Feijoada

I know this post is really late but.. I promised to get around to my South American adventure sooner or later right?

When in Brasil, one of the MUST dishes to eat (other then the masses of Brazilian BBQ that you will eat until you vomit and sweat meat..) is Feijoada.

Feijoada is a stew of beans, pork fat and whatever else you wanna chuck in there- brought to Brazil by the Portuguese. Ironically, Feijao means.. well beans.

It's rumored that the Africans brought Feijoada with them after the Portuguese gave them the cheapest remnants of food they could find- beans and pork fat. Being as resourceful as they could, the only thing that could be done with the beans was to soak them for extended periods of time to soften them and get the toxins out, and then proceed to slowly simmer them with some tasty pork fat and whatever else they could get their hands on. The dish turned out to be delicious and now is considered to be a national dish. It's a MUST try dish when visiting Rio De Janeiro!

Need one of these in Bulle...

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a weakness of ice cream and any variable of ice cream thereof. This includes (of course) ice cream itself, gelato, shaved ice, soft serve and frozen yogurt (and ice cream cakes, ice cream bars etc etc... why don't I have diabetes already)

Why yes, it is getting cold in Switzerland right now.. but I have been CRAVING for some Yogurtland. Self serve, frozen yogurt, usually about 10 flavors, add on your topics and pay per ounce! Voila!! I had this EVERYDAY for about 2 weeks before moving to Switzerland hoping to quench my craving for it... Someone send me some Fro-Yo yo!

My FAVORITE restaurant

Can you blame a girl for wanting simple, traditional, really well cooked food? St. JOHN has never disappointed me. Small tapas style plates, beautifully executed dishes. The food is not fussy- it's just TASTY. We frequent the Spitafields location for its more casual atmosphere. The menu is split up into times- when the food will be ready. Main entrees usually are ready around 1, small plates around noon. Pay special attention to the chalkboard where specials are written. Once they are gone, THEY ARE GONE!
My favorite dish was the Black Pudding with prunes and bacon. The residual sauce was sopped up with St. John's fresh baked bread. The prunes, bacon and perfectly seasoned blood cake was so rich, so full of flavor- I realized how depressed I was to have to go back to Switzerland that day.
The Beet Salad with Goat Curd and Sorrel- classic flavors, light refreshing and of course seasoned well.

English tomatoes, Lovage and shallots. The marinated tomaotes with the shallots and freshness of the lovage made for an irresistible first plate. The tomatoes sweetness were enhanced by the lovage and marinated shallots. So simple yet so good. This is what food is SUPPOSE to be.
Deep had been talking about this one for ages! Foie Gras and Duck Liver toast, cornichons and sea salt. Rich, creamy.. who doesn't like Foie Gras?? Calories?? BRING IT ON. I ate ALL OF IT.

Dessert commenced with a Brown Bread Ice Cream. A creamy creme anglais base, slightly nutty with chunks of Brown bread spread throughout. I thought it would be interesting- the hardness of the crusty bread and the creamyness of the ice cream. I couldn't stop myself.. This was incredible!
Rice pudding with strawberry jam and a hunka butter. The Strawberry jam lent sweetness, the rice pudding creamy.

And of course, half a dozen freshly baked, just came out of the oven, crusty on the outside, moist on the inside St John's Madelines. No meal is every complete at St. JOHN without them.

St. JOHN has never disappointed me. From the bread to the small plates and of course the desserts ( here is a secret, their desserts are better then the main courses so SAVE ROOM FOR IT!!)

If you only have time for one meal in London, this is hand down, the one to go to.

St. JOHN Bread & Wine Spitafields
Reservations HIGHLY recommended
94-95 Commercial Street
London E16LZ
Tel: 0272510848

Bratwurst, Bier & Rosti.. How much more Swiss can we get?

On a short excursion day to Bern, we stopped into Bim Grosi for some quick lunch grub. The first must was the Gurten Bier- the local beer of Bern (Wabern). Fruity, light, not quite a heffe, it was just what was needed after a long morning of exploring the old town. Founded in 1864 by Johann Juker from Bollingen.
For my main meal, I had Rösti , a traditional swiss-german glorified spiced hashbrown (sorry Chef Waffler, I know it takes A LOT longer then hashbrowns and it's caramelized throughout the whole thing but.. it is still a hashbrown....) It is traditional to the Canton of Bern as well and considered the national dish of Switzerand (that and Fondue, Moite moite and Raclette. Usually with the glorified hashbrown, Rösti can also have bacons, onions, apples, cheese and a variety of herbs mixed into it.

With the Rösti was an Emmenthaler Bratwurst mit a caramelized onion sauce. I have to admit, the swiss know their charcuterie here. There have been countless times where I have had a bland, unseasoned sausages in the states... so far, the Swiss have not failed to dissapoint in the Bratwurst department.

The restaurant itself is a cute, one off restaurant off the main Martgasse plaza just down the street from the Bundeshaus. On Saturdays, there is a huge farmers market in the Martgasse plaza with regional purveyors displaying a bevy of cheese, meats and veggies. Prices are reasonable- decent local food- nothing fancy but will do!

Bim Grosi

Martgasse 69

3011 Bern, Switzerland

Tel: 0041313050888

Ladies Who Lunch

I was fortunate enough to be able to go back to my old kitchen to have lunch. Starting with some bubbly in the Fumoir room, the atmosphere was relaxing (ok maybe a bit pretentious.. it is Gordon Ramsay @ Claridges after all darling!) leisurely lunch.

After being greeted by some more Ayala, Brut Majeur, NV, Britt and I settled on our menu.
Then the non stop food ensued for the next 4 hours. First up were canapes with truffled cream cheese and taramasalata. After that came special canapes- truffled asparagus balls, quail eggs on mini potato pancakes and courgette rolls. The caramelized onion bread and olive bread after that and then finally the amuse! Pumpkin soup with sour cream foam and BACON!
I opted for the hot smoked Cornish mackerel, baby gem,white grape and caper dressing. The smoked mackerel was just smoked (not overcooked like I've seen done soooo many times last year...)
Britt went for the salad of marinated Enligsh tomatoes, goat's cheese cream, fennel beignets, Noir de Bigorre Ham. She said that it was absolutely delicious (why yes, the food is SEASONED well for a change.. unlike what we get back in Bulle... )

We were then treated to Roasted Scottish Scallops, Panch Phoran Shallots with a sweetcorn veloute (Courtesy of Tucker's hot starter section.. you did good Tuckers)

For the main, both of us had the Sauteed fillets of Rye Bay Plaice, Razor Clams, pickled baby carrots, coriander veloute ( not shown, picture was blurry.. hey I was on my 4th glass of creamy champagne.. can you blame a girl???) Rouge picked out beautiful pieces of Plaice for us- the texture light and flakey, delicate and gorgeous with the coriander veloute.

We then got to take a little breather with a kitchen tour.

Upon returning, we were greated with New Season English Strawberry Bavarois, olive oil and black pepper ice cream- light, not too heavy and LOVED the black pepper ice cream.
Britt opted for the English plum tart, mirabelle and lemon ice cream
While chocolate loving me, went for the Bitter Chocolate Parfait, pink grapefruit sorbet. The best part was the crumb on the bottom of the parfait. The tartness of the grapefruit went beautifully with the bitterness of the chocolate.

We finished off with tiramsu and brandy truffles petite fours

and, another kitchen tour ( and of course I finally got to see Pete!)

It was a wonderful afternoon, beautifully executed food. Thank you so much!!

Gordon Ramsay @ Claridges

Reservations Mandatory

Best Deal in London: 3 course set lunch

40 Brook Street
London W1K 4HR
Tel: 02074990099
reservations@gordonramsay.com

The Kitchen Tour

I recently went back to Claridges but this time to dine rather than to cook. It was the best meal I have had in ages. Thank yous Ronnie and the rest of the kitchen for letting Britt and I invade them during lunch service!!!
Garnish Ready? Garnish up!!!!Fingers (Jamsie Payne) running sauce and Sr. Sous Chef Ronnie running the main pass @ Gordon Ramsay @ Claridges

I Miss London!

After almost a year, I finally went back to London.. This is just a slight indication of the weekend that ensued.... Miss my kitchen boys dearly xxxx