Petes Pix 2022

Our Around the World in lockdown Food and Wine Tour continued with Italy as Country No. 3.   2019 Collezione di Paolo Chianti   (Italy, Tuscany, Chianti) Chianti has fallen out of fashion, at least in our house, and I don’t know why. We used to drink a lot of (what I expect was cheap cash & carry ones) in Italian restaurants when we were younger. This was delicious, 95% Sangiovese and so drinkable, as claret lovers this was like a ripe claret. With it we had 20210127-pollo-alla-pizizaiola 400×548 107 KB Pollo alla Pizzaiola. This was a dish I frequently ordered in l'Italia the small family run and award winning Italian restaurant in St Albans then one day I thought “I can make this at home”. I put a layer of tomato sauce in a baking tray, lay the chicken breasts on top - these are breast strips - sprinkle with capers and halved stoned olives, cover with another layer of tomato sauce, then bake in fan oven for 30 mins at 180C. Served with steamed sugar snap peas and ol...

  Tuesday   we continued  our world travel theme, going to South Africa’s Western Cape for Cape Malay curry and this beauty- 2014 Beeslaar Pinotage   (South Africa, Stellenbosch) This is Abrie Beeslaar’s personal venture. I bought this in the Cape, but if you were looking to buy a Beeslaar now expect to pay £45-55 a bottle. And the food was a Cape Malay curry of Butternut Squash, Chickpeas and Lentils 20210126_Cape-malay-curry 400×602 115 KB Just ladled onto the plate: no artful presentation in an individual potjie, no banana slices rolled in desiccated coconut and no Mrs Balls Chutney (!) so authenticity only went so far… I was in Durban on business the first time I ever saw butternut. I got a small pot of boiled golden cubes to accompany the meal (can’t remember what that was) and I had to ask the waitron what the golden cubes were. Six months later butternut was stocked by Waitrose back home and it's now a permanent feature.  Country 1 was England

It began snowing on Sunday at about 10:15, then warmed up to the giddy heights of 4C in the afternoon and started melting.  A light snowfall overnight filled the bare patches where snow had been removed for making snowmen. Sunday was busy, making four Hovis Granary loaves  .

Joan read in The Sunday Telegraph an article about how the 1% are spending their time in Lockdown. This caught her eye   Martin Reith, chairman of luxury PR firm Luchford, who is locked down at Essenden, his country estate has been steadily working his way through the wine list from Hedonism, a fine wine boutique. “What an amazing way to travel the world in lockdown,” he says. This enthused Joan who wanted to know how many countries are represented in my cellar. I reckon 20 including 5 US States, or 21 if you count Madeira as a separate country. She wants to go a step further with matching dishes and national flags on the table. She wanted me to make a Bobotie for South Africa. I replied that it was a stupid idea, which did not amuse her at all, so – not wishing to go to all the hard work involved with making Bobotie – I countered with Nando’s, and I think I’ve got away with it. Tonight, already planned, is roast beef. Well, that’s English, so I have had to ‘un-drink’ the Cava I’d ...