Mulled Cider Welsh Rarebit

Any time Welsh Rarebit comes up in conversation (at least once in my life), my dad will make a joke to the effect of “nice, apart from the big ears.”  Easy, perhaps, but it goes down well enough.  Consider my surprise when I discovered today that the original name of the dish was “rabbit”, and is…

Honey and Whiskey Spiked Goats Cheese and Onion Tarts

  There is something so beautiful about the marriage of goats cheese and onion that it isn’t a surprise that this gorgeous couple are so often paired together on starters and nibbles the world over.  The sticky sweet jaminess of the caramelised onions, usually with a subtly acidic quality, blends incredibly with the creamy yet…

Crispy Bubble and Squeak

I was once mercilessly mocked by an Australian and American couple I knew for the “ridiculous” names we Brits give to our food.  Bangers and mash, spotted dick, jam roly poly…they suggested we would call spaghetti hoops “schplonkers” because of the schplonk sound they make when the spoon drops in them.  Well, Bubble and Squeak…

Curried Sausage Rolls

Don’t we all just love a beige platter?  Delicious carby goodness staring at us from the buffet table.  Quiches, scotch eggs, chicken bites and of course – sausage rolls.  This time last year I gave you sausage rolls spiked with traditional Christmas flavours.  However this year I decided to take a different approach.  This season…

Smoked Salmon Rilletes

Don’t let the french name scare you – I promise, it’s simple as anything.  I first stumbled upon Salmon Rilletes around 4 years ago, when I first took over my family Christmas dinner from my mum.  Salmon always seems to be a popular choice this time of year, and I wanted a way to prep…

Turkey Meatballs with Orange and Cranberry Dip

Turkey is a divisive meat – some find it a wonderfully lean alternative to chicken, others think it’s foul.  *Pause for applause…3…2…1*  In any case it’s getting up to that time of year where turkey may or may not be on the menu, yet even in its absence it looms over us.  “Oh, I know…

Candied Chilli Broccoli

Here’s a fun fact – back in 2015 I got to the final stage of auditions of Masterchef.  Unfortunately I never made it onto the actual tele, but I still feel quite proud of the dish I made for them that day.  In particular, this little side dish has become a welcome addition to my…

Fig and Goat’s Cheese Flatbread

We are in the height of the second fig season so get them while they’re fresh!  Goat’s cheese has the most beautiful salty tang to it that just cries out for a soft, sweet buddy.  Getting a mouthful of the soft, ripe, vinous fig and the creamy cheese makes a mouth-combination that is made all…

Roasted Garlic Soup

Something beautiful happens when you roast garlic for an extended period of time.  As the inner cloves heat they transform from their white, sharp raw lumps into the most beautiful golden gentle garlic paste.  The garlic flavour is still very much there, but it mellows into something that is frightfully palatable even on its own! …

Lollipop Buffalo Wings

I didn’t even realise buffalo could fly!  *pause for applause…3…2…1 I grew up hearing about buffalo wings on US films and TV, but being from a sleepy countryside town in Norfolk it was never really on the menu.  Eventually through the marvels of the internet and the developing presence of global cuisine in Britain I…