Having a food failure ISN'T unusual. It's part of being a cook.

But there's something particularly painful when it's a whole cake that's ruined.

I relive a recent Pear Cake fail and we talk through what can be done when things don't go to plan.

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Dinosaur Spaghetti! - AKA Hipster Kale Pasta

1 bunch of kale, leaves torn off the ribs, (ribs composted)

Pop the leaves into a large pot of boiling, salted water.

Cook 30 seconds then drain on a dry, clean tea towel. Allow to cool slightly. Lightly use hands to wring them out.

Put the leaves in the food processor, with a handful of walnuts, 30g grated parmesan cheese, 3 tbs olive oil, 1 chopped garlic clove, 1/3 cup water, juice of half a lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on wholemeal (!!) spaghetti topped with extra grated cheese.

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Yumi has some reflections after she cooked a bit of food for a friend's son's birthday bash.

In short?

There might always be a vomit or 2 if it's an 18th...

Also -? Food that is good at 6pm needs to also be good at 2am.

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How do you line the stomachs of the guests celebrating an 18th?

Yumi and Simon both have ideas and experience with this! WHOSE WILL WIN OUT?

If you want to know more about the inari Yumi mentioned, they look like this.

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Our second special episode with RecipeTinEats's Nagi Maehashi!

Her new book can be found here.

On this episode, we talk cooking for your dog, where Nagi gets her cooking inspiration, excessive sweetness in Western food, and a beautiful whipped tahini that can be used on SO MANY THINGS - from eggs to eggplant, broccolini to white fish.

WHIPPED TAHINI

1 cup plain yogurt

21/2 tbsp tahini

11/2 tbsp lemon juice (substitute 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar)

1 garlic clove, finely grated (Yumi would leave this out cos #allergic)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

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The legendary brains behind Recipe Tin Eats (- one of the world's most widely used cooking and recipe websites -) NAGI MAEHASHI - joins Yumi on today's 5 Minute Food Fix!

They talk about recipe testing, her new cookbook, which you can order here, and how to make the simplest, yummiest thing:

WHIPPED RICOTTA

1 cup (8 oz) full-fat, good-quality ricotta, at room temperature

1/2 tightly packed cup finely grated parmesan*

2–3 tsp milk, if required

METHOD

Mix the ricotta and parmesan in a small food processor, or a bowl using a hand-held electric beater or even a hand-held whisk!

Beat until smooth. If the mix seems a bit too stiff and thick (which will depend on the ricotta you’re using), dilute with 1 teaspoon

of milk at a time until it’s spreadable like whipped cream.

Excerpted from Delicious Tonight © 2024 by Nagi Maehashi, reprinted by permission of Countryman Press, an imprint of W. W. Norton & Co., Inc. All rights reserved.

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Not everyone listens to each episode as they drop but if you're here in October, now is the time to start thinking about Christmas. Sorry!

One of my favourite pudding recipes comes from Dan Lepard. I love his use of grated carrot and dark ale beer in this! It's also dead-easy and reliable. I always chuck in a few extra things my Mum likes - dried figs and those repulsive red cherries. Serve with tons of custard, the best vanilla ice-cream you can afford and cream too.

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In our cookbook, which you can buy here, I have a recipe for 'Wedding Guest Croutons' - theory being that the perfect crouton should be like the perfect wedding guest: Immaculately behaved and never overshadowing the real stars of the show ( - the bride, the mother-of-the-bride, the flower girls and the SALAD or the PASTA ON WHICH IT SITS). Phew!

Being low-key obsessed with croutons, I had to share this recipe for Anchovy Croutons which I'm making ALL THE TIME.

ANCHOVY CROUTONS

1/2 loaf of sliced, good-quality sourdough bread, stale is ok

1/3 cup olive oil

100g jar or tin of anchovies, including the oil

METHOD

Combine the oil with the anchovies in a tiny saucepan. Meanwhile warm the oven to 140C and prepare a couple of baking sheets.

When the anchovies start to "melt", encourage their disintegration with a wooden spoon until they form a muddy riverbed silt.

Lightly brush this mixture over one side of each piece of sourdough bread until it's all used up.

Cut the bread into cubes. (I like mine slightly bigger than 1cm but don't overthink it. Just cut.)

Mop up any leftover anchovy mixture with cubes of bread then spread them over the 2 baking sheets, and bake for 10 - 15 mins.

Turn them well, bringing to corner croutons into the middle of the pan and rotating the middle-pan ones out to the edges.

Cook for another 15 until the croutons are smelling toasty, changing colour to golden, and are crunchy when you try them.

Allow them to cool before storing in an airtight jar.

Serve on salad, with burrata, or atop a red spaghetti.

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