The Family Cook Book

I was given the book Simple by Diana Henry by Martha for Xmas. I think it is going to be a really well used book. We had this recipe last night as a side dish but to be honest it would be pretty nice as a main dish alongside some salad. This might be a response to the onslaught of eating and drinking over the holidays (45 covers in 3 days!) or because of my new cholesterol lowering campaign for 2017. However I think it is mainly because most of the recipes in the book do what it says on the cover, they are 'Simple' to execute but still have something interesting going on.  In this case it is the coriander and yoghurt dressing that deliver,. Give it a whirl, you wont regret it. Happy new year! INGREDIENTS ·        2tbs plus 4tbs extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving ·        ½ tablespoon honey ·         Juice of 2 limes ·         Kosher salt, to taste ·         Black pepper, to taste ·        1kg sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch wedges

This is now officially my go-to lamb curry. In her book ' A girl and her pig' April Bloomfield admits that it isn't exactly an authentic recipe, but I can assure you it's absolutely delicious and really makes the most of one of my favourite cuts of meat; shoulder of lamb. There are a few surprising ingredients like pineapple juice but go with the flow it all really works brilliantly in the end. I really like the way Bloomfield, one of Birmingham's finest exports, cooks and, having been to a couple of her New York restaurants you can see why her her inventive but laid back cooking has taken the city by storm. We made this for the return of the prodigal daughter from Uni. She had asked for something with flavour ... this definitely delivers on that. Some small amends that I make The only significant thing I did do was to cut back on the heart attack inducing two tablespoons of Maldon salt that are added half way through, It just seems crazily too much to me

We love the Petersham Café. Aside from being a unique space and the rather compelling fact that its a mere ten minute drive away, we have also had some pretty good meals there. We particularly liked it during Skye Gyngell' s time there.her approach to cooking is, like Ruth Rogers and Rose Grey, one of simplicity and good ingredients.  Her books are also really good. This recipe is from  ‘ my favourite ingredients’   I made it on a very wet Saturday afternoon for Lisa and I to have for dinner. I couldn't get any monkfish so used a combination of cod and halibut, which seemed to work perfectly ok. This would be a great recipe to make for a crowd because you can prepare the sauce ahead of time and just finish it off at the last minute. I think you could also dial up the heat to suit your particular taste. I kept it fairly mild to suit Lisa. so chose two small birds eye chillies and deseeded one of them. Ingredients (serves 4) 1 Tbsp unsalted butter 2 red onions, pee

I made this yesterday. It sounds a bit of a faff but it is very easy and tastes pretty damn fine. It also keeps really well in the fridge. I like the combination of the grilled and slightly blackened corn with the herbs and cabbage which are definitely improved by the 'brining' process. Ingredients 100ml  white-wine vinegar 200ml water ¼ white cabbage, shredded (300g net) 3 carrots, julienned (175g net) 1 small red onion, thinly sliced (140g net) 4 corn cobs, lightly brushed with olive oil (600g gross) 2 red chillies, finely chopped 20g picked coriander leaves 20g picked mint leaves Olive oil Salt and black pepper Dressing: 50g mayonnaise 2 tsp Dijon mustard 1½ tsp sunflower oil 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 clove garlic, crushed Serves six. Method Place the vinegar and water in a small saucepan along with 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to the boil and then remove from the heat. Place the cabbage and carrot in a bowl, pour ov