Gusto, Lytham St Annes - Spring Menu Launch evening

We were recently kindly invited to Gusto in Lytham for the blogger launch of their spring menu, on a decidedly unspring like evening we experienced a lovely dinner of gorgeous Italian food.

Gusto is situated on Dicconson Terrace in the  heart of the town and is in a tastefully converted period property, the decor and ambiance is a relaxed Milanese in style. The restaurant has a lovely bar area were you can enjoy a drink or cocktail before your meal and loads of cosy dining areas all of which are tastefully furnished, The soundtrack is laid back jazz and helps create a warm relaxed environment to enjoy the food and company. We particularly liked the eclectic mix of black and white photography throughout the restaurant.

We experienced the restaurant on a reasonably busy Tuesday evening and would imagine that at weekends you would be best booking to secure the table of your choice.

A lovely wood fired pizza oven was visible in the open kitchen from our table.

As this was a review evening a special menu had been prepared. 

To start the evening a delicious sharing platter - The Grande Board was placed on the table to share.

Featuring creamy goats cheese, smoked provolone and dolcelatte, humus, rocket, nocellara and black olives, sun dried tomatoes, prosciutto, salami sopressa , coppa and rosemary focaccia on an olive olive wood serving platter. A great to start to our evening, may only suggestion of an improvement would be to ditch the hummus and replace with some grassy extra virgin olive oil and some sweet and deep balsamic vinegar, to dip you focaccia in.

Our chosen starters were Gusto Dough petals with Garlic butter, enjoyed by Mr LF and novel twist on the standard garlic bread, my calamari was lovely, light crispy, tasty and not in the least bit chewy and accompanied by a tangy lemon mayonnaise. Our accompanying Garganega Pinot grigio a perfect balance to our choices.

Next up where our mains, a crispy pan fried sea bass for Mr LF, served on a bed of creamed spinach and as a side some crispy rosemary and garlic potatoes Mr LF really enjoyed his fish cooked to perfection and plenty of it, for me Baked Aubergine Milanese, served with rocket salad and a spicy tomato sauce, warning portion size was huge, two great slices of aubergine, soft and creamy aubergine in a crispy breadcrumb, and topped with cheese and slices of tomato. The rocket salad could may be have done with a little balsamic just to cut the cheese in the dish. Very enjoyable but the portion size beat me.

Our Dessert choices were a lovely light yet moist and creamy Tiramisu and a creamy wobbly traditional panna cotta served with balsamic strawberries.

A lovely meal in fine company, Gusto is a small select chain of restaurants who's aim is to make everyday exquisite.

They have a great a la carte menu which you can view here and they have a great value lunch , dinner  and Sunday set menus too. Plus they also have "create your own pizza" for the kiddies (complete with chefs hat).

The website is here, they are also active on Instagram, twitter and facebook too.

We dined on a complementary basis after being invited to give a review, all thoughts, views, opinions are our own. We were not expected to give a positive review.

La Dolce Vita - Italian Inspired Bakes @ Ham and Jam in Preston

Living the good life - La Dolce Vita was our theme for our recent clandestine cake club outing, Italian inspired bakes.

All the flavours of Italy where present in some amazing cakes, we love a good theme and this was one of the best (well for me anyway as I love Italian food).

Our event was kindly hosted by our lovely friends at Ham and Jam in Preston city centre, one of favourite coffee shops when in town. Please check them out if you are visiting Preston they are near the Guild Hall and the Victorian Market, you are sure of a warm welcome, the food is excellent and coffee amazing.....

We got to taste a Lemon, ricotta and polenta cake (gluten free)

A cappuccino cake

A Zucotto cake

A Tiramisu cake

A Neapolitan Cake

And finally a Lemon, Elderflower and marscapone cake

As is the norm we indulged in lots of slices of these wonderful cakes, enjoying chatting about Great British Bake off and all manner of other topics. We were joined by a new member who came to see what we are all about and we look forward to tasting her baking at the next event in a few weeks time. If you fancy joining check out the tab for the South Lancashire CCC above.

Check out our post from our previous visit to Ham and Jam 

Pesto, Appley Bridge - a review

Last weekend we popped over to the cute Lancashire village of Appley Bridge to visit Pesto at the Dicconson Arms, a beautiful marriage of pub meets Italian food and not just any Italian food, piattini no less. Situated just off the M6 junction 27 as you head towards Parbold, its really easy to find.

The decor is classic country house with contemporary Italian touches, I particular liked the chunky Mediterranean pottery and flashes of lime green and orange in the decor. The facilities were lovely. very clean and nicely furnished too.

The staff were warm and friendly and on arrival we were shown to a delightful window side table, furnished with the chunky pottery as previously mentioned. We ordered drinks as we perused the extensive menu, which caters for all. Even though it was fairly early into the lunch service we were soon joined by plenty of other diners.

The ambiance in the restaurant was good, the tables were decadently spaced and unlike a lot of other contemporary styled venues, it wasn't echo prone.                                          

Piatinni for those not in the know is the Italian version of tapas, i.e small plates, well for me that's almost food heaven. Italian food but with the ability to taste anything and everything, so we did just that selecting from across the wide and varied menu. Here's our selection

Bruschetta al salmone affumicato - just enough for two, crunchy bread topped with smooth cream cheese and moist flavourful smoked salmon.

Olive miste - mixed olives, tasty and more than adequate, but not the best olives I have every eaten.

Selezione di pane Italiano - bread basket of various breads, including sun dried tomato, ciabiatta. On the menu this is supposed come with oil and vinegar, ours didn't arrive, minor point and frankly we didn't notice until comparing the menu and what we had ordered for this post. Sure if we had mentioned it would have arrived pronto.

Insalata Toscana -  one of the stand out dishes, mixed salad with beans, avocado, tuna and red onion. Perfectly seasoned and with a delicious dressing, just enough to enhance and not drown the salad.

 Calamari fritti - a personal favourite, lightly battered squid rings with a punchy dip

Gamberoni all’ aglio e peperoncino - tasty king prawns with hints of garlic and chilli

Polpette di manzo - Spicy meatballs, served with a tasty tomato sauce, enough spicing to keep them interesting yet not blow your head off.

Pizzetta rustica - Cute little baby pizza, topped with goats cheese and rocket. Very tasty, just wished we had ordered two. Nice crust on the pizza

Fettuccine alla carbonara - an Italian classic, pancetta was crispy and the sauce silky, pasta al dente. Very nice would order again.

Arancini - classic milanese risotto (saffron) balls in a crispy crumb, stuffed with melted mozarella. I was recommended by a friend who eats regularly at the Trafford Centre Pesto, they were nice but thought they lacked a dip or sauce to eat them with.

Followed by desserts to share

Affogato - two balls of ice cream, we chose chocolate and vanilla, topped with a hot shot of espresso, delicious and very refreshing,  I love affogato and the combination of coffee with chocolate was sublime.

Tiramisu - served in a cute little pot, we were warned the portion were small, but we didn't think they were at all, just the perfect size. Lovely light sponge, creamy filling and more coffee flavour.

We really enjoyed our lunch and were impressed with the standard of food , we noted that they have an offer of 3 piatinni dishes for £8.95 or £10.95 at certain times and days, which looks to be good value for money. Pesto is a small and growing chain so check out if there is one near you.

Interestingly enough one of the waitresses mentioned that most men don't get the concept of piatinni , Mr LF had no such trouble !

The staff had no idea that we were undertaking a review until it came to settle the bill, so we received exactly the same service standards as anyone else visiting. We were mightly impressed by Pesto, the venue and concept is unique in the area and we are already planning our next visit.

                                                         

Our lunch was provided free of charge for review purposes, all views and opinions are our own.

Golden Italian Christmas Cake

This year I fancied making a Christmas Cake with a difference, in previous years I have tried a chocolate fruit cake (very good Nigella recipe), a boil and bake fruit and mincemeat cakes as well as the more traditional style. As I love Italian food I thought I would make a cake with Italian flavours, think Amaretto, panettone et al. It became a golden cake as I manged to purchase some golden raisins, this fired my imagination to create a golden fruit cake.

On Stir up Sunday I made this cake alongside a tweet up with the National Trust and lots of other cakey bakey people. As you can see from the picture the cake is lighter in colour than a normal Christmas fruit cake, I will now store the cake for a couple of weeks, lovingly feeding it with Amaretto until its time to decorate. My plans this year are for a naked Christmas cake, filled with Golden Marzipan and topped off with more Golden marzipan and fondant with some simple decorations.

What you need

• 300g Golden Raisins 
• 300g Sultanas
• 100g dried figs (chopped and any hard stalks removed)
• 100g apricots (chopped)
• 150ml Amaretto
• Zest of 1 large orange
• 125g butter (softened) or baking margarine if you want diary free
• 200g Light brown sugar
• 2 eggs - free range
• 200g Self raising flour
• 75g Honey
• 2 tsp mixed spices
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 130g candied orange peel - chopped (buy quality)
• 1/2 tsp Aroma Panettone Essential Oil (Bakery Bits)

I used an 8" double lined round loose bottomed cake tin, I also wrapped the outside with more greaseproof paper (you could use card, brown paper or even newspaper also), tied with string.

                                       

What you do 

• Place all the dried fruit and orange zest in a large bowl with the amaretto to soak overnight (if you forget you can microwave for a few minutes and allow to cool), covered with clingfilm.

                                   

• Preheat the oven to 130c fan / 150c normal and prepare your tin
• In a stand mixer blend the butter and sugar until light an fluffy
• Gradually add the eggs, essential oil and vanilla to the mixer, if in danger of curdling add some of the flour
• Next whisk in the honey and then sieve in the flour and spices
• Fold the flour and dried fruit into the mixture until thoroughly mixed, spoon into the prepared tin.
• Smooth the top and place in the oven
• Bake for 2 hrs 30 minutes to 3 hrs 15 mins until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Mine took about 3 hours in a fan oven
• Leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack, remove from tin whilst still a little warm. Store when cold double wrapped in parchment and clingfilm.
• Remember to feed by pricking the cake lightly and spooning over more amaretto.

I plan another post when its time to decorate, so make sure you follow us for an update in a few weeks.

Tiramisu coffee cups

Tiramisu is the ultimate comfort food (eat your heart out Jamie Oliver) and for many years I have used Antonio Carluccio's recipe, decadently rich and creamy with just the necessary amount of alcohol and coffee to cut the richness of the marscapone.

Antonio is one of my food hero's an I have been lucky enough to meet him many many years ago, he is such a humble down to earth man, so approchable. Tiramisu means lift me up or pick me and was apparently created in the 1960's and first appearing in a recipe book in the 1980's.

Its an easy recipe and one I have used for many years, you can ring the changes with the alcohol added to the coffee (brandy, amaretto, sherry, kalhua, tia maria) and also you make this gluten free if you make some gluten free sponge or get hold of gluten free sponge fingers.

Traditionally made in a flat dish and cut into squares, I thought I'd ring the changes and use coffee cups instead.

What you need

• Marscapone cream - 1 tub
• Sponge fingers
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• vanilla paste
• Cocoa powder
• Expresso coffee
• Slug of alcohol (I like using amaretto for its almondy flavour)

What you need to do

• Mix the egg yolk and sugar in a bowl with about 1 tsp of vanilla paste

• Whisk the marscapone with the vanilla paste until soft and then stir in the egg mixture

• Next mix approximately small coffee cup of expresso and the slug of alcohol in a bowl, allow to cool slightly, so you can put your fingers comfortably in the mixture.
• Soak the sponge fingers in the coffee mixture until softened but not breaking up.
• Layer in the coffee cups with alternating layers of cheese/egg mix and the sponge fingers soaked in coffee

• Once you come to the top of the come, smooth off the final cheese/egg layer and sprinkle with cocoa
• Chill well and serve to your awaiting public.

One pot pasta

I initially spotted a version of this recipe on Martha Stewart's website, intrigued I thought I would give this a go. Apparently cooking pasta and its sauce in the same pan is a traditional way of cooking pasta in the Puglia region of Italy, given that I love Italian food and its saves washing up what had I to lose. I haven't slavishy followed Martha's recipe and have created my own variation.

What you need

I am making a meal for 2 people

• 3oz of dried pasta per person (penne, spaghetti, farfelle, etc)
• Tin of chopped tomatoes
• Handful of fresh basil
• Pinch of dried oregano
• Pinch of chilli
• Chopped sun dried tomatoes (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
• 1 small white onion - finely sliced
• Glug of olive oil
• 2 cups of vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese - to serve (freshly grated)

You will also need a large heavy cooking pot, I used my cast iron pot with a lid.

What you do

• Place everything in pan (except the parmesan)
• Bring to the simmer, cover and stir to prevent sticking every few minutes.
• Once the pasta is nearly tender, remove the lid, give it a stir and then continue to simmer until most of the moisture have come off the dish.
• Serve at once with freshly grated parmesan.

I was impressed by this dish as the pasta is cooked al dente and has a lovely creamy coating sauce on it. You could also add chopped cooked chicken, bacon or prawns at the end of the cooking if you want to up the protein content of the dish. Why not give it a try.

Tomato focaccia

We love focaccia of all types and being lucky enough to have picked a large bowl of cherry tomatoes from the garden, we decided to use some of our bounty in a lovely fresh focaccia. Focaccia is a great bread to make and share with friends, especially if you have some great oil and vinegar to serve with it. Serve on a platter fresh from the oven Italian stylee, another bonus of this recipe is that you can use handfuls of fresh herbs just picked from the garden, I love this time of year when the garden is bountiful !

What you need

• 20g dried yeast
• 2 tsp sugar dissolved in warm water - 300ml
• 450g strong white bread flour (organic if you can get hold of it)
• Fresh thyme - picked and roughly chopped - 1tbsp
• Fresh rosemary - picked and roughly chopped - 1tbsp
• 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 4 good tbsp extra virgin olive oil - the best you can afford it does make a difference
• cherry tomatoes - halved if large
• Extra virgin olive oil - for sprinkling
• Sea salt - proper crystal flakes for a great finish

What you do

• Mix the yeast into the sugared warm water, leave to one side until the yeast is frothy, you are now ready to bake
• Place the flour, herbs and salt into a large bowl, ensure the salt is well distributed throughout 
• Make a well in the centre and mix in half of the yeast mixture, mix with your fingers , keep adding liquid and mixing, now add the olive oil, still mixing and semi kneading until you have a soft slightly sticky dough.(Depending on your flour and the weather will depend on whether you need all the liquid)
• Lightly flour the work surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes until you have a soft elastic dough.
• Put the dough in lightly oiled bowl and cover to rise until doubled in size, in a warm kitchen this will take approximately an hour.
• Meanwhile oil your baking tray or roasting dish with a little olive oil, remove dough from bowl and place in roasting dish, squishing with your fingers to one level and to the edges and corners of the pan.
• Cover the pan with a large plastic bag or clingfilm which you have lightly oiled to prevent the dough from sticking to it when rising.
• Let this prove for about 30 minutes
• Pre heat the oven to 190c 
• When ready to bake, press the your fingers all over the dough to make little dinks in the dough for the tomato pieces, once you have used all the tomatoes, sprinkle with a little more olive oil and some sea salt flakes.
• Bake for approx 30 minutes or so until golden and well risen
• Delicious hot or cold, once baked and cooled it also freezes well, double wrapped in foil

The fabulous photography is once again by the talented Mr Lancashire Food 

Baked sausages and sweet baby tomatoes

Who doesn't like sausages ? I love this dish as its one of those which you can pull together in a few minutes and then bung in the oven for an hour or so whilst you do something else, yet the results taste like you have been slaving our a hot stove for hours. The other great thing is if you have any leftovers (unlikely but you never know) is its fab served with pasta the next day. Loosely based on a JO recipe this is a great italian style family friendly dish.

You will need

• Quality sausages (high meat content ) - ask your local butcher
• Small cherry tomatoes / cherry plum or similar
• 2 garlic cloves - peeled and finely chopped
• Selection of fresh garden herbs (bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, oregano in my case)
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Oven proof dish of appropriate size

What you do

• Place the sausages, tomatoes in your ovenproof dish, sprinkle with the herbs and garlic and tuck in the bay leaves and rosemary, drizzle with oil and balsamic vinegar and a little black pepper
• Bake in a preheat oven at 180c for approx 45 minutes until the sausages are cooked and the tomatoes  soft and a little caramalised
• Serve with your choice of chunks of bread, mashed potato, pasta or in our case potato wedges.

We had this dish served with sumac potato wedges and rocket salad