Pretty in PINK

Pink Stew by Charlotte xA glamorous pink stew is what’s in order during this cold spell, which makes my nose feel like it’s going to drop off my face every time I leave the house. Tonight I have a dinner date with Jules, the lucky receiver of the pink stew… I have carefully chosen pink or at least pinkish ingredients; the key vegetable is of course the beetroot, almost regal in colour. I love beetroot. I love everything about it; the way you...

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Roast Duck with Plum and Russet Confit*

A visit by the parents for Sunday lunch is a potentially daunting experience. Especially if you have grown up with consistently delicious Sunday lunches produced in a seemingly effortless manner. So when the folks arrived for a weekend with their London-based sprogs, and treated us to a West End show, I knew I had to impress. Error number one was assuming they would be late, and that I'd have time to nip to the butchers, before they arrived...

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St. John Bread & Wine

St John Bread & Wine by Charlotte Nose to tail eating. A concept that to some may seem rather unrefined, when really it is the best way to eat; you cook every part of the animal, indulging in dishes and cooking methods that are novel, inventive and definitely worth talking about. A pig’s head - euugh! The imagination goes wild, a large blackened pig’s face looking at you as you daintily cut off his cheek and chew it down, while trying not...

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Keston Kitchen Birthday Cake

This month is the one year anniversary of the Keston Kitchen blog! In order to celebrate our first birthday I decided to make a cake to mark the occasion. If you have read Julia's previous post about the exciting calendar announcement you will have seen the fabulous new logo which has been created for us by Nick Ritchie. The logo was the obvious choice for the birthday cake design.I knew it needed to be a fairly substantial cake to do the logo justice,...

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NEWSFLASH

A taster: November afternoon tea************ PUBLIC ADDRESS **************The Keston Kitchen has 2 very important announcements.1. We have been branded! For those of you not on facebook, here it is:(New-look blog coming soon)Created for us by the amazing designer Nick Ritchie, who is also an awesome dude.2. You may have noticed that there was less blog activity than usual during October. This is because the Keston Kids have been very busy with...

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Perfect Pud for Autumn - Poached Pears in Red Wine.

Love pears - these ones were for Charl and Matt xI made this as the dessert for Charlotte's birthday meal. After Rachael's deliciously rich and creamy garlic tart (our last post), I felt the need for a lighter pud. I have to say, this dessert surprised me - how can you make pears in red wine taste like anything other than pears in red wine? Well, by infusing them for hours in a sweet, spicy, warm liquid so that it soaks through the flesh and transforms...

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Caramelised Garlic Tart with Chargrilled Asparagus and Courgette Salad

Last week there was a birthday in the Keston Kitchen. One of the gifts we bought for Charlotte was the new Ottlenghi book (Plenty) and so it was only fitting that the celebratory meal followed the Ottolenghi theme. Some of the recipes from Plenty were published in a little booklet that came with the Observer a few months ago and a dish that we had not tried out yet was a tart of caramelised garlic and goats cheese. Julia suggested a delicious looking...

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Sweet Autumn Fennel

Sweet Autumn Fennel by CharlotteFennel is a top ingredient that should not be confused with celery (for those of you who are strongly against the long stringy stuff). The first time I tried fennel was in Italy, eaten raw and dipped in oil with salt and pepper, which I highly recommend. Last year we had a spate of making a roasted fennel and chestnut side dish - this is also a great dish and in season right now. Maybe go for peeled chestnuts as peeling...

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On location: Sicily

What's Sicily eating? by CharlotteA comprehensive list of food eaten (by two) in Sicily over two weeks. PalermoAntica Focacceria San Francesco (lunch)Round focaccia with lard, innards, ricotta and Parmesan - a little greasy  for some.Round focaccia with ricotta and Parmesan - delightfully light ricotta.Sant'Andrea (dinner)Mixed plate of caponata, fried cheese, good olives, cheese, bread - caponata is the best thing.Le sarde...

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1 Carrot, 3 Ways

By Ceri x1 Carrot, 3 ways began when my friend, Paul came to see me earlier this month. He appeared at my door with a somewhat theatrical flourish (he is an actor, so to be expected) announcing 'Wade, I have brought you a Carrot!'. As I turned around to see quite what he was talking about I realised he really wasn't kidding.What followed was immense excitement in the Keston Kitchen...

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