Better than Subway: Home-made meatball marinara sub

I love Subway's meatball marinara subs - while they can be a bit messy (the meatballs have a tendency to fall out of the bottom if you're not careful), the combination of soft bun, saucy meatballs, and melted cheese is irresistably good (top tip: add a drizzle of BBQ sauce for extra deliciousness - once you've tried it you won't go back!)

So - following in the footsteps of the gourmet burger joints which seem to be popping up everywhere at the moment - I've created my own, upgraded verison of the meatball sub.

Homemade meatballs

I like to make a double portion of these - half for spaghetti and meatballs, half for my subs:

1 pound extra lean beef mince

1 pound lean pork mince (this gives the meatballs a lighter texture, but feel free to substitute with extra beef if you prefer)

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 eggs

Dried breadcrumbs

Salt and pepper

Olive oil (for cooking)

Leftover meatballs and marinara sauce - ready to be 'subbed'!

Place your mince into a large mixing bowl with the eggs and crushed garlic. Season generously with salt and pepper and mix everything together with your fingers. Add as many dried breadcrumbs as you need to achieve a good consistency - the meat mixture should be moist, but easy to shape.

Roll the meat mixture in the palm of your hand to form your meatballs. The smaller they are, the faster they will cook. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and add your meatballs. Turn every few minutes until brown on all sides, then lower the heat (to avoid burning) and continue to fry until they are cooked all the way through (I recommend cutting one open to check).

Marinara sauce

Again, if you're making spaghetti and meatballs in the same week, it's easy enough to make a double batch of this and save half until you need it. If you're only making the subs and can't be bothered to make a tomato sauce from scratch, a jar of pasta sauce is nearly as good.

1 jar tomato passata or two tins chopped tomatoes

Squeeze tomato puree

Glug of red wine

2 cloves garlic

Fresh basil, roughly torn

Salt and pepper

If you like your marinara sauce sweet, add a small dollop of tomato ketchup or half a teaspoon of sugar to the sauce.

This couldn't be simpler to cook - simply add everything into a pan and simmer for 20 minutes or so. The quantities of the different ingredients can all be adjusted to taste.

Hot ciabatta with melted cheese

Final steps

Bake-at-home ciabatta

Grated mozarella cheese

Toppings - I like to add lettuce, sweetcorn and black olives, along with a drizzle of BBQ sauce, and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Cook your ciabatta as per instructions on the packet (it should take about 10 minutes). When it's done,  slice the roll down the centre, and sprinkle each half with grated mozarella cheese. Pop the two halves under the grill for a minute or so until the cheese is melted.

Cut your meatballs in two, and place them (flat side down) onto one half of your cheesy toasted ciabatta. Spread the other ciabatta half with your marinara sauce. Add your toppings, BBQ sauce, and parmesan cheese. Carefully bring the two sides of the ciabatta together, cut into two, and serve.

And there you have it: a gourmet meatball marinara sub. Delicious.

Afternoon tea at Claridges

I have wanted to try the afternoon tea at Claridges since I first moved to London, over two years ago now. So why did it take me so long to finally go? Two reasons. Firstly, at £39 for what is effectively a very fancy afternoon snack, it's not exactly cheap, and I needed to earn some money first. And secondly, you have to book ridiculously far in advance to get a weekend spot...and while I'm pretty organised, it seems almost pathological to know what you're doing twenty weekends ahead of time.

Having given up once before and gone to The Connaught instead (which was lovely, and more importantly, only needed a mere (!) six weeks' advance notice) I finally ended up having afternoon tea at Claridges last weekend.

My friend and I had booked (three months in advance, I might add) for the relatively late 5pm slot. The cakes may be dainty, but you do get a huge amount of food at an afternoon tea (especially if you take advatage of the free refills), and to make it worth the money - and to save room for all the tasty food - it's a good idea to have it as the main meal of your day. So, after preparing our stomachs with a tiny lunch and a drizzly but appetite-building walk across London, we were good to go.

Shaking off our umbrellas outside the door, we entered the grand lobby, where we were directed to the cloakroom to 'freshen up' before our meal. The cloakroom at Claridges is worthy of a visit in itself: decorated in a delightful art deco style, it features frescoed walls, wood-panelled toilets, and a whole row of dressing tables for touching up your make-up.

Fully refreshed, we headed to the Reading Room to take our seats for the afternoon tea. High-ceilinged and softly lit, the Reading Room is also decorated in full art deco style, with elegant archways and intricately carved pillars lining the walls. The atmosphere was lovely: live piano music tinkled away for the duration of our meal, while other diners clustered happily around little tables, engaging in relaxed conversation over pots of tea and delicate cakes.

Our meal began with an introduction from the waiter, who assisted us in choosing from the vast selection of teas listed on the menu. After some consideration, we both opted for the special jubilee blend. A fairly traditional black tea, this wasn't the most adventurous choice, but was a lovely accompaniment to our food.

With our tea, we were served with the first course of the afternoon tea: a plate of tasty finger sandwiches. Ham and mustard sandwiches were very good: cut into rectangles, with soft bread encasing a thick and tasty wedge of cured ham, these were light but satisfyingly meaty. Smoked salmon with cream cheese was also lovely, although my favourites were the little triangles filled with deliciously creamy smoked chicken and egg mayonnaise. The only weak point for me were the cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches: bland and soggy, I've never really understood the appeal of cucumber as a sandwich filling. However, my friend (who is more refined than me) thought they were very nice!

When asked if we would like refills, we (of course) were happy to accept, and contentedly nibbled away on a second plate, although - aware of the need to save room for the oncoming sweets - we didn't quite get through the full batch*.

Next up were the scones and cakes. Four miniature scones - two apple and two raisin - were served warm with a pot of gorgeously thick clotted cream and a delicious Marco Polo tea-infused jam. Split down the middle and slathered with both toppings, these were delicious, and their dainty size made them very maneagable (OK, I admit it...so maneagable we ordered a refill!).

The tray of cakes arrived at the same time as the scones and featured a good variety of treats.

Champage jelly was served in a shot glass, above a layer of berries.The clear jelly had a surprisingly strong champagne flavour, and was very refreshing (although somewhat difficult to share!).

Next up was a slice of dense, incredibly rich chocolate cake. Topped with three semi-spheres of mousse and a thin layer of chocolate, this was fudgy and intensely chocolately: delicious but perhaps a bit too rich for my liking (especially alongside all the other sweet treats!).

The berry tart was also delicious, with a tasty berry filling encased in delicious short-crust pasty and topped with a crumble topping (stained a rich velvet red) and a scattering of hazelnuts.

The final treat was a miniature loaf of lavender-scented sponge. Topped with a swirl of tasty buttercream, this had a lovely crumb and a delicate floral flavour.

With our refill of scones, we received two more slices of the chocolate gateau. Caught up in greed I ate mine, despite being beyond full at this point...and as punishment, ended my meal feeling a bit sick! In spite of that, this was a fantastic experience, and one I hope to repeat some time in the future. Despite the price, the afternoon tea was actually pretty good value: the service was excellent, the atmopshere was great, and as well as serving in place of a main meal, it filled me up for most of the next day too.

*The one annoying thing about afternoon tea is that you don't seem to be able to go back and forth between sweet and savoury - a few bites of our left-over sandwiches would have been a welcome break from the scones and sweet pasties later in the meal, but sadly our unfinished plate was cleared away...

Drink Shop & Do

This post has been languishing half-finished in my drafts folder since September, so it feels quite satisfying to finally hit the publish button!

I ended up in Drink Shop & Do - a cool concept cafe near Kings Cross - after an extremely unsuccesful trip to the Kings Cross ice-cream festival (it was raining, half the stands were closed, and they ran out of ice-cream just before we arrived. NIGHTMARE!). Ice-cream hopes dashed,we decided to find somewhere out of the rain for a cup of tea and a bite to eat. My friend suggested Drink, Shop & Do.

What do you call an ice-cream festival with no ice-cream...?

A mere 2 minutes walk from Kings Cross, Drink, Shop & Do is an awesome combo of cafe, shop, arts & crafts studio and performance venue (we were kicked out at 7.30pm for a comedy show). And if you're looking for something a bit more 'grown-up', you can head downstairs (through a door ominously marked "adult & erotica") to Drink, Shop & Dance for music and dancing.

Tasty cakes :)

Upon entering, we passed through the small shop in the front (selling whimsical gifts and a tempting selection of pic n' mix) and up a flight of steps to the light, airy cafe. Cheerily decorated with a brightly painted bar, mismatched chairs, and a swarm of colourful kites and streamers hanging from the ceiling, this had a fun, arty vibe - a great spot for whiling away an afternoon, drinking tea and maybe playing a game of Scrabble or two (they have a decent collection of board games for customers to borrow).

Through an archway on the back wall, we found a snug side-room: dimly lit and draped in jewel-toned silks, it was a bit more cosy than the main room (although no less kitsch!). We settled down for a brew and a good catch-up.

The menu is extremely wide-ranging, offering everything from breakfast to bar snacks. You can even order a tea cupful of sweets! There's plenty of typical cafe fare (soups, quiche, salads, sandwiches), a good selection of cakes, and a choice of four different afternoon teas - including the tongue-in-cheek "man's afternoon tea" featuring pork pies, scotch eggs, and (of course) a Yorkie, and the more sophisticated "royal afternoon tea" (which comes with a glass of Perrier Jouet champagne).

There's also a very comprehensive selection of teas, some interesting cocktails, and even a decent wine list. Basically, Drink, Shop & Do has it all.

http://www.drinkshopdo.com/Drink,_Shop_%26_Do/Drink,_Shop_&_Do_—_Menus_files/Full%20Menu.pdf

On this occasion, I opted for a late lunch of quiche and salad, which was excellent (and at only £6.80, fairly good value for what was a pretty filling meal). One of my friends went for the lemon drizzle cake (dense, moist, tasty), while the other ordered a plate of cheese and pickle finger sandwiches. Served on gleaming white bread, cut into eight mini triangles with the crusts sliced off, this was a very party-food-esque snack. In fact the whole place feels a bit like a kid's birthday party (in a good, colourful, pass-the-parcel, jelly-and-ice-cream kind of way).

As well as food and drink, Drink, Shop & Do also have a menu of 'dos': from clay sculpting and knitting, to 50s pin-up makeover sessions, these would be great for hen parties, birthdays, or corporate events.

With so much on offer, Drink, Shop & Do is definitely one of the best 'all-round' venues I've come across in London. It's nice to find somewhere with so much character this close to Kings Cross - with all the activities, it would be a perfect place to spend a couple of hours if your train is delayed (a bit more exciting than playing Angry Birds on your phone in Starbucks!)