Roast Lamb Shoulder

Last night I cooked another roast dinner, this time a lamb shoulder. This is quite a cheap cut, but cooked for a long time it tastes fantastic.

As it's on the bone, the meat stays juicy - cooked for four hours, the meat falls off the bone easily. The recipe for this is in the Jamie at Home cookbook, however it's very easy.

Slash the fat side of the joint with a sharp knife, cutting through to the meat. Rub the shoulder with olive oil, salt and pepper, getting it in the slash marks too.Get a load of garlic cloves and rosemary and put half of it in the bottom of the baking tray. Put the joint in and then put the rest of the garlic and rosemary on top of it. Cover it tightly with foil - this is important to keep the joint protected from the strong heat of the oven.

Leave it for four hours. Seriously, don't touch it.

Then get it out of the oven, keep the foil on and put a tea towel over it, let it rest for 10 minutes. Put it on a big plate and let everyone  - or just you and your dining partner - rip into it.

Mr Oliver suggests serving it with smashed up veggies, but just have whatever you fancy or whatever is in season. My one recommendation having now made this twice is to get the joint from your local butcher. It is more expensive but far superior to the joint I bought in Tesco yesterday (even if The Scouser and I gobbled it up!)

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Weekend Eating

Last weekend I finally got to cook my little socks off. Thought I'd do a little run down of last weekend's eating.

Friday night: One-Pot Wonder of Chicken Thighs, Potatoes & Cherry Tomatoes - from the Jamie at Home cookbook. Now I'm not a massive fan of this cookbook, it's lovely to look at and I love to flick through it, but the food is a little tricky for an after-work meal. This recipe is a good 'un though - very easy and cheap. You have to use chicken thighs, it says fillets, but I used boned as fillets are tricky to find and more expensive so it doesn't make any difference. The red wine vinegar and juice from tomatoes make a sweet yet thin sauce and the chicken is succulent as thighs normally are (well mine are anyway...!).

Saturday night: Spicy Sausage & Fennel Pasta - another Jamie Oliver special! From his second book, this recipe is one of The Scouser's big faves. You need a bulb of fennel which can be expensive but luckily I'm close to a veg market where it's always available and not extortionate. I use chorizo in 'sausage' form, which is more economical as you get much more value for money than buying slices in a pack. It's easy to make  - throw everything in a pan and cook it down. The dried chilli adds a nice kick without burning your mouth off.

Sunday night: Good old Roast Chicken - as the nights are drawing in and it's getting chilly, I'm so happy to be able to have roasts again! I rub mine in a mixture of butter, garlic and whatever other random ingredients are at hand - fennel seeds, dried chilli, sundried tomatoes, smoked paprika... Smear it all over the bits with skin and even under the skin on the breast as it then flavours the meat too. Save a bit for the potatoes too, the butter makes them nice and crispy.

So definitely not a weekend of watching the calories. It never is for us!

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Cheesecake for Macmillan Coffee Morning

I made a cheesecake last week for our office coffee morning in aid of Macmillan - we did raise nearly £300 but I didn't win. Perhaps too lemon-y?

Anyway I have now got over the pain of losing, and can bring myself to blog about it. It's a Jamie Oliver recipe (aaah, a pattern is emerging) from the Ministry of Food book. This book is great - there are some things that seem quite simple in there, but it's great for ideas. In fact, my brother text me about the Chilli Con Carne over the weekend - "it's amazing! Just make sure you've got a massive saucepan".

So the cheesecake. It's not baked, but very easy. The recipe isn't online, but if you want it, leave a comment below. It says to use 1 lemon, 1 orange and some vanilla essence, but I love lemon cheesecake so I went with three lemons. I would recommend including the vanilla as it tastes better I think. I would also say that it could have more of the filling - it doesn't look that deep, but that would make it a lot richer.

Back to the drawing board with this one...

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Not Enough Food...Too Much Working

I haven't been very good at this blogging lark so far have I? I haven't even had time to make that Goat's Cheese Salad I posted about. Unfortunately my work means I have to go away for a week running events sometimes, and it's crazy season. Crew catering has me running for the hills - straight back to work.

So last weekend we headed to Ross-On-Wye for my mum's birthday - we surprised her, hence the secrecy in the last blog. The food in that area is fantastic - the cheese is unbelievable and as such a massive cheese lover, I'm in heaven. If you can get hold of some Hereford Hop, have it on some crackers - it's like cheddar, but creamier and softer. We also get a ham hock - a piece of ham, cooked on the bone, that is incredibly tasty but costs between 1-2 pounds. So much nicer than buying sliced ham in a packet and MUCH cheaper.

We also visited the Bridge at Wilton, a restaurant I'm sure will get some kind of Michelin star recognition soon. Or at least the chef will. I had scallops with squid ink risotto and then fillet of beef that had been rolled in ash and cooked in hay, one of the best meals I've had for some time.

Tonight, to make up for my week of mass catering, I will be enjoying some oysters followed by a big juicy steak. The Scouser will be joining me on the steak, he's not quite ready for oysters since I described them as 'squashed, salty eyeballs'.

We'll be having some family time this weekend, my parents are hosting a large family party and my mum will be cooking. She's already told me she has some exciting things for everyone - I will never beat her cooking.

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Goat's Cheese Salad

Just found this recipe on Jamie Oliver's website - also known as my online bible - Herb Salad with Goat's Cheese. I think I'll try this at the weekend. Me and The Scouser are off somewhere exciting food-wise...I'll explain more next week!

Tonight I'm cooking for friends and will be making another beaut from Jamie - Spaghetti con Gamberetti e Rucola (spaghetti prawns and rocket!). My mum introduced me to this and it's so good for dinner with friends - quick, easy but effective so you can serve up a storm whilst enjoying your guests and the vino simultaneously. Raw prans are always cheap or on offer now so no excuses for using those rubbery frozen types.

I will take a picture so you can see my effort compared to Mr Oliver's!

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Spaghetti Carbonara plus Champers

Last night I made a delightful spaghetti carbonara - a very easy pasta dish that I love. Always reminds me of my mother - I'm proud to say I've never used those horrid jar sauces and never will! So much easier and most of all CHEAPER to create it yourself. This was also acccompanied by a bottle of my favourite champagne as I got promoted yesterday and The Scouser was being amazing as ever!

Anyway I digress. I'm afraid there are no pictures as I was in late after a dash to the hairdressers. However to make the carbonara, you need:
Sauce - 5 eggs yolks, 100ml of cream, parmesan (cheddar will do if you're on a budget!)
Also - pancetta, spaghetti (or penne is good too)

Mix the saucy ingredients together in a bowl - including a big handful of the cheese - make sure you use the smaller holes on the grater, as you don't want flakes of cheese in the sauce and it will melt quickly. Meanwhile, cook the pasta and the pancetta/bacon - make sure the bacon gets cripsy.

When the spaghetti is done, drain and then throw the pancetta/bacon, sauce and spaghetti back into the pan and mix it like a crazy person. The heat cooks the eggs and coats the pasta. Serve it up with lashings of parmesan (if you are as much of a cheese fiend as me). That's it!

Now promise me you won't use jar sauces again?

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Sausage n' Mash!

The venison sausages and spring onion mash were both a success. Sausages were quite thin so quick to cook and very tasty. I added a clove of garlic crushed raw into the mash for a little extra taste. The Scouser was, as ever, very complimentary. Below is the before shot - I like getting everything organised before I start cooking...

And here is the finished product. I love mash so I always make too much and end up feeling way too full. It's not that exciting but I tell you, it was tasty.

So tonight it's Spaghetti Carbonara - definitely not out of a jar! Does anyone make proper carbonara sauce? It's much better with fresh eggs and cream - much cheaper too.

I'm also looking for some inspiration for the weekend, because I have to work all 3 days at home so will be cooking to keep myself amused.

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