You must forgive me for my absence. I barely cook in November and December as I am barely home. Christmas is such a fun, if expensive and exhausting time of the year. Then early on this year I moved back to the family home, so opportunities for me to be the household chef are fewer…
Chicken, mozzarella and tomato bake (#79)
We all know that I have a predilection for heavier foods. I also have a preference for food that doesn’t exactly require the skills of a Cordon Bleu chef. For me, food is fun, and I’ll cook what I like. Mary Berry’s Quick Cooking gives me ample opportunity to cook filling foods that can be…
Chocolate nougat cookies (#78)
I recently went to a dinner party where group participation in the joys of cooking for other is encouraged. I’m too much of a control freak about dinner parties myself but I can thank this dinner party for spurring me into making a recipe I’ve had in my back pocket for a while: chocolate nougat…
Sausage and saffron pasta (#77)
I cannot recommend this recipe enough as a fantastic little number to have in your repertoire. Incredibly simple. Despite the 40 minute simmer, it’s surprisingly quick. A particular joy is that the flavours are strong despite the relatively small list of ingredients and the lack of any technical skill. The saffron and a good choice…
Chicken fricassée (#76)
I’ve wandered back briefly to French cuisine for you today. Oddly, I wouldn’t quite say I’ve made a fricassée before, although as it is defined as meat cooked in a white sauce I’ve definitely made food along the lines of a fricassée countless times. Fun fact, this was a favourite dish of Abraham Lincoln. Obviously,…
Amaretto semifreddo (#75)
Oh. My. Gosh. Just wow. I have been intending on making a semifreddo for years. Literally years. Now I finally got round to it I’m kicking myself for not having done something so simple, so straightforward, and so beautifully delicious, much sooner. For this one you’ll need some dariole moulds. I was a bit like…
Quick chicken curry (#74)
I won’t make a huge song and dance about this one, but it is actually a great one to have in your repertoire as a way of turning some curry paste into a curry with more flavour than those pre-created supermarket pastes tend to achieve on their own. This is a thank you to the Hairy…
Coriander chicken with wild rice (#73)
I’ve been a tad busy. And being a tad busy means I have been cooking, getting in the kitchen, trying out new things… but woefully bad at writing them up and sharing them with you all and for that I am sorry. So, to make up for it I am sharing a recipe that I’ve…
Romano pepper and herb penne (#72)
This is the first recipe I’m going to bring you from Mary Berry’s Quick Cooking. How glad I am that I purchased this book. It’s given me a whole bunch of cracking recipes. There are some fantastic little tapas pieces and canapes. Go and get this now. This particular recipe is a superb little number. The…
Aloo gobi (#71)
I’ve wanted to make aloo gobi for ages. It’s one of those dishes I really like but feel I don’t get to have very often. I get the impression that my friends from school, known somewhere between ‘Michelin List Mandem’ and ‘Indian restaurant tour’, aren’t very fussed about it when we go out. So I…
Beef casserole with horseradish and mustard (#70)
There is some serious drama in my backstory for this one. Serious drama. I tried to make this two years ago. Stupidly tried to do it after work. Hours later, while tired, impatient and hungry I accidentally tipped the whole thing over on the kitchen floor. There was a rather comic (read tragic) moment of…
Chocolate peanut butter cheesecake (#69)
I am aware that the desserts do get the hearts aflutter on this blog. They do get so many more likes. I often find this a shame, as the main courses could probably be well described as the raison d’être for the blog. I will gladly, happily, gleefully, make an exception for this recipe however. I…
Chef Crunchy 