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

Burger- Chips - Maison

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.