kimbofo

A very Canadian breakfast

Place: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Niagra Falls, Canada.
Date: May 4, 2012.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

Midway through our trip to Toronto we went to Niagra Falls for a one-night stay. I'll write more about the falls later, but as a foodie I just had to share this picture of my ultra-delicious breakfast — freshly made waffles topped with fresh cream, blueberries and strawberries and drizzled with maple syrup.

T opted for the slightly more healthier option (although it's debatable whether pastries and a carrot-cake muffin are better for you than waffles), photographed below.

Without wishing to take away from the delicious food (and the stunning view of Niagra Falls from the restaurant window), it was a bit cheeky of the hotel to give us a credit towards breakfast when we had paid a "bed and breakfast" rate. Funny that the credit did not (deliberately) cover the cost of the breakfast. I think this is what you call a scam — or a sneaky way of bleeding more money out of unsuspecting tourists...

Fonzies — it must be Italian for 'Twisties'

Place: London (via Italy).
Date: March 4, 2012.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

You might think of Fonzie as that cool Italian-American guy out of Happy Days who wore blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a black leather jacket, had slicked back hair, rode a motorbike and picked up all the chicks. But if you go to Italy today, the only Fonzie you'll find is this delicious cheese-flavoured snack food.

And yes, if you're Australian and think the packaging looks exactly like the packaging for Twisties, you'd be right. Fonzies are actually Twisties — although they're closer to pale yellow in colour than orange and they're not quite as cheesy, either. But hey, who cares, when you're deprived of Australian junk food while living in the UK, you'll snap up as many of these little beauties as you can while visiting Italy! I've returned with a suitcase full of them...

Lemon cake with lemon curd, cream cheese frosting and toasted almonds

Place: My kitchen.
Date: January 9, 2012.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve.

When we went on our little excursion to the Maltby Street market at the weekend, the cheesemonger gave us a 250g block of short-dated unsalted butter for free. So, with a block of butter in the fridge and six amazing-looking free-range duck eggs — the shells in a range of delicate blues, greys and creams — I decided to bake a cake this afternoon using ingredients I had on hand. That included some caster sugar, a little bit of flour and a giant organic lemon.

I found a recipe for a lemon cake in 101 Cakes and Bakes, published by BBC Good Food Magazine, and with some slight adaptations in presentation, a recipe for frosting discovered on the internet and a new jar of lemon curd just waiting to be opened, this is the result!

If you're tempted to make it yourself, here's the recipe:

Ingredients for cake

175g butter, softened
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
175g SR flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon warm water
finely grated zest of one lemon

Ingredients for topping and filling

200g soft cream cheese
60g unsalted butter, softened
120g icing sugar
Juice of half a lemon
Handful of flaked almonds (optional)
Jar of lemon curd

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5/Fan oven 170°C. Lightly butter and line two 18cm/7in round cake tins.

2. Cream butter and sugar together, then add eggs.

3. Fold in flour, baking powder and lemon zest. Add the tablespoon of water.

4. Divide the mixture between the two tins, smooth, then bake for 25-30 minutes until the cakes spring back when pressed with a finger.

5. To make the topping, put the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk with an electric beater until combined.

6. Heat the almonds in a small fry pan over a medium heat, shaking all the time, until the almonds begin to change colour. (They burn very quickly, so take care!) Leave to cool.

7. Once the cakes have cooled, sandwich together using the lemon curd, using as much or as little as you like (alternatively, you could make extra topping and use that instead). Then spoon the topping over the top and add the almonds.

Enjoy!

A visit to The Kernel Brewery, London

All pictures taken: The Kernel, Bermondsey.
Date: January 7, 2012.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve.

Behind this roller door in the back streets of Bermondsey is an Aladdin's cave filled with delicious brews — pale ales, India pale ales, London porters and stouts.

This is the home of The Kernel, a brewery that has recently been named "Brewer of the Year" by the British Guild of Beer Writers.

At the risk of revealing London's best-kept secret, the brewery opens its doors to the public every Saturday between 9am to 3pm. You can buy beer to take away or you can ask to have it decanted in a glass to enjoy on the premises — there are tables and benches outside, but you need to be quick to nab a seat!

To begin with we tried the Centennial 2010, a gorgeous big-tasting fruity beer (see left) that went straight to the head. It's only now I realise that this probably wasn't surprising given the alcoholic content was 9% and I was drinking on an empty stomach!

We then tried the Nelson Sauvin (7.2%), which was slightly cloudy and tasted of grapefruit and malt. Really delicious.

The premises also sells cured meats — there were people next to us devouring paper-thin sheets of parma ham — so you can arrange your own spread of charcuterie, if you're that way inclined. (I'm not, because I don't eat red meat.)

And nearby properties — part of the Maltby Street market — sell everything from cheeses to coffees, bread to organic vegetables, seafood to pastries so you can really make a day of it and do lots of drunken fresh-food deli-inspired shopping.

Without really planning to, we went home with half-a-dozen fresh duck eggs, a selection of cheeses from Mons Cheesemongers and double-chocolate cupcakes and giant meringues from Bea's of Bloomsbury. It was definitely worth a visit, although the heavy dent in the bank account may suggest otherwise!

Goat's cheese and tomato cannelloni

Place: My kitchen, before sticking the cannelloni in the oven.
Date: January 5, 2012.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve.

Sick of cooking the same meals over and over again, I've dug out some of my cook books to add some new recipes to my repetoire.

I made this cannelloni earlier in the week, and despite the fact I accidentally used chili-infused olive oil, it was quite a delicious and easy-to-make meal.

Here's the instructions, adapted slightly from 101 Veggie Dishes, published by BBC GoodFood Magazine.

Ingredients

5 tablespoons fruity olive oil (chili oil gives it a nice kick!)
750g cherry tomatoes
2 teaspoons golden caster sugar
6 tablespoons green pesto
12 fresh lasagne sheets
225g soft rindless goat's cheese
350g ripe vine tomatoes, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan
basil leaves and green salad, to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas 7/fan oven 200°C.

2. Oil a shallow baking dish.

3. Halve 250g of the cherry tomatoes and put aside.

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the remaining (whole) cherry tomatoes, cover and cook over a high heat, shaking the pan, for 5 minutes. Add the sugar.

5. Spoon half this freshly cooked tomato sauce into the shallow baking dish.

6. In a separate bowl beat the pesto into the goat's cheese.

7. Lay out the lasagne sheets and spread the cheese mixture on the top of each sheet. Top with the thinly sliced vine tomatoes and roll up like a Swiss roll.

8. Put the rolls into the baking dish, on top of the sauce. Spoon over the remaining sauce, then add the halved cherry tomatoes and scatter some basil leaves on the top.

9. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

10. Uncover and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake for a further 10 minutes, until brown. Serve with fresh basil and a green salad.

Enjoy!

Long lunch Sunday

Place: The Bridge Hotel, Barnes.
Date: November 20, 2011.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve.

We took the VIPs out for a leisurely four-course lunch today.  I don't think I've eaten so much food in one sitting — ever. But I enjoyed every. single. delicious. mouthful.

Meet Veronica

Place: Northbank restaurant, London.
Date: July 22, 2011.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve.

"Wait until you meeet, Veronica," a colleague told me as we headed to the Northbank Restaurant, near St Paul's, for a summer drinks party. "She's just gorgeous."

I thought she was talking about a member of the bar staff. I was wrong.

Veronica is a well-behaved bulldog with a penchant for pork scratchings and pink bubbly. And yes, she's gorgeous. I wanted to take her home.

How to make flambéed Irish coffee

Legend has it that Irish coffee was invented in the 1940s at Shannon Airport to warm up some American passengers who'd experienced a rather rough flight across the water.

The drink is essentially a hot coffee laced with whiskey and sugar, and topped with a layer of cream.

I've consumed my fair share of Irish coffees over the years, but none tasted as fine as the one I had last week -- appropriately on St Patrick's Day -- at the Dublin Writers Museum.

A chef from the Michelin star Chapter One Restaurant gave us a quick lesson on how to make the genuine article: apparently it's all in the technique -- and the quality of the ingredients.

Here's the recipe, courtesy of Chapter One and the Tourist Office for Dublin:

Ingredients:

• One measure of Jameson Irish Whiskey
• 12 fluid oz of coffee (Americano)
• 1½ teaspoons of brown sugar
• Small jug of pouring cream
• Nutmeg (whole)

Method:

• Preheat a flambé pan. Shave nutmeg and sugar into pan
• Heat on full until sugar has caramelised
• Pour small amount of coffee in pan to cool slightly
• Slowly pour in measure of Jameson Whisky for flambé effect
• Add remaining coffee
• Then pour whiskey and coffee mix in Irish Coffee glass
• Slowly pour cream over a teaspoon on top of coffee mix (ensuring not to sink the cream)
• To finish, shave some nutmeg on top

Sláinte Mhaith! (Good health)

I travelled to Dublin and attended this event as a guest of Tourism Ireland.

How Twitter helped my quest to find the perfect cake shop

This is why I love Twitter. Earlier this month I asked a simple question:

 


And within a matter of minutes I was bombarded with responses -- all of them hugely helpful.

Here's a summary of what I was told:

@princess_knicks maison bertaux in soho is wonderful! http://www.maisonbertaux.com

@rachelala Maison Blanc (as in Raymond) nx to Richmond station, also Patisserie Valerie has several branches in C. London #foodie

@AboutLondon Chelsea Teapot on King's Road is lovely tea/cake shop. Has gluten-free options too.

@ManifestoBooks Patisserie Valerie - various locations I believe #cakesinlondon

@wkendLondon hummingbird bakery at South Kensington, fantastic cup cakes!

@beezan Is Valery's stll on Old Compton Street?

@jabtx1 haven't tried it, but hear Lanka Cake Shop in Primrose Hill is good.

@ZoeVH fleet river cafe nr holborn tube is just wonderful

@painting Chelsea Teapot on King's Road's gluten-free options > Delicious!! Don't eat breakfast or lunch beforehand!

@paperbk_reader Primrose Bakery (Covent Garden), Lola's Cupcakes, Hummingbird Bakery & Bea's, of course. Patisserie Valerie too.

@zengarden17 Del Aziz in Bermondsey Square (SE1) has lovely European style cakes & pastries. As lovely to look at as they are to eat.

@beezan If you want to travel out to Beckenham there is the SpongeKitchen - has lovely yum-yummy stuff to offer ...

@chasingbawa There's Princi and The Hummingbird Bakery on Wardour St. Also Paul on Old Compton St.

 

For the record, I went to The Chelsea Teapot with a friend last Sunday and it was awesome.

The shop was incredibly cute, with pastel coloured walls adorned with pretty frames and patterned plates, a bit like sitting in someone's country kitchen. All our food was served on old-fashioned China, including floral cups and a beautiful floral teapot, and the service was helpful and courteous.

But the food was what we went for -- and we weren't disappointed. I had the most amazing grilled chicken salad, followed by a ginormous slice of carrot cake which was unusually light and lemony.

My friend had a massive chunk of ultra-rich chocolate cake, with cream cheese frosting, which was still warm from the oven.

The chocolate cake was so good we bought extra slices to take home!

Melbourne: serving the world's best coffee

Place: BearBrass restaurant, Southgate, Melbourne, Australia
Date: January 13, 2011.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve.

When I moved to London all those years ago the thing I missed most about my homeland wasn't the weather or the friendliness of the people, but the wonderfully rich Italian coffee I had so long taken for granted.

I remember spending weekends trawling the cafes and eateries of Soho and the West End with a fellow Australian looking for that perfect flat white. The closest thing we came to finding that little bit of heaven was the Cinnamon Bar in Aldwych, but it still wasn't anything like a good cuppa from home.

Nowadays London is awash with coffee chains -- Starbucks, Costa, Cafe Nero -- and getting a half-decent coffee is no longer the trial and tribulation it was back in the late 1990s. In the past 12 months some of those chains have even introduced the "flat white" -- although they still don't taste quite as good as the ones produced Down Under.

How lovely, then, to enjoy silky smooth coffee after silky smooth coffee when I took myself to Melbourne for a bit of a mini-break last week. The best bit was not having to step into a corporate coffee chain to enjoy them.

That's because Melbourne is awash with independent coffee shops, thanks to the Italian immigrants that rocked up on our shores in the 1950s. Indeed, coffee chains don't seem to have much success here: Starbucks shut down 61 stores in 2008 because those stores struggled to attract customers.

The only coffee chain that seems to have a good reputation for good coffee is an Australian-owned one --  Gloria Jean -- and even then it has less than a dozen in the CBD, so it hasn't saturated the market.

The other added benefit of drinking coffee in Melbourne is that every establishment,  from the smallest sandwich bar to the biggest restaurant, seems to know how to make a decent one. And the coffee used is always top-notch.

In four days of coffee supping I did not have one bad coffee.

The only downside was a slight overdose -- three flat whites in the space of one morning (I was thirsty!) -- that left me feeling slightly jittery  and nauseous from too much caffeine. But even then I wouldn't swap the experience for the world: sometimes you just got to make the best of a good thing while you can.