Whole food salad

With just over 3 weeks to go to my holiday I'm on the last push to eating healthy to keep the weight down. The silver lining being mammoth eating and drinking on holiday !

I decided some bulk cooking was in order to take lunch to work. After eating a very healthy and totally yummy whole food salad from M&S last weekend I had a go at preparing a version of my own.

Couscous can be classed as a whole food if it's made from 100 percent whole-grain durum. Unfortunately what I had in the cupboard was not, but when making the next batch I will buy 100 percent durum!
You can make this with any whole food ingredients you like, the M&S one even had blueberries and mango. This is how I made mine.


Ingredients
100g Quinoa
100g Barley
100g Couscous
100g Tesco seed, pine nut and tomato salad topper
1 Butternut squash - peeled , chopped and roasted in a little olive.
1/2 cucumber - seeds removed and chopped.

For the dressing I blitzed up and bottled
1/4 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 large garlic clove - grated
15 basil leaves
100ml olive oil
Balsamic & cider vinegar to taste

Method

• Cook Quinoa,Barley and Couscous according to packet instructions, let cool
• when cooled combine all ingredients for salad together.

That's it simple. I served mine with rocket and drizzled with the dressing.

Gordon Ramsay's Honey roasted duck with green beans and hazelnut salad

This is a very quick and easy dish to make, really tasty and smart enough to serve at a dinner party. I have made this dish many times.

Recently fellow food Blogger http://www.gingeybites.com/ put out this tweet on Twitter.

The mention of Duck and five spice immediately made me think of this recipe, so I suggested it to her.

 

 

 

Recalling how good this dish is I decided to revisit the recipe and made it for dinner on Saturday evening. You can watch the short 1m 35sec video of Gordon Ramsey making this dish, here  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl8xrVixU1Q
 

The recipe below is for 4 people I halved the ingredients to make for two.
 

Ingredients

serves 4

• 4 x 175g duck breasts, with skin on.
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Chinese five spice
• Olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp runny honey
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce

 

 

 

Method

Score the skin of the duck breast in a criss cross pattern. Season the duck breast with salt and pepper and rub the five spice into the skin thoroughly.

 

 

 

Coat the duck breasts in the Chinese five spice.

 

 

 

Place the duck breasts in a frying pan skin side down and cook over a very low heat to render down most of the fat. This may take 8-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fat. keep a bowl handy as you will need to pour of the fat regularly. 

 

 

 

 

Now turn the heat up and fry until the skin is crisp. Turn the duck breasts over and cook on the other side for around 3-4 minutes. Just before the duck is ready, drizzle over the honey and soy sauce and cook, continually basting until the sauce has reduced to a syrupy glaze.

 

 

 Remove the duck and cover with foil, rest for 5-10 minutes.

 

 

 

 While the duck is resting put your green beans on to boil and make the dressing for the beans.

 

* Note that the total fluid for this dressing in the recipe is 400ml! I have made this many times and believe me this is far too much*

 

As I have made this for two even half the amount is too much obvs.. so I have quartered the amount and still had some dressing left ! trust me on this !

 

Ingredients

• 200g Green beans
• 85g Hazelnuts Crushed and roasted
• 100ml Hazelnut oil
• 200ml Olive oil
• 100ml Sherry vinegar

 

 

Mix oils and vinegar together, once beans have cooked, drain and dress with oil and nuts.

 

 

 

 

Pile green bean salad into the middle of a warmed plate, slice duck and place on top. Finish with more of the nuts and drizzle with the juices from the pan.

 

 

 

You can check out Gingey Bites brilliant Blog by clicking on her link above

Or follow her on Twitter here https://twitter.com/Gingeybites .

 

 

Bed Supperclub, Bangkok

This post is a little different to my previous posts in the respect I don't have any images of the food I ate here to show you. I did take pictures but the lighting (neon) did not lend itself to kindly to the images. That said I decided it was worthy of a place in my Blog as it was one of the most unusual dining experiences I had ever had up to that point. So let me introduce you to that place.

Bed Supperclub 

How many times after eating a meal, feeling stuffed have you said the only thing missing in this restaurant is a bed? I know I have!
Well at Bed Supperclub you actually get to dine in one ! well not exactly a bed as in getting under a duvet, more like one long communal mattress with comfy pillows ! 

Bed Supper club can be found on fashionable Sukhumvit Soi 11. The building is hard to miss, a futuristic pod on stilts looking like something out of the Jetsons (Animated futuristic Sci-Fi comedy of the 60s-80s). Just looking at it from the outside leaves you in no doubt it will be special inside.



Bed Supperclub, Bangkok

Bed Supper club is split into two areas the club/bar being one end of the pod whilst the restaurant is in the other half. The restaurant has an all white interior, splashes of colour are provided by soft pastel shades of Red, Blue and Yellow neon lights that change colour. The large communal beds line either side of the room with a galleried style staircase and landing leading to a mezzanine floor of the same. 

Rachel checking out the menu

Inside Bed Supperclub with view of open kitchen 

The ambiance had a lively buzz feel and sounds of soft style lounge music played in the background. The white interior acted as a blank canvas for a projected image on the wall of a very large eye that looked around the room. Performers periodically walked around with placards saying things like "No kissing", "No Hugging", "Obey", "Order More ", it felt like we were in the middle of a living art installation. The same performers put on a dancing show later in the evening.

The food style was western / Thai fusion and very good. Guests are encouraged to kick off their shoes and climb onto the large communal beds to dine. it's the ultimate chill-out dining experience and even more unusual was at the end of the meal the in-house masseuse's  gave you a 20 minute leg and foot massage for no more than a couple of quid.
Now what's not to like about kicking back after a meal, drink in hand and a foot rub, Pure bliss.



Getting comfy

Admittedly this would seem ludicrous in a normal table an chair setting but Bed Supperclub is different, in this environment it just works. Anyone who has been to Bangkok or anywhere in Thailand will tell you Thai massage is offered everywhere you go, even on the streets.
So when in Thailand do as the Thai's do, kick back and enjoy.

                                    The eye of Big Brother watching over me!

Dining in the sky, Bangkok ( part 2 )

Vertigo and moon bar, Banyan Tree Bangkok.

Those of you following me on Twitter or Facebook will recognise the picture below. I use it as my cover photo on my profile. This is Vertigo and moon bar which resides 61 floors high on top of the Banyan Tree hotel in Bangkok.

Vertigo was the first truly high-rise rooftop bar and restaurant in Bangkok. Converted from what had previously been the helipad of the hotel and tower.
Vertigo is located in the heart of the business district and offers 360 degree panoramic views of the Bangkok skyline including the Chao Phraya River and Lumpini Park.

My partner and I had a reservation here in 2007 whilst visiting Bangkok. 
It was during my stay here that I fell in love with drinking and dining on rooftop terraces and have sought them out ever since whenever we visit a new City.

In Bangkok your literally dining and drinking in the sky ! and here at Vertigo we were lucky enough to be seated next to the edge. The view was just stunning, the food was good but quite expensive for Bangkok's standards but that's expected for the location.
The experience overall was memorable and one we will be repeating sometime this March.

Bangkok is peppered with roof terrace bars and restaurants so I'm looking forward to another date with the sky, and this amazing capitol in the Land of Smiles.



Image from Banyan Tree Gallery

Drinks & snacks before dinner at the Moon bar. Here you are given a little torch to view the drinks menu.  

Amuse bouche of Salmon

Warm goats cheese filo roll, smoked duck salad, Cherry tomato, mizuna. pecan nuts, balsamic dressing.

Puree of butternut pumpkin soup.

Palate cleanser - Vodka sorbet.

Sorry for pic quality here - but it's the only one I have of this dish.
Grilled beef striploin, asparagus, roasted cherry tomato, sauteed spinach & marrowbone.

Baked cheesecake, fruit coulis.

Drinking in the sky, Bangkok ( part 1)

Sky Bar Bangkok

Writing a Blog based around food and drink then deciding to go on a diet is never a good idea! But diet I must, this means there will be a lull in visiting restaurants. All is not lost though as this gives me an opportunity to look back on some of the wonderful experiences I've had and write about them for my Blog. So here goes, lets start with Bangkok!

Browsing through an inflight magazine on a trip to the Maldives in 2006 I was absolutely bowled over with the image of a bar, It is called the Sky Bar and it's in Bangkok.

Sky Bar, Bangkok

Turning to my partner I said "one day we will drink here!"
Then in 2007 fulfilling a dream to visit Thailand we booked our next vacation there. Realising part of the vacation was to spend four days in Bangkok before spending the remainder in Krabi gave me the opportunity to turn my statement into a reality!

The Sky Bar is one of the world's highest open air bars, perched high in the sky on the 63rd floor of The Dome at State Tower in Bangkok, which is also part of the Lebua hotel.
The state tower is Bangkok's third tallest building, standing at 247m.
Boasting the most beautiful panoramic views of Bangkok and the Chao Phraya River.

It has to be one of the coolest bars in Bangkok, we visited the Sky Bar in 2007, but after it featured in the Hangover II, it has become a must on every traveller's to do list. Judging by the latest reviews it's now even more popular and queueing for entry is inevitable.
It is also very expensive I think we paid around £11 for a Gin & tonic.
That said if your ever visiting Bangkok it really is worth the visit.



The Illuminated bar (official photograph)

Stepping out from the lift you are greeted with the most awesome sight of a night lit Bangkok, a sight I will never forget. Apart from the view the most amazing features are the neon lit bar that changes colour every few seconds, just stunning against the night sky. The view from the bar of the illuminated steps up to the dome are equally stunning.
Atmosphere is lively With the sounds of live jazz which plays nightly.

There is a strict dress code here, we were actually turned away on our first visit because my footwear was unsuitable, so we returned the next evening with my toes hidden in closed shoes and was allowed in the lift to go up !

There are also strict rules around photography, staff escort you from the lift down the steps and to the bar, your not allowed to take any photographs from the top of the steps and certainly not near the restaurant (Sirocco) understandably as people are eating. They are more relaxed about you taking photographs around the bar area.

We did not eat at Sirocco on this visit as we had already made a reservation to eat at another rooftop restaurant "Vertigo" on top of the Banyan Tree hotel.

More of that next post.

 



Sirocco

 

Sticky toffee cheesecake

I have a weak point in cooking and that's deserts, I don't make them enough to practice.
My partner bought me a kitchen Aid stand mixer last Christmas, the most expensive kitchen gadget I have and the least used. When I first got it I had a go at making this cheesecake and it turned out very well.

Last week it was my sisters birthday and the rest of the family planned a surprise party for her. My younger sister and I split the buffet food between us, the kids wanted me to make the cheesecake again, so I jumped at the chance to get the mixer out.

This is a baked cheesecake and very easy to make , to be honest the mixer does it all !
You can see the original recipe Here.

Recipe calls for a 20cm cake tin but I used a 24 cm one therefore I used a full 200g packet of biscuits and upped the butter from 50g to 80g also used 8 toffee's instead of 6. The rest of the ingredients stay the same.


Ingredients

• 8 shortbread fingers (I used a full 200g pkt)
• 50g Butter (I used 80g) melted
• 600g Cream cheese or curd cheese
• 100g Golden caster sugar
• 3tbsp Plain flour
• 2tsp Vanilla extract
• 3 Eggs
• 142ml Pot soured cream
• 300g White chocolate, melted
• 6 Hard caramels roughly chopped (I used 8)
• 225g Jar caramel or dulce de leche.

Method
Heat the oven to 180c/fan 160c / Gas 4. Crush the biscuits in a food processor, stir into the melted butter and press the mixture into a spring form tin. Bake for 10 minutes then cool.
Turn the oven down to 140c/fan 120c/ Gas 1.


























While the base is in the oven melt the chocolate. I put a large glass bowl over a smaller pan so the boiling water did not touch the bottom of the bowl. 
I also used a white chocolate with vanilla seeds, you can see all th little black seds in the chocolate.

In a mixer first beat the cream cheese with the sugar, flour and vanilla. Then add eggs, soured cream and chocolate and combine.

When the base has cooled sprinkle the hard caramels over the base, pour the cheese cake mixture carefully on top and bake for 40-50 minutes. I have made this cheesecake twice now and it needs longer in the oven than the original recipe states. I have baked this cheesecake for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Once the cheesecake is done the filling should still have a slight wobble. My top tip,Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake to cool down inside the oven. I have never had a cracked cheesecake using this method.

 

Once cooled spread a layer of caramel on top.

I decorated mine with small chunks of toffee around the edges.
You can see the chunks of caramel along the base too. Tastes divine !