Black-Eyed Pea & Bacon Eggs Benedict / Eggplant with Tomato, Garlic & Mint / 14 Christmas Breads

Blog Post & Recipe: Good Luck Benedicts

As it happens, black-eyed peas and bacon make for a really good eggs benedict.

Blog Post & Recipe: Eggplant with Tomato, Garlic and Mint

A lot of fresh mint muddled with garlic, pepper and coriander… a handsome eggplant, (try to get one with less seeds)… and a few minutes in the pan, results in a delectable side dish or to have in a wrap or sandwich or even on pasta.

Blog Post & Recipes: Bread Baking Day # 45 Round up - la raccolta

I have been hosting the last edition of 2011 Bread Baking Day, a special Christmas Edition with Special Baking Presents as theme of the month.

Recipes in English: A Tale of Two Stollen ... Blueberry Sourdough Focaccia ... Char Siu Bao ... Salted Caramel Apple Sourdough Challah ... Bolo Rainha ... Garlic Herb Braid ... Candy Cane Bread Sticks ... Irish Good Luck Bread ... Chrismassy almond cloud ... Saffron Stars ... Marzipan Stollen ... Pandoro ... Pandolce genovese ... Nadalin

Cheese & Bacon Scones with Homemade Piccalilli / Thai Soba Noodle Bowl / Fresh Mint Hot Chocolate

Blog Post & Recipe: Cheese & Bacon Scones with Homemade Piccalilli

Of course the piccalilli was made several weeks in advance to allow the flavours to mature but the scones were enjoyed fresh from the oven.

Blog Post & Recipe: THAI SOBA NOODLE BOWL

I know heat is subjective, so I am giving amounts for a medium spicy soup. I would start there and add accordingly. It’s tougher to neutralize the spice in a soup like this, so start moderate.

Blog Post & Recipe: Fresh Mint Hot Chocolate

What I love about this version is the mint is from fresh mint. It tastes clean and unlike the candy mint – which I also love – fresh mint gives a clean earthy punch that really suits the chocolate well.

Mushroom Risotto with Toasted Pistachios / Easy Roasted Red Peppers / Lamb Meatballs in a Mint Tomato Sauce

Blog Post & Recipe: Mushroom Risotto Recipe with Toasted Pistachios

For me, it can be all of these things, but on this particular day, this risotto was a vessel for a little vial (yes vial) of truffle oil. And what a delectable vessel this mushroom risotto recipe was.

Blog Post & Tips: 3 Easy Steps to Roasted Red Peppers

Roasting red peppers is a great way to concentrate flavors and bring out their natural sweetness. They make a wonderful addition to salads, sandwiches and even pasta dishes. I’m personally a huge fan of spreading a bit of goat cheese on slices of crusty bread and top with a small cluster of slivered peppers and fresh basil.

Step #1: Select Your Preferred Roasting Method ... Step #2: Let the Peppers Steam ... Step #3: Remove Core & Peel

Blog Post & Recipe: Lamb Meatballs in a Mint Tomato Sauce

I seasoned the lamb meatballs with a few exotic Mediterranean spices including cumin, coriander and cinnamon in addition to the mint and other meatball basics. I purposely made the meatballs fairly large and I fried the meatballs in oil until golden brown on the outside and then added them to the tomato sauce to finish cooking, thereby staying nice and moist and juicy.

Corned Beef, Cabbage & Kimchi Burrito / Chicken in a Bread Crust / 3 Braising Recipes

Blog Post & Recipe: Corned Beef, Cabbage and Kimchi Burrito

In addition to the corned beef, this burrito includes cabbage sauteed with bacon, kimchi, which is a spicy fermented cabbage, onion and cilantro relish, melted cheese and some avocado salsa verde (because it's green and it's St. Patrick's Day).

Blog Post & Recipe: Chicken in a Bread Crust

I was going to cook a bread-crusted chicken of my own, using a sourdough crust ... The skin of the chicken was less golden than with the salt crust, which I suspect is more porous, but plenty of juices had collected inside, and the chicken was just as moist and flavorful.

Article & Recipes: Slowly does it: delicious braise recipes

So what are the key things to watch? For most braises the meat is browned before the liquid is added. The caramelisation and 'toasting' produced by frying in fat are essential to the end flavour. But meat won't brown if it is wet or if you crowd the pan, so dry your meat then cook it in batches. Don't use too much fat or you'll end up with an oily dish. If anything burns – garlic or onion or the fat itself – throw it out before adding liquid.

Soy-braised chicken thighs with star anise recipe ... Braised pork with apricots, ginger and lemon thyme recipe ... Braised lamb with squash, lemon and mint recipe

Mint Tea. Peas on Toast. Cooking a Whole Fish.

Blog Post & recipe: How to Make Mint Tea

At this time of year I always have loads of Mint. I have a patch growing in an old stone trough and every year it comes back ... So here’s my Mint Tea recipe

Article & Recipes: Taking On The Whole Fish

The uninitiated would question why anyone would even attempt to cook a whole fish. My answer: flavor ... I truly believe that fish tastes so much better cooked on the bone. The gelatin-rich backbone is an excellent heat conductor, and the fatty skin seals in the moisture

Get recipes for Korean Roasted Fish (Saengsun Yangnyum Gui), Date-Stuffed Fish (above) and Poached Fish, as well as tips on finding fresh fish.

I found both of the above at Serious Eats.

Blog Post & Recipe: a top toast-topper

Warning for all those against peas – mushy or otherwise – this recipe is built on them.

Smashed peas on toast
Adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe

Via.