New Dishes

I've been cooking up a storm lately... new dish after new dish... here are just a few that I thought was share worthy...  Warning my pictures are not the greatest...

40 hand balled chicken sausage meatballs waiting to be put in Ina's Garten Italian Wedding Soup

Ina's Italian Wedding Soup ~ Side note: Sooo much better the next day = YUM!

Giada's Veal Scaloppini: Verdict: Saffron and so much cream isn't really needed, brothy is the way to go on this one...not so much cream... Good though.

Giada's Halibut Chickpea Salad: Verdict: Tasty and will definitely make again.

To print out these recipes just click on the links above and enjoy.

Last Day in Oslo

We wake up and have another lovely hotel breakfast and then head out to stroll around the Opera, it's a really cool Opera, it's by the water and you can walk on it's roof.  Seriously cool architecture going on here.

Oslo Opera

Walking on the roof of the Opera House

Still walking on the roof of the Opera house...

After this, we got on the Metro train and went to Holmenkollen where the very popular "Ski Jump"  and Ski jump museum is as well as beautiful panoramic views of Oslo.  We weren't sure what would be going on there that day, but were totally pumped when we arrived and learned that the FIS World Cup for Ski Jump was going on.  We bought our tickets and in we go! I swear I could watch those fearless ski jumpers jump over and over and over and over again.  I didn't want to leave.

Ski Jumping fans!

Check out the ski jumper in yellow pants in this picture! Gotta love it!

Ski Jump

I'll end by saying Oslo is great and we'd totally go back.

A few other things to do in Oslo that we didn't have time for:
Edvard Munch Museum ("The Scream" artist), The Viking Ship Museum (they have two in house), The Mini Bottle Gallery, Winter Walking Tours, and Oslo Winter Park where you can go skiing or snowboarding (they even have evening skiing).

Oslo, Norway: World Cup! Sledding!

So we wake up Saturday had a lovely breakfast at the hotel and then hopped onto the Metro train to Frognerseteren where we then walked down an ice and snow covered hill called "Kortetrekkeren" where we followed the "majority" when the crowd split down two different paths (there we no signs) and guess what??!! We ended up the Cross Country Skiing World Cup!  There was even an American in the race! Now how cool is that?! I will tell you how cool... VERY!  It was just one of those moments where life is just simply perfect.

Here are a couple pictures to help paint the picture:

Cross Country Skiing World Cup

die hard fans camping out!

After a little while we decided to find the sledding rental place, the REAL reason why we went there... I, of course, had to be the one to ask around and find out where the rental place was, I was a total local by the end of the trip... being spoken to in Norwegian left and right...  Remember, the two paths in the beginning? Had we turned with the smaller group that's where we would have ended up...  We rented our sled from Ski Service at approximately $25 each, grabbed a helmet and off we go to the "trail".  I have to admit I was pretty pumped about sledding or "sledging" as they call it in Norway.  Here I am before I take off down the hill:

Badass Sledder! 

View while sledding

View while sledding. Oslo and it's Fjord's... So pretty...

Once you get to the bottom of the hill you have to walk to the train stop to ride it back up the hill and start all over again, but this time with your sled... We go down a second time and then call it a day.  It had warmed up at this point and was more slush than snow (SAD FACE HERE)...  We then had lunch at the Frognerseteren Restaurant and it was so cozy and adorable. I had delicious soup at $18 a bowl (wowzer!) and Mike had mystery meat meatballs with mashed peas, gravy and berries at $30 a plate.  To wash all that goodness down we had two beers while I was drinking out of the glass I realized we were drinking "Aass" beer, it's Norway's oldest brewery and an award winner at that.  Needless, to say we had fun with the name.  Just so you know it's pronounced like "cause"...

Frognerseteren Restaurant

The view from the train on the way back to the top of the hill to sled again...

Before I forget to tell you we stayed at the Thon Hotel Oslo Panorama Hotel on Radhusgaten Street and would totally stay there again.  Our balcony was probably bigger than our London flat, No Joke!  Tasty free breakfast, clean rooms, nice, great location, and nice helpful staff.

Next up: Ski Jumping World Cup!

Miss Houston County

Over the weekend one of my nieces won "Miss Houston County" which is a pretty big deal in that county of approximately 8,000 people so I know she is thrilled to wear the crown and ride in the big Erin, TN St. Patrick's Day parade this Saturday.

Miss Houston County 2012

Oslo, Norway

We went to Oslo, Norway over the weekend and they weren't kidding when they said this city was one of the Top 3 Most Expensive Cities in the world.

Nobel Peace Center - it was a little chilly out and windy...

 For example:
A bowl of soup: $18 USD
A beer: $15
A pizza: $30-40
A combo from McDonald's: $15
A regional train ticket to/from airport from the city: $16 per person
A taxi from the airport: $100-$120 depending on the time of day
A blueberry muffin/tart thingy from United Bakeries: $8 and worth every penny! So delicious! So heavenly! So perfect!
A casual dinner for two: $100-150+
***
1 NOK (kroner) is worth $1.78 USD
100 NOK is worth $17.80
 ***
Ok, now that I've gotten the "be prepared for how pricey Oslo is" let's get on with the fun!

Oslo is SOO much fun!  I loved it there, it was very pretty, nice, has some character to it, very easy to get around using public transportation, etc...

Vigeland Park

We were VERY "outdoorsy" this trip.  Friday we checked out Aker Brygge (wharf area with shops, cafe's, etc... a very nice area, great place to have lunch which we did at Olivia's.  Once we ate our tasty thin crust pizza's we headed to Vigeland Park (free to enter year around) it is the world's largest sculpture park made by a single artist, and is one of Norway's most popular tourist attractions.  It's one of the prettiest parks that I've ever been too.  It's full of amazing sculptures, walking trials, view of the city, a museum, and a cafe.  It is pretty much perfect. I'd love to see it again in the spring.  It was covered in snow when we were there.  Afterward, we checked out a cool upscale neighborhood, "Majorstua", and then had dinner close to Aker Brygge (The wharf area next to City Hall) /Karl Johans Gate (the most famous street in Oslo) at an Italian place called "Rufino's" and it was delicious! They make all their pasta and it totally shows Yum and Yum!  It's a casual place so no dressing up required, but still a nice place and affordable for Oslo.

Aker Brygge - wharf area

If you are up for ice skating there is "Spikersuppa" an outdoor rink next to the Vigeland Park, we didn't go, but we did pass it on the tram and it looked HUGE.  Its open every day 11-9pm and it's free, but you have to pay to rent skates (NOK 45)  There is also a smaller ice rink in the square by the National Theater.

Vigeland Park

Before I forget to share...  Aker Brygge area is also home to the Nobel Peace Center as in the Nobel Peace Prize... It's open Tuesday - Sunday 10-6pm and cost 80 NOK ($14.24) to enter.


Saturday and Sunday were amazing so make sure that you check in soon to see what we did!

Meat Liquor

Meat Liquor, a new very casual burger place in London.  It's located just off Oxford Street and closest tube is Bond Street.  It's a diner style burger and is very tasty.  I've had better burgers in London, but they weren't diner style and not in an atmosphere like Meat Liquor.

Meat Liquor: 74 Welbeck Street - London - W1G

I'm also a big fan that they have fried pickles and delicious blue cheese dressing.  They also have the best chicken wings in London.  So if you haven't been yet I recommend a visit, but go for lunch and go right when they open so that you don't have to wait in line.  Apparently, if you go during prime time you will be spending at least in hour waiting in line...

http://www.meatliquor.com/

Just so you know, their bacon is not like American bacon or English back bacon, it's been put through the grinder, made into a flat patty and then grilled, it wasn't bad, but I didn't like it enough to waste the calories so I pulled it off my burger...

Tips: Don't expect to meet your friends in line... they strongly enforce no cutting line...
The staff isn't terribly warm and friendly either, they weren't bad, but they weren't great either.  This place definitely has some kinks to work out, but when it comes to the food they know what they are doing.

CLOSED SUNDAYS AND MONDAYS

Next up: Oslo, Norway!!

Enjoy!

Kensington Creperie

I've been trying to tick away at my "eat there list" so this weekend we hit a few places.  One of them was Kensington Creperie near South Kensington station.  It's a very casual place that is known for it's crepes and milkshakes, but also serves salads, waffles, etc...

http://www.kensingtoncreperie.com/pages/about.html

I had read about their Strawberry Cream crepe (£6.55), but instead of getting the white Belgium Chocolate that it is suppose to come with I opted for milk chocolate.  It was huge, I only ate half, but it was very good. I'd order it again.  I had it with just a black coffee (£1.50) and it was pretty decent.  I really want to go back and try their waffle.

Mike ordered a Greek salad (he doesn't like crepes (what a weirdo) ), he ate it all and said it was good.  I didn't try it, but it was quite large and looked very fresh. (£7.95)

The staff were nice and the service was quick.  I give this place a thumbs up.

London Coffee Festival in April

The London Coffee Festival will celebrate London’s coffee culture during Britain’s National Coffee Week at the end of April.

There will be artisanal coffee and specialist tea for sale, demonstrations by ‘baristas’, gourmet food stalls and live music across different festival zones: Hyde Park, Shoreditch, Soho, The Lab and The Growing Community. The UK Barista Championships 2012 will take place over the three days of the festival.

This is the festival’s second year and the organisers are expecting 12,000 coffee-loving visitors, including foodies, professional baristas and coffee shop owners.
London’s first coffee house opened in the mid-16th century in Cornhill in the City, not far from the Old Truman Brewery where the festival will take place. The city of Oxford claims to have had the first coffee house in England.

The London Coffee Festival takes place on 27–29 April. 

Trade day is 27 April (10am–5pm, public 5pm–10pm), then 28–29 April open to the public 10am–7pm. Admission is for a three-hour session and costs £9.50 online, £12.50 on the door. Premium tickets cost £14.50 online, £17.50 on the door and include a copy of The London Coffee Guide 2012. The charity Project Waterfall will receive 50% of all ticket sales. The charity delivers clean water projects in Tanzania.

The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL
Tel: +44 20 7691 8836
Website: www.londoncoffeefestival.com
Facebook: The London Coffee Festival

Leek and Potato Tart

I have been cooking like it's my job lately... to some extinct these days I guess it is... and so be it since I actually enjoy it (for now)...  one of my latest creations is the Leek and Potato Tart that you'll see in the picture below.  They call it a cake, but I'm going to call it a tart.  I saw it on a new cooking show called "Extra Virgin" and thought "oh that looks tasty and different I'll make that next week" and so I did...

Did we like it? Yes!
Will I make it again? Yes, but next time with more potatoes and will slice them thinner.

My Leek and Potato Tart - Please excuse the slightly over cooked edges. I like it that way.

DOUGH: (I bought dough and saved time)

• 7 ounces all-purpose flour
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 large egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons cold water (for emergency)

FILLING:

• 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
• 2 leeks, trimmed, dark greens removed, rinsed well and sliced
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, plus more for topping

• 2 ounces chopped guanciale, optional (Did not use)
• 3 large farm fresh eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk ( I used skim milk and it was fine)
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Directions:

For the dough: Add the flour, butter and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Run the machine at its slowest setting for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the yolk, and as the butter starts breaking into the dough, you will notice that your mix will start looking like coarse crumbs. As time goes by, the crumbs will become smaller and smaller until the dough will start forming. This is the only tricky part: in case the dough is not forming right (it's usually because of a small egg yolk), slowly add the cold water, not all at once, just the right amount for the dough to come alive and start detaching from the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough from the mixer, form it into a disc and put it to rest, covered in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Butter an 11-inch tart pan.

For the filling: In a pot of boiling water, cook the potatoes half way, for about 15 minutes, then remove from the hot water and set aside to cool off. Once cool, slice into thin slices.

In a medium pan, saute the leeks and shallots over medium heat in the oil and butter until soft and just golden, about 7 minutes. (Or saute the leeks and shallots with the guanciale.) Let cool.

In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk, Parmesan and some salt and pepper. Add the leeks and shallots to the egg mixture and stir well with a fork until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Dust some flour on a flat surface. Lightly dust your wood rolling pin and start working the dough. Do not press too hard, give the dough some time to respond to the pin and start softening up. Flip it a couple of times, dust it with flour, and mostly importantly do not guess the size. Keep the buttered pan close and prop it on top of the dough from time to time. Keep in mind that you will have to roll the dough a bit wider, as the pan has edges that need to be completely covered. Place the dough into the tart pan and, using a fork, poke holes into it to prevent swelling during the cooking process.

Pour the egg mixture slowly into the dough, using a spoon to make sure you create an even layer. Get creative and place the sliced potatoes very gently on top of the egg mixture, creating a pleasant concentric pattern. Sprinkle the top of the cake with freshly grated Parmesan, 3 or 4 small tabs of butter and some ground pepper. Place the pan on a sheet tray.

Cook in the oven for about 45 minutes, but make sure you check the cake after the first half hour, turn it around once or twice, and keep an eye on its color, which is the best indicator. The cake will be ready when the crust looks golden and the butter and cheese on top have become crisp and irresistible! When ready, let your new creation rest and settle for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and serve warm. Buon Appetito!

Notting Hill

I can not tell you how many times that I have watched the movie "Notting Hill"

I can not count the number of times I have stood in front of the shop where Julie Roberts stood inside the book shop and thought about the line where she said to Hugh Grant "I'm just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her" (uh, see it even gets me when typing)

Anywho,  I recently learned a few more tidbits about the movie and thought I'd share...

Remember the part where Hugh Grant showed up to the birthday party and surprised everyone with his megastar date Julie Roberts? Well, that home is located at 91 Lansdowne Road.

Remember the private communal garden they climbed the fence to get into?  That is Rosemead Gardens, Rosemead Road and from what I have read it is not as cutesy in real life as it was in the movie (big surprise).  It is still a private garden and apparently there is quite a drop into the garden so I probably wouldn't try to climb into it.

Remember the church tower that can be seen from the roof of Hugh Grants flat in the movie?  That is St. Peter's Church and located just down the street from us (LOVE IT!)  I recently read that the interior of this church was designed by Charles Barry Jr., the son of the architect of the Houses of Parliament.  The church is also featured in Spiceworld the Movie (which cracks me...mostly because I've actually seen that movie, forgot to return it on time and had to pay late fee's for the silly thing.)

Gnocchi

If you love gnocchi then you are going to love this recipe! 

We tried it for the first time a couple weeks ago and couldn't stop eating it.  It's a Nigella Lawson recipe which can be found below or by clicking here.

Ms. Lawson calls it Rapid Roastini, but I call it Pan Fried Gnocchi and it is a very tasty side item.

our pan fried gnocchi, umm umm good!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons regular olive oil
• 8 ounces fresh gnocchi

Directions

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the gnocchi, making sure you separate them, and fry for 4 minutes. Then turn them around and give them another 4 minutes. 

Or if you'd prefer to bake them, tumble the gnocchi into a roasting pan, add the oil, and put it into a preheated 400 degrees F oven for 20 minutes, giving them a stir after 10 minutes.


Cook's Note:
I would not advise frying frozen gnocchi, as they could cause the fat in the pan to splatter.

Canterbury Cathedral

Saturday we woke up bright and early and hopped a train to Canterbury to check out the Canterbury Cathedral, it is one of the finest cathedrals in the world and can trace it's origins back to 597AD when St. Augustine arrived in Canterbury on a mission from Pope Gregory and first established a church here.  The cathedral is renowned in history as the place where the Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170 on the orders of King Henry II.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of the inside! Here a just a few:

The spot where T.Becket was murdered by 4 knights.

King Henry

Where Thomas Becket's shrine use to be. This body is made of nails. It's pretty cool.

Canterbury Cathedral

That ceiling was gorgeous. This was by far the prettiest spot to stand inside the cathedral.

Behind that green tablecloth is the throne for the Archbishop

If you ever visit Canterbury we also took a walking tour (90 minutes) with Canterbury Tourist Guides Ltd. , Terry was our guide and he was great.  He's very passionate about Canterbury.  www.canterbury-walks.co.uk

By the way, Canterbury is only a one hour and 35 minute train ride from Victoria Station in London.

Hollywood is coming to Victoria and Albert Museum

The V&A’s major autumn exhibition is Hollywood Costume, bringing together more than 100 iconic costumes designed for famous and unforgettable characters from Hollywood movies of the last 100 years.

The exhibition will display cinema costumes that have never before left the private and archival collections in California. Most of these clothes have never been publicly displayed and have never been seen beyond the secure walls of the studio archives.

Visitors will be able to view the costumes worn by the characters of Indiana Jones, Scarlett O’Hara, Jack Sparrow, Holly Golightly, Darth Vader and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

This exhibition, which opens in October, will help visitors understand the costume designer’s process in the creation of character from script to screen including the changing social and technological context in which the designers have worked over the last century.

Three galleries will plot the evolution of costume design from Charlie Chaplin through the Golden Age of Hollywood to the cutting edge design for Avatar (2009,) and John Carter of Mars (2012).

The first gallery (Act 1) will show the process of designing a character from script to screen. The second (Act 2) will examine the key collaborative role of the costume designer within the creative team, and the third (Act 3, Finale) will celebrate the most beloved characters in the history of Hollywood and the silver screen.

The V&A is open daily 10am–5.45pm (10pm Fridays), admission free.

Hollywood Costume runs from 20 October to 27 January 2013, admission £14 adults, £11 seniors, £9 students, £23 family ticket (online booking prices, plus £1 handling charge per transaction).

Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL Tel: +44 20 7942 2000
Website: www.vam.ac.uk

Centonove in Notting Hill

I've been trying to find new dinner places in Notting Hill to eat at to cut back on bus/tube fares and also just the traveling times to/from...  Not to mention, after all... that's where we live... 

The latest place we tried was a cute cozy little Italian place with a very nice staff (which is hard to come by in London) called Centonove

We started with bruschetta. Verdict: Tasty! "garlic-y", but we love garlic...
Our mains: Pasta's... This place is known for their pizza's, but since they had homemade pasta's available so we went pasta...
Mine: Carbonara. Verdict: ok, it was boring, should have ordered something else.
The Misters: Homemade Ravioli with a Tuscan sausage sauce and it was Delicious - I kept eating his. The portion was HUGE!
Dessert: Tiramisu: Verdict: very good and would order again. It came in a very cute pastry shell. I wished they'd use a little more lady finger and a little less cream though...
Coffee's: Ordered one Americano and it was perfect.  Good quality and well made!

How were the prices?  Pretty decent for Notting Hill/London area.


Will we go back? Yes.

Free Valentine's Day Card

Looking for a free Valentine's Day card packed with cuteness and creativity?

  Click here and download yours now.  

I downloaded both of them.  

I was even able to save them to my computer to use again and again...

Dinner Party

Tonight I hosted a small dinner party and loved every minute of it!
I even went out and bought new pasta bowls I was so excited.  You might not think that's saying much, but in London space is everything. 4 new bowls!... you may as well be bringing a motorcycle into your kitchen... you just don't have the room.  However, tonight I bit the space bullet and was so glad I did.  Especially since had I not, one of the bowls would have had a chip and who wants to be given a bowl with a chip? NO ONE!
OK, OK, enough about my new huge plain white pasta bowls.

What brought on the dinner party you ask?  A friend is going to school to become a certified hypnotherapist and needed some study hours so while I was in the kitchen she was hypnotizing some other girl friends in a private room in the flat.  I think it was a splendid reason to feed some friends.  If you are interested in being hypnotized let me know and I'll put you in contact with her.

What did I serve?
-First course:  rocket and baby spinach salad with shredded beetroot and Dijon mustard dressing (a tad too heavy on the garlic, but hey, I did ask them if they had issues with garlic beforehand... I love garlic.) I also had the option of pancetta and piccolo cherry tomatoes to toss in if they wished.
-Second course: Tagliatelle pasta with Ina's red sauce recipe topped with fresh flat leaf parsley and Parmesan cheese.  I came very close to over salting this dish, but thankfully didn't.  I will most definitely make this sauce again. It was really good and so easy to make.  I made it an hour before everyone showed up and just let it stay warm on the stove top.

*Had the pasta water boiling while I was eating my salad.  Timing could not have been better for entertaining.  We also had a fresh baguette to devour with our meal.

-Third course: Warm Molten Chocolate Cake with Haagen Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream and blue berries.  Don't forget to set the ice cream out so it isn't rock solid when you go to scoop it.  If you forget, no worries, just throw it in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds.

Anything else?  Yes, we had two delicious bottles of red wine.  I needed a bottle of chianti for my red sauce and since I only needed a 1/2 cup I had to do something with the rest of the bottle... so me and my friend who came early sipped on that while watching the red sauce simmer...  Ina always says never cook with a wine that you wouldn't drink yourself so I followed her advice to the T.  As for bottle #2, she (when I say "she" I mean my friend, not Ina...hee hee...) brought a very tasty organic red wine that we also "almost" finished.


When did the festivities begin?  Just before 5pm and ended at 10:30pm, I'd say that was a successful dinner party for a Monday night.  We only had one person leave early...about 9:15pm and since I didn't trust myself with the left over ice cream I sent it home with her.

What did I forget? To offer anyone tea or coffee with dessert!! aahh! I can't believe I forgot about that. Shame on me.  I should have set it on the counter during prep work time to prevent this little mishap.

Where was the mister?  He was at work, then the gym and then came home and gobbled up his saved portion.  He seemed like a happy boy.

Why am I up at 1am blogging about this already?  Well, I can honestly say I wasn't even married the last time I drank that much red wine.  I just stopped drinking it one day.  However, tonight it was delicious and I just couldn't help myself.  So between the red wine and the sugar from the ice cream and chocolate cake my blood pressure is through the roof.  I can feel the blood running through my veins it's so bad.  I am a delicate flower what can I say.  The worst part is that I have a grocery delivery that will be here in 5 hours! HA!

I'm also kicking myself that I did not take any pictures of tonight.  That is SOOO not like me.  I take pictures of everything.  Especially food.  Oh well, I'll just have to do it again and take some then.

Just so you know... this was the easiest party that I have ever hosted.  I will remember this party plan for sure.

Cheers!

Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston has passed away at the age of 48.  So far the cause has not been released.   This is not a shock, but it is a shame.

RIP Whitney Houston

River Cottage goes up in flames

An August or so ago I hopped on a train with a buddy for an over night, sleep in a farm house, bread making adventure.  It was a wonderful trip and I would do it all over again.  I really fell in love with everything River Cottage so the news below was quite a shocker very sad to see:

Cookery school at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage destroyed in huge blaze

Flames ripped through the kitchen of a recently refurbished 'events barn' in Axminster, Devon, last night while the celebrity chef was away filming abroad.

Full Story:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2098177/Barn-Hugh-Fearnley-Whittingstalls-River-Cottage-destroyed-huge-blaze.html

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney will be at Selfridge's tonight at 6pm promoting her new fragrance "Lily"... if you are interested in standing in a mob of people trying to get a live glimpse of Stella.  I took a whiff of Lily today and although my opinion isn't everything... it's not that great...

Snow!

After we barely made it home from a work dinner last night, we hopped out the taxi ran upstairs changed into "snow" clothes and ran to the streets and our garden to take pictures and play.  It was beautiful!  The snow was so bright in our garden that it looked like day time!  The pictures below were taken at midnight.  Towards the end of "snow stroll" Mike started making a snow man, I had never seen someone make a boulder out of what was once a baseball size snow ball, apparently these skills come with being born in the Northeast of the great U.S.A.  Being from Tennessee I have no snow skills.

It was a great time, want to see our snow pictures?

Notting Hill

Notting Hill

I didn't even make that snowball that I'm holding. Mike did.

I found a snow monster in our garden

our garden!

being bombed by snowballs

Taken at Midnight! So wild!

P.S. The Queen has made Greenwich in south-east London a royal borough to mark her Diamond Jubilee. It is the first borough to be granted royal status in more than 80 years and is one of only four in the country. The honor has been conferred to recognize the close links between Greenwich and royalty since the Middle Ages.