

Lemon peel
"when the whole kitchen is filled with the scent of grated citrus the effect is startling. Slightly steamy, warm and bitingly fresh –...
Jan 26, 2025


What happened to smoked mackerel?
An ode to Nigel Back in my dinner party hosting days I discovered that a smoked mackerel, served much like this, but with little slices...
Jan 25, 2025


A disagreement with Nigel
"Don't put peas in a quiche. They may go nicely with a ham or crab filling, but they make the custard fall apart. Not to mention the...
Jan 15, 2025


Blown away by kataifi
"Kataifi is a string-like pastry that's technically not filo, but let's not mince words - just pastry." SBS Food Even a bit like fairy...
Jan 13, 2025


Green beans in a salad
There are few ingredients that can do anything for a french bean ... but a little chopped shallot, melted butter or a crushed clove of...
Jan 4, 2025


Seasonality - over there and down here
"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own." Charles Dickens On the left is the first picture in my new diary for...
Jan 3, 2025


An AI suggestion
"The unexpected joy of combining pomegranates with traditional pasta" Wix AI Wix has taken to generously providing me with three AI...
Dec 21, 2024


Watermelon and pomegranates
Yesterday's painting of the day from Cézanne was the above - Watermelon and Pomegranates. Well it's food isn't it, so this is my today's...
Dec 19, 2024


The cheese board
"When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?" George Carlin The inspiration for this particular post, although I have thought...
Dec 11, 2024


Cheese rind umami
"Basically, if it comes to a boil, you might as well add rinds." Rebecca Firsker/Today For a year or more, probably more, I have indeed...
Dec 8, 2024


Guilt leads to pistachios - and pasta
It's a long time since I've done a lucky dip. I had one sitting on my desk - Charmaine Solomon's Encyclopedia of Asian Food was the...
Dec 7, 2024


A Moscato dilemma
"it's the wine world's equivalent of milk chocolate or soggy white bread, a sneakily guilty pleasure." Fiona Beckett/The Guardian...
Dec 3, 2024


A gallimaufry
Gallimaufry: "a confused jumble or medley of things" Oxford Langauges "a meat stew called galimafrée" Merriam-Webster There's your new...
Dec 2, 2024


Chicken and green peppercorns for dinner
“It was there all the time: That small, green, aromatic, fresh berry that eventually becomes our common black or white peppercorn was...
Nov 30, 2024


Poor shopping = dinner challenges
"Nothing good will come from getting too fancy with these greens. They bask in simple treatment and become shy when long lists of...
Nov 28, 2024


Nigel's essential marinades
"little kitchen lifesavers" Nigel Slater This is the last of my Nigel's A Cook's Book Essentials - a group of first recipes, and these...
Nov 16, 2024


Nigel and Jonathan's onions
"There is no point in hurrying an onion – other than those you dip into batter and dunk into bubbling oil. They need time." Nigel Slater...
Nov 10, 2024


Radicchio - from weed to luxury item
"That doesn't look like a salad to me! Where's the arugula? Where's the radicchio?" Will and Grace I'm talking about radicchio because...
Nov 8, 2024


Water - a quote
"Shapes cooked in water in order to make something to eat." Rachel Roddy Rachel Roddy is, of course, talking about pasta, but what she...
Nov 2, 2024


"Potatoes cooked in olive oil or butter"
"Because they absorb a good deal of whatever fat they are cooked in, it follows that the fat should always be the best possible." ...
Oct 19, 2024

