Happy Easter!

A Great Good Friday to you all.

Make some chocolate buns and hide eggs all over the house.  There is still one in my sock drawer from last year - I may melt that one down for ice-cream sauce now.








Best Beef and Great Gravy.

The ultimate roasting joint is the rib-roast. 
Ask your butcher to bone the joint and then tie the rib back on for roasting.
1.5kg will feed six hungry people.
Total cooking and resting time for medium beef is 1 hour and twenty minutes.
With meat this good, all you need to do is cook it!

Heat the oven to 250 degrees centigrade and sear the meat for 15 minutes.
Then turn the heat down to 190 degrees and cook for a further 15 minutes per half kilo.
Please don't over-cook your lovely beef!
It will then need to rest with a foil lid for at least twenty minutes.

For the gravy:

This is slightly unconventional but it works and it takes all of the last minute stress away from a roast dinner.
You will need;
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
3/4 bottle red wine
500ml beef stock
1/2 tsp garlic puree
2 tbsp cranberry or redcurrant sauce
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

In a saucepan, cook the butter and flour gently and stir for about five minutes.
Now add the wine, a little at a time, allowing it to thicken as you go.
Add the garlic puree, cranberry sauce, mustard and beef stock.

Taste your gravy.
Depending on the acidity of the wine, you may wish to add a little sugar and extra butter to smooth it out.
If at this stage you would prefer a gravy that is more brown and thicker, add a few gravy granules, I won't tell anybody!
Let the gravy simmer really gently for the entire time your beef is in the oven.

After the joint has rested for a good half hour, snip the strings and lift it off the bone.  It will now be really easy to carve.
Add the resting juices to the gravy.
You can serve immediately or, box it up, cover with gravy and refrigerate or freeze it until you're ready to eat it!  All you will need to do is heat it gently on the hob and concentrate on making perfect Yorkshire puddings.
(Recipe already on this blog under Toad in the Hole).

Around the Grounds

The peacock butterfly emerges from hibernation from March onwards. Their caterpillars love to eat nettles so that's another reason to leave messy patches in your garden. July sees another flush of butterflies as the new generation bursts forth.

Male peacock butterflies will defend a territory throughout the summer - harassing any females that pass through.  Typical.








Pasta Bakettes

Making individual pasta bakes may seem like madness for a kids tea but there are advantages.  The kids like to have a topping of plastic sausage whereas I prefer crunchy breadcrumbs and Parmesan.
All you need is a tomato type sauce of your preference and some cooked pasta.
Leave the sauce thinner than normal.
Assemble in individual oven dishes and top with whatever suits the diners.
Bake at 190 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Funny of the Week

The return of The Unbelievable Truth

http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01f5hp9/