Cornbread

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Combine cornmeal and milk in a bowl and leave standing for 5 minutes. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix in the cornmeal  mixture, eggs and oil until smooth.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and pour in mixture. Bake in a preheated oven at 400F.

Spicy variation: roast some chile peppers (jalapeno, fresno, hatch etc.) until soft and a little blackened. Remove skin and dice chile flesh. Add to cornmeal batter before pouring into baking pan.

Kefir salad dressing

In a mason jar or similar combine:

• ~1 cup kefir
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise 
• ~1 tbsp garlic infused oil (or 1 tsp garlic powder/granules)
• fresh or dried parsley to taste
• fresh or dried chives to taste
• juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon (depending on taste, juiciness of lemon...)

Shake vigorously and you're done. Keeps about a week in the fridge.

Rosemary chicken

Ingredients

• 3 - 4 x chicken breasts
• several sprigs fresh rosemary finely chopped
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
• juice of one lemon
• quarter cup or so olive oil
• 1 - 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Preparation

Place the chicken under saran wrap or similar and bash flat with a rolling pin. Cut into halves.

Into a gallon ziploc bag place all the marinade ingredients and combine. Add the chicken pieces and get them all well covered. Close up the bag expelling as much air as possible. Leave to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the fridge for up to several hours.

Best cooked on the grill over hot coals with hickory wood chunks for smoky flavor. 

Caesar Salad Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed in garlic press
• 3+ splashes Tabasco sauce
• Juice of half a lemon or more
• 3+ splashes Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 tsp black pepper
• 4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped *or* 4 rashers bacon, cooked until crispy then crumbled 

Instructions

Mix all ingredients except lemon juice in a food processor. Once well combined add some lemon juice and mix again; taste and increase lemon juice if needed -- aim for a nicely tangy taste profile.

Use immediately or for maximum flavor chill in fridge for a few hours to allow flavors to blend.

Cornbread

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a small bowl combine cornmeal and milk; allow to stand for 5 minutes. While waiting butter a 9" x 13" baking pan.

In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Then mix in the cornmeal mixture, eggs and oil until smooth.

Pour into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven 30-40 minutes. When fully baked a cocktail stick/toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean

Spicy variation: roast 3 - 5 red/green chiles (jalapenos are good for this) at 350F for ~30 minutes. Deseed and chop finely; add to batter before pouring into baking pan.

Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 1 large finely chopped yellow onion
• 3 - 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped or grated
• 3/4 pound crimini mushrooms, finely chopped in food processor
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 lbs ground turkey

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400F.

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a large frying pan until onion has softened up. Add mushrooms, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and cook until the liquid mushrooms give off has evaporated and they are very tender -- about 10 - 15 minutes. Add in Worcestershire sauce, parsley and 3 tablespoons ketchup. Transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool.

Stir together breadcrumbs and milk in a bowl and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the eggs then add to the vegetable mix in the first bowl. Add turkey and remaining  1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Mix well with your hands (this will be kinda sloppy...)

Lightly oil a 9" x 5" meatloaf pan (bread pan, or similar) and tip in the meatloaf mixture. Brush meatloaf top with remaining 2 tbsp ketchup. Bake in middle of oven until thermometer inserted into center of meatloaf reads 170F -- about 50 - 55 minutes.

Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Good w/ mash potato and mixed veg.

Turmeric "Tea"

• 1 pint milk (cow's, almond, soy or whatever your preference is)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• pinch finely ground pepper
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a low simmer, whisk to combine ingredients and keep it simmering 20 minutes. 

Chipotle Puree

• 15 - 20 dried chipotle chiles (slit and remove seeds if you can be bothered/are a wuss)
• 3 cups water
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 6 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tsp salt

Place in saucepan, bring to boil, reduce, cover and simmer. Cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally until liquid reduces to around a cup, cup and a half. Allow to cool then transfer to a blender and puree.

Raspberry crumble

• 2 punnets (i.e packs) or more of raspberries
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup brown caster sugar
• 4oz fridge-cold butter cut into small pieces

Grease a suitable size dish for your chosen amount of raspberries with butter then add in the berries and sprinkle with some sugar. 

Make the "crumble" by placing the butter, flour and sugar into a small blender or food processor and pulsing just enough to create "breadcrumbs". Don't overdo it. 

Cover the raspberries with the crumble mixture and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes at 350F. 

Excellent served warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top. 

Shortbread

• 4oz butter, softened
• 2oz caster sugar
• 5oz plain flour
• 1oz semolina

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Using a fork gradually stir in the flour and semolina. Draw mixture together with finger tips. Press lightly into buttered 7" sandwich tin.

Prick well all over with fork prongs and around the edge to create the classic shortbread look. 

Bake in center of preheated oven at 325F for 40 minutes or until it reaches the color of straw. Remove from oven and leave in tin for 5 minutes then cut into 8 slices. Dredge with additional caster sugar.

Best vanilla fudge EVER

I'm biased, but I think this may be the best fudge you will ever have. My grandfather used to make batches of it over Christmas and New Year much to the delight of myself, my siblings and my cousins. It uses Lyle's Golden Syrup, which is a bit of an exotic item in the USA, but can easily be obtained online or from places like World Market.

Ingredients

• 1 tin condensed milk
• 8 tablespoons warm water
• 5 oz butter, cut into small chunks
• 1.25 lbs caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence
• butter or olive oil to grease tin

Preparation

Grease a 10" square tin (or one of similar capacity) and set aside. 

Place condensed milk in a large thick bottomed pan (I use a 5 quart dutch oven) together with the butter, sugar, syrup and salt. Use the warm water to rinse out the condensed milk tin and add that too.

Heat gently -- do not let the mixture boil -- until all the sugar has dissolved. Check for grittiness on the bottom of the pan: once it has all gone then you may increase the heat. You want to raise the temperature to what is known as "soft ball" to those using candy thermometers, or 240F (115C) to the rest of us. (Crucial tip if you live at altitude: for every 1000' above sea level reduce the target temperature by 2F, e.g. I'm at 9000' so "soft ball" is 222F. See https://bakingwithaltitude.com/high-altitude-candy-making-tips/ for more details.) This is obviously pretty damn hot and since the fudge mixture is very sticky be careful while stirring it -- you do not want to end up slopping any of it onto yourself. And you will need to stir things periodically to prevent the fudge from catching on the bottom of the pan as it heats up. Expect the mixture to be bubbling away quite vigorously and darkening in color as it gets hotter.

Once it's reached "soft ball" stage you can test that it will set properly by dropping a little into some ice cold water. If it forms a firm soft ball that holds its shape you're golden. If you don't have a thermometer to use at all the test-in-ice-cold-water trick is a reasonable surrogate, but until you have an eye for what "ready" fudge looks like it can be an exercise in frustration as you try and wait and try and wait to get fudge that will set. I digress...

Of course, if you're feeling confident in your thermometer you can just press ahead. I know from experience that mine is trustworthy so no longer bother messing about dropping hot liquid fudge into water.

If you're at all in doubt about the fudge being ready wait a little longer as firm-extra-well-set fudge is much nicer than sloppy-will-not-ever-set fudge.

Once ready, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly (just a few minutes) and then add in your vanilla essence. Beat the mixture hard until it starts to get stiff then quickly pour into your tin. Allow to set a few minutes before cutting into small squares -- this is much easier done before the fudge sets completely.

Cheddar-Brocolli soup

• 1 tbsp + 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 lb fresh broccoli
• 1 cup carrot, julienned
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 8 oz grated mature (sharp) cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt 1 tbsp butter and saute onion until soft and translucent. Set aside. Melt the remaining 1/4 cup butter and when hot add flour and cook for 3 - 5 minutes. Slowly add the half-and-half a little at a time, stirring constantly to incorporate. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Simmer over low heat for 20 - 25 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as required. Finally add cheese and nutmeg, stir in until melted. Serve.

Chipotle chicken

This is inspired by the Chipotle chicken that used be served at the (sadly now closed) Juanita's restaurant in Boulder.

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 pint heavy cream
• chipotle chile en adobo sauce *
• chopped cilantro for garnish
• butter for frying

Trim the chicken of any excess fat, then place under plastic wrap and bash to uniform thickness with a rolling pin. In a large frying pan heat butter until melted and beginning to bubble. Add chicken and cook until browned then turn and repeat on other side. 

Now add the chipotle en adobo -- more or less depending on how hot you'd like things to turn out -- and then the heavy cream. Stir it all together and crank up the heat so the cream bubbles away and reduces. Taste the sauce when it has more or less reached the right consistency, adding salt to taste. At this point the chicken should be cooked too.

Serve with rice, beans (refried, black, whatever) and a salad. Spoon over as much of the sauce as you feel you want :-)

* Note: you can either buy chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, in which case you just need to puree before use (I do this with a little of the heavy cream) or you can make your own; recipes are all over the web and often on the packaging of dried chipotle chiles.

Home made Caesar salad dressing

Considerably tastier than Cardini's...

• 3 cloves garlic
• 4 - 5 anchovy filets packed in oil (or substitute for crispy bacon if you don't have or don't wish to use anchovy)
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• juice of 1 lemon
• a few splashes Tobasco sauce
• a few splashes Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 - 3 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Mince together the garlic and anchovy as finely as possible. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Ideally chill for a few hours to maximize the flavors.

If using the bacon instead of anchovy then just finely chop the garlic (or use a garlic press) and crumble in the bacon.

Tabbouleh

• 1 cup bulgur
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1.5 cups flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 medium yellow or white onion, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup lemon juice (use fresh lemons, not bottled lemon juice)
• salt and pepper to taste
• tomatoes and lettuce (iceberg or butter work best) leaves to serve and garnish

Boil several cups of water and allow to cool slightly. Soften the bulgar by soaking it for one hour in the hot water. Drain the bulgar and press out the water using a sieve.

Mix the bulgar, onions, salt and pepper together, crushing the onion juice into the bulgar with your fingers. Add parsley, mint, olive oil and lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Check seasoning and adjust if more is required. 

Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves, garnished with wedges of tomato.

Chipotle salmon dip

• large salmon filet (6-8oz)
• juice of one lime
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1-2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped
• 4 - 6 sprigs of cilantro, including stems, chopped
• 2 tbsp red bell pepper, finely chopped (optional)
• 2 tbsp red onion, finely chopped
• 1 - 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Put a little olive oil and sea salt in a baking dish, then place the salmon on top and drizzle with more olive oil and sea salt. Bake for ~15 minutes at 425F. Allow to cool.

In a mixing bowl, flake the salmon and mix in all other ingredients. Stir well until everything is nicely distributed. Cover and refrigerate to allow flavors to develop. Serve with tortilla chips.

Sausage casserole

• 5 large pork sausages
• 1 oz butter
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 4 oz roughly chopped mushrooms
• 1 green bell pepper, deseed, chopped into ~1" square pieces
• 1 courgette (zuchini), sliced
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 2oz (about a quarter cup) flour
• 1/2 tsp mixed dried herbs
• 5 fl oz red wine and 15 fl oz beef stock combined in a large jug
• salt and black pepper to taste

Place a large casserole dish in the oven and preheat to 350F.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat then add the butter and oil. Brown the sausages -- you're not trying to fully cook them here, just put some color on them. Once browned, remove and set to one side.

Add the onion to the frying pan and fry gently until soft and golden. Next add the remaining vegetables and cook for 5 minutes or as necessary to soften them up. Sprinkle over the flour and dried herbs along with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Now crank up the heat and add the wine and stock mixture, a little at a time, stirring well each time you add more. This should result in the vegetables sitting in a rich gravy. Cut each sausage into 4 or 5 slices on the diagonal and add to the pan. 

Stir everything together well and when the sauce has thickened a little transfer to the preheated casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Serve with copious amounts of mashed potato.

Daal (lentil curry)

• 2 cups lentils (red, orange or yellow lentils will go mushy; green or brown hold their shape)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 9 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2" piece fresh root ginger, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 green chile (e.g. jalapeno), quartered, with seeds
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin/coriander mix
• 3/4 tsp garam masala
• 5 - 6 sprigs cilantro including stems, chopped
• 2 - 3 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil

Begin by cooking the lentils in 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil then reduce and simmer uncovered for 20 - 30 minutes until tender. Add more water if necessary during cooking to keep the lentils covered. Stir in the 1/2 tsp salt right at the end, taste and add more if needs be.

While the lentils are cooking heat the ghee then add the mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to pop add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilies. Cook over medium-high heat until softened and taking on a little color. Add paprika, chili powder, cumin/coriander powder and fry together a minute or two. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, stir well and fry several minutes until most of the water in the tomatoes has boiled off. Keep warm until the lentils are ready.

Add lentils, lemon juice, cilantro and cook on low for at least half an hour. Taste and adjust salt if needed. Finally stir in garam masala and cook a few more minutes.

Spinach and Anaheim pepper curry

Anaheim or New Mexico chiles fused with Indian cooking.

Although not essential, you can plan ahead for this by leaving half a 32oz tub of full fat plain yoghurt to reach its "best before date" (or even up to a week beyond) -- this lends a little extra sour quality to it. If you don't do this, add the juice of a lemon to the yoghurt as a souring agent.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
• 4 - 6 Anaheim or New Mexico chile peppers chopped into ~1.5" pieces with seeds left in
• a half full 32 oz tub of full fat plain yoghurt (i.e. 16oz of yoghurt)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• gram flour as needed
• salt to taste (1 tsp is usually about right)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 4 - 6 springs cilantro, including stems, chopped
• large bunch spinach
• 2 jalapeno or serrano chilies, roughly chopped (with or without seeds per your preference)
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala

Begin by topping up the yoghurt in its tub to about an inch from the top. Add salt, turmeric and gradually stir in gram flour until a thin batter is achieved.

Heat ghee and when hot add mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to pop add the Anaheim (or New Mexico) peppers along with the chiles. Saute until they soften up, 10 minutes or so.

Add chili powder, garam masala and cilantro. Stir well and cook a few minutes. Add spinach and continue cooking until it has wilted. Finally add the yoghurt / gram flour batter. Cook on low heat, stirring until everything thickens up.

Bhajjis

Labor intensive but insanely delicious.

• 2 medium sized potatoes, grated
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/4 cabbage, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 5 tbsp cooked basmati rice
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger root, finely chopped
• 2 green chilies (e.g. jalapeno) finely chopped
• small handful of cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups gram flour
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• water as needed
• vegetable oil for deep frying

Mix water into gram flour until you achieve a consistency like thin pancake batter then stir in the baking soda. Combine all the vegetables and spices with the batter in a large bowl.

Heat oil in pan until hot but not smoking. You can test for correctness of temperature but dropping in a little batter and seeing if it cooks to a nice golden brown easily.

Using a large spoon place 3 or 4 bite sized blobs of vegetable and batter into the oil and allow to cook until light brown, turning as necessary to achieve even coloring.

Chickpea curry

• 3 tbsp ghee or oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed
• 1 green chili (e.g. jalapeno), halved or quartered with seeds left in
• 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger root, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt 
• 3 tins chickpeas
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp mixed cumin/coriander powder
• 2 cups water
• 6 sprigs cilantro (fresh coriander) chopped roughly including stems

Heat ghee and when hot add mustard and cumin seeds -- these should sizzle and soon the mustard seeds will start to pop. The popping is your cue to add the onion. Saute for a few minutes then add ginger and garlic and cook a few more minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, chili powder, salt, garam masala, turmeric, cumin/coriander and finally the chickpeas. Add water and cilantro.

Bring to boil then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. Use an old school potato masher to mash up some (but not all) of the chickpeas. Stir and repeat until you have a good mix of thick sauce and intact chickpeas.

Chicken korma

• 1/4 cup ghee or vegetable oil
• 3 - 4 chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 onion
• 1 red chili
• 6 - 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3-4" chunk root ginger, chopped or grated
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 ounce grated coconut
• 5 tbsp cashew nut paste/butter
• 4 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/3 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp cumin/coriander powder
• 10 green cardomom pods + 2 black (or just 12 green )
• 1 dry bay leaf
• potatoes, cut into chunks and boiled (optional)
• 10 cloves
• 2" stick cinnamon
• juice of 1 lemon
• cilantro

Put the ginger, garlic, onion, red chili, chili powder, garam masala, cumin/coriander powder, turmeric powder, coconut, cashew nut butter, sesame seeds, nutmeg, salt and yogurt into a blender or food processor and whiz to make a paste/marinade. Put the chicken into this and marinate for 30 mins or longer.

Heat ghee or vegetable oil in pan, add cinnamon stick and let it cook briefly; it should unfurl a little and darken. Then add the cardomom pods and bay leaf and cook for a minute or two. Finally add the chicken and marinade. Bring up to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Add 2/3 cup water and simmer a further 5 mins. Add potatoes now if using. Add juice of lemon and some
chopped cilantro. Simmer on low a further 10-20 mins or so till chicken is cooked.

Taste and adjust seasonings (salt, lemon, garam masala and cumin/coriander powder) if required.

Tandoori chicken kebabs

This isn't a bright-red tandoori -- you only get that by adding food coloring.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts cut into chunks sized for kebab skewers
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp full fat plain yoghurt
• handful (6 - 10 stems) cilantro (fresh coriander)
• juice of half a lemon
• 2 green chilies (jalapenos or serranos work well)
• 1 tbsp fresh root ginger, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp salt
• green and red bell peppers, yellow onion

Place all the marinade ingredients (everything bar the chicken, bell peppers and onion) in a blender and puree. This should result in a fairly thick sauce. Place chicken pieces with marinade in large ziploc bag or other airtight container ensuring every piece is well covered. Marinade for at least an hour but overnight is OK if making ahead.

Thread the chicken pieces onto kebab skewers along with pieces of pepper and onion. It's best to start and end with pepper pieces. You can squeeze the arrangement together from each end to help it hold firm. If using wooden skewers be sure to soak well first.

Broil or grill the kebabs until done -- it's easiest to turn them four times giving each "side" around 4 or 5 minutes. 

These go well with rice, naan and raita. You can squeeze extra lemon juice over each kebab for a little more flavor.

Saag (spinach) curry

The basic saag sauce can have chicken, potato, chickpeas, paneer etc. added as liked.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ghee (or vegetable oil)
• 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh root ginger, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 lb fresh spinach, stems removed and leaves chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 cup full fat plain yoghurt
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Saute onions in ghee until translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and saute another 3 minutes or so. Add the spinach, water and salt and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer and cook covered for 10 - 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and after cooling a while puree in blender. Return the puree to the pot and add the yoghurt and cream. 

At this point if you want to add chicken do so and cook until done -- perhaps 20 minutes. If keeping it vegetarian add the chickpeas/paneer/potato or whatever and cook just 5 - 10 minutes. Chickpeas or potatoes should be cooked before adding.

Chimichurri sauce

This is a wildly pungent and flavorful accompaniment to grilled meat from Argentina.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups fresh flat leaf parsley
• 6+ basil leaves
• leaves from 3 sprigs fresh oregano
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar (red or apple cider also work nicely)
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 - 2 tsp hot chile powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Puree altogether in a blender until you have a smooth sauce. Use the day of making.

BBQ chipotle pork tenderloin

• 1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 3 tbsp lime juice (~1 lime)
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 x ~8oz pork tenderloins, trimmed of excessive fat

Combine all marinade ingredients blender and puree until smooth. How many of the chipotle chiles and how much of the accompanying sauce you use is a matter of personal taste but you probably don't want the whole tin. I'd recommend a one or two chilies and a couple teaspoons of the sauce.

Place the tenderloins into a large ziploc bag or airtight container and add the marinade. Seal and marinade for at least an hour, but overnight is best.

Fire up your grill (BBQ) to a high heat. I use charcoal with hickory wood chips added during cooking for maximum flavor. When the grill is hot remove the tenderloins from the marinade and cook directly over the hot coals. The best way to do this is to treat them like they have four sides, turning them every 4 - 5 minutes resulting in about 16 - 20 minutes cooking time in total. You really want one of those instant read thermometers for checking the temperature here as overcooked tenderloin isn't very tender. You're looking for the center of the meat to reach 145F. 

Once ready, transfer the tenderloins to a plate, cover with foil and let them rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

These are awesome with the usual BBQ accompaniments or in a cuban style sandwich.

Chicken soup

Stock ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, about 3.5lbs
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 1 carrot, cut into chunks
• 2 ribs celery, cut into chunks, complete with leaves 
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Soup ingredients

• 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) butter
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 6 green onions (scallions, spring onions, whatever...) thinly sliced including the greens
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 6 cups stock
• 1 cup frozen peas
• chicken breast from the chicken used to make the stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt and black pepper to taste

First make the stock: in a large Dutch oven place the chicken broth ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer gently for an hour. Remove the chicken and then strain 6 cups of the stock into a jug or other suitable container. When the stock has cooled skim any excess fat from the top. This can be made easier by placing the stock into the fridge to cool faster.

Now for the soup itself: again using a large Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the shallot, celery and carrot for around 6 minutes. Add the green onion and briefly saute for a minute or so. Next stir in the flour until well blended. Add the 6 cups of chicken stock and bring up to a good simmer. Cook until vegetables are very tender, around 10 minutes or so. Add frozen peas and chicken breast (diced or shredded as you prefer) and cook a further 5 minutes. Finally stir in the heavy cream and add salt and pepper to taste.

Spaghetti with meatballs

Meatball ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 slices white bread, torn or crumbled (easier if bread is slightly dry/stale)
• 2lbs lean ground beaf
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion (about 1/2 cup) finely chopped 
• 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Sauce ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion (about 1/2 cup) finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes (large = 28 - 36oz)
• 2 x 6oz cans tomato paste
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Start by making the meatballs: in a bowl large enough for all ingredients beat eggs then add milk and bread. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Add the ground beef, onion, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper then use your hands to mix well until everything is evenly blended. Shape into meatballs around 1.5" diameter. Place onto a well greased baking pan and bake at 450F for 25 minutes. 

Next make the sauce: in a Dutch oven of similarly large pot heat the olive oil and saute the onion until tender. Add all the remaining ingredients, stir well then bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Cover and allow to simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add the meatballs; you may need a spatula or similar to get them cleanly off the baking pan they cooked in. Simmer gently, covered, for a further 50 to 60 minutes. Be sure to stir periodically to prevent the sauce catching on the bottom of the pan.

Finally cook spaghetti and serve topped with meatballs and sauce garnished with fresh flat leaf parsley and grated parmesan if desired.

Chicken Jalfrezi

• 1.5lbs chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
• 1lb chopped tomatoes
• 1 yellow onion, grated or very finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp hot chili powder
• 3 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro (coriander)
• 1 tsp salt
• ghee

Heat up ~2 tbsp ghee and fry the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes over high heat. Add the chicken, turmeric, chili powder and salt and fry gently for 5 - 10 minutes. Next add the tomatoes and simmer over medium heat for 20 - 30 minutes. You want excess liquid to evaporate resulting in a thick sauce. 

Mix in a further 2 tbsp ghee along with the cumin, coriander, ginger and cilantro. Simmer gently for ~5 minutes until the fat separates out from the thick sauce.

BBQ sauce

• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp chile powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce (e.g. Tobasco)
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup (depending on your propensity for sweetness) brown sugar 
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 - 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

Cook gently over a medium heat until you get a good thick consistency; typically around 30 minutes but best not to leave it unattended.

Seafood salad dressing

• 1/2 cup mayo
• lemon juice to taste
• a few dashes Worcestershire sauce 
• chopped chives (alternatives: spring/green onions, dill)
• salt and pepper to taste
• optional: chopped celery and red onion

Garlic soup

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 whole garlic bulbs
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• salt and black pepper

Peel all the garlic cloves then slice each clove thinly. (Alternative: buy a jar of the pre peeled garlic cloves to avoid the soul-crushingly tedious peeling stage)

In a 5 quart Dutch oven gently saute garlic in olive oil along with the thyme for about 5 minutes. Burnt garlic tastes bad so try not to let it get much if any color, just get it softened up. Next add the chicken stock and increase heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce to a medium heat and keep simmering for 15 - 20 minutes until the liquid has reduced some and the garlic is very tender. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

In a small bowl whisk together the eggs and white wine vinegar. Whisk briskly into the soup (to avoid ending up with clumps of cooked egg floating around) -- this will cause a dramatic change in color and help thicken the soup.

Potato gratin

• 2-3lbs potatoes peeled and sliced ~1/8th inch thick using a mandolin
• 6oz good quality Gruyère cheese
• ~1-1.5 cups creme fraiche
• 1 clove garlic
• salt and black pepper
• butter for greasing baking dish

You need a good size rectangular baking dish...I've lost track of exactly what size we use but it's probably something like 8"x10" and it's important it have some depth to it too.

Take the garlic clove and cut in half, then using the cut sides rub all over the inside of the baking dish then follow up by greasing it with some butter.

Briefly blanch the potatoes in boiling water and then arrange in rows as many potato slices as reasonably fit on the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping each row slightly. Season generously with salt and black pepper then distribute half the gruyère and half the creme fraiche over the potatoes. Put down the remaining potatoes then season and cover with remaining cheese and creme fraiche.

Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered in an oven preheated to 400F. Reduce temperature to 350F and bake a further 45 minutes. You may need to cover with foil at some point if the gratin has got sufficiently browned on top.

Allow to stand 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Spanokopita

• 2lbs frozen spinach
• 1lb file (aka phyllo) dough
• 1/2lb feta cheese
• 7 eggs
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 4oz butter, melted

Dice and saute onion in olive oil until golden brown. Minimally cook the spinach -- directions are probably on packaging but generally can be done by adding a few tablespoons of water to the frozen spinach and microwaving on high for a few minutes. This is really more about defrosting than cooking it so be careful not to nuke it too much. You'll probably have to do 1lb of spinach at a time to make this manageable. The spinach will likely end up quite wet and to avoid a soggy spanokopita you will want to drain it. The best way seems to be to dump it into some kind of sieve and squeeze out excess liquid with a spoon.

In a large bowl beat the eggs. Crumble and add the feta cheese, the onions, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir well. Finally add the spinach and stir well to get everything well distributed.

Butter a 9"x13" baking dish. Lay down the sheets of filo dough one or two at a time, brushing each layer with butter. The dough sheets will be much larger than the dish so you will need to encourage them to fit its shape and leave the remainder hanging over. Butter can help with this :) It's best to turn each layer a few degrees one way or the other rather than stacking them all exactly on top of each other. Keep adding layers until you have only about 6 sheets left. At this point pour the filling into the dish and spread evenly. Now fold the filo dough that is overhanging the edges of the dish back over to cover the filling. Brush with more butter then finish of the top but adding the remaining 6 sheets one at a time with more butter in between each.

The last 6 sheets will need trimming before you can transfer the dish to an oven that has been preheated to 375F. Bake for ~50 minutes.

Gazpacho soup

I really like this soup, the flavors are amazing. Truly one of those things where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Also, the fact that everything in it is raw (besides the bread) still strikes me as some kind of magic.

• About 2lbs very ripe tomatoes
• 1 large English-style cucumber, peeled and diced
• Half a baguette - a little stale is considered better
• 1 green bell pepper, de-seeded and and chopped reasonably small
• 1 cup (a little under half a UK pint) extra virgin olive oil
• 6 scallions (spring onions) roughly chopped
• 1 - 4 gloves garlic (how much do you like garlic?), roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp paprika
• salt and pepper to taste (probably 1/2 - 1 tsp salt is what you want)
• 1 pint or less water

Tear the bread into small pieces and leave to soak in 1 cup of water. Immerse the tomatoes in just-boiled water briefly and then "encourage" the skins to split after a few seconds with a sharp knife. Pull them out of the water and remove skins. Chop tomatoes, removing seeds first.

Place chopped tomatoes into a large bowl along with the pepper, cucumber, scallions, garlic, bread and olive oil; stir to combine. Add the white wine vinegar, paprika, salt and pepper. Lastly add remaining water (1 cup). Stir again to fully combine.

Now transfer the contents of the bowl to a blender - you may need to do this in two or three batches due to the volume. Puree the mixture.

Obviously you can use more or less water depending on the consistency you prefer.

Once blended the soup should be chilled in the fridge for at least an hour. This also allows the flavors to really develop too.

To serve you can add a garnish of avocado cubes, diced red peppers, sprinkle of paprika etc.

Vegan stuffed tomatoes

This recipe does not involve stuffing vegans into tomatoes. Rather, this is a recipe my wife and I discovered when toying with veganism (which was ultimately a failure - although we did pick up some good additional food.) Anyway, it was nice enough that it's been kept around and we still make it from time to time. The original recipe has you bake it in the oven, which is good...but to take it to a whole new level I highly recommend doing this over charcoal with some hickory wood chips for extra flavor. If you take the BBQ approach you don't want terribly hot coals, so either cook something else first or don't place the tomatoes over direct heat.

• 1/2 cup of orzo pasta (the small stuff that looks like rice)
• 4 large ripe tomatoes (such as beefsteak)
• 1/3 cup of pine nuts, briefly toasted in hot skillet
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped basil leaves

Cook the orzo according to instructions. Drain and rinse in cold water till chilled so it will keep without sticking together.

Whilst the orzo is cooking, slice the top off each of the tomatoes and then scoop out the insides using a spoon. Chop the tomato pulp and place it in a mixing bowl. Add the pine nuts, orzo, garlic, parsley and basil. Season with some salt and black pepper then mix well.

Stuff each of the tomatoes with the mixture, top with previously removed slice and drizzle with some olive oil.

If cooking in an oven, have it preheated to 375 degrees F, place on a foil covered baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. If cooking on the BBQ, use your skill and judgment... :-)

Once cooked, serve with a generous amount of yellow pepper coulis which can be made as follows: fry one chopped onion and 3 chopped yellow bell peppers in a little olive oil. After 5 minutes add half a cup of water and some salt and pepper. Simmer until very soft, perhaps 15 - 20 minutes. Add more water if necessary. It's better to err on the side of caution and cook for longer than undercook and end up with lumpy coulis. When done puree in a blender.

Naan bread

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plain yoghurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 2 tsp dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp nigella (aka black onion seeds) 
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups plain flour

I've noticed that Indian restaurants in the US don't seem to put nigella in their naan bread whereas those in the UK do. Having spent most of my life in England I find them to be essential. I've made naan in the past without them though and they are OK, just missing that unique nigella flavor. In my opinion they are well worth seeking out. I found my last batch in an Indian grocery store. It used to be that Whole Foods sold them but last time I looked they have greatly reduced the variety of spices they now have.

Start off by placing the yoghurt and milk in a large glass bowl and heating for approximately a minute or so in the microwave. Warming this up helps activate the yeast allegedly...

Next add the baking powder, sugar, melted butter, eggs and yeast to the bowl and stir well with balloon whisk to incorporate everything. Finally add the nigella seeds and stir to distribute.

Switch from the whisk to a wooden spoon and begin adding the flour. Add about a cup at a time and the stir in. When you have added all three cups if the dough is still too sticky add up to an extra half cup to make it easier to manage.

Turn out the dough and kneed for several minutes until it starts to have that nice sheen and elasticity that well kneeded dough has. Roll into a ball and cover with the glass bowl. Leave to rise for about an hour at room temperature. Dough should approximately double in size.

Once dough has risen divide it into at least four and as many eight pieces (depends how many you have to feed, how big you like your naan...)

Take each piece of dough and "encourage" it into the typical naan shape. This is a very approximate thing (for me at least) achieved through stretching, pressing and other general forms of manipulation as needed to get something reasonable looking.  In general the dough should end up pretty thin, a millimeter or two. No idea what fraction of an inch that is but not much...

Melt some more butter (perhaps 2 Tbsp or so) and brush each of your naan lightly on the top side.  Now place them butter-side down in a large hot skillet/frying pan that you have pre-heated and quickly brush the second side with a little butter. It should only take a couple of minutes before you need to flip the naan over. Use a fish slice to check on progress and ultimately turn the bread.

As each naan is finished transfer to a warm plate and keep covered with something (clean tea towel, foil, etc.)

These are great with any curry, but especially those with a lot of sauce.

Chicken Makhani

Ingredients for stage one

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or better yet, ghee)
• 2 onions
• 1/2 cup chopped garlic
• 2 cups tomato sauce (not Heinz...the liquidy stuff in tins)
• 1 cup plain yoghurt (don't use low fat or fat free...it'll all go horribly wrong)
• 2 tbsp cumin/coriander (i.e. 1 tbsp each)
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 4 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1" root ginger, peeled and chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 cardomom pods

Ingredients for stage two

• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp hot chili powder
• You will also need about 6 - 8 chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces.

Puree the onions, garlic and ginger in a blender. If you have a way to grind up the cinnamon stick and cloves do so. If not they can go in whole.

Heat oil or ghee until hot but not smoking, add cardomom and bay leaves. If you are not grinding up the cinnamon stick and cloves add them now. Stir for a few seconds then add the pureed mixture. Cook for 10 - 20 minutes stirring regularly to prevent it catching and burning. Add everything else from the stage one ingredients list and bring to a boil. The yoghurt may appear to curdle, but if it does don't worry -- everything will right itself shortly.

Now add stage two ingredients and return to a boil. Add the chicken pieces and simmer for 20 minutes or so until chicken is cooked and the sauce has taken on a slightly thicker consistency.

Serve with basmati rice and naan bread. Optionally sprinkle a little fresh chopped cilanto (coriander) over the top.