I’ve just found this sinful but heavenly Valentine’s Day menu on the bbc.co.uk food website. It’s been compiled using recipes by James Martin, a regular ‘celebrity’ chef who broadcasts across the BBC network.

His romantic recipes strike the right balance between simple flavours and extra special touches. Each dish is easy to prepare, quick to cook, and light enough to leave room for dessert.

Starter
	Hazelnut butter grilled scallops with salad
Main course
	Chargrilled steak with beer, mustard and watercress salad
Dessert
	Pistachio and chocolate soufflé
Drinks
	Cosmopolitan

The link for the this easy Valentine’s Day menu can be found on the BBC’s Food website here along with other Valentines Day options.

Not that Mr T

The post Easy Valentine’s Day Menu first appeared on A Little Thought for Food.

Art in the Age:

No shadow for Phil this year, which means an early spring is on its way! Mix up a batch of RHUBARB Punxsutawney Punch in celebration!

1 part RHUBARB Tea
1 part Solerno
2 parts apple juice
1 spoon simple syrup
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

The post Art in the Age: Punxsutawney Punch first appeared on A Little Thought for Food.

My current fascination seems to be with food from the Moorish influenced regions of Europe and the Mediterranean. This wonderful Spanish fish and rice stew (paella) recipe is taken from the menu at Sam & Sam Clark’s Moro, a southern Mediterranean restaurant based in London’s vibrant East End. The recipe can be found here.

Although this isn’t found in Sam & Sam Clark’s recipe books, their Casa Moro: The Second Cookbook benefits from the experienced learned from publishing the previous cookbook. The recipes included are truly geared towards home cooks and serving sizes rather than the over generous spicing required for restaurant sized pots and pans. I can guarantee that once you start using this book you will come back to it regularly.

Not That Mr T.

The post Moro’s Arroz a la Marinera first appeared on A Little Thought for Food.

I came across Yotam Ottolenghi and Sammi Tamimi when I bought a new recipe book this weekend, Jerusalem is the 3rd book published by the pair based on recipes from ‘ottolenghi‘, their Middle eastern cuisine restaurants and deli’s based around London.

This ‘Mackerel and green bean salad with harissa‘ recipe sounds delicious and healthy too, just right for January and it’s post Christmas\New Year excesses. The recipe can be found here!

Not That Mr T!

The post Mackerel and green bean salad with harissa dressing first appeared on A Little Thought for Food.

We were sorting through the freezer this weekend working out what was stored in there and doing a bit of a rationalisation. I saw a bag of raw Pumpkin that had been saved this years Halloween ‘Jack O Lantern’. and wondered what I could do with it, maybe a Spiced Pumpkin soup or something more exotic. Sam and Sam Clarke at Moro, a Southern Mediterranean restaurant in London’s East End had a recipe for Jewelled Pumpkin Rice in their Moro East Cookbook, which looked stunning and defiantly one to try. The muted golds and yellow with the warming middle eastern spices are evocative of holidays in the North African side of the Med. The recipe can be found here.

Not that Mr T!

Recipe credit: p192, Moro East, by Sam and Sam Clark (Ebury Press).

The post Jewelled Pumpkin Rice first appeared on A Little Thought for Food.

Have just watched an oldish episode of the Great British Revival about pork with Clarissa Dickson Wright, in which she cooked one of my favourite cuts of meat belly of pork. I will be cooking this one in the near future and the recipe can be found here.

Not That Mr T.

The post Slow Roasted Belly Pork with anchovies and chestnuts first appeared on A Little Thought for Food.

Blood oranges have now come in to season and are appearing on the shelves in my supermarkets. This Paul Rankin Crème Brûlée recipe has a citrus twist, both in the Crème and the sauce that it’s served with. A hit on both counts. The recipe can be found here.

Not that Mr T.

The post Orange-scented crème brûlée with blood orange sauce first appeared on A Little Thought for Food.

Over the weekend I caught a re-run of Nigel Slater’s ‘12 Tastes of Christmas‘ and although I find some of his recipes a little over egg and mixed up these little beauties looked wonderful and will be on my festive cookery list over the next few days. The recipe can be found here, on my recipe blog.

Not that Mr T!

The post Berry Marzipan Cupcakes first appeared on A Little Thought for Food.

This punchy red cocktail is from the menu at the Reform Social and Grill, in the Mandeville Hotel in London West End. Although it’s been inspired by tradition dating back to the days of an Victorian British Gentlemen’s Club, it’s far from stuffy!

The Boyo, a fruity rum based cocktail is certain to kick start the Christmas and New Year’s festivities. The recipe can be found here

Not that MrT!

The post Boyo first appeared on A Little Thought for Food.

I’ve been looking for a good cocktail recipe that contains Absinthe, and it looks like I’ve found it in Home Speakeasy’s ‘The Big Sleep‘.

If I like it once I’ve tried it, it’ll be added to my Cocktail menu and to my recipe blog too!

Not That Mr T

The post The Big Sleep first appeared on A Little Thought for Food.