

Celery and beans - a quest
"Celery and white beans are an Italian truth" Yotam Ottolenghi I was very taken with that quote which appeared in a recent Ottolenghi newsletter - Chickpeas, lentils and every bean in between - and I definitely thought it was a good start for a post, and yet I cannot find a single recipe from Ottolenghi that combines the two - white, green, or every other kind of bean there is. So what on earth is he talking about? And to add to that, I couldn't find a classic Italian re
4 days ago


Corn ribs
"The possibilities are endless" This post actually comes from my poor memory forgetting a postscript that I meant to add to yesterday's post. It was a postscript, because it was about vadouvan - that I wrote about a few days ago. The January Coles Magazine had a recipe for the above dish from Curtis Stone - Corn ribs with Vadouvan-spice butter and coriander chutney - in fact it had been my original inspiration for writing about vadouvan, but I failed to mention it I think
Feb 12


Chicken Kiev - or Kyiv, or something else altogether?
"the only thing that really matters with a kiev is that when you cut into that crisp shell, you're rewarded with an eruption of vivid green, garlicky butter. And that's a pleasure that will never go out of fashion." Felicity Cloake Only beware, because if you cut into it too rapidly that hot butter could spurt out and all over anything that is nearby - the tablecloth, your clothes, your fingers. And it will be hot. The trick is to get it to ooze - as shown here in Nagi Mae
Jan 29


Beautiful words, beautiful food - Nigel
"Early spring, Kamakura, and a small basket appears at my table and a tiny dish of salt. In it, a single whisp of new season's bracken in tempura batter, the fern caught in the process of slowly unfurling." Nigel Slater Looking for inspiration again - it's an everyday thing. I couldn't get excited about the cuisine of El Salvador or smoked fish canapés (my next first recipe - maybe tomorrow), and so I decided to have another look at Nigel Slater's beautiful book of small w
Oct 29, 2025


Fried bread
"Not to be confused with fry bread." Wikipedia I sat for a while at my desk trying to think of something to write about but gave up and...
Sep 24, 2025


Fusion or confusion? - two dinners
"a twisted kind of sense" Jay Rayner This is last night's dinner - simply called Fried beef kerala from my other The Food of ... series...
Jul 27, 2025


The mysteries of authenticity
"While the concept of a fried roll originates from China, the specific combination of chicken and ham is not a traditional Chinese...
Jun 20, 2025


French toast
"French toast tackles pancakes head on and smashes it." Claire Thomson Yesterday's New York Times recipe offering - no picture - was...
Feb 9, 2025


A small triumph
"For some reason, leftover omelettes always come out way tastier than by-the-book ones." atto_del_fatto/reddit First thing to say - I...
Dec 17, 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


Last night's dinner
'A mashup between a Western steak and a Chinese stir-fry" Marc Matsumoto/No Recipes In an attempt to tick off my 'new' dish for the week,...
Oct 13, 2024


Bulgogi
"Chef-owned restaurants are the key to growing a cuisine." Hooni Kim/Serious Eats My older son and his family are currently in Korea...
Oct 5, 2024


Fried red tomatoes
For dinner tonight I'm going to try that kefir fried chicken recipe I talked about the other day, so I have been pondering on what to...
Sep 6, 2024


Egg and chips for tea
"Two perfectly fried eggs and a huge side of chips cooked by someone who loves you. It’s the ultimate comfort food: crispy fried potatoes...
Aug 3, 2024


Trying to make a lucky dip interesting
"Writer's block is having too much time on your hands." Jodi Picoult "Read a lot. Write a lot. Have fun." Daniel Pinkwater My lucky dip...
Apr 21, 2024


Versatile potato peels
“It combines three things consumers love: a little bit of fried starch with ooey gooey cheddar cheese and bacon.” Chicago Tribune I...
Jan 19, 2024


Tasters
Taster: "a small amount or short experience of something that is intended either to make you understand what it is like or to make you...
Dec 29, 2023


Fried pizza - leftovers 4
"a small amount of ingredients go a long way with pizza" Jamie Oliver But I can't resist and always put too much on top and so my pizzas...
Nov 2, 2023


Crunchy spaghetti
"to move freely, a starting point is required" Rachel Roddy My starting point today is this dish - Spaghetti all'assassina which Rachel...
Aug 23, 2023


Chinese-American - kung pao
"just because it's a Chinese-American standard, complete with slightly-gloppy-sauce and mild spicing doesn't make diced chicken with...
Jul 29, 2023

