Food : Salsa Sauce

Its high summer which means tomatoes are cheap which means its time to make tomato sauce. I make a few varients, some using the smoker to add some earthy tang to proceedings. This one however plays on the flavours of a good Pico de Gallo Salsa. I call it Salsa Sauce but I suppose its…

Food : Low and Slow BBQ Cabbage

Back in November I turned 40. To mark the occasion I threw a party in our barrel cellar . I did all the food and we had a feast. I cranked up the SnW offset smoker. Somewhat surprisingly the dish that left the biggest impression on people was the vegan BBQ main. Inspiration for this…

Food : Christmas Cake

This recipe is mainly based on Nigella Lawson’s boiled chocolate fruit cake recipe. I have been making it every Christmas for about a decade and a few tweaks and changes have crept in. The most important method wise is i have moved to ‘boiling’ or ‘simmering’ the fruit , booze, butter and sugar in a…

Food: Spicy Kaleyard Boil up – greens and pork boiled in broth

This dish takes inspiration from the spicy boiled Collard Greens dishes of the American South. Kale and spinach are simmered in a hearty broth flavoured with smoked pork, chilli, herbs and a generous dose of garlic. You can of course serve this as a side to BBQ brisket or pork shoulder , or with roast…

Food : Brisket A La Carbonnade

I love brisket , I get a regular supply of BBQ brisket at work and usually will pick up brisket if I see it and pop it in the freezer. I do sometimes do brisket in the smoker however this recipe is a different take on cooking brisket combining the slow cooking in beer of…

Food : Cumberland Upon Spuds

Some years ago I picked up the technique of unlinking sausages and roasting them in a spiral from Jamie Oliver. Its a super easy way of making an impressive , hearty centrepiece for a meal without breaking the bank. Here I have combined it with a potato and leek bake and roasted the sausage over…

Food : Beefy Pudding

Its amazing how fast things change. It is only my grandparents time when animal fats were almost all that was used in British and NZ cookery. I have recently been trying a lot of old English recipes, utilising a pudding basin I recently purchased for many of them. We have a lot of citrus in…

Food : Pork Pie

Its probably clear from the recipes on here that I love traditional British cookery. Pork Pie sits very high on my list of favourite foods. I was once bought Pie by Angela Boggiano by someone special and it is one of my most used cookery books. I’m not offering up any wisdom on making pork…

Food : Lancashire Hotpot with sautéed Brussels sprouts

I grew up in a family where my father was atheist and my mother was a non practising Anglican, however the census didn’t have a space to tick our true religion for we were raised in the way of Coro. Watching Coronation Street was a binding family experience and the politics of how far behind…

Food : Pork Chops Braised in Cider

A pretty classic combination of pork and cider with a little aniseedy fennel added to the mix. I used the cider from my friends at Peckham’s who in my opinion make the best cider in the country. I kind of think of this as an upside down Lancashire Hot Pot . Upside down in that…