BBQ Veal Chop and Herb Butter

What's not to like?

BBQ Burger on the Farm

Steak Haché and Fat from a couple of marrow bones!

Caillettes au Camping

Same recipe book again!

Veal Roulade au Camping

Sweetbreads and Chorizo

Using a Mark Hix recipe (again) but adapting slightly, I had Veal sweetbreads and smoked chorizo that were normal size, that I fried gently and chopped, rather than grilled. However pronounced a success!

Stuffed Hearts

The endorsement of Mark Hix and a recipe in the Independent enabled my darling wife to contemplate this classic, admittedly a bit fiddly, but essentially an echo of childhood. not sure that wild garlic is that necessary. I think that for most appetites one heart per person is a reasonable serving.

'via Blog this'

Pastilla au Pigeon

Having made Pastilla with Chicken it was time to try the traditional pigeon, although pronounced a success the recipe by Sinmon Rimmer I feel needs some adjusting, I used a 25cm flan tin and had enough for two pies  that would have served 4-6 people , I also ended up using more sheets of brick/filo than he suggests , next time I'll halve the ingredients and use two pigeons to produce one meatier dish, but definitely worth repeating.

Prawn Cocktail

Relying on the Hairy Biker Recipe but making her own mayonnaise (with Mum's help) and adding a little extra mustard in the absence of salad cream, Evie's efforts were pronounced a triumph!

Spätzle and Pork by François

In München the fantastic François prepared Spätzle using a variation on the recipe (in German I'm afraid) here by using celeriac, carrot and spinach to colour and flavour.

Coq au Vin

Tried the Guardian "How to make the perfect..." recipe, I used a jointed 2kg chicken as I couldn't get a cock. I probably reduced the wine a bit more than recommended but we have a very heavy pot with a very tight lid and I left it on for the final stage. Pronounced a triumph by Evie and Véro.

Beetroot and Sweet Potato Salad

I think the cooking times are on the raw side of al dente and roasting my rather large beets took some time but worth the wait. It's a Guardian "midweek supper" from Angela Hartnett.

Pork Fillet with Mustard Sauce

My effort is not exactly a picture on a plate but a great straightforward recipe, but all hail Gerard Depardieu's recipe book a great present from Basil.

From Recipes

Chicken Cooked in a Salt Crust

Mix 1kg plain flour and 1 kg of course salt add cold water slowly until you have a pastry you can roll. In your chicken add the liver of 3 chickens, salt and pepper, a branch of rosemary and a bay leaf. Wrap the chicken in the pastry and bake in oven (180 degrees centigrade) for an hour and a half for a small chicken or two and a half hours for a larger bird. Unfortunately I got it wrong and only went for two hours and had to reinsert in oven embalmed in foil (note to self don't always trust Larousse) . Serve with simple salad dressed in nut oil. This is a lovely moist "chickeny" meal and the liver is a lovely touch.

Scallops, Black Pudding and Apple

This is pretty straight forward, peel and slice some Granny Smiths into bite size chunks, fry gently in butter with a little sugar but aim not to caramelise. "Peel" some black pudding and cook in a frying pan for 5-6 minutes, layer in glass with the apple and set aside, simply season and griddle some scallops re-heat glasses in microwave, cut scallops into smaller pieces and put on top of warm black pudding and apple. Not sure this is the best way to combine these ingredients but if you have guests to look after the pre-preparation is easier than cooking the three elents at the same time.

Salmon Tartare, Petit Sale and Poached Pears

The recipe for the Salmon was from an old Sainbury's magazine and there is a sauce in which Wasabi is added to Ceme fraiche.
The Petit Salé recipe is my own adaption of a classic based on some other recipes I know where a little chilli is added to lentils.

Petit salé with red wine,

rosemary and lentils

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

600g Puy lentils

1.5 kg petit salé

3-9 tbsp olive oil

½ Bottle of red wine

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 sticks of celery diced

1 Large Onions finely chopped

3 small carrots diced

15-20 Shallots or Small Onions

3 Bay leaves

Small bunch Thyme

leaves from 3 sprigs of rosemary

small bunch of small sage leaves pick off half leaves and chop

2 small red chillis, seeded and chopped

10 pieces sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and cut across into thin

strips

0.25 l chicken stock

3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley and a small bunch

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

1. Peel shallots/small onions and set aside.

2. Wash lentils and leave to soak in water.

3. Cover pork in water in large pan bring slowly to boil and simmer for 5 minutes, drain and wash in cold water, dry thoroughly.

4. Put oil in a heavy pan or casserole and sear meat, remove add wine and reduce until you have reduced by two thirds pour into bowl and set aside

5. Add the remaining oil to the pan and add the garlic, chopped onion, carrots, celery and chilli. Fry over a medium-high heat until the shallots are soft and lightly browned.

6. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, lentils, red wine reduction, petit sale, chicken stock, shallots/small onions, half the parsley and other herbs tied and pepper add water until just covered and leave to simmer gently covered for 2 hours until the liquid has reduced slightly and the lentils are tender. Check the dish does not dry completely and that the meat is cooking.

Stir the remaining chopped parsley into the lentils and spoon them into a warmed shallow serving dish. Put the carved petit sale on top and serve.

The Pears are an old favourite but I had no thick cream and I'm afraid I over thickened the sauce with cornflour.

CHILLI PEARS WITH SPICED TOFFEE SAUCE

Pears poached with chilli and ginger and served with an Asian-spiced sauce are lighter than plum pud and more fun to eat

4 brown-skinned pears

750ml/112 pints sparkling wine

250g/9oz caster sugar

2 small red chillies

1 slice of fresh ginger

For the sauce:

150g/5oz soft brown sugar

150ml/5fl oz thickened cream

2 cardamom pods

4 each whole star anise and cinnamon sticks

2 tablespoons butter

To make the sauce, put all the ingredients in a pan, bring to the boil, stirring, and simmer for five minutes. You can do this stage beforehand.

Wash the pears, but do not peel them. Use a small, sharp knife to cut out the cores from the bottom and discard. Combine the sparkling wine, caster sugar, chilli and ginger in a pan and bring to the boil, stirring. Place the pears in the syrup and simmer for 30 minutes or more, until tender to the touch. Remove from the heat and set aside.

To serve, reheat the pears in their syrup. When they are hot, gently heat the sauce. Drain the pears well, and place in the centre of four shallow soup plates. Strain the hot sauce over the top so that it coats each pear completely. Pick out the star anise and cinnamon and arrange at the foot of each pear.

Chicken and Leek Pie

If you follow this recipe you will end upwith a very "chickeny" pie!

Pea and Ham Soup

Make friends with the people where you buy your ham, and then if they are as kind as Philippe they give you the bone and you can delicious warming soup!

Butternut Squash Soup with Scallops and Saffron Cream

A great recipe, I used stock cubes and suggest that frozen scallops can be used here without a huge loss of taste and texture.

Lamb Tagine with Prunes

Another superb meal from Khadija!

Fish Finger Sandwich

Whilst this blog is dedicated to cooking and generally we frown upon convenience food, there are some things thast just hit the spot, white bread (OK in France it's pain de mie from the local baker), fish fingers, and Heinz Tomato Ketchup.