Apropos of my recipe of 10.53 yesterday, the results were sensational. The pound of beef with all that liquid added (which all took precisely two hours, by the way), yielded easily enough sauce, a lovely, rich, meaty ragu, for pasta for four people. Simply toss the hot sauce with fettuccine, pappardelle or whatever you like, sprinkle with parmesan and Bob's your uncle. We ate the beef tonight with a jacket spud and a salad dressed with the best olive oil and very expensive balsamic vinegar.* Nirvana!

*UK NOTE: I cook only with extra virgin olive oil. If you start off the cooking being careful with the temperature, you can do that. Just don't let the oil smoke. For cooking I've found that Napolina extra virgin is brilliant. Don't waste money on their "special editions," etc. I won't have those thin, ultra-refined non-virgin oils in the house. For salad dressings and drizzling on to pizzas or pasta dishes, or for dipping (which the Italians never do, more fool them!), you need the very best. You will not be disappointed if you buy a bottle of Marks and Spencer Toscana olive oil. Ten quid the bottle but it lasts for yonks. NOT for cooking with! As for balsamic vinegar, do not buy those silly bottles of supermarket rubbish that are as thin as water. If you're paying less than about twelve quid a bottle, you are wasting your money. Proper balsamic vinegar is spicy and almost as sweet as honey, takes ages to pour out and it makes a fabulous salad dressing, three parts Toscana to one part proper balsamic. No-one is forcing you to listen to me!