My antidote - Take three trays ...

... measuring 23x23 cms :

35g plain flour

2 eggs, beaten

100g Panko crumbs – blitzed in a food processor

You'll need vegetable oil for frying

Using damp hands, mould each square into a ball – make 3 at a time – place in the flour tray and jiggle, let the tray do the work. Repeat in the beaten egg and finally in the crumb. My technical term is “jiggle”, the actual technical term is pané – meaning “breaded”. If you want to be really cheffy you can repeat the egg and crumb - “double pané”.

Place the arancini in the fridge for 20 minutes or until you're ready to use.

Happy New Year!

My antidote …

to over-indulgence is simple tasty food and right about now we really begin to crave it, so here we have :

Arancini

For arancini, aka rice balls, you'll need a basic risotto recipe :

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

40g unsalted butter

1 tbsp groundnut oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves (or 3 tsps paste)

350g risotto rice

150ml dry white wine

2 tbsps flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

100g Parmesan cheese, grated

salt and black pepper

Bring the stock to a boil and simmer gently. Heat the butter and the oil in a pan and fry the onions and garlic until soft. Season with salt. Stir in the rice and fry for 2 minutes until the edges become opaque. Add the wine. Start adding the stock, a ladle at a time – the liquid should be absorbed before you add the next. Add the parsley, black pepper and the Parmesan cheese.

It's imperative that your stock is kept hot and added a ladle at a time. If you follow these basic principles you'll be fine.

Tip your risotto into a tray bake, cover and cool, then fridge. You can leave for a couple of hours or overnight – whatever suits you best. The tray measures 12” or 31cms - with the tray bake lengthways in front of you cut the risotto in half. Each half tray ( 6” or 15.5cms) gives you 9 arancini weighing approximately 80/90gm approximately. Using one half divide into 9 squares – 2½” (6.5cms) 5” (13cms) and 7½” (19cms) and set aside. I used a good old fashioned school ruler – works a treat. You can continue and make another 9 or freeze the remaining risotto as it is.

Prepping this way will give you pretty much similar sized arancini but don't lose sleep over it!

You might think there appears to be a lot of work here but the recipe is simplicity itself and it can be made in stages, whenever you have time.

Happy New Year!

Check out the chick peas!

In April I mentioned this recipe - just goes to show that I reuse and develop the recipes I share!

Cheeky Chickpeas!

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas

2 tbsp olive oil

salt

Pre-heat your oven 210fan/230c/Gas 8

Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Lay the chickpeas on kitchen roll and pat dry.

Place the chickpeas in a bowl and toss them in the oil. Season with salt. ** Add optional spices.

Spread the chickpeas on a non-stick baking tray and bake for 30 minutes – shake gently after 15 minutes – check again after a further 10 minutes – the chickpeas should be golden brown – note to self, do not walk away! Ovens vary as do the size of the actual chickpeas and you do not want them to burn and spoil.

If you like spice you could mix together a pinch of chilli, sweet paprika and garlic powders or any spice you like – sumac would work well. Sprinkle the spices over the chickpeas and mix well at ** above.

Here's another take on chick peas – both would be ideal for a New Year party nibble or sprinkled over a salad – warm or cold – or just munching in front of the tv.

Roasted chick peas

*60ml vegetable oil

*2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

*1 tbsp Italian seasoning

*1½ tsps garlic salt

2 tins of chick peas – drained, rinsed and pat dry

2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat oven 220c/200fan/Gas 7.

Using a large mixing bowl combine the ingredients marked *. Add the chick peas and coat thoroughly. Spread onto a baking sheet (with sides) 15x10”.

Roast for 15 minutes. Stir in the cheese and roast for a further 25 minutes – until brown and crisp. Stir them a couple of times – don't panic – some of them will burst and pop.

Cool.

Will keep in the fridge in airtight containers for 3 days or you can freeze for up to 3 months.

To serve preheat oven to 180c/160fan/Gas 4 and warm for 5 minutes.

I warn you they are moreish!

Recipe Repository – file under easy peasy

Here's a step by step guide to the Pommes Dauphinoise, made for serving at home.

There are three stages – you'll see that as usual – I would not want to disappoint – I've used the ever dependable foil tray which measures 23cm x 23cm.

I road tested this recipe when friends came for lunch too – serving with slow cooked gammon and various veggies.

I can give no better recommendation than my Husband's comment - “those potatoes were great ...”. H would never choose any “sauce” in a potato dish since he's not a lover of creamy consistencies – blimey! Just in case you should think there is any bias here – recipe requested from two friends.

You could add crispy bacon bits if you wished.

This dish forms part of our Christmas Day lunch – with roasties too – I shall report back on its success or failure.

By the way the leftovers are delish!

New Year perhaps?

P.s. Could I also mention that whilst I'm all for short cuts and making life easy there are certain rules that cannot be broken – one of which is always use block parmesan – I know it's an expensive ingredient but check out Lidl – their Parmigiano Reggiano is 40p per 200g block cheaper than other supermarkets.

Pommes Dauphinoise – but not as you know them

“I know this is really cheeky and last minute but could you make me a tray of the sliced potatoes in whatever sauce you do, for Saturday”.

This request came from my Dil, Cheryl (I quite like “Dil” - aka daughter in law) for her Daughter Alyce's 18^th Birthday Party.

Hmmm, not really sure what is meant by the sliced potatoes - “I meant the sliced ones you do that are cheesy … “

I feel I should mention that this food had to be transported from Northamptonshire to West Yorkshire so oodles of cream sloshing about needs some thought.

Righty ho – drawing board time.

Here are the results.

Remember in the multitasking morning stuff I talked about making the best of the space in your oven when in use and baking jacket potatoes? For the following recipe I baked three large potatoes – cooled them and fridged.

Alfredo Sauce

double the quantities given in the original recipe

50g unsalted butter

400ml double cream

100g freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling

freshly ground black pepper

Gently heat the butter and the cream together, stirring, until the butter has melted, then stir in the Parmesan.

Slowly bring to a gentle boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stir continuously for a minute or so until you have a smooth, creamy sauce, season.

This sauce can be made ahead, cooled, boxed and fridged or you can freeze it.

The Pommes Dauphinoise were duly delivered – portable in that the cooked jackets were left in tact, in their foil, in a strong food bag and the sauce in boxes. I even supplied the foil trays.

A big hit with pulled pork and rated 11 out of 10.

N.B. Resist the urge to use a microwave to reheat the sauce – I promise you it will split and you will not be a happy bunny – I know it goes against the grain – use a saucepan – it's worth the washing up!

Overwhelmed yet?

I think I've got this right or, does this sound familiar?

Totally stressed out and making lists of lists, waking in the early hours struck down by brain overdrive - “don't forget the …..” and eventually sleep deprived and cranky the result is the last person you consider – is you.

Indulgence is for you too! The only problem with indulgence is it either costs a fortune “ready-made” or it takes forever to prep and cook at home.

In reality what happens at this time of year is that we finish up yearning for simple tasty food that is easy to prepare.

I do realise that indulgence is relative – it's personal taste – if chocolate (and all things sweet) is your bag, then you'll not be interested in the following.

So, for the frazzled out there, the following is for you.

Turned out nicely!

Here's the “cross your fingers and hope” moment – cutting a slice of pudding to reveal …

… drum roll please.

One of the greatest pleasures in cooking is leaving ingredients alone to do their own thing and, as if by magic!

Serving suggestions – keep it simple – home-made vanilla ice cream (the recipe is on the blog) and - if you're really going to push the boat out as it's Christmas – clotted cream too.

With the remaining conserve or pie filling and reserved fruit juices warm through, gently, in a microwave. Pour over the top of the pudding to serve.

For a festive, grown-up version, you could serve a shot of kirsch on the side or - if you're in a retro mood – cherry brandy!

Merry Christmas!