Patatas Bravas with Chicken and Chorizo

 Oh my word you must give this a go, it was truly delicious.  Armed with no recipe whatsoever but knowing Patatas Bravas was a potato dish with a spicy tomato sauce I went for it.  

Okay, I've since discovered the potatoes ought to have been roasted or fried in olive oil - but hey ho this works and tastes good, so who cares! 

 Fancying more than just potatoes I added chicken and chorizo - always a winning combination in this house.

Jollof Rice with Chicken - Easy One Pot Cooking

Jollof rice is a very popular dish in many parts of West Africa and especially in Ghana and Nigeria.  The rice is cooked in a spicy tomatoey sauce and so takes on a lovely orange colour.  Sweet peppers and onions cooked with cumin, nutmeg and heat from a Scotch bonnet chilli - oh yes now we're talking!

 Of course you use an ordinary chilli for less heat, but it just won't taste the same.  Cooked in one pot means it's not only nice and easy, but you have less to clear up too - which is a good thing.

Boeuf Bourguignon with Wild Mushrooms

I've made Boeuf Bourguignon in the past and it's been good, but this recipe by Marco Pierre White for Knorr is something truly delicious.  I particularly liked the way the baby onions, bacon and wild mushrooms were cooked at the very end and then poured over as a garnish.  The browned onions were then finished in a little more Port, which can only be a good thing.

My picture doesn't make this dish look anywhere near as tasty as it was.  Hot food and dark nights make everything seriously difficult to photograph! 

Having recently been sent the ingredients from Knorr which arrived all nicely packed and where supplied by Forman and Field my challenge was to make Marco's recipe or come up with something of my own.

Boeuf Bourguignon with Wild Mushrooms sounded and looked good so that's the way I went.

Giveaway - Ingredients for Boeuf Bourguignon in a Box

Boeuf Bourguignon, the perfect dish for cold and dreary nights.  I've kindly been sent the ingredients (supplied by Forman and Field) to make Marco Pierre White's recipe created for Knorr.  They also have a box for me to giveaway which will be won by one lucky reader.  

In the past 18 months or so I've been sent some fantastic seasonal boxes supplied by Forman and Field containing the ingredients to make recipes by Knorr.

Old School Thai Fresh Curry Paste - Review

If you like Thai food and would love to make a Thai curry paste, but either don't have the time, or can't be doing with the hassle then these pastes are for you - and me for that matter!  

Oooh I love cooking but have never made my own Thai curry paste, purely because it seems too much of a a botheration!  Now, I don't think I'll ever give it a go as in my opinion, these pastes are seriously good.  

  About Old School Thai Curry Pastes:

Brett Cowie is a London-based personal Thai chef who was asked by his customers where they could buy his freshly-prepared Thai curry pastes. 

So, by popular demand, you can now buy Old School Thai red and green pastes, which are still made to exactly the same recipe taught to Brett by his grandmother in Thailand.  The fresh, chilled products are made with only natural ingredients.  By selling the pastes chilled and not ambient, Brett is able to create the fresh, vibrant flavours that make these pastes the real deal.

Roast Chicken and Vegetable Pot Pie with a Suet Crust

Having been kindly sent one of the new OvenLove casserole dishes from Premier Housewares which are coated with Teflon (a fantastic idea) I wanted to make something different to your ordinary casserole. 

 With that in mind I came up with a Roast Chicken and Vegetable Pie with a Suet Crust.

Spicy Sausage Rice Recipe - Gordon Ramsay

It has to be said I've loved watching every minute of Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course on Channel 4 - fantastic recipes, fast and simple to make.

Not easy to photograph - my picture really doesn't do this dish justice.

Spicy sausage, peppers, red onion, tomatoes and spring onion cooked in one pot with chicken stock white wine and rice.

Sunvil Supper Club - Fish Stew from Paxos

I love visiting Greece and its islands although I've only visited an handful but someday I'd love to visit Paxos.  The smallest of the Ionian islands, Paxos lies just south of Corfu and is only 7 miles long and 3 miles wide.  Although Paxos is literally covered with olive trees, it also has many wooded areas that are ideal for walking, and yet Paxos has over 30 beautiful beaches to choose from too.
 Fish stew from Paxos is this months recipe from the Sunvil Supper Club which they started a little while ago, designed to give you a taste of different country's cuisines.  You can download this and other recipes, so have a look and cook yourself into the holiday mood.  I think you'll agree, Paxos certainly looks beautiful.

The fish stew with sea bream, prawns, tomatoes, celery and potatoes was delicious.  Easy to make and perfect served with some nice crusty bread.

Chicken Bouillabaisse Recipe

Chicken and potatoes cooked in a rich sweet garlic and tomato sauce along with saffron, Pernod, white wine, fennel seeds and rosemary.  Totally delicious and easy to make too as it's all cooked in one pot. 

 Oh yes this is now in my top five dinners of all dinners and has to be made again soon.
After seeing Ina Garten cook this the other night the Food Network TV show 'Back to Basics', it had to made there and then.

I believe this is usually made with fish and served with rouille (garlicky mayonnaise).  Because of my rush to make it I didn't have enough garlic to make the roullie so just served it with nice crusty bread.
According to Wikipedia, Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish stew originating from the port city of Marseille.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Dates and Honey

 You may remember a while back I went to a Masterclass with Marco Pierre White and Knorr.  We all loved his idea of using something other than water to dissolve the Knorr stock pot.

    Recently I was kindly sent another Seasonal box from Knorr which included two baby chickens and given the challenge to either cook Marco Pierre White's recipe of Spatchcocked Chicken with Chipolatas and Rosemary, or come up with a recipe of my own.....
Inspired by Marco's idea with the Knorr stock pot, I used tomato juice in this 'make it up as I go along recipe'.  Even if I do say so myself, the result was something truly delicious, chicken in a lightly spiced and slightly jammy rich and thick sauce.

Slow Cooker Recipe - Spicy Pork with Peppers and Tomatoes

Melt in your mouth pork chops cooked in a lovely rich and spicy tomatoey sauce.  Of course you can make it as spicy or not as spicy as you fancy.
 Yes this is another of my make it up as I go along recipes but you can rest assured I only post ones that pass the yum test!

Pork cooked in a slow cooker falls apart and is so lovely and tender.  Just throw all the ingredients in your slow cooker and leave on low for 7 or 8 hours - perfect.  All that's needed is either freshly baked crusty bread for dipping and mopping or some nice rice. 

Chicken Tagine with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Easy to make recipe and the result, melt in your mouth chicken flavoured with amazing spices and enough delicious sauce that's perfect for dipping in some nice flat bread. 

   Of course you don't have to have a Tagine to make this, you can just use a lidded casserole dish. Preserved lemons are available in jars in any good supermarket as is rose harissa paste.  So with that said you now have no reason for not giving this a go. 

If you really don't like olives just leave them out - simples!

You can use chicken breasts but they will dry out during the longish cooking time.  The reason I cooked this for almost 2 hours is because it allows the flavours to really get into the chicken and the sauce to become   

Malaysian Chicken Curry Recipe

We love this curry, you can make is as hot or mild as you like - just add or remove a chilli or two.  This is my titivated version of Gordon Ramsay's recipe from The F-Word and is well worth giving a go and I'm sure you will love it.  

 As to whether or not it's anything like a true Malaysian curry, I've no idea so perhaps we'll call it Malaysian-style curry.
Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients, it's easy to make and you can buy everything needed in any good supermarket.

 I made this for two but if you want it for four people I'd say you can just add more chicken and keep the sauce as it is.  You could add a little more coconut milk and it should be fine.

Chicken and Aubergine Curry in a Hurry

We've all seen these ready made jars of curry cooking sauces in supermarkets which are amazing to have in the store cupboard and taste good.  Asda in particular do one that is in my opinion excellent.  Just think of it as it having done all the hard work for you and there's just a tiny bit more to do to make it extra, extra special. 

So, have you ever fancied a curry that tastes as good as any from a takeaway, but really don't have time to mess about with toasting and grinding spices and buying the necessary bits and bobs involved?  

Or maybe, you've never made a curry from scratch because you neither have the time or couldn't be bothered anyway with what seems like too much messing about?

If any of the above applies then this is the recipe for you!

 Now of course you don't have to add the aubergine or indeed you can use it and add more veg to create a totally vegetarian curry. 

Southern Indian Vegetable Curry

On the back of a pack of curry leaves purchased from one of the UK's top supermarkets was this recipe 'Southern Indian Vegetable Curry with Curry Leaves'.  Quite liking the sound of it I gave it a go.

  However, it pays to know a tiny bit about cooking when following some of these 'back of packet' recipes as I find most are not very well written and they hardly ever work.
  This was no exception, just reading the recipe I decided that there was no way that raw cubed potatoes added to a curry would cook in under 15 minutes.  In reality they took a good hour or so!

No problem at least I was ready for this.

The original recipe didn't have anywhere near enough liquid or spices so I titivated it and the end result was actually very nice. 
Since cooking this I've discovered Jamie Oliver has the same recipe in one of his books 'Jamie's Dinners' but at least he doesn't say how long it will take for the potatoes to cook - he just says cook until the potatoes are soft.

Kefta Mkaouara - Spicy Egg, Meatball and Tomato Tagine

Rick Stein's 'Mediterranean Escapes' cookbook has been out a good while now but in my opinion it's one of the best books I own. 

Even though I've made this time and time again, we still love it.
Of course you don't have to have a Tagine to make this, I didn't use mine as it's a bit on the big side, so I just used a shallow oven proof baking dish.

Simple Dinner of Pan-fried Pork with Lemon Garlic and Rosemary

Nice and easy pan-fried pork basted in lovely lemon and garlic with freshly chopped rosemary - perfect partners.

  The cooking time will of course depend on the thickness of your pork.

Slow Cooker Recipe - Beef in Guinness

This will do the trick on a cold winters day!   Meltingly tender beef slow cooked in Guinness with shallots, carrots, celery and other nice things.  Once it's all in the slow cooker you can forget about it and the house will smell delicious. 

     This recipe makes enough to easily serve 6 to 8 people and can be frozen.  Just serve with a dollop of mash, a jacket potato or just some nice crusty bread!

Pork Stir-fry with Hoisin and Orange Sauce

Very tasty, slightly sweet and so good to eat.  As we all know stir frying has to be one of the easiest cooking methods going.  This recipe came about just because I had an orange sitting there in my kitchen doing nothing.  Pork and orange sauce came to mind, but I wanted rice and I wanted stir fry!

    Don't be put off by the list of ingredients - they're all available from any good supermarket.  Sake will be found in the wine and beer section. Mirin will be in the Oriental grocery section and is as cheap as chips.  Well, that's how it is in the UK anyway!

Chicken Roasted with Lemon and Garlic - Quick Midweek Meal Idea

A simple roast chicken becomes something special when it's roasted with lemon and garlic the perfect combination.  But with the addition of a few herbs to the baking dish, you have a perfectly delicious midweek meal that can be conjured up in less than an hour from start to finish! 

 You can of course, use chicken portions (skin on) if you can't be fussed with cutting a chicken in half or simply want to feed more than two greedy people.