Blog | Joanna Simon

Mar 13, 2016

Chocolate: Spiced Chocolate Nut Terrine

This needs a couple of hours to chill, but apart from that it’s a doddle to prepare and is not cooked. It works equally well with...

Mar 10, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Foremost Syrah 2015, Hawkes Bay

£8.99, Lidl This is from Lidl’s Easter wine cellar collection and is worth snapping up before the limited stocks disappear – even if...

Mar 7, 2016

Chocolate: Chocolate Chip Biscuits

These light-textured shortbread-like biscuits go down well with everyone from tinies through to nineties, probably because they are less...

Mar 3, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Terres de Moraines Madiran 2012

£7–£9, Marks & Spencer Madiran from southwest France is definitely one of France’s wilder, more rugged red wines. If you’ve bumped into...

Mar 1, 2016

Chocolate: Dark Chocolate Orange Mousse

This may lack sophistication as a strategy, but experience has shown that there are two surefire ways to success when giving a lunch or...

Feb 29, 2016

Boozy Food with Spirits: Tips and Extras

Fortify yourself with… A bottle of madeira and a bottle of Australian liqueur muscat or PX (pedro ximenez) sherry. •Use the madeira for...

Feb 28, 2016

Blend it like Johnson... or making the most of leftovers

As I said a few weeks back, in what turned out to be my most popular Tweet ever @joannasimon, England’s chief medical officer and I...

Feb 26, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Allegracore 2014, Etna Rosso

£19.50, Tanners shops and tanners-wines.co.uk Who wouldn’t be drawn to a wine called Allegracore – happy heart, named after the spot...

Feb 25, 2016

Boozy Food with Spirits: Fish en Papillote with Vermouth

An effortless way to cook whole fish, either one per person or sharing. Just put the fish in a foil parcel with herbs and liquor and put...

Feb 21, 2016

Boozy Food with Spirits: Petits Pots de Chocolate

Aka irresistible chocolate mousse with rum. It's another simple classic that we could all be making instead of more elaborate cakes. And...

Feb 18, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Seven Springs Vineyards Chardonnay 2012, Overberg

£13.99–£14.99, Dylans Wines, L'Art du Vin, The Square Wine Company There are times when only Chardonnay will do as far as I’m concerned....

Feb 17, 2016

Boozy Food with Spirits: Garlicky Prawns Flambéd in Whiskey

Irish whiskey may sound unlikely, but trust me. Ideally you should buy live prawns and cook them yourself, but I’ve been known to use...

Feb 11, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Oeil de Perdrix Rosé Champagne

£19.99, or £17.99 in any 6 bottles, Majestic Initially I resisted choosing this Champagne on the grounds that a) pink Champagne is too...

Feb 10, 2016

Boozy Food with Spirits: Syllabub

Why aren’t we all eating syllabub? It’s a breeze to make and delicious. This one, based on Elizabeth David’s classic Everlasting...

Feb 5, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine Joseph Burrier Saint-Amour Côte de Besset 2013

£14.50, The Wine Society I’m not sure whether I’m killing two birds with one stone or multi-tasking, but this week’s wine doubles up as...

Feb 2, 2016

Boozy Food with Spirits: Tuna Ceviche with Vodka and Lime

Far be it from me to suggest that anyone should find cooking with wine in Britain off-puttingly expensive, but I do concede that, thanks...

Jan 30, 2016

Boozy Food with Wine: Tips and Extras

Look up the recipe for Coq au Vin in Larousse and it advises using a Chambertin or a Mercurey. Helpful or what? A Chambertin will set you...

Jan 28, 2016

WINE OF THE WEEK: Trizanne Signature Shiraz Grenache 2013, Swartland

£9.99, Waitrose With changeable weather and diets swinging this way and that, you may easily want a crisp, reviving wine one minute and...

Jan 28, 2016

What I admire about wine: integrity, authenticity, purity and character

Stop Press! 14 April, 2016: I'm delighted to report that these wines are now available at £19.95 per bottle from winesensations.co.uk...

Jan 23, 2016

Boozy Food with Wine: Aromatic Dried Fruit in Red Wine

This dark, spicy, autumnal dish can be made two or three days in advance and kept in the fridge. Serve it cold, tepid or warm, with...