My magazine addiction !

My name is Sharon and I am a magazine addict!  There, I have said it.

I have loved magazines for as long as I can remember.  I think it must be my mums fault, she always had magazines under the coffee table when I was young and I used to read them all...Good Housekeeping, Prima, Essentials.

At some point and I think it was when I was 16 and started catering college I discovered Good Food Magazine.  After buying that first copy, I have bought every edition since.  I just cant help it. 

Over the years there have been other food magazines but nothing beats Good Food.  There are however a couple of others I buy religiously and have done since they were first published.  I want to share these with you.

BBC GOOD FOOD - this is a good all-rounder magazine with a bit of everything, recipes, reviews, debates, gadgets and profiles.  Its packed with recipes both for everyday meals and recipes for entertaining or for when you want something a bit special.

DELICIOUS - Not too different from Good Food magazine but the style is a bit different.  The photography is fantastic, it makes you want to eat the pages!! There are alot more articles about various food issues.  There is also always a section on travel, i.e this month its 48 hours in Bath with all the food hot spots highlighted.

OLIVE - The cover photo on this magazine is always amazing, however if you go and buy this in the shops the cover will be different to the photo above.  That's because I have a subscription and the cover is always different for subscribers.  This magazine has far more emphasis on eating out, restaurant reviews, and travel articles.  There are also lots of great recipes and again great photography.

HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE - This is a brand new magazine and this is the first issue.  I am unfortunately dairy intolerant so I bought it initially hoping that there would be good dairy free recipes in the magazine.  Luckily there was but I also found everything else really interesting.  There are alot of articles on health i.e "Are your hormones making you fat?".  Every recipe has got symbols with it i.e dairy free, gluten free, low fat, low salt, high protein etc.  I will be adding this one to my regular magazines.

Sharon xxx

The Dirty Habit - Hollingbourne, Kent

Craig and I decided to eat out last night as the teenager was at his dads so we had some time alone.  I don't normally like to go out on a Friday night.  At the end of a long week all I want to do is cook something simple at home and watch the telly.  But it was the only evening we had free so Friday night it is.

We decided to go to The Dirty Habit in Hollingbourne.  We had eaten here once before back in November with friends.  It was a good evening so we thought we would give it another go on our own.  I booked a table via their website, which shows you all available time slots for tables.  It was very easy to use and convenient.  I hate it when you try and phone a restaurant to book a table and they never pick up the phone gggrrr.

When we arrived we were greeted by a couple of staff.  We were asked if we wanted to have a drink at the bar first or go straight to our table.  We decided to sit down straight away.  They gave us a table for two by the fire; unfortunately its also by the door which opens every time new diners arrive.  That's where we sat last time and it wasn't very pleasant due to the cold air that keeps on blowing in.  So I asked for a different table which they gave us with no hesitation.

Menus were handed over and a drinks order taken.  I'm not drinking wine at the moment so I ordered a Gin & slimline tonic.  Craig doesn't drink most of the time so a large bottle of sparkling water and a diet coke for him.

We ordered a bread selection to nibble on while we waited.  This came with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  It wasn't the most interesting selection though, two slices of white bread and two slices of brown bread. I would have preferred some Italian breads perhaps.

For my starter I ordered Ham Hock terrine with homemade piccalilli.  This is one of my favourite starters and we had it at our wedding last year so it also holds happy memories (its the only part of the wedding meal I ate).  It was beautifully presented and the slice of terrine was not to think so it didn't fill me up.

Craig had the Thai fish cakes to start.  He said they were delicious, however I thought they were both to big and a bit to cooked.  They were very dark in colour.  The sauce you can see in the photo is a sweet chili sauce.

For my main course I had the slow roast belly of pork with savoy cabbage and mashed potatoes.  I was really looking forward to this as Craig had cooked it for me and my sister the previous weekend.  While this was nice it was not a patch on Craig's.
The meat was very tender but it was a little bland.  It came with one long strip of crackling which was nice but that's the best bit of having roast pork so I would have liked a little more.  The cabbage, potato and sauce were all nice.

Craig had the Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas and Tarter sauce.  It looked fantastic.  The fish was not too big which is something I normally find when you order fish and chips.  The mushy peas were very good indeed; I tried a little bit and I wish I had had that.

We decided not to order desserts or coffee, however the dessert menu had some lovely dishes.  The chocolate brownie pudding was tempting and the banoffi pie caught Craig's eye.

The bill came to around £50 which included two G&T's, a large coke and a large bottle of sparkling water.

We really like the feel off this pub, its warm and cosy and the service is excellent.  So despite the food not being perfect we will return.

Red Velvet Birthday Cake

For those of you who don't know, I think I have the best husband in the world.  Not only is he good looking, intelligent, and treats me like a Queen, he can also cook.

I'm not just talking about the occasional spag bol either.  Last weekend it was his mothers birthday so being the fantastic son he is - he baked her a cake.

Its a Red Velvet Cake.  The recipe he used is in The Hummingbird Bakery book.  The frosting is cream cheese frosting.

We had Red Velvet cupcakes at our wedding last year and its my favourite.  I don't often eat cake so I made sure I had two slices to make up for it.  I dread to think how many weight watchers points that is!!!

Zizzis at The 02

I don't get to see my sister very often but last weekend she came to stay for a couple of days without the family so we had plenty of girly time.

Our weekend started on Friday evening with tickets to see Westlife in concert at The 02.  The plan was to drive up early and have dinner in one of the restaurants on site.  To be honest I was not expecting anything more than a mediocre meal in a chain restaurant.  Well we did eat in a chain restaurant however it was much better than mediocre.

After walking around and checking out a few menus we settled on Zizzis.  It was the busiest of all of them so we decided this was a good sign.

We started with a selection of breads while we were looking at the menu.  This came with both balsamic vinegar and olive oil to mix in a little bowl.  I still haven't got into the habit of taking pictures so by the time I remembered we had nearly polished of the whole lot....whoops.

Then onto our main course.  I ordered Linguine Gamberi which is juicy tiger prawns and fresh tomatoes in a tomatoes sauce with a touch of chili. It was really good.

My sister ordered Sea Bass Al Vino (Sea bass with wine, garlic, baby plum tomatoes and parsley and topped with a big wedge of lemon. Served with herbed potatoes).  It looked delicious and she said it tasted fantastic.

 We decided to share a dessert as we were both quite full by this point.  We had the Torta Amaretti which is

Creamy mascarpone cheesecake sweetened with Amaretti liqueur, served with a fruit compote and fresh mint. I'm not really a dessert person but this was so good.

We had coffee to finish while we waited for the bill.  I have to admit I don't remember the exact amount the bill came to but it was around £50.  This included all of the above plus a glass of wine, a diet coke, 2 beers, a vodka & coke and a latte.

If I happen to be at The 02 again I will be more than happy to return to Zizzis for a meal.  The food and service were both excellent and it made a good start to our evening.

In case your wondering, Westlife were very good and I'm sure one of them saw me in the crowd and blew me a kiss - unfortunately it was the gay one!!!

Places we love

As I am new to blogging I don't know much about the etiquette involved and what you can and cant do.  However I'm pretty sure that its bad form to write a full post about a place that you have not been to recently.

However that leaves me with a dilemma because Craig and I have been to places that we want to share so others can enjoy them if they get the chance.  So I have decided to add a list of these places with a few short comments and any links

Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saison
This is the two Michelin starred restaurant owned and run by Raymond Blanc.  This is where Craig asked me to marry him in January 2010.  We had lunch (the tasting menu) and I only have one word to describe it - Amazing.

Jamies Italian - Covent Garden
Craig and I had lunch here very recently and it was great. Its part of Jamie Oliver's chain of restaurants and there are 17 of them around the country.  Not expensive.

Bluebells Cafe at Briddlesford Farm, Isle of Wight
We discovered this cafe last weekend when we visited the Isle of Wight.  The food is all local and homemade.

Judges Bakery - Hastings
Fantastic bread and cakes plus lots of other food items in the shop.

The Boathouse Seafood Restaurant - Isle of Wight
If you love crab and lobster this is the place to go. Its not cheap and its hard to get a table but its worth it.  The owners catch the crabs and lobsters in the morning and cook them fresh for lunch.  Not the place to go if you want meat, there isn't any.  Its only open in the summer.

Benares - London
A michelin starred indian restaurant in Mayfair.  We went here for lunch on Craigs 40th birthday.  It was excellent.

Hummingbird Bakery - London
American style cupcakes, the best I have had.  Try the red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

Afternoon Tea at Browns Hotel - London
We had afternoon tea here for my birthday last year.  It made a nice change from a meal although there was just as much food.  The waiter will keep replenishing your cakes and sandwiches.  The choice of teas is really good.

Suffolk Food Hall - near Ipswich
I love this place and try and visit when we are visiting family in the area.  The butcher counter sells fantastic meat including well aged beef.  There is a cafe and garden centre on site.

La Fromagerie - London
If you like cheese this is the place to go. All the cheese is kept in a specially cooled cheese room .  There is also a small cafe which is very popular.  It does light meals, breakfast and brunch.  This shop is also good for finding those hard to find things you never knew you needed like wild garlic and samphire.

Neals Yard Dairy - London
This is our favourite cheese shop in London.  Its located in Borough Market although there is also a branch in Covent Garden and they do some mail order.  They encourage you to try everything before you buy.  They also do great sourdough bread and fresh butter.

Pennyhill Park Hotel & Spa
Craig and I spent the day here in the spa a few weeks ago.  It was the best spa I have been to so far.  There are lots of different pools including one with underwater music.  Other highlights were the outdoor jacuzzi's, the steam room and the changing rooms.  The changing rooms were amazing.  Huge lockers, sofas, and showers big enough for 4 people (not that you would!).  I had a hot stone massage and facial which left me very relaxed.
The lunch was also excellent.  In some spas the food offering can be a bit bland but this was restaurant quality food.  This spa is well worth a visit.

Wildwood, Maidstone

So last night was my first night out since I started this blog (only a few hours earlier!).  I was really excited about taking some photos of the food and posting them here with a write up.  So guess what, I forgot!!  I was too busy chatting with my two girlfriends to remember, and I hadn't told them about the blog so I couldn't be prompted.

Wildwood is part of a small chain of restaurants.  It’s the kind of place that’s good for an inexpensive night out with a group of friends.

We all opted to go straight to the main course.  For me Spaghetti with prawns, chilli, cream and garlic.  When the waiter took the order I casually mentioned that I wanted lots of chilli.  Well the chef was told this and he literally put in I’m guessing 2 chillies sliced up in rings.  It was too much for a pasta dish.  Apart from that the dish was nice, nothing special but not awful either.  The girls also both had a pasta dish.  The mushroom ravioli was heavy on the filling and a bit claggy.  We also had a rocket salad to go with the pasta which was nice and fresh.

For dessert we ordered 2 chocolate and raspberry sundaes between the 3 of us.  I rarely order a pudding, opting for coffee instead so I didn’t eat too much however it was yummy.

3 main courses, 4 drinks, 2 desserts and 3 coffees came to £47.05 not including a service charge.  We did have a voucher for 2 mains for £10 so it would usually be a little more but still great value.

Wildwood is somewhere that I have been going to for the last few years and will continue to visit.  It’s a nice casual place that always has a good atmosphere and the waiting staff are always great.

http://www.wildwoodrestaurants.co.uk/

My first post

So here I am writing the first post on my first ever blog.  This has been something I have wanted to do for ages but have never quite got round to it.  One of the reasons for that is that I'm not overly great on computors, so on that note I must ask you to bear with me.  I hope that my 'blogging' skills will improve as I learn.

Im going to use this first post to tell you some more about me and my husband.  I have always had an interest in food and by that I dont just mean eating it but reading about it aswell.  I have always been hooked on food magazines. I have read every copy of BBC Good Food magazine for the last 21 years.  I went to catering college for 3 years at the age of 16 and loved every minute of it.

I have one main hobby - I collect cook books.  At the last count I had around 125.  I will never tire of cook books and there is always one or two on my christmas list.

My husband Craig and I love to have what we call little 'food adventures'.  It might be a visit to a wonderful restaurant for a special occasion, or hunting out a speciality food shop we have read about.  You can guarentee though that wherever we go food is involved in some way.

So I want to share these adventures with you.  This blog is going to be a place where I write reviews of restaurants we have visited whether good or bad, recipes we have cooked, shops we have found and new ingriedients we have tried.

I hope you enjoy reading.

Sharon x