THE NEW CLUB BRIGHTON (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

Sometimes when you're visiting a new city you might spend ages researching places to eat, getting

recommendations from friends and family or trawling the internet looking at reviews and pictures on Instagram. Sometimes though you should just wait until you get there and you never know what you might stumble across. That is what happened with The New Club, which we walked past on our way to our hotel in Brighton. It looked nice inside and the menu sounded delicious so we decided to walk back in the evening and give it a shot.

LULLY LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

So I realized on Sunday just gone that this would be the last weekend of the year we are actually going to be spending at home until the actual Christmas weekend (we are very busy people don't you know!). I couldn't let this weekend pass me by without baking a little something before we head off on our various travels. At the same time, I didn't want to spend all day in the kitchen so for me, there was only one cake to bake; the simply classic lemon drizzle loaf cake! Well as I always say, the oldies are the best aren't they?

GRAFENE MANCHESTER (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

Why we booked a table at Grafene earlier this month is still a mystery to us? Not in a bad way you understand but its just we can't remember where or how we discovered it! Having booked said table weeks in advance for a pre-theatre dinner we ventured up to King Street in the Deansgate area of Manchester city centre on quite a wet and windy Friday evening to see if there was method to our apparent madness.

MATTY'S RED HOT XMAS ONIONS

You can't have Christmas without a good old cheese board and you can't have a cheese board without a pickled onion or two. Making your own batch of plump pickled onions is so easy to do and also makes a great gift to hand out to friends and family as part of a homemade Christmas hamper. Take a slow, stress free day to prepare these bad boys, packed full of chili and other spices to really give them a kick. These little globes of pickled goodness are so much more delicious than any version you can buy in a supermarket.

CROSBY COFFEE'S MOCHA BROWNIES (AS FEATURED IN THE LIVERPOOL COOK BOOK)

Having been blessed to be given the opportunity to give away a copy of the brilliant Liverpool Cook Book produced by Meze Publishing, I have also been granted permission to share one of the books fabulous recipes with you in the hope that it will inspire you to head out and purchase a copy of the book for yourself. The first recipe to instantly jumped out at me from the pages was Crosby Coffee's mocha brownies. Not only did they look divine in the book but I can confirm upon making them that they taste equally as delicious!

EASY PEASY CHEESY VEG PASTA

On a horrible rainy week like the one we are having in Liverpool at the moment, sometimes all you want when you get in from work is a big plate of cheesy pasta. This doesn't have to be at the expense of your waistline though. By using a low fat cream cheese you can make a low calorie version that doesn't have to scrimp on flavor with the addition of chili and garlic to keep those taste buds dancing. Finish with some veg and a grating of parmesan and you can have this dish on the table in less than 30 minutes.

THE RETURN OF THE RAVISHING RED ONION RELISH

I've whipped out another classic Christmas chutney recipe for you now with the return of my deliciously sticky and sweet caramelized red onion chutney. It's makes an amazing foodie gift to give to your friends and family. One thing to remember is that this onion relish is for life not just for a Christmas so keep some for yourself to spread on bacon butties or hot dogs throughout the whole year. This recipe will give you 1.5 litres worth of the gooey good stuff, just make sure you have the patience to let it brew for 1 month before digging in.

WIN A COPY OF THE LIVERPOOL COOKBOOK

 Released on October 20th, The Liverpool Cook Book brings together the very best of the city’s burgeoning food and drink scene; from a fantastic array of independent restaurants, to cafés, pubs, delis, producers and suppliers. The book is the 16th in the series of regional ‘Get Stuck In’ guides by Meze Publishing, who were recently crowned Best Newcomer at the Independent Publishing Awards and I'm very excited to be able to offer you all chance to win your very own copy of this fabulous book:

LULLY LEMON, MINT & MUSTARD GREENS

I've been getting more adventurous with my flavorings recently and this Sunday I decided that I would try using some lemons to flavor my vegetables. No biggy you might think but I've always had a bit of an aversion to using lemons in savory dishes after a bad lemon chicken incident in a restaurant once. I'm glad that I gave it another go at home though as the lemon, mint and mustard dressing that I mix through this selection green beans, leeks and peas really does give the greens a lully little lift.

LULLY LULLY CHICKPEA CURRY

If you are not a fan of spending time in the kitchen then you probably have herbs and spices in your pantry that you bought yonks ago that are now sitting unloved in your cupboard. Set your spices free people! A curry made from scratch is so much more fragrant and tasty than a jar from the supermarket and is a great way to use up all those odds and ends. Once you've made your spice mix, all you need to make this curry is some fresh vegetables, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and chickpeas (of course!) and you are onto a winner.