Copenhagen Cuisine

A couple of weeks ago i went to Copenhagen for the weekend. Denmark is now world renowned for its food and fine dining, it also famous for being very expensive. We had a fantastic weekend with lots of delicious food, mainly thanks to our hosts James and Tali. Their local knowledge and home cooking meant we ate very well but didn't spend a fortune. Here are some of the foodie highlights! First stop when i arrived in Copenhagen was the organic hot...

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Donatina's Supper Club

Having dabbled with our own supper clubs, cooking for strangers, friends and acquaintances in our own home, you may have assumed that we had been to pop up restaurants ourselves. However until very recently that was not the case. I finally took the opportunity, a couple of weeks ago, to sit on the other side of the table. Donatina's kitchen were holding their first supper club in a venue in Maida Vale. Along with my friends Lucinda and James and...

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The Three Tier Challenge

My first three tier wedding cake Just like the three peak challenge, the three tier challenge is pretty daunting. It goes something like this - almost a year ago my cousin tells me that he is engaged and an excitable evening of drinks and wedding chat occurs. During this evening I offer to make the wedding cake - as the words roll off my tongue I'm thinking Jules and Rach are the bakers, not me. I don't even like cake that much, in fact when...

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Nunhead Blackberry Jam

Last summer I made my first attempt at jam making. I was at home in Gloucestershire during strawberry season so headed to Over Farm Market and picked a mountain of delicious juicy strawberries. The jam was a big hit and the jars i handed out to my friends and family did not last long, which was a good thing because the couple of jars I left in the cupboard got mouldy after a few weeks. The jam was also runnier than i would have...

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The Salad of the Summer...

Goes to - Panzanella!  Tomatoes from Cossano Belbo in Piedmont Over the last couple of months I have been making panzanella at every given opportunity. This summer salad originates from Tuscany and combines stale bread (a perfect way to use it up) with the tastiest tomatoes, basil and cucumber in an olive oil and wine vinegar dressing. As with many recipes there are lots of variations so this recipe is a mere starting point for salad...

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A Taste of Tahiti

Poisson cru au lait de coco My first taste of poisson cru on the island of Moorea. Rum Punch in the foreground.  As if my holiday on an island in the Pacific wasn't paradisiacal enough, my host approached me with concern to inquire whether I minded eating a lot of fish.   Fresh and delicious, fished straight from the ocean and cooked on an open fire.  Or alternatively not cooked at all; the Tahitian national dish, Poisson...

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Pork Pies - Dan Lepard

I have always wanted to try my hand at making pork pies from scratch. Being my first attempt i did not want to make a huge cake sized pie so i opted to follow a recipe from one of my favourite cook books - Short and Sweet by Dan Lepard. Another plus to this recipe is that it uses a stock cube and gelatine sheets to make the jelly so you don't have to make it your self from pork bones and worry about it setting - maybe i'll try that next time! The...

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