October 3

places to go, food to eat

Felicity Cloake’s macaroni cheese

Travel

I thought the most interesting piece in the papers was Eleanor Steafel’s in the Telegraph about how to deal with overcrowding on Mont Blanc. I’m a member of a Mountaineering Club and I’ve climbed in the Alps, and on all peaks, overcrowding and subsequent erosion, rubbish and litter is a problem. There needs to be some agreed action. A similar theme of sustainability and conservation is also explored in an article in the Times about the Sierra Espuña Regional Park, in Murcia in Spain.

The Guardian continued its cycle ride through the Faroe Islands on the way up to Iceland and there was also a weekend break to Ghent.

In the Telegraph, they go to Evora in Portugal, a good alternative to the ever popular Lisbon and Porto, in the Times, there’s a weekend break to Ljubljana and in the FT, an architectural tour of Vienna.

Restaurants

In the Daily Mail, Tom Parker-Bowles went to Chojo in Bayswater for “Oriental tapas’ which were good but the chef was the only staff there.

In the FT, Tim Hayward went to Sonny Stores in Bristol and Landrace Bakery in Bath and mused on how fashionable restaurants these days have similar menus. ‘We’re now in a media ecology that amplifies similarity and cross-fertilises itself at unimaginable speed.’

The FT also described the new Audley Public House which has classic bar snacks, is owned by Hauser and Wirth and decorated with their art. Mount St Restaurant is opening above it soon.

In the Guardian, Grace Dent went to the Bonny Comet near  Gateshead which was terrible.

In the Independent, Sean Russell went to the 40 Elephants Bar in SW1, London and liked it as a cocktail place but the main courses were not so good.

In the Observer, Jay Rayner went to Block in Soho, London which was also awful

In the Telegraph, William Sitwell visited Toklas, off the Strand in London which he liked a lot. I have been there twice for the pre-theatre meal and agree that the food is great. They had taken the unmissable triple cooked chips off the menu the second time we went and we found the service a bit haphazard but then we are not recognisable like William Sitwell.

In the Times, Giles Coren was in Swansea for a quick lunch before the football at Truffle where he loved the meatballs.

In the Standard, Jimi Faruewa went to Tent, which was fine.

In the Sunday Times, Marina O’Loughlin went to Lerpwl, in Liverpool which she thought was a ‘demi rave.’

Recipes

It’s a funny week for me because I didn’t feel like instantly cooking any of the recipes. And I don’t know whether it’s because we’re in autumn now and I still want it to be summer, because of the Budget which depressed me enormously (as well as the mountaineering, another little known fact even to longstanding friends is my degree in Economics) or simply because some weeks I might want to cook everything and other weeks, I might not. It’s all very personal.

There was a paper supplememt with the Guardian with recipes using cheese from Felicity Cloake and so I went back to basics and made her version of macaroni cheese (pictured above) and will make the cheese straws later this week. I learn something new every time I follow a recipe.

Nigel Slater gave recipes for baked aubergine with white beans and thyme, and banana brioche pudding in the Observer. His mid week meal was broccoli with green olive crumbs. Mark Hix, gave watercress recipes in the Telegraph and a seared onglet with onion salsa from Honey and Co in the FT. Diana Henry cooks mussels only when there’s an ‘r’ in the month and her recipes in the Telegraph include mussels, ’nduja, white beans and fettuccine, mussel, potato and parsley soup and smoked mussel and pumpkin risotto.

Ottolenghi had savoury apple recipes in the Guardian for roast celeriac and pepper skewers with apple and miso glaze, potato, apple and gruyere pie and baked trout with apple and mustard slaw and Meera Sodha’s had a vegan recipe for beer-battered aubergine tacos in there as well.

There were three pesto recipes from Skye McAlpine in the Sunday Times, pesto and baby tomato tart, cheesy baked courgettes with pesto, and orecchiette with pesto, fennel and green beans. But I would say don’t buy a jar! Make it yourself or buy the fresh one in a tub. I think Sainsbury’s make the best one.

In the Independent, five autumn dinner recipes originally from the New York Times including traybake sausages with caramelised shallots and apples, which I will make later in the week, one-pan chicken thighs with coconut creamed corn and the pantry dish of pasta with butternut squash, kale and brown butter. All worth a look for something achievable on a weeknight.

Books

Japan Easy Bowls and Bento by Tim Anderson.

There are recipes in You magazine for chicken, root vegetable and pearl barley miso soup, mackerel simmered with onions and ginger, pork belly bowl with salted leek relish, ‘un-fried’ rice, dashimaki-tamago or rolled omelette, and soba, mangetout and tarragon salad with carrot-miso dressing.

Extra good things by Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad

From their new book, there are recipes for baked polenta with feta, béchamel and za’atar tomatoes, coconut broth prawns with fried aromatics and blackened chicken with caramel and clementine dressing.