A good crumbed chicken is a fine thing indeed. The crunch, crispy naughtiness and the soft, moist chicken below. But to make it guilt free? Baking the chicken keeps it nice and moist and not a deep fat fryer in sight. I like to buy breadcrumbs but if I have more time, keeping old unused loaves of bread just before they turn green and whizzing them up to breadcrumbs to pop in the freezer is a good one. Read more…

It has just been one big meat feast since Christmas, Hams, turkeys even the occasional duck have all graced the oven in the last couple of months. So I made the decision to make something of a vegetarian nature, and of course, being mid week something that is super, super quick. Tomatoes are not good this time of year regardless of where they are from, they are quite insipid and watery. But when baked they bring on a whole new dimension. Read more…

I hope you enjoyed the third episode of Baking Made Easy! If you missed it this week you can watch again over on iPlayer here.

If you’re getting in the kitchen this week to try out some of those Modern Classics from the show, here are the recipes: Read more…

Thank you for all again for the kind comments about the second episode! Once again you can catch up with this week’s episode of Baking Made Easy on the BBC iPlayer here

Just to recap on my ‘Speed Baking’ episode this week, here’s all the recipes from the BBC site: Read more…

So the soda bread is the super fast bread on the dough stage, but when more time is available I find making bread incredibly therapeutic. It’s the kind of thing which can be done in between tasks, so the actual time spent on it manually equates to only 20-25 minutes or so, which for me is perfect. Read more…

Hmmm, ever get that Friday feeling? Time to wind down and take stock of the week passed and contemplate the week ahead. Part of the fabulous Leith’s Cookery Course is to learn all aspects of wine. If you do the three term full-time diploma, as well as coming out of there a pretty competent chef, they will also take you on a wine journey which will leave you with a fair bit of knowledge. Read more…

I passed the fishmonger today and saw two large pieces of haddock glistening amongst the sea of prized fish. They just had to be bought and so duly were. I am just like anyone else, sometimes after a long day when the clock just seems to go backwards, who actually feels like cooking anything for dinner? On days like these, a quick visit to the shop for Pizza or something ready-made are IS a must. But having done that already this week, members Chez Lorraine Pascale would have been less than pleased if I did it again. Read more…

An uber short post, in response to the correspondence I have received around the chocolate cigarillos. And so, the great cigarillo saga. They are beautiful and gorgeous and an absolute must for a cake for an extra special occasion; but what if you just fancy making a cake of this ilk, right there and then? Read more…