croissants with scrambled egg and pancetta

Pure Boxing Day indulgence - flaky, moist croissants stuffed with crispy pancetta and baveuse scrambled eggs. Slightly sickly but wonderful.

cheese straws

Something of a Christmas tradition for these, me. I used to pore over Mum's "Cooking for the Freezer" book and most years on Christmas Eve produce a batch of cheese straws. I'm sure the process would take about three hours and there would be that dreadful Dudley Moore Christmas film on in the background.

One year, after preheating the oven I set to sifting, pressing and grating. About 30 mins later I smell burning plastic. Upon opening the oven, I find a turkey stuffed in a plastic bag attempting to defrost and instead getting shrink-wrapped. The bird skin carried a tattoo from that point on, emblazoned with the legend "TESCO". Tasted fine though.

I did the exact same thing next year.

Not this year though, I fizzed up the recipe for 2008. I rubbed butter (lots) and flour together with a smack of mustard, then piled the cheese in: lots of parmesan and cheddar. Rolled out, cut into fingers and sprinkled with yet more cheese, one bake later they were bubbling and oozing pure cheesomity. They lasted about four minutes.

And not a tattoo in sight.

christmas pudini bonbons

The glorious Nigella strikes with these utterly sublime treats. So much fun, and must've constituted at least three gifts!

So easy too: cooked Christmas pudding (Sainsbury's cheapest), mixed with booze and melted chocolate. Add melted white chocolate and top with cut glacé cherries (fiddlesome), and ther eyou have it. Cute!

revenge of ham

The ham was ready. Now for smoking.

I took the idea from various recipes to put it on to the BBQ and cover it over, providing a crude smoker. I was able to use some Apple Wood Chips from Colorado thanks to my good friend Dominic.

I was continually prodding it with my probe thermometer, waiting for the magic 76C to appear. This took about two and a bit hours with my small piece of meat. The window cleaner looked at me very strangely, playing with the BBQ in late December.

This piece was actually too strong, too briny. I tasted a piece and stamped the floor like a Tex Avery cartoon. I soaked it a little but it went too far. However I prepared a second joint the same way and that was very tasty indeed.

The photos make it look more pink than it did in real life - I didn't add saltpetre (nitrite) to the mix, which encourages that rosiness.

sausage casserole

There must be a million of these types of recipes. And this one's pretty straightforward: pork sausages fried quickly until browned, then a splash of Marsala for fun. A tin of tomatoes, cannelini beans and a jar of bacony pasta sauce, and after some bubbling away, that's it.

Ladies and gentlemen, winter has arrived.

(PS. the ham wasn't ready yet - another two days here I think)

stroganoff

A handsome, rich and satisfying meal. I'll admit that's one of the worst photos of food in the world, sorry. Tastes good though, promise.

I start by dusting strips of steak in flour and paprika, then frying quickly and leaving to one side. Then I fry an onion, garlic, thyme and sliced mushrooms until softened. Then a nice bit of flambé with brandy (although I used whisky tonight), some scary flames, and then the meat goes back in to warm, accompanied by some sliced gherkin. Some creme fraiche now, and after a touch of seasoning it's there. Perfect with rice.

I must have made this with eight or nine different recipes, and it tastes the same every single time.

ham

Wow, how exciting is that title?! You're desperate to read on, aren't you.

I wanted to make my own ham. I think all these home preserving techniques are getting lost, and the results you get are so unique and personal compared to vacuum-wrapped plasticky salt logs.

I've started here with pork leg, very inexpensive. I then made an 85% brine solution and added juniper berries, peppercorns, bay leaves and a couple of cloves. But these could be any number of aromatic things. Now I'm leaving the pork submerged in this liquid for a day and a half per pound (that's four and a half days for me). See you on Saturday for the results!

asparagus and potato tart

I made this a while back but just found pictures of it so thought I'd share. I bloody love asparagus, but optimistically I'll leave it til the season to wax then.

This is a Jamie recipe, and deserves heaps of praise for making the most of it's wonderful homely ingredients. It's boiled new pots mashed together with cream, eggs and cheshire cheese (that lovely crumbly one), poured into a filo pastry-lain dish. This is then topped with charred asparagus and baked in the oven til set. Mega-filling and handsome with some salad leaves.

devils on horseback and cheese & pineapple

Summoned to a classy 70s party, I was asked to provide some canapés and I do love a challenge. The host was some mean foodie himself, so I can't just roll up with a tube of Pringles and Iced Gems. My mind starts grinding back to the old clichés: prawn cocktail, melon and ham, glacé cherries... a little browsing and I've got it. Abigail's flashback Devils on Horseback. The idea sounds disgusting, wrapping stodgy prunes in bacon. But I hope with a few touches I can elevate them a bit. I marinate the tinned prunes overnight in whisky, then stone them. In the cavity I spoon mango chutney. Then they're wrapped in bacon.

That can't be it, need something else too. I'm sure there's something I can do with cheese and pineapple but I can't quite place it and I want a replacement for the pineapple. I decide to caramelise the pineapple based on an old Gary Rhodes recipe that I'd looked at often but never done. Taking inspiration from that I fry the pineapple in some port until ruby red, and then a little brown sugar to up the ooze. So that's the pineapple done, what else? And then it's obvious, a different cheese other than cheddar. I pick salty, waxy halloumi as a counterpoint to the sharp and sweet pineapple. Impale with cocktail sticks on to half a melon, and we're away. I'm very pleased with the results. They certainly disappeared quick amongst the flares - congratulations to Jenny for getting the last one.

(I'd love pictures but foolishly they were eaten before I could snap!)

autumnal stirfry

Seasonal is the name of the game here; everything's bursting with readiness. Using my stirfry principles as per Yaki Soba, I add strips of beef, then put to one side. Then I fry carrots and red cabbage until tender, then add beansprouts. Now come fruits: blackberries and a sliced plum. Then the beef goes back in and it's all pulled together with a slosh of honey and balsamic. It's interesting and colourful - very Autumnal.

ham and leek macaroni

A homestyle "Pasta 'n' Sauce": fry some leeks, gammon, add macaroni and then keep covering with chicken stock until tender. Simple and brill. Next time I'd add a slosh of white wine for a sweet kick, but this was great winter stuff.