Dinner at Home

The Wheel, Queniborough

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:53:00 +0000

We are always eager to try new places to eat so on Saturday were excited to try a new place with our friends Mark and Sarah. It was Mark's birthday and we had all been eyeing up a curry for a good while so ended up at The Wheel in Queniborough near Leicester.
This is a traditional English Pub but with a twist in that it serves only Indian food in the evening.
It was very busy (it was Saturday after all), all tables were full but we received a warm welcome and started the evening with a gin and tonic!
The menu was a little difficult to navigate and there were so many things to choose from that we were a little confused between starters and main course.
Nonetheless we received complementary (obligatory I would say!) poppadoms and pickles while we decided what to have. We started with a sizzling platter of starters as well as a deep fried vegetable that was new to us (the name has escaped me!). These were nicely presented and tasted good although the vegetable dish was a little bland.
We followed with a lamb jalfrezi (this was totally scrummy), a tomato prawn dish and then a chicken tawa, both of which were nice. The chapatis were well cooked and overall we finished up feeling full, satisfied and not much food leftover (always a danger when your eyes are bigger that your belly!).
Mark had a good birthday we hope and was very pleased with his Sterck Hot Stripe Apron which will be a must for those summer barbecues that will no doubt commence when the first rays of sunshine appear!
Overall a pleasant evening had by all with my next curry planned at the Spice of India in Syston (who deliver to my village - how fantastic!)

Kitchen Gifts Now Available to Buy

noreply@blogger.com (Jon Langford) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:59:00 +0000

Our first delivery has been received and photographed and is now available to buy online.

The initial range includes:

We feel that the quality and generous cut of the products make this range stand out as great gifts for all the cooks in your life. With Mother's day less than two weeks away, we are offering next day dispatch and free, first class delivery - an offer you'd be mad to miss!

Take a good look through the range and let us know what you think.

Kitchen Gift Stock Now In

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:40:00 +0000

We're excited this morning following the arrival of stock for the new Gifts section of the Dinner at Home website.

We'll be checking through the order to make sure that all of the aprons, oven gloves, and other coordinating items are there and then start taking photographs.

Check back soon to see the range of gifts that are available to buy.

Dinner At Home Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:04:00 +0000

We are very excited this week as we put the finshing touches to our soon to open on line shop "Dinner At Home Gifts"! I have always thought it would be great to be able to find great gifts, suitable for a wide spectrum of people for sale on a foodie website that recognises the kind of thing that foodie people might like as a gift.
We went to the Spring Fair at the NEC recently and sourced some very good quality, beautifully designed aprons, oven gloves, tea cosies and textile tableware which will shortly be available to buy at great prices.
The items come from India and are Fair Trade accredited. There are hot stripes, ginghams and traditional stripes and all would make perfect gifts for Mother's Day, birthdays and Christmas for wives, mums, daughters as well as husbands, dads and sons! The hot stripe half apron is perfect for the man of the house to perform his barbecue duties! Stylish , great quaslity and made to last.
Anyway - coming soon - Dinner At Home Gifts - keep a look out!

Pembrokeshire Pasty & Pie Company

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:56:00 +0000

We heard some exciting news this week with the launch at Penally Abbey of the Pembrokeshire Pasty and Pie Co. My cousin Ollie (Oliver Booth) and his old friend Dominic Spencer-Churchill have been sourcing great local ingredients from the Pembrokeshire area and have come up with some scrumpious flavours of pies and pasties which include the Tenby Treat (beef and stilton), the Friendly Dragon (I think my girls might have this one down as mine!!) which is chicken in a light curry sauce and the Caldey Island (fish in a creamy white sauce with leeks and tarragon). The Traditional Pembrokeshire Pasty sounds my favourite by far, consisting of Welsh lamb, red currant jelly, currants and mint but certainly different to the norm is the Preselli Mountain Breakfast consisting of bacon, sausage, egg, tomatoes and beans!

What is great about this venture is that Ollie has put a lot of research up front to source guaranteed local ingredients, all grown and reared in Pembrokeshire and of doutless excellent quality. They will be baked locally as well.

Following the launch party last week we can all look forward to the first shop opening in Tenby on 1st March (we were in Tenby this weekend and as of last night the sign writer was just putting the finishing touches to the Pembrokeshire Pie and Pasty sign above the shop in George Street!).

This will be followed by a flagship store in Cardiff later in the year and a roll out plan for many more over 5 years.

The motto "Farm Fresh, Farm Made, Farm Filled" says it all with every pie and pasty being its own Parcel of Pembrokeshire Magic.

I really wish Ollie well in this venture and can't wait to try them all - how perfect, en route to the Castle Beach in the summer to pick a couple of these up for lunchtime! That will save Jon having to "nip to the Hope and Anchor for sandwiches" hopefully!!

The Ocean Restaurant, Tenby

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:51:00 +0000

We've had a really nice weekend down in Tenby over half term - a journey from hell which took over 6 hours in the thick snow (!) but worth it as the weather in Pembrokeshire was glorious.

We had the obligatory fish and chips on Friday night from the Park Road Fish Bar - delicious as ever and then last night ventured to the Ocean Restaurant, overlooking the harbour and with a special offor of "half price food" as advertised in the Tenby Observer. This offer is until 7pm (I think) so we booked in for 6.15pm as the girls were with us.

The atmosphere was lovely - warm, cosy with friendly service. We'd had a larger than planned lunch do went straight for main course. Jon and I both ordered the Rib Eye Steak in a peppercorn sauce and the girls opted for a Tropicana Pizza and a mozarella garlic bread between them. We also ordered a bottle of Valpollicella at £15.95 which was average.

The steaks were delicious and cooked really well - the quality of the meat was very good - juicy and succulent. The sauce was a little non descript - not much flavour but didn't spoil the meal as the steak was so good. The accompanying veg were disappointing - it was served with a few chips, a grilled tomato and a few shallot rings which were OK but also came with veg (new potatoes, broccoli and carrots) which were clearly reheated from a previous sitting and a bit grey and uninviting.

That said, the pizza and garlic bread were very tasty and almost everything got eaten. The "offer" was honoured and our bill (including the wine) came to only £41 due to the half price food. I would certainly go again when the offer is on but not sure I would be happy with paying the real price of £18.95 for the rib eye steak.

The Mulberry, Saundersfoot

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:46:00 +0000

We were over in Saundersfoot yesterday visiting family and decided to revisit the Mulberry Restaurant for some lunch as we were all starving! I think the last time I was there was following a funeral when we hadn't eaten all day so ended up there for a steak. Not sure whether it was because we were starving that time but I remember it being an incedibly good rib eye steak!

Anyway, the menu is reasonably priced at around £7 - £8 a dish and they are good sized portions. The menu is fairly traditional with all the old favourites on but that is just what we were fancying!

Imogen ordered the luxury fish at £7.50 which was a good size and came with peas and carrots. It had great flavour and certainly tasted homemade. Jon ordered the beef burger and fries at £7.50 - a good size, cooked well (not overdone) and again very tasty with a good side of fries. I ordered the boiled ham with parsley sauce, mash and veg. Good slabs of ham, plenty of tasty sauce and nicely firm fresh veg. Very good. Scarlett wasn't very hungry so ordered the ham sandwich (£4.95) which was amazing value as it was thick slices of proper ham on thick hunks of white bread served with fries and coleslaw.

The service was prompt and friendly with a nice warm atmosphere generally and with a total bill of £38 including drinks I would thoroughly recommend it.

Majestic Wine France

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:14:00 +0000

just had to put a quik note here to say what a great find! Our friends Mark and Sarah took their children over to Eurodisney for the day last weekend and came back on Sunday via Majestic Wine in Calais. Luckily for us they have a big car so were able to bring stuff back for us as well as themselves. What a bargain - way cheaper than the UK - the Lindauer pink fizz that we like is at least £6 in the UK (on special offer) but was only £4.99 in Calais. We even invested in a Marlborough Sauvignon blanc at £2.99 which is damn decent even if I say so myself!
Sarah said they had pre orderd and that the servise was fantastic (as it in in the Uk) and they even give you £20 off your order if you spend a certain amount.
Certainly worth a trip if you are down south!

Chicken wrapped in Parma Ham

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:05:00 +0000

It has been a very exciting weekend in our household as Imogen eagerly awaited her letter on Saturday morning telling us whether she had got in to Loughborough High School or not. She seemed completely unphased and I think we were more stressed than she was!

Suffice to say she got in so the worrying is now over - lets hope her little sister gets in in a couple of years!

Her friend Danni came over to stay and I was given strict instructions on what to cook! Chicken stuffed with Boursin wrappen in Parma Ham with a lovely white wine sauce. This was vary naughtily accompanied by homemade chips and a healthy serving of broccoli and went down very well!

Just need to find a house to buy now and all the stresses are over!

Marco Pierre White's Glorious Soups

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:13:00 +0000

Just a random quick entry here to say that we had the Irish Colcannon Soup (the Glorious range) which was a real winner! The great thing about these soups is that they are packed with flavour and texture and are a meal on their own without having to find a bread roll to go with it!
The Irish Colcannon has lots of leek and potato and is (not quite) as good as homemade (!) but is certainly a great alternative if you are struggling to make your own every now and then.
Enjoy!

Cake!

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 11:38:00 +0000

Well, it has been an eventful weekend as Imogen sat her entrance exam yesterday to get in to Loughborough High School. Competition is pretty fierce so all we can do now is wait two weeks to see if she gets a place.So, with that out of the way Scarley thought it would be nice to make and decorate a cake wishing her "well done" for taking the exam..I think I've just been conned into making a Victoria sponge with a tenuous excuse!

I tried Delia's Victoria Sponge many years back and was very disappointed. My friend Lolly suggested Nigella so that is what I have used ever since! It is in her "How to Eat" book and hasn't failed me yet!

Here are some photos of work in progress as well as the finished article!

Vanilla Mart

noreply@blogger.com (Jon Langford) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:28:00 +0000

Following on from the recent blog post regarding The Garlic Farm, the next store cupboard essential was to source and buy was some vanilla pods.

I do frequently use vanilla in a number of desserts such as Pannacotta, Crème Brûlée or straightforward custard. I prefer using vanilla pods, rather than vanilla essence, as I think that the presence of the tiny black vanilla seeds makes the dish so much more appealing. The downside is that buying vanilla pods from the supermarket can be very expensive. Two small pods costing in the region of £4 - £5 and both used in one dish.

I recently discovered a company selling vanilla via the internet. Vanilla Mart offer 10 premium pods for £5.25, 20 pods for £9.00 or 50 pods for just £16.50. Even more discounts for larger quantities and postage for all orders, is free.

I ordered 50 pods from Vanilla Mart on Tuesday and they turned up today, only 3 days later. I'm delighted to report that they were approximately 20cm (8 inches) lon, twice the size of the supermarket variety, and felt soft and juicy. If their aroma is anything to go by, they will be full of flavour too.

It looks like guests at our dinner parties will be subjected to a variety of vanilla based desserts for some time to come - not that anyone has complained in the past.

Note to self - I must upload some of my favourite recipes soon.

The Garlic Farm, Isle of Wight

noreply@blogger.com (Jon Langford) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:11:00 +0000

This year, one of our New Year's Resolutions is to find new sources for some of the ingredients we use most often when cooking at home.

First on the shopping list was some garlic, not the small, expensive bulbs that are found in the supermarket, but big juicy bulbs of garlic direct from the producer.

Two years ago at the East Midlands Food Festival we bought a plait of Garlic from one of the exhibitors who had come from their farm on the Isle of Wight. A quick internet search, led us to the website of The Garlic Farm, based on the Isle of Wight.

The website is clear and informative, packed with plenty of tips for growing, storing, and cooking with garlic and of course plenty of garlic to buy.

We ordered two 10 bulb plaits at the cost of £10.90 per plait, plus £4.75 for standard delivery. Sure enough 4 days later, the box arrived from the farm, containing the two plaits, nicely packaged within tissue paper and securely cushioned within the box. An accompanying information leaflet also advised the best way to store the garlic before use.

The plaits were well tied and the large, firm garlic bulbs and I anticipate that they will be juicy and flavoursome. Can't wait to try them out sometime soon.

Dinner Party Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Jon Langford) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 07:39:00 +0000

As we've said on numerous occasions, the secret to dinner party success is all in the planning.

Later today we have some great friends coming for Sunday Lunch. With all of the other stresses of everyday life and Christmas just around the corner, this could be a time for hectic rushing about, but hopefully all will be in control (or will at least appear so for our guests).

We haven't planned a formal "sitting down" starter, serving instead bite-sized nibbles that can be enjoyed as our friends arrive while sipping a glass or two of wine. We have found that younger children then don't have to sit for hours at the table and keeps them happy too.

As a starter, we have minature crab and parmesan tarlets (Heidi made these yesterday while I went to buy the Christmas tree), and prawn and chorizo skewers. The advantage of both, is that they can be made the day before, so reducing the amount of cooking needed as guests arrive.

Main course consists of a large rib of beef, roast potatoes, dauphinoise potatoes and a selection of vegatables. The beef was bought from our local Q-Butcher, Clarkes of Queniborough and they never fail to supply only the best meat - essential for such a key part of any meal.

For dessert, we will offer Vanilla Pannacotta, served with fresh raspberries in a raspberry coulis. Yet again the pannacotta is a great recipe for preparing the day before. The recipe calls for 4 vanilla pods, which can prive expensive if bought from the supermarket, but we have discovered a company selling vanilla on-line, Vanilla Mart and they delivered 10, premium quality vanilla pods, the next-day, for just over £5. Great service guys!

Photos and results will be posted soon.

TV show looking for dinner party holders

noreply@blogger.com (Jon Langford) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:12:00 +0000

Do you like to throw dinner parties? Would you like to hold a dinner party with a difference?

We've been contacted by a company who are producing a new TV show and are looking for people who like to host Dinner Parties to get involved.

The show will be fronted by Charlotte Church and include people with fun friends who they would like to set up at a dinner party for the new show.

You must live in a flat or house that has a separate kitchen and dining area and be located within 50 miles of London.

If selected, please do not tell your friends!

To apply, please send an e-mail to: laurac@monkeykingdom.com including your name, age, telephone number, location and a brief description of your house or flat.

Marco Pierre White's Glorious Soups

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:59:00 +0000

As this is a food blog, I felt the urge to share my new lunch option for those busy days in the office!

I spotted in Asda last week, a range of soups called Glorious, endorsed by the one and only Marco Pierre White. I find tins / jars / cartons of soup normally predictably bland and avoid them in favour of my homemade versions usually rustled up from seasonal ingredients. However, these soups caught my eye due to the fresh and unusual sounding combinations and I invested in the Chicken, Courgette and Orzo Pasta broth variety. Special offer too, so under £1.50 I think.

The flavours were very fresh tasting, with proper chunks of ingredients not overcooked. There was plenty of meat and pasta making it thoroughly delicious as well as filling. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this soup and now just need to get hold of the other varieties to try (I eagerly went back to ASDA but couldn't find them??) which include:

Irish Colcannon Soup
Indian Chicken Soup
Toulouse Sausage and Bean Cassoulet Soup
Mexican Bean and Tortilla Soup
Moroccan Tomato and Chick Pea

Stockists include Asda, Sainsbury, Morrisons and Nisa - get yourself down there and try them out!

East Midlands Food Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Jon Langford) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:01:00 +0000

We've trying to just come back from having eaten our way around the East Midlands Food Festival and are now find space in the fridge and freezer for our purchases which included...

Three types of Chilli Relish from Peperoncino. Their motto "Everyone loves a hot Italian", wasn't quite true as Heidi found out whe she sampled the Lava All'Italiana (labelled Infernal) and then proceeded to sneeze for the next 10 minutes. I'm sure that plenty of people thought she had Swine Flu, and gave us a wide berth, allowing us to get through the crowds more easily - Good work Heidi!!

A Steak and Kidney pudding and Toffee Fudge Pudding, from The Old Fashioned Pudding Company.

Four types of sausage from the guys from Jimmy's Farm, using meat from their rare breed Essex pigs.

Steak pies from Nova Scotia Farm Produce made using Yorkshire prime beef. The crispy pastry was enough to convince us to buy a boxed Baker's Dozen of the pies.

Imogen and Scarlett managed to divide their pocket money between the Chocolate Pizza Company, a skewer for the Chocolate Fountain and some cookies. All our hard work teaching them about healthy eating obviously fell on deaf ears!

Luckily for me and Heidi, the Chocolate Fountain was immediately next to the Somerset cider company selling Natterjack Cider, so our time waiting for the chocolate to be eaten was not completely wasted.

Off then for a Burger for lunch, sitting outside in the October sunshine, such a difference from the rain soaked festival in 2008.

Time now to put our feet up and read all of the literature we picked up, starting with information regarding the recycling products from Recycle for Leicestershire, including the Food Cone and Johanna hot composter for all of our food scraps. Some useful ideas too for reducing food waste from Love Food Hate Waste.

Apologies to all of the people who spoke to that I haven't mentioned, but rest assured I will be reading more and may decide to place and order later.

East Midlands Food Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Jon Langford) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 08:57:00 +0000

Really looking forward to the East Midlands Food Festival, next weekend, 3rd and 4th October, at Brooksby College, near to Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.

We have visited the Festival for many years, both at the present location at Brooksby College and the previous location on the site of Melton Mowbray Cattle Market.

Having looked through the list of exhibitors, we recognise the name of some, having bought from them in the past. Living in the Melton area, we have been spoiled for choice when it comes to pork pies and stilton cheese, but it still great to meet the producers and learn more.

In particular we will be looking out for:

Bouverie Lodge - Bison Farm - Great lunchtime burgers too!
Dickinson & Morris - Home of the quintessential Melton Mowbray Pork Pie
Jimmy's Farm - TVs best loved farmer
Lincolnshire Poacher
Melton Cheeseboard
The Gourmet Chocolate Pizza Co - Our children's favourite
Gwatkin Cider Co - Keeps Heidi happy
Old Fashioned Pudding Co - These pies freeze really well and are delicious

There was also a company from the Isle of Wight, selling plaits of garlic. I don't see them on the exhibitors list, but we're hoping to see them again to replenish our stocks. Last year's purchase was great, but was used too quickly.

I don't remember any of these companies at previous festivals, but these will also be on our "Must See" list.

Chilli Queen and Fire Foods for a bit of spice
Chapmans Fishcakes

Check this blog next week to see how we got on.

Ocean Restaurant, Tenby

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:03:00 +0000

My memories of my Tenby visit are fading fast - how annoying that it is now around 28 degrees at home now that we are back at work?? So I had better get on with the rest of my reviews!

My friend Kate was down for the weekend so we decided to go out for a light lunch as she was off to Manor House Leisure Park with her niece for the afternoon (apparently very good - Anna Ryder Richardson now owns it!).

We were recommended the Ocean restaurant by Kate's Mum (trust me - she know everything there is to know about Tenby!) so off we strolled. The restaurant overlooks the harbour and although lunch is served downstairs, I understand that during the evening you can sit upstairs, overlooking the bay and admiring the lovely views.

It was busy, but they quickly put 2 tables together for us and service was friendly and prompt.

We ordered a fairly light lunch - Greek Salad for Kate, Mussels for Imogen, Pizza for Scarlett, Fish cakes for Jon and then a Ciabatta steak sandwich for me. The food was very nice - the mussels were really tasty, the pizza was good, my steak sandwich was fresh, with a nice salad.

Overall, for a light lunch with a bit of atmosphere head down to the Ocean Restaurant! Next time we are down in Tenby, we will try the restaurant upstairs!

Bar 10, Tenby

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:08:00 +0000

As you can see we ate out quite a lot which is always nice when on holiday. We were there for the first few days with our friends Mark and Sarah who also have 2 small children so on this occasion we got the lovely Mrs Lewis in to babysit (I still don't know how old she is but she is definitely over 80 years old!) and went out without the children for a change!
We stopped at the Bush for a drink on the way (obviously!) and then made our way into Bar 10 at around 8pm. This has been a Burger bar for years so not quite my cup of tea so was pleasantly surprised to find it really nicely decorated - uber modern and very "wine bar" with a real buzz to it. For atmosphere this has to be the highlight of the holiday and comes highly recommended!
We had a table upstairs which overlooked George Street so we could watch the world go by as we chatted. The menu was good and included some fish specials as well as some interesting dishes such as good old fashioned liver and bacon.
We ordered some wine and perused the menu finally deciding on starters of crayfish and prawn cocktail for myself, whitebait for Sarah and fishcakes for both Jon and Mark. All were delicious - my prawn cocktail was really fresh, crisp and a delight to eat. The whitebait were a blast to the past and the fishcakes were tasty.
For mains we ordered steak and chips for myself and Mark and the liver and bacon for Sarah and Jon. Again, cooked really well, freshly served and very tasty.
A pretty good meal and well priced although on that night the only thing letting the place down was the slightly unfriendly waiter but having returned a few days later for a light lunch (and a much less busy bar!) the chap was much more accommodating and we had a nice glass of wine with some friends.
This would be in my top 2 places to eat in Tenby at the minute - the atmosphere is great, food tasty and not overpriced.

The Hope and Anchor Tenby

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:17:00 +0000

I cannot visit Tenby (and write my blog!!) without mentioning the legendary Hope and Anchor pub down in St Julian Street! Normally when the sun is relentless (not very often!!) it is a pleasant reprieve on our way back from a hard day on the Castle Beach to stop for a cold pint and a bag of crisps but this trip the weather was not good and we only managed this 2 or 3 times. Nonetheless good to see the same old people that are there most nights and funny that the kids' highlight of the entire holiday was watching Frostie on a skateboard (rumour has it he'd had a couple of shandies!) being led by 2 Dobermans until he flipped backwards on his bum amongst general roars of laughter!

Anyway, we went down there for dinner on our last night and had a reasonable meal. The portions are good value as there is always more than enough to fill you up. We ordered as follows: a garlic chicken for Imogen, an 8oz sirloin steak and chips for Scarlett (yes - the 8 yr old!), a Balti curry for Jon and Moules Mariniere for me. Service was prompt and all the meals were good although my mussels were not as good as the Qube (a bit too salty!). The garlic chicken breast was really tasty (highly recommended) and the Balti for Jon was the second curry of the day...oh to be on holiday all the time!

The Qube Restaurant, Tenby

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 10:52:00 +0000

For years, our family friends the Charnocks, had the Pam Pam Restaurant in Tenby and I could never imagine it as anything else, but now it has been updated and taken over by a young local chef and is renamed the Qube Restaurant. It is right in the heart of the town square in Tenby with seats outside in the daytime.

We booked a table for my husband's birthday and the girls were looking forward to it as we had had a good meal there last year.

We were greeted by a really friendly, cheerful waitress who continued to look after us all very well. The decor is still in need of a bit of a revamp but this did not spoil our evening in any way.

We ordered a mussels in creamy sauce to start and Jon ordered king prawns. Both were totally delicious and suffice to say that having had mussels in at least 6 Tenby restaurants this trip, these were the best by far.

We ordered main courses as follows (kids meals are available and are actually free if you eat between 5 - 6 pm but it was a special treat and the girls went "grown up"): Whole lemon sole with butter for myself, Sea bass for Jon, braised lamb shank for Immy and the grilled salmon steak for Scarlett. They were all good - the lemon sole was moist and tasty and Immy managed to finish her entire lamb dish. The sea bass was a little misleading - we thought it was a fillet but came out in a puff pastry case - a bit like a giant vol au vent! It tasted Ok though and there were plentiful amounts of sides to accompany. The garlic potatoes were a little disappointing - the garlic clearly had not been cooked through but it was not a big problem.

We had a thoroughly nice evening (despite the lashing rain!) and although pricey (between £6 and £9 for a starter and £12 to £18 for a main) this was probably the best food we had in Tenby during our visit, along with Bar 10 which I will review separately.

Ronniz Wine Bar, Tenby

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:18:00 +0000

Well, we have finally got back from 2 weeks in Tenby and although the weather was pretty bad we still had a lovely time with a few days on the beach and general relaxation!

We ate in lots of places so I am intending over the next few days to review most of them.
Ronniz Wine Bar came as a recommendation and we have eaten nice food in here before but unfortunately things were not good this time!

We have since found out the Matt Ronowitz (who has to be the best chef in Tenby!) has sold this business on and is now the chef at the Qube Restaurant which I shall review later. Location wise it is just off the Tudor Square in St Julian Street - a thriving street that leads down to the harbour.
The concept is great - Spanish Tapas with a "6 dishes for £20" which sounded good as a light lunch for us (2 young children included). They also do other food which includes steaks etc but we were after something light as we were going back down the beach bodyboarding (the kids were anyway!).

We chose 6 dishes which included mussels in a creamy parmesan sauce, squid in a tomato sauce, sole goujons, meatballs, beef strips in a chilli sauce and finally prawns wrapped in bacon in a garlic sauce. We also ordered a garlic bread and a portion of fries for safe measure.

Our mouths were watering as the dishes were described deliciously in the menu. Alarm bells should have rung when our bottle of white wine arrived unchilled in a wine holder with a glass already poured and topped up with ice cubes! This is a wine bar with no cold white wine??

Suffice to say the food took a good while (we were the only people in there - it was only 12 o'clock) though I am not sure why as it was clearly reheated, and tasted so. In fact the meatballs were not even reheated through - they were cold in the middle. Overall thoroughly disappointing when I have had good tapas all over the world.

We did not visit again.

Do you want to be on the next Nintendo Advert?

noreply@blogger.com (Jon Langford) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:50:00 +0000

We have been contacted by the team at Kream, to ask whether any of the visitors to the Dinner at Home website would be interested in appearing on a Nintendo Television advert to be screened at Christmas 2009.

They are looking for couples who like to host dinner parties and who use a Nintendo games console, such as the Nintendo Wii or DS.

If you're interested, take a look at the two documents below

Nintendo Advert Details
Application Form

The Red Lion, Great Wratting, Suffolk

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Langford) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:32:00 +0000

Well, we had a very quiet week last week when the girls went off to Suffolk to stay with their Granny for a week. They had a thoroughly lovely time and as usual did not want to come home!! Their highlight (apart from Harry Potter and the Anglo Saxon village!) was their night out to the Red Lion in Great Wratting on the Friday night! This pub is an absolute must at Christmas time as the decorations are out of this world (a full size lit up nativity scene in the car park!) but for a good family meal it sounds great fun too!
George the landlord makes children more than welcome - it is entertainment from start to finish apparently! Scarlett surprised everyone by finishing off an 8oz ribeye steak all to herself and Immy went for the lemon sole (quite sophisticated for a 10 year old!) but only on the understanding that Aunty Emma had scampi and chips so they could both steal a scampi!
The food was apparently great, the atmosphere rocking (very busy) and a thouroughly great time had by all! Check it out next time you are in the area!