Making Cheese Vareniki (Russian Cheese Dumplings)

Russian Vareniki (cheese dumplings)

When twitter friend Sabrina saw my plea for authentic recipes for Russian pelmeni she kindly offered to loan me her copy of a charming Russian cookery book called Please To The Table. Written by Anya Von Bremzen and John Welchman, the book includes 400 recipes from the former Soviet Union, “from the Baltics to Uzbekistan”. ... Read more »

Valentine Warner’s Carne Con Chile

Although I like Valentine Warner’s approach to food and cooking, I have mixed feelings about his telly programmes, mostly stemming from his incessant winking and innuendos (which might be charming in person but don’t translate to TV). I actually had to switch off when he referred to mini lavender meringues as “fairy tits”, though friends would ... Read more »

What’s Your Ultimate Burger? Perfect Burger & Ultimate Burger Bun Recipes!

I’ve been thinking about this question recently, not least because I was sent two different burgers to review, and I was also asked to define my ultimate burger. Broadly, there are three aspects to a burger – the meat patty, the bun and the various condiments served inside or with it. The Patty This is ... Read more »

Güdness Gracious Me + Recipe for Fred & Jerome’s Chocolate Gü-lash

Some months ago, I was asked if I’d like to attend a Gü Chocolate Dinner cooked by Gü’s head chef (who leads their product development team), Fred Ponnavoy. Of course, I screeched “yes, please” as fast as I could and also suggested my very chocolatey friend Dom to come too. Until nearer the time, we ... Read more »

Meatballs With Vodka

This recipe for meatballs with vodka sauce is taken from Jane Lawson’s Snowflakes and Schnapps, a Scandinavian-influenced cookery book. Find out more about the book in my review of Snowflakes and Schnapps. With little to nothing by way of recipe introductions, it’s harder to choose what to make. Perhaps it’s for this reason that I went ... Read more »

Cuisinier Gascon: Braised Ox Cheek Bordelaise

Cuisinier Gascon: Meals from a Gascon Chef by Pascal Aussignac

I’ve been desperate to cook some of the delectably tempting recipes in Cuisinier Gascon by Pascal Aussignac since I got my mitts on it just before leaving for the Falklands. It’s a really, really beautiful book, full of mouth-watering recipes and beautiful images, not just of some of the dishes but also of life in ... Read more »