Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food, Heathrow Airport

Sometimes traveling can be extremely tiresome. Especially if you have to wake up at God-knows-when o'clock, you're about to go on a long haul flight, you've got a heavy carry-on that is killing your back, and you've barely got your wits about you. This is the time to give yourself a little treat. One treat I was really looking forward to was breakfast at Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food. This was my first time ever going to a Gordon Ramsay restuarant, so I was pretty excited. The sun still hadn't rose as I passed through security and put my beady and tired little eyes to a well known task: looking for food.

Eating at Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food was a wonderful experience. I don't think a more civilised breakfast is to be had anywhere else at Heathrow Airport, though one really is spoiled for choice. The dining area was modern, but plush. It felt ever so welcoming to sit my weary self on the caramel leather sofas and order myself a pot of tea. English Breakfast, but of course. It's the HH tea of choice you know. When my tea arrived, I noticed that the china it was served in was pretty nice, not the cheap stuff. I could tell as soon as I picked it up. Turns out that it was Gordon Ramsay's design for Royal Doulton. Ah, that Chef Ramsay sure does know how to market himself, no? Actually as soon as you walk into Plane Food there is a big glass cabinet displaying many of the Gordon Ramsay cook books. My honest opinion on this matter is that Ramsay has over exposed and over marketed himself. It's my theory that this is why he has been experiencing such a decline. I think he needs to pull back a bit.

Anyway, my order for tea was promptly served, and the rest of my breakfast soon followed. The service was highly attentive and efficient. So, it's actually perfect for the traveller in a hurry. Moi was in no hurry though. I planned to spend some time here, to eat slowly and really enjoy my food. And enjoy I did.

For breakfast it was a toss up between two items: the Eggs Norwegian, or the banana and honeycomb pancakes. I really wanted to try both (I can definitely put away two breakfasts, but I would have been a teeny bit embarrassed, Mr P was not with me, so I wouldn't have been able to point the finger in his direction). I decided on the eggs. For a long flight, it's smarter to eat a more nutritionally rich breakfast. I think I made the right decision. The eggs Norwegian consisted of a half of an English muffin, upon which there was some delicious smoked salmon, two perfectly poached eggs, lovingly covered in some flavourful hollandaise (yes, I just felt it must have been made with love). It was a small breakfast, but an excellent one. The eggs were incredibly fresh. I loved breaking into them. They yolks were especially vivid. Almost an orange colour. They were so cheery, like little sunshines on a gloomy morning.

After the eggs, my sprits lifted and that's when I decided, hey, why not add a little something extra. After all, who knows when I'll be coming here again (as you can only visit this restaurant if you are on a BA flight at Heathrow's Terminal 5). So, I ordered some mini pastries to help me finish up my pot of English Breakfast. They really were mini. Normally I don't like "little food", but these were just so cute. The croissants were only like the size of my thumb. There were two of those, and they were flaky and warm. Very nice. There were also two mini pain au chocolat, which were really delish. You could tell that they used some kind of high quality chocolate. It was good stuff. And there was one little snail shaped pain au raisan. So lovely. There was a teeny bit of custard or something similar between the swirly layer, and the raisins were incredibly moist. Ah... so good! These mini pastries were served with some little pots of Tiptree orange marmalade, strawberry jam, and honey (I didn't use them though).

Note the funny little knife. I have a feeling it might have something to do with airport security.

Airport food, no matter where you have it, tends to be pricy. My breakfast cost £17.44. Included in this price is a £1.50 cover charge. I really didn't think this was too bad for the pleasant atmosphere, the prompt service, and most importantly, the delicious breakfast. I totally recommend it, and hey, guess what daaaaahlings? After fueling up, there's a duty-free Harrods right next door!

Best part of all? You can sneer at the plebs eating their breakfast sandwiches. "Poor creatures," I think to myself as I pet my little belly pot and smirk.

Breakfast at Claridges

A while ago I told you guys about how Hubby and I spent his birthday weekend at Claridges and had afternoon tea there. What I didn't tell you was we also had breakfast there. It was, in fact, the most expensive breakfast we've ever eaten. The bill was very close to £100. Do you know how many McDonalds hash browns I could get for that??? So, was it worth it? Read on daaaaaahling.

Hubby and I woke up from our luxurious Claridges marshmallow bed and of course, our first thought of the day was: breakfast. I wish I had other interests besides food sometimes. I try to cultivate other hobbies, but in the end, it really is all about the food. Mr P and I went back downstairs to the same luxurious foyer where afternoon tea was served the previous day. This time, the atmosphere was different. It wasn't as buzzy or bustling. This Sunday morning, it was quite subdued and relaxed. Truthfully, I preferred it that way. When I am all dressed up (as one is supposed to be for afternoon tea) I have a tendency to be a bit self conscious. For breakfast, things are more casual. There's no need to get all dressed up (though some people were), and I felt more at ease.

Hubby and I were seated in a cozy little nook in the corner of the room. We were offered our menus, and a feeling of happiness washed over me: the feeling of knowing that I would soon be fed.

Here's what Mr P and I ordered:

Toast (which comes with little jams and honey)

A pot of English Breakfast tea for me

A pot of coffee for Mr P

We both ordered scrambled eggs with Daylesford Organic smoked salmon

A basket of assorted viennoiseries (that's just a fancy word for buttery flaky pastries)

Tidbit: Did you know that Marie Antoinette's breakfast of choice was coffee and a viennoiserie? Well, that's what it said in a recent edition of the Times.

First came the tea and coffee. It was served on the same kind of three tierd stand that was used during afternoon tea with the same Limoges green and white striped china. I ordered the standard English Breakfast, and Mr P had Claridge's house blend of coffee. My tea was nothing unusuall, but the coffeee was particularly lovely. Smooth and mellow.

Next came the little toasts. We got a mixture of white and wheat. This came with about 6 different mini jars of preserves (including strawberry, marmalade, black currant, and honey). Oh, and it also came with an adoreable baby butter dish. I am happy to say the butter was at room temperature (it is such a peeve when the butter is too cold to melt on the toast).

As for the scrambled eggs, they were lovely and creamy. Although very tasty, they weren't on the same level as my favorite scrambled eggs in the whole wold: those at Fortnum & Mason. The salmon was good, but I wouldn't expect anything less from a place like this. All in all, very pleasant, but not particularly memorable.

But, my dears... I have left the best for last. So far, Claridges had ticked all the boxes, but except for the fabulous environment, I wasn't wowed. Quite frankly, when you spend this kind of money, you really do expect food with some wow factor. That was until I partook of the veniosserie. Yes, you must include "viennoiserie" into your vocabulary, it's an essential ;). It is a word that can be included in any conversation.

Example: "Check out my new Prada bag daaaaaahling, imagine all the viennoiseries that Moi can fit in here!"

Anyways, back to the subject at hand. The viennoiseries are actually made in house. There is someone in that kitchen who really knows what they are doing. We had an almond croissant, a plain croissant, a raspberry muffin, a pain au raisin, a sugar topped baby brioche, and the best pain au chocolat I have ever tasted (and I am not really into those). This platter of goodies really was the piece de resistance of breakfast. I highly recomend it should you ever find yourself in Claridges. If, lets say you came for breakfast and just had these and a hot drink, I think it would be moderately affordable, and, dare I say it... good value for money! If I am not mistaken, I think that all of those viennoiseries, were only about £8 or so.

So daaahlings here's my recommendation: if you are looking for some of the best viennoiserie in London, in a superb environment, take yourelf and your biggest designer bag (to take stuff back home in LOL) to Claridges! Just have that and a nice hot drink and slowly savour your sweet pastries and the luxurious surrounds--leave the other items on the menu for when someone else is paying ;). Smug satisfaction awaits you!

Le Deux Magots, Paris

Le Deux Magots is my top pick for breakfast in Paris. I have read other peoples' comments about this cafe, and most people say that it's over priced and over rated. Over priced, yes, I would say that is probably true, but frankly, so is everwhere else in Paris. Get any delusions of "value for money" out of your head if you are visiting Paris. You might as well just take it in stride that few things in Paris are cheap. In fact, I would say its even more expensive than visiting London. Plan to spend money. As for it being over rated, on that account, I surely beg to differ. This was TONS better than my breakfast at Laduree, and about 15 eruos cheaper. It also had way more atmosphere. You guys must know by now of my affections for all things Laduree, but in the battle of the breakfasts, they surely lost!

So, what's with the curious name: Le Deux Magots? Well, the cafe is named for the two wooden carvings of Chinese Confucian wise men which are mounted on the top of one of the central pillars inside the restaurant. According to their website, "the café started life in 1813 as a drapery, selling silk and other luxury items. It took its name 'Les Deux Magots' from a successful play of that time: 'The Two Magots of China'." Aside from its name, what Le Deux Magots is really famous for, is its many esteemed patrons, considered the intellectual elite of their time. These individuals included Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso and Oscar Wilde, just to name a few.

This is the most awesome place for the favourite Parisian pastime of people watching. Here you are really in a prime location to gawk and squawk (as I like to do LOL). Now I am a person who hates even the slightest bit of winter chill, but did you know that the outdoor seating in most Paris cafes are heated? That means, weather be damned, there is always an opportunity to stare at (and mock) strangers.... not that I do that (a lot).

Mr P and I thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast there. Mr P ordered a cafe creme (coffee with cream) and a plain omelette, which was simple but excellent. It came with a little basket of crusty bread. Moi had Le Petit Dejeuner Des Deux Magots (yeah, not that petit is it?... but don't worry dears, I can hold my own when it comes to le carbs!).

Just a little mention on this teeny weeny pain au raisan included in the bread basket: YUM! Mr P and I never tasted a pain au raisan before that was actually kind of juicy! It was marvellous. I will surely be ordering the full sized version next time.

It was served with a glass of orange juice, a wonderful hot cocoa which was very flavourful without being overly sweet, and a plate with a cute little butter and an apricot and strawberry jam (yes, I love cute little butters and jams :). I'm such a sucker for these things).

By the way, contrary to things I have read, the service was attentive, and the waiter was very patient with us when we were trying to order in French. It could just be that the place is pretty quiet in the mornings, I don't know. Maybe it doesn't really get busy until lunch. I guess that makes going there for breakfast a smart way to visit a very popular cafe. Perhaps this is the way the cafe used to be enjoyed before it became the very touristy place that it is today. Regardless, it was an excellent way to pass a Sunday morning.

After languishing and digesting (hmm... gross right?) I said to Mr P, "I think we found our Paris breakfast place." Mr P was surprisingly agreeable (this is what happens to men when their belly has been filled with warm and tasty food). Mr P concurred.

Laduree Breakfast and Rihanna Spotting

How could moi possibly go to Paris and not go to Laduree? If you think about it, it's practically a pilgrimage! This was one of the meals I was most looking forward to.

Hubby and I were seated in a lovely conservatory style room which allowed us views of the day unfolding along the Champs-Elysees. It happened to be a georgous day, but the room was somewhat dark because of all the drapery hanging form the ceiling and the windows. Once seated, I ordered "Le petit-Dejeuner Laduree." This consisted of a basket filled with mini viennoiseries (little croissants, little brioches, etc.) and traditional mini breads served with butter, honey (hey, I didn't get any honey!!! I just realized this now while looking though the menu... can I take back my tip?), jam, freshly squeezed orange or grapefruit juice, and a choice of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. I had the hot chocolate. The mini viennoiseries and breads were lovely. My favorite of them was a tiny sugar glazed sweet croissant. The orange juice was also especially nice, it was very fresh and tangy. Hot chocolate? Good, but I don't know, not amazing. What can I tell you, I have had some pretty amazing hot chocolate in my time (the best being at Demel in Austria), and this just didn't match up.

Hubby was naughty and pulled a fast one on the housewife. He ordered the same as me but with the addition of scrambled eggs and fruit salad. I was slightly peeved. Hubby knows he shouldn't have more goodies than me. And fruit salad? Hubby doesn't even like fruit! Well, it turned I had nothing to be jealous of. I will be frank with you in saying that the scrambled eggs were horrid. They had the oddest texture, like porridge, and the fruit salad was just kind of insipid. It was much like something you would get out of a can of fruit cocktail.

Check out the eggs, they just look kind of wrong, don't they?

Eating at the Champs-Elysees Laduree was certainly a fun experience. Would I do it again? No. The food is not amazing. There is actually better food there available for takeaway in their front room, and it happens to be much cheaper. I think next time I'd rather just buy some goodies from there and sit on the benches along the Champs-Elysees with a cup of tea and an adorable little hubby who will not be able to out order his wife (... so naughty! Bad hubby, bad!). The price for this breakfast for two was 45 Euros, which really wasn't worth it, in my esteemed opinion ;). This doesn't mean I wouldn't go back. It just means I would give them a miss for breakfast. Well, no worries, I got to fulfill something on my Paris wish list. It's all good in the Champs-Elyeese hood daaaaaaahlings! (Oh my God, I just kill me sometimes.)

p.s. Not that this has anything to do with my breakfast, but just thought I'd mention that I saw Rihanna when I was in Paris. Apparently she was there for Paris fashion week (while I was there for the food :P... where are my priorities daaaahlings?). Hubby and I were walking along ultra fashionable Avenue Montaigne and across the street from us, at the Hotel Plaza Athenee, we saw a big crowd. Nosy parker that I am, I wanted to see what the fuss was about. Turns out, these people were paparazzi and Rihanna fans. Hubby and I waited for about 10 minutes and we saw Rihanna being escorted out by her entourage (one of which has the same haircut as her, which is kind of weird). She was wearing a gray Hussein Chalayan mini dress, and some freaky doo garter belt boots. Hubby and I loved her uber cool glasses, I totally wouldn't mind a pair of those.

I actually found some pictures on the internet taken on that day on the outside of the hotel (and no, you can't see your favourite housewife in any of those pics, I wouldn't want to outshine Rihanna).

Housewife in a Hurry: Pan con Tomate/ Spanish Toast

Its been a while now since I went to Barcelona. And starting next week I'm going to be telling you all about my trip to Paris. Before I do though, I am going to show you how to make the most ubiquitous of all Spanish tapas: Pan con Tomate (literally meaning bread with tomato, aka Spanish toast). It might surprise you that something so easy could be so flavourful and delicious. You've got to try this one.

After coming back from Barcelona, Hubby and I would keep reminiscing about the awesome food we ate at Taller de Tapas. We loved it so much that we would go back to Barcelona for that alone!!! Though every tapas bar has Pan con Tomate on the menu, theirs was definitely the best. While my version doesn't exactly look like theirs (if you want it to look like the Taller de Tapas version, use a French baguette), I feel that it is comparable. It is now one of our staples at Chez Housewife. We have eaten it both as a breakfast and as snack (beware the garlic if you are having this for breakfast though, it will definitely give you stinky breath).

Because you will be using so few ingredients, the key to making this dish truly great is by choosing the best quality ingredients: great bread, very ripe and flavourful tomatoes, and the best quality olive oil.

Here is what you will need (serves 2):

1 or 2 (depending on size) ripe and flavourful red tomatoes

2 teaspoons of olive oil

1 clove of garlic (optional)

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

4 slices of sourdough bread

Directions:

Toast or grill the bread. I like to grill it, because I like to get those nice grill lines on the bread :), it just looks good. If you are using garlic, cut the garlic clove in half and rub it into the bread. Do the same with the tomato. The tomato flavour needs to really get into the bread. This is done by practically "grating" the tomato into the surface. The bread should turn a pinkish-red colour. Now sprinkle on your olive oil, salt and pepper. Easy and fabulous!

P.S. For those of you wanting an update on the whole hamster drama, I have some news. Reeni from Cinnamon & Spice may have spotted Heavenly Hamster. If this is true, there could be an issue as my hamster eats the finest food and must look quite tasty to Moon the Kitchen Cat, who is quite familiar with all things culinary. I am going to send a flying monkey over there to investigate and perhaps plan a rescue mission. This may be my beloved hamster, or this may be Laurel's hamster, from Happy Simple Life as she is missing hers too. There is also rumour that my hamster may be sipping tea and munching on macaroons at the Champs Elysee Laduree. As this sounds quite likely, I'm going to investigate that one myself ;).

Mini Maple Pancake Muffins

I love to check out what Bakerella is up to. She really is an artist with teeny weeny foodstuffs. Bakerella is most famous for her cake pops. I have bought all the stuff I need to make them, but the ingredients have been sitting inside my cabinets for many a month. Her newest creations were pancake mini muffins. So of course, Moi had to go out and buy a mini muffin tin. However, the cool thing is that I actually made the muffins within a few days of buying the pan. *Pat on the back to me*

There were a couple of things I can recommend to you so that you make your muffins better than mine:

1) Before adding the chocolate chips, coat them with flour, otherwise they can very well sink to the bottom, like mine did. I don't know why it didn't occur to me when I was making them. I think it was really early in the morning, and I didn't really have my wits about me yet.

2) I didn't read the directions thoroughly (yeah, no surprise there), so I also forgot to leave some chocolate chips separate to decorate the top with. Too bad, that would have been so cute.

Bad housewife, bad!

I made these a special treat for Mr P this morning (though they would also make for an adorable little snack any time of the day). He said the best part about eating them was biting into the warm chocolate chips. If you have a naughty little creature that you would like to make these for, here is the recipe copied and pasted from Bakerella's website.

Mini Maple Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Sift together with a wire whisk.
• In another bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup and melted butter until just combined.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until combined.
• Stir in chocolate chips. Reserve a few chips to sprinkle on the tops.
• Bake for 8-9 minutes.

Makes 24 mini pancake muffins.

Let cool slightly and remove from the pan. You may need to use a toothpick around the edges to separate the pancake muffins from the pan.

Serve immediately with warmed butter if you like or even just with maple syrup.

Honey Sweetened Cornbread: Its the Bee's Knees

I rarely watch or listen to the news. I know this is bad, but the thing is, it depresses me. This week however, while in the car with Hubby, I overheard this thing about a "bee crisis." Basically, all over Europe, little honey bees are dying. Why is this important? Well not only do bees make delicious honey, but they are vital to tree pollination which is important for products such as almonds, coffee, and soft fruits. According to an article I read, between 2007-2008 the bee population in England had dropped 30%. That's massive! In some countries, however, its even worse. Scientists are not totally sure what is causing this problem, but its results could be very serious to many areas of food production.

What kind of things can you do to help? One of the solutions is easy and beautiful: plant small patches of wild flowers in your garden and encourage others to do the same. This offers bees a suitable and healthy habitat. The bigger the wild flower patches, the better for the bees.

I think bees are cool. Here is one wearing a fabulous fur!

Okay, its recipe time. To celebrate the bee, today I am making Honey Cornbread. Its a recipe I found on foodnetwork.com. It got great reviews by the people who tried it out. Using the suggestions in the comments, I decided to make it in a 9x9 baking tray, rather than as individual muffins.

This corn bread was super easy to put together and Hubby loved it. After he ate it he told me what a good wife I am :), so as far as I'm concerned, its a total keeper!

Here is the recipe is exactly as it appears from the Food Network website.

Ingredients

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• Special equipment: paper muffin cups and a 12-cup muffin tin

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.

p.s. check out this cool and funny video sent to me from Jamie at Life's a Feast about the honey bees.

Breakfast at Fortnum and Mason's Fountain Restaurant

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. You know what freaks me out? Its those people who don't eat breakfast. Breakfast is the first thing I think of when I wake up, and God help someone who gets in my way when it is breakfast time. To those who forgot to eat breakfast, I'd like to respond, "Hey, are you the same wierdo who forgets to breathe when they are exercizing--you know, the one the aerobics instuctor always says 'don't forget to breathe' to?"-- because that's just retarded!

Okay, back to my breakfast review lol. See how easily I become distracted?

Normally if Hubby and I eat breakfast out its at McDonalds. We love the hashbrowns :). We do, however, like to treat ourselves, if you haven't noticed. This time we had breakfast at Fortnum & Mason's newly renovated Fountain Restaurant. The room is bright and surprisingly lively, and the service was perfect. But lets get to the important stuff: the food!

Hubby only had a croissant (wuss) and some overpriced coffee, Jamacain Blue Mountain, which he said was excellent. The croissant was very big and fluffy and it came with three big jars of Fortnum & Mason's own brand of jams and marmalade (strawberry jam, rasberry jam, and orange marmalde). Hubby was slightly dissapointed that his croissant was not hot/warm. He thought that because we were eating at Fortnum's it would be fresh. I don't know if the croissants are baked on the premisis or not. I did taste it. It was nice, but not terribly out of the ordinary.

Hubby was jealous of my breakfast though, and deservedly so lol. I had something called the Highland Scramble. This was scrambled eggs on top of a piece of toast with a very large portion of smoked salmon. Let me just say that these scrambled eggs were without a doubt, the best I have ever tasted. My goodness, these were so creamy. I bet there was cream in there (I need to figure out how to replicate this at home--any tips?). Hubby's turned green with envy after tasting it, and this forced me to hunch protectively over my food. Hey buster, you chose the croissant, now eat it!

Oh by the way, it also comes with a half of a lemon that is tied up in a little muslin cloth and secured with a F&M ribbon. This is so you can squeeze your lemon onto the salmon without getting any pits. Pretty chi chi :). Ah, I was made for this kind of fine living!

We also ordered some toast to share and this came in an adoreable little wicker box, reminiscent of the famous Fortnum & Mason hampers which are oh so coveted during the holidays. I have never been a recipient for one of these goodie troughs, but if you would like to send me one, I will gladly give you my address, oh, and I will love you forever.

Hmm... I think the McDonalds hash browns are going to become a bit of a downer now.

English Muffin Bread

Yesterday, on my final day of waiting for my new toy (which I am totally loving), I got some more baking in. Actually, I did this recipe twice. The first time, it tasted perfect, and the whole house really did smell like English muffins, but I think I killed the yeast by using liquid that was too hot. The bread didn't rise in the way it should have.

Just a tip here about yeast: when you prepare your liquid for the yeast, check the temperature with your finger. Basically it should be like very warm bath water. I write this, because like me, when dealing with baking, you probably won't bother using a thermometer to check the temperature range.

This recipe totally suited me, as the baking ingredients here at Chez Heavenly were slim pickings. I had very little butter, and no eggs, so that ruled out a lot of recipes on my million long "must make" list. I could not really leave the house to buy baking supplies because what if the package arrived-- of course that would be so typical. You leave the house for one second and the delivery dork comes! Then it will be like, oops, sorry, next delivery within a five day time span!

Anyway, I had a cool recipe to try that didn't require to much stuff: English Muffin Bread. Basically its English muffins in loaf form. Theoretically, if you make this right, all you have to do is slice up some English muffins and allow some buttery goodness to fill all the delicious nooks and crannies. Sounds good no?

Actually, I had some for breakfast this morning with butter, and I was really impressed. This one is a keeper for me. Hope you try it out too. As far as bread making is concerned, this one is pretty uncomplicated.

The following was submitted by Rosemarie Leek at Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• Cornmeal

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda. In a saucepan, heat milk and water to 120 degrees F-130 degrees F. Add to dry ingredients; beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour (batter will be stiff). Do not knead. Greased a 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan and sprinkle with cornmeal. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

An Anniversary Treat: Breakfast at the Wolseley

To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, Hubby and I decided to have breakfast at the famed Wolseley in London. Originally, what is now the Wolseley restaurant, was designed as a very over the top Art Deco car showroom in the 1920s, after that it was a Barclays bank, and then in 2003 it became a very special place for breakfast and movie star spotting. It was in this marbled and lacquered edifice that Hubby and I enjoyed a most magnificent breakfast. One that truly befits Moi.

Before going to the Wolseley, I was reading about how the seats in the restaurant are structured. There is basically a type of "inner circle" of seating. According to my book, this is where they seat all the "important" people. And can you guess who got the best seat in the joint???? That's right! It was the housewife herself! Was it because I'm so beautiful? Or was it because we got there kind of early and the place wasn't really booked up at the time? I don't know, but all I can say was I was feeling rather important *wink*.

The first thing we were served was our drinks. Hubby ordered some coffee, which he said was very good, and I had a delicious and rich hot chocolate with a good thick layer of whipped cream. That was definitely a good start! Next, Hubby got 2 fried eggs with baked beans, tomatoes, and mushrooms. It was a kind of vegetarian version of the English Breakfast. I only really tried the mushrooms, which were very tasty. This was served with a toast rack full of toast. I ordered a herb omelette with a side of toasted baugette (which came with jam and marmalade). The omelette was lovely, the baguette was well toasted and crunchy, and the marmalade was absolutely awesome, the best marmalade ever! I asked our waiter what brand it was, and we were informed that it was made in house. Make sure you ask for it if you go!

Following our breakfast we also had a fantastic basket of viennoiserie, which are also made on the premises. This consisted of a miniature (but not too mini) croissant, pain au chocolat, danish, amandine pain sucre with Normandy butter and cannele bordelais (which Hubby particularly enjoyed)--that's the one in the middle in the picture. This was languished over with a pot of English Breakfast tea.

The service was impeccable and friendly. I would have thought that it might have been a bit pretentious in a place like the Wolseley but that was far from the case. Our waiter was attentive, helpful and efficient.

Having breakfast at the Wolseley is not a cheap affair. We ate well (as we like to do, and hey, it was our anniversary breakfast, after all). The bill came to about £55 with the gratuity, but we felt that it was worth it. Eating at the Wolseley is a real treat. You feel special, and you eat in the most beautiful surroundings. Hubby and I definitely plan on visiting again, and next time, maybe we will try lunch or dinner, or even afternoon tea.

P.S. I don't think I saw any celebrities, but I did see at least two very "interesting" surgically enhanced women with orange skin in baseball hats. Celebrities? Oompa Loompas? I don't know.

P.S.S.Part two of our anniversary comes at the end of this month when Hubby and I go to Barcelona for five days. Its going to be fab. Watch this space darlings!