Cornershop Cake

OK. Picture this. The weather is dreadful. There is snow and we are not talking about the sort of downfall that makes you dream of lightly dusted picture perfect mince pies. This is the triple iced grotty stuff, bane of the commuter and the sort of barrier to travel that means that anyone who would even consider going further than the corner shop is clearly deranged.

The day is long, the sky overcast and you need cake to while away the hours before dinner. Cue a recipe for the lazy foodie.



Ingredients
Tin of peaches (or pears, or any tinned fruit knocking around in the cupboard)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
125gr unsalted butter
125gr caster sugar
2 large eggs
125gr sieved self-raising flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Grease and lightly flour your ovenproof dish.
Dump the fruit into the bowl and space it out evenly.
Beat together the butter, caster sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Add the flour and mix thoroughly. If the mixture is a little dry, add some of the fruit juice from the tin and then spread over the fruit. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with any of hot custard, ice-cream or creme fraiche. Whatever you eat it with make sure a large steaming mug of tea is involved.

The above takes all of ten minutes if you have a hand mixer so this leaves you time to flick through your latest copy of Olive, watch Nigel Slater on Iplayer or update your food blog.

With apologies for the poorly lit cake piccies and thanks for the recipe inspiration - adapted from Jamie Olivers "Sheila's Pud".

Murray's

Every so often you watch the Soprano's or the Godfather and you wish you had an authentic Italian restaurant using lemons flown in from Amalfi, vegetables that have been chosen and handled with care and a cracking regional wine list. Well, I have yet to find one, since I live in the fair county of Essex, but if you live near to Weston Super Mare then this restaurant must be visited.

Murray's is principally a delicatessen featuring outstanding Italian produce and the restaurant a few shops down is supplied by them. The Murray family took over this much loved restaurant, then called Olives, seven years ago and renamed it. It is here I was first introduced to wine from Cantine Giacomo Ascheri of Bra, the sort of outstanding local producer whose products they specialise in stocking. The family influence is also about to get interesting as they have recently bought Bordeaux Quay in Bristol so watch out for some interesting changes.

The service is polite in a relaxed local restaurant kind of way, the menu simple, but the output heartwarming and consistent. Canneloni comprised small gently spiced tomato rich mince sausages wrapped in light pasta sheets and a drizzle of melted mozzarella. The pear tart was authentically served with a small glass of Moscato D'Asti, the apple tart pastry was crisp and topped with delightfully crunchy Amaretto biscuits.

The foodies obvious choice for an Italian in the area may be the starred Casamia in Westbury-on-Trym but we were left so satisfied the alternative may have to wait. After all, I haven't made it through to the end of the wine list yet.

Gaucho Grill

I confess the steak bug has not so much bitten as tied a big serviette round its neck and sat down at the dinner table. Gaucho is the daddy of all London steak restaurants and is so succesful it is now a chain owned by a private equity company. The look has not changed. Cow hide covers the walls, the Argentine Parillada feel is maintained by its almost exclusive focus on its main dish and the wine list is primarily Argentinian, a little expensive but helpfully colour coded for those who find the task of choosing stressful rather than a pleasure.

Lighting is still an issue bought on by the heavy wood and shuttered windows. On my first visit some years ago I nearly fell down the stairs it was so dark and every visit since has reminded me why every man can find at least one use for the keyring torch he received last christmas.

Steaks are laid out on a board and introduced at the table. Service is good and the atmosphere is almost exclusively male, enthusiastic and focused on the ubiquitous steak though there is a fair selection of menu choice that differs from the star of the show.

The star in question is excellent. Juicy, a little charred, well tenderised and enthusiastically seasoned before hitting the grill. This is not fine dining, it is civilised carniverosity.

Maze Grill

The cold weather has left me with a primal carnivorous streak which just won't go away so steak has featured large in my diet of late. Medium Rare with chips and a glass of wine, it may be one of the best meals of all time. Now despite what you'd imagine, you can go wrong with steak and chips and a little extra money well spent goes a long way. Take Maze Grill for example. Jason Atherton may have gone the way of most Gordon's protege's, sprinting out of the door whilst the Ramsey empire collapses behind them like an ancient temple from an Indiana Jones sequel but I don't think the lack of a name chef will cause too much pain here.

The meat is displayed on a board that is bought to the table and discussed and no-one is upset if you stick to the set, a fine 3 course set lunch for £21 that usually includes onglet and chips with a solid starter (recently a rather luscious cassoulet) and a decent dessert.

If however you go the whole hog (or cow in this case), a rather larger portion can be yours for the going rate you will pay at any of the restaurants contemporaries.

The formula still works well, a simple grill menu in a slightly habitatish beige room in Mayfair. Service is polite, the wine list and markup is everything you would expect and the lack of trendiness makes for an ideal regular haunt rather than a grand event. The cooking is both good and consistent with a buzzy atmosphere. I last visited in July and looking back I see I was just as enthusiastic. Whilst Goodmans and Hawksmoor with their Josper grills may have stealed something of a march on them, this NY steakhouse inspired eaterie keeps me coming back time and time again. To paraphrase 'ol blue eyes, "A restaurant so good I blogged it twice".

Nicolas - Canary Wharf

Well a refurbishment has had little effect on the decor here but something made a difference because this bargain basic bistro wine bar was packed on a recent Wednesday evening. An enterprising staffer, surely on commission, had packed a dozen well dressed city ladies into a space roughly the size of one of their shoe cupboards and was yelling her way through a tutored wine tasting over the din of clattering plates and clinking wine bottles. It is run by Nicolas, the off license chain which stocks it's resolutely Francophile range and insists on displaying its limited global wine offerings, paltry as they are, in amusingly hard to find corners of their stores. This is perhaps no surprise given it is a French company but it must be the only wine retailer in the UK whose Australian wine range consists of a whole three bottles (count 'em!) and they are all Yellow Tail. Still, each to their own and we have to thank them for this outpost which is a combination wine bar and off license which allows you to select a bottle which is then carried into the wine bar and opened for you. This means no markup on whatever you drink. The menu to accompany this is strictly local french bar fare such as Charcuterie, toasted sandwiches and Duck Cassoulet. Not fine dining but solid and a hearty accompaniment to anything you happen to pluck from the shelves which is the real attraction because although the French seem to be intent on committing Claret infanticide, the selection of fine wine covers an area that is not served by high street chains.



Waiters were polite though slightly stunned by the sheer quantity of customers and we plumped for a reliable bottle of Louis Latour Macon to wash down our starters allowing us the budget to indulge a little on a bottle to marry with our Lamb Shanks. Phelan Segur is a well respected St Estephe Chateau famous for its current owners choice to pull all of the 1983 - 1985 vintages from sale when quality did not meet he standards he aspired to. On the nose, smoke blackcurrant, raspberry, mineral and dried herbs, Medium-bodied, with well-integrated tannins but lacking the complexity of a recent half bottle of the 2004. This is serious Cru Borgouis Claret and at £40 a bottle a relative steal in central London.

Jazz Food

Jazz Food is, I'm afraid to say unlike Soulfood. There is no rich culture of beans, grits or chittlins stewed to perfection. It is, unfortunately, the thoughtless, tasteless, overseasoned and overpriced fare you are required to put yourself through in exchange for the pleasure of sitting down to live music. With due respect to the history of the daddy of them all, even a complete revamp of the menu failed to elevate Ronnie's above the level of identikit airport food. My last burger there could have met the salt intake requirements of a small country for the day, though I was distracted by rivers of grease that flooded out of my bun and onto my trousers. The band was great though.

Now though, I can tell you all about an exception to the rule. Hideaway in Streatham has the benefit of investment by someone who has clearly been to New York Jazz clubs. The entrance is funky, the bar is long and well lit, and wonder of wonders the food is decent. A warm salad of squid, pepper and tomato was well presented and seasoned. Steak was juicy and tender with a little deglazed jus on top and banana pie vanquished the pastry pangs whilst going easy on the sugar.

Oh, and the band was great

Le Figieur de San Esprit

Tucked into the medieval heart of Antibes is an olive scented slice of Provence. Two dining rooms surround a small kitchen visible through a webcam and large plasma screen on the wall. This gives you the novel entertainment of hearing your orders called out and seeing the team leap into action. The second of these rooms is a memorable cobbled courtyard screened with a translucent roof that bathes the diners in light so that all the atmosphere of dining outdoors can be enjoyed with all the benefits of shelter.

We tried a fillet of Dorade with courgette, girolles, Trompettes de Mort and cherry tomatoes cooked entirely correctly and served with a vinegairrete. Pork loin was moist and tender with wonderfully delicate gnocchi, mushrooms and fig.

The dessert left us on something of a sugar high for several hours and included a lavendar creme brûlée, three chocolate gâteau, lemon sorbet, tarte tatin and fig dressed in balsamic vinegar.

All of the above excellent value on the weekday set lunch. The food here is excellent and demonstrates what can achieved with regional ingredients, sympathetic cookery and a striking setting.