Interiors - Best of the Supermarkets

I was having a flick through a few magazines last weekend and I noticed that the supermarkets have some fantastic delights for the home at the moment. Here is a pick of my personal favourites. 

Asda, Anchors Away Duvet set, £14

Tesco, Basic Chevron Duvet Set, £12

Asda, London Tube Map Duvet Set, £12
Such fun! A must for any London Lover!

Tesco, Ethnic Pattern Cushion, £8

Asda, Wonderful Life Cushion, £6

Asda Geo Cushion, £9

Sainsbury's, Elephant Doorstop, £12
So cute!

Tesco, Chunky Knit Pouffe, £60
Comes in a variety of colours and prices range from £40-60

Tesco, Chevron Rug, £10
Excellent value and great for jazzing up a room, also comes in red

Tesco, Herringbone Zigzag Throw, £25 

Sainsbury's, Large Lantern, £32
Comes in a range of sizes and look fab with a gorgeous pillar candle in the living room

Sainsbury's, Wooden Tripod Floor Lamp, £75

Asda, Chalk Board, £8

Waitrose, Essential Mug, £2

Waitrose, Stoneware Mug Dipped, £2

Sainsbury's, Medium Ceramic Rib Bowl, £12

Tesco, Pastel Fluted Flan Dish, £7

Asda,  Cake Tin, £7

  

Vinopolis Sunday

If I think about the perfect Sunday it would definitely involve food and almost definitely involve wine. So when I was asked to go and spend a Sunday at Vinopolis on London’s Southbank, I didn’t hesitate. For £35 per head you get a welcome drink, 2 course lunch, lesson on how to taste wine and 7 tokens to spend tasting wine, champagne or spirits of your choice.

As we arrived at the rather impressive Vinopolis premises we were were handed a Bloody Mary to start the afternoon. Beware! It was quite possibly the worst Bloody Mary I’ve ever tasted and no one from our group of 7 drank more than a third of theirs. It had way too much tabasco or worcester sauce or something in it. This is the only complaint I had of the whole day, but come on Vinopolis, sort it out please.

Black Tiger Prawns

The 2 course lunch in their Cantina restaurant offered a good choice of starters and desserts. For main there was the choice of Roast Beef, Pork Belly or Gammon and 2 veggie options. You can see the full menu here. For starter, my fellow diners went for either the Black Tiger Prawns in chilli butter sauce or the Chorizo and Squid stew. Both, I’m assured, were very tasty and very generous for seafood portions.

Roast Beef

I chose the Roast beef for main, succulent, pink beef served with roast potatoes, a Yorkshire pudding, glazed carrots and green beans. My friends ordered the Pork Belly. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and the gravy was flavoursome – my companions asked for extra gravy – but I thought there was a good amount. As can often be the case with a carvery roast in a restaurant or pub, the meat and vegetables can be overcooked and not too hot. This roast seemed like it had all been made fresh to order - for that Vinopolis, I congratulate you. 

Plum and Almond Tart

With my meal I had a glass of the Syrah domaine Muret from the Languedoc region of France, it was delicious and went perfectly with the beef. Definitely a red I’d recommend. Only 2 of us had pudding – I opted for the plum and almond tart with ice-cream, soft, rich in flavour and gooey from the plum, I savoured every mouthful. 

Next we moved into the lecture theatre where we were taught how to taste and identify wine like a professional so when we went through to use our tokens we had some idea of what we were looking for. It's all about your nose and the legs FYI.

Once you go through to the main tasting areas you are left to your own devices to choose the wines you want but there are staff on hand to offer advice when needed. Also, if you catch them replacing bottles they will give you the dregs of the last bottle – free wine, who’s complaining?

To be honest, I tried so many wines I really can’t remember all of them so I’ve chosen my top 4 – 2 reds, 2 whites. There are a few older wines, the most exclusive of which cost 6 tokens but I was disappointed not to find more fine wines and wines older than 2012.

Reds:

Ascencion Malbec – Argentina, 2012 

I love robust, hearty reds and will always choose Argentinian Malbec or Chilean Merlot when I’m shopping for a red. I’ve never been disappointed but they are quite strong so aren’t for everyone. The Ascencion is rich in blackberry and raspberry flavours and certainly is a red that you have to take your time drinking – you can’t knock it back! It’s made in one of the oldest estates in Argentina in the region of Salta, which sits 1,700 metres above sea level – boasting some of the highest vineyards in the world!

The Goatfather, South Africa, 2012 

I do love a good novelty wine label when choosing a wine and this one didn’t let me down. Apparently one of the most popular at Vinopolis, (I don’t doubt the label has something to do with it) this slightly lighter red is delicious and incredibly easy to drink. The Goatfather is from the Goats Do Roam range from the Fairview estate in South Africa’s Stellenbosch.

Whites:

Deidesheimer Maushohle Riesling, 2012 

Light, fruity and refreshing, this wine from Deidesheim region of Germany is certainly one to go with a light pasta dish or salad. I loved the fruity notes to it and it was dangerously easy to drink.

Viña Esmeralda, Spain, 2012 

I have to admit this wine was by no means new to me when I tried it at Vinopolis. A favourite of my family when we’re on holiday in Spain, this wine is affordable and lovely. I’m a fan of the Gewurztraminer grape and mixed with Moscatel, this wine is sweet like honey and boasts elderflower and vanilla tones. Perfect for a summer’s afternoon and enjoyed by our whole group.

If you don’t want to eat at Vinopolis there are packages which just involve the wine tasting and they also do special evenings such as comedy nights and food pairing nights. All in all Vinopolis is a great place to while away an afternoon with friends. It’s also a great date idea (you can thank me later chaps). Enjoy!

Book your Vinopolis experience here

Dish of the Week - The Hairy Bikers' Baked Fish with Chorizo Crust

 

Quick, easy, tasty and best of all, low in calories, this dish is a great, healthy mid-week supper. Ideal for a cozy night in or as a lovely main for a dinner party. I used Haddock as I prefer it to cod but any thick white fish will do. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 x 150g thick white fish fillets, such as haddock or cod, skinned
• freshly squeezed juice and finely grated zest of ½ large lime (I used lemon and it worked fine)
• oil, for spraying
• 100g chorizo sausage, skinned and cut into 1.5cm slices
• 2 thick slices day-old white bread (about 100g), crusts removed
• 1 garlic clove, finely sliced ( I used 2, you can never have enough garlic in my opinion)
• 15g bunch of flatleaf parsley, leaves roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp flaked sea salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• extra lime wedges, to serve
• freshly ground black pepper

1. Put the fish in a non-metallic bowl and sprinkle the lime juice over it. Toss lightly, then cover and chill while you make the crust.

2. Lightly mist a medium non-stick frying pan with oil and fry the chorizo over a medium heat for 1–2 minutes or until the fat begins to run, stirring regularly. Tear the bread into pieces (you should have about 65g after you’ve removed the crusts) and add it to the pan. Toss the bread with the chorizo and cook for 3 minutes more until the pieces are stained all over with the red fat, stirring. Tip it all on to a plate and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. 

3. Transfer the bread and chorizo to a food processor and blitz into crumbs. Add the garlic, lime zest, parsley, Parmesan, a teaspoon of the salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, then process again to combine the ingredients thoroughly.

4. Lightly mist a baking tray with oil and put the fish, skin-side down, on the tray with the marinating juices. Spoon the chorizo mixture on top of the fish fillets and press it on firmly. Bake for 15–18 minutes until the fish is cooked and the crust is crisp.

5. Put the fish on warm plates, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with a little more salt if you like. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing.

6. I served with salad and new potatoes.

Find the Hairy Bikers recipe here

A Spot of Baking - Brownies

It's the weekend, which means it's time to bake. Here is the best brownie recipe EVER, adapted from BBC good food's recipe. This is my go-to recipe, which has been successful on every attempt. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 185g unsalted butter
• 200g dark chocolate (if you can, use really good quality chocolate like Green & Blacks)
• 85g plain flour
• 40g cocoa powder
• 50g white chocolate chips
• 50g milk chocolate chips
• 2 handfuls of Cadbury Caramel Nibbles (be as liberal as you like)

• 3 large eggs
• 275g golden caster sugar

1. Cut butter into cubes and break chocolate into pieces and put both into a bowl. Fill a small saucepan about a quarter full with hot water, then sit the bowl on top, not touching the water. Put over a low heat until the butter and chocolate have melted, stirring occasionally to mix them. Make sure not to overheat. Now remove the bowl from the pan and leave the melted mixture to cool to room temperature.
2. Position a shelf in the middle of your oven and turn the oven on to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4 (most ovens take 10-15 minutes to heat up). Using a shallow 20cm square tin, cut out a square of non-stick baking parchment to line the base. 
3. Break eggs into a large bowl and tip in the golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer on maximum speed, whisk the eggs and sugar until they look thick and creamy, like a milk shake. This can take 3-8 minutes, depending on how powerful your mixer is, so don’t lose heart. You’ll know it’s ready when the mixture becomes really pale and about double its original volume. Another check is to turn off the mixer, lift out the beaters and wiggle them from side to side. If the mixture that runs off the beaters leaves a trail on the surface of the mixture in the bowl for a second or two, you’re there.
4. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula. Continue until the two mixtures are one and the colour is a mottled dark brown. The idea is to marry them without knocking out the air, so be as gentle and slow as you like.
5. Hold a sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and sift the cocoa and flour, shaking the sieve from side to side, to cover the top evenly. Gently fold into the mixture. The mixture will look dry and dusty at first, and a bit unpromising, but if you keep going very gently and patiently, it will end up looking gungy and fudgy. Finally, stir in the white and milk chocolate chips and caramel nibbles until they’re dotted throughout.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, making sure you get it right into the corners of the tine. Put in the oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes pull the shelf out a bit and gently shake the tin. If the brownie wobbles in the middle, it’s not quite done, so slide it back in and bake for another 5 minutes. If there is only a slight wobble in the middle I usually take it out as it continues cooking whilst cooling and you don't want to overcook a brownie! The top should have a shiny, papery crust.
7. Leave the whole thing in the tin until completely cold, then, put into the fridge and leave for several hours or overnight. They need to be chilled in order to be able to cut them without falling apart. Cut into quarters, then cut each quarter into four squares and finally into triangles. 

Enjoy!

What to Wear to a Spring/Summer Wedding - Women

Wedding season is well and truly upon us and the high-street has an abundance of beautiful wedding-appropriate dresses on offer. Here's a round-up of the best i've found - although there were so many it was hard to choose! Pastels and Florals are obviously rather prominent but i've tried to throw in a few others for a bit of variety.

Asos, Belted Bengaline Pencil Dress, £48

I love love love this dress, so simple yet so elegant and with the peplum skirt, bound to be flattering when you've eaten a bit too much wedding cake.

Joy, Louche Electra Bloom Dress, £69

Gorgeous print and a gorgeous colour makes the perfect wedding maxi

Oasis, Paris Lace Dress, £55

I adore the burgundy colour of this dress and its classic shape. This is the perfect dress for a wedding which can also be worn to so many other events.

Asos, Midi Skirt in Vintage crepe, £30

If you're a girl who loves a bit of colour this skirt is fabulous and can be teamed with some strappy sandals or pastel courts. 

Joy, Louche Tree Print Dress, £69

If you're not that into pastels or florals this stunning dress is a great piece to be a bit different from the crowd

Asos Salon, Organza Floral Prom Dress, £85

Beautiful and slightly Ted Baker-esque without the price tag.

Oasis, Lola Cowl Crepe Shift, £55

Classic silhouette with a flattering neckline. Love the simplicity of this dress, which will still make you turn heads with the gorgeous yellow.

River Island, Beige Polka Dot Midi Skirt, £28

A very cute summer skirt, which can be teamed with bright colours or pastel hues to create an adorable outfit.

Asos Vintage Floral Midi Bardot dress, £85

I love this classic, vintage inspired dress and it gives you the opportunity to put on your brightest red lipstick and some fabulous coloured heels 

Zara, Boat Neck Printed Dress, £59.99

Zara have gone and done it again and made a high-fashion looking dress without the low price tag. I love the high neckline, which gives the dress a bit of an edge.

Joy, Louche Feebee Dress, £49

I'm a big fan of bright yellow and this a really cute summer dress. I'd team it with red lips or red shoes a la Michelle Williams

Asos, Scuba Midi Skirt in Neon Floral, £40

This skirt will be the star of the show so go for a plain top and some cute pastel pink or blue heels to match so as not to be too loud!

Oasis, Victoria Lace Midi Dress, £85

Classic and elegant, this is a beautiful outfit perfect for a summer's day.

Ted Baker, Full Skirt in Rose Oil Painting Print, £129

Go for a fabulous 50s inspired look with this full, floral skirt. Team it with a cute cream top and pastel courts to finish the look. 

Asos, Blazer and Cigarette Trousers in Crepe, Blazer £45; Trousers £25

If you don't fancy a dress or skirt I love this pastel green suit as an alternative. There are plenty of printed and floral suits out there but I like the simplicity of this one - an outfit which offers effortless style.