‘It’s not London where indies can let their imaginations fly’ – Grace Dent’s restaurants of the year | Grace Dent on restaurants

Another year gone, and I edge closer to the afterlife I deserve, namely in hospitality hell. The service will be slow, the butter will come in naff wrapped portions, and chipper staff will squat at my table between courses and ask: “Any favourites so far?”The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Before then, however, I’ll digest 2024 and regurgitate my findings

Georgina Hayden’s recipe for Bombay chilli cheese ciabatta

In the run-up to Christmas, I like to (mostly) embrace tradition, but as soon as Boxing Day hits, a veil is lifted. I need spice; I need fresh flavours; and I need all the excess cheese to be out of my house. These chilli cheese on toasts are inspired by an Indian classic, the Bombay or Mumbai chilli cheese toastie. I adore the flavours and they’re exactly what I crave right now. Also, feel free to use any not-too-strong melting cheese you have in the fridge

Catherine Brown obituary

The glories of Scottish cookery have had many advocates, but few as quietly eloquent as the food writer Catherine Brown, who has died aged 83. Her dozen books exploring every quarter of her northern realm, as well as years of journalism with the Glasgow Herald and the Scottish Field magazine, both provoked and recorded an explosion of interest in what her nation had to offer our stoves, palates and tables.This turn to her home territory came after realisation that the cookery she was teaching her catering college students was entirely based on a debased lingua franca out of French haute cuisine and that they, and she, would do far better to contemplate the wealth of materials available on their own doorstep. The anecdotal high point of this conversion was her persuading luxury hoteliers to offer a dish of venison tripe (disguised under a Gaelic name) to unsuspecting tourists who, of course, found it excellent.In a succession of books, such as Scottish Regional Recipes (1981), Scottish Cookery (1985), Broths to Bannocks (1990) and A Year in a Scots Kitchen (1996), she teased out the relationship between the kitchen and a country’s population, its landscape and its agriculture

How to feed a jaded Twixmas crowd | Kitchen Aide

There’s a knack to feeding a crowd, so before we talk specific dishes, let’s nail down a few golden rules. First, be practical: “Most people have a single oven, so you don’t want five dishes that need to go in there,” says Phil King, executive chef of Pophams in London. “When I’m thinking of a menu, I want one dish that cooks in the oven, one on the stove and one that can be served at an ambient temperature, such as braised leeks.” Otherwise, favour things that like a rest, whether that’s a joint of meat (“cover with foil and a tea towel and leave for an hour”) or a veggie wellington (“that will sit comfortably for 30 minutes”). And remember, snacks are golden: “That’s anything you don’t have to prepare yourself,” notes King, be it olives, crisps, nuts – anything that will keep hunger at bay

Delia Smith not cooking Christmas dinner for first time in 52 years

Delia Smith, the doyenne of Christmas dinners, is taking a year off from cooking the festive feast for the first time in more than 50 years.The 83-year-old has been dishing out Christmas dinners and advice on how to prepare them for more than half a century.But this year the daunting task of cooking the Christmas turkey for the woman who has taught a nation how to do it will fall to someone else. And Smith says she is thrilled to be taking a break.Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s This Natural Life from her Suffolk home, Smith said: “In 52 years, this will be the first year I’m not doing it

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipes for jewelled winter salad and chocolate orange pudding | Quick and easy

This wonderfully filling salad is perfect as part of a festive spread, or an easy, feed-a-crowd lunch with some crusty bread alongside; it really is worth getting hold of a jar of butter beans, too . The dessert, meanwhile, is the bread-and-butter pudding of dreams: an indulgent, chocolate pudding featuring a grown-up jaffa cake melting middle – just ask a bear to lend you a jar of marmalade from its hat. It’s best eaten minutes after coming out of the oven, but you can prep it the day before and refrigerate before cooking. Any leftovers are wonderful for breakfast.To get ahead, roast the squash the day before and marinate the beans overnight, then warm through and put the dish together the next day