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Saturday, April 30, 2016

Restaurant review - New Drumossie Hotel Restaurant, Inverness, Scotland

The food was nicely presented, but some mains were not so delicious as expected. Even so, the food was the best we had in Inverness.

The dessert was decent, nothing spectacular.

The prices are above average.






Friday, April 29, 2016

Hotel review - DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh, Scotland

The room was OKish, but the bathroom was rather small.

Really cold in the room in November, with the ventilation system not managing to heat the room (we had to ask for a portable electric heater).

The only available parking was a covered public parking, not so far from the hotel, at 7 pounds /day

The internet connection was really bad. Breakfast was also disappointing.





Thursday, April 28, 2016

Zucchini and eggplant moussaka - recipe (with step-by-step photos)

Ingredients:
  • 50 grams of grated cheese
  • 2 zucchini
  • 1 eggplant
  • a few spoons with olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper

 Ingredients for the bechamel sauce:
  • 500 milliliters of milk
  • 70 grams of butter
  • 20 grams of flour
  • 1 egg yolk
  • salt 
  • pepper

Ingredients for the meat filling:
  • 900 grams of minced meat
  • 100 grams of fresh cream
  • 100 grams tomato paste /mashed bell pepper
  • a few spoons with olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 onion
  • a few leaves of young garlic 
  • fresh parsley
  • salt
  • pepper 


Clean and cut the eggplant in thin round slices. Spread some salt and let it rest for 10 minutes in a strainer.


Meanwhile prepare the bechamel sauce:

Melt the butter over a slow fire and add the flour, mixing until well incorporated. Let it simmer for a few moments.


Add the milk, the salt and the pepper and let it boil until thick.


 Let it cool for a few minutes then add the egg yolk and mix until well incorporated. Put it aside.



Prepare the meat filling:

In a frying pan add some olive oil and when heated add the chopped onion and the chopped carrot. Let it simmer for a few minutes until yellow.


Add the meat and 2 entire eggs and the egg yolk and mix.


Add the bell pepper/ tomato paste and the fresh cream and mix. Add the salt, the pepper.

Let it simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the meat is ready. Just before the meat is ready add the chopped parsley and the chopped garlic leaves and leave the mixture on fire for a couple of more minutes. Put it aside.


In a frying pan, add some olive oil and then add the sliced eggplant. Fry them on each side until a bit soft and tender. Clean and cut the zucchini and fry them as well.Use salt and pepper according to taste.



In an oven pan add one layer of fried zucchini/eggplant then half of the bechamel sauce. 


Above the bechamel sauce add the meat, then another layer of fried zucchini/eggplant and above of them the rest of the bechamel sauce.


 Finish off with some grated cheese.


Put it in the oven at 180 Celsius degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!


The original recipe can be found here

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

The Scottish outdoors around Loch Ness

Some photos from last year's trip around Loch Ness.








Monday, April 25, 2016

Hotel review - Holiday Inn Express Malpensa Airport, Milan, Italy

The room was nice, clean and quite large.

Good breakfast, considering that this is a budget hotel in Italy.






Sunday, April 24, 2016

Black olive spread - recipe

Ingredients:
  • 150 grams of black olives
  • 100 grams of kalamata olives
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 spoons with olive oil
  • 1 spoon of lemon juice
  • a few leaves of parsley


Mash the olives with a blender for a few moments, then add the onion, the garlic, the olive oil, the lemon juice and the parsley.



Mix again with the blender until creamy.


Decorate with some parsley and olive oil.

Enjoy!



The original recipe can be found here

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Hotel review - Hilton London Kensington Hotel, London, United Kingdom

The room was decent, although a bit small for two people. The breakfast was good, with hot and cold buffet.

Paid private parking.

Well-stocked executive lounge in the evening.



Friday, April 22, 2016

2016 duck race in Luxembourg on Saturday, April 23

The 2016 edition of the duck race will take place in the Petrusse Valley in Luxembourg City, on Saturday, April 23.

The start of the race is at 15:00, but one can have some sausages and a beer at the stands starting with 12:00.

The price to take part in the race is EUR 5 / duck.


More info can be found here

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Trip to Rochester, England

We were sleeping in Maidstone and with some time still left on our hands, we stopped by Rochester first. Not really worth it.





Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Trip to Dublin, Ireland

A really nice city center where you can wander for hours. Lots of bars and a nice shopping center.