Chicken & Bacon Lasagne; 25th January 2012

This recipe was adapted by Christine from the BBC Good Food Guide, and contained chicken, bacon, red pepper, tomatoes, lasagne with a scrumptious crispy cheese topping, with a side salad. The 3 diners agreed that the meal warranted a mark of 8/10. The author felt a higher mark would have been more accurate, but he was out-voted. He didn't argue in the hope there would be a 'cook off' in the future.

A Plaice for tea tonight; 24th January 2012

A large freshly caught Plaice from the English Channel was presented  to each member of the family tonight by our resident chef, Christine. The wet fish shop, Fruits De Mer, at Broadstairs which claims to have 14 fishing boats supplying it, always supplies top quality fish, and today was no exception.  The fish was pan fried and came with an assortment of vegetables and lightly fried potatoes (although a mixed vegetable rice plater was available to the healthier members of the family). Because of this option the meal gained a mark of 10/10

Spicy Pork with Udon Noodles, 23rd January 2012

An Elissa special was the highlight of the night. Her own receipe contained locally sourced pork, sugar snap peas, baby corn, mushrooms, beansprouts, red pepper, onion, Japanese Udon noodles, all cooked quickly in speciality rice bran oil. A delicious healthy natural food which easily gained a mark of 10/10

A Blast From the Past; Chocolate Cake, 7th March 2011

To celebrate the author's birthday (I think), a speciality 'snowflake' chocolate birthday was created by Christine. It was perfect, but, needed to be larger to accommodate all the candles, 10/10

A Blast From the Past; Paella, 4th May 2011

A Paella dish to rival any other made in Spain was created by Christine by using all fresh products, namely, mussels, langostines, mixed fish, chicken, red peppers, chorizo, paella rice, black pepper, saffron, chicken stock,
The meal was complimented with fresh boccadilo bread, Ali-oli, and white tempranillo wine
A lovely enjoyable authentic meal to have on holiday in Spain, and well worth its 10**/10 mark

"Its just a roast dinner" 22nd January 2012

"Its just a roast dinner" said Christine. An understatement if ever I heard of one.The Sunday evening meal had locally sourced fresh chicken, pork loin, carrots ,broccoli, roasted parsnips & roast potatoes, not forgetting a helping of crackling. All washed down with a glass of cold Adam's ale.
The 2 independent assessors, the author & Elissa were agreed that a mark of 10*/10 was appropriate for, just-a-roast-dinner.

The London Grill, 21st January 2012

On visiting our new London Grill to see a beautiful baby we were met by mine hosts, Emma & Neil.  As well as dining on exquisite varied sandwiches, our chef, Christine was presented with a delightful birthday cake to mark her recent birthday. This was a lovely surprise and rounded off a memorable day. A mark of 10/10 was awarded for originality, quality, and thoughtfulness.

Burger King (yes Burger King) 21st January 2012

Yes, well what can I say, a check of the food outlets at Alicante Airport while waiting for a flight did'nt look promising, the quality/price/delivery times drove us into Burger King. For 6 Euros 90 we sampled the Meal Deal of A Big Whopper, a carton of french fries and beer (Coffee was not on offer).
And guess what?  It was very good. Under the fast-food section of this blog, the service, quality and taste scored 10/10. ( Maybe having the beer influenced the judging!)

Sword fish steak, 18th January 2012

A Sword fish steak with local green beans and plenty of quality (although frozen) French fries, together with a glass (or two) of good Spanish Rioja wine was the perfect pastime at a select Spanish villa with views from the Dining terrace over the Mediterranean and Calpe Ifach rock. It was made more enjoyable with the setting sun still shining warmly on the terrace before disappearing behind the nearby mountains leaving behind a warm orange glow in the sky.  All was cooked to perfection by the resident Senora. The meal gained a very respectable 8/10

A Late Breakfast on 12th January 2012

Dos, Cafe Con Leche & Tosada with tomato was ordered at the Cafe La Casona in Moraira, Spain, by way of a late 2nd breakfast (or was it an early lunch). The cafe is usually quiet at 1130am, is always spotless, with excellent service from the rather dower owner. The coffee was perfect and the chopped tomato with garlic and maybe other spices was really tasty. The experience by the author & his wife qualified for a mark of 8/10 which could have been higher if the owner would only smile.

65th birthday outing

On the 8th January 2012 our chef, Christine enjoyed an alfresco meal of freshly grilled Sole and Salmon steak to celebrate her 65th birthday at a harbour-side restaurant in the port of Calpe, Spain.
It was complemented with the usual chips & salad and a bottle of wine. Altogether a lovely day for a lovely lady; she was quite happy to award the meal 9/10 (it would have scored higher if the Sole hadn't been slightly overcooked) The ambience of the setting close to the Mediterranean takes some beating.

5th January 2012

A gorgeous sweet Italian Shepherd's pie, made with sweet potato, parmesan mash with a side dish of green beans, and well qualified to gain a score of 10/10 (although the sweetness will not be to everyone's taste) Our chef, Christine, adapted the menu from Gino D' Acampo.

This Chickpea surprise was created by Elissa & consists of Chickpea, potato spinach mushrooms in a tomato/curry sauce. A really excellent dish, much enjoyed, well worth a 9/10 score

New Year's Eve Dinner

Chicken Dinner with coconut & Lime & long grain rice. This lovely home made Madras curry easily gained a mark of 9/10