Douglas Blyde was recently whisked to a Loire so frozen that Charolais cattle couldn’t break ice to quench their thirst. Back in an equally frozen Blighty, his task, from Monnières to Mosnes is to summarise summery wines sipped in foot numbing cellars…
Look no further than the Hoxton Hotel for a stress-free Christmas
It can all get very cozy and almost personal when you stay at a hotel for a few days over Christmas. Particularly a hotel with a damned good bar and restaurant. So it was for me and the husband this year at the Hoxton Hotel in Shoreditch. This place is definitely worth considering for a relaxing Christmas or other special occasion.
Kasturi Indian Gourmet Restaurant, Shandwick Place, Edinburgh, EH2 4RG
I think what really made the Kasturi experience one to be repeated was the fact that whilst we hoovered our way through a fair amount of excellent food we didn’t feel in any way stuffed.
Zing for a free supper at Zizzis
After the success of the December Sessions at St Giles, Zizzi is carrying the musical evenings into January and like before, diners can sing for their supper. Diners at Zizzi’s newest London restaurant who get up and sing in front of the restaurant audience will get their supper for free, and raise money for youth charity The Prince’s Trust in the process.
Undercover Curry – Dave Loyden. Indian cooking explained and made easy, with user friendly cooking instructions.
The idea behind the book is to enable home cooks to recreate the flavours and dishes that they would get from their local restaurants and takeaways. Overall, this is a thoroughly researched, informative and – most importantly – useful book for anybody with an interest in curry and the desire to re-create the flavours from their favourite restaurant in their own home.
Time for tea infused cocktails at 108 Marylebone Lane
Start the New Year 2011 with a Tea-infused Cocktail at 108 Marylebone Lane Restaurant & Bar, located in the heart of Marylebone Village. Aromatic teas have been blended with a variety of liqueurs and spirits to create the perfect pick-me-up cocktails, available throughout January 2011, priced at £9.75 each.
Food from Plenty: Good Food Made from the Plentiful, the Seasonal and the Leftover with Over 300 Recipes, None of Them Extravagant
This book was written before the recession, so is not another knee-jerk reaction to the crisis. It’s about approaching food in a thoughtful way; using leftovers, thinking ahead, making something interesting from unpromising ingredients, being seasonal and not paying a fortune at Farmers’ Ripoffs, sorry Markets.
Nick Harman takes an alternative view of dining in 2010
‘Steak, what’s it all about eh? For me eating steak is like watching Miranda on the BBC – a large lump of meat that soon gets boring.’ Nick Harman recalls his favourite eating experiences of 2010. Not the ten best but the best fun. After all, eating out is supposed to be fun isn’t it?
Lunch for a £1.00 at Cafe Luc in Marylebone
To combat the January blues Cafe Luc are resurrecting their £1 sale in the new year! For just £1 you can choose from their set menu, created by head chef David Collard, for lunch or dinner
Beetroot, Chickpea and Feta Fritters with Mint and Lemon Yoghurt
January is surely the time to cut back on luxury items like meat and focus on fruit and vegetables. Winter ingredients can seem a little boring at first but the way to get around this is to try different ways of cooking them. Grated beets make a gloriously red fritter with earthy chickpeas, sharp feta and herbs. They’re very simple to prepare too, particularly if you use ready-cooked beets (just avoid the ones preserved in vinegar).