February in a post: going out and baking/cooking.
The first outing of the month was on the first Friday; in the evening after dinner at Vico's we went to the Royal Academy to see "Painting the Modern Garden:Monet to Matisse".
It was our first visit to the Royal Academy! We really loved the exhibition: there were some great paintings.
On the Sunday I made some bugie - traditional Italian fried-pastries for the Carnival. I took some into work the following day, and on the Tuesday I used the other half of the dough to make more for Adrian's Italian class.
The following Friday it was the long awaited trip to the Menier Chocolate Factory to see Sheridan Smith in "Funny Girl". The show sold out in a matter of hours when I booked it back in August.
We had the meal deal: dinner followed by the show.
I must say that the show was absolutely brilliant!
And being in such a small and intimate space is always a bonus.
Then of course there was Valentine's Day, celebrated at home.
3 days later it was my birthday.
Adrian surprised me the night before with a yummy cake, decorated for a disco diva! LOL
I had booked the afternoon off work on my birthday, and I met Adrian at Hammersmith tube station to go to the the River Cafe
where we had the most beautiful meal! It was great to see that the 'hype' that has surrounded this restaurant in the almost 30 years of activity was well deserved.
The food was delicious and the service very attentive.
Adrian mentioned to a waitress that it was my birthday and my dessert arrived suitably adorned!
After lunch we travelled to Victoria, to catch the end of the RHS "London Early Spring Show". We got there at 4:35 pm but most of it had already been dismantled! (it closed at 5 pm).
Luckily the tickets were free (thanks to Richard, who had gifted us an RHS membership for Christmas) but we were a bit disappointed.
Nevertheless, we bought a little something: 2 bulbs of Sparkling Striped Gloriosa Lilies.
We hung around near Victoria after the show, since we had booked tickets to see "A Bigger Splash", at the Curzon.
The film, by Italian director Luca Guadagnino, features Tilda Swinton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ralph Fiennes and Dakota Johnson and is set on the Italian island of Pantelleria.
It's beautifully shot and, erm, there is lot of nudity, full-frontal! LOL
The cinema opened almost 2 years ago and is very comfortable (and expensive!), and we had never been before.
(Sadly I don't have any of the pictures I took on my birthday as my PC decided to fry the camera's memory card.)
As it was my birthday, I thought it would be fun to cook a Piemontese meal at the week-end. We invited Chris and Michael to join us.
I suppose I was a bit over-ambitious at cooking 9 courses (and making bread, and filled pasta) but I managed to do it. I cooked all day on Saturday (and a bit on Friday evening) and I have to confess that I was utterly exhausted.
It took me the whole day on Sunday to recover! I guess I am no spring chicken any longer. LOL
Bread making:
A bit more baking the following week: Adrian went up to Leeds for a couple of night mid-week, and I thought I'd bake him a coffee and walnut cake (his favourite!) as a welcome home surprise.
I'd never baked it before because I don't like coffee.
(The pretty plate is a birthday present from Michael and Chris)
Surprisingly, I didn't mind the taste of coffee at all in the cake and had a couple of slices.
And the month ended with another meal at Vico's on Friday (probably the last one for a while now that my 25% discount card has run out!)
followed by theatre
(the play was great fun! we enjoyed having a box to ourselves although it meant leaning over to be able to see the stage)
and some more baking on the Saturday.
We had invited a new acquaintance/friend for tea. Adrian baked scones and made sandwiches, and I tried a new cake which required quite a lot of work.
A choko-berry fraisier (cocoa Genoise sponge, filled with berries and a very sinful crème de cassis crème mousseline, topped by a thin disc of marzipan stuck with blackcurrant jam, and a chocolate mirror glaze).
I dread to think about the calories!
It was our first visit to the Royal Academy! We really loved the exhibition: there were some great paintings.
On the Sunday I made some bugie - traditional Italian fried-pastries for the Carnival. I took some into work the following day, and on the Tuesday I used the other half of the dough to make more for Adrian's Italian class.
The following Friday it was the long awaited trip to the Menier Chocolate Factory to see Sheridan Smith in "Funny Girl". The show sold out in a matter of hours when I booked it back in August.
We had the meal deal: dinner followed by the show.
I must say that the show was absolutely brilliant!
And being in such a small and intimate space is always a bonus.
Then of course there was Valentine's Day, celebrated at home.
3 days later it was my birthday.
Adrian surprised me the night before with a yummy cake, decorated for a disco diva! LOL
I had booked the afternoon off work on my birthday, and I met Adrian at Hammersmith tube station to go to the the River Cafe
where we had the most beautiful meal! It was great to see that the 'hype' that has surrounded this restaurant in the almost 30 years of activity was well deserved.
The food was delicious and the service very attentive.
Adrian mentioned to a waitress that it was my birthday and my dessert arrived suitably adorned!
After lunch we travelled to Victoria, to catch the end of the RHS "London Early Spring Show". We got there at 4:35 pm but most of it had already been dismantled! (it closed at 5 pm).
Luckily the tickets were free (thanks to Richard, who had gifted us an RHS membership for Christmas) but we were a bit disappointed.
Nevertheless, we bought a little something: 2 bulbs of Sparkling Striped Gloriosa Lilies.
We hung around near Victoria after the show, since we had booked tickets to see "A Bigger Splash", at the Curzon.
The film, by Italian director Luca Guadagnino, features Tilda Swinton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ralph Fiennes and Dakota Johnson and is set on the Italian island of Pantelleria.
It's beautifully shot and, erm, there is lot of nudity, full-frontal! LOL
The cinema opened almost 2 years ago and is very comfortable (and expensive!), and we had never been before.
(Sadly I don't have any of the pictures I took on my birthday as my PC decided to fry the camera's memory card.)
As it was my birthday, I thought it would be fun to cook a Piemontese meal at the week-end. We invited Chris and Michael to join us.
I suppose I was a bit over-ambitious at cooking 9 courses (and making bread, and filled pasta) but I managed to do it. I cooked all day on Saturday (and a bit on Friday evening) and I have to confess that I was utterly exhausted.
It took me the whole day on Sunday to recover! I guess I am no spring chicken any longer. LOL
Bread making:
A bit more baking the following week: Adrian went up to Leeds for a couple of night mid-week, and I thought I'd bake him a coffee and walnut cake (his favourite!) as a welcome home surprise.
I'd never baked it before because I don't like coffee.
(The pretty plate is a birthday present from Michael and Chris)
Surprisingly, I didn't mind the taste of coffee at all in the cake and had a couple of slices.
And the month ended with another meal at Vico's on Friday (probably the last one for a while now that my 25% discount card has run out!)
followed by theatre
(the play was great fun! we enjoyed having a box to ourselves although it meant leaning over to be able to see the stage)
and some more baking on the Saturday.
We had invited a new acquaintance/friend for tea. Adrian baked scones and made sandwiches, and I tried a new cake which required quite a lot of work.
A choko-berry fraisier (cocoa Genoise sponge, filled with berries and a very sinful crème de cassis crème mousseline, topped by a thin disc of marzipan stuck with blackcurrant jam, and a chocolate mirror glaze).
I dread to think about the calories!