After a fabulous weekend with great friends (M & G) in the Cotswolds, who like us appreciate good food, good ales and good wine it only deserves a few words and photos.

First came lunch at one of their local pubs The Old Spot, renowned and famous for its real ales. For lunch I had the Old Ric Sausage and Mash served on a bed of mash potato with rich gravy washed down with a delicious ale called BeeKnees (a light golden beer made with local wildflower honey) and then an Old Ric from the local Uley Brewery. Another popular lunch choice for hubstar and M was the Pork and Apple Burger served in a toasted bun with apple sauce, parmesan flakes and salad. The dauphinoise potatoes are also worth a mention as they were amazing! Oh and a lovely bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc! All in all a fantastic pub with great food, ales and white wine (even though we didn’t win the Easter Sunday quiz!).

In the evening G cooked an amazing 3 course meal.  Poached Pear with Stilton Sauce followed by Salmon Coubiliac* and finished with Brandy Tart with fresh fruits and cream. As many of you know rice isn’t always my favourite thing but I couldn’t get enough of the rice in the Coubiliac  All accompanied with a small bottle of Prosecco. It was totally delicious; we were totally spoilt.

The next day we headed to another Cotswolds village and as it was so cold we just had to stop for lunch, into The Britannia Inn we headed for what was another amazing lunch I had the Classic Britannia Burger with tomato and gherkins, topped with thick cheddar cheese, roast garlic and smoked bacon relish, hand cut chips. Hubstar had one of the homemade pizzas as did G while M tucked into Roast Topside of Beef which was cooked to choice, perfectly pink – signs that the chef knew exactly what he was doing about. Again totally spoilt with delicious food and a lovely bottle of Spanish Rose.

Below are the photo highlights from the weekend.

Pork & Apple Burger		Old Ric Sausage & Mash		Poached Pears & Stilton Sauce
Salmon Coubiliac		Roast Topside of Beef		Classic Britannia Burger

*A Coubiliac is a Russian dish consisting of a loaf usually made with salmon or sturgeon, rice, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms, and dill. The loaf is baked in a pastry shell.