Friday, 25 April 2014

Luton Hoo Fam Trip

Last night a few of my work colleagues and myself went to the Luton Hoo for dinner.  We were invited up there by our Account Manager and the Business Development Manager.  We as a company work with Luton Hoo on a very regular basis, and we were delighted to be invited up on a fam trip to experience what Adam's Brasserie has to offer!


Adam's Brasserie


 When we arrived we were show to Adam's Bar - which is quite an intimate bar area with big, plush comfy sofas, a very relaxing, informal setting. We had some drinks while we waited for everyone to arrive.  i had a delicious glass of Sauvignon Blanc - it would have been rude not too!


Even the coasters were pretty!

After our drinks we had a little showround of the courtyard, spa, meeting rooms and a few bedrooms in the flower garden, just stunning, some were bigger than my flat! Then we were taken to the brasserie for dinner.

I have to say on the website, the photos of Adam's Brasserie do not give it justice, it is a beautiful room, very classic, a bit rustic as it is a converted barn with high ceilings and beams, but with a modern twist with beautiful black and white movie pictures hung around the room.  Do you remember that scene in Four Wedding and Funeral where Hugh Grant in perched on a sink in a cupboard, well that was filmed at the Luton Hoo!  Every day is a school day!

The brasserie menu changes 4 times a year.  We met the Execuive Head Chef, a lovely Scottish chap called Kevin Clark, he was so lovely, he spent ages talking to us about the logisitics behind menu choosing and how he will accomodate our guests in any way he can.  Such service!

The current brasserie menu can be found here

Starters on last nights menu were:

Starters
Soup of the day gf
served with warm bread £6.00
Duck and orange terrine gf
with cucumber jelly and rhubarb puree £7.75
Carpaccio of beetroot gf v
with pecorino cheese and radish salad £7.75
Daily changing pan seared scallops
with appropriate garnish £8.95
Ceviche of mackerel gf
with samphire grass and candied lemon zest £7.50
Baked baby camembert v
with breadsticks and tomato chutney £7.95
Pan seared breast of wood pigeon gf
with whisky corn chowder and wilted spinach £7.50
Braised rabbit lollipops gf
with carrot puree, crisps and orange salad £7.50
Minted feta pomegranate and rocket salad gf
finished with shaved fennel and balsamic jelly £7.75

I chose the Scallops of the day, but still had food envy of everyone else.  The pigeon breast looked delightful!  But my scallops were beautiful.  Cooked to perfection, soft in the middle, a little crisp on the outside, served with pea puree and bacon bits. Beautiful!



The main courses on last nights menu were:

Main Course
Market fish of the day
with Chef's garnish £18.00
Pan fried fillet of salmon with citrus dressing gf
roast baby onions, wild mushrooms and crisp mash £17.50
Braised beef cheeks
with celeriac gnocchi and horseradish panna cotta £19.50
Poached and roast chicken wrapped in Parma ham gf
with fondant potato, with chanteney carrots and black olives £17.50
Caramelised white onion and sage risotto v
finished with flaked Wobbly Bottom goat’s cheese and pea shoots £15.50
Twice baked goat’s cheese soufflĂ© v
with char grilled piquilo peppers and rosti potato £15.50
Pulled spiced shoulder of lamb gf
flageolet bean cassoulet with lemon and parsley and garlic mash £19.50
Very slow cooked Dingly Dell Farm pork belly gf
roast pears, sticky red cabbage, olive oil mash and red wine jus £17.50
Moules mariniere
with crusty bread, mayonnaise and thick cut chips £15.50
From the grill
Luton Hoo burger or chicken burger
with bacon and cheese on a toasted brioche bun and chunky chips £12.95
Grilled lamb cutlets gf
with grilled flat mushroom, roasted cherry tomatoes and chunky chips £19.50
Grilled sirloin of Casterbridge beef (225g) gf
with grilled flat mushroom, roasted cherry tomatoes and chunky chips £22.00
Cote de boeuf (325g) gf
with grilled flat mushroom, roasted cherry tomatoes and chunky chips £28.50

I was not disappointed by my choice of the twice baked goats cheese souffle!  I always like to try something different, and were possible something i would not normally cook at home. This was incredible!  So light and fluffy and full of flavour.  But it was so overpowering like goats cheese can sometimes be.  Just perfect.  It came with 3 litle rosti potatoes and a char grilled red pepper serviced with a pesto and rocket garnish.  Highly recommended!



The starters on last nights menu were:

Desserts, Cheese & Coffee
Chocolate Marquise and roasted pistachios
with mascarpone sorbet and chocolate pencils £6.75
Poached peach
with raspberry mousse,  macaroons and vanilla bean ice cream £6.75
Apple crumble parfait
with caramelised apples and pear puree £6.75
Lime cheesecake
mango puree, diced pineapple and home made shortbread £6.75
Caramel panna cotta
caramelised banana, chocolate cream and honeycomb £6.75
Selection of British fine cheeses
with wafer biscuits, celery and spiced chutney £8.50

Cafetiere of fresh ground coffee £3.75
Espresso, Americano, Cappuccino, Cafe Latte Mocha £3.95
Hot Chocolate £3.25
Selection of Teas £3.75
All are served with home made Amaretto shortbread

We were all so full - but we HAD to try some pudding!! Everything looked incredible, and we all ordered something different.  I ordered the Caramel Panna cotta, and well, it was just scrumptious!  Although i have to admit that i only ate half of it, there was so much!  I was so full that i didnt even manage to try one of the home made Amaretto shortbreads that were put on the table! The panna cotta was one of the best i've ever had, so beautifully silky smooth, and the honeycomb was to die for - sweet with a touch of salt, mmmm.



All in all, we had an amazing evening with Melanie and Jayne, thank you so much ladies for your wonderful hospitality.  The service was incredible, polite and prompt. Lovely to know what the Hoo can offer, and we can make menu suggestions to our guests.

Have you ever dined at the Hoo before?  What were your thoughts?

Jx

#lutonhoo

Saturday, 12 April 2014

Protein World - The Slender Blend

I'm not proud to admit I've put on a few lbs since my wedding nearly 2 years ago... This makes me sad, but I've had fun doing it :) being comfortable with your husband is the best!

However, enough is enough and things must change! I've tried nearly every diet known to man! But we all know as we get older weigh gets harder to shift. I did really well just before the wedding on slim fast- I know I know I can hear you all shouting about how bad it is for you and how full of sugar it is but naively I didn't know.

After looking on the internet at meal replacement shakes I stumbled across Protein World. Which are completely different to slim fast in the fact they are low in sugar and carbs but high in protein and have lots of other wonderful ingredients including whey protein, raspberry kertone and green tea all aid to minimise hunger pangs and aid weightloss. 

The website is so user friendly and the products looked pretty - what was I waiting for? So I ordered! 


I ordered the slender blend in vanilla as Protein World suggest blending with fruit or veg and I thought vanilla would be the best to go for. It also comes in chocolate or strawberry. 

I personally am replacing my breakfast and dinner with a shake and eating a healthy balanced lunch. 

I've only had two shakes, I made the breakfast shake blended with banana, oats and almond milk. 



Then my second shake was strawberries, mint and Almond milk. They are so thick and delicious and I didn't feel deprived at all. I was actually looking forward to the next shake! 

Looking forward to breakfast tomorrow - going to try out a protein world recipe:


So wish me luck on my weight loss journey, I hope I keep it up. Here's to a healthier and slimmer me! Hopefully in time for my trip to Tenerife!! 5 months to go - is 2 stone do able? What do you all recommend for weightloss? Tips and pointers welcome! 

Jx


Nivea - my daily essentials

I've been using Nivea in some way for as long as I can remember. But I thought it was time that I blogged about my favourite daily essentials. 


I'm obsessed with their lipbalms and have blogged about the lip butter in raspberry previously. They are so smooth and so lovely. I suffer with dry lips and honestly apart from Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream these are amazing. The Pearly Shine is my absolute favourite though. Currently I have about 5 of them - in my bag, my desk, my makeup drawers, in my living room... You get the picture! I love it - whenever I'm not coordinating my lippie to my outfit I use this. And have done since I was about 19! 


I also religiously use the Nivea Soft body cream. It makes my elephant elbows so soft and smooth. It's amazing as a hand cream and rubs in really well so aren't sticky for too long and it smells delightful. 

With regards to skin care, I use the Daily Essentials 2 in 1 cleanser. It literally melts the makeup off my skin. I apply with my fingers and then use a warm wash cloth to remove the residue andy skin feels so soft after and spotlessly clean. 


If I've been a bit eye make heavy and I can't quite get it all off with the cleanser, Niveas Daily Essentials Double Effect eye makeup remover is the one. It's uber gentle on the delicate eye area due to the 2 liquid formula. You give it a good shake to mix the 2 liquids together and press the cotton wool on the eye area and sweep off - don't rub! And any remains come off easily. So refreshing! 


Since turning 30 I've started to worry about wrinkles, lines and generally looking older, so about 10 weeks ago I invested in the Q10 range. Eye cream, serum and Day and Night creams.



 I've saved this review until now as I wanted to give a fair evaluation on the products. 


The Q10 anti wrinkle eye cream is great. I used it religiously and I can honestly say that it has reduced the dark under eye circles I have. I don't know if this product is a miracle cream but I'm sure it's helped my crows feet too! I love it and use it every day! It's very delicate hardly scented and doesn't sting. I will continue to use this product. 


Now I have mixed emotions about this product. The Q10 skin refining serum. It is definitely silky in texture and feels lovely on my skin- but is that as far as it goes? I use it in the morning after my eye cream and before my day cream. Honestly it doesn't "feel" like it would do much - however perhaps it's a combo of all the products that have helped the appearance of my lines...

The Q10 day cream with SPF 15 is fantastic! Not only does it feel like it is doing something it has an SPF well done nivea for that, and it sinks in well, isn't greasy and makes for the perfect base for makeup. I love it and will now make this my everyday moisturiser ( unless I try out the new nivea cream with argan oil!) I have normal skin and I'm not oily or greasy or dry come the end of the day. Perfect. 


Now the last product, the Q10 anti wrinkle night cream is my favourite! I can honestly say that it is a great product. I love that it's quite thick and nourishing. Now this one does leave you shiny!! However once you wake up - my skin has never felt so smooth and plump! All that as well as the lovely nivea scent. I look less tied and my skin seems to have life in it - I'm buying this forever! 

What is your favourite Nivea product? What do you recommend?

Jx

This is my furry baby Molly, she was "helping" while I was trying to take my photos of the products!