The Primitivo Pheasant

At the weekend we were in Cheltenham for a friends birthday. The evening meal was to be at Balti Walla, an Indian on Bath Road with bring your own drinks. Bring your own you say? Hurrah! Sounds like a great opportunity to pick a good bottle and pay shop, not restaurant prices. So along with exploring the city centre we went on a mission to find the perfect wine pairing for that evening! K vaguely remembered a wine shop/bar in Montpellier from a previous visit to Cheltenham so off we marched. Alas, when we arrived at said shop, we found it closed for refurbishment! Pants. In the long run good, but that didn't help us tonight. We carried on up the street and to our joy found a little independent wine and spirit shop called Appellation Nation. The friendly proprietor came to our aid amongst the vast choice of bottles and uttered those magical words 'Are you after anything specific?' We explained we were after a nice red to go with a curry and would like his recommendatio...

Fresh fish is always a winner in my books. Tonight my other half K cooked a quick, light and fresh dish of brill fillets with a vegetable couscous. First he added rock salt, pepper and lemon zest to the dry couscous, added a mix of boiling water and pinot grigio wine and left to soak. While the couscous was cooking, he heated up some sesame oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and soy sauce in the wok. Once the mixture started bubbling, a mix of tender stem broccoli, kale, slices of red onion and carrot ribbons was added and cooked through with the sauce. For the brill itself we bought 4 'cook in the bag' fillets from Waitrose fish counter (ok, yes we cheated, but it was quick and they always turn out delicious!). Being filleted we didn't event have the hassle of bones to pick out. The couscous was mixed into the wok vegetables and cooked for a further couple of minutes. Then, served into a bowl with the brill placed (plonked) on top. To drink, a nice glass of Ar...

A warm welcome to my blog The Primitivo Pheasant will take you on a culinary journey through eating out, home cooking, wine, cocktails, local produce and favourite recipes. Living in Exeter, this blog will be mainly Devon-based but with adventures further afield! With eating out regularly, I like trying new restaurants - of which Exeter currently has an abundance - but also going back to old favourites for their updated seasonal menus. As for the home cooking side, I'm lucky to have a partner who enjoys being in the kitchen; he does the savoury, I do the sweet, both of us drink the wine! I love a good cookery program, my current favourite being Great British Menu, although I can't go too long without a John, Greg, Marcus and Monica fix! I can never decide on a favourite food as I enjoy everything save for oysters (the texture!) and anything overly mushroom-y. Real Italian has got to be up there, but classic French and modern British dishes are also winners. I love wine...