Saturday 20 December - Tartiflette

A busy day redecorating the dining room, and we hadn't really given a thought to food - I rather fancied a fondue, but then we couldn't remember where the fondue set had ended up after the kitchen refit, and didn't want to start looking. I then remembered about Tartiflette - and fancied trying this out. This meant a trip out to find reblochon - and once we'd found some in Waitrose bought it despite the price!

The dish started with some waxy potatoes which were then cubed and fried

Then onions and bacon were fried, before adding wine, and then some cream

Then it was all layered up, potatoes, then the bacon and onion mix, followed by half the reblochon - then the layers were repeated.

This was then baked, and finished under the grill for a crisp top.

Possibly one of the nicest, but richest and most filling things I've ever cooked.

Saturday 13 December - Duck Ragu

This recipe had been shared by Neill on the Facebook Dinner group, and sounded rather intriguing. I followed this recipe but did cut down on the cinnamon to about half a teaspoon

 http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/venetian-duck-ragu

First stage was to brown the ducklegs - I didn't add any fat at this stage.

The recipe then proceeded a bit like a normal ragu, frying onions and garlic, adding tomatoes and wine and some herbs, with the duck legs popped back in to simmer for a couple of hours. I skimmed off the fat that was released as it cooked.

Once the meat was tender it was shredded from the bones, and added back to the sauce along with some milk.

I had planned to make pasta, but had a very stroppy moment when I realised that my machine doesn't fit on the new kitchen table. ( A reason to get a pasta attachment for the Kitchen Aid I reckon) so we cut up slices of fresh Lasagne.

I used half the ragu, and froze the other half.

For dessert, I made individual tiramisu in some chefs 'rings' I'd found in Lidl recently. I was extremely pleased when they actually came out of the rings with the help of a chefs blow torch.

Monday 8 December - Potato and Mushroom Paprikas

I'm trying to meal plan at the moment - this seems to be saving quite a lot of money as well as preventing me from overloading the cupboards with duplicate tins of things, and ingredients that I've bought on a whim.

Decided to revisit an old favourite this week, from a book that I used regularly back in the 80s when I was a vegetarian - Potato and Mushroom stew or Paprikas

A very simple dish with very few ingredients - potatoes, mushrooms, onions and garlic, paprika (the sweet sort) a bit of flour and some stock, and a bit of soured cream to finish off with

Started off by frying the onions and garlic, and then in went the potatoes before adding the paprika and then the stock.

When the potatoes were tender, in went the chopped raw mushrooms.

Finally, in with the soured cream, and it was all warmed through.

I served this in bowls, with a freshly baked bread roll on the side, and some hardboiled eggs for garnish.

Saturday 6 December - Tomato Consomme and Chicken Ballotines

Little heritage tomatoes were spotted in Lidl today, so decided to make Tom Kitchens delicious tomato consomme.

The first stage is the long winded bit - tomatoes, cucumber and garlic were pulverised in the liquidiser along with some basil, a dash of wine vinegar and a dash of Worcester Sauce.

The pulp was left to drain in muslin for 6 hours and then chilled.

The resulting clear liquid was poured over the selection of tomatoes, along with some sliced radish and fennel, and topped with a spoonful of salty tapenade made from black olives and capers.

For main course we decided make a chicken dish, and I found a recipe for chicken stuffed with belly pork mince. The chicken was bashed out, and the stuffing was made by mincing the pork and adding lemon rind, fennel seeds and chopped tarragon.

The breasts were rolled up tightly, wrapped in clingfilm and then poached.

They were then finished off by browning in a pan.

To serve with this, an amazing cabbage side dish with added bacon pieces and chopped chestnuts, and some creamy potato puree.

The sauce was made from red wine and madeira reduced until thick.

Dessert was an individual pear, butterscotch and frangipan tart. Started with blind baking a basic shortcrust made with all butter.

The butterscotch was made with sugar, butter, golden syrup and a spoonful of cream.

A layer of this went into the pastry base, and it was topped with a mix of butter, sugar almonds and egg.

Finally, in went half a tiny pear that had been sliced so it fanned out slightly.

This was served with some extra sauce and a spoonful of clotted cream.

Enjoyed all three of these dishes so much that we never got to the cheese and homemade cheese biscuits!