Food & drink news, restaurants, wine reviews & more

SPARING YOUR BLUSHES

IT’S the ultimate creation for slobs, cloth that need never be washed and in fact reaches its full potential the more is spilt on it.Read

No Pot Noodle sandwiches here

HOME cooking . . . it’s a phrase that means different things to different people.Read

TV chef feeds mind

HOME restaurants and pay-as-you-go dinner parties, supposedly the credit crunch’s answer to eating out, have spawned a new TV series.Read

Stars stung by wine bug

HOT on the heels of Sting buying a winery in Tuscany comes the news that Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, pictured below, has also been, ahem, stung by the wine bug.Read

Cupcakes are child’s play

CUPCAKES are apparently the height of fashion, with shops springing up all over London selling nothing else.Read

Better things to do with butternut

I’VE always found butternut squash to be a somewhat overrated vegetable, its main advantage being, as far as I’m concerned, its ability to sit in the fridge for weeks on end without going off.Read

Are you feeling flush?

I WAS out with someone the other week who said when he had a glass of wine nowadays he was prone to get hot flushes, making his face go red.Read

Fear over future of wine excess

IT’S enough to make you weep. Apparently, wine producers in Marlborough, New Zealand, are considering tipping out wine to make room in their tanks for the next vintage.Read

ART OF TAKING THE FIZZ

I TRY not to be cynical about art but sometimes it’s hard.Read

Melanzane parmigiana

THIS is my version of a classic Italian dish — melanzane parmigiana — or, to give it its less exotic English name, aubergines baked with Parmesan.Read

Bacon, leek and potato pie

THERE’s something ultra- comforting about the classic combination of potatoes, leeks and bacon, which makes it perfect for eating at this cold and miserable time of the year.Read

Boozy sausages with pumpkin mash

I DON’T know how scientific it is, but I once read that the more colourful your plate of food is, the more varied the nutrients in it.Read

STAYING IN THE RED

WE’RE in the grips of a global recession so deep that anyone who dares to smile at work has heavy objects thrown at them.Read

Holy orders delivered

IT will come as no surprise to friends of mine who are well aware of my cherubic looks that I was once an altar boy.Read

Indian-style golden potatoes

IF one of your New Year resolutions was to eat less fatty food and cut down on takeaways, this week I have the very recipe to boost your flagging willpower.Read

Turkey jambalaya

I RECKON today is the last day you can use up your Christmas turkey leftovers before freezing them to bring out much later.Read

I WAS watching the telly the other night and I spotted an advert for the ideal Christmas present. A new head, I wondered, massaging my temples as a vat load of Jack Daniel’s and Coke did its worst?Read

Festive pies with a fruity twist

A COUPLE of weeks ago, I wrote that I never made my own pastry. Well, this recipe is the exception that proves the rule. Because the pastry is such an important part of these Christmas pies, you do need to push the boat out and go for something a little bit special, like my crumbly orange short pastry.Read