Saturday 30 June 2012

A Sophisticated Supper in Berlin

Octopus carpaccio

So there I was minding my own business, when I was invited to dinner in Germany's capital city. I thought about it for all of two seconds, packed my bag and was out the door before you could say "ich bin ein Berliner"!

In the upmarket Gendarmenmarkt area, we sat down in a chic and discreet environment, with a well stocked bar and modern jazz playing unintrusively in the background.

After a pick-me-up martini (shaken, not stirred - naturally), we felt brave enough to be adventurous with our starters.

The warm, wafer-thin octopus carpaccio was dressed with linseed oil, ever so slightly spiced curry emulsion and was accompanied finely shaved asparagus. Topped with a translucent seeded white chocolate bar, this was really indulgence at its finest. When you didn't think about the fact that this was essentially raw octopus, it was absolutely delicious, with no tentacles to distract you from the perfectly balanced delicate flavours. 
Peppered raw tuna

Fresh (read "raw") was the name of the game as we were also served a beautifully presented and meaty peppered raw tuna with a lemon grass risotto salad on a tapenade of apricots and red onions. 
Veal breast
Moving languidly and indulgently on, the best main course we tried was the breast of veal, braised in oriental spices with fried octopus and chanterelle  kohlrabi lasagne. The veal wasn't tough but definitely solid enough to let you know it was probably going to give you all the protein you needed for a week while the elegant mushrooms and crispy octopus tentacles (wonder if they came off my starter? Admirably cost-effective if they did...) reminded you that this was haute  - or rather, hoch - cuisine.

Cremes brulees

Dessert is always one of those dishes that I both adore and dread; I adore it because I love sweetness; I dread it because it's like approaching the end of a good book. I've enjoyed it so much that I'll be sorry when it's over and dessert is the herald of the end of the meal, rather like Poirot gathering all the protagonists together to reveal who the murderer was. But I digress...
Chocolate mousse & ginger tea
We couldn't choose between a trilogy of luxuriously creamy cremes brulees and the less traditional iced ginger and fruit tea with orange chocolate mousse and tobacco flavoured ice cream. So naturally, we had both!

And - in keeping with the overall direction of the meal - the more unusual dessert was our favourite. The mousse was light and airy, sitting in a edible cup of tempered chocolate topped by a kumquat. The ginger tea was strangely compelling, pleasantly burning at the back of your throat long after it had gone. For me, the only mild disappointment was that tobacco ice cream is indistinguishably similar to vanilla ice cream. It matched the dish and was a welcoming cooling influence on the ginger tea and I suppose if they had just advertised it as vanilla, I would have been more than happy.

If you're ever in Berlin and want to have a sophisticated evening out, I do recommend La Gendarmerie (http://www.gendarmerie-berlin.com/)

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Review of Death Bed by Leigh Russell

I must say: I've been a bit of a fan of Leigh Russell for a few years and the blurb on Amazon really says it all: after she burst onto the crime thriller scene with Cut Short in 2009, which was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger Award for Best First Novel, Leigh Russell has gone from strength to strength. Her follow-up novel Road Closed was published in 2010 and also featured the policewoman heroine Geraldine Steel. Leigh Russell continued the series with Dead End in 2011 and Geraldine Steel became the number one bestelling female sleuth on Amazon Kindle.

As a result, I couldn't resist reviewing Death Bed, the fourth in the Geraldine Steel series, which was released recently, also published by No Exit Press.

With Geraldine still seemingly unlucky in love - there's still no man on the horizon - and her relationship with her sister still awkward after she learned she was adopted, she buckles down to work, hunting for an apparent serial killer with a gruesome fetish.

Set in London with scenic descriptions that evidence the painstaking research of a literary perfectionist, Death Bed starts with the abduction of a girl who's just been out for a night with her friends and is a little the worse for wear. So far, so good - especially when you think about the number of times you've been in that position yourself... and the man who offers to take her home shows her his police identity badge so surely she's safe to accept... But is he really a policeman? And even if he is, does that make him exempt from evil? And more significantly, is it possible to live forever?

An innovative and refreshing take on the psychological thriller, with a strong female heroine who is struggling - just like everyone else - to balance her work and her personal life and muddle through, knowing all the time that every decision she makes could mean life or death.







Learn more about Leigh Russell at www.leighrussell.co.uk or at  www.youtube.com/leighrussellauthor

Sunday 24 June 2012

Taste of London - To The End...

After attending this event for the first time ever on Thursday, it says a lot that I returned again on Sunday, the last day, happily humming Food! Glorious Food! under my breath as I squelched through the mud of Regents Park in London.

Could the last day possibly live up to the first (see blog post below)? In a word, yes.

Stuffed courgette flower (Opera Tavern)
A few days ago, I was intent on sampling as many Michelin starred dishes as possible; the event is so big that I just hadn't been able to try everything I wanted. This time, I determined to explore more of the event.

I sat in on a couple of cookery demonstrations and learned some interesting factoids; for example, did you know that the wok was introduced to Thailand from China, or that chilli is not native to Thai cuisine but was introduced by Portguese settlers around 450 years ago? (Thank you Blue Elephant for that information)

Snail croquettes (The Savoy)
Or what about the fact that the best wasabi is grated on shark skin and that if wasabi is bright green, it's poor quality and made mostly of raddish and food colouring? (Thank you Wabi team for those insights)

But back to the food: I was thrilled to find Opera Tavern as I'd wanted to eat their courgette flower stuffed with warm goat's cheese and drizzled with honey earlier in the week, but hadn't had time. And what a stunning dish! The courgette stalk straggled the gap between between al dente and soft with ease and the flower oozed with salty goat's cheese, brought back into balance by the fine clear honey. A dish that was at the same time a starter and a dessert, and yet neither, I cannot place it but I cannot fault it for that; some flavour combination defy definition, and need to be accepted as such.  

Steak (Gaucho)

However, today, the Savoy River Restaurant really shone for me. The crisp-coated snail croquettes oozing with parsley sauce were rich and indulgent and have made me an unswayable fan. Snails are never straight-forward: if they are not well prepared, they can be gritty; and if they are not well cooked, they can be tough and bouncy. These were as perfect as I have ever tasted, and I used to live in France, the snail capital of the culinary world.

Lindt chocolatier
Although this was my dish of the day, for a solid hunk of meat, I need to give another shout out to the Gaucho team, whose infectious high spirits added to the eating experience. Their steak was tender, succulent and perfectly pink inside and the char grill really made this a wonderful caveman dish, elevated by the humita cake and smoked garlic hollandaise.

Chocolate Fondant
(British Airways)
This was also a day for desserts. I couldn't resist the most chocolate-y of chocolate fondants prepared by Simon Hulstone and the British Airways team. Surrounded by candied hazelnuts, digging into it revealed a salted caramel sauce that flowed shamelessly from the core and really saved the dish from being too rich.

I had heard that by the end of the event, Taste of London can seem to run out steam: after four days, the people working there are understandably tired. But I saw no evidence of that. There was dancing and music at every turn, laughter and even a game of ping pong in one of the bar tents.

If you didn't come to Taste of London 2012, all I can say is: you missed out. This is a joyful, inclusive and friendly event, suitable for even the most amateur gastronome. I can't wait till next year.

Blue Elephant cooking demonstration
Malaysian carved melon display
Brazilian dancers and samba band



Saturday 23 June 2012

Making Flavoured Oils - Step One


Inspired by Soup Tuesday (twitter: @souptuesday), I recently decided to use my herb garden. It's sat dormant all winter (and let's be fair, we've not really had a spring and I'm not even convinced it's summer yet...)

So I did a little check of what's there and I have two types of mint (peppermint and Indian mint), oodles of sage and a little thyme, as well as lavender and garlic.



Just goes to show: the mint is basically indestructible: I can't tell you how little I tend my herbs but they never die - if anything I have to restrain them as they would take over the world if they could. That's why they are in their own separate pot. I tried putting mint in with other stuff in the good old days when I was innocent and naive and it just totally took over.

So... I cut some sage and thyme and took some garlic out and put them (separately) in three airtight glass bottles I'd bought (at Hobbycraft!) and poured in some good quality olive oil. My friend @souptuesday tells me that in about a month they should be good to go so I will let you know if my experiment has worked in a few weeks time!

In case you were wondering, sage is on the left, thyme in the middle and garlic on the right. Interesting how the sage almost looks like it's in suspended animation...



Thursday 21 June 2012

Taste of London - Day One

 
Michel Roux Jr signs books at Le Gavroche stand (top) while
dancers entertain the crowds at Taste of Thai (bottom) 

I hold my hands up: until today, I was a Taste of London virgin. I had never before experienced the hustle and bustle of this celebration of world-class cuisine at Regents Park in London.

And I must admit: I was a fool for not attending sooner.

From the relaxed, sociable atmosphere to the world renowned chefs happily mixing with the visitors and not forgetting the unbelievable food, this is truly an event for every foodie out there.


Chicken tikka pie with spiced
wild berry compote (Benares)
And what a range of food there was! From the comforting stodge of light, creamy mash unusually but expertly combined with spicy chicken tikka and spiced wild berry compote offered by Benares (and trust me, the photo doesn't do justice to the depth of flavour and sheer joy of this dish) to the fresh, warm grilled octopus and chorizo salad of Bar Boulud, there really was something for every taste.
Poulpe roti: grilled octopus, carpaccio
& iberian chorizo salad (Bar Boulud)


Of course, there were the obligatory "wacky" dishes such as confit duck with popcorn by Club Gascon. Our consensus was that the duck was beautifully cooked but we just couldn't understand the use of the popcorn. What purpose did it serve, except to evidence the creativity and "blue sky thinking" of the chef? The dish was no less enjoyable for that, however, and the home-made ketchup that accompanied it was wonderfully spiced.


Mexican doughnuts (Asia de Cuba)
My stand-out dish of the day, however, was the dessert offering by Asia de Cuba: light and fluffy Mexican doughnuts made with sweet brioche, smothered in cinnamon sugar and plumped full with butterscotch sauce, accompanied by a mojito-flavoured sorbet that refreshed the palate.

All this without mentioning the free cocktails we enjoyed from Rocktails (deep passionfruit and pineapple fusion and elderflower and cucumber crush) and the awe-inspiring cooking demonstrations.

The people I met in the queue on the way in knowledgeably informed me that, from their experience over the last four years, Thursday and Sunday are the best days as everyone is fresh and enthusiastic at the start and there's lots of free giveaways on the last day as the exhibitors don't want to ship things back.

And guess what? I'm taking their advice. Taste of London - see you on Sunday!

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Review of Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I recently read two books by Veronica Roth. The first is Divergent, the sequel of which is called Insurgent. I thoroughly enjoyed both these books and a third is planned for release in late 2013. They are fast-paced, full of dilemnas and decisions under pressure and feature twists and turns at almost every page while making sure the reader remains gripped. Reminiscent of The Hunger Games trilogy, this collection is surely also due to be a modern classic.


Divergent is set in a  future where everyone grows up as a member of one of five "factions" or communities:
Amity - where people value friendliness
Dauntless - where people value courage
Erudite - where people value knowledge
Candor - where people value honesty
Abnegation - where people value selflessness

Together, the senior members of these factions govern the whole society and viewed by its members as balancing each other out perfectly.

When teenagers finish school, they take an aptitude test to determine which faction most suits them and they then have to choose whether to stay in the faction where their parents are and where they have spent their whole life so far, or whether to move to a new faction, about which they know only stereotypes and generalisations.

The story follows Beatrice Prior, whose aptitude test reveals that she is actually a sixth "type" known as Divergent. This means that she has more than dominant trait and would fit in well in a number of factions. However, Divergents are feared because they could upset the natural balance of this faction-ed society, and are thrown outside the city walls when they are found. She is able to conceal her divergence and chooses to move from Abnegation to Dauntless, to the shock of her family, and changes her name to Triss.

The Dauntless initiation tests are harsh and push her to her mental and physical limits. Anyone who fails is out and becomes factionless, which is seen as a fate worse than death.

She also falls in love with Four, another Dauntless member with a mysterious past...

Just as she's starting to settle in to her new life, one of the factions stages a coup to take over the government of the whole society in the most horrific way, throwing Triss' personal loyalties and feelings into question as she struggles to work out who she can trust and what she should do.

Insurgent picks up the story where Divergent left off - literally - so I have to stress that you need to read these in order or I don't think you will be able to follow. A lot of the situational detail is provided in the first book, and the second assumes that you already know some of the terminology and does not explain it again. For this reason, I also recommend that you read them both in quick succession, so that the information is all fresh in your mind.

Key Questions

Utopian or Dystopian?

I am still struggling with the question of whether these books are intended to describe a dystopian or utopian future. On the one hand, a society where everyone has and knows their place may be a wonderful thing. There would - theoretically - be a perfect balance of inputs and outputs based on aptitude, ability and needs. On the other hand, that's almost a communist ideal and we have seen in real life that that doesn't work. I think the author's perspective is that this is dystopian because such a balance between different factions cannot be maintained - initially it seems that one egomaniacal faction leader has gone insane and that this is the cause of the war, but at the end of Insurgent (the second book) we learn that there may have been good reason.

Does the means justify the end?

During the course of these books, our heroine - and she is clearly a heroine, albeit a troubled one (but doesn't that just make her more interesting?!) - has to act in ways that she sometimes questions: she lies, she kills people, she hurts those who love her. But she always justifies it to herself and therefore, to us, the readers. Whether we accept her explanation or not is another matter.

What would I be?

As a fun aside, I gave a little thought to which faction I would likely end up in. I think I'd probably be Erudite - and I mean that in the best possible way. You'll have to read the books to know what means!

Which faction do you think you would be?

Sunday 17 June 2012

The Father's Day Meal at Zizzi's


So... just got back from Father's Day lunch and here's my report on our meal at Zizzi's.
Firstly, it was in a beautiful setting, which I really think helps to set the mood.


We shared a starter, which was a vegetarian mezze platter, featuring a mixture of olives, aubergine, artichokes, mozzarella, dough sticks (which disappeared very fast!), sundried tomatoes and peppers, served on a beautiful wooden platter. It was all very fresh and tasty and the sharing element really added to the mood... although there was one piece of mozzarella left over but being Father's Day, there was really no debate about who got that...


Following this, my dad had a pasta dish with chicken, red pesto and creme fraiche, which he described, and I quote as "chicken heaven" - so a big thumbs up there! The waitress wasn't stingy with the grated parmesan either!


My mum had a lovely fresh - and ginormous! - vegetarian pizza with a thin, crusty base and lashings of mozzarella and green pesto. 


Meanwhile I opted to create my own meal and ordered off the menu for penne (my favourite type of pasta because it allows the accompanying sauce to really invade it) with green pesto (really, should there be any other type?) that was bursting with crushed pine nuts and garlic - beautiful! I also added pancetta, mushrooms (one of my favourites - more on that later!) and green beans, which were perfectly al dente.


A quick note on dessert: frankly we were all too stuffed from the first and main courses to even contemplate dessert but we did manage to force down a lemon tart which was tangy and sweet along with a capuccino in the cleverest cup I've ever seen - easy to handle as you were insulated from the heat but pretty enough to show the drink itself.



Finally, I think Zizzi needs to be complimented on their recent efforts - they have clearly invested in refreshing their menu and training their staff and are also keen to share their other activities with their customers, such as searching for new talent in music as well as cuisine, which gives us an interesting, well-rounded eating experience. 

The First Post


I love reading books and I love eating and making food! Simple really! Join me as I explore both.

I live in London which gives me lots of opportunity to eat great food and find great books. I have always loved reading, even as a child. Now it's mostly a form of escapism - I tend to read things totally unrelated to my life, be they historical fiction, science fiction or psychological thrillers.

I've just finished reading the excellent Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth and I'll share my thoughts on those later, plus the gripping, tragic but ultimately inspirational Trafficked (author escapes me right now) - I'll also discuss that later.

In terms of food, I am a VERY amateur but enthusiastic cook. I try to cook healthy but fun stuff and my current project is using my herb garden to infuse olive oil - I just bottled it yesterday so there's three types that should be ready in about a month: garlic oil, sage oil and thyme oil. I will report in due course how that goes, and I'll add a picture later. I'm quite proud of myself :-)

That's it for now - off to a Father's Day lunch at Zizzi - love Italian (although Chinese is my favourite) and I will let you know what we all had and our thoughts later! Ciao ciao!