It is quite rare for me to go out for a burger, but every time I do I wonder why I don't do it more often. There really is nothing like a tasty burger and in the burger drought that is Brighton, there is only one place I think of when I do get a hankering.



Woodies Diner is well known amongst us Brightonians. It's tucked out the way on the seafront in Hove (a meat-fix scarily close to Heather Mills' new V-Bites café) so you only really get local folks in there. You can soak up those diner vibes with the 50's style interior, juke box, vintage surfboards and Formica tabletops, which sounds cheesy and it is. Hawksmoor it ain't. But hey, I like it and so do the crowds that flock there. Families, groups of kids and adults alike and couples fill it up for no-frills but tasty, decent, fun food. Thick shakes, floats, burgers named after classic American cars and eye-popping ice cream sundaes are served up by cheery young staff in cute diner outfits.

And to top it all off the paper mats allow you to oggle retro surfers while you wait for your food. Nice!



BUT. It's been a while since my last visit and things have certainly changed. The buns–which arguably maketh the burger–used to be tasty and a good texture (although dusted in flour which is one thing I don't miss). These have now gone and been replaced with flabby, cheap, soft buns. Food Stories Helen would freak out. The moist, tender burger patties I remember were now smaller and on this occasion had been cooked to the death so they had completely dried out. The fries were now stodgy fat chips that had made the very short trip out of a freezer bag to the fryer. Glorified kiddies food.



Fonzie would turn down his usually perky thumbs to this. It seems Woodies has catastrophically lost it's food spark and as nice as the staff and the diner is, if the burgers don't cut it there is only so long they can rely on their reputation and past Happy Days.

Mr. GF is happy with one change though. They have started doing scantily clad surfer girl mats for the boys.

The nights are getting chilly and this is exactly the sort of thing I'm craving to warm me up. I roast a lean, smoked pork loin in the oven with sage the day before so it can be cubed and added to the soup, releasing its smoky flavour and saltiness. Sometimes I like to add some cooked borlotti beans halfway between the root vegetables and pork stages.

Makes a good 6 portions.

Ingredients
Small smoked pork loin, roasted in the oven with sage, cooled and cubed
2tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
Chilli flakes or a 2cm piece of fresh chilli, chopped with seeds
Large swede, peeled and diced
2-3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
Large butternut squash, peeled and diced
4 parsnips, peeled and diced
5 carrots, peeled and diced
2 ripe tomatoes, skin removed
2 tablespoons of tomato puree concentrate
Chicken stock or stock made up using a good quality bullion
A few stalks of parsley or oregano, finely chopped
Small handful of either spinach, greens or cabbage, shredded
Salt and pepper

Dice all of the root veg.

In a big, heavy bottomed saucepan, gently fry the onion, celery and chilli in olive oil, making sure it doesn't brown, for about 10 minutes. Add all of the diced root vegetables and sautee for a few minutes.

Pour in enough stock to just cover the vegetables. If it is a strong stock, use part stock, part water. Add the puree, chopped tomato and chopped herbs.

Bring to the boil then reduce to a gently simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every now and again.

Add the cubed pork and shredded greens and simmer for a further 10 minutes, until the root vegetables are tender .

Season to taste and serve with grated parmesan and hunks of good bread.

This recipe is from Antonio Carluccio's new book Simple Cooking which I've recently reviewed here. This was the first thing I cooked from it and having had so much fun making it, I think it deserves a post all of its own. You really must try this!

Making sausages sounds quite difficult and it is really. I've had a few punts at it, grappling round with the slimy casing and getting into an all manner of giggling fits with the sausage machine. But this technique of wrapping the meat like sweets in foil and poaching briefly allows you to make sausages mid-week in no time at all! This method is not for preserving sausages, just a way to form the shape. I love the possibilities it opens up and experimenting with different spicing will keep any food geek entertained for hours.



Sausages served with lentils cooked in stock is something I absolutely adore, so satisfying and hearty. The fennel, chilli and rosemary flavours in these sausages are a classic combination that suit the lentils particularly well and are my absolute favourite.

I've included some pictures in the method just to highlight how easy it is.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 garlic cloves, peeled and squashed
50g sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips
7 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
250g Castelluccio lentils
450ml chicken stock
2 celery stalks, with leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper

For the Sausages
500g minced pork
50ml strong red wine
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 mild chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp chopped rosemary
Salt and pepper

Method
For the lentils, fry the garlic and the sun-dried tomatoes in 6 tbsp of the olive oil for a few minutes in a large pan. When the garlic starts to turn pale golden, add the lentils, stock and celery and cook for 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Cover and keep warm over a low heat.

Meanwhile in a medium-sized bowl, mix the sausage ingredients well together and season with salt and pepper. Take a handful of mince and roll it into a sausage shape 8cm long and 3cm in diameter. Wrap tightly in a piece of foil, closing by turning the ends as you would a sweet.



Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Poach the sausages in the boiling water until they pop up to the surface, about 2-3 minutes. Leave to cool a little, then take off the foil. This poaching should ensure that the sausages hold together.



Moisten the sausages with the remaining oil, then fry or grill (or roast) until golden on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the sausages to the warm lentils and allow to cook gently together for 5 minutes. Eat with bread or, if you like, with a few boiled potatoes.

Instead of talking through the book and giving my opinion at the end I'll tell you now. I liked this book very much indeed. A lot of my fondness of this book could be the fact that I think Antonio Carluccio is a wonderful man and cook and I have used a lot of his reliable recipes over the years. Thinking back, the first cookbook I ever bought at sweet sixteen was Antonio Carluccio's Feast.

Antonio Carluccio has no air of ego about him and with all the pomp and effing of many of the other celeb chefs he is always there, in the background, quietly doing what he does best. I don't thing anybody could say anything negative about him. In fact when I got this book I gave it a little hug!

A fungi foraging food super hero, Antonio Carluccio could easily be a member of one of my Italian family. And probably because of that, I felt so comfortable with his recipes, tone and persona that I decided to review his book by cooking, untrialled, three of his recipes for a dinner party.



You can judge this book by it's title. Antonio Carluccio's Simple Cooking is just that, championing his MOF MOF (Minimum of Fuss, Maximum of Flavour) methods. Inside you will find real Italian classics that sit alongside more regional Italian cooking and some of Antonio's own inventions, most of which can be created with just a few good quality ingredients in little time.

After releasing thirteen books, this one brings together all of Antonio's knowledge, secrets and tips amassed over fifty years of cooking. Growing up in a typical Italian home, he had absorbed his mothers' creative, thrifty ways and passion for fresh food and was often sent to forage for wild foods. When he was a student in Vienna, along with this strong food foundation, he learned how to make his basic larder work, especially to charm the ladies!

There are a few spreads at the start of this book which explain the classic Italian flavours and the contents of an essential Italian larder. Each section are also explained with a little light-hearted information and tips. It is only the pasta section that is explained on a further two spreads! Antonio talks through types of pastas, the appropriate sauces (no bolognese on spaghetti!) and the correct way to cook and eat pasta. Follow these little rules and you will never suffer a mediocre plate of pasta again, he promises. Listen to the man, I say.

Each recipe is offered with a little history of the dish or some ingredient information, which is always nice. A little fork symbol at the end of some of the recipes give further tips on using leftovers (leftovers? what are they?) or making a dish more "special" with some additional ingredients or reworking it into another form. It shows how adaptable and thrifty Italian food is, deriving from the days where it suffered poverty, and yet with smart knowledge of ingredients and techniques, Italians still ate like royalty whenever they could.

For my dinner party, I decided to cook Arancini di Riso (Little rice balls), Green Gnocchi with Tomato and Mozzarella and something that I have not eaten for many years, Zabaglione with Bitter Chocolate Sauce.

*Please excuse the quality of my food photography. It does not do Antonio's food justice. Balancing 5 new-to-me courses and writing notes made me an odd enough host. Making my friends wait hungry whilst I spend a long time on the photography would not have made me very popular*



The arancini, a Sicilian speciality, I adapted a little bit by popping a little mozzarella in the middle and making them big, as Antonio suggests in the introduction. I made a simple saffron risotto and after letting it cool, mixed it with beaten egg, seasoning, Parmesan and nutmeg. These were shaped into balls, popping a little mozzarella inside, then coated in beaten egg then rolled in breadcrumbs which Antonio gives you the recipe for. After deep frying they look exactly like scotch eggs but once you break into them, the mozzarella oozes and the risotto crumbles, you know you are in for a real treat. My friends, hoovered theirs up before I managed to take a photograph of mine!



Gnocchi can have quite a high disaster factor. The potato variety plus the recipe quantities can leave you with either bullets or soup. Antonio's recipe gave me the best gnocchi result ever. Light but firm, I though they were excellent and his tips on preparing the spinach so there was no water, contributed to the success. I loved the spinach in them and the simple 20 minute tomato sauce to accompany them was lovely. This has now replaced my usual gnocchi recipe. Again empty plates (and wiped cupboard-clean with bread) from my guests.



After a pasta course of homemade tagliatelle with mushrooms and truffle, plus a cheese course (Antonio would approve) we were back on track with the man with his recipe for Zabaglione. This is a sort of boozy Italian custard/mousse dessert which is very common. You can serve it hot or cold and I decided to chill mine. I have only ever had it alone, but this recipe has a bitter chocolate sauce. Unfortunately I found the sauce too thick and over powered the Zabaglione, which is quite some feat as it is very strong in alcohol. It also didn't make the dessert look very pretty so I lightly dusted the top with cocoa. My friends (albeit full at this point) still polished it off regardless so maybe it was just me who wasn't convinced on the sauce!

I have a feeling that this book will become one of my well-used and dog eared cookbooks over time. There are so many more of the recipes I want to cook; Cabbage and Onion pasta, Spinach and Artichoke Tart and a simple version of a Timbale to name a few.



A few days before I cooked the Umbrian Lentil and Homemade Sausage Stew which included a very unusual (but genius) method of making sausages and was the most amount of cooking fun I've had in ages. This deserves a post all on its own so I shall share that tomorrow. You HAVE to try that one.

It wouldn't be me if I didn't comment on the design and photography of the book and as simple as it is, it has been beautifully executed. The layout is nothing new but perfectly suits the food. I like the way that Antonio's strong, well used hands are practically in every photograph, peeling or chopping something. The pages that have thumbnails of the process of the dish are a great idea that helps you feel connected with Antonio's cooking.



The font used for the Italian recipe headings gives it a hands-on rustic feel, whilst the typography used for the recipes is clear and simple. The book feels great on good quality, satin paper.

I heartily recommend this book, especially if you want to get under the skin of real Italian cooking without sweating over a hot stove for hours on end.

Oh, and if you do buy this book, remember to give it a little hug.

Available from amazon.co.uk £12.00 (£20 RRP)

Many thanks to Quadrille Publishing for sending me this review copy.

This is a great crunchy alternative to breadcrumbs and can be used on any chunky white fish, giving it a delicious zesty coating.

For 2 people

Ingredients
50g polenta
1 lemon, zest peeled off and reserved
1 clove garlic
3-4 big sprigs of flat leaf parsley
1 medium egg, beaten
2 cod fillets, MSC certified
2 tbsp olive oil

Chop the zest, garlic clove and parsley as fine as you can, alternatively, whizz up in a processor. Mix with the polenta and transfer to a large flat plate.

Beat the egg and season in a shallow bowl.

If like me you like to have a nice big portion of fish, you may find it easier to cut into two smaller pieces per person.

Dip the fish into the egg then into the polenta mix, pressing firmly to coat thoroughly.

Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat, cook the fish for about 5 minutes each side until the polenta crust is golden and the fish is cooked through.