mister anchovy’s meatloaf

Actually it’s his mom’s meatloaf. I saw this fabulous sounding comfort food recipe over at mister anchovy’s the other day and knew I would have to try it, especially now that the days are getting chilly. It’s been many many years since I made a meatloaf. There are a couple of differences here from the original recipe, the main one being that I couldn’t find any Heinz chili sauce (the “secret” ingredient!) and substituted Heinz barbeque sauce with added chili flakes. I also added a dollop of dijon and a splash of worchestershire to the meat. Oh, and also a whack of garlic. Natch.

Recipe and instructions below the links.

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curried cauliflower purée

cauliflower puree

A couple of weeks ago I had a huge cauliflower about to turn and decided to steam the whole thing at once and make some sort of soup. And I ended up with this very spicy and smooth cauliflower purée. So when I woke up feeling all achy & fluey this morning I decided that this would be the best thing for me … and it was!

Recipe & instructions below the links.

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caesar salad

caesar salad

Way back when, many years ago when I was young and green and leafy, I was taught how to make this amazing caesar salad dressing by my very dear friend Darlene in Toronto. It remains the very best caesar salad I have ever tasted in my life. I hope I haven’t left anything out…

Ingredients and instructions below…
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mushroom risotto

risotto

I’ve recently enjoyed a couple of very nice risottos over at Tre Fratelli and at Soravito. And it got my curiosity going as I had never made a risotto before and thought how nice it would be to make one at home, because there is a definite “comfort food” aspect to a good risotto. And so, using my usual modus operandi when trying something new and having no recipe, I took four different risotto recipes that I’d found on line and adapted them into one recipe I thought would work well. And as you can see, it turned out very well indeed. I couldn’t find any portabello mushrooms and used setas de chopo instead.

For my next risotto I want to use these dried wild mushrooms that my friend Darlene recently sent to me in a wonderful surprise care package from Canada…

risotto wild mushrooms

Recipe and instructions are below the links…

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courgette tortilla

courgette tortilla

This is a super fast and super simple low-carb version of the traditional spanish tortilla omelette, which is typically a potato omelette. It’s important to get as much excess moisture as possible out of the grated courgette before adding it to the egg mixture. And the (optional) grated cheese can either be added to the mixture before cooking or melted on top afterwards.

Recipe and instructions below the links…

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carrillada (aka pig’s cheeks)

I wasn’t planning on making carrilladas today, and had never made them before. Though I’ve had them several times at tapas bars and especially love the ones they serve at Bodeguita Romero. Anyhow, there I was in the supermarket and I saw these rather plump pig’s cheeks and thought – what the heck. After I got home I scoured the internet looking for a recipe and I started to despair when I saw most of them called for a pressure cooker. So what I ended up doing was taking ideas from about four different recipes and incorporating them into one. And I must say they turned out amazing! Served here with mixed veg and a bit of potato purée.

Recipe and instructions below the links…

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croquetas

croquetas

It all started the other day when my very dear friend Lizzie, who owns & runs the Folk House Cafe & Bar in Bristol, asked me if I had a good recipe for Spanish croquetas. And I did, so I passed it along. But then Lizzie asked me how many croquetas the recipe made and I could not remember … so I decided to find out.

Of course, the thing about croquetas is that they are kind of fiddly – okay, they are a total pain in the ass –  to make, so if you’re going to make one batch then may as well make two. Except then I couldn’t decide which kind to make, and started thinking that four different kinds would make a nice photo … and this is how I ended up with croquetas taking over my kitchen. But I must say it was nice to have a variety of them.

From left to right: spinach with pinenuts & chili peppers, mackerel & roasted red pepper, garlicky chicken, and ham & cheese. Served with “the sauce“.

Recipe is below the links…

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hummus

hummus

I love hummus and I especially love this very simple recipe sent to me by a friend in Toronto many years ago.  I also love how versatile hummus is, as well as it being low-fat and very nutritious. I usually use hummus in a variety of tortilla rollups that are mostly vegetarian, and lately I’ve added oven-baked pita bread and flour torilla “chips” to my repertoire, with hummus as a dip. Any other suggestions will be gratefully accepted.

Ingredients and instructions below…

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