The Family Cook Book

We had ten for dinner last night and instead of sitting down for a starter we had a selection of bits at the bar. I turned to 'The return of the Naked Chef' for a couple of them and it reminded me how good and original Jamie was when he first burst on the scene. The reci pes below come f rom the tapas, munchies and snacks section of the book . It has to be said they went down pretty well.   nb  I halved the tuna recipe as we were having a few different things to eat. we could also have easily halved the tapenade recipe but it keeps perfectly well in the fridge  Asian infused tuna Try to buy firm, deep red tuna. The idea is for it to be eaten raw - just like sushi ­ but, in actual fact, the acidity of the lime juice starts to cook the fish. serves 6-8 455g/1lb tuna 1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced juice of 4-5 limes, to taste 1-2 fresh chillies, deseeded and finely chopped 3 tablespoons sesame seed oil 4 tablespoons coconut milk 1 good handful of fr

After my Plum and orange cake last week (I went through by the way) it was Mr Quarrey's turn to compete in Cake club. I think its fair to say that he has kept the founders end up rather well, his Sticky pear and ginger cake may not have risen to the greatest of heights but on the flavour front it was positively Shard like.  Heres the recipe This is a cross between a sticky toffee pudding and a ginger cake. Serve warm with ice cream or cream as a dessert Serves   8 - 10 Ingredients ·       250g stoned  dates   , finely chopped ·       300ml milk ·       100g butter , plus extra for the tin ·       140g ginger preserve (you'll find this with the jams) ·       140g dark muscovado sugar ·       3 large ripe  pears   (we used Conference) ·       175g self-raising flour ·       50g  pecans   nuts, reserve 10 and chop the rest ·       1 tsp bicarbonate of soda ·       2 tsp ground ginger ·       ½ tsp mixed spice ·       2  eggs   , be

I just saw this and thought I should try it ... this is a reminder to me to do so. It is similar to the April Bloomfield one that nearly gassed Joe and I last week but doesn't involve cooking the chillies!  Ribeye steak with Asian dressing A cross between Italian tagliata — sliced steak — and a Vietnamese beef salad. Ingredients   Serves 2-4 2 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)  Zest and juice of 2 limes  1 tbsp brown sugar  4 wafer-thin slices of ginger, finely shredded  1 medium red chilli, deseeded and finely shredded  2 shallots, finely sliced  2 ribeye steaks, 2cm-3cm thick  4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil  Salt and pepper  Baby-leaf salad  A few coriander leaves  A few mint leaves, roughly torn  A few chives, cut into 5cm lengths, to scatter  2 radishes, cut into tiny sticks  3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil Put the soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar in a small bowl, then stir in the ginger, chilli and shallot to make a fragrant dr

I saw a short film about April Bloomfield on timesonline. She cooked this recipe for her team after a night out, they wolfed it down it whilst playing beer pong. "A staple at The Spotted Pig, this creamy, still slightly chunky mash of lovely, iron-y livers on toast makes a fine snack, but it’s substantial enough to hold you over while you wait for a friend or a table. Just the thing, too, with a glass of wine. The liver mixture is a touch sweet from the port and the browned garlic and shallots, with a whisper of acidity from the Madeira. Best of all, it takes just a moment to make. Be sure you get a nice color on the livers when you cook them. (I like them slightly pink on the inside for this dish; anyone who doesn’t can cook them a bit longer.) Be sure to take in the aroma as they cook — toasty browning liver is one of my favorite smells." Chopped Chicken Liver on Toast Makes 4 toasts Ingredients About 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus more for driz