American Style Meatball Arrabiata Recipe With Jack Daniels Barbecue Sauce

Two Classics- Italy Meets Tennessee 

American Style Meatball Arrabiata

With Jack Daniel's Limited Edition Barbecue Sauce With Extra Hot Habanero 

Having recently received a couple of bottles of Jack Daniel's Limited Edition Barbecue sauces it only seemed natural to come up with some ideas for winter recipes for the blog. We've concentrated recently more towards local restaurant reviews but we also love creating our own dishes.

With a recent bout of snow to contend with the sauce was definitely primed to create a few 'winter-warmers' with it's rich smokey taste coupled together with an intense Habanero chili kick so I decided on creating a very simple American inspired take on the classic Arrabiata sauce. 

Jack Daniel's Barbecue Sauce with Extra Hot Habanero makes a great American-style Meatball Arrabiata

The Best American Ales In Nottingham- Junkyard

Uncovering a Hidden Gem for American Ales and Food

You may not have seen Junkyard Bar, Nottingham on your travels but once you know where it is you're likely to want to go back repeatedly for some hearty American food and an awesome selection of American Beers. With the emergence of Missoula, Jim's Smokehouse and with established classics like Soulville Steakhouse still vying for your hard earned it's refreshing to see that Junkyard offers something more for beer aficionados as opposed to just targeting food lovers.

Fancy an American Ale? Junyard, Nottingham Beer Menu

Junyard's location at the top of the little known Bridlesmith Walk which cuts up from pretty much beside the British Heart Foundation shop on Bridlesmith gate a few doors up from Waterstone's may mean that many won't meander past as part of a regular shopping trip but the location adds a feeling of exclusivity to the bar.

A busy bar at Junkyard during Christmas Party season in Nottingham

To us the best bit about Junkyard is there beers. A large selection to suit most drinkers' palates. Having tried a selection from light, easy drinking house beers to heavy duty Imperial Stouts and Porters Junkyard offers a selection uncomparable to anywhere else we've come across. Having tasted enough British IPA's to conclude they pretty much all taste soapy it's reassuring to taste a nice black IPA from the USA which really adds a different dimension

Rasputin Imperial Stout at Junkyard

What about the food? We popped in on Christmas Eve for a quick drink and bite to eat on the way home and opted for their Charcuterie selection and Mac and Cheese with Arrabiata sauce. Together this worked as a nice lunch although the Mac and Cheese Balls with Arrabiata sauce were the real highlight with a lovely spicy sauce with enough kick to make us want some more.

Charcuterie Selection with Mac and Cheese with an Arrabiata Sauce

Review: Dinner at the Travellers Rest, Nottingham

Saturday Night Out with the Family at the Travellers Rest Nottingham.

Every December we usually head out for a family meal to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday although this year we've had to bring it forward due to other commitments for us all throughout December. Her choice this year was the pretty local option of the Travellers Rest, on Mapperley Plains which serves hearty pub-grub with a mixed selection to aim to satisfy everyone’s palate.  

Part of the Chef and Brewer group, the Travellers Rest has long been a regular choice for us when eating out due to being around a 10 minute drive from home. It’s a 18th century former coaching house with stunning views over Mapperley Plains and down towards Lambley in summer. It's a rustic venue with exposed oak beams, an open plan pub running through into the dining area and some log fires to sit beside on a cold winter’s night

We’ve been visiting the Travellers Rest for years although we’ve had a rather tempestuous relationship with the pub. In reality it was a gastro-pub before anyone even thought of the word. Its location is well out of the way of the populated areas of Arnold and Mapperley yet a short drive away meaning unfortunately there’s always going to have to be a designated driver amongst the party.

Starters

We all went for various different things for starters but there were visually two real standouts. Baked Camembert and the Butchers Platter.

The Butcher's Platter at the Travellers Rest, Nottingham

The Baked Camembert (£8.29) featured a whole gooey, baked camembert cheese with an accompaniment of dough sticks, lovely fresh chunky bread and a little addition of some ale chutney to add a sourness to the mix. Visually very enticing and served on a large wooden block. The only downside we found was that you needed half a bloomer which always seems the case with starters and Hallam's- There's never enough bread! (With our appetites it won't ruin a main course!)

Even more appealing on the eye and lips was the Butcher’s Platter. Featuring a selection of the best you’d expect to find on a land based menu. Some nice plump sausages, chicken fillets in a spicy crumb, farmhouse pate, and some tender hoisin duck fillet. With some toasted thick doorstep bread and dough sticks. (£10.99)

The Baked Camembert Platter needed more bread

With the appearance of our big sharing platters it almost put the rest of our starters to shame. When compared to the individual pate starter which only consisted of a small part of the sharing platter The Farmhouse Pate (£4.99) represented very poor value when compared to the butchers platter and even came out with bread which barely classed as toasted.

Main Meals at the Travellers Rest

For our main meals we all went for something different across the menu.

The ½ honey and lemon chicken (£10.49) was lovely and moist with a decent sized portion. (Far better than when we had similar at Bill’s). The honey and chipotle chilli sauce added a little zing, whilst the mix of white and wild rice was well cooked and fluffy. 

Honey and Lemon 1/2 Roast Chicken 

Having never tried Wagyu (Japanese Cow) Beef before we were intrigued to taste what it’s all about and the Wagyu Burger (£13.49) came looking a good size with our favourite chips- Sweet potato.  The meat itself was dense and hearty although which it tasted exceptionally good it served as heavy going when coupled with some dry prosciutto ham on top. The dryness of the burger definitely made it hard going for such a premium dish

Wagyu Burger with sweet potato chips, ale chutney and truffle mayonaise

Dad was perfectly happy with his “Whale” and Chips. The Hand-battered Cod and Chips (£9.99) is a classic my dad shoots for again and again. It’s hard to go wrong and for a man for whom a good meal is a big meal, dad was perfectly happy.

"Whale" and Chips as dad calls it.

Mum loves her meat of the feathered variety and has a sweet tooth so opted for the Pan-Fried Duck in Cherry Sauce (£13.99) which looked fantastic in the bowl. She had asked the waitress for it pink upon ordering but it came out more medium cooked than had requested. Despite this she did feel it was a fantastic meal and loved the black cherry and red wine sauce. 

Pan-Fried Duck in Cherry Sauce (£13.99)

My option was the Steak Burger with Pulled Pork (£10.99) in a lovely soft brioche bun. Personally my burger was a real let-down. The steak burger was ok but the pulled-pork topping was very much on the dry side and wasn’t falling to pieces easily like you’d expect from some tender slow-cooked pork. The menu stated it would be sticky barbecue and ale pulled-pork but instead I just got some dry pork with some barbecue sauce on the side.

To add to my disappointment my chips were also somewhat undercooked with hard sections to them. I would expect restaurant chips to be nice and fluffy in the middle with a lovely crisp outer and whilst some of the chips made this grade, as a texture eater I felt they really detracted from the meal. I certainly wouldn’t recommend the dish personally if it’s usually cooked how it was for me.   

Steak Burger with Pulled Pork and Chips

Our final choice for main meal at the Travellers Rest was the Steak and Ale Pie (£9.99) with prime steak in shortcrust pastry and some Bateman’s Ale gravy. Instead of mashed potato Bro opted for chips but he was made than happy with his choice of the pie 

Desserts

As a family we all have very sweet teeth and love sugar so if we have the option of dessert there's no question on whether we're going to have it or not. 

The most enticing looks wise of our desserts selection was the the Oreo Cookie Sandwich (£5.49) which consisted of a chocolate biscuit base and top, with a thick vanilla cream filling which made it definitely a Liam dessert. Sweet and packed full of cream.  

The Oreo Cookie Sandwich

My personal choice was a slightly bland tasting Creme Brulee (£4.99) which while not packing the sweetness and creaminess I would have usually liked (It was more like custard than cream) It looked fantastic served in a teacup but it seemed that presentation was more a priority than flavour especially with the added obscenely tiny shortbread biscuits.

We also sampled the Baked Lemon Cheesecake which was light and easy to eat with more than a hint of lemon. (£4.99)

Baked Lemon Cheesecake

The sorbet selection also came in a lovely little mug with a beautiful zing.

The Sorbet Selection 

Have you been to the Travellers Rest, Nottingham? What did you think?

Making Cocktails At Coco Lounge, Nottingham

Making Cockatails At Coco Lounge, Nottingham

(This post originally appeared on the Lone Male In The Kitchen Blog August 2013 )

Over the past two weeks Nottingham has been buzzing with a Food and Drink Fortnight where many of our prominent restaurants and bars have been taking part, including many 'Dine for a tenner' options across the city centre.

Whilst looking through the offers available we spotted an advertisement for a cocktail making masterclass at Coco Lounge. Coco Lounge is a Nottingham bar which prides itself on it's cocktail menu so the chance to achieve a lifelong ambition of getting behind the bar and serving drinks just had to be acted upon.

The Lone Male At The Bar- Behind the bar at Coco Lounge Nottingham making a cocktail

Coffee At The Highest Cafe In The United Kingdom

Visiting The UK's highest cafe atop the highest mountain in Wales

The Lone Male On Tour In Snowdonia

Hafod Eryri Cafe at the top of Snowdon

Climbing any mountain is a challenge. It takes some hard work and planning to scale a peak although some of that preparation work can be taken care of when climbing up Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales as there is a fantastic cafe located right near the top of the hill which rises to 1085 metres above sea level (3560 feet) alongside the impressive station which visitors can use to take the easy way to the top.

Croeso i Gymru (Welcome to Wales in Welsh)

Coffee is definitely well earned at the top of Snowdon at the UK's highest cafe.

Earning our coffee at the UK's highest Cafe

We certainly didn't take the easy way up Snowdon on the train and really earned our break on reaching the summit having climbed up from the Snowdon Ranger station on what is a 13km hard walk up to the summit and bank down to the start point at Snowdon Ranger Youth Hostel beside Lyn Cwellyn.

There are a number of well known pathways up Snowdon. Due to their distance they're pretty much all classed as hard mountain walks and shouldn't be started without a level of fitness which will allow a walker to reach the top. Most walks take around 6 hours in total and therefore make for a long day of hiking

The Best Cafe For Cyclists On Lanzarote

Finding The Best Cafe For Cyclists On Lanzarote

A coach recently asked triathlon's famous Brownlee brothers about how they selected the routes of their long training rides and the response was that they configured them related to which particular cafe they fancied going to. Such a free form approach from Olympic athletes seems somewhat refreshing in a world obsessed with mileages and power meters although the simple truth is that cyclists love cake. My recent Lanzarote training trip involved a bit of a tour of the cafes as a result.

Sour Cherry Cake and Chocolate Cake With Coffee At Jonniebakes, Teguise, Lanzarote

As many cyclists and triathletes make their way to Lanzarote for a period of warm weather training or targeting the many events on the island there becomes a need for a good spot to stop off mid-ride (Whether on your own or with a like minded group) for the obligatory cafe stop.

Riding down from the Tabayesco climb through Los Valles and onto Teguise on the LZ 10 on my way back to Costa Teguise I saw the big Jonniebakes.com sign and was just ready for coffee and cake. Jonniebakes has to have arguably one of the best possible locations in terms of attracting cyclists as we head back to our resorts from some of the best cycling climbs on Lanzarote

Jonniebakes Artisan Bakery and Cafe in Teguise is a great stop off for cyclists

If you've spent your morning riding up Tabayesco and over to the Mirador Del Rio you'll have worked up an appetite. In reality many of us cyclists have an insanely sweet tooth yet make up for all those calories by cycling so the opportunity to grab a slice of cake or a nice pastry will never be turned down.

My first visit to Jonniebakes came at the end of a 3 hour long interval session. I'd done all the hard work for the day including interval training up many of the climbs in the North of the island so my body and mind were ready for a stop. At home I don't tend to stop during training rides but today was an exception to my usual rule.

Upon walking into the cafe and bakery there was a small display cabinet featuring a huge selection of cakes, pastries and pasties. From near perfectly shaped donuts to sausage rolls you can tell that the owners are Brits as it feels like a quaint slice of Blighty inside the clinical white of Lanzarote's buildings.

Menu's are showcased on large slate boards as you walk in so you're never going to miss what's on display.

A Cabinet Full Of Delights

Some amazing cakes and bakes at Jonniebakes, Teguise

On my first visit I plumped for an Almond and Marzipan Croissant which was absolutely delicious and a lovely black coffee which was served in one of those American soda glasses which seem so popular right now.

I loved the food and coffee so much I came back the following day and bought my other half with me. She came up to Teguise Market on the bus whilst I had a gentle roll up deliberately early to sit outside with a coffee and Pain Au Chocolat prior to a walk around the market and return for a slice of cake- You could say I'm hooked but I do love a good bakery or cafe and Jonniebakes has to be the best on Lanzarote.


Address and Map

Jonniebakes Artisan Bakery and Cafe

Av Gran Aldea, 76

35539 Teguise

Las Palmas, Spain

The Nuthall Pub and Kitchen Review

What was once a run-down looking pub on the A610 has been transformed into a modern gastro pub specialising in season produce. The Nuthall promises to offer a select menu to satisfy any local food lover and with a friend working just across the road it works as a great place for a catch up after work. Especially with an early evening menu offering exceptional value if ordered before 6:30 pm.

The Nuthall Pub and Kitchen- A table with a view (Of the A610)

 Value For Money Early Evening Menu

Whilst the main evening menu prices are a little on the premium side, the Nuthall offers a reasonably priced early evening menu with one  course for £7.95, two for £10.95 and 3 for £13.95 which represents excellent value and makes the prices very comparable to many more budget establishments locally. Their early bird menu is available for orders up to 6:30 pm and at the time of writing featured a great varied range of options from starters of Pork, Chorizo and Apple Terrine, to Beef and Horseradish Croquettes. Mains including Battered Red Mullet Fillets, as well as Pork and Leek Sausages with Mashed Potatoes. The desserts include Lemon and Ginger Bakewell and a Honey Panna Cota. As you can imagine this is no basic low price menu.