Posted in almond, Barcelona, broiled, calamari, Chorizo, cuttlefish, fish, Garlic, Madrid, Murcia, noodles, nuts, Olive Oil, Pasta, pepper, peppers, pulpo, Spain, Squid, tradition, travel, Valencia, wine on Nov 14th, 2012
For centuries, mankind and cuttlefish have had something of a difficult relationship, certainly from the latter’s perspective. Even prior to the development of the photographic tint known as sepia – a brownish hue that makes the late 19th century appear to have been an unusually dusty period – the ink of the cuttlefish was prized […]
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Posted in basil, cauliflower, crispy, culture, Fall, fish, Iceland, language, lemon, nuts, salmon, shark, travel on Oct 12th, 2012
My guidebook assured me that 3 out of 5 Icelanders believe that faeries, mischievous sprites and trolls are real. Many, it continues, actively take precautions against them, refusing to set foot in the spots they are thought to inhabit. My first introduction to the country, the drive from the airport into Reykjavik, past a giant […]
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Posted in alcohol, baking, British, butter, Christmas, culture, custard, Delia Smith, dessert, easy, England, festival, festivals, fruit, history, holiday, holidays, nuts, spices, tradition, winter on Jan 2nd, 2012
Most Brits associate mincemeat with Christmas – its intoxicating mix of fruit, spices, booze, nuts and mixed peel provide Pavlovian stimuli, stirring memories of cherubic choirs a-caroling, roasted poultry, and the Queen’s speech – whereas I associate it with Easter, because it was always around then that we finally ran out of mince pies. I […]
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Posted in bread, grapes, Italian, Italian-American, nuts, sugar, sweet, Tuscan, tuscany, walnuts on Sep 1st, 2011
Roll out the red carpet, blow the shiny, loud horns, wear your fanciest dress (you too, men) – guess who’s back? Yes, I am still alive. Yes, Jonny has been keeping this blog afloat for a year now. And yes, I am ready to try to blog again. After a year of figuring out how […]
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Posted in adobo, braised, chicken, chile, chili, chilli, chipotle, cilantro, cinnamon, Mexican, nuts, peanut, peppers, Recipe, sauce, tradition on Jan 15th, 2010
Ever have one of those days where the only thing that gets you through is knowing you are going to have a good meal later on? I have no idea where I read about this dish, but one day, trying to unwind after a long, frustrating and tiring day of putting out the fires that […]
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Posted in Alba, butter, cream, easy, French, indulgent meal, Italian, Italy, nuts, Pasta, Recipe, vegetarian, walnuts on Dec 1st, 2009
As with a few other fellow bloggers, we were lucky to receive one of my favorite “blog freebies” to try recently – truffle products by La Boutique de la Truffe. Cha-ching! As some know, for most of us, blogging will barely help us buy a cup of coffee at a year’s end – that is […]
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Posted in almond, couscous, crispy, egg, fish, fried, healthy, Jose Andres, lemon, nuts, Olive Oil, olives, oranges, parsley, Recipe, sauce, seafood, side dish, vegetables on Mar 19th, 2009
So, lately we’ve been experiencing a certain degree of apathy with regard to food. Maybe it’s the time of year or the grind of work, either way, it’s not a great place to be for us, and hopefully somewhere we will leave soon. Nonetheless, sometimes inspiration can strike, and delicious, seasonal citrus fruit can be […]
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Posted in blogging, Castillano, castille, chicken, chicken stock, easy, Europe, Fino, hazelnuts, nuts, poultry, Rachel Ray, rant, Recipe, Recipes, saffron, Spain, tradition, wine on May 17th, 2008
Usually if I’m trying to make an authentic dish, I always try to make it just that – authentic. That means that I want to use traditional ingredients and I attempt to research the many traditional ways to make that specific dish. I then decide how to combine the best bits from all those traditional […]
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Posted in anchovies, basil, cream, eating, Genoa, Genovese, herbs, Italian, lunch, mushroom, mushrooms, nuts, Olive Oil, Pasta, pine nuts, Recipe, Recipes, restaurant, sauce, tourism, travel, walnuts on May 10th, 2008
There are a handful of things that have made Genoa famous, amongst them pesto and Christopher Columbus. Interestingly, in all the many, many stories told by Scheherazade (to persuade the emir not to have her killed) in the Arabian Nights, the only European city to be mentioned is Genoa. And, when you visit the city […]
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Posted in apples, Asturias, cabrales, cheese, easy, eating, food TV, hazelnuts, healthy, herbs, Jose Andres, nuts, Olive Oil, Recipe, Recipes, salad, side dish, Spain, travel, vinaigrette on Apr 12th, 2008
There are some things that just strike you as being astonishingly simple, yet brilliantly devised. For example, the interface of an iPod- the way you use it – is unbelievably clever in its design. One “wheel” and one button, and that’s it. Everyone – even me – can figure it out in about 8 seconds. […]
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Posted in baking, chestnuts, Christmas, cognac, cream, custard, dessert, easy, French, holiday, nuts, pastry, pie, Recipe, Recipes, sugar, vanilla on Jan 15th, 2008
During the cook-a-thon that was the weekend before Christmas, in which my wife and I got our first real glimpse of just how hard professional chefs have to work, I turned out something of a rarity for me, and thus far, unique to this blog – a dessert. Touring the food blogosphere (hmm, starting to […]
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Posted in bucatini, culture, dining, diversity, easy, eating, Elba, Europe, Food Commentary, healthy, Italian, Italy, nuts, Olive Oil, Pasta, pistachios, Recipe, Recipes, restaurant, Restaurant Review, summer, tourism, travel, Tuscan, tuscany, vegetarian on Sep 15th, 2007
When we were in Italy this June for our wedding/honeymoon we not only ate well, drank too well and gained weight, but we took many food risks. The best nights of food seemed to be the nights when the menus were only in Italian and we forgot our little translation book back at the B&B. […]
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