Simple potato salad

Hope everyone is enjoying the hot, sunshine weather - this potato salad is a perfect side dish for a barbecue, or any other summery meal. I made this last night to go with sausages in buns, salad, kettle chips and scotch eggs - last minute thrown together BBQ style food! We had a few leftover potatoes from the night before, which is why I decided to make this. Usually I would make a potato salad with new potatoes (with the skins still on) and fresh chives, but we didn't have any fresh herbs in the house, and the potatoes we had cooked the night before were Sainsbury's taste the difference Vivaldi potatoes and were peeled. But this was still really yummy and the best part is that all the ingredients are ones which almost every household will already have!

Serves 2
- about 6 potatoes (depending on size), cut into chunks
- 1 heaped tbsp of mayonnaise (I used Hellman's light mayo)
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard (or any other mustard you prefer)
- few pinches of paprika (probably about 1/4 - 1/2 a tsp)
- fresh herbs, chopped such as chives OR dried herbs (I used thyme)

Simply mix the potatoes with all the other ingredients until combined. Season to taste.
You could also add bits of cooked bacon, or chunks of hard-boiled egg to make this more substantial and interesting!
Enjoy :)

Fettuccine alfredo with bacon and mushroom

As I've mentioned before, I adore Italian cuisine, it is definitely my favourite type of food to cook and to eat. An alfredo sauce is traditionally just made using butter and parmesan cheese and tossed with pasta. However, I make my alfredo sauce with the extra ingredient of single cream as it creates a thicker, creamier sauce. In this way it is similar to carbonara, although this sauce does not contain egg and the parmesan provides a different flavour - this sauce is stronger and richer and absolutely delicious! I added smoked bacon, mushrooms and chives, but this would also be great with chicken and a different herb such as parsley. The key ingredient here is the parmesan - I know it is expensive but it is definitely worth it for such a luxurious dish. Do not use the fake, dried parmesan that is finely grated and comes in a tub! It will not have a nice flavour once mixed in at all! This parmesan should be used for sprinkling on top of dishes only (in my opinion anyway). This pasta dish is traditionally made with fettuccine, however I couldn't find any in the supermarket so I used tagliatelle - which is basically the same anyway. This dish is best served with garlic bread (I bought tear and share garlic bread and added extra parmesan), but be careful as it is very filling... Fettuccine alfredo obviously isn't for those watching their weight, but is perfect for a Saturday night treat as part of a balanced diet!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

- 200g fettuccine, or other pasta such as tagliatelle

- 40g butter (I used unsalted because there is strong, salty flavour from the bacon)

- 4 rashers of smoked bacon, cut into small strips (I used lean bacon with the fat cut off)

- 200g mushrooms, sliced or chopped

- 80ml single cream (more or less depending on the richness and consistency you want)

- 60g parmesan, grated (same as above), plus extra to garnish

- handful of fresh chives or parsley, finely snipped or chopped, to garnish

1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the pasta. Cook according to instructions on the packet (should take about 10-12 minutes)

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a smaller pan and fry the bacon and the mushrooms until the bacon has crisped and the mushrooms are soft and shrunk down.

3. Add the cream and parmesan shavings to the butter, bacon and mushrooms. Stir and season as required. This is where you can decide whether to add more butter, cream or parmesan - don't be afraid to taste it and experiment with quantities!

4. Drain the pasta once cooked and return to the pan, stir in the sauce and toss with the pasta. The sauce shouldn't be runny, but should coat the pasta. Serve on a plate and garnish with parmesan shavings and the fresh herbs. Serve with garlic bread.

Enjoy :)

Soured cream, cheddar and chive muffins

I have just bought a new baking cookbook (yay!) by love food - the same company that produced my comfort food cookbook shown in my post on spaghetti alla carbonara. I can't find a link for this new book online, but I got it in Debenhams for only £2.50 (half off!) and it seems really good so far, with different sections for cakes, small bites, desserts, baking with yeast and savoury nibbles. I couldn't wait to try something out and these muffins looked delicious. They were really quick and easy to make, but be careful because like with all savoury muffins, they do go quite dry the next day after baking them. They taste best warm out the oven either on their own or spread with butter for extra flavour, so make sure you bake them in the morning for lunch, a buffet, or a picnic. Having said that, you can heat them in the microwave up to a few days after baking to warm them through and retain some of the moisture - they were just as yummy when I did this!

For 12 muffins
Ingredients:
- 280g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 25g cheddar cheese, grated (although I would recommend using more for a stronger flavour)
- 35g fresh chives, finely snipped, plus extra to garnish
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 200ml soured cream
- 100ml plain unsweetened yogurt
- 4tbsp butter, melted (I used unsalted, but I would recommend using salted for more flavour - or just add a pinch of salt instead)
1. Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cases. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Add the cheese and chives and mix together well.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, soured cream, yogurt and melted butter together. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and gently stir together until combined. Do not over-stir the batter - it doesn't matter if it is a bit lumpy.


3. Divide the muffin batter evenly between the 12 muffin cases - they should be about two-thirds full. Sprinkle over the remaining snipped chives to garnish and transfer to a preheated oven; 200 degrees/gas mark 6. Bake for 20 minutes or until risen and golden. Remove the muffins from the oven and serve warm, or place on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy :)

The perfect baked potato

Why ruin a perfectly simple jacket potato by shoving it in the microwave for 10 minutes and making it soggy!? For some reason I am far better at using the hob or the oven than a microwave anyway, since every time I use the microwave for my porridge it ends up exploding all down the side of the bowl, and in the case of the famous jacket potato - no matter what I do, whenever I bake it in the microwave the skin wrinkles and goes tough. Although I like jacket potatoes when my mum bakes them in the microwave, I think it's safe to say that everyone loves a fluffy potato with a crisp, flavoursome skin. And here is how...

You will need a jacket potato, olive oil, salt and any other seasoning you like.
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees/gas mark 6. Prick the potato with a fork or knife (this is very important - my dad once caused a potato explosion in the oven for not doing this...). Place the potato on a baking tray and brush with olive oil so the whole skin is coated. Sprinkle with salt and any other seasoning (like pepper, season all or fresh or dried herbs), and turn so that the whole potato is covered with seasoning. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 45 minutes - 2 hours. Turn halfway through cooking. The potato will be done when it looks brown in colour and crisp - stick a knife in the potato to check it is cooked through. Don't forget to extend the time if you are baking lots of potatoes at once or if it is particularly large!

Jacket potato toppings:
- Butter
- Any cheese
- Pesto
- Soured cream and chives
- Tuna mayo
- Egg mayo
- Sweetcorn
- Bacon and leek
- Fried onion and mushrooms
- Baked beans
- Coleslaw
- Chilli
- Cottage cheese
- Any flavoured spread like Philadelphia
- Chicken and garlic mayo

You can obviously mix and match any of these toppings to get some delicious flavours
Some of my favourites are:
- Green pesto and cheddar
- Brie and bacon
- Tuna mayo and mozzarella
- Sweetcorn, mushrooms with soured cream and chives
- The classic cheese and beans!

Enjoy :)