

Linzer torte - Italian, Austrian, Jewish?
"I didn’t have great hopes for this Linzer torte – it just seemed too simple to be really delicious." Alix Clark/SBS And I have to say when I turned to my lucky dip page - this is a lucky dip recipe - I felt a bit the same. When I think about it I don't think I have ever tasted a genuine Linzer torte. Did my mother ever make such a thing I wonder because I do remember something with a lattice top and maybe jam in the middle? If I did I doubt that my mother, or maybe even m
1 day ago


Hoppin' John
"You can dig up old 19th century "receipts" (as they were called back then), follow them to the letter, and still end up mystified that anyone could ever have loved such stuff, much less decided it was an iconic Southern dish." Robert Moss/Serious Eats I owe this post to a substack newsletter from Gastra Obscura yesterday, which highlighted it because is it is an American - well the Southern states of the Carolinas and neighbours - New Year's Day dish. So I thought that be
Jan 5


Coq au sauvignon blanc
“This popular dish may be called coq au Chambertin, coq au Riesling, or coq au whatever wine you use for its cooking.” Julia Child Based on, based on, probably ad infinitum is the story of tonight's proposed dinner. And for want of a better description I'm calling it Coq au sauvignon blanc - or 'sav blonk' as some would say.. But of course it's not coq at all, so let's begin there on this tiny ramble around a classic french dish. For every group of chickens that actually ha
Dec 17, 2025


Homity pie
" quiche mistranslated by a rugged, carb-addicted farmhand. " Jimi Famerewa/The Guardian In this week's Guardian Feast Newsletter, appeared this - to my potato freak eyes - a glorious concoction. It turns out it was Marmite and leek homity pie from a guy called Jimi Famurewa who had been messing with (the marmite) a supposedly much-loved British pie of potatoes, leeks and cheese. But I had never heard of it, so my interest was piqued - maybe that was just a marketing plo
Nov 8, 2025


The mysterious invisible cake - France, Russia, Japan?
"It seems to me that invisibility is the required provision of elegance. Elegance ceases to exist when it is noticed." Jean Cocteau Tuesday is the day that Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen newsletter arrives in my inbox. Today - seeing as how it is autumn - well fall - over there in the US of A - she was focussed on apples, and amongst the many delectable recipes on offer was this Invisible apple cake, which she likened to Apple sharlotka - a Russian cake that she had wri
Oct 21, 2025


Ciabatta
"The Mother's Pride of the middle classes" - The Guardian " a new bread posing as an old one that is new?" Robin Stummer - The Guardian...
Sep 22, 2025


Can Civilisation happen without milk?
"A civilization is a large group of people who share certain advanced ways of living and working." Kids Britannica I gave up on Latin at...
Sep 3, 2025


A question about shepherd's pie
On Sunday we had shepherd's pie for dinner because I had leftover lamb from Friday. Whenever we have a roast and have leftovers we...
Aug 26, 2025


An earl, history and recipes
"Tea, Earl Grey, hot" Picard/StarTrek Well the above quote has nothing to do with this post really, but not being a Star Trek follower I...
Jul 23, 2025


Deep dish pizza
After the first slice you are full, and you should be. You’ve eaten roughly three pounds of food that is baked on top of a crispy,...
Jul 2, 2025


Cuba
"Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavour. Food rationing,...
May 1, 2025


Black bottom oatmeal pie
"Women judge a pie by its crust, men by its filling." Sue Hubbell/The New Yorker To be honest I'm on the verge of abandoning this post,...
Apr 4, 2025


Origins and evolution
I've been thinking a bit about those questions I asked about mantı yesterday - who on earth thought of making such tiny complicated...
Dec 14, 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


The comfort of Heinz tomato soup
"I can still remember the taste of those Scottish rolls and butter and the warm, tangy tomato soup, a real childhood treat." Man Has a...
Sep 4, 2024


Blending cultures/culture wars in New York
"Chopped cheese isn't a Philly cheesesteak nor is it similar. This is New York, not Philly, bro!" Romel Bruno/Serious Eats This is a...
Aug 29, 2024


Rambling around osso buco
“the meat soft as the leg of an angel who has lived a purely airborne existence.” Billy Collins This post is all down to a first recipe...
Jul 21, 2024


Spaghetti pie, cake, slice ...
"simple, luxurious, yet slightly trashy" Jamie Oliver I didn't get to finish this post yesterday because I spent too much time in the...
Jul 18, 2024


Napoleon cake - layers of meaning
"as each family makes it their own way, you’d be pressed to find two recipes that agree on what makes a perfect one." Deb...
Jul 14, 2024


Cobblers - anything goes comfort food
"The whole point of cobbler is that it's easy" Daniel Gritzer/Serious Eats It's a miserable kind of day - the sort of day when your...
Jun 8, 2024

