Jamie's Italian (Nottingham)

Two (or maybe three) weeks ago, I met up with my lovely friend Emily in Nottingham, our plan was to shop for posh hats (for the races in York) and to eat at Jamie's Italian. I was beyond looking forward to this day, we had a pretty funny time trying on all sorts of hats and daydreaming about being rich and getting to wear them all them time (Emily wants a hatdrobe). I was also very much looking forward to the day because of eating at Jamie's Italian. Ever since I caught the cooking bug and started to cook and follow recipes, I have been a big fan of Jamie Oliver. I think Jamie's America was one of my first cookery books, which I have used to no end. I love his cookery shows, especially Jamie at Home, where he cooks with fresh produce. I also followed his Jamie's Food Revolution programme which was hugely informative, and just great that he is so passionate about it. So eating at his restaurant was definitely something I've been wanting to do.

After the shops closed, Emily and I made our way to Jamie's Italian, it's in a really gorgeous part of town, just up from Carluccio's. It's in a lovely building and not at all like I had imagined inside, it was quite small, green old fashioned-esque wallpaper, wooden tables and 60s style floor tiles. The whole restaurant gave a really lovely feel, there was a bar in a separate room and the restaurant was kind of cornered off, the toilets were down in the basement and even they were pretty damn cool as far as toilets go! I just felt that as it was a celebrity chef's restaurant, that it may be intimidating, but it wasn't even remotely like that. Me and Emily were shown to a perfect table by the window, where we shared a bottle of white wine and ate the most delicious food.

The starters we shared; mixed breads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dipping sauce and mushroom fritti with a garlic mayonnaise.

Wild Truffle Risotto. Without a doubt, THE most amazing risotto I've ever eaten. I'm always hesitant when I go to Italian restaurant chains to eat pasta/risotto because it will never be as good as a proper Italian. This risotto shows however that Jamie's Italian is a proper Italian. The ingredients seemed so fresh and it tasted so rich and delicious.

Emily chose this Fish Stew. She said it was delicious and very filling!

I would definitely recommend Jamie's Italian, to any food lovers. It would be lovely for a casual lunch but also a romantic dinner. The prices are quite reasonable for how good the food is. The staff are friendly and very knowledgeable and it was just overall a lovely foodie experience!

Come Eat At My House! (Part 1)

A random thing me and my friends have started doing is Come Eat At My House - a slight variation on the television name for the programme where you basically, if you didn't know (!), go round people's houses and eat a three course meal. Now we didn't quite stick to the voting side of things, we all just ended up gushing about the food to be quite honest!

So the first person to host this was my friend Maz (or Marie). It was her idea in the beginning and she set up the Facebook page, where you can post your menus and basically whoever likes the look of the meal can go along. To be honest, she has mentioned these meals before in passing and I've always commented how lovely they sound, so I was excited for the meal.

Luckily the weather was lovely, and we all arrived to have a photo taken coming into the house (very Come Dine With Me -esque just sans the actual filming!) we all had drinks, and chatted in the living room while Maz got started on the food (wearing a really cool apron I might add!)

When it was ready, we all sat down for the starter; garlic mushrooms in a cheesy sauce on mini ciabatta slices with a rocket garnish.

The starter being prepared.

This was very yummy. I am a massive fan of anything garlicky, and garlic mushrooms.

Afterwards we all had a look round the house (even though we’ve all been round there many times before) and tried to comment on things Come Dine With Me style!

Next up was the main course, sweet chilli mediterranean vegetable pasta (with optional chicken). I loved the fresh bite of the red onion, juicy tomato and peppers mixed with the sweet chilli sauce, it gave a real tangy taste!

Finally, dessert. Toffee and Banana Cheesecake. Now I have to mention here that Maz herself was not too happy with the way it turned out as the bottom part of the cheesecake ended up breaking up slightly but I really didn’t have a whole lot to complain about, and nor did anybody else! Cheesecake is one of my all-time favourite desserts and even though I’ve said everything was “yummy” so far, I’m going to annoy everyone and just repeat myself again! This was very yummy! I thought the toffee sauce as well was really scrummy!

At the end of the night, we just chilled out, listened to the latest Chase and Status album and chatted, and messed around with cameras. All of us agreeing that Maz should really get top marks!

Who’s up next?!