Last week we bottled 2000 of these with our good friend Alessandro at Sandonna. It’s a great and simple red wine which reminds you of being on holiday. Full of fruit. To many who have been waiting, its Back! To those who want to discover great “Vino Rosso” come and check it out. We will be distributing it to local off sales by the end of the month.

Along with the wine we picked over a ton of Olives and pressed them at the Communal press to make our New Olive Oil for the year. Green grassy and peppery. Like nothing you have ever tasted. All just in time for Christmas presents, hampers, drinking & cooking.

We are of course really late with our Christmas Menu but it is ready!

Is that Freudian? Probably! download here: cookiechirstmasmenu2011 Please have a look, pass it on, book a table, tell your friends.

In the next week our menu structure will change at Cookie. We are making a concerted effort to up a gear. Cookie will be faster, better and more interesting. Why don’t you check us out, try us again, and let us know what you think.

This weeks menu on the web site. It now changes regularly to let you know what is going on:

Salt Brisket & mash with mustard, caper & herb sauce, Breast of Wild Mallard with fondant beetroot & glaze figs. Spice pumpkin & cauliflower stew with cashew nuts & crispy onion. Pan fried fillet of Sea Bream & pea bonne femme. Pasta with Hare Ragout and an exploration of Sicilian vegetarian cuisine

It is an eventful month at Cookie with lots of changes. New season new menu.

This weekend we host part of the BungoFest with an exhibition and video installation called “Himptology” by “Hole in my Pocket”. A new religion is formed from the best bits of lots of others.

Book now for a mini performance of The Barber of Seville brought to Cookie by Scottish Opera this month on Tuesday the 18th between 7 and 8pm

This out reach program by Scottish Opera is here to wet your appetite and introduce the unfamiliar to Opera.

It is a great way to start your evening with Rossini’s fun opera. Come for an early dinner or warm up your evening with dinner afterwards.

At the end of the month we will hold our regular “Chef Wars” event with a Halloween twist. 3 cooks 3 mains and 3 puddings. Book your place ring side and at £20 a head with culinary excellence at stake, it is great food an a great evening.

We have always had some kooky wines at Cookie. Our House red will be familiar to many of you, it has been missing for a while now due to lack of time to make a trip. Not to worry, Alessandro’s house is on its way. We have reserved 2000 lt of the stuff for the coming year. We tasted it and are now ready to ship it, packed with almond blossom and bottled with a Cookie label.

We have been freshening up our cellar at Cookie and decided to introduce a few new arrivals to our shelves. To go with these we are putting together accompanying small dishes which bring harmony to the ensemble and illustrate the qualities of the wine. So if you are looking to enjoy a bottle of wine with a friend why not come in and try something new.

The first to mention is a Pinot Blanc by Joseph Cattin. On the palate, the wine is light, soft almost creamy, delicate and subtle, Alsace is a great wine region and this pinot blanc deserves it’s Gold Medal (2009 vintage) - General Agricole Contest of Paris 2010. It is simply lovely and a great all rounder.

Number two is our name sake Kuki. When we heard the name we had to try it and it doesn’t let you down. It had to be good as this is our first concession to Non European wine. It is a Malborough Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. Crisp and refreshing with all the gooseberry and passion fruit you would expect with a tingle in the finish.

Brachetto D’Aqui. Someone told me this was in last months Vogue magazine as the wine to drink this summer. We didn’t find the article on the web but it made us smile to know we are well ahead of the game by stocking this great and very different sparkling rose. It is truly is a wonderful bubbly fruity wine which will make you smile. It is all strawberry but not a fragolino. At 5% vol it’s not going to knock you out. It is the perfect summer opener. Surprise your friends. 

In the Red department we have added two interesting and missing actors to our list. The first is a beautiful Bordeaux with a blend of 75% Cabernet Franc and 25% Merlot.  Chateau la Croix St Benoit from 2009. You wont get better claret for under a tenner.

Barbera D’Alba from Mascarello. It must be the summer black truffles we brought back from Amelia last month sending subliminal messages. We can’t charge a restaurant mark up for this wine as nobody would buy, it so we have just applied a corkage rate to keep the price down and allow you to enjoy one of Italy’s great red wines. A plate of prosciutto, a bruschetta with truffle oil and a couple of pieces of Parmesan. Bob’s your uncle.

Our next show is dedicated to a local artist, Craig Smillie. Craig’s work will be familiar to many, he is an active member of our community having lived in the Pollokshields area most of his life. This exhibition focuses on our surroundings. It’s the first exhibition in Cookie to make such a strong local connection. Craig’s love of colour and the South warms up familiar locations in our neighbourhood.

Feelings of familiarity and recognition are emotions that ground us and link us to where we live. They are key components in building community. Craig’s depiction of people and buildings in bright bold watercolour achieve this.

We hope you can come and see it.

In addition down stairs we have created a wall with our collection of postcards that you have been sending us since we opened Cookie. This lovely idea was the brainchild of Sally Paton, Craig’s neighbour. Maybe you can see something you did?  Maybe it was your child’s work or that of a friend. We have selected a wide range for your entries about your time in Cookie and your thoughts, your ideas and critique.

Cookie Opens Monday for lunch

We have decided to re open on Mondays for lunch only. We will be open from 11am through to 3.30pm. Why not try our new spring lunch menu, our 2 course set and pre theatre for £11.5o or a Soup and a half open sandwich for  £6.95.

Bavaria Bakehouse & Cookie

We have teamed up with the Bavaria Bakehouse to bring you some great bread.

Whether it be their famous sourdough, the rye and oats, pumpkin seed or a fluffy Italian white. You will find freshly baked bread for sale at Cookie everyday. Why not order a loaf?

Chef Wars the pro version Monday 25th

We will be open this bank holiday Monday and finish off the day with A special all Pro Chef Wars. Come and see the professionals fight it out on Monday the 25th. Booking is essential.

Cookie Cuts a Sunday Chill 1st May

Cookie Cuts our new Sunday evening chill out starts on the 1st of May. Ali Campbell kicks off the first in a new Sunday night evening events with

First Sunday of every month… from 4pm until 8

(but if the vibe is still going then so are we).  From  the 1st May, 5th June, 3rd July, 7th August

Music from AC/DJ – Laidback Vibes and Social Grooves, across all genres, mixed and blended to please.

Food and drink from Cookie – Regular menu supplemented by Cookie’s Aperitivo

selection and sharing plates.

Sit back and chill Southside at Cookie on a Sunday Afternoon.

Have you heard about the Woodlands Community garden? www.woodlandscommunitygarden.org.uk. We catered for their first aniverasy party this weekend and had a great time. Our children played in a prefect playground for learning, they discovered how to make a house using woven willow and enjoyed the freedom to run around with other children their age in a way that is so rarely possible these days.

It is a magic project which is building bridges with the local community, its schools and residents while developing awareness of the important ecological issues of or time. All that & they are making a really great garden out of a derelict site which had been collecting cans and bottles since the 1970′s.  

You can find it on West Princes St close to St George’s Cross. Most of the structure of the garden seems to be in place and as spring unfolds it will fill with colour new interests and have a few good things that can be eaten to crop.

The communities of Strathbungo & Pollokshields would do well to make reference to such a successful initiative. They have managed in these hard times to secure some funding for next year which is great news.

Take the kids, go for some great food at the one and only Asia Kitchen and have a walk round the corner to discover this lovely Glasgow garden.