The spookiest night of the year is only a few days away! How exciting!
I’m not usually one for skulls, witches and ghosts, but Halloween‘s almost there and it was about time I (and this blog) got in the mood (board) for it!
Do you guys have any exciting plans this Halloween? (mine definitely include eating too much candy, watching spooky movies and reliving my Hallow’s Eve childhood memories!)
If there is tapas made anywhere in London, it’s likely you’ll find me somewhere around some time soon.
So after visiting one of the most fantastic exhibitions of the year, we went down to the woods and stumbled upon Rabbit on the way.
Opened by three brothers who grew up on a farm in Sussex, the small restaurant makes for the most charming rural spot right in the middle of Chelsea (oh, the irony!).
With its wood and stone walls, its subtle natural tones and its decidedly bucolic decoration, Rabbit offers a quiet retreat from the hustle and bustle of London’s metropolitan life.
And how cool are those antic-tractor-seats-turned-chairs? They definitely give you a sense of that farm-to-table business rabbit is all about!
Definitely not cool enough to divert my attention away from the food though!
Especially when the mise-en-bouches look as good as those!
Pretty-as-a-picture Beetroot Crisp, Goats Cheese and Blackberry Jam.
Hake Rillettes which remind me of summer holiday picnics.
And my favourite of all: the glorious Confit Rabbit and Tarragon on Parmesan Sablé.
So good I could have eaten dozens of those.
But it was a good call to keep some stomach space for one of Rabbit’s signature dishes: Chorizo and Labneh.
Studded with crisp bread shards and incredibly morish kale crisps, it has almost nothing in common with the Spanish sausage dish but is equally delicious!
The Lamb Chips disappear so quickly I barely had time to click a picture.
Another of the restaurant’s signature dishes and an absolute must-order in my book (and I’m sure anyone else’s).
The prettiest of all plates came in the form of a lot of cauliflower.
Rainbow Cauliflower, Smoked Onions, Rocket and Almond Pesto.
Just as delicious as it is pretty and the kind of dishes I hoped we’d see more of in restaurants.
Another winner was the Duck Liver, Radicchio, Chives and Golden Grapes.
Deeply umami and a game changer (see what I did there?)!
The Wild Mushroom Ragu is a strong favourite amongst the restaurant’s patrons.
Crispy sage leaves, creamy celeriac mash and some of the best (and most truffled, in the good sense of the word) damn mushrooms I’ve ever had!
I’m quite demanding when it comes to pudding, but I might just have found my new favourite.
Honeycomb, dipped in chocolate and served atop dollops of vanilla mascarpone.
Basically heaven in a mouthful and a combination I fully intend to re-use very soon!
And all together quite representative of the food at Rabbit: simple, sophisticated and just right. Everything good food should be.
Rabbit, 172 King’s Rd, Chelsea, London SW3 4UP
Two Cs are always better than one, so Chanel is pretty much as good as it gets when it comes to haute couture.
Creating one icone after the other, all stamped with the brand’s double C logo, the French fashion house is one I’ve always been fascinated about.
So after watching hours of documentary and movies, there was no way on Earth I’d miss the Mademoiselle Privé exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery.
Early on Saturday morning, I met my friend Ilaria on Sloane Square.
Coffee in one hand and smartphone in the other, I was ready for a journey through the origins of Chanel‘s creations.
My jaw dropped as we entered the building and pretty much stayed down there the whole time.
The enchanted journey through the house’s creativity first took us through a reconstitution of Coco Chanel‘s iconic apartment and shop of 21 rue Cambon.
In the next room, black and white drawings give some insight into the brand’s first steps.
From the world-famous logo combining two interlaced Cs and a wheat pattern…
…to Mademoiselle Coco’s inspiration for the sportive, casual chic clothing she was the first to make popular.
Quickly after this, the brand grew in popularity and turned towards high fashion, but Chanel’s influence quickly extended far beyond couture clothing.
In 1920, Gabrielle Chanel commissioned the creation of a perfume to Russian-French chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux.
Mademoiselle Coco always had potent association for the number 5, so when presented with small glass vials containing sample scent compositions numbered 1 to 5 and 20 to 24 for her assessment, she chose the fifth vial and decided to let this sample number five keep the name it has already “for good luck”.
Chanel no. 5 has been chosen as a signature scent by millions of modern, elegant women ever since.
In 1932, Coco Chanel also designed her first and only jewellery collection, “Bijoux de Diamants“.
My favourite part of the Mademoiselle Privé exhibition though? The one focusing on the the House’s essential symbols.
The Camellia flower and the pearls.
The Venitian Moor.
The Black Line.
The Wheat.
The golden chain and, more recently, Greek pop.
Just as iconic are Chanel’s signature ‘petite veste’ tweet and knowledge of tailoring.
But the part all of London’s fashionista made a beeline for?
The gorgeous gowns of course!
Rows after rows of sublime, black lace creations.
With a bit of bling and feather here and there…
And how gorgeous is this hand-embroidered beauty? ?
It was only fitting we finished our visit by paying our respect to the very people who created that golden wonder; the Ateliers Lessage.
We didn’t get to experience their know-how first hand but spend quite a while starring at those who did!
If you’re as interested in fashion and its history as I am, you absolutely MUST go see Mademoiselle Privé. It’ll be at the Saatchi gallery until November 1st and it’s every inch as classy and fabulous as it says on the box!
There’s nothing quite as depressing as how shorter days get this time of the year.
So I try to cheer myself up the best way I know how: with gallons of pumpkin soup and a generous sprinkle of winter spices in everything else I cook.
And rice pudding is no exception!
Combining traditional Indian chai flavours with the warmth of traditional European winter-y spices, this super-comforting Winter Chai Rice Pudding is my new go-to dessert!
Winter Chai Rice Pudding (serves 6-8)
Ingredients: 1 small glass of Arborio rice, 2-3 pints of whole milk, 3 cs of runny honey, 1 vanilla pod, 3 slightly curshed cardamom seeds, 1 star anise, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1. Put all the ingredients in a large saucepan
2. Cook on low heat stirring regularly until the rice is no longer crunchy (about 30-35 min)
3. Serve warm or cold (and with some red berry coulis if you’re feeling so inclined)
What’s your favourite recipe to beat the winter blues?
I had been meaning to visit husband-and-wife run cafe Honey & Co since the first day I came back to London, over a year ago.
Famous for their apparently excellent bruch (which I am still to try out), their delicious cakes and their modern takes on Jerusalem food, it has everything for me to fall in love.
And indeed in love I fell.
One thing that was not on the “list of reasons I’m probably going to love this restaurant” were the cocktail but after a sip of the OB Gin & Tonic, I’ll most definitely add it up onthere.
If you like orange blossom as much as I do, make sure you give it a go very soon!
It is a well-known fact that warm bread is one of life’s great pleasure, so ordering the Bread selection was obviously an excellent call.
The homemade pitta bread was delicious and light as a cloud, but the slightly crunchy potato loaf and the brioch-ey challah bread definitely stole the show!
Red falafels are one of Honey & Co’s signature dishes and combine the usual chickpea-based mix with sweet red peppers, enhanced by the punchy accompagnying garlic yoghurt.
A classic well worth ordering!
My favourite dish was without a doubt what seemed to be the simplst of them all on paper: Crisped cauliflower with tahini, parsley, crisp pitta & Legbar egg.
It was however much more complex once on your fork.
And look at that perfectly soft-cooked egg! #Fodporn at its very best!
Crispy quail in sweet spice is another highlight of the new Autumn Menu.
Think what you want (including that quail are the most annoying thing to eat EVER!) but there truly is a subtlety and a sweetness in quail you won’t really find in any other bird.
Even better though was the accompagnying Whole wheat, grapes, pinenuts & herb salad.
This one’s definitely going to become a new feature of all of my Autumn menus!
Puddings are often given as one of Honey & Co’s strength.
Which you can probably tell just by the look of the Marzipan cake with caramelised figs and custard.
But the true star of the show?
This INCREDIBLE Coconut, plum and pistachio cake.
A truly magnificient (and slightly psychedelic) thing worthy of the best GBBO’s bakes.
Which definitely make me want to go back, if only to try more from the cake counter!
Honey & Co 25A Warren St, London W1T 5LZ
Last week was a bit tough on me as I had to say goodbye to my boyfriend who is going away for a few months.
Let’s get this right: being in a long distance relationship SUCKS. Unfortunately, I know far too much about that already.
It sucks that you can’t go out for dinner together, that you don’t get to see each other every day, that you might not even be able to talk as often as you might want to. It sucks that you no longer get to do all the little things.
But there definitely are some silver linings as well…
1. Goodbyes usually come with a side of really, really good food.
Long distance relationship silver lining #1: goodbyes usually include really really good food.
Best bread I’ve had in a long time. Well played @mobalondon!
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Dinner in your favourite restaurant(s) and enough chocolate to last you until Christmas are only the beginning. But more on that later this week…
2. All the presents! Goodbye presents, Welcome back presents… Basically like Christmas but better!
Working from home with this little fellow by my side. And by working, I totally mean trying to find the perfect name for him… What do you reckon? ?
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I mean just look at him, isn’t he just the CUTEST?
Found my cryptonite. Somebody please take those away from me. ??
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Also, those! ❤❤❤
3. Not going to the restaurant that often anymore might actually be a good thing for your ongoing “healthy eating” plans.
Sure, I’ll probably miss having fries three times a week but it probably is better that way. Vegetable and nice home-cooked meals FTW!
4. Nobody’s judging your poor TV-choices.
Gossip Girl marathon? Disney movie sing-along? America’s Next Top Model binge-watching? Yes, yes and YES!
5. Sleeping in the middle of the bed.
‘No sleep. I go days without sleep.’ #whoamikidding #sleepyhead #disneyquotes
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Guest who doesn’t have to keep pulling on the blanket all night?
6. You can eat whatever YOU want for dinner.
Helloooooooo pumpkin soup and bread roll! I know I probably shouldn’t be that excited but that’s what living with someone who doesn’t consider soup an acceptable dinner will do to you!
7. Buying Christmas presents is MUCH easier when you’re not together 24/7.
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So maybe this year I WON’T give away too many clues and it will ACTUALLY be a surprise!
8. Making plans for when you next see each other is simply THE BEST.
Yes the best thing about not being together is definitely seing the light at the end of the tunnel and making plans for when you’ll next get to spend time together. #duh
Speaking of which… any absolute musts besides Champagne and chocolates?
The first time I bought chocolate with sea salt in it, I was more than sceptical about whether or not I would like it.
But the second it touched my tongue, I was in love and blaming myself for not having guessed I’d love it. I mean, I’m SUCH a sucker for anything with salted caramel in it, so it only made sense, didn’t it?
And with this Sea salt & Milk chocolate mousse, I took the whole shebang a step further by adding yet more salt to my favourite Green & Black Milk chocolate with Sea salt.
The result went beyond everything I could have ever hoped for; what I got was perfectly balanced, sweet, salty, almost caramel-y airy and light mousses.
Trust me on that one: take a few minutes and make this tonight. You won’t regret it.
Oh, and did I tell you those were only about 180 cal each… #JustSaying
Sea salt and Milk Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients (serves 4): 1 bar of Green & Black Milk Chocolate with Sea Salt (100g), 2 big eggs, a good pinch of salt flakes
1. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and sit it over a pan of gently simmering water. Leave to slowly melt, stirring occasionally.
2. Separate your eggs so you have the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another.
3. Whisk the whites until they form soft peaks.
4. Add the egg yolks and the salt flakes to the melted chocolate and mix thouroughly (you might want to add a few spoonful of hot water as well if it gets to thick).
5. Fold the chocolatey mix through the eggs whites.
6. Divide the mixture between small glasses/cups and pop in the fridge for at least two hours for it to set.
Cake and Whisky 