Valpolicella is a viticultural zone of the Italian province of Verona, east of Lake Garda, ranking as the second most significant production region for Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) wines in volume terms (Chianti is first).This red wine is typically made from three grape varietals: Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara although others are permitted in small ...
Yesterday I set out to clean out my store cupboard – well, not exactly ‘clean out’ but at least have a good fossick around and see what I have, what I’m nearly out of and what I’m missing. Like…. 3 bottles of dark soy sauce, all opened. A bottle of Peychaud bitters that must be ...
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My first encounter with Chinese food was in Manchester way back in the last century. I was doing evening classes, I forget the subject. During a break-time conversation it emerged that Johnson, one of the guys in the class, was the proprietor of a Chinese restaurant. Furthermore, he kindly issued an open invitation to a ...
The Superquinn French Wine Sale, an annual event, is upon us. The list is a mix of old favourites and new ‘lip-smacking’, their words not mine, bargains. The Etienne Barret Crozes Hermitage Rouge and the Domaine de Brunely Vacqueyras are among the former, representing good value at €11 and €12 respectively, as is the ...
Tasting Notes, Wine & DrinkWednesday 12th October 2011 Kicked off with a wine tasting in the morning. With Aussie icon David Hohnen – founder of significant Margaret River winery Cape Mentelle but perhaps best known as The Man Who Gave us Cloudy Bay and turned on the tap that led to the deluge of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. David ...
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I’ve had my outdoor pizza oven for a year now and I think last Saturday was the first night I’ve really felt confident with it. This was due in no small measure to the calming presence of Leslie Williams who is further down the pizza trail than me. The building of the oven is fairly ...
Whalley’s First Law of Pastatherapy: To make pasta successfully you need three arms + a table 12 inches wide x 18 feet long + one of those old-fashioned clothes drying racks that winds up to the ceiling. Fresh, homemade pasta is so much better than anything you can get at the shops. In Ireland, at ...
The year 1947 became a culinary landmark when the first Betty Crocker cake mix hit America’s shelves. This novelty empowered the housewife to create a fresh, ‘home-made’ (as in ‘made at home’) cake with the absolute minimum of time and effort. The concept initially backfired because home cooks felt compelled to return to the ...
Just received the news that the next Tasting Australia – April 26 to May 3, 2012 will be the last, at least in Adelaide. Amazingly, next year will be the eighth time this biennial festival has been held. I’ve been at the last four and, if I get the call, I’ll be in ‘The City ...
It does seem churlish to moan about a bit of meat while the cities of Britain are on fire. Still, I’m fed up to the back teeth – the front ones are pretty sore too – with eating average-to-bad steak as well as having to listen to my food writing friends extolling the quality of ...
