Haute cuisine

A woman has scoured her recipe books for a dish that requires a splash of red wine just so she has an excuse to drink the rest of the bottle.

Lauren Hewitt found a spaghetti bolognese that needed 50ml of red wine, knowing that it would allow her to neck the other 700ml and get pissed on a week night.

Hewitt said: “An authentic spaghetti bolognese requires red wine to intensify the flavour, so it was vital that I spent 10 minutes in Tesco picking out a bottle I really like.

“Yes, I substituted the rest of the complicated ingredients for a jar of Dolmio and a tub of cheap mince, but that’s why the wine is necessary. To elevate it. Nigella would do the same.

“And it’s nice to have a glass while I’m cooking, and then two glasses while I’m eating, and then polish the bottle off in front of the telly after. Otherwise it would just go to waste, despite the fact it’s a screw top and would actually keep for several days.

“Anyway it could be worse. I nearly decided to make penne alla vodka.”

The Daily Mash

Of course.

Hic!

Our Lady of the Ladle

The wisdom of America's first TV chef, Julia Child:

• "The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook."
• "How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?"
• "I think every woman should have a blowtorch."
• "I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food I'm cooking."
• "Always remember: If you're alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb,you can always just pick it up. Who's going to know?"
• "Life itself is the proper binge."

And, when asked what was the secret of her long life, she replied "Red meat and gin."

An incredible woman...

Julia Child - Bonne Appetit!

Julia Child biography

The movie Julie and Julia on IMDB