novel34

    I picked up a few chicken crowns at the grocery store last week that were on for a really nice price.   They were only £3.  We like chicken in this house.  I think it's probably the one protein we eat the most of. A chicken crown is like a turkey crown except it's chicken.   The legs are removed and in this case the wings as well.  What you end up with is a nice compact sized roast, with the bone and skin intact, which you can still stuff if you like. I created a simple bread stuffing for this one I cooked the other day.  It was not a huge amount, just enough to slip between the skin and the meat of the chicken breast, but it helped to keep the chicken really nice and moist.   With the excess amount, I simply grated a small sweet potato and mixed it in and then baked it in a casserole along side of the chicken.  It was really tasty! I made a tasty bread sauce to have as well.   Bread sauce is a lovely sauce...

I had a craving for something a tiny bit healthy today, and not so indulgent.  It may surprise you but I don't always over indulge.  For the most part, you only get to see the most indulgent of what I cook.  I more often than not eat fairly healthy, but then again, I am not opposed to treating myself from time time.  I little bit of what you enjoy does a person the world of good. The lighting was really, really poor today, so I apologize for the quality of these pictures. I try always to photograph in natural light. I like the way food looks in natural light. I just think it looks delicious - er. (Is that a word?? Meh . . . it is now!) Today I had some bone in chicken thighs that I wanted to cook in the most delicious way possible without adding too much fat, calories or bad things to make them taste delectable. It's not all that hard to take the skin and fat off of chicken . . . but I do like to cook it on the bone as often as I can. The bone adds a lot of fl...

 I love food this time of year . . . I know I say that all year round, but this is the time of year that we really start to get stuck into comfort foods . . . winter warmers . . . rich soups, stews, casseroles and bakes. Food that, with the exception of a few small prep details, pretty much cooks itself.  Simple and wholesome ingredients, but let me tell you . . . more often than not there it nothing simple at all about the flavours!  Most pack a very delicious punch! I've always been the kind of person that has been able to put things together and come up with something satisfyingly delicious . . . things like this Chicken, Bacon and Leek Casserole I am showing you here today. It's simple.   It uses stuff you most likely have in your fridge, larder and freezer right now.  It tastes fabulously delicious, and it basically cooks itself.  I like to serve it with some fluffy mash.  The Toddster is a real mash lover.  I like to cook some greens on the ...

Do you like chicken wings and chips as much as I do???  Do you hate the mess, agro and smell caused from deep frying???   Well, have I got a great kitchen gadget for you!!   We recently got a Tefal AW950040 Family ActiFry Fryer   in  Black from Argos.  This was something I had wanted for a very long time.  My friend Angie (may she rest in peace) had gotten one a couple of years ago and raved about how good it was. The Actifry Fryer is a machine that uses new cooking technology to create crisp fries and other foods with virtually no oil.  I love chips, but I don't love all the fat and calories in them, so they are a very rare treat in this house. The first thing I cooked in the ActiFry Fryer was chips.  I just had to see if they were as good as promised.  I apologize ahead of time for the lousy photos. ( I hate the problems I  with natural light in these late autumn/winter months.)  Egg and Chips was on the menu.  Normal...

Sunday Lunch has to be one of the nicest traditions here in the UK.  It's actually a dinner . . . not a lunch (usually served early to mid afternoon).  Not sure why it is called lunch, but I have noted that most celebratory dinners here in the UK are referred to as lunch, prime example being Christmas Lunch.  Who am I to quibble when we are talking about something as delicious a meal as Sunday Lunch generally is! Over the next four weeks The Sunday Times is publishing a pull out Ultimate Cookbook as part of the Incredible Edibles Food Series, dedicated to food and dining.   This weeks focus is Sunday Lunch, and you can get your copy of The Sunday Times Ultimate Cookbook:  Sunday Lunch this weekend, on Sunday the 17th November, featuring no less than twelve of the finest  recipes for this occasion  brought to you by twelve celebrity chef's. You will be able to enjoy and recreate such tasty delights as Jamie Oliver's Sunday Roast Steak and Marcus W...

We love chicken in this house and it is a meat which I serve often as it is not only affordable but something which readily adapts itself to many flavours and cooking methods.   Sometimes I stuff it and roast it whole, which is very, very nice.  Not to mention you then have the leftovers to turn into delicious casseroles and lets not forget a tasty soup from the bones. More often than not though, I like to use pieces, either breasts or leg quarters, sometimes boneless, and at others bone in . . .any way you cut it, chicken is our favourite protein of choice. Today I chose to use chicken leg quarters, which I rubbed with a spice mix, drizzled with olive oil and then simply roasted in the oven until the skin was nicely crisped, whilst leaving the flesh tender and juicy.  It's one of the Toddster's favourite meals, served up with potato of some sort and vegetables.  You can't go wrong.  Kiddos love this too!  And best of all it's quick, easy, economical and...

I can still remember the first time I tasted Buttermilk. It was way back in the mid 1970's.  I think I bought some to make a cake with or something.  Buttermilk in Canada, comes in one litre containers, so it wasn't long before I was scrambling to find something else I could make with it.  Back in those days it was a lot harder. There was no internet to seek advice from!    You had to rely on word of mouth, friends and family. Over here in the UK, you only get Buttermilk in small 284ml containers, each holding about 1 1/2 cups, which is good in a way, as  you are only opening about as much as you need at any given time, but it is a pain in another way as you end up having to buy more containers and store them when you want to make something as delicious as this chicken here today. This is an old favourite of ours from those early days.   The chicken always turns out amazingly tender.  A good soaking in buttermilk is the secret to that. ...