December 2023 Favourites list

As we approach the festive season, I would like to wish all my online friends and their families a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

I hope you make wonderful memories of good times, good food, and good company.
This month's list includes my predictions for the best television this Christmas/New Year. Please do let me know if you watch any of the programmes, what your thoughts are!
 

 

Food writing and articles
 

Christmas food and cooking Q&A from Delia Smith's team: https://www.deliaonline.com/features/2023/11/ask-lindsey-christmas-questions
 

Whole grains can keep you feeling fuller for longer and provide fibre in your diet. They can also be used to help a healthy diet for those with high blood pressure: https://www.eatingwell.com/article/8077182/best-whole-grains-for-high-blood-pressure
 

 

Food, cooking, culture and personal history all combine in Jason Diamond's article on "The Many Garlics of my Childhood" musing on his American Jewish heritage and beyond:  https://tastecooking.com/the-many-garlics-of-my-childhood/
 

Delicious magazine's collection of Christmas gifts for foodies: https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/christmas-gift-guide-for-foodies/
 

Olive magazine's best food and drink hampers for Christmas: https://www.olivemagazine.com/guides/best-foodie-hampers-for-christmas/
 

Recipes
 

Jose Pizarro's wintry braised pork belly with spinach and chestnuts is a nod to his childhood in Spain. I might cheat and buy a pack of cooked chestnuts to make this a weeknight warmer:  https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/nov/25/sherry-braised-pork-belly-recipe-spinach-chestnuts-jose-pizarro
 

If you have turkey left over from Christmas, here is a recipe for congee to deal with the leftovers: https://thewoksoflife.com/leftover-thanksgiving-turkey-congee/
 

Thrifty air fryer cooking - skin on roast potatoes from tinned: https://archive.ph/EDinL
How to make the perfect ful medames - Felicity Cloake cooks up a number of recipes for this Middle Eastern classic bean stew to arrive at her version of perfection: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/nov/22/how-to-make-the-perfect-ful-medames-recipe-felicity-cloake
 

Mark Diacono's festive drinks recipes, including a mulled cider and a Christmas negroni:
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/dec/02/mulled-cider-festive-punch-christmas-drinks-recipes-mark-diacono
 

Nasu dengaku by Emiko Davies combines silky aubergine and intensely flavourful sweet miso sauce:
https://theweek.com/culture-life/food-drink/recipe-nasu-dengaku-miso-aubergine-by-emiko-davies
 

American food chain Chipotle shares their honey vinaigrette recipe (with a hint of kick!): https://thetakeout.com/chipotle-honey-vinaigrette-dressing-official-recipe-1850083244
 

Podcasts
 

BBC Sounds has put together a collection of podcasts celebrating the sadly recently departed Benjamin Zephaniah. The Colin Murray interview is a treat, as his episode of Colouring In Britain. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/curation/m001v1jn
 

Music
 

Lucinda Chua - Xian

Ezra Collective - Where I'm Meant to Be

Snigdha's 2023 music playlist: here's my selection of songs I've enjoyed this year. Hope you find something for the heart, the soul, and for moving your feet. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcZVuU7Jd5iZX27xklo7ftwEhmKPpM69C&si=8I9k_3P-WrLrxBGm
 

What to watch on TV this Christmas
 

A Ghost Story For Christmas: Lot No.249, BBC2, Christmas Eve, Arthur Conan Doyle's short story as dramatized by Mark Gatiss. It's going to be spooky and atmospheric, with stars Kit Harington, Colin Ryan and Freddie Fox.
 

Tabby McTat, BBC1, Christmas Day, following on from the brilliant animation of The Gruffalo comes this new animation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Schleffer's picture book. With voices from national treasures Jodie Whittaker and Rob Brydon.
 

Doctor Who, BBC1, Christmas Day, the 15th Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa (of Sex Education fame) was introduced to us briefly in the last David Tennant return story. The Church On Ruby Road will be his first proper story as the Doctor. Hopefully he will have found some trousers!
 

Ghosts, BBC1, Christmas Day, our very last visit to Button House will be emotional. Alison's due date is getting close and she, Mike and the Ghosts must prepare for a new arrival. This triumph of a sitcom from the Horrible Histories team will, I hope, be going out on a high.
 

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, ITV1, New Year's Day, the always excellent Toby Jones plays one of the 700 sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted and sacked by the Post Office as a result of accusations of false accounting caused by a defective computer system. This scandal is the largest miscarriage of justice in British legal history.
 

Please note: as with every monthly Favourites List, all of these items have been selected by me simply because I love them. I do not receive any money, benefits in kind or other incentive for posting these links or recommendations.

November 2023 Favourites List

Hello my foodie friends! It’s time for the November favourites list.

This month’s pictures are from a lovely meal I had with some friends at Gunpowder restaurant, Soho, London.

As we near the end of November, thoughts turn to the festive season, and preparations for Christmas and New Year. Whether you make everything for Christmas yourself, or whether Christmas arrives in a van for you, I hope your plans and preparations are creating anticipation and excitement for the festivities. 

 

Food articles

Kavey Eats blog has some of the most useful cookbook reviews you will ever read. Too many cookbook reviews either concentrate on the “big names” or they only look at the photos and feel of a cookbook. Kavey and her team of reviewers actually try out the recipes and look at the usefulness and accuracy of the books along with their covetability. This month she shared a review of Uyen Luu’s latest book on Vietnamese vegetarian food: https://www.kaveyeats.com/vietnamese-vegetarian-uyen-luu

Just take a look at these photos! Some of the most gorgeous handcrafted pasta tools (ravioli presses and other shaping implements) I have ever seen! https://tastecooking.com/were-living-in-a-golden-age-of-pasta-tools

 

London’s best vegetarian restaurants, as selected by Vogue: https://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/best-vegetarian-restaurants-london

London’s best Christmas markets: https://www.standard.co.uk/going-out/attractions/best-christmas-markets-london-2023-b1119912.html

Kitchen tips and know how

How to add heat to your food without scorching your tastebuds: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-add-heat-to-your-food-without-scorching-your-tas-1850870708

 

Not all chillis are created equal, heat wise. Here’s a guide to chilli heat, as ranked by the Scoville scale: https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/lifestyle/peppers-ranked-by-scoville-heat-units/

Beginner’s guide to making your own salad dressing. Keep a clean, washed out old jar to make it in: https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-make-homemade-salad-dressing-from-basic-to-fancy-article

Recipes

Three prawn recipes: Sri Lankan devilled prawns, tiger prawn spaghetti and Bengali prawn malai curry: https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/25/these-three-prawn-recipes-have-been-passed-through-the-generations-19712276

 

Sanjana Modha shares her Indian sweet recipes and advice on how to make the ultimate Diwali sweet box. Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights is on 12 November in 2023. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/diwali_gift_box

Akara are Nigerian Black-Eyed Pea Fritters, a healthy and protein rich lunch dish: https://www.seriouseats.com/akara-5537111

Nigella Lawson shares Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi’s recipe for Venetian Bacon, chestnut and barley soup, with a sofrito base: https://www.nigella.com/recipes/guests/bacon-chestnut-and-barley-soup

 

This pear, fig, Roquefort and honey crouton salad from Nigel Slater is just the kind of salad with cooked elements for late autumn; https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/oct/24/nigel-slater-recipe-for-pears-with-figs-roquefort-and-honey-croutons

Mussels are in season. Here is Jack Stein’s (son of seafood cookery guru Rick Stein) recipe for mussels with spinach and cider. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/how-to-cook-mussels-rick-stein-b2433101.html

Easy Mul Naengmyeon (Korean Cold Noodle Soup) recipe from Aaron and Claire: https://aaronandclaire.com/easy-mul-naengmyeon-korean-cold-noodle-soup/

Delia Smith’s classic mincemeat recipe dates back from 1974, an oldie but a goodie. Happy cooking and baking, my friends! https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/books/delias-happy-christmas/home-made-christmas-mincemeat

Having seen an online friend’s photo of Dishoom’s chilli broccoli salad, I simply had to make it. It’s fab with grilled meat. (There are 2 other recipes here for Kachumber salad and Gunpowder potatoes: https://www.dishoom.com/journal/dishoom-barbecue-box-sides-recipes/

Naturally to complement the chilli broccoli salad, I made the double marinated Spicy lamb chop recipe from Dishoom: https://thecaterer.com/products/recipes/recipe-spicy-lamb-chops-dishoom

 

Cost of living

ASDA is bringing back the £1 winter warmer offer for over 60s. £1 for soup, bread and unlimited tea and coffee. Available at 205 ASDA cafes until Feb 2024. https://metro.co.uk/2023/11/06/supermarket-brings-back-1-meal-deal-to-help-over-60s-stay-warm-19779480

 

What you might have missed at Snig’s Kitchen

My Tumblr site is a food diary where I share my latest cooking experiments.

I made Waitrose’s sticky date and soy beef stew, It’s very brown on the plate, but also very delicious: https://www.tumblr.com/snigskitchen/734268175860039680/sticky-date-and-soy-beef-stew-on-a-recent-trip-to

Here is the Dishoom Spicy broccoli salad referred to above: https://www.tumblr.com/snigskitchen/733821358835957760/made-dishooms-spicy-broccoli-salad-it-packs

A leek, pea and spinach soup with croutons I made recently (my soup recipes are either very planned, or like here, devised to use something I already had in the house, which this time was leeks and spinach): https://www.tumblr.com/snigskitchen/733188460042665984/leek-pea-and-spinach-soup-sometimes-only-soup

David Chang’s famous bacony, buttery miso butter corn: https://www.tumblr.com/snigskitchen/732183804490465280/roasted-summer-corn-with-miso-butter

My take on a BBC Good Food recipe for Chorizo, orzo & sweetcorn summer stew: https://www.tumblr.com/snigskitchen/731731519070191616/chorizo-orzo-sweetcorn-summer-stew-recipe-bbc

Please note: as with every monthly Favourites List, all of these items have been selected by me simply because I love them. I do not receive any money, benefits in kind or other incentive for posting these links or recommendations.

October 2023 favourites list

Hello friends! Welcome once again to my virtual kitchen table!

I'm sharing photos from a very pleasant Tapas meal I recently had at About Thyme in Pimlico. The dishes there include firm favourites (gambas al ajillo is a non-negotiable tapa for me, and albondigas is non-negotiable for Him Indoors), but there are also some different dishes, as the courgette carpaccio and the scallops show. 

My delicious tapas were washed down by some Albarino. Him Indoors elected for some Spanish beer. We had a lovely half-term treat, as this week was the law school's reading week. To all my students, I wish you happy reading! 

Food articles

If you’ve known me for any time online, you’ll know of my deep love for garlic. This is an interesting read on *that* iconic garlic slicing scene from Goodfellas: https://tastecooking.com/what-goodfellas-got-right-about-garlic

Here is that iconic scene with the late Paul Sorvino concentrating deeply whilst lovingly slicing garlic with a razorblade: https://youtu.be/tm3GIRhT1To?feature=shared

This is a brilliant read from Ben Chadwick: all about potatoes, how they became accepted in France, a man named Parmentier, and a Paris Metro station. https://fabricofparis.com/2023/07/18/parmentier-potatoes-and-the-paris-metro.html

A fascinating long read, which is difficult in places. No place at the table for Indian women. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2023/9/1/no-place-at-the-table-indian-women-food-and-eating

Chaat is a particular type of Indian street food or snack food. Conde Nast Traveller asked Delhi foodies for the best places for chaat in the Indian capital: https://www.cntraveller.in/story/best-chaat-in-delhi-as-per-the-citys-foodies/

Kitchen tips and know how

Kitchen know-how: how to debone a chicken thigh - https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-debone-a-chicken-thigh-7775470

Recipes

Thanks to one of my Twitter friends (whose handle is @rankamateur) I have discovered this recipe for Hainanese chicken rice. I cheat and use a jar of paste from the Chinese grocery. But I might just give this a try. https://nonya.global/2021/11/sharons-version-of-chicken-rice/

Lamb chops, burnt aubergine and garam masala butter. Sounds utterly delicious!
https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/lamb-chops-burnt-aubergine-garam-masala-butter-recipe

This Thai green curry paste from Nagi at Recipe Tin Eats blog is full of fresh tasting aromatics: https://www.recipetineats.com/thai-green-curry-paste-recipe/

We used the green curry paste to make Nagi’s Thai green curry recipe, although she tells you how you can upgrade shop bought green curry paste to make her green curry with chicken and aubergine: https://www.recipetineats.com/thai-green-curry/

 

David Chang’s famous NYC restaurant Momofuku used to make a miso corn dish with bacon. Trouble was, everyone went mad for it, and no one wanted to eat much else off the menu. Here’s the recipe: https://shop.momofuku.com/blogs/recipes/roasted-summer-corn-with-miso-butter

In case the recipe ever disappears from their website, here it is, archived: https://archive.md/Jy1SX

What you might have missed at Snig’s Kitchen

Chorizo, orzo & sweetcorn summer stew; my take on a BBC Good Food recipe: https://www.tumblr.com/snigskitchen/731731519070191616/chorizo-orzo-sweetcorn-summer-stew-recipe-bbc

We made the famous David Chang's roasted Summer corn with miso butter recipe from Momofuku.
https://www.tumblr.com/snigskitchen/732183804490465280/roasted-summer-corn-with-miso-butter

TV

Ghosts Series 5

We have reached the end of the road for the original British comedy series of Ghosts. I don’t want to give you any spoilers, but this series has all of the likeability and warmth you’d expect from this treat of a show. Returning to the Captain’s back story and Kitty’s back story are particular treats.

Available on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0g5h8tk/ghosts-series-5-1-fools?seriesId=p0g5h855

Film

My Neighbour Totoro

Beautiful, quirky Studio Ghibli film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Satsuke and her younger sister, Mei move to a new house in the country, while also trying to cope with their mother’s illness and hospitalisation. Enter neighbour Totoro, a huge cuddly forest troll to help them settle into their new home and cope with their distress and worry for their mum.

Available on Netflix, although likely to be available elsewhere. https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/60032294

Please note: as with every monthly Favourites List, all of these items have been selected by me simply because I love them. I do not receive any money, benefits in kind or other incentive for posting these links or recommendations.