

Lucky dip - old English red cabbage
"The longer it stews, the more nutty and succulent it becomes, without losing its character: in fact it seems to taste better with...
Dec 8, 2020


Memory + imagination = dinner
“It needs to have whatever it was that you were reaching for as a kid: This is my after school memory, or this is the thing we always...
Dec 6, 2020


Another plum solution - Chinese plum sauce
"the mahogany, aniseed-scented stuff you smear over soft pancakes just before you wrap your shredded duck and matchsticks of ice-cold...
Dec 2, 2020


Indecision and macaroni cheese
"simplicity is the key to macaroni cheese ... nothing should leap out at you except a clumsy, gooey richness" Tom Norrington-Davies...
Nov 29, 2020


Antipasti - a first recipe from Elizabeth David
"Among Italian antipasti (hors d'œuvre) are to be found some of the most successful culinary achievements in European cooking. Most...
Nov 27, 2020


Salade Niçoise and breaking rules
"Call me old-fashioned, but surely the whole point of a classic recipe is that the punter knows, within an olive or two, what they are...
Nov 24, 2020


Mashed potato is not the same as purée de pommes de terre
"There is no wrong way to mash a potato; only multiple right ways to serve a purpose." Yotam Ottolenghi On the left British mashed...
Nov 23, 2020


Messing with simplicity
"The simple approach is the best way to honour your ingredients. It's also the best way to lessen the pressure on yourself and, I think,...
Nov 15, 2020


Getting old - a Jamie recipe
"all the major factors that are needed to make a good affordable school dinner also apply to a mindful, clever cook at home. ...
Nov 12, 2020


One more oaty thing
Whilst I was flipping through my recipe books looking for something for David's special dinner I came across Raspberry and honey...
Nov 8, 2020


Toffee apples and bonfire night
"the most divisive item of all, the toffee apple. Some may see them as a morally offensive and difficult-to-eat collision of antipathetic...
Nov 6, 2020


S'mores
"who else would think to sandwich a fire-blistered marshmallow and a chocolate bar between graham crackers, creating a delicious but...
Nov 4, 2020


Tomato sauce - the possibilities are endless
"knocking one's socks off isn't the point of a simple tomato sauce, but it ought to be good enough to need no further adornment." ...
Oct 30, 2020


A quickie - pickled cumquats
A quickie because I have been busy with other things - first a bit of weeding, and then a test drive in a new car whilst my current one...
Oct 26, 2020


Pollo alla Romana con peperoni
"sun-soaked, fullsome and a bit much if you are not in the mood. But if you are, it is gorgeous, the stewed tomatoes and peppers like a...
Oct 24, 2020


Bakewell tart and pudding
Who says English food is boring and rubbish? That's not a quote, that's just me. For the weekend cooking class we were going to make...
Oct 22, 2020


Something simple
Like many of you I'm sure, I've been browsing through my old photographs and getting a bit maudlin about times past and none to look...
Oct 19, 2020


Bolognaise in a sandwich?
Well a toasted sandwich anyway, which makes more sense. If you can do baked beans then why not bolognaise? A good way of using up those...
Oct 16, 2020


A desperate creation - vinegar pie
"a pie that you made when you had nothing left to make it with," Joanne Raetz Stuttgen Before I even start on the weirdness of this dish...
Oct 15, 2020


First recipe - les sauces and Madeira
"Anyone who can produce even the few easy sauces described in this chapter and serve them with well-cooked grills or roasts, poached or...
Oct 14, 2020

