Spicy Cottage Pie with Nutmeg Brussels Sprouts

Cottage Pie in its most basic form is of course minced or ground beef, topped with mashed potato. Usually, however, there will be some vegetables added to the beef. Carrots, peas and onions are popular additions of this type. This Cottage Pie is a little bit more spicy, however, designed to provide a little more heat on a cold Winter's night and I hope that it is something which you will be prepared to try. This is a recipe for two people.

Ingredients

1lb minced/ground beef
1 pint fresh beef stock
1/2lb potatoes
1 small carrot (diced)
1 small onion (very finely chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (very finely chopped)
1 small red chilli pepper (de-seeded and very finely chopped)
20 mini Brussels sprouts or ten larger ones
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Butter
Large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Method

The beef should be browned in a dry, non-stick pan, before the carrots, onions, garlic, chilli and heated beef stock are added. The mix should be seasoned to taste with salt and freshly black pepper. It should then be simmered for half an hour.

When the beef is simmering, the potatoes should be peeled and chopped and added to a pot of salted, boiling water and simmered for twenty to twenty-five minutes until soft. They should then be drained and mashed with a little butter.

The beef, vegetables and remaining stock should then be placed in to a casserole dish. The potato should first be spooned evenly on top and then smoothed out carefully with a knife. The Cottage Pie should then be placed in to the oven - pre-heated to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6 - for twenty-five to thirty minutes. It can be browned under the grill for a couple of minutes, prior to serving, if desired.

The small sprouts that I have used here should be simmered in salted water for around eight minutes. larger sprouts will take ten to twelve minutes. It is important not to overcook the sprouts, as this will cause them to turn mushy and most unappealing. They should then be drained and swirled in a little butter and the nutmeg before being served with a portion of Cottage Pie.

Food Tip of the Day - Tuesday, December 29th, 2009: Vegetarian Meals that Meat Eaters Will Enjoy

The often heated debate as to which is right, the vegetarian or the carnivore - or perhaps more commonly and accurately, the omnivore - is one which has of course raged for some time and one which is unlikely to know any form of compromise or resolution in the foreseeable future. This would at first glance therefore only serve to further complicate the daunting prospect of trying to come up with a vegetarian meal which meat eaters will enjoy.

Fortunately, if one begins by examining the myths which meat eaters associate with vegetarians and vegetarian cooking, it is entirely possible to come up with a wide and varied repertoire of dishes which, if not necessarily converting omnivores to vegetarians, will at least allow them to enjoy for once a meal which is devoid of any form of animal flesh.

Ideas for Vegetarian Meals that Meat Eaters Will Enjoy

Glossary of Christmas Food Cooking Tips 2009

Food plays a huge part in Christmas celebrations and this glossary of Christmas food cooking tips is intended to provide easy access to a whole host of information on how best to prepare and to cook some of the more common foodstuffs associated with Christmas and Christmas lunch or Christmas dinner.

Yesterday on this blog, we considered recipe ideas for those who will be spending Christmas 2009 alone. Today, as well as looking at traditional Christmas food, we will also consider those who perhaps don't like turkey, prefer to cook turkey in portions, or simply wish to have something different for Christmas dinner this year, such as steak, chicken or salmon. Whatever the Christmas food tip is that you are looking for, I very much hope that you find reference to it somewhere below.

Although I wrote some of these articles, there are also a great deal of them written by different writers from around the world. I hope that this increases the value of the overall glossary in terms of variation. I have arranged these links in alphabetical order by the name of the foodstuff, for what I hope makes for easier navigation.

Beef: How to cook shin of beef

Broccoli: How to cook broccoli

Brussels Sprouts: How to get your kids to eat Brussels sprouts

Chicken: Best way to roast a chicken

Cakes: Crazy cute Christmas cupcakes

Christmas Pudding: How to make Christmas pudding

Eggnog: A delicious Christmas eggnog recipe

Ham: How to cook a ham

Parsnips: How to cook parsnips

Potatoes:How to bake the perfect potato

Potatoes: How to make homemade potato chips

Potatoes: How to make perfect roast potatoes

Potatoes: The best way to mash potatoes

Salmon: How to cook salmon

Steak: How to cook a steak

Sweet Potatoes: Healthy sweet potato recipes

Turkey: Healthy turkey recipes

Turkey: How to carve a turkey

Turkey: How to cook a moist and tender whole turkey

Turkey: How to stuff a turkey

Turkey: The pros and cons of stuffing a turkey

Vegetarian: A whole host of vegetarian Christmas food ideas

Venison: How to cook venison stew

I very much hope that something in the above has offered you assistance in your preparations for Christmas dinner 2009. Before you rush off to put the ideas in to practise, why not enjoy a little music?

Simply click on the arrow in the centre of the screen to begin:

Pork and Leek Sausages with Garlic, Coriander and Sun Dried Tomato Mash

Sausage and mash? Have I lost all my inventiveness? Am I now resorting to including on this blog blase meals from my childhood?

Hopefully you will see from the photograph to the right alone that this recipe is not just for any old bangers and mash! This is a recipe incorporating high quality, high meat content pork and leek sausages, with mash which has more than just a little bit of a twist and a lightly poached egg just to round it off. I very much hope that you will try it out - or at least a similar version of it - for yourself.

The recipe described below is for one person.

Ingredients

4 pork and leek sausages
2 large potatoes
1 egg
1 clove of garlic
4 pieces of sun dried tomato (about 2 tsp when chopped)
2 tsp freshly chopped coriander/cilantro (plus a little bit extra for garnish)
Sunflower oil
White wine vinegar
Pinch of paprika for garnish

Method

There is often much argument surrounding how best to cook sausages. The way I do it is to cook them in a little oil in a frying-pan on as low a heat as is possible. This will prevent them from bursting as you should never prick sausages prior to cooking them. This serves only to allow the juices (thus the flavour and moisture) to escape and for the sausages to be served like something akin to hot, dry, tasteless sawdust in dried out, wrinkled skins.

The sausages should therefore be the first item to be put on to cook. When they are gently sizzling in the pan - to be turned occasionally - the potatoes may be peeled, chopped and added to a pan of boiling, salted water to simmer for around twenty-five minutes until moderately soft.

A large pan of water with a little white wine vinegar in it should then be brought to the boil for poaching the egg. When the water has reached a rolling boil, it should be stirred carefully but firmly to create a whirlpool effect, in to the centre of which the raw egg should be carefully deposited to cook, before the heat is reduced and the potatoes are drained and mashed.

It is important to drain and mash the potatoes before adding any of the other ingredients, except perhaps a little butter. This prevents the other ingredients becoming entangled in the potato masher. The sun dried tomatoes which I used in this recipe came in a glass jar, preserved in olive oil. The tomatoes must be dried thoroughly in paper kitchen towel prior to being chopped and added to the potatoes or the olive oil will spoil the overall effect.

The garlic, coriander and sun dried tomatoes may then be stirred in to the mash, which should be arranged on a circular plate as shown in the picture to the left. The sausages and the egg should then be added on top, with the coriander and paprika garnish sprinkled on last of all.

Christmas Tip of the Day - Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009: Christmas Dinner Ideas for One

As most people reading this make their final preparations for what will hopefully be a fun-filled, family Christmas, it is my sincere hope that some will stop for a moment to consider those who are spending Christmas alone this year. Some will spend Christmas alone through choice, others through circumstances - the upshot in either case is that people who are spending Christmas alone may still want to enjoy a Christmas dinner every bit as much as anyone else.

The site linked to below features a whole host of suggestions for Christmas dinner recipes for one, like the venison in red wine and chocolate sauce pictured to the left. The added beauty of these recipes is that by simply increasing the quantities of the ingredients, each and every one of them can be made to cater for two or more people, either for Christmas dinner or at any time of the year.

Christmas Dinner Ideas for One

Merry Christmas, everyone - no matter who you are or are not spending it with!

Christmas Tip of the Day - Saturday, December 19th, 2009: How to Save Money on Christmas Groceries

As Christmas is now less than a week away and my online postings have been affected by my latest house move, it is now time to turn our attention from purchasing food related Christmas gifts to firstly purchasing our Christmas groceries and then precisely what we are going to cook at Christmas.

In this respect, I think it is first of all a good idea to look at how we can save as much money as possible on our Christmas groceries this Christmas. As the effects of the recession linger on, this is likely to be a major consideration at Christmas 2009 for a lot more people than usual.

The link below therefore provides a whole host of suggestions for ways in which you can save money on not only your Christmas grocery bill, but your grocery bill all year round.

Ways to Save Money on Your Christmas Groceries

Beef Meatballs Poached in Tomato Sauce with Onion Ciabatta Roll

Although meatballs and tomato sauce are more popularly used to accompany a pasta such as spaghetti rather than served alone in this fashion, I decided one night recently to have them accompanied instead by a fresh, onion ciabatta roll. I was delighted with the results - and even found that I had sufficient tomato sauce left over to cool, refrigerate and re-heat to have with some pasta shells for the following day's lunch!

This recipe is for one person.

Ingredients

1/2lb minced/ground beef
1 garlic clove (crushed or grated)
Generous pinch of dried oregano
2 14oz tins of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion ciabatta roll

Method

Put the beef, garlic and oregano in to a large bowl or basin and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix very thoroughly by hand before taking parts of the mixture to shape it in to meatballs, each about the size of a golfball. The quantities given here should make seven or eight meatballs.

Add enough olive oil to a pot to cover the base of it and bring it up to a medium heat. Carefully place the meatballs in the pot and gently stir them around with a wooden spoon until they are browned, as shown in the photographs to the left. This process should take no longer than two to three minutes.

When the meatballs are evenly browned in this way, add the chopped tomatoes and turn the heat up until they begin to simmer. Reduce the heat to keep them at a gentle simmer and cook in this way for half an hour, stirring gently and occasionally.

The meatballs should then be added to a serving plate and the desired amount of tomato sauce spooned over the top. The onion ciabatta roll should be served on the side.

Remember to allow the remaining tomato sauce to cool before refrigerating and to use it up the following day.

Useful Associated Links

Meatballs with Tomato Sauce from the BBC

Spanish Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Pasta with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Meatballs with Tomato Sauce and Spaghetti

Organic Meatballs in Fennel and Tomato Sauce

Christmas Gift of the Day - Saturday, December 12th, 2009: Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook

As you will no doubt immediately notice, I decided that it was time to liven up this section of What Should I Have for Dinner Tonight with some Christmas cheer and merriment. In the run-up to Christmas, therefore, as well as bringing you some fantastic gift ideas, I will include an appropriate Christmas classic for you to listen to while you read each post. Simply click upon the arrow in the centre of the screen to the right and let the festivities begin!

The gift idea which I am featuring today is the Christmas Cookbook from the legendary - if fabled - Betty Crocker. This is not simply a list of different ways to roast a turkey, goose or even chestnuts; this is a cookbook which takes account of almost every conceivable Christmas dish and even caters for vegetarians. The Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook also shows you how to have fun in the preparation of all your Christmas dishes and how to safely get the whole family involved. This makes it the perfect Christmas gift for anyone worried about their culinary endeavours on Christmas Day - even yourself!

Click on the appropriate link for either Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk for more information and to place your order in time for Christmas today!

Pork and Pineapple Stew with Garlic and Sage Roast Potatoes

Pineapple is of course very popular served with gammon steak but the fact is that it goes equally well with pork. This simple, one pot stew is delicious and very warming on a cold Winter's night and should adequately serve two people.

Ingredients

3/4lb diced leg of pork
2 pineapple rings (each cut in to 6 segments)
1 small onion (quartered)
1 pint of fresh chicken stock
2 large potatoes (peeled and chopped)
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
Pinch of dried sage
Salt and pepper
Corn oil

Method

Begin browning the pork in a dry pot over a gentle heat. You are only looking to seal the meat at this stage and constant stirring should prevent sticking. When the meat is browned, add the chicken stock, bring to a boil and simmer gently for half an hour.

When the pork has been simmering for about twenty-five minutes, put the chopped potatoes in to boiling, salted water and reduce to a gentle simmer. Put a deep baking tray - the base liberally covered with corn oil - in to the oven and the oven on to preheat to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6. Add the pineapple and onion to the pork and bring back to a simmer.

After fifteen minutes, the oven should be heated. Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain them well. Return them to the empty pot and shake the pot carefully to fluff up the outsides. This will help them to crisp up in the oven. Add them to the hot tray and again shake carefully to ensure even coating in the corn oil.

When the potatoes have been in the oven for around twenty minutes, add the crushed garlic and dried sage to a large bowl. Remove the potatoes from the oven and carefully tip them in to the bowl. Stir carefully but well to coat them in the garlic and sage before returning them to the tray and the oven for another couple of minutes only.

Useful Associated Links

Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe

Pork Fillets with Pineapple

Spiced Pineapple Pork Recipe

Ken Hom's Pork with Pineapple Recipe

Cuban Pork with Pineapple Recipe

Christmas Gift of the Day - Wednesday, December 9th, 2009: How to Cook Everything

It is quite an audacious claim to entitle a book, "How to Cook Everything." How can anyone possibly write and publish such a book? What Mark Bittman has done in this superb publication, however, is probably as close as anyone could ever come to fulfilling this task.

In the pages of this book, Mark Bittman focuses on simplicity in cooking. He looks at using the healthiest, fresh ingredients and how to blend them together in simple yet tasty ways. The instructions which he provides for preparing these mouth-watering concoctions are straightforward and easy to follow and he does not use any complex techniques or advanced culinary equipment. This truly is the novice's guide as to, "How to Cook Everything."

Why not treat the aspiring chef in your life to this magnificent collection of over two thousand recipes this Christmas and give them many years' pleasure, browsing the recipes and trying them out for themselves, to the delight of their friends and families? Click on the Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk panel below for further information or to make a purchase.

Lamb Steak and Kidney Pie with Savoy Cabbage and Onion

Although steak and kidney pie is a very popular dish in the UK, the most common steak and kidney included in the pie are of the beef variety. Traditional steak and kidney pie is one of my all time favourite dishes but in this instance I decided to experiment a little and see how the recipe turned out with leg of lamb steak and lamb kidney. I was delighted with the results.

The following recipe is designed for two people:

Ingredients

1/2lb leg of lamb steak (chopped)
3 lamb kidneys, cleaned and chopped (see instructions below)
1 pint fresh lamb or chicken stock
6oz puff pastry
1/4 large Savoy cabbage (de-cored and sliced)
1 small onion (thinly sliced)
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
1 tbsp sunflower oil
Salt and pepper

Method

The lamb steak and kidney should be rapidly browned in a large, dry pot and the heated stock added once this has been achieved. The stock should be brought back to the boil and then the heat turned down until a gentle simmer is achieved, for around half an hour. The meat can thereafter be used immediately to make the pie or allowed to cool.

The puff pastry should be rolled out to a sze where it is capable of covering a 10" by 5" ashet pie dish. The meat and stock should then be added to the dish, the edges lightly greased with a little butter and the pastry placed on top, firming it down around the greased rim. The top of the pie should be glazed with a little milk or egg wash and a "+" made in the centre to allow steam to escape during the cooking process.

The pie should be placed in the oven, pre-heated to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6 for thirty minutes.

Approximately ten minutes before the pie is due to be ready, the sunflower oil should be added to a large pot and brought up to a medium heat. The cabbage, onion and garlic should then be added, stirred thoroughly and again at frequent intervals for ten minutes. Please note that no water or any other liquid is required.

This delicious meal is then ready to be served.

How to Clean and Prepare Kidneys

The easiest option is of course to have your butcher clean and prepare the kidneys for you, or to simply buy them pre-packed in this way from the supermarket. It is not difficult, however, to clean and prepare kidneys, provided one knows what to do.

The first step is simply to cut each kidney in half, down through the centre length-wise. It will then be possible to clearly see the white, fatty substance in the centre of the kidney which should carefully be cut out and discarded. The remaining meat can then be chopped to size as desired.

Relevant Associated Links for your Further Information

Healthy Lamb Recipes

New Zealand Lamb Recipes

Simple Healthy Recipes (Lamb)

Low Fat Lamb Recipes

Lamb Recipe's on Australia's Cuisine.com

Food Tip of the Day - December 2009: Great Christmas Gift Ideas for Foodies!

This Friday, December 4th, 2009, we find ourselves precisely three weeks away from Christmas. Are you in the position of having to consider great Christmas gift ideas for the foodie in your life? If so, over the course of the next couple of weeks, I will use this blog to provide not only some excellent Christmas gift ideas for foodies but where possible, Christmas gift ideas which do not break the bank. The year 2009 has been a hard year for many in a financial sense and Christmas gifts this year may necessarily be a little less elaborate than normal. Keep up to date therefore with what I will try to ensure are daily posts, providing you with a whole host of quality but budget Christmas gift ideas.

So what constitutes great Christmas gift ideas for foodies? The obvious answers are such as cookbooks, kitchen appliances which the particular foodie is in need of or has always desired, or even cooking utensils which the foodie can put to good use.

There is another alternative, however, which you may wish to consider. Why not purchase an Amazon Gift Card for your special foodie? This will allow them to take advantage of Amazon's magnificent array of food related merchandise after Christmas and ensure that they truly get something which they most desire. Amazon Gift Cards can also be redeemed against any product available on the Amazon site and this means that where the particular foodie desires something else this year, their choice is unlimited.

Click on the relevant panel below for details of the Gift Cards available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk and solve your Christmas gift dilemmas today!