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Origin: Yuko (not sure if it's an original)

In her own words...

Ingredients (for 3 or 4)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 noisettes of lamb
• 1lb small potatoes (preferably new potatoes)
• 2 carrots
• 2 bulbs of garlic (if you think this is too much then reduce to 1. separated into cloves and peeled.)
• Fresh thyme and rosemary
• 1/4 pint red wine
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Basically, You fry the meat and the vegetables separately, then roast in the oven. The following is the detailed recipe.

Origin: Uncertain (Internet)

Ingredients (for 3 mugs)

• 100g dark chocolate
• Milk / cream for 3 mugs
• Teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 egg
• Pinch salt
• Sugar (to taste, appox 1 or 2 tbsp)

Put the chocolate, milk/cream, cinnamon, salt and sugar into a saucepan and on a low to medium heat melt everything together. Beat the egg in a separate bowl, add a small quantity of the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture, mix and transfer everything back into the saucepan. Now heat gently for 2 to 3 minutes whilst stirring. Before serving, froth it up somehow, either using a whisk (hand or electric), or any other device (e.g. aerolatte). The more you froth it up the better. This hot chocolate is very rich, and coats the inside of your mouth in a rather fantastic way.

Origin: Delia Smith

Ingredients (for 4-6)

• 2lb pork (shoulder/leg) (Lesley says less meat is better)
• 1tbsp flour
• 2 onions sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1tsp basil, chopped/dried
• 1 lb toms, chopped (or 1 tin)
• 175ml red wine (Lesley says more is better)
• 1 green pepper, deseeded + chopped
• 2 oz Spanish green olives stuffed with red pimentos, sliced

Heat the oil, brown the pork (in batches) and reserve. Fry the onions in the juice, return the meat and sprinkle the flour on. Add the chopped tomatoes, pour in the wine, add the garlic, basil and salt and pepper. Bring to simmer, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for 90 mins at 140. Add peppers and olives, cook for 30 mins.

Origin: Heston Blumenthal

Basic risotto

Ingredients (for four)

• 400g risotto rice
• 150ml white wine
• 100ml vermouth
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed and pureed
• 1 litre stock / water / watered down leftover roasting juices
• 75ml olive oil
• 50g unsalted butter
• 75g parmesan
• 1 dsp lightly whipped double cream / mascarpone
• Salt and pepper

Heat oil, add rice and stir. It should crackle and smell nutty. Add the onions, garlic, 25g butter. Turn heat to low and cook for 5 mins (stirring). Add white wine, cook until reduced. Repeat with vermouth. Standard procedure with the stock, parmesan and butter. Finish by folding in the cream. Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Origin: Elizabeth David

Ingredients

• 1 lb potatoes (slightly more is a bit better), peeled and diced
• 3 carrots (optional), finely diced
• 2 large leeks (3 is better), finely sliced
• 1.5 oz butter
• 2 pints water
• Cream and parsley
• Equal quantitites of sugar and salt

Melt the leeks and carrots slowly in butter. Put in the potato, water, salt and sugar, bring to the boil and cook until potatoes are done (about 25 minutes). Mouli or blend the lot and add the cream and parsley.

Origin: Me, Elizabeth David

An excellent side dish for meat, baked potatoes, or just serve on some rice.

Ingredients

• Aubergine, cubed
• 2 Red Peppers, cored, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 Courgettes, finely chopped
• Tin of tomatoes, chopped
• Onion, finely chopped
• Garlic clove, crushed
• Fresh parsley, chopped
• Olive oil, salt and pepper

Heat some oil in a large pan and melt the onions. Add the red peppers and cook until soft, add the courgettes and aubergine and cook for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes and garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about an hour probably. Ideally, it should be neither dry nor watery, cover if it's getting too dry, and remove the cover to let it get dryer if it is too watery. Add the fresh chopped parsley, and if you have some extremely good extra virgin, single estate olive oil add some of this as well.

Origin: Uncertain

Ingredients

• 2 oz / 110g / 2 heaped tbsp flour
• 1 egg
• 5 fl oz milk
• 1 tbsp butter

Sieve the flour, beat the egg in and gradually add the milk. Add melted butter. Leave to stand for a few hours if possible, but this is not necessary. This amount will only make a few pancakes (4 plus a bit).

Origin: Uncertain (Internet)

Ingredients

• 600g cooking apples, peeled and sliced
• 100g brown sugar
• 50ml water (not always necessary)
• Grated rind of 1 lemon (if using ginger)
• Butter for greasing
• 75g butter
• 150g plain flour
• 75g caster sugar (brown sugar gives a better texture)
• Ground ginger or cinnamon sticks

Temperature: 180 deg C or Gas Mark 4 for 30-40 mins (maybe that's too long).

Origin: Delia Smith

Ingredients

• 50g dark chocolate (more like 75g I say)
• 110g nuts (e.g. almonds, hazelnuts), chopped
• 110g unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 50g flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 225g sugar (about half that would be better)

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4. Melt the butter and chocolate together. In a separate bowl beat the eggs into the flour and mix in the baking powder, sugar, melted chocolate and nuts. Adding an additional 25g of chopped chocolate pieces is pretty damn good too. Stick in the over for 30 mins (so says Delia, I find it is burnt before then - more like 20 mins).

Origin: Uncertain

• Brown chicken in melted butter
• Remove chicken
• Melt onions
• Add vegetables (e.g. 1lb toms, celery, mushrooms)
• Put the chicken back in in and season
• Pour on some red wine or a mixture of chicken stock and vermouth (about 1/2 pint total)
• Cover and stick in oven on gas mark 2/3 for 1 or 1 and 1/2 hours.