Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts
I love a good Halloween scary night or party and getting in the horror vibe whilst watching scary movies! I have always loved horror films, especially the classics like Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween and now I am an adult I like to think of new ways to celebrate the holiday. This year I got together with my sister to have a double date movie night complete with decorations.
Decorations can be a nightmare at Halloween (see what I did there) and there is always so much in the shops to choose from - which can get expensive. There was only 4 of us for the evening so I thought I would try not to go too over the top whilst also having some quirky things to decorate the room with. Of course spiderwebs complete with fake spiders were a must to drape over lights, tables, mirrors and just about everywhere else it can stick to - although I said not over the top I did get 2 packs of the webs to make sure everywhere was covered!
I managed to find some great things this year that looked a bit different, starting with the glittery Happy Halloween sign from John Lewis. This looks great and can be hung from doors or windows or just propped on tables as part of the decor like I did. Sainsbury's had some great things which is where I got the bloody handprints and light up pumpkin from. These were reasonably prices and just gave that extra horror feeling - the pumpkin also came in a large size perfect for window displays!
Finally, I wanted to add a bit of luxury to the evening and thought what better than a colour coordinated Yankee Candle! Yankee Candle always bring out Halloween collections each year but I went with a Frankincense scent. This scent is actually quite warming with hints of cinnamon but also fresh and fruity undertones too. It is a burnt orange colour and adds that extra touch with an amazing smell to your Halloween evening in front of the telly. If you don't want to buy a candle you could alternatively buy some wax melts and a halloween melter which would look great too!
After decorating the room we put the first Nightmare on Elm Street film on (not exactly a scary film in the 21st century but a classic) ordered some takeaway and enjoyed the atmosphere. For dessert I served Booja Booja Vanilla "nice-cream" made from cashew nuts and some dark chocolate broken on top.
If you are looking for a more low key Halloween evening with friends or family then why not recreate this night with your own decoration and personal touches! Horror inspired food and drink can always be found online and on Pinterest too.
Let me know what you have planned for Halloween xx
This post was sponsored by Ocean Finance as part of their #screamhomes campaign however all opinions are my own.
With floor to ceiling windows and large wooden furniture the open room is ideal for lunches or intimate dinners. On this occasion I chose to visit for Afternoon Tea and see what they had to offer.
Afternoon Tea at The Larder on Goosegate is £14.95 per person and includes a pot of your choice of loose leaf tea served in a china teapot with a china teacup. I chose the Earl Grey with Cornflowers and this was subtle but pleasant to go with the sweet and savoury items. Included on the stand is a selection of homemade sandwiches and cakes. Each person receives an Egg, Cress and Mayonnaise sandwich, a Red Onion Chutney and Cheese sandwich, a Beef and Horseradish sandwich and a Cucumber and Creme Fraiche sandwich. The finger sized crustless sandwiches were delicious and a much welcomed change to the usual ham and mustard.
The middle tier featured Shortcake with Cream and Fresh Strawberries, Elderflower Pound Cake, Treacle Sponge and a Black Forest Gateaux Cupcake. The shortcake also had condensed cream on the top and incorporated in the middle which made this very sweet but delicious, the elderflower cake was lacking in flavouring and a little dry but the treacle sponge was moist and flavoursome. Finally, the black forest cupcake was a moist chocolate cupcake topped with cream, chocolate shavings and a black cherry, in the centre was a cherry jam. This was delicious and a large cake for an afternoon tea selection however the paper case did make it feel a little more cheap (sorry!).
I definitely enjoyed the Afternoon Tea at The Larder on Goosegate and would recommend it for anyone visiting Nottingham. They offer a wonderful range of homemade items and you can tell from the high quality that these are not store bought cakes. The wide range of tea is also a wonderful for those who want to try something different or who may be new to loose leaf teas. I am hoping to also return one evening to try their evening menu and wine selection.
Let me know if you have ever been to The Larder on Goosegate or have anywhere you would like me to visit on The Afternoon Tea Tour! xx
The Larder on Goosegate 1st Floor, 16-22 Goosegate NG1 1FE Tel: (0115) 9500 111
Twitter: LarderGoosegate
A few weeks ago I got in touch with The Treat Kitchen to learn more about who they are and what they do. After emailing backwards and forwards with Jodie, the Marketing Assistant, she invited me to the store to take some pictures and pick up some gifts to feature on the blog and tell you all what I thought!
If you have been into the city centre of Nottingham you will probably have walked past The Treat Kitchen, it is hard to miss and shame on you if you haven't been in or at least stopped in awe at the colourful displays of tastey treats in the windows. The Treat Kitchen is an independent sweet shop which opened in September 2014 after the owners, Jess and Martin Barnett, returned from living in Australia for 3 years following the birth of their son Max. Whilst in Australia Martin worked for the countries largest retail group as confectionary buyer and Jess worked for RMIT University. The Barnett family have two confectionary factories in Nottingham and are passionate about using traditional methods of production such as copper pans and hand crafting sweets using their original recipes.
As a love for sweet treats has been in the family since the 1890's, Martin and Jess felt that there was a gap in the market for a sweet shop selling high quality goods in a modern and attractive setting. If you think of the usual old fashioned sweet shop you picture a wooden looking room full of plastic containers and a man or woman at a till waiting to weigh them out and put them in a paper bag, right? Well, that is the complete opposite of this sweet shop! The Treat Kitchen has huge glass windows, pastel and light wood decor and beautifully displayed jars and pouches of colourful sweets. The walls are white and the shelves are white and this really does make the products stand out! Jess and Martin also wanted to be resourceful and help the environment at the same time as providing amazing treats - this is why all of their products come in pouches, jars and glass milk bottles so when you have finished eating the delicious contents you can reuse the packaging for whatever you like, a pen pot or a makeup brush jar or even for smoothies?! We have all seen the amazing Pinterest boards with re-used glass bottles and jars.
Now you may be thinking that the sweets aren't any different to what you find in your local Sainsbury's? You are mistaken! Every single sweet has been chosen to reflect the enchanting world of confectionary and the theatre that goes along with it. Supporting other local businesses The Treat Kitchen have traditional sweets with a twist. The hard boiled sweets and rock (including Nottingham Rock) is made at the Barnett families factory and all of the Gourmet Fudge is made in-store and comes in a mouthwatering variety of flavours. Fancy some chocolate? Well then why not try the locally made Gourmet Chocolate Pizza's made with the finest Belgian milk, dark and white chocolate? Or how about some hard boiled sweets resembling family favourites by Tilleys Sweets...Lemon Meringue Pie flavour or Banoffee Pie anyone? Making the windows and shelves colourful is made easy by the 36 different flavours of Jelly Beans available in pouches and bottles all with one flavour in - no more half eaten bags as you will like all of the Jelly Beans you buy! Finally, if you don't want to be completely unhealthy or have to watch your sugar intake The Treat Kitchen also stock Stockley's Sugar Free goods which use naturally occurring sugars so there is no compromise on taste! With 300 varieties of different treats you could easily spend all day filling you arms with months, ok weeks, of sweets for you and your family.
I was lucky enough to be given a sample of a few different products they stock including some traditional favourites. I am a big fan of Jelly Beans and as The Treat Kitchen supply The Jelly Bean Factory ones I knew they were going to be good. Raspberry Jam and Cinnamon (my ALL TIME favourite) were in my bag of goodies and they both were so good. I was also lucky to be able to try the Barnett family's Nottingham Rock which although tastey was lacking a little something, with a slight citrus sweet taste I had to keep reminding myself I was eating rock and not a plain hard boiled sweet. The Treat Kitchen have recently launched a range of Radioactive Sours - a delicious hard boiled sweet covered in malic acid which really makes you squirm for about 30 seconds. After the sour taste has gone you are left with a delightful sweet underneath - I received the Watermelon flavour and they were amazing! Sweetshop classics cannot be forgotten even in a modern environment therefore you are still able to buy your pink shrimps, fizzy cola bottles, chewy milk bottles, torpedo's or even aniseed balls. I got a pouch of foam bananas and although I am not a big fan of banana they really were delicious.
Finally, the big ending to this delicious roller coaster ride is the Gourmet Fudge! The Treat Kitchen have 30 flavours in their collection but rotate 12 flavours at a time on their amazing display which is right in front of you as you enter the store - it seriously grabs your attention before anything else. A small taster of Salted Caramel and Raspberry and White Chocolate was in my bag of treats and they were so creamy and moreish that I was disappointed when I had eaten them. The Salted Caramel was creamy but lacking salt however, the Raspberry and White Chocolate flavour was amazing it was the softest fudge I have eaten and truly tasted like I was eating chocolate not a bar of fudge.
Everything in The Treat Kitchen has been thought about down to the last detail and they even do themed ranges for holidays such as Father's Day and Valentines Day. A range of Strawberries and Cream flavoured goods were also on display for Wimbledon!
Thank you to everyone at The Treat Kitchen for gifting me with the lovely sweets - I will definitely be back!
For all of my readers you can get 10% off your online orders when you type in the promotional code 'ELLIE10' at the checkout.
This cannot be used instore but don't worry you will not miss out as the fudge cannot be purchased online so you get the added treat of being able to buy this in person rather than have it delivered.
The Treat Kitchen, 21-23 Wheeler Gate NG1 2NA Tel: (0115) 941 1661
Twitter: TreatKitchen
The Treat Kitchen, 21-23 Wheeler Gate NG1 2NA Tel: (0115) 941 1661
Twitter: TreatKitchen
I received gifts from The Treat Kitchen for review purposes however all views are my own
I know, I know it has been a while but I thought why not come back to blogging with an introduction to my new blog series, Afternoon Tea Tour! My friend and I have been wanting to try loads of afternoon tea delights lately and thought what better way than to blog about them as a tour....with tea and cake!
First up on the tour is Hart's Hotel, an independent hotel bordering the City Centre of Nottingham and The Park Estate. This hotel is still relatively new and was only built around 12-13 years ago which was years after the Hart's Restaurant opened in the old General Hospital on the same site. The restaurant is fine dining but Hart's host their afternoon tea in the Park Bar over in the hotel and it is served between 12pm and 6pm everyday. With the selection changing according to the seasons and Summer just around the corner we thought what better way to start our afternoon tea tour than with new Spring/Summer offerings.
Hart's serve their selection on a three tier stand, specifically designed for two people, that is full on each layer with delicious food. On the bottom layer we had two savoury Cheese and Spring Onion Scones, two Ham and Mustard Sandwhiches, two Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Sandwhiches and two Cucumber Sandwhiches, finger size of course.
I almost forgot to mention that Hart's have a sister bakery named Hambleton Bakery who supply them with fresh baked bread and delicious cakes everyday, the scones for the afternoon tea are baked fresh everyday and the tea has unlimited refills - everything really is fresh and delicious. On sunny days they also serve lunch and afternoon tea in their courtyard and it can be ordered with Prosecco or Champagne for those special occasions!
The second tier of the stand had two Lemon Tarts, two Chocolate Brownies, two Tea Cakes, two Macarons and two Mini-Eton Mess Desserts. The lemon tarts were just lemon enough, the chocolate brownies had a gorgeous coffee note and the Eton Mess desserts were just enough to not feel guilty about afterwards!
Oh wow, finally the third tier - each tier gets a little smaller which is perfect for a mid-afternoon treat too. The last tier had two more Macarons, two Sweet Scones and some fresh berries. On the table was Jam, Butter and Clotted Cream so we could be as decadent as we wanted to be and with a wide range of teas on offer we could easily have sat there until dinner time.
We really enjoyed our afternoon and can't wait to continue the tour! Thank you to all the staff at Hart's! Let me know if there is anywhere you suggest I visit on the Afternoon Tea Tour xx
Afternoon Tea is £21.95 per person however we were treated to 20% off.
The Adams Restaurant is located in the Adams building in the Lace Market area of Nottingham City Centre. It is housed in a stunning building that was previously a factory but is now one of the buildings which New College Nottingham operate in. The restaurant is open Monday - Friday for lunch and coffee and in the evenings on Wednesday and Thursday for dinner. Each week the menu changes according to the seasons and to fit in with any special events such as, St Patricks Day. The menu's range from 3 courses for £15.95 to a 5 course tasting menu for £19.95.
The great thing about Adams restaurant though is that it is ran by students who are currently studying at the college, whether that be doing an NVQ or helping out in-between their studies for their degree. Assisted by a supervising teacher in front of house and also in the kitchen the students aren't completely alone but have the opportunity to experience a real life restaurant whilst studying in the industry. I decided to book for their Vegetarian Themed Evening where the 5 course menu looked simple but sounded delicious.
We had already looked over the menu before we got there (otherwise it would have taken an hour to decide what we want!) and therefore had an idea of what to order. The wine list is varied and there is definitely something for everyone. We chose a lovely bottle of red and enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere before our first course arrived. The restaurant wasn't busy but we had indirectly been made aware of this because of the half price offer they advertised on social media during the day! This was fine by us though as we were in the mood for a quiet evening and fast paced service.
First up was the Amuse Bouche of "Watercress and spring onion soup finished with truffle oil". This was the perfect starter and was full of flavour, accompanied with this was your choice of a white or brown homemade bread roll - again the bread was warm, soft and so tasty! Then came the starter of "Moroccan spiced vegetable kebabs, red onion salad and coriander dressing" this was pleasant but I felt like the kebab was laking in vegetables funnily enough. A really nice spice and dressing but there could have been just a little bit more.
For the third out of five dishes came the intermediate small palette cleanser - "Cucumber and mint sorbet". I can definitely see how this would have been a lovely cleanser before the main course however, there was definitely too much sugar used to make this and therefore it was more like a sweet dessert than a refreshing sorbet. Main course for me was the "Vegetable thai curry, coconut milk, pak choi, jasmine rice and shaved coconut". I was so glad I chose this as my main as the rice was full of flavour the curry was creamy but had a lovely thai spiced taste and the vegetables were cooked to perfection.
Finally, dessert - who can say no to a "Chocolate and hazelnut cheesecake, dark chocolate ice-cream and hazelnut praline"?? After 4 other courses this could have been the perfect finish but unfortunately didn't quite make it. The cheesecake mixture was just plain cheesecake on top of a hazelnut base and topped with a very hard chocolate ganache. I ended up, and from looking around the room so did others, separating each element of the cheesecake as I just couldn't get my fork through the chocolate. The ice-cream was delicious and the praline was lovely but the cheesecake could have been better.
An overall decadent and satisfying meal and I would be happy to return to try another themed taster menu! The waiter we had was obviously quite new but served us so well and was very generous and a great host for the evening. Well done to the team for the night and I would recommend everyone to go and try their lunch or dinner menu!
Adams Restaurant, The Adams Building, Stoney Street NG1 1NG - Tel: (0115) 910 4510
Twitter: @ncn_Adams
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