stories from the hearth
Show me someone who doesn’t like white chocolate and I’ll show you a shameless liar. Super sweet, very hard to cook with and far too easy to burn, you just can’t turn your nose up at a decent bar of the stuff – or better still, a few white chocolate cookies.
Do you ever wander through the shops and see cold smoked food and tend to think it’s a magical process not for the home cook? I’ve had a lot of raised eyebrows when I’ve offered cold smoked food to friends for supper parties and told them it’s all home done. They’ve looked somewhere between alarmed…
About these. They’re quite good…artisan dark chocolate cookies. Crispy edged with pools of decadent chocolate and soft gooey middles.
Any overripe bananas hanging around? Any big plans with them? About to chuck them in the bin? If the answers are yes, no and yes in that order, you need a banana muffin recipe right now. And I happen to have one: you’re welcome.
There is something so homely about leek and potato soup. Thick, creamy and so so warming, it is perfect for those cold, miserable winter days that appear all too often over here in the UK.
Crunchy, crispy and packed full of favour croutons make everything they’re added to so much better. Add a little parmesan and garlic and you have a true superstar garnish.
Madeleines. Those perfect little buttery shell cakes made by French grandmothers for the delight of hungry grandchildren since time immemorial. And still so sought after. Crisp and golden on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, they’re the perfect size for small fingers, though you’ll see them in endless variety these days in gleaming patisserie windows, from giant to mini, with a thousand enticing flavour combinations depending on the season. Hunting for a wintry version for the festive period, we think we’ve landed on just the one.
