Cold wet September evening…tick….cosy candle lit bistro….tick….Scottish Chef of the year Mr Neil Forbes cooking my dinner….tick….and Mr Innis & Gunn pouring me a beer…..tick. Anything else?? Urm yes, it’s a school night!! Zut alors, the Monkfish is out on the town, eating and drinking the finest that Scotland has to offer as part of the Scottish Food Fortnight AND it’s a Tuesday, rock and roll.
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Posted in dinner, edinburgh, out of the kitchen, reviews
Tagged Allied Domecq, Ansells Brewery, Apple crumble, Artisan Beer, Artisan Roast coffee, Bass Brewery, Borders roe deer, cafe st honore, Cuddybridge Apples, Dougal Sharp, edinburgh farmers market, Innis & Gunn, Innis & Gunn Highland Cask, Innis & Gunn Original, Innis & Gunn Rum Cask, Innis & Gunn Winter Beer 2011, matching food with beer, Michael Roux, Neil Forbes, Neil Forbes Chef Director Cafe St Honore, Oak Aged Beer, Peelham Farm veal, premium beer, Raymond Blanc, review cafe st honore, Scottish Chef of the Year 2011, Scottish Food Fortnight, Sophie Fraser, Stornoway black pudding, West Coast scallops
The perfect autumnal day in Edinburgh…..sunshine, blue sky, falling leaves, crispiness in the air….time to seek out food perfection to top the day off a treat….it didn’t take long bloggers….yet another trip to castle terrace and there they were looking at me, the perfect pork pies, pastry perfection, they were mine for the taking! I’m not an over eager pastry eater but these little beauties set my taste buds tingling, the only thing needed was some colmans English mustard on the side and the perfect day was done….get me home quick!!
Posted in edinburgh, out of the kitchen
Tagged colmans, edinburgh, edinburgh farmers market, pork pie
The weekend has flown by and the foodie endeavours have not been too bad……the plan for the hot pork sarnie for mr predictable did not come to fruition as the edinburgh farmers market was not the fully fledged version we are used to due to force ten gales blowing around castle terrace. There were a token few suppliers selling stuff from their vans but unfortunately that was the extent of the market on saturday…never mind, it was made up for by a perfect crepe from Broughton Deli. Another place that I champion and visit frequently…it’s a big hit with me, cool atmos if you sit in at the back and the food is obviously top notch and local hence the nod here…i’m sure it will be mentioned again soon!
What’s more important to mention today is the sunday evening success in my kitchen! Moroccan meatballs from Leon (page 217), extremely easy to make and a taste sensation….CHECK OUT THE RESULTS! JUST LIKE THE PICTURE! Minced lamb, wholemeal flatbreads (soaked in milk, helps to bind the ‘balls’ together), mint, oregano, parsley, garlic….then the sauce, garlic, chopped toms, harissa, basil and parsley.
Interesting fact number one foodie fans – unfortunately I was unable to locate Harissa on my sunday afternoon supermarket trip…there’s always one ingredient you can’t get, extremely annoying when you have a specific recipe in mind and it seems to happen ALL the time…no matter as within the depths of my pantry I found all the necessary moroccan spices to create my own mix and I’m sure it tasted better for being made from scratch.
The chief taster put his thumbs up and downed about 10 of said meatballs so I’d say it was a hit…. Yet another success from Leon… and to go with it ‘Happy Carrot’ (page 207), a delightful mix of sultanas, grated carrot, garlic, toasted seeds, coriander, mint, chilli, lemon juice and olive oil….mouth watering stuff and another picture result! ok, i know that a salad isn’t that difficult but for it to look like the picture?! I was happy!
I know what you’re thinking, I was supposed to venture into Ottolenghi territory…plenty of time for that next weekend.
Weekend…DONE…..what no cake, that would be telling.
Posted in in the kitchen, out of the kitchen
Tagged broughton deli, edinburgh farmers market, leon
The weekend is within smelling distance so time to put some thought into this weekend’s culinary delights… I’m thinking along the lines of something from Ottolenghi, one of my other super duper cookbooks that G bought me last year (a top fave alongside Leon). See the link for their site….admittedly healthy but still completely YUM plus they have a great section on baking too. G actually attempted their lamb cutlets earlier in the year (nod to Crombies for top lamb) and apart from the fact his ‘culinary timing’ is useless the boy did a grand job…I’ll dig out a photo and post it soon….more on the useless timing another time, far too much to tell now! You can pick up Ottolenghi recipes on the Guardian/Observer site too. Am excited now at the prospect of rustling something up…..yay…
Apart from a dabble with Ottolenghi mr predictable will be par-taking in his usual hot pork sandwich at Edinburgh’s famers marker on saturday…barely a week goes by….. I on the other hand will be seeking out other delights which undoubtedly will include flour, eggs, sugar, milk…mmm, cake anyone?! Catch you at the weekend, bye for now 
Tagged cake, crombies, edinburgh farmers market, ottolenghi
We’re witnessing a street food revolution and thefoodpeople have been keeping a close eye on this global food trend.
