The Very Difficult Dinner Party

My sister was in town this weekend.  One of our favourite pastimes is cooking together.  There’s a bit of an untold ritual to it – it begins with magazines and coffee.  More specifically, food magazines (from the piles of Olive, Delicious, Good Food, Donna Hay, and Bon Appetit food magazines) and 3-6 cups of coffee, dependent on how inspired we are by what we see.  This time, my sister tasked us with a challenge: Let’s only cook very difficult things! – the exclamation point reflecting her excitement.  And so, we pored through the magazines, only stopping on recipes labelled “For the confident cook,” “A bit of effort,” or the more direct “Very Difficult.”

3.5 cups of coffee later, we’d settled on a menu for our Very Difficult Dinner Party:

Emmental gougéres (delicious mag, from The Skinny French Kitchen by Harry Eastwood)

Braised artichokes with lemon hazelnut praline, cherry tomato sauce and a chard, potato, and Puy lentil cake (delicious mag, from Irish chef Denis Cotter)

Roquefort soufflé on a salad of watercress, poached pear, and toasted pine nuts (really a combination of recipes we found online)

Poached salmon with pink grapefruit and basil sauce served with asparagus (Good Food, GordonRamsay)

Limoncello Meringue Pie (Olive, from Janine Ratcliffe)

Menu set, it was time for the next part of our ritual – Borough Market, via Gordon’s Wine Bar.  After a leisurely pitstop in Gordon’s for a cheeky afternoon glass of cava, we walked along the southbank to Borough Market.  There, we inhaled the atmosphere – full of tantalizing smells and drool-worthy food sightings – and successfully came away with loads of fruit and veg for our very difficult menu.

Our dinner party wasn’t until the next day, so we enjoyed a relaxing night in, trying our hand at creating some new recipes. 

We embarked on cooking our menu at 3 o’clock the next day, telling guests to arrive anytime from 7pm – and I quickly learned just how inefficient I am in the kitchen, especially compared to my Cordon-Bleu-trained sister.   Here’s how the day went:

3pm – START THE VERY DIFFICULT COOKING, 4 HOURS TIL GUESTS ARRIVE

Me: I’ll start on the artichoke! It says it takes 1.5 hours to make and 1 hour to cook.

Sister: I’ll make the limoncello tart!

 base of the limoncello tart

 

 the journey begins on the artichoke dish, later deemed my kitchen Everest.

4pm – TART CHILLING AND SALAD MADE, 3 HOURS TIL GUESTS ARRIVE

Sister: I’ve made the limoncello tart (except the meringue), poached pears, toasted pine nuts, made a salad dressing – how are you doing Steph?

Me: I’ve peeled one artichoke.

Sister: Do you need any help Steph?

Me: (grumble grumble grumble)

Sister: Do you want me to make the Emmental Gourgeres?

Me: (slightly defeated) Sure. 

 

It's even prettier than the picture in the magazine!!

5pm –  GOUGERES DOUGH MADE, TART COMPLETE, 2 HOURS TIL GUESTS ARRIVE

Sister: So gougeres dough is done, I’ll start on the soufflés!

Me: I've peeled three artichokes. And while I've started on some other parts of the artichoke dish, I've also started to lose the will to live.
Sister: That's nice Steph - keep up the good work!

 Making the praline (with help from sis)

Lemon Hazelnut praline which gets blitzed in food processor and sprinkled onto artichoke dish)

 

(Puy Lentil and Potato mix to be wrapped in cavolo nero, instead of chard)

6pm – SOUFFLES PREP COMPLETE, 1 HOUR TIL GUESTS ARRIVE

Sister: So I’m done with the soufflé prep.  I’ll cook the gougeres and start making the Hollandaise for the salmon if that’s okay? Do you think you can work on anything else besides the artichoke Steph?

Me: The artichoke is very demanding!!  It needs lots of attention.  I’m enslaved. 

Sister: (Just stares at me)

Me: I’ll make the water to poach the salmon and cut up the grapefruit and basil.

6.45pm – I text friends and ask them to be late – “we” are very behind on our very difficult menu

7pm – ARTICHOKES FINALLY IN OVEN ALONG WITH LENTIL CAKES, HOLLANDAISE IN PROGRESS, 30 MINUTES TIL FRIENDS ARRIVE

 

(yep, this is all I have to show for - thankfully it was very tasty)

(yummy roquefort souffle)

7.30pm – EVERYTHING IS FULLY PREPPED/COMPLETED FOR THE NIGHT! (NO THANKS TO ME) – GUESTS ARRIVE

So not quite as smooth as it might have been had I started a little earlier.  Not only did it take me a whopping 4.5 hours to make artichokes, I also missed out on learning how to make the perfect Hollandaise (my sister didn’t even have to look at a recipe – she really sickens me sometimes).  The poached salmon with grapefruit/basil hollandaise was excellent - and really simple if you're only in charge of poaching the salmon.  Somehow I failed to get a picture of this one, but I'd do it again!  The limoncello meringue pie was standout - that recipe has made it into my binder for future use.

Was it all delicious? YES!  Would I make it all again – not on your life! …  especially that artichoke (despite it being very tasty).

Alto Adige - Exploring the Italian Dolomites

I only first heard of the Dolomites in north-eastern Italy in 2009 when a travel program happened to be on tv in the US while I was visiting my family in Dallas, Texas.  Stunning jagged mountains caught my eye and I had to stop and watch the rest of the program to find out where this dramatic landscape was.  I mentally put them on my list of places to go, noncommittally, someday.  But then, 6 months later, my eye was again caught by a picture on the cover of Food and Travel – an old church atop a hill, with a breathtaking view of mountains in the background.  “Gourmet travels in the Dolomites,” it read.  

I indulgently popped a copy in my trolley and savoured every word I read about the Alto Adige region in Italy.  It turns out that the scenery isn’t the only draw for this region.  With 4 Michelin stars in an area spanning 20km, this mountainous region in northeast Italy has become a hotbed of culinary acumen.

The Trentino-Alto Adige region was originally part of the Austrian Empire, only turned over to Italy as of 1919.  As you drive around, you don’t feel you’re in Italy as much of the Austrian influence has remained.  Often, signs are posted in three languages – Italian, German, and Ladin, a local language of the autonomous region.  Alta Badia, the valley in which we stayed, consists of 6 small villages, all linked by a very large network of hiking trails.  The towns are Corvara, Colfosco, La Villa, San Cassiano, Badia (Pedraces), and La Valle.  Our hotel (Hotel Ustaria Posta - my review here) was in Badia (also known as Pedraces), perfectly located in between quite a few other towns of Alta Badia and right next to the La Crusc/Santa Croce lift.  By happy coincidence, this lift took us up to that lovely church atop the hill I’d originally seen on the Food and Travel cover.  Here's our own pic of it:

As far as I could see, there are few well-written guides on this region, so much of our understanding of it happened in real-time.  On the plus side, it made for lots of adventurous trailblazing and spontaneous discoveries.  However, we did sometimes feel quite blind, and quite a few of the things we sought out landed us at a dead-end.  We learned a ton about the region and already plan to go back, but I’m happy to share a few helpful tips we sure wish we’d known prior to booking our trip. 

1)  If you’re going for hiking AND the food, go anytime from last week of June through to early/mid-September (the driest month for hiking is September).  Alto Adige essentially shuts down between its ski season and summer hiking season.  We went the first week of June which is within this “in-between” period.  What was great about this time of year was that there were very few tourists there – at times, we felt we had the mountains and lakes all to ourselves!  However, this also meant that:

a.       Most of the chair lifts were still closed (this limited the hikes we could elect to do). Thankfully the Santa Croce lift was one of the few that had just opened.

b.      A majority of the mountain refuges (which are speckled all over the mountains as excellent places to stop and rest during a long day hike or overnight hike) were closed

c.       Most restaurants were also closed, including all three restaurants that have Michelin Stars (they all opened June 24^th), so our gourmet experience was a little more of a mission than we’d expected it to be. 

d.      The weather was fairly temperamental – every day it rained, though it typically had sunny spells as well so we managed a hike every day of the week

2)     Be prepared for rain.  Even if you go in August/September, it’s likely you’ll have rain at least some days.  We didn’t bring truly waterproof hiking clothes and ended up spending a small fortune on proper, good quality waterproofs

3)     You’ll need to buy hiking maps when you get there… most trails are not well marked, especially if it’s not one of the most popular hikes.  You can find these in places like sports supplies shops.  Tobacco maps are renowned as the most up to date and you can buy different ones for the various mountain networks you are interested in hiking.  

4)     Buses and Taxis – Badia/Pedraces was the smallest of the villages in terms of restaurants/shops and we therefore liked to explore some of the other towns as well, especially for dining in the evening.  We took a few buses as well as taxis (since we both fancy wine with our dinner and didn’t want to drive).  The buses only ran once an hour and stopped running around 19:30 (they might operate more frequently during the official summer season though).  We could take a bus to one of the other villages in the early evening, but then we had to take taxis back to our hotel.  As Alto-Adige valley is quite small and there aren’t so many tourists to warrant countless taxis servicing the area, it does mean that taxis can charge quite a premium.  A taxi from La Villa to Badia (3.5km) was €25… ouch!

Despite coming at a “wrong” time, like I said, the upside was that we felt like we were the only ones there.  We discovered some incredible foods (speck and gorgonzola pizza is my new favourite), 

had countless memorable picnics (some dry, some not so dry) with gorgeous views, 

and were spoiled for choice of hikes around emerald lakes (Lago di Braies, our favourite lake, below), 

 

(Lago di Braies - with a lovely place right at the start/finish to have a bratwurst and bier... yes, we're still in Italy!)

We fell in love with this beautiful, delicious, and relatively less-discovered region in Italy.

I think a repeat visit will have to be in the not-too-distant future.

Harwood Arms - London Pub with a Michelin Star

Last night, we went to the Harwood Arms in Fulham Broadway. It had been on my list for quite some time as it was London's first pub to receive a Michelin Star.

The look and the feel of the place is pretty much like any other upscale pub (careful not to use the G-word, gastropub, since that term is apparently thrown to the wayside of late). Ok, there are a few touches that I wouldn't find in my local. One of our friends came out of the gents and was giddy to tell us that there were actual hand towels instead of dryers or paper towels. On our table was a small, sweet bouquet of flowers and a nice candle (which I managed to knock over and spill wax all over my friend).

Our server made us feel right at home - she wasn't rushing us and had very decisive, confident recommendations anytime we asked. She looked after us well - not overly-attentive yet there right when we needed something.

But of course, these are all bonuses in my book - we'd really come for the food. Thankfully, it didn't disappoint for the most part. I wouldn't normally comment on a restaurant's bread and butter - but Harwood Arms' was standout. Very fresh and flavourful and the butter was room temperature and nicely salted. For our starter, we shared the plate of wood pigeon for two (in the picture we snapped here). It consisted of risolles, one large kiev, and pâté- plus small cups of soup. We both really enjoyed this dish - the rissoles were the best. I'm not a big pâté fan but my partner assured me it was very good. Our friends both had the pork belly starter. I wish I'd snapped a photo as it was the most inventive way I've seen pork belly served! They'd used the actual pork belly to create ravioli (you would have thought it was a very thin pasta) stuffed with a delicious filling - they were quite happy with their choice, too. Mains came and three of us had the cod which was served with cauliflower, samphire, and small brown shrimps. It was perfectly cooked and the flavours in the broth that surrounded the fish were a perfect compliment. While I've cooked with samphire before, this was the first time I really got samphire and what it can add to a dish if paired and cooked properly. My partner chose the beef cheeks in ale sauce, served with champ (mashed potatoes with spring onions)... not quite as satisfying as our cod.

It was quiz night at the Harwood Arms which they had warned us about prior to booking. We were happy to partake and thought it was great fun, despite coming in nearly last place. The one thing I hadn't realised until visiting the website today is that quiz night also means an abbreviated menu versus other nights... so you have 3 choices each for starter, main , and pud... And while I definitely would like to go back for another quiz night (perhaps with some smarter friends in tow), I think I'll give a normal night a try too, just so that I can revel in the full menu of options.

Digging in the Dirt... in Piedmont

Truffle hunting has been on my mental “must do while living in Europe” list for quite a few years… which is why I was ecstatic when I finally found a set of friends who wanted to give it a go?

What’s not to love about the concept of following a pig or a dog around in the woods all day and digging in dirt.

We found a lovely house for the 7 of us atop a small hill in a very small town in Piedmont where we stayed for 4 glorious nights in October, prime-time truffle season.

We met our truffle hunter and translator at 7am in Alba, where we then followed him by car to his top secret truffle hunting grounds.  Shhhhh

                                       

A few in our group had researched truffle hunting prior to our trip and were slightly worried by some people who’d said that it was obvious that the hunter simply “planted” a few truffles for his dog to find, but that it was more of a “theory” based hunt versus an actual, found-for-the-first-time-fresh truffle hunt.   So we were a little deflated upon hearing our guide, after a few steps out of the car, say that it was a little late in the day for truffle hunting and that you typically will have more success very early (4 or 5am) in the morning.  He therefore warned that we may not find any truffles on our hunt and he had planted 2 truffles to make a simulation just in case we didn’t come across any during our time together.  Hmmm

So seven eager, slightly anxious wellington-clad people followed the translator, the truffle hunter, and his trusted canine, Lila (renamed Truffie by our group) into a hazelnut grove.

Truffie was off running between the trees... every once in a while, the truffle hunter whistling or chanting to her in Italian (Perhaps, "Psstt - I planted it just over there!!").

Soon after we arrived in the grove, she was digging in one spot.  Before most of us could run over to where she was, the truffle hunter was pushing her away and enticing her with a treat so that he could then show us the next step – digging up the truffle.

 I hadn’t counted on how delicate the digging process is – but if you dig too close to the actual truffle, you could easily damage it.  So you dig around it, slowly and patiently, with a small tool until the soil around it is loosened enough to pull the truffle out.  The truffle hunter taught us how to dig up the first one and we were all quite merry to have seen the whole process.  

                                       

One of the crew had brought a flask filled with sloe gin, and poured some for our new-found hero, the truffle hunter, and the man who helped us to understand him, his translator.

Amazing how sloe gin can inspire a far more prolific truffle hunt!  Within minutes, we were following the three of them to another hazelnut grove – most likely his REAL hunting turf.  There we found endless truffles.  Each one of us had the pleasure to dig up one of our own!  An incredible experience – quite fun to be so hands-on and learn so much about one of my favourite indulgences.

Smells like truffle!

 How can something that looks like this taste so delicious??

Once we all had had a turn in digging up a truffle that Truffie had found for us (just by simply sniffing around the grove), we said our grazies and arrivedercis... but not before purchasing a handful of our day’s work (well, two hours' work to be fair) in the grove.  We later found a lovely shop in Alba with homemade pastas and enjoyed the feasts of our labour later that night, accompanied by a spot or three of Barbera d'Alba.  Mmmmm

London Summer Barbecue

My neighbours may have been a bit puzzled this past Saturday morning, when whiffs of barbecue greeted them at 7.30am.  I suppose it's nearly like waking up to the smell of bacon... nearly.  Thirty minutes before, I was fast at work rubbing two sets of ribs in preparation for an end of Summer party we were having.  The early start was well worth it, as the ribs seemed to get pretty good reviews - the brilliant thing was how easy the recipe was... no faffing around with boiling or homemade marinades, yet the end result is fall-off-the-bone, barbecuey goodness.  The recipe comes from my vegetarian aunt from Michigan:

Baby Back Ribs


1 rack baby-back ribs
1 bottle favorite bbq sauce
salt and pepper
any steak rub


1. Rub ribs with favourite steak/meat rub and salt & pepper, and grill 6-8 minutes per side. (Can stop after this step and wrap ribs in fridge until ready to cook.)
2. Let ribs cool slightly until safe to handle. Cut into individual ribs. Place ribs in a roasting pan and cover with bbq sauce.
3. Bake for 5-6 hours at 110 degrees Celsius (225 degrees F) until falling off the bone.


I also made some salsas, using the ever trusty Salsa Bible - Mark Miller's The Great Salsa Book.





One in particular seemed to be a crowd-pleaser and it's the first salsa I ever made from this book (so also a personal favourite, and brilliantly not much chopping required):


Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 lbs roma (or plum) tomatoes, blackened
• 4 teaspoons finely minced roasted garlic
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
• 4 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. 1
   Heat a tablespoon of oil in a saute pan over medium heat until lightly smoking, add the onion and saute until carmelized, about 10 minutes or so.
2. 2
   Transfer the onion, half the blackened tomatoes and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not pureed. Add the cilantro and chipotle chiles and pulse again to mix.
3. 3
   Peel, seed and chop the remaining tomatoes tomatoes and fold in along with the remaining oil, vinegar, salt and sugar.
4. 4
   Serve chilled or at room temp with chips, red meat or chicken.

The Grampy Bread

There's something really satisfying about making things with your hands - breads, pastas, doughs.
My grandfather passed away two years ago today and I named this bread after him. The weekend of his funeral was quite tough - knowing that my whole family was there in Michigan and I wasn't.  I found solace in cooking and baking... but for some reason, I only wanted to make things that I had never made before and I chose fairly time-consuming recipes.
One recipe I tried that I have now made many times over is a Carmelised Onion and Thyme Plait, featured in one of Waitrose's free seasonal magazines (back when they had them).

It's actually quite easy to make - it just takes time given that it needs to rise twice.
I make it as an accompaniment to soups or stews, but it would also be nice served up with some cheese.
This bread is now my favourite bread to make, and lovingly renamed after my grandfather: the Grampy bread.

Caramelised Onion and Thyme Plait

Rediscover the pleasure and satisfaction of baking your own bread. Our crisp, crusty plait is simple to make and delicious to eat – especially when served with a hunk of cheese.

• Nut Free

Preparation time:

40 minutes, plus proving

Cooking time:

40 minutes

Total time:

1 hour 20 minutes, plus proving  

Serves:

 8 - 10

Ingredients

• 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast
• 1 ½ tsp celery salt
• 75g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 7 tbsp olive oil
• 750g red onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 1/3 pack lemon thyme, plus extra to sprinkle
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• Maldon sea salt

Method

1. Mix the flour, yeast, celery salt and cheese in a bowl. Add 3 tbsp of the oil and about 325ml of hand-hot water. Mix to a soft, but not too sticky, dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.
2. To make the filling, heat another 3 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan and stir in the onions and caster sugar. Fry for about 15 minutes, turning frequently, until they’re soft and lightly caramelised. Chop the thyme and add to the pan with the garlic and plenty of black pepper. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Spread over a baking sheet to cool.
3. Grease a large baking sheet. Punch the risen dough to deflate it and turn out onto a floured surface. Divide into three. Roll each piece into a long, thin strip, measuring about 35 x 10cm. Spoon the filling down each strip to within 1cm of the edges. Lightly dampen one long side of each strip and bring the sides up over the filling, pinching the dough firmly together. Turn the strips over so the joins are underneath.
4. Starting from the centre, braid the three strips loosely together, working towards one end. Pinch the ends together firmly. Braid the other half in the same way. Lift onto the baking sheet, tucking the ends underneath. Cover loosely with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 40-50 minutes until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7.
5. Drizzle the dough with the remaining 1 tbsp oil and scatter generously with salt. Bake for 30 minutes until golden. Scatter with plenty of thyme sprigs and bake for a further 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

A saucisson that cuts the mustard

How was my picnic fare or charcuterie plate ever complete before finding Waitrose's incredible saucisson!
I think I discovered this 4-5 months ago and I've been making up for lost time.  Ho-hum saucisson transformed by some mustard seed and paprika - brilliant!

Thin slices are best and it's tasty both room temperature or straight out of the fridge.
Yum!

Food Discovery from Italia

On a quick weekend away to Rome, we had a lovely dinner in the Trastavere district.  An antipasti plate came with the typical fare of meats, olives and cheeses - but there was one unique combination I'd never tried before.
   

Pecorino with truffle honey - it's a revelation!  Such an incredible combination of flavours - the Pecorino, a hard, salty, ewe's milk cheese ... mixed with the sweet (yet savoury) taste of truffle honey.  We picked up a jar of truffle honey while in Rome now serve this winning combo as a nice starter for dinner parties.   The best part is that such a small amount of effort (chopping up some cheese and spooning honey from a jar) can deliver such a big wow factor!
It's the first time we've successfully replicated the exact food we've had while on holiday.  Enjoy!

When in France...

Some good friends who are planning their honeymoon just asked for some tips on France.  I figured I might as well pop it up on the newly formed blog!:

For a short driving holiday in France, there's nothing better than taking in two of the best regions for both wine and cheese..... Champagne and Burgundy.  Take the car ferry from Dover to Calais and first take in some sights and imbibe some local potions from Champagne.

While I can't highly recommend the hotel where we stayed for its romantic atmosphere or memorable views, I can recommend it for its location right next to a champagne house, its ode to frugality, and its Spartan decor.
This Hotel Porte Mars was in a walkable location to the centre of Reims and offered parking close-by so we could keep an eye on all the wine stored in the boot!  We didn't have the chance to stay in Epernay (everything was fully booked when we were headed there) but I have heard that it's quite a nice place to stay - and walking distance to some of the big champagne houses.... we made a trip there to Moet et Chandon... it was nice to see the caves underneath Epernay and any of the big champagne houses would give you this chance.

Here's two champagne makers we really liked:
Henry Bourdelat - not to be confused with the other Bourdelat just across the road from this one.  This is a small family-owned business, as most of them are... We knocked on the door and it a took a while for anyone to come as Henry and his mother and father were in the middle of labelling  bottles downstairs in the basement.  Henry junior walked us all around explaining how they make champagne - thankfully my partner speaks French but I think Henry can speak a little bit of English (enough to give you a tasting!).... he ages his champagne for far longer than the legal minimum most big champagne houses use....  his champagne's delicious and we left with many cases.
Here is their website which might help find them.
They were sweet enough to pose for a photo:

Also Waris Larmandier - not only do they have excellent champagne (including a nice blanc de blancs - made from 100% Chardonnay grapes) - but their bottles are hand painted and each one is like a piece of art!  Sadly the husband of this family business passed away about a year ago - he was the mastermind behind the champagne-making and now his brother (also very knowledgeable) has been pitching in to continue to business... The wife is an artist and this is why there are such beautiful bottles.  Here is their site


While in Champagne, you're really close to the home of Epoisses cheese - a glorious wash-rind cheese.... buy some, leave it at room temperature for 2 hours, cut the lid of it off and dip in with bread, veg or fingers - delicious, fondue-like cheese. The St Marcelin was also a standout.  Both are terrific for picnics.

Cheese Glorious Cheese!!!
                                                  

Making sure to buy our cheeses, meats and breads before the shops closed, we had quite a few picnics - it was easy enough to find a hilltop and a view.  We also hired bikes one day in Cluny and had a great time biking along a flat green path.

 (We cycled from Cluny to Cormatin - our curiosity somehow took us on some wrong turns and we ended up cycling through a big industrial bakery!... looking at the map every now and again probably would be helpful)

Next head down to Burgundy... Beaune is a lovely town to stay in.. if you decide to stay overnight - definitely dine at Cheval Noir - my review here.

The vineyards in Burgundy are plentiful as are the various regions - it can be pretty intimidating due to how many little regions there are.  A book that really helped us to know which regions sounded good for our tastes was: French Wines by Robert Joseph (Eyewitness Companions). We also used it when we came back with all our wine - as it tells you how many years wine from various regions should be put down before you drink it.... some regions are drinkable quite young but some really need 3-10 years before they are at their best. We enjoyed wines from Cote de Nuits Villages, Nuits St Georges, Macon, Meursault for whites, Morgon for reds, Pommard, Saint Amour, Volnay, Vosne Romanee... and the whites on the Aloxe Corton are quite good - though we could only afford a few of those! - These were the regions that worked for our taste, but again - the book explains what each small region offers and then you can choose which places are best for you.

As you continue further South, you likely will pass through an unassuming big town called Tournus.  One of the best meals we had in France was at an off-the-beaten-track resto across the river there.
First explore the town, but then definitely drive across the river and enjoy an incredible lunch here.

But for le grand finale of your trip, I'd recommend staying in St Amour at the Auberge du Paradis - a bit of a splurge but worth it!

It's just lovely and you must book one night, if not two, at their restaurant which is memorably delicious.



Bon appetit et Bon Voyage!

Borough Market - The Best Day Out in London, hands-down

I get it that visitors to London have a few sights that they need to see to check the box - Westminster Abbey / Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London... there's also likely a few quintessential English foods and drinks that need to be tried such as fish & chips, a Sunday roast, and some English lager.  But I'd be hard-pressed to think of a better day out in London than making a trip to Borough Market.  A food market, yes, but like no other I've seen before - vendors from all over Europe set up stalls here and it's open to the public Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (check the hours before you go).  I recommend getting there on Saturday before 11am or be prepared for some serious crowds.  There's the direct way of doing Borough Market (get to London Bridge Station, and walk to market), or the recommended indirect way of doing it - taking in some great views of London and seeing some parts of the city that could otherwise be missed.

So here's the recommended Best Day Out in London, rated as such by sample size of 1.
Get to Waterloo Station and then head to the Thames.  Stay on the southbank and head East along the water.  You'll pass by the Royal Festival Hall (you can pop in for a takeaway tea or coffee if needed), then the National Theatre which hosts outdoor theatre/art installations from July-September in an area called Watch this Space (http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/wts), eventually you'll pass a lovely alfresco secondhand book store - nice for a brief wander.  Continue walking along the bank, taking in sights of London to the north such as St Pauls.  You'll eventually pass the Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre...  the Thames path ends at a nice pub called Anchor Bankside.  Follow all the rest of the people weaving their way down a road that continues eastward... after you pass London Dungeon, take a right and you are at Borough Market.  It might not look like much from that first angle you're entering - but 2 minutes of exploring it will start to enthuse the senses!
I could write several entries about all of my favourite stalls - but here's some pics I took on my first visit there to whet your appetite.

You can sample some prepared foods there or take some of the fresh meats, seafood, cheeses, and produce home for a scrumptious meal!  Once your senses are satiated, you can head back to the pub on the river (Anchor Bankside), grab a beverage and sit on the water for a bit of relaxation.  Once refreshed, head back along the Thames path (the way you came) until you get back to the Tate Modern  You might want to pop in this museum as much of it is free and worth a look, even if to ponder how some pieces made it into the permanent collection.
Next, walk across the Millennium Bridge, called the wobbly bridge by locals as it was improperly built the first time round and wobbled to the point that they had to close it down for some years before re-opening to the public.

You might wish to pop into St Pauls for a look - they do charge you to have a wander but it's worth it if you brave the steps to the top for a stunning panoramic view of London.
Get to the Thames path along the northbank and now head West until you get to Embankment Tube Station. Walk through it and head up the small road, typically filled with pedestrians and the occasional car.  On your right, look out for Gordon's Wine Bar - London's oldest wine bar. After braving the narrow steps down, head to the bar for a glass of wine and then try hard to get a seat in the "cave" - you will know it when you see it.  After 3pm on any day, the cave tends to fill up with people - but if you lurk near one of the entries to it, you shouldn't have to wait too long for a seat - it's well worth the wait (and the shame of being a lurker)!

And this concludes the Best Day Out in London - after all that walking and wine drinking, a siesta is highly recommended... no, we're not in Spain, but with places like Borough Market and the atmospheric Gordon's, you won't feel like you're in London either.