Nibbles #18
This month's best links & recipes, plus a catch up recording of my winter recipe chat with Kathy Slack.
Welcome to Nibbles where once a month I share everything brilliant I’ve been reading on the web as well as some general updates from my kitchen, my vegetable garden during the growing season, and other miscellaneous ‘you really need to know about’ updates.
My usual roundup of links, recipes and a few streaming recommendations are below, but if you scroll right to the bottom you’ll find a catch-up recording for paid subscribers who were unable to make my ‘how to cook in winter’ chat with the brilliant
where we shared seasonal cocktail ideas, how best to cook pumpkins, sprouts and butter beans, as well as why massaging kale is awesome and why you should invest in a slow cooker if you don’t already have one. Unless you’re lucky enough to own an AGA.If you’ve somehow arrived here from elsewhere and you’re not yet a subscriber, you can sign up here so not to miss out on monthly ingredient essays (featuring a different ingredient every month), exclusive recipes, sneak peaks into some of my favourite food people’s kitchen cupboards, and the occasional long read!
Orphée You on how changing food trends across the generations of her family highlights the connection between what families eat, and a woman’s place in both society and the home:
Totally normal comments on online recipes (via
)Why uplifting cat graffiti is appearing all over Odessa:
Rosanna schools us on the difference between roe and caviar.
Nik has some great tips for kofta making:
‘Tis the season: how to make vol au vent cases from scratch, then freeze them.
This is an excellent piece on American foodways and why North America celebrates a very specific idea of ‘Fall’:
Whilst I vehemently disagree with the idea of abandoning the traditional Christmas dinner (though no, I’m not making a turkey either) I do love the look of Rosie’s menu for a big blow out not-Christmas roast, with canapés:
My friend Sally has lots of fantastic ideas for building a homemade chicken broth into soup. Seasonal inspiration central:
And whilst we’re on the topic of chicken soup, British Jewish writers from all walks of life and traditions of religion (or not) share their Friday night dinner memories and traditions:
The fascinating science behind developing a recipe for plant-based whipped cream:
A really interesting look at how changing government policy has shaped (the frankly terrible) food options we get at motorway service stations:
This month on my blog I finally got around to sharing the Slow Cooked Lamb Birria recipe I worked to re-create from our trip to Mexico this summer. Rich, fall-apart and with plenty of dried chillies (I’ve included a users guide in the recipe) and spices I’ve made it slightly thicker than is traditional so it’s perfect for taco night.
For my Macknade residency, we were thinking Diwali but really my recipe for the traditional British bake but made with Indian-inspired flavours Mango Chutney Jam Tarts with their sweet-and-savoury, chutney filling and turmeric pastry thing they’ve got going on is perfect to serve with drinks at any type of seasonal holiday party!
Over on Project Meal Plan, we’ve been focusing on the important business of getting dinner on the table every night rather than focusing on the holidays with my Ground Turkey and Courgette Orzotto, and my formula for Air Fryer Roasted Fall Vegetables (you should bookmark this one as it took a while to get right!)
And finally, not one of my recipes but one of the very best things I cooked this month
’s Miso Bean Soup with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes is impossibly rich, velvety and comforting. If it does not deserve a special shoutout, I don’t know what does:
Before we cancelled Netflix again we rather enjoyed Inside Man, a thriller told in two parts that don’t seem connected, but obviously actually are. David Tennant plays the local vicar whose life spirals out of control when a family friend mistakes a thumb drive filled with troubling material he was handed by his troubled church verger for his teenage son’s. Over in America, Stanley Tucci gives a flawless performance as a criminal psychologist who has been solving crimes from prison in spite of the fact he’s on death row for the brutal murder of his wife. The writing is smart, the acting flawless (come on, it’s David Tennant and Stanley Tucci) and whilst the ending might seem unsatisfying when you reach it, the more time you spend thinking about it you’ll realise how clever it really was.
Over on Disney+ (though I think it’s on Hulu in the US) we also, obviously loved Brawn, the documentary about the underdog Brawn GP Formula 1 team who managed to wipe the floor with everyone else on the grid, in spite of being only financially (barely) stable enough to last past their one and only 2018 season. In spite of Keanu Reeves’ appalling presentation it’s the perfect binge-watch if you’re either into racing or politics (because if you did not know, Formula 1 is more about politics than it is the cars), though if you’re interested in getting to know the sport, start with Drive To Survive on Netflix instead for a crash course before the 2024 season starts in March.
And finally, as promised for those of you who could not make it, please find below the full recording of my kitchen table chat with
- it’s about 45 minutes long, so settle down with a mug or a glass of something - you can find the show notes with links to all of the recipes, ingredient and products we were talking about here. And, if you’d like to watch but you’re not already a paid subscriber, hit the button below!