A breakfast for superheroes indeed...it may also cure a hangover...

I have a confession.  Last Friday night I cheated on Nigel.  I felt awful.  I actually cheated on him twice, both times with a woman.  

Picture the scene.  Family supper in Southwold as part of my father's 60th celebrations, I won't mention what I did with Delia for the main course, but I think Nigel would approve of my starter.  I cooked a fantastically easy and delicious dish from Elisa Beynon.  Nigel would approve as he was one of the judges when she won the Fourth Estate and Waitrose Food Illustrated competition.  It was a starter of Guacamole encrusted Tuna and it was delightful.  If you would like to cook it yourself.  Her brilliant cookbook is here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Vicars-Wifes-Cook-Book/dp/0007276125

I am pleased to report that I made up with Nigel on Saturday morning and after nursing some sore heads, a breakfast of superheroes is on the menu. Excellent work Nigel.  The recipe is on pages 56 - 57 of Nigel's book and does not have a picture.  It was meant to be cooked on February 15 and like Nigel says, this is very much a weekend breakfast.  This is a Sunday breakfast toad in the hole.  I know right, this is going to be epic...

I am cooking in another kitchen and have the help of a sous chef which after a fabulous pudding wine  the night before (Canadian Ice Wine) I am appreciative of the help:

This recipe has everything you want in a breakfast; sausages, eggs, bacon, mushrooms and black pudding.  Ok, so maybe not what a vegan would want in a breakfast, but I do not have any vegan's at my breakfast table today.  Just those in need of a hearty breakfast before a walk by the sea on a wet day.

So you start with a batter with a little twist.  A nice dollop of grainy mustard.  This will definitely be a an addition to my toad in the hole recipe. 

In the meantime you fry up the rest of the ingredients and pop them in the oven to get nice and hot before adding the batter.  I made the school boy of error of not waiting to get the fat hot enough so my batter did not crisp and puff as much as I would have liked.  The hunger and pressure from the waiting crowd was mounting...

The waiting is over and I produce not one but two of these beauties out of the oven.   The flecks of black pudding add an amazing flavour.  Perhaps another good idea for a twist on my toad in the hole recipe?

This gets served up with a giant mug of builders tea and I must confess a dollop of brown sauce.  You can take the girl out of Essex...

JanieCooksNigel

23/01/16

Something a little tart for a loved one this V Day

I never wrote about our tart treat.  The 'Seriously Lemon Lemon Sorbet'.  So good Nigel named it twice!  It is on pages 45 - 47 of Nigel's The Kitchen Diaries III.

It was meant to be cooked on February 10 but was cooked on February 13 as part of an early Valentine's supper.  Valentines Day this year was spent with 16 adults, 8 toddlers and 3 babies, as you do. We were celebrating our toddler's 2nd birthday and every good kid's party needs cake and my friend and I rustled up this little beauty (again, I am hoping this will make a feature in Nigel's future books!!)

Anyways, on to the night before of the day before.  I quite like Valentine's Day.  Before you all leave me in droves (ok so just my mum who is reading this...) what is not good about an excuse to eat dinner with pal, loved one, family, etc. There is a pressure, I get that, but turn that pressure into a positive.  No one wants to be alone on Valentine's Day so make it an excuse to do something.  I have had Valentine's Days with all sorts of people and now it is a wonderful excuse to do something nice with my husband.  This year, an excuse to cook a lovely supper and to round it off with a Nigel recipe (the other man in my life at the moment).

So, on to the lemon sorbet.  I will be honest I was slightly freaking out about this.  I do not have an ice cream maker and Nigel's recipe kindly prepares for this inevitable eventuality.  He also speaks of using a Bergamot Lemon.   I was unable to track these down, I probably would have been able to get them in Borough Market though.  However, Nigel says you can use the common garden lemon, so that is what I did.  The recipe says 8 - 10 lemons and I ended up using 10 to get the required amount of liquid.  You also need to make a syrup.  Remember it is ready when it goes clear:

I know, I always say this but this is a surprisingly easy recipe to bring together.  When you bring the lemon juice and sugar together it tastes like amazing homemade lemonade.  The stuff you would buy from the side of the road in America.  Although probably not as sugary as I love tart lemon things, and held back on the syrup so that it has the effect of making you slightly wince when you eat it. Always a good look on Valentine's Day! ; )

So, after the first freeze it looks like this:

Second freeze like this (probably should have taken it before now but I forgot!):

And finally served in a small glass tumbler with a little shot of vodka poured over the top.  A cheeky addition of my own which made it like a very grown up slush puppy.

This is very much a grown up dessert and one that would be great for a dinner party.  You can make it ahead in the morning and just pull it out of the freezer when you need it in the evening.  Delicious!

JanieCooksNigel

16/02/16

Buy one get one free

I am actually cooking two of Nigel's recipes today.  The Seriously Lemon Sorbet meant to be cooked on February 10 (more on this later) and the Mograbia with chorizo and tomato meant to be cooked February 12.

Today is February 13 and it is a wet, miserable, grey day.  I should be going for a run this afternoon but the chances of that are bleak.  Much like the weather.

The recipe is something hearty and warming, just what is needed today.  Now, the main ingredient is Mograbia.  I have never heard of this but it looks right up our street.  We are a household in love with pulses, grains, beans, rice, lentils, etc.  Unfortunately, I could not buy Mograbia in store or online at Waitrose but after some research I discovered it was often referred to as giant cous cous.  So, this is what I purchased instead:

The recipe is on pages 50 - 52 and there is a lovely picture, again served in lovely bowls:

The chorizo sausage was also a challenge.  Now I have obviously heard of this before.  Having lived in Spain how could I have not.  Cured meat could probably be my chosen subject on Mastermind! The recipe calls for four chorizo sausages.  Bearing in mind this recipe serves two I knew it was not going to be the large cooked chorizo sausages you slice and eat straight from the fridge with a nice glass of red wine from Navarra or Rioja.  Nope, I am sure that Nigel is talking about the 'raw' chorizo, what the supermarkets refer to as cooking chorizo.  I.e. it needs to be cooked!  So this is what I bought:

Now this recipe is super easy to prepare.  The giant cous cous cooks in around 10 minutes (less than the Mograbia cooking time).  By the time it is finished cooking it resembles the stuffing of a bean bag.   The chorizo, tomatoes and the other ingredients bubble away nicely, just cooked in the oil that comes out of the chorizo:

The two are then joined together (a match made in heaven) and I must confess, I stirred in a tiny knob of butter to thicken the juices slightly and add a lovely glaze:

I served this with, green veg (of course) and we had it for lunch.  It served all three of us with plenty left over.  I cooked without salt as my son was also eating this and just added ours at the table.  The dish was delicious.  It greeted my husband back from a very wet windy and cold 60 mile bike ride and we all loved it.  We discussed how it is another contender for the top recipe prize.  It is hearty, warming and extremely tasty. My son loved it too.  Especially the 'sausage' but what kid wouldn't love something served on this plate:

I wonder if Nigel has one of these in the cupboard...

JanieCooksNigel

13/01/16

The revenge of the marinade

After my school girl error on Sunday of not reading the recipe properly and discovering I needed to marinate the ribs before cooking (face still in palms!), Monday night rib night came.  It was actually very fitting as Monday was Chinese New Year and what better thing to eat on such an occasion but ribs.  Ribs cooked with soy sauce and star anise.

It is funny, but this blog is teaching me a lot.  I am a 'doer' someone who likes to be busy, keeping my mind and body occupied.  I rush around doing too many things at once, much to the annoyance of my loved ones.  However, since embarking on my career break (nearly a whole 2 weeks in), I have been thinking about slowing down.  About savouring life, enjoying moments with my son, rather than planning the next thing in my head.  As you will discover from this blog, I am not a very accomplished writer. This is not a new thing and an excellent primary school teacher correctly identified that my mind moves too fast for my hand to keep up and write (now type).  I am always on to the next thing before finishing what I am doing.

I was so annoyed at myself for not reading the rib recipe, such a school girl error and it reminded me that I need to slow down.  I am clearly grasping that philosophy as I should have written this blog earlier in the week, but better late than never...

Here are my ribs (ok not actually mine, no one needs to see that!), just before they go on the oven.  I probably should have popped them in a smaller dish but I did keep turning them (as personally recommended by Nigel on twitter *squeals*!).

Nigel advises serving this with a cauliflower puree (recipe on page 44 of the book).  I am delighted about this.  I have been trying to eat better and increase the amount of veg I eat and this is music to my ears.  It is a very simple recipe and I bought a good quality organic cauliflower to maximise flavour.  I added slightly too much butter (I was adjusting the recipe to reduce quantity) so it was rather rich.

So, the ribs were lovingly turned and apologies for the lighting in this picture as they look a little burnt but they were not at all.  Caramelised yes (ok so arguably a chef's word for 'burnt') but ribs need that crispy fat.

I let them rest for a couple of moments and you finish off the cauliflower puree with a wonderful bright green chive oil.  The colours in Nigel's food are really up lifting.

So, supper is served and what an absolute joy and treat it is:

The ribs are sticky and sweet and I love the meatiness of the beef rib rather than the pork.  A richer deeper flavour that works so well with the ingredients of the marinade.  Had I not over buttered the cauliflower it would be a wonderful light accompaniment.  It was still delicious just rather rich, although the onion flavour of the oil really lifted it.  You know what, this dish was totally worth the wait.

JanieCooksNigel

11/2/16

The curse of the marinade - Part 1

*£%*!!! Was my response (insert expletive of choice) when I realised that the Short Rib Feast and Creamed Cauliflower was meant to be cooked yesterday (January 7) from Nigel's book (pages 41 - 44).  No, not because I have a hatred for ribs, quite the opposite in fact.  It was that I had planned to have them for tea that evening and I read the words, every cook dreads...marinate.  The only thing you dread more is 'marinate for 24 - 48 hours'!!!!

Of course, they need marinating (face in palms).  It is meat designed to fall off a bone, that takes time and love and I was going to deny them that with the few hours I had.  Now, I am fairly practical cook, not one to fuss, but equally, I like to think I know when the extra effort is needed and this is most definitely one of those times.  Cue change of plans and cue my sister coming to the rescue and inviting us for Sunday Dinner, a delicious feast of lamb shanks (which I am sure she gave them time to marinate!).

So, this dish will be 'cooked' in two parts.  The first part is to make the marinade and in Nigel's effortless way of bringing some lovely ingredients together in order to bathe my beef ribs.  I managed to get beef ribs (not as common as the pork rib) but I could not get short ones only the standard ones, but they still look amazing:

One thing I was eager to do was to instantly pour the marinade over the ribs (seriously, I need to learn to slow down), however, as the marinade is warm you need to make sure it is completely cold.  Otherwise you would start cooking the ribs and it would be a hot bed for bacteria.

Nigel suggests marinating in zip lock freezer bags and I love this idea.  However, I only have resealable bags and they are not big enough for my ribs, so into a pyrex dish it goes with the lovely aniseed, sweet, salty marinade poured over the top.  Now we wait...

JanieCooksNigel

7/2/16

An atheist aubergine

Tonight is challenging.  Tonight I have to cook aubergine for my husband.  He hates aubergine. I mean a genuine hatred.  He will childishly pick it out of dishes.  Tonight we eat an aubergine 'cassoulet'.  The aubergine is the main ingredient.  Wish me luck...

As you know I am totally green with envy over Nigel's earthenware and today is no exception.  He is cooking in Bernard Leach.  I on the other hand am cooking in a hooky Le Creuset dish from a french supermarket. Moving on...The recipe is on pages 37 - 40 including a lovely picture. 

I cut the Aubergines as Nigel instructs but I cannot help feel that my aubergines are genetically modified in some way.  They are massive.  I fight the urge to go off recipe and cut it into smaller pieces (it is hard):

There are some lovely ingredients in this dish. Whilst the recipe calls for a couple of tins of haricot beans, I am using a lovely jar of Alubias Blancas.  Ok, so it is the same thing but I used to live in Spain.  Not the sunny southern parts but the baltic northern parts, where the food is all about adding an extra layer of fat to keep you warm for the winter, when the snow covers the Picos.  Think hearty stews, mystery meats and jars of hearty beans. These, I actually buy in M&S:

The aubergines once browned look like this, probably could have done with a bit more browning:

The smells when you pull together the other elements of the dish is delicious.  When you cobble it all together to pop in the oven it looks like this:

 When it comes out the oven, it looks and smells amazing (if I do say so myself):

Now, how to get my husband to eat this... Meat.  In particular lamb.  I was thinking what to serve this with and I knew it had to appeal to my husband's taste's buds.  Something juicy and tasty, meaty and earthy, enter, a Barnsley lamb chop.

The food match is a hit and my husband comments on how delicious the lamb is.  He also comments on the Cassoulet.  He loves the beans, onions, tomatoes, herbs, etc and graciously eats some of the aubergine. To be honest in parts it is a little undercooked.  I should have cut my genetically modified aubergines smaller. We all live and learn.  The flavours are delicious and it is actually a very filling and low fat stew.  An absolute winner for this time of year.  For the left overs I have chopped the aubergine and will reheat tomorrow and serve with a chicken breast supreme (with the bone and skin on).  Well, that is what my husband and son will eat.  Momma is going 'out out'.

JanieCooksNigel

3/1/16

Something a little retro for lunch

Now, I have a love hate relationship with fishcakes.  I remember distinctly in the late 1990s and early 2000s that everyone was eating a fishcake.  A popular starter in those slightly naff nouveau cuisine restaurants or a midweek favourite supper, supermarket purchased of course. Now I struggle with fishcakes for dinner, what do you serve them with?  They have spuds in them and I can't double carb (unless very hungover), but a fishcake with a bit of veg or salad does not make a dinner after a long day in the office.  So, Nigel's recipe of Smoked Mackerel fishcakes on 31 January (page 33 -35), in this house will be cooked for lunch.  Picture of Nigel's:

These have some great flavours, including a rather phallic one:

You only need a small amount of horseradish for the recipe but this is the smallest one I could buy.  Although fear not for those who hate food waste, it is really easy to freeze.  I actually used less in the recipe as my son was eating it and it was making my eyes water just grating it (worse than an onion). Another ingredient to mention is the smoked mackerel.  Nigel recommends a whole fresh smoked mackerel but that the packet stuff is a good close second.  So second place it is for me.  I love smoked mackeral and it is great fridge food for easy lunches and suppers.  I used 5 slivers to make what I thought looked like a whole fish (a mackerel puzzle if you will):

Finally, Nigel adds beetroot to the fishcakes for sweetness but it adds the most wonderful colour and on a dark gloomy day at the end January it really brightens the mood:

Once again, it is a bung it all together kind of recipe.  Although I have tried to make them look pretty before they have to chill in the fridge.  I love this pink colour, I do not eat enough pink food:

So, the tension mounts and here is the finished article.  Served with a salad of baby kale, spinach and something else I can't remember (it was a packet).  I also made a quick cheat's homemade lemon mayonnaise by melting a little butter in the pan, adding some shop bought mayo, stirring over a low heat and squeezing in some lemon juice to taste.

I actually think this is a perfect weekend lunch.  Although I ate the leftover fish cakes for lunch today, slightly less classily with a fried egg and my son's leftover baked beans. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

JanieCooksNigel

Cooked 30/1/16
Blog 1/2/16