Did you know that apparently over 78% of our barbecues are unplanned? (See my previous blog Great hot BBQ’s). You never know when the sun will be shining and company will turn up unannouced so stock up on some of the classic barbecue essentials and try out one of my favourite barbecue fish recipes.

You can always try barbecuing different fish for this recipe too like haddock or coley. This recipe is perfect for that camping holiday or if you our with your barbecue at the park or even if your really lucky down on the beach!

For my Salmon with Pesto and summer vegetables which take next to nothing to prepare and only about 15 to 20 minutes tops to cook you simply:

Light and preheat your barbecue to start with. Then tear 4 large pieces of foil. Slice up 2 courgettes (see my previous blog minnie marrow season is here ) and wash 150g of mange tout and divide these between you 4 pieces of foil. Take 4 salmon fillets and one on top of the vegetables in each of the 4 pieces of foil. Spread a generous 1 tblsp of pesto over the top of each piece of salmon. Finally squeeze some lemon juice over the fish and loosely wrap the fish in the foil and place on the barbecue to cook for approximately 15 minutes until the salmon is cooked. I serve mine with some freshly dug up baby new potatoes with a knob of butter and chopped fresh parsley.

Tell me about your families favourite barbecue fish dish? What types of fish have you tried and enjoyed?

Homemade fish cakes are another great favourite see my blog Spring in homemade fishcakes, many more fish recipes in my pervious blogs for you to try, taste and enjoy!

This recipe for Italian-style baked peppers is one of my family’s favourites from a old and dear family friend. “Oh dear!”, maybe I should of left the old off that?

Anyway, his fabulous Italian roots have taught me some fantastic Italian recipes to say the least over the years, and Italian food and wine are some of my personal favourites.

This recipe is lovely served as an accompaniment to white fish, grilled chicken, rich game sausages or just on their own!

For my Italian-style baked red peppers simply -

Halve and deseed 4 large red peppers and place them on your (silicone) baking sheet or dish (see my previous blog on 23rd July on Silicone bakewear), leave the stalks in place. Into each pepper half put cherry tomato, halved, 4 capers, 2 black oilives, pitted, 1 tblsp basil pesto and 25g camembert cut into chunky cubes. Drizzle the pepper halves with a little olive oil, some ground black pepper and a few torn basil leaves. The roast at 200 c/ 400 f / gas 6 for 30 minutes until the peppers are just starting to blacken around the edges. Simple serve them with sliced ciabatta bread cut thinly which you can use to soak up the lovely juices and a sharpe glass of Itailian Wine.  

Love Italian see my blog easy recipe for a quick Italian supper, Patriotic pizza started a food idea to stand the test of time, and a perfect start to the end of the day just to give a few tasters of my great recipes and love of Italian food and Wine!

Have you a favourite Italian Dish, share it with all of us, does it have some great memories attached to it!

These zesty little citrus fruits are the epitome of refreshing summer tastes, bringing a fruity zing to all manner of beverages, from soft drinks and squashes to classic seasonal drinks such as my personal favourite gine & tonic or the more exotic mojitos.

Serve up a mojitos which is a fabulous cocktail made with white rum, mint, crushed ice and limes, and don’t forget the hunk to shake your cocktail and serve it up for you of course! Bring the cuban spirit to your party or evening serving mexican dishes, great rythmic salsa music and your delicious cocktails. Don’t forget the garden lanterns and tea lights to really set the mood for your guests and enjoy and fun dining experience alround.

Make sure you have the glassware to serve up your special cocktails in with these great connoisseur cocktail glasses. There stylish & versatile, this premium glassware has a simplistic classical design, which is ideal for everyday use, aswell as for your dinner parties. So make sure you serve your cocktails in Style!

Versatile limes though are not only the domain of delicious drinks as their delicate aroma adds another dimension to many dishes like thai and your barbecue marinades for example.

Look at my previous blogs sweet tender yellow sweetcorn, edible sunshine, bbq grills for the sunshine, and the big dipper for more ideas and many recipes to help you plan for your guests no matter what your planning!.

Well have you a coffee fanatic in the house? We all have our likes and dislikes. Traditionally speaking we usually enjoy coffee morning and tea in the afternoon. I have family members who only drink coffee and compete with each other on the lastest gadget, gismo and machine.

So finding this all intriging we set a challenge to blindfold 4 of us to see if we could taste the difference between the coffee’s with 4 non advid coffee fans as such and well the results are interesting.

We took 4 people 2 men and 2 women, all drink coffee, tea and water on a regular basis daily. Being logical my brother in law Mark and me made up a coffee pot on the stove with ground beans, we put on a cheaper range coffee perculator, we made a cup of instant coffee from a popular brand and we used 2 different coffee machines. This gave us 5 different black coffee’s.

Whats surprised us all was how the, not so coffee drinkers all picked out the coffee machine coffees has the best in flavour and richness. So Mark was over joyed as a avid coffee drinker that his gismo won top marks in our dedicated testing.

Marks best gismo is the Krups Compact Espresseria EA8080 Bean to Cup Coffee Machine. Some how Krups have managed to shrink the coffee shop down to a small shiny black cube of coffee making genius. The Compact Espresseria EA8080 has all the convenience of a capsule coffee maker, but the skills to turn whole beans into fresh espresso.

Bean-to-cup coffee machines usually tower over your sideboard because they have to incorporate a grinder as well as storage for the beans and water, but the German engineers at Krups have managed to miniaturise the whole process with the dinky Espresseria machine. Although small, it can generate 15 bar of pump pressure and hold 1.8 litres of water, while the blue LCD display lets you choose between Esspresso, Lungo, Cappuccino or Latte. There’s even room to warm two cups on top.

The EA8080 is also supplied with a Krups welcome pack which contains a Claris water filter, two sachets of descaling crystals, two cleaning tablets, a water hardness test strip and of course, the instruction manual.

So to sum up its features are:

• Bean to Cup
• LCD Display
• 1.8 Litre water tank capacity
• 15 Bar Pressure
• Metallic Conical Burr grinder for precise and uniform grinding
• 1450W
• Stainless Steel Milk jug and XS6000 Auto Cappuccino Maker
• New easy ‘Touch and Turn’ dial
• New piano black finish
• Compact Thermoblock System for optimum temperature at the very first cup
• Temperature adjuster for perfect bitterness and aroma result
• Automatic Rinsing/Cleaning/Descaling programmes
• Includes Claris water filter, 2 cleaning tablets, descaling crystals, water hardness test strip
• 275g Bean hopper capacity
• Cup Warming Tray
• Height 365mm x Length 330mm x Width 245mm
• 2 Year Manufacturer Warranty 

Why not tell us about your favourite coffee bean for the perfect coffee? Send in your argument for tea versus coffee.

See my blogs take your drinks outside in style, tea leaf or tea bag there is one teapot for every mum, and home made sweets make a great gift to name but a few for you to read over.

As I stand at the sink to a never ending stream of pots to wash up while at me daughters I am then met by the the baking tray from hell. Oh yes! we all know the one!  The one which no matter what you use will not come clean, the one you grab a knive to, in a effort to try to get the caked cooking residues off!

“What on earth!”, was my comment.  ”Where is the Silicone baking set I brought you!”, guess what? its still in the box I sent it to her in!

I do not know anyone who once they have tried silicone they wonder how they coped before they found it. Its so versatile, easy to store, light, easy to clean and so easy to get your baked delites out or off. Its a must in my kitchen, no matter how delicate your baking is, it just pops out, literally!

This WellBake® Silicone Bakeware Professional 5 Piece Easy Baking Set, as shown above is not only a great gift for the cook in your life, but its a kitchen essential in my kitchen.  A great set comprising of 2 x 6 Cup Muffin Pans, 2 x 8″ Cake Mould Dishes, 1 x 9″ Square Lasagne Dish - Heavy Duty Non-Stick Silicone and what’s more, a 10 Year Guarantee.

This set features:

So whats it going to be? hours scrapping at the kitchen sink or easy baking? I know which one I’d choose. Why not tell me about your favourite bakeware or even a tip for cleaning?

See my previous blogs Traditional Soda Bread Recipe, Irresistable eggless cake, and quick homebaked tea time treats plus loads more recipes for you to try out your silicone bakeware on!

With a local fete, carnival or charity event nearly every weekend at the minute, an essential item on any cake stall has to be the Victoria Sandwich Cake.

Although I have played with this recipe with family members with food intolerances using gluten free and wheat free flours and egg substitutes which work well I have to say although these ingredients do mean you have to adjust the liquid quanities in your recipes I have found. There is absolutely nothing to beat this traditional cake. Whether its a birthday cake or for a stall you cannot go wrong with this favourite of cakes and once the recipe is mastered you can add different flavours, fruits etc its endless to this timeless classic.

For my classic victoria sponge cake you are going to need: 100g butter (cut into peices), 100g caster sugar, 2 eggs (beaten lightly), 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 100g self raising flour, pinch of salt, 1 tblsp milk, 3-4 tblsp homemade strawberry or raspberry jam, 120ml double or whipping cream and caster sugar to sprinkle on top for finishing.

First position your oven shelves towards the middle of your oven and preheat your oven to 180 c/350 f/gas 4. Lightly grease 2 X 18cm sandwich tins with oil or butter and line the bases with circles of greaseproof baking paper which should then be oiled or buttered. Start your sponge by creaming together the butter and caster sugar in a large mixing bowl. You can do this using a wooden spoon or a hand-held mixer (or even a food processor), until light and fluffy. Then gradually beat in the eggs a bit at a time being careful not to let it curdle. You can add a little flour with the egg to stop this if needed. Stir in the vanilla extract and sift the flour and salt into a bowl then using a large metal spoon fold the flour and salt into the cake mix gently, before gently adding the milk. Be gentle to keep the air bubble in the mixture which you have took the time to add which cause the cake to rise.

Then divide the mixture between the prepared tins and level the surface. Place in your preheated oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. The cake is cooked when the surface is golden brown, and when lightly touched it springs back. Cool the cakes in their tins on a wire rack for a few minutes. The remove the cakes from their tins and cool on the wire rack and then remove the lining paper.

When completely cooled sandwich the cake together with the jam and whipped cream before sprinkling the top with caster sugar and placing a sliced strawberry to decorate before serving.

Tips - remember to keep your cake in a airtight tin and in the fridge if it lasts more than one meal sitting that is (mine never make it that far, its always eatten in full!)  Also make sure you use the right cake tin size for the recipe else as my daughter Emma found you could end up with a biscuit. If your using 20cm cake tins you need to have 175g butter, caster sugar, self raising flour and 3 eggs for instance to get the same light and fluffy sponge. Also if you haven’t got a wire rack to cool your cake on use the rack from you grill pan and improvise!

Why not tell me about your cake greats and dissastors too, and we can put them together with my own collection for a future fun blog for us all!

Check out my previous blogs perfect raspberry jam recipe for your toast and cakes, irresistable eggless cake and quick homemade teatime treats just to name, but a few of blogs containing delicious cake recipes for you to try!

Fruit and Cheese together can make a fantastic mix, one favourite that sort of came together with my love of feta cheese and my man’s love for pears, (I bet I hear you say!)

Well, this warm salad is quick, simply and delicious and once made you will be making this over and over again as I do! Ideal for a light lunch, supper or even a starter for your dinner party.

I use small, sweet and versatile Rocha pears which have a russeted skin, and you can enjoy this variety when firm and crunchy, or soft and juicy, either way they are delicious.

For my ‘warm Feta Cheese and Pear salad’, you are going to need: 6 slices of pancetta, 2 tblsp honey, 4 tblsp olive oil, 2 tblsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp chilli flakes, 4 pears ( I like rocha), 850g watercress, 120g greek feta.

Preheat a frying pan and dry fry the slices of pancetta until crispy and golden. Transfer onto kitchen paper and allow to cool. Once cool slightly crumble into pieces and set aside. To make your dressing, mix together the honey, olive oil, vinegar and chilli flakes in a bowl. Core your pears & cut into wedges, add these to the dressing bowl and toss in the dressing. Reserving the dressing, transfer the pears to a hot griddle pan and cook for around 5 minutes, turning them occassionally until they are golden. In a salad bowl, toss the pears together with the watercress and crumbled pancetta, scatter with cubed feta and drizzle the remaining dressing before serving immediately with warm homemade crusty bread.

Tip - You can use cheese of your choice this is nice with a herb cheese or shilton even, try to your own taste as that is what true cooking is all about. I have added garlic croutons to this recipe and on other occassions I have added herbs and nuts such as walnuts too, which were all delicious as well.  So you can vary this recipe, so have a play and let me know what you come up with?

Check out my blog easy recipe for a Italian supper in minutes for a great frying pan and my previous blog regarding griddles too. Find some quick picnic recipes in my previous blog royal ascot food frollicks and lots more ideas within my blogs too.

Looking for something simple but delicious whether its something with a glass of wine or a glass of larger with friends or just a yummy supper this is just up your street.

I love hot griddled lamb so try my Hot griddled Lamb pittas with salsa and humous. Your going to need: 4 pitta breads, 4 lambs steaks from your butcher, homemade houmous or a pot of houmous, 200g greek yogurt, 50g wild rocket, and to make your salsa - 2 tomatoes (greenhouse fresh ar the best), 1 red onion, 1/2 cucumber and 1 red chilli.

Preheat a griddle until its really hot. In the meantime chop all the ingredients for the salsa (deseed the chilli if you don’t like things too hot), and mix together. Split your pittas (you can use 8 baby size pittas if you prefer and there are also different varieties of pittas available too now). Toast your pittas on both sides on your griddle and put on one side. Season your lamb steaks and cook them on your griddle for 3 to 4 minutes each side, depending on their thickness. Slice the lamb steaks and add some lamb to each pitta follows by some salsa, houmous, greek yogurt and rocket. Serve any remaining salsa and  houmous on the side with bread sticks, batons of celery, cucumber and carrot. These Pittas are best eatten straight the way. Your family, friends and guests will love them.

Tip- To get the criss cross griddling pattern on your meat, when griddling just remember to tuen your meat around 180 degress on the same side before turning over which will give you this pattern. Griddling depends on your cooker, some cookers have griddle plates others don’t so in that case you may wish to buy a griddle. Griddles come in a variety of shapes and sizes so make sure you choose the one which suits your cooking needs best for example how many chicken breasts can it cook at once there is no point buying one which cooks only 2 when you have 4 people in the family. George foreman has a excellent range too, see my previous blog lean, mean and oh so good.

When the men need a quick snack like this check out my previous blog man size burger to satisfy plus many more for ideas. What do you serve in a hurry?

I love fish as do my family and I know that this is a recipe which always satisfies and leaves me with clean plates no matter when I cook it.  It simple homecooked recipe made with quality ingredients to fill each mouthful with great flavours, so give it a go.

For my family Cod and Parsley Pies you are going to need:

3 medium onions, 40g butter, 1 1/2 tblsp plain flour (or gluten free flour to suit you), 284ml double cream, 1kg cod fillet (you can ask the fish monger to fillet and bone your fish for you or even to recommend a alternative to cod too for you to try, so do ask them as they are very knowledgable), 25g fresh flat leaf parsley and 1 pack of frozen ready to roll puff pastry and egg for glazing. 

( I don’t know of many chefs these days who do not use frozen pastries, so if you haven’t time to make it don’t be afraid to use frozen pastry, but do check the labels if you have allergies. Also why not make pastry and freeze it I always keep some handy incase unexpected guests turn up, it invaluable to turn out a quick main or even dessert. So do try to make some items in advance and store in the freezer, to make life easier for you!)

You will also need 4 deep overproof dishes or pots with a 480ml capacity for this recipe. These Emile Henry set of dishes are not only great colours to serve your great recipes in but their functional to as Ceramic is by far the best material for successful cooking and baking ! Only ceramic is able to diffuse the heat slowly and evenly, to create perfectly browned gratins, tasty lasagna and succulent cakes. However do not use these on the hob.

To cook my cod and parsley pies first preheat your oven to 200 f / gas 6 / fan oven 180 C. Peel your onions and chop them roughly and soften them in a frying pan with the butter over a gentle heat. When tender and pale gold add the flour and cook briefly before stiring in the cream. Cut the fish in the large finger thick pieces and add to the onions. Roughly chop your parsley and stir in along with seasoning of salt and ground black pepper to your taste.  Now roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and using your pie dishes or pots as templates cut out 4 large pie dish shapes just larger than the actual pie dish shape itself. Divide your fish pie filling between your pie dishes and press a pastry lid gently over the top. Cut 2 small holes in the top and brush with beaten egg before baking in the oven for 30 minutes until golden and risen.  I like to serve my fish pies in the dish with seasonal vegetables or just with a slice of homemade bread, delicious!!

Love fish take a look at my other blogs spring into homemade fishcakes, savour the flavour of homecooked fast food on friday nights and Meditarrean Cod just for some ideas there are alot more blogs with great fish recipes too just for you.

Are you rushed off you feet? This quick and easy recipe is a must for a evening or weekend meal. You could even cook this for that someone special in your life, So set the mood and cook away and earn yourself some brownie points!!

For a easy recipe try my peppered beef & mushroom tagliatelle.  To serve 4 people you are going to need: 2 1/2 tbls olive oil, 600g sirloin steaks, 1 onion sliced, 250g tagliatelle, 300g mixed mushrooms with porcini sliced (you can use frozen if you wish or just chestnut mushrooms but the mix of mushrooms really adds to the flavour of the dish). 1 clove of garlic peeled & chopped, 2 tsp worcestershire sauce, 100ml beef stock, 142ml soured cream, 2 tblsp chopped fresh tarragon (plus have some springs to garnish your dish before serving) and a knob of butter (come on I was taught by a real farmhouse traditional cook!!).

Firstly bring a pan of salted water to boil and leat 1 1/2 tblsps of the oil a good frying pan. Season your steaks with black pepper and when the oil is hot add them to your pan. brown the steaks on each side for a minute and set a side. Heat the remaining pol in the pan and stir in the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Cook your tagliatelle in the boiling water according to instructions depending if fresh, homemade (see my previous blog  homemade pasta  ) or dried.

Add the mushrooms and garlic to you onions in the frying pan, add the worcestershire sauce, stock and soured cream. Stir then let the sauce bubble for 2 to 3 minutes before stirring in the tarragon. Drain your pasta and toss in the meat, sauce and the knob of butter. Serve garnished with the tarragon springs, a good italian wine of your choice.

A good frying pan is a must so think before you buy when obtaining this important kitchen essential. If like me you like to make recipes in your frying pan and then place the frying pan into the oven or under the grill, which I have to say is a terrific plus. You need to make sure your purchase a frying pan with a metal handle (but remember if you do this always wear oven gloves when handling). I love this range of pans made by ‘Le Pentole’ and the Le Pentole Stainless Steel frying pans or skillets range.  Designed in the late 70’s by Kiki Sala in a timeless design, with superb functionality and strength. They have reinforced rims providing an all round pouring rim and robust handle/ the close fitting lids make them ideal for cooking with minimum water and each lid is interchangable with other pans of the sames size within their range.  Also you can turn your frying pan into a simply pressure cooker by simply purchasing a pressure lid to use with your pan so there ideal and versatile, this Le Pentole frying pan  (as pictured above) features: 

• Manufactured in Italy from quality 18/10 stainless steel
• Classic style and design
• Exceptionally hygienic and easy to clean.
• Fully dishwasher, refrigerator and oven safe.
• Composite base of stainless steel, copper and silver alloy.
• Ultra flat base
• Equal distribution of heat
• Suitable for all cooker types including induction.
• Virtually indestructible handles
• Compression and torsion resistant up to 100kgs pressure.
• 25 year guarantee.

Check out some of other Pasta blogs like quick, easy asparagus recipe, and food for sport. Tell me about your favourite Italian supper, have you got a family favourite which you cook over and over again then please share it with all of us, or even tell me about a trip to Italy and the great food you ate!