WTF Do I Eat Tonight?

The twelve days of Kickstarter: salmon rillettes

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Louise

If you have read my last post, then you will know that I have launched a cookbook publisher. As I write this, I have twelve days to go on a Kickstarter campaign to reach my goal of £24000 which will pay for the final, most expensive stages of publishing my first book. And, since it is nearly December, and therefore nearly Christmas, I thought it seemed appropriate to give you a little gift on each of those twelve days, the gift of a recipe from The French Home Cookbook. Hopefully you will find them useful, hopefully you will find them inspiring and, hopefully, if you or someone you love is tempted by them then you will head over to the Kickstarter page and pledge a little something to help the recipes get published. Continue reading →

Posted in Fish recipes, Gluten-free, Party recipes, Poach my Lobster | Tagged 12 days of Christmas, Christmas party recipes, Kickstarter | Leave a comment

Poach my Lobster, or how I started my own cookbook publisher

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Louise

A long long time ago, in a galaxy far away or, rather, in Cambridgeshire I was given a copy of The Pooh Cook Book. Here it is and there, on the endpapers, is my name and address and proof that I was about 10 when I got it (3R being my third-year in junior school).

The post-its are a more recent addition…

Though I barely cooked anything from it, apart from appallingly hopeless peppermint creams, and though I didn’t know it till many years later, it was the start of a love affair with food, cookbooks and recipes. Now, much MUCH later, I am turning that love into a business. And I want to share how it happened with you, since this blog is so much part of that love. Continue reading →

Posted in Poach my Lobster, The Cook Shelf | Tagged BHV, FNAC, french home cookbook, French recipes, Héloïse Martel, Poach my Lobster, publishing, simple recipes | 8 Comments

The first soup of the winter: romanesco and cheese

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Louise

I do love cold weather, or at least I do love it when it’s still a novelty, when all the fabulous autumn ingredients fill my head with possible recipes. I love the abundance of different squash, cabbages and apples, I love making stews and cakes and I love that one of the cheapest and quickest dishes in the world, soup, suddenly seems desirable. Continue reading →

Posted in Nigel Slater, Soup recipes | Tagged one pot recipes, soup recipes | 1 Comment

A chef’s pan and chicken sofrito

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Louise

My nephew and godson Matt went to university a month ago and, by all accounts, he is having a blast (not that he’s told ME; hello Matt, are you ever going to reply to your aunt’s text?!). He loves food and cooking and, though I was pretty certain he wouldn’t be eating much other than toast and kebabs in his first term or year, I still thought I should send him off with some useful kit. Continue reading →

Posted in Chicken recipes, Wheat-free, Yotam Ottolenghi | Tagged chicken recipes, two-pot, wheat-free recipes | 2 Comments

The French toast to beat all French toasts

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Louise

There is breakfast. You know, cereal, toast, porridge, a bit of fruit, yogurt, something grabbed from the coffee shop. Then there is brunch which, as far I am concerned, is just a bigger, often cooked breakfast so waffles, pancakes, eggs Benedict, scones, things that require more effort and are generally eaten at weekends. Then there is this, this being French toast from Plenty More. Continue reading →

Posted in Breakfast recipes, Yotam Ottolenghi | Tagged brunch recipes, French toast recipe, Plenty More | Leave a comment

Tomato and Parmesan clafoutis

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Louise

In the week, if I’m home, I aim for two things for dinner: use as little kit as possible, so one-pot, or do as little shopping as possible, so using storecupboard ingredients, or both. It’s partly a question of time, partly that I don’t want to do loads of washing up and partly I want to use up stuff, rather than waste it. And this tomato and Parmesan clafoutis is a marvel on all counts.

Continue reading →

Posted in One pot, Storecupboard, Vegetarian recipes | Tagged French recipes, Indispensable French Cookbook, Poach my Lobster | 4 Comments

St John’s creamed spinach, aka my LBD vegetable

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Louise

Yes, it may seem like vegetables have taken over this blog but I have been waiting ALL summer for the weather and light to change so that I can post this. Now that it has I can’t wait any longer.

Continue reading →

Posted in Vegetarian recipes, Wheat-free, Winter vegetables | Tagged St John restaurant | Leave a comment

Caramelised fennel with goat’s cheese

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Louise

There aren’t many vegetable dishes which make me want to lick the plate. This is one of them. I’ve made it twice in a week, once as a starter, once for lunch and I’m already craving a third instalment. Continue reading →

Posted in One pot, Vegetarian recipes, Wheat-free | Tagged fennel recipes, goat's cheese recipes, ottolenghi | 2 Comments

Flammekueche

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Louise

Apparently it’s going to be 26º later this week and though that should lift my spirits, you know what, it doesn’t. I’m bored with cold food (aka salad) and lighter clothes and have already started clearing out all the stuff I’ve not worn this summer and wondering if it’s indecent to start braising a few pig cheeks yet. I want to kick leaves, collect conkers and wear a jumper.

So, in the spirit of celebrating autumn, rather than hanging onto the dregs of summer (Christ, I must be getting old), here is my first cold-weather dish of the season: flammekueche, an easy Alsatian tart which requires very little prep or shopping. I first came across this, as I describe here, when I was a student in Strasbourg and, until recently, I had never found a decent recipe for it. Continue reading →

Posted in One pot, Tart recipes | Tagged Alsace, flammekueche recipe, tart recipes | 5 Comments

Three Good Things: squid, roast potatoes, chilli

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Louise

I am a little sceptical, often with good reason, about cookbooks that sell themselves on a gimmick (e.g. a certain number of minutes; a limited number of ingredients). And I therefore had a bit of an aversion to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Three Good Things since ‘three’ didn’t actually refer to every ingredient used.

But, my, it was a very short-lived aversion because this book is stuffed with things I want to cook, things that suit a WTF-desire to minimise fuss but maximise flavour.

There are, for example, 20 recipes in the fish chapter and I want to make nearly all of them. This squid dish was the first one that I tried and, though devastatingly simple, it is bloody marvellous: fast (none of that peeling nonsense), one-pot and very short on shopping. My only criticism, and the only change I have made to it, is that 250g cleaned squid is not enough for the cat, let alone two adults. Double that to 500g and this is possibly the most perfect squid recipe ever. Continue reading →

Posted in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, One pot, Seafood recipes | Tagged Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, one-pot, squid recipes | Leave a comment