About the most sinful thing you can do with fat and eggs… Yup folks, that would be those three charming French culinary cousins mayonnaise, béarnaise and hollandaise. Mayonnaise is the odd one out in this party as the fat content is provided by oil, whereas béarnaise and hollandaise use, you guessed it, butter. I’ve seen many a competent cook blanch [...]
‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the….’ You were singing that weren’t you? That’s OK because it’s perfectly acceptable to be nuts about Christmas. I am. Now I know Christmas is not about the bright lights, the pressies and the parties. But I really, really do so love the build up to and the bling that is [...]
Meringue is my default go-to pud because on the zero-effort/maximum-impact scale, it measures a perfect 10. And there is none easier than French meringue. No, it’s not called French meringue to make it sound extra fancy, it’s called French meringue to distinguish it from two other types of meringue: Swiss meringue and Italian meringue. French meringue is by far the [...]
Many of you have asked, so here it is: my no-fail basic scone recipe, so easy my cat can make it. No tedious rubbing of butter, no tennis-elbow-inducing mixing. Nope, I just bang the lot in my food processor and in just 10 minutes I’m done and they’re on a tray ready for the oven. Baking takes a mere 10 [...]
I’m pretty sure it must be just me, otherwise brands wouldn’t insist on doing it, but I really, truly, deeply do NOT get the whole baby/toddler/puppy thing to advertise stuff. I quite like babies, don’t get me wrong. I’m scared of holding and dropping them, but I like ’em well enough. And I’m deeply dilly about animals of any kind. [...]
Cats are quite balletic creatures. The effortless way Merlot pulls a 180-degree arabesque-type move to lick her bottom is hugely impressive. I wish I were that flexible. Not to lick myself, of course. I’m not that kind of girl. But it would be quite handy when I’m crouching down to clean my industrial-sized oven. I hung up my point shoes [...]