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Experimental jamming, the ideal stress buster and this week it’s rhubarb and ginger

Now I don’t mean jamming in the musical sense, although I expect that would be a lovely, calming experience too even if you can’t play a note in tune, like me. No, I mean playing with hot sugar, fruit and jam jars. Honestly making jam is really therapeutic and calming and not only that, if you start doing it now,you can make brilliant Christmas presents. It’s a real myth that you have to make vast quantities of jam or marmalade every single time which can put people off making it. If you choose and weigh your ingredients carefully, you can experiement with flavours and only make small amounts, then go ahead and make masses if you want to or just make it a little at a time.

One of the key challenges of making jam, is understanding when the jam has reached setting point and the beauty of experimenting with really small quantities is that they set very quickly. Everyone has their own preferred methods of checking, but I always place a couple of saucers in the freezer before I start cooking, and then when you think your jam is ready, take it off the heat and drop a teaspoonful on to the cold plate. If you push it with your finger it should wrinkle, that means it will set.

English forced rhubard, with its pretty pink colouring and sharp taste is a noble ingredient at the best of time and is wonderful in crumbles and fools, but combine it with crytallised ginger and you have a jam made in heaven, and so, so easy. You will need:

275g chopped, washed rhubarb (English forced pink is best)
275g preserving sugar with pectin
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon (or more if you really like it) of chopped, crystallised ginger
2 small jam jars with lids

Method:

Place your clean jam jars in the oven for 10 minutes on regulo 4/Gas 180 or 160 fan to sterilise them
Immerse the lids in boiling water (I just pour it over them from the kettle) and wipe them dry with clean kitchen roll
Simply place the washed rhubard and lemon juice in a non-stick pan over a low heat until the fruit is soft, takes 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the sugar and stir gently until it is absorbed
Increase the heat until it is bubbling – be careful not to do it for too long, mine only took 2 minutes to reach setting point
Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then stir in the chopped crystallised ginger
Pour or spoon the mixture into the hot jam jars (place waxed circles on top if you wish) and place the lids on the jars

This is so delicious with hot toast and butter, or Katy just eats it by the spoonful straight from the jar. It would be wonderful in a microwave sponge pudding or with scones. The joy is, that with small quantities you can try any flavours you like – plum and vanilla (Thanks Debbie, for that suggestion), blackberry and star anise, lime and ginger or orange and chocolate chip marmalades (or is that just wrong- jaffa cake marmalade?), the possibilities are endless. Watch this space for suggested christmas presents – flavoured oils, vodkas and a special Christmas jam recipe.

What the Halloween shall I do with all that pumpkin? Cupcakes and spooky soup, of course!

It’s that time of year again, when Katy and I carve pumpkins, just because we can and it’s such fun and we hope that the “Trick or Treat” brigade don’t throw bricks if not donated with sufficient amounts of chocolate (It was worrying last year how many of them had voices that had already broken). Disappointingly, no Halloween parties or discos this year, but on the plus side it means we don’t see Josh in his red velvet devil costume (Yes he really does, the minx, be grateful it’s Katy in the photo).

However, the biggest question on everyone’s mind is not “Paranormal 1” or “Paranormal 2”, it’s what the heck do you do with all that scooped out pumpkin? Well, Ellie’s recipe for a really good curried pumpkin soup to use up the flesh and for roasted pumpkin seeds is always a winner. I’ve included those further down as they are very easy to make and delicious. However, making cakes with vegetables is still the new black, so never one to resist a fashion trend, I present to you my Pumpkin Cupcakes.

PUMPKIN CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

100g unsalted butter, softened
190g caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
120g cooked, mashed pumpkin
275g self-raising flour plus 1 teaspoon of baking powder
Splash of milk if the mixture looks a little stiff
50g chopped walnuts plus a few for decoration

For the icing: 100g unsalted butter, 200g icing sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence all beaten together until pale and creamy

For the Cupcakes: Pre heat the oven to Gas mark 4/160 fan/180 electric. Cream the butter and sugar together (I chucked them in the food processor) once they are pale and creamy, add the eggs followed by all the spices and the mashed pumpkin. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and fold in gently, add a little milk if very stiff. Stir in the chopped walnuts and place in twelve large cupcake or muffin cases.

Place in the oven for 25 minutes or until a cocktail stick comes out clean. Decorate as you wish, I used vanilla butter icing (Literally, combine all the ingredients until creamy) and sprinkled with bright orange glitter, or get as spooky as you like with black icing etc. The pumpkin really does make these cakes lovely and moist, in fact if you have left over mashed butternut squash or parsnip it would be just as nice.

Ellie’s Spooky Soup

You will need: The innards of one pumpkin, (less a little bit for your cupcakes!) flesh chopped into manageable chunks.

One onion, chopped.
A couple of cloves of garlic, chopped.
One chopped up chilli).
A big pinch of dried curry leaves, or a big spoonful of curry powder.
Approximately 750mls of vegetable stock – made from 2 Kallo Organic chicken cubes
Salt and pepper to taste.
A big dollop of double-cream or half-fat crème
A splash of the oil of your choice.

Method

Heat up your oil in a big pan and throw in the onion, garlic and chilli. Cook until it all starts to soften but not go brown.
Chuck the pumpkin chunks in with it, add all the seasoning, and cook the lot until it’s going a bit golden and gooey (about 5 minutes).
Pour your stock in over the top, bring to the boil, and then simmer over a low heat for maybe 20 minutes, until the pumpkin has gone really soft.
If you have a hand blender (the kitchen gadget of champions, in my humble opinion), then whiz it up in the pan until it’s smooth; otherwise, obviously, you could stick it in a proper blender; if you are not lucky enough to own either of the above, a masher and a lumpy soup will still be tasty.
Dollop in your creamy component of choice, and then give it another whiz and heat it again for another minute or two. Serve with some sort of bread.

Toasted Pumpkin seeds

Take your pumpkin seeds (you can use butternut squash seeds as well, which is also good made in to Ellie’s soup as a pumpkin substitue). I tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon paprika.

Pre-heat your oven to low – Gas Mark 1 120 degrees C for fan assisted, C140 not
Rinse your seeds and then pat them dry with some kitchen roll
Place in a bowl and stir in the oil, salt and pepper and paprika
Line a baking tray with aluminium foil
Spread the seeds out on the tray and place in the oven for around 15-30 minutes until golden brown or until your hear them start to pop

These are great on the top of the soup, but also lovely hot from the oven with a glass of wine. Experiment with curry powder, worcester sauce, garlic or chilli oil.

Have a lovely Halloween!

Alain Roux – I love your cooking – try his sublime scallop mousse

Everyone knows that my favourite restaurant in the world is “The Waterside Inn” at Bray and that I have a bit of a pash for Alain Roux, who is not only a genius cook but one of the nicest people you will ever meet. His father of course is incomparable, but Alain has a much lighter touch and some of his new dishes are truly brilliant, But at the end of the day during my unforgettable cooking course at the Waterside, it was Alain who taught me how to fillet a Dover Sole and to make Italian meringue, so my heart stays with him.

Having seen father and son on “Saturday Morning Kitchen, which was pure entertainment in itself, I have been meaning to try the scallop mousse that Alain cooked on the show for ages. Having done this it was so easy and so delicious I really do urge you to try it. I changed the recipe very slightly (apologies Alain) but here’s my version, I also think this would be wonderful done with lobster or crab.

You will need 4 -6 small ramekins (those funny little ovenproof dishes) Ingredients: Enough butter to generously grease the dishes, 150g/5ozs scallops (white only no corals), 2 large eggs, 200m/7fl ozs double cream, pinch salt and some cayenne pepper. Alain used fresh herbs but I missed these out and used some of the asparagus ends lightly sauteed instead:To garnish: 25g/1oz butter, 150g fine asparagus, lemon juice and 4 large scallops (white only) (Alain made more of a sauce, I kept mine a little simpler)

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
Grease the ramekin dishes generously with the butter
Lightly saute the ends of the asparagus

Place them at the bottom of the greased ramekins

Blend the scallops and eggs in a food processor for one minute or until smooth. Add the cream, salt and cayenne pepper and blend for a further minute.

Divide the mousse mixture evenly between the ramekins and cover each ramekin with aluminium foil.

Place the ramekins in a roasting tray and add enough boiling water to come half way up the sides.
Place into the oven and cook for about 20-25 minutes. A skewer should come out cleanly
Heat the butter in a frying pan and cook the scallops on high for a couple of minutes until they are slightly browned on the outside but still tender inside – don’t overcook!
Remove from the pan and toss the cooked asparagus in the butter until it is warmed through, drizzle lemon juice over the top
Remove the foil from the ramekins, loosen the timbales with a small knife and turn each one out onto a warm plate.
Place slices of scallop on the side, along with the asparagus spears and any remaining butter.

Due warning though Waterside, our lovely friends Helen and Joe are taking me to Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester this week – you have come out top against other Michelin starred venues I’ve visited – will you still be triumphant after Thursday? Watch this space

The Bonnie and Wild in Islington – Scottish seafood and game of the highest quality

The Bonnie & Wild is one of the new concept restaurants that are spreading through London, although they prefer to be known as a part-time restaurant rather than a pop-up. It is a fantastic idea, and this group of young, passionate food enthusiasts is doing a stalwart job that deserves our support. Based at 74 Chapel Market Islington, on Friday and Saturday nights they turn what is a renowned Pie and Mash shop ( M Manze) in to a showcase for their cooking and produce. The best part of Bonnie and Wild is the quality of the food they serve, amazing game brought down fresh from Scotland mixed with other locally sourced produce, simply, but effectively cooked. The victorian building is listed and has that wonderful charm that is somewhere between a high-class public convenience and a cosy pub. (Fay Maschler might have been right about the cushions though, guys!) The tables are narrow and functional and the seating is booth-style, maximum of 6. The name Bonnie & Wilde comes from the two suppliers used Bonnie Gull Ltd and the Wild Game Co, who bring Scottish game down to a variety of markets, such as Leadenhall, However, here with the use of a BBQ they bring themselves, the kitchen is not the most sophisticated after all, it was just to cook pies, they cook their own produce. The chef is Iain Sim, who during the week cooks at the Mussel Inn in Edinburgh and he does a great job. The menu is simple and changes on a weekly basis, with a choice of 3 starters and 3 main courses, with a pud or cheese to follow for £29.00 per head. It’s a bring your own booze joint, at a charge of £3.50 per head.. This is always a mixed blessing and if your party is anything like ours was, we all totally over-compensated and ended up bringing twice as much as we would normally order and and of course, felt duty-bound to drink it. Judging from the raucous conversations coming from some of the other tables, this seems to be fairly normal here. Quiet and intimate it isn’t, lively and buzzing definitely.

On to the food, we started by ordering one of the starters, the fresh oysters, as a separate dish to have with our drinks and to accompany the rather delicious bread with balsamic vingaer and olive oil that was served. The oysters were traditionally served with lemon and a well prepared shallots in a red wine vinegar and were plump and delicious. The other two choices were a goats’ cheese and walnut salad, served on a crouton which was fine, the goats’ cheese was of a high quality and the simple salad and dressing went well. Nothing exceptional, but good solid food. However, my choice of first course was exceptional and is one of the things that they do so well there. I had the pigeon breast on a simple salad and it was cookedto prfection. Rare enough to be succulent, but cooked on their BBQ enough to get a beautiful flavour, I would go back just to eat that again. The choices for the next course were a vegetarian pasta, sea bass or venison fillet. Given Bonnie & Wild’s specialities, this is really not the place to go for vegetarian food, not because it isn’t good, although I ahve to confess I didn’t even try it, but because the meat is so fine, that it’s criminal to eat anythign else. Talking to Andy (pictured above with the lovely Errol Fuller – check him out on Youtube and see what you get – I guarantee you’ll love him), one of the co-owners the venison is apparently at the best of the season at the moment, and OMG (I’ve turned in to a texting teenage girl in my enthusiasm) it showed. This was without doubt the best and most delicous venison I have ever tasted. Don’t be put off by the presentation above, the truth is that we were all so greedy that we had already started eating before we realised we hadn’t taken a photograph. A fillet was shared between 2 people and was simply served on board, with chips and a little salad. There were 2 sauces served seperately – a redcurrant jus, which was pleasant and a hollandaise that had lovely flavours (you might want to re-think the consistency though guys) but the star of the dish was the venison itself. I do like mine super-rare, but those in our party who had it more cooked agreed it was still succulent and tender. Am I rambling? yes, possibly as I am positively watering at the mouth just thinking back to it!

The dessert/cheese menu was a little limited and the advertised pear and almond tart was substituted by an apricot version which was fine, but not amazing.

I went for the cheeseboard and would have liked a little more history about the cheeses that were served and where they came from, but again, perfectly adequate.

All in all, this is definitely worth a visit if you like simple high quality game and seafood, beautifully cooked then go and support this worthy venture. You can book direct on their website http://bonniewild.co.uk/ but hurry, because places go fast.

Delightful Dorset – Tiddy Oggies, Mark Hix and an 80th birthday party

It was my mother’s 80th birthday last month and to celebrate, the family decided to take her for a suprise holiday to Dorset. This is her, with her beautiful granddaughters.Are you thinking knitting, crochet, gentle walks along the seafront? Forget it, my mother may be 80 but she still parties like a rock star.

There were 11 of us, plus Lily the dog and we rented a 6-bedroom barn just outside of Bridport at a place called Lower Eype. http://www.barnonthecoast.co.uk/index.htm . For once, the photos on the website don’t actually do it justice, it is a fabulous, open barn conversion with a sizeable garden. The fittings are definitely a little shabby chic, but that was actually very relaxing and I loved the style. It had two huge sitting rooms, a dining area that would easily seat 14 and an open, welcoming kitchen with an enormous sit round kitchen table. (Not really a criticism, but it is worth bearing in mind that there is 1 amazing bedroom, 2 very nice and 3 quite small, so establish your pecking order in advance!) Add a grand piano (yes, really there was one!), and frankly it was just lovely. 10 minutes walk to the beach and 5 minutes walk to the local pub, the New Inn. Heaven!

I had pre-ordered a Waitrose Entertaining curry selection for dinner on the first night, which was delivered that afternoon along with copious quantities of wine, beer, vodka and other essentials. Next day, after an English-style day on the beach that reminded me of childhood holidays – you know, windbreakers, beach cricket, freezing swimming and sauvignon blance – (okay, maybe not the sauvignon blanc, but somehow warm orange juice wasn’t going to do it for me) we went to the local Eype pub for dinner. After Dermott the landlord had got over the shock of being asked for a table for 11, plus the dog, he was extremely accommodating that night and for the rest of the week and went out of his way to be helpful. The male drinkers in the party were absolutely enchanted by the local brewery (Palmers) and the food was unremarkable, but reasonable.Monday, those of us that are fish lovers decided to treat ourselves and we had booked in at Mark Hix, oyster and fish restaurant in Lyme Regis ( http://www.hixoysterandfishhouse.co.uk/) His deep fried oysters with horseradish mayonnaise as an extra bit of loveliness to have with a drink were stunning, but my crab curry was the dish of the day for me. The day of days arrived along with a beautiful summer sunshine and was spent picknicking on the beach after a champagne breakfast. In the evening, after a “Hello” style photo shoot arranged by Ian and Joss, we had booked a room at the Bull Hotel in Bridport http://www.thebullhotel.co.uk/. The cheese straws with champagne in the courtyard were amazing, and I was impressed that the chef managed to cook that many steaks to such a high standard. It was good, solid unpretentious food and the setting was lovely. The party only stopped at 3.30 that morning when for the first time in many, many years my mother sent my brother and I to bed. Happy Days.I couldn’t mention Dorset without mentioning Tiddy Oggies, which are basically Dorset’s version of the pasty and it is true to say, that the day following the amazing birthday, a walk over the cliffs to West Beach and a Tiddy Oggy saved my life.

I can’t remember the last time a week has gone so quickly and possibely the only thing in the world that could have cheered me up on my way home that Friday was knowing we were going to stop at the Hive Beach Cafe, Burton Bradstock for breakfast http://www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk/. We had stopped on the way for lunch, scene of Jimmy’s valiant fight against the giant crab (we still think the crab may have just had it on points), but this time all we really wanted were carbohydrates and breakfast food to help cure our misery. Their Eggs Benedict is a wonderful dish and I highly recommend anyone to stop for either breakfast, lunch or just because you can. Glorious views and glorious food and frankly that summed up our lovely birthday week.

Mango Jam – trust me there isn’t another decent recipe for it!

Those of you who know me well, understand my secret vice. No, not that one…..but jam making. I absolutely adore it, there is something so therapeutic about a large pan full of bubbling fruit and sugar which you then place in to crystal clean glass jars. It’s a blend of 50’s housewife meets “Charlie and the Chocolate factory”. So there I was in the supermarket, and I see a pile of delicious, Alfonso mangoes on special offer – 4 for £1, can you believe it? I had to have them and so bought 8, with visions of a delicious, tropical jam in mind. However, I get home and scour through my adored Marguerite Patten’s “Guide to Jams and Jellies” and there is nothing, I then resort to the internet and again, the only recipe that pops up is far too over-spiced for my liking. So it’s invention time! I decide that there is probably very little pectin and mangoes and will therefore rely on my good friend, commercial pectin. 1 hour later, I have six bottles of the most delightful looking mango jam and it was easy, easy, easy. Try it and see. Ingredients:

1 kilo of fresh, chopped up ripe mango (that’s the worst bit of the recipe, as they can be messy)
1.5 kilos of preserving sugar
1 bottle of commercial pectin (I use Certo).

Method

Place the sugar and the mangoes in to a large preserving pan and heat very gently until all the sugar has dissolved
Boil rapidly – that’s really bubbling for just 1 minute
Remove from the heat and stir in the Certo
Leave for 20 minutes and then bottle in to clean, sterilised jam jars.I made the mistake of bottling straight away, and that meant that all the fruit floated to the tops of the jars. Next time, I’ll leave it in the pan for twenty minutes and bottle it then. I’m also planning to make a vanilla sponge cake and put mango jam and whipped double cream with coconut liquer in it as a sort of tropical victoria jam sponge. Watch out for pictures.

Last and totlally unrelated to jam, I just had to put in this picture of me meeting “One Direction” at the Katie Piper Ball on Thursday. They look faintly terrified don’t they??

Delightful Dorset….I’ve come over all “Famous Five” and feel the need to cook Apple Cake

Apologies everyone, there has been no blogging for a while, because one of the most fabulous things about Dorset is that there is no mobile phone signal nor wireless to blight our lovely, traditional English holiday. Now that I’m home contemplating my belly, maybe all those cream teas and pasties were a bit of a mistake, but oh dear what is it about the English seaside that makes you yearn for “High Tea” even if in these post-Enid Blyton days that consists more of cheesy chips rather than bloater paste and fruit cake?

We were in Dorset to celebrate my mother’s 80th birthday and celebrate we did…my god, there was dancing. I promise to post reviews of local restaurants (Oh, Hive beach cafe I miss you already) and a general review of Dorset as a holiday venue, but in the meantime, here is a replay of my own recipe for Dorset Apple Cake, which really is both easy and delicious. Go on try it…you’re worth it and it is definitely worthy of a spiffing, famous five style high tea.

Kim’s Dorset Apple Cake (as cooked by Kim and Louise for “Taste of Dorset” last year)This spicy, moist apple cake can be served warm with custard or clotted cream or sliced cold. It is moist and delicious and best eaten within 2 days. Ingredients

450g/1lb cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced  Juice of 1 lemon
100g/4ozs unsalted butter     175g/6ozs dark soft brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten      3 tablespoons of golden syrup
25g ground almonds      225g/8ozs plain flour
5ml/1 teaspoon mixed spice     5ml/1 teaspoon cinnamon
10ml/2 teaspoons baking powder    3 tablespoons buttermilk or milk
1 tablespoon of clear honey     1 tablespoon of Demerara sugar

Equipment: Mixing bowl, hand mixer (optional), sieve, 18cm/7inch round cake tin, greaseproof paper

Method
1. Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 3/170Cor 150C for a fan oven
2. Line the bottom of your tin with greaseproof paper and butter the sides
3. Weigh out your flour, spices and baking powder in to a separate bowl
4. Peel, core and chop your apples in to small pieces and place in a bowl with the lemon juice – stir thoroughly to make sure all the apples are coated so that they do not go brown – set aside
5. In your large mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugar using your hand mixer or by hand until it is fluffy and creamy
6. Add the eggs gradually, mixing thoroughly as you do so
7. Add the golden syrup and ground almonds
8. Place your hand mixer aside and using your sieve, sieve the flour baking powder and spices in to your large mixing bowl
9. Using a spoon or spatula gently fold the flour in to the mixture
10. Fold in the buttermilk and the apples – DO NOT OVER MIX AS YOU WANT TO KEEP AS MUCH AIR AS POSSIBLE IN THE CAKE
11. Turn the mixture in to your prepared tin and bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours depending on your oven. It should be well risen and firm to the touch
12. Turn out on a rack to cool
13. When the cake is cold, brush it all over with the clear honey and sprinkle with Demerara sugar

OPTION: For a very grown-up version, whilst the cake is still warm, turn it upside down and make some holes in the bottom with a skewer and drizzle amaretto or brandy in to the cake

Sanctum on the Green – has John Burton-Race got it right?

Berkshire is an incredibly competitive area to open a restaurant, you are rubbing shoulders with the likes of Heston, the Rouxs and Tom Kerridge, a dazzling array of michelin stars. So had John Burton-Race got it right, as Consultant Executive Chef (Fancy title, John)at ‘Sanctum on the Green’ in Cookham? Was it a place of “inviolable privacy” (check your definition of sanctum dictionary lovers!)? More to the point, how was the cooking?

Now I have met John on several occasions, all through the rounds of “Britain’s Best Dish”, pus the Celebrity version and in fact, he even cooked at John’s cousin’s wedding at the Landmark. So having experienced his close scrutiny of my cooking, I thought it was time to repay the compliment.

Sanctum on the Green (http://www.sanctumonthegreen.com/index.html) is an absolutely charming hotel, set on Old Cricketer’s Common it has been most beautifully refurbished. I loved the pool area, it felt very Hollywood and rather glamorous and definitely a haven of privacy. The restaurant is small, but feels intimate without being too cramped. Check out the pictures on their website.

There was a wedding going on when we arrived, whcih meant that there was a marquee in the garden which rather swamped the view, but the staff were absolutely lovely, and we did not feel in the slightest bit neglected or left out. I really didn’t know what to expect, and the simple, well-priced menu was quite refreshing. There was a set menu with 2 choices for each course (£20 for 2 courses, £25 for 3) and an A la carte menu. We were served with an Amuse bouche of a substantial liver parfait, which had a delicate flavour:I started with a ballotine of chicken (above) from the set menu.My main course was a classic turbot with hollandaise and new potatoes, which was a lovely, light summer dish, the belly of pork from the set menu was also good. A creme brulee for dessert was okay but unremarkable.

To summarise, the food was very simple and well-cooked. It is not going to alarm the Roux brothers nor Heston, the michelin star holders won’t be quaking in their designer boots, but then I don’t think it was designed for that. If you want a lovely setting, good food and a very reasonable price then this is the place for you. The thing that really stood out for me, was the service. Rachel, the restaurant manager was charming and attentive and the rest of the team were also excellent. This really made the evening for us.

Well done, John I think you made excellent choices in your menu design. You didn’t try for the elaborate style of your Bray neighbours, which is a good thing. You’ve provided us with a really good venue that we can visit often, without breaking the bank.

Criticisms? Whilst I enjoyed the rather eclectic 80’s mix in the background, I am a bit funny about music in restaurants and for me, if it’s not live, or very low key background, I’m not so keen and prefer silence., but this was a small point and did nothing to detract from our evening. In all, I was a happy anniversary gal.

Christmas is coming…time to make your blackberry and blueberry vodka

Okay so I don’t want to come up with the cliche of telling you how many shopping days are left between now and Christmas, but if you want some extra loveliness, now is the time to prepare! Like puppies, this liquer shouldn’t be only for Christmas, but it has become a bit of a tradition on both Chrsitmas Eve and Christmas morning in our house, to drink kir royales; made with my own version of the “cassis” bit. Homemade blackberry liquer and champagne is heavenly, this is also good for Christmas presents, too .This is the easiest thing in the world but do it now, so that it will be beautiful by Christmas time and here is how you do it:

This year it’s blueberry and blackberry vodka

Ingredients (as above) vodka, fresh blackberries, fresh blueberries, cheap vodka (last year I used brandy, but I’m going for a lighter flavour this year), caster sugar and a sterilised kilner jar. (You could add a vanilla pod to create something really different).Method: Layer the fruit in to the kilner jar with about 4 tablespoons of caster sugar and then fill with vodka and seal. Leave in a dark place for a minimum of 3 months, then strain the fruit out of the vodka and decant in to a clean, sterilised bottle. At this stage you can taste it, and if too sweet add more vodka, or if not sweet enough add some sugar syrup. Leave in the dark for a further month (or more) then serve either ice cold as an after dinner drink, or with champagne.Roll on Christmas!

A secret passion – canapés – a lifetime love of little things on toast

Those of you who know me well, know I have a secret passion …Louis Vuitton, champagne…oh, the list goes on. It’s bizarrely for canapés, I just love those wonderful little concoctions that you can eat in one bite at drinks parties, or before a lovely dinner. Call it an amuse bouche and frankly, I’m anybody’s! I am truly in heaven when at one of those lovely restaurants where chef sends out a little amuse bouche just before your main course, or a palate tickler as I like to think of it. Small bites of paradise.

So enough of my secret sausage on a stick vice, last Sunday we were having the lovely neighbours round for drinks, so I took the opportunity to unleash the cocktail sticks. To follow are some unbelievably easy canapé recipes, plus I rolled out Joyce’s lovely cream cheese concoction which is always a winner. (See “Joyce takes a dip…and it’s a cream cheese one” under Everyday Grub)

New potatoes stuffed with smoked salmon: You will need the smallest new potatoes you can find, just roast them with groundnut oil and sea salt for about 20 minutes, Gas Mark 6/200C or 180 Fan. Allow them to cool and then using the end of a vegetable peeler, scoop out a little hollow in each one. Just before serving fill them with sour cream, a little smoked salmon and a tiny bit of caviar (real or faux depending on your budget!). These are also really good with crumbled crispy bacon instead of smoked salmon.

Chilli Prawn and Mango Skewers: Throw some ready cooked prawns in to some lime juice (about 2 limes) , with about 1 inch of grated ginger, a chopped red chilli (take out the seeds) and a small bunch of chopped coriander, with a crushed clove of garlic and leave for a couple of hours.

Thread them on cocktail sticks with a chunk of sweet mango and then pour the rest of the marinade on top and serve.

Meatballs with Chilli Jam or minted yogurt: Take 500g minced beef or lamb and mix with 3 flat teaspoons of ground coriander and ground cumin. Add a tablespoon each of chopped coriander and fresh rosemary and some salt and pepper. Combine together with one large egg and roll into small meatballs. Insert a small cube of feta cheese in to the centre of each one, making sure that the meat covers it completely. Place a tablespoon of sunflower oil in to a hot frying pan, and fry the meatballs for about 15 minutes until browned and well-cooked. Either serve straight away, or allow to cool and then place in an ovenproof dish at 180/160 fan Gas Mark 4 for 15 minutes and serve with a dish of either chilli jelly or yogurt mixed with fresh mint.Then to finish, some lovely sweet ones . Strawberries with a Chocolate Dip: All you need is strawberries and a jar of chocolate spread. If you want to be really clever, swirl some melted white chocolate in it, or mix it with a little malibu. So simple, but everyone thinks you’re so clever. My kind of cooking!