Penny's Top Ten Tips #4 How to Write a Restaurant Review

Its Thursday! You know what that means? Its time for Penny's Top Ten Tips! This week its: How to write a restaurant review! 

1. Know a little about the place your eating at-
You most likely do this already but check out and research your restaurant before you go. Do they have an interesting back story? What is the chefs inspirational story? (because all chefs have stories like that..) Keep a note of all of these things when writing up the review.

2. Book a window seat to maximise light-
Unless its really cold that is. By sitting near the window you'll be able to fully use natural light to your advantage when taking a picture with your smartphone or camera. By the way, turn the flash off. There's nothing more frustrating when you've got a snap happy dinner guest taking pictures using a flash. I want to see my food not little bright spots in my face.

3.Keep the palate arranging to a minimum-
Don't mess with the chefs work. Leave the plate as it is. Whether its picture perfect or otherwise, just leave the plate alone if you want an honest representation of your dish.

4. Take a notebook, pen and camera-
Obviously, so you can make some tasting notes...

5. Make notes as you go-
I'm not joking with this one. I've eaten a 3-course meal and stuffed it so fast I didn't put pen to paper and didn't make a single note. I wanted to write up a good review and couldn't remember the names of dishes or what I enjoyed the most about the experience.  

6. Aim for independent restaurants-
Again this is a no brainer but avoid branded chain restaurants such as Loch Fyne. There are some great places to dine out that are just down the road from you, just itching to be discovered!

7. Grab a dictionary-
Everyone is guilty of this. We all use repetitive words such as yummy, delicious, scrummy etc. It may take a couple of reviews to expand your vocabulary and really get into the swing of things. 

8. Be honest- not harsh or too fluffy
When I used to write reviews I was too nice and kind. I could be smacked in the back of my head with a plate in a restaurant, without an apology [its happened], had sub-par food and flat atmosphere AND I still tipped and written a decent review because I'm a soft spot... but on the other-hand, that doesn't mean I can a totally arse-butt about it! You can't then stream out really bad stuff because your outraged about your white wine being too cold.... 
It's best to keep yourself balanced and the review will remain balanced.  

9. Try something different-
Your going out for a meal, scanning the menu and do you often find yourself leaning to something comfortable and familiar? Well push the boat out and order something you can't make at home or don't normally have. This will then give you something interesting to write and hopefully, you can find a new foodie favourite. 

10. Enjoy the experience-
Try not to get too bogged down in the reviewing process. Enjoy the meal for what it is. Its a fun food review not an essay

Have you written a restaurant review? Share in comments!

Baking Basics 101: Kneading

Its... so its time for a Baking Basics 101. This week its the method of kneading.

Kneading is a process most commonly associated with bread making. Kneading is process of stretching and, sometimes, punching the dough. Why is this done? Flour, especially bread flour, has gluten in it. The dough needs to be stretched to create an elastic dough, which is what you need to create air pockets in the bread.  This results in a light and fluffy loaf. If the dough isn't kneaded enough, the end result will be a heavy loaf of bread. No one wants that.   

Another term that you may come across is, 'knocking back'. The term that bread makers use to literarily, knock the air of the bread before the proving process. Basically kneading it again.

Why do this? By kneading the dough for a second time, it creates an even texture throughout the bread and removes the big air bubbles.

So once your bread has been left to risen
Ingredients:

• Bread dough
• A little flour for dusting the sides

Equipment:

•  Your clean hands

1. Using floured hands, scrape the risen dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface.

2.The process of kneading is stretching the dough, pressing it against the surface and folding it in on
 itself.

3. Knead the dough roughly for a few minutes until it looks well rounded and not as wet. It should be
soft, smooth and elastic. This is the stage when you let the bread prove until the dough has risen.

4.Knead the bread one more time and let the dough prove for the second time.

5. The dough should be ready to bake.

Recipe that use this technique:

Traditional Doughnuts

Fougasse and Bread Sticks
Fennel and Thyme Bread
Basic White Bread
Foccacia
Soda Bread

If there's a method you'd like to learn and want me to write about, please comment below or let me know on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #bakingbasics101

Monday Catch-Up:Back to Reality

Sorry about missing last weeks Monday Catch-Up. There was a good reason for it. I was sunning myself up in Tenerife with my boyfriend and he (and I) both wanted a tech break for the week. I was lucky that I had pre-written some of the blog posts in the week before 1,2,3 so all I needed to do was hit publish. 

The holiday was great by the way, thanks for asking. We packed lots in for a short space of time including Loro Parque, Siam Park, Royal Delphin Cruise and lots of walks by the beach. I came back lightly tanned and a bit burnt. I guess that's the price you pay when you have an 'English rose' complexion.

Getting back from holiday is very exciting too. Not because I have fun getting questioned by customs or anything like that, but because I've got 2 more adventures to look forward too. Firstly, I've moved in with my boyfriend of 3 and 1/2 years, which is exciting and scary at the same time. What strange habits does he have? Does he get freaked out by the many, many, many sauces I have? Who's going to do the washing up?! I'm sure its going to be hard but also fun, for both of us. I'll have to keep you posted on how we get on. 


The second adventure is that I'm starting a new pastry course at college. As most of you know I've graduated uni now so, for me, going BACK to college, is kind of a step backwards. I should be going into a graduate job or full time job like many other of my uni peers, but I decided to take the chance, improve my patisserie skills further and follow my dream. Even if its kind of scary, meeting new people and starting from fresh in a new area. 

I always like to think everything happens for a reason and it all works out in the end. Hopefully our oven works so I can still bake and post some tasty treats on here.

Are you going on any adventures? 

Fat Friday #7 Mojito Cocktail Cupcakes

Its Fat Friday Time. This week we're looking at Mojito Cupcakes-a cocktail in cupcake form. The base is lime flavoured while the buttercream is mint and rum flavoured. I made these ages ago and they were very well received. I barely got a chance to photo them before they were devoured.  
Anyway's sorry for the short post, I'm just travelling back from Tenerife and its hard to bake and holiday at the same time. Will be doing a round up post soon of the holiday. Happy Baking!

Recipe:

Makes 24 Cupcakes  (Recipe adapted by The Cake Book by Cupcake Jemma) 

·      275g unsalted butter, softened

·      250g golden caster sugar

·      4 large eggs

·      250g self raising flour, sifted 

·      1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

·      The zest from 3 limes, plus 2 tablespoons lime juice

·      2 tablespoons mint infused milk

 Equipment:

·       2 cupcake tins lined with cupcake wrappers

·       Electric mixer/hand-held electric whisk

·       Sieve

·       Bowl x 2

·       Knife

·       Tablespoon

·       Teaspoon
·       Grater

1.    Pre heat the oven to 170c/375c/ Gas mark 5. Line the tins with cupcake wrappers.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl, and add the lime zest. 
3. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes, add the eggs and lime juice and beat for a further minute. 

4. Add the mint infused milk, beat and add in the sifted dry ingredients. beat the mixture for a further 30 seconds until fully incorporated.   

5. Fill the papercups up about 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes until the cupcakes spring back when touched. Leave cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.  

Recipe:

Buttercream (Recipe adapted by The Cake Book by Cupcake Jemma) 

·      300g unsalted butter, softened

·      675g icing sugar

·      3 tablespoons dark rum/rum flavouring

·      2 tablespoons mint infused milk

Equipment:

·       Electric mixer/hand-held electric whisk

·       Sieve

·       Piping bag fitted with a star nozzle

·       Tablespoon

·       Decorations of your choice, I used cut up straws and crystalised mint

1.Beat the butter with an electric whisk until smooth. 
2. Sift the icing sugar into the same bowl as the butter and mix well until incorporated. 
3. Gradually add the rum and infused milk and beat for about 5 minutes.

4.Fill up the piping bag with the buttercream and pipe onto the cold cupcakes.

5. Garnish with straws or any other decorations. 

What's your favourite cocktail? Happy Baking!

Penny's Top Ten Tips #3 Party Prep for a Graduation Ball (or some other special occasion!)

Hi and welcome to the third Penny's Top Ten Tips! I hope you enjoyed last weeks post. This week I'm focusing on party prep. I've been and gone to my own Graduation Ball it seems like a good idea to tell you my top ten tips for being uber organised before and on the party night itself. Of course this can apply to any special occasion or party.

1. Sleeping Arrangements...-
Ok keep your jokes to a minimum here by sleeping arrangements, I mean having a place to stay for the night. If the venue is not near home then you need to make some early arrangements for where your going to crash for the night. Find a hotel near you or stay with a close friend that you feel comfortable with, as most likely you'll be getting ready for the party here.

2. Dress Sense-
Dress for the occasion by selecting a suitable outfit-dress, playsuit or whatever. In this case, this occasion was a graduation ball, so formal and dressed to impress. Although I'm going to offer some advice here as much as a big puffy dress would have been lovely, and princessy, its sadly not practical. I knew Was going to bust out some moves on the dance floor so a long puffy dress... not so good. If your planning on dancing, short or 3/4 length dresses are perfect. The same applies with shoes, if you know your on feet (or doing the macarina) high-heels are the enemy. If you must have killer heels carry some blister plasters and a pair of roll up shoes that can get stuff into a purse for emergencies. 

3. Save Money-
As much as you want to pay for the £350 dress that you know is perfect and you'd so wear it for other occasions. No. Put that purse down and move your mouse away from the PayPal button. Look at other options, check out Ebay, Amazon, charity shops, or ask your sister really nicely to borrow that nice dress that your lusting for or do what I did- pop to a dress hire shop and check the options. Reuse jewellery that you already have to glam up your outfit. I purposely chose blue and silver as I have tons of silver coloured jewerally and I look damn good in blue. 

Dress Hired £30 from Cinderella's Lifestyle (£20 deposit which I got back) 
Shoes-Dorothy Perkins £15 (marked down in the sale from £22)
Bag- Dorothy Perkins £0 (Already had this bag and just reusing it) 
Earrings-Accessorize £0 (Anniversary rom my boyfriend 2 years ago)
Bracelet- Accessorize £12 (I think it was a little while ago I bought this.) 
Ring-Accessorize £0(Christmas present) 
Total outfit cost: £61 

4. Saving money on party prep-
If you can do the party preping yourself then you'll save mega bucks on expensive treatments like facials. If you have a beauty therapist friend who needs to practice on, be the test dummy. It will cut costs and help out a friend. If not be your own beauty therapist. Here's what I spent when I did it myself. Again like tip 3, I used make-up that I already have so I didn't need to spend loads. 

The Prep:
Body Shop Shower Gel in Grapefruit  £0 (Already had this but otherwise £4) 
Nivea Invisible Black and White Clear Deodorant £0 (Gosh I really hope you  have deodorant but just on the off chance its £1.64)
Lush Love Lettuce £0 (Free as I brought back 5 black pots into Lush- normally £6.25 but can be used for more than one facial) 
Veet Hair Removal Cream£8.99 (Great investment as its a massive bottle which will last a while)
Revlon Nail Polish in Blue Eyed Girl  £0 (Already had this-Normally £3.69)
Barry M in Silver Foil Effect (Already had this and I think it was a limited edition however Rimmel has an alternative for £3.69) 
Hair Styled £17 (I knew a professional hairdresser who was happy to offer a friends and family discount)
Lush Shimmy Shimmy £4.75 
Total Cost: £30.74 (If buying new £42.63 in total)

Make-up
Benefit the POREfessional Primer £0 (Already have this-normally £24.50) 
No 7 Beautifully Matte Foundation £0 (Already use this-but £13.50) 
Benefit Theyer Real Mascara £0 (Already use this- £19.50)
Benefit High Beam Highlighter £0 (Got this as a Christmas present but normally £19.50) 
Benefit Hervana Blusher £0 (Again another Christmas present-normally £23.50) 
Urban Decay colours £0 (Received this as a present for my birthday) 
Total Cost: £0 Spent nothing on new make-up as I felt I had enought to get me through (If buying new its a massive £100.50!! If you use the products often and they work for you its a worth while investment.) 

5. Pack what you need for the evening-
Obviously if your staying somewhere overnight pack a sensible bag of toiletries, party prep stuff etc. In your going out bag or purse you will need the following: phone, ticket, to get in venue, keys to house/hotel, hairband, lipstick/lipgloss, facepower and plasters. That is it. Don't be tempted to chuck everything in, its a hassle to worry about if you've got a purse full of make-up.

6. Have some spare money just in case-
There's nothing worse then realising you don't have enough cash on you for food and drinks out. I don't bring my cash card as it can get lost or stolen more easily on a night out. Take out the cash you plan to spend for drinks, transport home and at least £10 as emergency money. Keep this money somewhere different from your purse, so if your purse gets lost you still have some cash to help you get home. 

7. Fully charge your phone before the night-
Common sense really. I mean you are most likely going to take photos, update your facebook status, texting and the list goes on...   

8. Don't forget to eat!-
You know those people who say before a night out- "If you're having booze, eating is cheating". You know what I say to that? Screw you. I love my food too much to give it up for alcoholic drinks. You go out on an empty stomach, you get drunk easily. You get drunk easily, you look like someone who can't handle their drink. And who looks stupid now? Don't ruin a good night because you forgot to eat beforehand. Have a meal with pasta or rice to absorb the alcohol. Also milk is good before a night out as it lines the stomach and helps absorb alcohol. 

9. Stay as a group while partying -

This is a kind of safety in numbers type of hint. Stay in twos when going from place to place like restrooms or getting taxis home. In my opinion partying as a group can be a laugh as well as safe. 
  
10. Arrange your transport home-
Arrange beforehand when your planning to get home and how. Booking a head of time takes the hassle out of fumbling around for a taxi number in the middle of the dancefloor. Also its one less thing to worry about. Little hint, book your transport 15 minutes later then you normally would, just so you can round up your group or have one last dance.

Most of all, have an excellent time and remember the party prep should be fuss free and add to the excitement.

What's your favourite party tip?

Baking Basics 101 Infusing Milk or Cream

Welcome to another Baking Basics, this week we're looking at infusing milk or cream.

Why do this? Well its a simple natural way of infusing a flavour of a herbs, tea or spices without subjecting your biscuits and cakes to small grainy bits, which some people find unpleasant.

I will say that my Nana taught me the recipe how to do this and it went something like this:
1. Shove the milk/cream in the pan with the herbs or whatever and bring it almost to the boil. Done
2. Make a cup of tea.

However, I am one of those people who likes to have a recipe. I'm using the recipe provided in The Cake Book as its a simple recipe and its the closest recipe to what my nan uses. So here it is:

Ingredients:

• 200ml whole milk/ double cream
• 2-3 tablespoons of your chosen flavouring. Ideas can include mint, lavender, loose leaf tea, rosemary, thyme.

Equipment:

• Small pan
• Wooden pan
• Strainer
• Airtight container

1. Boil the milk on medium heat and bring almost to the boil.
2. Place the flavouring into the milk, stir and turn the heat down to low to simmer for 2 minutes.
3. Drain into an airtight container and leave to cool, then place in the fridge. Or use straight away in a recipe.

You don't have to limit this just cakes and bakes. I use this to make infused milk for smoothies. Instead of whole milk I use soy milk for my smoothies.

If there's a method you'd like to learn and want me to write about, please comment below or let me know on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #bakingbasics101

Fat Friday #6 Mint Ice Lollies Dipped with Dark Chocolate

Totally made it to week 6! Who have thought?! Ha! I'm typing this just under 24 hours until me and my other half fly off on holiday to Tenerife. Aww don't get jealous, I'll be instagramming all the way, that's the time to get green-eyed. I'll see you when I get back from holiday! Woo! I'll do my best to keep posing while I'm away!
Right back to this week,  I thought I'd go with some ice lollies to cool you down in the fading summer sun. This are mint infused creamy ice lollies don't have to be made with whole milk. They can be made with different types of milk and cream. Soy products and other dairy free options can be substituted but it will affect the end lolly result in terms of creaminess. (Please note i couldnt get my 10 year old laptop to work so no introduction photo. Will have to wait for now. Sorry :/) 

Recipe: (Recipe adapted from the Telegraph Website)

• 40 fresh mint leaves 
• 560ml whole milk 
• 150ml double cream 
• 130g granulated sugar

Equipment: 

• Saucepan
• Fine Sieve
• Spoon
• Ice Lolly Mold (Best I've lolly mold ever used. Also comes with 24 lolly sticks)
• 10 wooden Lolly Sticks
• Freezer
• Bowl
• Wooden spoon
• Large Airtight Container lined with baking paper (make sure it can fit in the freezer! I made that mistake and this resulted in half melted lollies) 
• Baking paper
• Scissors

1.Crush the mint leaves a little with the back of a spoon. This will squish the juices out of mint to create a super mint lolly. 

2.Put the milk, cream and sugar in a saucepan and bring almost to the boil. 

3.Remove the pan from the heat and add the mint leaves. Cover and allow to cool. This allows the mint leaves to infuse. The longer you do this the better the mint leaves will infuse and the minter (is that a word?) the lollies will be. 
4.Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, pressing down on the leaves with the back of a spoon again to get all the minty-ness out. 

5.Fill the ice-lolly moulds enough so you leave about 1/4 cm gap. This is to allow the mixture to expand but not split the lolly mold. 

6. Place the the ice-lollies in the freezer for about 1 hour and then insert the sticks. Place back into the freezer for about 8 hours. 

7. Check the ice-lollies are completely frozen. If they are, then melt the chocolate in a bowl, over a pan of hot water or in the microwave. 
8. Line a few air tight containers with baking paper, and cut out extra squares if you are putting lollies on top of other lollies. This is so that they don't stick together. 

9. Get a sheet of baking paper and remove the lollies from the molds by dipping them in warm water. Drizzle the chocolate with a spoon to make really cool zig-zag patterns. 
10. Quick as you can put the lollies in the prepared air tight containers and place back into the freezer. 

What is your favourite cold treat on a hot day? See you when I'm tanned!