As you can see, I did a bit of a roundtrip in Scotland recently and tried wonderful places.
So, I came across Jamie Oliver's Glasgow restaurant and gave it a try.
It was incredibly busy which is not suprising as everyone wants a piece of Jamie, or at least his cuisine.
The waiters were friendly, the restaurant was beautifully decorated. I ordered squid as a starter with a garlic mayonnaise and the tagliatelle with truffels.
WHen the squid arrived, about half of them were over-fried and dark brown and very, very crisp. Some might like that but for me, the reason why I order seafood is to enjoy the delicate flavor and not the burned oil on it.
The mayonnaise was quite tasty.
My main was ok, the tagliatelle were cooked al dente and there were truffels on the dish, but I had to order parmesan twice, which to my surprise I was not allowed to hold on to but only was served with it. I felt the dish had no base, a vine cream sauce would have been a good foundation for this simple dish which would have been spicked up by truffel oil and some truffels on top. Unfortunately, there was neither truffel oil nor while wine to taste, the dish simply had no sauce holding it together. The parmesan did that for me in the end.
As a dessert, I ordered a brownie with raspberry and vanilly ice scream which was delicious. Dark chocolate and raspberries gave it a wonderful fresh twist.
Overall, not a Jamie-worthy experience but a nice restaurant to go to without too many expectations. But after all, Jamie can't cook everywhere.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Nico Restaurant in Inverness - Scotland
My family has brought forth many great cooks, so I believe I am quite spoilt when it comes to taste, especially with dishes that were signatures to my family cooks.
I recently went to Inverness in Scotland, a beautiful little town with bouncy bridges, tattoos walking through the streets and a river with a standing wave, and while being there went to Nico's.
It is a small enough restaurant that also functions at the hotel's restaurant where it is located. As we had not reserved, we were asked to wait in the bar next door which was decorated with old couches and kettles and horse riding equipment on the walls. We had the menu brought over by the waiter to use the time to select a starter and a main dish which was served as soon as we got the table.
The starter, scallops on a bed of risotto with black pudding and crispy bacon was well arranged and a good size for a starter. The scallops literally melted in my mouth like butter and gave a great contrast to the peppery black pudding (which might have been a bit too peppery for some).
The main was a venisson with celeriac puree and a caramelized apple and also black pudding which seems to be a Scottish must have with every dinner. It was devine. The venisson was cooked perfectly to leave a pink center and melted on the tongue, paired with the caramelized apple and the puree it formed a wonderful combination in my mouth that almost convinced me that I had room enough in my stomach for ordering this superb dish once more.
Nico's restaurant is a must-go in Inverness, the only disappointing thing was that I was too full to enjoy their desserts.
I recently went to Inverness in Scotland, a beautiful little town with bouncy bridges, tattoos walking through the streets and a river with a standing wave, and while being there went to Nico's.
It is a small enough restaurant that also functions at the hotel's restaurant where it is located. As we had not reserved, we were asked to wait in the bar next door which was decorated with old couches and kettles and horse riding equipment on the walls. We had the menu brought over by the waiter to use the time to select a starter and a main dish which was served as soon as we got the table.
The starter, scallops on a bed of risotto with black pudding and crispy bacon was well arranged and a good size for a starter. The scallops literally melted in my mouth like butter and gave a great contrast to the peppery black pudding (which might have been a bit too peppery for some).
The main was a venisson with celeriac puree and a caramelized apple and also black pudding which seems to be a Scottish must have with every dinner. It was devine. The venisson was cooked perfectly to leave a pink center and melted on the tongue, paired with the caramelized apple and the puree it formed a wonderful combination in my mouth that almost convinced me that I had room enough in my stomach for ordering this superb dish once more.
Nico's restaurant is a must-go in Inverness, the only disappointing thing was that I was too full to enjoy their desserts.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
When there is no parmesan in your fridge...
Recently, I made a little pasta dish with lots of garlic and diced ham, oil and rosemary and wanted to top it off with parmesan but found none in my fridge.
An easy thing to do it do use toast, pulsed in a food processor and drizzled over the dish like parmesan.
It will soak up the flavors and give the dish a crunch.
Enjoy.
An easy thing to do it do use toast, pulsed in a food processor and drizzled over the dish like parmesan.
It will soak up the flavors and give the dish a crunch.
Enjoy.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Fleur du Sel
I believe that you should always go for the best in life, even in the small things.
I came across fleur du sel and the difference to normal salt is amazing. Fleur du sel is hand-picked at the Salines, the salt mines in France and other countries, it is only the best, clearest, biggest salt crystals on top of the salt mountains and it tastes delicious.
The taste of fleur du sel is much more mineral, less acidy and beautiful to eat by itself.
Try French versions of the goldest of the old gold of the world.
I came across fleur du sel and the difference to normal salt is amazing. Fleur du sel is hand-picked at the Salines, the salt mines in France and other countries, it is only the best, clearest, biggest salt crystals on top of the salt mountains and it tastes delicious.
The taste of fleur du sel is much more mineral, less acidy and beautiful to eat by itself.
Try French versions of the goldest of the old gold of the world.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Berry Crumble
Today I made a delicious and very easy berry crumble which will make you day and only takes 30 min all together.
Incredients:
3 cups of berries such as blueberries, rasperries, strawberries, anything you like
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cups each sugar and oats
1/3 cup butter
lemon juice
salt
cinnemon
Mix the berries with 6 tsp flour and 3 tsp sugar and a splash of lemon juice and put into baking form.
Mix rest of flour, sugar, oats together with the butter, tsp of cinnemon and salt and kneed it until it becomes crumbly.
Drizzle over the berries and bake at 180 degrees until it is golden and serve with vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
Incredients:
3 cups of berries such as blueberries, rasperries, strawberries, anything you like
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cups each sugar and oats
1/3 cup butter
lemon juice
salt
cinnemon
Mix the berries with 6 tsp flour and 3 tsp sugar and a splash of lemon juice and put into baking form.
Mix rest of flour, sugar, oats together with the butter, tsp of cinnemon and salt and kneed it until it becomes crumbly.
Drizzle over the berries and bake at 180 degrees until it is golden and serve with vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Cheddar Fries Dallas style
I went to the US last week and had a wonderful time there, the food and service industry is amazing over there. Here in Germany, where I live, you have to beg a waiter or a shop assistance for attention.
While I was in Dallas, my friend Michelle introduced me to one of the 'will give you a heart attack but oh so delicious' local dishes, cheddar fries.
If your heart feels healthy enough, you can make them as follows:
Cut your potatos with skin on in regular fries shapes
Deep fry them at 350 for about 4 minutes
Layer them in a casserole dish with lots of shredded cheddar cheese in between and drizzle bacon and jalapenos on top
Bake for 3 minutes at 350 and serve hot with Ranch sauce
While I was in Dallas, my friend Michelle introduced me to one of the 'will give you a heart attack but oh so delicious' local dishes, cheddar fries.
If your heart feels healthy enough, you can make them as follows:
Cut your potatos with skin on in regular fries shapes
Deep fry them at 350 for about 4 minutes
Layer them in a casserole dish with lots of shredded cheddar cheese in between and drizzle bacon and jalapenos on top
Bake for 3 minutes at 350 and serve hot with Ranch sauce
Low-fat Tiramisu
Whenever I feel a bit down and in need for a healthy-as-possible option for a chocolaty treat, Tiramisu is my favorite.
Tiramisu is Italian for 'pick me up' and I found a great low-fat version on the www.channel4.com website. My personal add-on tip, try fresh fruit such as blueberries or strawberries.
Takes 15 minutes to make, plus chilling
* 8 trifle sponges, about 180g
* 1 tbsp instant espresso coffee powder
* 2 tbsp Tia Maria
* 2 x 250g tubs quark (virtually fat-free soft cheese)
* 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 2 tsp good-quality cocoa powder
* 18 mixed chocolate-covered coffee beans, chopped to serve
Nutritional Information
Per serving
416 kcals
7.6g fat (4.3g saturated)
22.8g protein
61.8g carbs
49.8g sugar
0.3g salt
Tiramisu is Italian for 'pick me up' and I found a great low-fat version on the www.channel4.com website. My personal add-on tip, try fresh fruit such as blueberries or strawberries.
courtesy of www.channel4.com
Serves 4Takes 15 minutes to make, plus chilling
* 8 trifle sponges, about 180g
* 1 tbsp instant espresso coffee powder
* 2 tbsp Tia Maria
* 2 x 250g tubs quark (virtually fat-free soft cheese)
* 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 2 tsp good-quality cocoa powder
* 18 mixed chocolate-covered coffee beans, chopped to serve
Nutritional Information
Per serving
416 kcals
7.6g fat (4.3g saturated)
22.8g protein
61.8g carbs
49.8g sugar
0.3g salt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
