Christmas Madness!

It's that time of year again when you are invited to so many parties, that a night in seems like a treat instead of the other way around.  And the choice of venue is not always one you may have chosen for yourself!
This was the case when I ate at Kitchen Italia in Covent Garden on Friday night.  I have always said that it's pretty impossible to spoil Italian food - they just use the best simple ingredients and cook them as simply as possible, right?  How wrong could I be.  Out of about twenty of us I would bet there were possibly only two or three plates that went back to the kitchen cleared of food (and these would have been the plates belonging to young strapping male rowers who, to be perfectly honest, will eat pretty much whatever you put in front of them!).  And on top of that the service was pretty appalling too.  Why do people eat in such places, especially in London where you have the choice of thousands of restaurants?
But then on to Monday night, when a friend and I choose to eat at The Glasshouse in Kew.  Wow, what a difference - neither of us can understand why this restaurant does not have a michelin star - the food was out of this world (but I do think the decor lets the place down).  My starter of smoked eel with beetroot and blinis, and desert of bread and ricotta pudding could not be faulted.  And best of all, it's local!

So now we have to start thinking about Christmas gifts, and with my allergy to shops, and really shopping in general,  the best option always is to make food gifts.  Up to date I've not had any complaints!
So, having just finished a photography shoot where we needed lots of limes, I thought I would test my lime curd recipe - it obviously won't last until it's time to give as a gift, but that means I get to eat this batch then make more again later!

Lime Curd 


Makes 2-3 jars (depending on size)


4 med eggs
zest and juice of 4 limes
350 g caster sugar
225 g unsalted butter, diced

• Place the eggs in a pan and whisk together.
• Add the remaining ingredients and place over a very low heat.  
• Whisk continuously until the curd starts to thicken - don't try to rush this over too much heat or you will have lime scrambled eggs on your hands.
• Pour into sterilised jars and leave to cool before covering.
• Keep chilled.

If you want to make lemon or orange curd, stick to the same principle, just be aware that oranges give more juice, so maybe use less of them.