Recipe for chicken, mushroom and tomato risotto
I’m not very keen on the combination of chicken and cooked tomatoes. Would never have chicken on a pizza. But I had half a tin of tomatoes left over from our favourite sausage and bean dish and thought that I’d bung them into a chicken risotto as an experiment. Risottos are so easy to make and are a great way of using up scraps that are knocking about in the fridge. The result was really tasty and good. Danny was amazed – I hadn’t told him about the experiment just passed him his plate of food and slipped nervously into the kitchen as...
read moreBaked sausages recipe with Bramley apples, honey and star anise
Sometimes it’s really good to get home, pour a large glass of wine and rustle up a dish that takes just ten minutes to prepare and is cooked in under an hour. This dish also keeps warm well and is a delight when you eventually tuck in. It’s one of those easy dishes. Filling the kitchen with great aromas as you get on with the more enjoyable sides of life than standing by a hot stove. I made a very similar dish a few weeks ago and we loved it. This evening I discovered that the recipe had been swept away on a kitchen clearing binge....
read moreBoxing day lunch: smoked ham with a fresh parsley sauce recipe
We always buy a ham at Christmas to keep the goose company in the fridge and provide us with endless meals. Starting with ham sandwiches on Christmas day and hot ham with a fresh parsley sauce on Boxing Day. The latter is eaten on trays as we indulge in an afternoon of horse racing on the telly. Danny and my mum sit watching the racing whilst I put on my pinny and provide the maid service end of things. Homemade parsley sauce is a cinch to make. A basic Béchamel with parsley lemon and quite a bit of freshly ground white pepper makes a good...
read moreSmoked haddock with a creamy shallot and parsley sauce recipe
Danny and I are going through a fish phase. We’ve uncovered loads in the freezer, bought on offer from the Waitrose fish counter. Thick, luscious fillets, sold off at the end of the day for the change from my pocket. Once we started eating this fish our imaginations were tickled and we began to play with saucy ideas for fish, real and virtual. Curiosity drove me to pay full price for this cheap smoked haddock from Tesco this week, to try out our recipe idea. It was easy, tasty and extremely quick to make. The onions added depth and...
read moreSunday Roast: Best roast chicken (or turkey) with piquant automatic gravy recipe
One happy day, Danny opened the small box that holds the Tobasco bottle and pulled out a slip of paper. It was a recipe suggestion for roast chicken baste or a marinade for barbecued chicken. There was just a list of ingredients (no amounts or method). The list intrigued him, it lay beside his place for a couple of days and was studied as he sipped his coffee and tucked into supper. Finally he announced: “I’m going to try this. Can you get a free range chicken from Fred’s for next Sunday, please.” Fred Fitzpatrick,...
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