Pairing Italy and Portugal with Food and Wine As summer draws to a close, I crave tender, slow-cooked casseroles with rich wine-infused gravy and meltingly tender meat. Dishes like this Italian Beef Casserole. While I love French style boeuf bourguignon and British (or is it Irish) beef in Guinness, ale or stout, I wanted to […]
Chicken with Wild Mushroom and Truffle Sauce
Creamy Chicken with Wild Mushroom and Truffle Sauce from Hello Fresh. Ad: This post was written in conjunction with Hello-Fresh Recipe boxes are a great way to learn how to make new dishes. All your ‘mise en place’ is done – the food arrives ready prepared and portioned. When you need a specific, unusual ingredient […]
Pissaladière Recipe – with Faulkner Provençal Rosés
The Ultimate Provençal Pairing – Pissaladière and Rosé Wine Our latest wine review and recipe feature takes us to Provence in the South of France. We will be reviewing two high-quality rosés coming from Canadian winemaker Julian Faulkner’s family estate in the Côtes de Provence, the spiritual home of rosé wine. To accompany the wines […]
Cumberland Pork Sausage with Fennel, Cannellini Beans, Lemon and Olives
Easy one-pan recipe for Cumberland Pork Sausage Meatballs with Cannellini Beans. Not long ago I was sent a selection of meat from Lake District Farmers. A feast of options, in the box there were plenty of Cumberland sausages, some thick-cut pork loin steaks and an intriguing tube of Cumberland sausagemeat – something I haven’t seen […]
Griddled Lettuce Recipe – Seasonal Vegetables from Nature’s Choice
Nature’s Choice delivers nature’s bounty – Griddled Lettuce with Peas and Beans An early morning knock on my front door usually means one thing: a delivery, often of fruit and vegetables. Since lockdown I have had a weekly order from a host of delivery companies, the quality varies quite a bit and even the company […]
Piña Colada Cocktail with spiced Devon Rum
Small-batch premium spiced rum from the Devon Rum Company. The piña colada is one of the world’s best-loved cocktails, a creamy, frothy concoction of rum, pineapple juice, and coconut cream. The piña colada was created in Puerto Rico in the 1950s, but the identity of the bartender who first mixed up this iconic rum-based cocktail […]
Mushroom Frittata in the perfect Samuel Groves pan
Road testing Samuel Groves cookware – Mushroom Frittata. For the enthusiastic home cook, little is more exciting than cookware. When a box containing Samuel Groves pans arrived at my door it created more than a little frisson. Of all the multitude of parcels that have been delivered since lockdown began, this was the best by […]
Taylor’s Chip Dry White Port – Canary Cocktail
The Canary Cocktail with White Port. On a mission since lockdown to try out new cocktails, I have found a fantastic new one to add to my favourites list; a ‘Canary’ made with dry white port. I recently received a bottle of Taylor’s Chip Dry Port so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try […]
Pink Port Cocktail with Croft
Pink Port – and a Perfect Summer Cocktail. If you had consigned your port to the back of your drinks cupboard, ready for Christmas, here’s something completely different to try. I was delighted to receive a sample bottle of Croft Pink Port to play with. Pink Port is a drink like no other that I’ve […]
Classic Ways with Beef – Boeuf Bourguignon
Boeuf Bourguignon – My First ‘French’ Dish. As a teenager, I used to spend a month every summer staying with a French family. The intention, of course, was for me to improve my French. The reality was that I spoke very little French (although to this day I can follow a conversation without too much […]