Going from Pukka to Delish

I am the first one to admit that i aint no cook! In my first flat in London i never cooked anything, preferring to microwave or press speed dial 4 which got me through to "Perfect Pizza". Sarah Jessica Parker's character in "Sex and the City" then gave me the ingenious idea of using my oven for storage - i mean what else are those shelves for? ideal for shoes! Occassionally i would buy a pizza, remove the footwear from the cooking device and slip it out of its wrapping and pop it on gas mark 5 for 22 mins, i would get so hungry that after about 15 mins i used that phrase that i have used to describe food, men and in an emergency a bottle of WKD Blue, the phrase being "ah it'll do".

Now that i am living in my little self contained light and airy space and have the use of a well stocked kitchen i have decided to at least try and become the hostess with the mostest. No more shall my food preparation consist of "remove packaging and pierce film lid" oh no, now i am going to invite guests round, maybe one at a time to sample my "cooking".

Many of my friends have cooked for me before so i do actually intend on stealing their best recipes but i may also invest in cookery books! The times they are a changing and i feel the need to entertain. Once my flat is complete with furniture i shall be slapping my apron on and getting to work, and all i ask in return is a nice bottle of wine and good conversation.

The main reason for thinking like this is the news today that Jamie Oliver has scrapped the word Pukka from his vocab and has moved on to delish, I dont mind Mr Oliver, he shall never descend on my rather exclusive boudoir but i would give him a seeing to in return for a delish dish. I see myself as more a male Nigella, not actually cooking anything just sucking my fingers and friggin myself off by the balsamic. The most important cooking lesson i ever heard was by Miss Fanny Cradock - once she was doing a demonstration on TV and dropped the meat on the floor, she dusted it down, slapped it on the side, smiled at the camera and calmly said "and remember my dears YOU are the only one in the kitchen!"

xx