The Family Cook Book

Back in Sugarbush with my good friend Mr Joel Levy. After a fabulously easy journey up we were joined by Joel's brother Josh who made the eight hour drive down from Toronto ... or 'Tronno' ... as he would have it ... phonetically speaking. We have had incredible weather, its been 50 degrees since we have been up here, which equates to sunbathing in between runs on the near empty slopes. Josh has been pushing us to ski every last cent of the $72 lift fee whilst Joel has just been attempting to get it down to at least $10 a run ... as for myself I have been falling between the two of them going longer than Joel but happy to give the afternoon's 'mashed potato' a miss. Evenings have consisted of a combination of Switchback Ale, red wine, good conversation, a little bit of movie watching, a little bit of guitar playing (them not me) and a good deal of laughter.... and of course some good old wind breaking, belching and profanity. From a culinary perspective we have

This is a great way of serving courgettes. It is very easy to make and offers a different textural take on the humble old Zuchini. So go on, smash some courgettes up today, you know it makes sense. The recipe is from Jamie Oliver's 'Return of the Naked Chef' and although he recommends spreading it on bruschetta or as a dip, I particularly like it as an accompaniment to a lovely bit of Roast chicken .. even better if you have shoved some finely chopped garlic, fresh thyme leaves and maldon salt under the skin btw. Ingredients serves four 2 crushed garlic cloves 1-2 small dried red chillies (or 1 fresh seeded and finely chopped) Ex Virgin olive oil 6-8 small courgettes, unevenly sliced handful of chopped fresh mint juice of a lemon. Method Fry 2 crushed garlic cloves and 1-2 small dried red chillies (or fresh I guess) in some olive oil for a couple of minutes. Add 6-8 small courgettes, unevenly sliced, stir to coat and put lid on. Turn heat down then sh

On Saturday night we had dinner with our good friends David and Cathy. We had been out the night before and were a little 'tired'. The evening called for comfort food and a recipe that was neither too onerous to cook, prepare or shop for. Lisa had bought some fabulous Italian sausages (three types) from a great Deli in Richmond so we turned to Saint Jamie and his fabulous recipe for sausages, Lentils and salsa Rossa from The Jamie’s Italian book. I also added some red onions cooked in balsamic and red wine (River Cafe) We began the evening with peppers piedmontese and finished with a glorious pear tart courtesy of Lisa by way of a recipe from River cafe One (blue) We washed it down with some prosecco to begin the evening and a couple of bottles of Tenute Marchese Antinori 2004 Riserva Chianti Classico which had a couple of hours to breathe in a decanter and was a very nice match for the sausages. This combo is, as Jamie says, the Italian version of sausage and mash ... I guess

The Rimmers (Jerry and Belle) came over on Friday night. We didn't know until lunchtime but we're always pleased to see them. For dinner we cooked the fabulous 'Tray baked chicken with pancetta, fennel and red onion' (Monday, November 17, 2008 on this blog) accompanied by simply roasted sweet potatoes in their skins. We washed it down with .... one bottle of prosecco, half a bottle of champagne, two bottles of white (one Soave by Pieropan, one Gavi) and one bottle of Villa Antinori..... and yes we were tired on Saturday. However it just goes to show that nothing beats good simple food, good wine and good friends .... I think I might start a campaign for more off the cuff socialising accompanied by appropriate recipes of course. I wonder if www.whatabouttonight.com is available?

Lisa and I had this last night, it's a great stand-by recipe that reminds me of our holidays in Sicily where this dish originates from. The nagic ingredient here is the additon of the almonds to the tomato base. The addition of the nutty texture to the touch of chilli heat and the grainy cous cous makes for a combination that adds a little bit of North Africa to your basic Italian. It makes for a fine combination from a culinary perspective as it does when it comes to holiday destinations. The only non-store cupboard thing that is essential is some decent white fish.... although you could probably use frozen ... I haven't tried it but I don't see why not.It won't be as good but I bet it wouldn't be half bad. As with most of my favourite recipes it is also very simple to make. It is based on a Rick Stein recipe but it is very easy to adapt and dress up depending on what ingredients you have available. Also the base can be made in advance, you could probably freeze it