KIDS EAT FREE AT SPAGHETTI HOUSE

KIDS EAT FREE AT SPAGHETTI HOUSE DURING KIDS’ WEEK
Located in Central London near many theatres, Spaghetti House is a great family choice this summer, and food is free for the kids between 13 August and 3 September
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If you are spending summer in the City, enjoying the many London theatres during the action-packed Kids’ Week with all its theatrical fun, you will also need to feed the little ones as well as keeping them entertained.

Family-friendly, informal and welcoming, Spaghetti House makes everyone happy around the table. Mums and dads can enjoy a glass of wine and a plate of pasta, a summer main course salad or a sharing platter, and kids have their own special menu – for free. For every paying adult eating from the a-la-carte menu one child up to the age of 10 eats free from the children’s menu between 13 August and 3 September lunch and dinner, at Spaghetti House 30, St Martin’s Lane WC2 near Trafalgar Square and Spaghetti House 3, Bressenden Place, Victoria SW1.

In Italy it is traditional for children to choose their meal from the ‘grown ups’ menu. Spaghetti House encourages children to eat healthily, developing their taste and their eating experiences as they grow. Children’s menu dishes have been selected form the main menu, they taste the same, but are served in smaller portions. Children love Ceci Calabresi – chickpeas with spicy Italian sausage, Bruschetta with tomato and fresh basil, Chicken Caesar Salad and Brodo di Pollo, shredded smoked chicken with fettuccine, basil oil and peas in a chicken broth. Differently delicious from the chicken and chips too often found on children’s menus, and very healthy too.

So if you are going to the Criterion Theatre close to St Martin’s Lane and showing the 39 Steps, or catching a Billy Elliot matinee at the Victoria Palace Theatre in Victoria, take a refreshing break as there is a Spaghetti House nearby.

Summer in the City has never tasted so good and at an average of £20 for an adult three course meal with wine, school holidays and theatre outings are easy on your pocket too.

Visist www.spaghettihouse.co.uk for other offers and for a full list of restaurants.

WINE TASTING DINNER PREVIEW - 20 SEPTEMBER

Just thought I would post this little preview, as I am holding a wine tasting dinner on MOnday 20 September, with the theme 'Antinor's Italy'. The Antinori family, original from Tuscany, are spreading their wings (or better, their wine roots) to the rest of Italy. With an established reputation for quality Tuscan wines, they are now the 'company' behind many other quality Italian wines, whose winemakers may not have had the money to invest. Antinori have come in, have provided the financial backing to allow many good wines to blossom and prevent other precious ones from disappearing, and cleverly have ensured that the name was not changed. So in Piemonte you now find the delicous Dolcetto from Prunotto backed by Antinori, and in Veneto you find Prosecco from the Antinori's 'estate'. I am not unhappy about this, as I would rather see these autochtonos vines doing well and making good wines than seeing them disappear. I will also present a three course dinner of Italian specialities. Please make a note in your diary now.

HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU KID

There is this bottle of Barolo which has been staring at me for sometime. It's here, in my office, and the excuse for keeping it there is that, at the moment, it's too hot to drink it. It's not superlative as Barolo goes, it's made by Terredavino (which in Italy is a supermarket brand) but here in England is considered quite OK. ANd it's a 1999, Paesi Tuoi, so can't be that bad! I am thinking of home, of my cellar where my late father stored his prized wines so lovingly for so many years. I am thinking of the unlabelled bottles of Barolo, Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo, beautifully lined up like soldiers, with just 'Barolo, 1966' written on it. I also remember opening a bottle once, which must have been 1959 if not older, and putting it on the sink in disgust as it smelt like pure vinegar. I forgot about that bottle, until the morning after I went in the kitchen and thought that angels were having breakfast. The most amazing aroma pervaded the place, it was like being in the middle of a violet field. That wine took 12 hours or more to open up, and no, I did not drink it for breakfast, (although I did have a quick slurp, for tasting purposes of course), and corked it. Later on that morning I decanted it because there was a lot of sediment, and although it was starting to fade, I thought I died and gone to heaven. I can still smell and taste that wine. For those of you who want to me 'friends', I still have a bottle of that wine, as well as that looking at me in the office.....

I HAD A YUMMY BREAKFAST

I am not the best morning person, in fact, I will do anything for another 15 minutes in bed. So the thought of having to get up at 6.30 am to wash my hair and travel for an hour to meet a client at 8.30 is never something I look forward to, but the promise of breakfast somewhat lured me. I needed to try this breakfast anyway, as I have to be 'in the know'. But I wasn't expecting it to be so very moorish, so good and still healthy in every sense of the word. So when I arrived at Tossed in St Martin's Lane I was ready for coffee - and this was from fairtrade, organic, 100% arabica beans, roasted to order, then ground, so very very fresh. They did ask if I wanted an americano with milk - really! but apparently people ask for milk. It's worse than asking for a latte after a three course meal, dont you knwo what you are doing to your stomach people? Anyway, the new breakfast 'toasties' were utterly, utterly delicious. They must have read my mind because I did want Ham and cheese but ordered Ham and egg, anyway I got ham and cheese which was the client's choice instead. Really tasty, crunchy outside and soft inside. Loved it. Wish I had room for one of the Tossed smoothies, my absolute favourite, but could not manage another thing. There is always tomorrow.......

A SUMMER OF CHAMPAGNE - WHY NOT?

Sip your way to summer at Pescatori, the Italian fish and seafood restaurant and bar in Mayfair’s Dover Street, W1.

From mid July to 28 August, Pescatori is offering a glass of Laurent Perrier Champagne with any pre-booked two or three course meals, lunch and dinner. Two courses with a glass of champagne are offered at £21.50 and three at £25. The Champagne Menu, which includes classic dishes and seasonal favourites, has been specially created in collaboration with Laurent Perrier to create the perfect food and drink pairing for the summer months.

The delightful citrus notes of the bouquet in Laurent Perrier, followed by a slight yeastiness and biscuity flavour perfectly complement Freschino di piselli con salmone – a chilled pea soup, smoked salmon and crème fraiche and Sgombro Affumicato - hot-smoked mackerel with celeriac remoulade, beetroot & horseradish coulis. The champagne also makes an excellent pairing with Trota di Mare – seared wild sea-trout, whit asparagus and pea-shoot salad.

Other summer delicacies on the menu include Aletta di Razza – pan-fried skate, Calamari Grigliati – grilled chilli flavoured squid with mint & coriander salad, and there are also several vegetarian choices. Coupled with a tempting selection of fresh and light seasonal desserts, the menu is a perfect choice for hot summer days.

Enjoy the Champagne menu in the elegant and cool surroundings of Pescatori, 11 Dover Street, Mayfair W1, Tel: 020 7493 2652 or go for an outdoor table at the contemporary Pescatori 57 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia W1 Te: 020 7580 3289 lwww.pescatori.co.uk

THE GREENBRIER RESORT

And I am starting with a rather different place, in wild and beautiful West Virginia, Mountain Mama or thereabout. Here at the Greenbrier Resort, a fantastic resort set over 6.500 acres of lush landscape. Here you will find a restaurant called Prime 44 West. The Prime tells you it's a steakhouse and the 44 West is a tip off to baskeball fans that Jerry West (who wore the number) is involved. Here, it is thought that the best cornbread is being baked. This cornbread has wone Best of Show at the Virginia State Fair. The recipe is from Cathy Justice, the wife of the local hero Jim Justice who bought the ailing Greenbrier and brought it back to its former splendour, rather than letting it go to an international hotel corporatation. Well done Jim! And thanks for saving the cornbread. The recipe is simple and terrific
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/16 teaspoon salt (but you can use 1/2 spoon it tastes better)
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg slightly beaten
3/4 cup canola oil (rapeseed oil to us in the UK)

heat oven to 425 degrees F
prepare an 8 x 8 inches oiled pan (or non stick)
mix all dry ingredients
Add liquids (best if you mix all the liquids until creamy and smooth and then add to the dry ingredients)
Stir softly to mix
Bake for 30 minutes

use a toothpick inserted in the centre of the bread and it if it comes out clean, it's done.

Gorge yourself

AT LAST, I AM BACK BLOGGING

Hello everyone, no I have not disappeared in a black hole, although I have had a tough time recently. The problem has been that my login details were not allowing me to access my blog and write new material.
Now I am back. Shame because you have missed on a lot of juicy information I really wanted to let you know, but it's too old now to start digging it up again. So I will start afresh, and feed you new, exciting, juicy food-wine-restaurant news.
Watch this space!
thank you for waiting.
Luisa

CUCINA VALENTINA CHECK OUT NEW WEBSITE

The lovely Valentina Harris is launching a new website on 21 April www.cucinavalentina.co.uk - check it out because it is full of great recipes and tips from the master of Italian cuisine. She also runs cookery classes either in London or in the heart of Umbria, and France. Having been to one of her classes before, which are always set in idyllic environments, she adds expertise and sparkle at every step. Brava Valentina!

TEROLDEGO ROTALIANO 2006

Well what do you know? Lidl of all places, have an absolutely superb Teroldego Rotaliano 2006 which is to die for.

The Teroldego vine is an indigenous variety of Trentino where it has found its ideal environment in the Piana Rotaliana. This Riserva is only produced in the best vintages from manually selected and harvested grapes of the most renowned areas of the Piana Rotaliana: Fron, Camorzi and Sottodossi. After crushing and destemming, fermentation occurs at a controlled temperature of about 25°C. The wine is aged for a minimum of twenty-four months, of which twelve months are in oak and the rest is in bottle. Taste: Complex, characteristic fragrance with a pleasant, ripe fruit aroma of prunes and blackcurrant. Full-bodied and well-balanced with a soft mouthfeel.
I love this wine, the older the better. I still have a bottle of 1968 in my cellar, will I ever bring myself to drink it? Be prepared to pay something in the region of £10 per bottle. Waitrose also have it sometime, look out for Mezzacorona. Teroldego 1006 from Dorigadi gets 2 'glasses' from Gambero Rosso, but I have not tasted this one. Get to know this wine, it's worth every drop

KEN HOM'S NOODLE ROAD WINS ANOTHER AWARD

I am pleased to announce the Noodle Road, the documentary series presented by Ken Hom has just won the prestigious Peabody Award 2010
The George Foster Peabody Awards (Peabody Awards) are annual, international awards for excellence in radio and television broadcasting. First awarded in 1941 for programs from the previous year, they are one of the oldest honors in electronic media. Lambdin Kay, public-service director for WSB radio in Atlanta, Georgia at the time, is credited for creating the award, named for businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, who donated the funds that made the awards possible. The awards are administered by the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia (UGA).
The Peabody Awards honor distinction and achievement within the fields of broadcast journalism, documentary film making, educational and children's programming, and entertainment.
The Peabody Awards were originally only for radio, but in 1948, television awards were introduced. In the late 1990s additional categories for material distributed via the World Wide Web were added. Materials created solely for theatrical motion picture release are not eligible.
- Noodle Road has been sold to 12 overseas stations aired in 40 countries
Please find below by Country, Station and Coverage

1 France Arte France, and German speaking Europe
2 Qatar Aljazeera Network Middle East & Arabic North Africa
3 Poland Canal+cyfrowy Poland
4 Japan NHK MICO Japan
5 Italy RAI / A Pic. Italy
6 Vietnam IMC Vietnam
7 Hungary Duna TV Hungary
8 Thailand BBTV Thailand
9 Spain TVC Spain
10 Mongol Mongol TV Mongol
11 Hongkong TVB Hongkong
12 Taiwan PTS Taiwan