What's your dish?

I like doing a sunday roast though, even if i can't get yorkshire puddings to work although I blame that on the sucession of crap ovens i've lived with

This is different to comfort food isn't it? Because the law on comfort food is that women make lasagne and blokes make chilli. Feel free to now prove me wrong.

I also do good meatloaf, baked chicken, and what I've been told is the greates hummus knockoff dip ever.

My staples are risotto and pasta because they are cheap, quick and can easily be altered according to what's left in the fridge. A current favourite is celery risotto with lardons in it. Nicest if you get a load of leaves on the celery - chop them up and stir them through at the end until they wilt.

In fact I'm cooking myself a slap-up dinner tomorrow night, possibly a nice char-grilled tuna nicoise salad.

(End of rant)

I make lovely spinach, pine nut and three cheese lasagne. Or coq au vin. However it is not worth cooking for other people unless they are exceedingly grateful for the effort you have gone to.

It involves mixing cooked, squeezed spinach with ricotta and crumbled gorgonzola and mozzarella (I think) and making the lasagne with that and a normal white / cheese sauce, sprinkling toasted pine nuts between layers. It's yummy.

I'm with Mark on the comfort food. Mine is Ben'n'Jerrys.

I like my food H-H-H-HOT, and I have to use my pestle and mortar in the process.

First real job was slinging hash in a drugstore diner at 14, so lots of experience, lots of me whining, "Call THAT a milkshake?" when I got here because the DEFINITIVE is at least 4 scoops of Vanilla dazs, malt powder (Horlicks in a pinch), milk to wet it, and chocolate sauce. Then blend. Americans wishing to do the Root Beer Float will be pleased to know you can buy A&W in Chinatown. I also do barbecue things because I follow the Marinate To Submission principle. I get very narky around American-themed Brit restaurants, and only gave London its due when there were at least 4 places I knew which did passable eggs Benedict. I am Queen Of Breakfasts, also due to hash-slinging past.

I can cook because of latchkey upbringing; also my mum has only a few 'classics', one of which is called Shrimp Shit. The other is Polish (help, Tadeusz! spellcheck!) gwumpky, a stuffed cabbage leaf thing which she renamed Pod People after we all watched the remake of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. My one big run at vegetarianism came about because I told my mother I was specifically trying to avoid her version of pork chops. She retaliated by loading the fridge with fine- sliced salt beef (NY-style) from local deli, pumpernickel bread, posh mustard and simply waited for me to rise to the bait.

I make full use of Drummond Street, the Taj Stores, Chinatown, Clerkenwell Italian shops eg. the one next to the Eagle and the Thai shop on Shepherd's Bush Road also used by Nigella. I'm very good on Indian, can make sag and muttar panir, ditto Thai curries (had a red one tonight), laksa and Vietnamese chilli/lemon grass, Italian, Polish and Jewish stuff and have done gluttontastic Thanksgiving dinners for my friends. I enjoy eating the stuff as much as making it, and don't often resort to...recipes.

But if I had to isolate one thing it would be Panang curry with monkfish, yellow pepper and bamboo shoots. Next week it will be something else.

All you need is a can of bamboo shoots, can of coconut milk, a sweet, hot red chili pepper, a yellow pepper and the fresh Panang paste from shop on Shepherd's Bush Road - they make it up themselves and the little tubs of various pastes are about £1.00. Make rice first, using jasmine rice, then set aside because it needs to be cool-ish to be any good with meal.

To a really hot wok, add veg oil and a few drops of chili oil. Then use 1/3 tub of paste and break it up as you stir-fry. De-seed the chili pepper and slice into tiny thready pieces, add to wok. If your bamboo isn't pre-sliced, slice it to long matchstick size and add to curry paste. Then add sliced pepper - the thinner the better. Then stir in gradually half a can of coconut milk and blend until paste is dissolved. In normal curries, you'd add water to this but the Panang doesn't require it, unless you want to add an egg-cup sized amount.

Make sure the fishmonger cleans and bones your monkfish for you, it's a gross job (but not as bad as squid). I cut it into king prawn-sized pieces with a scissors, marinate it in a little veg oil, drop of chili oil and squirt of lime juice, adding it about two minutes before serving - Mark's right about fish cooking time. The very last thing you need to do is shake a few squirts of Nam Pla sauce into the mix, then put the curry into deep bowls (half a kilo of monkfish will feed three or four people easily), dust with fresh chopped coriander, and serve with the rice at the side.

This might seem complicated but if you do the rice first and slice and cut all your stuff in prep, the actual stirring and frying is a ten- minute job. Have fun!

From Hammersmith: about five minutes' walk past SBR Tesco, on same (west) side of road. If you pass the big brick Local Pub For Local People opposite, that might have you too far up.

From La Bush Green: walk five-10 on west side of road, just past Local Pub For Local People opposite. Thai shop is not in tree-lined section of road.

Good luck!

Seriously I just mix up enough drinks so that no one notices that i have NO FOOD WHATSOEVER in my house. Though I do make really good cinnamon bread, and I'm good at vegetarian chili.

No London delivery places do General Tso's Chicken and I've never been able to figure out why. Pizza here sucks, especiually after my trip to Venice.

Right, off to Shepherds Bush methinks

Best pizza is from Naples though. They have really strick rules about what can constitute una vera pizza napolitana and they pay off big style.

i like to make: crepes (easy), killer omelettes, and pasta with vegetables (green squash, peppers, spinach, artichokes, tomatoes, etc.) in garlic/whitewiney sauce. chicken optional.

usually for the holidays i like to try my hand at some crazy baked good. one year it was this candied orange covered thing of layers of pastry creme and sponge cakes with grand marnier soak. this year i am going to try my hand at rosewater napoleons.

my own personal staple is linguine with canned salmon, capers, and artichoke hearts in olive oil. easy and fast.

Mister Monkey and I were in Paris recently and lamenting the fact that Irish and British people just don't seem to understand chocolate flavoured drinks beyond basic cocoa. And even then...

I do not have a signature dish, but, like my mother, I can turn out a respectable enough buffet for thirty people in a matter of a few hours with a limited budget. It's more of a christmas/birthday skill.

I don't think I have a signature dish, but I am famous in some circles for buttermilk pancakes. And I can make curries.

Oh yeah, that was the other thing. Name these places! Never know when I'm going to be in London next...

Tonight I try become a master at the egg fried rice.