The Family Cook Book

Sunday lunch the day after spending Saturday up in the trees for Martha's birthday (you had to be there to appreciate it .... and just how much Lisa hated it ... but like a good Mum she kept at it until the bitter end of the last zip line). Martha was out so it was just Joe, Lisa and I. We needed something easy, healthy and that the Tesco at the end of the road would have the ingredients for. Bill Granger may have a weird need to smile at almost anything (like in the picture above. He's eating an apple for God's sake, what's to smile about?) and lets face it he's got an irritatingly perfect life, but his laid back food is perfect for an occasion like this. The ribs are a bit of an adaptation of one of his recipes from the book 'Holiday' ...the other a straight rip off. The Ribs Ingredients 50ml ketchup 20 ml sweet chilli sauce 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, plus extra to brush 1 Tbsp Honey 2 Tsp Grated Fresh Ginger 2 Garlic Cloves, crushed A pile of pork...

... and the culinary legend that is Peter Lazor prepared a couple of specials to go with some Misty Knoll chickens. This is particularly admirable as he and Cathleen were doing shifts whilst Wyatt and Cooper slept over at their condo. The meatballs were as an appetizer ... they tasted delicious ... particularly after we removed the few that contained melted cooker knob ... Seriously these little babies were wolfed down by all members of the Cook, Lazor and Price clan. The butternut squash was prepared to go with the chicken. Inexplicably our oven overcooked two of them and undercooked the other despite the fact they were in the same tray. By this time we had imbibed so much red wine and beer that it hardly seemed to matter... luckily we didn't poison anyone.... and the squash was appreciated by all. The recipes Spicy New Jersey Meatballs (The name says it all) 1 pound Ground beef - not too lean 1 large onion 2 tablespoons of cumin seed 2 tablespoons of coriander seed 1/2 tablespoon...

I have finally turned 50. Following a brilliant party organised by Lisa at Soho House I celebrated my actual birthday in our beloved Vermont. The snow was fantastic, I had all the family there and was blessed by visits from our good friends the Lazors and the Priceys. On my birthday we went to The Common man but on the Sunday Pricey enlisted the boys as sous chefs and cooked up a storm. He arrived in from New York with half of Dean and Deluca in his bag. In particular a magnificent Rib of beef. Mehurons of Waitsfield provided the rest of the ingredients aside from the jeraboam of Pruno that came from California courtesey of Peter's cellar. Entertainment for the evening was provided by wii golf. As for being 50 ... with wonderful friends and family and great food and wine like this how hard can it be? Below are Priceys instructions for the food .... thanks and much love go to him for the recipe and the cooking but most of all for coming all the way over ( with Suzy, Ella and Natasha...

Lisa discovered this recipe in her favourite Nigel book. It is one of those fish, 'but not as we know it Jim' recipes. Not just because Monkfish is the fish that can best impersonate meat but also because of the marinade ingredients that are more often featured with lamb. It's not difficult to do but the flavour is a revelation, which makes it a perfect recipe in my book. This can be cooked on a grill pan or a barbecue. Ingredients 3 bushy sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped 4 anchovy fillets 2 large cloves garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large lemon, juice only 3 tbsp olive oil 800g/1½lb monkfish fillet Method Pull the leaves from the rosemary stalks and chop them finely, then tip them into a bowl large enough to take the fish. Rinse the anchovy fillets and smash them to a rough pulp with the flat edge of your chopping knife. Peel the garlic, crush it flat, then smash it to a purée in the same way. Stir together the herb, anchovy and garlic, adding a grind...

Lisa and I had this last night, it was delicious. The recipe yet again comes from River Cafe Easy. No effort, fabulous results, all you need is great fish and preferably a mandoline slicer for the potatoes. INGREDIENTS • 2kg Sea bass, whole • 800 g waxy potatoes • 80g black olives • 60g capers • 3 tbsp thyme leaves • 150ml dry white wine • extra virgin olive oil DIRECTIONS -Heat the oven to 200 deg C -Peel the potatoes and boil in salted water until just cooked. Cut them lengthwise into 0.5cm-thick slices. Pit the olives. Rinse the capers. -Line a shallow roasting pan with baking parchment, drizzle with olive oil, and cover with potatoes. Place the fish on top, and scatter over olives, capers, and thyme. Push some inside fish and season. -Put in the oven, and after five minutes pour over the wine and a little more oil. Bake until the fish is cooked, about 20-25 minutes. -Fillet the bass and divide into four portions. Serve with potatoes, olives, capers, and the fish juices poured over.

I made this recipe in the middle of January. It is definitely one you should really make in the height of summer. It is to Angela's credit that it tastes so good it doesn't really matter when you have it. 'Angela’s Hartnett's Cucina' is another one of those books that I don't use very much. This recipe convinced me that I need to do so more often. It has all the qualities that I look for, it's really tasty, really simple to make and has a certain degree of culinary alchemy that raises it above the norm. Martha, Joe, Lisa and I all enjoyed this one ... its cross-generational appeal is the final touch that ensures its place in our foodie affections. Ingredients For the red wine vinaigrette 100ml olive oil 20ml/1fl oz Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar (good red wine vinegar will do) Salt For the steak 2 tbsp olive oil 1tbs butter 4 x 250-300g/11oz rib-eye steaks (or sirloin steaks) 12 cherry plum tomatoes, de-seeded, cut into halves 10 black olives, pits removed and ...

One of the great joys of food is to discover that you like something that you thought that you hated. I grew up thinking that the only way you get beetroot was the pickled variety in a jar. I associate it with that 1960’s version of a salad that consists of sliced ham, iceberg lettuce, whole tomatoes, cucumber, salad cream and the offending purple golf ball that leaked its stain all across everything in sight. I hated it. Thanks to Jamie I discovered roasted beetroot, which I think is a bit of a revelation particularly with seared fillet of beef. I have one way of preparing and two way of serving them. To prepare Take a bunch of fresh beetroot (6 or 7 bulbs) and trim the leaves and tail off and scrub lightly to clean any remaining dirt off. Pre heat the oven to 180 deg Put the bulbs in a roasting pan drizzle a tbs of olive oil in and roll the beetroot around in the oil until they are lightly coated. Season with salt and pepper and chuck in some thyme leaves if you have them. Cover th...