I remembered a family friend that would leave a jar with a checkered cap filled with lemon curd on our doorstep once a month, the jar of yellow happiness that would mark the start of badgering my mother to make lemon meringue pie.

I realised that I have never attempted to make lemon curd (or lemon butter as I knew it), assuming it came form the dark caverns of cooking knowledge that only the experts of the past possess (include here christmas pudding brandy sauce and bearnaise sauces that were made with much fuss at family dinners).

Turns out that I was completely wrong, and this simple addition can be added to the ‘look mum no hands’ category of cooking, where you feel quite cocky that it is hard not to get right and for others to be impressed.

There are a number of recipes kicking about, but the easiest one I found went thus:

Grab a bowl and put it over simmering water in a fry pan. (None of my bowls fit over the fry pan so my pro tip here is to put in into a strainer and set that on the saucepan. This comes in handy when you want to check on water levels as the steam evaporates.

• Add the juice of 4 lemons (fine zest of one)
• Sugar (I like unrefined) about  200g
• Butter cut into chunks, about 100g

Melt all this by giving a little whisk with a fork, and let allthe ingredients combine, before adding

• 3 whole eggs plus one extra yolk, lightly whisked with a fork

Stir this mixture continuously until it thickens (it should feel like gravy and look like a glossy sunrise), then stir occasionally as it cools, and jar.

This is by far the best addition to the infamous lemon meringue pie, but also a great addition to french breads, dipper for fresh strawberries, or a baby bellini topper.

I gave them to ten people for taste testing, and all ten not only liked them, but also complimented them… and were quite impressed with the fact they were eating mayonnaise sweets (nothing like a bit of novelty).

This will now be my preferred recipe, mostly because they stay moist and fluffy, and I can feel guilt free because the butter version had 55% more saturated fat than the mayonnaise replacement.

Rewind to the beginning and as if by magic, a hamper of brownies-to-be arrived on my doorstep, complete with a lovely pink mixing bowl and spatula.

I strongly recommend you try this recipe at home:

• 40g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 25g cocoa powder
• 140g plain chocolate* (broken up)
• 3 medium eggs
• 255g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 8 ‘dollops’ Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise
  apparently a dollop is 15ml
• 55g walnuts (finely chopped)

*It is important to note than from an average block of chocolate you will get one row left over, which can only really be eaten by the chef.

Method:

1) Take out a good shaped brownie tin (23cm square is recommended) and line with grease proof paper. Set your oven to 160C to preheat.

2) Sift your flour, baking powder and cocoa.

3) Put chocolate into a heat proof bowl and set over saucepan of hot water and leave until melted.

I also leave the heat on low, use a saucepan with two small pouring lips to allow the steam to escape.

4) Chop walnuts into chunks.

5) Take your mixing bowl and and whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla until slightly thickened.

6) Whisk in the melted chocolate.

7) Fold in flour mixture, mayonnaise and walnuts.

8)Pour into tin and bake for 35 minutes (test with the old ‘inserted skewer come out clean’ method).

9) Leave to cool before cutting up into portions.

Here is something to note- if you like your brownies a bit sticky then bake for 25 minutes. I made this way for a dinner party dessert, pulled them out to cool while we ate, but served them still oven warn with vanilla pod ice-cream. I also threw in a few hazelnuts, and these compliment the walnuts, as they are slightly crunchier.

Faster to prepare than most cakes and went down a treat! Give them a whirl and let me know any creative variations you come up with too (like I need an excuse to cook them again anytime soon!).

The French provincial menu changes every 5 weeks, with a strong focus on seasonal ingredients.

Some items are consistently available (for the routine monster in you), one worth of note is the 2 person Cote de bouef with béarnaise.

I tucked into a Moules mariniere starter- very generously served, with a lovely balance of herbs in the pots, so much so that I considered drinking from the bowl (serves me right for dining with ladies- I had to miss out on that!). Others had the
melanzane parmigianna, a delicate layering of aubergine with parmesan, and ate their way through it with full smiles.

For mains I had pheasant, which was a first for me, so this comparison is purely about taste. There was far too much for me, cooked perfectly, seasoned softly, and served on an apple choucroute. There was an odd addition though, a lone sausage. I assume this is a tradition of some kind, but I wasn’t even close to half way through my dish before I was full, so sadly I can’t say what it added to the meal.

One of the other girls had the poisson du jour, and for this day the fish was bass. She cleaned her plate, praising the a subtle flavour, and well prepared dish.

Somehow we managed dessert. My eyes lit up for the dessert du jour, a baked alaska. Having had this is dubious restaurants as a child I was really keen to see how the professionals do it. Pipped meringue crowned the dome of still cold ice cream, sitting atop of a perfect pasty base, with raspberry coulis spilling over the surface. I may never be able to eat it elsewhere!

Also worthy of note was the more sophisticated bavarois du jour. It is basically “made in a hermetically-sealed mold that was plunged into salted crushed ice to set”, as it was created before electric refrigeration. So really it’s pre ice cream, ice cream? Anyway it was tasty and well worth a try. Perfect for a romantic evening or a lazy lunch with friends.

The thing is, when I was told I was off for a foody adventure into Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan delights I came up blank. I really had no idea what was going to be coming my way.

Turns out that like all other things in life, the food has some sister dishes rooted in other cultures I was familiar with. I had the chicken noodle soup- that was pretty much as you would expect, but with handmade yogurt sides. Really well balanced broth, no bitterness whatsoever, and soft noodles with large chunks of chicken. Clay oven cooked bread, to boot. I was already sold!

I also had a main of Beef dumplings. They are onion riddled- but I love that! Looking a lot like the South East Asian equivalent of dumplings, they came with a chili sauce created from scratch on the premises. This was something really unique, full of chili chunks, infused oils and something subtle but tasty that I couldn’t define.

I was also incredibly impressed with the Napoleon Cake. Reminded me of vanilla slice in the UK, but with less of the heavy custard and icing, and more delicate pasty. We also had a tea, with a special warmer, to be served by women (see? we got a bit of local culture while I did my best not to raise eyebrows at the delight of my fellow diner).

Sitting with the Jamie Oliver Team meant that I could ask about what was really good and get a well informed answer. Each of them swore by all the pastas, so that was it for me!

I chose the thick Linguini carbonara with guanciale, marjoram, free range egg, garlic and parmesan. It was a small size (and to be honest I think you would really have to push to get a large in!) and perfect for me. I loved the fresh pasta and the balance of flavour in a dish that can often miss the mark.
I would definitely be keen to return and try out the downstairs dining area that is more formal in style, and pair that with the dinner menu to get the full experience.

So as we wandered the streets post game we were all at a bit of a loss for where to have a drink and a bite, until we stumbled upon the Hansom Cab.

Quite a cute little pub, with nooks and crannies about, friendly staff and what looked to be pretty good food (my friends were eating their dinners like little orphaned children!).

Quite simply, it was Monmouth coffee that attracted me… and most of the bleary eyed office workers in the area.

Bring your good humor though, as this place feels like it was set up to be a stylistic nightmare. You queue into the oversized door that opens inward, and the staff remain equally flexible int eh way they take orders, so that you will never be sure if you are doing the right thing in the right order to get served!

The offer some lovely breakfast option (fresh fruit was in fact fresh) with bakes good and some proper meals for those hard Mondays.

Loads of space, and a delicately decorated interior (glass topped old wooden doors for tables as one effect) and a large space below is also available to hire. Now all we have to do is get a sign out front of W-spoon place to direct people around the corner!

Great concept, perhaps a bit too ambitious to ask us to try all 3 options for each of the 3 courses though. I hear you counting up those beers… it was one between two with another before it all kicked off and tasters aftwards (it’s like a math riddle isn’t it?). Basically I had 5 1/2 beers in the end, but I know some others did better than I!

So what can you expect from the menu?

A choice of starters:
Parsnip and ginger soup served with Juniper Pilsner
Moules mariniere served with Belgo Witbier
Champagne, duck and truffle terrine served with De Koninck Blonde
I found it hard to choose a favorite here, all of them struck me in a different way, well balanced flavours and great accompaniments of the beer variety. If pushed I think I would choose the terrine as a narrow winner.

Main Courses:
Beef carbonnade served with Witcap Stimulo
Mushroom Bouchee served with Palm Amber
Moules Portugaise served with Bruges Zot Blonde
The beef was a little too sweet for me, but hearty and very filling. The muscles have roast chorizo in them, which was too strong for me (I’m not very good with very meaty flavours) so my winner was the tasty and well executed bouchee.

Desserts:
Poached peer served with Floris Apple
Belgian chocolate pudding served with Westmalle Double
Belgian waffle served with Mort Subite Gueuze
The pear was good, the pudding amazing, but I have to say I was properly blown away by the perfect waffle, sitting in white chocolate sauce with ice cream (I was totally full by this point- and ate it anyway).

Staff were really great, attentive, knowledgable, and you did get the feeling not only do they know their stuff, but they are eager to learn more.

One thing I learned- some beers are fermented using coriander! That is a little hidden secret for those of us that despise that particular herb- and explains why some beers just dont sit right with me- for that gem I will be eternally grateful.

There were other girls there, but they were with me, so there was a distinctly man flavour about the whole experience, from the wooden flooring and leather couches, to the shouting, grunting and thrusting that went on post shot.

However, after taking the lass macho men aside and mixing them with us feeble ladies we did actually have a bit of a laugh. It interactive part is a bit hard to work out- like how to play against each other vs in a team around the course. Golf is golf, it’s not overly simple, but once you get the hang of it it’s not that hard really. Plus you have to get over the fear of hitting a tough ball as hard as you can into a wall a couple of meters away from your face (yes it looks like a golf course, but I know there’s a wall there and I’ve seen nasty rebounds in real life!).

The staff here are really good, attentive and sharp, the venue is clean and smart looking. If I had a sophisticated stag do to organise I would definitely start here- of course I wouldn’t be invited and that tells you everything.

I guess when you hear the words Meatwagon you really aren’t sure what to expect, and when you hear the words ‘the Meatwagon is a car park in Peckham’… well you would be excused for raising an eyebrow.

I did find the Meatwagon a bit closer to home, comfortably parked in the front area of The Red Lion and Sun in Highgate. How? Well, it is actually a wagon, so they travel to various spots and set up their meat filled camp, normally right on top of a happy publicans venues, so you can drink away the wait.

What’s so special you ask? Well firstly I would like to relate that two chappies sipping on pints beside me told me that they had travelled from Brockley- I got excited. Why would you travel so far for a burger I asked.

“Let’s put it this way, I would travel to Scotland and back for a night with the Meatwagon, and I ordered two chili cheese burgers and a Philly cheesesteak.”

“For the two of you? That sounds like a lot of food..”

“Oh no! that’s mine. You’ll see…”

Ands so I did. These portions are insanely huge, that is the first thing to note. But anyone that has been before doesn’t eat all day, just to fit in multiple meals. The two guys I was with got stuck into their burgers and promptly ordered seconds. They really are that good.

Anyone who has had a really good American burger will rate these guys, never mind being one of the few places I know this side of the pond offering the impossible to find and delectable Philly Cheesestakes.

Do yourself a favour and follow them on twitter to find out (about a week in advance) if they will be coming to ignite the meat addiction near you!