Surliminal roasting on an open fire..

[green_amber]

.. would probably feed several homeless families right now..

Since everyone else today on LJ seems to be cooking, I thought I'd write about EATING!

Oh boy.
I knew I had a line up of three meals on the trot (four if I hadn't cancelled snotnose  on Thursday on grounds of foul weather and foul cold!) so i was planning ahead to survive the experience without actually bursting out of my winter wardrobe..

Friday was a very different Chinese meal with my family for my actual birthday - one of these nouvelle places that does "modern Chinese". I had chicken parcels in bamboo leaves and a lovely tiger prawn stir fry. So far, so light!

Saturday was my evening out with guyinahat and the glamorousophelia_complex . I had wanted to try the newish French place at the top of my road (replacing the despised Parrots!) for some time.  So, hmm. Nice provincial French cooking, definitely will go back. I had an interesting starter of broth filled with cabbage, duck confit and other vegetables. Tasty but light. Then venison with port wine gravy and gorgeous pommes duchesse. I dared a pud even of tarte aux prunes (the other two had the lavender creme brulee but I bet and was right i think that it wouldn't be as good as the one at La Garrigue.) . Another satisfying but not killing meal. Escape! (Although I couldn't evade Guy giving me Tammy Wynette's Stand By Your Man single disguised as a clock!! What are you trying to tell me here, man??:-)

Sunday I woke up Hung Very Over Indeed. Two weeks or so of illness and abstinence, suddenly transformed into a night of 3 or 4 bottles of wine... result a very shagged out Surliminal. This was bad news indeed as now I had to face.. the Shouting Book Club for Sunday Lunch!!

And wow this was the meal which totally destroyed me. The Vincaffe is one of the multiple offshoots of the Valvona and Crolla empire so you expect good things: V and C is petty much  the best Italian deli in the country and the quality of the food it sells is legendary. I'd been once when the Vincaffe  opened but that was in heat wave times, and we'd really just snacked on deli salads and antpasti. This time I started with frittura de verdura - broccoli and peppers fried in no batter at all, fresh and light as air yet with that definite fried-food moreishness. Amazingly good stuff. (And ideal for Hannukah!) Graeme meanwhile had ordered pork ribs which came resembling about half a pig. These were a world apart from your average Chinese sticky snack - they were maiale - young pork, meltingly soft and tasty. I took one out of pity for G who'd ordered lamb shank as his main course, which also resembled half a lamb! - it was a shame none of us had a dog...,

But I had my own meat marathon coming in the shape of vitello milanese - a huge veal chop again fried in the lightest of batters, with spinach and diced potatoes - the best veal I've ever had I think.  The *lightness* of the meat was incredible - hard to describe - I don't know if this was down to it being very fresh or very young? - cairmen ? Others had amazing savoury pancakes, and gorgeously fresh halibut. Dessert was somehow impossible but irresistable. I had pannacotta with Limoncello, but the real star was Charles' simple ice cream flown in daily from Milan - the strawberry just tasted of pure strawberries, the cherry likewise. It's hard to describe how fantastic this meal was - it wasn't fancy just gorgeous. Very much recommended.

By the time we got back to mine we'd lost the Eurovisionphile so it seemed a shame to inflict Mamma Mia on Adele.  Instead we took the piss out of Kirsty Wark and Jeremy Clarkson (the latter not hard`I admit.) I now have even more of the world's gross national production line of scarves and jewellery , although thank god also some books and an hourglass that measures half an hour! "

So you'll know when to get out of the bath and not always be late," said helpful Charles. Did I mention I er arrived 30 minutes late for my own birthday lunch? Well er the traffic was terrible!

So pardon me if I lie back and burp :-) At least that's all the big meals out the way except oh yes.. Xmas! (OH and my PhD`student is making Goan curry for me tomorrow! ARG!!)

Comments

[shirtlifterbear.livejournal.com]

You reminded me of The Vicar of Dibley's "The Christmas Lunch Incident!"

(Off to find the DVD in his Big Book of Disks, is shirtlifterbear!)

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

Christ I hope not - I hate that programme! Why do Americans like it??!!

[shirtlifterbear.livejournal.com]

GASP!

What, you don't find overly twee Export-Market BritComs to your taste?

*wink*

I love it, along with Father Ted, simply because I went to seminary, and I get a giggle about the situations...

That and the fact that Dawn French has enough Charisma to light half the UK.

[anef.livejournal.com]

MMM...I'll add VinCaffe to my list of Edinburgh restaurants to try out.

[spikeiowa.livejournal.com]

Yum yum yum! Of course it's your BIRTHDAY, so you deserve such nice cuisine. Although I've had some interesting food on this trip, the best so far was tonight at Kauai Pasta -- just very good Italian food with nothing breaded or served with macaroni "salad." And a glass of old vines California zin. Maybe this means it really is time to go home (clicking her heels together now, but it might not work because I'm wearing flipflops).

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

Are you going home for Xmas??