The Family Cook Book

Tomorrow sees me take on the doyenne of krow's cake club, Tanya B. Cakes aren't really my thing but I am hoping that the River Cafe pistachio cake may help me have at least a small chance of success. As I write this my two cakes are in the oven. In 25 minutes time I will at least know if I have something that vaguely resembles a cake and isn't just going to get laughed out of court! stop press: the unveiling of the cake recorded above! scores yet to come Ingredients 250g unsalted butter, softened (plus extra for greasing) 250g caster sugar 4 large eggs 1 lemon, zest finely grated, fruit reserved for another use 2 vanilla pods, seeds scraped, pods also reserved for another use 100g blanched & peeled almonds 120g blanched, shelled and peeled pistachios 40g unbleached all-purpose flour For the topping 1 lemon 100g blanched, shelled and peeled pistachios 60g caster sugar Notes: All the nuts should be weighted after they’ve been peeled. Also, the o...

Lisa made this for me tonight. It's a spin on a nigella recipe 'speedy seafood supper' but it's got quite a lot more class. It's really delicious and very simple. Give it a whirl This would serve around four .. Particularly if you had it with bread or couscous or rice or something Ingredients pinch saffron threads 250 ml water 2 cloves sliced garlic 2 tbsp olive oil 1 medium sized shallot finely sliced 1 tsp dried tarragon or oregano 250ml dry white wine 1 can chopped tomatoes generous (though to taste) sprinkling of salt flakes 350 gms cod fillet cut into largish pieces 200 gms uncooked prawns 3 tbs ground almonds freshly ground black pepper to taste 1tsp chilli flakes 2 tbs freshly chopped parsley to serve     Method Pop the saffron threads into a cup and add 250ml boiling water Heat a large pan on a medium heat and add the garlic and oil and heat gently for a few minutes until softened Then add the shallot and dried tarragon.  Stir it...

just back from Vermont and have to sing the praises of the American Flatbread restaurant at Lareau Farm. Wood oven, locally sourced ingredients, local beers, decent wines, lovely setting and a fabulous ambience. If only there was one of these in Esher! Only let down was that Joe forgot his passport so was forbidden from drinking despite the fact hes twenty-two ... gotta love those Vermont liquor laws check them out on http://americanflatbread.com/

I love baked and poached fruit it's a great way of using up anything in the fruit bowl that's either lacking in enough flavour to eat fresh, or is slightly on the turn. Today I used some plums, apples and blueberries and gave them a bit of a lift courtesey of an idea I got from Alice Water's 'The art of simple cooking'. My inspiration came from a recipe for baked peaches, but I think it works pretty well for almost any fruit. You will need: Your fruit .... In this case 6 Plums cut in half and stoned, 2 apples peeled, cored and cut into segments, a handful of blueberries 3 Tablespoons Apricot Jam {or any flavor of your favorite jam, as long as it goes well with the fruit 2 Tablespoons Honey 1 cup water {I have also done it with half water, half dessert wine) zest of one lemon Method If you can call it a method pre heat oven to 180c Whisk the jam, honey, water, lemon zest in a small bowl. Put the fruit flesh side up in a baking dish and pour t...

Arroz En Paella De Barcelona, Los Jueves (Barcelona-style Thursday Paella Rice) I wanted to try out one of my new cookery books, I also had two new paella pans from Lisa so it was a bit of a no-brainer that it was going to be 'Paella' from Steve and Neet that got 2012's first run-out. The book has a remarkable 118 different paella recipes. This is a bit of a bastardisation of the above recipe made to accommodate Martha's dislike of fish and the fact that this was a lazy saturday night in. However the thing I was most interested in was the use of hob and oven to finish the dish off. All in all I think it was successful. Serves four Ingredients 1litre fish or veg stock 100ml olive oil 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 400g chicken, deboned and cut into 30g pieces 8 king prawns (jumbo shrimps), heads removed and tails shelled 150ml passata 6 small chorizo, cut in half 200g green beans, trimmed and cut into 3cm lengths 1 green pepper, seeded, skinned and...

It was lovely to have everyone home for Xmas. Whilst we were preparing for the big event we also managed to spend a bit of family time in the kitchen, watching the telly, catching up and snacking at the bar. Here are some great canape recipes from Sybil Kapoor that we found in House and Garden. Roast tomato relish ingredients 750g baby plum tomatoes 1 medium red onion, finely diced 1 fat clove garlic, finely chopped 4 tbs ex virgin olive oil method heat oven to 180c mix rest of ingredients in a roasting tray. Roast for 45 mins until everything is soft. Leave to cool roughly mash together and season to taste. Spiced Lamb burgers ingredients 4tbs olive oil 1 medium onion finely chopped 1 clove garlic finely chopped 1 thai red chilli seeds removed and finely chopped 2 tsp ras al hanout or garam masala 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander, finely chopped 1 small bunch fresh coriander 500g lean minced lamb finely grated zest of two lemons salt and gr...

The 27th was pretty full on day of entertaining with the Sweeneys plus Sam, Bob and Bobs new wife, tomiko (sp?) arriving for lunch and the Bryant family coming for tea. We needed something easy to make and we were also in need of a bit of healthy food after two days of absolutely stuffing ourselves. This recipe (which I have blogged about before) was absolutely on the money. Serves 4 Thai Chicken burgers Ingredients * 600 g minced (ground) chicken * 1 onion, finely grated * 85 g fresh white breadcrumbs * 1 garlic clove * 1 lemongrass stalk white part only, finely chopped * 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) * 2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest * 1 tablespoon fish sauce * 2 teaspoons caster (superfine) sugar * Fresh mint and coriander (cilantro) leaves * sweet Chilli sauce (bottled) Method Put the chicken mince, onion, breadcrumbs, garlic, lemongrass, coriander, lime zest, fish sauce and sugar in a large bowl and mix together well with your h...