Over The Weekend

It’s been a pleasant weekend. We went clay shooting on Saturday morning (we shoot English Sporting, a discipline designed to imitate game birds and rabbits) I shot quite well for a change.

In the evening we were going to Rushwick FolkClub, so dinner was Alison’s macaroni & cheese (with bacon :) ). The folk club was fine, but badly attended because of a nearby folk festival. Shame that one visitor hijacked the proceedings by singing interminable mumbled songs to a nastily-tuned flat-picked guitar: people left early because of this

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Sunday started with a cycle ride. It’s been a while since I’ve done this, so didn’t go too far. 

I cooked a beef stir fry for lunch, which was fine. Alison cooked her famous (and delicious) lasagne for dinner – fantastic.

WHAT A DISASTER!

Quite often, I slow-cook a red cabbage with onion and vinegar. We usually eat this as a main course with pasta, when we feel like a veggie inner/it’s cold.

I adapted this recipe from one which included apple; my beloved has been going on (and on) about how she likes the cabbage and apple recipe, so I decided to revert to the original.

I followed the recipe faultlessly.

IT’S HORRIBLE! It went all mushy and overcooked and (of course) tastes strongly of apple. Neither of us can eat it.

Back to the kitchen/fridge/store-cupboard to see what we’re now going to have for dinner tonight…

(By the way, I see I've got some readers in India at the moment. We're coming your way in February next year, so if you want to get in touch ...)

Monday

Amused: wandered through Iceland in Northfield today. Found Kezie Foods grouse at half-price so (obviously) grabbed some. We were checked-out by the manager who was delighted as these were his first (and only) sales of this item!

Saturday Afternoon

Just a word about my plans for dinner:

1. Tian of avocado & crab
2. Roast shoulder of lamb, roast potatoes, peas.
3. Treacle tart & cream

I don't do this sort of meal very often, but there were no racks of lamb to be had and the better half wanted sheep meat. Probably not a bad idea to practice the traditional roast, since we'll be feeding the family at Christmas ...

Thursday: Two Cats Kitchen

This was our treat for the week: turned out to be even better than I hoped!

Two Cats Kitchen is sited in the middle of the Jewellery Quarter in a building that’s been used as a restaurant for a number of years, perhaps not the easiest venue to find, but well worth the effort. We've been to many different restaurants in this building; most successful was Didier Philipot's Toq d'Or which brought cuisine nouvelle to Birmingham (The city probably wasn't ready for this but at the time it was the best restaurant around). The last incarnation Big Nanny's Kitchen was, I thought, terrible. Can't say I'm sorry it's gone.

This was our first visit and won’t be our last. Our welcome was pleasant and service quick and efficient. Water was delivered to the table without the need to ask. We had the tasting menu explained to us and almost immediately received the first of seven courses, a cold beetroot soup with herbs (actually much more complex than that, and wonderful) plus warm sourdough bread (in a paper bag) and smoked butter. 

The six courses that followed were of splendid quality, well presented and nicely served: our only significant criticism was that the plates were difficult to scrape completely clean. I was particularly impressed with the second dessert ‘sea buckthorn meringue pie’, as previous experiences with this berry haven’t been good: the notion of making it into a curd was inspired.

My favourite course was arctic Char with samphire, shitake mushrooms, crab and egg yolk, but everything was so good it was really choosing amongst equals.

Wine list isn’t extensive, but the Romanian house wines are good.

Overall, great cooking, food and service. A splendid experience showcasing ingredients and traditions from a part of Europe that’s still not well known in the UK. Book now while you can get a seat!

(Incidentally, one review on Trip Advisor complained that the quaity of the cutlery was poor - it isn't and anyone who thinks like that has, in my opinion, seriously missed the point!)