Medlar

 
During our last visit to London in November my partner and I were very fortunate to have a reservation at the Electrolux Cube with chef Tom Kerridge. We were only in London for one overnight stay but our train was not due to to leave for Liverpool till 4pm the next day so there was time to have lunch before leaving. I had heard very good things about Medlar, in fact I had not heard one bad thing about Medlar.

I liked the fact although Medlar has a Michelin star this was regarded amongst reviewers as a more relaxed affair without letting up on quality and standard.

Owners Joe Mercer Nairne & David O'Connor have a combined wealth of experience.
Joe Mercer Nairne has worked in some of the worlds finest kitchens from Carluccio's, the Savoy grill, Chez Bruce, as well as a stint down under in Sydney at Neil Perry's Rockpool .
David O'Connor, has managed front of house at three of the Nigel Platts - Martin restaurants, The Square, Chez Bruce and the Ledbury ..... and is a fellow Scouser !

Checking the menu on Medlar's website we were stunned to see the set menu priced at £30.00 per head, offering a massive choice per course. Not to mention the fantastic reviews from the likes of AA Gill, Giles Coren, Charles Campion, Jay Rayner to name a few.
We didn't waste another second in picking the phone up, Hurrah they had a table for 12.30pm.

From the outside Medlar has the casual look of a neighbourhood restaurant, inside is smart and stylish soft tones of greys and greens and crisp white table cloths. The service is warm and very professional,service went like clockwork. 


For my first course I chose Duck egg tart with red wine sauce,turnip puree, lardons and sauteed duck hearts. It was the most fantastic combination of flavours, A perfect fried duck egg sat on the thinnest sliver of pastry but there was a meaty element with the duck hearts and lardons, the sauce bringing a deep rich savoury element which brought everything together in a perfect balanced dish.

My partner chose Crab ravioli with samphire, brown shrimps, fondue of leeks and bisque sauce. I was assured that this was very tasty and she loved all the different textures in this dish. 

We both chose the same mains, Fillet and cheek of middle white pork with boudin noir, chestnuts, sprouts, sage and artichokes. Stunningly soft pork which just cut like butter and great crackling ! always a winner.

For my desert I chose Chocolate tart. This came with Pistachio ice cream which I like but there was another desert which had prune and armagnac and I fancied that. No problem for the kitchen this was swapped for my preferred choice, I was a very happy bunny.
I have to say this was one of the nicest chocolate tarts I have ever had and I have had a few !! The nicest surprise was it was warm, most are served cold. This made for a very light desert and the pastry was the thinnest pastry I have ever seen I cant begin to imagine how they managed to line the tin without it tearing.

My partner was so full she opted for the Clementine sorbet with almond nougatine. The verdict on this was divine but one scoop would have been enough as it was very tart. This is not a criticism it's fantastic that it had not been sweetened, just with something so tart a little goes along way.




























There's not many Michelin starred restaurants you can eat for such a reasonable price, this was an outstanding meal and one we would like to repeat again.

You can find Medlar at: 
438 Kings Road
Chelsea SW10 0LJ
020 7349 1900

Bubbledogs

I discovered Bubbledogs through Twitter.
Bubbledogs? an unusual name for... well anything !
People were raving about it I wanted to know more.

It turns out to be a restaurant serving hot dogs and champagne, really ?
I'm not a lover of hot dogs, if I fancy fast food which I often do it's generally a burger but never ever a hot dog.
It's always had a bad reputation, true or urban myth word on the street has always been they only contain around 30% meat the rest being inedible bits of animals and rusk, they look so unappetising too. Orange sausages standing bolt upright in jars of briney water sat the supermarket shelf, Yuk.
So a trending eatery or not this was was an easy one for me to pass or was it ?

A couple of weeks ago whilst driving home from work I was listening a radio 4 food programme, the subject was "rethinking the hot dog" presented by Tom Parker Bowles.
Radio was cranked up, I found it a fascinating piece. You can listen to it Here.

After listening to the programme my interest was high. Who would have thought a proper hot dog was so far removed from what I knew. During the podcast you can hear Tom biting in and describing eating one of the Gourmet dogs at Bubbledogs, it just sounded so good, this sealed the deal.
Bubbledogs was now on the hit list during our trip to London.

We had a reservation at the Electrolux cube on The Saturday evening so a dog and glass of Champers seemed the perfect Saturday lunch, not too much as to spoil our appetite but enough to stave off the hunger.























Bubbledogs
The brainchild of Husband and wife team James Knappett and Sandia Chang. between them both they hold an impressive CV in the industry, working at some of the most exiting restaurants in the world. James Knappett Chef and co-owner was head chef for Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, and Sous-chef at the Ledbury not to mention Per Se New york and Copenhagen's Noma... Yes the very same Noma that served live ants to diners at Claridges! whilst Sandie Chang was sommelier at Roganic.

But Bubbledogs is not all it seems! whilst the front of house has a very rustic wine bar look and feel to it, with its bare brick and exposed metal pipe work, there is a secret fine dining twist at the back. Hidden behind heavy leather curtains is a 19 seater fine dining restaurant called Kitchen Table, this is essentially a chefs table where James gets to show diners what he's made of serving up a tasting menu.

Sandia Chang said Bubbledogs was part inspired by a hot dog joint in new York's east village called Crif Dogs. A quick Google search of Crif Dogs revealed it has a secret speakeasy cocktail lounge attached called Please Don't Tell this is accessed by a fake phone booth in Crif Dogs, here you pick up the receiver which alerts the bar tender who checks you out on his monitor and will buzz you in if there's a seat.

You can see the similarity here at Bubbledogs with it's secret fine dining restaurant attached and bookings often offered over Twitter. And what a fantastic place this turned out too be !
Thank god I gave the hot dog another chance.

There are no reservations taken here unless you have a party of six or over so queueing is inevitable but I have to say we only waited about 30 Min's for a table to become available. The only draw back for me are there are no seats for two so you are forced to share your table with two others but it is a very small place so it's totally understandable they wouldn't waste space by setting up smaller tables.

The Champagne served here are grower Champagnes. Made in the Champagne region by small producers from hand working farmers tending to their own vines. This is a great opportunity to try some of the independent Champagnes out there as the big Champagne houses dominate the market and it's the same big names we tend to see on the supermarket shelf or wine merchants.

On to the food, as I mentioned earlier we had a reservation that evening so we thought we would just get one dog each but we couldn't resist a side order of tots and sweet potato fries ! and of course the obligatory glass of bubbly. The Idea is that the Fizz cuts through the fat ..... yup that worked for me.

The Dog Producers
Gloucestershire based food hero and King of Charcuterie (Native Breeds) Charles Waddington and his wife Ruth are the people chosen by Knappett to produce their gourmet dogs, they are no strangers to supplying well know chefs their produce. Jaime Oliver with ham and salami, and a string of Michelin starred chefs are supplied with their smoked goose and pastrami.

The quality of the dog is of course down to the breed of animal and the cuts used not to forget the lengthy process of producing them, spicing is a big part of the alchemy.
Knappett has commissioned a bespoke secret recipe so their dogs are unique to Bubbledogs.
And last but not least lets not forget about the humble bun the dog is served in, just as much thought has gone into this, steamed and slightly burnished and soft and chewy it's the perfect bun.
In short if you want to taste your very own you'll just have to pay them a visit!

The menu offers Pork or Beef dogs with a choice of thirteen different toppings starting at £6 - £8 sides from £2.50 - £3.
A glass of Champers starts at £ 6 - £11.50.
For the none Champagne lovers there is beer available and I witnessed a couple of cocktails being mixed up at the bar.

We both chose a pork dog, for me a sloppy Joe with toppings of chili,onions and cheese. Rach had the fourth of July with toppings of bacon wrapped with smokey BBQ sauce and coleslaw. The tots where crunchy outside with perfect soft potato inside and the Sweet potato fries where to die for and vry addictive.

Along with the bill your presented with a comments book to sign. 

The secret Kitchen Table

Turkey Risotto with Parmesan crisp

Wondering what to do with my left over turkey this year (normally do a stir fry) I remembered a fellow foodie Blogger put up a recipe on her Blog, what I had assumed was risotto but when I checked her Bog, I had been mistaken it was a Pilaf .

It was too late (sorry Gingey Bites ) I had already started to crave that soft silky comfort food that is risotto. Looking through my store cupboard I found a half packet of arboreo rice and Parmesan cheese Yes !
The Turkey and wine I have a plenty (after all it is Christmas !) and so Turkey Risotto it was.

If you fancy making this you'll find the recipe below.

Ingredients 
Feeds Two generously.

1 tbs butter
Glug of olive oil
3 Spring onions - chopped
1 Clove of Garlic - chopped
150g - 1 Cup Arborio rice
600ml - 1 pint of chicken stock
125ml - small wine glass of white wine
Half packet of Parmesan - keep two teaspoons back for the Parmesan crisp. 
200g Turkey




Ingredients for turkey risotto














Method

1. Melt the butter and oil in a non-stick saucepan.
2. Add the spring onions and garlic and soften for 3 minutes.
3. Add the rice and stir to coat the rice, cook gently over a low heat for 3 mins.
4. Add the glass of wine and cook till nearly all the liquid is absorbed.
5. Slowly add your stock bit by bit as with the wine let it almost absorb before adding more stock.
6. When all your stock has been added and you have the consistency you want (it should look creamy with a slight bite to the rice) add your peas and turkey.
7. Turn the heat off and stir through your Parmesan.

To make the Parmesan crisp

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 \ 180 deg.
2. On a flat baking sheet spoon 1 teaspoon of Parmesan into a small cooking ring and pack down to resemble flat discs.
3. Cook in the oven for 4 minutes.
4. Remove the discs with a plastic spatula immediately.
5. You can shape if you want by laying the discs over a rolling pin, I left mine flat.

The Parmesan crisp

Its a good idea to pour yourself a glass of wine to drink whilst making this dish as risotto can't be left alone it needs constant attention (stirring) that said it's a very relaxing dish to cook.

That's it enjoy!



Turkey risotto

Purl, London

Watching a food programme a couple of weeks ago, there was a cocktail section and one drink in particular made me sit up and take notice. This cocktail was called the "Aviation", it contained a liqueur called Creme de Violette.
Now if this cocktail had a hint of the sweets I used to love as a kid "Parma Violets" then this was the drink for me!

The barman was Tristan Stephenson co owner of a cocktail bar called Purl in London where this section was filmed. I loved everything about the look of his bar and the type of drinks he was making.

This is no ordinary cocktail bar, Purl offers to invite you to a multi sensory experience by bringing the drinks to life and transport the guest to another place or time by playing with all your five senses, taste, touch, smell, sight and sound.

Purl's website says of their cocktail list:

    This is not a simple or elegant cocktail list.

    Be prepared for a sensory overload.

    Some of these cocktails are not suitable for those of a sensitive disposition.

    If you don't like fire, liquid nitrogen and loud noises, you will not like this.

    Some of these drinks include bells, whistles, steel drums and very big gongs.

    Don't say we didn't warn you.....

Now this was a red rag to a very thirsty inquisitive bull !
I loved the fact this was one of the classics but to my knowledge a rare one. You hardly ever see it on a cocktail menu and there is no mention of it in the several cocktail books I own. ( update, now in 2013 it has been making an appearance especially in speakeasy style bars)

So I searched the Internet for it's origin.
It seems it can be traced back to 1916 it appeared in a book called recipes for mixed drinks and was the creation of head bartender Hugo Enslin at the Hotel Wallick in New York.
Enslin mixed Two parts Gin to one part lemon juice, with two dashes each of Maraschino and creme de violette liqueurs giving it a slight blue hue.

I wonder if Enslin had in mind early pioneers of Aviation, the likes of the Wright brothers when he created his cocktail? After reading much about this drink it certainly conjures up images for me of an era when it was glamorous to fly.

But there are many versions of this drink minus the creme de violette there is some confusion as whether this was due to the lack of creme de violette during the prohibition in 1920s and 1930s?
Today Creme De Violette more widely available and made by many different Liqueur producers. You won't however find this down your local off licence or see it on supermarket shelves. Hunting a bottle of this beautiful purple liqueur can be found in specialist drink suppliers on line. One such company I find brilliant is The Whiskey exchange company.

The Aviation is now available as it should be with that beautiful blue hue. That said looking at many images and reading much it seems mixologists still argue over the proportions of it's ingredients.

I was paying a visit to London last weekend so I just had to pay a visit to Purl, as for me this was my first introduction to this drink so it seemed right and fitting i should try it here.

Purl is based on the US Speakeasy movement with the modern twist of molecular mixology now if this doesn't interest you I don't know what will?
My inquisitiveness led me to research molecular mixology and through the wonders of Youtube I watched Tristan mix some drinks with fascination. One other drink caught my eye it was called Mr Hyde's fixer upper, that was also target drink number Two, more of that later.

Arriving at Purl really does have that early victoriana feel about it, a basement bar full of nooks and crannies adorned with antiques and nicknack's. I particularly loved the huge clear ice block on the back shelf of the bar from which the ice is chipped off for your drinks.

Purl is in the basement Of 50/54 Blandford street

We arrived 5 Min's after opening as we wanted ring side seats (at the bar) a small four seater affair but this is where you see all the magic happen.

On arrival and without even glancing at the cocktail menu we ordered the Aviation and a Mr Hyde's fixer upper.

The Aviation
Was good but it lacked the colour I was after and taste I imagined it to be, it seems even in the same bar it's made differently from bar tender to bar tender. On the TV appearance Tristan used 50 mil of Tanquery Gin, 15ml of Bitter truth violette liqueur,10ml Luxardo mariccino liqueur and 25ml lemon juice. Watching the mixologist make my Aviation he only put a bar spoon of violette liqueur in which holds 5ml. This made for a very pale drink, and it was minus the cherry ! they had run out ! it was still good but I epected some sort of floral note, I couldn't detect this probably down to the small amount of violette.

Not too worry I had pre bought the ingredients necessary to make this drink at home so I would make this using the amounts I had seen Tristan use.




The Aviation at Purl minus the cherry !


The Mr Hyde's fixer upper.
This was one of those drinks that looks so interesting you want one before you even know what's in it ! Underneath all the drama and dry ice is a smokey rum based cocktail in fact the longer you leave the drink in its sealed bottle the smokier it tastes.




To watch Tristan make this drink, click here.



Another neat and quirky thing about drinking at Purl is your drinks come with these little sandwiches that act as a palate cleanser.

Once home I made an Aviation using Tristans Measurements, this to me certainly makes a more atractive looking drink !



I'll take mine Blue !

Avaition made at home

The Electrolux Cube with Tom Kerridge

On Saturday the 15th December I had one of the most unique and exciting dining experiences of my life. The venue was the Electrolux Cube in London, the chef was Tom Kerridge.

The Cube is a pop up restaurant created by Electrolux, there are currently two doing the rounds of Europe taking up residencies on top of iconic buildings.
The chefs are all Michelin starred. At London Sat Bains, Claude Bosi, Daniel Clifford and Tom Kerridge are amongst the few.

In Brussels it was perched on top of the Parc du Cinquantenaire. Here guests were treated to never seen before views of the city. Once inside the concealed dining table dropped from the ceiling! In Milan it was positioned on the roof top of Galleria vittorio emanuelle overlooking the main Pizza Duomo.
Stockholm place of residence was atop the The Royal Swedish Opera House.

In London it arrived ( by the look of it ) from out of space and took up it's residency on top of the Royal Festival Hall.
Originally popped up in June it was suppose to pop back down in September, but it's popularity ensured it an extra stay until the end of December.

I missed the opportunity to visit in July as it was fully booked on the weekend I wanted.
After discovering the extended stay we decided another attempt to book would be ludicrous to miss.

Checking the cubes rota of chefs we saw Tom Kerridge was cooking the week of the
10th - 16th December. I rang the reservation team and was thrilled to secure a booking.
Tom Kerridge runs the very successful Hand and flowers in Marlow, the only pub to be awarded Two Michelin stars. He also appears as a judge on the great British menu.

The concept of the cube is to offer guests the ultimate dining experience with unparallelled views over the city, stunning food prepared by hand picked Michelin Stared chefs from all over the British Isles. Each chef preparing their own selection of dishes, showcasing the food they serve at their restaurants and some specially created for this experience.

The kitchen is in full view of the diners offering opportunity's to watch the masters at work,ask questions and take photographs. Basically in a very privileged position to get up close and personal and privy to a world that is usually closed off to diners when they visit a restaurant.

Arriving at the Royal Festival Hall we had to take the singing lift up to the sixth floor where we checked in at the members lounge then waited for our guide to take us up to the Cube.
It was strange and exciting to be taken through a secret door behind the bar through a series of corridors then up more steps to the roof where the cube was situated.

The first thing that strikes you is the magnificence of the building itself, a white and glass structure illuminated from within, it really did look like a spacecraft had just landed. Then there is the view, 360 degrees of jaw dropping scenery.















Waiting outside the craft were a couple of waiters offering us Champagne, taking a glass we went on board to meet Tom, his crew and our fellow diners.

There are quite a few unusual things about dining at the Cube.
a)   It's on a roof
b)  The menu is kept top secret
c)  There is one long communal table so you are seated with diners you have never met 
d)  You can stand at the pass and watch the chefs and their teams prepare the meal, 
      ask questions, take photographs and you are encouraged to do so.

This is what I imagine entering the Big Brother house must be like on the first night.
Put in a room full of people you've never met and plied with booze!

My partner and I were lucky to be seated next to a couple of people we got along with brilliantly from the off.

I suppose all 18 diners have one thing in common and that is a love of good food as seats are not cheap £175 for lunch and £215 for dinner per person with accompanying wines, But let me tell you it was worth every penny!

Tom started the proceedings by introducing himself and his team and what we can expect from the night, then pointing to the fridge he said " It's full of booze, it's Saturday night so lets have a good time"! from that moment on it felt relaxing and it was understood no one was expected to be on their best behaviour.

We partied in the sky and it was fantastic , we ate the most amazing food in the most amazing setting. For all us foodies this was living the dream !

Chef Tom Kerridge plating up the Amuse bouche's



Potato & Montgomery's cheddar croquet with truffle mayonnaise



Tom explaining the process of making first course

King oyster mushrooms with the blue cheese and garlic butter, before soup is poured over.

The Pumpkin soup 'en croute' was brought to the table



Tom carving into the 'en croute' to reveal the pumpkin soup






 

Pumpkin soup 'En croute' with king oyster mushrooms and garlic butter.

Accompanying wine Soc Grenache blanc, Domaine Ey, IGP Cotes Catalanes, France 2009

 Pigs head with Jerusalem artichoke , pancetta and crackling
Accompanying wine, Fiano Di Avellino, Terre di Diora, Terredora, Campania, Italy 2011

I believe this was made from the shredded meat, skin, tongue and brain from the pigs head bread crumbed then deep fried. Despite the sound of this it was absolutely Delicious.
The Pancetta was also fantastic it had a slight aniseed taste to it and crackling is always a winner. 



Hake and grapes
Accompanying wine, Clos Poggiale Blanc, Skalli, Vin de Corse 20011
 
This was a lovely dish, the hake was very delicate and wrapped in vine leaves. I think Tom said the sauce was a veonique?. As veronique means "with grapes" I think I'm safe describing it as so. Very buttery and light I loved it and I'm not a big lover of fish!


Next dish up was interesting and had us all over at the pass. A salt baked shoulder of lamb had been in the oven for the best part of the day, Tom was removing the salt crust, then after blow torching the skin the lamb was shredded.





Salt baked shoulder of lamb with salsa verde, pomme boulengere and buttered Brussels tops.
Accompanying wine, Le Pas de Zarat, Domaine le Cazal, Minervois, France 2009

When Tom told us how he had made the salsa Verde it seemed like the list of ingredients was endless, I think anything green went into this it was spine tingly good !

Forgive the presentation on this course we served ourselves and by this time we were feeling the effects of the Champagne and wine ! we were all so relaxed it felt like we were round at a friends for dinner. People started getting up from the table chatting with the team, taking photos and generally milling about, it was great fun.
 


Final course of the night was a Creme Brulee, this could have seemed very ordinary for this occasion but after all that food I was glad of it and it was perfect just the right amount of bitterness on the brulee which was perfect with the shot of beer that accompanied it.

Me and Tom Kerridge



Aaron & Tom

These two young chefs were also brilliant and they clearly love what they do, reading their Tweets afterwards confirmed this. Regularly claiming they have the dream job, well done boys you sure did "Smash the Cube" !

Signed copy of the menu

Chocolate Martini

I love a Chocolate Martini and have had a few over the years but the best one I ever tried was in the bar of the Waldorf hotel in New York.

After asking the barman what ingredients he used there was only one I could remember and that was Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka.

A Chocolate Martini can be made in many different ways. Pick your favourite base spirit such as light rum, vodka or brandy to mix with a chocolate liqueur.

The other ingredients in this recipe are a mix of what I have seen in various recipes on the Internet and have chosen these for my personal taste.

Ingredients:

2 oz Base spirit (vodka, light rum or brandy) I used the Van Gough Chocolate vodka.
1/2 oz Chocolate liqueur
1/2 oz Dark crème de cacao

Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a martini glass.

Ingredients for Chocolate Martini

Damson Vodka

Before I started this blog I had made some Damson vodka. I made two batches one for last christmas, leaving the second batch to mature longer. Today I bottled the second batch.



 

This is the recipe I followed from a book called : Gifts from the kitchen By Annie Rigg.



Infusing the Damsons in the vodka


 
















Damson or Plum vodka
Makes 1x 70 cl bottle

Ingredients  

500g Damsons

125g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Pared zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
1x 70cl bottle of good quality vodka

Rinse the Damsons under cold running water. Prick each Damson 4 to five times with a fork and place them in the sterilised wide necked preserving jar with a capacity of 2 litres.

Add the caster sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon zest and pour over the vodka. Secure the lid and give the jar a good shake to dissolve the sugar. Leave in a cool, dry, dark place for at least 3 months, shaking the jar at least once a week or every time you walk past.

After 3 months your vodka will be a deep plum colour and deeply flavoured by the Damsons. Taste and add more sugar if desired. Strain the vodka through a colander into a large bowl. Strain again, either through muslin or paper coffee filters, into sterilised bottles. Seal the bottles with sterilised stoppers and attach labels.


Sterilising

It is important to sterilise the bottles and jars you are going to use.

Sterilising is quick and can be done in the oven or dish washer.

Heat the oven to 180*c / 350*f / gas mark 4 - don't be tempted to heat the oven any higher as you will run the risk of the glass breaking. Wash and rinse your jars in hot soapy water then place them on a baking tray making sure they are not touching. Heat the jars and bottles for 20 mins. Using thick oven gloves remove the jars and bottles and place them on a heat proof board.

Alternatively, wash and clean jars and bottles in your dishwasher and , when they are ready let them cool down before adding your vodka.