I love coffee; I drink it every morning to kick-start my day. But coffee has to be hot – steaming and fragrant. Several times in my life, I’ve tried iced coffee. Now that stuff is just weird – it’s not coffee, it’s just unpleasant. I’m sorry, but iced coffee and me, we just don’t get along. […]
I know I’ve said it before, but I don’t really have a particularly sweet tooth, so many puddings are rather alien to me. I have to confess that before I made this, I wasn’t entirely sure what a Pavlova was. It had meringue in it, I was pretty sure, and fruit, but just how they […]
Every now and then, I pick up a tub of Potted Shrimps from Waitrose. They make a tasty little snack, spread onto hot toast, or stirred into some scrambled egg. Just like the previous recipe, Scampi with Tartare Sauce, it’s something I’ve never considered making myself – I guess it just feels so much easier […]
Breaded scampi, deep-fried, is a delicious thing. I buy it from time to time, and it makes for a quick, easy and tasty meal. I’ve never really thought about making it myself from scratch though. Of course, I’ve glanced at this recipe in The Prawn Cocktail Years many time, but I’ve never been tempted to […]
When I was a kid, one of my very favourite soups was Heinz Mulligatawny Soup. It wasn’t subtle, it was a no-holds-barred sort of soup. Strong, spicy and curried. I loved it. It seems my penchant for spice and flavour started at a pretty young age. I still eat it today from time to time, […]
When I started out on this culinary adventure, my friend Anya bought a copy of so she could follow along and see the recipes behind what I was making. When she got the book, pretty much the very first thing she said to me about it was that she didn’t like the sound of the […]
After making last week’s Sausage Rolls, I still had a big slab each of pork belly and pork shoulder sat in the fridge. I needed to find a way to use those up. Well, there’s just one recipe left in the Expresso Bongo chapter – Scotch Egg – and that requires mincing up those two cuts […]
Does anyone really need a recipe for Garlic Bread? Well, apparently they do, or at least they did back in 1997 when the book was published. Well, I’m committed to making all the recipes in the book, and this one really is no hardship – I mean, garlic bread is delicious. It starts with a […]
“No one makes Sausage Rolls now,” the recipe starts. If they do, it goes on, they use ready-made pastry, or shop-bought sausage meat. It’s true, I’m sure. I don’t know anyone who makes their own Sausage Rolls from scratch. I make them from time to time, but it’s really more assembly than cooking – a […]
Is Steak au Poivre still a thing? I don’t think I’ve seen it on a menu in decades. I certainly haven’t eaten it in an awfully long time. I think I’ve probably cooked it, but not in living memory. I don’t even know if I particularly like it. It’s steak. With peppercorns. That must be […]