Dorset Sparkling Wine from Furleigh Wines. Are you as excited about the rise of English fizz as I am? I’ve become a big fan in recent years. It seems that lots of us are at long last appreciating the finesse of our home-grown wines. Maybe it’s our great terroir, maybe it’s climate change. But English […]
Beyond Sauvignon Blanc – Pairing New Zealand Albarino with Salmon Terrine
New Zealand Wine Pairing – Albarino with Salmon Terrine: What do yo you associate with New Zealand wines? For most of us, it’s Sauvignon Blanc. I remember my first taste of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc – something which quickly changed my preconception of Southern Hemisphere wines. But, there’s much more going on in New Zealand, […]
Homemade Beef Wellington From Scratch
Homemade Beef Wellington Recipe with Donald Russell. Gentle reader, I am not a great follower of recipes. Most of what I cook I’ve made in one form or another for years – and what I do has evolved to suit my palate, culinary expertise (or lack of) and patience. I’ve made individual beef wellingtons for […]
Halibut in Champagne Cream Sauce with Asparagus
Luxury on a Plate with Halibut from the Fish Society. I love halibut – a firm, white fish that is seldom available in my local supermarket or even from the Farmers’ Market that I visit every Saturday. The largest flatfish in the world, halibut has a delicate sweet flavour, firm flaky meat and a minimum […]
English Summer Wine Tasting
Crab Pie and an English Wine Week Preview. On a perfect English Easter weekend what could be better than having a tasting of some of the new crop of English wines for the summer. Whilst we languish in the dog days of Brexit there is an energy and excitement about English wine that would have […]
A Love Story, Asparagus and Grenache Gris
Asparagus, Pancetta and Quail Eggs paired with Grenache Gris. Who doesn’t love a bit of romance? The story of Domaine Jones, of an English woman who went out to work in the South of France in the 1990s and, after running the local wine co-operative in Mont Tauch went on not only to buy a […]
Cooking with Comté
All About Comté – A Delicious Comté Cheese Salad With Pancetta. An invitation to a Comté cheese cookery class at Central Street Cookery School was an evening no food lover would want to miss. I love cooking classes and am a devoted fan of Comté which I like especially for its nutty taste and […]
Lamb Crown from Donald Russell and a red wine and mushroom jus.
Stuffed lamb crown with red wine and mushroom jus: There are few dishes that celebrate Spring better than lamb. Donald Russell, Scotland’s finest butcher and by appointment to the Queen, has created this stunning celebratory lamb crown stuffed with a light earthy mushroom duxelles. Made from English lamb, a crown is one of the best […]
Thai Fish Curry – Dourthe sets the bar high in Bordeaux.
Dourthe Wines from Bordeaux and a Thai Red Fish Curry: It’s always fun to try new wines and play with food pairings. So I was thrilled to be sent a selection of Dourthe wines from Bordeaux to do just that. I’m particularly pleased with my pairing of a white Bordeaux with a Thai Red Fish […]
My Fair Lady Pink Gin Cocktail with Palmers
Gin Cocktails with Palmers Strawberry and Rose: Sometimes it seems that London is going back to the days of the Gin Craze with artisan gin producers appearing everywhere. It’s refreshing then to find a family business with a genuine heritage in alcohol production. Palmers was founded in 1805 in Old Street, London, originally varnish makers […]