Chef at Large

I found a nice bit of pork at the butchers today. Marbled with fat and just the right size, I thought something a little different was in order.
Loaded it on to the rotisserie in my oven and made a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, black bean paste, chilli oil, garlic and soya [...]

We felt like a slightly ‘heavy’ meal yesterday and this chicken curry fit the bill perfectly. You’ll need minced chicken, potatoes, onions and garlic to begin with along with some stock, powdered aniseed, curry powder, cream, hung curds, sugar and seasoning.
Oh, and about the name - I simply couldn’t come up with a suitable name [...]

My soups have never been great - just ‘alright’ most of the time. I’ve been doing some reading and ‘book learning’ to overcome this. We had some guests over this Monday and I thought of going a little outside my comfort zone and trying a soup for once.
I’m glad I did, as it turned out [...]

We had a dinner guest last evening and like all such occasions, there were a few left overs. Rather than leave the stuff in the fridge till it starts evolving into a different life form, I thought I’d use some of it for breakfast.
Boiled and mashed some potatoes, added a dash of mustard, paprika and [...]

I cooked this for dinner yesterday. It’s interesting what innovative dishes you come up with, when you don’t really have a choice of cooking implements or ingredients.
Looking up my inventory, I chopped up some courgettes, spring onions, potatoes, smoked sausage, mushrooms and french beans. Heated some oil, fried a little cumin seed, added some finely [...]

I was at a barbeque this past Sunday, very kindly invited there by Joseph and his wife Elisabeth. It was my first such experience in this country and quite nice too.
We had grilled beef steaks, mince meat kebabs, boiled jacket potatoes topped with cheese, sauteed onions and bell peppers, sauteed mushrooms, ciabatta, duck and greens [...]

We awoke to a cool and damp day but as it is our holiday we don’t mind that much.  We did some basic shopping then had a drive out to the countryside.  There is a distinct lack of wild life in this area compared to some places we have stayed, the only things of interest have been [...]

On the MV Bretagne from Portsmouth we find our cabin and stow our luggage.  To the restaurant for dinner but there was a long queue and we had to put our names on a list to be called when a table became vacant.  To the rear deck, with drinks - Sancerre for me and a [...]

Hello All - After much travelling, switches and toil I’ve reached the land of crumpets, scones and double cream. On the flight, I found I was tagged as a ‘Hindu’ and consequently, I was on the receiving end of ’special’ meals. Translate that as stuff with no eggs or meat. Mostly cabbage and potatoes with [...]

Hello and welcome to another Mothers Day. Its May 11 and time to put in place the things you’ve thought of for your mum, hand over the baubles you’ve purchased or post that card you picked up.
Some of the things I can remember most vividly is the food I’ve grown up with. An army officers [...]