Veal 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 moreStore cupboard recipes: spaghetti and veal meatballs in a light tomato sauce
I had a yearning for spaghetti and meatballs yesterday. I have no idea why as I don’t think that I’ve ever eaten this dish in my life but somehow the combination appealed. I spent a morning in the kitchen creating the sauce. My challenge was to use as many dehydrated ingredients as possible and some of our home bottled/canned tomatoes from the autumn. Incidentally these are delicious and I will be making much more this year. The meat wasn’t dehydrated – I haven’t tried doing meat yet – but I had found and defrosted some...
read moreSlow Cooker Chef: Tender pork shoulder braised in light beer, with apple, ginger and honey recipe
Danny bought some pork shoulder steaks this week. He wanted to try out a pork, mushroom and cream recipe that he had found at the local supermarket. “The pork is sautéed in a pan. I don’t feel confident as I reckon that it should be fillet.” He was right – the pork was chewy and disappointing. It wasn’t Danny’s fault. Shoulder was the wrong cut for the recipe unless you really want to put the sharpness of your teeth to the test. He did however make an excellent rice and bell pepper dish to accompany the pork. This was the...
read moreThe slow cooker chef: Chicken and red pepper casserole recipe
The best piece of kitchen equipment that I bought in 2008 was my slow cooker. I found mine in a sale at Tesco and had no idea how much more flavoursome slow cooking can be. So why did I buy one? I had been seduced by Angela and the thought of slow cooked steak and kidney. Initially I reckoned that I would just use it in the winter but it’s used all year round now and saves us lots of cash as the electricity used to run it is minimal. And most things do taste better when they are slow cooked. Now I’ve got to grips with how to cook with...
read moreBeef stir fry with water chestnuts and black bean sauce recipe
It’s rare for us to eat out these days as it’s so expensive. But I try and cook something a bit special for Saturday night. When I visited The Carter Street Butcher I picked up a 600g piece of organic skirt of beef for four quid – far cheaper than the non organic butchers in Newmarket. I had a longing for water chestnuts and black bean sauce so I added them to my weekly shopping list and glided down to Newmarket in Danny’s car. A lot of people had clearly spent the day decorating the outside of their houses with fairy lights and...
read moreOther people’s recipes: Diana Henry’s Baked Pork Chops with Pears, Potatoes and Onions
We had two rather thin pork chops earmarked for supper last night. I thought that they might be good baked with pears so drifted onto the internet for inspiration and found this recipe from Diana Henry. I like her recipes and my copy of Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons: Enchanting Dishes from the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africais a well thumbed tome. Her recipe was just what I wanted – throw everything into a roasting pan for about an hour. I didn’t have Roquefort cheese, substituted a teaspoon of dried fennel for the...
read moreThe slow cooker chef: Venison and shin of beef casserole recipe
This is a really easy recipe that I made last week. I forgot to take a picture of the dish so have put up this photograph as it includes a brass deer that belonged to my mother as a child. I love eating venison but it’s so expensive here in the UK. We buy it when it’s marked down in price and stash it in the freezer for game pies and casseroles. Shin of beef is delicious too – slowly simmered for 8-10 hours the gristly meat transforms into a melt in the mouth treat. Combine the two for a casserole that is deeply satisfying on a...
read moreRabbit mushroom and tarragon casserole recipe
Finding myself with 600g of diced wild rabbit and no pheasant to go into a game casserole, I decided to glide onto the internet for inspiration and found this delicious recipe on We Are Never Full. Unfortunately I didn’t have some essential ingredients such as bacon so I made my own version using the tarragon, mushrooms, white wine and cream as a starting point. The slow cooker was busy cooking the shin of beef disguised as a pheasant so I cooked the rabbit very slowly on the stove top. It took over three hours and was wonderful – the...
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