A cheesecake for Champions

As the Olympic games has now come to a close I thought I should show how we celebrated the opening ceremony. Our friends - Lou and Ollie, invited us to their flat on the ninth floor overlooking the Olympic park in Stratford, we went round to watch the ceremony on the TV and from the balcony.

We were standing on the balcony drinking Pimms and the queen drove past (the parachuting was a stunt double incase any of our readers believed that), she waved at us - very exciting.

The fireworks were amazing and the atmosphere reached all the way to the living room and on the balcony... but no celebration is complete without nibbles and Lou and Ollie put on a great spread (plus a special mention to Ollie's Mum's salads - yummy!). I contributed a very simple vanilla cheesecake but gave a patriotic twist with blueberries and strawberries. Based on a recipe from BBC Good Food.

Easy Vanilla Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 250g digestive biscuits

• 100g butter , melted

• 1 vanilla pod (I used a teaspoon of real vanilla essence instead)

• 600g soft cheese

• 100g icing sugar

• 284ml pot double cream

For the topping:

• Strawberries(hulled and sliced)

• Blueberries

Method:

Butter and line a 23cm loose-bottomed tin with baking parchment. Put 250g digestive biscuits in a plastic food bag and crush to crumbs using a rolling pin. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, then pour over 100g melted butter. Mix thoroughly until the crumbs are completely coated. Tip them into the prepared tin and press firmly down into the base to create an even layer. Chill in the fridge for 1 hr to set firmly.

Remove the vanilla seeds from 1 pod: Slice the vanilla pod in half lengthways, leaving the tip intact, so that the two halves are still joined. Holding onto the tip of the pod, scrape out the seeds using the back of a kitchen knife.

Place 600g soft cheese, 100g icing sugar and the vanilla seeds in a bowl, then beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Tip in 284ml pot double cream and continue beating until the mixture is completely combined. Now spoon the cream mixture onto the biscuit base, working from the edges inwards and making sure that there are no air bubbles. Smooth the top of the cheesecake down with the back of a dessert spoon or spatula. Leave to set in the fridge overnight.

Bring the cheesecake to room temperature, about 30 mins before serving. To un-mould, place the base on top of a can, then gradually pull the sides of the tin down. Slip the cake onto a serving plate, removing the lining paper and base. Arrange the strawberries and blueberries in a union jack design.

Lichfield Food Festival

It's almost as if I'd planned it (might have got away with it if I hadn't have said anything), Jade came to visit for the weekend and it just so happened it was the very first Lichfield Food Festival.

Find out about next years at lichfieldfood.co.uk

After a lazy morning we strolled in the sunshine into town and made our first stop at the Guildhall for the 'Meet the Brewer' display. We had a nice chat to a lady from Purity Brewery based in Warwickshire and got to try a few of their tipples, my favourite was the Pure Gold.

Image via www.puritybrewing.com

I also loved the little tasting notes they had, especially the food matching. They had suggested dishes from various restaurants in and around Birmingham that bring out the best in the ale - really nice touch for a food fan :-)

Next we headed over to the Garrick to have a look around the other exhibitors, from fudge to olive oil it was all here. I bagged myself some bargains from the Kitchen Shop stall including some egg poachers - never at risk of losing my yolk again! I also bought some chocolate and raspberry fudge from awesomely named UFO - Ultimate Fudge Outlet and some ales from the very local Quartz Brewing. We also stopped by to see the lovely Sugar Surgeons where we filled up on very delicious cake.

My goodies from the Quartz Brewery based in Kings Bromley, Lichfield.

The only negative was we'd arrived just as the auditorium had had emptied from the Hindley's Bakery demonstration and the room was packed with people, some stalls were impossible to get close to - Packington Moor was one, I just had to pear over other peoples shoulders and admire their goodies from afar.

After battling our way through the crowds we decided to nip upstairs to the 'Worth Brothers - Vineyard in the Sky'. There we could taste taste a range of wines and enjoy discovering some new gems in a more relaxed environment. My favourite by a long shot was a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from the Morton Estate, tasted of passion fruit and took me right back to sipping on Big Wave in Hawaii.

White Wine selection from the Worth Brothers - Vineyard in the Sky

Tasting Notes from the Worth Brothers - Vineyard in the Sky

It was a great day and it was clear from the crowds it was a great success and I'm pleased to say it will be back next year in September. Hopefully they can find a bigger venue now they have seen the popularity of such an event.

Big Eats

The main reasons I was so excited about my trip State-side wasn't the blistering sunshine or shopping friendly exchange rate, in fact it was the food. Being an avid watcher of Man vs Food I fancied taking on my own foodie challenges - achieving the average weight gain of 2-3lbs per week of Brits holidaying in the US was on the list.

I LOVE my food and was pretty sure I could give those American portions a run for their money - oh, how wrong I was... It appeared on the surface that I'd escape the effects of jet lag, but after a few days of eating a mouthful of food and feeling fit to pop I investigated further (you can't beat asking Google a question) and discovered that loss of appetite was another symptom. So, here's my gallery of food I couldn't really eat, but had a good time trying...

Viva Las Vegas

Blue Moon, MGM Grand. Me and Sean foolishly thought we could manage a whole one.
The pizza box was about 50cm squared and the woman nearly fainted when I only asked for 2 plates :-)

The Seahorse Bar at Caesars Palace. Trying to get a lemonade in the US seems to highlight how different we are. I should have asked for Sprite and all would have been fine. The barman and me had a random exchange, which consisted of him asking me if I wanted something adding to my drink, "extra syrup?" and I replied "no, just a lemonade please".

Best Restaurant Fish Tank goes to... Beijing Noodle No. 9 at Caesar's Palace

This display reconfirmed my feelings that when I return to Vegas I'll be staying at Caesar's Palace. Amazingly beautiful macrons from Payard Patisserie at Caesar's Palace

After getting lost in Caesar's Palace we thought it best to refuel just in case we got lost again. At Cypress Street Marketplace there's a wide choice of take away snacks to grab. We went for hotdog from Nathan's, Sean had the chilli cheese dog and I had the very colourful Chicago. Hot chilli, pickles, tomato and mustard, yum!

32 Degrees was a cool little bar at MGM Grand. When the temperature outside is pushing 107 Fahrenheit a alcoholic slush puppy is the way forward. I went for the Tropical Mojito, as well as the usual suspects it had the additional of orange. Really tasty and not too strong, which was good as it was only about 3pm :-)

The best day ever, was so excited to go here and it was just as awesome as I'd hoped.

Above the bar we left our mark, placing our signed dollar alongside everyone else who'd made the pilgrimage to the heart of weirdness.

After travelling go knows how many miles to the middle of the Nevada desert, there's only one thing to do, grab yourself an Alien Burger!

 Aloha Hawaii

Cheese Burger, Beach Walk, Waikiki. Loved this place, the decor was utterly kitsch and the burgers were amazing and the fries, well oh my, the fries were in a different league. I opted for The Hawaiian, a beef burger topped with a slice of fresh pineapple and teriyaki sauce - perfect balance of sweet, salty & beefiness. Even the awkward free photo postcard couldn't tarnish our visit :-)

Yard House, Waikiki was the best bar we visited. We counted well over 150 beers, all on tap. The kegs are kept in a room with windows so you can see in and then your desired beverage travels from the kegs along pipes in the ceiling to the bar pumps. Our servers went a long way to making this place special, taking time to show us through the vast menu and help us make our choices. We both opted for local beers, which were all lovely, but Big Wave was a revelation!

The food wasn't bad either, my chicken club sandwich with avocado was amazing and my side salad was just as substantial as my sandwich - plus it was one of the nicest Caesar Salads I've eaten. All helped to mop up some of the beer.

Big Wave, the beer we discovered at the Yard House become a daily staple. Made by Kona Brewing Company on the Islands it had a very smooth taste with delicate hints of passion fruit. I'm not a huge lager fan, but this one is special!

Short stack of blueberry pancakes, with obligatory pineapple slice at Giovanni Pastrami, Waikiki Beach.

Mixing it up with a post dinner cocktail - an authentic Blue Hawaiian. Light Rum, Vodka, Blue Curacao and Pineapple Juice.

Traditional Hawaiian Food. The people of the cafe seemed pretty excited to have some tourists visit and made a suggestion on what we should try, we just agreed and we shared a selection of dishes. We only really know what two of them was, Kalua Pig with white rice (pork slow roasted under ground using hot rocks), Lomi Lomi Salsa (fresh tomato salsa with finely chopped salmon) and then we had two side dishes which we haven't a clue about, one was thick rice noodles with tender chunks of chicken and loads of ginger and the second was a green coloured stew that was coconut in flavour. Oh and we also had some Poi too. When we opened the lid to reveal the contents I have to admit I was a little scared, in nicest possible way it look awful. Thankfully it tasted nothing like it looked, each was delicious in its own right (with exception to the Taro paste, I didn't like that).

Ok, excuse the dodgy photography, I got the setting a little wrong, but I had my mind on other things! We visited Waihola Shave Ice, popular with locals it's meant to be the best shave ice on O'ahu and were President Obama used to get his fix. We patiently queued alongside side local kids to get out cone of loveliness, I went for a cherry and peach, with vanilla ice cream, so good!

I quickly came used to the fact that Hot Tea in the US wasn't Tea as I know it. So rather than keep fuelling my disappointment I opted for the Ice Tea instead - they sure get that right. I became slightly addicted to the refreshing taste of Starbucks Iced Tazo Black tea with Lemon.

Purple Bread?!

Pre dinner drink - Hawaiian Sunset. Vodka, cranberry juice and pineapple juice. Garnished with a chunk of fresh pineapple and a maraschino cherry. I remember eating them out of a a jar at my Nan's house when I was a kid, an amazingly happy foodie memory colliding with an amazing foodie experience was, er, the cherry on the top!

Seafood Lau Lau, a twist on a Hawaiian tradition this was one of the most amazing meals I've ever eaten. Huge scallops, prawns cooked with salmon in an amazing sauce made from the Lau Lau leaf.

 La La Land

Breakfast at our hotel day one...way too much just glad we didn't opt for the buffet breakfast.

Hotel Breakfast day two... foolishly though that going for a Smoked Salmon Bagel would make for a smaller portion. I didn't realise that what they meant by Smoked Salmon Bagel was in fact a mound of salmon, with a huge wedge of cream cheese and side salad with a toasted bagel chaser :-)

Getting to Santa Monica Pier through LA traffic was a emotional experience for all the wrong reasons, shaved years off my life. Arriving and finding they dish out the Coke in old school glass bottle made me very happy.

Tiki Tai Cocktail at Hard Rock Cafe, University City Walk. Spiced Rum, Cointreau, lime juice, orange juice and agave nectar - a really belly warmer, completely delicious! Now, where do I get agave nectar from?!

Sometimes my appreciation for food goes no further than loving their typography :-). Popcornopolis, Universal City Walk.

LA's Farmer's Market in Hollywood was a great treat. A maze of food stalls with every cuisine you can imagine.

We opted for a taste of the deep south at Gumbo Pot. I filled my face with a Blackened Chicken Po’boy and a fresh Limeade from an adjoining stall.

If you want to read more about my travels you can do so here...Transatlantic Fantastic

Sunny lunch at Caravan

The sun was shining so we decided to head to Caravan on Exmouth Market, it is one of the few places with seating outside in the area around work where you can eat.

It took ages to decide, so we supped on the yummy house white wine whilst we had a little think about it. Myself and a vegetarian friend decided to go for 4 smaller plates and a side to share. This mini feast included grilled asparagus with a decent sprinkling of salt, cheese filled aracini with a tomatoey dip - the cheese just oozed out, crispy tofu with beansprouts and a vietnamese sauce, a pickled mushroom amd watercress salad and a goats cheese pancake. Everything was amazing and only an hour later I want to go back and try more!

In the background of the second picture was a large plate of wagyu beef my other friend had with duck fat roasted potatoes - even though the size seemed small she was satisfied with the taste by the end of the meal and full enough to head back to work.

Lemon Drizzle Birthday Cake

After quite a meat filled couple of days we decided to cook a huge vegetarian chilli con carne for friends who were coming to watch the England Euro 2012 game (which turned out to be the country's last in this competition) and for dessert a lemon drizzle cake for the boyfriends birthday.

I used a recipe my nan has always used which I think may be from a very old Mary Berry cookbook, with the addition of making it in to two cakes and layering with lemon curd and fresh whipped cream in the middle. The recipe makes enough for two 23cm cakes, just half the ingredients if you want one single layer cake or 12 cupcakes. 

Lemon Drizzle Cake


Ingredients

For the cakes:
• 12oz self raising flour
• 8oz soft margarine
• 8oz sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 8 tbsp milk
• 2 lemons - rind grated

For the filling:
• Lemon curd
• 200ml Fresh whipping cream

For the topping:
• 4oz sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon

Method

• Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/160 degrees Celsius. Line and grease 2x 23cm springform cake tins.
• Combine all the ingredients for the cakes and whisk, add a little extra milk if the mixture is stiff.
• Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Check after the time and if springy to the touch or a skewer comes out clean remove from the oven, if not give another 5-10 minutes. When cooked remove from the oven and tins and leave to cool on a cooling rack.
• Whip the cream until stiff.
• When the cakes are cooked, spread the bottom one with a think layer of lemon curd, then with the whipped cream and top with the other cake.
• Mix together the sugar and lemon juice for the topping, make little holes using a skewer or a knife in the top of the cake and pour over the lemon and sugar mixture.
• Eat immediately, but if you can't it is best kept in the fridge if it is hot due to the cream melting.

NB: If making cupcakes, half the mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Once cooked and cooled cut a circle out of the top of each cake, fill the cake with a little lemon curd and whipped cream and place the cut out section of cake back on top like a top hat.

Hawkesmoor - More meat please

As Mat's birthday weekend continued we went for out for a real treat to somewhere that is reputed to have the best steak in London. Hawkesmoor now has three restaurants around London and we headed to the one in Covent Garden, as it makes a change going out in central London. As we stepped out of the tube we remembered why - tourists everywhere, blocking the pavement so we hurried straight to the restaurant and as soon as we walked in and the heavy wood doors closed behind us I felt like we were transported to a bar in old school New York. Oak panelling, dark lighting, exposed brick walls and glass desk lamps, the place is buzzing but in a very relaxed way that makes you feel you are in an episode of Mad Men.

We skipped the bar and went straight to our table as we were starving and this is the same reason we skipped a starter. We are not very knowledgable about red wine (apart from Malbec, we know we like that) so are usually guided by price, which is one of the great things about Hawkesmoor they wines start at a reasonable £20. We went for a Rioja, priced at £25 it was lovely not amazing but very easy to drink. I did love the flying pig on the label though.

Our waitress was very helpful and went through the different types of steaks we could have, either to share or separately and explained that if you go for one to share you pick a weight from on the blackboards dotted around the room and they then mark it as being sold, a really nice touch. We went for the porterhouse steak at 900g to share, and cooked medium rare as recommended. About 150g is bone and the cut includes fillet and short-loin. It arrives cut from the bone and already sliced in a metal skillet with the bone place on top (incase you want to go all cave man and get off every last piece of meat). It was amazing, one of the best steaks ever. I think I was expected slightly more meat but with all the sides we had we were stuffed.

The sides were in season asparagus, irony creamed spinach and beef dripping cooked chips, which were crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy inside, again some of the tastiest chips I have had in a while. For me, the star was the roasted bone marrow, a gluttonous treat but it just brought out the flavour of the steaks. Oh, and don't forget the sauces - a classic peppercorn and a Stilton hollandaise, both great but for different reasons, the slight spice of the pepper and the creamy kick of Stilton, my mouth waters thinking of it.

Then on to the desserts, I was surprised by how great these were for a place that specialises in meat and those things savoury. They choice was pimped up classics - sticky toffee puddings, crumbles and sundaes. I went for the peanut butter shortbread with salted caramel ice cream, two of my favourites things (the excitement was almost too much tom bear), it was more delicious than I imagined it to be. The shortbread was swirled with soft crunchy peanut butter, which didn't taste like shop brought stuff either and served warm with ice cream on top. Salted caramel may be my new favourite thing. Mat went for the sticky toffee sundae, we he seemed to enjoy immensely as we both went very quiet for this part of the meal as we got stuck in.

It was a great meal but a bit pricey than I thought it would be. Definitely worth it but only as a special treat.