A New Year... A Fresh Start

Happy New Year to all of you!

I don't know how you guys feel about 2011, but mine was full of huge changes and I'm quite glad to be welcoming in 2012. Firstly I'd like to apologize for not completing my 12 treats of Christmas challenge... I feel like I was a little ambitious in time and money that I had available! I definitely indulged in a treat or two over Christmas but it was definitely worth it. 

This year I cooked myself and my brother and meat-tastic Christmas dinner.

Here is our delicious beef brisket. Flavour-wise, it was pretty bang on (laid on a bed of fresh thyme and garlic)... but in terms of technique I made a bit of an error. If I cook brisket again I will be braising it not roasting it. It was not built for roasting. It was a little dry to say the least but I've now learnt from my mistakes and my brother wasn't to notice. Alongside some other accompaniments I cooked red cabbage. This was the first time I'd ever cooked red cabbage.

Photo courtesy of BBC Good Food

I followed the BBC Good Food recipe and fried shallots with the red cabbage until the shallots were soft. I then boiled the cabbage and shallots in stock, adding port and cranberries for a festive edge. It was so creamy and rich and potentially the best side dish ever.

Photo courtesy of Marilyn Leigh

Boxing Day is (unfortunately) my birthday and I was extremely spoilt by all of my friends and family who I am forever grateful for. This year I decided on a pretty low key event with just my closest friends and family and a few stupid games. In the evening we took a little road trip to Winchester, potentially the most beautiful place to be at Christmas time, and went for dinner at Porterhouse - Winchester's premier steak house. Having not been to Porterhouse before I was pretty apprehensive about the result. I'd spent months trying to find a restaurant that was not only open on Boxing day but somewhere that would cater for the many diets of my attendees - vegan being perhaps the most challenging. When people tend to make a veggie dish, most of the time there is a shed load of cheese piled on it. Not the most suitable for the vegan appetite. A steakhouse was the last place I thought to look but lo and behold, they had a vegan dish AND it looked pretty good.

After a few proseccos I decided to be adventurous and try steak tartare for my starter - despite being fiercely warned by my dad that it would be horrible. It was surprisingly good! They had flash fried the steak and it had a real spicy kick to it along with. Succulent.

Now I must turn your attention to this... there are no words really... but this is possibly the highlight of 2011 for me.

Photo courtesy of Marilyn Leigh.

This is The Porterhouse. 32oz of pure pleasure. A mixture of top loin and tenderloin. To be shared between two, although I'm pretty sure I would have been happy to just eat this myself. No sharing.

I can't even begin to describe how good this tasted. It was flavourful, tender, juicy... just mouth watering and I think the best steak I have ever eaten (and I've eaten a lot of steak). Their chips were amazing too. I will definitely be returning to Porterhouse next time I'm in the Winchester area.

Photo courtesy of Marilyn Leigh.

So that, my friends, was 2011. Now we welcome in 2012 and if the ludicrous rumours are true (which they aren't) then I better get started on making this the best food year ever.

It started with a bit of love for the kitchen. Rob and I have managed to return home with triple the amount of recipe books that we had owned previously. Win. So we had to find a place for them in the kitchen. I do believe that recipe books should be kept in the kitchen as they are always within easy reach for reference and it would make the task of cooking from one much more laborious if they weren't in an easily accessible, kitchen friendly place.

You may notice that I seemed to have acquired a rather large number of Nigella Lawson books. I love her and I have nothing else to say about it. Except perhaps Nigella Christmas is the most beautiful book I have ever seen.

The next part of my kitchen love session was to create a perfect tea are. My passion for (or obsession with) tea is an ever growing one and these aren't even all of the teas that I own. At Christmas I was forcing my Pukka Revitalise tea on everyone, claiming that it was the true flavour of Christmas with cardamom, ginger and cinnamon. Adding a touch of honey for a naughty bit of sweetness.

On reading Nigella's Kitchen book this festive season, she talks about how your kitchen should be a welcoming place, a place that you can escape to and feel safe in and I think that she has hit the nail on the head. You should put beautiful food, jars, bottles on display to brighten up a kitchen. So that is what I've started doing. Couscous and lentils in airtight jars, cupcake stands showing juicy, bright fruits and vegetables (and a sneaky bit of chocolate for good measure).

I have been thinking a lot about my perfect kitchen recently and sharing Nigella's love for fairy lights (I said I wouldn't talk about her any more but who was I kidding?), my kitchen would be a special foodie grotto with pretty lights, jars and crockery everywhere. The surfaces are made from wood so there is no need for a chopping board. Pots, pans and utensils are hanging from every available space and there is a multiple-shelved spice rack (ordered alphabetically of course) to store my ridiculous amount of herbs and spices. 

Photo courtesy of Beautiful Homes

It's painted a gorgeous sky blue and is very light and airy during the day, but a cosy haven at night. And there are Le Creusets everywhere. Obviously.

Now I don't believe in "New Year's Resolutions" but this year I am going to continue to eat tasty food and dream about my dream kitchen. I think those are both extremely achievable.