Christmas Presents

We had a great Xmas in our house.

I got a couple of great cook books by Jon Torode and Atol Kochhar from my brother and sister.

I have sampled a recipe and some of the writing from this book, when there was some recipes and tips from the book in The Observer some months back. Avaible from http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/ for only £6.99, howver P+P is £3.50, unless you spend £25, either ways it is till cheaper than Amazon.

I am looking forward to trying some recipes from Atol Kochhar's new book, this guy knows how to make contemporary Indian cuisine and present it like haute cuisine. That's how and why he became the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star for his restaurant Benares. Kochhar along with Reza Mahammad and Cyrus Todiwalla they have elevated Indian cuisine and given it a new sophistication. If I lived in London I would be in their restraunts all the time.

I have had a busy time leading upto Xmas. I gave away some Lemon Curd and some very festive Cranbery Curd to a couple of Friends. I ordered 24x Italian (Amalfi) lemons from http://www.natoora.co.uk/ which cost me nearly £10. I have 1x left, 2x went mouldy and I used about 8x for the Lemon Curd and the rest I preserved. Preserved lemons are quite expensive in the shops. A shredded lemon really adds a Moroccan touch to any tagine or couscous recipes. Speaking of preserving, I also confit some duck. In other words I slow cooked some duck legs for two hours submerged in a deep dish full of duck fat. You know when its ready, as the flesh is almost falling off the bone. I let the duck cool and then put it in a sterilised kilner jar and covered the duck with all the flavoursome fat. This duck confit will sit in my pantry for months till a recipe calls for it or I finally get round making a cassoulet. When you want to use it, you put the duck along with some of the fat into a very hot oven for 5 mins and you will have the crispiest duck. The rest of the duck fat can be used to make the best roast potatoes you will ever taste. I have always been put off attempting duck confit as it sounded very daunting. But with the help of a good recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Meat book. I found the whole process very easy.