An outdoor nativity play, Turkish baths and microwaving mincemeat

November 25 2024

Welcome to new readers. Normally, I make something from the week’s papers but I haven’t this week. I liked Ravneet Gill’s quince and hazelnut tart in the Guardian and Diana  Henry’s Boodles orange fool in the Telegraph and which was like a trip down Memory Lane and most of all, the leek and dauphinoise potato pie in the Times from Calum Franklin as he’s taken over the Georgian restaurant at Harrods.

But I did make mincemeat as it was Stir Up Sunday.This year I made Cherie Denham’s recipe from the Irish Bakery instead of Delia Smith s . My top tip is to cook it in the microwave instead of in the oven for three hours. In my microwave on 800 top setting, it takes two blasts of 5 minutes to melt the suet with a stir imbetween to redistribute everything. Job done. My labels came from a French supermarket this summer as I find jam labels are much jollier and cheaper in France and always stock up. I also bought glacé fruit to make a light fruit cake based on this one by Rachel Allen but I will vary the fruit nearer Christmas.

Books  

Cheese by James Martin in the Independent with an interview here  where he goes on about his best ever cheeses and instructions on how to do the best ever cheeseboard, lamb with Stilton gnocchi and Parmesan roasties.

Restaurants

The best 50 Sunday roasts from the Good Food Guide in the Independent with the full line up. As I am one of the minority who don’t like Sunday roasts, it means nothing to me apart from the fact that if they’re good at them, they will be good at other things so it’s a list of places  worth keeping 

In the FT, Tim Hayward went to Juliet’s Stroud, which is run by the same people who own the pub, the Woolpack in Slad, of Laurie Lee fame.and loved it.

In the Guardian, Grace Dent went to Noodle Inn in London W1, whre she had to queue and thought it was ‘utterly delicious, yes, but there are equally wonderful noodles available just streets away, where you can book a table, linger and order as much as you desire.’

In the Observer, Jay Rayner went to Martlet in Rochdale, Lancashire whiuch is inside the Town Hall and thought it was ‘a victory of professionalism, good sense and, most of all, great taste and skill.’ IIn the Standard, David Ellis was at Vatavaran in London’s Knightsbridge, a Himalayan restaurant with no atmosphere.

In the Sunday Times, Charlotte Ivers was at Claro, a new Israeli restaurant in Mayfair, which was expensive and ‘with no sense of place, really. We could be anywhere in the world’

In the Telegraph, William Sitwell was at Home Kitchen in Primrose Hill. London, NW1, ‘a not for profit social impact restaurant, with staff recruited from the ex homeless community.  and those at risk of homelessness.’

He said ‘it was sweet, sensible and conformist with buckets of warm conviviality. But it needs to do more to woo the hungry traveller … with a feast that befits its splendid cause.’ I always think sweet is such a damning and patronising word for anyone over the age of five.

In the Times, Giles Coren filled more column inches about the Yellow Bittern. and said, ‘there was nothing there that I would have been especially proud to have cooked myself.’

I think I’ve heard more than enough about it now. I went to Hugh Corcoran’s pop up at Italo in Vauxhall earlier in the year and spent quite a lot of money for nothing special in cramped surroundings. If I go out to a restaurant in the evening, I expect more although, of course, he’s only open at lunch time.

Glacé fruit from the market at Sommières .

Travel

UK

Turkish baths in the Guardian which are apparently like a luxury spa but for £20 including the Porchester Spa, in London, Newcastle, Northampton and a whole lot more. I’ll make it a New Year’s resolution to try one out.

The Wintershall Nativity Journey, an outdoor nativity play in Bramley, Guildford, Surrey, is in the FTSI and sounds amazing. The website is here.

Five of the best Scottish island pubs in the Times from Peter Irvine’s book, Scotland the Best, which I am currently perusing for a week up there in May. Along with a copy of Muriel Gray’s best Munroes, ( very old) and Wainwright’s Scotland, (even older) and a new gym membership so I can get up the more serious hills.

Maybe we should visit the Roca brothers of El Celler de Can Roca) new restaurant in the Highlands of Scotland at the Macallan distillery in Speyside and the Telegraph explains why they chose there.

On flatter ground, the Telegraph is also in Norfolk, and gives details of ten of the best medieval churches there including Binham Priory and Wymondham Abbey.

Europe

A tour of the best of Denmark in the Observer fetauring the countryside and coast with two days in Copenhagen, then up the Danish Riviera before going over to Jutland to explore the Danish Lake District and, finally, Aarhus, Denmark’s second city.

Jean Boghossian’s insider guide to Brussels in the FT HTSI which has lots of tips on what to do, where to stay, go, and eat. I enjoy the insiders guides as they are so quirky, individual and current. 

Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute in Venice

This journalist in the Times had never liked Venice but this time travelled in November and liked it. Its a slant to pitch an article, I suppose, but I have always loved it especially the three times in between Christmas and New Year when my daughters, then teenagers, could do their own thing. Like an Oystercard, ‘have a Vaporetto pass, will travel.’

Reading the papers

People ask me how I read all the papers. I believe in paying for quality journalism and my husband and I have digital subscriptions to the Times and to the Telegraph.

The Times gives you two free articles a week as a registered user and the Telegraph gives you access to one free article each week if you register an account. The FT gives a certain number of free articles

Local public libraries often have Pressreader which gives access to over 7,000 newspapers world wide for free or you can subscribe to it. I have it via Wandsworth libraries and it’s brilliant. I can see what’s in the Guardian, the Observer and the Independent.

Please do like this as it increases visibility. It’s just for fun and my own enjoyment and will always be free.