Beef & Chorizo Casserole

Christmas is coming. Fact. There seem to be a lot of Christmas Grinch's around at the moment & i am avoiding them like the plague - i think people think they are being clever when they moan & belittle Christmas. Put a sock in it & have some Egg Nog. We are getting geared up got our annual Christmas drinks party (makes me sound terribly grown but basically we just get 'pie eyed' as Mrs Rhodes says & eat Sausage Rolls) I've been trawling through recipe books & foody websites to work out what canapes to make & i think i have a rough idea, Devils on Horsebacks will certainly feature. The tree is up, my new canape tin is ordered & The Houseboy is bracing himself for hoovering duties.

So i have firmly waved goodbye to salads & welcomed in hearty winter fare. We had Mr T. Fright & his lovely live in lady Miss Stevenson over for a relaxing Sunday lunch recently for a catch up. Miss Stevenson & i both like a natter so it was no surprise we were still eating cheese & drinking whiskey seven hours after they first arrived. I am huge fan of a Sunday lunch party, there's time in the morning to get organised, time of have a leisurely lunch & finely time to clean up before flopping on the couch. Bingo.

The Houseboy turned the grand old age of twenty nine recently so at his request i baked him a Red Velvet Cake.  I cheated slightly (with his permission) & didn't make a fully original one like in the Hummingbird Cafe cookbook which is truly delicious but a little time consuming so i went with a simpler version from the BBC food website which turned out well. On his 26th birthday i baked a Black Forest Gateau which took me the best part 4 hours & cost a fortune, i was obliviously still trying to impress him at that stage! The worst thing was carrying it across London underground smelling of Chocolate & Kirch. The Houseboy does not like celebrating his birthday. There's no going out, no drinks & no celebrating with friends. But next year is his 30th & he will have no choice. I will just be happy that he's joined me in the thirties group!

Red Velvet Cake

Lots of people go on casserole overload over the winter months which is no bad thing. There are hundreds of variations & it's a good way to use up left overs etc. This is a punchy & filling dish which is great with Mashed Potatoes, saying that everything goes well with Mash. I thought about doing Horseradish Mash but there really is enough flavour in the casserole as it is. 

Ingredients:
Fed five with leftovers. 

• 1.3k of diced beef
• 2 rings of chorizo
• 2 medium sized onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tins of plum tomatoes
• 1/2 bottle of red wine
• 2 tsp of smoked paprika
• 1 tsp of ground ginger
• s&p

Method:

Pop your oven to 175C. Dust the diced beef in seasoned flour shaking off the excess & set aside. Take the chorizo & slice into chunks & gently fry off (without oil) in a hot pan for roughly 5 minutes till they are crispy round the edges. (they will leak quite a bit of oil which you can use to brown the beef) Remove & set aside then crack on with browning off the beef. Do this in batches to maintain a nice high heat in the pan, you may have to add a little oil if the chorizo hasn't leaked a lot.

Now quickly slice the onions & crush the garlic & add to the pan along with the paprika & ground ginger. Saute for 5 minutes & once the onion is nice & soft add back the chorizo & beef. Now add the red wine & tomatoes. Give it a good stir & pop into the oven. Cook for 2 & 1/2 hours or until the beef is tender. If the sauce is a little thin then you can thicken it up using Beurre Manie  which is equal parts of butter & flour rubbed together. Just remove the beef before thickening the sauce as you will need to whisk it in. Goes well with Mash or Rice. Freezes & reheats very well. 

This years tree

Coconut & Chilli Chicken

Wow. It's going to hard to make healthy food as the weather turns colder, i keep dreaming about Ox Tail Casserole, Steak & Ale Pie, Sticky Toffee Pudding... Salad is not getting a look in. I will however be trying to strike a balance, otherwise i will be giving the Christmas Turkey a run for it's money. Being 5'3 is extremely unforgiving at this time of year, a couple of extra kilos & a winter coat & i look like a lego man (with better hair). Ah the perils of a cold climate! A text from the Houseboy's mum in Australia (a much much better climate) asking me to make a wish while she stirred her Christmas Pudding has made me realise i have to get my behind in gear & crack on with this year Christmas Cake. It needs plenty of time to mature & to be dosed with brandy or whiskey (or whatever the Houseboy won't miss from the booze collection) I can't say that it' my favourite cake but i do enjoy making it &certainly gets you in the festive mood.   

Last weekend i was in York with Mrs Robinson for a retail therapy session & catch up. It's a great place for a weekend, small enough to cover in a couple of days, but enough to keep you interested. There was an amazing Fruit & Veg market which reminded me of Borough Market without the pretentious crowd & astronomical prices. The produce looked truly amazing & the choice of Meat & Fish would have a carnivore drooling. Unfortunately our hotel room didn't have a fridge otherwise i would have been boarding the train South with a bunch of Leeks & a Leg of Lamb! We had the most delicious Hot Chocolate at Monk Bar Chocolatiers in the heart of the 'Shambles' an acient street harking back to the fourteenth century with over hanging buildings & wooden beams. Who needs the history channel when you can see the real thing!

I'm a little obsessed with Nigel Slater at the moment. (sorry Nigel) I have had a few of his cookbooks for ages but they have been languishing at the back of the kitchen &, looking through them this week i have no idea why. So i am going to devote a little time to him over the next few weeks. This recipe received a resounding thumbs up from the Houseboy, it's not too hot, but does have a lovely warmth to it. I love apricots in savoury dishes & this is no exception, they take the edge off the spice & compliments the chicken perfectly. I also discovered it's great after three glasses of wine & a wobble home on the bike. So happy to find it in the fridge last night!  

Ingredients:

• 3 stalks of lemon grass
• 50g fresh ginger
• 2 hot red chillies
• 2 cloves of garlic
• a bunch of coriander
• 2 limes
• 2 tbsp ground nut oil (although i used vegetable oil)
• 200g fresh tomatoes
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 8 chicken thighs
• 400mls coconut milk
• 8 apricots halved

Method:

Peel and discard the outer leaves of the lemongrass- they can sometimes be tough. Cut the inner leaves into short lengths and put in the food processor. Peel the ginger, then slice into thin pieces and add to the lemongrass. Chop the chillies, discarding their stems and add to the ginger with the peeled garlic. Roughly chop the stems and half of the leaves of the coriander to add to the food processor, reserving the rest for later.

Grate the lime zest into the food processor, reserving the limes for later, then turn the machine on and let it chop everything to a coarse paste. Add a little groundnut oil and scrape the sides down with a spatula if it sticks. Add the fish sauce, soy sauce and the tomatoes and process for a few seconds longer.

Warm a further tablespoon of groundnut oil in a deep pan over a moderate to high heat and use it to brown the chicken pieces, turning them so they colour nicely on both sides. Lift the chicken pieces out and pour away anything more than a tablespoon of oil and juices. Add the spice paste and let it fry over a moderate heat for two minutes till fragrant, stirring almost constantly, then return the chicken to the pan. Pour over the coconut milk, stir, cover and leave to simmer over a low heat for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile halve and stone the apricots and leave them to one side.

Test the chicken for doneness making certain it’s cooked right the way through, then add the apricots. Leave to simmer for a few minutes, then add the juice of the limes and the reserved coriander leaves.