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 […]
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 […]
I realise I said recently that I wasn’t that into desserts, but I do have to make an exception for Rice Pudding. Rice Pudding is surely one of the world’s great comfort foods, and was one of the few puddings my mother would regularly make when I was growing up. I still make it today, […]
There are two recipes in The Prawn Cocktail Years for cod with sauce, Cod with Anchovy and Egg Sauce, and Cod with Parsley Sauce. Not being a big fish person, I’ve never made either of these, but now it’s time to try. Today, anchovy and egg. It all starts off with heating some milk with […]
Kedgeree is an Anglo-Indian dish, consisting of curried rice and fish, usually smoked haddock. The Prawn Cocktail Years contains two recipes for kedgeree: Wet Kedgeree and Dry Kedgeree. I’ve made the dry version many times over the years, and it is very nice, but I’m not sure I’ve ever made the wet one. Well, now […]
So, we start this post with another confession. Here it is: I’m not really a fish sort of person. It’s not that I don’t like fish so much, more that it’s often disappointing. For some fish, it’s just a flavour thing – bland and tasteless; for other fish, it’s the bones. Boy do I hate […]
Regular readers may have noticed that it’s been a little quiet here just lately. We’ve been away on holiday for the past couple of weeks – sixteen days in a lovely spot on the north coast of Tenerife. During that time, we ate an endless array of delicious things: pork, paella, tapas, more pork, perfectly […]
And now for the third asparagus recipe: Asparagus with Vinaigrette. In the introduction to the asparagus recipe, the authors say “Melted butter is possibly the first choice for hot asparagus, vinaigrette with cold.” So, I guess I ought to serve this asparagus cold. I’d planned on some fried chicken for the evening meal, and figured […]
Time for the second of the four asparagus sauces: Hollandaise. I’m not actually sure I’ve ever made a hollandaise sauce before. I’m sure I must have done, but certainly not in recent memory. Hollandaise sauce is basically a lightly cooked mayonnaise, except instead of whisking oil into egg yolks, clarified butter is used. Now, I […]