Treacle cured Roast Beef

Mainly followed recipe from Tom Kerridge's TV programme. I used Top Rump which was rescued from the bargain bin of Sainsbury's and I cured for nearer 48 hours, also had to reduce the curing liquid more than he says to get something sticky enough to coat the joint for cooking.
I cooked a little longer as it is a cheaper and bigger cut than he recommends, unless you have two ovens you need to cook and keep the meat warm whilst you do the roast potatoes and yorkshires, I used a pre-warmed cast iron casserole to do this. The low temperature roasting technique seems to work a treat.

Lamb's liver with red pepper chermoula

From Nigel Slater's best meat recipes, worth doing again. Nice one Véro!

Nibbles, Celeriac Soup, Chicken with Morel Sauce, Baked Apples with Rum and Raisins

Hummus using the the method recommended by Simon Hopkinson, and Baba Ganoush following Felicity Cloake.

Celeriac Soup with Scallops and I can't remember where the recipe came from.

Then Hairy Bikers Roast Chicken with Morel Sauce. 

And finally baked apples, just cored and popped in the oven stuffed with raisins, sugar, butter and dash of rum.

Bollywood Chicken Kebabs

Nice recipe from Stéphane Reynaud's Barbecue but I'd add chillies next time!

Roast Beef and other bits and pieces...

Had been planning a Roast Beef dinner with a difference and went to the the Ginger Pig in Borough Market anticipating buying a rib (or two). However then saw that they had Rump matured for 50 days, after establishing that none was available immediately, the chaps kindly decided to prepare a piece for me. It was ferried back to Paris.

Instead of normal yorkshire pudding etc I decided to use a recipe from the first Ottolenghi book that suggests three sauces to accompany beef fillet. However in the absence of watercress I used rocket in the "Watercress and Mustard" sauce.

To start the evening I made some hummus following Simon Hopkinson's method of pealing the chick peas however I think it maybe a little too salty so I think in future I'll be more careful and test the saltiness of the liquid I uses to loosen the mixture from the jar and perhaps crush garlic with out using salt.

We then went with Hopkinson again for a straightforward salad of haricots vert.

To follow a quick fish course using a recipe from Mark Hix's Best Ever Summer recipes

And then the the beef served with roast potatoes and carrots scented with star anise and St. Joseph!

Coarse Pork Terrine....done!

Here it is!

Asparagus and Chicken

Yet another Mark Hix, adapted slightly as I used a jointed chicken rather than Chicken breasts and I quickly browned the skin to make it look less anaemic.

Whiting with Orange and Dill

A Mark Hix recipe from the Independent I thought it was nice, but my darling wife would not care to repeat it.

Coarse Pork Terrine

A recipe from I don't know where but I added some brandy, hopefully it will mature nicely for next week.

Chocolate and Beetroot Cake

After the disappointment of last version found a Nigel Slater recipe, was generally much better but next time I will try with grated raw beetroot rather than cooked, I cooked for a further 20 minutes which I think was perhaps too long.. but will definitely revisit with raw beetroot.

Pork Tenderloin, Prunes and Spätzle

A pork recipe from the BBC website and at last I got around to making Spätzle the German pasta like dish to accompany, I used recipe in link and put the cooked Spätzle in iced water and then reheated in a little butter and added parsley.

Asparagus Soup and Truffled Eggs

Here's a recipe from behind the Time's firewall, I took a fairly bold approach and used all the asparagus even the woody bits, it was OK but next time I will trim and peel a little, also need a`little practice with the eggs.

Griddled Asparagus, Boiled Egg and Cheese

Asparagus on griddle for 3-4 minutes,some Yarg, egg boiled for 8ish minutes and vinaigrette..

 

Chocolate and Beetroot Cake

This looked interesting and was described as decadent but forgive my prejudice...it was from a "vegetarian" recipe..in truth not that great although I think with more chocolate this might work.

Ottolenghi Cod Cakes

Another great recipe from Ottolenghi from his book Jerusalem, some might suggest that more sauce would be better.... 

Sablé Sanity

After macaroon madness, what you do with all those yolks!

Chicken tagine

This is using The Guardian's "How to cook the perfect recipe.." with our own preserved lemons using the Ottolenghi recipe, ended up with a bit of a thin sauce so removed the chicken and reduced, also used a nearly 2kg chicken that I cut into pieces rather than thighs and multiplied all the quantities by 1.5

MANUFACTURING MACAROONS - Evie and Adeline

Scallop Ceviche, Diots and Lentils and Madeleines

Tried a ceviche with a mixture of recipes, there were a lot of scallops not quite as overwhelmed with salad as the picture suggests...

The sausages (diots) are really substantial we had half smoked and half "nature"...

The madeleines are unbeatable straight from the oven...lovely

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup, Fish Salad, Braised Veal and Chocolatey Mandarin Cake

Some interesting recipes here relying heavily on Ottolenghi and an old cutting from the Independent featuring Simon Hopkinson,
The soup is nice but in a big meal a small portion is sufficient.

The fish salad is a variation on an Ottolenghi recipe from the Guardian.

The braised veal was tripled compared to the printed version and I cooked it longer and more gently and then removed the meat from the pan to reduce the sauce to achieve the correct degree of unctuousness, I also added less cream.

The cake is another Ottolenghi triumph and the chocolate topping works really well.

Easter Sunday alone

Small rib of veal onion and mustard sauce and veg!

Adeline's Lebanese Feast

So sad can't be there at home, but it looks delicious!

Lila and Evie bake Nutella Muffins

The preparation - read the recipe!

Portion control

It's sticky

A job well done!

Here's hoping

Lila can't wait

Pretty good

The taste of success