Spicy Meat Gumbo

I found this recipe in Jamie Oliver's Jamie's America, and it is now one of my favourites! It does take a long time, but it is definitely worth it. I did it for 3, and changed some of the ingredients based on what we had in, so buy the book for the original!

Serves 3

3 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
olive oil
150g chorizo, thickly sliced
3 rashers of bacon, roughly chopped
1/2 a large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 green pepper, deseeded and chopped
1/2 yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 sticks of celery trimmed and finely chopped
1 1/2 heaped tbsps plain flour
3 cloves of garlic peeled and finely chopped
500g potato, peeled and roughly chopped
1tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
750ml hot chicken stock
1tsp dried parsley

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper
Put a large pot on a high heat, add a little oil and fry the sausage, bacon and chicken for 15mins, until golden brown and crispy
Remove to a dish
Turn the heat down and add the onion, peppers and celery
Slowly stir and fry for 10mins until softened
Stir in the flour and cook for about 10mins, until it turns the colour of peanut butter
Add the garlic, potatoes, meats, thyme, parsley and bay leaves and stir and fry for 1min
Pour in the hot chicken stock
Bring everything to the boil
Turn down and simmer on a medium heat for 45mins
Cook some rice according to the packet instructions while it is simmering
Serve on a big plate and enjoy!

Home-made Gifts

This Christmas, I made lots of home-made foodie gifts that I really enjoyed making and were very well received! These don't have to just be Christmas presents though, they can be made at any time of year, so I thought I would share my favourites so far. They're great to put in a box with tissue paper as a hamper as a special gift.



Spiced Apple Chutney, from BBC Food



Mari Williams' Tomato and Chilli Jam, from BBC Food



Sophie Dahl's Peanut Butter Fudge, from BBC Food, The Delicious Miss Dahl



Mari Williams' Chilli Oil, from BBC Good Food

Metcalf's Mincemeat and Nigella's Star Topped Mince Pies

Me and my Mum love to make our own mincemeat at Christmas, it smells amazing, it makes a lovely gift and you can have mince pies for as long as it lasts! We save all our jars the rest of the year so we have plenty for this mincemeat and other jams and chutneys. My favourite mince pie recipe is from Nigella Christmas, which can be found on her website here, and her Cranberry Studded Mincemeat Recipe is in the cookbook and here



Nigella's Mince Pies, above

Metcalf's Mincemeat

Makes 2.5kg, 5 x 500g jars

175g suet
1.6kg mixed dried fruit
225g glace cherries
1 large eating apple, peeled cored and grated
100g chopped almonds
450g dark brown soft sugar
1tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 lemon zest and juice
300ml brandy, whisky or sherry

Sterilise your jars by washing them in hot soapy water, the putting them upside down on a tray into a 160 degree C oven for 30mins, or run through a hot dishwasher cycle.
Mix all the ingredients together (we use two large bowls)
Cover with a tea towel and leave for two days, stirring twice a day
Spoon into the jars and leave to mature for 1 week before using in your beautiful mince pies!

Christmas Dinner!

Yes, it's January and Christmas is officially over (sad), but this year I helped out with the big one; Christmas Dinner! So I have to share this as I am super proud of mine and my Dad's efforts!

We have, from the left; steamed veg, spiced red cabbage, chilli tomato jam, home cured pork, stuffing, apple and onion gravy, spiced apple chutney, roast potatoes and bacon and chestnut sprouts :)

The chutneys were part of my present to my Dad and were made a month in advance to allow them to mature, but they are not just for Christmas, they can be made any time of year for great presents! The recipes are from the BBC Food website here and here. There are also loads of other great ideas on there!

The potatoes were made following the perfect roast potatoes recipe from Nigella's Nigella Christmas cookbook (amazing book) which is also on her website here. We used butter instead of goose fat and it still worked beautifully, but I have a suspicion goose fat would be better! The sprouts recipe is also from her Christmas cookbook, and can be found here as well. Two other recipes, the pork and the gravy are in that fabulous book, which I will share. I have made a few adjustments because we didn't have all the same ingredients, so if you want the original, buy the book!

Effortless Home Cured Pork

Serves 8

1.6kg boneless pork loin roast

1 litre of apple juice

1 litre of water

50g table salt

250ml cider vinegar

4 small onions peeled and quartered (or 2 large, cut into eighths)

1 tsp of  dried parsley

cloves from 1 head of garlic, bruised but not peeled 

80g honey

1tsp of cardomom seeds

4 tsps of garlic oil

Put the pork joint in a pan with a lid

Add the remaining ingredients except the garlic oil

Put the lid on the stockpot and place in the fridge or in a cold place for 24-48 hours

Half an hour before the pork needs to go into the oven, pre-heat it to 200 degrees C/ gas mark 6 

Take the pork out of it's brine and sit it on a rack in the sink to let it drain and come to room temperature

Transfer it into a roasting tin and pour the garlic oil over

Roast for 1 1/2 hours before removing to a carving dish. A meat thermometer inserted should read 75 degrees C

Carve it thinly and enjoy!

Apple and Onion Gravy

2 onions, peeled and quartered

2 eating apples peeled, cored and quartered

2 tbsps butter

1 tsp garlic oil

1 tbsp honey

2 tsps flour

1/4 tsp ground ginger

500ml chicken stock

4 tsp soy sauce

Put the onion and apples in a food processor and process to mush (this also works with a bowl and hand held blender)

Put the butter and garlic oil in a pan and cook the onions and apples over a very gentle heat for 30mins stirring occasionally

Add the honey and cook for another 15mins

Stir in the flour and ginger

Still stiring, pour in the stock and turn up the heat

Stir as it comes to a boil and season with soy sauce

Cook until it has thickened slightly, for about 3mins

Enjoy over the pork!

The spiced red cabbage recipe comes from a lovely book by Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat, called The French Kitchen: A Cookbook. I've always dreamed of being french and cooking and eating thier wonderful food, and this recipe didn't disappoint! 

Spiced Red Cabbage

50g butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small red cabbage, finely sliced

1 red onion, finely sliced

1 red chilli finely sliced

100ml red wine or balsamic vinegar

75g unrefined brown sugar

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

sea salt

black pepper

200ml water

Melt the butterin a pan over a medium heat

Add the cabbage, onion and chilli, stir well and cook for 10mins

Add the remaining ingredients, mix well and bring to the boil

Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, checking frequently

Add more water if it gets dry

Serve hot or reheated with the rest of your amazing Christmas dinner!