home alone

Ok so it has been a while but feeling some inspiration to get back onto the blog.
Sorry for all those that were hoping for a poker blog but this is ALL about food!!!! I promise to get back to blogging about poker later this month.

My husband has been away caddying in some tournament in Augusta that is suppose to be important but all I know is tha he has been away for 3 weeks now and seems to be having a better time than I am stuck at home.

So tonight I decide to cook a treat for him for when he comes back home.  My inspiration was an idea for salted caramel.  He is not a massive fan of caramel like me but I thought if I match it with nuts and chocolate he will still be happy.

Salted Caramel with roasted peanuts and Chocolate Ganache Tart...........

Long name and equally long time to make.  Thankfully I went to Dan Murphy today and had some wine to help me enjoy the cooking process. 

It all starts out as fun and sort of like origami as I cut out the baking paper for the blind baking of the pastry.

I start this at 6 pm and think that the whole task will take me approx 1.5 hrs.  Enough time for me to settle back on the couch with dinner and a glass of wine and watch the psycho bitches on "The Bachelor".

I dont have any other proof that I made my own pastry but this is where the majority of the wine was consumed.  Until I actually eat a tart I am not sure if it was worth the hassle.  It was tedious and annoying and it better taste like crack otherwise never again.

It is pretty obvious from the pic above that the pastry shell is not store bought.

Next came the making of the salted caramel.  Now if I had not actually tasted the end product I would have said it is something I would never ever make again.  But....... this stuff is probably the best thing I have ever ever tasted.  While that sounds like bragging I am being totally serious. 

I line the base of the tart with the salted caramel, thankful and regretful all at once that there is a heap left that I can eat later.

I then roast some peanuts to add some texture.

I burn the nuts three times before I actually roast a batch that I can use.  Been a while since I have handles some nuts obviously ;) The chocolate ganache is made with Lindt chocolate and again was a pain to make. 



I have not taste tested the end product but unless itastes totally amazing I would not recommend anyone to try this.  It took me 4 hours and an entire bottle of wine to make.  And now you have to endure my blog and drunk ramblings.  x

London Day 7

I wake at 4 a.m and cannot go back to sleep as usual.
After checking out some maps on the internet to try and get my bearings on where I actually am staying and the direction I want to go, I end up leaving my tiny but nice hotel room at about 9 a.m.

This is my hotel!

I walk for about an 1hr then find a coffee shop for some breakfast.  I decide over breakfast that I do not want to visit anything in particular today and just want to get a feel for the city instead by exploring by foot.

I wander towards hyde park. It is cold but it is Sunny so I take my time and take some photos of the scenery and park and the cute little squirrels.

I then take a walk along High Street and have a look at some of the shops. I dont know what possessed me but I decide to get some eyebrow threading done when the girl tells me it does not hurt and it is only 5 pounds.  Thats cheaper than waxing!  It hurt like hell and I ended up spending the next 3 hours walking around with hot, bright red marks around my eyebrows.

I go into Harrods and avoid purchasing anything.  The windows are dressed for Xmas and I spend some time looking at those instead.

It is getting late so I buy some lunch from a sushi place and take it back to hyde park to eat.  The squirrels are not bothered by the now busy park and I decide to see how friendly they are by pretending I have food to feed one of them.  I tried to capture it on the camera but when the little shit bit me I found it hard to keep the camera still and in focus.

I leave the park more than slightly amused and continue along my way loving London more and more with every step.

I head to an area called Carnaby.  It is such a cool area with shops, restaurants and bars.

As usual the day has turned dark all too soon and I decide to take some refuge from the cold inside a traditional looking English Pub.  I take a seat looking out of the front windows and watch the people go by on the streets.  I love people watching and it is even better when there is no fear of being caught staring.

A small group of business people from the U.S, England and France are beside me and we end up chatting for a while.  They invite me to dinner with them and tell me it is their shout.  I would never normally accept an invitation like this with complete strangers but hey I am only going to end up eating on my own and ........ FREE FOOD!  Ok I accept the invitation and we walk to a restaurant in the nearby SOHO area that I find out is a Michelan Star Restaurant.  I definately can handle that!
The dinner is amazing as is the extremely expensive vintage red wine and French Champagne bottles they are ordering.  I resist taking photos but when the dessert arrives I think hey who cares if they think I am weird I want to take a pic.  It it a meringue on top of this amazingly smooth and creamy icecream with gold leave detail, sitting on some fresh plums.  It tastes even better than it looks.

The bill arrives and I try to catch a glance at it but a Credit Card is thrown on it too quickly.  They pay for a cab for me back to Kensington and I hit the bed exhausted but satisfied with my first amazing day in London.

Paris to London Day 6 (Read at own risk.....boring)

I woke up this morning with a slight headache.  Thanks Monica and Marty! 
I check the times of the Eurostar train from Paris to London and I am suprised to find many of the times for an economy ticket are sold out and the ones that aren't are heaps more expensive than when I researched this option a week ago!  I just assumed it was a standard price for an economy train ticket regardless and now not only do I have to travel earlier than I planned I have to pay more for it.
I race around the apartment and clean it from top to bottom all the time wondering if it was worth saving the 50 Euro for, instead of paying to have it cleaned.
I pack and walk to the metro to catch my first of many trains of the day. I have to navigate some 50 odd stairs with my massive backpack and heavy heavy case as I do not have the good looks to attract the help of a strong French man to help me. 
The journey from start to finish is boring so I am just going to cut this short. 
Train x 6
Stairs x 100000000
Help x 0
= Exhausted me on arrival at London Hotel in Kensington.
= Take away thai in room for dinner and past asleep by 9pm.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Paris Day 5

I have no plans to visit anything in particular so I want to spend the day just enjoying Paris and not rushing to go anywhere.  The only thing that I have planned is to meet some friends from Melbourne for lunch.  Already it is sounding like a great day before I even get started. 
I decide to head out early as I dont want to waste my last full day in Paris in the apartment.  I start at a cute little coffee shop down a side alley that I have heard has great coffee.  I order a macchiato and ask if they serve food as I have not eaten yet.  The kitchen does not open orders for another hour but they do have some piping hot scones that have just come out of the oven.  Sold!!!

I take my time in the coffee shop before moving on to find an antique market that I had heard about.  It is about 30 mins away by metro.  Once I arrive at the market I am bitterly disappointed.  I had heard it was an antique market yet this is worse than the Carribean Gardens market and I mean much worse.  I am annoyed that I have now probably wasted an hour of my precious last day in Paris when I see a couple walk past carrying a antique looking lamp and picture frame.  I walk another 100 metres up the road and down a side alley I spot the gorgeous little antique market.  I have no intention of purchasing anything but I have a wonderful time just wandering in and out of the labyrinth of stalls. 

I leave the market to make my way back to meet Marty and Monica for Lunch.  I am disappointed that they want to meet at a Mexican Restaurant as I have not eaten in a French Restaurant.  I dont want to eat Mexican for lunch but I still meet them to catch up.  I can eat somewhere else later.  We have a great time at the restaurant and what started as a lunch get together carries on for another fun filled 12 hours.

We leave the restaurant and wander through the streets of Paris together taking photos of the amazing cakes that I suprisingly resist eating. 

It is around 5.30 when we decide to catch the metro to a park that has a cute French style pub and has a great Sunday Session.  The park is much bigger than we anticipated and it took us a while to find the Pub.  Luckily Paris is just so beautiful so we took some pics along the way.

We find the busy, but relaxed pub.  We order a soup to warm up and some cold beers, an odd combination but it goes down great.  The soup is probably the best soup I have ever had in my life.  We were told it was carrot and something but it tasted like a cup of creamy buttery spicy goodness that was probably a million calories. 

Monica and Marty are going on to see a Jazz band in the Jazz area of Paris.  I wander if it will be worth the 28 Euro considering I am on a budget.  I decide to take the risk and I am so glad I did.  Monica and I danced nearly the entire time and I had such a great time.  



We decide we are all pretty hungry so we find a FRENCH restaurant for a late night dinner.  We order typical french food and wash it down with a french red wine.  It was the perfect finish to the perfect day in Paris. 

We head back to the closest metro station to head home and I cant help but feel sad that I am leaving this beautiful, amazing city. 

I cant wait to return next time with my soul-mate to the most romantic city I have ever visited.

Paris Day 4

So today I am finally going to the Palace of Versailles.  The home of Louis XIV.  I catch the metro system and head out on a beautiful Paris moring.  The sun is shining and I am looking forward to my day.  Considering I have no sleep again I am feeling happy and find myself walking with a content smile on my face and singing some French tune (no idea what it is) in my head.
I arrive at the Palace and after purchasing a ticket and organising a handheld audio information device I enter the palace expecting it to be beautiful but wondering if it will actually interest me.

The audio device is great.  As you enter each room it gives you some information regarding the room without an excessive amount of detail.  Enough info to be interesting but not boring and I thoroughly enjoy the tour of the palace.  The palace is amazing and every room has elaborate paintings on the ceiling. 

After finishing the tour of the interior I head out to the immense garden area.  Oh wow! I find it impossible to capture the massive size of these gardens or the beauty with the camera.  I spend some time sitting on a bench seat just taking it in and filing it in my memory.  I then get the idea of trying to walk the area of the gardens and grand canal. 

When I get to the end area of the crand canal I take some time to sit on the grass and reflect on my time in Paris.  It makes me think of Mum as I know she loved Paris and while it makes me miss her, I feel less lonely. Even though I am doing this trip solo, I spend some time with her here.  She tells me she wants a coffee (typical) and I agree so I start the long walk back towards the palace.

The walk back is uphill and the lack of sleep during this trip so far suddenly hits me hard, it seems to take me twice as long.  I wonder if I would get into trouble if I tried to have a lottle nap in the Queens Bedchamber??

I had plans to spend the afternoon walking around the Paris streets but I check the time and it is already 4.30pm!!! I realise I have not eaten since breakfast and the chill has started to set in.  What I really want is a big bowl of hot soup.  PHO.....oh yeah!  I stop first for a coffee and then get back on the train and head for the China Town area of Paris to find a Pho restaurant that a google search has informed me is the best Pho in Paris.

Along the way I pass the biggest vending machine I have ever seen. 

I reach the Pho restaurant about 7pm and it is the only restaurant in the area with a massive line out the front.  I get seated next to some other diners and order my Pho and of course a beer to wash it down with. 

I am starving and dont bother trying to take a photo of the delicious smelling and looking soup and I ask for a fork so I dont have to bother with the chopsticks and can shovel it in faster.  The Pho is amazing and I leave feeling full and satisfied ready for the long metro ride back to my apartment.  It was definately worth the journey.
Once again I crawl up the stairs and I throw myself on the bed fully clothed and fall asleep.