Author: jamesclay

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Sharing Breakfast

I’m not one for staring at people as they eat their breakfast in a supermarket cafe, but this morning I couldn’t help myself.

There were a couple who had ordered two English Breakfasts. They arrived, and the man started to move the mushrooms from his plate to hers.

Fair enough I thought, he probably doesn’t like mushrooms.

She then started to move (what I initially thought) her egg over to his plate. I then realised she was just moving the fried egg white.

He then started moving the yolks from his plate to hers.

I am sure that they probably think their behaviour is “normal” to me it was very bizarre.

After he tried to put a whole fried egg white into his mouth and half fell out, she didn’t bat an eyelid, I knew I had seen too much and looked away and focused on my cup of tea.

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Christmas Dinner

Well we had a really nice Christmas Dinner. We had roast chicken, roast saddle of venison and a boned and stuffed roast duck.

The chicken was a free range corn fed bird which I stuffed with a homemade herb and sausage meat stuffing.  I also added butter under the skin to keep the breast meat moist. The venison I wrapped in pancetta and simply roasted on a bed of chopped veg. The duck was purchased from Sainsburys and was boned and stuffed with an apricot stuffing.

All were delicious.

I served the meats with roast potatoes, roast parsnips (which were coated in an olive oil and honey), steamed vegetables, a variety of additional stuffings, chipolatas and yorkshire puddings.

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Christmas Dinner Preparations

Having been woken up early I am about to start some of the preparations for our Christmas Dinner.

Last night I peeled the potatoes and the parsnips.

I now want to make some stuffing for the chicken we are having.

Alongside the chicken I have a boned and stuffed duck and a saddle of venison.

Pretty much on top of things.

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No Christmas Four Bird Roast

Well my plan for a Christmas Four Bird Roast was scuppered this year. I had intended to order one from Marks and Spencers which consisted of Turkey, Goose, Duck, Chicken.

Marks and Spencers Four Bird Roast

However when I went to order it was apparent that many others had had the same idea and it had sold out! I am guessing that a) a lot of people were like me and liked the concept b) the Marks and Spencers version was good value for money at £100. There was no way you could even do it yourself for £100. Waitrose’s version was £120 and only consisted of a three bird roast.

So instead…

We’re going to have (separately) chicken, duck and venison.

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Roast Lamb

Today I had a very nice (small) lamb roast. It was a neck fillet joint, quite small, but once cooked very tender and very tasty.

I cooked it simply, placed it on a bed of rosemary and splashed a little olive oil on the roast.

Cooked for about 50 minutes, as it was only a 500g joint.

I served it with roast potatoes and vegetables.

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Cadbury Dairy Milk Apricot Crumble Crunch

Cadbury Dairy Milk Apricot Crumble Crunch is one of two variations that Cadbury have released, the other being Cranberry and Granola.

cadbury cranberry and granola and apricot crunch

I had high expectations as it did sound rather tasty, alas I was disappointed. There was chewy and crunchy texture in there, but very little flavour, could I taste apricot, no I could not.

There didn’t seem to be too much to it, I think I would prefer Fruit and Nut myself.




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Ambassadors at Bloomsbury Part One

I was recently up in London and stayed at the Ambassadors Hotel in Bloomsbury. Staying with friends we had the Christmas dinner at the Number Twelve attached restaurant. I started off with the Chestnut Pasta and had the Ribeye steak for my mains.

The home made chestnut pasta was served with seasonal wild mushrooms and a white butter sauce. I did enjoy this dish, the pasta was cooked well and nice selection of mushrooms.

For my mains I had ribeye of 28 day Donald Russell beef, served with celeriac, braised red onion, wild mushrooms and roast potatoes.

ribeye of 28 day Donald Russell beef

The steak was not the best I’ve had, slightly tough and was certainly not full of flavour compared to others I have eaten. The celeriac was nice as was the onions and mushrooms.

Overall I did enjoy both the started and the main course.

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Alba Ristorante Part Five

I was recently lucky enough to go to dinner at the Alba Ristorante in London with some friends., not just once, but enjoyed it enough the first time to go for a second meal. Unlike a lot of Italian restaurants I have been too, the menu here was not full of pasta and pizza, on the contrary it was very different and as a result much more interesting and refreshing.

One of the dishes that a friend ate was the Platessa con Salsa Bianca or Plaice with spinach, “salsa bianca” new potatoes.

Platessa con Salsa Bianca

He said it was excellent and beautifully cooked.

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Roasted Duck Breast

Roasted Duck Breast

I do enjoy duck and a simple roasted duck breast is a relatively quick and easy dish to make.

Having taken out the two duck breasts from the fridge, using a fork, prick the skin side of the duck breast.

Duck can be quite fatty and as a result if you simply roast the duck breast it will be too fatty and greasy. So heat a frying pan, but don’t add any oil. Place the duck breasts in the pan skin side down.

Frying the duck breast in this way renders the fat out from the duck and as a result you get nice crispy skin and little fat or greasiness.

The breasts will also shrink slightly as they cook. There is technique that you can use to stop the meat curling up, but I can’t remember what it is! Something about cutting away something. If you know post a comment and let me know.

Once the skin is nice and brown, place the duck breasts skin side up in a roasting pan. Roast in the oven for about ten to twenty minutes (depending on how you like your duck).

Serve with your favourite accompaniments.