The photos surprising ,as I have had my goddaughter and her childfen for lunch, and I'm not totally in control!

First up you can see the potato pea and goat's cheese with mint  tart, and then the coffee jelly with Greek yoghurt and cardamom spiced dates , Sorry that they have come after I have written all about them on the last posting..at least you can see  them.
 Also forgot to say that with the pheasant left from dinner last week, I made some pate,
Pheasant Pate
left over meat from the birds,  plus
Some cooked chicken livers, some streaky bacon,some ham, the left over chestnuts, a little fresh  thyme then seasoning, plus dried ginger, and allspice, and some sloe gin. All put in the processor, and whizzed up with some butter ,and some clarified butter on the top. We had this today, 4 days after making ,and it was extremely delicious.  I hate to waste anything. 
At lunch we drank a combination of Prosecco and Campari plus Red Martini Vermouth,with ice and a slice of orange     It's rather like a Negroni, but not quite so alchoholic( I hope) and a Rose wine from California. No wonder I keep making mistakes!

Post Christmas ,and New Year.

Wll, here we are 4th January already.Where has the time gone? I had a busy time cooking over the holiday period, starting with Christmas Eve dinner, which has now become a ritual when I'm staying with Rupert's family.So here's what we had.
First af all, I did the Pink Picante Prawns,raw prawns dipped in beaten egg white and then in a mix of smoked paprika, sea salt and crushed Cardamoms, just served plain with lemon slices. Then i made Jamie Oliver's Slow Roasted Shoulder of Lamb, involving marinating the lamb for 24 hours !
It is slashed all over, and a mix ofYoghurt, lemonjuice and paprika rubbed into the meat, then it is placed on a bed of 2 sliced red onions, and a whole head of unpeeled garlic cloves,seasoned ,and half a bottle of red wine is poured over , it is covered with foil and left . Then roasted at 170o for 2 and a half hours covered, the foil removed for the last half hour, and finally  left to rest on a dish for another half hour, loosely covered.
The meat falls off the bone,(or rather someone takes it off for me, )but there's no need to carve!  The residue in the pan I whizzed up and made a delicious sauce. Then we had couscous with it ,and the lamb was scattered with Pomegranate seeds and Coriander. Some extra yoghurt was served as well, to which i had added some finely chooped mint.  We couldn't eat anything more after that.
It was rather difficult for me, as being one handed ,I can put a reasonably heavy pan into the oven, but when it's hot, I find it much harder,and have the experience of a nasty burn to remind me that I must ask for help .
I made mincepies and some biscuits ,cheese biscuits also ,but i am giving the recipe here for the
Walnut Gazelle's Horns.   This recipe has been given to me by a good friend who is American,
Sorry there won't be a photo of them , but they disappear very quickly..
I shall have to convert the recipe to grammes, as it's in ounces...
250 g butter
90 g caster sugar
300 g plain flour
200 g walnuts

Put the walnuts into the processor, then add the sugar and butter, and finaly the flour. add a few drops of vanilla.
Shape into a roll, and then cut pieces off the roll ,and form into crescents.The dough is very soft, so you will need to use a little more flour to amalgamate the dough before forming it inot the shapes.
Put onto a baking sheet, and bake for 15-18 minutes at 180 o   They burn easily so watch them like a hawk!
I usually make half the ammount given, which is qute enough.
  Last week I had friends round for a meal, and I braised the pheasants  shot by my son in law, just with some root vegetables with a little bacon and Calvados.I added chestnuts at the end,as they tend to break up easily.
I have also made an interesting coffee jelly (had some left over from the morning) just a touch of sugar, but served with Greek yoghurt,and some dates that I had marinated in very strong coffee with some sugar,  cardamom seeds and a cinnamon stick  overnight in the fridge. Have taken a photo of this ,plus one of  the potato, pea and goat's cheese tart that I made as well. now I have to get tHem onto this posting.  AND I HAVE LEFT THE CAMERA DOWNSTAIRS!!Hopefully I can do it, but the pics may appear on the next posting.

Nearly Christmas time.

I cvould have put photos of the puddings I made for our Book Reading Goup supper, but I forgot the camera! Made an Orange and almond cake, and covered the top with a compote of cranberries, clementines and pomegranate seeds(all taken out of the pomegranate by hand!! Took ages) Also a large Chocolate and white Chocolate cheescake, which was supposed to be marbled, but the chocolate set too quickly, so it was a two layered one instead. They both went down a treat, and there wasn't much left over.
now the run up to Christmas .I am cooking the meal te night before
Pink Picante Prawns...raw prawns dipped in a mix of beaten egg white and a little cornflour, then passed through a mix of sea salt, smoked paprika and crushed pink peppercons,and fried ina pan.
Then I'm dong a slow roased shoulder of Lamb,
Lemon juice and yoghurt plus ras al hanout  rubbed into cuts in the flesh, then some red onions sliced ,a whole head of garlic in cloves in a pan , the lamb laid on the top, and half a bottle of red wine poured over. It must be left for 24 hours baforte cooking at 170o degress for 3 hours tightly covered. half an hour before the cooking ends ,remove the foil and let it continue to cook ,and then rest for half and hour loosely covered with foil.
The meat should fall off the bones,  pour over the juices and serve with couscous, more yoghurt and coriander leaves.
I think I found the recipe in the Guardian. hope it's good! I should think that after that, we will have cheese, but you never know!

Just to say a big thank you to all of you who read this blog , and then contact me, it is much appreciated.It's a pity that so many of you don't actually make a comment on the blog itself.
I really hope that you like to read about  my crazy efforts, as much as I enjoy writing about them!
And a happy Christmas to everyone, and health anda peaceful start to theNew Year, we never know what's around the corner.!

Free food!

My son in law is a member of a shooting syndicate, and he arrived bearing pheasants and 2 Mallard ducks.
As I had friends for supper on Wednesday, I roasted one of the  ducks, with some shallots and garlic in the pan, and the body of the duck filled with orange segments, Rosemary ,and more garlic.
With it I cooked  a butternut and carrot puree, and some wilted spinach. Didn't need potatoes,as I had made a seeded loaf ,using  half wholemeal flour and half a   seeded mix which I  wanted to try out.
Made a delicious sauce to go with it  with the duck.
Zested an orange, and juiced the rest. Sauted two shallots chopped very finely, then added some of the orange zest, half a small jar of redcurrant jelly, and some red wine.Simmer that for half an hour, and then
sieve the sauce ,and add the rest of the zest to the reminder. Add salt and pepper to taste.
They brought a tart from Waitrose, wich when warmed up ,was very good. Finished the  last of Roger Wilkins's cheeses ,but hope for some more next week, as Tess is coming up to see me.

This week's cooking.

had friends round on Thursday, here's what I made for them....
First up, a real trip down memory lane, with a smoked fish ring, wrapped in smoked trout(which I think is far tastier than smoked salmon,and not so oily) Some watercress leaves in the middle took me back to the 80s!
I have taken a picture of it, but I don't seem to be able to get it up into the blog.  Shame ,as it looks quite appetising!
Then we had another old favourite  Pork with chestnuts and red cabbage.
I browned pieces of pork shoulder, then sweated off some chopped red onions,red cabbage and thyme, then added the pork pieces, plus a good glug of calvados,and some dry cider. Some peper, salt and juiper berries,and then it went into a low oven for an hour and a half.  With it I served a gratin of sweet potoato, parsnip and celeriac,with porcini mushrooms.The sliced vegetables were just briefly brought to the boil for about 4 minutes.the mushrooms soaked in boiling water for half an hour,and then layered with the vegetables,and a mix of cream and milk was poured over ,and went in the oven for an hour,until the vegetables were soft.  Plus some wilted spinach which  made a good contrast .
Good cheeses, with fig jam and chilli ,limeand apple jelly,both made by my goddaughter Honor,and were absolutely delicious!
Finally we had a scrumptious cake made with a ground almond base, with cherry compote swirled through ,served with vanilla ice cream.  I got the recipe from the Sainsbury's Magazine in September, well worth doing.
We drank  a 2009 Domaine Begude Sauvignon Blanc, and a  2004 Domaine St Jaques Minervois.
Or rather I  should say we drank moe than one bottle of each!

Haven't done much recently!

Just the normal cooking, but have a friend here tonight, and so I am giving her .....
Orange and beetroot marinated samon (a sort of gravad lax) with a creme fraiche ,diil and orange zest dressing, plus some rocket leaves;
then a tagine of lamb with butternut squash, leeks,onions and peppers both red and yellow, olives and prunes,with some tomatoes to give it some bulk in the sauce.Plus Moroccan spices naturally I am very fond of Ras al hanout which is mild and aromatic,and I have been brought 3 lots this year, with friends and family visiting Marrakech.
Have bought a ficelle from Waitrose, far nicer than I could make! and then some fresh pineapple and raspberries for later, if  we have room after the cheeses!
I always try to get  cheese from Roger Wilkins out beyond  Wedmore  when I'm staying with Tess.
He was featured on Jamie Oliver's Great British Food this week, for his cider ,rather than  cheese  A wonderfully atomospheric place, looking out over the Somerset Levels, towards  Glastonbury

Preparing for Christmas! .I don't know why this hasn't arrived on the blog.Must be doing something amiss..

Here is what I made over the weekend.
Spiced Oranges.
|Easily done, by first making a syrup with vinegar and sugar, and then simmering the thinly sliced oranges in this plus
Some Cinnamon sticks, Cloves,Mace and Black Pepper corns, until the oranges are transparent. Poy up, reduce the syrup until it becomes thick by gently simmering it ,and fill the sterilised jars.  I only managed 2 jars, and I thought there would be more.
Then I made some mincemeat,  using a pound of mixed dried fruit, 1 1/2 lemons , zest and juice,and some
all spice, cinnamon, powdered ginger.Added some vegetarian suet, soft brown sugar and dried cranberries,plus the remains of a packet of soft dried fruits that were in the cupboard, pineapple, mango and chopped them small.Finally grated4 hard eating apples and added the pulp tp the mix, plus a good slug of Austrian Rum and some Sherry. Covered the bowl and left it overnight, then potted up ,adding more booze to fill the jars to the brim. They will now be left to mature until nearer Christmas.Hopefully will taste yummy, certainally they will be good and boozy!

Santa's little helper,Sybil,,getting fatter now she has been with me almost 4 months.