I love you yeah yeah yeah

Champagne fetish aside, there is a kernel deep inside me that is nothing but pure Women’s Institute material. So much so that the most perfect Sunday recently was spent standing in my kitchen in the early morning sunshine, listening to Radio Four (details of church teas in the Shetland islands - fascinating) and baking a pie. For my brother. How sweet, how Little Women, I hear you coo with those awful fake parentheses people use when they are talking.

But you must understand, it wasn’t any pie we are talking about here, but a gut busting chocolate peanut butter trucker of a tart, only to be eaten by those with superspeed metabolisms. I got creative with a main course too, and decided to go for pig wrapped in pig (please close your ears, eyes and mouth if you are on a diet or of a sensitive nature).

The dish consisted of pork fillets bashed out nice and thin, then stuffed with pecorino and fresh sage leaves, rolled up and sautéed. Delicious. Though, to be honest you could wrap an old shoe in enough bacon and it would probably be edible. Bacon frying is somewhat pervasive however. And so I woke up the next morning and came out of the bedroom to find the hallway still bacony. Which, if you are as greedy as I am, just puts a dreamy smile on your face and makes you think of brunch...?

Pea(nut) butter and chocolate tart

A richly indulgent treat - a little goes a long way. You can use any nut butter in the filling. Serves eight.

150g digestive biscuits
75g caster sugar
120g unsalted butter, melted

200g cream cheese200g peanut (or other nut) butter
100g caster sugar
120ml double cream

80g caster sugar
125ml double cream
70g dark chocolate
60g unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. First make the crust. Put the biscuits into a plastic bag and bash into fine crumbs (or blitz in a food processor). Mix with the sugar and butter, then press into the base and sides of a loose-bottomed 23cm flan tin. Put the tin on a tray (some butter may seep out during cooking) and bake for eight to 10 minutes. Press against the sides if it pulls away a bit, then leave to cool.

Mix the cheese with the peanut butter and sugar. Whip the cream to stiff peaks - do not overbeat. Fold into the peanut mixture, then spoon into the cooled crust and smooth it down so it's 0.25cm from the top.

For the topping, put the sugar and cream in a pan, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for six minutes without stirring. Remove from the heat, cool slightly and stir in the chocolate and butter until melted. Pour over the tart and chill for at least three hours or overnight.

It's raining and I need ballast to keep me afloat

It’s been too long and I’ve been terribly lax. Blame it on a concentrated enjoyment of the last days of summer. But today feels like mid-November, and the mind, body and soul is craving a solid serving of stodge. And who does stodge better than the Brits (I should know, having just become one of course). So, flee thee to a Canteen, probably somewhere near you, for some of the best and fairest-priced school dinner cooking around. Tuck in to a massive plate of hot and salty fish and chips, or an almost overwhelming dish of macaroni and cheese, oozy and golden just as it should be. And maybe a nice piece of cake afterwards, with a pot of tea, and I promise, you won’t even feel the rain after that.

And for those looking to celebrate the first anniversary of Lehmans, you might like a nip or two at the new Kensington Wine Rooms. 41 wines by the glass, so if you still have a job and somehow actually made some money this year, you can drink up the mersaults and cote de nuits and whatnot. For the rest of us, there are some pretty sharp choices that stay within budget, Try the white from the Jura region in France *actually Switzerland, but what’s a political border amongst friends* or talk to the lovely sommelier who is top notch, young, Japanese, and shocker..female.

http://www.canteen.co.uk/
Locations at Royal Festival Hall (Waterloo)
Spitalfields (Liverpool St)
Baker St

Kensington Wine Rooms
http://www.greatwinesbytheglass.com/
127 Kensington Church StLondon, W8 7LP,
0 20 77278142

Guacamole love in the City

It’s been summer in London for the past two days, and as an almost ex-Californian, any combination of blue sky and sunny day makes me think of real highways, open-top cars, and of course, Mexican food. Fortunately I was in the City, and after listening to some hedge fund twattle for an hour or so, I scuttled off to Daddy Donkey, which has the most awesome burrito in town. Dude, this is the real thing - don't even talk to me about Chilangos or I'll have to smack you.

One Naked Steak Daddy-D with extra guacamole later, I was a happy girl (for only 6 pounds too). So, if you happen to find yourself around Chancery Lane any time, wander up Leather Lane (handily right by RBS) and look for the big van with the huge queue of hungry suits. No tables, no seats, just you and the burrito and a lot of napkins. My advice is to try it before winter arrives (probably next week).

http://www.daddydonkey.co.uk/
Pitches 100-101
Leather Lane Market
London
EC1N 7TE

Forgoing Dinner to Learn how to set up a Blog?

The first post is terrifying...bit like blotting up that lovely fresh page of a crisp, new moleskin. I've brought dinner to my desk to fortify me as I set this up. A gazpacho recipe I made up (basically like a pico de gallo on speed) and a luscious, drippy, almost overripe peach. Starting to understand why my keyboards always look manky now.



It's been a good eating week so far. Peaches and melons in full season, and I have been gorging on these for breakfast every day, imagining that I am actually sitting by the sea in a small mediterranean town (not that difficult actually when you're a stone's throw from Edgeware Road, which is anything but 'London'). The fruit's been nicely balanced by a birthday blow-out tea at the Wolseley, still easily the best value for money afternoon tea in town. Good sandwiches, warm scones (beware if you dislike raisins), properely homemade jam, and some of the best cakes in town. They give you enough of a selection to avoid the agony of having to choose as well, which is a relief. The only letdown is the tea - I always ask for Assam, but inevitably get floor sweepings....