So Oz Clarke declares Bridget Jones responsible for the nation’s flight from chardonnay. Well hardly, mate: Australian chardonnay put us off chardonnay! Surely it’s no surprise to find the large glass in the hand of a latterday drunkorexic now filled with the oily allurements of Italian Pinot Grigio; the mouthfeel of all that oaky Australian machismo is just too gaggingly throaty to go down, man. No wonder the guzzling nation’s going [...]
Archive for May, 2008
chardonnay & chips
Posted in wine, tagged ABC, anything but chardonnay, Bridget Jones, chardonnay, oaky whites, Oz Clarke, pinot grigio, white wine on May 31, 2008 | 3 Comments »
mini oven toasts the credit crunch
Posted in fast food, terrific tools, tagged credit crunch, fouace, Hinari, home economics, lunch, mini oven, olive oil dough, Poundstretcher, toast, toaster oven on May 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Now here’s one thing over which Canadians and Americans do see eye to eye: a mini toaster oven. It’s the tops. And now, in the UK, it’s here at long last. As with the best things in life, it’s a study in brilliant simplicity: just look at those nuclear-bunker knobs. Gasp at the no-nonsense controls: 2 elements with 3 cooking combinations [...]
Poulabaisse Bouillabaisse
Posted in Summer, recipes, restaurants, tagged bouillabaisse, celebrity chefs, chicken bouillabaisse, Coco Beach, Cote d'Azur, fennel, Nice, pastis, Raymond Blanc, saffron on May 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
One (mental) escape from the enforced trogloditism (yes that’s my word) of this year’s Whitsun Bank Holiday might be via a 2 minute video in The Times travel section: that suavely sincere and sincerely suave Raymond Blanc tucked into a pink bib while explaining and demonstrating that classic and exclusive Mediterranean dish, bouillabaisse, in a location just [...]
the gory glory of a Chinese takeaway
Posted in fast food, restaurants, tagged Chinese food, Chinese takeaway, Wong Kei on May 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Something to cheer up a wet, wild and windy Bank Holiday Monday: lurid splashes of colour in a plateful of home counties Chinese food hot-footed to the door. This Kandinskyesque car crash of a palette is Menu A, consisting of (clockwise from top): Kung Po Pork, Chicken with Mixed Vegetables, Beef with Oyster sauce and [...]
Buna shimeji funghi sott’olio
Posted in recipes, shopping, slow food, tagged antipasti, Brown Beech, Buna shimeji, mushrooms, olive oil, umami on May 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
No, that’s not a random collection of vowels and consonants: while meandering along the vegetable aisle in Waitrose I spied these exotic Buna shimeji, also known as Brown Beech mushrooms, at a delightfully exotic discount. Nothing boosts my culinary confidence like finding a food bargain, and with the summery weather in mind I fancied trying them [...]
the gift of olive oil (you already paid for)
Posted in food politics, ingredients, recipes, shopping, tagged anchovies, food budget, food costs, food economy, food waste, inflation, ingredients, jars, leftovers, olive oil, olives, peace oil, preserves, recipes, rising food costs on May 22, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Do you ever buy delicious edibles in jars or tubs? If so, you’ve no doubt acquired more than a few items preserved in olive oil. Now this idea is so obvious perhaps I’m just a slow learner, but until recently, once the olives, or sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes or anchovies were gone I used to throw away the oil left behind. [...]
Channel hopping
Posted in restaurants, shopping, wine, tagged Channel hopping, Channel shopping, food shopping, SeaFrance, solo dining on May 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Wine stocks were getting perilously low and with no trip to Nice on the horizon and a brief interlude between French workers’ strikes, time was ripe for a quick jaunt to Calais. A choppy crossing each way rendered walking about a poor idea, so on the return leg, for just under £20 I enjoyed a proper dinner [...]
inside-out pissaladiere
Posted in Summer, artisan bread, olive oil dough, packed lunch, picnic, tagged anchovies, anchovy, artisan bread in 5 minutes a day, canned tuna, cuisine nicoise, empanada, olive oil dough, packed lunch, pissaladiere, pissalat, tuna, Waitrose grilled peppers on May 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Yet another riff on my olive oil dough theme: I call it inside-out pissaladière as this one contains home-made onion confit, flaked tuna and a sprinkle of capers. I ate it – just catching a last morsel for this snap – for lunch then made another variation for Mr T’s tomorrow but this time added [...]
olive oil dough latest
Posted in artisan bread, olive oil dough, slow food, tagged artisan bread, artisan bread in 5 minutes a day, boule loaf, olive oil dough on May 19, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Just sharing my latest effort – a boule made with olive oil dough, cornflour wash and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I’m starting to get the hang of the all-important “slash” technique. Note those wonderful gluten strands, result of a slow rise: you won’t get this from a bread machine.
a better idea for borage
Posted in Summer, herbs, ingredients, tagged borage, cocktail, edible flowers, garden herbs, herbs, omelette, recipe, recipes, summer drinks on May 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Ah, true sunny delight: the borage is in bloom. Such pretty periwinkle blue flowers, all set to adorn a glass of Pimm’s® for whiling away an English summer afternoon. Wood on willow, polite applause, chin-chin…you get the scene. But there’s something wrong with this picture, surely? Firstly it’s most likely raining and secondly, is not Pimm’s [...]
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