I think the potato is one of my favorite vegetables. They are so versatile and go with just about everything. You can cook them in a multitude of ways and  I love them all!

I actually started off today to make a version of smashed potatoes, but my potatoes fell apart. One thing life has taught me is to not cry over spilled milk and also that when you are handed lemons, make lemonade. 

Never, ever throw the baby out with the bath water.

 

I thought to myself, broken potatoes have to be better than smashed potatoes. You have way more edges to crisp up and brown, so twice as much deliciousness!

And so I just kept going.  The end result was incredibly tasty.  Buttery, garlicky potatoes with a multitude of crispy edges.  A- mazing! 

 

Crazy delicious with lots of yummy garlic flavor and perfectly seasoned. Perfect to serve with a steak or chicken, or pork or lamb.  These were fabulous!.

And, they were a very simple side dish to make.  I have written the quantities up to feed only two people, but you can very easily double or even triple everything to feed even more.  Your family is literally going to fall in love with these delicious crispy potatoes! 

 

 

Ham, Gruyere & Spring Onion Crepes. If you have ever had the opportunity to go to a French market over on the Continent, you will most likely have seen Crepe Vendors.  

Baking crepes in the open air and filling them with whatever your heart desires.  Folded into quarters, and wrapped in paper, they are very easy to eat while you walk around browsing through the market.

 

You can get them filled with fruit fillings, nutella, cream and even with savoury fillings. My favourites are always the ones filled with ham and cheese.  

Kind of like a Croque Monsieur, but in a crepe, not bread.

 

They also make for a quick, easy and light supper during the summer months when you are looking for something to make that isn't going to keep you standing over a hot stove for ages and ages. 

I'm all for that.  I can be lazy from time to time when it comes to cooking.  No, I'm not kidding. Its true.

 

These are delicious.  I like to use Gruyere cheese, which is a lovely melty Swiss type of cheese, but you could use cheddar, or Colby, or even Jack cheese if you wanted to.  

You could even use a combination of cheeses. I like cheeses with a lot of flavour and so I choose Gruyere because it has a sweet and nutty taste, and goes really well with ham.

 

I like to pair it with a good ham . . .  thinly sliced honey ham is good, or a thinly sliced dry cured oak smoked.  

You are going to tear it into pieces, so just pick a nice ham, and one that you enjoy. The nicer the flavour of the ham you use, the less you will need of it. Fact.

 

People can find making crepes a little bit intimidating, but they really aren't hard to make at all.  

I put the batter through a sieve to make for a smooth batter.  Just use a good non-stick frying pan, lightly oiled and well heated.

 

You don't want them frying so much as you want the to bake in the skillet.  Just pour a very thin layer and tilt the hot pan a bit to spread the batter out into evenly.  

Let it cook until golden brown and then using a flexible spatula, flip them over to brown the other side. Easy peasy.

  

Once you have browned one side and flipped them over you can start filling them.  They cook in literally about a minute if you pan is heated properly. 

Not too hot, not too cold.  Sprinkle the cheese on half of the crepe . . .

 

Let it cook for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese, then scatter over some torn ham and some chopped spring onion.  

Fold in half again so that you have a triangle and put into a warm oven to keep warm while you cook the rest.  Again, such a simple thing. 

Like an omelet, but with a flour batter instead of an omelet batter.

  

These go together really quickly and are so delicious!  You don't need to limit yourself to what I have used. Use your imagination and whatever is in the refrigerator to fill them with whatever appeals.  

You could go completely vegetarian and fill them with sauteed vegetables and cheese, or maybe you have some leftover curried chicken or lamb.  That would also be nice. A salad on the side makes for a complete meal!

 

 

 

We don't eat a lot of red meat in our house. We mostly eat chicken or fish, with an occasional piece of beef, lamb or pork.  I have thought about stopping eating meat altogether, but I do admit, I really enjoy the occasional steak or chop, and we both enjoy good sausages every now and then!

 

I can remember when I was growing up and my mother cooked pork chops for our supper, you could have used them to shingle your roof.  They had the mistaken idea back then, in the olden days . . .  that you really needed to over-cook pork.

 

Whilst pork does need to be cooked through, you don't need to overcook them, and cook the flavour out of them.  Brining is a good way to keep them nice and moist.  Also bone in chops have less of a tendency to dry out than boneless chops.

 

I also find that oven braising them, after an initial browning on top of the stove, also helps to maintain their delectability and flavour. 

 

In this recipe I am sharing with you today, the chops are browned quickly in a skillet and then oven braised on a bed of sweet potatoes and onions to finish them off.

 

This is a dish I really love to serve in the Winter months when we don't mind the oven being on, and we have heartier appetites.

  

The chops/potatoes/onions are braised in a mixture of apple juice and maple syrup, which also adds some lovely layers of flavours.

 

I like to brown my onions really well, before layering them in the pan. This lends a bit of sweetness to the dish  . . .  sticky golden fried onions are a real taste bud tingler! And the smell  . . .  it can't be beat!

 

You don't need to use apple juice  . . . orange or pineapple juice would also work very well . . .

  

as would hard cider . . . or even just some chicken stock.  Its really up to you. Myself,  I like the flavour that the apple juice lends to the overall dish.

  

Simple ingredients done right.  This is a fabulous one dish meal.  I like to serve some petit pois on the side and of course applesauce is another tasty addition! 

  

You can double or triple this recipe by increasing the quantities accordingly and baking in a much larger gratin dish.  The cook time should stay the same.  

 

Of course a good set of knives is probably the best tool you can have in the kitchen.  I was sent these Taylor's Eye Witness Rose Gold Knives recently to use and try out.  They are really nice knives, with an attractive rose-gold coloured bolster and finger guard.  They also boast comfortable soft-grip handles.  They have a hard titanium plated blade, with super-sharp hollow ground blades, which are difficult to blunt and come with a 2 year no-quibble guarantee.  Whilst they are dishwasher safe, hand washing is recommended,using a plastic dish brush in hot soapy water, and drying with a soft cloth immediately after.  It is not recommended that you use anything abrasive to wash them with.  Regular sharpening will help to keep the edges sharp.  There is nothing more dangerous in the kitchen than a dull knife.  I found them to work very well and was very impressed with their ability to cut my onions and sweet potatoes into lovely thin slices with no effort at all. This set is the Brooklyn Rose Gold 2 piece kitchen knife set, containing a 6 1/2 inch Santuko knife, a 5 inch all-purpose knife and a 4 inch paring knife. I have been very impressed thus far with their performance and I know I am really going to enjoy using these in my kitchen!

 

Here's a handy kitchen tip, when I am slicing anything with rounded edges like an onion, or a potato, I find it very helpful to slice a thin edge off on one side so that the vegetable can sit on the cutting board without rolling around. 

 

It works a charm and is a much safer way to cut things into thin slices.   

 

Taylor's Eye Witness have been making quality knives in Sheffield since 1838. Beautifully designed, yet affordable.   You can buy these lovely knives from the Bakewell Cookshop.

 

Note - although I was sent these knives free of charge to use, any and all opinions are my own.