Make Mine a Double

Have found this great little restaurant that I just have to tell you about, its called Peruga and is located on Glossop road between Marple Bridge and Glossop. Some of you may have been there before when it was called Woodheys.

The restaurant has great views over thanks to its position on  the side of a hill and the huge windows that surrounds it, you can often see the planes coming into land at Manchester airport as it overlooks the flight approach path. The food is modern English, on my last visit I had roast belly of pork with a black pudding stuffing. My other half had a fillet of sea bream, a favourite that is also on the menu is roast suckling pig.

With the credit crunch hitting everyone, as well as the a la carte menu the do fixed lunch and evening menu’s starting at around £9.95 for two courses. Its my other half’s birthday this Friday and I think we will be paying it a visit for lunch, Ill let you know how the food is.

Well in honour of my girly friend that i went out with yesterday i just have to write about a fabulous cocktail i had . God it was gorgeous

The delight was served up for me in Grill on the Alley in Manchester

Located off  Deansgate this restaurant epitomises old and new Manchester, hidden away.

I had the most fabulous cocktail ever Watermelon and Black Cherry Margarita. Because all the ingredients where possible was fresh it made such a difference

I have included a recipe that make more that one because seriously you want a bucket load of this stuff!!
Ingredients

Instructions Cut up a watermelon, removing seeds. Liquify in a blender until you have about 16 oz. Add remaining ingredients, top with ice and blend until smooth. Taste and add sugar if watermelon is not sweet enough. Serve in a margarita glass with a sugar-coated rim.

In honour of the May day bank holiday I wanted to have a cocktail to suite the relaxing moment and also breaths summer time
This May day named drink is an interesting mix of fresh fruit flavours with a rum and apple juice base.
May Day
2 ripe peaches, pitted and roughly chopped
1 part rum
4 strawberries, cubed
flesh and seeds of 2 passion fruit
4 oz cloudy apple juice
1 Tbsp superfine sugar
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
crushed ice
apple fans for garnish
Preparation:
1.Blend all together with crushed ice.
2.Pour the mix equally into two gloass or one large one sip and enjoy

Oh my god hot of the press news Ibiza and the Balearic’s coming to Manchester from Friday 1 May to Monday 4 May. The Balearic Islands tune will be belting is out round the city. In Albert square where with be 2 tents, where there will be by nine Minorca horses and riders plus music, dancing and street acts. There will also be demonstrations of arts and crafts, with food and drink including cheese, olive and tasely native treats . Best thing about it its all free yippppeeee
It’s going to be a little bit Christmas market but with a summer feel
In preparation try these little cocktails number
IBIZA
• 10cl Water melon juice
• 2cl Strawberry syrup or hand full of mushed up strawberries
• 8cl Pineapple juice
• 4 cl vodka
Shake the ingredients. Pour into an ice filled glass.

As May day signals the start of summer in my eyes i thought it would be good to add some nice summer fruit punch’s. Gone tare he days, thank god, that it use to be the left overs of the over ripe fruit bowl mixed up with a slug of rum and dodgy wine. Please we are classy birds! Yeah yeah yeah its easy to just come up with the traditional  favourite -  fresh orange juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, sweetened cranberry juice & some chilled wine (chuck all together and serve cold) but i want new.

Although this one looks similar the odd change here and there do make a massive difference by god it has a punch!

English cold alcoholic fruit

• 1 measure of Gin
• 2 measures of Lemonade
• 2 measure of wine or Champers
• 1 measure of Orange Juice
• 1 measure of Apple Juice
• Lots of ice
• Sliced oranges and lemons

Add  together mix and serve I like this one in particulr as none of that pester apple pieces floating about

Nothing like planning a head so i thought I’d see where the best offers are the forthcoming bank holiday so stock up and get that bbq ready

Bargin Booze have offers on Carling, Gaymers Cidar, Bloosom Hill wine

• CARLSBERG 275ml ONLY 89p EACH OR 4 PACK FOR £3.00
• GAYMERS ORIGINAL 568ml (APPLE or PEAR) ONLY £1.29 EACH OR BUY ANY 4 FOR £4.00
• BLOSSOM HILL SIGNITURE BLEND 75cl £2.99 EACH

Asda

• Grolsch 20 cans 275mls for £12
• Stella 15 cans 440ml for £11
  

Tesco

• Banrock Station Reserve Chardonnay Verdelho Australia £4.99
• Namaqua Diamond Coast Chardonnay £3.99
• Beck’s Vier Lager (10×440ml) £8.59T
• BEST EVER OFFER Budweiser Lager 10×300ml £9.26 OR 2 FOR £12.00

What is it about the soaps everyone feature a pub queen vic, wool pack, the rovers all they seem to do is drink. Is it only me but when ever there is any issue before they never go home and discuss it like normal people  oh no first they have to go to the local, get everyone’s attention and tell the whole neighbourhood. Can you imagine that in normal life no one would even notice or care! Oh yeah look i maybe out of touch but who ever gets a carry out from the pub… haven’t they heard of offies or the corner shop or god forbid the 24 hour supermarkets Like anyone who go intotehpub and ask for the £10 bottle of wine from teh pub when you you can pay £4 for it at threashers!!!

The Royle Family no not Buckingham palace crew but better Caroline Aherne was spotted in Harvey Nichols having lunch with David Walliams. Oh my god i was just in there. I must say tough they do have fab taste. I don’t think they were having the Nic special meal deal at the moment but I have to tell you . Harvey Nics have a really good offer at the mo £25 for three course meal plus unlimited wine - Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The cocktails are pretty gorgeous too maybe Ms.Aherne was slipping on a margarita. Well this brings me to an earlier post called marvellous margarita

On the Second Floor in the Nic’s Bar on Saturday 30 May they are holding - The Marvelous Margarita event it offers you the chance to mix and shake classic cocktails for £25 per person.

What do you think know of any other cocktail events out there?

Ive been trying to think up of some little delights to celebrate the London Marathon. Look brace yourself now I have gone off in a tangent a bit but bear with me

Well I thought well Marathon is based in a city .. city being London ..so when all else fails look to Sex in the City for inspiration mmmm sounded good at the time!

Come on if these were waiting for you at the finish line wouldn’t you run faster

Flirtini

• 1 shot Absolut
• 4 shots champagne
• 1 shot pineapple juice

Mix vodka and pineapple juice into champagne in glass and stir.

Tartini

• 1½ shots raspberry vodka
• ½ shot Chambord
• ½ shot cranberry juice
• ¾ shot lime juice

Shake all ingredients well with ice and fine strain in to a glass.

If i’d run 26 miles i would love these to welcome me home xx

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

I was watching TV the other night and during the breaks there were a number of adverts for alcho-pops. Some would think that these type of drinks a relativley new, but I remember them as far back as the early 90’s.

One of the first ones I can remember was Bacardi Breeze, then there was Castaway and a mixture of drinks called MD 202o.  One of my favourites was called a Blast Away, this was when you mixed a bottle of Diamond White with a bottle of Castaway in a pint glass, there was many a cloudy night after drinking this mix which tatsed like Lilt, but was just a little bit stronger.

The alcho-pop which seemed to Kick the whole craze off was a drink called Hoopers Hooch, Can you still get this ? It was a Lemonade type drink with a bit of a kick.  Since then there have been numerous other drinks invented, most of which I have never tried as I like to think my tastes are a bit more refined now.

Oh the memories !!!