Valencia cocktails

Please don't think we are lushes - a high proportion of the recent postings have been for cocktail recipes, but it IS Christmas!  This used up the rest of the bottle of Champagne from Christmas Day and consists of a dessertspoon each of freshly squeezed orange juice and Apricot Brandy, in a Champagne flute - add some orange bitters if you have any, just a couple of drops, and top up with bubbly - a refreshing alternative to Buck's Fizz.

Turkey Noodle Soup

On Christmas Day, I cut the legs off the turkey to speed up the cooking time (it was lovely and juicy as a consequence) and sacrificed one of the legs for a fresh stock.  It has been simmering away, to produce a lovely golden aromatic broth. Lunch for the next couple of days is this soup made with the stock, which has cooked for an hour with a couple of diced carrots and some diced swede, some diced celery and a couple of leeks, chopped.  Them some noodles are cooked in the broth for 10 minutes, and finally, chunks of cooked turkey reheat gently with a big handful of parsley right at the end.  Soothing, nutritious and restorative.

Turkey Tomato Gratin

We want something piquant on Boxing Day after all the richness of Christmas Day eating.  I also don't want to spend too much time cooking.  So, simply mix a jar of good tomato passata with a few tablespoons of double cream or creme fraiche.  In a wide shallow dish, lay thick slices of leftover turkey, and stuffing if you have any.   Add some frozen mixed peppers (or sauteed sliced fresh) and some sliced and sauteed mushrooms.  Pour over the creamy passata, top with breadcrumbs mixed with grated parmesan, and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Bake in a medium oven until the turkey is piping hot and the breadcrumbs are crisp and brown.  Nice with some crusty bread, pasta or even leftover roasties, heated up again until crispy.  Lots of green veg or salad seems essential too.  Soup and Thai green curry with the remaining bird.

The Goodnight Kiss Cocktail

Few recipes to blog about at this time of year - it is a time for traditional cooking and you don't need ME to tell you how to make roast turkey, bread sauce et al.  However, I thought I'd share our cocktail consumed before the main event - a perfect combination of Campari, Angostura Bitters and Champagne.  In the bottom of a champagne flute, drop a sugar cube that has been soaked with 2 or 3 drops of Angostura bitters.  Add a dessertspoon of Campari and then top up with ice-cold Champagne.  Drink.  Make another one.  Drink. Stagger woozily to the kitchen to get the sprouts on.  Happy Christmas everyone!

Fitzgerald Cocktails

A delicious lemony drink, this, and one we first had at the now defunct Rainbow Room bar on the 65th floor of the Rockefeller Centre in New York nearly 20 years ago.  I shall never forget that experience - it was dark and very foggy, and we were sitting in front of a picture window, with all hopes of seeing the Empire State Building in front of us dashed - suddenly, the fog cleared, and there that wonderful building was, glittering in the dark sky.  Wonderful!  Anyway, we like to think that the now world-famous Dale de Groff might have mixed this, his own invention, for us that evening, as he was the head 'mixologist' there at the time.  It consists of 1.5 parts gin, 1 part of gomme syrup, 3/4 part fresh lemon juice and several good shakes of Angostura Bitters.  Shake together with ice and serve in an Old Fashioned glass over LOTS of ice and a slice of lemon.  Delicious with blinis, creme fraiche and smoked salmon.  A very nice alternative to G&T.

Boiled Fruit Cake

I was too late to make a Chrsitmas Cake this year - don't know why, I suppose I just got fed up after the mammoth Christmas Pudding session.  Anyway, just knocked together this dead simple recipe from the 'Joy of Baking' site.  The spicy loaf is baking as we speak, and the flat smells wonderfully Christmassy.  I might even be moved to decorate the tree, a job usually left to a last-minute panic on Christmas Eve.  First, we must venture out to the patio where it is waiting, and knock the 8 inches of snow off it.  I will report back on the recipe when we eat it, later in the week, but so far, it's smelling good! Tasting note: we broke into this on Christmas Day, giving it nearly a week to mature.  It was soooo good, much better, in my opinion, than the traditional fruit cake made months in advance.  In may have helped that we returned from a snowy walk by the river Thames, which was freezing over in parts, it was that cold, so fruit cake and tea went down a treat! photo courtesy of Joyofbaking.com

Chili Beans

I never eat in front of the telly normally, but it is the final of Strictly Come Dancing tonight (go Matt!) and so it is allowed!  These chili beans are so simple to make, consisting of cans of kidney and cannellini beans, and a tin of tomatoes, onion, paprika, cumin, oregano and chili powder, with fresh coriander at the end.  This will mature as the day goes on, and will be eaten in big bowls with spicy meatballs and rice, with my feet up, in front of the box.  Hubby will be sulking in the kitchen doing the dishes, listening to cricket or something on the radio.

Spiced Lentil, Potato and Acorn Squash Soup

I had cut an Acorn Squash into wedges, drizzled them with olive oil and garam masala and roasted them for supper, to accompany some other curried stuff.  There was loads left over so I made a simple yet very warming and filling soup.  Start, as always, with a large chopped onion sauteeing in oil. Add two cloves of garlic, chopped, an inch or so of fresh ginger, chopped, 2 big teaspoons each of ground cumin and coriander, a teaspoon of turmeric and a hot red chilli, chopped - leave the seeds in it you like it really hot.  Now add a teacupful of red lentils, 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped, and around half a squash, peeled and chopped, roasted if you have time but not a problem if you don't.  Add a litre of veg stock, Marigold is fine, and two tomatoes, chopped, or half a tin thereof.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes until thick with swollen lentils - rather poetic.  Blend with a stick blender or in a processor.  I made some coriander and lime oil to swirl in at the end (blend all together like making a pesto) but you could just add coriander.  Serve with warm naan bread for a substantial and nutritious lunch!

Chocolate Pear Pudding

A recipe, this, from Nigella Express.  When I was looking for it online, I came across some episodes from 'Nigella Bites' on Youtube, from about 10 years ago, and was struck at how much Nigella has changed.  I don't mean physically - haven't we all become a little more, ahem, voluptuous, over the intervening years?  Her personality was much less 'in your face' and not nearly as flirty as she is in her current incarnation.  Anyhow, this is a delicious and dead simple recipe.  Nigella uses tinned pears, but we had a surfeit of extremely ripe fresh pears that we peeled and halved.  Yummy!

Beetroot and Orange Soup

I love taking home-made soup into work for lunch during the winter - so much more satisfying than a 'cardboard' sandwich and a packet of crisps from Boots!  Regular readers will know of my cravings for beetroot, and this is a lovely fresh approach to beetroot soup, with a little lift given by the citrus.  This is adapted from a recipe by the marvellous Scots cook Lady Claire MacDonald who runs the Kinloch Lodge Hotel on the Isle of Skye - I would love to go there one day (hint to Hubby, 2011 is our Silver Wedding anniversary.....).  Here is a link to the recipe - I didn't use any dill, although I am sure this would be a lovely addition if you have any.  So, a large bowl of this is tucked away in the fridge for work  - something to look forward to, at least!

Butternut Squash, Spinach and Tomato Lasagne

I know - another squash recipe!  They arrive regularly in our veg box, and it is an (enjoyable) challenge to find new ways to use them.  This was a very delicious solution to the weekly 'what do we do with the squash this time?' conundrum, and I found the recipe on the BBC Good Food site.  It was quite time-consuming to make, because of all the various stages, but none of them are hard and it whiled away a lazy Saturday afternoon.  It is worth using the tinned cherry tomatoes, as they do add a different texture to the proceedings.  Anyway, great veggie dish and worth considering as a Christmas dinner alternative, I would think.

Potato, Leek and Cheese Bake

Sometimes the simple things in life are the best.  Another perishingly cold day today.  After waiting at the bus stop for 20 minutes and walking home through the frostily rimed wonderland of East Oxford, my face had stopped working and the cold had bitten at my already sore throat - I couldn't speak for a good 10 minutes (hurrah!  thought my Hubby!).  We needed something ultra warming and delicious.  So - mashed potato mixed with an onion that had gently sauteed in butter until deeply golden and sticky, a couple of sliced leeks that steamed above the potatoes, and a BIG handful of grated cheddar, all mashed together with lots of black pepper, tipped into a dish, topped with MORE cheese and baked until golden brown and gungy and gooey.  I roasted some tomatoes alongside and steamed some savoy cabbage, and our plates sang with colour, warmth and goodness.  Sorry for the lack of quantities, just go with your instincts and tastebuds.  Cheap, too, and great for feeding loads of hungry kids - they'll want ketchup and/or baked beans with it and won't notice the leeks and onions hidden in there like incendiary vitamin bombs.

Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding

Well, it IS cold outside.  Potroast of beef followed by a Bread and Butter Pud, puts hairs on your chest.  A pud just made for Paddington Bear.  First, make your marmalade and butter sandwiches - use good bread, please - brioche or a proper crusty white farmhouse loaf.  I use Gail's pain de mie tiger top bread - sweet milk bread with a lovely crust.  Loads of my own marmalade.  Cut into chunky little sarnies and arrange in a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with some chopped mixed peel if liked (I like) then pour over a custard made from 2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk, 170ml single cream and 170ml milk, two tablespoons of caster sugar and a teaspoon of good vanilla extract.  Allow to soak for a while, then sprinkle the top with a little demerara sugar and bake, preferebly in a bain marie, for about 40 minutes at 160C.  I like this just warm, and it is rich enough not to need any cream, but please, don't let me stop you!

Potroast Beef Brisket

The cold weather continues, and so it is a good time to capitalise on long, slow cooking of cheaper cuts of meat, which provide flavour.  Last week it was pork belly, this week, rolled beef brisket.  Simply brown it well in an oven-proof casserole (I love my trusty Le Creuset), then add big chunks of winter veg - carrots, onions and swede for me, but you can add celeriac, celery, turnips - you can also do potatoes and pumpkin, but I would add them half way through so they don't break up.  A bay leaf or two, and some fresh thyme, then pour in some beef stock, red wine and tomato puree, not enough to cover the meat but enough to come a good half-way up the side of the dish.  Put a tight fitting lid on, using foil underneath if in doubt, bring to the boil on the hob, then put into the oven at around 140C for a minimum of 3 hours, longer if possible.  As brisket is so lean, you shouldn't need to skim the sauce.  Thicken with a little cornflour at the end if liked.  This has given us masses of leftovers, and I'll probably shred some of the meat with the sauce to dress some pasta for Hubby's supper tomorrow (I'm off out with the Laydees for an early Xmas do).  NB the leftovers made great Beefy Beany Broth, one of my most favourite soups

Baked Pumpkin and Onion Bhajis

We have so much squash and pumpkin in the house at the moment, and I am constantly looking for new ways to use it.  Pumpkin/squash takes to curry flavours very well, so I made some bhajis to ward off the cold on a bitterly freezing night.  I make no claims for authenticity, and please adjust spicing to suit.  I had no 'gram' flour in the house, but plain flour worked just as well.  This quantity made plenty for 2, and is probably fine for 4 as an accompaniment or starter.  You slice 1 good-sized onion, fairly thinly, and peel and coarsely grate about 200g of butternut squash/pumpkin.  If the squash flesh is a bit watery, squeeze handfuls dry with kitchen paper.  Mix 2 eggs, 120g plain flour, some salt and pepper, a teaspoon each of ground cumin, coriander and turmeric, and half a teaspoon of chilli flakes or a finely chopped fresh red chilli.  Now add the onion and squash and stir well.  Heat the oven to 160 C fan and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan over a medium heat, then drop in tablespoons of the mixture, pressing down lightly to make a round cake.  Cook for a minute or so and turn over.  Cook for a further minute and then transfer to the baking sheet.  Repeat with the rest of the mix, using a little extra oil if needed.  You can 'hold' the bhajis like this  for several hours, overnight even, or bake them straight away - 15 minutes from the frying pan, or 20-25 minutes from chilled.  They should be lightly brown and 'singing' from the oven.  Serve with yoghurt into which you have stirred some grated garlic, chopped mint, grated cucumber, chopped coriander - whatever takes your fancy.  I like sweet chilli dipping sauce too!

Perfect Manhattans

Is this the best cocktail in the world? In the Universe?  I think so.  It is simply the best drink ever - and yes, it doesn't even have Campari in it!  You need the best ingredients - Woodford Reserve bourbon (2 parts),  then 1/2 part each of Noilly Prat White Vermouth and Antica Formula Carpano Rosso Vermouth, with 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters, a lemon zest twist and a proper Maraschino cherry, stirred (not shaken!) over ice and served in a chilled Martini glass.  One has to be a perfectionist when it comes to perfection!  I was very happy drinking this with the Cheese Palmiers from an earlier entry - very happy indeed.  It helps that the Hubby is a pretty good barman.

Cheese Palmiers

These have been around the scene since Delia showed us all how to make them in her Christmas book - the simplest thing in the world, but so good.  Infinitely variable, I used mustard and parmesan, but also regularly use slices of Parma ham along with the parmesan too, or with black olive tapenade and anchovies, or fresh pesto.  You simply spread your ingredients over a sheet of puff pastry, roll up from either side to meet in the middle, cut into slices and bake until crisp.  Hot and crisp from the oven, I challenge you to stop at one!  Great to keep, in the long un-sliced roll, in the freezer ready for Christmas and pre-dinner drinks.

A Cake of Parsnip and Celeriac

A Nigel Slater recipe, from his stunning book, 'Tender - vol 1'.  Not a cake made with flour, sugar, etc, but a baked dish, a gratin, almost, but with no cream or cheese, just a little stock, butter and thyme.  The smell in the flat as this baked was amazing - helped, no doubt, by the freshest, most aromatic roots from the Riverford box.  I have found an online recipe for you if you are unwise enough not to have invested in either volume of Tender.  The only change I made was to halve the amount of butter.  It made a big dish, and half of it will be reheated during the week, perhaps with some bangers.  Gorgeous.

Chocolate Banana Cake

I saw Nigel Slater cooking this on his 'Simple Suppers' programme this week and knew I had to bake it - although even I would draw the line at having cake for my supper!  A look at my other 'Nigel' cakes on this blog will show how often he uses a 'pound cake' mix - i.e. equal quantities of flour, sugar and butter.  If the butter is lovely and soft, it is a breeze to make - just bung it all in the food mixer with some eggs and half a teaspoon of cinnamon and give it a good mix.  The quantities he used were 175g each of the SR flour/caster or light muscovado sugar/unsalted butter base, with 2 eggs.  When well beaten and fluffy, fold through 3 medium or 2 large ripe bananas, chopped, and 125g of dark chocolate, chopped fairly chunkily.  Turn into a greased and lined 2lb loaf tin and bake at 160C fan for 45 minutes or so until the centre is cooked.  Nigel added chopped toasted hazelnuts to his mix, but I didn't have any.  I'm sure this would be a wonderful addition.  This cake should keep well for our lunchboxes.....provided I can stop snaffling slices of it.

Crisis appeal: buy a Christmas Dinner for a Homeless Person in the UK

We are so lucky.  I know we might not think we are on a day-to-day basis, but, as the weather turns perishing, and the season of excessive consumption (in every sense) is upon us, we should all give pause and be grateful that we have warm homes, hot water, a bed each night, hot food on our tables, and people who love and care for us.  Crisis, the charity that helps young homeless people, has a campaign this year to buy a Christmas Lunch for somone for £24.  As well as a hot meal, in a warm and happy environment, this will also cover the cost of a health check-up, clothing, a haircut, and some time to chat with someone who can give advice on jobs, housing, and health issues.  So, as I crank up to the Christmas cooking, I will make sure I give some money to this worthy cause - if you are interested, check out the Crisis campaign and buy someone lunch too!

Risotto of Butternut Squash and Chorizo

So cold in Oxfordshire tonight!  At least we don't have snow, but temperatures are forecast to drop to -3C and possibly -10C with wind chill factored in.  So strange for this time of year.  There is a real need for warming carbohydrate, and a bowl of piping hot risotto hits the mark.  Made the usual way, but with some finely-chopped celery along with the onion, and some fresh sage half-way through.  At the end, I stirred through chunks of sweet roasted butternut squash and freshly grated parmesan, along with some cubes of sauteed cooking chorizo.  Warming, filling, and another butternut squash bites the dust!  However, another one arrived in the veg box today.  Doh!

Gratin of Penne with Leeks and Bacon

I love macaroni cheese - it is such a warming thing to eat on a cold night like tonight, and Delia's take on it includes leeks and a little bacon for savoury yumminess.  Here is Delia's recipe - I didn't use the cream, as I thought it rich enough, but by all means go ahead and use it if your arteries are younger than mine.

Columbo Cocktail

Not named after the detective, I don't think!  This is a long fruity Campari, made with 1.5 measures of Campari, 1.5 measure fresh orange juice, 3/4 measure fresh lemon juice and 1 measure of fresh lime juice, with about 1/2 a measure of gomme syrup.  Shake and then serve over ice in a long glass, topped up with chilled tonic and a slice of orange and lime.  Heaven.  We had little crisp squares of buttery baked bread, topped with a duxelles of mushrooms with minced Parma ham mixed in, and baked until bubbling, to accompany it before our dinner of roast lamb and pumpkin pie.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie

Well, it is Thanksgiving on Thursday, and in honour of my American friends, on both sides of the pond, I thought I'd make good ole pumpkin pie.  I also had half a pumpkin to use up, which was very convenient!  Whilst researching this recipe, I was surprised to find that most Americans use tinned pumpkin puree - what a shame, given its seasonality - indeed, ubiquity - at this time of year.  So, I baked big wedges of the beast and stripped the skin off when cool.  This gave me around 400g of pumpkin flesh, which was pureed in a food processor with 2 eggs, 75 g dark brown muscovado sugar, a scant teaspoon of cinnamon, and around 150ml of cream.  This glowing gold custard was poured into a deep pie dish lined with rich eggy shortcrust pastry, and all was baked until the custard was set and the pastry was crisp and golden.  Just lovely with a blob of whipped cream, and the simple flavours shone through.  Happy Thanksgiving, and let's all count our blessings.

Chickpea and Pumpkin Coconut Curry [#253]

We have so much butternut squash in the house, courtesy of Riverford Organics, that I am surprised I don't look like one - oh, hang on, perhaps I do!  Anyway, this was delicious and warming, and would be great for a vegan.  Fry a paste made up of a chopped onion, 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, an inch or so of ginger root, a stem of lemongrass and a de-seeded red chilli - use a tablespoon of oil.  After a minute, add a teaspoon of yellow or black mustard seeds. After another minute or so, stir in a teaspoon each of ground turmeric, ground coriander and cumin.  Then add a 200ml can of coconut milk and 300ml of veg stock.  For non-veggies, splosh in some Thai fish sauce.  Also, add the juice of half a lime.  Add a tin of drained chickpeas and simmer for 15 minutes or so.  Meanwhile, steam some chunks of butternut squash or pumpkin.  Just before serving, add the pumpkin to the sauce with some coriander leaf and more lime if liked.  I like it with sticky rice, or some naan bread - not Thai but still delicious.  This is adapted from a Nigel Slater recipe in 'Tender, Vol. 1' and is plenty for 2 people.

Cabbage with Pancetta and Onions

This is the food equivalent of a comforting hug - we had a Savoy cabbage that needed using up - simples!  Remove the ribs from the outer leaves and discard or feed to the rabbit.  Shred the remaining leaves and the tender heart of the cabbage, washing really well.  Chop some pancetta (or bacon), a good-sized onion and some garlic.  Stir-fry the bacon in its own fat until starting to crisp.  Remove from the pan, turn up the heat and add the sliced onions, with a little olive oil if needed.  When starting to go golden, add the garlic, stirring for a minute or two, then add the cabbage and some black pepper.  Stir and cook until bright green and cooked through, adding a little water if it needs it.  Return the bacon to the pan and heat through then serve with a runny poached egg on top.  Yum!  Pop a baked tattie next to it if you want more substance.  The simple things in life are often the best

Mushroom and Mascarpone Sauce for Pasta

This isn't low fat, for sure, but it got supper on the table in 15 minutes and was warming and filling on a freezing foggy Autumn night.  Whilst your pasta is cooking, what ever shape you fancy, saute a finely chopped onion in a tablespoon of olive oil until starting to soften, then add a clove of crushed garlic and stir for a minute or two.  Then add a punnet of chopped mushrooms, whatever you have to hand - I used two wonderful big Portobello mushrooms from the Riverford veg box - and saute for a minute or two over a brisk heat until lovely and juicy.  Strip three or four small sprigs of fresh thyme and stir into the pot.  Now, stir in around half a tub of mascarpone, about 125g.  I know, I know, stop whingeing, it is for 2 people!  Allow it to melt and bubble into the mushrooms.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, stirring in a couple of tablespoons of grated parmesan.  Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water.  Add drained pasta to the pan and stir well with the sauce, adding a little of the reserved cooking water if needed.  Add some chopped parsley if you have it. Spoon into hot bowls, sprinkle a little more parmesan over, and tuck in!  Now what to make with the remaining mascarpone?  Same again?  Or spoon it through a hot tomato sauce for another creamy pasta option!

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares

I made this for a cake-sale fundraiser at work today, and they went down pretty well - the caramel flavour perhaps could have been a wee bit more pronounced?  Never mind, they looked fantastic.  This is a recipe I've had my eye on for a while, and it has cropped up on many brilliant blogs, including Smitten Kitchen and Annie's Eats.  It consists of a base of crushed digestives and butter (about 80g and 40g respectively) baked in a foil-lined 8" square square tin for 10 mins.  Whip up 250g of mascarpone, a tin of Nestle Caramel, 60ml of single cream and two eggs.  Pour this over the cooled base, and bake, prefereably in a bain marie at around 160 degrees for 35 minutes.  Chill well, then top with a 'glaze' of 100g dark chocolate, not too bitter, 50g butter and 2 teaspoons liquid glucose, gently melted together and poured over the top.  When set, cut with a sharp long-bladed knife, dipped in hot water and wiped after each cut, to give dinky bite-sized portions.  This recipe yielded 36 squares, so great for gifts, buffets, after-dinner treats.

Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup

I fancied some dal and some carrot and coriander soup and had the idea to combine them into a cheap, cheerful and very nutritious soup.  Another one suitable for vegans, if so inclined (see the red cabbage recipe previous to this)

• 2 tsp cumin seed, toasted in a pan
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• pinch chilli flakes or a finely chopped red chilli
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 600g carrots , washed and grated 
• 140g split red lentils
• 1litre hot vegetable stock (from a cube is fine)
• bunch of coriander, washed and chopped

Toast the cumin seeds, dry, in a pan, and when the aroma starts to rise and they change colour a little, tip into a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder.  Mix with the coriander powder and chilli flakes or fresh chilli.  Heat the oil in the pan and gently fry the onion until softened, adding the garlic and the spices for the final minute or so.  Now, just add the rinsed lentils, the grated carrots and the stock.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes or so until all is tender.  I pureed the soup, with the coriander in, until smooth, but you could leave it unblended and stir the coriander through.  Yummy! (post script:  I am reminded of Nigel's Spiced Pumpkin and Dal soup, which was one of the first things made in the Challenge last year.  As I have numerous small pumpkins and squashes from Riverford in the flat, I will revisit this!)

Red Cabbage, Beetroot and Apple Braise

From time to time, we ladies need a bit of a boost in the old iron department.  When I feel like this, it isn't meat I crave, but beetroot.  A quick Google reveals that beetroot is high in iron (as well as potassium, so good for the blood pressure, and folate, were I, by some miracle, trying to conceive).  It is also very rich in beneficial anti-oxidants.  So, it figures that accompanying it with red cabbage AND red onions will be a very healthy thing indeed.  All I did here was peel and shred the bunch of raw beets (the kitchen does look like a scene from 'CSI'), shred the red cabbage and a couple of red onions, sliced some celery, chopped a few cox apples, and then layered them in the big Le Creuset casserole, sprinking 200g of brown sugar (in total) and some salt between each layer.  Pour over 300mls red wine, or cider if preferred, 100mls of red or cider wine vinegar, and lots of black pepper.  Add a cinnamon stick and a piece of star anise, cover, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour on a low heat.  Turn everything over in the pan from time-to-time.  This does shrink down quite a bit, but still loads here, just right to eat with grilled bangers, maybe, or some smoked mackerel.  Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for a few days and it freezes well too.  Might just save some for Xmas and the duck.......

Red Wine and Radicchio Risotto

Well, now, this is never going to be the best looking dish on the block, but it was deeply savoury and umami-ish.  We had some wonderful Treviso radicchio delivered in the Riverford box last week, which we used as a pasta sauce on Monday with bacon, a little cream, onion, garlic and sage.  Scrummy!  This used similar flavours - some chopped pancetta, a red onion, the shredded radicchio, sauteed in oil and butter and a good splosh of red wine (red vermouth in our case) along with some chicken stock.  I kept the risotto quite soupy this time, as I felt the texture of the radicchio needed this, somehow.  Finished at the end with another knob of butter and some parmesan, it was just delicious, just a slightly murky colour.  Radicchio is quite an addictive flavour!

Chocolate Denver Pudding

Oh dear, another recipe where I fear I have to advise dieters to look away now.  But honestly, this is much lower in fat than last week's butter-fest pear cake with fudge sauce.  (OK, we won't mention the sugar content......).  Basically, this is a self-saucing pudding, made by mixing up a light batter, topping it with sugar and cocoa, and pouring cold coffee over.  When I first made it, many, many moons ago, I remember panicking and thinking "What the...?" but it works, like magic.  The cocoa and coffee cobine to form a gorgeous sauce on the bottom and the sponge rises to the top.  If you like chocolate fondant puddings, you'll love this, and SOOOO much easier to do.  No eggs, too, so suitable for egg-allergy sufferers or vegans, if you replace the butter and milk with a non-dairy alternative.  So, not too bad for you after all!  OK dieters, you can look now.
Recipe (from Sainsbury's Winter Pudding book 1986 - out of print sadly).  This serves 4-6 and is rich, so small portions are all that's needed.  Nice cold the next day if leftovers

50g butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, 75g caster sugar, 125g plain flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder,6 tablespoons milk and a few drops good vanilla essence.  Topping 50g dark brown soft sugar, 50g caster sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 100ml cold coffee made with two teaspoons of instant coffee or left-over strong filter coffee

Place the butter and cocoa in a pan over a medium heat and stir until melted and combined.  Stir in the sugar, flour, baking powder, milk and vanilla until well combined.  Turn the mixture into a deep greased 20cm square or round oven-proof dish.  For the topping, combine the sugars and cocoa and sprinkle over the batter, then pour over the cold coffee.  It will look dreadful, but bear with me.  Bake in a preheated oven 170C fan oven or Gas 4, for 40 minutes.  Serve with cream, if liked, but for once I think it is better without.

Roast Kabocha Squash and Sweetcorn Soup

I know, another squash soup, but they are rather lovely to cook with and make for healthy and filling lunches.  This week we ordered a special extra box from Riverford Organics which delivered 8 beautiful specimens of kabocha, acorn, butternut and small pumpkin varieties.  The kabocha was particularly beautiful, a deep speckled green with a blush of orange, and as warty as a witch's nose, so it seemed appropriate to mark Hallowe'en, or perhaps more appropriately for a Scot, Samhain, by cooking it.  The regular Riverford veg box also provided us with some sweetcorn cobs, so it seemed logical to combine them.  The usual method: cut the squash into wedges and roast.  Sweat an onion in olive oil, add the roasted squash, scooped from the skin, and the kernels from a couple of stripped sweetcorn cobs.  Just cover with veg stock, simmer for 20 minutes or so and then blend - I left half unblended to give texture.  No chilli or herbs this week, just gentle, unadorned sweetness and goodness!  Like me. (ha!)

Dorset Apple Traybake

A friend mentioned last week that she had made Dorset Apple Cake, and I thought it would be a great candidate for our lunchboxes this week.  There are as many recipes for this as there are cooks in Dorset and the debate rages as to whether there should be spices and dried fruit in or not.  I decided to retain the purity of the apple and a good buttery sponge, so followed a recipe on BBC Good Food, albeit it with some tweaks - I know, I just can't help myself.  So I used this recipe, but grated the zest of the lemon in too, I replaced the caster sugar with some soft brown sugar to give a wee bit of depth of flavour, and I also used eating apples (British Cox and Gala) instead of Bramleys as I thought they would keep their shape better.  Lovely simple recipe that took about 10 minutes to whip up in the KitchenAid.  The smell in the flat as it baked was fantastic too!

Roast Butternut, Goats' Cheese and Sage Souffle

Supper really was the highlight of my day today.  Whether that meant that I had had a particularly bad day at work, or just that I am greedy, I'll leave you to decide - a bit of both, if truth be told.  I've wanted to do this recipe, by Sarah Raven, for a while, and as I had some leftover roasted butternut squash in the fridge, today seemed like an ideal opportunity.  So, a bit of mashing of squash, a bit of grating of parmesan and chopping of soft, squidgy goats' cheese, tearing of sage leaves, and beating of egg whites, and we're done.  I made a little 'panade', the classic thick white sauce, as a base, and beat the mashed squash and 3 egg yolks into this along with most of the parmesan and the sage.  Then, I folded the cubed squidgy goats' cheese in along with the egg white, tipped it into a gratin dish lined with butter and more parmesan, and sprinkled the remaining cheese on top.  Twenty minutes later, it emerged from a hot oven all golden, wobbly and crisp.  Dear reader, it was delicious, and the day seems nicer and life more mellow, with a full tum and a fragrant flat!

The Lifecycle of Joint of Roast Pork

So, next meat to get the lifecycle treatment.  A wonderful piece of pork loin - really good, outdoor reared and organic.  Not cheap, but we will, again, get three meals from it for the two of us, so fourteen quid well spent for superb meat.  Yesterday, it was roasted on a bed of thickly sliced onion with fresh sage and rosemary.  This base made a marvellous gravy later.  Tonight, with a desire to eat lightly after yesterday's fudge sauce excesses, I made egg noodles with stirfried cavolo nero, onions, pork, and mushrooms in an aromatic broth of chicken stock, deeply flavoured with chopped ginger, garlic and red chilli, and a splosh of soy sauce.  Light, low fat, yet filling, this was perfect.  More tomorrow on the remaining chunk of roast meat.

Between the Sheets Cocktail

Tonight's cocktail is a classic, and we make it with equal quantities of Bacardi white rum, cognac, Cointreau and fresh lemon juice, shaken over ice and strained into a martini glass with a lemon twist.  Totally.  Delicious.   Served with crisp little Cheddar and Rosemary biscuits.  I think Sundays are my favourite day of the week!  Hic!
NB: many thanks to Helen for spotting the deliberate error in my original posting, where I listed gin instead of Bacardi white rum.  What can I say?  I was drunk at the time.

Cinnamon Pear Cake with Vanilla Fudge Sauce [#252]

Now, safety alert: if you are on a diet, please look away now, as this posting will only make you cry.  For the rest of you, read this recipe, then go out, buy the ingredients, and make it.  Every now and then, we all need this, and it does feed a lot of people.  This is essentially a buttery sponge, with nuggets of buttery, caramelised cinnamony pear embedded in it, doused in a buttery fudge sauce.  Have you picked up on the fact there is a lot of butter in it?  Well, we just won't eat any of the stuff for the rest of the week, and indulge (almost) guiltlessly.  When I die, can you please ensure I am embalmed in this sauce?  And if I eat any more of it, that particular event may not be too far off.  Here is a link to the recipe, as cooked by the lovely blogger, Little Bird Eats.  It should come as no surprise that this recipe is from the marvellous Nigel Slater, and can also be found in his recently published 'Tender: Vol 2'.  You won't ever regret buying this, or the first volume.

Chocolate and Beetroot Cake

I haven't made a cake for a while so thought I'd use up some beetroot in this good, plain, cut-and-come again cake.  Beetroot adds moisture and extra sweetness to proceedings, and the cake keeps well as a result - or as well as a slab of home-made chocolate cake lying around the kitchen can ever keep!  Some people react very strangely to the idea of it's presence in a cake, with a wrinkled nose and a 'bleugh!'.  Why?  We eat carrot cake with no qualms.  And it amazes me that people will pounce on Red Velvet Cake which is made with a huge quantity of artificial red food colouring.  Surely better to eat something wholesome and healthy?  Anyway, a quick google for a simple, melt-and-mix recipe came up with this one on Netmums, and it is a doddle - do try it.  You will also find a variation on BBC Good Food, which uses oil instead of butter for those trying to avoid dairy.

Roast Butternut Squash Soup with Leek and Chilli

It is very rare indeed that Hubby is off work on a Saturday, but today is one of those days!  Hurray!  But, a 'proper' lunch is called for rather than my usual making do with some toast.  Yesterday's Riverford Organic Veg Box brought a HUGE butternut squash, which I chopped and roasted on foil-lined trays.  Whilst this happened, I sliced two magnificent leeks (also form the box) and sweated them slowly in olive oil, with a little garlic and a chopped bird's eye chilli.  Into the pot went one of the trays of roasted squash, along with a litre or so of Marigold veg stock mixed with a tablespoon of tomato puree.  Twenty minutes of simmering, and a quick whizz with the handblender (still leaving some chunkiness for a bit of texture) and we had a thick, warming bowl of soup with just a prickle of chilli.  Loads left for lunch on Monday too.  The remaining squash will be mashed and turned into a Squash, Sage and Goat's Cheese Souffle from Sarah Raven that I've had my eye on for a while.

Creamy Fish Pie

So, last night, I had a lump of leftover smoked haddock from the previous night's Kedgeree in the fridge, and had originally intended to make a recipe my sister suggested - a cauliflower and smoked haddock souffle.  However, it was cold, and we were tired from a week at work, and needed comfort - sorry Sis, but Fish Pie won the day!  I promise I'll try your recipe soon and blog about it on here.  Anyway, comfort indeed, with a fillet each of cod and salmon rescued from the depths of the freezer and the aforementioned smoked haddock, folded into a creamy bechamel sauce with a touch of white vermouth, sauteed mushrooms, frozen peas and lots of parsley and dill - oh, and a leftover boiled egg from yesterday too.  Topped with creamy mash and baked until lovely and golden, it was a marvellous supper, and we drank a fine white Burgundy in it's honour.

Kedgeree

Ah, Kedgeree....for me, this is true comfort food, a dish I grew up eating, and which always reminds me of my dear old Dad, who would probably have killed for a plate of it.  Over the years, I've made it many ways - pre-cooked rice with the other ingredients stirred in, with and without a creamy curry sauce, all delicious.  But now, I make it in one pan, by the absorption method, which is much simpler.  Now, some recipes I have seen omit any spices, and simply have a dish of cooked rice, smoked haddock, boiled egg and parsley - imagine that, no spices?!  Not right, not right at all.  Anyway, how I make it (for 2): boil a couple of good-sized eggs, and poach some reaaly good, undyed smoked haddock very gently in water to cover for about 5 minutes.  Drain, and cool, then flake into large juicy chunks.  Finely chop an onion, and gently cook in about 25g of butter until lightly golden and softened.  Stir in a level teaspoon each of turmeric and ground coriander, and half a teaspoon of garam masala powder.  I also added a little chopped green chilli, simply because I had some.  Now, measure in a jug 7floz of basmati rice, then tip into a seive and rinse.  Add to the buttery onions along with 14floz of hot water from the kettle.  Stir, cover, bring to the boil then turn right down and cook for 15 minutes until all the water has been absorbed.  In the meantime, peel and chop the eggs, flake the fish and chop a good handful of parsley - for once, I think the curly parsley is best here.  When the time is up, stir the egg, fish and parsley through the rice with a fork, cover again and leave to sit for a couple of minutes, then eat.  Nom nom!

Beefy Bean and Tomato Soup

Earlier in the week, I looked at the lifecycle of a roasted beef topside and how to eke out the leftovers.  After a mammoth Cottage Pie, yesterday I made a huge pot of this soup.  It is a bit of a storecupboard standby as it uses tinned items too, but I think good tinned tomatoes and pulses are essential!  Anyway, I sweated a couple of good sized onions (use leeks instead if you have them) in a little olive oil, with a couple of diced carrots and couple of sticks of celery.  After a few minutes, I tipped in a tin of chopped tomatoes, a tin of borlotti beans and a tin of green lentils - the pulses having been drained and rinsed.   Then, a litre and a half of beef stock (go ahead, use good old Oxo for this) along with two potatoes, peeled and chopped fine, and a couple of handfuls of frozen peas.  Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for an hour, stirring occasionally.  The potatoes break up and thicken the soup deliciously.  A few minutes before serving, chop up your remaining beef, removing any fat, gristle etc, into small chunks and add to the soup.  You can also add some finely shredded cabbage if liked - which we do.  Allow to heat through thoroughly, add some fresh parsley and dish up in big steaming bowls.  With crusty bread and some cheese, this is my idea of heaven on a cold night.

The Lifecycle of a Joint of Roast Beef

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the lifecycle of a leg of roast lamb, and how, as just two people, we don't eschew a large joint of roasted meat.  This weekend, we roasted a lovely topside of Aberdeen Angus Beef, around 1.5 kilos in weight, which we had with the usual accompaniments for Sunday dinner.  Tonight, we have just demolished a proper Cottage Pie, made with half of the remaining beef, minced, sauteed carrots, onions, mushrooms and peas, with the last of the gravy.  I commented to Hubby that the dish was big enough to feed a hungry family of four, and his response was, "Well, it will feed a hungry family of two instead" and he proceeded to have two huge platefuls.  He truly has hollow legs.  The remaining third is being turned into another favourite, our Big Beefy Beany Broth, which I'll blog tomorrow.  This will feed us for supper and a couple of work lunches, with lots of crusty bread, some cheese and an apple.  All for an initial outlay of twelve quid.

Raymond Blanc's Tarte Tatin

photo by Jean Cazals

Oh, rarely has a dish been so badly abused than the Tarte Tatin.  Common mistakes are: too little caramelisation and too few apples, with a pale, flabby puff pastry layer.  The apples should be halved and packed, upright, into the buttery caramel base, and the pastry should be cooked until crisp and flaky, to provide contrasting textures.  I was privileged, many years ago, to watch a live cookery demonstration by the demi-God, Raymond Blanc.  From what I can remember, dragged out of  memories obscured by sheer lust and awe, he produced a Tatin of utter brilliance (I also remember him tasting olive oil by pouring it onto his palm and licking it off - I didn't recover from that for several weeks).  So, I have followed his recipe every Autumn for our annual treat, probably for the last 20 years or more.  The recipe works, so I shall simply point you to it to follow too, along with a picture from his cookbook that shows what perfection should look like.

Salmon en papillote

I love baking salmon fillets (and other fish fillets for that matter) en papillote - it keeps the flesh super-moist, creates a sauce, reduces washing up and also seems to cut down on some of salmon's oilyness.  I take a sheet of foil and top it with a smaller sheet of baking parchment.  Then build the dish - you can simply put the fish in with a dot of butter, some lemon and seasoning.  Or you can put a bed of spinach, chard, julienned leeks, whatever, on the bottom first, then lay the fish on top.  I added some lemon and a tablespoon of Noilly Prat (white wine would be fine), then sealed the package tightly, placed on a baking tray and baked in a hot oven (200 degrees) for 20 minutes.  The smell when you unwrap the parcel is divine.  Serve as it is with the juices poured over, or pour the juices into a pan and boil for a minute, then stir in a spoonful of double cream or creme fraiche and some chives for a bit of indulgence.  I'll leave you to guess what we did.

Cavalo Nero and Meatball Soup

This recipe came from the BBC Good Food Magazine via Riverford Organics, and I have seen it blogged quite a lot recenly.  I made meatballs using minced British veal, flavoured with lemon and nutmeg, and also used Cavolo Nero, as that's what came in the Riverford box this week (and they use it in their version of the recipe).  Simple, filling elegant and quite low fat if you use lean veal (or beef, pork or chicken mince would be fine too).  Here is the Good Food version of the recipe, and I used their photo too, as I forgot!

Chard and Ricotta Cannelloni

I had a bag of mixed chard leaves from the Riverford box - ruby, golden and green.  They were quite small with not much stem, so I had no qualms about throwing away some of the stems, although I would normally want to use them too.  The blanched leaves were chopped finely and mixed with ricotta, nutmeg and grated Parmesan.  I use lasagne sheets rather than cannelloni tubes, cooking them for a few minutes to soften and drying on kitchen paper.  Marcella Hazan's tip is to spread the filling all over the sheet of lasagne and then roll up, rather than having a wodge of filling in the middle and several layers of pasta round it.  This makes for a much lighter finish.  Place the rolls on a layer of chopped, skinned fresh tomatoes, and then top with a simple bechamel sauce and more Parmesan.  Forty minutes in a medium oven, until all is tender and bubbling with a golden cheesy crust, makes for a most scrummy dinner.  Use spinach if you don't have chard.

Apple Tart with Amaretti Biscuits

Surely the simplest apple tart ever?  Based on a recipe from Riverford Organic's cookbook, it is a doddle.  Line a round or square tart tin with parchment paper.  Take 100g of plain flour, 40g of hard Amaretti biscuits, 70g of melted butter and 50g of caster sugar.  Whizz it all together in a food processor until it is sandy and moist.  Tip this mix into the tin and press down well into a compact an even layer.  Now top with sliced apples - the recipe stated Bramleys but I had English Cox's, so used them instead - and make a pretty pattern if you can be bothered.  Melt a tablespoon of butter and brush over the apples, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar mixed with half a teaspoon of cinnamon.  Bake in a hottish oven, around 190 degrees, for half an hour or so.  The base crisps up deliciously in the oven.  Serve with custard, cream, or ice cream.  Or all three?  Only kidding!

Sweetcorn with Chilli and Coriander Butter

We have a bit of a veg glut in the house at the moment, so lots of veggie dishes recently, which is no bad thing.  After starting with a big bowl of my favourite beetroot soup, served with crisp bread croutes and melting goats' cheese with fresh thyme, we had chunks of corn-on-the-cob slathered with chilli and coriander butter.  Very simple to make - take about 4 oz or 100g of butter and allow to soften to room temperature.  In a pestle and mortar, crush a clove of garlic with a little salt, then add the grated zest of a lime and a finely chopped red chilli - I used a teaspoon of Lazy Chilli.  Mix a little then add the softened butter, and mash all together.  When amalgamated, add a couple of tablespoons of chopped coriander and a squeeze of lime juice.  Mix well, and either shape into a log, wrapped in clingfilm (it freezes well this way) or just dollop on the freshly cooked or barbecued corn.  Delicious!