December 2011

Chickpeas, squash, chard mainly

WR cherry and almond tart

Ate out

Brosh, with John.

Lunch: spag with squash and walnut sauce

Dinner: Celeriac and apple soup

lambs kidneys with sichuan pepper, chard, blini

Lunch: red cabbage, paprika, cream; bulghar

Dinner: Rack of lamb, rosemary crust, roast potatoes, green beans

Peaches, cream, almonds, biscuit

YP beetroot soup

red peppers, potatoes, salad

aubergines parmigiana, rocket, ciabatta

peaches, cream, amaretti

sort of kibbeh things fried, chutney, peashoot salad

Shitake mushrooms, brown lentils, onion, pearl barley in Stout; thyme dumplings; red cabbage with orange and juniper

I had used half a bottle of stout in the Christmas pud; this used the rest. It works very well. It wasn't really all veggie as the dumplings had beef suet.

Ate out

Le Champignon Sauvage. Colin had the 2 specials: hake with bouillabaise, hare three ways; I had the table d'hote: roe deer canneloni, then pigeon with an amazing intense orange and caramelly reduced jus. Both had (different) chocolate tarts with ice cream. Had the Coudoulet de Beaucastel.

sort of pissaladiere, onion-anchovy-olive on bruschette

Salad of watercress, beetroot, blue potatoes, orange, walnuts

Lunch: soba noodles, carrot, peas, oyster sauce

Dinner: Smoked mackerel, celerica remoulade

pork belly with black pudding, red cabbage with caraway, purple potatoes

pork from the freezer

Lunch:

Dinner: Mike and Philippa

baby leeks grilled and sliced, haricots, olive and garlic puree

roast crown prince squash, peanut and chilli sauce, spinach with coconut, black and white rice

both very good courses

Tarte tatin

cornish blue, keens cheddar, duchy brie

Interesting Balinese soup

Salad of rocket, sweet potatoes, red pepper, brie, toasted sesame, ciabatta

Lamb and shitake mushrooms, rice, cabbage and cream

WR sultana cheesecake

WR salmon and watercress tarts, rocket

Mushrooms, porcini in sherry and cream, truffle oil, polenta cakes, french style peas

Sausage, haricots, ciabatta, lettuce

Quince, cream, shortbread

Jerusalems, garlic, hazlenuts; pearl barley; fried sping onions, grilled chicory

Lunch: Ate out

Fusion braz, Stoulton, with Tracey's mum and Jonathan, Jude, Jason, Jamie

Dinner: crab with S. Indian spices, spinach, potato pancakes

which resulted in a disproportionate amount of washing up, which Colin is still doing as I write. sorry weetie xxx.

Lunch: Spag, something I found in the fridge and liquidised.

Dinner: cabbage and porcini sort of gratin with peanuts and fried potatoes

Mango, fried, with mango booze and ginger biscuits

YP beetroot parsnip soup

M+S fish cakes, cos salad, fried potatoes

Ate out

Thai Braz with Tracey's lot from work

Tandoori squash, onion and tahina sauce, cos salad with mustard seeds, rice

well we list it as Colin's cooking but all he did was think of cooking Tracey's recipe and buy the squash. Tracey went for a ride in the afternoon and then did the cooking.

Mango, limeleaf and chilli syrup, toasted coconut

At Richard's

WR low life Yucatan chicken and chipotle soup

fennel,tomatoes, olives; fried courgettes and potatoes, ciabatta

Lunch: chard, psb, soba noodles, oyster sauce

Dinner: fried aubergine, yog and tahini, barberries onions with thyme; chard and feta pancake; couscous with preserved lemon and pine kernels

yog+cream+honey; orange liqueur jelly; pumpkin+cream+honey

supposed to be like a layered set thing but I didn't give it enough time.

Lunch: Mum

smoked salmon, watercress, horseradish

Guinea fowl; chestnut, ginger, paricot, bread onion stuffing; bacon and prune rolls, roast potatoes and parsnips, red cabbage (apple, coriander, caraway), peas, gravy

Christmas pudding, brandy sauce

Stilton

Tea: Connie and Chas

Guineau fowl, chicken, salad, new potatoes

Mince pies, clotted cream, stollen (made by Charlotte)

Lunch: spag, chard, bacon, cream

Dinner: venison in chinese marinade, watercress, soba noodles

parsnip, maple, pecan cake, cream

Lunch: pumpkin and purple potato gnocchi, walnuts

this actually worked. i had about 4-5 oz of crown prince, also did a small purple potato. boiled then dried out a bit more in low oven. i used about 2 oz flour - maybe half with the squash and half the potato, the squash dough was soft, but i put too much in the potato. result was the squash gnocchi were perfect, the potato were heavy

Dinner: John

smoked salmon, chicory, capers

chorizo, chestnut, chickpea, pearl barley; purple sprouting; bread

I had made an extra loaf when I baked yesterday, but wasn't sure about all the timings so some got a bit crusty. John described it as a brick!! but he did eat it.

lemon and almond cake, lemon amd limoncello jelly, creme fraiche

the cake I made yesterday with something like 2.5 oz butter, sugar and 2ox each of flour, almonds, and 1 egg; which wasn't following any recipe but just guesswork. I was nice, maybe because it was small it was a bit overcooked on the edges. The jelly - I think juice from 1 lemon, enough sugar, a couple of tbs limoncello then enough water to make 250ml. I had some zest but I'd used some in the cake and the marinade for the venison. I used 2.5 leaves gelatine. This is just about right - just firm enough.

Lunch: parsnip and coconut curry, rice

I had way too many parsnips because I panic-bought veg. After lunch we went for a desperate ride up every hill on the way to Sheepscombe and every other hill on the way back. It was sunny but we were pushed for time to get back before dark.

Dinner: braised chicory with maple; stilton

paella with red pepper, artichokes, mushrooms, peas

Dinner: Michael

morels, butter beans with leeks, peas, broadbeans, gf-stock

hare, pappardelle, green salad

hare from the freezer..

orange and star anise sorbet, gingerbead

Michael had suggested after the anise ice cream, to do a sorbet. This was more or less according to the David E-M recipe, but using 1 star anise instead of the liquorice. Half the quantities, but used a small gelatine leaf. I guess the gelatine inhibits the freezing, because the sugar quantities are less than specified in the notes Ivan copied from his book. Seems about right. The gingerbread I'd made last week or so, and froze, it didn't quite work because the recipe cooking times are too short.

cheeses as before

Dinner: WR spinach and ricotta tortellini, cream, salad

cake and sorbet as last night

Lunch: Ate out

Bras Blanc with Chris, Phillippa, Peregrine, Sylvie

Dinner: salad of red cabbage, orange with chickpeas, feta, olive, tahini

Salt cod potato cakes, confit red peppers, peas

A piece of salt cod about 2" by 3". Softened 3 cloves garlic then poached the cod with them in some cream. About 7oz potato, 2tbs flour, yolk of an egg; mash and mix with the cod, then whisk egg white and stir in. Fry in 4 cakes. This was excellent.