Monday Night Treats

Had a course locally today so got home a bit earlier than usual! Even managed a trip to the shop to buy food (rather than the leaf-blower I spent last week's food money on!) Getting home early gave me lots of time to cook. I had been dying to make Dan's chocolate fondant (more about those later in the week!) and also wanted to use fresh ingredients in a light starter and main.

We began with Insalata Caprese (sorry Dan, I'm really not trying to copy all your brilliant ideas!) I used baby on-the-vine tomatoes, packet mozzarella and fresh basil with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The mozzarella was tasteless, but if I had a local deli, I'd definitely have used it for this ingredient! You can't beat real, fresh, creamy mozzarella balls. I wonder if you can freeze them?! Ideas on a postcard...

I had two pieces of salmon that needed eating, so simply pan-fried them, wilted some spinach with butter and pepper for their bed and baked some herby scones instead of mash / potatoes / rice. All served with a dollop of aioli.

Pudding was delicious, and I won't spoil the later post by telling you now, that they worked out perfectly. All I need now are some of those lovely round pudding-type tins that I can't remember the name of!

Good food at Stansted?

Having been on a few days away, I was surprised at how quick and easy the journey was. We left an hour and a half to get through check-in and security at Stansted, but when we arrived, there were no queues at check-in, a short wait at security and we were through in the lounges with nothing to do.

Nothing, that is, until I spotted the Caviar House and Prunier bar/restaurant and remembered how delicious it was last time I sat with girls and had a quick bite before heading off to sunnier climes! So, little more than a suggestion was needed to the boyfriend before we were sitting on the high stools and looking mouth-wateringly at the display of fresh fish, salmon and caviar in the fridges. All the food looked amazing and I quickly chose a simple plate of Scottish Smoked Salmon. My boyfriend was a little more adventurous and went for the Salmon Tartare spiced with chilli.

I think the thing I enjoyed most about the meal, apart from actually eating it of course, was watching the man prepare it. The company obviously has a 'set' way of presenting each dish, but it was deftly done with as little handling of the ingredients as possible. The salad and dressing was tossed in a bowl and the salmon and other fish arranged beautifully. The salmon itself tasted fresh and clean and was served with 5 brown bread triangles, a side of crunchy crispy salad and a slice of lemon, all wrapped in a little piece of muslin so that when you squeezed it, none of the pips went over your dinner - brilliant!

The boyfriend's dinner was also scrummy the salmon was made at the company, rather than bough in, and was served out of it's tin! The presentation was fab. with the salad begin packed into the base of the tin and the salmon being served almost on the side. It was very unusual having the salmon packed in a tin that way, but obviously kept it very fresh. Just a hint of chilli came through, but enough to add a little spice. I could have eaten his as well as mine!

Although the restaurant is a chain, and mainly an airport based chain at that, and despite the fact you know you get exactly what you're getting, the menu's do change regularly. You do, however, know exactly what you're getting, even if it is simple and formulaic. I've eaten there twice and it hasn't disappointed on either occasion. There's a good selection of wine and the Chilean White we had was also perfect with the salmon.

I can't wait now for another opportunity to leave the country and sneak in a simple but sophisticated lunch!