Got some horrible old milk in your fridge? Just turn it into something lovely!... There’s something smugly pleasing about turning an inedible lump of food waste that was destined for the bin into a slab of tasty sponge cake. Albeit, only smugly pleasing if I ignore the fact that I allowed ... Read More...
Dabbler Soup
Food and drink
Henry passes on a useful tip for Anglophones trying to handle French wine terms... When I was taught French at school, we learnt it orally for the first year. I remember how shocked I was when I saw written French for the first time. It looked nothing like it sounded. The ... Read More...
There was so much to admire about Fanny Cradock. And then it all went wrong... I can’t quite make up my mind about Fanny Cradock. I’m on the fence about this one. There are many things to admire: the innovative cookery programmes, the slick, ball-gowned cookery demonstrations presented to packed audiences ... Read More...
Today we're delighted to welcome top foodie blogger Jassy Davis back to The Dabbler. Here she makes a breakfast that's not for the easily flustered... A favourite pastime when I was growing up was driving around the new estates erupting like boils along the A3 and touring the show homes. Boxy ... Read More...
A real treat for us today as Luke Honey explores the little known link between super-macho action hero Harry Palmer and fancy gourmet cookery ... Colonel Ross: Champignons? You’re paying ten pence more for a fancy French label. If you want button mushrooms they’re better value on the next shelf. Harry ... Read More...
Dabbler editor Gaw explains his role in the popularisation of one of Britain's finest dishes, the Balti... Accompanied by a family-nan, there is surely no more restorative, tasty and cheap meal to be found anywhere than a Balti. It means 'bucket' in Hindi, and was invented in Birmingham. I gather it's ... Read More...
Craft beer is all the rage, and British brewers are making undrinkable versions of American versions of British beers. Henry says it's time to go back to basics... I have a friend who has been a real ale bore since his teens. During student pub crawls in Oxford he used to ... Read More...
Henry wonders whether a 'Good Pub Guide' actually has any pubs in it... Due to the capricious workings of the UK Border Agency, we went on holiday to Norfolk last year rather than France as originally planned. One of the highlights of the trip was the pub next door to our ... Read More...
Dabbler drinks correspondent Henry Jeffreys is disappointed to find that even the Australians have succumbed to wine marketing gibberish... Last year the BBC documentary Chateau Chunder charted the rise of the Australian wine in Britain, and what really shone out of it was the Australian genius for marketing and plain speaking. Now you probably ... Read More...
In honour of World Malbec Day today, our wine guru Henry Jeffreys has been pondering Anglo-Argentine relations... I think any animosity from the Argies towards us British can be explained because they feel rejected by us. No country outside the Empire was as pro-British as Argentina. You only have to look at ... Read More...
