A man cannot live on burgers and French fries alone; but he could die trying



Cooking Steak



Tenderize room temperature meat with a meat hammer

• Heat griddle pan as hot as you can (I use a Le Creuset one and heat it on high for at least 10 minutes).

• Pre-heat oven to 180.oF

• Rub (high smoke number) oil on both sides.

• Place steak onto griddle pan; I place the presentation side on diagonal, and then the same side other diagonal for 30 seconds each, then turn over, cook for approx 1 minute

• Season with salt and pepper

• Place in oven to complete cooking to how you like (depends entirely on thickness - somewhere between 2-4 minutes for rare, you can always sear on the pan for longer if you want to cook it quicker).

• Then take out of oven, and let rest for 5 minutes (covered in foil preferably)

• Deglaze griddle pan with a dash of brandy, add some double cream and whole peppercorns Simmer for a min or 2 and you have a nice sauce to go on top

• Cover with foil and allow to rest

Serve on medium hot plates



How to roast potatoes



1. It`s a fact that perfect roast potatoes are quite hard to find – they seldom work in restaurants because they don`t like hanging around, and they`re either too greasy or tough and leathery. But at home they can be perfect every time: all you need to do is follow these instructions to the letter and you`ll never have a failure. You`ll need a good solid-based, shallow roasting tin measuring 14 x 11 x ¾ inches (35 x 28 x 2 cm).



2. My favourite variety of potato to use is Desirée, but Romano and King Edward are also good. To serve six people, first place the roasting tin with 3 oz (75 g) fat in it on the highest shelf of the oven while it pre-heats to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C). The ideal thing to use would be fat taken from the meat during roasting but lard is what I would choose if nothing else were available.



3. Thinly peel 3 lb (1.3 kg) potatoes, using a potato peeler, then cut them into fairly even-sized pieces, leaving any small potatoes whole. Then place them in a saucepan, pour over boiling water from a kettle, just to cover, add salt and simmer for about 10 minutes. Then lift one out with a skewer and see if the outer edge is fluffy. You can test this by running the point of the skewer along the surface – if it still seems too smooth, give it a few more minutes.



4. Then drain off the water (reserving some for the gravy). Place the lid back on the saucepan then, holding the lid firmly, and protecting your hand with a cloth or oven glove, shake the saucepan vigorously up and down.



5. What you are trying to achieve here is to roughen up the cooked edges of the potatoes and then make them floury and fluffy – this is the secret of the crunchy edges.



6. Now, using an oven glove to protect your hands, remove the hot roasting tin containing its sizzling fat and transfer it to the direct heat (medium) on the hob. This is why you need a roasting tin with a solid base – cheap, tinny ones that buckle when exposed to high heat are useless. Use a long-handled spoon to quickly lower the potatoes into the hot fat.



7. When they are all in, tilt the tray and baste each one so it`s completely coated with fat. This seals them immediately and prevents them sticking and becoming greasy, which is what happens when the fat is not hot enough.



8. Now place them back on the highest shelf of the oven and leave them unattended for 40-50 minutes or until they are golden brown. There`s no need to turn them over at half time – they will brown evenly by themselves. Sprinkle them with a little crushed salt before serving.



Roast Potatoes



1. Virgin Olive oil with touch of rosemary, place in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees, turned and onions, tomatoes and mushrooms put in the tray - cooked for a further 30-35 minutes - guaranteed light and crispy

1. Duck fat produces some of the crunchiest, tastiest roast potatoes I have ever had the fortune of devouring.

2. Boil them for 10 minutes, drain the water away, then put in a wedge of butter in the pan and (with lid closed) toss them for about a minute so the butter melts onto and cover the potatoes then place them in the oven for 20-30mins.



3. If you like them a tad crunchy / crispy on the outside a great tip is to put a thin layer of oil at the bottom of the roasting tray, and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes to get really hot. Then lightly cover the part-boiled Spuds in plain flour and then put them into the hot oil - this gets you that lovely crispy outer casing without making them too crispy.

4. Par-boil (King Edwards) for 5 minutes, drain the water away, toss them until the outsides become a little fluffy and then cook in hot duck fat in a roasting tray at 200 degrees for 30-35 minutes

5. Boil them for 5 minutes and drain, give them a good shake to rough them up. Meanwhile, put the fat on the cooking tray, stick in the oven for 5 - 10 minutes so it`s nice and hot, add the drained spuds, roll them around to coat them, and stick them back in the oven.



Classic pesto recipe



Ingredients



• ½ a clove of garlic, chopped

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3 good handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked and chopped

• A handful of pine nuts, very lightly toasted

• A good handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• Extra virgin olive oil

Optional

• A small squeeze of lemon juice



Method





First I’m going to show you an easy recipe for making pesto and then I’ll give you some ideas on how best to use it, instead of just having it with pasta all the time. When it comes to making pesto, you can invest in a good processor if you like, but you can also make it using a pestle and mortar. If you have a blunt blade from your processor then don’t chuck it, but keep it specially for making pesto or marinades where you need to bruise out the flavour, instead of chopping You may think it’s nice to toast the pine nuts until they’re coloured, to give them a nutty taste, but the really good pesto’s I’ve tasted in Italy just have them very lightly toasted, to give a creaminess rather than a nuttiness.



Pesto is normally made with green basil, but purple basil looks good if you can get hold of some. Another way, slightly more American uses rocket instead of basil – it’s fragrant and interesting with roasted meats, but I prefer this classic pesto recipe.



• Pound the garlic with a little pinch of salt and the basil leaves in a pestle and mortar, or pulse in a food processor. Add a bit more garlic if you like, but I usually stick to ½ a clove.

• Add the pine nuts to the mixture and pound again.

• Turn out into a bowl and add half the Parmesan.

• Stir gently and add olive oil – you need just enough to bind the sauce and get it to an oozy consistency.

• Season to taste, and then add most of the remaining cheese.

• Pour in some more oil and taste again. Keep adding a bit more cheese or oil until you are happy with the taste and consistency.

• You may like to add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to give it a little twang, but it’s not essential. Try it with and without and see which you prefer.



• 2 cups fresh basil

• 2 cloves garlic

• ½ cup olive oil

• 2 tsp pignoli nuts (pine nuts)

• ½ cup grated cheese

Blend all of the above ingredients until pureed. If using on pasta, warm sauce over low heat until heated through.



Good Old Shepherd`s Pie – by Delia Smith



Ingredients

• 400g tin minced lamb (M&S)

• 1 largish onion, peeled, quartered and chopped in a mini chopper, or 4 tablespoons frozen diced onions

• 175g ready-prepared diced mixed carrot and swede (Tesco)

• 1 dessertspoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon



For the topping

• about 16 discs Aunt Bessie’s Home-style frozen mashed potato

• 2 medium leeks, trimmed (use the white parts only)

• 3 heaped tablespoons ready-grated mature Cheddar



Method



1. Start by heating the oil in a largish frying-pan till very hot

2. Add the onion, carrot and swede and cook them for about 5 minutes, keeping the heat high, to colour a bit at the edges, stirring them around.

3. Combine the vegetables with the minced lamb, thyme, cinnamon and some seasoning and transfer the whole lot to an 18cm square baking dish (or similar).

4. The leeks should be cut vertically to halfway down and fanned out under cold, running water to remove any dirt, and then sliced through to the bottom, then across very finely.

5. Sprinkle the leeks all over the potato and follow that with the grated Cheddar

6. Next, arrange the mashed potato on top

7. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6 – 200. °C

8. Place dish in pre-heated oven (200.oC) for 35-40 minutes, till the top is crusty and golden. Let it settle for about 10 minutes before serving – a bag of ready-shredded spring greens would go down a treat with this.

.

Mashed potatoes (4 persons)



Peel the potatoes and cut them into even- sized pieces, about 3x3cm (if they aren`t even they won`t cook at the same speed). If you choose to boil the potatoes, make sure you only cook them until tender and not so they start getting ragged around the edges or they`ll become water-logged. Then drain and briefly steam dry in the pan.

Once you have nice, dry, cooked potatoes add milk or cream, if using, and put the pan back over the heat until the liquid is also hot. Add a good knob of butter (Heston Blumenthal uses 300g of butter for 1kg potatoes, but 25g of butter would be fine, a little more even better). Then mash quickly (or go in with your electric whisk), until smooth. Season, with nutmeg too if you like.



Meat Stew



1. Dice the meat into bite sized pieces and lightly brown in a fry pan

2. Add salt and pepper and a beef cube

3. Place meat into a plastic bag with some flour and ensure the meat is coated

4. Finely chop an onion, sausage and fry until brown. Add garlic and then remove to a side plate.

5. Add root vegetables- roughly chopped carrots, Swede, etc

6. Place in a casserole and cover with boiling beef stock and bring to a boil

7. Simmer for at least 90 minutes topping up with boiling water and stirring occasionally.





These are some of mine, what are yours?