Langoustines, Gin and More Chocolate in Fife - Part Two

After our feast of chocolate at the Pittenweem Chocolate Company, it was er...time for lunch!  We headed just along the coast to St Monans, one of the quieter East Neuk villages, well it used to be quieter but it seems to be emerging from it's sleepy image and starting to challenge the tourist packed Crail, Anstruther and Pittenweem.  The focus of our visit and lunch was the East Pier Smokehouse.


I had been to the East Pier Smokehouse about four years ago when my Mum and I bought some smoked langoustines, at that time there was only the shop and it was pretty basic, however things have changed and the East Pier Smokehouse now boasts it's own restaurant as well as selling seafood to take away.


I think you will agree that the views from the restaurant are absolutely stunning and Claire from Foodie Quine and I were treated to an absolute feast, starting with a rich and creamy courgette and goats cheese soup and a box of smoked langoustines, the meat in Scottish seafood is really sweet which  is down to the cold water around our shores!  We also tried the smoked salmon and cranberry Quiche with a turmeric pastry, which was the special of the day, very good indeed.


This was followed by the arrival of a range of the dishes that are served at the East Pier Smokehouse, lobster, crab cakes, salad and smoked salmon all served in cardboard boxes, it's a bit like going for a picnic on the deck of a ship!  All of the seafood was totally delicious and next time I'm in Fife, I'll be making a reservation for an evening meal.


We were quite taken aback when owner, James Robb, opened the door of he smokehouse and we saw just how small it was and really just a cupboard in the wall, but the smell of the cold smoked salmon was incredibly enticing.  It's well worth a visit to the East Pier Smokehouse, but get there early for lunch as you can't book.

Claire and I were now completely stuffed, as we jumped back into our luxury mini-bus, complete with water bottle holders, and were ably driven by Andy through St Andrews and on to the Eden Mill distillery and brewery at Guardbridge.



The Eden Mill is Scotland's only distillery and brewery on a single site, based on the site of a former Haig distillery, it produces award-winning beer and gin as well as small batch single malt whisky.


We started with a taste of a new Chilli Ginger Porter which Eden Mill expect to have on sale for Christmas.  I'll certainly be looking for a few bottles of this brew in my stocking, it was smooth, not bitter at all, but with a lovely warm kick.


We then had a tour of the brewery and distillery with Kathryn Baker, where we learned about the gin basket which holds the botanicals during distilling, and saw the private casks of whisky, one signed by a former First Minister of Scotland. We then moved on to our task for the day; Gin and Chocolate matching, it was a hard job, but someone  had to do it!


Eden Mill have five different types of gin and the chocolates we tasted with the matched gin came from Iain Burnett, The Highland Chocolatier who uses a unique single origin cocoa from the volcanic Island of Sao Tome. This intense cocoa is carefully selected for its exceptional range of fruity aromatic and spicy characteristics and painstakingly matched with unblended fresh Scottish cream from a particular herd of cows in Perthshire.

Original Eden Gin - the interaction between Seabucktorn berries, lemon balm, and bitter citrus results in a light yet complex spirit.  The Eden Gin is classic, crisp, refershing heavily citrus flavoured gin (and my favourite)
This was paired with White Lime and hint of Chilli Velvet Truffle  "Fresh notes of the Lime and sharp citrus of the gin are well matched, with the subtle heat of the cayenne highlighting a similar dryness in the Eden."  Gorgeous combination, the chocolate seemed to bring out the gin flavour and vice versa, suddenly I'm convinced that matching chocolate and gin is a good idea.

Hop Gin - A logical progression from brewing into distilling, using Galaxy hops to craft this first gin, This unique creation has a zesty freshness, and slight bitterness on the finish.  The unusual colouring is as result of he hops, and persists once tonic is added. I quite liked the Hop Gin, although it is an acquired taste and I think would be good with something like ginger ale.  This gin was paired with a Blonde White Langue de Chat "the simplicity of the creamy Madagascan vanilla which let's all the fruity flavours of he gin take centre stage"  I didn't think the white chocolate added much to the gin and felt that the gin overpowered the chocolate.

Love Gin - Bringing together an outstanding blend of local botanicals, Love Gin is also infused with rose petals and whole hibiscus flowers to give it a subtle pink colour.  Rhubarb root and raspberry leaf ensure a delicate sweet finish. This is one of the most popular of the Eden Mill gins, it is very smooth without the 'edge' that I associate with gin.  Paired with a White Raspberry and heather honey Velvet Truffle "an excellent match of both sweet fruit and Madagascan vanilla in the white chocolate play along with the summer fruits and even the honey doesn't dissipate the sweetness of this gin"  The chocolate was lush, but I found the overall effect of the sweeter gin and the sweet chocolate just a bit much for my palate, the honey seemed to dominate the after-taste.

Oak Gin - matured in oak-aged beer casks, this gin carries hints of vanilla and toasted caramel.  With a warmth and spice reminiscent of whisky, this gin can easily be enjoyed neat. Paired with Ginger Velvet Truffle "the warm ginger is reminiscent of the warm spices of the gin and its gentle oak woodiness is as subtle as the oak notes which follow at the end of the dark Sao Tome chocolate."  This combination certainly delivered on the warm flavours.

Golf Gin - flavoured with hickory (reminiscent of the hickory shafted golf clubs made by the St Andrews Golf Company) this gin is described as a modern classic with notes of sweet lemongrass with a burst of mild pepperiness, strong hints of lime, coriander and aromatic spice.
We had two different chocolates to try with the Golf Gin, Garden Mint Velvet Truffle, what a chocolate, it tasted just like fresh mint, I've never experienced anything like this in a chocolate and I would definitely recommend it.  Tasted with the Golf Gin the story is that "this fresh light herb is the perfect segue to the aromatic gin in a ply of pepper and menthol", personally, much though I loved the chocolate, I felt that the strong mint flavour overwhelmed the gin.
The second chocolate was a Lemongrass and hint of Lime Velvet Praline "a strong and heavy introduction to the grass and spices of the Golf"  oh yes, now this was more like it.  Again the freshness of the lemongrass was outstanding but, for me, a better compliment to the gin, of course lemon and lime are very much a traditional match for gin.


The truffles had the most incredible intense flavours, a fresh and fruity explosion in your mouth,  they went remarkably well with the different gins they had been matched to, something I wouldn't have imagined.


The Visitor Centre is well laid out with plenty of space for large groups and these amazing stained glass windows. You can drop in, but if you'd like to have a tour and tasting it's worth booking ahead.

BREWERY TOUR - £7.50 per person (£5 for students/concessions) - 7 days a week - 11am, 1pm, 3pm & 5pm
GIN EXPERIENCE - £10 per person (£7.50 for students/concessions) - 7 days a week - 12pm, 2pm & 4pm
Subject to availability

Chillies and Chocolate in Fife - Part One

Coming in Part Three - Courses for Cooks

Disclaimer: I was the guest of Welcome to Fife and I'd like to thank them and the host organisations  who made this a truly memorable trip.

Labels: crab, East Pier Smokehouse, Eden Mill, Foodie Quine, Gin, Langoustine, lobster, quiche, Seafood, smoked salmon, St Andrews, St Monans, The Highland Chocolatier, Velvet Truffles, Welcome to Fife

posted by Janice @ 19:38 12 Comments

Smoked Trout and Scrambled Eggs- Fish, Feed our Future

Do you like to have a special breakfast or brunch at the weekend?  On Sundays we usually have bacon on a roll with our sauce of choice, it's not very exciting but a change from the Bircher Muesli we eat the rest of the time.

We recently had to be out of our house for the weekend and stayed with a friend, so I thought that I would make Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Trout as a special treat for us all.   If you know how to make scrambled eggs you won't need a recipe for this dish, just add in the finely chopped Smoked Trout when the eggs start to clump and once cooked serve on toast.

However, if you would prefer to follow a recipe then just follow the Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Eggs recipe on the Fish is the Dish website.


Farmed Smoked Salmon and Smoked Trout are no longer the luxury items they used to be and if you look for the special offers they can be really reasonable.  I bought this pack of Smoked Trout and the pack of Gravadlax I used in the Gravadlax Potato Salad for £8.00.

Health experts recommend, that to  reduce the risks of heart attacks and strokes, we should eat two portions of fish every week, one of which should be an oil-rich fish such as sardines, mackerel, herring, fresh tuna, trout or salmon.

Labels: eggs, fish, Fish is the Dish, Scrambled Eggs, smoked salmon, smoked trout

posted by Janice @ 16:07 2 Comments

St Patrick's Day treat

It's St Patrick's Day on17th of March, and this year it falls on a Sunday, so I expect more people than usual will be celebrating this popular Irish Saint's day with a bit of feasting and partying.

What better way to celebrate than with some lovely Irish produce, like this Burren Smokehouse, Cold Smoked Organic Salmon with Whiskey, Honey and Fennel? The Burren Smokehouse was first established in 1989 by Birgitta and Peter Curtin. They researched the smoking traditions in Ireland and in Sweden and the idea of the Smokehouse was born.

I served the smoked salmon for lunch with salad and some Bessy Beck Smoked Trout pate and some lovely Lakeland Walnut and Treacle Loaf and  Rye bread with Figs and Walnuts  that I bought from More? The Artisan Bakery at the Marmalade Awards.  The salmon was delicious, smoked salmon is one of my favourite things to eat and I have tasted a LOT of different kinds.  I would thoroughly recommend this organic salmon which won the 2 star Gold Award at the Great Taste Awards 2010 and picked up three other awards at the same show.  It had just enough smoky flavour, a little sweetness from the Whiskey and honey and just a hint of the aniseed flavour of the fennel.

Bessy Beck Smoked Trout Pate from Cumbria

Bread from More? Artisan Bakery

Labels: Burren Smokehouse, Ireland, Irish foods, marmalade awards, smoked salmon, St Patrick's Day, Trout Pate

posted by Janice @ 09:00 5 Comments

Handpicked Smoked Salmon and a Club Chocolat Francais Giveaway

NOT my Wartime Kitchen, but the other one, full of tempting treats and deliciousness!


The first time I tasted smoked salmon was at my Great Aunt and Uncle's home in West Kingsdown in Kent.  We used to go down there at Easter and go on exciting trips into London!  I must have been about 7 years old and Aunty Phyllis made us smoked salmon sandwiches, she bought end pieces which were not so expensive, but I was so impressed (a very early foodie!) and loved the smoky saltiness of this delicate fish.
Smoked Salmon is not such a luxury  now with more farmed salmon but it often disappoints being wet or greasy.  Not so the MacGilvray Finest Smoked Salmon sent to me by The Handpicked Food 
Store. Here is what MacGilvrays say about their smoked salmon:

"All of our smoked salmon is sourced by fine food purveyors MacGilvray from the cold clear waters of the Scottish West Highlands.  It has been dry cured and oak-smoked in traditional brick built kilns and we believe it to be the finest available."

The salmon was firm, not too finely cut and just melted in your mouth.  The smoke was subtle and didn't overpower the flavour of the fish.  In fact, it was just how I remember that first taste of delicious smoked salmon in the 1960s!  The Handpicked Food Store is a new venture from the people who bring you well-established The Handpicked Collection  both are well worth a visit for gift shopping. 

Club Chocolat Francais Autumn Collection and a Giveaway

I am feeling really spoiled, first smoked salmon and now delicious french chocolates.  I've reviewed Club Chocolat Francais before and I have to say that this collection is even better than the last.  There are some stunning flavours enrobed in the very best dark, milk and white chocolate.




This was my absolute favourite from this selection it's the 'Citron Coriandre' and it absolutely bursts onto your tongue with an incredible lemon and spice taste that I've never encountered in a chocolate before.  I also loved the Petales Framboise, again the intensity and freshness of the fruit flavours are really not like anything you get in a standard box of chocs.



Club Chocolat Français comes is a family business, established 20 years ago in Southwest France, in the country side. Their workshops are surrounded by orchards. These orchards provide the plums and hazelnuts  used for the chocolate creations.


If you love Gourmet chocolate, have a look at the Club Chocolat Francais chocolate club, each month you get 34 luxury handmade chocolates delivered to your door  - mmm heaven!

GIVEAWAY

I have three full size boxes of Club Chocolat Chocolates to giveaway to three lucky readers.  Just follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget.
This competition is open to readers in the UK and Europe only as Club Chocolat Francais chocolates are handmade using the finest ingredients with no artificial preservatives added. The high quality of our products makes speedy delivery a necessity.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Labels: bagel, chocolate, Club Chocolat Francais, cream cheese, giveaway, Rafflecopter, smoked salmon, The Handpicked Collection, The Handpicked Foodstore, win

posted by Janice @ 12:12 164 Comments

Smoked Salmon and Fennel Salad

The one part of Christmas Lunch which always taxes my brain is 'The Starter'.  This year I had the Smoked Salmon from the Forman and Field hamper that I won.  So looked for something interesting to do with it.  I came on this recipe on AllRecipes.co.uk which seemed to fit the bill. 

I addeed a few leaves of Rocket but otherwise it is as the recipe and the fennel was a delicious fresh and crunchy counterpoint to the rich smoky salmon.   I would certainly reccommend this either as a starter a salad or made into canapes.

Labels: Fennel, salad, smoked salmon

posted by Janice @ 14:44 1 Comments

Forman and Field Hamper

Labels: Crumbs, Forman and Field, hamper, prizes, smoked salmon, Turkey

posted by Janice @ 18:23 15 Comments

Foccacia con Olive and Coronation Chicken

I made this Foccacia with Olives on Sunday.  It comes from a lovely bread book  by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno, that I've had for a while.

Labels: Bread, Chicken, Hairy Bikers, salad, smoked salmon

posted by Janice @ 20:14 10 Comments