Foodie Restaurant Review - Jamie's Italian

Jumping Jamie's!

 

I have recently re-discovered Jamie Oliver, and dusted off our old Jamie cookbooks in a sort of Jamie Revival. This may partly be due to my growing obsession with all things food and partly due to the ever-swelling popularity of his Jamie's Italian restaurants and TV shows, but also a large part of my new obsession is just due to the man himself. 

Jamie has an obvious passion for good food shared with good company which goes over and above the ordinary (- and possibly the healthy.) I love how he infects everyone around him with this love and devotion to gourmet pleasures, and this is something that I hope comes across in my writing too. 

I have been to the Jamie's in my local town quite a few times now, and I have never been disappointed. The pasta is cooked perfectly and the bruschetta is a fresh flavour disco for the taste buds. His bruschetta for two is a brilliant idea, and the perfect mix of scamorza and tender "beetroot ripple".

The only thing that I would advise is that I find that if you want room for the all important dessert, or just want to save your waste-line, a full portion of pasta or risotto is far too much. The smaller starter sized portion with a side of one of Jamie's carefully composed salads is perfect, and much more like what you would serve yourself at home.

Last night we popped in after a trip to the shops and didn't want too much, so decided to share a "Vegetable Antipasti Plank", some crispy squid and a bread basket.

Nothing in Jamie's left un-noticed. The antipasti plank was raised up on two full tins of tomatoes, a homely touch, to be at the perfect height for shared grazing. The squid was, as are many other dishes, served in a beautiful clay pot also with a wooden plank to rest on. 

The antipasti plank was a joy - creamy mozzarella cheese in a portion just the right size with chilli and mint, "music bread" and pecorino with chilli jam, fresh crunchy beetroot and carrot salad, and seasonal vegetables including pepper, artichoke and courgette marinated and grilled, topped with fresh olives and caper berries. 

I have never tasted an olive so fresh in my life, and this was a real revelation to me, as was the bread basket which was a refreshing mix of different traditional Italian breads and breadsticks - and just the right size for two unlike most bread baskets I have been served.

On top of this, we were also treated to a mini version of one of their specials of the night, a bruschetta topped with a sweet mix of candied beetroot and carrot in a sort of relish.

The squid, as you would expect in any restaurant, was tender and not at all chewy. Heaven in a clay pot!

Next we had dessert. I went for the peach and almond tart as I most often do - topped with a drizzle of honey and usually whipped yoghurt although I substituted it for their divine vanilla ice cream.

The frangipane is the perfect strength and consistency, and the slices of peach nestled within are fresh and flavoursome.

Jamie's may not be cheap, but it is definitely worth the price for top notch food from a relaxed family-and-friends chain. 

Click here to find your local!

Foodie's Finds in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire

Bank Holiday weekends and Easter breaks were just made for walks by lakes, drives in the countryside, and relaxing in tea rooms. This is exactly what I have been doing in my much needed breaks from revision, and I have found many delights in the local area.
Whether you're local or not, or even planning a trip from a far away, exotic place, I have some quintessentially English gems to share with you!

Tea-zels Cafe at Harold Country Park

Although a short stroll around the lake here is not too taxing, it is worth the promise of a visit to Teazels at the end. Service can be a little slow when they are busy, but the view of the lake from the terrace and the homely wooden tables inside the small cabin are a joy. There is always a wonderful display of cakes but I recommend the carrot cake, as it is a cut above the rest.

On my last visit I treated myself to a hot chocolate, and it may have been the best I have ever had. Creamy with a note of richness that wasn't sickly, it came with dark chocolate shavings as a topping instead of the traditional cocoa powder or whipped cream and marshmallows. This was a refreshing change, and made this childish treat seem much more grown up.

Pudding Parlour at Yardley Hastings

I have passed this place tens of times a year for most of my teenage life, but never gone in. Yesterday I was to discover what I had been missing. Before our walk at Harold we popped in to buy an afternoon snack and I was blown away by the quality of baked goods I was able to choose from. 

There were at least six different types of brownie, as well as a beautiful tart, pie, cakes, huge muffins, and a selection of cheesecakes in the chiller. Also on sale were ice cream, jams, and popcorn.

We chose the coffee and walnut cake, which was easily the best I have ever had (and the Victoria Sandwich looked just as good!). The coffee-butter-cream was the perfect strength and consistency, and the cake was neither too crumbly nor too cloying. 

This is the perfect place to pick up something for a summer picnic, or just to devour at home. They also have two small tables if you want to eat in.

Also, if you are looking for a typical English cake shop in a  village setting surrounded by luscious green fields, look no further, but I will warn you that there is not much else of interest in Yardley Hastings. Try popping along the road to Olney instead for a quaint small town experience with pleanty more cute shops, restaurants and the nearby Emberton Park. 

ARTea Room at Wakefield Country Courtyard

And finally, my most fantastic find. ARTea room is so quirky it is unreal. Outlandish tea cosies and delicate, mismatched crockery are the norm here, and as you sip your favourite brew you can gaze at the art and craft work for sale around you. There is also a small selection of cheap second hand books and slightly more expensive handmade jewellery.

Wakefield country courtyard also has some other little shops to poke around in, including a lovely farm shop where I made the purchase of some delicious smoked garlic.

ARTea room has an almost overwhealming selection of Tea, from which I chose the Vanilla variety, and my Mother the Lapsand Suchong. Tea is served at your table in your own teapot with accomanying tea cosy, and a shared pot of hot water for refills. 

The cakes were nothing to rave about, but were definately not bad. The expreience and surroundings is what I will return for though, and the chance to purchase more cheap books!

Yours,

The Anxious Foodie <3

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

A Comparison Of Two Splendid Novels that Soar Like Kites

Anticipation is a devil. You can spend an awful lot of time expecting something good, only to be knocked off your high with something less than miraculous, and left to wallow in the sadness of something that could have been.

As much as it pains me to admit it - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini did exactly this to me. After having been blown away by A Thousand Splendid Suns, while his first book was very good, it lacked much of the shock factor possessed by his second novel. Perhaps Hosseini discovered after publishing his first novel that he could indeed get away with much more harrowing events and really reveal the truth about the state of Afghanistan.

I can't help but wonder, if I had read the Kite Runner first, maybe I would take a different view point?

It is certain that while both widely about the Afghan people and their troubled existence, both novels are very different. Whereas the kite runner is about guilt, friendship and atonement, A Thousand Splendid Suns centres much more around the atrocities of the Taliban and Soviet Forces and the effect that these two bodies had on the Afghan people, but also on the Afghan way of life.

If I had read the kite runner first, maybe I would be singing its praises for different reasons, but I feel that my judgement has been clouded by the splendour of A Thousand Splendid Suns.  Everyone I have spoken to who has read the Kite Runner sings its praises - woe betide anyone who claims that A Thousand Splendid Suns is the better of the two. But, they have not read the two.

Nevertheless,  The Kite Runner is a book that stealthily creeps up on you, and finally taps you on the shoulder in the last section of the book, to reveal to you its true colours. In the earlier pages I had a sense that something was going to happen, something momentous - and when it finally did I was underwhelmed by its occurrence.

It seems to me that Hosseini's writing  has definitely developed from one novel to the other - and although both books are pivotal in the world of historical and political fiction, A Thousand Splendid suns has much more power. The power to shock and move is contained within both books, but A Thousand Splendid Suns adds a little extra kick large enough to generate a larger feeling of astounding reverence and awe at the aptitude and boldness of a talented writer. 

Perfect Cookies and Picturesque Mixed Berry Muffins

I love waitrose. I especially love the Waitrose magazine which is released each month in store. Packed with delicious recipes and interesting articles, this is always my go-to choice for somewhere to quickly find an easy yet still scrumptious recipe. Imagine my joy when I found a recipe for Macadamia Nut and White Chocolate Cookies in their January 2012 issue! I have been looking forward to making these for ages and finally got the chance last weekend, and whipped them up quickly before breakfast on the Saturday morning (Yes, I am that sad - I just couldn't wait to make them!).

I prefer my cookies slightly soft and chewy - so from my point of view this recipe is perfect! I owe their perfection to the use of muscavado sugar, since it is so soft and gooey in the packet. Although you can't taste the vanilla essence, I still feel that it adds a little detectable something; another level of flavour perhaps.
These spread out alot during cooking, so be sure to evenly space them, because even they you may still have to slightly separate them with a palate knife when they come out of the oven.  

White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies

(adapted from Waitrose Kitchen January 2012)

Ingredients

170g unsalted butter

200g light muscavado sugar

100g (golden) caster sugar

1 egg yolk and 1 whole egg

2tsp vanilla extract

250g plain flour

1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

200g chopped good quality white chocolate

100g halved macadamia nuts

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 170C
2. Beat the butter untill soft and creamy, before beating both types of sugar. Beat in the egg mixture and the vanilla extract.
3. Stir in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and a tiny pinch of salt. 
4. Fold in your chocolate and nuts so that they are evenly distributed throughout the mixture, and then drop spoonfuls onto baking trays lined with greaseproof paper, and press down ever so slightly.
5. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until they are golden but still quite soft, as they will harden up as they cool, to give you that lovely chewy, gooey, soft texture.

On the Sunday of last weekend, I had some time set aside to bake for a cake sale at school in aid of Beat and Young Minds. I decided to start with something realtively easy from my Hummingbird Bakery book "Cake Days" as I wanted to ease myself in before attempting some of their more complicated creations at a later date. Despite the fact that I used skimmed milk instead of the whole milk they suggested, my Mixed Berry Muffins were moist and fluffy, although you must take care not to over-bake them - they will still be quite soft when they come out of the oven due to the fruit inside. 

The left over muffins after the cake sale were perfect for breakfast - and easily justifiable because of their fruit content!

Mixed Berry Muffins

(Adapted from Cake Days by The Hummingbird Bakery)

Ingredients

300g plain flour

155g caster sugar

1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tbsp baking powder

a couple of grinds of salt

250ml milk

2 large eggs

1tsp vanilla essence

85g melted unsalted butter

100g blueberries

50g raspberries

(if you are using frozen fruit - be sure to defrost it!)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 190C and line a muffin tin with muffin cases.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and 115g of the sugar in a large bowl and mix together. 
3. Mix the beaten eggs, milk and vanilla essence together, and then incorporate into your dry mixture. To do this, make a well in the centre and add the wet ingredients a little at a time to avoid curdling. 
4. Pour in the melted butter and beat again.
5. Fold the berries in by hand, taking care not to crush them too much as you still want lovely whole bits of juicy fruit.
6. Spoon the batter into the cases. Be very careful as the mix will be very runny.
7. Sprinkle over the remaining sugar and bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 mintues. Do not worry if they still seem very soft when they come out - it is because of the oozing fruit inside. 
8. Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I can't wait to try more recipes from this book. I will keep you updated on my attempts!