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I don't know much about Ina Garten aka the Barefoot Contessa, but I caught a British-themed episode of her cookery show where she made "bangers and mash" using an electric blender to make her mashed potato.  As any fule kno, this will result in an abysmal, gluey slop similar to wallpaper paste, rather than the glorious mash that we know and love (although I have been assured that Americans of a certain generation prefer their mashed potatoes made that way). Testing, testing No, there's no substitute for a bit of old-fashioned elbow grease - or at least that's what I thought until I came across something called a Masha on Big Spud's excellent blog. As I'm weaning my baby daughter, I was up for anything that might make life a bit easier, so I was pleased to be sent one too. The Masha is the size of a stick blender but a little lighter. All the moving parts are made of plastic, which I like very much as blades seem to be drawn to me (or vic...

Christmas is something I've only begun to celebrate at home relatively recently - I'm technically a Buddhist and my family never went in for seasonal gifts. Because of this, I have a tendency to buy presents whenever the whim takes me, so by the time December comes rolling round, I find I've already got a neat little stockpile of goods to hand out to my nearest and dearest. So here's a selection of stuff from my stockpile that I think you will like too (and there's a giveaway at the bottom...) Hotel Chocolat Rather Large Christmas Cracker This was sent to me to review. It's big and well packaged, so home delivery is a safe option. Stuffed with 40 fine chocolates including truffles, pralines and Christmas Mess (sadly wrapped in dingy shades of brown paper), 12 gold paper crowns and some rubbish jokes, this would make a good Christmas party present. Also, the explosion was so exciting that one of the chocolates flew under my sofa without me realising and so I got ...

When I was at college, one of the most exciting things to happen to me apart from bumping into Craig Charles was the opening of a Lakeland store. Because Lakeland really is the closest thing to a real-life Innovations catalogue, and you know how much I loved those. Of course, like an Innovations catalogue, 50% of the stuff is brilliant, inspired and useful, and 50% is utter bobbins. Bobbins, however, is in the eye of the beholder and whilst it's hard to dispute that this has no earthly point , I'm sure some of you will adore the gadgets which make me squint and say, " Really? I mean, really? ". Take these two items. Literally take them from me. Because the lovely folk at Lakeland have sent me stuff that implies they think I like baking and I don't. I really don't . Kransekake Cake Pan Set (rrp £9.99) A kransekake is a traditional Norwegian dessert made of stacking concentric rings of marzipan cake that's eaten at weddings, Christmas, or New Year...

Scotch egg! Scotch egg! How I love thee! For the uninitiated, Oliver Thring gives good background on what a Scotch egg is and where it came from. This is not a Scotch egg . The formula for what makes a good Scotch egg is very simple: Soft-Boiled Egg + Seasoned Meat + Breadcrumb + Deep-Frying --> Heaven in a Sphere A far cry from those supermarket horrors comprising hard, greying eggs rattling around in a case of pappy sausagemeat and moist crumb, never mind what Wikipedia says, a Scotch egg should be warm and cossetting, with meat that yields and a yolk that dribbles. So I am delighted to announce that I'll be one of a distinguished panel of judges at the Scotch Egg Challenge on Tuesday 9th August Tuesday 20th September (postponed due to the troubles in London ) at that marvellous pub called The Ship in Wandsworth to decide who makes the best Scotch Egg. Open to professionals, pubs and restaurants alike, if you'd like to enter or want more details,...

There's been a lot of hoo-ha in the blog world recently about the Fairy Hobmother. This benevolent being has been flitting about granting wishes and no-one really knows why. Behind it all is a company called Appliances Online which as the name suggests sells all manner of electrical goods for your home. Obviously, they're wanting to spread their name and gain a good reputation, but they've been sending lucky people items that they don't even stock themselves. What gives, Appliances Online? WHY ARE YOU SO NICE? Anyway, I made a wish a while back on the very excellent blog A Rather Unusual Chinaman for some accessories to pimp my Kitchenaid trophy Bertie Branning (named after Max Branning of Eastenders fame) and lo and behold, the Fairy Hobmother sent me: a rather secksy glass bowl which I'd been lusting after since I'd seen Lorraine Pascale use one on Baking Made Easy . a meat grinder which came in a box with the words "Fleisch Wolf" on it. FLE...

Sometimes, at night, I get cravings for something savoury to nibble on. A packet of Salt 'n' Shake crisps will usually do the trick but sometimes, more drastic measures are needed. Times like these, I'll crack out a piece of pork belly from the fridge (yes, I do always have one in there) and I'll roast it using the method in my recipe here . I'll change the seasoning depending on my fancy and what's in my cupboard - caraway and thyme, maple syrup and paprika, pomegranate molasses and ras el hanout, miso and shiso sprinkles, honey and black pepper, or just soy, ginger and garlic. And then I'll chop the crisp yet wibbly pork belly into fat chunks, fling them into a bowl and chomp away on the piggy morsels as if they were popcorn or peanuts, but oh so much better. Making it takes a little while, but it's worth the wait. Pork heaven. Pork bliss. Talking of pork bliss, I'm one of the judges for Pork Off 2011 . "What's that?" I hear you cry. ...

So for the Green & Black's 15:15 Challenge ("use a budget of £15 to make a dish in 15 minutes"), I decided on an old faithful - Japanese aka Wafu Pasuta . As I said this was for two reasons - it's easy as pie to throw together, and it captures all five of the tastes Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter and Umami aka Savoury. I had no set recipe in mind, and just wanted to find ingredients that complement and contrast each other - so before turning up to the challenge, I went to the Japan Centre on Lower Regent Street to see what appealed. I considered umeboshi , a type of pickled Japanese apricot, for the sour element; katsuobushi hanakatsuo, the flakes of bonito that dance about madly on top of okonimyaki pancakes, for the savoury; and strips of nori seaweed for the salt. Eventually, I went for buna-shimeji mushrooms, dashi , mirin wine, soy, ikura , shiso leaves and negi onion, and handed over my £15 (ikura particularly is a pricey treat, though worth every penny ....

It's the year 2000. Tandoori Palace on Histon Road. We've just had a rather nice curry, when my boyfriend turns to me and says, "These chocolate mints taste a bit odd". I try one and grimace, and I say to him, "They're orange, you idiot" ... Green & Black's are looking for an Assistant for their Head of Taste, Micah Carr-Hill. That's right - they're hiring a Chocolate Taster, possibly the BEST. JOB. IN. THE. WORLD. The recruitment site says the following: " Do you plan what you are going to cook and eat several meals in advance? Does the science and technology of food excite you? Can you discern between acceptable tastes and excellent ones? Do you love chocolate? Do you want the opportunity to build a career doing what you love? Green & Black's is looking for an assistant to the Head of Taste ". Successful applicants will be asked to undertake a series of tests, and some of us blogging folk have been invited to take pa...