December 5 2022

Paris at Christmas

Travel

UK

This week, it’s the turn of the Observer for the best independent High Streets for Christmas shopping. I checked as last week we had the recommendations of the Telegraph and Guardian. They cite Lewes in Sussex, one of my favourite towns, Stockbridge, St Ives, Wigtown and Ceredigion to cover all possible bases or should that be biases.

A walk to a pub in Kent, the Samuel Palmer near Shoreham. I actually want to do this one.

The Daily Mail has the best fifteen places to visit in the UK with Eastbourne, named number 1. My parents retired there, and I have to say, ‘No, just No’. Go to Brighton, Lewes, Rye, Alfriston, if you want to visit East Sussex. You can walk on the South Downs and go to Beachy Head from there. I didn’t even bother looking at the rest of their list.

The Times has the best places to stay in the UK. I stayed at Another Place in the Lake District as a special treat in February and would say, fantastic swimming pool but disappointing and expensive food and it’s definitely a family hotel, to put it tactfully.

Europe

It’s a bumper week for winter city breaks this week and we start with the best European city breaks in the Independent which mentions Tallinn. Malaga and Zagreb amongst others. And then, Lübeck in the Daily Mail famous for its marzipan, Berlin in the Times for a weekend break, the secret to the perfect Northern Lights trip as well as Zurich in the Telegraph. Greek designer Mary Katrantzou’s guide to Athens in the Times and Almeria which it calls Andalusia’s underrated city in the Daily Mail

Paris is still the ultimate festive escape in the Telegraph and there’s also Vegan Paris in the FT. I am such a Francophile that I often calculate whether something is worth it by comparing it to a trip to Paris and say to myself, ‘No, I don’t want an Aldi self clean mop. (£189!) I could go to Paris for the price of that.* There’s Lyons city guide in the Times, ‘France’s foodie capital with excellent art too’ and a local’s guide to Chamonix in the Guardian. And Arles in the Daily Mail with a new arts centre there inspired by Van Gogh, called the 'Luma' and designed by Frank Gehry

48 hours in Turin in the Independent, best places to stay in the Italian Lakes in the Standard, why Tuscany is magical even in the winter, in the Telegraph.

Restaurants

In the Mail on Sunday, Tom Parker-Bowles went to the Holland in London W8 website here, and thought it ‘that rarest of things - a well-priced local restaurant with cooking that’s a few cuts above the norm.’ With a brown crab on toast, I’ll soon be there and it’s also near the newly renovated Leighton House. 

In the Observer, Jay Rayner visited Pascor in Kensington, website here, and said, “love abounds here.’

In the Standard, Jimi Faruewa went to Tendril, website here, a mostly vegan restaurant, and liked its but thought it could be bolder

In the Telegraph, William Sitwell ventured to the new Scott’s in Richmond which he doesn’t think is as good as the one in Mayfair but his review did lead me to a recipe for Mark Hix’s shrimp burger.

In the Times, Giles Coren followed other critics to Mount St restaurant, website here, and thought you could spend a lot or not so much on very good food.

Recipes

It’s mainly Christmas food in the papers this weekend and it feels a bit overwhelming if you just fancy the same as you have every year, turkey crown and a trifle like I’m planning, one friend who cooks venison and another who does Ottolenghi’s multi- vegetable paella. The recipe I am going to make this week is Rachel Roddy’s timbale mushroom pasta from the Guardian.

Following on with the Italian theme, Mark Hix’s Italian winter warmers, a classic minestrone, pork piccata with mozzarella and sweet spelt arancini with grapes in the Telegraph and Joe Trivelli’s comforting winter recipes using butter, celeriac, fennel and squash braised winter vegetables, porcini and saffron risotto, chicken cacciatore, and bread, butter, pear and brandy pudding in the Observer

There’;s a bumper Christmas dish section in the Sunday Times including Michel Roux’s French Christmas recipes including roast lobster with garlic butter and Béarnaise, roast duck and crab quiche. There’s a whole lot more but as this an edit, that’s all Im going to put in . I do fancy trying the crab quiche sometime.

Ottolenghi’s alternative Christmas in the Guardian with Savoy cabbage with crisp pancetta and cider-and-mint dressing, a Yaji-spiced spatchcocked chicken with parsnips and turmeric ghee-braised carrots with crisp curry leaves.

Olia Hercules’ recipes for Christmas vegetables, caramelised cabbage stuffed with mushrooms, onions and chestnuts and sprouts in miso butter and honey glaze in the Guardian.

All the puddings with a bumper helping of Candice Brown with her epic Christmas desserts in the Sunday Times, chocolate and fig filo tart, mincemeat and apple Bakewell tart with Baileys cream, Marsala, pear and panettone trifle and a citrus amaretti semifreddo and chocolate and Christmas pudding tart recipe, Bucks Fizz jelly recipe,  spiced rice pudding brûlée recipe in the Times. Ravneet Gill Christmas chocolate caramel mousse recipe in in the Guardian.

Three Christmas bakes from Diana Henry including Christmas chocolate cake and how to make chocolate Christmas trees, a dried fruit cranberry and Bourbon tart and including Anja Dunk’s Stollen bites in the Telegraph

Books

Essential Flavour by Ryan Riley.

In this interview, Ryan Riley explains how he has created cheap recipes for cancer patients suffering from loss of taste .A free paper copy with £3 post and packaging can be pre-ordered from November 28, with 5,000 to be released on December 5.. A free online copy can also be downloaded from 7 December 7 from the Life Kitchen website or the Big C.

The River Cafe Look Book by Ruth Rogers

her book designed for children but adults are buying it too with an interview and recipes for spiedini of monkfish and scallops and almond meringue with strawberries here.

Christmas bonus

I decided not to cover wine in this newsletter but I’m making an exception for Jane McQuyitty’s 50 best whites and 50 best reds in the Times, especially as I’ve already been shopping from the lower end of the price range. Picpoul from Lidl, reds from Sainsbury’s. The rest are already put away.