Amy Lamé's New Blog Blog Blog!

Eating Las Vegas

2010-02-22T09:53:00.010Z

It's Vegas, baby, but not as you know it! For a few years now Vegas has been reshaping its image as not *just* a place to go wild & crazy at the roulette table...umm, anybody seen The Hangover? (happy to report my partner in Sin City crime Gerard and I managed to keep all our teeth intact and avoided marrying a stripper...and each other) Not sure this Vegas revision is working, but one area that has definitely improved is the restaurant scene. Cast aside any images you may have of cheap shrimp cocktail and watered down pitchers of beer- Las Vegas has a serious foodie edge.

Well known Michelin starred chefs like Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon have Vegas outposts, exciting new restaurants with up and coming chefs are opening every month, and there's even a weekly Farmers Market aimed at the restaurant trade, encouraging chefs to put local produce on the menu.

Eating in Las Vegas was full of delightful and delicious surprises. Sure, we checked out the all you can eat buffets like Carnival World at The Rio- the largest buffet in the world with a 300 metre long counter of food!!! All the family faves were there- pizza, macaroni & cheese, and a make your own banana split station. We gawped at the mind (and belly) blowing excess of it all, but couldn't knock its popularity- hungry punters can queue for over an hour just to get a table; they then spend at least two hours grazing their way towards digestive overload. I loved every bite!
On the other end of the gastronomic scale the choice was just as overwhelming as the Rio buffet, only studded with truffles and foie gras rather than deep fried bacon bits and cheese fries, and washed down with Californian Pinot Noir rather than Pepsi.
Buffet Brunch at the Wynn

Highlights? Sage, for the sexy de luxe atmosphere and Absinthe trolley, stellar wine list and the nicest staff;
Joel Robuchon for the OTT decor, OTT clientele and OTT food (where else do you get a take home bag of mini desserts and chocolates?); Silk Road at the uber deluxe Vdara hotel for the innovative menu based on the ancient Silk Route from the Far East to Europe; brunch at the Wynn for the all you can drink mimosas; Bradley Ogden for the finest American artisanal cheeses;
Hash House a Go Go for introducing us to the delights of the stuffed hamburger; and the all you can eat brunch at Simon - there were sooo many delicious white trash items on offer, including a belly busting breakfast pizza, a help yourself Candy Bar, and Frosties encrusted french toast. The french toast was so tasty I thought i'd make it at home and share the recipe with you...and a special Hiya! to I Knit London newsletter subscribers...this is the first regular monthly recipe i'll be writing for you!

FROSTIES FRENCH TOAST for two

4 slices brioche
2 eggs
splash of milk
70g crushed Frosties
knob of butter and drizzle of oil for the frying pan
maple syrup

Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan over medium heat
Whisk the eggs in a shallow bowl and add the milk.
Put the Frosties in a plastic bag and crush using elbow grease, and empty into a separate shallow bowl.
Soak a slice of the brioche in the eggy mixture, turning over to ensure it is nice and moist. Now, dip into the bowl of Frosties making sure brioche is thoroughly coated. Repeat for remaining brioche slices.
Now put your eggy Frosties encrusted brioche in the sizzling frying pan for a few minutes until golden brown. Flip over and let the other side get nice and crispy.
Serve warm, drizzled with maple syrup. Deelish!
Want it for dessert instead of breakfast? Serve with posh vanilla ice cream...mmm....
Gerard...and Frosties French Toast!

Latest London Noshing

2010-01-21T11:58:00.003Z

I have been trying to eat healthily this January in an effort to redress the holiday gastronomic overload...but January is just SUCH a good time of year to eat out! Restaurants are calm, there are no office parties or naff roast turkey set menus, restauranteurs are quite glad to see you as Jan. can be a quiet month...AND there are so many great deals around at the moment, too. So here's a rundown of where i've been noshing the past few weeks:

Bocca di Lupo I know I have written about this place before and you know I love it, but could it possibly get any better? Yes, because they have put a truly orgasmic dish on the menu: Crescentini (fried bread) with finocchiona, speck & squacquerone cheese. Washed down with a bottle of prosecco, this is my fave way to chase away the gloomy winter evenings, preferably sitting at the bar with my friend Gerard and gossiping about everyone we know.

I consider myself a one-woman pizza patrol- if there is pizza to be had, I'm there dude. There are many styles and toppings, and pizza is a very personal thing. And no, I don't like to share, so don't ask. I have heard there are people who do like to share pizza, but frankly they're bonkers. So I was excited when my friend Mark suggested we check out Pizza East, apparently the hippest thing to happen to Shoreditch since...well...Shoreditch. First, the food: my pizza was all crust, no topping. The circumference available for the topping was about 3 inches, and had just a few morsels strewn haphazardly...the Strawberry Blonde's pizza was meant to have veal meatballs and prosciutto...two meatballs rolled up, but no ham. The crust was enormous and way too chewy; for £11 a pie it was a complete and total rip-off. This, added to the apalling service, cacophonous atmosphere and drunk and rowdy punters, makes me think this place is a lot of fuss about nothing. If I want good pizza, i'll go to Maletti. Heck even Pizza Depress is better than Pizza East.

Thank goodness a cosy and gentle lunch at The Forge made the bad memories of Pizza East float away. I have walked past The Forge dozens of times; it's smack bang in Covent Garden, uber convenient for the theatre, and full of real, live Londoners. How refreshing! The main room is all brick and leather, the menu bursting with comforting classics. My simple crab starer was super fresh and zingy. And I hear the bar downstairs is a hidden gem for a civilised West End drink- the barman is American so I shall soon be popping in to test his martini making skills.

Yesterday the Strawberry Blonde and I took advantage of a fabulous offer on at the moment courtesy of the Financial Times- take a friend for lunch for a fiver. Yes, really. And the restaurants on offer are top notch- Pied a Terre, Le Cafe Anglais, Chez Bruce, L'Anima...check out the details here. We opted for our local, Acorn House. It's been ages since I've eaten there, and I felt ashamed of that fact becauseI really like the ethos- it's a social enterprise, eco-minded, seasonal and sustainable. Plus its founder, Arthur Potts-Dawson, is a charmer. The SB had roasted pheasant, dandelion, beetroot & redcurrant salad followed by the daily fish special: pan fried mackerel with cabbage and rhubarb compote. My thai cured salmon, then bhachu Tikki chaat with pickled carrot & sweet Tamarind made me waddle home with a very content full belly. Acorn House is a lovely restaurant with a radical remit, and i'll definitely go back.

So, what to look forward to? Fino for lunch on Friday, and off to Las Vegas next week..I promise lots of gut busting posts from Sin City!

The great Pumpkin Pecan Pie conundrum of 2009

2009-11-05T09:31:00.002Z

Well well well, it's marvellous when a cool head and a cool countertop come together to solve the great Pumpkin Pecan Pie conundrum of 2009. After numerous consultations (cheers Leith's Baking Bible and the Market Kitchen home economists) I managed to work out what was going wrong with my pie. As suspected, the kitchen was too hot to make good pastry; but I can't just blame the central heating. I was also reminded of the films I presented for Richard & Judy a few years back, cooking & eating regional Italian food. In Bologna, while attempting to make tagliatelle, a diminutive granny chef slapped my palms and told me my hands were too hot to make pasta. So clearly my pie failure is all my fault.

I also realised pre-baking the crust for 10 mins before filling it with the treacly pecan goo prevents any cracks in the pastry and makes for a nice, crispy bottom. Why did this little nugget of wisdom not cross my mind earlier?? Here in the UK, people take their desserts very seriously; in the US, no one would think twice about not pre baking the pastry "to save time", or opening a few cans of this and that, bunging it in a store bought pre-baked pie shell and calling it "homemade". I have realised that even after 17 years of life in London, old kitchen habits die hard.

Anyway, here is Ruth's Pumpkin & Pecan Pie...with corrected crust and in tip top form. i'll post the recipe when it's up on the Market Kitchen website. By the way, there's none left- I've dished a few pieces out the the handymen who have come this morning to hang our pictures; the rest is going to my agent.

crispy pig tails and pumpkin pie

2009-11-04T09:43:00.002Z

when friends visit, it's always a great excuse to eat out. So when our dear pals Alan & Nick came down from Glasgow and offered to take us out for a meal, I spent the better part of an afternoon just deciding where we should go. Lots of restaurants are shut on Sunday night, so that automatically discounted many of our faves like Bocca di Lupo and Great Queen Street. I wanted to try the new Pinxitos in Bloomsbury, but that was closed too. I called Yalla Yalla, but the whole restaurant had been booked out for a private party. So back to a tried and trusted favourite, St John Bread & Wine. For the uninitiated, it is the sister restaurant to St John, renown for the nose to tail eating its owner Fergus Henderson pioneered. SJB&W has more of a bistro feel, with a menu organised by the clock-hour when dishes are available (6pm smoked sprats, 7pm snails on toast...) a killer wine list and a scribbled board of specials that get crossed out as the dishes are ordered.
Our happy band was completed by two more chums. H ordered the deep fried crispy pig's tail, "for novelty value". When it was placed on the table, it looked like...well...a deep fried crispy pig's tail, all curly cued and cute. But she couldn't eat it. Luckily the Strawberry Blonde (being Northern and that) dug in with gusto, lip smacking the gelatinous fat and shreds of deep pink meat.
My girolles, lentils and goats curd was rich and earthy and perfect for a crisp autumn night. We also shared, amongst other things, a whole crab, beetroot & ticklemore salad, a ruby red Angus flank steak, snails on toast, salt beef with picalilli, a quince trifle, ginger loaf with butterscotch sauce, and a plate of cheese. Wine drinkers washed it down with a Picpoul de Pinet white and a Cotes de Catalanes red. Great friends, great food...what else is there in life?

The scent of pumpkin pecan pie has been haunting me all week. I've been recipe testing for my imminent appearance onMarket Kitchen, the Good Food channel's foodie magazine programme. Now, I have appeared on the show dozens of times talking about everything from LA food trends to whoopie pie. But this week will be the first time i've ever COOKED on the show, and I am pretty darn excited (and a little nervous too!) I'll be making a recipe inspired by my grandmother's Thanksgiving desserts- Pumpkin Pie & Pecan Pie. But instead of having to choose between one or the other, I've combined them both in one pie. Here's a picture of my fabulous grandmother, Ruth, who inspired the pie...she's 91 !!!
The bottom layer of the pie is gooey mapley treacly pecans, and the top layer is a refined pumpkin custard. I have made two test pies so far, and have encountered a number of problems (new cooker in new flat and haven't got used to temperature variations yet; new flat is centrally heated beyond our control so kitchen is too warm to make good pastry; i used a pie tin with removable bottom and all the treacly stuff seeped out onto the bottom of the oven...etc etc blah blah blah)
I'm getting there...and making my third and final test pie today. With 24 hours to go before filming, this one better be perfect. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Nouveau Bluestockings

2009-10-21T15:22:00.005+01:00

It's been a few weeks since my last communiqué, but I have an excellent excuse: the Strawberry Blonde and I have moved house. We have left the riverside confines of Wapping for the wilds of Bloomsbury. One of the best things about moving house is that we had an excuse to eat out just about every night for 2 weeks while chaos ruled at home. Who wants to cook when there are boxes to be unpacked and knick knacks to arrange? Not moi! We tried some local restaurants in our new neighbourhood made famous by Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf and other literary greats. La Woolf once said "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." Who am I to argue?

Cigala is an adorable tapas restaurant on Lamb's Conduit Street, with Jake, one of the founders of Moro, in the kitchen. They have a fabulous wine and sherry list with a wide selection by the glass, including the stellar Alella (white, red & a lusciously rich red dessert wine) from a vineyard just outside of Barcelona- must check it out on my next city break!

We also checked out Ciao Bella, just a few doors away from Cigala. It's cute in an olde-worlde-rustique italiano kind of way. Everyone I have spoken to about Ciao Bella raves. We found it...well...as my Italian grandfather would say....mezze mezze. The Strawberry Blonde and I have been spoiled by having Il Bordello on our Wapping doorstep for two years. No one beats them for quality, friendliness, menu and most importantly taste.

Our fave new find is literally a hole in the wall. The Espresso Room on Great Ormond St. just across from the famous childrens hospital serves the most divine espresso in thimble sized tumblers. The coffee is clean, rich, with citrus and chocolate notes, and a big hit of buzz to boot. They have a selection of posh sandwiches, pastries and brownies from nearby tea boutique Bea's of Bloomsbury. Charles Dickens loved London's coffee houses so I am sure he would approve.

And when I finally decide to head back into the kitchen, finding fabulous ingredients will be a breeze. We happen to have a sweet little deli and grocers round the corner, too. Kennards stocks lots of fresh breads, vegetables, salads, cheeses- and most impressively- fresh fish which is delivered to the shop every day by the fisherman himself- no Billingsgate middleman required. This keeps the prices low and the freshness high- a real luxury for a fish lover like myself.

Life in Bloomsbury....what's not to like?!

Viva Gastronomica

2009-09-16T09:42:00.003+01:00

Few things are more exciting than getting the latest copy of Gastronomica in the post. For the uninitiated, Gastronomica is a journal of food and culture, and always has fabulous articles written by academics, food journalists, and writers from across many genres and disciplines. The photographs are stunning, too- in the Summer 2009 issue check out the photo essay by Pinar Yolaçan- a series of portraits of women embellished with what Americans call "variety meats". I got hooked on Gastronomica when I read an article about where Fluff comes from- yes, that gooey, nutritionally vacant marshmallow goo commonly eaten with peanut butterin the classic "Fluffernutter Sandwich". Who thought an academic approach to Fluff was possible?!
In the latest issue you can read about Eating with Your Hands, How The Carrot Got Into Cheese, and A Lamentation for Shrimp Paste. In the words of Gertrude Stein, "Nothing is more interesting than that something that you eat."

I heart cheese

2009-09-04T09:59:00.004+01:00

I'll soon be off to the World Cheese Awards, to take my place on a panel of esteemed judges and cheese fanatics. The event is like the Olympics, Miss Universe and the Oscars all rolled into one cheesy ball of fun. This year the event is being held in Gran Canaria, and last night a little party was held to get us all in the mood. Iberica, a stylish Spanish temple of food and culture, was the venue. The menu was a showcase of award winning cheeses from past World Cheese competitions, and matched with Spanish wines.
You may wonder why the World Cheese awards are being held in Gran Canaria this year- a place not *particularly* known for its cheese, right? Wrong! The 2008 Supreme Champion (also known as THE BIG CHEESE) was Queso Arico Curado Pimenton, a mature goats cheese covered in paprika made in the Canary Islands. I suppose this makes the World Cheese Awards similar to the Eurovision Song Contest, too. The cheese itself is sweet, nutty and lightly spicy, slightly crumbly and infused with the goodness of goats raised on herby grass. It's so delicious you'll want to thank the goats personally.
Anyway, the highlight of the Tasting soiree was meeting Mary Quicke from Quickes Farm in Devon. Mary and her family make muslin wrapped cheddar, hard goats cheese, butter and all sorts of dairy goodies that regularly win awards, and are flippin' amazing. Mary was an oasis of calm in the party melee.
Here I am with Nigel Barden, he of Radio 2 foodie fame. Nigel and I are buddies from the glory days of GLR radio...we swapped cheesy stories of old times over a morsel of creamy, mild and crumbly Colston Bassett Stilton, winner of the 2008 Best English Cheese, and a glass of 30-yr old Oloroso. Life is good, eh?

LET THE NATIVE OYSTER SEASON BEGIN!

2009-09-03T11:25:00.003+01:00

I am a proud and recent convert to the delights of the oyster, and quite frankly the start of the native season has come not a moment too soon. I can't believe there was once a time when I didn't eat oysters...now, I can't get enough! You either love 'em or hate 'em...and there are even some unlucky folk like my friend Allegra who are highly allergic to this enticing bivalve...what a pity!

Many think oysters can only be eaten in a month with an "r" in it (ie, never eat an oyster in warmer months) However this only applies to the native oyster, which spawns and reproduces in the late spring and summer. We all need a bit of R & R, even oysters. Rock oysters can be eaten year round; but believe me, the natives are worth waiting for. Nutty, sweet, salty and rich, they are the pearl of the oyster world! My tip: ALWAYS chew, never just swallow.

The start of the Native season was celebrated at Bentley's in London with lashings of Champagne (what else?!) and oysters from Maldon in many varieties- Rockefeller, deep fried with HP sauce (surprisingly tasty), sweet & hot Vietnamese style...and of course au nature, with just a squeeze of lemon. Delicious!

Filippo Salamone from Bentley’s and Sebastien Torres from Mon Plaisir faced each other in an oyster shucking competition, and Filippo came out on top in style and quantity. Lucky for us, we got to eat his winning oysters; his top tasting tip? A squizz of lemon and crackle of black pepper. Here I am presenting Filippo with his prize, a bottle of vintage Champagne, alongside Bentley's head chef Richard Corrigan

You can read more about my Galway adventures in oyster eating in the writing section of my website.

Tomorrow: reportage on cheese, so stay tuned!

A New French Fancy

2009-08-31T15:34:00.006+01:00

One of the best things about holidaying in a fabulous food and wine region in France is the opportunity to eat and drink and discover new treasures. We always plan at least a few days of wine tasting and buying, returning to our favourite Domaines to taste new vintages and see old friends. And we always scour the Guide Hachette and Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson's World Wine Atlas for top new discovery tips.

Our latest stellar find is Domaine Boudau in Rivesaltes- just a popped cork from Perpignan. We put our heads and palates round the door on a cloudy afternoon and met Pierre Boudau, a man infectiously passionate about his wines. Some may think all small scale wine producers should be passionate about what they do and their products...and it is *mostly* the case. There are some however that are obviously more enthused, dedicated, knowledgable and charming than others...Pierre Boudau is a grand cru amongst petits grains and like him, his wines are full of personality.

We did a full degustation and came away with a few cases each of Le Clos, Henri Boudau and Muscat de Rivesaltes. All wines reflect the terroir with a combination of gusto and finesse. The reds are varying proportions of Grenache Noir, Syrah and Carignan grapes, and the Muscat is of course, well...100% Muscat, and just the perfect chilled aperitif...sweet southern French sunshine in a bottle. For London restaurant obsessives, you'll be interested to know Domaine Boudau's wines are featured at Fergus Henderson's St John and St John Bread and Wine. Taste the wines close to home, and next time you are near Perpignan, pop in to see Pierre...I guarantee you'll leave dazzled, if a little tipsy...

Holiday Noshing

2009-08-19T12:21:00.005+01:00

Just back from two gorgeous weeks in the French Pyrenees and a little side trip to Barcelona. It was a gourmand's delight. Our little French bolthole is situated very close to the Spanish border, 1200 metres above sea level, and has the purest mountain water running through it. Many think of the rugged "cuisine du terroir" of the Pyrenees- hearty meat dishes, saucisson sec, dense cheeses...however we have on our doorstep one of the finest sources of fresh fish in all of France! The Rebenty River provides the sparking water for the Piscicuture de Lafajolle www.pisciculturedelafajolle.com. The owner, Francois, raises organic trout of all varieties. He sells them in local markets, supplies restaurants, and directly sells at the farm. But he also releases them into the river, ensuring the biodiversity of the area and also making for some mighty fine fishing opportunities! One of the charming lads in the village, Romain, had a productive morning fishing and came round to present us with a brown trout and a rainbow trout. He even told us how to cook them- lightly dusted in flour, and pan fried in butter for a few minutes on each side. With a squeeze of lemon, and a dash of salt & pepper, they were gorgeous.

2009-07-27T21:03:00.003+01:00

This weekend's cooking was inspired by our fly fishing trip to a secluded lake in Bedfordshire. Our efforts meant we brought home six gorgeous trout; i gave one to our neighbour Josie, stuck a few in the freezer to be smoked for paté when I have time, and we shared the chubbiest one for dinner. Our new friends Louise & Jenny gave us a mountain of courgettes from their allotment, with the flowers still intact- what a treat! I stuffed the flowers with ricotta, dipped them in the lightest of batter and fried them. For the courgettes themselves, I hand grated them and sauteed in olive oil with a few cloves of fresh purple garlic. Just before serving, I tossed in a handful of freshly grated Parmesan and some torn basil leaves, and put a few lemon wedges on the side to be squirted at leisure. Dessert was my current fave- a wine tumbler (that sort you get in France!) layered with probiotic yogurt made in the Trough of Bowland, tart-sweet Scottish raspberries and soft, crumbled Milanese amaretti biscuits.

Now we're into Monday, and despite rushing back from the radio show it doesn't give me much cooking time in the evening. I made one of my standby classics- North African Quinoa Paella. This may sound like a culture clash gone too far, but I can assure you it is the best of Morocco, South America and Spain in one dish! Normally a dish like this would be made with rice or couscous; but being a healthy eater and always looking for low glycemic index options, it's easy to replace the expected refined wheat couscous or white rice with quinoa, a high protein grain from South America. I heat up some olive oil in my big stick-proof wok, and sautee red peppers, garlic, spring onions, ground turmeric, ground coriander and a big dash of cayenne (i like spice!) Then add cubed tofu, a cup of green peas, and two big handfuls of prawns. Let it sizzle, and when it's nice & hot, combine with about 3 cups of the quinoa you will have already cooked. Salt & pepper it, and put your creation on a lovely serving platter (here I have used my vintage Fiesta Ware- did you know Andy Warhol would eat from nothing else?!) A dash of roughly chopped parsley and some lemon wedges...now what are you waiting for? Dig in!

2009-07-24T09:50:00.002+01:00

Out celebrating the Strawberry Blonde's fabulous new job, so it seemed only fitting we should eat at the restaurant where we had our Civil Partnership lunch- Great Queen Street. That was a four and a half hour affair with so many courses I lost count...our midweek supper on Wednesday was slightly more restrained. I should mention our dear friend Tom Norrington-Davies is the chef-patron. I love Tom's approach to food- impeccably sourced ingredients, highly skilled and honest cooking, an unfussy approach to dining, and staff who are as enthused about the place as you will be once you've eaten there. We started with two glasses of prossecco with a dash of fresh strawberry puree. Then the SB went on to a boiled egg in jelly- a glistening beef consomme set in a small wine tumbler, the sort you get in France. I had a punchy fish soup with croutons & rouille, followed by goats curd & ratatouille. The SB had grey mullet nicely chargrilled with crispy bits of skin. Then a glorious cheese plate with homemade oatcakes...all washed down with a gorgeous bottle of Toques et Clochers Chardonnay de Limoux Haute Vallée. Just
Anyone who knows me well knows our "house" fizz, white, and rosé comes from Limoux...wine buffs should definitely check out the region, a hidden gem in France's couronne de vin. Look out for these domaines: Sieur d'Arques, Anne de Joyeuse, St Hilaire, and Antech.

2009-07-22T12:14:00.001+01:00

I've had a real foodie fortnight! Firstly, to Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons to celebrate 25 years of La Manoir and its genius mastermind, Chef Raymond Blanc. It just so happened to be Bastille Day, too, and we were treated to accordion players and pierrots as we arrived. The canapés were, well, just about the most extraordinary amuse-bouches ever encountered. Scallop carpaccio rolled in a thin sheet of soy jelly, and delicate bites of seared tuna covered in wasabi jelly with just a few sesame seeds sprinkled atop...could life get better? It did. We had a charming piano concert on the lawn, and speeches from the French Ambassador and Monsieur Blanc. Then to lunch... Tartare of scottish langoustine with flavours of Japan was followed by a salad of heirloom tomatoes and Kalamata olive with a cool sicilian tomato essence sorbet. But my favourite was the confit of wild River Severn salmon with elderflower, yuzu cream and garden radish. Not only was it pretty on the plate, it was delicate on the tastebuds, and local produce too. Flash forward to dessert, and my tiny peach (the little Chinese kind) was poached in white wine and citrus fruits and came with a sliver of gold leaf on top, gilding its curves. Sexy! I took photos but am having uploading trouble at the moment- will post pics ASAP.

I have also been to Boca di Lupo TWICE in the past fortnight. I never thought i'd find an Italian restaurant that makes Eggplant (Aubergine) Parmigiana as good as my mother. Boca di Lupo is the only one! Why do I love it here? Because the staff are so lovely and after only two visits I am treated like a regular. And the food- well, my chargrilled squid was so fresh it was still quivering, its charred tentacled perched on its milky body...deelish! The strawberry blonde's gnocchi was pillowy soft, in a spicy sausage ragu. You can order small plates to share, big plates to share...or keep all to yourself. It is also refreshing to go to an Italian restaurant where the list of desserts is as long as the mains, and not a sorbet stuffed frozen lemon in sight. Try the burnt almond granita topped with a scoop of dark chocolate sorbet- with a glass of Amaretto.

And finally to our local Italian for a late Sunday night supper. Il Bordello on Wapping High Street in London is the kind of restaurant you *wish* was just round the corner from your house/flat/crib. Old style waiters in dickie bow ties, freshly prepared great quality food, enormous pizzas cooked in a woodfire oven, decent house wine and a buzzy atmosphere. There is always a wait for a table, pretty much every time of day or night. But it's worth it- and not just if it happens to be in your neighborhood.

2009-06-18T17:56:00.000+01:00

This week so far has been a fabulously foodie one. I'll start with Tuesday... lunch at the National Portrait Gallery restaurant kicked off with a lychee champagne cocktail, fine selection of cured herring and then lincolnshire poacher cheese with spiced flatbread. The views over Trafalgar Square are amazing (especially if you like a bird's eye view of Nelson;s ass) and there's a spot where- if you stand looking in the mirror behind the bar- looks as if you could be in Rome, or Venice.
Which is exactly the vibe I went for that night for dinner. I popped into Lina Store in Soho for some taralli, buffalo mozzarella and their gorgeous fresh ravioli- PROPER fresh ravioli, not the nasty plastic crap sold in supermarkets that purport to be fresh but have zillions of e numbers. Went for spinach and ricotta, two dozen for a light main course for 4. The old chap who runs the shop is finally retiring, to the Amalfi coast. He invited me to visit him anytime, and when he handed me my purchases he gave me a big, sloppy kiss right on the lips! I think he must be trying get in as many snogs as possible before he leaves London for good.
Berwick Street market is still a bargain hunter's paradise, with loads of good fruit & veg for a pound a bowl (I LOVE a bargain!). Got some lovely courgettes which I fried in a light batter and sprinkled with red wine vinegar, served at room temperature. Grilled some aubergines, and red peppers with olive oil and garlic, seved with rosemary focaccia (thank you waitrose!) And then I put together a huge platter of multi-coloured tomatoes- red, green, yellow, baby Marzano, mottled purple...with torn mozzarella and basil, olive oil, sea salt & pepper. Washed down with a Camas Rosé from one of my fave domaines, Anne de Joyeuse in St Hilaire, near Limoux in France.
For dessert I made one of my favourite cakes, and the easiest in the world to boot. I was testing the recipe (again!) as I have been asked by my friend Allegra to contribute a recipe for her new cookbook, Fairtrade Baking, due out next year. So keep an eye out for my Fabulously Fast Chocolate Cake- half an hour from start to finish!

what does a lesbian look like?

2008-12-12T10:50:00.000Z

OK, so Jade Goody is worried about being perceived as a lesbian if she loses her hair during her treatment for cancer.
Bald dykes of the world unite and take over!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/latest/2008/12/11/jade-goody-sparks-gay-anger-with-lesbian-comment-over-fears-she-ll-go-bald-following-chemotherapy-see-the-exclusive-video-115875-20962574/

Flying the Friendly Skies

2008-09-23T19:10:00.001+01:00

ok, so i'm doing a new reality tv show (for my sins) Some may think being an air hostess is full of international glamour, intrigue, and shagging fellow cabin crew in 5 star hotels while on stop overs. I can confirm that so far, Celeb Air has consisted of 6 weeks training in a portakabin in Luton, followed by residency in an air hostess prison camp adjacent to Gatwick Airport. OK, our uniforms are kind of retro (though not retro enough for me) and my fellow Celeb Air contestants are great for the most part. But somehow flying back and forth from Tenerife at 35,000 feet in high heels from Shoe Tailor and flogging Celeb Air toilet water isn't *quite* what I expected. Don't get me wrong, this is certainly a brilliant opportunity- as a chubbster I thought i'd NEVER be able to become a trolly dolly! But I really do have mega respect for all cabin crew now, knowing what rigorous training and difficult working circumstances they have to put up with, whether they're with Ryanair or BA. I'm just glad I've survived another elimination round this weekend, and will live to fly another week.....

Welcome To The New Site!

2008-04-23T18:28:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone!
The site finally got a complete makeover, I hope you all like it. We've got a complete set of my articles for your reading pleasure, and a lot more to come very soon. If you want to get in touch then feel free to leave comments on this brand new Blog, or send me an e-mail here.