Modern Recipes

Choc chip cookie base is topped with mincemeat and icing Mince pies (or mincemeat pies, whichever you choose to call them) are one of the most popular foods associated with Christmas in Scotland and the UK as a whole. They are bought individually from baker's shops, in packs from supermarkets and very frequently assembled and baked at home. If, however, you are looking for something a little bit different this year to make with your mincemeat, you may wish to give these ultra sweet Christmas treats a go. They could even be made to represent an excellent way of using up any extra mincemeat you have leftover after you've made your pies. Choc chip cookies It's notoriously difficult to give precise ingredient quantities for a bit of a mish-mash of a recipe such as this one. The size of the cookies, the size of your ramekins and more will all prove variables but I have done as best I can below. Do be prepared to add/remove a little bit here and there as necessary. The ramekins I...

Venison grillsteaks with roasted mixed vegetables and bruschetta When I go food shopping, I usually take a list of what I need, or I at least know roughly what I'm looking to buy and prepare for my dinner. Occasionally, however, I simply can't decide on anything and choose to visit the supermarket with an open mind and simply see what catches my eye. That was precisely how this meal came about on Sunday night and I am so glad it did. I will definitely be making this again soon. It was not only incredibly delicious and enjoyable, it was extremely easy to make, as much of the preparation work had already been done. Scottish venison grillsteaks and assorted Mediterranean vegetables Ingredients per Person 2 Scottish venison grillsteaks 1 pack of ready to roast assorted Mediterranean style vegetables Extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper Vegetable oil 2 diagonal slices from French bread stick 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed Chopped chives to garnish Oiled and seasoned vegetab...

Scottish themed shepherd's pie with carrots and sprouts Shepherd's pie in modern times is almost always made using minced (ground) lamb. When the concept first evolved, however - in the form of what was called cottage pie - it was made using the cheaper, lower quality offcuts of meat, pretty much in a similar way to Scottish stovies. Also in the present day, shepherd's pies are often bought ready made rather than prepared at home from scratch, frequently designed simply to be stuck in a microwave, ready in a jiffy and a ping. In this recipe, I've tried to take shepherd's pie back to its proud, simplest, earliest origins. I can't help but feel that sometimes in the present day the ingredients list for what should be a very simple creation reads like a weekly shopping list! I have at the same time tried to give it a very Scottish twist. I have used diced Scotch lamb for the filling and made the classic Scottish creation that is clapshot to top the pie, rather than...

Roast venison haunch with onion gravy, clapshot and peas This home cooked meal is very different from ones which I usually write about. That is because it is one in which I only had a very small hand in the cooking process, instead being largely free as a house visitor to enjoy a beer or two as I watched everything come together. The main focus of the meal was a beautiful big five or six pound venison haunch which was to be roasted and enjoyed with some clapshot, peas and red onion gravy. Bone in venison haunch joint The venison had been frozen so it had been carefully defrosted in the fridge over the course of a couple of days. The cooking time I'm told was then calculated using the format/equation of firstly 30 minutes at 220C/450F/Gas mark 8, followed by 12 minutes per 500g at 170C/350F/Gas Mark 3.  I don't use metric (only imperial) but I wasn't responsible for the cooking, so didn't need to perform the necessary conversion calculations. Butter is rubbed on to the v...