Pork chop with pear, walnut, shallot, vermouth

Whilst cooking this, and even whilst serving it up, I thought my comment was going to be that I'd obviously messed this one up or it's not for me thanks Nigel.  Taste is a different matter however and yes, this didn't look pretty, but it tasted just fine - even the ever fussy daughter enjoyed it! 

Duck with beans

No vegetarian here tonight and it's payday so my favourite meat is on the menu.  I've been looking forward to this all day but to be honest it hasn't really wowed me the way I expected it to.  I cooked it according to Nigel but found the skin no longer crispy (not that surprising really) so popped it back on its own in the pan to recrisp.  As I say I wasn't wowed but I did eat it, unlike my fussy (adult) daughter who had 3 bites and decided that she doesn't like duck in this form - so there's another thing I can't make for us again!

Onion and mushroom toad in the hole

Oh my, I love this kind of thing.  Anything resembling a giant tasty Yorkshire pud is going to float my boat.  The sharpness of the cheese came through every now and again (i.e it wasn't overwhelming) and it was perfectly in balance with the sweetness of the shallots.  And it was vegetarian which made it a good Sunday dinner offering to my loved one. 

Chorizo and sweet potato mash

One of things I'm loving about Eat is the simplicity of the recipes which have few ingredients delivering big flavours.  As regular readers will know, a dish that makes both me and my daughter very happy is a rare thing indeed but this delivered and we both agreed it was right up our strasse.  This could become a regular.  Not the best of photos but I was desperate to tuck in.

Lentil Bolognaise

Having splashed out large over Christmas and not getting paid until next week, frugality is the order of the day - frugal is specifically mentioned by Nigel as a recommendation for this recipe - so here we are.  My vegetarian boyfriend was dining with me tonight and my meat eating  daughter was out, presenting me with the opportunity to cook veggie.  I watched in wonder as this transformed itself from a pan of what looked like slop into a tasty sauce for pasta - tasty it was, and when frugality is required (and a vegetarian is in the house) this could well be dish of the day for me. 

Chicken burgers with lemon and tarragon

I'm a bit late posting this as I made these little beauties a few days ago. I made them because I got some chicken at a knock down price and Nigel says in the book that this is one of his favourites recipes in the book.  They were delicious and the tarragon and lemon came through beautifully.  

New year, new blog

Having recreated most of The Kitchen Diaries between October 2012 and December 2013 I'm bored again and want a new challenge.  Having gratefully received Nigel's latest book Eat for Christmas  I've decided to tackle that.  This is not a time limited project though so for all I know right now this could take me years!