Slapsie Maxie

A crazy diamond indeed. She remained my friend when few others wanted to be. She invited me to join her and her extended “family” for Thanksgiving in Santa Cruz in 2007. She was kind, unfiltered, annoying, determined, soulful, joyous, desperate and most of all passionately loyal to her friends and her family. Whatever your connection with her, the world is a poorer place for her passing. She truly was the most human of beings R.I.P Tana Banana.

One of the true bar tending greats and a legend of the London cocktail scene. Even if you don;t know him, you have probably had one of the drinks he created. http://barmagazine.co.uk/industry-pays-tribute-to-legendary-dick-bradsell/ Slapsie

She managed Books For Cooks, although I don't think she owned it. I'm an unashamed fan of TFL. Sad to see them both go. Bingo nights will be particularly poignant from now on RIP Slapsie

My wife asked me to make some hamburgers for her UCLA tailgate party. So, I made some for me with ground shoulder clod and some for her with pork butt (she is not a great eater of beef). It turned out that the tailgate was called off. So, before she went to the game, I made her a pork cheeseburger topped with sauteed mushrooms and caramelised onions. 11 by Dos Hermanos, on Flickr And later,for me, a double cheeseburger with raw red onion and tomato. 10 by Dos Hermanos, on Flickr I have to say that although I would never normally have the stuff in the house, I do think

I've stayed at the IH a number of times & like the bar a lot. We are at The Monteleone this time around and have a VERY full dance card of events as well as a few meals to soak it all up. Can't wait Slapsie

I'll be down there with my Mrs Slapsie

I have been on the road for the best part of the last month, so it was nice to finally get back into my kitchen. My Mrs asked me to make some snacks for her to take to a picnic with her girlfriends tonight, so I made chicken lollipops with a sweet & sour, hot dipping sauce P7052242 by Dos Hermanos, on Flickr Careme, it ain't, but I think she'll enjoy them Slapsie

Those of you who were part of the food discussion boards back in the day may well remember a number of meals held at Tayyabs in Whitechapel. One meal in particular is memorable for the presentation of dishes of Raan, slow roasted lamb legs that had been marinated in yoghurt and spices. Although that meal was nearly a decade ago, I can still recall the scents and sights of half a dozen fine specimens being placed on tables in front of the fifty or so guests. I have been chatting on and off with Wasim, the owner of Tayyabs about the possibility of a book of Pakistani recipes and I asked

I saw this on Sunday and have to say I enjoyed it a great deal My wife & I were in Jamaica in January and visited Nine Mile, so some of the scenes had particular resonance even if the whole area has now been turned into a tourist compound. I wondered about the use of (or lack of use of) complete songs, but wondered if there was a copyright issue with short clips coming under "fair usage" and not carrying as high a fee as complete songs. Anyway, I definitely think it is worth seeing, if BM is of any interest to you at all Slapsie

ECC had an abysmal reception when it opened in London The reality is that this "We decide if you come in" schtick may play in cities with no great cocktail culture, but wont play in NYC, London or anywhere else where there are lots of alternative venues to get a drink without having to encounter a bunch of complete knob heads at the door. I am not sure about the NYC location, but I know there are at least a dozen places near the London branch where I would prefer to go and drink. They will change their policy soon or be gone in a year. Slapsie

I think Patrick Suskind might fit in this category. Although he has also written a couple of other novels and a hugely successful German TV series, it is almost inevitable that he will be best remembered for Perfume. Slapsie

Bear in mind that there are different panels in different parts of the world to try and give some semblance of balance and to make sure that the list is not totally euro-centric given that it originates in London. So, the appearance of certain US places represents the way the panels are set up as much as it does the quality of the restaurants themselves. As far as I am aware there is still no requirement to prove that you have been to the restaurants you vote for. There certainly was not last year when I was on the UK panel. I was just asked to nominate seven (if memory serves me)places

I have been feeling a bit homesick for the UK over the last few days and what better to remind me of Blighty than a nice savoury pie? A particular favourite pie that both my mum and grandmother used to make for me when I was a kid was a turkey, leek and ham pie, so I decided to make one of those 12 by Dos Hermanos, on Flickr 13 by Dos Hermanos, on Flickr Slapsie

I was recently in Bangkok and Chiang Mai to film a show and while there, I was introduced to coconut flower sugar. It is taken from the juice of the flower and boiled until it resembles caramel. If boiled for 15 mins it is mixed with water as a drink, for 1 hour,it becomes a light caramel and is nibbled as a snack and, if it is boiled for two hours, it becomes this deep, rich colour and used in savoury preparations. download by Dos Hermanos, on Flickr A friend gave me some to bring back with me and I used it in a Green Chicken Curry adding the sugar to galangal, Thai basil, cila

I did a charity event for The Lakers earlier in the week and they asked me if I wanted to attend a game as a thank you. Today they sent me a couple of court side seats for the game on Sunday. I am told this is a good thing. True to her LA upbringing, when I asked told my Mrs, she asked "is there free parking?" Slapsie