Eats London, I ate a fabulous dinner at this establishment in the West End on Thursday, together with my Swedish friends Malin and Martin who were visiting.

The dinner was a quick affair because we had tickets to We Will Rock You an hour and a half later, but they are used to this in theatre land.

If I had not heard about this place, I would never have walked in, as both the name and exterior suggests it is a tourist trap. Inside however, it is nice in an understated way, the service is efficient and friendly and the food is amazing.

The menu offers tapas, both charkuterie, cheeses and the usual suspects like croquetas and calamari, but also a few more interesting dishes like the favourite miniburger with pork and foie gras.

Prosciutto och chroizoWe started off with some olives, bread, thinly sliced chorizo, prosciutto and a creamy goat’s cheese. All wonderful produce, and at room temperature to maximize the flavour.

After this we had scallops with pea purée and crispy parma ham; the fab burger mentioned above with a brioche type bun, caramelized red onions and a lovely mayo and the most succulent meat as well as juicy chargrilled chicken with chorizo. Nothing disappointed!

We finished off the session with more bread and aioli, chilli salami and gorgonzola. The meat was again very thinly sliced and nice and spicy. The gorgonzola was slightly cold, but came with amazing caramelized walnuts and rosemary flatbread.

We had all this and a bottle of wine between the three of us, and the bill only came to around £70 including service charge. Great value for money and a lovely hidden gem, so far at least – this a place that is up and coming. Book now because they will be full up soon…

Aubergine gratin with mozzarella and pancetta

Published on by HannaLeave a comment

Before I made the absolutely gorgeous aubergine lasagne, I came up with this – its predecessor. And boy, this was good too! Can it be anything but delicious when combining aubergines with buffalo mozzarella and pancetta, I wonder? NO!

I really enjoyed this calorific dish, but on its own it was not enough. At least my body was craving carbs and not just salad. I would recommend perhaps a mixed bean salad, garlic bread or rice with this, although it is lovely on its own as well.

Aubergine gratin with pancetta and mozzarella, serves 2

2 aubergines

olive oil

100 g pancetta

400 g chopped tomatoes

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

plenty of Italian herbs

a pinch of brown sugar

salt, pepper

1 buffalo mozzarella

cheddar

Peel the aubergines and slice them lengthways. Fry them until soft in plenty of olive oil. Make a tomato sauce by letting chopped tomatoes, balsamic, sugar and herbs reduce. Fry the pancetta crisp and drain on kitchen towel. Slice the mozzarella. Pour some tomato sauce into a gratin dish, place a layer of aubergines at the bottom, then mozzarella and pancetta. Continue layering, topping it with tomato sauce and cheddar. Bake for 25 mins, 200 C.  

Rosti with crayfish spread

Published on by Hanna2 Comments

I have a long-lasting fondness of rosti, from when my mother used to serve it as starter in the late 80s early 90s as a starter at dinner parties. The crispy buttery shreds of potato taste absolutely divine with salty caviar, sharp red onions and velvety creme fraiche. I can still crave this, and I don’t care one bit that it is so retro. It is  good!

Sometimes I make this as a light supper, but Christopher is unfortunately not very fond of caviar. I know… He does have other qualities to make up for it, I promise!

So to enjoy this this with my dear boyfriend, I came up with this little crayfish mixture, dip, spread – whatever you would like to call it. And it is good. Less salty, but just as good. This would be absolutely mind blowing with fresh crayfish tails, but mixed in with the large amount of dill and the cream cheese, the in-brine version works too.

You can also put a large dollop of this on your jacket potato, in your baguette, in a cold omelette that you roll up and make little appetizers from, and plenty more.

Crayfish spread, serves 2

180 g crayfish tails

3 large tbs philadelphia

a bunch of dill, finely chopped

1/4 lemon, the juice

1 tsp paprika

salt

white pepper

Chop the crayfish tails coarsely. Mix with the other ingredients.

Rosti, serves 2

ca 6-8 medium potatoes (not new ones)

Peel and grate. Melt butter and oil in a large skilled and place dollops of the potatoe with space in between. Flatten them out. The starch is enough to hold them together (hence the older more starchy variety). Fry until crisp on both sides. Season and serve immediately. 

Bodean’s

Published on by HannaLeave a comment

A few Friday’s ago we celebrated our friend David’s birthday in one of his favourite restaurants – Bodean’s. Think proper American grub. They are known for their chicken wings and pulled pork.

We went to the Soho branch, and when I walked inside, escaping the pouring rain, I though the place looked a bit like a diner where you just have a quick bite to eat, not like a restaurant diner. But we were sat on the lower ground floor which was decorated with leather sofas, wooden tables and booths. Much cosier than on the ground floor!

To celebrate the birthday boy we started off with shots for everyone and cocktails or beer to follow.

Carribean daiquiri
Sierra Nevada porter

For some reason we felt greedy and ordered both starter and mains, which we normally do, but this was not the general place. This was an American diner, which meant huuuuge portions.

Chris started off with half a dozen hot chicken wings. And boy were they hot! Funny thing was that next to him David sat with the even hotter diavolo wings with a side of diavolo sauce!

I had the pulled pork quesadilla as a starter and it was massive. Very nice though, and not far off my at-home-version of pulled pork.

Although I didn’t finish it all, I was still incredibly full, so full I only managed a few bites from my lovely burger, sob.

I totally killed it with chilli cheese fries as well, that was a dish in itself, but very good!

I highly recommend Bodean’s, especially while hangover. Just stay well clear of the mac ‘n cheese, it tasted like it came out of a packet. The rest was very good, but sent you in food coma straight away. 🙂

Sorry about the blurry photos but it was dark and I used my iPhone.