Wonderful Weekends

Well, my birthday celebrations began a little early this year and mainly revolved around food!  So often I get to the end of the weekend feeling a bit dissatisfied with what I've achieved - or not!  Not this time, as my weekend was full of the things I like doing the best; some me time with a bit of pampering, dinner with friends, a class at the gym, a walk in the countryside followed by the BEST sunday roast I've had in a long, long time and finished off with drinks with friends that I haven't seen for aaaages!

Here's a few snapshots (mainly of the food!)

Beautiful foliage and colours en-route to the hairdresser...

Baked Camembert and crudites (20 mins in hot oven. Done.)

Blackberry ice-cream cake.  I'm not a pudding kind of gal - either eating or making but when I saw this, the colours were so beautiful and it was so simple, even I could manage it.  Here's how:

You'll need.
100g of almond and chocolate biscotti
200g blackberries
1litre of good quality vanilla ice-cream
40g butter
23" springform cake tin

Let the ice-cream soften while you make the base.  Put the biscotti in the blender until they resemble fine crumbs.  Melt 40g butter and mix with crumbs before patting into a 23" springform cake tin.  Chill for ten minutes.

Lightly smash the blackberries (reserve some for decorating) with the back of a fork until you have a beautiful black puree.  Fold through the soft ice-cream and place on biscuit base.  Place in freezer for approximately five hours or overnight.

There are a myriad of fruits you could do this with, from summer berries through to pomegranates and blueberries.  I loved the colours of the blackberries however, a wonderful nod to autumn.

Blackberries were obviously a theme this weekend...after eating the best roast  (here) that I've had for some time, I finished off with a dessert that I haven't eaten since I was about ten years old! Baked Alaska.It was heaven on a plate.  Crisp hot meringue on the outside, gooey soft meringue on the inside, the cold ice-cream making it a taste and texture dream, and then the blackberry and fruit topping, just tart enough to off-set the sweetness of the other ingredients.  If you live in London, The Mulberry should be on your hit list.  It's about a 40 minute drive away, just outside the beautiful village of Chiddingfold.  The staff are helpful and knowledgeable, it has a small garden which we enjoyed with the last of the autumnal sunshine and a glass of wine; but most importantly, the food was amazing.  I've had so many roast dinners that have disappointed.  Not so at the Mulberry Inn.  The lamb was tender and cooked to pefection, pink in the middle and meltingly aromatic. All the vegetables were just the right side of al-dente and there is a good wine list with a range of prices for different budgets.  Make that booking. Now.

Cheers!

Here's hoping your weekend was as full of fun and friends as mine! x