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"5 things I've learnt this week" Thoughts on food, life and things I've learnt along the way

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This week's newsletter recipe is for my Tangy Lamb Tagine. This is a great dish packed with flavour - all you have to do is throw a bunch of ingredients in a pot and let them cook for a couple of hours and the result is magic! Slow cooked lamb shoulder, with the sweetness of apricot and the gentle heat of cayenne pepper - this dish will warm up your senses in no time.

Throughout November, the theme for my newsletters is 'Winter Warmers'. Each of this month's delicious recipes contain just enough spice to warm those winter months. I have 4 great exclusive recipes and cook-along videos for you, from Satay Pork to Curried Cauliflower Soup. With valuable cooking tips & fun food news from around the web, sign up for free today.

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This week has been strange. I've dreamt I was in the jungle, embarrassed myself in public and invented some fun Christmas recipes.

Last weekend was nice and sedate for a change. On Saturday morning we thought it might be fun to go into town to see if we could get started on Christmas shopping. It seemed like a good idea, however it also seemed like everyone else in Cheltenham had the same idea, as it was absolutely packed. The crowds, coupled with BabyChef pulling at her reins like a hyperactive Great Dane, meant that very little was actually achieved, but at least it kept me warm! On Saturday afternoon, I practised some Christmas recipes - my favourite being edible honeycomb holly. I have the recipes sorted for my Christmas newsletters, but I want to put some up on my site for general viewing, so I was like a child in a sweetshop with pots and pans on the go (interspersed with the very occasional odd 'bad' word). On Saturday evening, the festive mood was put aside and we enjoyed turkey fajitas. Turkey thigh is great for this - it's so cheap and tasty, although how we were hungry is beyond me, given all the treats we had sampled that afternoon!

On Sunday morning, we did the boring 'big shop' and despite making a list, inevitably forgot half the things we needed. On Sunday afternoon, Mrs AC took BabyChef to the in-laws whilst I got my newsletter ready to go out with my recipe for Tangy Lamb Tagine. Sunday evening saw the return of our Sunday night favourite - a lovely Macaroni Cheese. I had some leftover mascarpone from the day before, which added a lovely richness to the cheese sauce.

This week started strangely, partly due to my Sunday evening TV viewing, and partly due to my cheese induced sleep on Sunday night. I woke having dreamt that I was in 'I'm a celebrity get me out of here.' It was one of those 'real' dreams… I was in the jungle with David Haye and the others and even did a bush tucker trial. All I remember was that I had to eat Kangaroo 'bottom' and then kept going on about how nice it would be in a stir fry. In classic dream form, the show's producers then realised that I wasn't famous and told me I shouldn't be there and that I had to leave. So how's that for weird?!

This week's cooking has been delicious and, thankfully, kangaroo-free. We've had had my Beef Chilli with rice, from the freezer, along with my 'Magnificently Moreish Pork Pasta'. My mum had cooked the pork recipe at the weekend and kindly gave me her leftover ingredients - She often makes my recipes! Well I say 'makes' my recipes, but usually she substitutes many of the ingredients for whatever she has available. But not this time! I gratefully received a couple of pork loins, some parmesan and fresh pasta. All ingredients in my actual recipe! I haven't cooked this myself in a while and had forgotten how great it tastes. Magnificently moreish is definitely the best way to describe it and a real change to have pork in a pasta dish. This week, I've also made a cheesy sausage pasta - the result of having forgotten to defrost chicken breasts for a salad. The pasta was a nice throw-together dish - a bit like macaroni cheese, but with tagliatelle. I alway keep some fresh pasta in the freezer as it's ideal for a last minute meal because it can be cooked from frozen in minutes.

To top off my week, yesterday I had to pop into town and I managed, whilst walking through a busy street, to walk into a lamp post. A brand new Aston Martin had pulled up about 100m away and I was turning to look and see who it belonged to (vaguely wondering if it was the 'Hoff', who has supposedly sold his Malibu home to move to a nearby village?!?!?!)… I walked head first into a lamp post. There are things that you don't mean to do, but you can make look like you intended to - i.e. slipping on a wet floor in a bar and turning it into a 'dance walk' to the bar. Walking into a lamp post is not one of those things… I didn't injure myself, but to be honest, I was up and out of there that quickly, that I didn't wait to find out. My face was scarlet. Last night, I finally remembered to defrost the chicken and made a salad with a honey and paprika marinade. It only takes an hour to marinade chicken enough to really take on the flavour and we're trying to eat more salad!

This weekend, Mrs AC and I are off out for the night in Cheltenham to let our hair down. With my ever decreasing hairline though, 'letting my hair down' could have disastrous results!

5 things I've learnt this week

Christmas is coming, the chef is getting fat
Kangaroo-bottom stir fry - you heard it here first
Too much cheese makes me dream... of Ant and Dec
My mum does actually cook my recipes
Walking into a lamp post is worse on the ego than on the head

That's all from me this week and I hope that you have a great weekend.

Happy cooking,

The Amateur Chef


Posted @ 15:30 on 16 November 2012

Last weekend was so much fun. On Saturday, we went up to friends in Nantwich for a bonfire party and the hosts didn't disappoint. The bonfire was 20ft high and the fireworks wouldn't have been out of place on the Southbank on New Years Eve. We had lots to drink and even more to eat, including some amazing toffee apple sausages from Cheerbrook Farm Shop. We had been worried about BabyChef, as it was the first time she had slept in the same room as Mrs AC and I since she was about 4 weeks old. We thought that any problems would be worth it though, as she'd get to mix with lots of people and she always loves big get togethers. In true BabyChef style, the opposite happened. She screamed at EVERYONE, and slept through without a peep. Strange little thing. We had a great time though, so big thanks to Mandy & Simon! Back home on Sunday, we had a lazy day, followed by Beef Chilli - perfect for a chilly(!) Sunday evening. Beef Chilli is one of my favourites in the winter as it's so so comforting, with just enough heat to warm you up.

This week's cooking started with my 'Mincey Pasta' on Monday  - the recipe that I wrote about in my blog last week. I still haven't come up with a good name for it though... 'Mincey Pasta' doesn't quite sound right! We've also had baked potatoes and I filmed my Tangy Lamb Tagine, which is going out on my newsletter this Sunday. This recipe may well be one of my quickest and easiest to throw together, so I hope that you enjoy it! 

In other news this week, BabyChef may have started the terrible twos, 3 months early. She's generally a happy little soul, but her favourite word at the moment is "no", followed by screaming. I'm clinging to the hope that if she's started 3 months early, she should grow out of it 3 months earlier too…?! I'm clinging to this notion, rather than thinking that this is only the prelude to turning two. Parents that I've mentioned this to have not exactly filled me with confidence. Usually it's been a little laugh, followed by "you could be right…". 

I've also been really annoyed by something. On Twitter this week, there's been a spat going on, referred to as Bosigate. The background is this: Amateur food blogger James Isherwood dined at, and then reviewed Mayfair's award winning Hibiscus restaurant. In James' review on his blog diningwithjames.blogspot.co.uk, he dared to criticise one portion of the meal. Renowned head chef Claude Bosi then took to Twitter, berating poor James and calling him the 'c-word' for not speaking up at the time of dining. Since then, other chefs have come out in support of Bosi, and renowned food critics have also had their pop at James for his amateur writing and lack of understanding. This is what's bothering me... What difference would complaining in the restaurant have actually made? James didn't enjoy a part of the meal. As a paying customer was he obliged to enjoy it?? Had he spoken up (and had the technical and culinary argument been put to him about why the chef had put certain ingredients together), it wouldn't have changed the fact that he didn't like the dish! I have nothing but respect for most highly renowned restaurants, and some top chefs are clearly geniuses in their profession. But to call a diner the c-word for having the temerity to criticise a small element of the meal? Bosi not so much crossed the line, but took a flying leap across it. In my opinion, the only way that something like this could be avoided, is if pretentious chefs begin entrance exams to their restaurants. I can see the exchange now…"Yes sir, a table for 2, but first we need to check that you're sufficiently qualified to eat here, and that your amateur little palate can fully appreciate the magnificence that we're going to allow you to pay for"."Oh, I was only after a bit of dinner"… Here's a link to the review on James' website and here's an article in today's Mail Online about the spat. Rant over.

Back to me. Tonight I've got friends coming round for dinner. The bhangra beats will be…beating…? as I'm cooking up a couple of curries. It should be a great evening and I'm really looking forward to it. As for the rest of the weekend, we had hoped to go and see 'Skyfall' at the cinema, however the lack of babysitting options, added to the fact that BabyChef isn't a James Bond fan, means it is unlikely. At least when we do go and see it, we should have the cinema to ourselves, as it seems as if we are the only people in the country yet to see it.

5 things I've learnt this week

BabyChef snores like a baby rhino
My 'mincey pasta' needs a new name fast
The terrible twos are here
Be careful what you write online (gulp!)
Mrs AC and I may be the only people in the country not to have seen Skyfall

That's all from me this week and I hope that you have a great weekend.

Happy cooking,

The Amateur Chef

Posted @ 16:15 on 09 November 2012


Following a 'robust' night out with my oldest friend Andy, it meant starting the weekend with a hangover, which is never good! My wonderful wife, however, gave me a lie-in so that when I surfaced, I didn't quite resemble prehistoric man - more like his ever so slightly, more evolved friend. On Saturday morning, we walked into town and bought BabyChef her first pair of gloves. 10 minutes later, we bought her second pair of gloves. The little minx had discarded the first pair at the first opportunity, when we weren't looking. Parents please tell me - how do you keep gloves on their little paws?! Back home in the warmth, unlike the week before, I remembered to make my pizza dough so we had delicious homemade pizzas on Saturday evening. The toppings of choice were sausage, mushrooms and red onion. Mrs AC wouldn't let me put nachos on them this week after we discovered them on a shop-bought pizza last week - not a great loss though.

Sunday morning started with a treat, a full English/Scottish/Irish (delete as appropriate based on your location) breakfast. We had sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms, beans and hash browns. Following the feast, it was time for Amelia Earhart (Mrs AC) to take to the skies for a flying lesson, which I had bought for her birthday in January, 10 months ago… Mrs AC had an amazing time, and was actually in control of the plane for most of the hour they were in the air. As the plane didn't have a baby seat (!), BabyChef and I watched from the ground, armed with hot chocolate. I have to say that I was more than relieved to see the plane come back into view and, even more so, after watching a safe landing. I'm just glad that I didn't know that Mrs AC would be in control of the plane right up until the moment of landing. I would have been more than a little bit worried! I love the fact that we have a private airport 6 minutes from my house as it somehow makes me feel famous. There was an enormous private jet in a huge glass hanger near to Mrs AC's tiny plane. All I need is that private jet to go with my pilot wife. Oh, and fame and fortune to be able to afford it! On Sunday night, we ate our staple Sunday night meal of macaroni cheese - a perfect way to end a fun weekend.

The week started as I predicted it would. Baby Chef waking up at 5.30am as we forgot to tell her that the clocks had gone back, and Mrs AC claiming jet lag. Not from her epic air travel, but from the ONE hour difference in time. This happens every time the clocks change and she loves to marvel at the sudden change in light too. On Monday, I cooked fish and salad - a really nice breaded fish that gets baked in the oven (Mrs AC's recipe actually!) Tuesday was experiment day, and I had intended to make a weird, but delicious, pork belly dish. I got one of them correct - it was weird, but certainly far from delicious! On Wednesday, I made a slow-cooked satay pork which is going out in a few weeks on my newsletter. It was so nice and doubly pleasing following the previous night's attempts, as the dish was perfect on the first attempt! Wednesday was also Halloween. I had bought sweets on Saturday, thinking that the kids might come round on Saturday night, however we proceeded to eat them all before Wednesday, so had to replace them. By Wednesday night, I was practically praying that we would get plenty of kids coming round, as I don't think my teeth could have coped with anymore chewy sweets. Luckily, we were visited by 3 skeletons, 4 witches, Superman?, 6 zombies and one child who I can only describe as… dressed as a terrorist. Complete with a fake, but very real looking machine gun…

Last night, I made my curried cauliflower soup, which was so warming. Creamy velvety soup, with a hint of curry heat, topped with fiery-hot bacon croutons. This will also be going out in a newsletter in November. The theme for my newsletters this month is 'winter warmers' - maybe not the most original of titles, but all the dishes have a little spice. From next week's lamb tagine, to my curried cauliflower soup with fiery croutons and my slow-cooked satay pork.

This weekend, we're excited to be venturing out of the Shire and visiting friends for a bonfire night party. With a badly teething and poorly BabyChef in tow, this could be interesting however, like her mother, BabyChef is full of surprises and the change of scenery (and hundreds of loud fireworks) might be just what she needs! Fingers crossed.

5 things I've learnt this week

Starting a weekend with a hangover is like running in sand - hard work
Mrs AC actually flew a plane and didn't crash
After 36 21 years, Mrs AC still gets surprised by how dark it gets after the clocks go back
Five packets of Frutella sweets do not count towards my 5-a-day
Being confronted by a 9 year old machine-gun-toting-terrorist demanding sweets, is the one of the weirdest things I've ever encountered

That's all from me this week and I hope that you have a great weekend.

Happy cooking,

The Amateur Chef

 

Posted @ 12:15 on 02 November 2012

Last weekend was so much fun. On Saturday, we went up to friends in Nantwich for a bonfire party and the hosts didn't disappoint. The bonfire was 20ft high and the fireworks wouldn't have been out of place on the Southbank on New Years Eve.
Following a 'robust' night out with my oldest friend Andy, it meant starting the weekend with a hangover, which is never good! My wonderful wife, however, gave me a lie-in so that when I surfaced, I didn't quite resemble prehistoric man - more like his ever so slightly, more evolved friend.
It's been a few weeks since my last post. I've had one of those times that most people go through, when things are quiet. Not unenjoyable, but just not 'broadcast to the web' enjoyable. There have, however, been a few highlights over the last couple of weeks that I would like to share.
It's been a few weeks since my last post. I've had one of those times that most people go through, when things are quiet. Not unenjoyable, but just not 'broadcast to the web' enjoyable. There have, however, been a few highlights over the last couple of weeks

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