Monthly Archives: April 2011

The big Boston last hurrah

29 Friday Apr 2011

Posted by in chinatown, picco, toro

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After a pretty quiet Sunday night we woke on Monday morning to Hayley bouncing around with excitement at the prospect of us all going to see Coheed & Cambria that evening. It’s not exactly a band the i would say is my sort of thing but hey ho, it was one of the main reasons she wanted to come to Boston so it was only fair. A good thing about this was that the Fed-Ex office that we had to collect the tickets from was right next to Chinatown so it seemed only logical to head down there for lunch. Mark had Monday and Tuesday off so he was with us and acting as our food guide.

We arrived in Chinatown and headed straight for the Gourmet Dumpling House, as soon as we walked in I knew it was going to be good, everyone in there apart from us was Asian and barely anyone was speaking English. That is precisely what i want when i walk into a restaurant, if it’s full of people coming here to get a taste of their homeland then that’s what i want too. I also love it when you automatically get presented with a seemingly never-ending pot of green tea, it makes you feel so cleansed and this was especially needed after a lot of eating and drinking over the past few days.

Somewhat  foolishly we sat back and let the boys order the dumplings, I busied myself with ordering a big bowl of vegetable noodle soup (see what i mean about feeling the need to cleanse?) and wasn’t quite prepared for the amount of food that arrived.

This is the table once A LOT of food had already been eaten. See what i mean? Anyway, we had a serious variety of food, from intestine and blood sausage soup (well mark had that) to steamed vegetable bun, pork and leek gyoza, pad thai, cured pork tongue, beef gyoza and who knows what else. On the whole it was really good. There were a couple of things that were particularly worthy of mention, the pork and leek gyoza, (apparently) the tongue especially, and the pad thai was pretty moreish. My noodle soup was pretty bland to begin with but after I asked the waitress for chilli paste and soy, both of which i dumped a fair amount in, it was really pretty damn tasty (although aren’t most things with chilli and soy?)

After this we spent a very amusing weekend nosing around Chinatown, originally this was in search sour tamarind – a major ingredient in a traditional Pad Thai, but after we couldn’t find it we just ambled happily around the backstreets. Obviously we didn’t leave empty handed, food wise we came out with our little mitts full of dumpling wrappers, rock candy, uncooked prawn crackers, they’re little discs that you chuck in bubbling hot oil and it crisps and puffs and bends and crackles- i can’t wait, and those cute little koala and panda shaped biscuits filled with chocolate. We also got some non foodie trinkets, boston t-shirts, pretty painted chopsticks, hideous sunglasses for me and hayley to wear on our birthday (we’re both born on the 12th may) and firecrackers. All in all it was pretty amusing, all of us wandering around like little kids.

After this we headed to Anchovies for drinks and some fried mozzarella (whoever thought of this deserves some kind of medal) before heading to the concert. Here we (I) consumed many a vodka, soda and lime and danced our little socks off (well, hayley and mark did) before heading back to anchovies around midnight for pulled pork and spinach lasagna. This is something i’ll going to attempt to make myself before too long so keep checking back because if i even get close, you’ll want to eat this, i promise you.

The next day i was severely under the weather (i think we all know what that means), not feeling even slightly tempted by food until the evening. Luckily the day’s first foray into food was a massive success, being one of the best meals we had the whole time we were in Boston. No one felt like venturing too far and as it was a nice, if chilly, evening we decided to walk to Picco on Tremont St. I’m so glad we did, we had about a half hour wait so we just sat at the buzzing bar and had a drink whilst we waited. It’s got a great atmosphere and we were surprised to find it so busy for 9pm on a tuesday, a good sign. It is also the kind of place where there was a young couple sat next to a family, sat next to a big group of friends and everyone looking perfectly relaxed and content.

We sat down and started off with half an order of the ravioli of the day, ricotta and pea with a lemon thyme butter, which was utterly divine and i’m chomping at the bit to recreate. I feel it won’t be long. Silky smooth pasta, filled with creamy ricotta and raw little peas made the whole dish light and fresh. A great way to kick things off.

As was the plate of grilled asparagus and Prosciutto with Parmigiano Reggiano and balsamic vinegar. The saltiness of the parmesan perfectly complementing the sweetness of the prosciutto and the earthiness of the asparagus, the kind of starter i could and will eat all summer long, something that really just lets the ingredients shine.

After this we shared a couple of pastas between us, one, a Spaghetti Aglio e Olio- in house made semolina spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, chicken broth, butter, red pepper flakes & Parmigiano Reggiano. Simple stuff but it came together to make something really quite special, especially as the pasta was perfectly al dente. Overcooked pasta is capable of really ruining a dish for me, luckily that was not the case with either one.

Secondly, and partly because i have completely rediscovered my addiction to it over recent months is Macaroni Cheese. This one was made with a blend of five cheeses – aged cheddar, gruyere, provolone, gorgonzola & taleggio and penne. Now this was what i call macaroni cheese. This is how it should be. Firstly this is basically a list of my favourite cheeses and the combination melted together formed what can only be described as a hug in a bowl. Warming and savory and utterly divine. Especially after i sprinkled some chilli flakes on mine. A bit of blue cheese makes the world of difference to a macaroni cheese in my opinion, it elevates it, makes it deeper and more satisfying, you’ll be getting a recipe for this soon too.

And then we rolled straight on in to the pizzas. You can choose either a small or a large, we went for smalls given that we’d ordered pastas too (and, let’s not kid ourselves, we wanted room for dessert). It’s a great idea as it means you can sample a couple instead of everyone having to compromise on just the one choice. Are you getting the idea that this is how i like to eat? I get serious cases of food envy if someone elses looks better than mine so for me, lots of things to share is the perfect way to go.

First up was a pepperoni with jalapenos. The cheese was utterly stringy and tantilising, just begging to be scarfed down- which we obviously obliged wholeheartedly with. Again we chucked on some red chilli flakes because clearly we’re all more than a little obsessed with all things chilli. And the crust, god the crust was good, these are some chefs who seriously know how to use their wood oven to it’s full potential. Puffed up and just a taste of crunchy crackley perfection,

The other one we went for is a sure-fire winner in my eyes, pizza with organic rocket and prosciutto, especially after we’d tasted the prosciutto earlier. I wasn’t disappointed. It had the same super crispy crust and thick rich tomato sauce and mozzarella, flawlessly cut through by the freshness of the rocket and then topped with delicate sweet ham.

Surprisingly enough, we were pretty full after this indulgent spread of food, so obviously we decided we were full and called it a day. Or maybe not. I often claim not to have a very sweet tooth which obviously everyone finds bizarre given that i’m a pastry chef but often i’d rather have cheese. It’s my drug of choice. Although, the longer i spend around desserts, creating new things, the more i find myself craving them. Today was a different matter however. I wanted dessert, big time. Luckily everyone was with me on this one, and thank god. Hayls and I shared the best chocolate brownie i have ever eaten in my life, topped with chocolate sauce, whipped cream and the most scrummy caramel swirl ice cream (yeah, we didn’t exactly get a little dainty dessert). It was sinfully good, dense, sumptuous and we just kept going and going until every last luxurious mouthful was gone. The boys went for the sampler plate of 3 different ice creams, chocolate sorbet, coffee ice cream and cinnamon ice cream. They were awesome as well. The chocolate sorbet was declared by Alex as the best he’s ever tasted and we had to sweetly ask the waitress for the recipe. Now that’s another great thing, they said yes, without a second’s hesitation. The sous chef wasn’t there on that night so we have the recipes for the brownie, caramel swirl ice cream and dark chocolate sorbet being emailed to us. I’ve been obsessively making Alex check his e-mail to see if they’ve arrived, i can’t wait to whip those up.

As you can probably tell, seeing as i’ve ranted and raved and salivated my whole way through talking about Picco, I can’t recommend it highly enough. If you live near, go now, it’s the best little neighbourhood pizzeria you could hope for. And i’m jealous that it’s not mine.

http://www.piccorestaurant.com/

Before we knew it, it was wednesday morning and time to fly home, we couldn’t leave without some lunch though could we? Nope. We got up and shoved and crammed our stuff in suitcases as fast as we could, showered and dressed in record time and were ready to roll. We wanted some cute pj bums we’d seen a few days before so me and hayley hightailed it up the road to buy them. When we got back we realised we would indeed have time to make it to Toro for a super speedy lunch before we had to head to the airport so we threw our enormous bags into a cab and got dropped off there, arranging to be picked up again in an hour.

Luckily we didn’t take very long deciding on our food, starting out with a pan con tomate

and, because, after all, it was the last hurrah, a round of sangrias for all

We were planning on just having the bread to tide us over before a famous Toro burger but we caved when we learned that the soup of the day was black bean and chorizo. It was worth the cave and came in wonderfully portioned little pots. Smoky and deep and pretty irresistible.

Whilst we were waiting for our burger Mark sent out a little surprise. Honestly, when it first came out, i wished he hadn’t. Pate soaked in blood on a pistachio puree. That just wasn’t something i thought i could do. The idea of pate in blood is just not appealing, however, after making Alex and Hayley try it first, to unanimous praise, i relented and deigned to try some. And damn it, it was pretty good, i think if i didn’t know what it was i would have inhaled it, so if you can get past the idea of then try it, it’s yummy. At least it looks prettier than it sounds!

Then it was down to the last one. The burger is cooked to medium and then smothered in the delicious cheesy aioli that usually sits atop the corn, with pickled red onions, caramelised onions and lettuce. I have to say, for me it’s a little rich. I love the two different types of onions with it but it’s not enough to cut through. The burger itself is so rich that once it’s topped with the sauce it gets a little over whelming, and i SO love it on the corn. I think if they did these in slider size they’d be perfect as half was more than enough for me.

And so it ends. Our foodie trip to Boston is over and we head back to Nassau, happy and full and already dreaming of all the amazing food we’ve had. It’s a great city with some very talented chefs doing some really pioneering things with food, as well as those just doing the classics superbly, what a great mix of traditional and modern. If you’re looking for your next foodie escape, i think you might have just found it.

A rather rapid brunch and a cosy Coppa dinner

28 Thursday Apr 2011

Posted by in boston, coppa, south end buttery

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The day began with the usual indecision, Mark had recommended we head to Coppa for brunch which is Toro’s sister restaurant as they have a pretty famous hangover pizza. We were torn however- did we want to go there for brunch and therefore rule out going there for dinner (and the promise of chestnut patsa with wild boar ragu)? In the end, no we did not, it just sounded too good, as did the arancini (fried risotto balls).

So we decided as it was such a nice day we would walk just a couple of blocks to a restaurant called South End Buttery on the corner of Shawmut Ave and Union Park St and have brunch there. Their brunch is a lot more similar to what you would normally expect to find on a brunch menu and no less appetising for it.When we arrived it seemed full to bursting which I always think is a good thing- if it’s busy, that probably means it’s good, if i’ve never been somewhere before i always think it’s a pretty good way to judge a place. Nevertheless, they managed to find us a table downstairs almost instantly and whilst we perused the menu we got some drinks underway. I went for an Espresso Martini, always appropriate for brunch i think (sometimes it has a bit of coffee, maybe…) Hayls opted for a Vanilla Chai Martini and Alex did the classic Mimosa. These were a pretty good way to kick off a Sunday but all i would say is STIR, i didn’t for the first couple of mouthfuls and it was pretty much neat booze.

Then came the food, as soon as Hayley and I glimpsed scones on the menu, the decision had been made, there was no way we were letting that pass us by, although we did share one to lessen the guilt. Scones are a big weakness of mine, but i’m pretty specific, i want clotted cream. If you can’t give me that, i’m not interested, these did though, along with some sweet, sticky homemade jam. Now that’s what i’m talking about.

Alex went the healthier route and had buttery winter greens with herbs, pumpkin seeds and a cider vinaigrette, unfortunately though, I was far too preoccupied with my scone to remember to take a photo. Ooops.

Anyway, we moved swiftly, and i do mean swiftly, on, i hadn’t even finished my half a scone before the main courses arrived. Hayls and I both opted for the Huevos Rancheros, 2 scrambly eggs with quesadilla, black beans, guacamole, salsa and bacon, and switched out the home fries for garlic parmesan fries- honestly, who could resist those? Not us that’s for sure. It was good although for my taste needed a lot of salt and pepper. It was also huge, as much as i may have wanted to, i simply could not finish it. Now i’m convinced i took a photo of this but can i find it anywhere? No, i bloody well can’t. Except Hayley just found it, so here it is.

Alex went for one of their Easter brunch specials, similar to Eggs Benedict but with Manchego cheese and Schaaller Weber Black Forest Ham from an old school deli in upstae New York on a buttermilk biscuit. This was a resounding success. Alex is a bit of an Eggs Benedict afficionado, if it’s on a menu, you can pretty much guarantee he’ll order it, so for this to exceed the usual must be something special and i have to say, i tried some and it really was.

I think my only slight complaint would be how quick everything came. Stupid i know but we were all in the mood for a long lazy brunch and whilst we weren’t rushed it all just felt rather fast. Having said that, the staff were very friendly and efficient and would definitely return. They also have a cafe upstairs selling a mouthwatering selection of cakes and pastries, we had declared on the way in that there was no way we were leaving without a cupcake- partly because they look delicious and partly because they had the cutest little chicks and bunnies stuck in them for easter. Sadly however, we were stuffed full to bursting and quite unable to manage it. There are people everywhere in there, many cosied up with a book or a laptop and looking very content, if you’re ever in the area, pop in for a pastry and a coffee and feel like a local.

http://www.southendbuttery.com 

After brunch we walked home the long way round in an attempt to walk it off somewhat, and beacuse Boston is beautiful in the spring

we walked up to the prudential centre, a big shopping and conference centre and spent a lazy hour ambling about Barnes and Noble, me mainly in the cookbook section where Alex succumbed and bought a copy of Heston Blumenthal’s fantastical feasts which i’m pretty excited to delve into. Once we left there we stumbled on the very unexpected sight of some kind of anime/ fantasy/ video game convention as there were people absolutely everywhere dressed in some of the most elaborate costumes i’ve ever seen. It was truly hilarious and pretty impressive.

That evening we headed to Coppa where they specialise in Italian small plates. After the initial disappointment that the menu had changed and we would therefore be deprived of the arancini and chestnut pasta with wild boar ragu we manned up and got down to the ordering. The 1st thing that grabbed my attention was the special of ricotta gnocchi with a pulled pork ragu- yes please. This arrived looking scrumptious but the pork was a little heavy on the fennel for both me and Hayley. The gnocchi were perfect though, little and light with just enough hint of cheese.

One of highlights of the meal for me was the meatballs, perfectly textured, juicy meatballs in a rich tomato sauce and then topped off with a slice of lardo, making the whole thing unctuous and rich and moreish as hell- we practically wiped the bowl clean with bread.

At the same time as the meatballs arrived, so did the pig’s tail. Now this is something I was definitely not such a fan of. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just not something i would necessarily choose. It has a very strong taste, and although the texture of the meat is good, the skin is pretty tough. Having said all that, Alex thinks it’s great, he’s had it here before and was the one that wanted to order it, so, each to their own i guess.


Alex’s other must have order was squid ink pasta with calamari, octopus and olives in a tomato sauce, this was good too, although i think Alex was pretty glad that Hayley and i left most of it to him.


There was another special on the menu that night that simply sounded too good to resist, a leg of lamb steak from a lamb that had been butchered in house sat atop a bed of creamy, garlicy, cheesy polenta with a mint salsa verde. This one was a real hit and miss. Flavourwise it was a big hit, the polenta was some of the best i’ve ever had, velvety and utterly scrummy. The big let down was the texture of the lamb itself, whilst it tasted great, and was cooked to perfection, it was tough and that was pretty hard to get past. If the texture had been there it would have been the dish of the night- hands down, so that was pretty frustrating.


One of the other real highlights was the salsiccia pizza, spicy italian pork sausage, red onion, mozarella and chilli oil. Cooked until the base was crisped and just the right amount of charred, the cheese was gooey and the sausage and chilli added just a hint of spice. It was great and to be honest I could have quite happily eaten the whole thing.

Lastly we had a mackerel dish that Chef Jamie very kindly sent over. It wasn’t on the menu yet and all three of us will confess to not being the hugest mackerel fans so were mildly nervous tucking in, we shouldn’t have been. Beautifully cooked mackerel on a bed of jerusalem artichoke puree that complemented it perfectly, a really good way to end the meal.


I say that was the last thing we had but we caved and had a cheese plate too (which we attacked so fast there was but a morsel left by the time i remembered the camera). This was wonderful, we had a Bayley Hazen Blue, a Taleggio and a cheese that for the life of me i can’t remember the name, just that it was our least favourite. The other two we loved and basically fought over though (don’t get me wrong, we ate the 3rd one, it just wasn’t as popular!) especially when the blue was paired with the poached hibiscus flower and the taleggio with a blood orange compote. Heavenly.

All in all Coppa was good, the staff are friendly and knowledgeable and the whole place runs very smoothly, the people in charge certainly know what they’re doing and as a result you feel welcome, comfortable and relaxed. I think our main problem was having been to Toro first. If you’re planning on going to both, please do Coppa first as it’s so well done, I think we had just been spoiled by Toro and spent the evening comparing the two which was possibly unfair as they’re very different – Toro definitely has my heart though, hands down. It has a great wine selection as well, we ended up getting a carafe of the Valpolicella which was full bodied enough to satisfy but still complemented the food. Also, don’t be an idiot like us and get excited by one particular thing on the menu before you go. One of the great things about this place is that the menu is constantly changing so you can go back again and again.

http://www.coppaboston.com/ 

A stonking great hangover and a Mongolian hotpot

25 Monday Apr 2011

Posted by in Uncategorized

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Yesterday did not start well. The excesses of the night before were paid for in blood and tears and in some cases, a cheeky chunder. Thankfully not mine.

Surfacing wasn’t even possible until about 2.30pm when we all decided that we’d brave the rain and venture out in search of sustenance. Sandwiches seemed like the safest option so we headed for the Parish again as no one was in the mood for exploring. This was distinctly less successfull than the previous visit, by the time food arrived, hayls couldn’t even take a bite, i managed 2 and i think alex got about 5 mouthfuls in before we decided we had made some pretty unwise lunch choices and could no longer sit somewhere that upbeat. We had it packed up and scarpered. We decided that the New York Pizza place we’d seen on the way there was probably the better bet so went in there and grabbed some suitably large slices and headed back for the safetly of the apartment to ensconce ourselves in front of Get Him To The Greek. Much much better.

After a couple of hours and a naps all round we decided that we might now be feeling brave enough to go out for dinner. This was mainly because we had some pretty hardcore cravings for asian food and decided that the chances of us getting anything satisfactory delivered were slim and we’d be better off jumping in a cab and heading off to Chinatown. This turned out to be a damn good decision. Having no idea where to go, i jumped on to trusty Urbanspoona and flicked through a couple of menus. I love Urbanspoon as i haven’t often been disappointed by restaurants i’ve found on there and you can search by cuisine, neighbourhood and they have a lots of top tens.

Anyway, after a while spent um-ing and ah-ing we finally settled on Q, a restaurant specialing in sushi, chinese food and mongolian hot pots on washington st. Now i don’t know if it’s just me but when i’m hungover i get what we refer to as the hangover munchies, super hunger that often leads to some pretty excessive ordering, as hayley is the same, last night ended in rather a lot of food.

So, to start off with we got some japanese potstickers and some edamame. Both pretty good, although the potstickers would have been better with the sauce it usually comes with, rather than the vinegar they served it with.

After that was when we might have gone a bit overboard. Alex wanted a Mongolian hotpot so natuarally hayley and i obliged and it’s not exactly a 1 person dish! Our waiter recommended a beef noodle dish that i can’t remember the name of but we went for anyway. It was good but pretty greasy, not something i would usually be a big fan of but last night it was just what i wanted. We also, at the last minute decided to grab a bit of sushi as they have a ‘4 for $4’ deal where you can choose one of four rolls for only $4 each. We went for the spicy tuna.
As you can see, quite substantial for 3 people.

So, with the mongolian hotpots, you firstly choose your broth, then you choose your meat and finally you choose your noodles. They all also come with a little basket of veggies. Theres a whole page of additional extras as well, somewhat overwhelming and we definitely had a couple of panic additions.
After some deliberation we went for the Mala broth, there’s 4 differnt spice levels to this- mild, medium, spicy or extra spicy. Well obviously we decided not to be outdone and went for the extra spicy. Personally, it was perfect for me, i have a pretty high spice tolerance and it was exactly what i was after, something deep and spicy, heavily scented with coriander, asian cardamom and cumin, yum. I must admit though, when it arrived at the table and the entire surface of the soup was covered in a layer of chilli oil and large chunks of chilli, i did begin to panic a little. Luckily this was unfounded. A good feature about this place is that you can actually have 2 different broths in the same pot- they just divide it into 2 sections, so it eliminates the arguments if people can’t agree.

Basically it’s kind of like an asian fondue but 100 times better, you have an assortment of meats and veggies, all sliced paper thin that you then hold under the surface of the bubbling broth for a couple of seconds until cooked through. We went for chicken breast, fish cakes, coriander, bamboo shoots, quails eggs (because if they’re on a menu, alex can’t not order them), udon noodles and enoki mushrooms.
I had cup after cup of soup and it was just what the doctor ordered, it totally blew away the last cobwebs of the hangover- so much so that i even managed a glass of red wine when we got home!

The icing on the cake was when we got the bill – $82 dollars for a whole table full of delicious food. Utter bargain. The setting itself is great, really upbeat, buzzing and bright with a good soundtrack playing in the background, a really good setting for a saturday night, it even made us tempted to have a night out. I’m glad we didn’t decide to do that in the end though. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable about the food, and, whilst at the beginning, our waiter was a little overzealous with his attentiveness and recommendations, he ended up being very sweet and helpful. We obviously couldn’t finish our mountain of food so without a flicker of hesitation he packed it all up for us to take away, there was no way we were leaving that broth behind. He also asked the manager if we could take a bottle of wine away which you can do in Boston provided it’s been opened and some has been consumed at the restaurant. We had a sip each and off we went, very contentedly full and happy and wishing we lived just down down the road. A really good restaurant to visit if you want some really tasty asian food in a lively setting. One i’ll definitely revisit when i’m next make it to Boston.

Boston

24 Sunday Apr 2011

Posted by in boston, parish, toro

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So but the time we eventually left Nassau, all of us were practically chomping at the bit wanting to get off the rock and get our 5 day food fest underway.

We were delayed by about an hour so by the time we got to Marks flat it was pretty late, we pretty much dropped off our bags and headed straight out to a little pub down the road called Anchovies. Hayley and I were both not feeling the greatest so we weren’t origionally thrilled by this idea, however, once we were there and presented with a big basket of truffle parmesan fries and a plate of ‘italian’ nachos we felt considerably better. I’m not entirely sure why these are not more widely done, it’s basically nachos with bolognese, roasted cherry tomatoes and a good dollop of ricotta. Yum.

We woke up the next morning, bright eyed and eager to sample some of the sandwiches from the famous Parish Cafe on the corner of Mass Ave and Tremont St. It’s developed a serious cult following here and for good reason. Its also Mark’s local so it was a definite must do. The majority of the menu is made up of sandwiches, each one created by a prominent Boston chef and it quickly becomes apparent why everyone loves this place. Hayls and i couldn’t decide which one to have (surprise surprise) so we ended up splitting 2, the 1st one that jumped out at me was the mexican meatball sub, juicy coriander filled meatballs on a crusty baguette with red onions, tomatoes and pepper jack cheese, it also came with a delicious chilli dipping sauce. It was one of the most comforting sandwiches i’ve ever eaten, meaty and cheesy and carby, delicious. The second one we went for was a vietnamese chicken baguette with shredded carrots and courgettes and a coriander/mint mayo. I will be recreating these seriously soon, i think they might become a bit of a staple.

www.parishcafe.com

The evening held even more delights in store. Mark is working at Toro, pretty much regarded as Boston’s best restaurant so we decided to go there for dinner and indulge. Which we seriously did. I’m beginning to belive that having friends that are chefs is truly the way to go. Toro don’t take reservations and it’s not unknown to wait 2.5 hours for a table. The best thing is, not one person seems to care about this wait, everyone is more than happy to chat and chill at the bar and try some of the delicious cocktails.

The menu is tapas based but it’s not the standard tapas, there’s a lot of offal – something i’m usually pretty scared of and do my best to avoid but i was told by alex that i had to try it and i must say that it was good, and far exceeded my expectations. Jamie, the head chef is very clever in the way that the offal is presented, it looks pretty, no longer like an organ but a delicious tapa that you can’t wait to try.

The ambience is just what i wanted, dark and cosy with wood floors and tables and exposed brick walls. Most of the tables are communal which makes the feel even more intimate. We were lucky and didn’t really have to wait at all as Mark had put us on the list so we got there in time to be the next table to be seated.

We waited at what they call ‘the bread table’ where we ordered the 1st of many cocktails. Hayls and I got 2 and shared as we couldn’t decide (are you beginning to see a bit of a recurring theme here?) it’s great because we have incredibly similar tastes and are two of the most indecisive people you will ever meet. As a result, the majority of our meals will be shared, it’s so handy. Anyway, we got a Cold River Ricky- potato vodka, lime and raspberry and the Perro Picante- Hendricks gin, grapefruit and chilli. This was hands down the resounding favourite, I’m usually not the biggest fan of cocktails as they’re so sweet that i find that after one or two i need to switch to something else. That was not the case with these, they were perfectly balanced, a little tart and just a touch of chilli. My amazing boyfriend even managed to wrangle the recipe out of the barman so i think it might become my new go to drink. Having said that, i possibly didn’t need to have 10 of them which i’m pretty sure me and hayls had each had by the time we left.

The kitchen sent out some complimentary tapas (see what i mean about being friends with chefs) first came the razor clams with piquillo pepper sauce which were good but probably a little fennelly for my taste.

Then came the charcuterie board including blood sausage and a surprisingly good smoked beef tongue sliced wafer thin

And the dish that, in an evening full of inventive, outstanding food, surprising took the crown. It is in fact the house specialty, something that i was surprised by until I tasted it. Grilled corn with lime, aioli, espelette pepper and aged cheese. Oh My God. Now i’m someone who loves corn anyway but this is unlike any corn i’ve ever tasted before, and seriously, i kind of want to eat it for every meal.

We sat down after this and then came the terrifying sight that was the Parrone. It’s kind of like a beer bong that you fill with wine and then pour in your mouth, trying to get your arm as far away as you can without pouring it all over your face. Now, being as uncoordinated as i am, this wasn’t so successful, by the time we left, i’d poured it everywhere and laughed so many times that i’m pretty sure hayley had a fine spray all over her. Nevertheless it was utterly hilarious. We felt 1 just wasn’t enough, 2 it is.

It was after this that we actually started the ordering, starting with a calamari bruschetta that was so good i couldn’t even get a photo before alex had tucked in

Next up was the beef short ribs, these were last meal good, rich and deep and on some of the best mash i’ve had in a while

Mussel, fennel and garlic toast

One of the surprise delights of the night, the beef heart bruschetta

                                 

Another one i was surprised to enjoy, the veal sweetbreads

Pork belly with clams, smoked potatoes and celery gougeres. Utterly moorish, we were all wishing we’d order another one of these and it tied with the beef shortribs in 2nd place

We deliberated about whether or not this next one would be too filling but we went for it and we were all pretty glad we did. Rabbit and escargot paella.

We then had the one dish of the evening that we didn’t like. I did pretty well with my tackling of the offal, and with most of it i was very pleasantly surprised. I have my limits though. And my limit is tripe, it’s texture is something that i just cannot get on board with, i can only describe it as feeling like a mouthful of chewy fat.

Then we got another freebie, pork loin with broad beans and peas

Lastly we had grilled asparagus with jerusalem artichoke puree

We deliberated for a while about whether to have dessert or not but in the end, the temptation of churros overwhelmed any feelings of fullness we had. And i’m so glad we gave in. They were just what i want in a churro, super crispy on the outside whilst still being fluffy in the middle and then coated in an indulgent amount of cinammon sugar. The sauce was great too as it was nicely bittersweet. I hate getting churros that come with a sweeter chocolate sauce as you want something to cut through all the sugar on the churros themselves. In all, a really great way to end a fantastic meal.

Once we’d finished, we decided to stay continue drinking our out of this world perro picantes at the bar until Mark finished work. It kind of has the feel of a speakeasy, it’s so candlelit and everyone is smiling and having fun that you just want to stay and carry on drinking- the kind of place where you feel like you can get away with anything. This was possibly an error as today was pretty shocking, we all barely moved today, venturing out only in search of food- shocking i know. I was also informed that i won ‘rack of the night’ as voted for by the chefs, many thanks boys, icing on the cake. All in all though it was honestly one of the most fun and most exciting culinary experiences i’ve had in a long time and can’t recommend it highly enough. If you ever find yourself in Boston go, i promise you won’t be sorry.

http://www.toro-restaurant.com/

Another day in Pav-adise

22 Friday Apr 2011

Posted by in chocolate, cream, meringue, pavlova

≈ 1 Comment

I’m pretty sure i’ve been thinking about starting a food blog for almost a year now, and i’ve been seriously talking about it for a few months. However a combination of my hideous habit of procrastination coupled with an innate fear of computers has held me back. But no more, i’ve finally decided to pull my finger out and start. This is also partly because, living on an island where the majority of the food leaves a lot to be desired, all i do is dream of food so i figured i should unload some of it on you guys.

Well, definitely not the most exiting way to kick things off but here we go, the first recipe of the brand new blog. We’re going for pavlova, mainly (ok, only) because when i awoke yesterday morning Alex’s mum requested one for her dinner party of 14 tonight. To be honest, that’s fine by me as it’s so easy it means i can wizz through it and head out on the boat.

There is definitely something to be said for a dessert that takes minimal time but is always delicious, whilst i’ll quite happily while away the hours making an elaborate dessert, sometimes it’s great just to be able to whip something up in the flashiest of flashes and know that everyone will love it. It also means that i don’t have to worry about whether it will be child friendly. I think we have a few tiny guests tonight and i’m yet to meet a child who turns their nose up at pavlova (i’ve clearly just jinxed myself now and the children will hate it, fingers crossed this is not the case).

 Also, i’ve found that a lot of people this side of the pond have never heard of pavlova and are delighted by all aspects of it, it’s obviously more of an english/aussie thing.For those of you that do fall into the ‘what the hell is that’ category, it’s basically a giant meringue, cooked so it’s nice and chewy on the middle and crispy on the outside. Once that’s all cooked, you whip up some cream so it’s all thick and billowy and smother that over the (cooled) meringue. Finally top it with the fruit of your choice and some kind of sauce if you want one- i usually do, i definitely follow the ‘everything is better with a sauce’ school of thought.

So anyway, a recipe is usually fairly helpful in this kind of situation so here we go:

Obviously i’m making this for 14 so you might want to scale it down a bit

For the meringue:

210g of egg whites ( i know it sounds like a pain but it’s SO much easier, and more precise to weigh them)

210g caster sugar

5g cocoa powder

Ok, first things first- make sure your bowl is clean. I mean super clean. Any trace of fat or oil at all and your egg whites will not whip. Preheat your oven to 150C/300F. Whisk your egg whites until they are really frothy and starting to look kind of thick. At this point you want to start adding your sugar, gradually. Either in thirds or just very slowly if you’re using an electric whisk or kitchen aid. I would seriously recommend this by the way or you’ll have a seriously tired arm by the end. That is of course unless you’re trying to beef up, in which case, do it by hand- just remember to switch arms half way.

It’s done when you can tip the bowl over your head and not end up looking like you’re wearing a smurf hat. I know it’s a cliche but it works. When it’s ready, spread it out onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. If you have a silmat, AMAZING, use that, if you don’t and you bake a lot, buy one, they’re invaluable.

Once it’s spread out (into whatever shape takes your fancy, i’m liking rectangles at the moment) dust it lightly with the cocoa powder and swirl it in with a skewer. Pop it into the oven for about 1 hour 15 mins. Check it after an hour though, just to be on the safe side, you want it crispy on top but still a bit sticky, gooey inside as it will harden a little as it cools.



For the cream:

500ml double or whipping cream (heavy in the us)
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract- if you can avoid vanilla essence then do, it’s usually not even from vanilla

Whip the cream, vanilla and icing sugar to soft peak- so it looks like this.


Then smear all over the meringue. Simple.

For the fruit:

I personally like quite a lot of fruit but if you want a bit more or a bit less then go for it.

2 1/2 punnets strawberries

Zest of an orange, juice of half.

Chop the strawberries into chunks, i wouldn’t worry about size or shape her, just go for whatever you feel like. Then finely grate the zest over and squeeze over the juice, toss it all together and leave everything to get cosy together for a while whilst you do everything else.

 

For the sauce:
This is such a simple sauce but it’s a really useful one, after all, who doesn’t like a bit of chocolate sauce every now and again?
100g dark chocolate
100g cream (the same as you used earlier for the whipped cream)
10g butter

Break the chocolate into little chunks (or, of course, you can buy chocolate chips). Heat the cream and then pour over the chocolate and stir until all the chocolate has melted. You can obviously use the traditional method of melting the chocoate in a bain-marie and heating the cream separately before mixing the two together. When it’s such a tiny amount though, it just seems easier to me to do it this way. Anyway, once you have you’re chocolate and cream combined then stir in 10g of butter cut into chunks. And thats it, It takes less than 5 minutes and is seriously simple.

Assembly:

Right, two tips for assembling this. Firstly, i know it sounds pretty obvious, but wait until the meringue is fully cold or all the cream will melt and you’ll have a wet soggy mess on your hands. Secondly i wouldn’t assemble this in a pristine white dress, 5 mintues before you’re due to go out for dinner as i did, it’s pretty nerve racking when drizzling on the chocolate sauce! OK, before you start putting it together, put the meringue base onto whatever plate you’re serving it on as it’ll be so much harder to transfer when it’s all put together. Next, dollop on your cream and smoosh it all over until you only have a border of about 1 inch of meringue still showing (i only do this because i think it looks nicer so feel free to go all the way to the edge if you want). then evenly spoon over your strawberries, probably best to use a slotted spoon so it doesn’t all get too wet and then simply sppon or drizzle over the chocolate sauce and hey presto, pudding’s done.