Britain & Ireland
Afternoon tea, Marmite on toast, a big bang-up Irish fried breakfast. This is the Blighty and the Eire of nostalgia, Evelyn Waugh and poet John Betjeman, along with clotted cream, ginger beer, mature Cheddar - and Bird's Custard on your apple pie if you insist. It's all so comforting, and Nanny will let us have seconds if we're very good.
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Cakes - to order or make beautiful - 10 Mar 2010
Easter's coming. Spring weddings are swishing into view. Baking cake for a celebration, cupcakes for school or work? Or need someone else to do it for you? Here's all you need to keep you in cake. read more...
Shepherd's pie - 27 Jan 2010
Wesley Morton's Shepherd's Pie - one of gastropub AGAINN's most popular dishes - is a good comfort food dish any time of year. read more...
Wesley Morton - chef of AGAINN - 27 Jan 2010
It's a little disconcerting for a Brit to be sitting at the bar of a bistro brasserie in Washington listening to its American chef enthuse about bangers-and-mash, cock-a-leekie, and the best kind of potato topping for a shepherd's pie. But a conversation with Wesley Morton, chef of the New York Ave NW gastropub AGAINN heads down those avenues with side trips into discussions of his favorite watering holes in London.
When he was hired to head the kitchen he and owner Mark Weiss agreed it was vital to spend time in the British capital to see what was happening in contemporary English kitchens for themselves. read more...
Potatoes - earthy delights - 27 Jan 2010
Potatoes get such a bad rap. But they're one of the world's most versatile and nutritious ingredients. Here are some spud, tatty and tater facts. read more...
New Year celebrations - something different & where to buy it - 21 Dec 2009
Want to spice up your New Year festivities? Try one of the traditions from another part of the world. read more...
Christmas - dreaming of a different one & where to buy the ingredients - 9 Dec 2009
"Christmas comes but once a year and when it comes it brings..." Uncle George (who'll take over the single malt whiskey if no-one stops him), Aunt Mavis (who's just decided to turn vegetarian), and all their dreadful children. It's enough to drive you crackers.
Give Christmas a new sparkle and celebrate someone else's - with Britain's Christmas crackers, Italy's Omino di Neve, Switzerland's Zimststerne, Jamaica's West Indian Black Cake and more... read more...
Mushrooms - fall favorites - 21 Oct 2009
As fall arrives in Russia, Poland, Germany, Italy and France, the woods rustle with mushroom hunters. Within days of a rainfall, the undergrowth will be popping with delicious free food. Take care, though, that you know what you're picking. I read a Russian news agency report when I was a Moscow correspondent that a particular mushroom was now officially edible, so long as you boiled it once, tossed away the water, boiled it again in a fresh supply, jettisoned that, then fried it in butter. Which by my reckoning made at least three very sick testers before they found the safe formula. read more...
Fish - fresh or not so fresh? - 14 Oct 2009
Once upon a time, fishmongers would cut fish to order from whole fish, so the customer could be sure, by the clarity of its eyes, the firmness of flesh and the color of its gills, of the freshness of the fish. Not any longer. Now that it's generally sold ready-filletted, you've only your nose to rely on. Use it. read more...
Apples - a Magnolia a day... - 2 Sep 2009
While some supermarkets are becoming a little more adventurous in their selection of apples, there are many more interesting varieties to be had than the Goldens and Granny Smiths out there. Thomas Jefferson could have told you that...
Here are some, with how they taste, and where to pick them. read more...
Desserts: Eton Mess - 26 Aug 2009
This aptly named Mess is an easy English recipe to make the most of strawberries. You get the stages ready ahead, to put together at the last minute. It's named after the posh private school of Princes and sons of parents with deep wallets near Windsor Castle - so convenient when Queen Granny wanted to visit William and Harry.
On the 'Fourth of June', a holiday with The Procession of Boats - the top crews row past in vintage wooden rowing boats (Brits find this kind of thing normal) - scholars and parents gather to celebrate the birthday of Eton's patron, King George III (the mad one - that's normal, too). Eton Mess is the pudding de rigueur. ('Pudding' is the posh English word for 'desserts' - a word that would never cross the lips of an old Etonian.) read more...
Frozen custard queen - one of my favorites - 8 Jul 2009
President Obama may have taken his family for a scoop of frozen custard at The Dairy Godmother because he read my post on eatWashington. (I can dream, can't I?) At any rate, if you haven't followed in his footsteps yet, you should. This is the time of year when frozen custard beats regular ice cream hands down. Like it does at every other time of year... read more...
British markets - 24 Jun 2009
When cable TV broadcasts Wimbledon hosting the tennis championships, it's time for a British court-side tea of cucumber sandwiches, strawberries and cream. Which bring on British nostalgia. Missing Marmite? Pork pies? Or Bird's Custard? Need to lift the spirits with a nip of ginger wine? A little Land of Hope and Glory is just behind the doors of these markets. read more...
Clotted cream - home-made - 3 Jun 2009
Real clotted cream is good to dollop on summer's fresh berries. It's a far cry from the ultra heat-treated stiff paste you get in those glass jars in the supermarket. So have a go at making it yourself. read more...
Berries - ripe for picking - 3 Jun 2009
Berry picking is one of the highlights of summer, with different fruits following each other through the season, even the rare blackcurrants and gooseberries. read more...
Marmite madness - 4 Mar 2009
Marmite is a shiny tar-like spread made out of the residues that come from brewing beer. Brits love it. read more...
Breakfasts - a good start - 8 Jan 2009
Mom always said you should start the day with a good breakfast. You know she's right. But if you can't face a bowl of cardboard-tasting, horsestall-looking granola, the nations of the world offer other options. read more...
Sides: The perfect Yorkshire pudding - 2 Dec 2008
A proper Yorkshire pudding must be 4 inches tall. It's official. The Royal Society of Chemists says so. The second key qualification is the cook must have Yorkshire blood. "It's the instinct of people born and raised in Yorkshire. You can tell if the cook has the right touch," scientist John Emsley told the BBC. Perhaps that's why my Yorkshire mother makes puddings like shoe leather - she was born in Kuala Lumpur. read more...
Let's Meat on the Avenue - one of my favorite markets - 29 Oct 2008
Anyone from Colchester, the oldest recorded Roman town in England, would know butcher Steve Gatward comes from there. He wears the butcher's apron traditional only to Colchester, in red and white stripes. read more...
Pork roasts - 27 Oct 2008
Pigs have been intensively farmed to produce a lean white meat. But in an effort to reduce its fat, pork has been turned into a meat that's tasteless and dry. Seek out a cut from a heritage breed, however, and you will have a different experience - pork as it should be. And it's a better life for the pig. read more...
Eggs better for you and the hen - 24 Sep 2008
Think hard about buying Cage-Free Hen eggs instead of regular eggs. There's not a massive amount of price difference. But there is a massive difference for the hens. read more...
In March 2007, Mike Isabella started at Zaytinya. Just a few months later, the hip downtown mezzethes restaurant won a RAMMY award.
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Cakes - to order or make beautiful
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My favorite markets - Yasaman Persian Bakery
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Shiraz Grocery
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Olives
Mike Isabella - Chef of Zaytinya
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Chew on This: No link between red meat and cancer?
Plaza Market
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