Not quite the lazy start of yesterday as Steve was awake around 07:30 so he decided to get up rather than disturb Nic by tossing & turning. Finished off the muffins for breakfast (with egg this time) and then Steve jump started Nic's car and took it for a 20 mile, 30 minute drive to get the battery recharged while she spoke to her Mum & Dad. It really needs to get used more often to stop the battery from running down.
Anyway, we decided to get the shopping in while we had a bit of time and after getting it all back home it was not long before we had to leave to head over to The Rat Inn for our lunch, something we had been looking forward to all week. Today, being Sunday, it was the traditional Sunday lunch on offer with a choice of starters and sweets. Steve plumped for the pheasant terrine starter with Nic selecting the Serrano ham. The pheasant came with well dressed salad leaves and pickled mushrooms, which just set the terrine off really well with the wedge of brown bread. The Serrano ham starter came with a really tasty pickled red cabbage, both crunchy and full of flavour, and salad and pickles. Nic reckoned she could have eaten a jar of the cabbage on its own.
The beef was on the chalk board as served pink and this is exactly how it came. Nice thick slices all very juicy and not dried out and grey, as is often case at other pubs. The accompanying veg was abundant and well cooked - the carrots and broccoli al dente - and so wonderful to see spring greens on the plate. The other main course of roast pork was full of flavour - we've become so used to the prepacked supermarket bland pork that tastes of almost nothing, it's great when you get "porky pork". It was accompanied by a nice sharp apple sauce - note to everyone, apple sauce shouldn't be sweet!
It was a bit of a disappointment that Nic couldn't manage a sweet but Steve plumped for the chocolate and brown ale cake served with bitter chocolate sauce and chocolate ice cream. Many would think that this would all be too sweet but just not the case. The cake (sponge really) was probably the lightest he had ever eaten and really flavoursome. The chocolate sauce was not overly sweet and the ice cream had nice chunks of dark chocolate in it. The waitress kindly provided an extra spoon ...
All in all, a fantastic end to the meal with hugely attentive and friendly staff.
Anyway, we decided to get the shopping in while we had a bit of time and after getting it all back home it was not long before we had to leave to head over to The Rat Inn for our lunch, something we had been looking forward to all week. Today, being Sunday, it was the traditional Sunday lunch on offer with a choice of starters and sweets. Steve plumped for the pheasant terrine starter with Nic selecting the Serrano ham. The pheasant came with well dressed salad leaves and pickled mushrooms, which just set the terrine off really well with the wedge of brown bread. The Serrano ham starter came with a really tasty pickled red cabbage, both crunchy and full of flavour, and salad and pickles. Nic reckoned she could have eaten a jar of the cabbage on its own.
The beef was on the chalk board as served pink and this is exactly how it came. Nice thick slices all very juicy and not dried out and grey, as is often case at other pubs. The accompanying veg was abundant and well cooked - the carrots and broccoli al dente - and so wonderful to see spring greens on the plate. The other main course of roast pork was full of flavour - we've become so used to the prepacked supermarket bland pork that tastes of almost nothing, it's great when you get "porky pork". It was accompanied by a nice sharp apple sauce - note to everyone, apple sauce shouldn't be sweet!
It was a bit of a disappointment that Nic couldn't manage a sweet but Steve plumped for the chocolate and brown ale cake served with bitter chocolate sauce and chocolate ice cream. Many would think that this would all be too sweet but just not the case. The cake (sponge really) was probably the lightest he had ever eaten and really flavoursome. The chocolate sauce was not overly sweet and the ice cream had nice chunks of dark chocolate in it. The waitress kindly provided an extra spoon ...
All in all, a fantastic end to the meal with hugely attentive and friendly staff.
After filling our boots we headed back home so the Nic could complete her tax return and Steve could play with one of his Xmas games - Assassins Creed III. Nic eventually headed off to cook a lamb curry from Madhur's Curry Easy book for Monday night's dinner and Steve eventually packed in and did the prep (and later cooking) of a light evening meal (had to be after the lunch) of sea bream on couscous with preserved lemon and roasted pepper salsa from the Jamie's 15 Minute Meals cookbook. This worked out great. There was a good variety of textures: crunch from the pistachios and pomegranate contrasted well with the delicate sea bream and couscous. The sweetness of the fruit again contrasted well with the sharpness of the salsa. Really tasty and something we will do again. Pretty as a picture too.
No comments:
Post a Comment