Search
Jan 17
Pasta, butter, cheese
"the ultimate 'I can’t believe this came from only that'" Alison Roman "Heat the butter in a skillet until it's as dark as you want,...
11 views1 comment
Dec 21, 2024
An AI suggestion
"The unexpected joy of combining pomegranates with traditional pasta" Wix AI Wix has taken to generously providing me with three AI...
8 views1 comment
Dec 7, 2024
Guilt leads to pistachios - and pasta
It's a long time since I've done a lucky dip. I had one sitting on my desk - Charmaine Solomon's Encyclopedia of Asian Food was the...
4 views1 comment
Nov 8, 2024
Radicchio - from weed to luxury item
"That doesn't look like a salad to me! Where's the arugula? Where's the radicchio?" Will and Grace I'm talking about radicchio because...
9 views1 comment
Oct 1, 2024
An Italian day out in the city
It's Italian Film festival time and my friend Clare proposed going to see something with a lunch beforehand. I, of course, agreed and so...
14 views0 comments
Sep 24, 2024
The frustrations of lucky dips
“I tell my students there is such a thing as ‘writer’s block,’ and they should respect it. It’s blocked because it ought to be blocked,...
5 views0 comments
Aug 10, 2024
Not quite Pasta alla Norma
"Eggplant is slowly fried until burnished and rich with olive oil, then served with pasta in a garlicky tomato sauce and garnished with...
11 views0 comments
Aug 5, 2024
The joy of meatballs
"I don’t have the evidence to back this up, but I am convinced that meatballs are the greatest food on the planet." Stuart Heritage/The...
8 views1 comment
Jul 29, 2024
Ambience over food
"I don't go to restaurants, I go to tables." Langdon Winner It was that time of year when the females of the extended family get...
18 views1 comment
Jul 24, 2024
Self-doubt and a recipe
"So much of the very best food is like this, which is to say a huge bloody mess. It lies on the plate or in the bowl, looking like...
9 views0 comments
Jul 21, 2024
Rambling around osso buco
“the meat soft as the leg of an angel who has lived a purely airborne existence.” Billy Collins This post is all down to a first recipe...
6 views1 comment
Jul 18, 2024
Spaghetti pie, cake, slice ...
"simple, luxurious, yet slightly trashy" Jamie Oliver I didn't get to finish this post yesterday because I spent too much time in the...
12 views2 comments
Jul 14, 2024
Napoleon cake - layers of meaning
"as each family makes it their own way, you’d be pressed to find two recipes that agree on what makes a perfect one." Deb...
10 views1 comment
Jul 3, 2024
A decor book
"It's not just what's inside them that counts – books are also the underrated heroes of home décor." Bed Threads This is my next Lucky...
23 views0 comments
Jun 22, 2024
Pumpkin gnocchi
"As for the gnocchi family, their merits as inexpensive, attractive, and original little dishes will be quickly perceived" Elizabeth...
26 views2 comments
Jun 21, 2024
Polenta pizza
"It’s not a pizza, ... It really is a happy-looking pie, with its yellows and reds and wonderfully golden edges." Ottolenghi Last year,...
8 views0 comments
May 21, 2024
Calzone
"Calzone are pointless. They're just pizza that's harder to eat. No-one likes them." Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope in Parks and...
8 views1 comment
May 11, 2024
Feeling lazy? Puttanesca to the rescue
"Puttanesca - Although you will often see its Italian name explained as meaning “whore’s pasta” in English, the general consensus seems...
3 views0 comments
Apr 21, 2024
Trying to make a lucky dip interesting
"Writer's block is having too much time on your hands." Jodi Picoult "Read a lot. Write a lot. Have fun." Daniel Pinkwater My lucky dip...
11 views0 comments
Apr 19, 2024
Zabaglione, Sabayon, Delia ...
"a fragile whip of cream contained in a little glass, concealing within its innocent white froth a powerful alcoholic punch." Elizabeth...
10 views0 comments