annual » Kavey Eats

Farewell to 2012

30 Dec 2012 9 Responses »

Dec 302012

2012 has been busy for Kavey Eats, with over two hundred posts shared over the last year!

Here’s my pick of posts from each month:

January

The year started sweetly, with several tasty cookie, cake and dessert recipes. A cracker was the Confit Clementines and Lemon Posset I made for the previous year’s Christmas day lunch.

The savoury eating had a good start too, with my review of a magical celebratory meal with my sister at The Fat Duck.

I also had the pleasure of cringing at myself on the telly when the BBC food quiz, A Question of Taste aired.

February

Still in the grips of winter, I shared my recipe for Beef Cheeks Bourguignon, a hearty classic with a Kavey Eats twist.

BaconPancake-9518

But the recipe which garnered far more attention was these Bacon Pancakes, an idea I picked up from American food bloggers and had to try myself.

Towards the end of the month, I re-launched Kavey Eats, having moved from Blogspot to WordPress and created a completely new look and layout.

March

March saw me post another hearty recipe, this time my culinary handshake between America and Britain – Boston Baked Beans and British Bangers.

A Clafoutis Black Cherry Pudding made a great winter warmer dessert.

Memories (and photos) of childhood abounded when I made Knicker Bocker Glories as part of my second ever BSFIC challenge.

Pete and I amused ourselves by Making Triangular Omelettes in a Sandwich Maker, just to see if we could!

April

We had fun checking out the new Hawksmoor Spitalfield Bar.

I got wrapped up in the history of the loss of the Titanic, after a tasting at Berry Bros & Rudd.

Chicken Savoyarde was utterly delicious, though not very photogenic!

I was bowled over by Satong Sumbat (baby squid stuffed with spiced minced chicken) and other dishes at Umami Restaurant, all the more surprising given that it’s a hotel restaurant.

May

Pete and I had a fantastic weekend in Amsterdam during which we did nothing but eat and drink our way around the city. I shared a comprehensive list of local specialities to look out for, some delicious places to find Coffee, Cake and Snacks in Amsterdam and lastly our tips for Amsterdam Restaurants & Bars.

Several eager panellists joined me to carefully cogitate over as many brands of Jaffa Cakes as I could find, which resulted in the Great Jaffa Cake Taste Test. The winner surprised all of us as it was neither the best known brand nor the most expensive, by a long shot!

I shared a non-food project I was very proud of – a collage of heart-shaped maps of our significant places, which I made for Pete as a gift for our 20th anniversary of being a couple.

I was a very proud wife when Pete won Saveur magazine’s Best Wine or Beer Blog 2012 after only 6 months blogging at his own site. Go visit, have a look around, leave a comment or three and add him to your RSS reader!

June

I learned and shared a recipe for Easy Dauphinoise Potatoes. They’re delicious and have become a regular feature in our house!

Pete and I went to Dublin’s Bloom In The Park, and encountered many wonderful Irish food and drink producers.

We tried Club Gascon’s amazing Marmite Royale & Toasts shortly before it was launched at Taste London.

Pete made the most delicious Cobnut Bread. The recipe would also work well for hazelnuts or walnuts.

July

We enjoyed a superb dinner at Paul Merrett’s pub, The Victoria in East Sheen.

I had fantastic fun attending The Flavours of Italy cookery class at the new Food at 52 cookery school.

Discovering how easy and tasty the condensed milk and double cream no churn ice cream base recipe is has made it even easier to make ice cream at home. This honeycomb ice cream was fabulous.

I gorged myself on crawfish at Bea’s Crawfish Boil.

This year I enjoyed visiting many more Indian restaurants, including Cinnamon Soho, for a family Sunday brunch.

August

My genius came to the forefront (or so I maintain) when I came up with the idea for these Pickleback Ice Lollies – yes, that’s bourbon mixed with pickled gherkin brine and frozen!

The view and the food were both pretty amazing when we attended Claude Bosi at The Cube, located on top of Royal Festival Hall.

I may have confused redcurrants and cranberries, but my home-made Redcurrant and Port Jelly made an appearance on Christmas day, regardless!

September

I talked about my tips for organising the freezer.

After attending two wonderful fish and seafood cooking classes with Lee Groves, I posted an interview and his recipe for Ray Wings In Pepper Brown Butter Sauce.

I was thrilled with how well this Sichuan Pepper Ice Cream came out. Delicious!

I’m not one for hero worship but I have long admired Atul Kochhar so I was delighted to not only meet him but attend a mini cooking class in his restaurant kitchen, before sitting down to a lovely meal in the dining room.

October

After another great visit to Abergavenny Food Festival, I enthused about my favourite exhibitors.

I enjoyed getting my chops around a Tongue n Cheek ox heart burger.

This Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with a Stout Honey Glaze was absolutely fantastic. It’s long past due for another outing!

A residual memory from summer came to the surface when I shared the photos from our day at a Kentish Hop Farm.

November

In October, Pete and I spent a truly wonderful 2.5 weeks in Japan. In November, I started writing up our experiences – there are so very many I want to share. First, an introduction, itinerary and resources list. On to eating, I posted about the challenges of Japanese vending machines, a delicious meal at Tempura Tsunahachi Honten and being intimated by Piss Alley before finding delicious Ramen for dinner.

Probably the post that garnered most attention was my Guide to Staying in a Japanese Ryokan.

Mum and I were very excited to finally see Leon Book 4 because we contributed a few recipes to it, not to mention some photos from the Gupta family album!

I enthused about one of my favourite cookbooks of the year, Jekka’s Herb Cookbook.

This year, I’ve discovered some fantastic teas. I reviewed my favourites for my Fantastic Teas 2012 Great Gift Guide.

December

After an eye-opening (not to mention palate-opening) visit to the Kelly Bronze Turkey Farm, I wrote about the history of turkeys in the UK and about the difference between intensively raised white birds and Kelly’s bronze ones.

For once, this dessert-wine drinker was given matching wines for all courses, at The Vineyard in Stockcross.

Ever keen on quick and easy recipes I shared two this month. The first was for Chocolate, Amaretto and Amaretti Ice Cream. The second was an impressive Speculoos and Mascarpone Pancake Cake.

More from Japan, in the form of Hida Beef and Owara Tamaten and a very photo-heavy meander through one of Takayama’s morning markets.

And there you have it! Believe it or not, that’s only a small selection of what I’ve posted on Kavey Eats this year. I hope you enjoyed my monthly picks. Happy New Year and see you in 2013!

Seasons Greetings from Kavey Eats

24 Dec 2012 4 Responses »

Dec 242012

Carved detail on Hachiman Festival Float, Takayama, Japan

Kavey Eats 3 Today!

02 Apr 2012 23 Responses »

Apr 022012

Today I’m celebrating three years since I launched Kavey Eats, on April 2 2009.

Sharp-eyed among you may have noticed that the archive goes right back to August 2006. That’s because I started the blog as I came to the realisation that I’d been stealth blogging (as I call it) for years… sharing my food thoughts in online chat rooms, on food discussion boards, at LiveJournal, via email and even in the comments sections on other peoples’ blogs! I wrote rambling restaurant reviews, thoughts on favourite ingredients, reports about food festivals I’d attended, notes about kitchen equipment we’d purchased, feedback on recipes we’d tried and enjoyed… much of the same kind of stuff I share on the blog today.

Despite that, when I started the blog, I feared I’d never keep it up, that I’d run out of things to say, that I’d get bored or that the enjoyment would simply fade away over time.

for those who’ve been asking for a picture of me without the specs, post eye lasering

But three years on, I’m still loving my tiny corner of the web, still enjoying the act of recording my food thoughts and experiences both for myself and sharing with others, still getting a kick out of the relationships I continue to build and maintain with readers, fellow bloggers and people in the food and drinks industry. I’ve met so many wonderful people, and been given such wonderful opportunities, through writing this blog, I am very thankful.

I’m really happy about the new look too. How can I describe the pleasure of going from using a template, the same one used by so many bloggers all over the web, to a design that’s all my own and reflects me so well? Do you remember those strap-on roller skates that you used to buckle onto your regular shoes as a kid? Did you ever upgrade to proper roller boots, which quickly came to mould themselves to your feet, so the skates felt like an extension of your body? Or how about finally buying your very own home and stamping your identity on it, after living in magnolia rentals for years and years? Or finding the perfect fit of jeans after pair after pair with a slightly loose waist or thighs that pinch or legs that are an inch too short or long?

Somehow, even if it’s superficial, the new look makes Kavey Eats feel more like home and gives me even more motivation to keep going, not that I often run short of things to say!

Many thanks to all of you for reading, especially to those of you who take the time to share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Here’s to the year to come!

Which Recipes Were Top in 2011?

05 Jan 2012 3 Responses »

Jan 052012

For those less interested in my restaurant round up than in the cooking, here are the 12 recipe posts which received the most views during 2011.

Chicken, Bacon, Mushroom & Crème Fraiche Pasta

Braised Ox Cheek Bordelaise

Chocolate & Chorizo Chilli Con Carne

How to make Strawberry Vodka Liqueur

Persian Baked Yoghurt Rice with Chicken (Tahcheen-e morgh)

Lemon Posset, Candied Peel & Cordial

The Ultimate Macaroni Cheese Challenge

Homemade Terrine de Foie Gras Mi-Cuit

Chicken Liver & Port Paté

Perfect Burger & Ultimate Burger Bun Recipes!

Pete Bakes: Chocolate & Porter Cake

Choux Buns With Coffee Custard Filling

Enjoy, and if you make any of these, leave me a comment letting know how you get on!

Kavey Eats Favourite Eats 2011

29 Dec 2011 9 Responses »

Dec 292011

Inspired by annual restaurant roundups from fellow bloggers, many of which have resulted in yet more additions to my ever-burgeoning restaurant wish list, I thought I’d share some of my highlights from eating out in 2011.

Follow links to read the full reviews for each restaurant.

Best Starter (Joint Winners)

Now and then I talk about ordering a much-loved starter again for dessert. It’s not often I do it. But we both loved the Warm Flan of Foie Gras Bordelaise at Club Gascon‘s 13th birthday so much, we actually did order a second one later in the same meal. It’s a light but incredibly rich savoury custard packed full of foie gras flavour in a slightly sweet red wine reduction sauce. So fabulous we grinned at each other over every single mouthful.

Souffle Suissesse at Chez Roux in Inverness is described as Albert Roux’s twice baked floating soufflé with Mull cheddar and Gruyère cheese. It’s one of the best cheese dishes I’ve ever eaten. So light I dreamt I was eating a cloud, it was served in a cheese sauce that packed so much cheese flavour it was cheesier than solid cheese! And yet, thin and light, not thick and oily and gloopy. Truly a delightful dish.

Best Lamb

I’ve dined in a fair few hotel restaurants this past year. My meal at the Waldorf Astoria London Syon Park’s restaurant The Capability stands out, in good part because of one truly magnificent dish. My hay baked Cornish mixed lamb with pan haggerty and green sauce included slow baked belly, fried tongue, sweetbread, cutlet and kidney all of which were perfectly cooked, as was the cheesy, pan haggerty, something I’d not had before. The two sauces, a fresh and vibrant green herb sauce and a sinfully rich reduced wine and stock sauce, were also excellent.

Best Seafood

I’ve enjoyed the enormous Hot Roasted Shells platter at Bistro du Vin twice, once at the Clerkenwell branch, and again at the Soho property. Served on a platter, but unlike the traditional fruits de mer, grilled under the Josper and served hot. It’s a feast of epic proportions and I loved every messy, juice-spurting moment of it!

Sadly, it seems to have been taken off both menus, which is hugely disappointing.

Best Vegetarian Dish

Everything we ate at The Mall Tavern was fabulous – it’s not for nothing I call Jesse Dunford Wood a nutter genius. But, to my surprise, it was his red-wine poached eggs with chestnuts, cipollini onions and mushrooms on smoked mashed potatoes which really blew me away.

Also in the running was the Braised Crispy Bean Curd in Brown Sauce at Pearl Liang.

Best Burger

My Lucky Chip Sheen burger was fantastically good – juicy, full of flavour and very satisfying. Well worth the journey, the cold winter weather and the outdoor seating.

Also enjoyed during the year were a few visits to ThaT Burger, just before it closed its doors and the ever popular Byron.

Best Sweets

image courtesy of Chancery Court

I’ve not blogged this one yet, but I can’t not include the patisseries which form part of the help-yourself chocolate afternoon tea served in The Lounge, at Chancery Court. Sandwiches, scones and tea are served to your table but the rest of the sweet goodies are laid out for your delectation. As well as two chocolate fountains with fruit or marshmallows to dip, there are cakes, brownies, cookies and meringues, chocolate coated nuts and then the rather fantastic patisseries. The only word for these is magnificent and the Blackforest gateaux (a light reinterpretation of the classic cake), raspberry chocolate macaroon stack, the coffee panna cotta with baileys profiterole and the one that tasted like an extremely posh jaffa cake are firmly embedded in my mind.

Best Never-had-it-before Experience

Pumpkin koroke (croquettes) don’t, on the face of it, sound that appealing even to someone who likes bread-crumbed deep-fried things and sweet soft pumpkin flesh. But having ordered them once, at Sushi Japan, they’re now the item I most often start dreaming about, and which prompt our regular return visits.

Best Sharing Plates

I can’t round up the year without mentioning the wonderful platters of Parma ham and Parmesan cheese served as part of every meal the group enjoyed during my visit to Parma and the surrounding region. Also in the photos above is culatello, another delicious local product.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my roundup of some of my favourite eats of 2011. I can’t wait to get my teeth into 2012!

Merry Christmas from Kavey Eats & Pete Drinks!

24 Dec 2011 8 Responses »

Dec 242011

Pete and Kavey wish all the readers of Kavey Eats & Pete Drinks a very merry Christmas!

Kavey Eats Christmas Shopping Guide

03 Dec 2011 24 Responses »

Dec 032011

I hate shopping for clothes, shoes and practical necessities but I do love shopping for presents. There’s something wonderful about finding the perfect present for a loved one; a present you know will light up their face when they receive it; a present that fits like an oven glove!

Recently, I shared some recipes for homemade presents.

Now I’m sharing my favourite ideas for presents you can buy.

Hint: if you’re looking for inspiration for gifts for me, this should give you some ideas!

A Food Blogger’s Christmas Wish List

AdHoc Tea Infusers

These nifty tea infusers by AdHoc bob about in your mug, gently infusing your chosen tea into the hot water. Available for £8.95 plus postage from Kitchen.

Food Christmas Tree Ornaments

I’m enchanted and amused by these fantastic food and drink ornaments for Christmas trees, made by Inge-Glas, a German family glass-blowing business. There are over 125 to choose from and I’ve made a collage of my favourites, above. Thanks to My Tiny Plot for introducing me to these, via her post on Inge-Glas’ vegetable ornaments. She links to a US-based online retailer, but it’s probably worth contacting Inge-Glas directly to ask about European suppliers.

Bert & Ernie Cheese Cutters

I mostly love these for their names, but I like the clean and simple styling too. Available from Crate & Barrel for £4.05 each (plus postage).

Nudo Adopt An Olive Tree

I was invited to meet the founders of Nudo Italia recently, at an event where we tasted the latest harvest of oil before enjoying a meal incorporating the various flavoured oils. In fact I’d come across their flavoured oils a few years previously, so was already a fan of the fresh, clean flavours. I like all of them but particularly recommend the lemon, basil and garlic ones.

For £65 you or your recipient will receive an adoption certificate with information about the adopted tree and the grove it sits in. In spring, the adoptive “parent” will receive extra virgin olive oil from trees in their grove, between 1.5 and 2 litres. And in autumn, they will be sent three tins of flavoured oils, 250 ml each in size. I love unusual present ideas like this and can’t wait to receive the oil from my own adopted tree, which I was gifted by Nudo.

Le Creuset Espresso Mugs

These Le Creuset mini mugs would be perfect serving dishes for rich, home made desserts such as lemon posset or chocolate mousse. I can’t decide whether I’d go for all one colour or get a mix. Available for £6.50 each from Kitchen.

Jar Tops

I shared these clever jar tops from Dutch company, Royal VKB in my 2010 Christmas presents list but I like the idea so much I’m sharing them again for 2011. They screw onto standard jars and transform them into useful household objects. Get creative and leave the labels on some of your favourite condiments and jams for an even funkier look.

Neal’s Yard Remedies Shower Gels

Although they sell everything from bath oil to moisturisers to shampoos to perfumes, it’s Neal’s Yard Remedies‘ shower gels that I particularly love, in a range of enticing flavours such as rose & geranium, rosemary and elderflower, citrus and jasmine. Priced at £14 for 200 ml.

Fridgeezoo Fridge Pets

You could probably guess that these crazy, adorable fridge pets originate in Japan, right? When you open your fridge door, their sensors detect the light and the Fridgeezoo pets call out a greeting… in Japanese, of course! Even though our small fridge is always completely full, with everything slotted in like a 3D tetris, it’s hard to resist that cute little penguin. Available for £14.99 each from Firebox. Many thanks to MissWhiplash for bringing these critters to my attention!

Spoon Coffee Mugs

Always losing your tea or coffee spoon? These cute mugs with integrated spoon holder may help. Mostly I just think they look very funky. They come in white or “sprout” green. Available from Create & Barrel for £2.69 each or £10.75 for four (plus postage).

Contigo Autoseal Travel Mug

This suggestion is a recommendation from my friend Matt, who tells me the Contigo is not only a highly efficient thermos flask which keeps drinks piping hot (or refreshingly cold) but also ideal for drivers; press the blue button and sip from a small hole that opens up in the lid. When closed, it’s a tight enough seal that the mug can happily lie on it’s side on the passenger car seat without leaking. Available on Amazon.co.uk for £19.99, free delivery.

L’Occitane Verbena

Another food-flavoured toiletry range that I really love is L’Occitane’s Verbena range. Including shampoos, soaps, bath foams, creams and my personal favourite, their shower gel. I particularly like that they sell eco-friendly refill poaches for the shower gel, encouraging reuse of existing containers. Available directly from L’Occitane.

Egg Cups

I collect egg cups. I have hundreds and hundreds of them. Here are a few that have caught my eye lately.

Kathleen Hills Egg Cube

I love the geometric lines of this egg cup. It’s pricey though… available from mydeco for £17.50.

Egg & Soldier Egg Cups

How cute is this pair of egg cups, a little crenelated castle tower and a small horse? Available from mydeco for £23.50.

The Eggsterminator

OK I didn’t own this but, as I was writing this post I couldn’t help myself, and a few clicks later I found I’d somehow placed an order! Surely a must for all boiled-egg-loving Dr Who fans. Available for £4.98 from Amazon.co.uk, free delivery.

Keith Brymer Jones Word Egg Cups

And I do own this set too, a kind gift from PR agency 84 Buckingham Road, after I enthused about the egg cups during a Clarence Court Eggs evening at Hix (Brewer Street), and they learned I collect egg cups. I think they’re just adorable. Available from John Lewis for £15.

Ultimate Pong Cheese Selection

I’ve a particular soft spot for Pong Cheese’s Ultimate Pong box because it was my idea. And it seems I was not alone, as it’s one of their best sellers; no surprise, given the delicious contents of strong, stinky and delicious cheese! Available for £28.95 plus postage.

Mrs Beeton Christmas Pudding on Stand

A bit of a bargain from Tesco Direct, I reckon. This Mrs Beeton Christmas pudding comes on a glass cake stand, for just £10. Available from Tesco Direct.

The Irkafirka Tea Ninja Mug

Remember how delighted I was when I finally joined the hallowed halls of those who’ve been irkafirkaed? I was even more delighted when I persuaded the magnificent men at irkafirka HQ to create a mug version for purchase. They kindly made available these marvellous Tea Ninja mugs (with the text removed so it could be any Tea Ninja, even your own). Available from £11.60 at zazzle.

Australian Stickies (Dessert Wines)

Australian dessert wines are very well regarded by wine experts and great value too.

Yalumba Museum Reserve Muscat sounds right up my street. A beautiful deep amber in colour, it’s described as very sweet with flavours of fresh, dried and candied fruits, hints of honey, ginger and burnt toffee. Available from Morrisons for £11.99 or winedirect for £11.95 plus postage.

De Bortoli Show Liqueur Muscat is said to be robust enough to partner with Christmas pudding or blue cheese, both difficult matches. Its flavours are described as figs, raisins and caramel with a strong scent of rose on the nose. Available from Majestic Wine for £14.99 (or less when Australian wines are on special offer, as now).

Hand Crafted Aprons

Sites such as Folksy and NotOnTheHighStreet are a great place to find unique crafted items, such as the beautiful love bird bowls by Prince Design, which I featured in my gift ideas post last year. This year I’ve been inspired by hand made aprons.

The Patchwork Heart offers custom made patchwork design aprons for just £12. I particularly love the burger design but you can also have tea cups, wine bottles, cup cakes and more.

Rosie Ann offers retro vintage-inspired aprons for £20. I love the feminine styling of these and the contrasting fabric choices too.

Clare Carter Designs decorates aprons with colourful illustrations. Food designs include cakes, jellies, sundaes and picnic items. Available for £19.99 each.

Mamta’s Kitchen Aprons

This year we launched Mamta’s Kitchen cookery classes and they’ve gone down a storm. So it’s a good time to remind you about our own Mamta’s Kitchen aprons, made by a catering industry clothing specialist, from heavy-weight 100% cotton, with reinforced corners and extra-long anti-tangle ties, they’re generously wide and long and can be machine-washed at 40 degrees, even with the embroidery.

Dunk Mug

This fun mug for biscuit dunkers comes in left or right handed versions, so that the owner’s biscuits are front and foremost. Available from Mocha for £16.99 plus postage.

Tea Tube

Also from Mocha is this clever combined tea scoop and infuser, which can also be used to stir in the sugar. Available for £11.99 plus delivery. When you drink as much tea as I do, you can never have too many tea infusers!

Opies Bottled Fruits

This range of bottled fruits makes me salivate. Whether it’s the alcoholic options such as Messinia figs with courvoisier, Fujan stem ginger with Teacher’s whisky and Bulida apricots with Drambuie or the non-alcoholic offerings such as Baby Pears With Vanilla and Halved Peaches With Cinnamon, I’m still drooling. Available from Waitrose, priced between £3.49 and £11.

Sandcastle Bowls

These glazed ceramic bowls by Caroline McGrath transport me back to childhood holidays by the sea. I think they’d make a great present as a fruit bowl for a seaside themed living room, or to grow herbs in the kitchen. Available for £25 plus postage.

Grenadier Stacking Mugs Set

Stacking mugs are a great space saver. This set is designed to look good individually and splendid when stacked. Available for £15 a set plus postage.

Simply Relish Hamper

Ann Busby of Simply Relish is a friend I met online, chatting about food on various chat boards. Her relishes have won numerous awards, for good reason as they’re absolutely delicious. (I speak from personal experience, having tasted a number of Ann’s creations). Contact Ann directly to discuss the contents and price of a gift hamper or inquire about your local stockists.

Tracklements

And while we’re on condiments, I also recommend the historically-inspired range of condiments from Tracklements. 40 years ago Will Tullberg didn’t intend to start a new business, when he first made the first wholegrain English mustard as an accompaniment for the sausages he was then selling. It proved so popular with friends and family and local pub landlords that a new business was soon born. Today, Will and his son Guy, have added a wide range of new condiments to the original wholegrain mustard, many of which are inspired by old traditional English recipes found in ageing cookery books. Our personal favourites include chilli jam and sweet mustard ketchup. I would go for their DIY gift hampers, which allow you to choose which items to include from their range. Available for £28 or £31.50 from Tracklements.

Home Whisky Blending Kit

This is definitely a great present for whisky lovers with a secret dream of owning their own distillery. My whisky-loving husband has been salivating over this! The blending kit includes 12 x 3cl whiskies plus pipettes, measuring cylinders and a whisky glass in which to enjoy your personal creations. Available for £49.95 plus delivery, from Master of Malt.

Rococo Chocolates

There are many British chocolatiers I love from Paul A Young to William Curley to Gorvett & Stone, to name just a few. Thoughtful selections from any of them will light up the face of a chocolate lover. However, these Christmas specials from Rococo caught my eye, featuring two of my favourites – floral creams and high quality marzipans. Flower fondant creams £11.95, walnut and almond marzipan £13.50 from Rococo.

I hope you’ve found some lovely ideas to inspire your own present shopping or put on your own wishlist when family ask what they can buy for you.

Many of the gift ideas I shared last year are worth a look too.

Kavey Eats 2 Today

02 Apr 2011 20 Responses »

Apr 022011

Somehow the second birthday of my blog has come around already.

I’m not sure how it happened so fast; I still feel like a newbie blogger – flushed with excitement, discovery and joy.

Certainly my enthusiasm (and verbosity) hasn’t shown any signs of abating. In my first year, I wrote 127 posts. This last year I’ve posted 216!

*gulp*

Even more so than last year, blogging has brought me so much, not least some wonderful friendships that I truly cherish. Of course, there have also been fantastic opportunities to meet and learn from chefs and experts, visit fascinating events, review products and cookery books, attend fun and informative cookery courses, review restaurants and hotels and so much more. And of course, there’s been time for a bit of cooking too!

this last year I have persuaded my husband Pete to join in with this latest hobby of mine, in the guise of Pete Drinks. (He’s also making more regular updates on our gardening blog, now that we have an allotment to supplement our kitchen garden).

I’m more excited about food and drink than ever and can’t wait to see what my third year of blogging brings.

Here are my favourite 65 posts from the last year of blogging:

Hot Sweet Sour Tangy Lemon Pickle

Catch Of The Day At Billingsgate Seafood Training School

Lipsmacking Tamarind Ketchup

Beautiful Buttery Brioche

Cooking A Crab

Polpo: A Venetian Bacaro in London

Chocolate Chorizo Chilli Con Carne

Learning To Cook Japanese: Beef Tataki & Creamy Sesame Sauce

Urban Farming With Celia Brooks Brown

Choux Buns With Coffee Custard Filling

An Interview With Kavey

Mat Follas’ Foraging Course

The Scandinavian Kitchen: Swedish Cheese Tart

Pierre Koffman Is Back In Business: Koffmann’s At The Berkeley

Memories of Vodka, A Moscow Mule & The Re-Establishment of a Vodka Empire

Pickled Gherkins, How I Love Thee!

Creamy, Dreamy Paneer Malai

Best of the Blogs: Kavey Eats in the Times!

Chateau d’Yquem Tasting & Dinner

Food Styling & Photography Lessons from Alastair Hendy

Dishoom Dishoom

The Views Are Paramount: Dining With A View in London

Denhay Farms: An Interview With Traditional Cheese & Bacon Producers

Empanada! Leith’s Meat Bible

Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake

Toast? What’s YOUR Feel Good Food Smell?

Hix’ Baked Parsnips with Lancashire Cheese

Under Pressure: Raspberry Pancakes With Vanilla Mascarpone Cream

Aqua & Their Curiously Addictive Kookoo Sabzi

Autumn Garden & Good News!

Home-Style Cooking at Delhi Grill

Meemalee’s Kitchen Goes Large: The Burmese Pop Up

Paganum: A Rural Tradition – Buying British and Visiting the Farm

Shaking it with the Zulu warriors

Green Romanesco Cauliflower Cheese

My Hallowe’en Pumpkin

Pete Drinks: Wolf Brewery Battle of Britain RAF

Travels, Food and Memories with Josceline Dimbleby

Birthday Blow Out at Launceston Place

Pete Drinks: Marble Brewery Tour-At-Home

Daisy Does Dinner for Kavey (NSFW)

A Rather Unusual Job Interview + Pear & Ginger Chutney Recipe

Angela Nilsen’s Ultimate Quiche Lorraine

Food & Drink We Love & Hate At Christmas

Pete Drinks: Bristol Beer Factory Tour-At-Home

Making Gingerbread Houses with LexEats

Love Shack, that’s where it’s at! (Scarlet Hotel, Cornwall)

The Great Christmas Pudding Taste Test!

Twelve I have, Eighteen I want: Confessions of a Food Book Addict

? Chicken, Bacon, Mushroom & Crème Fraiche Pasta

Chin Chin Laboratories: London’s First Liquid Nitrogen Ice-Cream Parlour

Homemade Terrine de Foie Gras Mi-Cuit

Pete Drinks: The Kernel Brewery Tour-At-Home

Sweden’s King of Cheeses Comes To Town!

ThaT Burger!

How to make Strawberry Vodka Liqueur

Pete Drinks: CAMRA Says This Is Not Real Ale!

Bangladeshi Shatkora Citrus: Candied Peel, Cordial, Posset & Pectin

A Slice of Cherry Pie: Creamy Sausage Pasta

Viajante: A Journey Of Flavours, Textures and Unusual Combinations

Pete Drinks: Bath Ales Tour-At-Home

Thanking My Mum

Fifteen Cornwall

Baking Bread with Master Baker Tom Herbert of Hobbs House Bakery

Güdness Gracious Me + Recipe for Fred & Jerome’s Chocolate Gü-lash

Also, a few reminders:

There are 2 places remaining on the first ever Mamta’s Kitchen all-day cookery course, lunch and dinner – celebrating 10 years of Mamta’s Kitchen and raising funds for the Khushboo Welfare Society.
I’m asking fellow bloggers to take up my challenge to find soft drink matches for food – will you join me?
If you haven’t bought your chocolate Easter egg for this year, you might find some inspiration in The Great Easter Egg Review.

Lastly, I’d also like to wish a happy blog birthday to my friend Dom at Belleau Kitchen, which celebrates it’s first birthday today!

Farewell 2010. Hello 2011!

31 Dec 2010 20 Responses »

Dec 312010

Most years, at about this time, I start ruminating on how quickly the year has gone by. This year, that feeling seems stronger than ever, and I can’t get my head around how it can possibly be the end of another year already.

And yet, it’s been a full year indeed with much happening, so it’s not as though I’m looking back wondering where it’s gone – I have lots of marvellous memories of just what I’ve been doing with my time.

So, what have been my food highlights of the year?

January

We minced pork and made quail scotch eggs.

I first met the charming, vodka-savvy Leonid during my first visit to Bob Bob Ricard.

We made our very first pie. Mmmmm, Pie!

February

I ate lots of pig with lots of ladies.

My friend Carla shared my ever-growing obsession with making jam.

March

I won a Food Debate by championing cheese.

We spent four wonderful weeks in the Falkland Islands photographing penguins and albatross. Food was hearty.

I discovered fine quality French cooking at Racine.

I made a hot chilli and ginger pickle so hot it even blows my dad’s head off!

April

We cooked ox cheeks for the first time, following a lovely recipe from Pascal Aussignac’s Cuisinier Gascon.

We learned how to scale, gut, fillet, skin and cook fish at The Billingsgate Seafood Training School.

I got to see the inside of the Thorntons factory and watch chocolates being made.

I shared my mum’s recipe for Tamarind Ketchup.

May

I cooked my first crab. It took me hours to pick the meat out!

I had a lovely meander around Borough Market.

My thoughts turned to memories of Venice in London’s first Venetian-style bacaro, Polpo.

I attended Rachel’s inaugural Catalan Cooking class.

We pottered in our kitchen garden.

June

I interviewed Celia Brooks Brown about allotment gardening at her own London allotment.

We voluntarily ate in a Little Chef. Twice!

We made our first choux buns, filled with coffee custard.

We went foraging with the very lovely Mat Follas of The Wild Garlic.

Pete Drinks launched!

We went strawberry picking for the first time in years.

July

It was Scandinavian month with a Jane Lawson meatballs recipe and Trina Hahnemann’s delicious Swedish Cheese Tart.

Pierre Koffmann proved he still has what it takes, opening a permanent restaurant after the success of his pop-up, last year.

I remembered being drunk. A lot. On vodka.

We grew our first ever gherkins. And then I pickled them!

Kavey Eats was recognised in the Times newspaper’s Best Of The Blogs feature.

August

Four vintages of Chateau d’Yquem, tasted side by side, made me weak at the knees.

I learned and shared some fabulous food styling and photography lessons from Alastair Hendy.

I got my Dishoom on at London’s first Bombay Café.

I fell in love with views of London from above, at Paramount.

We visited and interviewed traditional cheddar makers and bacon farmers, Denhay Farm.

September

We made empanadas!

Fritto misto at L’Anima made me wonder if I’d died and gone to heaven.

We made a rather Divine dense chocolate loaf cake.

I asked about your feel-good food smells – and you responded!

We discovered how very nice parsnips are with Lancashire cheese.

We visited Pacific Plaza. We still miss Oriental City.

I finally shared my experience cooking under pressure at Masterchef Live.

Pete and I discovered the fascinating taste experience of matching whisky and chocolate.

October

I shared my love of lahmacun and kookoo sabzi.

On the 10/10/10 we got some good news – we have an allotment!

I had a blast at The London Cooking Club’s Hashi Cooking Night.

We fell head over stomach for the home-style cooking at Delhi Grill. It’s as good as my mum’s!

My dear friend, Meems, ran an astounding Burmese Pop Up at The Wild Garlic.

We visited handsome and lovely British beef and lamb farmer Chris, of Paganum. (Discount code in blog post)

We made green romanesco cauliflower cheese.

I carved my very first Halloween pumpkin. And a Halloween courgette too!

November

I met the charming Josceline Dimbleby.

We enjoyed a spectacularly fabulous blow-out meal at Launceston Place.

I remembered the RAF for Remembrance Day.

Pete posted his first brewery tour at home, with Marble Brewery.

I cooked for Green & Black’s Head of Taste, making up a fab pear and ginger chutney recipe.

We rediscovered how good Angela Nilsen’s Quiche Lorraine is.

You shared the foods and drinks you most love and hate at Christmas.

December

I had more great chocolate at the Southbank Chocolate Festival.

I made my very first gingerbread house at the most excellent LexEats supperclub.

I stayed at one of the very best hotels I’ve ever experienced, a veritable Love Shack, in Cornwall.

Friends helped me put some Christmas Puddings to the test, including the much-hyped Waitrose Heston Hidden Orange one.

I shared 36 great gift ideas and 30 great books on food.

Believe it or not, that’s just a selection of posts from Kavey Eats this year, not to mention the many food experiences I haven’t managed to blog yet… If 2011 is half as much fun, it’ll be a great year indeed!

Wishing all of you a very happy new year, from myself and Pete

x x x

Birthday Dim Sum at Gerrard’s Corner

03 May 2010 7 Responses »

May 032010

A year is quite a milestone in the life of a blog, I feel. So many blogs fall by the wayside a few posts in, once their creators realise the time and effort required to keep a blog going and lose their initial momentum. So I was very happy to reach my first blog birthday a few weeks ago. I’m still loving sharing my love for food and haven’t lost steam yet!

Of course, the most appropriate way to celebrate the birthday of a food blog is to enjoy some great food and, as mine fell on Good Friday, I was pleased that a few friends could join me. I fancied going somewhere I’d been visiting for ages, with that comfortable feel of the familiar that comes of knowing the place and staff and looking forward to long time favourites on the menu. And of course, it had to be food for sharing.

So dim sum at Gerrard’s Corner in China Town it was.

Thank you so much to Pei, Marcus, Luiz, Dr G, Bea, Rachel and Pete for helping me mark the date!

The best thing about dim sum with 8 people is being able to order so many dishes. We had all kinds of goodies, including virtually all my favourites – a variety of steamed Chinese dumplings with meat and seafood fillings, silky cheung fun filled with savoury Chinese doughnut, seafood croquettes, sesame prawn parcels, delicious minced-meat-filled taro croquettes, cold and spicy Thai octopus, turnip cake stir fry, stir-fried noodles and bean sprouts, sticky rice parcels, beef balls and even chicken feet, which, in the photos below, you can see Rachel look nervous about, try for the first time and then judge it a positive experience!

Everyone seemed to enjoy the dishes, I know I certainly did! And we washed them all down with some of Pei’s teas (available from his website), which the restaurant kindly provided us teapots and hot water to brew.

We finished with custard tarts and sesame dumplings. The custard tarts were soft and creamy and with a wonderfully light pastry. And I was so pleased to be able to order the sesame dumplings I love so much – I’m seldom with others who like them and I just can’t eat a portion of 3 on my own. That hot, sweet, dark nutty filling is just delightful!