

Terrine de campagne
"Remember that it will taste better the next day" Jane Grigson A busy week is looming so it's possible there will not be many posts this...
Feb 14, 2022


Now which plum cake shall I make?
"Plums are rather the forgotten member of the stone fruit member. Not as sexy as peaches, as expensive as cherries, or as tartly exotic...
Feb 10, 2022


Make this - and whatever happened to smoked mackerel?
I'm on a bit of a Nigel Slater roll at the moment. Most of tonight's family dinner is going to be Nigel Slater, with a bit of Curtis...
Feb 7, 2022


Salad days - not my thing
"I must acknowledge my true nature. I am a winter cook currently forced to endure the summer months." Jay Rayner - The Guardian I...
Jan 31, 2022


I do like to be beside the seaside
Such is my lack of inspiration at the moment I am today combining two of my writer's block stimuli - a moment in time and a lucky dip. I...
Jan 30, 2022


So simple but so delicious - potted fish
"There are restaurateurs and cookery journalists who like to call confections such as haddock and kipper paste by the name of pâté. I...
Jan 29, 2022


Did consommé die?
"Consommé shows skill and panache without shouting, like a Savile Row shirt: crisp, understated, but oozing style and class. Consommé is...
Jan 28, 2022


A chicken breast on a hot day
"don’t subscribe to the fatalistic notion that people simply “run out of ideas.” There are infinitely more ideas than you could ever use...
Jan 26, 2022


On magic, perfection, mystery, Elizabeth David and Mère Poulard's omelette
"one of life's simplest, quickest and most pleasant dishes." Delia Smith "Once upon a time" begins Elizabeth David's classic essay An...
Jan 24, 2022


An unlikely mild disappointment
"These impressive looking peppers are deceptively easy to put together" Shelf Love On the left Ottolenghi, on the right mine. It was a...
Jan 21, 2022


From the sublime to the slightly ridiculous - lamingtons
"essentially, plain cakes with frills". Felicity Cloake It seems almost insulting to turn to Lamingtons - a supremely ordinary if...
Jan 20, 2022


David's favourite soup
"The most silken winter squash soup I know is a delicate blending of curried butternut squash, combined with winter's best plum tomatoes,...
Jan 18, 2022


A recipe and Marsala
"my favourite alcohol in the kitchen ... whose warm, nutty notes marry blissfully with dairy." Nigel Slater Last night was my day to try...
Jan 16, 2022


Scrambled eggs
"Scrambled eggs are eggs at their most egalitarian: socialism in inexpensive, edible ovoid form." Tony Naylor - The Guardian Life is...
Jan 11, 2022


Indian picnics - a relic of the raj
"In India, eating is a private affair not to be witnessed by onlookers, and it is regarded as improper to eat in the open. Besides, it...
Jan 9, 2022


Tidying my desk
Still in a New Year's frame of mind I have decided today to deal with some of the little things in this stack of stuff waiting for me to...
Jan 6, 2022


Crème brulée - it's really English
"For some reason, a bowl of custard isn't seen as an appropriate dessert for a grown adult – but scorch the top and give it a French name...
Dec 27, 2021


The gravlax saga
"gravadlax is glowing pink proof that healthy eating doesn’t have to be all hairshirts and low-fat hummus." Felicity Cloake The video...
Dec 22, 2021


Jane Grigson's Chocolate pie - a lucky dip
"Chocolate pie chocolate pie! This is the best thing he’s made so far hands down. Dark chocolate, cream, booze, icing sugar, sugar,...
Dec 7, 2021


Rocky road and some detours
"The best thing about rocky road is that you can add anything you like! From white chocolate bits to glacé cherries, you can go down any...
Dec 5, 2021

