Movie night, (In the Name of the Father) with Potatoes, Cumberland Sausage, Gravy and Egg. This is a house favourite. Any pork sausages will do, and the potatoes were made much like roasties but sliced then cooked in a roasting tray with duck fat and a couple of garlic cloves.
Movie Night (The Third Man), with Chicken Schnitzels, Lemon and Sage. I’ve spent a rather gratifying day doing paperwork, watching Scotland thrash England at rugby, and moseying in fields trying to remember what the expanse of blue is in the sky.
Movie night, (The Last Emperor) with Leftover Chicken Ravioli, Mushrooms & Balsamic Brown Butter Sauce. Yesterday's chicken, minced with garlic, tarragon (sage works well too), S&P, and a little crème fraîche. The sauce is chicken stock, balsamic vinegar, a bucketful of butter and mushroom ketchup.
Movie night (Jaws) with Ramenesque Chicken and Noodles. This is a mongrel dish, if I’m honest - part katsu, part ramen and I’ve posted the recipe for the broth below. It’s finished it off with a jammy egg, a few green chillies, fried mushrooms and Lao Gan Ma from a jar. Recipe for the broth attached
Movie night (It’s a Wonderful Life - again) with Beef Fillet and Rum Peppercorn Sauce. Christmas is upon us, and it’s time to ritually cue up our favourite flicks. For me, Jimmy Stewart’s performance in IAWL embodies every possible emotion we can experience during the festive period.
Movie night (My Name is Joe), with Venison Curry and Green Masala Potatoes. Cracking haunch meat from a local butcher, marinated in oil, ground fennel seeds, Kashmiri chilli powder and ground cardamom then seared in a ferociously hot pan for a few minutes. More details on m’Insta.
Movie night (Voyage to Italy, with Ingrid Bergman) and Pappardelle with Mushrooms. It’s really simple - finely chopped shallots, chicken stock, a measure of brandy your doctor would frown at, a couple of crushed garlic cloves, plenty black pepper, crème fraîche and grated parmesan.
Movie night (Dead Poets Society) with Pork Chop, Parmentier Potatoes and a Mustard and Cider Sauce. I’d ordinarily cook the chop - a Sugar Pit - in the sauce, but it was too large so I popped it in the oven. More info on m’Insta.
Movie night (The Revenant) with Roast Chicken, Garlic Mash and Parmesan Courgettes. I haven’t written a recipe for this, but here’s the gist of it. The gravy is basically reduced chicken stock, a tot of honey, crushed garlic, thyme, celery salt, & the juices from the cooked chicken. More on m’Insta.
Movie night (Gandhi) and Lamb Meatball Curry with Black Beans. I reckon it’s wise to buy more minced lamb than one considers ample. Meatballs shrink, but encouragingly, they don’t miraculously vanish when cooked. Unlike spinach, for example. Recipe on m’Insta.
Movie night (Sunshine on Leith) with Macaroni Cheese Pie. The diminutive versions of these are ubiquitous in Scotland and a staple of our childhood. This giant is made with hot water pastry and has crumbled chorizo. Recipe on m’Insta.
Movie night (Quadrophenia) with Haddock and Chips, Samphire, and Béarnaise Sauce. This particular haddock landed in Peterhead and it’s a belter. The batter is 250g pf plain flour, 18g of yeast, 400ml of golden ale, 2tsp salt and the same of sugar. More on m’Insta.
Trees in Autumn
Autumn’s great, isn’t it.
#Autumn
Movie night (Empire of the Sun) with Kimchi and Pork Gyozas. I made these earlier today but some of the pre-made wrappers are pretty decent, if a little trickier to fold. It’s all in the thumbs, and there are a gazillion helpful tutorials online. More on m’Insta.
Movie Night (The Grapes of Wrath) with A Pile of Parsnips, Potatoes and Lamb Chops. The parsnips were roasted gently for about 40 minutes with a splash of honey and Za’atar. More details on m’Insta.
Movie Night (Lost in Translation) with Brazen Beef Noodles. This is pretty much a cupboard and fridge raid affair with the exception of the beef, which was snatched from m’butcher’s counter today then flash-fried with onions. More on m’Insta.
Movie Night (Days of Heaven) with Chateaubriand, Marmite Pearl Barley and Kale. It’s an idea, as opposed to a comprehensive recipe, which would be silly, and exhaustive. The gist of it is on m’Insta.
Movie Night (Jackie Brown) with Chips, Sausage Nuggets and Curry Sauce. Cravings often get the better of us, and we succumb. I’m not entirely convinced it’s always a poor decision, or that awful platitude, ‘naughty’ - we occasionally just need to scoff it. Recipe for the sauce is on m’Insta.
Movie Night (Roman Holiday) with Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli and Ragù - a sort of Ragù Bianco because I didn’t use tomatoes, carrots or celery. Anyhow, I snatched a batch of frozen ravioli from the freezer which was possibly deposited there before Miley Cyrus was born. More on m’Insta.
Movie Night (The Talented Mr Ripley) with Pork Loin Marsala, New Potatoes and Cabbage. Madeira, or any good fortified wine works well if you don’t have Marsala. Full details on m’Insta.
Movie night (Cape Fear, 1962) with Sea Bass, Butter, Lemon and Garlic Sauce, with Fried Potatoes. This is dead simple, and easy. In fact, it takes longer to boil the potatoes than it does to make everything else. You can do most of this in one pan, but two is easier. Details on m’Insta.
Movie night (Dog Day Afternoon), with Filthy Fries. I deep fried the chips, but you can make these with decent supermarket oven fries - just reduce the cooking time a little to avoid them burning later. There really isn’t a recipe to speak of, but there’s more over on m’Insta.
Movie night (Enter The Dragon), with Sweet and Sour Pork Belly, Toasted Cashews, Spring Onions and Lao Gan Ma. The sauce is pretty much a glaze made with brown sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce and a squirt of ketchup, if you want to go a bit maverick. Recipe over on m’insta.
Sorry I missed this - that looks amazing. So glad you enjoyed.
Movie night (12th Fail), with Cajun Spiced Prawns and Sausage Skewers. This will work with pretty much any kind of cured sausage and takes no time at all to make. I serve it with alioli and there’s a quick recipe for it on m’Insta. I heartily recommend warm crusty bread for dippage.
Movie night (Eternity and a Day, 1998), and Lamb Keftedes with Halloumi Nuggets, Bulgar and Red Quinoa. The sauce is made with lamb stock, tomato paste, rosemary, onion, paprika, lemon juice, garlic and rosemary, all blitzed and thickened with a little cornstarch.
Movie night (Django 1966), and Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Gravy. Super-quick and easy - Gnocchi, par boiled then gently pan fried in good butter, shiitake mushrooms and three crushed cloves of garlic. Details on m’Insta.
Movie Night: Gregory’s Girl (1980), with Eggs on Toast, Hot Smoked Anchovies and Lao Gan Ma. It’s not unlike Scotch Woodcock - a savoury dish, which I believe is first mentioned in Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management.
Movie night: Casino (1995), with Sirloin Steak, Pea Girasoli and Mushroom Pesto. Today was gloriously hot & we are expecting more of the same next week. I’ve eaten more salads than Bugs Bunny over the last few days, but I’ve had a hankering for brown food. More on m’Insta page.
Movie Night: Witness (1985), with Ham & Cheese Mille-Feuille. I stumbled over this idea in Tim Anderson’s lovely tome Izakaya a few years ago - he serves it with an excellent Tonkatsu and Mustard dip, but I’m dunking mine into a simple garlic mayo.
