Sharing La Famiglia at Prezzo – Family Pasta Bowl

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Fiona Martin

La Famiglia is the latest addition to the menu at Prezzo, one of our favourite family haunts when looking for a restaurant that caters for all the family with food that we enjoy. Fortunately our local Prezzo is set in a stunning waterside location so it’s always a pleasure to enjoy a meal there and we couldn’t wait to try out the latest offering that they have introduced for families.

Inside we sat down and the children were given paper menus with plenty of activities on the back that always keep them occupied although as we were visiting during lunchtime it was fairly quiet so it wasn’t long before our Garlic Bread starters arrived. We had two pizza style breads topped with garlic and cheese. You can have caramelised onions but we opted without to save the children picking them off! They were thin with a perfectly baked crispness to them and plenty of cheese – we all devoured these until the plates were empty, always a winner with the whole family!

Next up was the main course, the La Famiglia Sharing Bowl, which we were really excited to try. You have a choice of four different pasta dishes:

Penne Arrabiata
Spaghetti Bolognese
Spaghetti Carbonara
Penne Alla Rusticana

We (or should I say I) opted for the Penne Arrabiata being vegetarian myself but knew everyone else would enjoy it just as much. The bonus of this option is multiple, not only do you not have to mess around waiting for people to pick their menu options, but it means it’s quicker to order so less hungry children and also no bickering when the food arrives as we all have exactly the same! An added bonus is that the main dish works out a lot cheaper at £18.90 by sharing the family dish between four as opposed to buying four separate meals.

We served up the mains and all tucked in, it was thoroughly tasty and we all came back for seconds with each of us having as much or as little as we wanted. This is the bonus of a sharing dish, you can serve up smaller amounts for little guests and daddy can have a bigger portion. There really is a generous amount and by the time we had cleared the dish we were all quite full, but still had a little bit of room for dessert.

We all had ice cream which was the perfect finish to our meal, as you can see we are all rather fond of the chocolate flavour and it went down a treat!

We all really enjoyed trying out the La Famiglia sharing bowl, it certainly made the meal seem like proper family time with us all eating the same thing and serving it out of one bowl. The kids got involved in helping themselves and we all enjoyed the same food. We’d definitely go back again to enjoy eating out together as a family with a sharing dish – a great way to bring families together, especially fussy eating children as they watch everyone else eat the same food and tuck in the same!

This post is an entry for the #PrezzoLaFamiglia Challenge, sponsored by Prezzo

Mister B’s 4th Birthday

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Fiona Martin

A couple of weeks ago my dear Mister B celebrated his 4th birthday. He was so excited, although had been quite specific in his requests for his special day. He only wanted a few friends round at home, for dancing, pass the parcel and musical statues so that’s exactly what we did.

After opening his presents early in the morning, we then walked big sister, Miss M to school. Usually being a little shy and reluctant to talk to strangers, he had a new found courage now that he is 4 and told everyone we saw along the way that he is now 4! lol

In the afternoon Daddy took him to the aquarium while I prepped for the party, and he proudly told the receptionist that he was 4 meaning Daddy had to buy a membership card for him. They then picked Miss M up from school and came home eagerly awaiting his friends to arrive.

Amazingly they all bought him Spiderman toys which he thought was hilarious, but incredibly pleased with them. We played various games to music and then I suggested my favourite party game to calm them down, Sleeping Lions. To my surprise they all cheered and told me how much they loved that game, and before I said anything more they were all laid down on the floor with their eyes shut… and their was silence!!

I then sat them down for some party food followed by singing Happy Birthday and blowing the candles on his Spiderman cake! Mister B was thrilled with his cake (even though mummy cheated and bought the cake! Shhh!).

For the next week Mister B has proudly told everyone, everywhere that he is 4, from the cashiers in the supermarkets, to teachers at the school, and anyone, anywhere that I happen to chat to! On the Saturday, Nanny & Grandad kindly took us to Prezzo to celebrate his birthday where he enjoyed pizza followed by chocolate ice cream. Then he opened his presents from them and as you can see in the above picture, his favourite present believe it or not was a Spiderman cushion! He has been so cute and lays his head on this everynight. Aw my baby boy is growing up, and whenever I’ve called him my little baby or little boy over the last two weeks, he turns round and says “I’m not your baby, I’m 4!!”

Miss M’s 6th Birthday!!

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Fiona Martin

Six years ago today, I spent New Year’s Eve in labour to give birth to the first baby born in 2008 at our local hospital. Having rushed to hospital at 11.30ish pm after finally realising the twinges I had been feeling all evening were contractions, I eventually gave birth to my amazing daughter Miss M just after 1am.

To see her progression over the last six years is amazing, rewarding and incredibily challenging at times but what a delightful daughter she has turned out to be.

With a desire for ice skating we promised she could go a couple of days before her birthday, I have to say it wasn’t an experience I enjoyed with the water logged ice, and bunches of teenagers whizzing their way round in groups, but Miss M was at home on the ice gliding round without a care in the world!

The next challenge was to make her a birthday cake. She had requested a princess cake and after much decision making over the last few months I decided to make her a doll cake. I had planned on purchasing a poundshop doll to use but due to the horrific weather and lack of time I hadn’t been out so used my circa 30 year old Barbie doll as the centerpiece!! Wrapping her in clingfilm and making sponges using 10 eggs, 500g each of sugar, flour and butter I finally created 4 round sponge cakes and 12 cupcakes. I covered them in pink buttercream using my favourite nozzle to create rose like swirls and then sprayed the cake in with a silver spray to give it a fabulous glimmer in the light.

The cupcakes were used to hand out in party bags at Miss M’s party on New Year’s Eve and the main cake to be kept until New Year’s Day, Miss M’s official Birthday!!

The lunchtime of New Year’s Eve was Miss M’s birthday party at a local soft play centre, the first time I haven’t had any direct involvement in the party and although it wasn’t my ideal venue, it was the easiest party I’ve ever held and it was Miss M’s choice of venue so she was happy. It felt so good to walk away at the end and not have to clear up but have a happy little girl who had the party of her choice!

Had you not noticed above, I just have to point out that Miss M is in a dress, and not just any old dress, a NEXT party dress. Something that I never thought I would see, but something that she voluntarily chose and I bought, and she did not disappoint by wearing it on the day!

It was so lovely to see both my children dressed up, Mister B loves his tie and would wear it every day if he could but seeing Miss M in a dress is so nice, she’d normally rather be in shorts and tights!

For New Year’s Eve evening we went for dinner at Prezzo, a restaurant I like as it is perfect for children with it’s loud atmosphere and a menu they love especially with the bambinocino to finish the meal! It also emptied out on a few tables behind us as we ate early, and Miss M and Mister B took to the floor to do a bit of Strictly Come Dancing which was really cute.

It was back to Nan and Grandad’s house for some Wii games with Mister B and Cousin L before taking a huge bubble jacuzzi bath then going to bed for the official birthday wake up!

On New Year’s Day Miss M was thrilled to received a dolls house tall enough to fit her Barbie dolls and my Sindy dolls that she plays with.

All in all a lovely day enjoyed by all the family and a six year old daughter, Miss M!!

Mister B is 2!!

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Fiona Martin

Last week my gorgeous Mister B celebrated his 2^nd birthday!! Where have the last two years gone? My little baby boy is now a charming, cute little boy whose favourite phrase of the week is “I like birthday cake!!”. Instead of having a party this year we just had a small celebration with family at home but did pop out to Prezzo for lunch which my children love. I love the setting of the restaurant which sits alongside the water and is great to go for a walk along after your meal for a bit of fresh air. Mister B was a little grumpy when we arrived as it was 12pm and he was rather eager for his dinner but once it was brought to the table he got stuck right in.

Miss M couldn’t wait for dessert, they both chose ice cream which comes with Miss M’s favourite, the Bambinocino!! Being a huge fan Miss M devoured both her own and Mister B’s leaving her with a chocolate sprinkled milky moustache!!

After a yummy meal enjoyed by all (lite pizza and salad for mummy but I did sneak a honeycomb smash cheesecake for dessert) we ventured back to the house for present opening and cakes. I opted for the easy option of cupcakes this year although they did taste rather yummy. Poor Mister B though didn’t really understand the concept of blowing out the candles and looked rather afraid but never fear, big sister is here. She couldn’t wait to blow the candles out on behalf of her baby brother – ahh!!

And then to the present opening – Miss M took control here too, assisting Mister B in ripping off the paper to reveal his array of birthday presents. His favourites being his wooden railway, Happyland construction site and his Cath Kidston dinosaur merchandise (backpack, pyjamas, plate, dish & beaker and a set of play dinosaurs!!).

A happy day had by all – congratulations Mister B!!