Scrumptious Sacla Sauce

I just tried a new sauce by Sacla on some gnocchi with crispy sage. The sauce is part of Sacla's new range by Lawrence Dallaglio and is a creamy blend of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. It had a perfect texture to accompany the pasta and a piquant umami flavour, which probably came from the tomatoes.

http://www.dallagliobysacla.co.uk/

Supper and Scrabble

Lovely seared tuna with an olive and tomato salsa and saffron mash. Picking up some tips from the chef (my dad) and the secret to a good mash is to use floury potatoes (not waxy ones), boil them until well cooked, then mix in with a chunk of butter (not oil), some milk/crème frêche and mash it up! We got the tuna from a brilliant fishmongers - Moxen's - which is luckily just down the road from us. A good way to cook this is to soak it in olive oil and then sear it for a couple of minutes in a hot pan.

This was followed by a sticky toffee pudding and an epic game of Scrabble: 390-317 to me!

Sushi

Just had some sushi, from Waitrose. It was only mediocre. The rice didn't have much flavour, but the fish was O.K. I'll make my own next time, although it's a lot more trouble!

Haddock with Miso

Just had some really yummy Icelandish Haddock with miso and chilli lime on udon noodles which my mum made. Miso paste is really great - and not just for miso soup!!

Also had very special burrata cheese on bread and lettuce. Unfortunately, the burrata was a little bit old, but it was still delicious and creamy! (For those who don't know, burrata is a quite obscure cheese made from mozzarella and cream.)

Chapter One

I was very lucky to be taken out to Chapter One in Bromley by my mum with my grandparents. Andrew McLeish is the head chef and has gained a Michelin star for his restaurant.

When I saw the menu, I immediately knew what to choose: The Velouté of Jerusalem Artichoke with Truffled Gnoochi followed by the Pan Fried Halibut with Lobster Celeriac Remoulade, Chanterlle Mushrooms and a Hazelnut Emulsion.

We were all a bit shocked at first when we were brought something completely different, but soon realised that it was a little extra, courtesy of the chef! They brought me a pescetarian-friendly salad with truffles after finding out that I didn't eat fois-gras. Grandma complained about the cruelty of the meat to the poor waitress while my grandpa and mum scoffed theirs down!







My soup was completely amazing - velvety and
rich and beautifully enhanced with the truffles.











My fish was cooked to perfection - crispy skin and juicy fish underneath. The lobster thingy was very extravagant and I don't usually like mushrooms particularly, but these were definitely an exception.










Pudding....YUM! This is a photo of my grandpa's 'Assiette of Desserts'. I had the baked banana which was really lovely and sugary!

Grandma's gorgeous salmon!

My grandma's secret salmon recipe is probably the best salmon EVER! I don't know quite how it's cooked, but I do know that it's delicious. Really light and perfectly cooked so that it breaks away in pieces. We also had some delicious crispy potatoes and of course, not forgetting the greens (very important) - broccoli and carrots.

And for pudding, my special treat - apricot sponge with custard! Yummy!!!

William Curley - Amazing Cake!

As a treat for being such a good teenager and foodie (and starting this blog) 'The Better Foodie' a.k.a my mum brought home a yummy surprise for me - a cake from William Curley http://www.williamcurley.co.uk/ (a top-notch chocolatier and patissier for those who are not acquainted with high quality confectionary).

This was absolutely delicious! Mango, passion fruit and chocolate! Called the 'Passion Fruit and Mango Entremet' Really light and wonderfully comforting after a day of being late and forgetting tests!