English Apple Cake [#158]

Nigel's by now familiar 'pound cake' recipe, made with equal quantities of butter, sugar and SR flour - in this case, 130g of each, 2 eggs, then topped with chunks of apple tossed in lemon and cinnamon, and then this is further topped with some white breadcrumbs mixed with demerara sugar. A lovely appley, spicy, crisp pudding is the result, served with a blob of softly whipped cream. I told you it had been a good 'Nigel' night - with the duck earlier, this made for a marvellous and indulgent meal to celebrate our wedding anniversary which has just passed (23 years - blimey!) and my birthday next week (23 years - blimey!). ;0) No official online presence for this recipe, which is such a shame - as we head into the English apple season, every household should make this at least once - so easy, delicious and heartwarming - go get the book!

Roast Duck with Pancetta and Potatoes [#157]

Nigel was on top form tonight with this recipe and the dessert that followed (see'English Apple Cake'). A lovely free-range duck from Waitrose, ccoked slowly with big chunks of potato, diced pancetta, onions, and scented with fresh bay leaves, thyme and - my addition - fresh sage. After a couple of hours, the potatoes were crisp with duck fat and infused with herbiness. The gravy was made with the pan juices and crusty bits, deglazed with Marsala. Just heavenly - succulent duck, crisp potatoes, and some sauteed courgettes, all accompanied by a marvellous Californian Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast, a sumptuous meal indeed. The left-over duck will be shredded and stir-fried tomorrow with spinach, mushrooms, red pepper and noodles, with a teriyaki glaze.

A Squid in the Fryer [#156]

Lovely fresh squid in the Covered Market today. I under-bought and was short of enough for us both, so supplemented this dish with some fresh king prawns too. I didn't cook this very well, as the squid rings (and prawns) were supposed to emerge crisp from a dousing in flour and a fast fry in a little oil. I think I over-crowded the pan as the fish came out soggy. Still, it tasted delicious - not at all rubbery, and tossing it in finely-chopped red chilli, garlic and coriander (with a spritz of lime too at the end) made the flavours sing. So I shall know next time to a) buy more squid and b) cook it in batches. Very nice with rice and stir-fried spinach and courgette with sesame oil. No online recipe, sorry - but then, it is scarcely a recipe in the book, either, more a narrative of a cooking method.

Blackberry and Apple Pie [#155]

Oddly, Nigel has this in the November section of the Diaries, when surely the blackberries are finished? No matter, we made it today, with the first of the English Bramleys, sharp and juicy, cooked to a puree first and then united with the berries. For the pastry (which went under AND over the filling), I went back to Nigel's wonderful Apple Shortcake recipe that we had in March, I think. Rich, buttery and very short, it makes for a wonderful tart - I'm sure there is a joke in there somewhere. A pudding like this calls for custard, naturally! Well, I am suffering dreadfully with a cold - feed a cold and starve a fever, they do say.

Lamb Shank with Mustard [#154]

This recipe had been hanging round since the February section of the Diaries, an example of Nigel's obsession with lamb. As it was a bright but chilly September day, it felt fine to revisit this and get it out of the way. Nice and simple braise, I added carrots, because I love their flavour done in a casserole. We didn't serve mash as suggested, because we didn't have suitable potatoes, but nice plain steamed ones with butter and chives were just as yummy. One shank was plenty for the two of us, so I have another one, with all the remaining braising juices, left over for shepherd's pie tomorrow - yippee! One point - Nigel suggests cooking for an hour and a half - I doubled this time, to be sure of the delicious melting softness and breakdown of connective tissues that make for a lovely finish - I would suggest you do the same too! Surprisingly, there is no official online recipe for this - sorry. Just think onions, garlic, rosemary, bay, carrots, stock and red wine, with mustard stirred in at the end, and you are there.

Mozzarella with Grilled Fennel [#153]

Hmmm......how to describe this dish? "Meh", might the sound I'd make, followed by a yawn? The chargrilled fennel itself was very nice and I would have preferred this on its own with perhaps a balsamic vinaigrette to moisten it. The addition of mozzarella did nothing to the dish other than add protein, otherwise sitting like a lump of flaccid, tepid rubber atop the cooked veg. It doesn't matter how buffola your Mozzarella is, serving it slightly warm does nothing to flatter it. To be honest, we much preferred the Mushrooms with Tarragon and Mustard that we made again, and my own version of baked beans (a tin of cannellini beans baked in the oven with fresh tomato, oregano, chilli and garlic with a touch of sugar to sweeten). Still, you can't have everything, and this is one of just a small handful of Nigel's recipes that haven't worked for me.

Pan-fried Sausages with Cream and Mustard Mash [#152]

Phew! Racking the Nigel recipes up - this is the sixth in five days, and I only have 40 left to finish the challenge off. I was really late home from work tonight, a combination of having loads to do and also snarled-up traffic thanks to the combined efforts of Oxford's roadworks ("We're doing this for you" says the council - oh, ARE you now!) and the annual St. Giles' Fair which closes the city centre down. So, into the Co-op for some really nice red pepper and chilli outdoor-reared sausages (oh Mummy, look at those sausages gambolling in the field!), and Nigel's mustardy mash. Didn't use as much mustard OR cream as he does (half a pint of cream for mash for two!!!!) but it was very comforting with a big pile of runner beans. (I notice Nige's online recipe is more modest with the dairy and mustard - interesting...)

Melon Sorbet [#151]

We had a very ripe Charentais melon sitting in the fridge that needed using up, so this sorbet was just the ticket. Again, I tinkered with the recipe. Instead of lemon juice, I used the rind and juice of a lime. Also, the flesh was so juicy when I blended it that I didn't add sugar syrup, but rather just a tablesoon of sugar, and sharpened it all with a little lime cordial. It froze happily in a plastic dish with some occasional stirring, and the result is one of the most startling tasting (and looking) things I've ever made - just fantastic after the rich pork dish earlier, and again the smells are divine. What a meal we've had, courtesy of Nigel. What a star, and I can't wait for his new programme later in the week on BBC 1.

Roast Pork Belly Sandwiches [#150]

Didn't make sandwiches! We had the marvellous burnished belly of pork with pan juices and roast potatoes. I have never been a fan of pork belly, worrying that it was too fatty - but after 2 and a half hours of slow roasting, the fat had virtually all but rendered. (Nigel only cooked his for an hour, which isn't really enough). The fragrant rub of very finely chopped fresh bay leaves and rosemary, with fennel seed and crushed garlic was pure Italy and the finished result tasted of that cuisine's classic porchetta. I picked the pork belly up for three quid in M&S so this is credit-crunchtastic gastronomy at its finest. Leftovers for a stir-fry tomorrow too. Drank a Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages 2007 with it, picked up cheap from Waitrose, so feeling very virtuous. Again, the smells as this dish cooked were incredible. Tasting note: the leftover pork, cut into 'lardons' for want of a better term, made the most glorious stir-fry - sauteed until crisp and doused in hoisin sauce and soy, stirred through egg noodles with stir-fry pepper, courgettes and spring onions. Nom-nom!

Baked Mushrooms with Tarragon Mustard Butter [#149]

I used little portabellini mushrooms for this delicious dish - although I am afraid I radically trimmed the amount of butter and mustard - 50g of butter instead of the suggested 125g and 1 heaped teaspoon of Dijon mustard instead of....wait for it....2 tablespoons. Just excessive, sorry Nigel! Lovely served with crostini as a starter, and we have leftovers too. I imagine this would work as a sauce for pasta as well. This was the first in a triple bill of wonderful, fragrant Nigel dishes this evening - it is on nights like this that I am so glad I am doing this challenge - I wish all of you could have smelled my house today!

Roast Haddock with Bacon and Parsley [#148]

Visited Waitrose with the intention of getting squid for one of the challenge recipes, but there was none. However, they DID have some lovely, spanking fresh thick fillets of line-caught Icelandic haddock so I made this little gem instead. Simple yet totally yummy, I used finely chopped prosciutto instead of bacon, and I also added lemon juice and a little dill at the end too. Served with champ and also a selection of four types of green beans from Oxford's Botanic Garden, this was a scrummy supper!

Tomato Curry [#147]

We made this round at the house of my friend Anu - a keen cook and gourmand of veggie Punjabi food, so always a bit of trepidation making 'Indian-style' food for her!! Half-way through cooking this, I had my doubts, as the whole tomatoes bobbed in the curried tomato sauce, without any hope of softening - but they did, and it turned out to be a lovely delicate, full-on tomato recipe, which went well with some sag aloo I made too, and some of Anu's marvellous roti breads - a veggie feast indeed. No photos, I'm afraid, so just a generic pic of good vine toms which are essential to this dish (as are the best tinned toms - Valfrutta brand in this case)