More from life

In defence of duck à l’orange

7 January 2023 9:00 am

Duck à l’orange is so deliciously retro, it’s almost a cliché of kitsch. It seems hard to believe that there…

A last-minute alternative to Christmas cake: boiled fruit cake

17 December 2022 9:00 am

This time last year, I was disgustingly well organised. Awaiting the arrival of my first baby, with a late December…

Answers to Spot the Book Title 2022

17 December 2022 9:00 am

1. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin 2. Scoop 3. The Thirty-Nine Steps 4. Moll Flanders 5. The Girl on the Train 6.…

2022 Christmas quiz – the answers

17 December 2022 9:00 am

Verbals 1. Boris Johnson, on resigning as leader of the Conservative party 2. Liz Truss, on being elected leader of…

The Spectator’s 2022 Christmas quiz

17 December 2022 9:00 am

Verbals In 2022, who said: 1. Them’s the breaks. 2. I know that we will deliver, we will deliver, we…

You don’t need a fondue set to make fondue

10 December 2022 9:00 am

‘This dish is very you,’ my husband says, as I serve up 650g of melted, boozy cheese to the two…

Bread pudding is the perfect bridge from autumn to winter

26 November 2022 9:00 am

I am incapable of throwing anything away in the kitchen. In my fridge, there must be at least half a…

The ultimate American comfort food: how to make meatloaf

12 November 2022 9:00 am

Meatloaf has some obstacles to overcome: it has an unprepossessing appearance, and an uninspiring, slightly off-putting name, which it shares…

Hot, cold, sweet, salty, boozy, spiced: Bananas Foster has everything

29 October 2022 9:00 am

I’m a sucker for a challenge. I absolutely cannot resist a little competition. Throw down a gauntlet, and I am…

Moules mouclade, as big a hit as Beyoncé

15 October 2022 9:00 am

Mussels were probably the first thing I ate as a child that I knew at the time was ‘an acquired…

The sweet satisfaction of a burnt Cambridge cream

1 October 2022 9:00 am

If a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, then a Trinity or Cambridge burnt cream must taste…

The ultimate chicken pie recipe

17 September 2022 9:00 am

Laurie Colwin wrote: ‘No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is…

How to make a true apple strudel

3 September 2022 9:00 am

It’s possible that, like me, your first encounter with the Grande Dame of the Austrian pastry world, the apfelstrudel, was…

Sole Véronique: there’s no need to fear fish and grapes

20 August 2022 9:00 am

One of the joys of writing about old-fashioned food is coming across dishes that are new to me, and turn…

How to poach peaches (and why you should)

6 August 2022 9:00 am

I’ve never been very good at leaving things be. I tend to gild the lily. I may plan to do…

Sundae best: how to make a knickerbocker glory

9 July 2022 9:00 am

I grew up by the seaside. More precisely, I grew up near South Shields, on the north-east coast – somewhere…

Why you should never buy scotch eggs

11 June 2022 9:00 am

One of the perils of being a recipe writer is that people regularly ask me why I bother making things…

Eccles cakes

14 May 2022 9:00 am

When I first made Eccles cakes, I’m not sure I really knew where Eccles was. I certainly didn’t think I’d…

The secret to baking the fluffiest hot cross buns

16 April 2022 9:00 am

What makes a hot cross bun a hot cross bun? Is it in the bun: the spice, the dried fruit…

The magical kitschiness of black forest gateau

19 March 2022 9:00 am

Kitsch is something of my stock-in-trade. And it doesn’t get more kitsch than Black Forest gateau. Pots of cream, pints…

Steak Diane: the perfect date-night dish

19 February 2022 9:00 am

Cooking for romance is no laughing matter. The stakes are high. Get it right and woo the love of your…