The Family Cook Book

We went to the absolutely excellent prohibition pig in Waterbury whilst we were up in Vermont .  Fantastic range of beers, excellent food and a great atmosphere. The boys and I also sampled the Whisky Pickle; a combination of Rye Whisky in one glass and house pickle juice in another (yes you read it right ... house pickle juice) The idea is that you take a sip of whisky followed by a sip of pickle juice, its probably not great for your digestive system but  it's surprisingly delicious. www.prohibitionpig.com

This is a very simple recipe but it makes a delicious side dish, particularly with a steak Ingredients 500g/1lb green beans 3tbsp Dijon mustard  2tbsp red wine vinegar  120ml/4oz extra-virgin olive oil  Sea-salt and freshly ground black pepper Method Mix the mustard with the vinegar and then slowly add the olive oil slowly in a thin stream mixing all the time. This sauce should have the consistency of mayonnaise.  Season.  Cook the beans in boiling, salted water. Drain and cool for a minute. Place in a bowl and season. Then pour over the dressing. Toss, making sure all the beans are coated. Serve.

This recipe is from Mario Batali's 'Italian grill'   http://www.amazon.co.uk/Italian-Grill-Mario-Batali/dp/0061450979 . We had it last night with steak, RIver Cafe green beans in mustard and toasted bread salad. I think this is a simple but excellent use of red onions which is perfect for the barbecue. Sorry that measures are US stylee! Ingredients 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme 2 pounds large red onions About 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Method Preheat a gas grill for direct cooking over high heat. Combine vinegar, garlic and thyme in small saucepan and heat until fragrant and just beginning to steam; don’t let it boil. Remove from heat and let stand for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut onions into 1/2-inch-thick slices and lay out on baking sheet. Brush on both sides with 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on

Last night we barbecued some Misty Knoll chicken to have with the vegetable recipes i posted earlier. This was despite the fact that it was about minus 12 degrees outside and the grill chef (Bill Sweeney) was required to wear a Canada Goose arctic expedition coat! Update: I did this again a couple of nights later and totally cremated it .... There's too much sugar and fat here. If you can't watch it with an eagle eye I think maybe it needs to be done in the oven .... Or maybe cut down on the honey and ketchup. I'll try again and report back! This recipe is a bit of a bastardisation of a Jamie Oliver recipe Ingredients 1 orange 1 lemon 1 dried chilli 1½ heaped teaspoons smoked paprika 1½ teaspoons Dijon or English mustard 3 tablespoons honey 3 tablespoons ketchup 1 teaspoon olive oil sea salt, to taste freshly ground pepper, to taste 8 decent sized pieces of chicken on the bone Method If barbecuing, light the grill now so the flame

We have been in Vermont for a few days now and last night we felt that we needed a little balance in our diet following the assault on our bodies from a few days of chicken wings, fries, burgers, fondues, Ben and Jerry's and birthday cake. So last night we had barbecued misty knoll chicken and a few veggie recipes that I had been meaning to do for some time. fennel and celery salad Cut two medium fennel bulbs in quarters lengthwise, discarding the outer layer if it is exceedingly tough. Use a mandolin to slice quarters thinly; slice three celery ribs equally thin. Put sliced fennel and celery into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss gently to combine. Top with lots of freshly shaved parmesan and chopped fennel fronds if you like. Green bean salad with lemon garlic and chilli Ingredients 250 gms green beans 250 gms sugar snap peas 4 spring onions/scallions 1/2 red chilli 2/3 cloves garlic

Lisa made this tonight ( without blackberries) it's brilliant .... The crumble is amazingly crumbly, its a bit like sweet granola crumble. theres also none of that claggy soft crumble ..... You know the bit that lies under the crunch ... This is all crunch ... Fabulous Ingredients For the crumble topping 120g plain flour 60g caster sugar 60g unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into pieces For the fruit compote 300g Braeburn apples 30g unsalted butter 30g demerara sugar 115g  blackberries ¼ tsp ground cinnamon vanilla  ice cream, to serve Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Tip the flour and sugar into a large bowl. Add the butter, then rub into the flour using your fingertips to make a light breadcrumb texture. Do not overwork it or the crumble will become heavy. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over a baking sheet and bake for 15 mins or until lightly coloured. Meanwhile, for the compote, peel, core and cut the apples into 2cm dice. Put

I also made pannacotta with blackberries from the Polpo book. It wasn't that hard to do but I was a little disappointed ... It looked ok but I thought the flavour was so-so ..... Not sure if that was me or the recipe. I'm not sure I'll bother to try again though

Every one loves bacon, even vegetarians love a bacon sarnie. To my mind belly of pork is the sunday lunch equivalent of  that morning after classic. Every member of the Cook massive without exception love this dish and will fight each other tooth and nail for their fair share of the crackling. this Jamie   Oliver's recipe, it's very simple but works every time. ingredients 2 kg pork belly (get the butcher to score the skin ) sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 red onions, halved 2 carrots, peeled and halved length ways 2 sticks of celery, chopped in half 1 bulb of garlic, skin on, broken into cloves small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked 600ml water or stock Method Preheat your oven to full whack, it needs to be at least 220°C/425°F/gas 7. Place your pork on a clean work surface, skin-side upwards. If the butcher hasn't done it you need to  score the skin Get yourself a small sharp knife  and make scores about a centimetre apart

After quite a busy week I was glad to get down to some cooking this weekend. This dish was more to do with preparation than cooking. The basis of this recipe was in a supplement in the Telegraph featuring Michel Roux recipes. It was just Joe, Lisa and I and we followed the beef with fish cous-cous. The boys loved the meat, Lisa not so much. We decided that maybe steak tartare is a bit of a bloke thing. Anyway this recipe is rather good and the mayo mix avoids the need for the raw egg that is most commonly associated with a classic tartare, which is one of the things that i think may put some people off. I thought that the balance of textures and tastes was really well balanced. It would be an easy thing to make floor pre-dinner nibbles or for a party. Spicy raw beef Ingredients 800g beef fillet, chopped into small dice 3 banana shallots  finely chopped 6 medium sized cornichons, chopped 1 tbs baby capers 1 tbs tomato ketchup 1 tbs Dijon mustard 2 tbs mayonnai