Weekly Update

Drinking news for this week involves a welcome return to the North Bar. My mission to drink every one of their beers has undergone a bit of a hiatus, but I did make an effort with an unusually named offering from Belgium: Grottenbier. At over 6% alcohol, it's hardly a session beer, but it is an eminently drinkable, dark beer. It would go very well with food - and, as it's a rich, smooth beer I think it's even got dessert matching potential.

While I enjoyed my Grottenbier, Andy spotted the interesting news that Timothy Taylor has bought the Town Hall Tavern in central Leeds. Looks like another place to put on the ever expanding list!

I'm also busy using up my 60p bunch of beetroot. Last night we put together a proper feast - bangers, mash and ... beetroot and onion. This simple (and very effective) combination was suggested by The Silver Spoon. Melt some butter in a pan, slice and fry some onion. Add beetroot that you've already cooked (I washed, topped and tailed the two small beets, wrapped them in foil and left them in a 200C oven for about half an hour - they were a cinch to peel once cooked) and chopped into batons. Fry it all up. This has serious sausage butty potential! We drank a big Australian red with this - the 2003 Xanadu Secession Shiraz Cabernet from Western Australia. At the moment this wine is on offer at Oddbins - £4.38 down from £6.99. It's not a subtle, complex wine - but it is perfect for the BBQs we're all still trying to have!

This evening's beetroot excursion involved the leaves. Yesterday, I washed them and cooked them off as you would spinach. Tonight, I roughly chopped them and threw them in a frying pan with a load of butter. I added a touch of nutmeg and a load of black pepper before pouring over 2 eggs beaten with cream and milk. Follow with a (not quite generous enough) grating of parmesan cheese and tip out onto your plate when ready. The beetroot leaves tasted a lot like spinach, and I'll certainly be using them again! I can't believe the greengrocer asked me if I wanted them!!!!
And finally, another food blog: Foodie Paradise is a Singapore based blog, who, in a recent posting, posed the question of reviewing a restaurant that's been recommend by friends. It's a doddle when the restaurant is great - but what about when you've been taken to a meal, had a restaurant's praises sung to you and it really doesn't quite come up to scratch? It's a tricky one to get round - my solution is to make sure I've got a lot of things to write about!

Stumble It!