Jamie's Italian, Britsol

Well I can finally say that I have now been to one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants and I don't think I'll be going back in a hurry. Don't get me wrong, Neil and I had a lovely lunch there but I think I just expected a little bit more from this restaurant. Maybe my expectations were too high after waiting a long time to go there. The food was great - very tasty. I personally didn't like the decor. I understand the look that Jamie Oliver is hoping to achieve but it seemed as though he'd overdone the 'industrial warehouse' look, so much so, the place looked quite dirty which put me off this restaurant despite the food being great. I also didn't like the 'hard sell' of Jamie Oliver products. Every nook and cranny was filled with Jamie Oliver books, chopping boards, pots, pans, food products. It was just Jamie Oliver overload! Overall, the staff were friendly and helpful, the food was tasty and quite reasonably priced, and Neil and I both left there feeling stuffed!

The Dining Room, Great Yarmouth

We decided to take the kids to Great Yarmouth this Easter for a short break thinking that the weather in the UK always seems to be ok during April/May. Well as you know, Easter 2013 was the coldest Easter on record ever! It was absolutely FREEZING!!! It snowed everyday while we were there, and winter thermals were a must. However, we did have a nice break despite the cold weather and when it was that cold outside, I had the perfect excuse to gorge on fish and chips and drink hot chocolate all day long.

 

We saw a modern café called 'The Dining Room' right opposite the pier on the seafront of Great Yarmouth. It looked like it had recently been refurbished and had a roaring log burner. This, along with the biggest choice of cakes I have ever seen behind the glossy glass counter, tempted us inside. All of the cakes looked delicious! My deluxe hot chocolate was nice, but I wish I hadn't gone for the carrot and walnut cake. It was a little dry and had way too much cinnamon. However, Neil's gigantic jam roly poly was fabulous! The homemade cooked meals that we saw coming out to others looked great too.

 

Despite choosing the wrong cake, I think I'd give this place the benefit of the doubt. If I'm ever in Great Yarmouth again I would return to 'The Dining Room' but I would choose a different cake. Maybe I'll have the jam roly poly next time too!

Scones with Clotted Cream and StrawberryJam

A classic tea time treat, you can't beat a good old traditional scone! A friend bought me a basic scone cutter set for Christmas (thank you very much Adele Jenkins) which also included a simple scone recipe. Thought I'd have a go a making scones and couldn't believe how simple it was. My guests were very complimentary and they went down a treat with a nice cup of tea. Of course the jam and clotted cream were shop bought - my culinary skills haven't quite stretched to home made jam and clotted cream yet!
 

See the picture of the recipe card to make these simple scrummy scones yourself. And if your lucky enough to have some left over from the batch you can always pop them in the freezer and pull them out another time, just leave them to defrost for an hour or two and heat them up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds before serving.

 

 

 

Biscuit Pops!

My new scrumptious 'no bake' biscuit pops! After trailing the Internet for a quick 'no-bake' cake pop recipe, I have adapted a recipe that I found to create these delicious biscuit pops. Tried and tested on family and friends they have been described as 'lush', 'fabulous' and 'moorish'. A big hit with everyone and they will definitely be featuring in my wedding next year!

I know I've written a lot of instructions below but they really are so simple to make!

Ingredients (makes around 20)

200g white chocolate (I used Lidl's Belgian white chocolate)
300g biscuits (I used shortbread fingers)
65g salted butter (leave at room temperature to soften)
65g icing sugar
Raspberry sprinkles
Cake pop sticks
Cellophane bags & ties (optional)

Method:

Whisk together the icing sugar and the butter until smooth

Crush the biscuits to crumbs and add to the mixture

Stir in the crumbs well into the mixture

Grab a small handful of the mixture and squish it together inside your hand

Shape into a small ball shape and place on a tray

Gently insert the stick into the top of the biscuit pop

Repeat the above until you have used up all the mixture and place the biscuit pops into the freezer to set for around 30 minutes

While you're waiting for the biscuit pops to set melt the white chocolate

Gently dip the biscuit pop into the chocolate, taking care to cover all the biscuit

Gently tap the biscuit pop on your hand to shake off any excess chocolate

Sprinkle the biscuit pop with a pinch if raspberry sprinkles

Place the biscuit pop upright in a suitable container e.g a glass, jar, etc

Place the biscuit pops into the fridge until the chocolate has set

Enjoy eating your biscuit pops!