Beef Bourguignon

I'm surprised to say that I don't think I've ever even tried beef bourguignon before, so when I wanted to cook this for mother's day I decided to stick with Lisa Faulkner's recipe, since her recipes always turn out well and are delicious - this was no exception. I even served it with mustard mash, as she suggested, and it all worked beautifully together, everyone loved it. I would highly recommend this recipe, even though I don't have any others to compare it to (I've heard Lorraine Pascale's is also good), because the beef was so tender and the flavours were amazing from the shallots, wine and bacon mm mm. Perfect for a special occasion.

Serves 4-6

- 500g stewing/braising steak

- flour, for dusting

- olive oil, for frying

- 200g bacon lardons

- 300g shallots, peeled and halved

- 3 garlic cloves, crushed

- 2 tbsp tomato purée

- 125g button mushrooms

- 500ml red wine

- 250ml beef stock

- 1 bouquet garni (dried parsley, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf)

- salt and pepper

- mustard mash - potatoes, milk, butter, wholegrain mustard

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

2. Coat the beef in seasoned flour.

3. Heat a generous amount of oil in a large casserole dish and brown the meat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat and set aside.

4. In the same dish, add the lardons, shallots and garlic and fry until browned.

5. Add the tomato puree and mushrooms. Return the beef to the dish and add the wine, stock and herbs.

6. Bring to the boil then cover with a lid and cook in the oven for around 3 hours. Serve with mustard mash!

Enjoy :)

Moroccan chicken

This is a dish my dad used to make years ago - I only just remembered it and how delicious it was so  had to get the recipe from him straight away. I'm not a fan of spicy food or coriander therefore most Indian or Moroccan recipes I have to adapt or I just tend not to try them which is a shame. The reason I love this one so much is because it isn't spicy at all but still has incredible flavour from the chicken thighs, cinnamon and sweet apricots. The sweet with savoury in this dish works perfectly together and the light, fluffy cous cous is perfect with the sauce. As I've sad before, I love cooking with chicken thighs because they're so moist and tender. The other good thing about this recipe is that it's really quick to make but it still tastes like a special meal that someone's slaved over for hours...

Serves 2
- 4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut in half
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 75g dried apricots, quartered
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 300ml chicken stock
- 1 tsp turmeric
- lemon juice
- cous cous, to serve

1. Fry the chicken thighs in olive oil for 5-10 minutes, or until browned on both sides.
2. Add the garlic and onion and cook for a further 5 minutes.
3. Add in the apricots and cinnamon and stir.
4. Mix the turmeric into the prepared chicken stock and pour into the pan.
5. Bring to the boil, then cook for about 10-15 minutes.
6. Remove the chicken thighs and set aside, keeping hot.
7. Raise the heat and reduce the sauce until it is fairly thick and syrupy.
8. Meanwhile, cook the cous cous according to packet instructions.
9. Add the lemon juice to the sauce, then serve up the cous cous, with the chicken thighs placed on top, and pour over the sauce. Serve immediately.

Enjoy :)