Recent Eating and Recipes

Okay, I've been a bit slack in the recipe making front... I am still cooking a lot but have been relying on tried and trusted recipes mostly, along with some other new favourites I've found in books and online! Though I have had a lot of success with a new potato side dish but realise I have no idea on quantities so must write down next time for you! Anyway, these are a few new recipes that might help give some inspiration on these cold wintery nights!

First up with a new make is these lovely little cheese scones - this is my first ever home made batch - I found the recipe here on BBC Food after a very quick web search via my phone after on a very random whim wondering how to use up some leftover Cambazola (yes, leftover would you believe!) and they came out perfectly. My scone experience is very limited and my auntie is the cheese scone queen but I have obviously inherited her scone skills, as I had to make another batch last night for work and this batch went by 10am! 

Due to my under-planning I realised after making them I had no idea where my scone cutter was and covered in flour, rummaging through a cupboard I found a star cutter - and so they became cheesy star scones instead! In fact I think it was fate as they made them bitesize and were demolished by midday at work by my colleagues:

Now the next one was Sunday's pudding - and a twist on an old Nigella favourite - the marmalade pudding cake that I blogged about way back in 2011! I realise the photo then was not brilliant, and neither is this one but its an awkard one to serve when your guests are salivating over the smells emerging from under its foil blanket! This time around instead of orange marmalade I switched it to a jar of Ginger shred marmalade and used some ready lemon juice in lieu of the orange- it was a definite winner and vanished fast despite proclaims of being too full from lunch!

Last but not least on the recipe front was another Nigella recipe and new favourite - this was taken from her 'Kitchen' book (one of my most used too) and  its a great way to use up odds n ends though a little meat heavy if you were to serve as a standalone dish, so I added some spiced garlicky greens on the side. I only ended up using one type of meat - the remains of our heavenly spiced Boxing Day gammon, also we couldn't get hold of the suggested Pomegranate seeds and I improvised by soaking some dried Barberries in hot water until plump and used them to garnish. Not quite as pretty but a worthy addition. The toasted nuts really do make this dish, plus I added a sprinkling of crispy fried onions for extra texture.

Despite my protestations over lack of cupboard space I am a liability left unattended in the shops and accidentally bought this stunning butterfly side plate - how could I resist for a mere £1.50?!

Hope you enjoy my suggestions, do let me know if you try any of them!