Cookbook Challenge 2013 - Week 21

As I said at the end of my last post I was off on holiday this week and as suspected I did very little cooking, I don’t think heating things on a camping stove really counts (though they were things I’d taken from the freezer and had actually cooked initially…nope, didn’t think I’d get away with that!). It was a very good week for food and drink, as it turns out – we visited the Black Sheep Brewery, Theakston’s Brewery, Copper Dragon Brewery, and the Wensleydale Creamery so a diet of beer and cheese was inevitable really (though we did bring the majority of the cheese home with us, as we may have overindulged slightly during the cheese tasting). At times I did wonder about my suitability for the whole camping experience, namely when I swanned off down the campsite in my Joules wellingtons, with my Cath Kidston vanity case clung over my shoulder…
To bridge the gap between camping and our weekend in the city we called in to Betty’s at Ilkley on the way past for a spot of lunch. After a round of salmon sandwiches and a visit from the cake trolley we were just about transformed and felt ready for civilization. 

I think my big revelation came when we hit Leeds at the end of the week and during the obligatory curry night (at Aagrah on Harrogate Road) we had a mixed tandoori grill which, unbeknownst to me, contained liver – but rather surprisingly I really enjoyed it. I’ve never been a fan of liver in the past, like a lot of people, but it wasn’t overpowering and clearly it was cooked to perfection as the texture was not that of rubber. That night I also sampled a lightly spiced seabass fillet, and a monkfish curry that may have been a little on the spicy side, but the complimentary glass of wine soon sorted that out (seriously, the nicest waiters in there – the wine was slightly delayed in arriving so it was on the house…I don’t think it had anything to do with Barbara glaring at them at all!).

 

Our second stop in Leeds was for lunch the following day when we headed to the Corn Exchange, so we sat there and watched the diners in Anthony’s Restaurant while tucking into our gourmet hotdogs in Primo’s. But I have to say they were extremely good, exactly what we needed to after the heavy night before – the people of Adel sure can hold their liquor!
 

That night we headed to a Mexican restaurant in the new Trinity development, Cielo Blanco. We arrived fairly late but were pleased to see that the place was still packed and having been told there’d be a twenty minute wait we were pleasantly surprised to be ushered to our table before we’d even had chance to order a drink at the bar. We decided to go for a tapas-style selection of the street food dishes, so we feasted on quesadillas, tacos, tostados, and stuffed jalapenos. It was a really relaxed evening and the food was truly delicious – I’m glad I did some research before heading up North! 

After a day watching the cricket in a Headingley pub garden, just a stone’s throw from the live action, we were taken for a wonderful meal at Divinio, an Italian restaurant in Adel. The asparagus starter jumped out at me straight away as I’ve not yet had any of this season’s bounty (stupid weather delaying my favourite vegetable!), and then in a shock twist I chose the pan-fried calf’s liver and a side of minted peas – oh my goodness this was good, did anyone know that liver was this good?! I may have been totally bowled over by this dish (I’m sure if my husband hears the word liver one more time, well I imagine he may ‘swing for me’).

Next week is going to seem really dull now…

Recipe Count: 66
New Target: 104