A different kind of birthday cake
And a different kind of quiche! The word ‘quiche’ originally comes from a Lorraine word for cake, so though it might seem like an unusual choice for a birthday, it’s what I’ve had for the last few years (as I don’t have much of a sweet tooth). Mum stumbled...
Easy as a gently-blowing breeze
For Christmas I received a culinary blow torch. This was my first chance to try it out. Creme brulee is considered a tricky dessert (as are most simple desserts). It’s so simple if it didn’t taste so good it would be boring. Using one egg for each ramekin you’re...
A word on a scrummy wine
It’s hard not to like red wine. It’s impossible when that wine is a gift. This is a lovely tipple with plenty of body from Cabardès which is the only formal appelation permitted to blend Bordeaux with Mediterranean grapes. It drinks very well (and quickly in my case) and...
Avocado breakfast
Apologies for the rather dubious quality of the photograph, I was using the laptop camera. It seems photobooth takes a mirror-image snap. I haven’t the faintest idea why, but it does make it look like I’m back-to-front with my cutlery. Credit to my friend Lawrence Calver for the inspiration...
Norman wisdom
There are few things I enjoy more than making something delicious out of leftovers. We had a chicken fillet, mashed potato, spring cabbage and even gravy to use up. I couldn’t believe my piggy little eyes. A few onions got fried with some garlic and the potato and cabbage...
Medicinal scram
I have just got back from a busy week in London and am feeling worse for wear with a terrible cough. So I resolved to eat something with lots of garlic. Thus, the centrepiece for today’s Sunday roast was a chicken breast that I scored, stuffed with huge chunks...
Eggs benedict with bacon-infused hollandaise
Not the prettiest picture in the world, but a very scrummy breakfast indeed. Infusing hollandaise with the flavour of bacon is no easy feat, but with lots of lemon makes for a really delicious sauce. I made the hollandaise in the usual way by putting an egg yolk and...
Eggs two ways
Inspired by seeing Julie & Julia the other day I decided to try Julia Child’s method of making an omelette by swirling it round the pan, then violently jerking it into shape before tipping platewise. As you can see from my picture (which is mysteriously glowing) I failed. My...
Monsters from the deep
Good morning gastronauts! I speed off to Manchester later today, so just time for a quick post before I embarrass myself at New Year celebrations by drinking too much calvados. My camera has gone AWOL so apologies for not snapping what I made. I attach what remains of my...
Making up for lost calories
In my last post I alluded to having overcompensated for the vegan cake by making my own Irish cream. A few words of warning: don’t operate heavy machinery after a couple of these. I mixed 2 fl. oz. whisky with about 100ml of cream and added a shot of...