Weekend update!

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 A happy Maria at the pub last night

It’s been a long work week (for me at least) but Friday is finally upon us. The sun is shining and I have friends from home visiting. When they arrived last night we dropped off their bags at the hotel and went to my local pub for (delicious) food, wine and a catch-up. Today while I’m at work Maria, Daniel and little Otto are enjoying the sunshine in Hyde Park and shopping a bit.

Tonight we’re going to chill out at home and I’m planning the menu as we speak. Since it’s great weather today I think the right thing to do is to fire up the barbecue and eat lots of nibbles while waiting for the meat to cook.

Tomorrow we’re probably going shopping on the Kings Road and having dinner in Chelsea at this child-friendly restaurant and I am sure we will have a nice lunch somewhere on Sunday before they leave for the airport.

Fingers crossed the amazing weather will hold. Bon weekend!

Dinner at Sophie’s Steakhouse, Chelsea

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The Saturday evening when Emma was visiting we were quite tired after a full town of walking, shopping and eating but after having had some champagne at home we had the energy to go out for dinner. We wanted something low key and near home and opted for Sophie’s Steakhouse on the Fulham Road.

There is another Sophie’s in Covent Garden and although working around there I haven’t been there either.

As you can’t book a table we were put on the list for one and then hung out in the bar drinking strawberry daiquiris.

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Once seated at the table water and this wooden board with salami arrived, perfect for two starving girls. We finished it pretty quickly and then got a second one – they must go through A LOT of salami here!

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The menu is of course centred around meat and mainly steak but we tried their burgers that were amazing. Sadly the fried weren’t as good. They were crisp and nice texture-wise just not great in taste.

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But the burgers were just delicious, so we were happy anyway! After our late dinner we realised we wanted to go dancing and just walked down the street to Maggie’s.

Such a great evening!

Sophie’s Steakhouse, 311-313 Fulham Road, London SW10 9QH

Halloumi salad with new potatoes, watercress, tomatoes and lime vinaigrette

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I can really crave certain foods, like sushi for example. Or a blue sirloin with bearnaise sauce. And most recently; fried halloumi. There is something utterly satisfying with the chewy, salty Cypriot cheese.

Last time I craved halloumi I also wanted a salad and potatoes and it resulted in this great salad based on this delicious Delia recipe for a starter with halloumi. I really loved this salad and although I was (very) happy to eat it on its own it would also work really well with say barbecued chicken skewers.

Halloumi salas with new potatoes, watercress, tomatoes and lime vinaigrette, serves 2

250 g new potatoes, cooked and cut in half

1 bag watercress

1 halloumi

a handful cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 red onion, sliced and marinated in lime juice

Vinaigrette:

1 lime, zest and juice

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

1 tbsp chopped coriander

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and black pepper

Mix the vinaigrette. Slice the halloumi and dry each piece with kitchen roll. Fry on high heat in a little oil until golden brown on both sides. 

Distribute water cress, new potatoes and cherry tomatoes on two plates. Remove the onion from the lime juice and divide between the plates. Drizzle with vinaigrette and place the fried halloumi on top.

Lunch at Jackson + Rye, Soho

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When my bestie Emma came to visit a few weekends ago we walked around Covent Garden and Carnaby street on the Saturday and when we were hungry I thought it would be a good idea to check out Jackson + Rye that I had heard so much about.

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We liked the place immediately! The vibe is very New York; casual but nice. The all day menu offers American food but is very varied containing sandwiches and salads as well as egg dishes and proper main courses.

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Emma has a bagel with cream cheese, rocket and smoked salmon which was fresh and nice.

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I had the shrimp roll in brioche bun with mushy avocado and spicy sauce. Really nice and substantial but still lighter than a regular burger. We had some rosé to drink and managed to avoid the rain (it had stopped when we stepped out again) so we were very happy here!

Jackson + Rye, 56 Wardour Street, London W1D 4JG