Sherry's Food

This is a whole apple, half-cooked in cider and honey, and then you wrap it in pastry and pour the reduced juices on the top (so it looks like a huge, round jam tart). Then whack it in the oven on high (well, I was doing roast potatoes at the time...) on the bottom of the oven. They come out looking like pastry apples. Serves 4 5 Braeburn apples, peeled & cored 1 pint cider 1-2 tbsp honey 1/2 Cinnamon stick Shortcrust pastry Milk Sugar Put the apples in a deep pan, pour the cider in until it reaches just half way up, pour honey over the top of the apples, throw in the cinnamon stick. Cover with a lid and slow cook in the oven for 4 hours at 100°C. Remove from the oven and gently remove from the juice, cover the apples with cling film and set them aside to cool. Reduce the juices until they are a thick syrup. Cut a wedge from the spare apple and push it into the cores of the others. Or you could use dates or sultanas, I guess. Roll out the pastry. Each apple will need a roundish pie...

1. Ensure whatever you are frying is completely dry: Pat meat with kitchen paper, leave scallops on paper for an hour, let noodles drain for an hour. 2. Don't crowd the pan or your food will steam, not fry. 3. Don't toss and poke your food or it will cool and won't brown 4. Don't use a non-stick pan (except for cooking eggs). 5. Use peanut oil or sunflower oil. Don't use olive as its burning point is too low. About browning • Browning is called the Maillard reaction. It is not 'sealing' the meat. Juices don't leak out of meat while you're cooking it, they retreat to the centre (which is why you rest the meat - to let the juices even out again). • Browning can only happen at high temperatures (above the boiling point of water, which is why if your food is wet it won't brown). • Browning is all about adding flavour. Basic Sauce/Gravy 1. Get the pan hot, add the oil, turn the heat down slightly and add the meat. 2. Leave the meat to build up a ...

from Amy Claridge I have a marvellous bearded friend whom I fondly call The Marquis. He wears combat trousers, and plays cricket in Doc Martin boots painted white with emulsion. He inspired this cake. I was in his company once, when he suddenly said “Beavers at 4!” to his brother, Jason. It turned out that when they were schoolboys in the 50s and 60s, they would partake in tea and cake at 4 pm – as was the routine of their school. The general term for this cake – of any type – was ‘beavers’. So when I was trying to work out how to use up a load of Christmas dates and figs, I worked them into a traditional tea loaf recipe, and called it ‘beavers’. I could just imagine a young Marquis in shorts with grazed knees helping himself to a rather large slice whilst Jason salivated in the background.This recipe has been made numerous times since, and a couple of grease proof paper clad loafs, tied with twine, have made their way to the Marquis and his brother. I am assured that this cake tastes ...

Goes so well with the fruit in this dish, and is great served with some steamed purple sprouting broccoli. Mashed potato, parsnip or celeriac go well with this too. Serves 2 (huge portions) Ingredients • 1 small handful of fresh rosemary • 5 dried juniper berries • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • extra virgin olive oil • 1kg venison sirloin on the bone • 4 shallots, peeled and finely sliced • 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced • 1 glass of robust red wine • 200g/7oz fresh blueberries (or blackberries) • 2 large knobs of butter Chop up the rosemary and juniper berries finely and add a really good pinch of salt and pepper. Pat the venison dry with some kitchen paper, and rub the oil mixture all over it. Add 2 good lugs of olive oil to a hot pan and sear the meat on all sides, and then transfer to a roasting tin and roast for about 30 mins in oven preheated to 180°C. Remove it from the oven when it’s cooked to your liking and allow it to rest on a plate for 10-15 mi...

This was inspired by the Primavera risotto I had in Strada, Bury St Edmunds. I quite like Strada - you can have lunch any time up until 5pm. Very Italian. Ingredients • 1 cup Basmati Rice • (a) Bunch of asparagus/Courgettes/Beans/Broad beans (depending on the season) • 2 big handfuls of baby Spinach leaves • Small bunch of mint, chopped • Handful frozen peas Dressing: • Bouillon powder • Olive oil • Vinegar • 4 oz Goats cheese (any crumbly cheese) Heat a pan, put a little oil in and add 1 cup rice. Cook for a couple of mins. Add 2 cups of boiling water, stir once and simmer, lid firmly on, 'til al dente (about 12 mins?). Chop the veg to approx same size pieces. Add the chopped veg (a) to the rice approx 5 mins before the end of cooking. Replace lid. Once the rice is cooked (all water absorbed), add the frozen peas, mint and spinach and stir. Make a light salad dressing with a little olive oil, vinegar and bouillon powder. Season to taste. Just before serving, stir thru the dressin...

This is unashamedly rich and luscious. Firstly, coffee and walnuts have a great affinity; secondly, so do coffee and creaminess; and thirdly, because the cake is soaked in coffee syrup, it's also meltingly moist. Serves 8 Ingredients For the sponge cake: • 1½ level tablespoons instant coffee mixed with 2 tablespoons boiling water • 3 oz (75 g) walnut halves • 6 oz (175 g) self-raising flour • 1½ level teaspoons baking powder • 6 oz (175 g) softened butter • 6 oz (175 g) golden caster sugar • 3 large eggs at room temperature For the syrup: • 4 tablespoon, 2 fl oz (55 ml) strong coffee • 2 oz (50 g) demerara sugar For the filling and topping: • 1 tablespoon coffee granules • 1 rounded tablespoon caster sugar • 10 w...

Takes about 10 minutes. This is low calorie and filling! Serves 2 Ingredients • 1 leek, chopped • 1/2 inch ginger, finely chopped (or more if you like) • Chilli, finely chopped (optional) • 1/4 head Broccoli, chopped into small florets • Juice of 1/2 lemon • 1/4 fennel, chopped • 1/6 savoy cabbage, chopped (a handful) • Splash of fish sauce • Splash of soy • 6 oz chicken strips (if they are raw, lightly coat them in corn flour) • 1 Pak Choy, chopped • 1/2 glass white wine • Splash of water • Pinch of buillon powder Fry the leek in a spponful of olive oil, add ginger and chilli (if using), stir, cook until leek beginning to wilt. Add broccoli, add lemon juice and fry for a minute, add the fennel and cabbage, add splash of fish sauce & splash of soy, cook for a min, add chicken strips, cook until chicken done. Add Pak Choy, and immediately deglaze pan with white wine. Add splash of water and pinch of Buillon. Stir, check the seasoning of the sauce. Serve.