A new coleslaw dressing recipe
I’m a big mustard fan. I always make fresh English mustard (Colman’s) from powder when we are having steak. I also have a passion for French’s mustard – with sausages ideally. I like the little sombrero hat that acts as a lid and the funny windy, squishy sound when you squeeze the pack. In fact one day when we were preparing lunch one day – soup and sandwiches – I thought Danny’s table matters had really gone downhill. When I heard that sound I thought that he was sampling the soup rather than adding some zing to the...
read moreEgg and bacon pie recipe
As a child egg and bacon pie was a traditional picnic dish and I loved it. This is not a quiche. The eggs are unbroken and the texture and flavour of the combination of short crust pastry, floury egg yolks, silky egg whites and thick cut bacon is out of this world. I had forgotten all about this pie until The Chicken Lady served it when we went the Hampton Court Flower Show two years ago. I could have guzzled the entire pie but politeness made me hold back and only accept two slices. Since then I have dreamt about it, on and off. Faced with...
read moreRecipe to add zest to boiled rice, frittata and other dishes
Simple boiled rice, such as good basmati, or a dish like frittata can be a joy, especially if you add a little something to lift it above the ordinary. In my wilder years, I learned to cook by trial and error after accepting a position in a Chelsea, London household even though I did not have the foggiest idea of even how to boil an egg. Nowadays I would probably be summarily fired after Day Two but this couple were exceptionally kind people. On this blog I call them Smart Wife and Kind Husband. In England, the term Smart means relatively...
read moreVeal Schnitzel (Wiener Schnitzel) Recipe
“How about Wiener Schnitzel for supper tonight?” Danny looked unimpressed. Picking through the freezer I had found some small veal escalopes that I’d picked up from the Tesco *CFC a few weeks ago. One was a little smaller than my hand and the other barely reached across my palm. Wiener Schnitzel seemed the sensible option. I had never made schnitzels and was keen to have a go. Danny perked up when I mentioned that I was going to marinade the meat. “Great idea. Veal can be so tasteless.” Between you and me I like the subtle flavour of...
read moreSkirt of beef steaks recipe
“This is the first time ever that I’d be happy if you left your other shopping on the counter.” The pretty woman in TKMaxx joked. We had been talking about the skirt of beef that I had just bought. She had never heard of the cut but as you know it has become a bit of a mission for me to spread the word on the cheaper cuts. Her interest was really tweaked when I mentioned that we at it as steak. “It doesn’t cut like a fillet but it’s far better than a lot of sirloins that I’ve bought and at £6 for 800 grams it’s a...
read moreBottled fruit: enjoying the bounty seven months later
When I sat down to savour the superb third day of creamy Greek yoghurt and organic blackberries and blueberries bottled last October from our own garden, I just had to take a photo. This is now pasted on the kitchen wall to remind me how good bottled fruit is when I’m caught up in the bottling frenzy that dominates September and October. I do enjoy bottling fruit but sometimes it seems a bit of a palaver if I have other things to do. Sitting by the pond on a clear and sunny morning as the fruit and yoghurt combination burst in my mouth I...
read moreHeston Blumenthal’s recipe for Boerewors burgers: a review
Waitrose has teamed up with Delia Smith and Heston Blumenthal to produce recipes that customers can make at home. This is quite a clever promotion as you don’t have to rush about the shop looking for the specific ingredients as they are all on the display stand. Some of the ingredients had me goggle eyed – such as packs of dried breadcrumbs 125g for £1.25. But I suppose most people don’t make their own anymore. I was intrigued by Heston’s Boerewors burgers as they were made with a mix of Aberdeen Angus beef and pork. Apparently...
read moreBeef and broccoli stir fry recipe with oyster mushrooms and noodles
A great beef stir-fry need not have much meat. You can pad it out with most any vegetables you have to hand. Slice your beef thinly to 2mm bites and take care to cook the veggies starting with the tougher ones that may take longer.
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