Very good chocolate brownies

And to follow the chicken wings these beauties. These are supposed to be made on Halloween but I'll be going out so I've made them early. They are really nice but so rich that I'm going to have to take them into work tomorrow or I will gorge myself over the next couple of days and end up hating myself!

Sweet and sticky chicken wings

Tonight's dinner is right up my strasse. If I make them again, however, I will be tempted to add a few chilli flakes for a bit of heat and possibly a little more honey to up the sweetness. Otherwise perfect Monday night autumnal food.

Roast partridge

I have missed out the ham and butter beans recipe (made by Nigel on 27th October) in order to give myself a break and stick to my own rules, that I don't need to make something I've made previously, this being one. As I recall, I didn't like it that much at the time but I might at some point go back to it and give it another go. So instead I've taken a step back a few days to Roast partridge. Having been unimpressed with the pigeon earlier in the month I expected the same verdict tonight and was pleasantly surprised to find it more chickeny than gamey. The fatty bacon on top gave it a rich flavour which complemented the bird fabulously. I made my thin gravy to go with it with Marsala rather than Madeira because that's what I had in. As in the book this was following with the remaining ice-cream cake from the other night. Lovely.

An Eastern aubergine roast

Roast aubergine with tahini.

This is the sort of dish that is showcased in the guardian magazine on a Saturday which I glance at and think 'nah!'. I'm right. I've just had this for lunch, and it was easy to make and tasty enough but not for me really - it won't be entering my repertoire long term.

The knee-jerk lentil supper, watercress with sweet salad dressing and Raspberry vanilla ice-cream cake

I wasn't particularly looking forward to this one, not least because lentils can be really boring and Nigel gave no quantities as it wasn't one of his 'proper' recipes, but just what he ate on 25th October. Nevertheless, I put my faith in Nigel and once again he didn't disappoint. Initially it was all seeming pretty boring until the introduction of the goats cheese which lifted the dish to a totally different level. This may well become my knee-jerk dish as it is for him. I added in a watercress salad with the sweet salad dressing (from 21st October in the book) - the salad was magnificent and will now be my dressing of choice. The cake to follow was more assembly than cooking, but I'm not arguing with that. I am posting this late due to the vast quantity of wine my vegetarian friend and I drank during and after this meal.

A bowl of pure delight

Nigel's title not mine! It was, however, surprisingly alright. I've never had miso soup before and wasn't really sure what to expect, which proves that my faith in Nigel has no bounds. I made it exactly as he says in the book, with green beans and spring onions and this was a quick and easy lunch. You can't see the green beans in the photo as they've sunk to the bottom.

Haddock with crumbs and tarragon with a carrot salad

Tonight's fish was accompanied by a carrot salad that I should have made last week. In terms of the salad, I over lemoned it I think, so would go easy on that if I make it again, which I may well do. The fish was beautiful. It had a full flavour and wonderful texture and will be entering my permanent repertoire without a doubt. Two firsts for me today - cooking with anchovies (in the fish crust) and willingly eating raw carrots. Get me!

A supper of autumn nuts

Anybody who knows me will be chortling at the idea that I've had a salad for my tea, but all I can say is who knew? Granted, I had an enormous lunch today or this would not have appealed but it did just the job for me. This salad is raw apple, spinach leaves, toasted walnuts and crumbled Roquefort with a walnut oil and lemon juice dressing. I would have this again definitely. Not the best picture I've ever taken but hey ho!

A sweet pork roast

I invited a friend over last night to help me eat this particular feast. The dish itself was Roast pork with grapes, juniper and Marsala and I really can't understand why I haven't made this recipe before - it was soooo good. Nigel recommended roast potatoes and roast squash with thyme (from 2nd November in the book), so this I did. I added some slow cook red cabbage (not pictured). For pudding we had Friday nights apple cake, warmed up and served with top quality vanilla ice cream and a beautiful dessert wine which I forgot to serve at Christmas! The whole dinner was a hit with my friend and will definitely become a repeat dish for me.

A quick ham and mushroom lunch

Nigel had it as a supper but, as I said yesterday, I'm cramming! My bread was semi-sweet cottage bread rather than sourdough and my ham was Serrano to his Bayonne - the whole thing was delicious and has made me rethink Saturday brunch which for me is generally a bacon buttie.

Pot roast pigeon

Now, for one reason or another it's going to be almost impossible for me to cook anything after tomorrow for the next 10 days which means I have to squeeze a week's worth of Nigel into 2 days. I am, however, well up for the challenge. Fortunately for me Nigel himself was pretty slack in mid-October, so it shouldn't be too tricky. Tonight's offering is Pot-roast pigeon with herby chipolatas (Nigel used Luganega sausage which, needless to say, could not be found locally (although I must say I was astonished to find the pigeon - courtesy of Frost the butcher here in Chorlton) and a herby chipolata was his alternative and not mine). I must say pigeon is not and will not be my regular bird of choice but the gravy and sausage combo was delicious.

I've also broken one of my rules tonight and made something I've made before - something I make regularly in fact: English apple cake. This is my go to cake when I want an every day, easy cake that's not overly sweet.

Macaroni with Fontina and mustard

Well, not quite! Fontina is nigh impossible to find in Manchester and, surprisingly, Sainsbury's Salford don't appear to stock macaroni - astonishing I know. So, today would be more accurately described as Penne with Gouda and mustard. I was emergency googling in the supermarket for an alternative to Fontina and Gouda was what the internet offered up. As dinners go, I was glad I made this as a midweek dinner rather than waiting for the 12th as it was in the book. I don't think I'd make this one again as my all time fave cheesy pasta dish is Simon Hopkinson's from The Good Cook, which is probably down to it containing pancetta!

Roast haddock with bacon and parsley with a fennel, watercress and pear salad

Tonight was Roast Haddock with bacon and parsley accompanied by a fennel, watercress and pear salad. I added crumbled feta cheese to the salad (Nigel had recommended Wensleydale, Cheshire or Caerphilly but this worked well too). I posted the picture on twitter and got some lovely comments from friends. Nigel himself tweeted me the following day - see picture below. Praise indeed!

Cooking The Kitchen Diaries (vol 1)

Ok, so I've decided to spend the next year working my way through Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries, mainly to expand my repertoire and make myself a better cook - I imagine it will also make me eat more fish which can't be a bad thing. I do have a couple of rules for myself though:

1. I won't recook those recipes that I've already tried, although this probably only equates to about 5 recipes.

2. I must cook from the same week (preferably the same day) that Nigel did, but I accept that this wont always be practical hence the week rule.

3. I will not countenance Christmas pudding or Christmas cake as an eater so will not be cooking them.