Lydia Brimage

Lydia first learned to cook when she went to university. After buying a wok from a Chinese supermarket, she learned to make stir-fries and then tomato sauces. She has collected many cookery books over the years and now tries to be very selective in which books she buys.

Lydia trained as a biochemist originally and eventually became so interested in food that she undertook formal qualifications in Professional Cookery, taking both chef qualifications in Kitchen and Larder and in Patisserie and Confectionery. She worked professionally as a chef for approximately ten years.

Recently she has taken a sit-down job and now enjoys using her cooking skills for herself and for friends. She has been a Leite’s Culinaria Recipe Tester since 2013 and has kept the recipes she has tested during that time with all her comments. Over the years it has required her to keep seeking out and trying new recipes, which she may not have found on her own. The process also forces her to find other new dishes to use up any leftover ingredients. She finds the process quite meditative and often loses herself in a single recipe for an hour or two. She wonders if sometime she will hand her curated recipes to someone and say there you go, that was my life in food.

Lydia Brimage

Burger Buns

Beautiful burger buns. Were ever three words joined in such harmony? There are a lot more lovely things to be said about these pillowy specimens of bread awesomeness.

1 hr 45 mins

Roasted Carrots with Allspice

Sweet. Spicy. Earthy. And a touch puckery. When did anything--or anyone--at your table boast such character? Certain to compensate for your duller dinner invitees.

50 mins

Pan-Roasted Mushrooms

Mushrooms and butter and garlic. Think you've been there, done that? Trust us, you haven't. Not like this, anyway.

35 mins

Crisp Peanut Butter Cookies

These uncannily crisp, seemingly shortbreadish cookies from San Francisco's Miette are--and we mean this--unlike any you've ever encountered.

40 mins

Cauliflower-Bacon Gratin

This cauliflower gratin recipe from Dorie Greenspan is French comfort food, yet it wouldn't be out of place on a distinctly American Thanksgiving table.

1 hr 15 mins

Baked Country Ham

One of the South's greatest achievements, baked country ham takes its salty sweet smack from a glaze of mustard, vinegar, and cloves.

3 hrs 15 mins

Pumpkin-Cider Soup

This pumpkin soup gets a boost from apples and a bite from a cupful of Irish cider. The soup, with its intense pumpkin flavor, makes for great fall fare.

1 hr 40 mins

Dorie Greenspan’s Rugelach

These butter and cream cheese pastries are filled with cinnamon-sugared nuts, a slick of jam, currants, and a handful of chopped chocolate.

3 hrs 35 mins

Honey-Ginger Apple Tarts

Apples, walnuts, and a drizzle of honey give these croustades, or tarts, their outrageously autumnal flair. The crispy, flaky pastry isn't bad, either.

1 hr 25 mins

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