Nibbles #31
The psychology of cooking for a crowd, plenty of NYE nibble ideas & an exploration of the food of India's Jewish communities.
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.
Happy ‘Twixtmas, aka my favourite week of the year, those dead days between Christmas Day and New Years where the usual rules don’t seem to apply. A slight spanner in the works that the moment I was well again from my last bout of sickness I was felled again, so spend much of Christmas Eve / Day / Boxing Day trying not to snuffle and cough over my family. But, as my plan for this week is always to sit around reading what I want and cooking / eating whatever I want how I’m feeling is simply in inconvenience, rather than a serious disrupter of my plans. The main thing is I should be well enough to cook the Chinese feast I’m planning for New Year’s Eve, and to attend the horror film we have booked in for New Years Day. I hope all of your plans are working out just how you wanted them to too.
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Rosie, a former yacht chef talks about the psychology of cooking for the crew, which is packed with helpful tips for feeding a crowd:
Still planning NYE snacks? I want to make up a tray of Anne’s Nuts and Bolts:
Jonathan has written a fascinating essay on how London’s iconic pie and mash shops are responsible for their own demise:
Another piece of excellent food writing from Vittles, Kasia and Marta explore the history of the (British) Polish corner shop:
Only a few bits and pieces from me, but if you still have some festive ham about can I please point you in the direction of my Leftover Ham and Mustard Béchamel Toasties on the blog? They’re the perfect vehicle for it, and what I would be eating on repeat right now if I were not totally out of Dijon (yes, I know!)
For my Macknade residency, if you’re more looking for a NYE nibble I have a trio of different canapés of various effort and difficulty levels that all go beautifully with a glass of English fizz: Chilli Crisp Devilled Eggs, ‘Macknade’ Gildas (working the canned and marinated fish angle for a twist on the classic) and some rather simple yet excellent Goose Rillette Bites with fresh figs. Find all of the recipes here!
As mentioned above, what I like to do this year is cook whatever I want and spend all day reading. Whilst I love a good gothic novel, I did demolish in a day Bene Appetit: The Cuisine of Indian Jews by Esther David which provided a fascinating insight (with recipes) into how India’s small Jewish communities adapt their food and traditions to their country of residence. If you’re interested in Jewish food or immigrant foodways, do order a copy (cheeky Amazon affiliate link as I can’t find it anywhere independent!) for a fascinating 2025 read.
Always a good and helpful read!