Radicchio Rosso

Just think for a minute of all those things you wouldn't eat as a child or even a 20 year old.... my list includes:

• coffee (which I didn't drink until I was backpacking in Europe at 25 and was pretty desperate for sustenance)
• mushrooms (it's a texture thing)
• olives (texture again)
• ham (don't ask) 
• celery (urrggh - still can't eat it.  I don't even like typing the word.  I am pretty certain also that I am not alone in my loathing for this pointless, stringy, takes up too much space in my fridge vegetable). 

and most critically, any bitter leaf at all - endive, rocket and radicchio.

Who would have thought that now, radicchio is one of my favourite things to eat.  

So when I saw this Taitu bowl at the wonderful shop Emporium Botanica I had to buy it.

And why did I have to buy it?  So I could put a bitter leaf salad in it.   And the kitschness of putting a radicchio salad in a radicchio bowl doesn't even upset me.  That is age for you.  I will eat it torn up with some goat's cheese and ripe figs and a honey and dijon mustard dressing.

There are two ways I love to cook this leaf.  

The first is a pasta sauce: the radicchio is shredded and cooked down slowly in butter and bacon until it becomes brown and almost creamy. Then add about 100 ml of thickened cream and cook until it reaches a saucy consistency (yet another brilliant Marcella Hazan recipe) . 

The second is much more simple: cut the radicchio into evenly sized wedges and cook slowly in olive oil and splash of balsamic vinegar until caramelised (this may take 20 minutes or more).  Toss through some pine nuts and sultanas plumped up in water and serve with pan fried chicken breast and some aioli (thanks Neil Perry).

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A Mad Tea Party (in my head)

Everywhere seems to be awash with images from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.   Indeed, tomorrow my daughter is due to see the film at an 8 year old Film'n'Pancake Parlour combination party which is certainly a popular theme this year.   

I, alas, will be having my hair done and will wait to see it on DVD.  Which has been pretty much the case with all films for the last 8 years.

But am I complaining?  No, not a jittery jot.   Alice has been such a wonderful inspiration for artists and illustrators for more than a century.  And it is not hard to see why - a pretty girl and lots of wonderful and crazy animals and characters to portray. 

And everyone brings their own imagination to bear.

(Marjorie Torrey, 1946) 

(AE Jackson, 1914)

(Mabel Lucie Atwell 1910)

(Angel Dominguez, 1996) 

(Gwynned Hudson, 1922)

(Maria Kirk, 1904)

(Nicole Claveloux, 1940)

(Peter Newell, 1901)

(Arthur Rackham, 1907)

(Sir John Tenniel 1865)

I can tell you that this picture used to scare the living daylights out of me when I was younger. Much scarier than even Stephen Fry. 

So, this weekend, I will be tea-partying with the Mad Hatter in this hat:

(from Harvash.com)

And drinking my tea from one of these, because I think a tea party calls for flowery porcelain:

Taitu - tea for one

Gien

Taitu - L'Erba del Vicino

Bernadaud - Frivole

Gien 

(all porcelain from tableideas.com) 

And the Mad Hatter can use this teapot, if he dares:

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