Month: February 2011

This time I made it without tomato paste or red peppers.  There was no actual cream, but I did use crème fraiche and a little cornflour.  Otherwise it was very like my peppery tomato seafood stew, but white instead of red.  Again I used king prawns, mussels, squid, scallops,...

It’s quite some time since I was there, but a visiting friend suggested it as a lunch rendezvous.  It’s as good as ever.  We began with Bohigas brut cava while we deliberated, then I ordered char-grilled salmon steak with teriyaki sauce and seafood tempura, including prawns, scallops and squid. ...

This was a Chilean Casablanca Valley pinot noir at 13.5 percent, and was agreeably good.  I found myself wondering if the Chileans are planning to take on the New Zealanders with quality pinot noirs?  I saw some tasting notes on this that suggested the flavour of tulips.  Since I...

I used leftover seafood which included king prawns, squid, scallops, mussels, smoked haddock pieces, cod pieces and mackerel pieces.  I cooked these lightly in half a pint of fish stock from a cube, then added tomato paste from a jar of Sainsbury’s basics pasta sauce.  I put a few...

The only unusual feature was that I had the poached salmon hot, but with a cold salad.  It was not done for any other reason than that I didn’t have time to let the salmon cool.  I microwaved it wrapped in film for about a minute, then served it...

There were three of us for dinner in the East India Club.  One feature of the club is that it usually has plenty of young people around.  There is a special J7 membership for youngsters from Britain’s leading schools.  The Club offers 7 years of membership, usually from 18...

Went to have a few drinks with a friend, started with gin and tonic while the champagne chilled in the fridge and then drank the champagne as the Margaux breathed. It was a good little catch-up, cigars and G&T with Human Planet on in the background, discussed a whole...

Wanting to eat fairly quickly ahead of an event in Oxford, we popped into Ask in George Street.  The first two items I ordered were unavailable, so I settled for the Terrina Mediterranea.  It is described as a “hearty casserole of chicken breast and king prawns, baked in a...

Following my unfortunate encounter with Sainsbury’s ‘Basics’ sausages, I felt like some real ones.  Lunching at the Old Monk’s Exchange in Strutton Ground, next door to the pub where the Goon Show cast used to hang out, I chose the sausages and mash.  They were good pork sausages, which...

The red neon lights and the decorative dragon above the front portico attracted us.  The trolleys which marked their all-day dim sum now stop at 6pm, but after that there is a laminated menu with pictures of the various dumpling dishes you might want to order.  We went for...