Wednesday Wonders #5: on cherishing friends

Five things bringing the magic this past week, plus the chance to win a lovely Lebanese hamper from Lebnani

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Hello everyone - and a warm welcome all the new subscribers who have signed up this past week, it’s so good to have you here - greetings from our pretty little stretch of the Kent coast, where the temperature has dropped and the beach is deserted, just the way I like it. I wrote recently on Notes that I sometimes think I might prefer living in a seaside town in winter, as the town empties out a little bit and regains a little more of its eccentric charm, and the coast has a certain dramatic romance to it. There’s nothing quite like coming in from a blustery, windy beach walk and lighting the log burner, but of course I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the post-work sea swims and barbecues on the beach just a little…

For new readers, Wednesday Wonders is a semi-regular Wednesday dispatch where I share five things that have been bringing me joy, inspiration and delight in recent times. As ever, I’d love for you to join in in the comments with what’s been perking up your world and piquing your interest at the moment, so that this becomes a kind of hub for ideas and recommendations, and if you drop a comment below sharing as much this week, you’ll be in with a chance of winning the beautiful Lebnani hamper featuring some of the best baklava I’ve ever tasted in my life - more on that below, but you’ll need to be part of the ALOHP community to enter, and the competition will close next Monday 4th December.

As you’ll read, I spent some time in London last week, but have been firmly back in the kitchen/at my desk this week, making the finishing touches to my forthcoming big monthly weekend recipe drop for paid subscribers, which, due to Christmas timings throwing things slightly off-kilter, is actually landing on Friday for you (regular readers will know they usually land on the last Thursday of every month) and is all about Christmas. I thought it would be helpful to share my failsafe, easy-but-elevated Christmas recipes with you guys in good time so that you can get on with the planning and shopping, but don’t worry, there will be some more wintery seasonal recipes coming your way in December too. And mince pies. And when I say easy-but-elevated, I do mean it. Ever since cooking Christmas lunch heavily pregnant with my daughter (then with a baby, and now toddler in tow) I’ve made it my mission to make things as friendly on the cook as possible, while not compromising on anyone’s food, so I’m excited to share my menu in the knowledge it won’t have you flapping around on the big day.

And before we get to the joyful moments of the past week, it was with the greatest sadness that I learned at the end of last week about the sudden passing of Russell Norman, the London restaurateur, founder of Polpo, cookbook author and someone who I knew personally a little, having spent the past fifteen years writing about food and restaurants. He was actually one of the first people I interviewed when I started my career in food writing, and he was always kind and generous with his time. Russell was larger than life, always bursting with energy, creativity and enthusiasm, and he lived and breathed hospitality, being responsible for shifting the tone of the British restaurant scene in London and beyond, with his brilliantly original and democratic restaurants Polpo, Spuntino and their offshoots, and later Brutto (which is still remaining open under the stewardship of his wife and son).

Russell Norman ordering cicchetti in a bacari in Venice a few years ago

If you’ve ever eaten a small plate and drank a negroni in London, you’ve most probably got Russell Norman to thank for that. His sudden, unexpected and untimely loss has sent shockwaves throughout the industry, and my thoughts and love are with his friends and family. I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days in Venice with him a few years ago for a piece I was writing for Easyjet Traveller magazine on the backstreet bacaro of the city, and was enthralled and amazed by his passion and encyclopaedic knowledge of the place, as well as his knack for sniffing out the thing worth ordering at every single bar, restaurant and bacari we visited. I’d like to dedicate this newsletter to him as a mark of respect. RIP Russell Norman, it was a pleasure to be in your orbit.

1. Friendsgiving and the art of easy hosting

   

   Can’t beat a hot fudge sundae

   Spending a long weekend with the closest group of friends, celebrating ‘Friendsgiving’, which happens to coincide with one of our group’s birthdays, was just what I needed. I cherish these people so very dearly, but we now all live in different parts of the country and have full on jobs and lots of children between us, so getting together is a logistical feat and only happens a couple of times a year, meaning that we go all out and get very excited about planning playlists, feasting, drinking and dancing together, divvying up cooking and courses. I took on the main course and dessert on the Saturday night, but I made a conscious decision that, particularly after having been so ill for so long with Covid, I wanted to plan something easy that would conserve some of my energy for the dancing I knew we all wanted to happen later on.

   

   

   We’d brought back lots of tins of duck confit from our trip to the Perigord back in September, so I settled on duck confit with braised lentils, and after a leisurely hour of chatting and braising the lentils, it was just a case of opening the tins (not as easy as it sounds, Jamie took the hit there) and roasting the duck until perfectly crisp-skinned and delicious. It went down an absolute treat, and for dessert I made ridiculously over-the-top but wonderful hot fudge sundaes. I made the hot chocolate fudge sauce ahead (just melted butter, cream, dark chocolate and sugar together - shout if you want quantities!) and then heated it up until molten, then drizzled it generously into pretty little dishes with vanilla ice cream, chopped roasted nuts, sour cherries and sprinkles. The whole lot was finished with dairy squeezy cream. Fun and really delish!

   

   Speaking of France, we’re heading back there this weekend for some Christmas market action, so watch this space for more French dispatches which will be coming soon!
   

   2. Supper with Leyla and the Substack party

Not loving my claw hand in this pic. Must be the only person who can’t hold bubbles elegantly.

It was lovely to catch up with my friend Leyla Kazim last week ahead of the Substack Writer’s party in London. Thanks to covid, relocation, pregnancy and motherhood among other factors, it’s been far too long since I caught up with this amazing lady IRL (if you don’t subscribe to her brill Substack A Day Well Spent, I urge you to check it out), and we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at relative newcomer Il Gattopardo in Mayfair, which I’d been invited to try out. This place was opened by the group behind Roka and Zuma back in September and is suitably opulent, with a sexy crudo bar, terrace with a retractable roof and menu spanning Italian classics and regions, with with an emphasis on Sicily, Amalfi and the Southern Isles - which is a big tick from me. The Executive Chef is Massimo Pasquarelli, who was working the night we were there. He’s worked with Alain Ducasse in the past and his technical precision shone through in every dish - particularly the heavenly Dover sole with chilli and lime butter, which was one of the finest examples of fish cookery I’ve had this year, and carved seamlessly tableside. We were lucky to meet chef Pasquarelli and he was very enthusiastic in recalling the the research trips he’d embarked on across his homeland to swat up for this opening. I mean, that does sound like fun. This is special treat stuff, with a price tag to match, but every single dish we ate was pitch-perfect and I would highly recommend the shredded kale salad with ricotta, pomegranate and pine nuts, the smoked burrata salad with crispy seeds and the deep fritto misto with smoked paprika aoili.

Lovely to catch up with Edd Kimber and Jennifer Earle

2. Hot Chocolate After the Rain

   

   For my toddler, for me, for the dog. OK, well not the dog. But after a really wet and windy walk by the sea, a hot chocolate, with or without squirty cream (yes it’s a theme) is a simple pleasure that delights everyone and really warms the cockles. There have been too many times in the past I’ve held back from hot chocolate, perhaps because I sometimes found them too sickly, but those days are seemingly behind me - and I think a bit like coffee, the standard has gone up when it comes to HC. We’re so lucky in Deal to have a beautiful long brutalist pier with a very good cafe at the end of it where they do a mean hot chocolate and cinnamon bun, and I’ll definitely be taking advantage of it while the weather’s wet and wild.

   

   
   4. These Delicious Things Cookbook

   

   I was planning on writing a lovely cookbook gift guide round up for you in time for Christmas, but I’ve been a bit slow off the mark due to being set back by covid for so long. And then Fiona Beckett’s latest newsletter just dropped into my inbox basically recommending every cookbook I’ve loved this year - so I’m going to direct you to that here. I echo her sentiments on pretty much every book, but if you buy just one, I think These Delicious Things is a great place to land. It’s a full of recipes from the UK’s top chefs and food writers, who all share a recipe inspired by a special food memory. There are some really lovely, personal pieces of food writing in here and it’s a moving reminder of the power of food to ignite memory - Proust really was onto something! - and I’ve contributed a very delicious recipe inspired by my late father. The kicker is that all the money raised goes to the brilliant charity Magic Breakfast which aims to end child breakfast hunger in the UK.
   
   5. Sharp knives - plus an amazing discount for you all

   

   There’s no other time of year when my knives get quite such a battering, or when I’m asked so many questions about good knives to buy. All the chopping and slicing I’ve been doing over the past few weeks for your forthcoming Christmas recipes has been fuelled by a collection of very sharp knives, because remembering to sharpen them is half the battle, and will help hugely with all your cooking and prep. My collection spans artisan makers like Kin, one-offs I picked up on a trip to Japan, and some from Nakano, a very solid knife brand that is offering my readers a special 30% off discount. So if you’re looking for some new knives to help you through all the forthcoming cooking, or as Christmas gifts, you can use the code ROSIEFOODIE at the checkout when following this link for 30% off. You’re welcome!
   
   Giveaway: WIN A Lebanese hamper of dreams (which you can win!)
   

   

   I was sent a beautiful hamper of Lebanese delights from Lebnani, a wonderful Lebanese restaurant in Reigate that specialises in food inspired by Beirut. The handmade baklava included was genuinely some of the finest I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve already made serious inroads into the silky tahini and sumptuous sumac that came inside it. There are loads of hampers flying around at this time of the year, but this one is both unique and instantly inspiring to the home cook, and I think - really good value. I loved it so much of course I asked for one to giveaway to one of you guys. If you’d like to be in with a chance of winning it - and you can see its full contents here, then please comment below telling me what you’ve been up to over the past week that has brought you some comfort or joy. Please note, this one’s only open to UK residents and those over 18.
   
   Right, that’s it from me for now, I’ll see you in a couple of days for our Christmas recipe bonanza. Please do share this post with anyone you think might enjoy it.