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.

Great picnics start here, I have had (and aim to have many more too!) some fabulous times over the years attending Royal Ascot week. Let me tell you if you have never been the atmosphere is electric. Its one of those calendar events many of us wait for. Some of us spend months planning our outfits espically if your attending on Ladies Day which can be a right eye opener let me tell you. Everyone gets into the spirit with all the guys in full morning dress and every lady with her best hat addorned, its a day when fashion has no boundaries and that includes the picnic.

This picnic has a silk tablecloth and table, candles, even full barbecues, waiters and enough bubbly to sink the titanic. But it dosen’t stop with the highlights of the days horse racing and meeting the celebraties and royal family in the flesh as afterwards the picnics start, the music turned up and the partying truely begins.

I remember one year when we had been having alot of rain and the buses park a distance from the race course, they placed straw down for all of us to walk on and provided shoe cleaners to clean our shoes when we arrived at the race track, how funny to see people tottering around in shoes worth more than a family holiday in mud, dolled up to the eye balls, not forgetting the hat. The things we do hey!!

Tell me about your trips to ascot and the food you enjoyed, we took everything. Bubbly, crab, salmon, trifles no luxury was spared.  Check out my previous picnic blogs like greatfood, great style and don’t forget the wine Take a look at the great picnic items available including blankets and hampers, I love this Spey De Luxe Hamper it has everything ready for you to go just grab this and your bubbly and food and your away. This spacious and quality hamper (shown right) for four. With plates, cutlery, condiment set and wine glasses and integral bottle compartment for three bottles. The ‘wash’ willow hamper has twin opening flaps cream tones for cutlery, plate and wine glass straps and clasp and hinges to add to the style presentation. Also included is a cream tablecloth and matching cream napkins for the perfect picnic!

Some great pinic ideas include:

Salmon - Mix Salmon (fresh or tinned) with cannellini beans, chopped tomato, diced shallot, chopped black or green olives, chopped parsley and basil. Dress with olive oil and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Serve with bread or salad of your choice.

Trout - Combine a bunch of watercress or rocket with thinly sliced radishes and red onion; add flaked smoked trout. Dress at the last minute with olive oil, sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper (which you pop in your picnic hamper!)

Local Lamb - One of my favourite is Local Lamb thinly sliced, then toss with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, mint, feta and chopped red onion, serve with a rustic bread and a beautiful  rich red wine (Yummy!)

Come on ladies whats your picnic going to have, tell me all about it!!

If you feel that a dish needs a side salad but you do not have any salad leaves to hand, then green vegetables like beans, courgettes and peas can make a great substitute. Just cook the choosen vegetables briefly so they remain crunchy and refresh them under cold running water, then serve with mayonnaise or salad dressing with a sprinkling of fresh herbs.

You could also make a salad from raw root vegetables like carrots, turnips and white & red cabbages shredded finely and tossed in a flavoured dressing.

As in my previous blog a great gadget to use for these types of things if you do not have a food processor with the necessary blades is a Julienne Vegetable slicer like this one!

Alternatively if you have only a few salad leaves why not shred them and add to other store cupboard ingredients like crumbled cheese, chopped egg or even canned beans.

Do you have a favourite salad recipe or ingredient? Perhaps you have a tip for our avid readers too then don’t be shy join the rest of us foodies and send me your comments!

Looking for something tempting to serve up on the side is sometimes quite daunting especially when your looking for something different too!

I remember my grandmother showing me a fabulous dish with a classic flavouring concept called persillade. She added this to an array of fruits and vegetables for a great tasting and looking side to accompany fish or meats alike, but my grandmother favourite was to serve this with gammon.

If your not good at preparing vegetables or want to take the time element out of this make sure you have a handy Juliene Vegetable slicer in your kitchen. You will find one invaluable for preparing vegetables in an array of shapes and sizes for all of your recipes needs. This versatile Wide Julienne Vegetable Slicer is ideal for thinly slicing fruit and vegetables for speedy preparation. Made from toughened plastic, this sturdy slicer features a comfortable handle and stay-sharp ceramic blade. A finger guard is also supplied

Try this and let me know what you think.  For Grandmothers Courgettes, Apples & Persillade-  your going to need: 1 red onion, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 medium apple, 1 medium tomato, 500g courgettes, salt & pepper, a bunch of parsley & 1 clove of garlic.

Peel & thinly slice your onion and heat 2 tablespoons of oik in a frying pan before adding your onion and cook over a low heat for 7 minutes until the onion has softened. Rinse & core the apple and then chop in to cubes. Rinse & chop in to cubes your tomato also and stir in with the onion and cook for a further 5 minutes stirring occassionally. Trim and rinse your courgettes and then slice lengthways into thin strips before cutting the strips into batons. Sprinkle these with salt, heating another frying pan fry your courgettes over a moderate heat until they release their moisture then turn up the heat and continue to cook until the moisture has evaporated, saking the pan to make sure the courgettes do not burn. Reduce the heat then add the apple, tomato & onion mix to the courgettes and leave to simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile rinse, dry & chop enough fresh parsley to make 4 tablespoons & crush the garlic. Mix this with the parsley to make the Persillade. Stir the persillade into the frying pan with the vegetables and simmer for a few minutes to cook the garlic, then grind in some black pepper & add some salt to season to your taste before serving immediately with some delicious griddled gammon.

Do you have a favourite side dish, why not tell me about it or any of my recipes or blogs?