Lunch and Magic

 Hi there!  Hope you are well.  I am loving this autumn.  Strange, that, as I am a spring person.  But with these warm, sunny days, what is there not to like?

A friend was driving down for a catchup and we decided that for lunch it would be nice to re-visit the Italian seafood restaurant where we recently celebrated our wedding anniversary, as it really we really did have such-a-perfect-day.  So, what to wear from the travel capsule today?

Well, I started with these dinky black suede bootees from my visiting wardrobe.  M&S. Cute, eh?

Bargain!  Bought in the spring but not yet worn - so that would be BNWT in EBay-speke!  V. comfy.

Next print top, M&S black jeans.

And a grey cashmere/merino Woolovers edge to edge cardi.

And with that, I was ready to meet my visitor who presented me with some gorgeous flowers - well, actually he presented The Photographer with flowers and me with a bottle of whisky.  A fun bloke!

Over coffee we chatted about geo thermal heating and transparent solar roof tiles (new to me too!) - our friend is house hunting - then it was time to move our chat to the restaurant. 

It really is a lovely place and the waiter is so professional and charming.  Must find a link to it sometime but I'm guessing not a lot of you come down to this sleepy little town.

I nibbled walnut bread with anchovy butter and a black olive or two as I perused the lunch menu.  Well, I was spoilt for choice.  I love it when I struggle to choose!

And here we go into the dieters' no-go area ... it's all about the food pics with The Pout, eh?!

When I finally made my mind up, I had this tasty cod and potato croquette.  It much smoother than a fish cake.

Followed by the Chicken Ballotine.   This was superbly cooked and the little gravy and veg mix surrounding it was, well, Wow!

So filling that I gave one third of it to The Photographer.

My hunky male companionss chose the salmon served on a bed of leeks with a yummy white sauce, I was informed.

I'm going to have a bash at making one or two of these dishes soon.  Simple and inspiring, they were.  I'll share the recipes with you ... if they're successful!

A bottle of pretty perfect Pinot Grigio (when in Rome ...) between us and we were good to go.   Good to go for more of hours chat, chat, chat.  It's great to catch up, eh?

A lovely day.  Well, apart from a few calls from cat sitter and vet.  My cat has a reoccurring condition and it was one of his blip days.  But the lovely cat sitter handled it all so well.  And by teatime I was getting reassuring calls (not from him!) that all was now well and that he was snuggled up on the sofa, perhaps in his fluffy-top head enjoying the cat-equivalent of convalescing comfort.  My favoured poorly perk-up is the sofa, a blanket and Escape to the Country.

Maybe his sofa cat-ch up was Cat's Casualty?

 I am always amazed that the shots they give Bertie seem to magically cure him by the time he completes the five minute drive home (in his cat box, not driving!).  Couldn't we humans share a bit of that magic?!

A la perchoine.





Such a Perfect Day

I have just celebrated the anniversary of a very special day.



My OOTD then.

And my OOTD now.

I'm still digging into my capsule so on went M&S jeans, necklace and jade cardi, black Next top.

The weather was gorgeously sunny and warm the day I wore that fancy long dress, and so it was again on my yesterday.  We had a leisurely day, driving to Pashley Manor Gardens for a stroll around the pretty grounds, then a tasty quiche and salad lunch on their café terrace.  It was so warm, the cardi came off and I sat out eating lunch in my vest top.  What a funny autumn.

In the evening we chose a seafood restaurant that we hadn't tried before.

Just a 15 minute walk away.  

OK, dieters, I think you know the drill by now.  Food alert!

I sipped pink prosecco and nibbled on black olives, focaccia and anchovy butter. 

As we have pensioners' appetites these days, we did our tried and tested two-starters meal, which gives us just the right sized dishes to taste without feeling uncomfortably full,

or leaving lots on the plate.

A crab dish with beetroot and mango.  So light-tasting.

My date chose a scallops and chilli "main", with sides of chorizo mash and creamed spinach.

I chose prawns piri piri on patatas bravas, with a green salad side.

The food was wonderful - fresh, good ingredients prepared and cooked beautifully.

A good Sancerre was the perfect accompaniment.

A fabulous limoncello on the house.

And after a superb meal, we strolled home along the dark seafront and stopped to listen to the waves pounding softly along the shore. 

The day was absolutely perfect back then, and so it was again yesterday.

Such a perfect day.  I'm glad I spent it with you.

A la perchoine.



White Jeans On, Trois - Beaucette Marina

Welcome, dearest people of the Blogisphere.

Hope you are enjoying September, we're more than half way through already.  Can you believe that?  Maybe you've been enjoying a bit of an Indian Summer, as we have here in Europe.  So nice.

It's that time of the year when I hang on longingly to white jeans, trying to eke out yet another outing in them before they are packed away for the winter.  I am thrilled when they come out of the archive in spring and I mourn their parting when they return to their box in autumn.

I know that some wear white jeans way into winter and they look really nice.  I stop in autumn.  I find my white jeans take on an awfully cold and uncared for look in winter.  I look somehow, what's the word, neglected.  Maybe it's our winter sunlight, our climate's "colour" that does that. 

Are your white jeans just for summer or do you carry on through, oblivious to season changes?

Last night we met up with friends down at Beaucette Marina, firstly for drinks on board their boat and then a meal in the marina's super restaurant.

The day was very blustery which was a challenge on the golf course earlier that morning.  And although I would have loved to slip into another summer dress, possibly the last of the season, the wind kept the temperature down a bit and leg cover was called for.

So a good opportunity for white jeans then!  I wore a black Next crepe de chine shirt (last year's) over a black camisole, with white Peacock jeans and my Adesso taupe heels.  I wanted to feel sassy and those heels do that for me!

The Photographer observed that they were not boat-appropriate shoes.  As a compromise (to shut him up), I threw some flatties into my handbag.

I accessorised with my turquoise jewellery again.  It's old, a mix of Barbados airport and Accessorise, methinks.  But this summer I've been drawn to the mix a fair few times.

And it must be a sign that autumn is in the air because I slipped my Peacocks pleather waterfall biker over the ensemble.  First airing since Spring for this little baby.



My old Jones handbag completed the outfit.  Yes, the flatties fitted in this little thing.  It's a Tardis.

Now, I'm sorry that my black on black on black doesn't show up any detail in the photos, but I liked the outfit and one doesn't chose an outfit for its photographability, eh peeps? Besides, I did feel smart casual, which is my mission in life, so it's all good eh.

And off I went to ...

Beaucette Restaurant

But first, drinks on board our friends' boat.

The taxi dropped us off at the top of the ramp down to the pontoon.  The ramp was steep.  I was wearing my highest heels.  I have a fear of falling.  So it took me about 200 6-inch long steps and holding on desperately to The Photographer's arm in order to get 3/4 of the way down the ramp.  I changed into my flatties and then continued comfortably down the last 1/4 of the ramp and on to the pontoon. 

Yes, OK, you were right - happy now!

 

Guess which glass is mine?  Yup, the Daddy of glasses, filled with Hendrick's gin and tonic with a couple of slices of cucumber.  So nice.  Our nibbles were delicate slices of cheese and a sugar snap pea crispy thing - delicious, must get some of those (possibly Tesco's).

View from the restaurant table.

On to the food.  Warning: those of you on diets should now scroll through to my sign-off! 

I get excited when a menu bursts with so many things I want to try from the starters section.  That is a menu struggle that I enjoy.  This was one such menu.  So I ordered two starters, with one served as a main course.  The Photographer did the same.  This allows us to try different dishes without feeling uncomfortably full at the end of the meal.  We can't eat the quantities we could in our youth.

My starter. Crab three ways - bisque, spring rolls and a beautiful spoonful of crab mayo-ish stuff.

The Photographer chose a crab and prawn remoulade, with a cold fruity coulis and a fruit sorbet topping it all.  Very different.

We swapped starters half way through so that we could leverage our taste experience.  We do this quite often when we are spoilt for choice and want to try it all!



My "main", prawns in tempura batter.

We shared a rocket and parmesan salad.  And a bowl of chips.  But we did also share that bowl with our friends, so I was quite light on the chippage!

The Photographer's "main" was a scallop and chorizo salad.

Our maitre d' and the lady front-of-house/owner were so attentive and knowledgeable about what they were serving.  The Photographer and I shared a Tourraine Sauvignon Blanc and our friends a Fleurie. The food was super and the menu had so much of what I like.  I really was spoilt for choice.  So I will have to return soon.  To work my way through the rest of the menu!

Not photographed was a little bowl of honeycombe icecream.  The charming, pretty and witty young dessert waitress called it V.I.I. - Very Important Icecream! 

We had a wonderful time with friends, enjoying fantastic food and drink.

How was your Friday night, dear reader?

You know, I really would love to hear from you.  This blogisphere thing isn't a one-way street.

Go on, make my day.  Tell me what you've been up to.  Tell me where you stand on white jeans.

I'd love to know.  Pretty please!

A la perchoine.

Chateau d'Apigne

I've been straying away from my blog's main raison d'etre this last week.  I'll tell you about what I've been up to in my next post which will also get me back on track, Pout-wise.

In the meantime, even though I'm aware of my back to back foodie posts, I thought I'd share a little of France with you today.

During our recent trip to France we enjoyed a few restful days at Chateau d'Apigne, before heading back home.  I reported on our arrival here, but without photos.   Consider that failing now remedied!

The Restaurant

Lunch in this elegant dining room was so perfect.

After the drive, on a very hot day, we were so relieved to be able to sit in this cool restaurant and enjoy a superb glass of chilled Pouilly Fume.

The restaurant staff were pretty superb too.

I always think it important that bread is offered when wine is served, and these guys did not disappoint.

We were then given an amuse bouche of quails eggs, salmon tartare and cold tomato soup.

Perfectly cooked crayfish with a pea shoot coulis, if my memory serves me correctly.

 Lobster, again seriously cooked to perfection.

A pre-dessert palate cleanser.  Something with white chocolate.

Creamed rice served in a dark chocolate shape and with raspberry coulis.

And finally, coffee

and restaurant chocolates of the day.

The restaurant staff are professional, knowledgeable, flexible and friendly, making dining a wonderful experience.  The brilliant and charming chef talked at length with us about the dishes after the meal.

The restaurant is closed Sunday evening and all of Monday.  We just about sneaked under the bar to enjoy lunch in the crowded restaurant see my tale here.

The Room Service Menu

When the restaurant is closed, a restaurant-standard room service menu is available.  The arrangement in the hotel is that the duty-receptionist also serves breakfast and any room service meals.  The receptionists seem to love this arrangement as they learn about food as well as the usual hotel side of being a receptionist.

The chef prepares room service food in advance.  The duty receptionist is taught how to warm through and serve the dishes.  Our duty receptionist this visit was Alexei.

The courses were served separately and superbly in our room by the so-accommodating and utterly charming Alexei, together with a delightful dry white wine whose name I didn't make note of.

Our starters were ...

Thai coconut milk soup with prawns and noodles.

Galette filled with smoked salmon and a taste-bud-exploding leek puree.

Our mains ...

Poached chicken with red peppers, onions and tomatoes.

Brandade of cod recipe here.  How can something with a few simple ingredients taste so bloomin' good?

Pudd ...

Then later, after a walk around the grounds, we shared a cheese platter and finished off our wine.

Fabulous food at Chateau d'Apigne. And a fabulous stay.

Thank you, Alexei and the team.  We'll be back!

I wanted to share this with you just in case you're ever in the neighbourhood, because I'm sure you'll love your visit too.

A la perchoine.