Month: December 2007

I decided on a penne cheese bake for lunch. I boiled the pasta for 8 minutes while I made a cheese sauce from half a pint of semi-skimmed goat’s milk, some cornflour and butter, and melted in some strips of mature cheddar cheese. I added creamed spinach to the...

Early Christmas dinner with friends Originally uploaded by dynamist. Friday night at dinner: PABLO: I have a turkey in my apartment. BOB: A live one? PABLO: Er…no. Pablo just arrived in Cincinnati a few weeks ago, from his native Costa Rica. His employer gave everyone a turkey for Christmas....

I marinated the chicken for several hours in lemon juice, pricking it with a fork and turning occasionally. I chopped up the vegetables – aubergine, runner beans, purple onion, mushrooms, and green peppers – and cooked them all together in the wok before adding sweet and sour sauce. I...

I was in the food hall of Karstadt in Frankfurt, buying enough good quality meat and fish to last the coming week. Nothing was on offer alas, but I did get two large pangasius filets for about 5 Euros. Also fillet steak, pork loin and sausages. I like to fry fish, but too often...

Servatii’s mocha cake Originally uploaded by dynamist. I am feeling better, and went to Servatii’s, a neighborhood bakery, for breakfast this morning with friends. I had a glazed donut and Diet Pepsi – a combination beloved of sophisticates everywhere, I’m sure you’ll agree. Previously, I blogged about Servatii’s sugar-free...

Twas a Vida Organica 2005, mixed from Sangiovese and Bonarda. It was a perfectly respectable 13% Argentinian wine from Familia Zuccardi. It was remarkably smooth (probably because it was served at the right temperature – I like it best a few degrees above room temperature) and had some lovely...

There’s a new kid on the block. It has opened on the site of 1 King’s Parade in Cambridge, and it’s called The Cambridge Chop House. There’s a cool, clean look to the place, thanks to minimalist styling with whitewashed brick walls and white lighting which offsets polished wood-topped...

I was shopping for other stuff in Marks and Spencer’s when I saw “Classic recipe top iced Christmas cake bar.” It looked pretty mouth-watering, and advertised “vine fruits, glacé cherries, marzipan and soft icing.” I tried a slice at home, and found it far better than I expected. Indeed,...

I made a momentous decision this year. It is that shop-bought mince pies are better than mine. The ‘luxury’ deep-filled, brandy-rich supermarket ones manage to get the pastry more crumbly and succulent, and the filling right, too. So this Christmas and probably most future ones I will buy in...

I contracted it on Tuesday night, and was still feeling so rotten on Thursday night that I could not even bring myself to eat rich, delicious, FREE chocolate chip cookies. That’s how bad it has been. I finally gave in to the advice I was given and chugged some...