Update on my Culinary Travelling

Dear friends,

I know I have been "away" for a while and not sharing my culinary travels, but I assure you the caravan has not stopped even though I have been lazy on the reporting side. Last weekend I hosted a little dinner with the Moroccan theme and the food was absolutely delicious. One of the recipes I used was from BBC Good Food "Spicy Chicken Couscous" without much amending it (instead of fresh apricots I used dried apricots cut half, because they are sweeter) and I can highly recommend it. Since I made a major miscalculation with portions (sometimes even happens to the best) I had to think something clever to do with the left-overs. Great ideas do not always come last! Since reheated chicken (any meat as a matter of fact) tastes pretty unpleasant, I opted for using this dish as a base for salad. So all I there was to do was to add some tomatoes, corn and avocado and drizzle everything with olive oil. For extra pleasure some Greek yoghurt can be used also on the side. As a secret I can tell you I actually liked the salad version more than the hot one.

Now to more serious news. I am participating at a local amateur culinary competition and I am one of the 77 participants who has been selected into the finals. To say I am happy is like to say nothing! (I'll spare you from wohoos and thousand happy faces.) Interestingly enough when I first participated I didn't think much of becoming successful with my recipe, but seems I underestimated myself. Anyway, finals take place on 6th November and I am supposed to create a cake (specific details of this part of the competition are not clear yet). Since I am  up against just 5 persons (all female btw) perhaps it is not so unlikely to win that culinary trip to Paris? :)



RESTAUTANT BORDOO AT THE THREE SISTERS HOTEL, TALLINN

Voted as the third best restaurant in Estonia in 2011 restaurant Bordoo in Tallinn is a must-visit if you value haute cuisine. Supposedly first restaurant in Estonia being viewed as a potential Michelin star candidate and I must admit probably least advertised eating establishment that deserves the highest praise in town. They use seasonal products, hence the menu is changed seasonally.
They have a 4-6 course tasting menus where the selection of dishes are determined each day. We chose the 4 course tasting menu which was following and all of them were just amazing. I am not sure I am capable to actually explain all the magic that landed on our table, but the ride was unforgettable and magnificent. First we were served a little refreshment consisting of apple foam with vanilla, which didn't taste sweet as one would imagine. Next was something sort of sigar consisting of meat and leaves with a distinctive taste and smell of smoke. Just like eadible sigar. I have never had anything similar to this and I must say we were completely blown away and won over. From there on they could do anything they wanted and we would still love it to bits. And it only got better when the  chantarelle risotto as first course was served. I still have wild dreams about it... Second course that night was a slow cooked salmon which was wonderful. As third course I selected veal and my companion had lamb. Both were slow cooked and melted in the mouth, but in comparison the lamb topped the veal. Did I mention that they served us a varied selection of butter and a selection of 4 different types of homemade bread? Well, that night we had a lot of butter and bread. When the dessert was served I was so full I wasn't sure I am capable of standing up without help not to mention make it back home without fainting, but still I had whole of the dessert, because it was just another masterpiece. Have you ever tried sorrel dock ice cream? That night I did (it tasted as it was made without any milk products, but had a very smooth texture) and with cheesecake it was a genious dish.

All in all this was the most memorable eating experience this year in Tallinn so far and for anyone wishing to experience some world class culinary mastery in Tallinn this is the place to visit.

Go read more: http://www.bordoo.ee/en

Located:
Pikk 71/Tolli 2
Tallinn 10133
Estonia

Phone: +372 630 6300
e-mail: info@threesistershotel.com

MY GRANDMOTHER'S GARDEN IS IN FULL BLOOM

Last weekend I travelled to a little Russian town bordering with Estonia to pay a visit to my grandmother and explore her big garden that never fails to amaze me. This is where I spent most of my childhood summers and now whenever I am visiting here I cannot help but become a tad bit nostalgic. Below are some photos of what can be found in my grandmother's garden.

Cherries, which were kind of (extremely!) sour, but great for jam that can be enjoyed on dark frightening winter nights while reminiscing about sweet moments in life and day-dreaming about the next ones..

These should be different types of zucchini. Note: they only look small, in reality they are gigantic. I carried back home 3 of them praying along the way that my newly bought suitcase doesn't crash into pieces or if it does it will happen while still in Russia so that my travel insurance covers it.. nothing terrible happened though.. pheuww!

One of the many pumpkins..

 

Dill, this one is best for using in marinades.

Cucumbers in front row, followed by carrots, dill, spring onions etc. Overwhelming... :)) How does she manage to do all of this?!

Raspberries in the process of ripening..

Peppermint, great for tea and what else!

 

Red currants. For couple of years I have made marmalade of these wonderful berries. It suits really well all sorts of meat and Christmas dishes. Particularly on top of gingerbread... mmmm...

Gooseberry

My favourite types of apple - Ranetki - they are super flavoursome and sweet, not to mention for me they smell of childhood and great memories. Great for all sorts of preserving. Unfortunately impossible to find at local farmer's market in Tallinn.

Tomatoes. I remembered about photographing when we had removed all the ripe tomatoes, so only the green ones got to strike a pose. Let's hope they mature quicker now.

Gooseberries again...

Amazing garden, right!

EATING OUT IN CHINA, MARCH 2011

No long stories this time, just enjoy some of the photos of my culinary explorations in Shanghai, Suzhou and Zhongshan, all cities of powerful China.

I just realised I have accidentally deleted illustrative photos in my previous posts. Another negative news is that since I am not this blogging genius I have no idea whether I can fix the problem at once regarding all posts or if I have to fix each other post individually, this will take an eternity and this is the time not available in  my calendar right now. Sincerest apologies and I hope this does not cause any tragic inconvenience to anyone.