Oh…. and a hint of peat…
June 14, 2008 | 4 Comments |
We had a great Whisky tasting evening last week at our neighbors down the road. To prevent starting with an empty stomach they cooked us a delicious dinner and so, after dinner with our bellies ready for some serious tasting, we started off with the first tray of five.
The tasting was anonymous and there was a wide array of Whisky brands available. The results were amazing and the tasters had their preferences (some liked the peaty whiskies more than others). In the end the different brands were revealed and we could check whether we had recognized our favorite ones.
With the first samplings the comments were remarkably exuberant and I remember remarks like “A hint of peat…”, “Apples and spring grass…” or “Peaches and faint chocolate”, while towards the end they ended in an unclear murmuring of “Nice…” and “Not too bad…”
We had Smokehead, Glenmorangie, Bruich Ladich, Bowmore, Auchentoshan (my favorite but not recognized by me, shame!!), Laphroaig (a favorite with the peat lovers), Oban, Tamdhu, Old Harry, Glen Livet, Cu Dubh and Bunnahabhain. The last one (with the sailor on the bottle) got really good reviews, Cu Dubh (weird coffee taste) was not appreciated.
It was a great evening with lots of fun although the morning after was painful which was probably due to not only the sampling of Whisky but the combi with beer and wine during dinner. The headache was definitely worth it though….
Fish on the menu
May 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment |
Tonight we had dinner at the Loch Bay Restaurant in Stein. It’s a seafood restaurant. We had a reservation at 6:15pm and went a little early to have a quick pint at the Stein Inn. Arriving there we were asked to wait outside as an incident had happened and the ambulance was on its way. Indeed, after 10 minutes the ambulance arrived on scene. We could not really see what had happened and walked over to the Loch Bay Restaurant. To cut a long evening short we had a marvelous dinner. There was Loch Dunvegan crab as a starter (delicious) and a mix of main courses. Loch Bay King Prawns grilled in garlic butter, sauteed scallops and lemon sole. All accompanied with a really good Chilean white wine.
Our experience: a very good restaurant, fantastic food, great service, reasonable prices, lovely location… definitely worth a visit!
Hot nuts
February 6, 2008 | 1 Comment |
When you move your home to another country, you’re probably bound to miss some of the things you were used to in your country of origin. Most of those things - for us at least - tend to be related to food. Like “Katjang Pedis” for example, peanuts wrapped in a spicy coating. I think the literal translation is “Spicy Peanut”. Delicious as a snack with a cold beer. They are originally from Indonesia. As the Dutch have an historic relation with that part of the world… hence the popularity of the snack. Unfortunately, we have not yet seen them in the UK supermarkets.
As Claire’s had her birthday recently, one of birthday packs sent in from Holland contained three small containers of Katjang Pedis. Good stuff!!! The funny things is that when you can have them only once in a while, you tend to appreciate them more. Today at about six we had a beer and a moment of true appreciation…
Another egg sink…
January 17, 2008 | 2 Comments |
Being Dutch we love mayonnaise with our chips (and with our roasted potatoes for that matter). Normally we buy our mayonnaise at the Co-Op. It looks like a popular brand as they’ve got shelves and shelves stacked with it… Hellman.
Unfortunately, yesterday we discovered that we had run out of mayonnaise and Wednesday being roasted potatoes day, that was indeed a major disappointment. Then we got a brilliant idea! Let’s make our own…
You need: egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice, salt, pepper and oil (we used sunflower oil). And a mixer. Be careful when adding the oil… It worked out great. Really nice yellow(!) mayonnaise with a lovely taste. Quite different from the white, tasteless stuff you buy at the shop.
Pancakes, bacon and golden syrup
December 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment |
We decided to have a Dutch evening tonight and made pancakes. The Dutch way, that is. Dutch pancakes are bigger than Scottish pancakes and thinner, more like the French crepes. Another twist is the addition of bacon to the pancake. Before you pour in the batter for the pancake, you put in two slices of bacon in the pan and let them fry for a bit. Then pour over the batter for the pancake, so the batter covers the bacon (this is a bit of a challenge as British bacon is much thicker sliced than Dutch). When the pancake is ready, it looks something like the one on the picture.
Now for the eating… The Dutch eat their pancakes with golden syrup, only the Dutch syrup has a slightly different taste from the golden syrup you buy here. It has a faint salty taste with a sensation of caramelized sugar. That’s the best I can do to describe it. Now the whole combi of a pancake with bacon (salty, savory) and the sweet syrup… trust me, it’s totally delicious!! It’s a shame that today we’ve opened our last bottle of Dutch syrup. We need to talk to Dutch friends soon….
Producers market
November 7, 2007 | 1 Comment |
A while back I wrote about the Portree producers market. As the season then already drew to an end, there’s now an initiative to stretch the market beyond the bounds of the summer season.
Read on on the site of “The Secret Season Project”.
Black pudding
September 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment |
Another traditional product you might encounter in restaurants or at B&B’s is black pudding. It’s basically a sausage made of blood and other filler ingredients. Pig or cattle blood is most often used. Additional ingredients include meat, fat, suet, bread, barley and oatmeal.
You can eat black pudding as it comes but in the UK you generally get it pan fried and it is sometimes part of your full cooked breakfast, but this is no rule.
I remember from our first holidays in Scotland that I was hesitant to eat it. I had eaten Germen “blutwurst” before, which I didn’t like. However, a friend of ours here on Skye persuaded me to give it try and I must admit, it’s totally delicious. Especially with a bit of HP sauce.
The local wholesale in Portree sells the Stornoway black pudding, which is made on the Isle of Lewis by Charles MacLeod Butchers. I’ve tasted a couple of other brands as well, but I think the Stornoway one is the best. I’m not aware of any local producer of black pudding on Skye.
Preparation is easy: take a slice of black budding and slowly fry it in a pan until the outside is blackish and crispy. The taste is best described as spicy, rich while the texture is crumbly. While writing this, I think I’ll dive in the freezer to dig up a slice for tomorrows breakfast!
Eating out at…
September 15, 2007 | 5 Comments |
Well, been there, done that. Yesterday we celebrated our 10 year anniversary at the Three Chimneys, a well known restaurant here on Skye. So, what were the votes of the Dutch juries? Overall we awarded but a meager 7, unfortunately. Here’s the full review:
As a taster there was a small bowl of fish soup. Indeed tasty but it needed some salt.
Starters: Potted crab (Roger) and Beetroot salad (Claire). Both starters were accompanied by delicious homemade rolls, however the starters were a bit fancy and extremely small-sized. The Chardonnay from Argentina was excellent.
Main course: Skye venison (Roger) and Monk fish with scallops (Claire). Both delicious. A bit meager on the veg site. We choose a South African Merlot which was very good. Again, small portions.
A pre-desert: frozen Skye berries in melted white chocolate. The combi of the cold berries and the soft and sweet chocolate gave a strange but pleasant taste. First time I had a pre-desert course with a meal, as well.
Desert: Whisky & lemon parfait (Roger) and Marinated pineapple (Claire). A bit too much different flavors for our taste and a bit over the top.
Service was very friendly and ambiance was very good. We were lucky to have a nice 4-person table just for the two of us. For our 11th year anniversary we haven’t decided yet…
Wine and dine!
September 14, 2007 | Leave a Comment |
Tonight we’re celebrating our 10 year anniversary. In style, I might say as we go to the Three Chimneys Restaurant, just down the road. See my previous post here. This will be an “arm and a leg” event, but hey… 10 years is a special occasion.
It’s incredible: you live in a remote location like Skinidin is and then there’s a top rated restaurant just a couple of steps down the road…
Haggis
September 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment |
Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish which I liked from the moment I first tasted it. However, the ingredients may sound a bit dubious at first: sheep’s ‘pluck’ (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal’s stomach for approximately an hour.
There you go! Obviously that’s the way they made it in the “days of old”. Today you can buy haggis in the supermarket and it looks like a thick short sausage wrapped in a thin plastic film. There are many different ways to cook haggis and those of you who have been to Scotland might have seen it advertised on the menu with Neeps & Tatties (turnips - a vegetable - and potatoes).
My favorite haggis is as follows: Bake the haggis in a frying pan until it becomes like minced meat (not too long or it will get hard and dry). Make some mashed potatoes and take a baking dish. Put a layer of mash, a layer of haggis and another layer of mash in the dish. Cover the top layer of mash with grated cheese and put in a heated oven for about 15 minutes. Delicious!
Don’t let the ingredients of haggis put you off. If I was to compare its taste I’d say it tastes like spicy minced meat… very, very tasty!
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