Sunday 30 March 2014

Review of 'Lady Walk Tea Rooms' @ Shugborough Hall (National Trust)


Shugborough Hall
Stafford
Staffs.

Lady Walk Tea Rooms

Shugborough estate is a lovely National Trust property situated on the edge of Cannock Chase Staffordshire. It was the ancestral home of the Earls of Lichfield and as such where the photographer the late Patrick Lichfield lived.

 Within the grounds is the Lady Walk Tearooms, a pretty 'usual' National Trust type of cafĂ©/restaurant. On first glance it seems fairly small for such a large estate and it's visitors but out buildings have been converted as an overflow eating area.
The room is cosy (almost over filled) with pine tables and chairs and a small kitchen serving area serves a selection of sandwiches, hot meals, cakes and drinks.
The walks are decorated with photos of days gone by and 'object d'art'' from Shugborough.
We both ordered the sausage and mash (as you can see from the photo)
The sausages were made on the estate from Shugborough pigs and had a good tasty and firm bite. The skins were natural and there was black pepper and nutmeg running through them.
We got two good sized bangers on a mound of fresh mash, we were then offered veg of the day to complement it as well as plenty of fresh gravy. The veg was firm and fresh although we didn't really need more potatoes (in the form of roasted new ones).
For around £7 it was a good hearty home cooked meal. 
 
The dessert fridge also presented well, with brownies, Bakewell tarts and our choice of the day a five or six inch high lemon meringue pie.
The pastry was firm and crisp holding a good tart set lemon custard. The meringue on top was cloud-like pillows of sweetness just offsetting the tartness below. 

Lovely!

Saturday 29 March 2014

Review of 'The Bonnie Prince'





The Bonnie Prince

166 Swarkeston Road
Chellaston
Derbyover cooked and had dried out somewhat.
DE75 5UE
 
 
 
We met friends here last week as it was midway between where we both live. We chose it because of its location and the fact that it has a soft play area as we were both with children.
It's part of the 'Hungry Horse' chain and has a large menu of 'pub classics'.
The children's menu is good and allows you to 'pick 'n' mix' different mains and sides.
 
Our children chose burgers with mash, salad and chips, one also had pasta with tomato sauce.
All of these seemed to be of a fair quality and size and were quickly 'wolfed down'.
The adults meals were a bit more hit and miss. My partner ordered beer battered fish and chips which looked good served on 'fake' newspaper with peas and tartare sauce, but the fish was overcooked and had dried out.
 
I went for a burger (pictured below) - it was a 'Jumpin' Jack Jalapeno Burger.
The bun was quite a soft brioche style one filled with a beefburger, chicken breast, cheese, onion rings and their own 'Jalapeno Inferno' sauce. It was all very tasty although the amount of chips on both meals was rather meagre -I think the children's meals had a similar amount!
 
The problem with the meal was the sauce, I like spicy food (that's why I'd ordered it?!) but it was ridiculously hot and ended up killing the rest of the taste of the meal, which was a shame.
The one problem on the day we visited was the service, things seemed quite muddled, after ordering ice creams for the children they seemed to 'loose' the order for quite some time and then did the same when we came to order the adult sweets. (which were quite poor- for the price). 
 
The other issue we had was with the soft play as even though there were nine of us paying for our dinner and drinks we still had to pay extra for it. the cost was £2.50 which is not too bad but it was just for one hour which seems a bit steep really
 
All in all it was ok for a snack or a drink but not somewhere I'd make a habit of visiting for food.
 
 

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Gulab Jamun

These are some Indian sweets I made at the weekend for friends who'd come around for Sunday lunch.
I did a full Indian menu and these were one of the sweet meats that rounded it off.
They are a milk enriched doughnut like affair that are fried and then soaked in a spiced (in my case!) syrup.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry milk powder
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) - melted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup warm milk
1 pinch ground cardamom
1 quart vegetable oil for deep frying
 
 
 
1 1/4 cups white sugar
7 fluid ounces water
1 teaspoon rose water
1 pinch ground cardamom
Directions:
1.In a large bowl, stir together the milk powder, flour, baking powder, and cardamom. Mix in the melted ghee, then pour in the milk, and continue to mix until well blended. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
2.In a large pan, stir together the sugar, water, rose water and a pinch of cardamom. Bring to a boil, and simmer for just about 5 minutes. Set aside.
3.Fill a large heavy pan halfway with oil (or deep fat fryer about 170') . Heat over medium heat for at least 5 minutes. Knead the dough, and form into about 20 small balls. Reduce the heat of the oil to low, and fry the balls in one or two batches. After about 5 minutes, they will start to float, and expand to twice their original size, but the colour will not change much. After the jamun float, increase the heat to medium, and turn them frequently until light golden. Remove from the oil to paper towels using a slotted spoon, and allow to cool. Drain on paper towels and allow to cool slightly.
4.Place the balls into the skillet with the syrup. Serve immediately, or chill.

Tuesday 18 March 2014

My Introduction(s)

Hi,

This is my first post and an introduction to what I hope will be one of Derby's first Foodie Blogs.

I hope to be able to share with you some of my favourite and new recipes as well as some pix and reviews of my eating out.

To share a little about myself, I am a 'mid-forties' family man living in the City of Derby. I work in a primary school but previously worked in kitchens when I was younger.
I enjoy all types of cooking from traditional English and European to American, Mexican and all types of Asian food.

As a family we also have a 'place' in Southern Italy so the food of Italy, and in particular from the region of Puglia will feature from time to time especially during our holidays when we tend to spend most of the time eating either in a plethora of trattoria and restaurants or back at home with me doing a bit of experimentation.

I hope you enjoy it

Many thanks for looking

Darren