Roast Beetroot and Goats Cheese Salad with Honey & Dill Dressing.

Wrap your beetroots in foil with a little oil poured over them and roast in a medium oven. The timing will depend on the size of the beets but they are ready when you can push a sharp knife into them.
Leave to cool.
For the dressing mix some good quality oil with a squeeze of lemon juice, honey, a pinch of salt and chopped dill.
When the beets have cooled rub off the skin and slice.
Crumble your goats cheese onto a bed of watercress or other leaves, arrange the beets on top and dress & serve.

Onion and Cider Soup.

Finely slice a large onion and put in a sauce pan with a good knob of butter and some oil on a low heat.
Let the onion slowly sweat down and caramelize, you want it soft and translucent but not coloured.
Add fresh chopped thyme, seasoning, cider and some veg stock, bring to a simmer and cook on for 30-45 mins.
Adjust the seasoning if you need to and serve.

Beef Bourguignon.

A good sized piece of topside beef was going for half price so i made the most of it by making chilli and this recipe.
Cut your beef into slices, reserving any fat and add a little oil. Season and massage the salt and pepper into the meat.
Place into a ceramic bowl with a sliced onion, thyme, bay and parsley and cover with a glass of red wine.
Cover and leave to marinade overnight.
Remove from the fridge and strain the marinade from the beef, cover and allow the meat to come to room temperature.
Discard the herbs and onion and reserve the wine.
Chop a rasher of two of streaky bacon and the reserved fat from the beef.
Add the chopped beef fat to a saucepan with a little oil and heat until it releases its fat. Remove the pieces of fat and discard.
Add the chopped bacon and cook for a few minutes then add peeled shallots.
Colour the shallots and remove them along with the bacon, reserve.
Add the strip of beef and colour.
Sprinkle the meat with a table spoon of plain flour and mix in.
Add a little of the wine at a time stirring in to avoid making the flour lumpy.
Bubble for for 30 seconds or so and then add some beef or veg stock, a whole clove or two of garlic and a bouquet garni of bay, thyme and parsley.
Bring to barley a simmer, cover and cook long and slow for at least an hour.
In a separate pan soften some button or sliced mushrooms in butter.
Add to the beef and wine along with the reserved shallots and bacon.
Simmer until the mushrooms are cooked through.
Serve.

Chicken Escalope with Cobnut, Rosemary and Parmesan Crust.

The first time I cooked this I used pheasant breast and thyme even though the original recipe was chicken and thyme.
This time I used chicken, but with rosemary - you can use any combination of bird or herb.
First shell and lightly toast your cobnuts (hazel work just as well) in a dry pan. When cooled give a light crush in a mortar and pestle.
Put into a blender with broken up stale bread which is totally dry, finely chopped rosemary and the zest from a lemon.
Blitz then mix in finely grated Parmesan and set aside.
Between two pieces of greaseproof paper use a rolling pin to roll out the chicken breasts to thin escalopes.
Season and squeeze over some lemon juice. Leave to marinade.
Beat an egg in a bowl.
Place some plain flour in another bowl.
On a plate spread out the breadcrumb mixture.
Place the escalope in the flour and cover. Shake off any access flour.
Then transfer to the egg and cover.
Finally dip in the breadcrumbs patting them onto the chicken until it is covered.
Cook on a med heat in a frying pan and remember to reduce the cooking time as the chicken is so thin.
If using pheasant or other game cook in lots of melted butter to stop it drying out.

Tartiflette.

A very quick and simple mid-week supper packed with flavour.
First par boil some fairly large potatoes in salted water - traditionally it seems to be red potatoes, but any are fine. Leave to cool.
Soften some chopped onion in oil or butter and scatter with finely chopped thyme.
Transfer to the bottom of an oven proof dish.
Arrange a layer of bacon rashers over the onions.
When the potatoes are cool enough rub off the skins and slice about 1/2 a cm thick.
Arrange the sliced potatoes on top of the bacon and season.
Dot with small pieces of butter.
On the very top its traditional to place a Reblochon cheese with the top and side skin trimmed off (you can use any soft and runny cheese).
Place in an oven at 180 degrees and cook until the potatoes are cooked through and the chesse has melted into and across the dish.
Serve with seasonal green veg.

Chicken, Leek and Tarragon Pie.

I used skinless chicken breast for this but you can use any cut you like.

Cut the chicken into bite size chunks and colour in a sauce pan. add the chopped leeks and sweat for three to four mins.

Add chopped tarragon and a splash of white wine and simmer on a low heat.

I another saucepan melt a knob of butter - take off the heat and add two teaspoons of flour and stir in.

return to the heat and add a dash of milk stirring it in. Keep adding milk a bit at a time and stirring in.

After ten mins or so the sauce should thicken.

Add to the chicken and leeks and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.

Add to a pie dish and allow to cool - top with pastry of choice and brush with milk.

Place in an oven at  180 degrees for 35 to 40 mins or until the pastry has cooked.

Cauliflower Cheese.

Place your cauliflower (cut up if not using baby caulis) in a pan of salted boiling water and cook for 10-15 mins or until just tender - be careful not to over cook as it will be cooked for a second time in the oven.
Melt a good knob of butter in a saucepan and remove from the heat.
Stir in plain flour and add a little milk and return to the heat adding more milk a little at a time, constantly stirring.
When the sauce has thickened add cheese - I used Lincolnshire Poacher but any good quality English hard / cheddar like cheese will suffice.
Remove from the heat and keep stirring until the cheese has melted, then stir in a teaspoon or two of mustard and a grating of nutmeg.
Place your cauliflower in to an oven proof dish and pour the sauce over and place in an oven at 180 degrees for twenty minutes or so.
You can also place under the grill for a further five mins to give it more colour if you wish.