There are certain foods I don’t want to stop eating, no matter how full I am. Plantains are one of those foods.
Plantains are the übermensch of the banana family. Although they can’t be eaten raw (who wants an ingredient that gives everything up on the first date anyway?) plantains are delectable when cooked. Rich, savoury, sweet, and complex, plantains stand up to strong seasonings Continue reading
I’ve been on a Moroccan food kick for the past couple of years, at least. I’d even say Moroccan food is my comfort food, and I cook it at home frequently. I cooked this fish this evening Continue reading
When I googled “fresh pasta recipe” just now, I came up with over four million hits. Even assuming some of those hits are for recipes with fresh pasta you buy at the store and porn sites (you know how devious those porny spammers are), I would conservatively estimate that hundreds of thousands of them, if not over a million, are recipes for making fresh pasta.
Everybody’s doing it. It’s a rite of cheffy passage. By the late 90’s, you couldn’t go to a cocktail party without overhearing a foodie ‘casually’ mention the fresh pasta they’d made the other night. Continue reading
As my lovely friend and pastry chef extraordinaire Kathleen says, and as all good home bakers know, all sweets are formulas. Desserts are pure food science, which is what makes them so fun and so maddening.
One of my favourite formulas is the pound cake. In its purest form, a pound cake is a pound of eggs, a pound of butter, a pound of flour and a pound of sugar. I’ve never actually made a classic pound cake, although I love its OCD wacky precision. But a bastardised version of a pound cake is my go-to recipe Continue reading
I think everyone in London woke up today thinking, “Cripes, it’s winter.” It was COLD, RAINY, and WINDY. Since it is, in fact, technically still summer, I refused to turn on the heat, even though my flat was freezing and my elderly arthritic cat was looking at me reproachfully. Instead, wearing a hoody over my pajamas and big ridiculous fluffy slippers, I decided to make soup. Continue reading
I have been fighting off the cranky. This usually means maniacally cooking something, or several somethings, until I am no longer cranky or I am asleep. Hence this meal, conceived at five, served at eight. Continue reading
Pardon the soapbox.
White chicken stock is, in my opinion, the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT BASIC INGREDIENT IN YOUR KITCHEN. I know white chicken stock isn’t hip. It smacks of Jewish grandmothers (in my case, Jewish mothers), 1950s casseroles, and white sauces. And people love to coo and preen about their brown chicken stock. But I think there is nothing you can get from a brown chicken stock that a veal stock can’t do better, whereas your white chicken stock unobtrusively and self-effacingly Continue reading
Lately, I have been fixated on the idea of tunnel-boning quail. For the uninitiated, this means carefully removing the bones from the bird, while leaving the meat and skin intact, so that you can then stuff it and make it look like it has all its bones. Clear? It’s actually a rather nice thing to do, Continue reading
Panna cotta is kind of like artisanal ice cream you can make at home without an ice cream maker. You can infuse it with sexy flavours. You can impress your friends, who may not realise quite how easy it is to make. DON’T TELL THEM. Why should you? A well-made panna cotta, in which the balance of sugar and cream and gelatin is struck just right, is gorgeous. Infused with exciting flavours (Turmeric! Rhubarb! Saffron!) it is a seductive bourgeois dessert. Continue reading
I feel über-glamorous! I have received my FIRST REQUEST FOR A RECIPE! Admittedly, it is from one of my oldest and dearest friends, so it’s sort of like your mom reading your blog (except my mom wouldn’t, because she is confused by the internet) and suggesting you post that recipe for matzo ball soup. (I am, in fact, going to post a recipe for matzo ball soup soon.)
Anyway, Cecillia asked for a vegetarian lentil soup. I have a wretched cold so today’s soup is hearty and packed with ginger and spice. Continue reading
Susan eats London 
