When I saw the first few leaves fall onto the trampolene yesterday and notice the big critters coming inside to nestle in the warmth of our house, I realised with contempt that autumn is upon us. But long unpunctuated, miserable sentences aside, this means nuzzlely, body-warming foods are the order of the day. Now sometimes I just want to gorge on lush foods but can’t stop at one bite, i have to eat the whole thing, so the best thing to do in these situations is not eat any lunch and save yourself for that big treat later on. Bring on the Baked Camembert baby! This is a beautifully, simple, rustic French meal, totally indulgent, decadent as feck and probably not a good meal for your kids. What with no veg being present and all that. Honey, this is yours!! Feed them, bath them, story them, cuddle them, pack ‘em into bed. Get down that stair and bake up girl, bake up….this is mummy time.

Camembert

Ingredients:
A big round of Camembert
Olive oil
Garlic
Ciabatta or pannini bread
Fresh thyme or basil

Cook:
Turn up your oven to a hearty 180 and let it get toasty. In the meantime pull out your beautiful, awesomely fragrant Camembert from the fridge and unravel it taking care not to discard of it’s packaging or rip it in any way. I like my cheese and if I can, I’ll buy the best that I can afford and this means Waitrose seeing as they have have such a spectacular selection. How smelly do you like it? This is another consideration. Personally, I want my fridge to stink for one day and I want to sense the luxury that awaits my mouth to devour it. Mmmmm, cheeeese!

Jeez! Back to cooking! Yes, so there’s a few that I would opt for…Brie de Meaux, mmmm, Chaumes, or Beaufort, mmmmmm but for just a tasy regular munch, go for a standard Normandy Camembert. Take a sharp knife and make some little cuts in the top of your cheese, place in here some sprinklings of crushed garlic but not too much, gently place some thyme or basil or whichever fresh herb you’ve opted for into those cuts and then like an expert, place your thumb over the olive oil bottle and drizzle over your Camembert. Gently re-wrap your cheese loosely and leave to one side. Take your ciabatta or pannini and cut into delicate, slim slices. Take a clove of garlic and rub it over your slices, again drizzle lightly with olive oil and place pieces around your Camembert on a baking tray. Take your whole ensemble and bake up in that piping hot oven for ten minutes.
This dish is best served up on a generous plate, cheese in the middle, crispy garlic toasts surrounding it and something ace on the telly.
Finally…
Nothing goes better with creamy, indulgent cheeses than a velvety, deep-flavoured and full- bodied red, a Merlot is the perfect bedfellow.
Visit your drawer, pull out the corkscrew and pop open that baby, pour into your wine glass, breathe in, sup up and dip your very French slices into the condensed gorgeousness that is your baked Camembert. Voilà!

Lou Prew

A wonderfully simple chicken pasta bake easily cooked by both amateur and professional cooks. Perfect as a main or in smaller portions as a starter, also an ideal following day lunchbox filler.

Pasta Bake

Ingredients:
Pasta (Penne or Macaroni)
Chicken (Jointed and boned)
Mushrooms (Whole)
2 Onions
1 Yellow Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic
Chopped Tomatoes
Basil
Oregano

Pasta bake ingredients

Method:
Rinse and boil the pasta and brown off the chicken.

Boil Pasta while chicken frys

Slice dice and chop onions garlic and pepper.

Chop vegetables

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees while you soften your vegetables in a lightly oiled wok.
Place the cooked pasta in an oven proof dish with the tomatoes basil and oregano and add the chicken and vegetables and heavily garnish with cheese.

Oven Ready

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes until golden brown and crispy around the edges. Then Eat.

Enjoy!

A perfect dish to be eaten with pasta rice or even new potatoes.

Chicken creamy white wine sauce

Ingredients;

Chicken Breast,
Garlic,
Onion,
Red Pepper,
Mushroom,
Schwartz – Basil, Sun Dried Tomato & Apple,
Glass of white wine or sweet cider,
250ml single cream,

Ingredients

Method:
Fry onions and garlic in a little olive oil with 1tsp of Schwartz spice until onions are cooked – add chicken cut into bite size chunks and a further 2tsp of spice until chicken is cooked through and coated in spice.
Pour in the glass of wine to deglaze the pan and allow the wine to boil for 5mins. then add the cream and serve

Beer Butt Chicken has to be a favourite for any self confessed carnivore, You can use any type of beer, lager, or cider or even spirits.
The general idea is that the alcohol in the tin evaporates into steam and cooks through the chicken, enhansing the flavours.

Beer Butt Chicken

Ingredients;
1 whole chicken (Organic or at least Free Range)
1 can of drink (beer lager cider or a drop of whiskey or bourbon)
1 barbeque rub (this can be home made but Nandos do a good one)

 Method:

Rub the chicken all over with the “rub”, cut off the top of the beer can and fill half way with the chosen alcohol.

Place chicken on the barbeque – butt side down with the can inserted fully.

Whole Barbeque Chicken

Place on the barbeque.

barbeque chicken

And cover (I use a metal bucket – but a barbeque with a lid like a webber is best)

- leave to cook for at least 2 hours depending on size of chicken, you know its done when you can pull a wing off with ease.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Ingredients;
Rind of 2 Lemons
175g Caster Sugar
225g Unsalted Butter
4 Eggs
225g Self Raising Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
Shredded rind to decorate.
Syrup:
Juice of 1 lemon
150g caster sugar

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 160, grease a 1kg loaf tin and line with greaseproof paper,
Mix rind sugar and butter into creamy mixture, add eggs and mix until smooth. Sift flour,baking powder & salt then add 1/3rd at a time to paste, pour into tin and bake for 1 and a half hours until golden brown and springy to touch.
Slowly heat lemon juice and sugar until dissolved, make slashes on top of cake and pour over – sprinkle lemon rind and sugar to decorate.

Basic simple egg fried rice recipe use as a base to make any type of fried rice recipe.

Egg Fried Rice

Egg Fried Rice

Ingredients:
cooked rice
eggs
soy sauce
sweetcorn

Method:
Beat the eggs and fry like an ommlette add a dash of soy sauce and break egg up into little chunks.
Add the cooked rice and another dash of soy sauce, once thoroughly mixed then add sweetcorn and any other pre cooked ingredients.