When I came to visit the UK for the first time (about eleven years ago), I fell in L.O.V.E with the canteen styled noodle joint called Wagamamas. There are so many tasty simple dishes with my favourite being the Chicken Katsu Curry. Delicately fried panko crusted chicken breast served with sticky rice and a mildly spiced curry sauce.  

What is not to love about the dish? Bread a piece of meat, fry it, serve it with a sauce and a starch. Presto- you've got one of the many varations on a theme of fried meat and gravy. AKA: a southern boy's wet dream! 

Now add pork to the southern boys wet dream and it's XXXtra dirty!  I love all things pork and a pork katsu is is quite popular in Japan. So i thought I'd take a stab at it. I'm mad about brining pork and poultry, so I brined the pork loins in a spicy brine to impart flavour and keep moisture in them. No one likes dried out pork.

Curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era, when India was a British colony. When the dish was introduced to Japan, The emperor of Japan ordered the chefs to recreate it and make it their own. And adopt it they did, Curry Roux can be purchased in supermarkets. It's an easy way to get a great sauce, but it really lacks the depth of this sauce.

This curry sauce is quite a fruity affair, it goes really well with the pork katsu, sort of a nod to pork with apples. The sauce is super easy even a Japanese child could make it, so there is no excuse for you not to.

As part of the Fiona Beckett's Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese challenge, I’ve worked my way though countless cheeses to find the best artisanal cheese (In my opinion) to make the best straight up Mac and Cheese.

The guys at Neil’s Yard dairy must think that I’m a right cheese nutter! I have been going in day after day, trying all sorts of wonderful cheese's (after all I was looking for the femme fatal of cheese to star in my Oscar quality macaroni and cheese) and then proceeding to buy copious amounts of the stuff. Had I of tried any more of the stuff I would of been pretty cheesed off - excuse the pun!

I experimented with a Macaroni and Stilton, which blew my head off it was that strong!  A Mac and cheese from Gruyere Coolea was gritty and made for a weird texture. I Tried to coax a smooth sauce out of a red Caerphilly but failed! I then tried a tangy goat cheese which was good, but not a real Mac and Cheese. but I always came back to cheddar. A Montgomery Cheddar to be exact.

Most people remember their ‘Firsts’....Their first crush, Their first kiss, Their first broken heart and the first time that they did It!!

Well I can honestly say I cannot remember my first kiss. Nor do I have any recollection of my first crush. I do have some fuzzy memories of my first broken heart. And you guessed it, the first time i did it is rather hazy.

Before you judge me, I've not had so many encounters that I've lost count in a Michael Jordan sort of way, its just that I tend to skip over the less than memorable events in my life. So apologies if by some bizarre cosmic twist of fate you were one of those forgotten participants who just happen to be reading this.

I do know what the very first recipe I learned to cook was! To prove that I’m not loosing my mind in my rapidly gaining old age, it proceeded all of the above mentioned firsts! My gelatin loving grandmother chose the humble Macaroni & Cheese as the first dish she would teach me.

My grandmother was a very strict but loving figure at the time. She was an accomplish cook in her own right. After some badgering I convinced her to teach me how to cook something... anything! Finally she relented and tought me macaroni and cheese. Once at the stove I held the wooden handle of the avocado enamelled saucepan in trembling fear while I stirred the flour into the melted margarine with a wooden spoon to make a roux.

Don't you hate it when you read something and think, now why did I not think of that?! Well that happened when I was reading through the November issue of Martha Stewart Living.

For years I've been on a Homer-esque quest to cook the most flavourful, moist and non-fussy turkey. 

I've conquered the flavour and moistness challenges by buying a fantastic free range bird and brining it in an aromatic bath. But the process of roasting was fussy and takes up allot of oven space when cooking a huge holiday feast. If like me and you do not have the luxury of a huge sized oven, then this will be a great technique to get a quicker even-cooking turkey out of the most Bijou ovens. 



What's the trick you say? It was elementary my Dear Watson. You simply spatchcock your turkey. The spatchcocking saves oven space when cooking and also speeds up the cooking process avoiding the overcooking and drying out of the breast meat.

Meh- winter! It's dark, cold, and the snow is here. Christmas is rapidly becoming a distant memory with summer nowhere in sight. But there a saviour of winter; namely hearty rib-sticking slow cooked meals. Meals that simmer, blurp and plop for hours on end filling your home with the olfactic stimulation of coziness and warmth while making you salivate with anticipation. Peposo is just that.

Peposo is an Italian stew hailing from Impruneta, a town near Florence. Typically peposo is made with beef, but the preparation works really well with pork. Peposo Pork is a perfect meal for when you need to warm your toes with a belly full of heat. It's a zesty peppery meal that can easily match any chili con carne out there.

I've garnished the Peposo Pork with a Gremolata, which brings a little bit of sunshine and freshness to the dish with it's citrus and grassy green notes.

Serve the Peposo with anything starchy from a soft polenta to mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce.

It's a Soup, No It's a Pasta Dish, No it's a hearty sausage and fennel meal in a bowl!

How else could you possibly describe this recipe? It screams of early autumn, a time when you long for the sweet taste of tomatoes and fennel, but need something a bit more hearty and rib sticking!

This is a perfect 'make at the weekend and finish on a week night for an easy meal' recipe! If you want to do that, follow the recipe up to the point when you add the cabbage and pasta. Stop there, refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to eat. then all you do is pick up at the bringing to a boil stage and easy-peasey you have a hearty autumn meal in minutes!

In America Chili is serious business. Wars have been fought over what makes the perfect chili. Beans or no beans? What is the tomato to meat ratio? So many components to consider.

Well my chili is a meaty chunky affair, seasoned with two types of dried chile and one fresh chile to provide a rounded heat. Instead of minced (ground) beef i opt for chunks of beef that yield to the fork after a long slow cooking.

Purists look away, I add chickpeas to the mix. They add a lovely contrast to the kidney beans.

Keep you spoons in the drawer, because my friends this is chile made for a fork.

Green Chile was one of the first recipes that I ever committed to memory. Thanks to the mother of my childhood friend Jennifer Arriaga, I leaned how to cook this dish in my early teens and have been making it ever since.

Green Chile or Chili Verde is the lesser know (in the UK) sister to the popular American Southwest staple of Chile Con Carne. Chile Verde is a Mexican stew that really lets the flavours of chili's sing. There are many variations of the chili, some to include tomatillos or white beans, but never tomatoes.  In this version I've used Padron peppers, their flavour works wonderfully in this stew. Feel free to replace with any mild-medium chilies that you have available.

As with most soups and stews, this taste better if you cook it then leave to chill overnight then reheat to serve.

I've been going on a bit of a Mexican Renaissance over the last few weeks. I think all my childhood food memories are being rekindled by our recent visits to Thomasina Miers' Mexican canteen Wahaca.

If you've not been there to experience her take on Mexican Street food, then I highly recommend it. There are two great locations in London; Covent Garden and in the uber swish Westfields. Of the two locations I find the Westfields branch a lot more comfortable and overall a more enjoyable eating experience.

This recipe was inspired by a recent visit to Wahaca. It's extremely versatile as it can be also be served hot as a filling for a burrito or cold on salad chunks of avocado and crumbles of mild feta style cheese.

In all of the vegetable world, I have a take them or leave them attitude towards courgettes. For some unknown reason I continue to grow them on the plot is it habit or a repressed love for them? When courgettes are oven roasted with a mix of tomato, aubergines, peppers and herbs they are divine. J'adore ratatouille, especially when it's as dead easy as this.

Christian always says 'Oh No- Not Ratatouille' but always begs for more.

Lamb pairs nicely with the ratatouille making a fuss free meal. I've served it with some cooked wheat to mop all the juices from the lamb and ratatouille.