The Family Cook Book

I am watching Germany destroy Holland at the euros. Fortunately for me Lisa made me some rather upmarket footy food in the shape of Angela Hartnett's poached cod and lentils. It was absolutely delicious and even better, capable of being eaten in front of the telly .... Beats a pukka pie or a westlers hot dog any day of the week. The recipe is from the very user friendly book 'A taste of home' Poached cod and lentils If possible, use French puy lentils or Italian castelluccio lentils for the best flavour – not the little red ones. You could also make this with butter beans or chickpeas.  Serves 4 Ingredients 45g butter 1 tbsp olive oil 1 large white onion, diced 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 100g pancetta, chopped 200g  puy lentils  Splash of white wine  600ml chicken stock  4 x 130g cod fillets, skinned and trimmed  2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves  4 spring onions, chopped  2 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley  Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

http://www.whatkatieate.blogspot.co.uk ..... Thanks Darryl

Lisa, Joe and I went to the Hand and Flowers on Saturday night. It is a two Michelin starred pub run by Tom Kerridge .... of Great British Menu fame (that's him below). I absolutely loved the combination of fabulous food and a very laid back and unstuffy atmosphere. It was also surprisingly good value.We will definitely go back, if only because poor Lisa wasn't feeling too good and consequently couldn't really enjoy the meal.  I had Crispy Pig’s Head with Rhubarb, Crackling and Pancetta followed by Slow Cooked Duck Breast with Peas, Duck Fat Chips and Gravy and ended with Tonka Bean Panna Cotta, with Poached Strawberries, Liquorice Meringue and Strawberry Ice Cream (pic from their website below) ..... oh ... my ... word. Joe and Lisa enjoyed Warm Beef Bouillon with Blowtorched Scottish Scallop, Kohlrabi and Bone Marrow Fritter, Pork and Mushroom Terrine with Dill, Pickles and Toasted Sour Dough to start. Followed by Line Caught Cod with Pastrami, Morels Herb

It's the end of jubilee weekend.....Martha's away for the night and I was trying to use up some of the stuff in the fridge.  I saw this recipe by Stevie Parle in the Times and I rather liked the sound of this lighter tasting spin on pizza. Unfortunately I didn't cook my dough until it was crispy enough and I didn't roll it thin enough for my taste... next time .... And I am definitely going to do the minced lamb version Ingredients  1 batch of pizza dough 8 tbsp thick Greek yogurt or labne 4 ripe, sweet tomatoes 1tsp sumac A handful of dill, mint, thyme and parsley A pinch of Turkish chilli or 1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped 1 tbsp good olive oil Method Preheat the oven to its hottest setting (230-300C/450-475F/Gas 8-9) and place a pizza stone or a flat metal tray in to get hot. Roll the dough out into eight discs a quarter-inch thick. Slide each disc of dough onto the stone/tray, and cook for between three and eight minutes until light brown

Well actually its Martha and Lisa really but it didn't scan as well.... and they nicked it from Raymond Blanc in the Times this weekend. This is actually a recipe for Pavlova which is delicious I'm sure. However we just had them with fruit and a choice of ice cream or cream .... or both. On Sunday Charlie ate six meringues ..... they must be good Raymond Blanc's Pavlova with summer berries Ingredients Makes 4 large individual pavlovas For the meringue  3 free-range medium egg whites 6 drops of lemon juice 100g caster sugar 75g icing sugar, sifted, plus extra to dust For the fruit  150g strawberries, rinsed, hulled and halved 150g raspberries, washed 50g blackberries, washed 50g blueberries, washed 50g redcurrants or blackcurrants, washed 20g caster sugar, or to taste Squeeze of lemon juice For the coulis  250g raspberries 30g caster sugar To serve (optional)  Vanilla ice cream Method  The meringues Preheat the oven to 120C/gas 1. Using an ele