Argyle House

Sadly, I haven’t been cooking much the last few days; what with the gym, work and more work! But I would like to post about the lovely meal I had at the Argyle House on Friday night. We were supposed to go to a restaurant in Ayr (about a 50 mins drive), however, the mist fell down quite bad that evening and we decided to stay closer to home for our feast.

My starter was Black Pudding Fritters with Savoy Cabbage and an Arran Mustard Essence. I was quite surprised to see two black puddings on my plate, as they are quite filling! I couldn’t finish it, but the taste was phenomenal. You could tell the black pudding was of a very good quality, by it’s soft, velvety texture (which went wonderfully with the crisp batter). I’d never tried savoy cabbage before (the aftermath of my childhood veggie phobia!) and I was pleasantly surprised with it; it was nice and light… a perfect accompaniment to the weighty black pudding. I was interested to see how the mustard sauce would fare against the black pudding, as they are both really strong in flavour. They paired together wonderfully and I really want to learn how to make my own “mustard essence”, as I feel it would be a great addition to so many different dishes. If I were to make this dish myself, I would perhaps use more batter and reduce the amount of black pudding to one slice.

After my triumph of tasting salmon for the first time last week, I continued my boldness, by opting for a Main Course of Seared Sea-Bass Fillets on a Smoked Haddock Fishcake with Harissa Mayonaisse. I can now say I am a fan of Sea-Bass! It was delicious! I didn’t eat the skin (purely psychological – I can’t even eat skin on chicken), but I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable and I will eat it again soon. The haddock fishcake was beautiful. I thought there would have been chunks of haddock throughout the cake, but I couldn’t see/taste any. The smoky haddock flavour was definitely present though. The Harrissa sauce set it off wonderfully, with it’s creamy texture and spicy aftertaste. The peppery rocket gave the whole dish a lovely lighter balance. If I were to make this myself, I would have more sea-bass and less fishcake on my plate.

My last course of the evening was Crushed Fudge and Baileys Crème Brulée. I usually go for a chocolate dessert when I’m in a restaurant, but this one sounded tremendous. It didn’t disappoint. Cue theatrical “mmmmmm”‘s whilst devouring the lot! The shortbread wasn’t necessary though; the Crème brulée was deceptively filling. They are so easy to make, yet look so impressive! I may invest in a blow torch…