Sharks and Panna Cotta

Yesterday I reached a milestone: I gave food back to the kitchen at a restaurant.

How has it possibly taken me this long to get here? I'm not sure, but even if the food is terrible, I always feel some obligation to eat it. My parents clearly exercised some skilled brainwashing in this department (although my mom's a great cook, so it's not like I've suffered my whole life).

Anyway, last night I finally broke free. Jon had taken me to this pishy-posh restaurant on Eagle Street Pier called Pony Lounge. Our food was great, and we decided to go in deep with dessert. My usual go is a creme brulee or panna cotta, and as luck would have it, there was one on the menu.

Now, generally panna cotta comes out looking like a pure white flan, a creamy custard that's been set in a form, then removed and placed on a plate with fruit or chocolate or other good stuff. THAT was what I was expecting.

However, what arrived at our table was something quite different. The waitress came and I was given a short mason jar on a plate. The actual panna cotta was only about a cm thick and looked more like gelatinous milk scum stuck to the bottom of a jelly jar. It was sprinkled with a bitter cocoa nibs-granola and was topped with something I can only describe as looking like a blood-soaked medical sponge (the menu called it a blackberry marshmallow, but was much more porous and free form then your average campfire variety).

It was awful. And I couldn't bear to eat more then a bite or two.

Jon was obviously upset and said we should demand a new dessert. I desperately tried to talk him down.

"No no, someone went to the effort to put that together. I'm too embarrassed to say anything," I whispered.

"We are PAYING them," Jon insisted. "They don't want you to have a crappy experience. THEY are the ones that should be embarrassed for serving you something like that."

I finally conceded, mustering up all my courage to tell the waitress how vile this thing was that she had served me.

In the end, yes it mildly awkward, especially when they brought the manager out to get the details and offer me something new, but I fought through.

On the other side, I feel a little ashamed that it has taken me 27 years to get to this point, especially given how much I love food. Good news is that I made it. Thank you Australia for getting me here.

In other news, I have a little friend that keeps coming by to visit me. I've named him Daku, which is an aboriginal Australian name that I think seems to fit him pretty well. He comes up to the back door and peers in to say 'hello' every couple of days.

Speaking of wildlife, I forgot to mention that I saw dolphins swimming in the river while I was getting off the ferry. The ferrymaster pointed them out to me, as they were jumping out of the water. It totally took me by surprised as 1) I had assumed that even though the river feeds into the ocean that we were dealing with a freshwater situation-- do dolphins swim in freshwater? and 2) they were tiny! Like half-sized teacup dolphins. It was amazing! I may have even considered jumping in to the water and swimming out to them if I hadn't just read this on the ferry:

Yes, terrifying. So, now I will never go on that river kayaking trip I've been considering as I'm too afraid of getting mauled by a shark. But I'm happy they keep us informed.... Also glad I had never considered the possibility of piranhas.

Sydney: Part 2 - The World's Most Disappointing Milkshake

Look at these milkshakes. Don't they look amazing? I mean really, have you ever seen something so rich in artery-clogging goodness? They look like absolute perfection, but oh, how they lie. This is the story of a milkshake gone terribly, terribly wrong.

It all started on our second day in Sydney. Things had started off pretty great. We enjoyed a lazy morning of room service (still swooning over how great room service is) and decided around noon that we needed a milkshake in a very serious way. 

Now, I had heard about these legendary shakes from a buzzfeed article several months back about some of Sydney's finer milkshake establishments. Number one on the list was Foodcraft Espresso, the holy mecca of Australian ice-creamed beverages. EVERY article I look at showed this as the hands down choice for a milkshake craving. The only problem? It was an hour walking distance from our hotel. 

Undeterred, and feeling ambitious, we thought, "Let's do it! What a great way to see Sydney!"

What ensued was an agonizingly hot sojourn through Sydney's seedy underbelly. The journey's only redeeming experience was finding this random photo of Edward, staring up at us from a dirty sidewalk. You can almost hear his broody, vampiric voice telling us to turn around... alas, we didn't hear it.

We arrived, dripping with sweat and eager for the glorious dessert that was about to be ours. We ordered two nutella milkshakes and took a seat outside. The waitress arrived with a lukewarm water (should have been a sign), which we sipped-- gratefully-- while we waiting. 

Then HOLY MOLY the things came out. Topped with a doughnut and everything!

We grabbed them and greedily took a giant gulp. 

AH!

What was this crap I'd just put into my body?! First of all it wasn't a milkshake, certainly not in the American sense at least. 

I should just preface the next part by stating I love nutella. I'm one of those grab-a-spoon-and-go-to-town type of girls. But this "milkshake" was the wrong side of nutella, the DARK side of nutella. It was as though they'd taken milk and a rancid glob of nutella and just shaken it up, to a foamy nightmare, then topped it with a stale doughnut. 

I looked at Jon, he looked back at me. We tried desperately to take a few more sips, but couldn't bear it. It was too much. 

Angily, I then made it my mission to watch the "milkshake" guy behind the counter to uncover what misguided horror they called a recipe. As I studied his method, I watched him take out a gallon of milk, then a literal tub of nutella. He put a little milk and a whole lot of the tub-tella... then he blended to its frothy consummation. 

As expected, not one ounce of ice cream. 

Sacrilege. 

When we paid, Jon pressed the cashier about the recipe, "So, what ice cream to you use?" She hemmed and hawed and finally lied straight to our faces saying, "oh uh vanilla?" Like it was a question WE should answer. 

We left disappointed, still craving the milkshake unrealized, and made our long trek back home. 

We polished off the day with a trip to the Botanical Garden and a couple of photos for posterity.

The Best Vegan Smoothie of all Time (+ a recipe)

On our first night in Brisbane, we stumbled upon this magnificent little 24-hour fruit Market called Charlies. Attached to it is Raw Squeeze, a vegan smoothie cafe that is *amazing*. Our first week here, we went back every. single. morning. Jon even tried a raw vegan doughnut!






My favorite treat was the Green Bowl-- basically a green smoothie in a bowl with lots of  fruit and other good stuff.

After we moved to our new place (which was much farther away from Charlies), we decided we needed to figure out how to make them ourselves. And we did it! Here's our recipe (and we put it in wine classes because WHY NOT?!):

 Best Green Smoothie Recipe EVER 

2 kiwis, peeled
1 banana, peeled
1 1/2 cups kale (packed)
1/2 cup spinach (packed)
1 cup coconut water
2 Tbs coconut, unsweetened

Put it all in a blender, and blend!!

In the image below we put:
-kiwis on the bottom
-chopped strawberries and blueberries on the top
- sprinkled shredded coconut and cocoa nibs on top

Another fav experiment included same smoothie but with:
- yogurt on the bottom (and chopped banana)
- green smoothie in the middle
- passionfruit, mango, coconut and cocoa nibs

Autumnal Daal with Poached Eggs Recipe

With all this talk of spiced pumpkin this and spiced pumpkin that, it was probably time to mix it up with a slightly more exotic autumnal favourite: this butternut squash and mushroom daal. I love it because it is both has that warm, cozy thing going on, but still makes use of the seasons produce. Alternatively you could use pumpkin or sweet potato instead of the butternut squash.   

 Autumnal Daal with Poached Eggs 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

 Ingredients 

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 300g chestnut mushrooms (roughly one package), sliced
• ½ small butternut squash (about 500g), peeled, deseeded and cut into 1inch chunks
• 3–4 tsp keralan curry paste
• 6 vine tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• 2/3 cup (130g) red split lentils, washed
• 4 medium eggs
• 28g fresh coriander (cilantro), leaves chopped
• dash of vinegar

 Instructions 

1) Heat the oil in a wide, shallow saucepan or sauté pan. Add the onion and mushrooms, and cook for 5–6 minutes until wilted and nicely browned.

2) Add the squash, curry paste, tomatoes, lentils and 300ml water. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and the sauce has thickened.

3) Take a second shallow saucepan and add a cup of water and a dash of vinegar. Bring to a steady simmer.

4) Crack an egg into a bowl and gently drop in the simmer water (egg whites first).

5) Allow egg white to just turn a translucent white then remove with a slotted spoon. Transfer to curry pan and arrange to your liking.

6) Replace the lid and cook over a low heat for 1 minute, until just set. Scatter with chopped coriander to serve (either by itself or over rice).

Tip: Alternatively you can put the eggs directly into the curry, but it doesn't look as nice and I somehow always overcook the yolks when I do it that way.

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Kale Spaghetti Genovese Recipe

I love Italian food. That that cheesy, carb-filled deliciousness is sheer perfection.  

Fortunately, for the health-conscious among us, there are ways of enjoying the glory of the Mediterranean cooking, by tweaking it slightly, so that it is more nutrient dense than the original. 

Traditional Spaghetti Genovese is made with refined white pasta, potatoes, and pesto-- which is like holy carb-tastic! This version swaps the spaghetti for whole wheat, removes the potato, and adds fistfuls of kale to the sauce (I found this recipe in a market leaflet, and adapted it into a slightly healthier version-- the nutritional info at the bottom also reflects that). The great thing is that the flavours are nearly identical!

I think this recipe is great on its own, or served with an entree of your choice. At the butcher's there were some beautiful  rainbow trout, so ours was served a la pescatore. 

 Kale Spaghetti Genovese 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

 Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 cups (50g) kale, with stalks removed
• 1 cup tightly packed (25g) fresh basil, just leaves, no stalks
• 3/4 cup (75g) grated Parmigiano Reggiano (plus extra for serving) 
• 1/2 cup (100ml) extra virgin Olive Oil
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• Grated zest and just 1 lemon (I prefer the juice of just half the lemon)
• 300g whole wheat spaghetti
• 2 large fistfuls (200g) trimmed green beans

 Instructions 

1) Place, in a blender or food processor, the kale, basil, toasted pine nuts (I leave a few out so I can add them in whole later), cheese, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest. Pulse until completely smooth, adding more olive oil if needed. Set aside.

2) Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling water according to the pack instructions. Add the beans to the pan for the final 2 minutes of cooking time. 

3) Drain the spaghetti and beans, return to the pan and toss through with a few tablespoons of the pesto. Serve in bowls, topped with a little extra grated cheese and grinding of black pepper. 

 Nutritional Info  (per serving, minus fish): 473 calories | 21.5g fat | 4.3g saturated fat | 52.4g carbs | 3g sugars | 6.3g fiber | 14.5g protein | 0.2g salt (using half of the pest for full recipe)

Mama Young's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe ● by Jess

One of our favourite things about visiting Jon's family in Utah is his mama's baking. There are four things in particular that Jon craves: her pizza, her roast beef Sunday dinner, her chocolate cake, and most especially her chocolate chip cookies.

I smuggled a giant bag of chocolate chips back to London with me with the intention of baking my man a little bit of home.

Unfortunately, I tried halving the recipe. I realised, after it was all mixed together, that it was too runny... I added a bit more flour... and then a bit more. Suddenly it dawned on me that I hadn't halved the butter. Dang it.

I think I saved them in the end... sort of... but there were nowhere near as good as the ones Jonny's mama makes. Too much darn flour. Gonna have to keep trying!

For all those that want to give it a go... here is the magic recipe:

Mama Young's AMAZING Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1/2 c (100g) sugar
• 1 c (200g) brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ lb (250g) butter, softened
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 1/4 c (288g) AP flour
• 1 bag + 1  c chocolate chips
• 1 c walnuts (optional)

1. Cream the butter, sugars, eggs together then add the vanilla, salt and baking soda & powder. 

2. Scrape the sides and add the flour. 

3. Mix till incorporated and add the walnuts and chocolate chips just till mixed.

4. Scoop and bake at 345 degrees. 

Hot tips: 

*ALWAYS underbake them...just bake til the edges begin to Brown.

*After removing them from the oven, whack the tray against the counter to knock the air out of the warm cookies.

This makes the chewiest, yummiest cookies you've ever eaten. Enjoy!

Graham Norton + Sarastro ● by Jess

This week we got priority tickets for the Graham Norton Show! We tried to get on the last episode (which featured David Beckham, Will Smith, and Hugh Jackman- gah!), but got turned away last minute because they'd overbooked. Sooo, we got priority seats this week to see Carrie Mulligan (Great Gatsby), Amanda Holden (Britian's Got Talent), Noomi Rapace (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and Jessie Ware, who's music Jon is currently obsessed with. 

It was so fun to see the behind the scenes of how they film a show like this. It was actually a bit different than I expected. It was far more exciting and a lot less sitting around than I had anticipated. 

The next night our lovely Auntie Claire took us out to eat at Sarastro. I've been wanting to go to since we moved here. We've walked past this restaurant about a dozen times, and every time we do, I peer inside like a kid into a candy shop. Inside is covered in swaths of gold fabric and tassels and looks like something from Phantom of the Opera. My phone photos really do not to it justice, but it is beautiful and quirky with all kind of nooks and crannies.  

The food was quite good. We got the course menu. The appetisers come out as a huge selection for the table to share. 

For second course, I ordered the sea bass, which was delicious. All of us enjoyed our main course, though we all agreed our dishes were pretty protein heavy. 

Overall, I'd say that, while the food is good, the real star of this restaurant is the ambiance-- which is incredible. Even the bathrooms are.... exciting (imagine if Matisse decided to illustrate the Kama Sutra), though there is a kid-friendly option down stairs. 

We got lucky and happened to be there the night of a live Latin artist. Around our last course, an elderly lady (she must have been in her late 70s), who was clearly a bit inebriated, got up in front of the musicians and started to dance-- like really dance-- totally uninhibited. 

Everyone sort of watched and giggled for a few songs, but when it became clear that grandma wasn't planning on sitting down anytime soon, everyone else got up on the non-existent dance floor and started dancing. It was possibly one of the funnest London restaurant experiences we've had thus far. Thank you Claire for making it happen!

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London's Best Toasted Cheese Sandwich + How to Make it at Home ● by Jess

Toasted cheese sandwiches and I go way back. In my preschool years, we were super tight... my mom made me grilled cheese cut into strips and called it sandwich fingers. It was my absolute fav.

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to last. We had a falling out when a friend's mom handed me two slices of wonder bread with a piece of plastic she called american "cheese." I learned then that not all grilled cheese was created equal... and some could not be trusted. 

It was a long time coming, but we've found our way back to one other. We reunited when I finally realised that the marriage of childhood comfort food, and a grown up palate, is what adulthood is actually all about.

So, I've been in search of London's best "cheese toastie." Oh boy, did I ever find it.



There's this food stall at Borough Market near London Bridge called Kappacasein that takes the grilled cheese sandwich to a whole new level. They are famous for their Swiss Raclette, which is a potato dish smothered in bubbly caramelised cheese (you can see the half round heating up in the photo above... in a minute she'll shave the browned, melted bit over the spuds).

Still, I think the star of the show is actually their toasted cheese sandwich.



All I can say is that this was the intense sandwich I've ever eaten in my life. FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIEND'S EAT THIS SANDWICH ALONE! It's surprising because it really doesn't look like much when they first give it you, but boy is it ever rich. If you try to eat the thing yourself you'll be flat on your back within minutes (or you'll want to be...  but you'll probably still be at Borough Market, so good luck finding a place).

Still, it is all kinds of wonderful and, like any decent foodie, I had to figure our how to make it for myself.



So, let's break this sandwich down.

I did some detective work (and some interrogating at the food stand) and the original sandwich contains:

8 parts Montgomery Cheddar
1 part Comte
1 part Ogleshield raclette
Leeks, onions, garlic
all grilled between two slices of poilâne sourdough

Most of this is doable, but I wanted to come up with a recipe that people could get at their local market, and at least one of these ingredients doesn't make the cut: the Ogleshield.

Ogleshield cheese is the invention of Bill Oglethorpe (the owner of Kappacasein) and Jamie Montgomery. It is a kind of softer cheddar cheese made from Jersey cows and comes in a rind.

Blessedly, I found all the other ingredients at my local Waitrose (gotta say, impressed with the cheese selection). Lacking the Ogleshield, and also wanting to tone back the intensity of Kappacasein sandwich, because I'm American and weak when it comes to strong cheddar. I decided to go for a medium strength west country cheddar instead. Here's what my recipe looks like:



Ingredients: (Yields 4-5 sandwiches)

• 250g Mild-Medium Cheddar (I used strength 3)
• 100g Montgomery Cheddar, made from raw milk (Strength 5)
• 100g French Comte, made from raw milk
• 1 cup leeks 
• 1/4 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic 
• Butter and Olive Oil

Step One: Chop up the veg. Green onions would be a perfectly fine substitute for the leeks.



Step two: Saute the chopped vegetables in olive oil. Set aside.



Step Three: Grate your cheese. Make sure you mix it up before putting in on your sandwiches.



Step four: Butter the outside of the bread so it gets golden and does stick to the pan.



Step five: Assemble your sandwich by placing a small amount of cheese down, covering with 1/4-1/2 cup of the sauteed vegetables, then heaping another 1/2-3/4 cup of cheese on top. Because I don't have a sandwich press or panini grill, I pressed the sandwiches between two cutting boards before putting them in the pan.



Step six: I've found that until you have a professional grill, the best way to get the perfect melt + golden brown bread on a grilled sandwich is to go dutch oven style. I use a large oven safe frying pan with a lid on top. Bake at 350*F (or 180* C) for about 20 minutes.

And voila, there you have it! Ooey gooey deliciousness all there for the loving!



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Visiting Friends ● by Jess

This week has been filled with SO MANY VISITORS! WHOO-HOO! Several friends from various stages in our lives have popped up in London this week, which has been *fantastic*. 

The first one to come over was our dear friend, Tamara. Jon met her at BYU and, after she moved out to NYC, we got to know each other. We decided to take her to Borough Market, which was admittedly not as bustling as it is on the weekends, but was still super delicious.  

Jon went for the seafood paella. Tamara and I opted for the highland venison burgers (with bacon jam-- oh boy!). It was a culinary adventure!

Now Tamara is off on some sunny Mexican beach (of which I'm super jealous). Gosh, that would be nice right now... 

Anyway, on Saturday, we were able to have breakfast our friends the Alemanys-- who ALMOST MOVED HERE. But 'twas not meant to be. Instead, we only got them for one glorious breakfast (which included real fluffy American pancakes) at Bill's Restaurant in Holborn. 

Later that same day, we got to see a pretty serious flash from my past-- Evan (and his lovely wife Brittany). Evan and I went to high school together. I think it was a bit surreal for both of us as we'd both been dating one another's good friends back then. Now, seeing each other MARRIED (to completely different people) and on the other side of the world was just... weird, but in a really wonderful and exciting way. 

I get to party Americana-style with them both this next week and I can't wait! (Plus, today is his birthday-- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EVAN!!)

I think that's all for a quick Sunday update! Lot's of adventures this week.. can't wait :)

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