Revisiting Meatballs for my Sister
Slave Sis surprised me this morning,“It’s half term so I thought I’d come up for a week to tackle the garden.”“Great! When are you coming?”“Tomorrow. Is that OK?”Long pause…..“Yes. Of course.It would be great to see you and the pugs.”“I can come at the weekend.”“No tomorrow is fine!”And I was being honest. I’ve missed her. What Slave Sis never sees is the hysterical house cleaning and sorting that happens before her visits! Never mind. I had taken...
read moreRecipe for rare fillet steaks with a green peppercorn and cream sauce
I spotted a fillet of beef joint on the Tesco butcher’s counter. It had a good dark colour and I reckoned that it would taste great. As a payday treat I asked for two small fillet steaks about 2cm/0.8 inches deep. I rushed home with the bounty – Danny would cook the steaks and I’d make the green peppercorn and cream sauce. Green peppercorns are sold ‘wet’ in small jars of brine. They are crunchy and reasonably hot but don’t have the kick of dried black peppercorns. I love them. One of the easiest sauces to make is a...
read moreSucculent meatloaf recipe
“Have you ever cooked meatloaf, Conchita?” Meatloaf sounds so vile. It has never jumped out of the cookbook pleading “Cook me, eat me.” “What I mean is that we haven’t got a meatloaf recipe on the website. I had it once in America and it was good. It’s supposed to be economical…” “OK I’ll give it a go.” I have a vague memory of being served cold meatloaf as a child. The hostess whipped off its cover with a flourish. It lay on a giant oblong serving plate, looking very large and brown and dead. I can remember the pattern...
read moreThe ultimate spaghetti and meatballs recipe in a rich tomato sauce. Slow cooker/crock pot method
“Wow! This is the best spaghetti and meatballs that I’ve ever tasted.” Danny was reaching for seconds before he’d even finished his first portion. Now before you reach for your shopping list I just want to make one thing clear. I have never sampled American spaghetti and meatballs. My recipe tasted pretty good to me too but this recipe is just how I imagined perfect American spaghetti and meatballs should taste. As a child I’m certain that we didn’t eat spaghetti with meatballs. I’ve always thought of it as an American dish....
read moreRecipe for meatballs and spaghetti with red wine, tomatoes and bell peppers. Foolproof slow cooker/crock pot recipes
“Please don’t buy mince again. I just don’t like it.” Danny grumbled out of the kitchen. “But you like spaghetti sauce made with mince! That’s what I bought it for.” The last comment wasn’t exactly true. I wanted to make another cottage pie and Danny had somehow sensed this in the ether. “I know that you liked the cottage pie but I didn’t care for it.” “Oh.” My mum always says that I thrive on a challenge. I was determined to make something utterly delicious with the offending pack of mince. Meatballs sprang to mind...
read moreRecipe for traditional slow cooked cottage pie: slow cooker/crock pot
Ever since my mum was sent a box of meals from Abel and Cole I haven’t forgotten her comment when she reviewed the cottage pie. “It was a really good traditional cottage pie with no fancy or far flung additions. Delicious!” This was several years ago and I’ve been meaning to make a traditional cottage pie since then. Of course I wanted to see if my recipe came up to scratch the in A&C stakes as far as mu mum is concerned. Yesterday I had minced beef in the fridge and as it was a chilly day I reckoned that cottage pie would be...
read moreRecipe for Danny’s easy, tasty, rare roast rib of beef
Years ago during the great BSE scare in the late 1990s I gave up eating beef for a year. I’d never been a big fan of burgers but rare roast beef was an all time treat for me. Bone in beef was believed to be an even bigger no-no back then. People and cows were dying from this disease. I also gave up butter for a few years before the beef boycott. Until one happy day I saw an advertising hoarding on my way out of London. “Welcome back to butter!” It announced. I drove home with a pit stop at the dairy section of the local supermarket. I...
read moreRecipe for beef cheeks braised in stout: slow cooker/crock pot
I only started watching Masterchef towards the end of last year and I’m totally hooked. Recently a team of contestants were working in Jason Atherton’s restayrant kitchen. The main course was beef cheeks braised in stout served with horseradish mashed potatoes – it looked delicious and I thought that I’d try making it in the slow cooker/crock pot. Beef cheeks are double the price of pig cheeks in the UK but they are still a budget cut of beef at around £5.99 a kilo. Don’t be alarmed when you cut them as they are very tough indeed!...
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