Recipes
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Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge? - 1 Jan 2012
This is one of my favorite dishes - a wonderful peasant soup that uses up stale bread to turn a winter minestrone (that's the kale in it) into a full scale comfort meal. It's even better if you keep a day before you eat it. read more...
A festive 'Special': Foie Gras Creme Caramel - 12 Dec 2011
This is one of those glamorous recipes you pay a fortune for in high end restaurants which, according to Christophe and Michelle Poteaux, owners and chefs of Bastille, who make it, turns out not to be too difficult to do. (And no objections to the foie gras, if you please, until you address how battery chickens that are eaten far more frequently are raised.) read more...
The perfect Yorkshire pudding - 12 Dec 2011
A proper Yorkshire pudding is a Christmas treat - and a vital component of a roast beef feast. It must be 4 inches tall. That'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 and raised in Kuala Lumpur. read more...
The Queen Mum's favorite cake - 2 Dec 2011
This was the favorite cake of the Queen Mother, gobblesser. It's a lovely dense yet light much nicer alternative to a fruit cake - that thick brick the Brits love at Christmas or covered in sweet stucco at weddings.
But you can't have the recipe for free. At it mustn't be given but sold for one shilling and the money donated to a charitable organization. So if you're planning to bake it, pop a quarter in a charity box. read more...
Chocolate Truffles - 1 Dec 2011
It's always a treat to be given a home-made food gift from a good cook. Trent Conry - one time chef of 401 then Ardeo - has three sumptuous chocolate recipes for food presents any time of year but especially the holiday season, that even a modest cook can tackle fearlessly. read more...
Kedgeree and Omelette Arnold Bennett recipes - 6 Nov 2011
These are two recipes that come into their own with the fall chill. Make them for a celebratory brunch or lunch or an informal supper. read more...
Banh Khoai - crispy shrimp pancakes - 26 Oct 2011
These fluffy rice flour pancakes, stuffed with shrimp and herbs, are a specialty of Vietnam's west coast.
Make them as a starter or part of a multi-dish feast, and get your guests to do their own stuffing... read more...
Tortilla Española - 7 Oct 2011
From the Taberna del Alabardero, this recipe for Tortilla Española makes a classic Spanish tapas dish, perfect for a festive fall lunch, that feeds 15 with very little trouble. read more...
Orange Almond Cake - 10 Sep 2011
Not only is this a really simple, elegant cake to make, but it is gluten free. It's a Sephardic recipe, from Claudia Roden's classic, 'A Book of Middle Eastern Food'. In the summer, serve it with a few berries. In the fall and winter with dried fruits plumped up and stewed in a little whisky-flavored tea. read more...
José Andrés cooks paella on a barbecue - 8 Aug 2011
José Andrés makes paella on his barbecue grill. Okay, so he's a multi-restaurant owner and chef. But he thinks you can do it too. Here is a front row seat at his home-based demonstration. read more...
Love Cake from Sri Lanka - 10 Jul 2011
My Supper Club's assignment last month was a Sri Lankan feast. My assignment, the dessert. Love Cake is a legacy of the Portuguese, when they occupied the island they called Ceylon. read more...
Beggars' Chicken - 30 Jun 2011
With its delicious stuffing, this Shanghai specialty is not a difficult dish and a good one for dinner parties. It holds well if you're not quite sure when the guests will come. Ingredients are readily available at Asian supermarkets. read more...
Shanghai Soup Dumplings - 30 Jun 2011
You may never make these (though it's more about labor than absolute skill so it's well worth trying). Just read through and admire the effort others go to, to make them for you.
What produces the soup surprise that squirts into your mouth as you bite are tiny lumps of jellied soup that turn back into liquid as you steam-cook the dumplings. read more...
Mango Chutney - 22 Jun 2011
It's worth making your own - it will have a freshness, a tartness at the edge of its sweetness you won't find in a jar. And mango chutney is so good not just with Indian food but with any grilled meat. read more...
Montreal Steak Seasoning recipe - 19 Jun 2011
For those who've asked about Montreal Seasoning in the Greek Mini Burger recipe and can't find McCormack's Grill Mates Montreal Seasoning, here's a close replication. read more...
Drunk on watermelon - 19 Jun 2011
Jamie Oliver has a wicked way with watermelons, which goes down a treat at grown-up barbecues.
He infuses the fruity Zeppelin with vodka. ('Infuse' doesn't begin to cover it...) read more...
Frozen yogurt, home-made - 16 Jun 2011
I've become completely seduced by frozen yogurt (though not quite as seduced as I am by The Dairy Godmother's frozen custard...)
And it's amazingly easy to make yourself. read more...
Mini Greek Burgers - 15 Jun 2011
Here's a fresh take on the summer burger. The Greek element is in the mix of ground lamb with the classic beef. And the feta mousse that tops it would work well dolloped on a beet salad. read more...
Chilled Jumbo Asparagus and Shallot Remoulade made with Homemade Mayonnaise - 1 Jun 2011
Jamie Stachowski was the owner-chef of now closed Restaurant Kolumbia, and much missed. His tremendous sausages are available at the Keilbasa Factory. This recipe offers a great technique for cooking asparagus as well as a sauce that would go well with grilled beef or dolloped on a roast beef sandwich. read more...
Ricciarelli - your go-to cookie - 12 May 2011
Ricciarelli, the ground almond cookies special to Siena, a gooey-er macaroon, are good cookies to have on tap year round. But in fresh berry season, they turn a simple dish of hulled strawberries into a dinner special, served alongside the berries and a dish a whipped cream. read more...
The lunch shift is over and chef Peter Smith, owner of PS 7’s restaurant is surrounded by gin. No, he’s not relaxing over a drink. The gin is in bowls in an pre-formed state. It’s the mash, a mix of herbs and berries and peels and roots that Smith has worked out how to use in his food as flavorings.
Chew On This: Your first 'Duh' of the year...
Eggplant
Baked beans - the musical fruit
Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge?
Yasaman Persian Bakery - one of my favorites
Breads - a good chew
Duck & goose
A festive 'Special': Foie Gras Creme Caramel
Festive presents weird and wacky at World Market
Walnut oil
The perfect Yorkshire pudding
Chew On This: The acai berry diet can only thin your wallet...
The Queen Mum's favorite cake
West Indian Black Cake
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