Tonight I will be cooking boeuf bourguignonne which I haven't done for a long time.

I have some wonderful looking Hereford shin of beef, echalion shallots, carrots and bacon lardons which will be gently puttered in red wine for a considerable time.  Veggie wise I have a choice of either kale, sprouts or tenderstem broccoli and I suspect there will be buttery mashed potatoes as well.  The NOM Factor could be very high this evening!! 

I was wondering if any of our inventive chefs here (hh?) had considered entering The Observer recipe competition?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/nov/14/readers-recipes-observer-food-monthly-awards

Ooh. Yes please.
I could do with a bit of nom by proxy.
I've put off the risotto again (I'm going to need a freezer bag or something to keep what's currently in the freezer cold before I attempt to defrost it) so I'm knocking up a lentil lasagne (perhaps more details later).


I have to say I hadn't considered it. I don't really see myself as being terribly inventive. Almost everything I cook has been nicked from someone else. Except for my fruity lentil curry thing. And I'm really not sure about that!

Procrastination is a marvellous thing.
I bought a new broom, and a mop and bucket (pink) today. I needed them, but should have bought them months ago rather than on an afternoon when I should have been slaving at my computer!

Lentil lasagne
First, boil your lentils (puy) for around 45 minutes. If you happen to have some stock to hand, cook them in this, but if you don't it's not the end of the world.
Fry up some onions in butter and a little oil until they are translucent. Throw in some garlic and a tin of tomatoes. When it starts spluttering, start mashing up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Turn down the heat and retire to a safe distance as it reduces down. Make sure it doesn't burn. You could put some red wine or balsamic vinegar in at this stage which would be nice.
Make a white sauce. I'm going to add some cheese to it because I like cheese.
When all of this is done, add the lentils to the tomato sauce, and then layer it up in a dish as follows:

lentils
spinach
lasagne
sauce
etc.

You could add some sliced hard boiled eggs between the lentils and the spinach but that might be going a bit far. I'm not pre-cooking my spinach tonight, judging that it will get enough steam in the oven.
Chuck the dish into a preheated oven and cook for around 45 minutes, or whatever your lasagne instructions tell you.
Steam some nice vegetables to go with it.
Devour.

And anyway, most recipes come down to some fairly simple processes in the end. Like the way that stories all boil down to three (or is it five?) variants, and the way that all of us schooled in the ways of Schenker also know, that every tonal tune boils down to 3-2-1. For me, the secret of cooking was granted to me when I realised this, and looked at recipes in this way (analytically I suppose) rather than following the fine print. It all comes down to the combination of processes and ingredients (though the processes have to be secure as well I suppose) than anything else.

I've just put the Christmas cake into the oven! I'm a bit behind this year, as I usually like to get it done in half-term. After years of having a gas oven, I'm now using electric, so shall keep a beady eye on it over the next few hours. Lovely Christmassy smells though.

I've never done a Christmas pudding, but as I'm cooking Christmas dinner for my sister and her children this year, I may just have a go. Any recipes gratefully received!