Monthly Archives: March 2011

The Wednesday Tipple – Fancy beer and individual truffle mac n cheese

Partly it started because my sister Sarah and her boyfriend Matt came to stay with us in New York from London. Sarah is a wine buyer, so we left that bit up to her, while Jon went zooming off to … Continue reading

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The Monday Treat – Coconut Chocolate Breakfast Bars

Is anyone else still coming to terms with the spring forward loss of an hour in the mornings? It doesn’t seem to have gotten any easier as the weeks go on. Perhaps it’s because spring isn’t holding up its side … Continue reading

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This Dinner Will Get You Laid – Spaghetti Puttanesca

This pasta sauce is literally translated as tart’s or whore’s. The idea being, I believe, that only slovenly women would make a sauce entirely out of store cupboard ingredients. That said, there’s an alternate theory that says the sauce’s sharp … Continue reading

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Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken cacciatore is a quick cook tomato-based chicken stew. Essentially you make a tomato sauce, then cook chicken pieces in it and tip in a drained can of beans towards the end of the cooking time. But, in a rewarding … Continue reading

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The Wednesday Tipple – Crispy mozzarella bites with tomato sauce

My sister and her boyfriend Matt are in town for the week, and we have been out on the terrace for drinks, and it didn’t feel like a punishment. This was an unexpected treat – when I spoke to her … Continue reading

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Minestrone Soup

Once you can make tomato sauce, you can make tomato soup – just add stock to the sauce, and a swirl of cream for added awesomeness. And from tomato soup it’s a tiny step to minestrone, which is a much … Continue reading

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The Monday Treat – Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

These are the kind of unpredictable spring days when meals are often called upon to satisfy diverse conditions. We want to eat something comforting and warming enough for unpredictable showery blustery weather, but fresh and sprightly enough for those evenings … Continue reading

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This Dinner Will Get You Laid – Traditional Irish Stew

I would like to pay tribute to my Irish friend Christie, who moved to New York in the height of the summer, all bouncing curls (how? The humidity was off the chart) and green eyes and a good line in … Continue reading

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Irish Soda Bread

Soda bread is one of the least worrying breads to make because there’s no yeast to deal with. Not that yeast is especially complicated stuff, it’s just that all the proving, warming, kneading, rising business can seem daunting in a … Continue reading

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The Wednesday Tipple – Guinness and Colcannon cakes

There are nights when a Guinness seems like a good idea. And there is nothing in the world that goes so well with a Guinness than colcannon cakes. Colcannon is a traditional Irish food – a mixture of mash potato … Continue reading

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