The night-before-a-flight dinner party

So I just returned from the States yesterday after a whirlwind 9-day trip. It should have been closer to 14, but thanks to the Iceland volcano, it was cut short a bit at the beginning. So instead of flying out on Tuesday, we didn't get to fly out until Saturday.

All that aside, we had a great time celebrating my dad's 60th and our impending July arrival. We succumbed to gluttony a few times - hot chicken wings and queso dip spring to mind - but also scoffed many of my fresh favourites such as yellow squash and raspberries.

But flash back to the night before our flight out of London - we had some friends over for dinner before our trip and to show them our new place, which we'll be moving into next week. I needed something simple, fresh, and ideally easy to prepare ahead as we were doing lots of work at the new flat. I also needed something that wouldn't leave leftovers, and since the weather was so nice, I wanted something summer-inspired but in keeping with mid-spring availabilities.

Here's what I settled on:

• sticky lemon chicken (served cold)
• purple-sprouting broccoli and herb pasta salad (served cold)
• prawns in carrot sauce (served cold)
• mixed leaf salad
• fresh sun-dried tomato bread
• a round of camenbert (I abstained, pregnant as I am)
• white wine (spritzer for me)

I think it turned out well - we ate around 7:30, with it still light outside and the windows and doors open. It was a Friday, so everyone was in a good mood, and I wasn't in the least bit stressed thanks to the early preparation.

If you like any of these ideas, I've put general recipes for the ones in bold below. Check 'em out and let me know if you want more info, and I can surely provide it.

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Sticky lemon chicken
I only had an idea in mind, not a recipe, so after a bit of browsing I came across this recipe from Notecook and this one from Good Food, which I picked the best bits from.

To make:

1. Cut slices into the fat of drumsticks and thighs (maybe 10 pieces total?) and season. 
2. In a casserole dish, add the juice and zest of 2 large lemons, 1 tbsp of honey, 1 clove of garlic (chopped), 1 tbsp of oil, a pinch each of paprika/salt/pepper and whisk with a fork. 
3. Add the chicken and rub the juices into the chicken. Roast for 45 minutes or until done at 200 C / 400 F. 
4. Allow to cool, then refrigerate until you're ready to serve. Some chopped herbs on the top would look pretty here.

If I'm honest, it didn't end up quite as 'sticky' as I would have liked - I think I would have needed to add more honey or a little sugar to make it stickier. But the citrus aromas were lovely - I'd probably amp that up a little more too.


Purple-sprouting broccoli and herb pasta salad
This one was also an idea in my head - I was initially thinking asparagus, but couldn't get any British asparagus at the store. Purple-sprouting broccoli from Herefordshire looked good, so in the basket it went.

To make:

1. Blanch 400 g (14 oz) purple sprouting broccoli (regular is fine, just not as pretty) and then plunge into cold water to cool. Set to the side.
2. Boil 300 g (10.5 oz) fusilli pasta, rinse with cold water, then set to the side.
3. To make the dressing, use the juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon olive oil, a handful of chopped fresh parsley, a handful of chopped fresh dill, and 3 tablespoons of basil pesto. (If you don't have basil pesto, use a handful of basil and 2 more tablespoons of oil).
4. Combine the broccoli, pasta and herb mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add more lemon juice or herbs if you like, and topping with lemon zest is a pretty touch.

Makes enough for 4 people with leftovers (so probably 6, if you're serving the chicken too).

Prawns in carrot sauce
Okay, so this one was a total cheat - my mother-in-law brought me back some carrot sauce from the Canaries, which I've been meaning to try out. It was actually quite nice - had the essence of cumin, onion and red peppers in it in my mind, though one site lists the ingredients as "oil, garlic, paprika, salt, vinegar, pureed carrot, thyme or other herbs". Anyway, it was good (though I did set the smoke alarm off in the middle of the night when I stir fried these bad boys up).

Sun-dried tomato bread
Okay, so kinda another cheat. I'm not perfect! This was a pre-mix that I used in the breadmaker - my breadmaker's not well equipped to take additions to the mix after the start, so if I want anything "fancy" I have to go pre-mix. The smell is fab. I'm sure with a little planning I could try doing something on my own, but my mind was on flights and ash clouds. Deal...

This sounds scrummy

Allegra McEvedy’s weekly recipe in the Guardian this week - Lamb chops with cumin, purple-sprouting broccoli and walnut yoghurt - strikes all the right notes in my mind: spring lamb *check*, Moroccan flavours *check*, seasonal veg *check*, and something a bit fun *check*.

I like the way she's stipulated the use of olive oil - but not exactly how much you need to use. I think that's wise, encouraging people to use as much as they feel they need.

It’s going on my ever-lengthening to-try list.

March on, fellow foodies

Blog devotees may remember my rather melodramatic post from a few weeks ago, as I was mired in a pit of despair over the lack of new seasonal foods to eat. Well, my goal is to emerge from that pit this month as best as possible. And in the spirit of Easter, as they say, “always look on the bright side of life.” Brian would be proud.

So, moving from Brian to Tom, what’s new, pussycat? Well, a couple of herbs, for a start – parsley and mint. Now, I absolutely love both of those, and shall be thinking of some excellent ideas. The others aren’t exactly new so much as, well… old, but take heart, my plan is to spice them up with some strong flavours.

On another note, this is my 200th post! Thanks to everyone who reads this labour of love of mine.

Parsley
This Mediterranean herb can evidently hold up against the chill of March, though at the moment all of the parsley in the supermarkets seems to come from either Morocco or Israel. So keep an eye out for some grown a little closer to home.

The best thing about parsley is that it adds so much flavour without the calories. And it's a breath freshener! Just check your teeth for green bits.Here are some recipes that include parsley:

Tabbouleh - my favourite dish ever.

Gremolata - a dry sauce of lemon, garlic and parsley. It's gorgeous added to anything, as a garnish or as a primary ingredient.

Parsley and eggs is a great combo. Try Ainsley's parsley and garlic frittata: it's very healthy. I'd use skim milk - and you know, I don't think it necessarily needs that much oil. Swap wholegrain for white bread

Chop in the food processor and add to any root vegetable (boiled or mashed) for a fresh taste.

Chop in the food processor (again) and add in droves to soups or sauces.

Mint
Mint may make you think of ice cream and chocolate after-dinner sweets, but it actually takes on such a savoury quality when added to other more savoury ingredients. That's why it's such a classic with meats like lamb. And it's one of the ingredients in my favourite, tabbouleh. But here are some other simple ways to use mint.

Minted peas - just grab some peas from the freezer and steam. Stir through the finely-chopped mint just before serving. Or whiz them with a blender for a yummy minted pea soup. Add some chopped ham to bulk it up.

Minted potatoes - or carrots - are a great way to add that spring zing to your plate.

For a warm drink, infuse ginger, lemon and mint with hot water, and add just a touch of honey at the end. It's a real superdrink, inspired by my friend Sarah's advice when I was suffering from a cold.

Yogurt and mint is a fabulous combination, used for a sauce with lamb, or one of my favourites - falafel. Try this cucumber and mint raita - but eat it with lots of crudites, not poppadums! It's a great pre-dinner dip.

Purple sprouting broccoli
I am loving the purple-sprouting at the moment (as you can see by this month's banner on the site). It's British, it's in season, it's not expensive - I bought it as part of a buy one, get one free offer at Sainsbury's only yesterday. Stock up while you can.

I love purple sprouting broccoli as is, just steamed, but there are plenty of other ways to use it:

With chicken and wholewheat fusilli pasta and an anchovy-chilli-olive oil sauce, inspired by an Italian recipe, Orecchiete ai broccoli, that I found in my latest favourite cookbook, Twelve, by Tessa Kiros. It's a bible of Tuscan food, divided by the months of the year. The only problem is that I get a little jealous knowing that asparagus season starts in March for Italians! But I digress...

Beautiful in a stir-fry with any number of spices and herbs - garlic, chilli, cumin, and so on. Match the herb you use to the rest of your dish.

Use it in a veggie soup with other great British late-winter vegetables, like chantenay carrots and leeks. Top it off with some lovely creme fraiche - and maybe some gremolata - see above in the parsley section.

Sardines
I'm not just talking about those out of the tin (though they're not that bad, come on). I'm talking about the lovely, fresh, silvery ones beckoning to you from the fishmonger's window. Sardines stand up to really strong flavours. Go on, you'll like them...

Grill them after marinating them in lemon, garlic and chilli. Reserve a bit of those flavours in olive oil and drizzle (responsibly) over top. Serve with some dill potatoes - warm or cold.

Delia has a great linguine recipe using tinned sardines (of course), capers and chilli. She is right though; they are a great storecupboard ingredient.

Grill them with cumin and lemon, one of my favourite ways to cook mackerel, originally inspired by the wonderful Nigel Slater.

In a great lunchtime salad - use tinned sardines (boneless and skinless, and drained of olive oil) with baby spinach, julienned carrots, sliced cucumber and reduced fat feta, with lemon juice. I take this to work all the time.

Leeks
We'll miss 'em when they're gone, I'm sure. They truly are the soldier of winter. Thank you, little leeks. You have served us well. Keep it simple in the next month or so:

Steam chopped leeks with other veggies - those beautiful chantenay carrots and purple sprouting gems of broccoli. Serve with roast chicken - perhaps this mouth-watering recipe that I read just last week that uses cream cheese. Use light cream cheese and nix the butter, mind - you don't need it.

Dill is a great way to inject spring into the leeks - try this braised leek recipe, which serves six, so may need reducing.

Leek and potato is a classic combination that I think, to be honest, is a little boring sometimes. Skip the soup, and instead saute leeks and sliced, peeled red potatoes and serve up with some fresh French goats cheese (only about 45 calories per serving). Yummy.


Well, I hope that's enough to get us started in March. Next month will be exciting, I promise: strawberries (hooray!!!!!!), spring lamb (that bit too late for Easter, unfortunately... cook a chicken instead), rosemary and spinach are just a few of the delights on the way.