American Pie, Virginia

I have not made pecan pie since November the 22nd, 2012.  I am out of practice and my first attempt didn't turn out well, not at all.  But I've learned that people enjoy stories of failure and this is one.  Just look at the picture. What was wrong with my pecan pie? The crust was …

Chowder

My own ancestral link to chowder would have to be the hard tack eaten by sailors. These days there seems to be a lot of cream in chowder, but I don't think cream would have survived for long out on the Grand Banks. More likely a mush of hard tack and water. I imagine the cod fisherman eating saltfish chowder on the outbound journey and fresh cod chowder on the return ...

1234 soup

Faced with the ends of a vegetable delivery it can be hard to think of what to make. Here is an easy and flavourful creamy soup which can be eaten as is or used as a base for chowders and pie fillings. Plenty of possible substitutions - just use what you have left over.

Pizza nite! (and calzones too)

Pizza nite was always a happy evening, usually starring mother's pastry pizzas - more to say about them soon. With the weather here generally awful, and a second lockdown in force, sometimes it is hard to be upbeat. But today the sun shone and my neighbour and I had a much needed walk across the …

Basic ravioli and mezzelune

I started making mezzelune when teaching English through cooking. Thought I had invented the name, and then saw some in Tesco's a week later. These are finished in the oven - I think it makes for a more delicate mouthful. It's best to choose only a few ingredients, as on a pizza. But here I am suggesting two different fillings and a sauce. If you think making the ravioli is too fiddly, just roll out the dough in thin rectangles and make lasagne instead.

Election night nachos, Virginia

The only time that Mrs. Cooper could be diverted from her subject (which was American History) was if you could get her talking about her former students. They were smarter than we were, way smarter. They were busy graduating magna cum laude, there was not much hope for us

Cognac fig jam, Aspa

If, like me, you’re lucky enough to have an established fig tree in your garden (ours is at least 8 years old), you’ll enjoy picking ripe figs from mid summer into the autumn. 2020 as strange a year as it has been, has produced a bumper crop of figs even in England. We ate and gave plenty away as they came off the tree, enjoying their honey sweet taste for almost three months. I always peel them, though I know some people will wash them and eat them with the skin on.