175 - Oysters and Shallots [Las Ostras y Chalotes]

It's a well know fact that I'm not a huge fan of oysters. I hadn't tried them until last year and while I honestly don't mind them, I can certainly swallow them if there's tabasco and lemon involved and I do like the shells (very pretty) but I feel if there are other things I'd want to eat on a menu why would I order Oysters. Todays review then is partially a guest review by Andrew, for to me these were just oysters whereas he really likes them and can tell the difference between good and bad ones...

The Verdict:Definitely oysters. The shallot vinaigrette was very nice and went well with the flavour of the sea. Not bad but definitely just oysters to me. 

Andrews verdict: 

Taste: 4/5 Good
Cost:  3/5 Decent
Visual: 4/5 Giant Oysters
Magic: 3/5 Oysters

174 - Two Fat Ladies [Dos Señoras Gordas]

A Glasgow institution the two fat ladies restaurants are renowned for using great produce, especially seafood to high standard. being a poor student then artist I'd never been to any of their establishments however Andrew treated me one. We ate at the city centre restaurant and it was pretty amazing. I'd recommend anyone who likes fish to try there! 


The Verdict
I had scallops and morcilla to start with (shock) and while I think the presentation was a bit bizarre, (a giant half moon of morcilla was a bit weird on a large plate) it was beautifully cooked and tasted great. Andrew for the main had roasted sea bass with medditerranean vegetables and said it was amazing. The other dishes were not really tapas styles so I am only going to rate my starter as it's the dish I ate that was closest to tapas. 

Taste: 5/5 Yes!
Cost:  2/5 Decent for What you get but Fairly Expensive
Visual: 3/5 Bit Odd
Magic: 4/5 Tried and Trusted!

173 - Fried Potatoes [ Patatas Fritas]

Another wintery one for a cold-ish day. I was seeing a guy once who loved eating fried potatoes topped with cold tuna and either tinned spaghetti or baked beans of the heinz variety. Sounds odd and I cat deny it was but in its strange defence it was very comforting. This however is not that dish.


The verdict
Simple fried potatoes. Many countries eat variations of these and when done well they are filling, accompany a variety of meals and are very satisfying. These were done well. So while not very exciting or exotic, certainly a decent dish.

Taste: 3/5 Fried Potatoes
Time:  2/5 30 mins
Visual: 2.5/5 Crispy and Not Overly Burnt
Magic: 2.5/5 Fried Potatoes.

172 - Butter Chicken in Cream [ Pollo de la Mantequilla en Crema]

Not even a remotely healthy one today...

The Verdict
If you can get beyond the cream and oil and garlic this would be very very tasty. I'n not sure I can but if you are a fan of rich food you would probably love this! I personally prefer my flavours fresher (and spicier). Great on a cold day though! 

Taste: 3/5 Rich
Time:  2/5 45 mins
Visual: 2/5 Oily
Magic: 2.5/5 Not For Me

171 - Fish Cakes [Los Pasteles de Pescado]

On this day Andrew and I went to lunch at the DCA in Dundee. It is a handy location, food is tasty and they have a great selection of drinks, soft and adult. I have spent many an hour in the DCA with Andrew, Sarah and Pat and it is a very decent wee place where one can chat for hours over more cups of tea than it is healthy to drink. It also has a print studio, art gallery and cinema so overall gets a thumbs up from me. 

In fact the only negative was on asking a waiter how big the portion sizes were and hearing "very small". They weren't. They were huge. We had opted to go for a few starters as small sharing plates instead of a main and thank heavens most of them consisted of salad or we would never have been able to move again. 

The Verdict

Really tasty, well seasoned. Slightly cold but good. Almost too much filling! Yummy though!

Taste: 3/5 Yum
Cost:  2.5/5 Reasonable
Visual: 3.5/5 Crumbs
Magic: 3/5 Sure

170 - Rosemary Chicken Legs [Romero Piernas de Pollo]

Another comfort food-style dish to warm on a damp day and to ease me in to the new and crazy house.

The Verdict
Never actually been a major fan of ribs, chicken legs or wings, I don't really like chicken skin and find them awfully greasy. I do however normally love the sauces that they come smothered in. These were fine. Cooked well but I did then brown them off in a pan to give them a bit of crunch and colour. the garlic, lemon and rosemary marinade hadn't quite penetrated the meat so was a bit bland but overall a fairly decent affair. 


Taste: 3/5 Bit Bland
Time:  2/5 45 mins
Visual: 2/5 Bland
Magic: 2.5/5 Not Really

169 - Chicken and Peppers in Wine [Pollo y Pimiento en el Vino]

Huzzah! I'm off eggs for a while. I also moved flat and city again to be a designer in residence and the house I have moved into is a living sit com. 6 of us, all strangers. 1 Indian, 1 Nigerian (plus 1 month year old baby), 1 farm-hand/future lawyer, 1 arty film student, 1 stoner computer science student/delivery man, 1 African sub letter (In the Indians room), 1 photographer squatter (on couch) and myself. Contents include Disco Lights and an assortment of broken furniture. Insane.

Still living with different cultures (the smell of fish-head/cabbage/palm-oil stew aside) can be tasty (especially if the Indian is cooking and we can work and exchange our bizarre culture...such as Irn Bru and how to carve a face on a pumpkin.



The Verdict
It's not eggs so win. Actually really tasty. Simple and a hearty dish for colder weather.


Taste: 3.5/5 Tasty
Time:  2/5 45 mins
Visual: 2.5/5 Meh
Magic: 3/5 Hearty

168 - Boiled Quails Egg Skewers [Codornices Cocidas Huevo Brochetas]

Ding Dong the eggs have gone (For now).

The Verdict
Simple, funny looking and altogether fine but not something I'm going to rush to make again. If ever.

Taste: 2/5 Bland
Time:  2.5/5 25 mins
Visual: 3/5 Surreal
Magic: 2/5 Nope

167 - Quails Egg with Mushrooms [Codornices del Huevo y Champiñones]

If you're wondering how to get this recipe to turn out neatly, its simple use a cake tin/ baking tray/ silicon mould and cupcake cases. Almost foolproof. Almost.

The Verdict:

This is nice. It's very similar to the baked mushrooms with lemon and garlic (see recipe 59) which I have now made a few times except with an egg. Personally (Though I'm biased) I don't think it needs an egg but it does look mighty cute.

Taste: 3/5 Good
Time:  2.5/5 25 mins
Visual: 3/5 Super Cute
Magic: 2.5/5 OK

166 - Quails Egg and Asparagus [Codornices del Huevo y Espárragos]

I'm so glad this flavour combination is a thing so at least there is one element on the plate I'm still happy to eat.

Verdict:
Exactly as it looks and sounds. Boiled Quails eggs with Asparagus Spears and general greenery. If I was less jaded towards eggs right now I probably would of enthused more as the delicate flavours work really well together. However I'm not the biggest hard boiled egg fan at the best of times and overall this was lacking in seasoning or anything big.

Taste:  2.5/5 Flavours Work
Time:  2.5/5 25 mins
Visual: 2.5/5 Green and White
Magic: 2/5 Not For Me

165 - Baked Quails Egg [Codornices al Horno Huevo]

The best thing about Quails eggs are that they are small which at this point in this challenge means the happiness of less egg and the excuse to use a ramekin sized dish.

The Verdict
Success! Although I am glad it was only small, it was tasty and looked super cute in a small ramekin. I could of baked the dish longer but I'm not sure how set the egg was meant to be. Personally I liked the yolk runny. Rather good and would make a great breakfast.

Taste:  3.5/5 Warm Eggs
Time:   2.5/5 25 mins
Visual: 3/5  Cute
Magic: 3/5 Sure

164 - Quails Egg Pincho [Codornices Huevo Pincho]

Once again, time is non-existent. I found out in New York that I got the job of creating three short web animations and that a post of designer in residence had cropped up so between working and job applications, time was few and far between. I can sense a spate of bizarre dishes ahead..


The Verdict:
Well quails eggs are cute but sadly the fact remains that they are still eggs. Still, a mini fried egg is rather adorable and was a tasty morsel to munch on. Would look better had I made more than one. 

Taste:  2.5/5 Eggy
Time:   3.5/5 10 mins
Visual: 2/5 Lonely
Magic: 2.5/5 Small Novelty Factor

163 - Amarillo Chilli Paste [Pasta de Chile Amarillo]

Mmm..Spicy death in a pot. This is again from the Cerviche book and is a paste which is added to many of the recipes. A small recipe in itself it can be used on its own, thickened for a sauce and crops up in many of the Peruvian recipies in the book. It's a make beforehand and keep in the fridge job and the heat and spice that comes with it is nothing short of eye-wateringly amazing.

The Verdict:
Finally a worthy level of spice. This is amazing, hot and spicy and very, very red. Possibly burnet the onions and garlic so there was a small taste of char but very hard to tell over the heat. Hard to judge in its own as its so hot but very tasty and incredibly useful. A little goes a long, long way even for me, and I eat raw chills for breakfast (in Pho, while in Vietnam).

Taste:  4/5 Spice
Time:   2.5/5 20 mins
Visual: 3/5 Molten
Magic: 4/5 FIRE!

162 - Tomatos and Basil [Tomate y Albahaca]

Because not every day can be exciting. Plus I think the before and after picture (as if you need one) in comparison with yesterday's is verging on hilarious.

The Verdict
Fresh and very much as expected. Simple. Not going to win any awards but on a hot day or if in a rush it does the job. 

Taste:  2/5 Boring
Time:   5/5 2 mins
Visual: 2/5 Somewhat Silly
Magic: 1/5 Err..No

161 - Sea Bass & Salad Stew [Suadado De Corvina Y Conchitas]

What's this... an actual complicated structured dish. Yes I wasn't cooking for one and yes this was out of the amazing Cerviche cook book. Seriously look at those scallops :D.

The Verdict:
Oh yum. Yum, yum, yum. Wine, an insane amount of limes, homemade hot chill paste and giant scallops = YUM! The balance of sauce and lime to fish was perhaps unequal overall and I did add perhaps more chill than some palates can handle but this was really good. The recipe needs perfecting to get it balanced out more perfectly but it was so so tasty!

Taste:  5/5 All The Flavours!
Time:   2/5 30 Mins
Visual: 3/5 Definitely Could Be Prettier
Magic: 5/5 YUM!