Afternoon Tea at the Chestefield Hotel, Mayfair.

The Art of Tea

Traditional British Afternoon Tea seems to be a dying dining form in London as I discovered on my search for a truly authentic experience for one of my French students. Now I'm not talking about the Ritz or Claridges' which do exquisite teas; but we were looking for something more traditional, less fussy, more understated yet elegant.  The Chesterfield Hotel was exactly what we wanted. It started from the telephone booking  - friendly and professional. Arriving at the hotel we received greetings from everyone we encountered before being welcomed like long lost family by Loris Luchinni, their award winning Restaurant Manager. After settling into the lovely conservatory, a superb afternoon of delights unfolded.

A tray of delights!

Scones with clotted cream and strawberry conserves.
Now, this is what scones should taste like.  Everyone talks about how easy scones are to make, but most I've tasted in and around London turn into yeasty dough balls in your mouth.  These, on the other hand,  were delightfully fresh and  delicately flavoured with a spice - nutmeg maybe?

Delicious finger sandwiches of Scottish Salmon, ham and cheese, cucumber and butter, and coronation chicken with toasted nuts. This last one was amazing!

All of this was washed down with the Afternoon Blend tea (Assam and  Ceylon tea) for my student and a flowering Jasmine and Orange Lily tea for me.

Yummy, but we could not eat the entire lot. So...

We got a doggy bag ( my student thought my sons would love these - and they did!). The lovely restaurant staff boxed up our leftovers and added the red carnation! Now how's that for a doggy bag?

This hotel has won  awards for its Afternoon Tea  for three years now and after today's experience, I can say they truly deserve it! We had an absolutely fabulous Tea; excellent, warm and friendly service; and it is so nice to see people who understand that service is an art form and are striving to be at the top of their game. If I ever get a banker's bonus, I would certainly leave them a huge tip!!

Thanks to my student for this treat, and our compliments and thanks to Loris and his excellent team!

Eat the World Fusion: Cyprus & the Middle East

This meal was inspired by recipes in The Guardian Newspaper by one of London's hottest Chefs, Yottam Ottolenghi. Check him out here http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/. I haven't gotten his cook book yet, but  have enough of his recipes to experiment with. This dish is not based on any one recipe in particular; I simply threw things together and was glad when it all turned out rather well.

Griddled Halloumi, Courgette, and Sun Dried Tomato and  Pomegranate Salad

Key ingredients: Slices of Cypriot Halloumi cheese and oval shaped courgette slices fried in a bit of olive oil on a stove-top griddle. Use the small amount of liquid left in the pan to make a dressing by adding a splash of balsamic vinegar. Toss cheese and courgettes with sundried tomatoes from your local deli, sprinkle with black pepper, fresh rocket and pomegranite seeds. Ottolenghi uses pomegranate molasses in his salads but I have not gotten a supply of this yet! Until then, this is still delightful combination.

Peri Peri Spatchcock Chicken

The chicken is a large one, splayed open spatchcock or butterfly style, seasoned and marinated overnight in pepper, paprika, garlic, Season Salt and peri peri powder and then grilled in the oven. 

Couscous with dried tomatoes and red onions and cumin

Couscous is a great substitute for rice, potatoes or pasta. It can be mixed with a range of herbs and spices to match the theme of your meal. In this case, I continue the Middle Eastern/Mediterranean fusion by adding bits of sun-dried tomatoes, red onions and cumin.

Happy Valentines Day with Chocolate Truffles

With Valentines' Day approaching, what appropriate way to prepare than for  me to learn how to make chocolate truffles. So off I went with my friend Anna to a Masterclass led by one of the chefs from Chocolate Boutique Hotel. Jerry was informative, funny  and entertaining and able to give us some basic skills in an hour and a half. Some new (for me) facts about chocolate he imparted:

1. It is a fruit - so eat dark chocolate as one of your five a day!

2. A bit of dark chocolate and a glass of Merlot a day will cut your chances of having a heart attack.

3. Three of the best chocolates in the world are: Valrhona, Francois Pralus and Michel Cluizel. We sampled them and they are definitely worth tracking down. I warn you, once you taste them you won't want to eat an ordinary chocolate bar again!

Here are the sweet results of our chocolate making efforts. Watch this space for repeat attempts!

Maine Maple Syrup and French Toast

Maine, USA

We often spend summers in a small quiet town in Maine, far away from the hustle and bustle of London. Apart from trekking in the woods, canoeing on the lakes, swimming in the sea, watching the loons on the lake or wild turkeys in the garden, we get to eat really fresh homegrown food. OK, I watch the loons and wild turkeys while the boys do those other strenuous activities! 

I do collect wildflowers and paint while I'm there. 

And of course, I eat!

French Toast with Maine Maple Syrup

My lovely mother-in-law sent her two grandsons each a bottle of fresh Maine Syrup as a Christmas surprise and to brighten up a cold January London day, I made them French toast to go with it. Thanks Nana!


Maine Maple Syrup

So, I cracked some sunny eggs!

Made the French Toast. Why is it called French Toast?

Sprinkle with cinnamon if you like, but I like it with the Maple Syrup-  lots of it and sometimes add pecans and sliced bananas!

                                                                             
                     
Scramble the remaining egg batter.

 A real Maniac Breakfast!

 Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Maine

England again!   


This is a quick and easy meal for a cold winter's night! 

Bangers and Mash

Bangers

Bangers are what we Brits call sausages and mash, of course, is mashed potatoes. There are over  over 400 types of bangers in the UK, differentiated by the meats (pork, beef, venison, lamb etc), seasonings and other ingredients used to form them. 90% of us eat them almost weekly for breakfast, lunch or dinner and the industry is worth over £659 million per year. Make sure you get good quality bangers!

Bangers used here are Pork and Leek, Scottish Beef and Black Pepper and Chipolatas

Mash

Mashed Potatoes can be plain but in this dish I added English Cheddar Cheese and Chives

English Cheddar Cheese

An easy trick is to grill the sausages for half the cooking time then place them on top of the aubergines (eggplant), sweet peppers, courgettes (zucchini)  red onions, rosemary and coarse black pepper and roast the lot in the oven until the sausages are finally cooked.

Make your favourite brown gravy using some of the sausage and vegetable dripping,
garnish with  fresh basil. If you're in England, you could cheat and use Bisto Caramelized Onion Gravy and add a dash of red wine!

England Roast Lamb

England

Flag of England

From this green and pleasant land that is England spring more tasty eats than the country is given credit for.  One such delicacy is its lamb, which is best roasted with  onions or shallots, garlic, coarse black pepper and half a bottle of red wine. For me the trick was not to overcook it. Follow the cooking time on the store label or ask your butcher.

English Lamb roasted in red wine and shallots

Served with Yorkshire Puddings, Roast Potatoes and tender stem broccoli

Yorkshire Pudding originates in the town of the same name located in  the North of England and is made with a batter and served with all types of roast meat and gravy.

Roast King Edward Potatoes 

There are over 80 varieties of potatoes grown commercially in Britain, but not all are good for roasting. We like these as they come out crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. They are tasty and 'moreish'.

This is a typical Sunday Roast dinner in England but we love it anytime!

For dessert, I made a Rhubarb, Apple and Ginger Crumble -  easy and delicious served with Green and Black's Vanilla Ice Cream!

Some cultural symbols of England!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Symbols_of_England.png

Polish Kielbasa

Polish Flag

Poland  

Poland is on my list of places to visit, having met so many wonderful people from there. My friend Maya has promised to take me to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, the Kraków Cathedral where Karol Józef Wojtyła presided before assuming his lofty position as Pope John Paul II and the museum dedicated to the great 
composer, Chopin. One place I also hope to go to is the Radio Cafe in Kraków, owned by a friend of the family where no doubt I would be able to sample some authentic Polish fare. Until then, I have to settle for what we find here in London. 

Kielbasa and Cabbage

One of the best things about London is the variety of authentic foods from everywhere. My son loves 

Kielbasa, (sausages) and Pierogi (dumplings) and often picks up his own supplies on the way home from school and brings his spoils home for much obliging Mom to prepare. Fortunately, it is an easy and very tasty dish that can be whipped up in minutes!

Kielbasa (Polish Sausage) with Cabbage

Main ingredients: Kielbasa (sausages), cabbage, red onions, shallots and crushed garlic cloves, salt pepper, paprika and a little olive oil to saute ingredients.

I cut the sausages on an angle to fry them quickly with very little oil on in a nonstick pan.

 These are Pierogi, Polish dumplings which can be brought fresh at our local Polish shop. They are tossed into boiling water for a few minutes and served with dill and sour cream.

For hungry young men, roast potatoes seasoned with dill hits the spot!

Paprika adds a little zest to the dish!

And, for  grown-ups only, a splash of Polish Vodka will 'cut the grease', as they say in some parts.

Na zdrowie!