30.12.08: Turkey and sweet leek pie once more, plus red cabbage

It's a D4D record; same main course 3 days in a row! but these are quality leftovers, people. The Cornish pasty-like turkey and sweet leek pie served us right once again, and the addition of red cabbage conveniently taken from the freezer made Her feel like nothing so much as a smart '50s housewifey type of gal. Simple salad of rocket and Sweetfire beetroot felt the extra pep of the wasabi-lime once again, too.

SHE SAYS: I was actually looking forward to this - again! Turkey leftovers never tasted so good (tho' I used to make a mean turkey tortilla soup). It's esp good with the tangy red cabbage for contrast. Salad continued the royal purple theme with panache, and the combination of sweetfire + wasabi dressing cleared my sinuses.

HE SAYS: Hit me baby, one more time. Me luv some turkey pie! The red cabbage provided yet another seasonal accompaniment to the plate, and I was sad when the last bite of pie entered me cake hole and I knew Christmas was over for another year. The simple salad was simply bliss with the inclusion of the firey and shweet beetroot and hot and tangy wasabi dressing.

28.12.08: Turkey and sweet leek pie with peas

Back to the '70s: He made sure Our Christmas turkey takings were put into something special, namely Jamie Oliver's turkey and sweet leek pie. A dig thru the freezer produced enough peas to round off the plate, and a salad of rocket, radish and carrot rocked on.

SHE SAYS: Comfort food at its best. The perfectly crunchy, buttery puff pastry is such a treat, and the masses of leeks cooked down into the turkey sweetened the deal. The pancetta didn't hurt either, but per usual didn't play a large role in flavour performance. The peas were a little hard, possibly a tad frostbitten, but helped the salad out with the fiber provision.

HE SAYS: Having spotted this one on the telly the other night I was very intrigued to test it out. I thought while cookin' it that it was a little overkill on the leek quantities, but hey, they boiled down by at least half before I mixed them in with the turkey. The whole pie was a little like a turkey pasty but I'm not complaining, the filling was not too soupy and it glistened with goodness. I think we'll get a few more dinners out of this one yet.

07.12.08: Fusion broth with fruity salad

Just the ticket for a sniffly Sunday: He pulled together the fusion broth with dry-grilled chicken, rice noodles, and Chinese greens. Salad of tomato, watercress, pear, pomegranate and avo looked on.

HE SAYS: The broth was a little on the spicy side (I think some stray shreds of chili got in the pot as it was cookin'). Good thing it had loads of ginger which made it still fragrant and light. I especially enjoyed the addition of the baby corn, which added a crunchy element to each mouthful. The salad was a shweet affair, maybe too shweet. An experiment with salad fixin' combinations gone too far, perhaps?

SHE SAYS: The chicken was perfecto, but the broth was way too spicy for a fragile throat - I normally prize this dish for its mild nourishment. Still pretty good and I did spoon up my fair share. Could be I was just in a sickie mood all-round, but the salad seemed a bit damp with too many ingredients (not a fan of pear and tomato mixin').

25.09.08: Fusion broth with grilled chicken

She cooked up the fancy chicken noodle soup from The Naked Chef, complete with bok choi, rice noodles (and some bean thread ones, too, since the rice noodle supply was low), dry-grilled chicken breasts, and copious ginger slices - remembering, this time, the final dash of lime juice. Nigella's wasab lime dressing stood by to pep up a mildly indulgent salad of radish, mixed olives, avo, and leaves.

HE SAYS: The ginger in this nice hot and fragrant soup certainly helped clear my sinuses while the fantastic grilled chicken hit the spot. The bean thread noodles were just as tasty as their rice counterparts and the added lime managed to add a fresh tanginess to the bowl. The wasabi dressing delivered its usual punch to the salad, poured over the delish radishes and olive mix.

SHE SAYS: Dry-grilling skinless chicken breasts is, I now believe, the only way to cook them. The bbq-fire aroma alone is worth it. This time I turned down the heat after browning both sides, added a small amount of water (whoa, steam!), and covered it to cook the chicken thru instead of high-heating them into near-petrification. Miscalculated the amount of soy sauce I added to each bowl at the end, overwhelming the light and faintly tangy broth with briny intensity, but it wasn't quite ruined, and leftovers will remain nicely balanced. Salad was moreish with the double-whammy of olives and avo, plus the wasabi coating - no one can say we don't get our good monounsaturated fats!

Whole baked herb-stuffed sea bass with fennel and potatoes

It's a Saturday nite special courtesy of The (Return of the) Naked Chef: He packed the fish with fresh dill, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves, then lay the sea bass on a bed of sliced fennel and red onion. A few glugs of olive oil, a sprinkling of salt, 40 mins in a hot oven, and we had us a fine feast o' fish.

Not to give the accompaniments short shrift. Pan-fried charlotte potates and last nite's spinach salad refreshed with more leaves filled in the corners most fine, thank you.

HE SAYS: Nice meal that I haven't attempted for a while. The sea bass was cooked perfectly - more luck then skill, as it's always a little bit of a crapshoot as far as timings for the fish go because it's wrapped in loads of foil that you don't want to unwrap until the end to keep in all the flavour-flavs...plus it's super-fiddly. I'm not usually a fan of anything aniseed-tasting, but the fennel seeds and fresh fennel slices give this dish nice subtle aromatic overtones, while the red onions lend a slighly sweet touch.

The potatoes turned out crunchy and light; cooked 'em forever, it seemed. I always think before I attempt this dish that it has masses of prep work but it's actually a very quick one and easy on the washing up, which always puts a smile on my face after the last bite.

SHE SAYS: I was swooning over the silky texture and clean, oceanic flavours of the sea bass; this is quite possibly my favourite fish dish. The fennel and red onion made for the perfect sharp and sweet contrasts - my only quibble would be that the veg could have been a tad more tender. Potatoes were classically delicious and filling, and the salad just couldn't go wrong.

02.04.08: Creamy borlotti beans with purple sprouting broccoli

Inspired by the Jamie at Home show, He put together this adaptation of JO's intriguing borlotti bean, potato, whole-head garlic, celery and herb-bundle recipe, topping the creamy melange with a decadent sprinkle of pancetta. Stalks of purple sprouting broccoli got the hot wok treatment, and a palate-cleansing spinach, pear, and beetroot salad completed the table.

HE SAYS: Thought the borlotti beans were a good discovery - haven't had them for a while, and canned seemed to work well in a pinch. An fairly easy meal, and tasty, too. The pancetta nicely set off the herby beans with its salty crunch. The broccoli was pretty good, though the thicker stalks were a little undercooked, and the pear in the salad was perfectly ripe and sweet, complementing the vinegary beetroot just so.

SHE SAYS: I liked the creamy consistency of the beans very much, and who doesn't like a little pancetta? Thought the red wine vinegar overwhelmed some of the other flavours a bit, even though only a small amount was added. The brocca had a smokey grilled flavour, but as He said, needed a little lid-on steaming for the stalks. Now, why are English pears so good? Along with carrots, cucumbers, and potatoes, the Brits grow a mighty nice conference pear, and it was the star of the salad, although the malt-vinegar beetroot did its tarty best to compete.

24.02.08: Laksa with prawns and scallops

Sunday cooking for friends, with hastily snapped photos: Jamie Oliver's Laksa-style scallops served over rice noodles, accompanied by a salad of oven-dried tomatoes, fancy mozzarella, and a simple lemon vinaigrette. And for dessert: scoops of Green & Black's Vanilla ice cream plus some of the remaining margarita ice cream, topped with sliced strawberries and granadilla passionfruit.

HE SAYS: Scallops were perfectly seared, and had a delicate flavour - very tasty. The rice noodles could have been a little warmer, but the laksa broth was fragrant and I gladly mopped it up with a few pieces of French bread. I enjoyed the ice cream selection, especially the margarita one, with a few crushed Jules de Strooper almond thins.

SHE SAYS: I'm always up for some scallops, they're probably my favourite seafood treat. The laksa was light and tangy, less heavy than a normal curry. Agree noodles would have been nicer if piping hot. Thought the salad was particularly yummy with the intense thyme-infused tomatoes and subtle mozzarella. Two thumbs up on G&B's vanilla, though our own margarita effort more than held its own. Agree with Him, you can't go wrong with the almond thins.