Better late than never

I  know what you're going to say - "Where have you been?"  I know, I'm slack.  Truth is, I've been meaning to write this for weeks, and for whatever reasons, I kept putting it off.  But I'm back now! 

So, what have I got for you today?   Cauliflower Salad, and Roast Potatoes - the best kind :)


Cauliflower Salad.  This recipe was given to me by a friend and you seriously have to try it.  I made this for my family and they were amazed at how good it was.  My brother in law actually asked me how I managed to make cauliflower taste good!

Cauliflower Salad

Cauliflower
Bacon
Red Onion
Best Foods Mayo
2tsp sugar
2 capfuls of malt vinegar

Cook up your bacon til crispy, and set aside to cool
Cut your cauli into bite size chunks - raw
Finely dice red onion
Place cauli and onion in bowl, sprinkle over sugar and vinegar.  Mix.
Add mayo to taste - I'm told Best Foods is the best brand for this.  That's what I used and it was amazing!
Crumble bacon over and mix through.

The best Roast Potatoes are based on Jamie Olivers recipe.  He used duck fat, but I didn't have any of that, so I used some leftover bacon fat - yes I do keep things like this and freeze them for later use :)

To start off, chop potatoes and place in saucepan of salted water.  Boil for a few minutes to soften - do not cook all the way through.  While cooking, heat oven up with baking tray inside - fat of choice in there to liquefy too.
Drain potatoes and tip into a colander/sieve and shake about to rough up the outside.  Tip into heated fat and toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper, then pop into the oven (190C) for 30mins until golden and almost cooked through.
In a bowl put a few Tbsp Olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, crushed garlic and perhaps some rosemary or thyme (whichever herb you like on your potatoes). 
Get potatoes out of oven and flatten slightly with potato masher - this will make them crispier because there is more surface area.  Pour over dressing and pop back in oven for another 45 minutes until golden and crispy.

I figure with Christmas coming up, you may want to try this new way of doing spuds.  They are seriously good!  I have to admit though, that I read the instructions wrong the first time I did it, and instead of cooking then mashing then cooking again - I did it all at once and it still worked out fine :) the picture above is my first go at them - as you can see I didn't get them very flat as they weren't cooked enough.

Anyways, that's all I have for today.  I will endeavour to come up with something new for you in a better time frame next time!  Have a great rest of your week.  Happy cooking!