Displaying items by tag: hotel foodie

What's this all about then? I took 8 friends to the new Northgate in Bury for dinner on Sunday night. We started the evening with excellent cocktails in the bar. The bar staff were great, friendly and charming. Then it all went a bit downhill. My starter was good, main course satisfactory and dessert awful. The dessert wine didn't arrive until after the pudding and the coffee and tea order was eventually taken just before midnight.  As for the faff to make the tea. Do I need to be told to warm the cup, wait for it to brew ( timer supplied for the countdown) in order to get two mouthfuls of English Breakfast brew? The most spectacular thing of the night was the bill.

• Line caught mackerel, beetroot, apple and parsnip (9/10)
• Sidecar of the Orient (10/10)
• Loin of venison, shank, sauerkraut and kale (6/10)
• Roasted pistachio sponge, salted chocolate, burnt apricot (1/10 for the apricot)
• Tea at midnight! Losing the will so ask for the bill.
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Alan is the Executive Head Chef at Stoke by Nayland Hotel, Golf and Spa.He shares his bun recipe that he created as part of a breakfast offering for 250 chefs and catering industry leaders.The base of the recipe is a Chelsea bun. The filling for the buns has cut mixed peel, chopped pecans, maple syrup and Pancetta. For the topping Alan uses his favourite buttercream recipe;it really is worth the extra effort of making it. The recipe calls for making an Italian meringue before adding the butter. This topping just melts in the mouth beautifully.

Makes 10 standard size or 20 small buns.

      Ingredients

       500g plain strong flour, plus extra for dusting

       1 tsp salt

       1 x 7g sachet of fast action yeast or 16g of fresh yeast

       300ml milk

       40g unsalted butter, at room temperature

       1 free range egg

       Vegetable oil for greasing

        For the filling

25g unsalted butter, melted

50g soft brown sugar

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

2 tsp ground cinnamon

100g cut mixed peel

75g chopped pecans

15 slices of Pancetta cooked, cooled and crumbled

        For the glaze

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp caster sugar

Method

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the yeast.
2. Meanwhile, warm the milk and butter in a saucepan until the butter melts and the mixture is lukewarm.
3. Add the buttery milk and egg to the flour mixture and stir until the contents of the bowl come together as a soft dough. (You may need to add a little extra flour.)
4. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface. Knead for five minutes, adding more flour if required, until the dough is smooth and elastic and is not sticky.
5. Lightly oil a bowl with a little of the vegetable oil. Place the dough into the bowl and turn until it is covered in the oil. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside in a warm place for one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
6. Lightly grease a baking tray.
7. For the filling, knock the dough back to its original size and turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a rectangle 0.5cm/¼in thick. Brush all over with the melted butter, then sprinkle over the brown sugar, cinnamon and peel, pecans and bacon.
8. Roll the dough up into a rolling pin shape, cut ten 4cm slice and place them onto a lightly greased baking sheet, leaving a little space between each slice. Cover with a tea towel and set aside to rise for 30 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
10. Bake the buns in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown.
11. Meanwhile, for the glaze, heat the milk and sugar in a saucepan until boiling. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
12. Remove the buns from the oven and brush with the glaze, then set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Buns are prepared and proved in paper cases

For the Italian Meringue Buttercream

75 g egg whites

140g caster sugar

30mls water

225g salted butter

1. To make the syrup, place a sugar thermometer in the saucepan and heat water and 120g of sugar over a medium-high heat.
2. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Once stiff gradually add the remaining sugar to the meringue.
3. Raise the heat under the syrup and bring to 245 degrees F, once reached remove from heat and slowly add to the meringue, reduce the whisking speed to medium and mix until cool. Once cooled ( must be cooled or the butter will melt and the buttercream be too soft) add the butter a tablespoon at a time, beat until fully incorporated.

 Decorate with the buttercream and a rasher of crispy Pancetta

The new Head Chef at the White Lion, Jason Shaw has dedicated himself to creating a dynamic menu, offering everything from tapas to a hearty dinner. The restaurant and the menu reflect the Suffolk coast with the freshest fish caught on the White Lion’s doorstep. Here Jason gives his recipe for a delicious starter or supper dish, or you could make them a little bit smaller for a canapé at a party.

Camembert and wild garlic beignets – makes 24

450g of strong flour

8 whole eggs

226g butter

1pt water

150gm camembert cheese peeled and roughly chopped

50gm wild garlic blanched and finely chopped

salt and pepper

Method

Bring the water to the boil and add butter. Add flour and mix well. Cook out for 1-2 mins on the heat.

Cool the mixture and then add the eggs gradually, beating all the time until the mix is glossy.

Fold in the Camembert and wild garlic and season to taste. Leave mix to rest for one hour.

Using 2 dessert spoons shape the beignets into Quenelle’s. Heat the vegetable oil and deep fry until golden brown for roughly 4-5 minutes. Drain and serve. At the White Lion Jason serves his with Balsamic caramelised onions, Thorpeness leaves and fresh pomegranate with fresh pomegranate syrup.