curlywurlyfi

Sweet pudding wine, eg Muscat. In the UK can mean, more generically, any liqueurs served after dinner eg 'would you like any stickies with your coffee' - cue host breaking out the Baileys, brandy, Drambuie, etc.

Tony, that is beautiful.

This thread is killing me. I've been out to dinner every night since Wednesday last week, and tonight I'm out at an art exhibition till late so dinner will be cheap white wine + peanuts. I miss my cooking!! But I live vicariously through you all...

Ah, the vast mince repertoire! I also make mince round (mince in a plated pie, made on a chipped + scarred old Pyrex dish), and stovies (mince, potatoes + onions, cooked all in the same pot, thickened with Bisto, obligatorily served with HP Sauce. God forbid you should brown the onions.)

I grew up in West Africa where they grew wild in the garden. My mother used to serve seeded halved pawpaws topped with finely crumbled crispy bacon + a squeeze of lime as a dinner party starter. Fabulous. Cubes of (even slightly underripe) pawpaw are also good as a garnish alongside poached chicken breast with a creamy curry mayonnaise. PS don't eat the seeds - they are very, um, loosening.

oh yes, this is good. I do a variation on this with parmesan in the pastry, and then drizzle with garlic/basil/olive oil. Haven't made it in ages + might have to shortly! Matthew Fort (in The Guardian last year) had a really fantastic recipe for chard gratin (blanch Swiss chard, mix with fried bacon + grated cheese, put in shallow dish, Parmesan + olive oil, bake). Actual recipe here. Chardgirl somewhere else on eG suggested Dijon mustard was good with chard, so I added in a couple of spoonfuls. This turned out so delicious I could, and do, eat it every week Swiss chard is in season.

buy puff pastry, roll out a little, score a line round it about an inch in from the edge (but not cutting completely through) then stick it, whole, on a baking sheet in a hot oven. It will puff up like a pillow. When it's done, pull it out, and press the centre bit down with eg a fish-slice. Basically you're making a huge vol-au-vent. MEANWHILE (see??) you will have found some custard/whipped some cream/beaten some mascarpone with icing sugar + lemon juice/Madeira/liqueur/chocolate chips/grated orange/vanilla/chopped mint (etc etc etc). Spread into pastry case + top with fresh or stewed fruit, drizzle melted chocolate, chopped nuts (etc, again).

Article from Matthew Fort in this month's Waitrose Food Illustrated about the shortcomings of AGA range cookers, which had me nodding + saying yes, yes, oh so true, etc. You tell 'em, Matthew! Aga Khan't

Fry porky sausages till browned, set aside. Fry a chopped onion, stir in Puy lentils, herbs, crushed garlic, thyme, chopped tomatoes, chopped carrots, courgette chunks, grilled peppers, (etc etc - whatever you have on hand + like with lentils). Spread in the bottom of a baking dish, pour over stock, maybe some red wine. Lie sausages on top + bake till lentils cooked through - you may need to cover with foil for a bit.

make a terrine or coarse 'country' pate (it's quite strong-flavoured on its own)

I've got some duck fat in my freezer which has been there since 1998. Admire my self control!!! I splinter a bit off with a sharp knife every now + then. It's particularly good for stir-frying dark leafy greens, with a bit of garlic. Though last night, I used it to fry some finely chopped onion, which I then stirred into... ... these beautiful lentils, brought back from Castellucio by a friend. They cooked in 10 minutes, they were so fresh. So lentils, onion, duck fat, bay leaf, lemon juice, garlic, salt + pepper. Heaven.

Lucky man! Past hits have included lovely buttery naan; tandoori lamb chops; shikh kebab; tandoori chicken; and dry meat. Though the last time I went, the chops and the chicken were a little underwhelming. The dry meat (lamb + spices cooked in lot of ghee + reduced till sauce is dry + meat amazing) is my favourite + not to be missed. PS what looks like soothing yoghurt + mint with your poppadum is 15 times spicier than the red, obviously chilli-ed sauce. You have been warned.

Following a special request from two separate guests, supper on Saturday night was that well-known summer dish - lasagne Ragu made with beef mince, smoked speck, San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, onions, thyme, red wine, bay leaves, fennel seeds + red chili. Besciamella made by the new-to-me Delia Smith method of putting everything in the pan (butter flour milk bay leaf nutmeg) + stirring with a balloon whisk till up to simmering, then simmering for 10 mins. Gorgeous, and saved all that faffing about frying flour. Ricotta stirred with a beaten egg + some chopped cooked rainbow chard (not that you could tell it was rainbow after it was cooked). Egg noodles were lovely + silky. But too much mozzarella on the top. Served with romaine lettuce with sharp mustard vinaigrette; roasted golden beets (random I know but I had already bought them when the request came in for lasagne); and mini yellow + green courgettes roasted with lemon + rosemary. For pudding, fantastic farmer's market strawberries, with sliced oranges + raspberry sauce, and almond thin biscuits. And double cream. And far too much rosé, and House FM and cigarettes on the roof

or 'Fresh & Wildly Expensive', as I call it

This piece in The Guardian (20 Aug) says that Barkers of Kensington, the House of Fraser store on High St Ken, will be closing its doors + transforming into a Whole Foods outlet (and a bit more Mail on Sunday, but that's another story). Is this a good thing? I'm not familiar with the brand, but am very aware that London (and Kensington especially) is heaving with organic food shops already.

somewhere on eG someone suggested taking the raw kernels off the cob, then frying them hard in olive oil till caramelizing + scorched + a bit smoky, then adding (off the heat) finely chopped red chilli, finely chopped red onion, chopped fresh coriander + a healthy shot of lime juice. Let me tell you, this stuff is sensational.

These peanut butter, date + chocolate chip cookies are super-chewy. And gluten free!! (oh please). And you might find some other ideas on that thread. I was mooching through some magazines at the doctor's last night + came across a recipe for toffee apple cookies that used dried apple chunks + chopped toffees (they'd used Werther's Originals). they looked great, I must say - and would certainly be chewy...

I was reading Alice B Toklas's cookbook over the weekend + all her recipes state very firmly that sauces must be stirred in one direction only. What's all that about then?

Delia Smith has two great recipes for roasted vegetables - roasted vegetable lasagne - really delicious - however, warning, it doesn't freeze well - somehow 'roasted' becomes 'tastes burnt' after a little spell in the freezer. The other is her roasted vegetable couscous with harissa dressing . So good I might have to make it tonight. I'm not mad on goat's cheese; feta works just as well as a substitute. I also like to roast my vegetables separately, as you can see from this post in the Dinner! thread.

Another lovely evening in London, so we piled onto the roof for pre-dinner drinks to watch the sun set over the Wembley arch. A wine merchant friend had very nobly pointed me in the direction of a really lovely rose from Oddbins (ie not his shop!) - Jas des Ginestes Cotes de Provence 2004 - a complete bargain at £5 - crisp, tight, fruity, dry. So we lounged on the roof with pistachios + Bombay Mix till about 9.30pm, then repaired to the kitchen for Ham Fest, all made ahead of time. - plain baked ham, carved in thin slices - cherry tomatoes roasted with bay, balsamic + garlic - fennel braised with fennel seeds, a little stock, OO + red wine vinegar - butternut squash cubes roasted with red chilli flakes - Beluga lentils dressed with OO - Little Gem lettuce with vinaigrette - roasted courgettes with lemon, feta + parsley - peas, pureed with double cream, nutmeg + mint (served hot) - this was the smash hit of the evening, the texture was sort of like a pea mousse - home made apple chutney - La Brea crusty white bread with sesame seeds Followed by a proper trifle, made with Madeira cake sprinkled with Madeira, home made raspberry jam, fresh raspberries, nutmeggy custard, double cream + toasted flaked almonds. I think it's safe to say (a) everyone got their five portions of fruit + veg in; and (b) no-one went home hungry. Now, what can I do with half a leftover ham?

hmmm, not strictly Earl's Court - it's up off High St Kensington, so approx 10 mins walk from EC tube. hmmm, not strictly Earl's Court either - this is down the Fulham, sorry, CHELSEA end of the Earl's Court Road (and a bit across) - just up from the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, if that helps. It's called The Wine Gallery, and there's a sister restaurant on Westbourne Grove called The Wine Factory. Brinkleys is the holding company. The chief draw is their extremely reasonably priced wine list. The food is really only OK - better in Westbourne Grove (sorry to tell you) - the Hollywood Road one is a bit 'deep-fried Thai fishcakes from the deep freeze with a sweet chili dipping sauce from the bottle and generic bagged leaves'.

Late night supper last night - The Tired Worker got home at 10.30pm so The Little Woman had waiting for him crudites (ie one packet sugar snap peas, opened, plus two Little Gems, quartered) with vinaigrette for dipping and, by special phone-ahead request, a very large gin + tonic. These dispensed with, we moved on to garden pea pancakes, fried a la minute + topped with a daub of creme fraiche, previously mixed with horseradish, lemon, cayenne + chopped parsley, topped with strips of smoked salmon + a squeeze of lemon. Eaten standing up at the kitchen counter. The creme fraiche melted on the hot pancake making very nice sauce. Next time, I will mash the peas - they were whole + so stuck out proud of the pancake surface making the second side impossible to cook properly. And maybe more cayenne in the creme fraiche. But the sweet pea flavour was perfect with the salty salmon. With this, one sip each of a pinot grigio which tasted vilely of acetone + was promptly spat out + rejected in favour of a Domaine Mittnacht Freres Grand Cru Rosacker Riesling 2001. Much better.

I definitely recommend The Atlas. The food is lovely, and there is a small outside beer garden. Cibo (north of High St Kensington - if you carry on up the Warwick Road - parallel to Earl's Court Road - cross over HSK + go up about one block then left) is lovely proper Italian - grilled fish + seafood, pasta, bistecca. Very nice if unlikely-ly named sushi place, The Hare & Tortoise, corner of Warwick Road + High St Ken. Another gastropub, more resto than The Atlas which is really quite pubby - The Abingdon, near High St Ken + Earl's Court Road. Good wine list. GREAT kebab/Lebanese-y - Al-Dar - part of a chain, most of the restaurants on the Edgware Road are Al-Dars - cheap as you like + the shish taouk (grilled chicken with tahini in a pitta) is fab. HTH. I work in Earl's Court, so if you need a dining companion, or more suggestions, do PM me!

"D'ye wan' sal' an' soss wi' tha'?" translation: "Would you care to have salt, and this charming mixture of HP sauce cut with non-brewed condiment, lavishly applied to your fried item?"

ye gods, Adam, I am so glad not to live in Edinburgh any more - went to university there + lived in Cumberland Street, in the New Town. Very handy for the Alba d'Oro...