Mt. Somers and Ross Cottage (November 25)
We were slow (as usual) to get started on our little adventure, but we finally got out of the city around 2:30, with a trunk full of cheese, meat pies, wine and beer. After a leisurely stop at Castle Hills (a magical karst limestone landscape that looks like a castle ruin), we arrived at our home for the next two days: Ross Cottage.
“This kitchen is better equipped than mine!” exclaimed Crystal, as we loaded our “self-catering” food into it. There was even a pantry full of homemade preserves: crabapple quince jelly, raspeberry jam, marmalade, canned fruit, all for our use—and cookies in the cookie jar. We settled in to our little 130 year old cottage with great pleasure.
Our tour guides who were taking us out on a tour the next day, stopped in to say hello. We built a fire and enjoyed some Monteith’s original and black ales (similar to Guinness in colour, and nutty and spicy like a stout, but without the creamy heavienses. Sort of the best of both worlds—all the taste, none of the heaviness). The original ale was brewed in the style of a pale ale, and at 4% alcohol content, it went down almost too easily.
Crystal and I focused mostly on wine, sampling a Vicar’s Choice Merlot that went very nicely with our meat pies. Kelly and Jeff thought the beer was also a good choice. My favourite was the satay chicken, with its creamy, peanutty curry sauce and vegetables--and perhaps similarity to my favourite soup. The steak pies (plain, steak and mushroom, steak and cheese) were also delicious—tender chunks of beef swam in a sweet, oniony gravy.
The plain mince pie lacked a certain something when it was compared to the steak pies. Most of us agreed that the chicken with cream cheese, apricots and cashews, while innovative and delicious, was really more of a dessert. With a little salad for balance, we sat by the fire a while longer before calling it a night.
“This kitchen is better equipped than mine!” exclaimed Crystal, as we loaded our “self-catering” food into it. There was even a pantry full of homemade preserves: crabapple quince jelly, raspeberry jam, marmalade, canned fruit, all for our use—and cookies in the cookie jar. We settled in to our little 130 year old cottage with great pleasure.
Our tour guides who were taking us out on a tour the next day, stopped in to say hello. We built a fire and enjoyed some Monteith’s original and black ales (similar to Guinness in colour, and nutty and spicy like a stout, but without the creamy heavienses. Sort of the best of both worlds—all the taste, none of the heaviness). The original ale was brewed in the style of a pale ale, and at 4% alcohol content, it went down almost too easily.
Crystal and I focused mostly on wine, sampling a Vicar’s Choice Merlot that went very nicely with our meat pies. Kelly and Jeff thought the beer was also a good choice. My favourite was the satay chicken, with its creamy, peanutty curry sauce and vegetables--and perhaps similarity to my favourite soup. The steak pies (plain, steak and mushroom, steak and cheese) were also delicious—tender chunks of beef swam in a sweet, oniony gravy.
The plain mince pie lacked a certain something when it was compared to the steak pies. Most of us agreed that the chicken with cream cheese, apricots and cashews, while innovative and delicious, was really more of a dessert. With a little salad for balance, we sat by the fire a while longer before calling it a night.
posted by Noelle | 4:58 PM
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