Chestnut And Bacon Soup

There's nothing like roasted chestnuts at this time of year, I adore them. This soup really brings out their flavour and I think it's equally good as a special starter for guests or just a solitary comfort.

I used 500 grams of uncooked chestnuts and roasted them at 200c for half an hour (with slits in the shells to stop them exploding), but if you don't want all the hassle of peeling them just use pre-cooked ones, vacuume packed or tinned.

Sauté 2 rashes of chopped smoked bacon in a little butter until the bacon starts to release its fat. Now add one carrot, one stick of celery and one onion, all chopped.

Sauté until the vegetables start to soften and colour then add the chestnuts and 1 litre of chicken stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are cooked through. Puree and season. Add a little cream if feeling decadent.

Now I feel Christmassy.

Nigella Lawson's London Cheesecake

I said on my food blogger's welcome dinner post that this cheesecake is my standard one. There’s a very good reasons for this; quite simply it’s fantastic. Totally and utterly. It tastes wonderful and the texture is perfect, creamy and velvety. It never fails to impress, friends and family love it and Rob asks for it more than any other dessert I make. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Nigella, thank you, you are my heroine.

Click here for the recipe

Lamb Shanks

I used 2 lamb shanks when I made this but you could use the same quantities for 4, as this makes plenty of sauce.

Brown the shanks in olive oil over a high heat, then remove and set aside. Add to the pan 2 celery sticks, 4 shallots or a small onion and 2 carrots all roughly chopped, along with 4 peeled garlic cloves.

Cook the vegetables until they start to take on some colour then put the shanks back in the pan. Now add a tablespoon of flour and stir well, then pour in half a bottle of good red wine and add 2 or 3 sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf. Add 500ml of beef stock and season well. Bring to the boil then reduce the temperature right down to barely a simmer. Put a lid on and either cook on the hob on the lowest heat or in the oven at about 150c for about two hours, turning the shanks occasionally.

When the lamb is almost falling off the bone remove it and then sieve the liquid into a pan and discard the vegetables and herbs. Now simmer the liquid to reduce it to a sauce and serve with the lamb.

Christmas Is coming

The signs that Christmas is fast approaching are all around. The shops are bustling and full of decoration and gifts, our family are sending gift lists to and fro, yesterday saw the launch of our ‘Secret Santa’ in the office and today I had an email from a friend telling me that it’s only 34 days until Christmas. Oh yes, you read that correctly. I did a double take too.

So, love it or hate it, it really is that time of year again. Personally, I love it. I embrace Christmas fully and still see it through the eyes of my childhood. My Mum used to make our house up like Santa’s grotto, full of tinsel, paper chains, balloons and twinkling lights. The anticipation and excitement was fantastic and has stayed with me.

This year, however, the buzz seems to have passed over me and I haven’t been swept up in it yet. I’ve not really felt the excitement. Perhaps it’s age, or walking through Oxford Street every day on my way to and from work and having to fight my way through endless crowds - surely that’s enough to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm.

But today I started to go with it. I popped into a supermarket for a few everyday bits and came back with chestnuts, clementines, brandy laced mince pies, a Christmas edition of a food magazine and a tin of goose fat. How did that happen? Yes, yes, I know. I’m weak. I think I’ll go and console myself with a mince pie.