The Art of Friday Night Dinner: Recipes for the best night of the week

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I stayed in cheap hotels, the kind of places where you can feel the slats of the bed beneath the mattress. But there was nothing substandard about the dining rooms. And amongst the recipes are thoughts on the glamour of mixing a martini for one, the lifesaving magic of a really good spaghetti carbonara, and the joy of a table laden with bits, waiting for hungry hands. Food writer Eleanor Steafel agrees. In fact, this is the ethos that has shaped her popular Telegraph column The Art of Friday Night Dinner, on which her debut cookbook is based.

Put the butter and olive oil in a heavy-based pan over low to medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the onion and celery and a good pinch of salt. Cover the pan with the lid and cook the onion and celery for 15 minutes, or until both have turned properly soft.Put 80 grams (or roughly two thirds) of the breadcrumbs in a large bowl, setting the rest aside in another bowl for later. Put the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar and grind them a little (not to a powder, just so they break up a bit). Split the fennel between the bowls of crumbs.

Occasionally, Friday nights are for shutting the world away and revelling in a moment of fallow time before the weekend. So, fill your favourite glass, choose something mouth-watering to cook and embrace all that Friday night has to offer. A leek left over from last week’s Friday night dinner, some nduja from the week before, and one of those ends of cream have made it into this very delicious, comforting orzo. You finely chop the leeks so that they sweat down nice and small, cooking them in plenty of butter. I find making dinner boring enough as it is – why on earth would I want to drag out the process for longer than is absolutely necessary? And that’s why our induction hob remains a godsend. The only thing you must do is to properly brown the nuggets of meat, and go heavy on the lemon. The pasta shape is your choice and yours alone, though I’d make a case for something that is going to catch the sauce – finding a bit of sausage in a pasta tube or shell is a very good thing.I learned early on the magic of a Friday night in. As a child it was when I was allowed to stay up and have dinner with my parents after my younger brother and sister were asleep. While they were cajoled into bed, I would hide in the downstairs loo so as not to raise suspicion that something fun might be about to happen. When the coast was clear, out came the crisps and on went Top of the Pops. If there’s a heaven, I think it might be a saggy red sofa in a 1990s living room, with endless salt-and-vinegar Kettle Chips. I’ve been chasing that high ever since, and spent more nights out longing to be in than I am proud of. Wood, Philip James. "Sheila F Steafel (CORBETT) (1935-> 2012)» Whittington families» Genealogie Online". Genealogie Online. Air fryers with a basket or a drawer tend to perform better than those with an oven-like door. “They’re pretty much just an oven and don’t give the same crispy results.” Get a 7.5L A joyous read that completely captures the special-ness of Friday nights... Bursting with generosity and great recipes

Having spent years gathering friends around her kitchen table, Eleanor has perfected the art of Friday night dinner. It usually starts with a sip of something cold and ends with friends tipsily heading home, full and happy. But most importantly, there's always something good to eat. Here are more than a hundred recipes for the best night of the week. If you're planning to spend the evening on the sofa, have your closest friend over or even host the masses, why not try Ellie's fail-safe crowdpleasers: At London institution St John Bread and Wine, induction hobs and old-fashioned gas burners are equally essential. “We use gas traditionally, but we also have two or three induction hobs dotted around the kitchen for rapid boiling, eggs, making custard, things that need a more controlled heat,” says head chef Farokh Talati. With just a month left before he leaves his job at BT and commits to food full time, his only real concern is that his cooking might change with his new lifestyle. “I don’t want to lose touch with the way I cook. If I’m fully immersed in food I don’t want to be tempted to make things that I wouldn’t have traditionally made when I had a busy full-time job.” At Witwatersrand University she studied fine art, but abandoned the course to travel to Britain to audition for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) in London in 1953. She did a term at its preparatory academy, but was told she was unusual and would probably have to wait until she was in her 30s and become a character actor. Undeterred, she enrolled instead at the Webber Douglas Academy, where she won the Margaret Rutherford award for comedy.My chef brother finds induction “way better for the environment and good for really fast, high-heat cooking, but really annoying, temperamental and not as fun as gas. You don’t get that slight taste of smokiness and char.” Use your hands to mix everything together. Mix well so everything is evenly incorporated. Then form the mixture into balls a little bigger than golf balls. Put the balls on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper, cover and put in the fridge for half an hour to firm up. It’s 12:30am on a Friday night and I’m watching TV with my siblings, when my brother’s phone rings. It’s his friend, Freddie, who lives a few streets away: “Alright mate? Just seen your parents down by the river. They’re in a bit of a state.” Meanwhile, get the sauce started. Pour the passata into a large casserole pan with a lid. Add a big pinch of salt, the bashed garlic cloves, sherry vinegar and a splash of olive oil. Set over a low-medium heat with the lid on and bring to a simmer. Simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes, then with the lid off for a further 10 minutes. You can turn it off while you fry the meatballs or just have it cooking on a very low heat with the lid on.

My own hob set off my carbon monoxide alarm just before Christmas. I’d just started preparing a dinner for 58 people at a catered event and had to switch off 10kg of beef shin until the engineer arrived, which was less than ideal. His advice, after fixing the dodgy gas ring? Open the windows every hour if you’re doing a slow braise.Turn the heat up a little and add the tomato purée, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, then add the vodka, lemon juice and a good pinch of salt. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until the sauce has come together and looks smooth and glossy. Take the pan off the heat.