Luscious lemon flavoured cream

Three dessertspoonfuls of creme fraiche (about half a pot)
Juice of half a lemon
three teaspoons of sugar

Mix all together energetically.
Pour over strawberries or raspberries, or generally serve it with anything that needs cream, or chill to make ice cream.

Bread and Butter pudding: an everyday version

Ingredients:

• About six slices of bread, white or brown. Stale baguettes are good but you'll need lots of slices if so!
• Lots of butter (salted variety is best)
• A handful of sultanas, currants or raisins
• Two eggs, made up to one pint with full cream milk
• Two tablespoons of demerara sugar or white sugar
• Spice etc if desired.

1. Butter an ovenproof dish.
2. Cut the crusts off the slices of bread and butter them on one side.
3. Cut them into irregular shapes and lay some in a layer on the bottom of the dish, butter side down. Sprinkle a few sultanas etc on.
4. Lay another layer of bread and butter pieces, butter side up this time, and sprinkle with fruit again.
5. Continue until all the bread is used up.
6. Whisk the eggs with the milk and pour over the bread and butter layers.
7. Leave to soak for an hour.
8. Sprinkle the top with sugar, and a little spice if you like.

Bake for about 35 minutes in a moderate oven, at 350º F, 180º C, 160º for a fan oven and Gas mark 4. The pudding should be bouncy and not too runny in the middle, nor too brown at the edges.
Serve with cream and/or fruit.

Chocolate moussingues aka what to do with gone-wrong-meringue-mixture

What do you do when your meringue goes wrong? You got distracted and whisked the egg whites as if you were making royal icing instead of meringue. Now you've put the sugar in and it's a nice shiny white sloppy consistency. Bother.

Well, providing you still have eggs left, fear not.

1. Put the bowl of gone-wrong-meringue aside and cover. Wash your beaters.
2. Start your meringue again with fresh egg-whites and sugar, reserving the yolks for later, and beat the egg-whites properly this time.
3. When you have time e.g. the following morning, pre-heat the oven to gas 3 and return to the gone-wrong mixture and the egg-yolks left over from the new meringue. Find that scrap of cooking chocolate lurking in the cupboard because there isn't enough of it for any recipe, or mix equal weights of cocoa powder and melted butter. I think I used about 2oz chocolate for 2 egg yolk/white. Melt it in the microwave.
4. Stir the egg-yolks into the chocolate a bit at a time and beat with a fork or electric whisk until smooth.
5. Transfer the chocolate mixture into the ex-meringue mixture and mix well with electric whisk. You will get small air bubbles but it will still be runny.
6. Decant into 4 or so ramekins, filling each one about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Stand in a baking tray and place in centre of oven. Cook for 25 mins or so until set. Serve immediately for best puffed-up souffle-style effect but they taste good cold too.

Heather's Teriyake Chicken

5 floz soy sauce
6 tbsp white sugar
5 floz Sidney Sussex Fino sherry or other cheap dry sherry

approz 6 chicken pieces (thighs are best)

Mix soy sauce, sherry and sugar in saucepan, heating until sugar is dissolved. Either thicken to use as a glaze, or use as a marinade, or just pour over chicken in a large casserole dish and place in oven 180C/Gas 4 for 45 mins until chicken is cooked.

Serve with rice and green veg.

Thicken left-over sauce as a glaze for another meal, or use to flavour other dishes.

Vegetarian Pastitsio

6oz lentils
1 large aubergine
3 tsbp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
2 onions
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
1 clove garlic
8 medium tomatoes or 2lb can of tomatoes
8oz tomato puree
2-4oz grated parmesan
1lb noodles

Custard sauce:
3 tbsp butter
1 1/4 pints milk
3 eggs
3 tbsp flour

1. Wash lentils and soak in 1 1/4 pints boiling water.
2. Put in pot with salt and olive oil, cook 30-45 mins until the water is almost gone.
3. Heat olive oil and butter in a saucepan, add onions, aubergine, garlic and seasoning. Cover and saute for 10 mins.
4. Add tomatoes and lentils. Cook until thick, add tomato puree and check seasoning.
5. Boil noodles until still stiff (10-12 mins).
6. Layer noodles, parmesan and sauce in large greased dish.
7. Make custard sauce using roux method. Whisk in heated milk. Beat eggs in bowl and beat sauce in slowly.
8. Pour over casserole and allow it to soak to the bottom. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake for 1h at 400F/200C/Gas 6.

Savoury cheese and onion pie

Shortcrust pastry made with:
8oz plain flour
6oz butter
lemon juice

10oz cheese, (1/2 gruyere)
2 tbsp flour
2 large onions
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp chopped basil
2 large firm tomatoes
2 large eggs
1/4 pint cream
nutmeg

Line flan dish with shortcrust pastry. Grate cheese and toss with flour. Slice onions and saute in butter gently (1/2 hour). Spread 1/2 of cheese on bottom of pie dish, then spread onions over. Slice tomatoes and heat in butter. Arrange on top of onions. Cover with remaining cheese. Beat eggs with cream and pour over cheese. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake 35-40 mins Gas 6/200C.

Lasagne

8oz lasagne pasta

1lb mince
1 large or two small onions
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
mushrooms and/or carrots optional
tomato puree
2 tins chopped tomatoes
basil and oregano
salt and pepper
soy sauce/yeast extract/red wine optional

Make the above ingredients into bolognese sauce and simmer for at least 20 mins.

Meanwhile, make cheese sauce using the following:
2oz butter
2oz plain flour
1/2 - 1 pint milk
6oz cheese, grated (include some parmesan)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour to make a roux. Fry for 1 min. Gradually mix in milk and bring back to boil.

Make up lasagne in large flat dish, layering bolognese sauce and lasagne pasta. No need to pre-cook the pasta even if the packet claims you should. Add cheese and seasoning to the sauce and pour over the top layer of pasta. Sprinkle any remaining cheese on top. Bake at Gas 6/200C for 30-35 mins until browned and bubbling on top. Serve immediately.