If there's anyone still out there . . .

After a hiatus / sabbatical / lazy spell, service has been resumed on

http://bookstocookwith.me/

Head on over for a more cookbook focused version of ur-food . . .

I am the muffin man . . .

Homemade muffins from the river cottage bread book - a ridiculously wet and sticky dough

Griddled then toasted - well worth the effort!

 

Spring greens

As with all other foods, I find spring greens can be improved with the judicious application of sausages. In this case rigatoni with sausage meat, chilli flakes and the aforementioned greens.

The joy of leftovers

It's hardly an original observation, but there's a certain joy to be had from leftovers.

Although in this case it's not the thrifty reworking of leftover vegetables, but the last morsel of pate de foie gras. Served with fleur de sel de Guerande, unsalted president and toasted brioche. And the last glass of a particularly fine Wine Society Tasmanian chardonnay.

Chaource

Friends round for a fun dinner, finishing off with a tasty Chaource, probably my favourite cheese. When it's properly ripe you get a great combination - sharp creamy centre, rich buttery gloop, tangy chewy rind.

Home food

We have a sort of routine on returning home from holiday to an empty fridge. 

The challenge is always to cook something simple, from the storecupboard, and that provides a contrast to the food of the holiday. So on returning home from a fortnight's French food, for example, it's all about a plateful of pasta to cleanse the palate of goose fat, butter and steak-frites.

But after a week in Sicily, a plate of pasta might have triggered family revolt. So, a quick 'forage' around the village saw me return with sausages, eggs and purple sprouting broccoli for toad in the hole. Or mole in the hole, as some call it. Anyway, it was tasty, and a less Italian dish is hard to imagine.

Sicilian food

 

 Back from a week of Sicilian food.

Tastey and cheap, but all looked the same, so merely a selection of pics here, including a tempura of fresh vegetables with a caper and anchovy dressing, this simple spaghetti with chilli and anchovies, and an epic T-bone steak

 

Steak frites (of sorts)

A classic steak au poivre, with a green salad and some oven roasted potatoes

Unseasonal weather

 

 

 

Unseasonal weather for March, so a quick barbecue with some homemade flatbreads, lamb kebabs and a red onion and tomato salad

Pork Belly

Posh midweek supper - slow cooked prok belly with a celeriac puree, caramelised apples, green beans and a red wine and redcurrent sauce

Chicken noodle soup

One of the best bits of chicken eating - all the left overs

This was a chicken noodle soup made with fresh stock, served with plenty of chillies and spring onion

Back again . . .

So, Picasa seems to be making it increasingly tricky to both blog and upload photos, but I shall persevere.

This delightful salad is a Nigel Slater recipe - freshlysliced Milano salami topped with a warm crushed new potato and rocket salad

Dinner at the Felinfach Griffin

Back from a weekend at the incomporable Felinfach Griffin for my birthday

A starter of pressed ham hock in a cauliflower veloute

Followed by a welsh ribeye in a peppercorn sauce

A fair exchange

A fillet of beef, as exchanged for a meat slicer.

Roasted, and served with a red wine and crabapple reduction, a celeriac puree, thyme-roasted potatoes and purple sprouting broccoli

Gung pao king prawns

Gung pao king prawns, in a gloriously spicy, gloopy, crunchy sauce

A favourite paella

Moro's chorizo and pork fillet paella

finished with spinach

Served with nothing more than a lemon wedge

Steak and Kidney pudding - step by step

A happy Saturday pottering around the kitchen preparing a steak and kidney pudding. Starting with browning the beef.

Preparing the kidneys always feels a little like a GCSE biology lesson

Reducing the rich and meaty stew

And steaming for two hours . . .

. . . until it looks like this

Sadly it always photographs disastrously (John and Gregg would definitely want me to 'work on my presentation') but tastes great, served in this case with some simple creamed leeks

Steak Frites aplenty

So, after a veggie January, a start to February dominated by steak frites during a week's holiday in France.

A ferw thoughts on a month of no meat . . .

The Good

- We discovered lots of new recipes - grilled polenta, baked aubergines, aubergine caviar and tempura will all be repeated again

- It forced us to be more inventive with midweek meals

The Bad

- I was a lot hungrier

- Eating out (except for a few noble exceptions) was tricky - being left with the one veggie option was challenging, and a chinese takeaway based around tofu was a low

So . . .

- Interestingly it wasn't the great big lumps of animal flesh that I missed - it was hings like anchovies, pancetta achicken stock that add a lot of flavour to any meal

- I would do it again, althought probably in the summer next time

Grilled polenta

Cooking polenta

Adding chilli, garlic and rosemary, and cooling

Slicerd and fried

Served with a spicy tomato sauce

Definitely one to try again - I'm always slightly sceptical of polenta, but this recipe really works