I don’t know about you, but every now and then, I hanker after a bit of eastern exotica, for dinner, and it has to be dinner so I get to dim or snuff the lights and play with candles, the warm glowing points of which bounce friskily off my painfully pretty, gilded tea glasses.   Madly appealing as the thought of sashaying in swishy silk pants, like Scheherazade might have, around wisps of sweetly scented smoke, might be, there is nothing remotely alluring about the thought of sweating for...

No, bells don’t go off every time I bite into a slice and while the British nursery rhyme may be loaded with sexual, historical and political insinuation, this is just a simple cake that is damned near divine for its beguiling scent and moist, tender crumb, studded with fresh orange slices, rind and all. As you close your mouth down on a forkful, your palate and nose are hit with, in quick succession, the sweet, juicy burst of orange, then the sharp spike of lemon and finally, the softly al...

I should tell you right off the bat that that the aforesaid claim is not mere gastronomic hyperbole  and that  this  is a simplified version of Chicken Cordon Bleu that will not challenge the less dextrous. It cooks faster than the classic version which has the ham and cheese stuffed into a pocket cut into the boned chicken breast or rolled up tightly in the flattened breast.  This isn’t exactly for the weight conscious or virtuous eater but is worth every heart stopping, artery clogging an...

Even before any of this gets on to my plate, the smell of the garlic and oregano sizzling in the olive oil, almost makes me feel as if I’m on one of the gorgeous, sun drenched Greek islands. This is indeed based on the utterly delicious but wonderfully simple Greek classic, Kotopoulo Lemonato. Greeks will use, for this amount of chicken, up to 2 whole lemons but I am defeated by anything more than one.  Feel free to adjust the citrus sharpness of the dish to your personal level of  toleranc...

Aquavit or Akvavit as it’s known in Scandinavia is the most popular tipple in Viking territory. It’s believed to warm the body – very important in that corner of the world, amongst a host of other health benefits, not least of which is the purported ability to lengthen human life. Not surprising then that its name means “water of life”. I doubt it will add even a minute to your lifespan but it warms the gullet on its way down and starts a smoulder in the belly once it lands. Its car...

Looking at this, through glass, glinting in the sun, you may wonder if you’re about to eat a fruit salad or a heap of crimson and violet jewels. What a sight to wake up to! Wonderfully refreshing and cleansing especially on a weekend morning following a night of alcoholic and other excesses.  If you can’t get red dragon fruit, substitute with red plums, cherries or just double the amount of your favourite of the other fruit.  The smidgeon of alcohol this contains is my brand of “hair of...

As much as any one of us loves to cook, and may well on any given day, eat, live and breathe food, there will be times when when you’ve had all you can take of microwave imploded frozen pizza, greasy stoves, kitchen conflagrations and dirty dishes. Don't tell me otherwise; you'd be a fibber. My friend Luca has rather more of such days than most, and is the inspiration behind this feast of a sandwich, that gives every indication of appealing to more than just fungi fanatics or (more or les...

The double part refers to the mousse and the meringues both being chocolate. Don’t be put off by the relative length of this recipe, it really is easy and can be made hours ahead and even be stored for a day or two before final assembly. Once put together though, it must be eaten quickly as the delicate mousse doesn’t take long to deflate, out of the refrigerator and the meringues will quickly turn soggy once in contact with the mousse. The main attraction apart from how pretty this is wo...