The Family Cook Book

We have now had these pears a couple of times. On Saturday we did the whole dish for Grandma Betty’s birthday and it went down very well. Firstly it’s great to be able to use seasonal British pears, secondly, as with everything we have cooked from this book this is very easy to do and a great dish to prepare ahead of time if you are cooking for a bit of a crowd. I should declare now that I didn't cook the meringues (or indeed the pears) my own personal meringue girl Mrs. Cook did so and did so beautifully. Recipe for 6 people Ingredients 8 medium free-range egg whites – at room temperature 650g caster sugar 250ml white wine 6 firm pears – comice are perfect pinch of saffron 200ml whipping cream Method Preheat the oven to 130°C/Gas 1/2 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment paper. Tip the egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them with an electric hand-whisk on medium speed until the mixture resembles a fluffy cl...

I cooked these peaches on the green egg but they would probably work just as well on any barbecue as long the heat was relatively low (around 150 degrees c). It couldn't be simpler. Method Put the whole peaches on a piece of buttered greaseproof paper and then put on the barbecue. Leave for 20 minutes or so then peel off the skin, which will be very easy. Thats it, done! Either eat on their own or with a dollop of ice cream, creme fraiche, yoghurt or whatever is your creamy favourite.

I love peaches but how often do you get them in this country when they are really ripe and chin-drippingly luscious? Lets face it, the answer is almost never. Now help is at hand, particularly if, like us, you're partial to a bit of baked fruit.  We have now had this recipe a couple of times and not only does it bring out the best in supermarket peaches it is an absolute walk in the park to make. Serve it with a generous dollop of mascarpone as the recipe suggests, or with my personal preference, Creme fraiche or indeed vanilla ice cream and you will be transported to a little piece of Italian heaven, particularly if the sun is shining. The recipe is from The Telegraph Magazine a couple of weeks ago, is written by Rachel Roddy and features recipes from Rome Recipe Good things happen when peaches are baked with butter and almonds: the fruit shrivels and its flavour is intensified; the butter and juices create a sticky, rose-tinted syrup; and the amaretti or almonds gi...

We first ate this at some friends where we had a wonderful dinner. I was really taken by how refreshing and light this was but mainly by how much I liked the taste of the ricotta when combined with the sugar and lemon. It's very very easy to prepare ... just look at how short this post is! Martha made this today for lunch with Joe and Grandma. It was delicious and is in severe danger of becoming a favourite. Thanks Roz for introducing me to it. Ingredients 500g Raspberries  250g Ricotta  1 Lemon 4 tbsp Caster sugar  Method Finely grate the lemon peel and mix with the sugar. Leave for a while  to allow the flavours to combine  and the sugar to be absorbed. Scatter the raspberries on a large plate.  Turn the ricotta very carefully out of the tub, then slice it as finely as possible.  Place these ricotta slices carefully over the raspberries. Sprinkle with the lemon sugar.

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....

So here it is, my entry. It doesn't look that brilliant but hopefully it will do well on the taste front. c'mon Chris lets see what you've got!

Yes its back, krow's Cake club; Goswell Road's most fiercely contested culinary competition. I know I'm breaking the first rule of cake club but it's me versus new boy, Chris Hurdiss. Something tells me the boy can bake, so instead of the usual 'go for it with no test' approach, this time I am using a cold Saturday to give the River Cafe plum and orange cake a dry run. Its just out of the oven ... too hot to try but looking ok .... we'll see. Anyway here's the recipe from River cafe Easy Plum filling: 500 g ripe plums 50 g caster sugar juice and zest of one orange 1 vanilla pod Cake: 150 g unsalted butter 150 g caster sugar 2 eggs 85 g self raising flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 100 g almonds, finely ground Almond topping: 30 g unsalted butter 25 g demerara sugar zest of one orange 50 g flaked almonds Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas 4 Halve and stone the plums and put in an ovenproof dish with the sugar, the orange juice an...

Well actually its Martha and Lisa really but it didn't scan as well.... and they nicked it from Raymond Blanc in the Times this weekend. This is actually a recipe for Pavlova which is delicious I'm sure. However we just had them with fruit and a choice of ice cream or cream .... or both. On Sunday Charlie ate six meringues ..... they must be good Raymond Blanc's Pavlova with summer berries Ingredients Makes 4 large individual pavlovas For the meringue  3 free-range medium egg whites 6 drops of lemon juice 100g caster sugar 75g icing sugar, sifted, plus extra to dust For the fruit  150g strawberries, rinsed, hulled and halved 150g raspberries, washed 50g blackberries, washed 50g blueberries, washed 50g redcurrants or blackcurrants, washed 20g caster sugar, or to taste Squeeze of lemon juice For the coulis  250g raspberries 30g caster sugar To serve (optional)  Vanilla ice cream Method  The meringues Preheat the oven to 120C/gas 1. ...

  We gave this to Joel and Nushi on Saturday. They had never had it before ... I think they will be having it again. It's not really a recipe but it's one of my favourite ways to end a meal. Apparently affogato means  "drowned" in Italian Ingredients Vanilla Ice Cream   Espresso - one shot per person (adjust to taste) Method   Place a serving of vanilla ice cream in a bowl Pour over coffee eat/slurp

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...

ok so lets face it jamie's 30 minute meals don't really take 30 mins, not unless you have an army of sous-chefs at home, but you can't deny that there's some really clever time saving ideas in this series/book. I can report that his 1 minute ice cream takes more like 3 or 4 but it is still a brilliantly simple idea that I suspect I will be doing several times over the summer, trying it with other fruit too. ingredients • 1 x 500g pack of mixed frozen berries • 150g fresh blueberries • 3–4 tablespoons runny honey • 1 x 500g tub of natural yoghurt (I used greek) • a few sprigs of fresh mint serves 4 In advance: Put 4 small glasses in the freezer When you're all set up and ready to go, get the glasses (if using) and the frozen berries out of the freezer. Divide the fresh blueberries between the glasses or cornets. Put the honey and yoghurt and leaves from the sprigs of mint into the food processor and whizz, then add the frozen berries and whiz again until combined. Sp...

We did this recipe on Saturday night. This is a slightly amended version of it. ingredients 50g unsalted butter 4 large cox apples 50g flaked almonds 2 tbs brandy 1 orange 1 lemon 100g light muscovado sugar 75g raisins and sultanas 1 heaped teaspoon allspice To prepare your apples Take your butter out of the fridge about 15 to 30 minutes before you start making your baked apples so it has time to soften a bit first Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4 Use an apple corer to remove the cores from your apples, then carefully score around the middle of each one, using a knife Take a little slice off the bottom so they don't roll over in the pan Place the apples in a baking dish. Put the dried fruit into a large bowl with most of the almonds and grate in the zest of the orange and lemon and the juice of the orange Warm the brandy and add to the mixture ... let it soak for a while Now add the rest of the ingredients Using your hands, mix well, squeezing all the flavours into the butter ...

Though I am the one that blogs, I'm very much not the only one that cooks in our household. Enter the youngest member of the family into the frame; Martha is developing into a pretty good cook and is picking up her mothers legendary ability in the dessert department. A couple of weeks ago she made an amazing version of Jamies key lime pie and this weekend Mark Hix's Blueberry cheesecake. Both were delicious if just slightly calorific, both recipes are below key lime pie Jamie Oliver serves 10 ingredients • 4 egg yolks • 400ml condensed milk • 6 tbsp fresh lime juice (about 5 limes’ worth) • 200ml double cream • Lime zest (optional), to serve Crust • 12 digestive biscuits • 45g caster sugar • 135g melted unsalted butter Method 1. Preheat oven to 175C/gas 3. For the pie crust, lightly grease a 22cm (across the top) metal or glass pie dish with a little of the melted butter. Blend digestive biscuits, caster sugar and remaining melted butter in a food processor until the mixture re...

This rather spectacularly bad year for the world was seen in chez Cook by a small but perfectly formed coterie of close friends; Joel and Nushi, David and Cathy, Jerry and Belle and sons Gus (ours) and Freddie (David and Cathy). With Jools and his Hootenanny in full swing, Lisa's spectacular dessert made the dawn of next decade suddenly look much more inviting. The River Cafe's pear and almond tart or Torta di pere e mandorle as it is more correctly, and let's face it, poetically described, is one of those confections that will charm even the most hardened dessert hater .... and this particular tart was up there amongst the finest of its ilk .... ok, just one more slice. btw a little cheat for the time starved is to buy pre-made sweet pastry ...shhhh don't tell Rose and Ruth Ingredients 350g plain flour a pinch of salt 175g unsalted cold butter cut into cubes 100g icing sugar 3 egg yolks For the filling: 350g unsalted butter softened 350g caster sugar 350g blanched whol...

The lovely Rimmers came to see us on Sunday for a lovely lunch. Lisa made this spectacularly delicious dessert from Jamies Xmas magazine. Tarte Tatin is one of those things that sometimes is rather disappointing. The only disappointment with this was that Lisa hadn't made two, or even three tarts. We would definitely have eaten them. recipe below Conference or comice - no pear is a spare in this delicious crispy tart with caramelised goodness from Jamie Magazine Serves 6-8 Ingredients * 125g caster sugar * 40g cold butter, chopped * ½ tsp ground ginger * ½ tsp ground cinnamon * 3 large pears, peeled, cored and cut into wedges * 375g all-butter puff pastry * Double cream, to serve Method 1. Preheat oven to 200°C/gas 6. Put a 21cm diameter frying pan with an ovenproof handle on a hob over a medium heat. Add the sugar and heat to a lovely caramel colour, stirring constantly. Add the butter, ginger and cinnamon and stir to combine. 2. Place the pears in the ...

A very warm and stormy Saturday evening was made all the more enjoyable with the addition of the Rimmers (and Joe's mate Nathan) to our family gathering. We barbecued far too much chicken, served with roast sweet potato, spicy slaw and cauliflower salad. This was preceded by aubergine and pepper salad and asparagus with anchovy and milk sauce .... all recipes that we have done before. However the evening was rounded off by a new discovery from Bill Granger's 'Feed me now": Lemon Posset. We served it in little coffee cups with pistachios on top and a few raspberries on the side. Bill recommends shortbread which I'm sure would also be delicious. Anyway lets say that it went down pretty well, in fact the enamel on the inside of the cups was in danger of being worn away The evening ended with Jerry and I side by side on the sofa watching Glastonbury .... sweet! Ingredients 180ml (6fl oz) lemon juice (about 4 lemons) 125g (4½oz) caster sugar 500ml (18fl oz) double cream...

We first discovered Granita when we went to Sicily with the Levy family. We loved Sicily and had such a good time that a few years later we went back with my Mum, and brother Steve and family. One of the little rituals that we got into (that I think we have to thank Nushi Levy for) was to go to a litttle local beach quite late on in the afternoon when the pretty fierce Sicilian rays had died down a bit. We had the bit of the beach that didn’t have seried ranks of sunloungers on, pretty much to ourselves, if you didn’t count the odd couple heavy petting that is. Anyway, one of the favourite parts of the trip was Lemon Granita. Granita is basically flavoured shaved ice. However the simplicity of the description belies the joy of the dish. In Sicily the granita came in a plastic cup with a half straw/half spoon kind-of-thang, which enabled you to suck up every last drop of the remaining cold,sticky,sweet,sour deliciousness. Some time after we got back I tried the recipe out from the Rive...