Wouldn't it be great if you could go to the supermarket, see that the courgettes, pears or legs of pork look particularly good (or are particularly cheap) that day and snap 'em up, knowing three ways to make the most of them once you got them back into your kitchen? Grandma used to have all the basic recipes in her head. She didn't need a cookery book to roast a joint, make gravy, bake a pie or fry perfect chips. Sadly, our generation failed to learn these skills but The Daily Telegraph's cookery writer, Xanthe Clay, wants to turn back the clock with her new book, Recipes to Know by Heart. The idea behind the book is that once you've mastered a basic batter, you can make pancakes, Yorkshire puddings and toad in the hole. Learn shortcrust pastry, and you can make fabulous pies from whatever fruit are plentiful and at their peak. The switchboard lit up and Xanthe troubleshot for listeners on pork crackling, Victoria sponges, roast chicken, and so much more.
Another writer who loves to demystify his subject is wine expert Malcolm Gluck. He pulls no punches in his latest book, The Greak Wine Swindle. Supermarkets, restaurants, writers, producers, advertiser are all pulling the wool over our eyes, according to Malcolm. He explained why wine boxes aren't the poor relation, why cork is a highly faulty form of packaging we'd all be much better off without, why you should spend your hard-earned cash on good sparkling wines rather than overpriced champagne, why wine producers should be forced to list the ingredients of their product, and so much more. You couldn't wait to join in to discover the perfect wine to serve with Christmas dinner, where to buy good organic wines, and the best Merlot for under a tenner
And that was it for another week.
BB