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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
These simply spiced beef empanadas, made from a recipe in the Leith’s Meat Bible, are easy to make and delicious enjoyed hot or cold. Best of all, you can use the recipe as a starting point, and experiment by adjusting the spice mix to suit your personal taste. Being so easily portable, they are great for ... Read more »
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 »
We love visiting our friends Mark & Martine, not least because we always eat well and it’s nice to have a late night soak in their outdoor hot tub after a day pottering about. We’ve known them since uni days (longer ago than needs to be mentioned). Back then, I’d never have pegged Mark as ... Read more »
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 »
Pete first cooked the quick and easy Beef Stroganov from Nigel Slater’s Real Fast Food several months ago. I liked it so much I wanted him to cook it the very next night but he’s kept me hanging till tonight. It was just as delicious as I remembered. Yes, I know it’s odd to serve ... Read more »
The Place of Onions, in old Lille. After last night’s rainstorm the intense sticky heat has broken and today is cool, breezy, fresh… I love it! A drop of… [more]
We went to Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void this morning, an amazing VR experience where we got to be Rebel Alliance members going undercover as… [more]