Gather your tools and ingredients together first. Rolling pin, Cream horn moulds, sharp knife and a baking sheet.

First of all, roll out the pastry to a strip measuring 66 x 10-11.5cm (26 x 4-4.5 inches). Cut the pastry lengthways into 1cm (1/2 inch) strips with the knife.

Moisten one edge of each strip and wind it around the cream horn starting at the tip, overlapping by about 3mm and finishing neatly on the underside. The pastry should not overlap the metal rim of the mould. Brush with beaten egg to glaze.

Arrange the cream horns on a dampened baking sheet, join side down.

Bake in the oven at 220c / 425f / gas matk 7 for 10 minutes until golden brown.

Allow them to cool for a few minutes and then carefully twist each tin, holding the pastry lightly in the other hand to ease it out of the pastry horn.

When they are cold, fill the tip of each horn with a little jam. Whisk the two creams together until stiff and fill the horns down to the jam. To finish, sprinkle the top with sifted icing sugar.

Makes 8

Anyway. onwards and upwards. This is a tasty snack. Gather your cookin’ irons togetherbefore you start. Large baking sheet, sharp knife, basting brush, heat proof dish, saucepan, grater, spatula.

Cut a medium aubergine into 1cm slices and place them on a large foil lined baking sheet in a single layer. Brush with teaspoons of olive oil mixed with the garlic. Season lightly and grill for 8 minutes until lighly golden. Now slice the tomatoes thickly and add to the baking sheet, turning the aubergine slices so they are on top of the tomatoes. Again, brush them with two teaspoons of olive oil and grill for a further 8 minutes until tender.

Arrange some of the aubergine slices in a shallow heatproof dish and dot with the humous, place a layer of tomato slices on top and continue layering alternately.

In a saucepan, heat the milk. Mix the cornflour with a little cold milk and add the warm milk. Return to the pan and stir it until it thickens, then add the butter and cheddar cheese. Pour the mixture over the aubergine and tomato. Now sprinkle the parmesan over the top and bake at 180c, 350f or gas mark 4 for 25 minutes.

Serve with a herby salad and warmed olive ciabatta bread.

You cant beat a piece of zingy lemon meringue pie. So gather your equipment together before starting, rolling pin, 23cm flan dish or tin, baking beans, fork, juicer, zester, heavy based pan and a whisk (or rotary or electric). See the separate short crust pastry recipe if you are making it yourself or buy some good short crust pastry. This makes 8 portions and if you want less, halve the recipe. It will keep in the fridge for a few days, so go on, make the lot!

Pre heat the oven to 180c, 350f or gas mark 6. Roll out the pastry to an even thickness of 1cm, making it big enough to overhang the dish to allow for any shrinkage. Prick the base with a fork and then bake blind for about 15 minutes, this will ensure you dont end up with a soggy base. Now reduce the heat to 150c, 300f, gas mark 2. In the saucepan, combine the lemon zest, juice, water, half the sugar and the egg yolks. Heat gently. Meanwhile, blend the cornflour with a little water and add this to the pan, stirring continuously. When the mixture boils and thickens, pour it into the pastry shell. Trim off the overhanging pastry with the sharp knife.

To make the meringue topping whisk the egg whites at high speed until stiff. Steadily add the remaining caster sugar and continue whisking until very stiff. Spoon the topping over the lemon and spread evenly.

Place in the oven for half an hour until risen and lightly browned. Now leave it to cool for at least two hours and eat at your leisure.

Boil, steam or microwave the potato until tender and then drain them.

While they are cooking, heat the oil and 20g of the butter in a large frying pan, cook the onion over a low heat for around 15 minutes, stirring frequently until the onion browns lightly. Now add the sugar and vinegar and cook until the sugar dissolves. Keep stirring.

Mash the potato in a medium size bowl using a potato ricer if you have one, mix in the milk and remaining butter until smooth. Stir the mustard and half of the onion mixture into the mash.

Serve the mash with the remaining onion mixture.

Serves 4

Well here’s a guide to what those instuctions might mean.

Very low : 120c / 250f / gas mark 1/2

Low : 140-150c / 275-300f / gas mark 1-2

Moderately low : 170c / 325f / gas mark 3

Moderate : 180-190c / 350-375f / gas mark 4-5

Moderately hot : 200c / 400f / gas mark 6

Hot : 220-230c / 425-450f / gas mark 7-8

Very hot : 240c / 475f / gas mark 9

Rice is not difficult to cook but without care you can end up with clumps of it rather than the preferred light and fluffy rice. So here are few tips,

We generally cook too much rice since we tend to ignore the fact that it will triple in volume when cooked. Around 60g is enough per person.

Basmati and Thai rices should be rinsed before cooking.

Stick to the times recommended on the packet, cook with the lid on to prevent steam escaping, when the rice is cooked, pour it into a colander and fluff it up with a fork before serving.

There are basically two ways to cook rice, absorption and boiling.

Absorption :

Use 1 part rice to 1.5 parts water. Rinse the rice in a colander. Put the rice and a pinch of salt into boiling water and bring back to the boil. Stir it well and cover with a good fitting lid and turn down to the lowest heat and leave for 12 minutes. Remove it from the heat and leave for a further 5 minutes to allow the moisture to be absorbed. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Boiling :

Add the rice to salted boiling water. Bring back to the boil and then reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes (check it is tender). Drain and fluff with a fork before serving.

That’s it. Enjoy.

Do you eat yours “typewriter style”? Like the chicken on Looney Tunes and when it got to the end a bell rang and it went back to the start of the next row. There’s an image you will have the next time! And it seems the top reason for eating it is the taste, as it certainly isnt anything to do with the digestive qualities.

Boil it, steam it, fry it, barbecue it or strip it and fry it up in a pan. Use the Tovolo Corn on the cob holders. Then cover it in butter (or margarine if you must) and add a little salt and pepper and go for it, typewriter style!

Chatsworth Farm Shop do a fish pie mix, all fresh fish, ready cut up. Its not cheating just a short cut.

Gather your ingredients and tools for the job before you begin. Sauce pan, shallow 1.75ltr / 3 pint oven proof dish, cutting board, knife, potato peeler, potato ricer or masher, sieve, skimmer or fish slice, jug.

Take a couple of the onion slices and stud them with cloves, put the onion slices in a large saucepan with the bay leaf, 450g of the milk, the cream and the cod and smoked cod (or haddock). Bring to the boil and then simmer for 8 minutes. Lift the fish out on to a plate and strain the liquid into a jug. When the fish cooled enough, break it into large flakes and throw away the skin and any bones. Now sprikle it over the base of the ovenproof dish.

If required, hard boil the eggs for 8 minutes, drain and leave to cool. Peel and cut them into chunky slices and arrange on top of the fish.

Melt 50g of the butter in the pan, add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in the liquid from the jug. Return the pan to the heat and slowly bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Leave it to simmer for 10 minutes to cook out the flour. Remove from the heat one more time, stir in the parsley and season with nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Now pour the sauce over the fish and leave it to cool. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, drain, mash and add the rest of the butter and the egg yolk. Season with salt and ground white pepper. Now beat in enough of the remaining milk to make a soft, spreadable mash.

Preheat the oven to 200c or gas mark 6, spoon the potato over the filling and mark the surface with a fork. Bake for 35-40 minutes until piping hot and golden brown.

This recipe credit : Rick Stein

Preheat the oven to 200c, 400f or gas mark 6. Sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in the margarine or butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the cold water to the mixture and using a knife or dough blender mix the water into the flour. Use your hand to firm up the mixture. The pastry should be an even colour and suitable for rolling.

Divide the pastry into 2 halves. Roll one half out so that it will cover an 8″ / 20cm enamel or aluminium plate, trim around the edge of the plate with a knife.

Cover the pastry with the stewed apples and add sugar to taste. Now roll out the other half of the pastry, moisten the edge of the bottom layer of pastry and place the other layer on top, pressing down on the pastry edges using your finger and thumb to make sure they are sealed. Trim off any excess pastry around the dge of the plate with a knife.

Prick the surface of the pastry before placing the pie in the oven and cooking for 20-30 minutes. When the pie is ready it should move on the plate when shaken. Now transfer it to a serving plate and if desired sprinkle with caster sugar and serve.

Gather the ingredients and equipment you will need first. A chopping board, sharp knife and a saucepan.
Melt the butter in the saucepan over a low heat, stir in the flour and cook gently for 2 to 3 minutes. Now remove the pan from the heat and stir in the milk gradually, keep stirring to avoid getting lumps. Bring it to the boil, still stirring, then simmer for about 5 minutes giving it the odd stir. When it is smooth and creamy, remove from the heat and stir in the chopped parsley. Season to taste.

Serve hot with fish, poultry, boiled meats or vegetables.