Traditionally there are two ways of serving Spaghetti with Clams, Bianco, the clams simply served in a sauce of their own juices white wine and olive oil. Simply flavoured with garlic, chilli pepper, and parsley. I prefer, Rosso, with the added flavour and sweetness of a little fresh, ripe tomato.
Recipes
Baked Potatoes with Ratatouille
Baked Potatoes with Ratatouille. Today’s Meal Mates recipe is a great dish to make for loads of people. Very little extra effort is required to cook the dish for two or ten. After a busy day at work or running around at the weekend this is a really simple and hearty dish, perfect for families and vegan friendly.
Jersey Royals, Asparagus, Pesto, and Goat’s Cheese salad with poached Egg
This dish is made with lots of seasonal produce including Jersey Royals and local asparagus. The secret however is the homemade pesto which is well making the effort to make. You can keep it in the fridge for up to a week. You can use it to make delicious pasta with pappardella ribbons. Mix with a little cream for a tasty sauce to serve with salmon or chicken. If you use vegetarian Parmesan today’s recipe will be suitable for vegetarians.
Swedish style Meatballs and Buttery Mash
I think the last time I watched the Eurovision was as a student and coincidentally that was also when I visited Scandinavia. I can remember the beautiful scenery. The scarily expensive beer. Mountains of delicious seafood. Smorgasbords. Brunost, a creamy caramel flavoured whey cheese. And of course, the meatballs.
Colourful Rainbow Cookies
Did you know its World Baking Day? So we decided to have a family bake and make tasty, fun Colourful Rainbow Cookies
Grilled Lamb cutlets, New season Potatoes, Asparagus and Beernaise sauce
Grilled Lamb cutlets, New season Potatoes, Asparagus and Beernaise sauce. For me Spring conjures up a host of golden daffodils. New born foals in the fields. Sorry I got a little carried away there. Spring is the season of renewal and there are lots of fresh exciting things to cook and eat. This recipe includes four of mine so is pretty much a winner. Lamb, asparagus, delicious Jersey potatoes and a beer flavoured sauce. Yum.
A dish truly fit for a King? A Kind of Coronation Chicken Curry
A dish truly fit for a King? A kind of Coronation Chicken Curry. Today was the coronation of King Charles III of England and lots of other countries. You might have seen it on the television. I have been working so am only able now to do something a bit special for tea. Earlier this…
Great tasting Tuna Pasta
What I can cook from the cupboard that’s tasty and filling and really easy for a mid-week meal. What’s more what is great as a Meal Mates recipe to share.
Pea, Mint, and Spring Onion Soup
Pea, Mint, and Spring Onion Soup. I love making soups all through the year. Chilled summer soups like Gazpacho. Classic soups like French Onion or Minestrone. Soups recipes can be complex like a rich shell fish bisque but most are not so complicated. Some of the best soups are really easy like this post. I…
Smoky Sausage, Butter Bean, and Red Pepper Casserole
Smoky Sausage, Butter Bean, and Red Pepper Casserole. The weather in Jersey this Easter has certainly been a mixed bag. One day bright sunshine. Storms the next. Right now the wind and rain are battering the window panes. So, I have decided on something hearty and filling for supper. A store cupboard staples recipe with…
My Mandi Biryani – Middle Eastern spiced Chicken and Rice
My Mandi Biryani – Middle Eastern spiced chicken and rice. Traditionally baked in an oven like the Indian tandoor the meat is cooked over the rice so it absorbs the cooking juices. Like an Indian Biryani a Mandi consists of fragrant spice infused rice.
Happy Easter ( Creature ) Cupcakes
Happy Easter ( Creature ) Cupcakes. By now you will know as a family we love a great cupcake. Baking with my daughters they are both easy and fun to make. The rich chocolate sponge is a great base to be creative on and this bake we really went to town.
Lamb Shanks with Moroccan Spices and Pomegranate Molasses
Lamb shanks with Moroccan spices and pomegranate molasses. I love cooking lamb shanks and with another cold spell forecast for the United Kingdom this is a great recipe for chilly weather. The secret to any recipe for lamb shanks is to cook low and slow ( it will adapt easily for use with a slow-cooker ) and to ensure there are plenty of aromatic ingredients to add layers of flavour to the finished dish.
Moules à la Normande with La Robeline Cider
Moules à la Normande are a variation of the classic Moules marinière using the cider produced in the region. Some recipes use mushrooms and some bacon which is how I like mine. We have a long tradition of cider making in the Channel Islands. For my recipe I am using La Robeline Cider. Since 2005 Richard and Sarah Matlock have been producing a ‘champagne’ style cider. Using a vintage French cider press shipped over from Normandy.
Seasonal Eating – Great Recipe Ideas to Cook this February
Seasonal Eating – Great recipe ideas to cook this February. After a really long slog January 2023 is finally behind us. The days are slowly beginning to lengthen and we can look forward to the early signs of spring. So what to eat? Well it’s definitely still time for lots of hearty dishes. My type of cooking. Lots of sustainable, seasonal soups and stews and proper puddings. But February is also time for some indulgent cooking for a loved one on St Valentines Day. Flipping up piles of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and perhaps even relaxing with a glass or two to celebrate Global Wine Day.
Stir Fried Ketchup Shrimp 茄汁蝦碌
Stir Fried Ketchup Shrimp 茄汁蝦碌. Today’s recipe may raise a few eyebrows! Ketchup and Worcestershire sauce in a Chinese recipe have I gone crazy? And is it shrimp or prawns? Well, the name really does just depend on where you come from. Shrimp and prawn is pretty interchangeable. As to the ketchup trust me this is one of the simplest and tastiest ways, I know of serving prawns.
Chinese Baked Whole Fish with Ginger and Spring Onions
Chinese Baked Whole Fish with Ginger and Spring Onions. A whole steamed or baked fish is served at the end of the Chinese New Year Feast. It symbolises an increase in prosperity. In Chinese dialect fish 鱼 Yú, sounds like the word for surplus. In China it is believed if you can save something at the end of the old year, you will make more in the next. 年年有余 Niánnián yǒu yú May you always have more than you need!
Carrot and Split Chickpea Curry with Spice roasted Cauliflower
A delicious warming vegan split lentil curry served with spice roasted cauliflower and cooling minted coconut yogurt.
Winter Warmers – Five of my favourite Seasonal Recipes
Winter Warmers – Five of my favourite Seasonal Recipes. Big, hearty dishes are my style of cooking. Flavour packed soups and curries, slow-cooked stews and casseroles and proper puddings. When the weather is cold and wet is there anything better than a great Thai Green Curry or steaming Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup? While perhaps…
Vanilla Bourbon Eggnog
You make traditional eggnog with egg yolks, cream, and milk. In addition there are one or more types of alcohol and spices. The boozy element can be rum, bourbon, brandy or sherry or a combination of these. George Washington served his guests as America’s first president with an eggnog made with rye whiskey, Jamaican rum and sherry. History does not record if they slept most of the rest of the day.
What is a Smoking Bishop?
What is a Smoking Bishop? You may like me be partial to a glass of mulled wine or even cider flavoured with festive spices like ginger and cinnamon. You may even have been wassailing if you live in certain parts of the United Kingdom. However, have you ever tried a Smoking Bishop?
Festive Cranberry and Apricot Sponge Pudding with Caramel Sauce
Earlier in the year I wrote an article on Stir Up Sunday, for my local newspaper, the Jersey Evening Post. This was the time when families traditionally gathered together and made their Christmas pudding. I thought it would be good to come up with an alternative that was lighter but still very in keeping with all the other festive recipes I love so much. After some experimenting in the kitchen, I think I came up with a great alternative.
Festive Christmas Tree Chocolate Cupcakes
So today was a Sunday off and the girls wanted to bake Christmas cupcakes. If you follow the blog you know I have a great, go to chocolate cupcake recipe ( see my Scary Halloween Double Chocolate Cupcakes ). So, it was just a matter of finding some fun way to decorate them. Flicking through magazines and online in the run to the festive season is a great way to find inspiration and I had already seen an idea for Christmas Tree light cakes I wanted to put a spin on.
Alien Monster Cookies – Halloween Baking
Halloween Baking Alien Monster Cookies – Halloween Baking. Saturday, October the 29th and from our flat we can see lots of witches, zombies and ghouls in the streets of St. Helier. Halloween is in full swing, the girls have decorated their bedroom and we have one more bake for this years Halloween treats. But I…
Completely Batty Chocolate Cupcakes – Halloween Baking
Completely Batty Chocolate Cupcakes Completely Batty Chocolate Cupcakes – Halloween Baking. This week we all went to Jersey Zoo to look at their spooky Bone Museum. Of course, it being Halloween we also spent some time hanging out with the bats. Geddit? The zoo does incredible work saving endangered species and houses 90% of the…
Creepy Cookies – Halloween Baking
Creepy cookies – Halloween Baking. Before we start I have a confession. For the purpose of artistic licence these Creepy Cookies are really biscuits masquerading as cookies because its such a great name. In the UK cookies are softer, chewier than biscuits and often contain pieces of chocolate, nuts or dried fruit. Biscuits are normally…
Chicken Forestière – a classic taste of Autumn
Chicken Forestière – a classic taste of Autumn. It is Autumn again, and possibly my favourite time of year for cooking, as it’s the season of stews and casseroles and proper puddings. Chicken Forestière is a real favourite and is packed full of the autumnal flavours of mushrooms, thyme, and garlic. My recipe is made…
Lobster and Prawn Thermidor
Lobster Thermidor is a classic way of serving lobster. Usually served in its own shell. Cooked in a very rich sauce of béchamel, cream, egg yolks and finished under the grill with Gruyere or Parmesan. There is some debate as to whether the sauce is flavoured with brandy and English mustard. But it is the…
Feta Cheese and Spring Vegetable Salad
Feta Cheese and Spring Vegetable Salad. We are well into the middle of Spring, and the forecast is for more balmy summer temperatures! One of the great joys of living in the Channel Islands for me is the sudden abundance of delicious vegetables growing on the island. Earlier this year my local newspaper the Jersey…
新年好 Celebrate Chinese New Year 2022
新年好 Celebrate Chinese New Year 2022. The date of the Chinese New Year is determined by the moon. It can fall anywhere between January 21st and February 20th. This year starts on the first of February. In China, the date is the beginning of the Spring Festival, formally celebrating the end of Winter and the…
The Best Ever Christmas Tree Brownies
The best ever Christmas Tree Brownies. We had some great family fun today baking a tray of my failsafe Best Ever Brownie and getting festive decorating them as Christmas trees. All you and your little ones need ( or indeed just you if you don’t have kids as an excuse ), are some suitable edible decorations and some green food colouring.
Christmas Baking – My Triple Chocolate Christmas Pudding Cookies
Why Christmas Pudding Triple Chocolate Cookies? The family loves baking biscuits and cookies ( and eating them! ) and this year I wanted to do something different. As the girls are getting a little older, we can be a bit more ambitious in our bakes and these are really delicious. Who doesn’t like a classic slightly chewy chocolate cookie loaded with chocolate pieces? This is a fun twist on a festive favourite.
The Six Best Soup Recipes this Autumn
Soup is not just great for lunch or supper it can be served as a starter for an elegant dinner party and I have the perfect recipe a cauliflower veloute, and you can find out all about how chef’s make and use veloutes in traditional kitchens.
Scary Skulls – Halloween Jammie Dodgers
Scary Skulls or Halloween Jammie Dodgers. Shortbread biscuit sandwiched with jam or even better jam and creamy icing.
Oh Mummies! Scary Halloween Rice Krispie Cakes
Oh Mummies! Scary Rice Krispie Cakes. One of my favourite treats as a child was when my mum made a tray of sticky marshmallow rice krispie cake. However, I’m not really a cake or sweet guy but I swear I could eat the whole thing.
Smoked Mackerel Niçoise Salad
Smoked Mackerel Niçoise Salad. If you don’t already know a Niçoise salad is named after the French city of Nice. It is packed with Mediterranean or Provencal flavours. Nicoise salad has been described as “one of the best combinations of salad ingredients ever invented”.
What is a Jersey Bean Crock?
What is a Jersey Bean Crock? A Jersey Bean Crock or ‘les pais au fou’ is perhaps Jersey’s national dish. It is a tradition casserole of dried beans rather like a French Cassoulet. And don’t worry Guernsey readers I know that the Guernsey Bean Jar ( moussaettes au four ) is just as culturally important. The Bean Crock or Jar is cooked in a large clay casserole dish and historically was left in a baker’s oven overnight.
Fish Pie – My Luxury Seafood Pie with Scallops and Prawns.
This really is an indulgent, rich dish, a show-stopper. Scallops, king prawns, salmon, and cod all in a delicious shellfish sauce topped with Parmesan mash.
My Jersey Mussel, Leek and Potato Soup
One of my great pleasures is wine and seafood so I thought I should post a favourite wine and food pairing for you to try.
How do you cook your Onions? – My Weekend Top Tip
How do you cook your Onions? If you are reading a post on a recipe blog, you probably enjoy cooking and read a lot of recipes. Question, on how many of these does it call for onions that are cooked without colouring? Or onions that are softened, or caramelised or browned,? And how often does the recipe give you a time?
What are Eggs Hemmingway?
What are Eggs Hemmingway? It is a little bit of an unfair question because you may know them as Eggs Montreal, eggs Norwegian, or by the very Quentin Tarantino-esque Eggs Royale. That is how I have always served them on menus, and they will make you an incredible Christmas Day breakfast. You will have most likely heard of Eggs Benedict well this dish, in my humble opinion, is a much nicer and definitely more extravagant dish.
My Luxury Baileys Hot Chocolate
Deliciously smooth homemade hot chocolate laced with one of the world’s favourite liqueurs. Finished with lashings of Jersey cream, melted marshmallow pieces, and more chocolate.
My Vegan Cauliflower Couscous or Rice
Vegan cauliflower couscous or rice is suitable for paleo-diets, is relatively low in carbohydrates, rich in nutrients, and high in fibre so this is a very healthy alternative.
Mussels with Pastis
Mussels with Pastis. Mussels play a pretty big part in my culinary life; in my day job, we sell a lot of them. But it is eating them that really gets me excited. Today’s recipe is a homage to Jerseys location close to France and another favourite of mine Pastis. The lovely flavours of Anise and liquorice really pair up with the sweetness of the mussels.
Ghastly Ghosties and Scary Halloween Double Chocolate Cupcakes
Ghastly Ghosties and Scary Halloween Double Chocolate Cupcakes. Do you celebrate Halloween? Yes! Well, when I was little, we celebrated Bonfire night. Maybe a few naughty children in the village threw eggs or played other pranks on Mischief Night. However, no one really celebrated Halloween. Now it is big business with costumes, pumpkin lanterns, and trick or treating for sweets and chocolates. And I have to say I love it.
My Rocky Horror Picture Show Cookies -Halloween Bakes
These Halloween cookies are sandwiched together with simple whipped vanilla buttercream and I use soft mini marshmallows for the teeth.
Massaman Beef Curry
Massaman beef curry. It is the last day of National Curry Week 2020. So I want to share one of my all-time favourite curries. Massaman curry is regularly voted in the world’s top dishes. It is a rather special mix of the typical flavours you will find in Thai food.
Barbi for Britain – National BBQ Week
National Barbecue Week 2020 Monday the 25th May is the start of National BBQ week but as lock down is only just starting to be eased this year is a little different. Bank Holiday Monday is now BarbiforBritain day so it is time to dig out the charcoal, dust off the BBQ, and get cooking…
Liberation Day Celebration Condensed Milk Cake
Condensed milk was a popular ingredient used as a substitute for sugar and milk and even (?) drank in tea. I have cheated slightly in this recipe and used fresh eggs and butter. The original would have been made with powdered egg and margarine.
Afternoon Tea and the Victoria Sponge
Afternoon tea, the cream tea or high tea has an incredibly grand history and an impeccable pedigree. Indeed the Duchess of Bedford is believed to have created with what we now think of as high tea
My Perfect Almond Shortbread Biscuits
Making traditional shortbread uses only three ingredients flour, butter, and sugar. The proportions are a 3:2:1 ratio. Above all, the type and quality of butter you use is very important as above all the butter gives the shortbread flavour.
Baked Rice Pudding with Rhubarb and Ginger
Nothing says comfort food to me like a creamy, baked rice pudding. Made with full-fat Jersey milk and cream with a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.
#Learn to Cook Online – Houmous and Vegetable Crudité
You make houmous by blending chickpeas with tahini, a paste made from sesame seeds, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, maybe some ground cumin, and definitely garlic. If you have been to North Africa, the Levant or the Middle East you will probably eaten houmous.
Best Ever Chocolate Brownie
The best ever chocolate brownie recipe is my go-to chocolate pudding. I think it has been on the menu of every kitchen I’ve been involved with for over ten years. Chocolate brownie is a rich, sticky, almost gooey, dark chocolate cake normally baked in a tray.
Hot Cross Buns
Hot Cross Buns are spiced bread rolls made with an enriched dough. You will recognise them marked with a cross and traditionally eaten today, Good Friday. Traditionally you eat them to mark the end of Lent.
Chocolate Easter Cakes
As we are spending quite so much time at home, we are doing lots of family baking together. Butterfly cakes are basically small Victoria sponges. Today’s recipe is for our Easter Bird’s Nest chocolate cakes ready for next weekend.
What are Gashouse Eggs?
You will probably have seen pictures of Gashouse Eggs. You might have watched it been made on Friends, and you may have cooked them without even knowing. Put simply it is eggy bread.
Lemon Polenta Cake with Roasted Rhubarb
This deliciously moist flourless cake is a little like something you might have with a coffee in Italy. It is gluten-free and made with polenta and plenty of ground almonds. We also used the delicious local lemons and Jersey butter, eggs and cream.
How to Make Perfect Crispy Spring Rolls
How to make perfect Crispy Spring Rolls. I cannot resist Spring Rolls can you? In time for Chinese New Year here is my step by step guide. Spring rolls were first made in China. A rolled pancake filled with the first of the fresh Spring vegetables. Now Spring Rolls are either made from a number of ingredients, often cabbage, sometimes meat, wrapped in a thin pastry. They can deep fried or larger cold variety* wrapped in rice paper
Cooking the Perfect Steak – My Weekend Top Tip
One of the most common mistakes people make is trying to cook a steak straight from the fridge. It does not matter is your pan or grill is smoking hot if you throw a really cold steak on to it. This is especially true if you like your steak cooked rare to medium-rare.
Festive French Toast – Panettone Pain Perdu
Festive French toast is a great way to use up Panettone, the classic Italian cake / bread from Milan. We always seem to have some left over Panettone after Christmas. We overdose on cake and biscuits, pretty much like everyone else. So my recipe today is a direct result of my last post and the feedback I got from friends on social media. One of the joys for me of food writing for me is the community of amazing people I’ve met and after my French Toast recipe I had a conversation with the talented Bryony Hill. Bryony, a painter, gardener, author and cookery writer was thinking of a Christmas eggy bread. The result of our conversation Panettone pain perdu.
French Toast
French toast is a perfect holiday season treat served for breakfast with berries and maple syrup. French toast or pain perdu is a simple, delicious dessert or breakfast dish made by frying slices of bread soaked in egg and milk. The dish dates back as far as the Romans and Apicius gives a recipe finished with honey.
Boxing Day Bubble and Squeak Soup
Bubble and squeak soup! Has he gone mad? Bubble and squeak is a bit of a tradition in my family. It is a delicious Boxing Day fry up of all the left over vegetables from Christmas Dinner. If you want a very tasty dish that it is a great way then to reduce food waste you have to try it.
My Handy Roasting Guide
Roasting is one of the simplest ways to cook whole birds and large joints of lamb, beef or pork. Roasting helps tenderise meat and brings out the flavour of leaner cuts. The best way to roast is at relatively low temperatures which helps ensure the meat cooks evenly and reduces the joint from shrinking.
Tandoori Turkey Escallop Burgers with Minted Yoghurt
If you fancy a completely stress-free alternative turkey lunch and want to spend a lot more time with your friends and family read on. Tandoori Turkey Escallop Burgers with Minted Yoghurt are my ‘ but it’s not a roast ‘ solution to the nightmare of overcooked turkey.
Cask Ale Week – Cooking with Beer
As I work for a company that owns two award winning breweries inevitably I get to cook with beer, and drink the odd pint as well ( any time you want to send some promos over to taste guys ). I’m going to post links to three great recipes made with the amazing Liberation Ale*. Now you don’t have to be afraid to cook with beer, in Belgium they have made an art of using beer much as the French would use wine.
Seasonal Eatings – What’s best to eat this September
This is the time of year for the arrival of the first game if you are lucky enough to live near a shoot, and for foraged wild mushrooms, but please don’t pick any without suitable advice. It is also the season for shellfish mussels, oysters, and scallops, and we are lucky the waters around Jersey are perfect for all of these as they are some of my favourite ingredients.
Beetroot and Edamame Houmous
But my biggest success of the evening was probably the vegetable crudité and smoky aubergine Baba ghanoush and cream beetroot and Edamame houmous. Platters piled high with the best local vegetables, radishes, celery, peppers, cucumbers, and carrots.
#avocadotoast
Did you know that there are over one and a half million pictures of avocado on toast on Instagram? The dish really exploded in popularity in the 1990’s and it has been suggested that it has caused a massive spike in the cost of avocados.
Hot Cross Bread and Butter Pudding
Hot Cross Bread and Butter Pudding. This is a really easy way for you to make bread and butter pudding. You don’t need any extra dried fruit just what’s in the Hot Cross Buns and some of our fantastic local dairy produce.
Perfect Boiled Eggs – My Weekend Top Tip
How to cook the perfect Boiled Eggs for you to use in Salads, Buddha Bowls or just for dipping lots of hot buttered Soldiers.
The Food Bloggers Breakfast and my home baked Granola
Granola is a very popular breakfast cereal made from baked oats with oil and honey or sugar. Factory manufactured granola can be quite expensive and yet it is so very easy to make at home. It is delicious mixed with dried fruits and nuts such as flaked almonds, apricots, raisins, and sultanas or eaten with creamy, natural yoghurt, sliced banana and sprinkled with blueberries.
Roast Chicken and Jersey Royals with Lemon, Golden Raisins and Pine nuts
A one tray oven-baked dish that would be perfect served with a dressed green salad and a nice cold beer.
The Best Fluffy American-style Pancakes
American pancakes are made from a light batter cooked on a flat top, griddle plate or in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. The batter is made with flour, eggs, a raising agent and milk, buttermilk or yoghurt and have a moist open texture.
Chinese New Year and Kung Pao Chicken
You make real thing from stir-fried soy marinated chicken, leeks and raw peanuts. Your flavour comes from Sichuan peppercorns and red chillies. They are first heated in hot oil with perhaps some ginger and garlic. Then you serve the finished dish with simply steamed rice.
A Crepe for Candlemass
A crepe is a very thin pancake which can be made in a pan or on a cast iron griddle plate. These plates were placed over a fire but now are electrically heated. Crepes are cooked across France, Northern Europe, and North Africa.
Spicy Sichuan Salt and Pepper Prawns
Spicy Sichuan salt and pepper king prawns are the type of recipe I just love to eat and share. So, it had to be the next recipe in this year’s celebration of the upcoming Chinese New Year.
Vegetarian Mapo Tofu
Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐) is a very popular Sichuan Chinese dish made from tofu, Douchi or fermented black beans, rice wine, pungent Sichuan peppers and a double hit of chilli flakes and Douban, a chilli and bean paste.
My Rhubarb Fool – A perfect Seasonal Dessert
We chefs can sometimes overlook simple classic dishes that have pleased people for a very long time. The fruit fool is a versatile and first-rate example of an underrated culinary star, tart fruits with sweetened cream.
My Perfect Christmas dinner – sides
My perfect Christmas Dinner – Sides. A perfect Christmas roast turkey dinner isn’t a perfect Christmas dinner for me without the stuffing, gravy, roast potatoes, and the rest of the sides. Honey roast parsnips, buttered carrots and today’s recipes braised red cabbage, Brussel sprouts and of course cranberry sauce.
The Perfect Christmas Roast Turkey Dinner
Most families in the United Kingdom traditionally sit-down on Christmas afternoon for their festive Christmas Dinner. Today the centerpiece is usually a roast Turkey served with stuffing, sausages wrapped in streaky bacon ( pigs in blankets ), crisp roast potatoes, parsnips, Brussel sprouts and lots of other vegetables, and cranberry sauce. This is followed by Christmas pudding and brandy sauce, maybe sherry trifle and mince pies.
My Delicious Homemade Buttery Mince Pies
Mince pies are a peculiarly British pie or tart now eaten across the English speaking world particularly America. They are traditionally served over the Christmas period.
Christmas Biscuits – Great for making with the kids
My Christmas biscuits or cookies are a definite family favourite. They are great if you want to make something with your children to decorate the Christmas tree. But don’t worry they are very tasty too
Christmas Biscotti – My take on an Italian classic
Biscotti or cantucci ( most commonly in Tuscany ) are delicious twice-baked Italian biscuit usually made with almonds.
Start your Christmas Culinary Countdown on Stir up Sunday
Stir up Sunday Start your Christmas Culinary Countdown on Stir up Sunday. Stir up Sunday? Christmas Culinary Countdown? What is that I hear you cry? Well this Sunday is thirty days before Christmas and a week before Advent. Advent, yes the thing with the calendar! Stir up Sunday is a Victorian tradition where the family…
My Thai Coconut Fish Soup – Nothing to be Shy about
See what I did there another terrible pun. But I remember the village fetes when I was growing up and there was always a coconut shy. You aimed a small hard wooden ball to knock down coconuts and win a prize. The only other time I encountered coconut in my childhood was the giant box…
Beer and Cheese Bisque – Cooking with Beer
As a marinade for meat or poultry, beer penetrates, flavours and tenderizes. Good beer is less acidic than wine so your food can be left in your marinade longer increasing the flavour. When you are roasting or braising and beer is used to baste the food or in the basting sauce, it imparts a rich, dark colour as the sugars caramelise. So, cooking with beer is great for adding flavour to BBQ’s and slow cooked casseroles and stews.
My Best Chinese Recipes of 2020
What I really think about Chinese food is the wonderful mix of slightly sweet and salty soy, a little sour rice wine, some chilli and ginger bite, crisp vegetables tossed in delicious sauces and succulent melt in the mouth meats.
My Authentic Thai Green Chicken Curry
Thai green curry is an extremely popular recipe from the central region of Thailand. It is made using a paste of fresh green chillies, Thai basil, and galangal so be prepared it packs quite a punch. This is a real favourite in many of the restaurants and pubs I have cooked in and really easy so I thought it would be a great recipe for National Curry Week. The dish is normally made with white fish or chicken and traditional vegetables such as bamboo shoots or baby Thai eggplant. The sweet coconut milk balances the heat of the chillies in the Thai green curry paste.
Roasted Vegetable Curry – National Curry Week
It is the start of National Curry Week and so time to get out the spices. Let’s make something easy, nutritious, and full of flavour a Roasted Vegetable Curry. As an added bonus this is my first vegan recipe and it is great for everyone to eat.
Diver caught Scallops with Lentils and Bacon – Seafood Week 2018
This is really a simple but stunning recipe pairing sweet scallops and tomatoes with a hint of smoke and saltiness from the bacon. Scallops with Lentils and Bacon is ideal as a fantastically tasty starter or suitably scintillating summery lunch or supper served with crusty French bread.
Smoked Haddock Kedgeree – A Great British Classic Recipe for British Food Fortnight
There is an Indian influence to kedgeree, but it is a particularly British interpretation. Kedgeree is thought to have originated with the British colonial servants returning to Britain after working in India.
How to Easily Peel Fresh Ginger – My Weekend Top Tip
One thing I really love about cooking is that you are always learning new recipes, techniques, and tips like the one I’m going to share today. I don’t know about you, but I always struggle with even the sharpest of knives to peel raw ginger without losing lots of the flesh alongside the skin.
Apple and Bramble Crumble – be it ever so humble it’s hard to beat
It is difficult to trace the origins of the crumble, the sweet golden-brown topped pudding, The Oxford Companion to Food suggests the recipe for crumble was developed in the second world war, as an alternative to pastry, using whatever fat was available. Crumbles can be made throughout the year and made with plums, rhubarb, greengages, gooseberries and most popularly apples or apples and soft fruits such as raspberries, blackberries and brambles.
My Classic Fruit Cake Recipe – Crumbs it’s that time of year again!
This is my go-to recipe for fruitcake, rich and flavoursome enough for a christening or wedding cake or our family Christmas Cake.
Classic Beef and Ale Pie – British Food Fortnight
As we shift into Autumn if you are a bit of a foodie you will know it is also time to celebrate National Cask Ale Week* and to promote British Food Fortnight, and if you follow this blog you will also know how I feel about some of the more obscure food promotions but as my day job is working for a brewery pub chain this is an ideal opportunity for me to promote two great passions, classic British pub food accompanied with a pint or two and what can be more suitable than a traditional Beef and Ale pie, a real pub favourite.
The only Chocolate Cupcake Recipe you will ever need for National Cupcake Week
Here is my Chocolate and Coffee Buttercream Cupcake Recipe the only Chocolate cupcake recipe you will ever need.
How to make Great Fishcakes
Fishcakes are incredibly versatile, they can be a great starter cake, or as a main course. Fishcakes are really simple to make, and you can choose from any number of combinations. Today’s recipe punches plenty of flavour, smoked haddock, prawn and herb.
My Easy Rye Bread Loaf
Smörgåsbord means buttered open sandwich and many of my favourite types are made with rye bread, a dark, intensely flavoured bread, high in fibre, which is popular across Northern Europe.
A Taste of Jersey Summer – Confit Byaldi
We are coming to the end of a beautiful Jersey Summer. What do you think of when you think of food and Jersey summer? Is it some of our amazing seafood? Fresh strawberries and thick Jersey cream? We are lucky to have so much fantastic food right on our doorsteps from the humble hedge veg, dedicated producers big and small, and all fishermen and farmers. I think this rather special version of Ratatouille called Confit Byaldi captures the best of our island, our horticultural heritage, and delicious sun-ripened local produce.
The Best Garlicky Roast Chicken
Garlic Roast Chicken -stuff the cavity with a big handful of fresh herbs tarragon, parsley, thyme and lots of oregano, add a lemon, then sprinkle with Jersey sea salt and a good twist of fresh black pepper from the mill and add lots of sliced garlic.
BBQ Butterfly Chicken Breast – UK BBQ Week
My last recipe for this year’s National BBQ Week is a simple sticky BBQ butterfly chicken breast ( no bone so no need to worry about cooking the meat through ) with a nice simple sticky Kansas city style BBQ sauce which can be used on ribs and other BBQ meats.
How to Grill – UK BBQ Week
Adjusting the temperature is easy with a gas fired BBQ you can simply adjust the flames on a charcoal fire, once the coals are glowing and turning white your best method is to move the distance between the grill and the coals. The higher the grill the lower the direct heat.
My recipe for Jack Daniel’s and Black Treacle Rib Glaze – UK BBQ Week
My last post gave away my secret for really crispy chicken and today to celebrate National BBQ Week ( it’s longer than a week but who cares when its sunny and you have an excuse BBQ every day ) the recipe I am sharing is for one of my personal favourites Jack Daniel’s and Black Treacle Rib Glaze.
Daddy’s Not-so-Secret Crispy Chicken Recipe
Now if I have a weakness for ‘junk food’ it is Southern Fried Chicken, I don’t have a pressure fryer like a certain well know high street chain, which is one of the secrets to producing a piece of crisp coated moist chicken but after a fair few attempts I do have an excellent recipe for well-seasoned coating and tender chicken. While Daddy’s Not-so-Secret Crispy Chicken Wings recipe doesn’t have anywhere near the 10 -12 herbs and spices in the famous secret Kentucky recipe**
Jersey Mussels with Garlic, Chilli, Caraway, and Beer
Jersey Mussels with Garlic, Chilli, Caraway, and Beer is a full flavoured spiced version of steamed mussels. Liberation Ale replaces the more common wine normally associated with mussels. The shallots and tomato concassé add a little sweetness and the dish is finished with fresh coriander.
Easy Peasy Cheese Straws – this recipe contains no peas!
This is a very simple recipe to produce mouth-watering, addictive bar snacks or party nibbles.
Texas-style BBQ Sauce and the Most Important BBQ That Never
Jetton catered for the first barbecue at the White House and continued to do so during LBJ’s term in office. When he decided not to stand for re-election LBJ hosted one last farewell barbecue on the White House lawns for over two hundred friends and supporters. The Texas-style ribs must have been quite special as the Swiss-born, formally trained, White House head chef Henry Haller, wrote in his The White House Family Cookbook, ” He did a terrific job and I was most impressed with the results. His barbecue sauce avoided all of the common flaws (oversweetening, overcooking, excessive thinning) and by serving the sauce separately, he also avoided drying out the meat. “
My Great Shish Kebab Recipe for your Bank Holiday BBQ
Shish kebab is an English version of the Turkish words for sword and roasted meat. A Shish Kebab is a grilled skewer of marinated meat, normally lamb but chicken, beef, veal and even swordfish can be substituted. In Turkish cooking, the vegetables are normally cooked separately.
British Sandwich Week – The Best Ever Sandwich Recipe
It is British Sandwich Week and while my tastes have not changed that much, my favourite is still an unctuous melting ham and cheese sandwich and I have found the most incredible way to prepare one.
A great Seafood Starter – Mussel and Clam stuffed Brioche – Qu’ils mangent de la brioche
The popular misconception is that Marie Antoinette famously said of the starving French peasants at her gates, “Let them eat cake”. What she actually said was actually “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche.
Seafood Tom yam Soup – A Thai Classic
One of my favourite chilli-based dishes is Tom yam, a hot and sour Thai soup flavoured with fragrant spices and aromatics; a good chicken stock flavoured with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal, which is now popular around the world.
Devilled Lambs Kidneys on toasted English Breakfast Muffin
A devilled dish like Devilled Lambs Kidneys has a piquant, spicy flavour usually from the addition of Cayenne pepper and / or strong mustard.
Shanghai Red-braised Pork Belly
Today’s recipe is for Shanghai Red-braised Pork Belly, in China red coloured meats are eaten for good luck as red is the colour of fire, a symbol of good fortune and joy. ‘Red cooking’ is a popular method of braising dishes in northern, eastern, and southeastern China. The name is derived from the dark red-brown colour of the cooked items and the sauce using both dark and light soy sauces, Chinese Rice Wine, and caramelized sugar flavoured with whole spices such as Star Anise, Cassia bark, and Fennel seeds.
British Pie Week – Shepherd’s Pie
It is British Pie Week that quintessential staple of a good pub menu, and who doesn’t like pie. Traditionally Shepherd’s Pie is a réchauffé dish made from reheating leftover minced lamb and vegetables in gravy and serving with a mashed potato top. My recipe uses one of my favourite cuts of lamb, the shoulder, which is full of flavour and delicious when slow cooked.
My great Char sui Pork Recipe – Chinese New Year
This is my oven baked version of the classic Cantonese BBQ Pork recipe or Char Sui with its distinctive colouring, sticky sweet marinade, and succulent melt-in-the-mouth texture.
Spicy Sesame Chicken Wings
I love any food you eat you eat with your fingers, prawns in their shells, ribs, it is great fun and so tasty. No surprise then that I’m such a fan of chicken wings maybe with a Crispy Salt and Pepper Crust, American BBQ style Buffalo Wings with a cooling Blue Cheese Dip or Asian style hot Wings with Sesame Seeds.