Shoulder of lamb in rose wine, roasted roots with balsamic glaze & tropical fruit and raspberry sorbet

I am back volunteering at the Citizen's Advice Bureau for 2 days a week now.  My Mum seems to be much better (she has Acute Myloid Leukaemia) and is responding really well to the chemotherapy.  Her blood results have improved in all area's and she has permission to go on public transport again!



Our junior dog, Willow, is now 5 months old and can be left for a couple of hours, with her older brother, before the dog walker comes in.


It was very stressful going back to the CAB after 4 and a half months out of the CAB, but my colleagues were lovely and very welcoming.  I also had interviews on topics about which I am super confident so it all went well.


After a long dog walk in squally conditions, meeting several friends (human and canine), the dogs and I got back to make supper.  They are on the BARF (Bones and Raw Food) so are easy - chicken wings, butternut squash, and brocolli for them.


After a quick survey of a fairly empty fridge and even emptier veg basket, decided to repeat the Shoulder of Lamb recipe, but with a half shoulder of lamb which would also use up the rest of the bottle of Rose.  We don't drink, so if it isn't cooked with, it gets chucked!


Shoulder of Lamb with Rose Wine, Anchovies, Olives and Garlic


I decided to tweak the seasoning, add the anchovy oil to the pan whilst I was searing the meat, and substitute lemon thyme instead of normal thyme and use olives marinaded in herbs.


Roasted Roots with herbs and balsamic glaze


I am serving this with roasted roots (potato, red onion, beetroot, parsnip and garlic), peel and chop your veg into chunky chip size,  (leave garlic cloves whole) drizzle with garlic oil, tossed with fresh herbs (lemon thyme, parsley and sage) and 1 tsp of dried chilli seeds and roast on the top shelf of the roasting oven for an hour.  After 50 minutes, remove and ensure roots are toasty brown where they have caught, then drizzle 2 tbs balsamic vinegar and replace in oven for a further 10 mins


Chopped Tropical Fruit with Raspberry Sorbet


I have cheated - I have hulled strawberries and tipped in a punnet of raspberries and blueberries and a carton of chopped mango.  I then serve with a scoop of Raspberry sorbet.

Baked Gammon with Parsley Sauce and Apple & Cranberry Crumble

Today has been yet another golden sunshine day in November.  We did a new walk through the coppiced woods near Ditchling with the dogs and enjoyed fantastic views of the South Downs.


Husband is still poorly but as usual as I am out this evening, so prepare food for him to cook.  Sainsbury's had smoked gammon half price so, with an eye for a bargain, snapped one up.  It is one of our favourite meals and then we have cold meat for sandwiches left over.


Baked Gammon
2kg gammon needs to be dried, covered in foil and popped in the roasting oven on the bottom rung for 2.30 hours.  Remember to remove the foil for the last 30 mins and when done, cover again, and pop back into the simmering oven to rest.


Jacket potatoes are a perfect match, and for largish potatoes (a man's fist), I suggest an hour and a quarter at the top of the roasting oven.  Again, when done, pop them into the simmering oven to keep warm.


I am using up the rest of the Cauliflower cheese and will be serving frozen peas.  Again, once done, tip them into the warmed serving dish and pop into the simmering oven.  This means, I can make a parsley sauce whilst my husband carves.


Parsley Sauce (for 2)
40g butter
40g flour
300ml milk 
salt and pepper
2 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley


Melt the butter on the simmering plate and add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon.  Cook out for approx one minute and GRADUALLY add the milk, stirring continuously until it is all added.  Bring slowly to boil, season to taste and then remove from heat and finally add chopped parsley.  Pour into warmed jug and serve!


Apple and Cranberry Crumble


Fruit
600g apple puree
300g popped cranberries (add 2 tbs water to berries, place lid on saucepan and heat gently on the simmering plate until popped)
2tbs honey


Crumble
225g plain flour
100g butter
50g demerara sugar


Whizz in food processor and then tip on top of prepared fruit.  I often make double and tip the extra  crumble mix in a plastic bag in the fridge for another day.  

Cauliflower cheese with parmesan crust, perfect mash and ice cream sundae

It has been a stressful day - woke up to a beautiful day, and then Dottie, the Jack Russell. one of our regular walking companions got lost for about 2 and a half hours on the common.  She was found by her owner, in more or less the spot she got lost, despite best searching of several people and dogs.

My husband is very over tired and has now become poorly with mouth ulcers, sinusitis and head aches as he has been burning the candle both ends and melting it in the middle.  He has cancelled his plans to go out tonight and the animals have all attempted therapy in their own way.  The Cat walked along him as he lay on the sofa and settled down under his face.  The Junior Dog attempted to lick him all over and nipped him as he didn't respond, the Senior Dog was a help.

So, comfort food is required.  The remains of yesterday's pie, home made cauliflower cheese and mash!

Mash

Peel and dice Maris Piper potatoes and put in cold salted water, bring to boil and simmer until v soft (10 mins or so).  Take off heat, drain and add a thick slice of butter, salt and freshly ground pepper and cover with a clean tea towel for 5 mins.  Slosh in the highest fat milk in the fridge (I usually have cream of some sort needing using up) and then beat using your Kenwood beaters.  This produces beautifully fluffy, creamy lump free potatoes every time.

Cauliflower| Cheese with Parmesan Crust

Remove leaves and debris from cauliflower, break into large florets and drop into boiling, salted water.  Simmer until tender (5 mins or so).  Once tender, drain and tip into oven proof dish.

Make a cheese sauce, using a roux.  I use 1 oz flour, 1 tsp hot mustard powder,  1.5 oz butter and 15 fl oz milk.  Add the milk in little by little and whisk if you are at all fearful of lumps.  Bring slowly to boil, and once thickened then add 4 oz grated vintage cheddar and stir until melted and mixed,

Pour over the cauliflower, then sprinkle over frozen white breadcrumbs - no need to defrost.  (Every left over loaf, cut off the crusts and whizz in food processor and freeze in large zip lock bags until needed).

Mix in grated parmesan cheese, more grated cheddar and sprinkle over 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper.

Pop this into the baking oven on 2nd set of runners for 30 mins until golden brown.

After all this, pudding is going to be easy.  Excellent quality vanilla ice cream, mango chunks, and raspberry coulis served in a large goblet.

Chicken, bacon and mushroom pie

So, today I need to use up the rest of the roast chicken and so will be making a pie.  I happen to have some shortcrust pastry in the fridge (special offer at Sainsbury's) so roll that out to fit my pie tin and leave 1\3 over to make a lid.

Put the chunks of cold chicken onto the base of the pie and make the sauce filling.  Again, I am using odds and ends from the fridge for this.  On the simmering plate, add a glug of oil to an Aga pan, then fry off the bacon until the fat runs out, then move onto the roasting plate to crisp it up.  I then add a bunch of spring onions finely sliced, and a small pack of button mushrooms  and fry until soft, moving the pan back to the simmering plate.

 Sprinkle in about 1 tbsp of plain flour and stir and cook for about 1 min, then gradually add milk to make a thick roux sauce.  If you have any type of cream in the fridge, you can substitute that it to use it up.  .Lastly, season to taste, and add herbs (I like either fresh thyme or tarragon)     Bring the sauce gradually up to boiling point and it will thicken.  Leave it on the side to cool slightly.

Roll out pie lid to fit, add filling, and crimp together, put a couple of holes in the top to let the steam escape then egg wash.

Stand pie tin on floor of roasting oven for about 25 - 30 mins until golden brown.  Serve with mash and greens to appreciative sighs!

Herb Roast Chicken with orange/purple roast veg and choc brownies

We are on a very quick turnaround this evening, as we have to be at puppy training classes by 7.  I have taken the Corgi's out for their second walk of the day and need a quick and easy dinner - luckily Waitrose had large 2 kg chickens marked down!

I am a great believer in letting the roast do the work and make the gravy.  So, chop up a lemon into 4, give them all a little squeeze as you put them into the cavity and then add bruised tarragon.  Carefully pull back the skin on the breast and stuff some bruised tarragon between skin and flesh to perfume the meat.

Next, chop an onion in half and put it cut side down in the roasting dish, season the chicken and pop it into the roasting oven for 2 hours (I also do mine on the first set of rails up).

I am doing Brownies for pud (always a crowd pleaser) so put my choc and butter in a pyrex bowl to start to melt on the back of the Aga.  I am always far too impatient to wait so end up putting it over simmering water on the simmering plate but always start it off at the back.

While the chicken is roasting, I prep by peeling and thickly slicing the purple and orange veg = sweet potato, butternut squash and chantery carrots with red onions and beetroot.  Pop these onto the roasting tray, add several whole cloves of garlic (minus papery outside) drizzle it all with olive oil, season and add 1 tsp dried chilli seeds.

The veg will take about an hour, just before you put them in, heat the tin on the roasting plate then pop them on the top rungs of the roasting oven (make sure you have the fan on) and leave them alone.  This also helps to ensure the roast chicken doesn't over brown.

Now, on to the chocolate brownies - try Secrets of Aga Cakes by Lucy Young.  The joy of this recipe is that its fit perfectly into the small roasting tin.  I have invested in Aga bakeoglide as I hate, hate, hate the faff of cutting out circles of paper etc.  Absolutely pure ingredients - 350g dark choc, 225g butter, 4 eggs, 225g caster sugar and 75g SR flour.  Beat the eggs and sugar together, pour in the melted choc then stir in the flour, then pour into the tin.  I add in some large out of season raspberries which are languishing in the bottom of the fridge.  On my Aga, I reckon 30 mins on the grid shelf on the baking oven floor and then pop in a cold shelf for another 10 mins or so.

Lastly plates in, awaiting return of husband to do a quick carve, pour over gravy, and tuck in whilst watching Strictly:  It takes two.  Am getting used to Zoe Ball, but she's no Claudia.

Shoulder of lamb in rose wine

Another delicious recipe from Nigella's "Kitchen" book.  I was out last night, so my husband cooked this for us both.  It is also a rehearsal for a dinner party, where seafood, beef and pork are all off the menu.

It was particularly easy to make, as the gravy is formed from the wine, thyme, olives and anchovies it is cooked in.  It probably should be a spring dish, but with the current warm, warm weather, it seemed very appropriate.

I was slightly concerned with all those big, bold, salty flavours mixing together would be overwhelming  but not a bit of it.  The lamb was sweet and succulent, and the gravy was robust but not overpowering.

 A definite hit and this dish has made it on to the dinner party menu!

Last night was a night when I really didn't want to make a complicated meal, but rather eat messily in front of Strictly.  So, decided upon Sticky Spare Ribs and Spicy Chicken Wings, along with thai stir fry veg and plain rice.  The joy of both these recipes is that once the marinade is made, it is very quick and easy and easy meal to prepare.

The dogs were outraged to see their chicken wings being used for human food so were banished from the kitchen and "helped" my husband finish his jigsaw in the living room (snowy scene, took 3 weeks to complete).

Anyway, as usual, turned to Nigella for inspiration www.nigella.co, and decided upon "Conker shiny spare ribs with pineapple and molasses" from her Kitchen book.  I didn't have any molasses so substituted molasses sugar and used grapeseed oil rather than groundnut, all to no ill effect.  I am also a great believer in CSI gloves for prepping chilli's to keep hands safe (particularly for petting animals).  I keep a handy stash of frozen chopped jalepeno chillis in the freezer but receipe demanded without seeds so could not use them.

The dish was delicious.  My husband, scathing about those who photograph food, remarked he "was sorry he hadn't grabbed his camera" and also "best and tastiest spare ribs ever".

I always have chcken wings in the fridge as the dogs are on the BARF diet so whipped a pack of them to make Dragon Chicken (again Nigella Lawson - Kitchen).

Easy as anything and absolutely finger licking delicious (and this from someone whose proud boast is that she has never eaten KFC).

Tomorrow, I am out, so my husband is cooking shoulder of lamb in rose wine

I am going to be cooking on my Aga, and gradually working my way through my favourite recipe books

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/chocolate-chestnut-refrigerator-cake-191