London Food Again

So it was off to London for the Main Event...

THE Cake

The bottom layer was red velvet and the top was just yellow BUT those are all white chocolate sticks surrounding the layers - yum! There was a little debate about the flowers - non-edible.

We went to Chop Shop after a matinee and had some really delicious pork belly (the special). The mash (mashed potatoes for all you "non-English" speakers), was so creamy and really good. Also a nice fennel slaw.

We had a quick bite at Franze and Evans. It was right near the flat we rented so how could we not. They had some mean gnocchi. The breakfast menu looked really nice, but we didn't get to try that out.

We also ate at the Approach Tavern. I ate there on the last quick hop over. Last time it was excellent sausage and mash. This time, it was a mighty excellent burger.

The absolute best meal was at this Peruvian place called Andina. It was tapas style so we got to try many different dishes - 10 in total. There were several outstanding dishes. We ordered two types of Ceviche - Clasico (sea bass, lime tiger's milk, coriander, limo chilli, sweet potato, choclo corn) and Tiradito de Cobia (cobia, yuzu tiger's milk, wasabi tobiko, green radish). They were equally good. The Corn Cake & Avocado was really like corn bread but 100 times better. It was very moist and flavourful. Since they said cake, I was expecting some sort of fritter. The Pulpo Chancon (grilled octopus, lucuma, butterbeans, chancaca and limo honey sauce with tomato and red onions) was absolutely the best dish. The octopus was flavourful and very tender. We also tasted a Pisco Sour. Unbelievably, when we were in Peru we didn't taste one! Sorry, I didn't take any pics - my phone was charging.

Those were the highlights. There were some other places too - a Thai place -ok - an Italian place - meh.

Comments

Waffled Hash Browns

I'm not that much of a fan of one-trick ponies taking up real estate in my kitchen. I know that a waffle iron can be classified as that, but now I can rationalize that it's not. Who knew you could make hash browns in it? Waffled Hash Browns (Adapted from Cooking Light ) 1 1/2 lb russet potato (shredded) salt/pepper to taste 1/4 t garlic powder 1 1/2T butter, melted Preheat waffle iron. Squeeze liquid out of potatoes by blotting between two paper towels. Toss potatoes, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Brush both sides of the waffle iron with butter. Spread potatoes evenly on waffle iron. Close and cook 2 minutes. Press iron closed completely and cook about 12 minutes or until golden brown. I did not feel that they browned as nicely as in the picture on the original recipe, but then again I don't have a food stylist do I? The drawback of this recipe is that you have to share this. Since they take about 15 minutes, it's a little difficult to make a second one...

Citrus Shortcake

In my mind, this cake is sort of a blank slate. The cornmeal gives it a little crunch but it is quite versatile. I drizzled a citrus icing on it this time around. I think there are many other things that you could do. You could macerate some berries in sugar and top the cake with them. I think some heated jam (orange, strawberry, or raspberry) drizzled over would be nice. I scoop of ice cream never hurt anyone. A dollop of whip cream never did either. I think you get the idea. Citrus Shortcake (Adapted from Cooking Light circa 2010) 3/4 c sugar 1/4 cup butter 2 eggs 1 T orange rind, grated 2T fresh OJ 1/2 t vanilla 1 c flour 2T cornmeal 3/4 t baking powder 1/2 t baking soda 1/4 t salt 2/3 c buttermilk Grease a 9" square pan set aside. Cream butter and sugar for 5 minutes in a mixer. Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl). Set aside. Add eggs one a time to butter mixture; beating well after ...

The Grappa Report

Star Anise, Cinnamon, Blueberry Once upon a time, we made Limoncello . We used straight-grain alcohol (which we had to buy in a different state because it was not sold it ours!). It was firewater. We tried to pawn it off on unsuspecting friends and relatives. It did not work. So when friends of ours said they wanted to share some Grappa that they had received from a friend, I was slightly suspicious. It was a little firewater-ish but not as much as the Limoncello. We decided to try to infuse it with some flavors - star anise, cinnamon, and blueberry. We got mixed results: Star Anise - was the most successful. It mellowed its sharpness. Cinnamon - We left the cinnamon in for about a week. I think it was too long. It left a very woody taste. Perhaps, less infusion time would have given a better result. Blueberry - We thought if we mashed the blueberries, they would make the Grappa murky. So we first put them in whole. Nothing happened. We then cut them in half. The...

Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

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