Author: jamesclay

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Baked Camembert

Baked Camembert

I was staying at the Doubletree Hilton in Ealing and was eating in the hotel restaurant.

I’ve alway liked the idea of baked camembert, but have never had it, not in a restaurant, or bought to cook at home.

Seeing it on the menu, I did think why not. The baked camembert was done with honey, rosemary and garlic, served with sourdough bread.

I was a little surprised when it arrived, I don’t know why, but I thought I would have been served a mini camembert, but this was a normal sized one. It came with two warm freshly baked large sourdough bread sticks.

I do like camembert, but this was my first experience of a baked camembert. I really enjoyed it, I liked the addition of honey, garlic, and rosemary. The bread was excellent, and was perfect for dipping into the hot melted cheese.

I could have done with more bread, but then I think I would have been full as a result, and I had it as a starter. Though I ate all the bread, I couldn’t finish all the cheese. Probably better shared than eaten by one.

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Coffee time at the Clyde Built Bar & Kitchen

SEC Glasgow

I was attending a conference at the SEC and wanted a coffee. I went to the Clyde Built Bar & Kitchen and ordered a double espresso. I asked for a china cup rather than a cardboard one. So they gave it to me in a cup, which I would have expected to have tea in!

The actual coffee was okay, but they needed to have warmed the cup first. I get the feeling that they didn’t make coffee properly very often.

I was a little surprised by the lack of coffee places and eateries around the SEC in Glasgow. There are plenty of hotels close by, and up the road on Argyle Street there are some really nice food and coffee places. However around the actual SEC there are only a couple. I think I was comparing it to the ICC in Birmingham where there is a much wider choice.

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Gluten Free Pancakes

pancake

I often make pancakes for breakfast on a  regular basis.

Cup of gluten free plain flour

Cup of semi-skimmed milk

One egg.

Spoonful of sugar.

Vanilla essence.

Whisk the ingredients together. I do find that with gluten free flour there isn’t any benefit to which order you add the ingredients, but I generally do the flour first, then add the milk, then the sugar vanilla essence and the egg.

The key is to have a batter that will coat the back of the spoon.

Gluten free batter doesn’t need to be left to stand (as some recipes for normal pancakes call for). When I started cooked gluten free pancakes, I use to make normal pancakes as well using wheat flour. However after tasting both, I realised that there was very little if any difference. So now, and it avoids the risk of cross-contamination, I only cook gluten free pancakes.

I have often heard that the first pancake cooked will not work and therefore should be thrown away. My experience is that the reason the first pancake doesn’t work, is mainly down to the fact that the pan isn’t hot enough. I put my pancake pan on the heat and then make the batter, that way it is hot enough when I am ready to start cooking the pancakes.

I brush the pan with some sunflower oil. Add a spoonful of batter and then swirl the pan so that the batter coats the entire base of the pan. I say spoonful of batter as I usually use a bowl with a lip so I can put the batter direct onto the pancake pan. You can see the batter cooking and once it is cooked, flip the pancake over. Yes you can toss it, but I usually use a fish slice to flip the pancake over.

I use the same recipe for smaller pancakes as well.

Serve with your favourite whatever, be that sugar, maple syrup or whatever.

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Time for coffee and toast

Bristol Airport

Generally I find airports busy places and not really somewhere I can sit calmly and relax. However I do I find the Cabin Bar at Bristol Airport a little haven of calmness in an otherwise hectic and busy environment.

I had some sourdough toast and a macchiato. The toast was toast, but it was nice that the butter was soft.

toast

The coffee was great and I really enjoyed it.

macchiato

I liked the table service, the proper china and the excellent service.

Yes it is a little more than Soho or Starbucks, but not my much to be honest and the fact that there is table service makes this a better choice for me.

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Heritage Beetroot Salad

I was staying at the Doubletree Hilton in Ealing and was eating in the hotel restaurant.

I decided to go for a salad for dinner. I chose the heritage beetroot salad with caramelised walnuts, lime juice honey dressing, rocket and grilled halloumi.

I have to say that this was an excellent salad. I liked the thin slices of beetroot and the lime juice honey dressing added sweetness and sharpness. The caramelised walnuts were probably a little over caramelised for my liking, but added crunch and sweetness. The grilled halloumi wasn’t great and I have had better halloumi in other salads. Having said that the overall combination of the salty halloumi, sweet walnuts and dressing and beetroot was really tasty. The different slices of heritage beetroot were great, the candy tripe beetroot having a different flavour to the traditional purple beetroot. The only thing I would say was that for a main course salad it was smaller that I expected. I would probably have added more mixed leaves to bulk it out.

Alongside I had some freshly oven baked bread.

I expected to get a couple of rolls, but was impressed with the quantity and variety of breads in the basket. It was supposed to come with some olive oil and balsamic glaze, but all I got was the butter. I didn’t managed to ask about this, but I was happy with the butter. Most of the bread was tasty.

I did enjoy this meal, salad and bread are two things I really like.  

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Day of the Dead at Wahaca

On a recent stay in London I did quite fancy going to Wahaca on the South Bank. I have enjoyed previous meals there and at other branches of Wahaca.

They have installed some splendid Day of the Dead decorations across the restaurant. 

However upon arriving, there was a huge queue to get in, so much so, that I decided in the end to go somewhere else for lunch. Maybe next time.

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Sweets

Sweets

We got some sweets in for Halloween, however due to the heavy rain we didn’t get many trick and treaters. So as a result we’ve had them hanging around the house for too long…

They are little bit too moreish…

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Spiced Cauliflower Salad

Spiced Cauliflower Salad

This recipe for a cauliflower salad was inspired by a dish I once had in a cafe in Wapping Wharf (sadly now closed).

Take some fresh cauliflower and cut it into thin slices, I usually use about a third of the cauliflower when making the dish.

In a bowl add some mayonnaise, a splash of olive oil and half a teaspoon of curry powder. The olive oil thins out the mayonnaise making it easier to coat the cauliflower slices. The curry powder adds spice and warmth to the dish.

Stir and coat the cauliflower slices with the mayonnaise mix, do this gently so you don’t break the cauliflower too much. I also add some unsalted cashew nuts as well to the salad. Season with salt and pepper.

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Bonfire Biscuits

Take a chocolate digestive.

Add a dollop of buttercream (vanilla or chocolate). Use some Matchmakers broken up to represent the logs of the bonfire. The new(ish) honeycomb ones work well, from a flavour perspective, otherwise the mint can be overpowering. At this point you can dust with icing sugar to represent the ash.

Then using some torn up red shoelaces (the sweets, not actual shoelaces) place them around the chocolate logs to represent the flames.

Add some (fallen) mini marshmallows around the edge.

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Confusing Fried Chicken

I wasn’t really intending to get lunch out, but I was walking through the St Nicholas market in Bristol and did feel a little peckish. It was quite late during the lunchtime period, so I could see some places were low on stuff. I did think about having something to eat at the Spanish place, La Lola, but in the end thought to myself I would have something I hadn’t eaten before. Across from La Lola is Woky Ko.

Located at the heart of Bristol’s historic St. Nicks Market is our lunch spot offering quick and tasty lunch boxes designed by you, made the Woky Way. Here you will find us serving out the BEST chicken Katsu curry or Korean fried cauliflower with noodles or rice. 

I have been tempted before, but this was my first visit. I do think it is an interesting perspective with Korean fried chicken served with a choice of either Japanese Katsu sauce or Thai red curry sauce.

This is three different kinds of Asian cuisine, which to be honest I am not sure actually works. I would like to have a Korean BBQ sauce with my chicken, but that wasn’t available. Is this fusion cooking, I didn’t think so. I did fancy the Thai red curry, but they had run out, so I went with the Katsu.

The fried chicken was served on rice covered in the sauce with some salad on the side.

The chicken was nice and crispy, the sauce was quite tasty. I did enjoy the dish, but I don’t think it would be something I would have again.