Mayonnaise

The first recipe in the book and i've only just got round to making it. It was to accompany the prawn cakes above. It wasn't a great success - too oily and too strong a taste of olive. I should have stopped when it looked about perfect, but this being my first time making mayonnaise, i thought i'd better carry on and follow the recipe exactly. Maybe the eggs i used were too small for the amount of oil, but either way, nigella suggests far too much olive oil i think.

- Whisk 2 egg yolks, preferably from room temperature, with a pinch of salt.

- Very slowly add 225ml groundnut/sunflower oil, whisking all the time.

- Then continue with 25ml olive oil (nigella suggests 75ml), followed by the juice of 1/2 lemon, still whisking all the time.

- Season with salt and white pepper.

So not too bad a recipe, but next time i'm going to stop adding oil when it gets to the consistency i want.

Mushroom Crostini

You wake up, get up, make a cup of tea, feel hungry, think about having some breakfast, and of course, if you are me, you turn to nigella for another recipe to tick off. But, nigella doesn't really do breakfast, at least not in "How To Eat". Tara wasn't really on for the suggested Jam Tarts and Custard for breakfast, so mushroom crostini it was, turned basically into mushrooms on toast.

- Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan, add 2 finely chopped sprigs thyme and 1 finely choppedclove garlic, and heat for a few mins while the oil hots up.

- Add 200g finely sliced mushrooms and cook until soft.

- Add 1 tablespoon grated parmesan, season, and sprinkle with parsley.

For mushroom crostini, nigella suggests finely chopping the mushrooms rather than slicing, and also combining everything afterwards in a processor. It makes a tasty mushrooms on toast recipe, although maybe using butter instead of olive oil, would make it even tastier.

Lemon Chicken

Quite a few times now, i have slightly altered the recipe, or in the light of the cooking, wish i had. Mainly this has been to cut corners when nigella has been overly laborious, or because my oven seems to be much more efficient than hers and i end up over-cooking things. So, instead of repeating exactly what nigella recommends, i am going to put in my slight amendments.

And a classic example of this is this lemon chicken. Lemony - tick; chicken - overdone. Nigella suggests cooking it for 30 mins at 210c, but in my modern, efficient oven, i'm going to suggest 25-30mins at 200c.

- Take a large chicken cut into 8 portions (or simply take 8 portions of chicken) and cook them for 2 mins in an oven dish of 6 tablespoons of hotolive oil.

- Add the zest of 2 lemons, 1 tablespoon of oregano, 300ml white wine, and salt and pepper.

- Allow to bubble, then add 300ml water.

- Put in the oven and cook for 25-30mins at 200c.

- Remove the chicken and measure out 300ml of chicken juices.

- Whisk together 3 eggs and the juice of 2 lemons until frothy.

- Slowly add the chicken juices whilst still whisking to create an "avgolemono sauce" to create a thin custardy, but tasty sauce.

- Season and pour over the chicken.

The result is very lemony, but the sauce is slightly disappointing. You could have just added some lemon juice to the cooking juices and then use these as gravy. I'm not sure i really get avgolemono sauce, but maybe i didn't make it properly.

Custard Tart

Hmmm.... Not the best birthday cake ever made, but hopefully she won't remember! Nigella says this is tricky and it is. The problem is making sure that the pastry base is completely water-tight so that when you add the custard mixture, it doesn't all leak out. I lost about half of my custard this way.

Nigella also cooks her pastry far too hot, so that the sides burn before the base is done. She says she covers the sides top prevent them burning, but i'm not convinced. When i tried this on the second bake, all that happened was that the tin foil stuck to the pastry, hence the uneven pastry sides.

The leaking was however, all my own fault. A few tears appeared when moving from worktop to flan case, and i thought i'd patched them up with pastry, but not good enough it seems. Basically your rolled out pastry needs to be perfect and you need to move it perfectly into the flan tin. Sealing the pastry with the egg white just isn't enough.

- Bake the pastry blind for 20 mins at 200C (using pastry beans on top to weigh it down)

- Beat an egg white and brush this onto the pastry base and cook it again (without the beans) for a further 5 mins.

- Lightly whisk together 3 eggs, 1 egg yolk, and 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (or plain sugar with a drop of vanilla essence).

- Warm 300ml single cream and 150ml milk in a saucepan with a pince of ground mace.

- Add the egg/sugar mixture, stir and strain into the pastry case, (the pastry case on a pulled out oven shelf so It it doesn't spill when putting in the oven).

- Grate over some nutmeg and cook at 160c for 35-45 mins.

It tasted pretty good. The pastry was delicious (where it wasn't burnt!) but i was disappointed with the custard. It tasted a bit bland to me, although Tara seemed to think this was classic english custard. I prefer the sweeter, richer Portuguese style of custard. Maybe a touch more sugar next time.

Sweet Pastry

I normally make pastry by hand, but Nigella's method is simpler (i know, i couldn't believe it!) and turns out better. She uses the blender and it just seems to work, and this is without doing the fiddly bits of putting things back in the freezer.

- Sieve 120g flour and 30g icing sugar into a bowl and add 80g cold cubed (1cm) butter.

- Put this in the deep freeze for 10 mins.

- In a small bowl, mix 1 egg yolk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, a tablespoon of iced water and a pinch of salt.

- Beat together and then put back in the fridge.

- Remove the flour/butter bowl and add to a blender.

- Blend for a few mins, until the mixture resembles oatmeal.

- Add the egg yolk mixture to the blender and blend until the mixture nearly comes together - add slightly more iced water if necessary.

- Just before it totally amalgamates, remove it and combine into a round ball.

- Cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge until its ready to be used.

Just perfect for the custard tart coming up...

Red Wine, Cumin and Onion Gravy

One of nigella's simpler recipes. It gives a lovely silky gravy and i'm not quite sure how! maybe its the caramelising of the onions or maybe the cooking in flour before adding the stock. Either way, its pretty good gravy and great with sausages and mash, even though they were vegetarian sausages courtesy of Tara.

- Cook 225g of thinly sliced onions in 30g beef dripping or oil for about 10 mins, or until soft, on a low heat.

- Add 1 teaspoon cumin and cook for a further 5 mins.

- Turn up the heat and add 1 tablespoon sugar, cooking for 3 mins to let the onions caramelise.

- Add 2 tablespoons flour and continue cooking for 2 mins.

- Add 500ml meat stock and 150 ml red wine, heat to boiling, then simmer for 20-30 mins, stirring occasionally.

I would loved to have used beef dripping and meat stock, but i can only dream of what this would have tasted like. The vegetarian version was good enough though.

Cream of Chicken Soup

Having cooked this, I'm not sure i've ever had a proper cream of chicken soup before - ever! It's not something i've ever cooked before, i never order something like this in a restaurant, and no-one has ever served at a dinner party. The closest i have come is out of a packet, and that's not very close. I can heartily recommend it though - a true classic that is definitely under-represented on today's menus.

- Melt 30g butter and cook 200g finely sliced leeks in it for 10 mins or until soft.

- Put 300ml chicken stock and 300ml milk in a saucepan, add a clove of garlic, 2 bay leaves and a chicken breast and bring to the boil.

- Simmer until the chicken breast is just tender, probably only 5-10 mins after the mixture has boiled, then remove the chicken.

- Add 1 tablespoon of flour to the leeks, cook for a couple mins, then add the milk/stock mixture, keeping on the simmer.

- Finely shred the chicken, add this to the sauce, add a pinch of salt and cook for a further 5 mins.

- Add 15g butter and cook for a further 5 mins, adding extra milk if it starts to look like white sauce.

- Put it in a blender, and sieve into a saucepan.

- Put back on the heat, add an egg yolk and 3 tablespoons double cream.

It sounds quite complicated for a soup, but basically it's cook, blend, sieve. The chicken gives up its flavour really well and makes it taste delicious. It's worth it just to know what a proper cream of chicken soup tastes like.

Onion Sauce

This is another one of Nigella's slightly more laborious recipes, which often result in superior flavour and are worth the effort. However, i'm not sure this one is. I cooked it for a lunch at tara's parents, and it took me the same time to cook it, as it took fiona to cook the rest of the lunch and 2 puddings!

- Heat 600ml of milk in a saucepan with 2 cloves and a bay leaf, and just before it boils, remove and let steep for 20 mins.

- Quarter 6 onions, cover in a pan with cold water, bring to the boil, add salt, and simmer for 20mins until the onions are cooked and soft.

- Sieve and add 500ml of the onion water to the milk.

- Melt 90g butter on a low heat and add 90g flour, mixing for a couple of mins.

- Take off the heat and slowly add the milk/onion water and when incorporated, put back on the heat and cook for 15 mins until smooth and thick.

- Stir in the onions, 100ml of double cream, some nutmeg and season.

I wasn't allowed to add the double cream, but i reckon it's worth it - just eat less of it!

Dijon Mustard Dressing

This is a zero fat dressing, with an ingredient list that sounds like it won't work, but actually does.

- Mix 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard with 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and the juice of 1/2 an orange.

- Add a few drops of soy sauce to taste.

simple, but pretty good.

Pea Risotto

Wow! This pea risotto is worth the additional effort. I think sauteeing the peas in butter to begin with certainly adds some flavour although at some calorie cost.

- Melt 20g butter in a pan, add 150g peas and cook for 2 mins.

- Remove half the peas and cook the remainder for 5 mins in a ladleful from 1 litre of hot stock.

- Puree this mixture in a blender with 1 tablespoon of parmesan, 20g butter, and some grated pepper and nutmeg.

- Melt another 20g of butter and cook a finely chopped onion (0r 2 small shallots) in it for a few minutes.

- Add 200g arborio or canaroli rice and stir until each grain is covered in the fat.

- Add 80ml of white wine or vermouth and let it be absorbed.

- Add a ladleful of stock and stir until absorbed, then add another, and so on for 10 mins.

- Add the sauteed peas and then continue adding ladles of stock for another 8 mins, by which time the rice should be cooked, the stock all absorbed and the mixture creamy.

- Stir in the puree mixture, season, add additional parmesan to taste and sprinkle with parsley.

As you can see, its a bit of a pffaff to saute the peas and puree half of them, but believe me, its worth it.

Basic French Dressing

This dressing is a bit heavy on the olive oil and light on the mustard in my view. I prefer my dressings with a bit more bite. Nigella also uses a bit of water which just reduces the flavour.

- Mix 1/2 teaspoon of mustard, 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt, some pepper and a drop of water.

- Whisk in 6-8 tablespoons of olive oil.

To add some other flavours, you can substitute some of the olive oil for walnut or hazelnut oil.

Lamb with Garlicky Tahini

An unusual marinade and sauce for lamb, but one that really works. The tahini and cumin sauce is great with it.

- Mix 1 chopped onion, 300ml olive oil, the zest of one lemon, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin.
- marinade 10 lamb noisettes or chops in this for at least 10 mins.
- remove the lamb and seat both sides for a min or 2.
- cook the lamb for 10-15 mins at 210c.

- mix 8 tablespoons of tahini, 4 cloves of crushed garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the juice of 2 lemons.
- slowly add up to 150ml of water until you have the consistency of double cream.
- sprinkle with ground cumin and have with the lamb.

Proust's Madeleines

These madeleine's are very quick and easy to do, particularly if you ignore the instruction to leave the batter to sit for 1 1/2 hours, which i did. I'm afraid i never leave batter to sit, and i'm not sure what difference it's meant to make. In any case, i didn't have time to find out as i was on my way out to meet Matt at the Affordable Art Fair drinks reception - my first evening out since Marni was born! Above is the simple print i bought, by a brighton based artist called Helen Brown.

- Beat 2 eggs, 75g caster sugar and a pinch of salt for 5 mins or until the mixture is as thick as mayonnaise.

- Sprinkle 90g flour and fold in.

- Melt 90g butter, add 1 tablespoon of clear honey, and mix both into the mixture.

- Rest for 30-60 mins, then add a tablespoon of the mixture to pre-buttered madeleine moulds.

- Cook for 5-10 mins at 210C.

- Sprinkle with icing sugar.

I don't have madeleine moulds so i used plain cake moulds. They tasted delicious - the sweetness of the honey really showing through. Maybe even a bit too much - it made them taste great on their own, but makes it slightly more difficult to use them as part of a pudding.

Butternut and Pasta Soup

A truly delicious soup. The quantities below make enough for 2 apparently, but it was so good that Tara and I both wanted more - this recipe deserves upping the quantities.

- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a big pan, and add 1/2 finely chopped onion.

- Cook for 10 mins or until soft, then add 205g butternut squash, cut into 1 cm cubes.

- Turn for 2 mins, then add 60ml white wine or vermouth, let it bubble, and then add 600ml stock and a bay leaf.

- Simmer for 10 mins, then take a ladleful, puree it and add back.

- Add small soup pasta, and cook for another 10 mins.

- Once thick and stew like, serve with grated parmesan.

The butternut squash pieces are just firm enough to give texture but soft enough to be sweet and chewy. Make it - you won't be disappointed.

Loin of Pork with bay leaves

I know it doesn't look hugely appetising, but i had to rush the photo as i was getting hungry from the continual demands of a wife and 2 week old baby! This is another pork marinade, not as tasty as the char sui one, but one which also forms the basis for a great gravy after cooking. The one problem is that nigella suggests using dried bay leaves, crumbled up. These add good flavour to the marinade but are still there in the gravy and are then like eating bits of dried paper-not a nice texture. I would recommend not crumbling the leaves, but use whole leaves which are easy to remove, or use ground bay leaves. I also added mushrooms to the roasting tin with 20 mind to go which gave the gravy even more flavour.

Mix 6 tablespoons of olive oil, 4 cloves crushed garlic, 6 crushed peppercorns, 6 bay leaves (crumbled or not,as you wish) and a teaspoon of salt.
Add to (up to 2 kg of loin) pork and leave up to 24 hours to marinade. Finely slice a medium onion, add to a roasting tin and place the pork on top with it's marinade.
Cook for 30-90 mind depending on size of loin.
Remove pork and add 150 ml of both White wine and boiling water.
Deglaze and simmer until reduced by about a third.
Add to the pork.

Re-reading nigella more closely, she actually suggests straining the gravy, which would solve my bay leaf problem, but I would also have lost my mushrooms and onions, which were delicious. The flavour of the bay was a bit over-powering and using whole leaves would have made the effect a bit more subtle.

Fancy Cake

Another birthday cake for Marni - 2 weeks old today! Slightly disappointing recipe, in that it's not very fancy - in fact it's rather plain. Nigella does suggest using a brioche tin, and all i had was a bread tin. It is however, very simple to make. The whole thing would be raised by the addition of a topping, but nigella doesn't suggest any. I reckon a reduction of lemon juice and sugar poured over would work wonders.

- Whisk 6 egg yolks and 200g castor sugar into a creamy mass.
- Fold in 200g ground almonds and the zest of a lemon.
- Whisk 6 egg whites until stiff and gently fold into the batter.
- Pour into a buttered brioche tin and bake for 1 hour at 160C.
- The cake will probably rise, then sink as you take it out, but this is meant to happen apparently!

Marni, however, being 2 weeks old, seemed to enjoy it being made for her, although she's not the most discerning of people yet!

PS Yet again, my mistake - on the next page, nigella does in fact suggest an orange syrup, which turns it into a cake she had similar at Moro's.

- Combine the juice of 10 oranges, 200g sugar and a cinnamon stick.

- Boil for 10 mins until syrupy, then let cool.

- Add the juice of 1-2 lemons

Pork Char Sui

This is basically a marinade for chinese style pork, and boy, does it work.

- 2 tablespoons soy sauce

- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

- 2 tablespoons ginger wine or sweet sherry

- 2 tablespoons honey

- 2 tablespoons of muscovado sugar

- Mix these together and add to a pork chop or tenderloin.

- Marinade for up to 24 hours

- Cook for 15 mins at 220c then 20 mins at 160c, basting regularly.

It gives a very authentic chinese tasting pork with a lovely sticky, chewy texture.

Lemon Curd

After a disappointing vegetable curry, Nigella quickly made up for it, with a terrific recipe for lemon curd.

- Remove the zest from 4 unwaxed lemons, then squeeze the juice from them.

- Beat together 4 eggs, 4 egg yolks, and 300g castor sugar until the sugar dissolves.

- Add the lemon juice, zest and 200g unsalted butter.

- Stir on a low heat (use a heat diffuser if you have one) until the mixture thickens and looks like lemon curd.

- If it starts to curdle, immediately put in a bowl of cold water to reduce the temperature and get whisking.

The result is a lemon curd that is zingy and not too sweet. Something i will definitely make again. Watch this space for Pavlova for those eponymous left over egg whites.

Vegetarian Curry

A disappointing recipe given the relatively complex method of making it. It tasted good as a kind of stew, but wasn't really much like a curry. I tried adding additional cumin, cayenne pepper and some garam masala to make it taste more authentic, which worked to an extent. If i'm being fair, i didn't have the exact vegetable ingredients, but should this really make such a difference to a curry?

- Put 2 large chopped onions, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 tablespoon each of cumin, coriander and paprika, 1/2 teaspoon each of ground allspice, cardamom, and ground ginger, into a pot.

- Boil for 5-7 mins in 300ml of stock.

- Add 350g halved button mushrooms, 3 large chopped carrots, 3 chopped peppers and cook or "fry" them in the juice until tender.

- Puree half the mixture in a blender and add back.

- Add 2 turnips, 1 cauliflower, 1 parsnip, 1 fennel bulb, and 3 celery stalks, all cut into 1 cm cubes.

- Cover with stock (probably 300ml), season and simmer for 15 mins.

- Add 3 chopped courgettes, 225g runner beans, and the juice of 1/2 lemon.

- Simmer for another 10 mins or until tender.

As you can see, quite a lot of work for a curry that isn't really a curry, although it is very low in fat and still tasty.

Macaroons

Yes, you guessed it, you need egg whites to make macaroons apparently. This shouldn't really count as a recipe, as there no separate recipe list, but I've made it, so i'm going to count it.

- Mix 150g of ground almonds, with 200g castor sugar and stir in 2 egg whites.

- Add 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 teaspoon of almond extract.

- Pipe into 5cm rounds onto baking parchment, adding an almond in the middle.

- Cook for 20 mins at 160c.

I cooked them in 3 batches, cooking each for slightly less time. The ones brown all over, were all crunchy after they'd cooled, whereas the ones slightly browned on the outside, were still chewy in the middle and just about perfect. I'm definitely going to be making more of these - easy, delicious and look impressive!

Meringues

With 6 egg whites left over from the Hollandaise, what else could i do but make meringues, although this recipe only used up 2 of them.

- Whisk 2 egg whites until stiff.

- Whisk in half the sugar and fold in the other half.

- Using a piping bag, pipe out the mixture onto baking parchment.

- Cook for 40 mins in the oven at 140c (70 mins for large 6cm meringues).

Nigella also suggest leaving them in the oven to cool down, otherwise they dry hard and even crack, but i forgot to do this, and they turned out fine. As you can see, we had them with whipped cream and raspberries, and by the time my cousion Sharon had come round to see Marni, we'd eaten most of them! 2 whites down, 4 to go.

Hollandaise

Here's where things have got tricky. It took me 4 tries and a lot of eggs and butter, to get this recipe to work. Each time, the Hollandaise just split, either at the start, or when i was just getting to pour it onto the eggs florentine, it curdled before my eyes. I was left with a very sore arm at the end of all the whisking.

- Put an egg yolk in a bowl suspended over a pan of cold water.

- Heat the cold water to boiling while whisking the yolk.

- As the water boils, turn down to a simmer and start adding 60g of butter, 1 cm cube at a time.

- If the sauce starts to curdle, whisk in an ice cube to bring the temperature down.

- Once all the butter has been absorbed, add the juice of 1/2 a lemon, salt and pepper.

I have my reservations with this method. The egg seems to be too whisked and cooked by the time the water starts boiling and you start adding the butter. By the fourth attempt, i was adding the butter much earlier and whisking less at the start.

Luckily Fern came over later on, doing her brilliant Aunt role, and told me that she starts with the water boiling already. Nigella also says that a traditional hollandaise involves adding 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon of water, which have been reduced down to 1 tablespoon. I think this might help stabilise the yolks as well. We have not seen the last of Hollandaise...

Sweet and Sour Cabbage

I did this to go with the scallops and bacon, mainly because i had some cabbage in the fridge, not because i particularly thought it would go well. Luckily, it did! This is a very quick and easy way to cook cabbage, and you get quite a lot of bang for your buck , because it tastes quite sophisticated!

- Mix 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar with 3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt.

- Slice 1 large cabbage (green or white) finely.

- Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large pan or wok and toss the cabbage in it for 2 mins.

- Add some soy sauce and the vinegar mixture and toss again for 1 min.

- Serve whilst still hot and crunchy.

The result is delicious even for someone like me who is not normally that keen on sweet and sour tastes.

Scallops and Bacon

I have been watching "Masterchef: the Professionals" and everyone seems to be cooking scallops. It reminded just how delicious and simple they are to cook. Nigella's recipe seemed a good and easy one. Annoyingly i could only find scallops without their corals, which is a shame, because they add taste, although nigella says she doesn't normally add them anyway. I did this recipe with the bacon for myself and without bacon for Tara, although you need to add some salt if you miss out the bacon.

- Fry 4 rashers of bacon in oil, till crispy, then remove.

- Coat 10 scallops in flour and fry in 15g of butter over a low-medium heat.

- Cook on one side for 3 mins then 2 mins on the other.

- Remove the scallops, and add 40ml of dry sherry to pan.

- Pour the sauce over the scallops and bacon and sprinkle with parsley.

A simple but delicious way to cook scallops. They are also delicious cooked in butter and vermouth. Nigella says add 60ml of sherry, but i think this was just a bit too much!

Pea, Mint and Avocado Salad

A deliciously simple salad that i think i'm going to be using a lot more from here on in.

- Make a dressing by combining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon of white wine vinegar, a pinch of salt, and a handful of finely chopped mint.
- Cook 150-200g of fresh peas in salted boiling water for 2-3 mins so they retain some crunch.
- Add peas to dressing and allow to marinade for 1-24 hours.
- When ready, add to a bowl of salad leaves, some chicory, and an avocado.
- Add more olive oil and chopped mint to taste.

I actually used rocket, spinach and watercress for the salad leaves. If you, like me, can't find chicory (M & S - "what's chicory?") i suggest ruby chard leaves which they do have.

Birthday Cake

My new baby daughter, Marni, was 1 week old on tuesday, so of course, a birthday cake was in order.

- Put 225g sieved SELF-RAISING flour in a large bowl, with 30g cocoa and a pinch of salt.

- Combine 100g butter, 200g caster sugar, 200g condensed milk, 100ml boiling water, 100g dark chocolate (broken up) in a saucepan and heat until melted.

- Stir this into the flour-cocoa mixture.

- Beat in 2 eggs.

- Pour into a medium cake tin and cook for 35-45 mins.

- When cool, split in half.

- Make a chocolate ganache topping by adding 250ml hot double cream to 250g milk chocolate.

- After 5 mins the chocolate should have melted into the cream and then beat/whisk this topping until thickish and glossy.

- Use the ganache as a filling and as a topping, coating the sides as well if you want.

What should have been a very easy cake to make, didn't quite work out. Yes, you got it, I forgot to use self raising flour! The result was more of a dense chocolate brownie than a cake. Tastes pretty good, but i am resolved not to make the same mistake again!

Chicken Stock

This is does not technically count as one of the recipes, as there's no recipe list in the book, but seeing as i made it, I might as well record it. I didn't have most of the vegetables that Nigella suggests, but i'm not sure it matters. I also added in the left over gravy.

- Put the chicken carcass into a large pan together with celery, 1 carrot, 1 onion, a clove, some peppercorns, a bouquet garni, parsley stalks and the white of a leek.

- Cover with water, add some salt and simmer for 3 hours.

- Strain off the froth and scum as it rises to the surface.

The problem now comes of storing it. Nigella though suggests freezing in a freezer bag, inside a jug, and then removing the jug when its frozen. I just don't have space in my freezer to do things like that. I immediately went out and bought lots of tuppaware to store it in - stackable tuppaware rules!

Roast Chicken

Nigella's roast chicken recipe is almost too simple. She advocates simply buying the best chicken possible and roasting with some butter smeared over it and stuffed with a lemon. I'm afraid that i adulterated this with a Jamie Oliver inspired, herb fantasia and stuffing it into every crevice a chicken can offer. i think this adds a bit more flavour.

- Put a handful of thyme and rosemary in a pestle.

- Mix with olive oil and seasoning.

- Take the mixture and paste half of it between the breast skin and the breast meat.

- Paste the rest of it all over the chicken.

- Add dollops of butter to the skin and inside the chicken.

- Stuff also with a lemon, cut in half, half squeezing the lemon juice into the bird

- Cook for 20 mins per lb (200g) and 20 mins over.

- Baste with the juices every 20 mins.

- With 60 mins to go, add whole shallots and cloves of garlic to the roasting tin

- Remove the chicken and rest upside down, so that the juices gravitate downwards towards the breast meat.

- For the gravy, add white wine to the roasting tin and de-glaze.

I can honestly say, this was a great success. The shallots caramelise along with the garlic and work wonderfully. And as i learnt from Sarah Knott, you can never add too much lemon or butter to a roast chicken. According to Sam the other evening, this could be the "best roast chicken I've ever tasted"!

Lamb Gigot Boulangere

I cooked this over a week ago, but in the meantime, my daughter has joined us in the world! From what i can remember of the world pre-Marni, it was delicious, particularly the boulangere potatoes, something i've never cooked before, but will definitely do so again.

Cut 2 cloves of garlic into spike shapes, stab the lamb and and insert into the meat.

Coat the meat with butter.

Finely chop together an onion (or shallots), 2 bay leaves, and a handful of thyme.

Peel and thinly slice 3-4 potatoes, then blanch in salt water for 2-3 mins.

Dry them and lay them in a buttered roasting dish.

Add dollops of butter, salt, pepper and the thyme mixture as you go.

Pour over 100-150ml of stock.

Cook for 30 mins at 200C, then add the lamb on top, cooking for a further 30-60 mins to taste.

I have to say, the result was great - probably due to the amount of butter i used on the potatoes and the lamb, but also because the infusion of flavours because of the relatively long cooking time. And that was using ordinary vegetable stock - heavens knows what it would taste like with lamb stock!

Vegetable Soup

What i like about Nigella's vegetable soup recipe is the parsnips and turnips, which give it an earthy depth that you don't get with just carrots and potatoes. i followed the recipe exactly (as i always try to!) but of course all manner of vegetable variations would work. The addition of the dry sherry is a revelation. I was also tempted to add some double cream or creme fraiche at the end - but she doesn't, so i didn't, but you could.

- Chop an onion, a turnip, a parsnip, a potato, a leek, 2 carrots and a stick of celery either by hand or using a blender.

- Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and add the vegetables and some salt.

- Fry/cook for 10-15 mins with the lid on, turning occasionally.

- Add 1 litre of vegetable stock, a bouquet garni and lots of pepper.

- Simmer for 30-40 mins.

- Blend the soup together to taste - i like it not too pureed.

- Add some nutmeg, parsley and 2 tablespoons of dry sherry.

Delicious with the white loaf I've just made and perfect for the onset of autumn...

Basic White Loaf

I've made bread many times, but never by following Nigella. She seems to advocate more provings than i've done before, plus additional olive oil in the mix. The result was a tasty light loaf, one of the best i've done, and worth the extra time it takes.

- Mix 300g of strong flour, a sachet of yeast, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. (Nigella recommends the worktop, but i recommend a bowl!)

- Then gradually add 170ml of warm water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, bringing together with your hands.

- Knead for 10 mins, then cover with some clingfilm and a tea towel and leave for 30 mins.

- Knead for 3 mins, and leave again for 30 mins.

- Gently knead (nigella says "fold" but not sure what this is!) for a further 2-3 mins, and leave for 10 mins

- Move to a loaf tin or baking tray and leave in warm place for 45-60 mins

- Bake for 35 mins at 220c/ Gas 8

I guarantee you won't have any left within 24 hours!

Carpaccio of Beef

As nigella points out, real carpaccio is impossible to make at home unless you have a professional slicing machine. All we can do at home, is try to cut as finely as possible, but its still worth a go, if only as an excuse to eat fillet steak.

- Brush some fillet steak with olive oil, and cover in crushed peppercorns.

- Add steak to a pan of hot oil and sear each side for 1 min (all 6 sides)

- Plunge steak into bowl of iced water, then pat dry.

- When ready to eat it, slice it as thinly as possible.

- Place carpaccio slices on a bed of rocket, dressed in olive oil, lemon juice and salt

Nigella also recommends wafers of parmesan, but i think it's great without, leaving the peppery rocket and peppered carpaccio to fight it out.

Victoria Sponge

I have just made my first ever sponge cake, let alone first ever Victoria Sponge. I was inspired to pick this recipe out first because of the delicious slice of it i had at Liberty's cafe the other day. It does come out quite big, so i need to go and get some smaller cake tins, unless the cat can be persuaded to help tara and i out.

- Mix in a food mixer, 225g self-raising flour, 225g caster sugar, 225g soft butter, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 4 eggs (large) and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

- Process until everything is well mixed together, then add 2-3 tablespoons of milk

- Continue mixing until a soft, dropping consistency

- Pour into 2 cake tins, lined with butter or parchment

- Cook for 25 mins or until a skewer comes out clean, and tops spring back when pressed

- Allow to cool

- Add lots of double cream and jam as a filling.

Here's a picture taken 1 min later!

Sunday Morning Crepes

i've made lots of pancakes but according to Nigella, with the addition of melted butter and rum (i used brandy) to the batter, this turns it into a crepe!

- Add 1 egg to 125g of plain flour
- Add a pinch of salt, 300ml of milk and beat to a batter
- Whisk in 20g of melted butter
- Add rum/brandy/marsala for a crepe taste
- Add batter to a little hot oil and flip when brown

Nigella says non-stick pans are useless and steam the pancakes rather than sear them. I only have a non-stick pan, so time to buy a small normal one and test this out.

As a filling, i added chopped strawberries, double cream, some granulated vanilla sugar, and a squeeze of lemon. Mmmmm...

Steak au Poivre

First recipe down - Steak au poivre - and it was delicious.

- Brush steak with olive oil

- Add crushed peppercorn coating to each side.

- Sear both sides in hot oil.

- Turn heat to medium and add 1-2 tablespoons butter

- Cook 2-3 mins each side.

- Remove, add brandy/marsala/vermouth to the juices and cook for a few mins.

- Add some salt and cream, and voila - a classic start!

I normally only like to use very expensive steak - if you are going to eat meat, you may as well do it properly. But shepherds in primrose hill only had £6 pork chop, a £7 steak or a £1.25 minute steak. so minute steak it was and worked out fine.

I had this with some braised cabbage that tara had cooked for 2 hours earlier in the day, and roasted swede. Swede tastes much better roasted than mashed i reckon.

So a good start - only 503 pages to go and i have no idea how many recipes - i'll have to count them now and let you know.

Pudding was a cheesecake - my favourite . Made at the last minute, but not in "How to Eat" - not sure i would have chosen "How to Eat" if i'd known this!

- Crush some biscuits (i used lemon zest ones)

- Add to decent amount of melted butter

- Stir, add to cake tin, pat down and cook in oven for 10-15 mins

- Meanwhile, mix cream cheese, creme fraiche and icing sugar in a bowl.

- Add vanilla essence to taste.

- Add on top of the biscuit base, once cooled.

- Add topping and chill for 20-30 mins.

I had it with a glass of montbazillac that i've had for ages and opened last night. in fact it was the main reason i made the cheesecake!

Now just got to figure out what to make tomorrow - next page has beef carpaccio which is new to me and i love. so here's hoping.

andy

Andy's "mainly cooking" blog

Inspired by "Julie and Julia", i am attempting to keep a record of everything i cook from Nigella Lawson's "How to Eat". I'm not yet sure whether this will just about cooking, or will inevitably include other subjects as the mood takes me. We'll see. I'm also undecided whether this will be just for me - as a simple way of keeping of a diary - or whether to make it public.

cheers

andy