

My pissaladière story
"just add spring sunshine and a glass of wine" Andrew McConnell Tonight my local book group is meeting to choose our books for next year....
Dec 1, 2021
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Elizabeth David's Carbonnade Nîmoise
is it 'authentic' or did she make it up? On Saturday we finally ate Carbonnade Nîmoise - a very old favourite recipe of Elizabeth...
Nov 15, 2021
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Sauce soubise
"I think of soubise as the cashmere jumper of sauces. Nothing can compete with its soft, cosseting qualities." Nigel Slater Maybe I...
Oct 28, 2021
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Flamiche - a first recipe
"my favourite savoury tart" Gabriel Gaté It could be mine too if I think about it. And I don't make it often enough - probably because...
Oct 15, 2021
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Worrying about aioli
"Casting salt and a squeeze of lemon juice aside, the recipe only has three ingredients: get one of them wrong and the whole thing loses...
Oct 3, 2021
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Duck confit - easy but expensive
"there are few things I have ever eaten that more effectively illustrate the point of the whole damn business that is home cooking." ...
Aug 24, 2021
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Poires Belle Hélène and other chocolate and pear partnerships
"Pears go well with chocolate, they dance together on the taste buds like Fred and Ginger" Larder Love We have reverted to the Zoom...
Jul 19, 2021
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Bastille day - salade de tomatoes
"Vive la France" Today is Bastille Day. A massive day of patriotic celebration in France. Which is interesting really because in spite...
Jul 14, 2021
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Pithiviers - a first recipe
"The top is rounded and higher than the edges, and slashed, typically in a starburst pattern. It is meant to look like the sun." Dana's...
Jul 11, 2021
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A recipe - cultural appropriation?
This is a Tarte Tatin - they are truly everywhere it seems to me. But of course it is also very definitely not a Tarte Tatin - that...
Jul 10, 2021
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Upside down is in
"When you flip anything, you really ... you just have to have the courage of your convictions." Julia Child This all started a couple of...
May 31, 2021
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The power of photographs
Can you judge a book by its cover? When my gourmet friend came to dinner the other day, she, yet again, gave me a gift of a cookbook -...
May 26, 2021
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On fish stews - a lucky dip
"The line dividing a soup from a stew is often infirm." Richard Olney This particular lucky dip has been sitting next door to me on my...
Apr 7, 2021
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Basically French
There are two inspirations for today's blog - a first recipe and this photograph. The photograph comes from my daily art desk calendar. ...
Mar 31, 2021
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My attempt at the Roux brothers' lemon tart
"This is not a typical lemon tart you will find in a cafe. This is a tower of perfect lemon curd sitting upright, barely able to hold...
Mar 22, 2021
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