Tag: lunch

Review

Quick lunch – meat board at Buchanan’s

minceandskirlie

I’m off for a couple of days which gave a great opportunity to meet my brother for lunch. He’s recently started working for Woodend Barn, a local arts and music venue. Last year it completed an extension to the main building which includes a small restaurant called Buchanan’s.

The room is bright, sometimes a little too bright should you sit by the large glass windows on a sunny summer’s day. However the views over the fields towards Crathes are worth that little discomfort. It feels very comfortable with a relaxed atmosphere and a varied range of tables. They’ve also added a long table in the centre with newspapers and books for their more casual visitors. Continue reading “Quick lunch – meat board at Buchanan’s” →

Recipe

Potato gnocchi in spicy tomato sauce.

minceandskirlie

I tried gnocchi for the first time recently in a local restaurant and thought it was brilliant. Little tattie dumplings covered in cheese and garlic, awesome. As far as culinary revelations go I’m sure you’re picking your jaw off the floor as you read this, but put trust me, they’re the future!

OK, so I’m a bit behind the curve. I guess there’s always a first time to taste something even if it’s as common as gnocchi. But after trying it a few months ago I decided I thought I should have a bash at making it myself. It seemed simple enough; mix some tatties, flour and an egg, knead into a dough and then chop into the little dumplings and boil for a few minutes. How hard could that be? Continue reading “Potato gnocchi in spicy tomato sauce.” →

Food and drink

Quick and easy smoked mackerel pate

minceandskirlie

After 2 months of sitting on my backside due to a knee injury and the arrival of all that white stuff on the ground I decided last night to get back in the game. So as soon as I got home it was into the track suit and I cleared some space in the spare room for the little rowing machine we’ve got (still too much snow in Banchory for me to brave running). But before I got stuck in I needed to decide on what to eat for tea afterwards. It needed to be something I can prepare quickly, preferably beforehand and leave it while I do my session and is quite light as the last thing I want after exercise is a big meal.

I always see smoked mackerel fillets in the supermarket, but aside from fish cakes never really thought of anything to do with them. They’re delicious on their own of course, with a very sweet flavour and I could happily eat a whole packet for dinner (would be good sprinkled with lemon juice with some new tatties and some spring onions I think). But it’s not very exciting and doesn’t seem worthy of a blog like this (like I have standards all of a sudden). Continue reading “Quick and easy smoked mackerel pate” →

Food and drink

Sun… er… Saturday Roast Chicken

minceandskirlie

A chicken magically appeared in our fridge on Saturday which gave me the opportunity to try what Nick Nairn calls his perfect roast chicken dinner. A bold claim. Normally if I’m doing a roast I stick to pork and beef so it was good to try a decent sized bird for a change and see if I could avoid the common pitfalls of dried out meat and lack of flavour.
Continue reading “Sun… er… Saturday Roast Chicken” →

Food and drink

Braised lamb shank

minceandskirlie

I really, really love lamb. In terms of favourite foods it’s right up there, shining bright at number 1 on my list. Chops are great and roast leg of lamb is wonderful but I absolutely love braised lamb shank. It’s slow, patient cooking that has such a deep reward of the strong lamb. Tender and moist from being bathed in a lot of red wine for 2 or 3 hours. The flesh just falls off the bone and the gravy… oh the gravy! Continue reading “Braised lamb shank” →