Jamie's Feta and Spinach Pie

Jamie Oliver's recipe books are some of my most trusted and when I fancied cooking something different at the weekend I went for something from his 30 minute meals. I did not choose this cookbook because I was expecting speed (everything I have tried from it has took at least an hour) but because it all looks so tasty.

I went for the Feta and Spinach Filo Pie with salads, I skipped the coated ice cream dessert as I was making Nigella's red velvet cupcakes. Once I figured out what I was doing with the filo pastry it was really simple and delicious, there was enough to feed six people so we had the rest the next day, and ate huge portions.

The stodginess of the cheesy, almost quiche-like pie was great with the flavours of the salad which were really clean and fresh. Mat is not a massive fan of cucumber and did not seem too enthused about the side salads but we were both pleasantly surprised, so much so I made another fresh batch the next day to go with the leftovers - the yellow tomatoes were amazing.

Feta and Spinach Filo Pie

Ingredients:

For the spinach and feta pie

• 100g pinenuts

• 5 eggs

• 300g feta cheese

• 50g cheddar cheese

• Dried oregano (I used some fresh from my herb garden)

• 1 lemon

• A knob of butter

• 400g prewashed baby spinach

• 1 x 270g pack of filo pastry

• Cayenne pepper

• 1 whole nutmeg, for grating

For the cucumber salad

• 1 cucumber

• 10 black olives

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 3 spring onions

• 1/2 a lemon

• 1/2 a fresh red chilli

• 5 or 6 sprigs of fresh mint

For the tomato salad

• A small bunch of fresh basil

• 1 clove of garlic

• White wine vinegar

• 300g mixed cherry tomatoes

• A small bunch of fresh Greek basil (optional)

For the seasonings

• Olive oil

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Sea salt and black pepper

Method:

To start:

Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Turn the oven on to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.Put a medium (approx. 26cm diameter) ovenproof frying pan on a medium heat.

Spinach and feta pie:

Put the pinenuts into the dry ovenproof frying pan to toast, tossing occasionally. Keep an eye on them. Crack 5 eggs into a mixing bowl and crumble in 300g of feta. Grate in 50g of Cheddar. Add a pinch of pepper, a couple of pinches of dried oregano, zest of 1 lemon and a lug of olive oil. Once the nuts are light golden, add them to the egg mixture and mix well.

Put the empty frying pan back on the heat, add a little olive oil and a knob of butter and pile in half of the spinach. Gently push and move it around and add more as it wilts down. Make sure it doesn't catch on the bottom and when there's room, start adding the rest, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, take the pastry out of the fridge. Lay a large sheet of greaseproof paper, approximately 50cm long, on the worktop, rub a little olive oil all over it, then scrunch it up and lay it out flat again. Arrange 4 filo pastry sheets in a large rectangle, overlapping at the edges, so they almost cover the paper. Rub some olive oil over them. Sprinkle over a good pinch of salt & pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Repeat until you have 3 layers. Don't worry about any cracked bits. Remember to keep stirring the spinach.

Once the spinach is really nice and dense, take the pan off the heat. Add the wilted spinach to the egg mixture and grate in ½ a nutmeg. Mix well. Carefully move the greaseproof paper and filo into the empty frying pan so the edges spill over. Push it down into the sides of the pan, then pour in the egg mixture and spread it out. Fold the filo sheets over the top and let them fall where they will. Put the pan back on a medium heat for a couple of minutes to get the bottom cooking, then put the pan into the oven on the top shelf to cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Cucumber salad: 

Run a fork down the length of the cucumber all around it, then halve and quarter it lengthways and cut the quarters across into 1cm chunks. Put them into a mixing bowl and set aside. Drain 10 black olives, squeeze out their stones, and tear them into another bowl. Pour over 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and push down on the olives so the vinegar starts pulling out their saltiness. Trim and finely slice the spring onions, then add to the olives.

Drizzle 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the juice of ½ a lemon into the olive mixture and stir really well. Deseed and finely slice ½ a red chilli and add to the bowl of cucumber. Pick the leaves from the sprigs of mint, finely slice them and add to the cucumber. Pour over the dressing, toss quickly, drizzle over a little more extra virgin olive oil and take to the table.

Spinach and feta pie: Check on the pie and take out if done (I left ours in for a extra few minutes more than Jamie recommended.)

Tomato salad: 

Quickly rinse out the liquidizer. Rip the top off the bunch of basil, reserving a few of the smaller leaves, and put into the liquidizer with a pinch of salt & pepper, a peeled clove of garlic, a couple of good lugs of extra virgin olive oil and a splash of white wine vinegar. Whiz until you have a dark green oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Halve or quarter the tomatoes. Pour this dressing over a platter and sit the tomatoes on top. Scatter over some Greek basil leaves or smaller basil leaves and a pinch or two of salt, then take to the table and toss right before serving.

To serve: 

Take the pie to the table with your beautiful salads and divide up between your guests.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

I have been a massive fan of Heston Blumenthal since he burst onto the cooking scene years ago with  his magical food wizardry and weird concoctions and have been totally captivated by his love of theatre and nostalgia often seen in his TV programmes.

You can therefore imagine how excited I was to go to his first London based restaurant as a treat with Mat (in honour of how hard he had been working) - Dinner.

We began our evening in The Library bar in the Lanesborough Hotel with some yummy gin based cocktails, and even though they were the most expensive cocktails Mat has ever drank (£15 each, which I explained is typical of fancy London hotel bars) he seemed to like the three tier tray of posh nibbles that accompined them. We were trying not to eat too many as we were saving ourselves for dinner but the olives, nuts and posh twiglets were too moorish to resist. We sipped our cocktails whist sitting in an opulent fake library in high backed chairs surrounded with chesterfield sofas, wood panelling and faux walls of books whist a a baby piano was being played next to us. It should have felt stuffy but the staff were lovely and the atmosphere light and friendly.

We then took a stroll along Knightsbridge high street and looked at Harrods all lit up at night before heading in for a late sitting in The Mandarin Oriental, our table wasn't quite ready so we sat at the bar and Mat had the most expensive beer he has ever had and I went for a hugely expensive Hendricks and tonic, which thankfully came with a slice of cucumber. The bar would have been quite nice but as it was 9.30 on a Saturday night was full of quite loud, obnoxious drunks, which did ruin the atmosphere slightly but as we were shown through to the restaurant, the drunks disappeared and we amongst the bustling atmosphere of Heston's Dinner - ice creams were being created at tables so the fog of liquid nitrogen rolled across the floor and the kitchen was incased in floor to ceiling windows so you could see all the action and the pineapples (for the Tipsy pudding) roasting on spits.

The menu is inspired by long lost recipes and each dish is accompanied by the year it is from, but they obviously all have a Heston twist. We argued over who was going to have the most famous dish - the meat fruit, Mat won as it was his treat (and I was promised a large bite). The perfect looking satsuma (or mandarin as it was called on the menu) was delivered on a rustic wooden board with some grilled bread - it looked so much like the juicy fruit and it was odd to cut into it and reveal the smoothest chicken liver parfait. You could also eat the rind which spread easily like a fatty orange-d flavoured jam with the parfait - it was gorgeous and do rich I had too have two large bites to help Mat along. In stark contrast I went for a light and fresh starter of scallops and cucumber, the cucumber came in so many different ways - pickled, foamy and pureed. Perfect with the delicate flavour of the scallops.

Mat thad the powdered duck with fennel and umbles (which I think are offal of some sort). Again really delicious but so rich I think Mat was going to struggle to have a dessert. I went for the Spiced Pigeon and Ale, slightly pink in the middle and melted in the mouth as easily as the creamy mashed potato we shared as a side. Best mash ever.

We just had to have pudding and even though I really wanted the ice cream which is prepared at the table with liquid nitrogen, it takes two and Mat wanted chocolate. He again managed to pick the richest thing on the pudding menu - the chocolate bar with gold leaf was a dense bar of dark chocolate with a passion fruit jam and ginger ice cream - it beat him though and he could not finish the whole thing. I demolished my brown bread ice cream with salted butter caramel, pear and malted yeast syrup - it reminded me of peanut butter so I loved it.

After all that I still managed to find space for the little shot glass of a smooth chocolate ganache served with a shortbread studded with fennel seeds, reminded me of a posh Choc Dip.

The meal went the same way as the drinks and became our most pricey meal out ever, but I think it was worth it as a treat. The food was great and so different to anything I have eaten in a long time - the staff were fine (nothing to complain about or shout about either), the setting was the same, I like seeing the kitchen and the vintage jelly mould lamp shades were a nice touch but quite bland other than that. Here it is all about the grub, and it lived up to the hype. Maybe, The Fat Duck next....

Padstow & Rick Stein Overload - Part 3

After all the fish meals we I had so far and a very boozy night (that resulted us going to bed about 5am) the thought of more fish for lunch was not that appealing but we had already chosen our courses for lunch we had no choice!

For lunch before most people headed back to London we were treated to three courses at St Peroc's Bistro, another Rick Stein restaurant. As with all his restaurants they are simply decorated with small details that relate to sea and have a relaxed and slightly rustic feel, making you instantly feel at home. The rooms in this place looked amazing too and I was very jealous of the people who got to stay here.

I started with squid, again the batter was really light and served with smoked pimenton and garlic mayo but the most amazing element of the dish was the tomatoes dressed with fennel - amazing!

This was followed by the most garlicky meal I have ever eaten - hake with potatoes, caramelised garlic, tomato and onion. The garlic paste on top was delicious but if you managed to eat a whole glove it packed a powerful punch but the fish was so soft and flakey it melted in the mouth.

As it was only lunchtime I was starting to feel quite full but I could not resist the sticky toffee pudding with the biggest dollop of clotted cream ever! I again ate it all and then had to have a walk in the sea air and a little nap to get over all the food I had eaten!

Padstow & Rick Stein Overload - Part 2

After working up an appetite on the bicycle ride and getting completely covered in mud, we headed back to the hotel to get glammed up for a champagne reception before heading to the most impressive of Rick Stein's restaurants in Padstow - The Seafood Restaurant.

We started with a selection of bread which was washed down with Rick Steins own wine. the restaurant itself is really simply decorated and again feels quite relaxed but the service and food elevates it to something special.

We were treated to a six course tasting menu and everything was amazing, it is difficult not to end up repeating myself on each course so I will just talk about the two stand out dishes for me. The first course of carpaccio of hand dived scallops with pickled ginger was beautifully presented in its shell, tasted so fresh and the flavours were delicate and complimented each other perfectly, I especially liked the crispy seaweed.

This was followed the sea bass fillet with roasted fennel seeds, this was my second favourite dish, again because I think it tasted so fresh and light, plus the wine hadn't quite kicked in yet so I have the most vivid memories of these first two dishes.

The third course of fish and shellfish soup divided opinion on the table, I really enjoyed mine (so much I burnt my tongue in my eagerness to eat it), it was unusual being served with parmesan to sprinkle on top but I loved the cheese and fish combo. I think what may may have put people off was that this was the fish-ist course of the meal.

This was followed by the 'main' course (I say main as it was the biggest dish) of braised fillet of brill with autumn black truffle, silvers of potato, mushrooms and truffle oil.

I said I was only going to rave about two dishes but I almost forgot how I devoured the pudding. By this point people were wandering round chatting but I stayed put and barely spoke apart from to make noises such as 'mmmmm' as I tucked in to apple and blackberry pavlova with creme anglaise. The meringue was by far the lightest and most delicious one I have ever tasted, and was perfectly set off by the slightly tart berries.

We then finished off with petit fours and coffee, but these tasty little treats did not get the recognition they deserved as everyone was so full and being distracted by the cocktails at the bar! I had a couple of the white chocolate truffles but just couldn't try anymore as I was so full.

I would love to go back to this restaurant as the food, service and settings was perfect, plus it felt like a real treat and a great way to celebrate 25 years of Design Bridge.

Padstow & Rick Stein Overload - Part 1

To celebrate the 25 year anniversary of the company I work for, all the staff were lucky enough to be taken to Padstow in Cornwall for the night. Affectionately known as Pad-stein due to the fact the TV chef Rick Stein has a home there and proceeded to open restaurants, deli's and accommodation in the little harbour town.

We arrived midday and checked in to our hotels. Before heading off to do an activity (I chose the bicycle ride along the beautiful and flat Camel Estuary due to the fact there was a promise of five pubs on route) we went to Stein's fish and chip shop.

Due to the fact there was so many of us (around 120) we went in this casual restaurant in a few sittings. It was by far the classiest fish and chip shop that I have ever been in. Not poncey but the wooden communal tables, bright white tiles and beautifully illustrated fish printed on a few of them made it feel relaxed but with a great attention to detail.

On to the main event, we were all served up a massive portion of cod and chips. The fish tasted really fresh and the batter so light that I ate almost every last scrap. The chips are cooked in beef dripping, which is the old fashioned way, and all served with delicious mush peas and all the classic conditments you could think of!

It set us all up for the 26 mile bike ride we then went on, and meant I ate them guilt free as I am pretty sure I burned enough calories to cover it.

Chorizo & Feta Frittata

My boss at work keeps chicken's and always has too many eggs to eat so when he remembers he brings in these home reared free range eggs for the team. I took a batch home on Wednesday night and decided to make something suitably eggy with them.

I made a huge frittata with chorizo and feta by Rachel Allen recipe from BBC food. It was delicious and great cold for lunch the next day. I had to substitute marjoram for fresh parsley and added a little of the parsley to the side salad I served it with to make it feel really fresh and hold on to the last few days of summer. This would be perfect for a picnic.

Potato, chorizo and feta frittata

Ingredients:

• 250g/9oz potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1cm/½in cubes

• 6 tbsp olive oil

• 1 onion, peeled and sliced

• 8 free-range eggs

• 100ml/3½fl oz single cream

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp fresh marjoram, chopped

• 125g/4½oz chorizo, sliced

• 125g/4½oz feta cheese, crumbled

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Place the potatoes into a saucepan of boiling water. Boil for five minutes, or until just cooked. Do not overcook the potatoes or they will go mushy. Drain the potatoes of the excess water and set aside.
3. Heat a 25cm/10in ovenproof frying pan. Add three tablespoons of olive oil and the sliced onion to the pan. Cover the frying pan with a saucepan lid and sweat the ingredients over a gentle heat until the onion becomes soft and slightly golden. Then remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Whisk the eggs in a clean bowl until they are slightly frothy. Then add the cream, the salt and the fresh marjoram.
5. Add the sliced chorizo, the cooked onions and the potatoes to the bowl and mix well.
6. Heat the remaining olive oil in the frying pan. When the oil is hot, pour in the egg mixture and stir briefly to distribute the ingredients evenly.
7. Sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese on to the top of the mixture. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 25-35 minutes or until the centre of the mixture has set. Then remove from the frittata from the oven and allow it to cool for a couple of minutes.
8. To serve, place the frittata onto a large serving plate or a large cake tin lined with baking parchment (if you want to transport it on a picnic). Serve warm or at room temperature.

Red Velvet Cupcakes & Cookies - Hello neighbour!

I am going to start this post with a little rant as the photos I took of all my efforts got lost by silly iphoto so I am just going to have to make them all again to fully capture the experience. I do have this delightful snap of the cookies though in quite a sexy rustic setting.

I purchased my first Nigella Lawson book a good few months ago after warming to her in her last TV series - Kitchen: Recipes from the heart of the home (and falling in love with the very popular Chocolate and Guiness cake), the book is of the same name and I have been drooling over the gorgeous photography and mouthwatering recipes every time I want to make something different.

The perfect excuse came up as I have just moved into a new place with the boyfriend and wanted to introduce us to the neighbours and we had friends coming round to be nosey. I wanted to try the Red Velvet Cupcake recipe as it is one of my favourite flavours but I had been unsuccessful when I tried the recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery book before. The Nigella one was perfect though, it still uses a ridiculous amount of red food paste (rather than just the liquid dye as the colour is more vibrant) and the slightly sour cream cheese topping.

I also went for the chocolate chip cookies as it has been so long since I made some, I can not even remember ever baking any - surely a crime against baking! These were amazing and went down really well at our morning team meeting at work. Slightly crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, I also think the posh vanilla extract I bought made a big difference to the flavour.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Makes 24

Ingredients:

• 250g plain flour

• 2x 15ml tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon bicarb of soda

• 100g soft unsalted butter

• 200g caster sugar

• 1x heaped 15ml tablespoon Christmas-red paste food colouring

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 eggs

• 175ml buttermilk

• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170°C and line the muffin tin with paper cases

• Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarb in a bowl

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar, beating well, and when you have a soft, pale mixture beat in the food colouring and vanilla.

• Still beating, add 1 spoonful of the dried ngredients then 1 egg, followed by some more dried ingredients, then the other egg, followed by the rest of the dried ingredients.

• Finally, beat in the buttermilk and vinegar and divide the batter between 24 cases. • Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes and when done leave to cool on a rack before adding the all important frosting.

Buttery cream-cheese frosting

ingredients:

• 500g icing sugar, sifted

• 125g cream cheese

• 125g unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice

• chocolate sprinkles and/or red sugar to decorate.

Method:

• Whizz together the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar.

• Pour in the cider vinegar (or lemon) and whizz angina to make a smooth icing.

• Ice each cupcake and decorate with chocolate sprinkles and red sugar.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes approx 14

Ingredients:

• 150g soft unsalted butter

• 125g soft light brown sugar

• 100g caster sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 egg, fridge-cold

• 1 egg yolk, fridge-cold

• 300g flour

• 1/2 teaspoon bicarb of soda

• 1 x 326g packet of chocolate chips

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas mark 3. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

• Melt the butter and let it cool a bit. Put the brown and white sugars into a bowl, pour the slightly cooled, melted butter over them and beat together.

• Beat in the vanilla, the cold egg and cold egg toll until the mixture is light and creamy.

• Slowly mix in the flour and bicarb until just blended, then fold in the chocolate chips.

• Take a large tablespoon of the cookie dough and drop onto the baking sheet, put them about 8cm apart. You will have to do two batches so keep the cookie dough in the fridge between batches.

• Bake for 15-17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Recipease: Mexican Street Food

Slightly hungover from the BBQ the day before I got up early and headed over to Clapham to participate in another recipease class - the cooking courses set up by Jamie Oliver and taught by his staff. I did the knife skills course a few months ago, which I loved so the guys at work got me a voucher for my birthday to try out another, so I went for the mexican street food course as I was hoping it would help me recreate Wahaca style dishes.

I turned up and was welcomed by a very friendly lady who was to be our teacher for the day and given an apron and a seat while we waited for the rest of the class to arrive. The set up is great as the class is only for 10 people and everyone has their own work station and your ingredients are ready to go. The teacher took us through what we was going to make for the day and showed us the first section of prep we had to do and then let us go on do it but was constantly on hand to offer tips and advice.

The dishes are inspired by Jamie and his distinctive cooking style, we were told to add as much chilli as we like and make it personal to our tastes. We used a lot of chilli. In everything!

We begun by making a fiery ceviche, raw seafood is cooked in the acidic

juice and zest of lime and lemon. We used tiger prawns (the only seafood that was cooked quickly in hot pan to add colour), scallops, coley and a squid tube, all from a sustainable sources. We then added passata, lime and lemon juice and zest, garlic, chilli, spring onions, mixed herbs (basil, coriander and dill), worcestershire sauce and cucumber. It is mixed together and marinated for an hour to 'cook' the seafood. Seasoning as added just before serving otherwise the squid will go chewy. It was so fresh and tasty, lots of different textures due to the various fish and strangely refreshing.

We made a salsa verda, a chunky green salsa which uses whatever green herbs you have - we used coriander and mint mixed with garlic, green chillies, spring onions, tomatoes and lime juice. Both the salsa and cerviche was perfect served on top of our handmade gorditas.

Gorditas are a corn cake which I can only compare to a squashed scone that is deep fried, but they are described by Jamie as 'delicious little fluffy tortillas'. I found them a little bit stodgy and very simple but a perfect base for all the fiery toppings. The key when forming them is to make sure there are no cracks around the edges otherwise they crumble when fried.

And last but not least was the soft chicken taco cooked in chipotle sauce. The recipe is below as this was by far my favourite out of the amazing selection of dishes we created, it was so rich in flavour, with lots of depth and I think would impress friends at an informal dinner party - this is one I may have to make for you when you visit next Emily.

When everyone finished, we piled our food and a big wooden board and all sat down with a glass of wine (or beer in my case) and proudly tucked into our creations together. I demolished the chicken taco but managed to save a little of the salsa, gorditas and cerviche for the boyfriend to try when I got home - not a big fan of fish but he still thought the flavours were great!

Jamie's Chicken Taco with Chipotle Chilli Sauce - Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons whole cumin

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano

• 1 large dried chilli

• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled

• 8 chicken thighs on the bone - skins scored

• olive oil for frying

• 3.5 cups passata

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

• 1 heaped dessert spoon caster sugar

• 100g chipotle chilli sauce

• 4 flour tortillas

• 2 baby gem lettuce - washed and leaves picked off

• 2-3 limes

• small bunch of coriander

• 1 red onion - thinly slice

• 2 large tomatoes

• 2 strips spring onion - sliced on an angle

Method

• Put the cumin, oregano, dried chilli and garlic into a pestle and mortar and grind down (or pop in a small blender and whizz).

• Lightly oil the chicken and season with salt and pepper, then take 1/2 your dry seasoning mixture and rub all over the chicken.

• Add a lug of olive oil to a large pan and when the oil is hot fry the chicken on both sides until golden brown.

• Turn the heat down and add the passata, vinegar, sugar, chipotle chilli sauce and remaining dry seasoning mix. Turn the heat low, put a lid on the pan and simmer the chicken until cooked through. This should take 20 - 25 minutes, depending on how big the chicken is. Check it is cooked before removing from the heat. The sauce should be thick and sweet, if not remove the chicken and put the pan back on the stove and reduce the sauce until it is sticky and sweet.

• Next step is to assemble the taco. Remove the chicken from the sauce and pull the meat off the bone and discard the bone.

• Lay the flour tortilla on a flat surface and spread about a tablespoon of the sticky chipotle sauce like you would tomato sauce on a pizza base.

• Add the cooked chicken, spoon over some salsa verda, 2-3 baby gem leaves, corriander leaves, lime juice, chopped tomatoes, red onions and spring onions.

• Fold one edge in about an inch to form the bottom and then fold in both sides and wrap tightly, and tuck in!

The best cake ever?

I had the best ever feedback on my latest cake, one person even said it was "The best cake ever they had ever eaten". Nigella's Chocolate and Guinness cake blew everyone away, Mat put it in his top 5 cakes, a high honour indeed.

My photography is just not good enough and as I spied this beautiful image on another foodie (and one of my favourite) blogs - What Katie Ate I thought I would use that instead.

I will be making it again soon - makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Lasagne Queen - the second!

Strangely I cooked a lasagne from scratch this weekend too and it was the first time I have made béchamel sauce. I used Nigel Slater's recipe for the bolognese meat sauce which worked really well even though I was surprised by using milk in it - I have never heard of this before but it made it feel really rich and almost creamy. Then I used Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipe for béchamel sauce. Served with crunchy green beans and washed down with a medium bodied red wine - Palastri Sangiovese Di Romagna. The wine had hints of cherry and a chocolately finish, it went perfectly with this meaty pasta dish, especially as it was half price!

Who said to many cooks spoil the broth?

I thought I would treat myself to some cookbooks for the new year and add some more dishes to my repertoire. I am quite addicted to cookery programs and if there is nothing on TV I will put anything food related on the box.

I really enjoyed watching Nigella's Kitchen towards the end of 2010, she has always annoyed me before but I really got in to her style of cooking and her personality has grown on me, especially the sneaking down to raid the leftovers in the fridge at the end of the programme. Plus I want that lady's pantry!

Next up is Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals, I have longed loved Jamie's attitude to cooking (along with the rest of the country making this book the best selling book for christmas) but the concept of serving platters of food really appeals to me as I am a 'feeder'.

Lastly I purchased Rachel Allen's Entertaining at Home, to be honest I think she uses too much salt in her cooking and is quite patronising but god can she cook! So thought I would give that a whirl as it is a bargain on Amazon!

Plus the food photography is amazing, beautifully propped and shot - they are all a real inspiration for work.

Can't wait to get cooking and then blogging about it.