Jamie's Italian

The other weekend my fabulous friend, the illustrious Miss Hannah May was to be visiting Manchester. She and her friend Cheryl had booked a fancy pants appartment out for the weekend, and invited us to join them for a Friday night dinner at Jamie's Italian. Now, I'm afraid to say Jamie's Italian had been struck from our 'to do' list a few months earlier when I'd been told that it just wasn't quite up to the standard of some of the other Italian restaurants in Manchester (of which there are approximately one zillion).

However, I love Jamie Oliver, I love Italian food, I love amazing buildings (which everyone had said Jamie's Italian on King Street is) and I love meals with awesome people like Hannah May so there was no way a few negative reviews were about to get in the way of a rip-roaring evening.

I was really excited to see my lovely friends and when Bailey and I arrived they were already having a fantastic time. Apparently the lady on the bar was an absolute joker and had given the girls a straw each for their wine. I decided to go for one of the bargain £5 cockatils - a Cosmopolitan. This was OK, didn't particularly blow my skirt up but I would be interested to know if there is anywhere else around King Street you can get any cocktail at that price, I doubt it.

Cosmo and a Jamie's Italian napkin. Which I nicked. SORRY JAMIE

Once sat down we could really start to appreciate the building. I really do mean it when I say that the building Jamie's Italian is in is absolutely jaw-droppingly stunning, with a fantastic atmosphere to boot. Housed in an old bank and steeped in history (apparently while rennovating the place they found, among other things, some Joy Division master tapes), the place is beautiful.

Jamie's is also absolutely massive. The walk up to our table on a first floor balcony took a good few minutes of climbing up several flights of stairs and the lengthy trip down to the 'vault' area where the bathrooms are is well worth it - surely the loveliest loos in Manchester and I felt more like I was in Gringott's Bank.

Now I can't say I had particularly high expectations for the food, I thought it would be 'alright', which it was really. I started off with a portion of Seasonal Veg Crudités on Ice. What I really wanted was a PLANK packed full of Italian cheeses and veggies like the one the neighbouring table were chowing down on. However I was trying to be healthy. Well Jamie didn't want to make it too much fun for me to be healthy as this was mega healthy. I'm not too sure if serving crudités on ice is a 'thing' but it it made the veg really cold which worked really well with the peppers and fennel but made the carrots and beetroot quite difficult to eat. The lemon yogurt was nice as were the lovely crunchy thin bits of toast.

Up to this point, the bread at Jamie's had been a real strength, Cheryl had an Italian Bread Selection of homemade breads which came with pots of extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. This looked gorgeous and all tasted delicious. If you put the Italian Bread Selection and the Veg Crudités on Ice in a duel, the bread would win every time.

Bailey's starter was a special of Pork Ravioli. Despite its unappealing appearance, the sauce was rich with red wine and flavoursome but the homemade pasta was unfortunately undercooked.

For mains I faced a tough decision but this time I decided to go for what I really wanted rather than what I thought I should order - the Pumpkin and Squash Gnudi. When it arrived it was basically a bowl containing the Gnudi on the outside the squash and some pear in the middle in a sauce and sprinkled with the blue cheese and walnuts. Again, it was OK but the gnudi were a bit bready and flavourless apart from the odd mouthful you'd get where some of the blue cheese had been mixed into the gnudi dough. The squash I thought would have been better chopped up and the pear could have done with less cooking as it was super soft. I did like the walnuts and rosemary on top. This is a dish I would really like to attempt to cook in my home as it was a great idea but just maybe not executed quite right.

Hannah had chosen well and was mega happy with her Jamie's Italian Burger which looked fantastic. The burger was packed with tasty, fresh toppings including some delicious-sounding smoked mozzarella. The Funky Chips (a few of which I was lucky enough to steal) were awesome - proper rustic skin-on chips with huge bits of garlic all over the place. Mmm. Her only complaint about the dish was that the "cotton-wool"-like bread fell to pieces and went all over the place - a shame considering the quality of the bread earlier in the meal. Cheryl was also pleased with her order of Lamb Stew - cooked overnight and a good hearty portion of food.

For his main course, Bailey chose an item from the specials menu - Carbonara. A decent sauce but pasta undercooked again and he could only find a few scraps of bacon. Not as good as the Carbonara he ate at the last meal we went to with Hannah May at BB's! 

We all decided against dessert as we were all quite full and keen to hit the Northern Quarter for a drink or two, however I did squeeze in an Amaretto Coffee. This was lovely - honestly my favourite part of the meal! They know how to knock up a decent coffee in that Jamie's.

We had a fantastic time at Jamie's Italian and all agreed that although the food wasn't of the standard that it would be had Jamie Oliver had cooked it himself (or even of the standard that it would be had you opened his Jamie's Italy book and cooked his recipes to the letter), the main attraction of the place wasn't really the food, it was having a brilliant night out in the amazing building which really did make the evening for us. It's the sort of place my mum would just LOVE to eat in, I will take her in sometime. We were also pleasantly surprised by the bill which was less expensive than we were expecting.

We also thought the service was spot on from start to finish - every member of staff who dealt with us was professional, friendly and chatty. We were in the restaurant for over two hours and never felt rushed or even that they needed our table for another group (I don't think they did - I think the restaurant is so big they have enough tables for everyone).

So would we go back to Jamie's? I think the answer would be yes, but for a drink and a PLANK (it's a great place to start a night out) but probably not for a full meal again as there are other Italians on our list we need to try first. However I have to say the building and the atmosphere of the place is not to be missed!

Levenshulme Market Launch

Jules' dad often tells us that when he was a boy growing up in Mitcham (located in SARF LANDAN) he would be regularly lambasted by his mum for eating his fish and chips on the street corner instead of bringing them home to be eaten with a knife and fork.  Roy was always a little bit disappointed with this as it meant the food was a little cold and soggy when it hit the plate but more importantly he missed out on the fun bit which was shoveling the fried haddock and potatoes down his neck right there on the street with his friends straight after seeing it emerge from the fryer.  I've got to agree with Roy, eating food on the street with your friends after seeing it put together on the spot is a brilliant experience.  I've also got to agree with his mum, you do normally end up looking a shambles with food down your shirt and covering most of your face but that's part of the fun.

Fast forward 40 years and here we are in the 21st century in a time when street food of all kinds couldn't be trendier in that London, food publications are knocking up street food articles left right and centre while a steady stream of foodies are using food stalls as a gateway in to the world of professional food production.  Here in Manchester we have our own street food heroes in the shape of Guerrilla Eats and since we last wrote about them they've refined their formula by including beer (a wise choice) as well as a couple of new traders.  Their night market is now a real hot spot with a good following and in that respect we (as in Manchester) have mirrored some of the more prevalent street food cities, let's hope that they carry on going from strength to strength.  I still think that leaves the door open for a slightly different market to operate during the day with a different crowd in mind and that's where Levenshulme Market comes in.

Last year Manchester City Council started a new market in May and although it looked quite lively to us by the time December rolled around they had deemed it 'unprofitable' and therefore it was heading towards being canned until a small group of local residents and traders stepped in to turn it in to a social enterprise aiming to plough the profits back in to the local community.  First of all this kind of thing warms my bones and reminds me that there are some good people out there. Secondly, as residents of Levenshulme ourselves, we were really happy that the market would continue as it is an important opportunity for the area to grow.

So the market isn't just about food but we aren't really going to cover the non edible products on offer as they aren't as close to our heart as the food stuffs.  That said there are some lovely local artists selling hand made bits n bobs as well as vintage homewares/clothing, certainly a good showing for those of you that way inclined.  We were there for the food so let me tell you what they had to offer.

For starters lets have a look at the Guerrilla Eats crew that were there on the day.  Perennial all round good guy and street food lunatic Mal from Salt & Fire BBQ was there not only selling huge slabs of meat (in the shape of perfectly cooked brisket accompanied by a banging bbq sauce) but also branching out in to the world of ground corn with their inventive breakfast dish of goats cheese grits and fresh salsa.  The grits was a nice warm, comforting treat on what was a painfully cold winters day (Summer had forgotten to get out of bed).  

I returned later on to grab some of the brisket for my lunch and I was not disappointed!  I find it hard to believe that there are many people out there in the UK that are banging out proper BBQ at this quality.  Worth the trip wherever you can find him.

In between brunch and lunch there was a third un-named eating opportunity at which point I indulged in a Barnhouse Bistro burger.  If you haven't tried a burger from the instantly recognisable mean green van then I'll let you know the very simple formula that makes the Barnhouse burgers absolutely stand out.  Fantastic beef + delicious bun + super fresh topping = Top burger.  The bit of the combination that sets Barnhouse apart is the toppings, where some burger slingers tend to pile up as many gut busting, dense toppings as possible Barnhouse go the other way and make their burgers seem a little bit lighter and instead of punishing your mouth they almost rejuvenate it!  What this means is that quite often the first words that come out of your mouth after finishing one is "I could do another one of those right now".  The topping on this occasion was lime and jalapeno mayo.  Zing.

Once you've eaten your meat and grits and more meat you really need to make sure you get a dessert and luckily Ginger's Comfort Emporium was on hand with their best efforts to put Ben & Jerry's out of business.  That, in my mind, is a very real possibility in the Manchester area as I don't understand why you would choose any other ice cream if you have access to the addictive pots Ginger has on offer.  On this day we went for an apple crumble flavour as well as a yet un-named almond based vegan 'ice cream' that Ginger was currently experimenting with.  Suffice to say they were all brilliant but we weren't happy walking away without a take home tub of 'Chorlton Crack', a name that would cause me some minor embarrassment in a restaurant a week or so later.

The other two Guerrillas who were at the market were Margo And Rita's and Chaat Cart.  Talking about vans that you can see from a mile off I think Margo And Ritas are the champions of fancy food vans in Manchester.  Sadly we didn't get a chance to try their food as we were full of food already and they didn't have a veggie option available by the time we got round to them.  I am reliably informed by buddies and the internet that their food is top notch.  Next time Margo, next time.  We've written about Chaat Cart a couple of times before, absolutely amazing veggie Indian street food, the kind of veggie food that turns meat eaters' heads.  Sadly we didn't get to try their food on this day but we can personally recommend their dosas, we love them and we are very happy to know we can indulge in their food on a regular basis right on our doorstep.

So Levy Market shares a few of the Guerrilla Eats favourites but it's also got it's own range of producers.  Of that group we've got local champs Trove selling their fantastic breads with our top loaf being their sourdough which rivals The Barbakan (of Chorlton) for quality.  The Market's next door neighbours POD Deli had some very welcome hot items including their 'rasta' dog (which always seems to generate a queue on its own) as well as mulled cider and a beer or two.

Top quality food producers also came in the shape of Bobby's Bangers (sausage supremo), The Moocher (pies, pots of delicious sauces and other things that come from fields and farms and based just round the corner in Levy) as well as one of our favourite stalls Mininki's Kitchen (we purchased some pistachio dukkah from them that tastes amazing).

One other stall worth mentioning that we hadn't encountered before was Robinson's Bakery. Robinson's specialise in traditional British bread and confectionery which, when laid out en masse on their large stall nearly made my jaw drop off.  Little pies, buns, loaves, tarts, cakes and even potato bread was all on offer.  Despite our best intentions we had already over eaten when we got round to Robinsons so just invested in a Manchester loaf and one of the potato breads for the coming days, they were both brilliant.  It was only afterwards that I discovered that they supply some of the Guerrilla Eats lot with their top quality bread buns.  Lovely stuff.

It didn't end there but unfortunately my appetite did and so I couldn't try any more of the food stalls present and my memory being what it is I couldn't tell you the names of the places, hopefully that gives you an idea of how big the choice is!

To sum it up we loved Levenshulme Market and we couldn't have expected a bigger success on the relaunch especially considering the arctic temperatures.  The quality and variety of traders was absolutely fantastic, certainly better than the previous incarnation of the market and the other Manchester markets run by the councils.  The other big advantage the market has is that it has a real buzz to it and that can only be put down to the organisers who have put some real effort in to making the market a real event with entertainment and some decent promotion via Twitter and the old fashioned method of posters and flyers.

I honestly believe that Levy Market could make a real difference to Levenshulme.  I can certainly see the market going from strength to strength (it sounds like there is a little bit of competition to get on the upcoming markets as a trader!) and I don't think it's long before it becomes more widely known across South Manchester so more people make the trip to Levenshulme.  In the best case scenario though I could see some people being inspired to start a market stall which then makes the leap from Levy Market to Levy High Street leaving a new spot for an inspired market trader and really strengthening the area which draws more people in to the area to spend their funds on local traders rather than the big super markets or chain fast food shops.

So if you are a food fan looking to try something new street foods, stock up on great produce as well as having a good mooch round non food stalls then Levy Market is for you.  Also Levenshulme really isn't very far away from you wherever you are, as long as you can get to Piccadilly train station then you are only five minutes from Levy as the market is actually in the Levenshulme train station car park.  ALSO you are supporting a great cause in the form of local people starting local businesses.  One more reason to plan a trip to the market is that it's actually a really good place to start a good pub crawl into Stockport (our plan for the next month's market).  There are lots of reasons you should come along to Levenshulme Market and I can't really think of a reason for not coming along.  See you on the 4th Saturday of the month.

Easter Egg Pops

This year we have spent a lovely Easter weekend with my mum in Sheffield. She has been really excited for a while now since discovering a recipe for Cake Pops in Waitrose, which would go perfectly with the Easter tea she was planning.

I had never made cake pops before this occasion. I was a bit scared of them, they looked so complicated.

However, looking at this Waitrose recipe my mum had, it all seemed really rather simple - easier than falling off a log. I wished I had tried cake pops out sooner. So, to make the cake pops more Eastery for our Easter tea, I thought I would make them egg shaped!

I also adapted the recipe a bit because mum had bought extra ingredients and I didn't think she would want bits of Madeira cake and chocolate lying around. This meant they were probably more chocolatey which to me can never be a bad thing.

The Easter Egg Pops went down rather well with Bailey who said they were rich and chocolatey. He liked the crunchy exterior with the ganache-like chocolate coating and the cakey centre.

I will definitely be making more cake pops in future. Dead easy, lots of fun to make and eat and a great way to use up leftover cake (does that exist?)!

We were very pleased with the Easter Egg Pops and had just discovered the wonders of Vine and so had lots of fun making our first video... Happy Easter Monday everyone!

Recipe:
300g cake (we used Waitrose Madeira Loaf Cake)
200g dark chocolate
100g white chocolate chips
Sticks for cake pops (we used wooden kebab sticks!)
100-200g milk chocolate
Shimmer Sugar or Sprinkles
Any other suitable decorations (we used wafer daisies)

Start by crumbling the cake up in a large mixing bowl until you have fine crumbs.

Mix the white chocolate chips in with the cake crumbs.

Melt the dark chocolate over a bain marie or using a microwave. Stir the melted chocolate into the mixing bowl with the crumbs and chocolate chips until all the crumbs are absorbed. You will have a nice sticky mixture.

Take large teaspoonfuls of the cake mixture and mould them into egg shapes with your hands. This is lots of fun and not too messy but you will need someone to turn the tap on for you!

Place the little eggs on a plate or tray that has been covered with baking paper. I forgot the baking paper so had to scrape them off the plate with a teaspoon once the chocolate had set!

At this stage, Bailey said: "They look more like dog eggs"... How rude!

Leave the eggs to cool and set fully. We left them over night to make sure. Melt the milk chocolate in a large bowl. Dip the ends of the sticks into the melted chocolate.

Take the chocolatey end of the stick and carefully push it into the egg.

Leave the chocolate to cool and set again before continuing.

Once the chocolate has set, you will need to remelt the milk chocolate. Meanwhile, half-fill a pint glass with sugar.

Take the ends of the sticks one-by-one and dip the Egg Pops in the melted chocolate. Ensure the Egg Pops are fully covered by swizzling them around in the melted chocolate. Wait for any excess chocolate to drip off before taking them out.

Sprinkle the Egg Pops with some shimmer sugar.

Decorate the Egg Pops with whatever other bits and bobs you want. The wafer daisies looked nice although they don't taste of much.

Stick the Egg Pops into the sugar and leave the chocolate coating to cool and solidify before serving your Easter treat!