Magical oranges – here's the photo guide …

 

Take it from someone who doesn't “do cake” - this is the exception.

Now for the extra bits that takes it to the next level …

Fishcake foto guide

You can make the fishcakes as small or as large as you like, depending on how you're going to serve them. May be as a starter or a main – the choice is yours!

But first a moment ... I'd like to think that I only recommend kit that I know is worth the dosh and, more to the point, has a useful purpose. In other words it will not find its way to that happy hunting ground for cast aside, useless and expensive dusty kitchen stuff in the sky.

Say hello to the ricer – you don't have to spend a fortune – price range from £4 to £40 and all points in between.

Here's a foto of mine and a simple guide to making the fishcakes and the different sizes you can make!

Ricer

Fluffy mashed potato, riced

The ingredients, ready to form into cakes

The cakes before flouring and frying

The cakes fried, ready to bake

Three different sizes of cake

The appetiser size of cake with rendang sauce

and topped with mango chutney

A size to suit every occasion!

Faff free fotos!

… the Kedgeree

It's easy peasy, you'll see :

Onions and spices

Mixed rice

Served in a bowl with a jug of curry sauce

The smoked fish and the sweetness in the

curry sauce is a perfect combination.

Lunch box anyone?

The joy of this recipe is that each element is quick and easy and can be prepped ahead – it's a win, win.

Delicious!

Coming up … fab fishcakes

Here's the second … Slow cooked pork with Calvados

… and Parmesan Dumplings

Use a combination of roasted veggies as a base for this dish – parsnips, carrots, potatoes – whatever your favourites are! Pre-heat the oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6 for 20-25 minutes. They should be part-roasted ahead of the game – amounts don't matter – a large tray will give you leftovers for another dish. The veggies should be of a similar size – ideally 1-2 cms, so that they roast at the same time. Drizzle with rapeseed oil and season with celery salt and black pepper. Don't forget to set your timer! Set aside, ready to finish later.

Again, this recipe is perfect for a supper or dinner party.

Slow cooked pork loin steaks with

Calvados cream sauce

600g/1lb 5oz pork loin steaks – 6 steaks, trimmed

glug of rapeseed/Canola oil

salt and black pepper

generous sprinkle of dried herbs – sage or

thyme

2 tsps of garlic paste – optional

500ml/1 pint approx vegetable stock – use a stock pot if you're

not using your own stock

Heat the oil in a large frying pan until hot. You'll need a lid for later on! Seal the loin steaks on both sides, add salt and black pepper, garlic and herbs. Add your stock to the residual juices in the frying pan, bring to the boil and transfer to a slow cooker for 3 hours, then set the steaks aside.

For the sauce, you'll need approximately 200ml of stock from the cooked pork steaks - strain, cover and fridge until cold and ready for use. Freeze the remainder of the stock.

Calvados cream sauce

15g/¾ oz unsalted butter

15g/¾ oz plain flour

1 tsp garlic paste or 1 clove, crushed

A glug of Calvados

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

200ml/7 fl oz stock

300ml/½ pint/10 fl oz double cream

salt and black pepper

Using a medium saucepan, melt the butter, take the pan off the heat, add the flour and whisk. Return to the heat and cook out the flour for 2/3 mins, stirring continuously – add the garlic paste and mustard and then, on a high heat, add the Calvados and cook for 1-2 mins. Add the cold stock straight into the sauce and whisk until smooth, then cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Using the original frying pan transfer the sauce and add the steaks, complete the sauce by adding the cream and simmering for 5 minutes – then add the dumplings and cover with the lid. At the same time finish off roasting the veggies in the oven – 20 minutes each!

Serve in large bowls, veggies first then the pork and drizzle with sauce and for the crowning

glory pop a dumpling on top – yum!

Two different dishes and ideas to lift your spirits during the miserable wet weather.

Coming next … fish, but definitely zhuzhed fish!

Here they are …

 

All in the frying pan

Ready to freeze if you prefer

or ready for the oven

flipped over and ready to serve

Perfect for a supper party – you can pull the toffee apple mixture from the freezer and add the puff pastry lids and it's done.

Next … it's back to savoury winter warmers – a hearty soup me thinks!

The method and variations!

It's easy peasy, here are a couple of photos :-

the Knorr stock pot and the Flora

melting in the pan

with the combination of the Elmlea alternative

You can zhuzh the basic sauce by adding :

two roast garlic cloves

a splash of white wine

flat leaf parsley to garnish

if you want to thicken the sauce

a smidgeon, a heaped tsp of cornflour

slaked in a tbsp of water, slowly adding

to the gently heating sauce, stirring as

you go

This will make a fabulous sauce that will enhance any supper party dish, coating veggie protein of your choice. Perhaps with a puff pastry lid to complete.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of variations – the best introduction is to try with pasta instead of the old faithful tomato based sauces … food for thought!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and find it useful ...

Now for some pudding fun ...

This is a very popular pudding with everyone who likes chocolate and the hot and cold combination – I've known those who purport not to like chocolate or ice cream can't resist!

Pizookie

Serves 10-12

125g unsalted butter, room temperature

150g light soft brown sugar

100g golden caster sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

200g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bicarb

½ tsp salt

250g plain chocolate, broken into chunks

Pre-heat oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4.

Put butter and sugars in a bowl and beat – hand mixer – for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla bean paste.

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients – the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt. Tip it into the butter mixture, beat until combined, then stir through the chocolate. Tip into a 20cm ovenproof frying pan or a shallow cake tin and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. 25 minutes will give you a molten centre, 30 minutes a more set version.

Cool for 5 minutes, then add scoops of vanilla ice cream in the middle – dig in!

The ultimate sharing indulgence – perfect for a supper party at New Year - or not depending on whether you want to keep it to yourself!

If you want proof here are the photos ...

Straight from the oven

and can be straight to the table

not forgetting the ice cream of course

You don't have to serve it “as is” -

you can let it go cold and then cut a

slice – it actually looks like the slice

is made of pastry – pastry it is not!

20 seconds later it looks like this!

As I said, serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Happy New Year!

What about New Year?

Ideally you want a dish that is simple to make but tasty and a little indulgent!

The following recipe is one of my absolute favourites and the best of it is that essentially it's veggie but you can adapt it to suit everyone – adding cooked chicken and/or diced chorizo, gently cooked in a dry frying pan so that it releases the residual oil – you could serve in separate bowls on the side.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Here are the bits of information that I always find interesting . Fettuccine Alfredo was invented by Alfredo di Lelio who had restaurants in Rome in the early to mid 20^th century. Traditionally the dish was cooked at your table. As the dish became more popular it appeared in the USA. I was in Vermont when I sampled my first bowl – it was without doubt, the finest bowl of pasta and sauce I've ever eaten and the only one I've ever finished. That was a long time ago – yikes 1997! Since that time my quest has been to find a recipe as near as I could to that bowl of magic, here it is :

1 tbsp unsalted butter

200ml double cream

50g freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling

Salt and 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.

This sauce can be made ahead.

The above recipe would be sufficient for two servings – enough to coat 225g uncooked pasta. Traditionally there are no additions to Alfredo although I've had it served with petit pois. If you've never tried it you're missing out!

The sauce is so good!

There's a photo-guide too …

Heat the butter and the cream

together

Add the Parmesan and heaps of

black pepper

The bowl

The bowl with petit pois

I didn't have any fettuccine in my pantry but I did have spaghetti – if you're not fond of “ribbony” types of pasta just choose your favourite.

You can adapt this to a plant based recipe using:

1 tbsp Flora Plant unsalted butter

200ml Elmlea 100% Plant Double Alternative

to cream

50g Parmesan alternative – for example

Violife Parmesan style

The simple things in life are the best!

Now for some pudding fun ...

There are photos too ...

Take a look :

Here's the tin, greased and dusted

The filling in the tin, ready for the oven

Out of the oven, leave to cool

A slice of cake, with raspberries -

or strawberries -

perfect!

Bits & pieces and hints & tips …

Once the cake has cooled use a round bladed knife and ease around the edge to loosen – take your time – if you don't you'll tear the edges of the cake – that would be a shame since you've achieved a brownie type crusty edge. If the cake won't budge then repeat the edging with the knife. Have a large sheet of foil ready to receive your cake, turn it - with care, then wrap and fridge.

The cake serves 8 – you may think the portion size isn't very generous – take my word for it – it's a rich cake.

Now for the choices – this cake is dense and intense. You can serve the cake cold with ice cream and/or cream or even clotted cream.

If you prefer soft, warm and squidgy then microwave for 20 seconds – take it from one who isn't bothered about chocolate, this is very good indeed.

It freezes well … don't forget to portion and wrap in cling film, then bag together.

This really is the “cat's whiskers” of cakes – the word “cake” sounds ordinary and boring – I promise you it isn't – it's decadent and delicious.

You won't be sorry!

Method and photos up next ...

Gently fry your onion and garlic, using another drop of rapeseed oil if necessary. Add the spices and cook together so that the spices are able to release their deliciousness!

Add the passata and the chilli sauce and bring to the boil. Add to the sealed diced steak and then slow cook for 4 hours. Turn off and then leave to cool. Freeze in boxes to suit your needs – remember – you can pull out two boxes if you need to, rather than have to throw away from a larger quantity.

Defrost thoroughly in your fridge. Re-heat gently on the stove adding your kidney beans, sweet baby peppers or chorizo.

For the optional extras :

Use a large frying pan and fry the chorizo gently so that it releases its oil. Set the chorizo aside, leaving the oil in the pan.

Sauté the sliced, sweet baby peppers in the chorizo oil.

If you enjoy a spicy hit you can use mixed beans in a chilli sauce instead of ordinary red kidney beans.

Serve with rice if you like but I think it's fab in a bowl with a blob of sour cream served with some rustic bread of your choice on the side or with wraps with bowls of relish of your choice – mango would work well.

Freezing serves dishes like chilli or curry very well – the freezing process allows the spices to develop. Here's a thought – you could double the recipe and serve as a supper or as part of a larger supper buffet.

Hot food seems to go down so well and it's easier to cook and serve.

Lets go with the photos :

Sealed, diced steak in the slow cooker

Softened onion and garlic

The four “c”s – cumin, coriander,

cinnamon and chilli

The four “c”s cooked out with

the onion

The chilli – read to slow cook and

perform its magic!

Glistening with the beans and a

blob of sour cream

What's not to love - perfect in a bowl with lumps of good crusty bread!

Coming up … a dessert for Christmas Eve

The “lip smackingly good” tomato sauce!

Now for a “lip smackingly good” tomato sauce – perfect with the meatballs!

Here goes :

Tomato Sauce

500g passata

1 medium onion, chopped finely

2 cloves of roasted garlic or crushed fresh garlic

1 tbsp of rapeseed oil

knob of butter – 25g

1 tbsp of tomato paste

250g of vegetable stock

a generous sprinkle of oregano

black pepper to taste

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp of salt, to taste

Melt the oil and butter in a medium size saucepan (21cms/8” in diameter), add the onion and soften gently – 4-5 minutes, then add the garlic. Add the oregano and black pepper. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes. It's important that you cook the paste – if you don't it will be bitter and taste horrible! Add the passata, stock and then the sugar. The sugar is meant to balance out the acidity that one sometimes gets with tomatoes. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes. The sauce will reduce and thicken. Taste the sauce before you add any salt – it's a matter of personal taste. The flavours in your sauce will develop and so will benefit from being made a couple of days ahead and fridged.

The sauce freezes well, bear in mind the size of portions – whatever suits you – smaller is more practical, you can always take out two – no waste.

You'll get 670g of sauce from the recipe.

Onions, garlic and spices in the pan with tomato paste

The sauce at the beginning of the cook

Check out the depth of colour at the end

You could create a pizza with the tomato sauce and load with meatballs and whatever else takes your fancy – don't forget to treat yourself to a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan as well as the traditional mozzarella.

You could go the obvious route of spaghetti (as a guide 75g of dry spaghetti per person) - tomato sauce and meatballs – traditional is good!

One thing is certain your sauce and meatballs give you flexible working week supper ideas and the cherry on top of the cake – all you have to do is pull the sauce and the meatballs from your treasure chest.

What's not to love!

Now for some ideas for the festivities – Christmas and New Year!

A big tip ...

… use a foil tray with 2 tbsp plain flour – it enables you to roll around the koftas to coat with flour without having to “assist” them.

Here's the photo guide :

If you would prefer a larger version then use a dessert spoon of mixture, treated in exactly the same way, like these :

Here's an idea – serve the koftas with Bombay Aloo – both dishes can be frozen, in fact the flavours are enhanced by freezing. An excellent choice for a mid-week supper! A tip – freeze the koftas in amounts that suit you – and again the same with the Aloo in small containers, you can always take out more if you need it!

Bombay Aloo coming up ...