Polish sausage, sauerkraut, onions and soured cream

I liked this well enough.  The fussy daughter pulled out the mushrooms but ate the rest with gusto and her boyfriend wolfed his in a matter of minutes with an 'I like it'.  

Artichoke 'tartiflette'

My friend has an allotment and as we finally had a 'first frost' last week was just able to dig the artichokes up in time for me to use them.  I've never been a skier but a different friend who has had extolled the virtues of tartiflette and herself has been on a Reblochon hunt for a while.  Whilst tracking down raclette the other week I saw that the specialist cheese shop also stocked this elusive cheese and returned there today.  At £26 a kilo I've been nervous all day that it wouldn't turn out well.  Of course, I needn't have worried.  What was good for me was all the different flavours - the onion, cheese, pancetta - coming together and just working.   Even the fussy daughter enjoyed this and went back for more. 

Kale colcannon

And to go with the pig was this.  I really liked this and it worked with the meat as expected.  

Pig's cheeks with apples and cider

I actually think that Nigel's photo makes the pig's cheeks look much more offally than they do in reality - consequently I've not really been looking forward to making this.  As Nigel suggested, the pig's cheeks needed to be ordered from the butcher in advance but this proved not to be a problem. As soon as I saw what exactly the butcher was handing over I knew that this was going to be ok.  I was wrong though - it was way better than ok.  It was spectacular.  The meat fell apart at the touch of a fork and the appley flavours were beautiful.  This is definitely a winner and one to make again. 

Steamed bacon and sausage pudding

As recently as three years ago I'd have been scared stiff of making this, as it looks and sounds really tricky to make.  But my year of Nigel (as I affectionately refer to recreating the first Kitchen Diaries) has given me such cooking confidence that no recipe daunts me now.  So I happily embarked on this and was not let down.  I couldn't find suet locally so used lard and it worked fine.  The fussy daughters boyfriend Jack gave this the thumbs up but even she did which is great.  It was incredibly rich and you only needed a small portion.  

Pork chop, chutney

Nigel aficionados will know there is a key word missing here - it should be rhubarb chutney.  Rhubarb was not to be found and I can only think that this would be due to the rubbish mild wet winter the north of England has had (I've a vague notion that winter rhubarb is cultivated in Yorkshire) and so it simply can't be bought.  I used apples instead and it still made for an interesting, flavourful chutney which I may make again when rhubarb can be found.

Lemon and black pepper madeleines

And whilst my pastry was resting I knocked up some beautiful madeleines.  On looks alone these will not win the Miss World of madeleines or even the Miss GB but it's not always about how you look is it? What was going on inside was juicy lemony deliciousness and that's OK by me. 

Raclette tart

Now, I don't want to get all passive aggressive with Nigel here (I'm not his wife after all) but I participated in yet another game of 'the great ingredient hunt' today - a recurring theme in this book.  Raclette is not the easiest to find cheese despite me living near an award winning deli, but find it I finally did.  And to be fair it was worth the work I put into it.  The pastry was perfect and the flavours were fantastic - this pie was gone in a matter of minutes - you'll see in the photo that there is a veggie side of the pie and a tasty side - it's rare that we can all have the same meal cooked together.  

Peri peri chicken pie

Oh, this was really good. It tasted so fresh, the result of real tomatoes rather than tinned I guess, and this is what made it work for me. I can see this pie accompanying me through life, helping me through cold winters and giving me comfort when comfort is needed.  

Apples in sloe gin syrup

Eagle eyed Nigel fans will see that I've skipped backed to December for tonight's dessert.  For one reason or another I've had to miss out a few recipes from December and so will be slotting random December recipes as I go.  This was a total winner in my house (even though they did look like doughnuts). The intensity of the flavours was incredibly surprising and each mouthful was something to savour.  This would be a fantastic dinner party dessert.

Goose fat chicken, garlic roast potatoes

Very simple stuff but very tasty nonetheless.  Even the fussy chicken hating daughter liked this - winner, winner chicken dinner!

Bacon granola

Oh wow, I think I've just discovered a new breakfast crush!  This was really, really good with the very salty hit of the bacon perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the cranberries and the chewy porridge offset with the crunch of the seeds and nuts.  A winner!

Poppy seed crispbread

Somewhere between a crispbread and a pita these - the texture not right but the flavour good overall.  It's on days like this though when I question what I'm doing - to make these vaguely unsatisfying crispbreads has cost an arm an half a leg and obviously were I to make these again and again the cost would enter the normal range - but why would I make them again when I didn't feel they were right and I've got the rest of the book to get through?  I need to remind myself that no one is forcing me to complete this challenge- just me.  Crack on Kate, crack on.