The Joy of Cooking: A Delicious Journey Through Food and Memories

There's something special about getting our hands dirty in the kitchen, isn't there? For many of us, cooking is not just about following a recipe, but about sharing love, care, and attention to detail. As we embark on this culinary journey, let's remember that it's okay to make mistakes – they're often the best teachers.

We begin with a simple yet impressive dessert, a hazelnut meringue tower guaranteed to wow our mates. To start, separate four egg whites and whisk them gradually until they form stiff, glossy peaks. Then, gently fold in ground and chopped hazelnuts – a trick we use in restaurants to make baking sheets stick down, making them easy to spread and preventing them from blowing around. Top your meringues with more finely chopped hazelnuts and bake for 25 minutes.

The key to stopping these sweet treats from cracking lies in turning off the oven and letting them cool inside for a few minutes after baking. Meanwhile, melt dark chocolate in a bowl over simmering water until slightly cooled, then whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Gently fold in three-quarters of the melted chocolate until combined. Build your tower with alternate layers of chocolate-cream and meringue, finishing with a drizzle of the remaining melted chocolate to decorate.

Next, we're off to create a simple yet luxurious green salad that's sure to impress. Start with one nice tablespoon of Dijon mustard – a great addition to any vinaigrette. Add a little squeeze of honey, love it or hate it, but there's something special about this sweetness that just works. A slight splash of aged balsamic vinegar completes the flavor profile, and we can't help but think our favorite one isn't it? Instead, let's use this one – after all, it has a nice balance of sweet and tangy.

To emulsify the vinaigrette and bring all the ingredients together, simply whisk them together. Taste it, and oh, how delicious! The secret to loosening any vinaigrette lies in adding a spot of water or juice from a lemon – that's where the magic happens. Now, let's add some buttery goodness to our salad with crisp lettuce leaves. Start placing the salad around the outside, using a lovely Lulla Rosso as the centerpiece.

Criss-crossing your avocado slices adds an element of fun to this beautiful dish. Instead of just sliding down, it creates a delightful texture that we can't get enough of. Sprinkle some chopped nuts or seeds in between for added crunch. We're making memories here, folks – first dinner with our favorite person, and it's going to be extraordinary.

Speaking of special moments, let's think about when we cook for someone we care about. The roast chicken is the perfect dish for those occasions. Start by preheating your oven to a lovely temperature, then prepare your bird for its close-up – stuff it with garlic and lemon, because what's not to love? As it roasts in the oven, let out a little drip-drip-drop of savory goodness.

While the chicken cooks, we can work on our signature chickpeas. Simply place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil – not too much, mind you! Squeeze all that garlic through, as it becomes soft and beautiful in the heat. Add some lemon juice from the chicken's interior, then sprinkle with those delicious, flavorful chickpeas.

Now, here comes the magic: adding our signature vinaigrette to those lovely chickpeas. Crush them gently until they absorb the creamy, garlicky goodness of the roasted chicken. A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil seals it all together – and voilà! Our roast chicken fit for a king (or queen) is ready to be devoured.

Finally, let's not forget our beautiful green salad. Start with a handful of crisp lettuce leaves, then add sliced avocado, juicy veggies, and a sprinkle of those signature chickpeas we just made. Finish it off with a drizzle of that heavenly vinaigrette – the perfect combination of flavors to make your taste buds sing.

As we sit down to enjoy our hard-earned meal, let's take a moment to appreciate the simple joys in life: love, care, and sharing delicious food with those around us.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: eni think a fantastic sunday roast is the cornerstone of home cooking it's what the rest of the week's meals are built around and i absolutely love it but that doesn't mean it can't be improved to make the most out of my roast my main course is the delicious stuffed roast rib of beef complete with tangy horseradish yorkshire puddings but first i'm enlisting the help of my eldest 15 year old megan to reinvent one of my all-time favorite classic desserts eaton mess bomb right eat a mess what's the one thing you love about is a mess i love the meringues now this is a eaten mess with a twist what's the twist in it compared to the normal one we're gonna freeze it so it's almost like a sort of eaten mess bomb wow now i'd like you to whisk the cream please half the strawberries are going to go through the mix and half the strawberries are going to be turned into a coulis strawberries in first a little dusting of icing sugar into the pan and now the icing sugar will withdraw the sweetness from the strawberries and start caramelizing so let me show you a nice quick way of whisking secret whisking is like 10 seconds on and 10 seconds off that way your arms don't get tired now i'm going to take the cream to a three-quarter stage what is a three-quarter mix so we leave some sort of texture in the cream that's what we call three-quarter whip you've got a nice soft peak they're caramelized there you go we'll put a little touch of water in there that'll help break down the sugar and turn that into a really nice strawberry liquid now to get it really nice and fine i'm gonna blend it on and blitz off okay that's fine i want you to use the back of the spoon and push that through the sieve okay now that way you don't get those seeds it smells so good i love this now nice this is the exciting part hold up oh mag megan right now the meringue with your fingers just crush and flake the meringue into the cream how big should i crush it dado there nice big chunks okay lovely oh you okay yeah come on rang in my eye damn to make this dessert even easier i often cheat by using good quality shop port meringues a little taste that's just cream and meringue wow it's a little tasty okay strawberries in next a couple of spoons of the cooling now look at that now to prepare the mold to transform the traditional eaten mess into a frozen bomb form a triple layer of clim film adding water to the bowl will help the climb film stick as i pour that in i want you to spread it down okay at the bottom and push it down can you hear that crunch yeah the line all right now fold the cling film over put that in the freezer please make young please in the freezer she goes dessert done now for our main course with a twist that is the rib eye we've had that in the fridge not wrapped so it sort of almost air dries and it intensifies the flavor gross so much quicker and there's less water in the beef for me the only downside to perfect roast dinner is the fight about who washes up afterwards so meg and i are going to avoid that by cooking everything in one roasting tin starting with the spinach and mushroom stuffing let's do it with a salt and pepper please good girl some of your left shoulder left shoulder thank you in with the garlic and the mushrooms to toss the pan you push down and pull back down and push back off you go take your time push it down and flip very good that's it push down nice that was lovely and again nice i'm gonna drop let's see well done well done well then right we're gonna sort of make a little well a little touch of butter in the middle now we need to start putting the spinach in the middle piece so you can push that down the spinach is cold so you're not going to burn yourself be confident in the pan toss it and you'll see it wilting and disintegrating away wow who would have thought all that spinach could fit in this pan because it's a very delicate leaf it sort of cooks so quickly put this all on your board now and then i just want you to go and give that a nice chop then when you're confident with one hand we need to pick up the other knife the other hand chop it nicely good now outside and come in gently good regroup and take your time good mmm right i love that smell what is that lemon thyme lemon tan that's right so you get your little thyme stalks and you pour down you sort of strip lemon thyme in now tarragon it'll taste brilliant with the beef fantastic with chicken and fish roughly chop the tarragon and i sprinkle the fresh breadcrumbs so the breadcrumbs almost sort of bring the stuffing together next we're gonna get an egg yolk now with the beef this is the exciting part slice with the bone and then come inside and go two thirds of the way down hold that open for daddy salt and pepper and then look we pack our stuffing in there this is amazing it's incredible now just gently hold out there like that okay yeah i'll see you tomorrow what tying string around the rib will keep it all together during roasting not too tight if we tie it too tightly what happens the stuffing will come out that's right that's ready for roasting but we're gonna protect it and sit it on a trivet so a trivet basically is almost like a sort of little little bed a little bed that's right if you want to enjoy these delicious roast vegetables at their best make sure you remove them from the hot oven after 35 minutes and reheat before serving with your beef now a little mix for the top a couple of teaspoons of mustard powder in salt a couple of tablespoons of olive oil mix that in i'm gonna pour my mustard powder over the beef so this forms a really nice glaze my one pot roast dinner goes into a hot oven 15 minutes at 230 degrees then down to 170 degrees for another two hours for a delicious twist on traditional yorkshire puds i'm going to lace mine with fresh horseradish start with plain white flour in a bowl and crack in the eggs adding only half of your milk at this stage makes it much easier to whisk all the lumps out and if like me you like your puddings a little lighter and crispier add a dribble of cold water and add salt to season when you're happy your batter is lump free whisk in the remaining milk peel and grate horseradish and add a handful to the mix we can leave the batter to rest while we get the meat from the oven that is beautiful and this is where you really need to let it rest how long would you say to rest it for um i like to rest the meat for at least 20 minutes just the right amount of time for us to whack up the oven and to get our yorkshire puddings in i love using the rich dripping but vegetable all is a healthier option to get the fluffiest yorkshires your tray and fat must be piping hot for best results take your jug of batter to the oven and pour the mixture in there it takes just 15 minutes for our yorkshire puds to puff themselves up and turn a delicious golden brown with the yorkshire puddings on the way and the beef rested we can finish off the eater mess bomb run the bowl under the hot water twist and pull nice wow look at that beauty it's amazing sit that on to your plate now the finishing touches a drizzle of the remaining strawberry coulis i'm just going to pour this over amazing flavor and some grated mint chocolate and that is a nice twist on a classic eaten mess a delicious eat and mess bomb beautiful let's go baby please don't drop that meg please it's not a rounders match dessert sorted and the beef is ready to serve up lift that up place that onto the board parsnips parrots you can see why we kept them in halves they've got all that flavor one beautiful big slice for daddy one for maggie and then on the side it's stuffing the stuffing a bit that's the best to die for now fantastic yorkshire they're amazing aren't they beautiful mm-hmm that's for my daddy i met one that's for me beautiful roast beef with a twist wow these are my ultimate classics with a twist juicy river beef with horseradish spiked yorkshire puds and scrummy eaten mess bomb topped with strawberry coulis and mint chocolate crispy roasted with pancakes with the added kick of a black bean dipping sauce megan you're gonna help with the duck danny your favorite yes it is now how's your boyfriend right i'm going come on that woke you up didn't it so what do you love most about duck the dipping sauce the dipping sauce i love that let's get the duck in the oven first let's get a bit of salt in there please then some pepper thank you some spring onion garlic and ginger now why do you think we pour that in there season it and flavor it how come you put them in hole like that and not smaller it's going inside i'm not using it for sauce or anything so it's just going to make it really nice what are they star anita sorry so what happens as the duck roasts on the outside it creates this really nice perfume aroma inside tuck that in there to get it spicy rub all that chinese fire spice yeah over almost like you're massaging good so make sure you get it all in even the little wings you know underneath there just like i used to do to you in the bath i used to wash your little handys i know those days are long gone i know i know i know that is seriously spicy with the duck there's generally quite a lot of fat there yeah so we're gonna put it on this little bench okay and that goes there by slowly roasting it okay it's gonna get nice and crisp on the outside all that fat is gonna render inside the breast so therefore it's gonna get all nice and juicy yeah right ducks in three and a half hours at 160 degrees celsius your favorite part you said was the dipping sauce why is it your favorite part i think it really adds to the dark it makes it really tasty cena's is your favorite you can make it i'm gonna do nothing okay daddy's gonna put his feet up so uh first off the garlic there's one good girl watch your fingers please always do good nice oh you're fast huh watch your fingers i am watch your fingers slide slow down please 14. all right that's enough right little teaspoon of olive oil in a few years time i'll be teaching how to drive as well as cook how exciting is that you know in a car scary okay garlic in crispy duck is traditionally served with hoisin sauce but my brood love the additional big bold punch of black beans nice megan and i add soy sauce and lastly for that classic chinese sweet and sour element brown rice vinegar and honey are you happy with the flavour i'm really happy you can taste everything in there dipping sauce done duck's in the oven let's start the dessert the most amazing tata tan are those pink peppercorns they are pink peppercorns they're really good they don't taste anything like black peppercorns quite sweet aren't they they're really sweet very fruity the pink peppercorns give it the sweetness the black peppercorns give the heat now what is that baby vanilla this is one of the easiest desserts in the world to make but one of the most delicious it's a sort of take on the classic apple or pear to tan but when you caramelize those bananas with the peppercorns and the vanilla i bet that tastes amazing oh my goodness incredible okay i'm gonna make the caramel start off with the cold pen first and you just press that butter in there how come do you do it like that and not let it just melt naturally because i want the butter to stay cold because i'm gonna stick the bananas in there okay and then we'll make the caramel and caramelize the bananas at the same time so in goes those vanilla vanilla seeds pods in there as well okay peppercorns done yeah well done good girl sprinkle them over that butter just naturally naturally nice and then look just very carefully sprinkle sugar over that you're doing them all the same size roughly the same size wedge it into the butter well do you know what i want the bananas really caramelized you just stuck them between if you crown them in like this okay it will stop them moving around nothing's moving nothing is okay so all wedged in there sprinkle the peppercorns on top of the banana so you got that flavor in the caramel and on the top and the bottom right puff pastry puff pastry is difficult and time consuming to make so i always buy ready made when i'm at home to get the best flavor and texture go for the all butter type and keep your pastry cold before using it and this is where it gets really exciting you get your fingers you just pinch the ends so you thin the end if you do that for me very carefully have to be quick because the heat of your fingers can melt the pastry how comes you do it dad because we get it nice and thin so we can clip it underneath now take a spoon and what we do is lift up that banana and tuck it underneath see little like a parcel and see the thin bits of pastry yeah how easy it is to get it underneath yeah and that's why you thin them out you do it so quickly well because i have to be quick otherwise the pastry will melt notice how we're not using anything sharp so we're not would that cut the pastry that's right see how locked down that is gas on we'll start caramelizing her those three little holes are so important if we didn't put a hole in the pastry and it will cause a lot of steam so the pastry never cooks it just goes really soggy okay so really important the caramel is live now we're working the camel give a little shake how can you see the caramel through the pastry look what happens when it tilts oh yeah see all comes running down see yeah i see now that pastry okay it's like clinging on to the bananas and so when we turn it upside down we've got this glove full of these caramelized bananas look at that wow it looks like it look a locky look a locky ah look at likey got it now baby is your birthday soon 15. i've just worked it out on my 50th you're 18. perfect we should do a joint party yeah love it twelve two four for the old ones twelve lunchtime time till four for the old one so they can go to sleep megan will go on later come on perfect here's where i get excited now look at the color of that caramel so tilt the pan again see how dark it is now yeah wow it's gone a lot darker now didn't take long didn't take long at all that's nearly ready for the oven but before i put that in i'll get the duck out wow how's the duck doing crispy wow and delicious see how crispy that is it's really crispy that's what happens when it slow cooks so 20 minutes for the duck to rest and 20 minutes in the oven 190 to 200 degrees for our banana tartar tan time to knock up a quick hoisin and cucumber salad to put in our crispy duck pancakes for the dressing combine hoisin sauce rice wine vinegar soy sauce a dash of sesame oil and to give it that zingy asian punch some freshly grated root ginger for the salad trim and cut spring onions into very fine matchsticks peel a whole cucumber into long thin ribbons and shred in a couple of baby gem lettuces season and toss this fresh crunchy salad in the sweet yummy hoison dressing a combination that never fails to get the kids eating their greens wow look at that so see now where that pastry is caramelizing caramel so dark and just a little tip gas back on and that will release it because if you tip it and it's still sticking then some of your bananas will stick yeah so now see when it starts spinning around like this moving around and here we are the moment of truth when you know your daddy is the best chef in the world ready yeah wow the vanilla how delicious you look at that amazing smells really good as well right start to stand out done crispy dipping sauce cucumber salad ready so if you take them and your dipping sauce take them over thank you i'll take the duck don't drop it promise oh okay my ultimate big and bold dinner of crispy roast duck with pancakes with a hoisin dressed salad and some extra oomph from megan's favorite black bean dipping sauce now we all know you love chicken i do but we're gonna do it's a way that daddy used to eat it in paris okay now i'm gonna hold that up okay season inside please why is it yellow because it's a cornfed chicken obviously it's corn and if you eat lots of corn turn yellow turn yellow now what are those chickpeas chickpeas yeah a little taste nice yeah we're gonna make them taste even better salt pepper in there as well please now chilies when you hear that noise is that made the seeds have come out try take off the tops we're going to add the chilis to the chickpeas in and then zest the lemon in there please you love your zest i love my zest you're absolutely right a little glug of olive oil come on holes don't worry about your nails now come on baby you can do it now time to peel off all those wonderful little buds see so as we stuff the chicken with the fresh thyme the chickpeas become sort of fat and juicy from all that wonderful flavor chickpea stuffing done next we're going to make the herb butter to flavor the skin now what's that tarragon what's this mmm slightly vinegary yeah yeah a little bit anna cd yep so imagine that flavor going into the chicken that's going to be delicious now nice soft butter in with the tarragon is that lovely yeah now i want you gently to put your fingers through there and just so we get that butter under there but i need those small beautiful little hands ew what's wrong it's yucky come on holes nice well done i want you to get a nice handful of butter lift your hand up and push under good now see that there yeah you push it all the way down there and you let that slide and that's how you get all that wonderful yeah butter running down and the breasts stay nice and moist and like you yeah all those chickpeas in there nice your hands have never been so dirty have they no here we go good and push down come on okay now place my lemon in there right take your garlic shall i wash my hands no not yet we lay the garlic onto the tray now onto the garlic salt pepper that your skin nice and crispy and then i'm just gonna drizzle some olive oil that will stop the butter from burning and look at that please open them door thank you for that there she goes beautiful good job thank you really good nice to see holly get our hands dirty i think we all agree for dessert it's an incredible but easy hazelnut meringue tower guaranteed to wow your mates start with the basic meringue separate four egg whites and whisk gradually add caster sugar until the mix forms stiff glossy peaks gently fold in ground and chopped hazelnuts a trick we use in the restaurants is to use the mix to stick baking sheets down which makes them easy to spread and stops the sheets blowing around top your meringues with more finely chopped hazelnuts and bake for 25 minutes and the trick to stop them cracking is to turn the oven off and let them cool inside for the filling melt dark chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and slightly cool whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and gently fold in three quarters of the melted chocolate until combined build your towel with alternate layers of chocolate cream and meringue finally drizzle over the remaining melted chocolate to decorate a simple yet luxurious dessert your friends will love but be warned they'll all want second helpings the chickens in the oven and the desserts sorted now for a big easy green salad so let's start off with one nice tablespoon dijon say dijon a nice little squeeze of honey love honey good a little splash of aged balsamic and this is your favorite this one isn't it i just like the it has a nice sweetness but then it has a better nest to it too nice next to virgin novel why do we have to use a whisk not just a spoon the purpose of using a whisk is so it can emulsify and more importantly you're bringing all the ingredients together taste it's so yummy that is delicious isn't it a good tip to loosen any vinaigrette and give it a lighter taste is add a spot of water now the juice of a lemon squeeze the lemon in nice now use some butter lettuce start placing the salad around the outside this one is a lulla rosso okay so we'll put that one on the inside we're making a nice flour and you put your heart in there it's just like a flower that's exactly what i'm trying to do a nice beautiful flower now from there you criss-cross your avocado what does criss-crossing do instead of just sliding down i'll show you now you put your spoon in there and look that's so cool all these nice little bits i want you to sprinkle those little bits in here i'm telling you that first dinner you cook for your boyfriend is going to be extraordinary that romantic dinner the roast chicken the beautiful salad okay yeah the way your father taught you and how nice will that be all three of us sat down eating at the same time very nice are you gonna do that with megan all of you all of you and i'd grab the chicken okay now look at this beauty that looks amazing doesn't it right so a little bit of drip drip drip nice what i'm gonna do now is squeeze all that garlic down see how soft and beautiful it is smells amazing the lemon that we stuffed inside the chicken roasted what we do now is just squeeze all that through look at that nice garlic puree i'll tip all my chickpeas in there from there some of your vinegar in now you crush them and because they're still nice and hot they absorb all that wonderful garlic and lemon puree the rich delicious creamy vinaigrette the chilis i can guarantee you young lady that they are the best the finest the most delicious chickpeas you've ever tasted go on then it's yummy right in now little drizzle extra virgin olive oil over them beautifully done on chickpeas and that is a roast chicken fit for a kingdom this looks really yummy let me pass the salad out please and i'll carve the chicken whole roast chicken stuffed with chickpeas so with a big green salad it's always a winner with your buddies workmates or familyi think a fantastic sunday roast is the cornerstone of home cooking it's what the rest of the week's meals are built around and i absolutely love it but that doesn't mean it can't be improved to make the most out of my roast my main course is the delicious stuffed roast rib of beef complete with tangy horseradish yorkshire puddings but first i'm enlisting the help of my eldest 15 year old megan to reinvent one of my all-time favorite classic desserts eaton mess bomb right eat a mess what's the one thing you love about is a mess i love the meringues now this is a eaten mess with a twist what's the twist in it compared to the normal one we're gonna freeze it so it's almost like a sort of eaten mess bomb wow now i'd like you to whisk the cream please half the strawberries are going to go through the mix and half the strawberries are going to be turned into a coulis strawberries in first a little dusting of icing sugar into the pan and now the icing sugar will withdraw the sweetness from the strawberries and start caramelizing so let me show you a nice quick way of whisking secret whisking is like 10 seconds on and 10 seconds off that way your arms don't get tired now i'm going to take the cream to a three-quarter stage what is a three-quarter mix so we leave some sort of texture in the cream that's what we call three-quarter whip you've got a nice soft peak they're caramelized there you go we'll put a little touch of water in there that'll help break down the sugar and turn that into a really nice strawberry liquid now to get it really nice and fine i'm gonna blend it on and blitz off okay that's fine i want you to use the back of the spoon and push that through the sieve okay now that way you don't get those seeds it smells so good i love this now nice this is the exciting part hold up oh mag megan right now the meringue with your fingers just crush and flake the meringue into the cream how big should i crush it dado there nice big chunks okay lovely oh you okay yeah come on rang in my eye damn to make this dessert even easier i often cheat by using good quality shop port meringues a little taste that's just cream and meringue wow it's a little tasty okay strawberries in next a couple of spoons of the cooling now look at that now to prepare the mold to transform the traditional eaten mess into a frozen bomb form a triple layer of clim film adding water to the bowl will help the climb film stick as i pour that in i want you to spread it down okay at the bottom and push it down can you hear that crunch yeah the line all right now fold the cling film over put that in the freezer please make young please in the freezer she goes dessert done now for our main course with a twist that is the rib eye we've had that in the fridge not wrapped so it sort of almost air dries and it intensifies the flavor gross so much quicker and there's less water in the beef for me the only downside to perfect roast dinner is the fight about who washes up afterwards so meg and i are going to avoid that by cooking everything in one roasting tin starting with the spinach and mushroom stuffing let's do it with a salt and pepper please good girl some of your left shoulder left shoulder thank you in with the garlic and the mushrooms to toss the pan you push down and pull back down and push back off you go take your time push it down and flip very good that's it push down nice that was lovely and again nice i'm gonna drop let's see well done well done well then right we're gonna sort of make a little well a little touch of butter in the middle now we need to start putting the spinach in the middle piece so you can push that down the spinach is cold so you're not going to burn yourself be confident in the pan toss it and you'll see it wilting and disintegrating away wow who would have thought all that spinach could fit in this pan because it's a very delicate leaf it sort of cooks so quickly put this all on your board now and then i just want you to go and give that a nice chop then when you're confident with one hand we need to pick up the other knife the other hand chop it nicely good now outside and come in gently good regroup and take your time good mmm right i love that smell what is that lemon thyme lemon tan that's right so you get your little thyme stalks and you pour down you sort of strip lemon thyme in now tarragon it'll taste brilliant with the beef fantastic with chicken and fish roughly chop the tarragon and i sprinkle the fresh breadcrumbs so the breadcrumbs almost sort of bring the stuffing together next we're gonna get an egg yolk now with the beef this is the exciting part slice with the bone and then come inside and go two thirds of the way down hold that open for daddy salt and pepper and then look we pack our stuffing in there this is amazing it's incredible now just gently hold out there like that okay yeah i'll see you tomorrow what tying string around the rib will keep it all together during roasting not too tight if we tie it too tightly what happens the stuffing will come out that's right that's ready for roasting but we're gonna protect it and sit it on a trivet so a trivet basically is almost like a sort of little little bed a little bed that's right if you want to enjoy these delicious roast vegetables at their best make sure you remove them from the hot oven after 35 minutes and reheat before serving with your beef now a little mix for the top a couple of teaspoons of mustard powder in salt a couple of tablespoons of olive oil mix that in i'm gonna pour my mustard powder over the beef so this forms a really nice glaze my one pot roast dinner goes into a hot oven 15 minutes at 230 degrees then down to 170 degrees for another two hours for a delicious twist on traditional yorkshire puds i'm going to lace mine with fresh horseradish start with plain white flour in a bowl and crack in the eggs adding only half of your milk at this stage makes it much easier to whisk all the lumps out and if like me you like your puddings a little lighter and crispier add a dribble of cold water and add salt to season when you're happy your batter is lump free whisk in the remaining milk peel and grate horseradish and add a handful to the mix we can leave the batter to rest while we get the meat from the oven that is beautiful and this is where you really need to let it rest how long would you say to rest it for um i like to rest the meat for at least 20 minutes just the right amount of time for us to whack up the oven and to get our yorkshire puddings in i love using the rich dripping but vegetable all is a healthier option to get the fluffiest yorkshires your tray and fat must be piping hot for best results take your jug of batter to the oven and pour the mixture in there it takes just 15 minutes for our yorkshire puds to puff themselves up and turn a delicious golden brown with the yorkshire puddings on the way and the beef rested we can finish off the eater mess bomb run the bowl under the hot water twist and pull nice wow look at that beauty it's amazing sit that on to your plate now the finishing touches a drizzle of the remaining strawberry coulis i'm just going to pour this over amazing flavor and some grated mint chocolate and that is a nice twist on a classic eaten mess a delicious eat and mess bomb beautiful let's go baby please don't drop that meg please it's not a rounders match dessert sorted and the beef is ready to serve up lift that up place that onto the board parsnips parrots you can see why we kept them in halves they've got all that flavor one beautiful big slice for daddy one for maggie and then on the side it's stuffing the stuffing a bit that's the best to die for now fantastic yorkshire they're amazing aren't they beautiful mm-hmm that's for my daddy i met one that's for me beautiful roast beef with a twist wow these are my ultimate classics with a twist juicy river beef with horseradish spiked yorkshire puds and scrummy eaten mess bomb topped with strawberry coulis and mint chocolate crispy roasted with pancakes with the added kick of a black bean dipping sauce megan you're gonna help with the duck danny your favorite yes it is now how's your boyfriend right i'm going come on that woke you up didn't it so what do you love most about duck the dipping sauce the dipping sauce i love that let's get the duck in the oven first let's get a bit of salt in there please then some pepper thank you some spring onion garlic and ginger now why do you think we pour that in there season it and flavor it how come you put them in hole like that and not smaller it's going inside i'm not using it for sauce or anything so it's just going to make it really nice what are they star anita sorry so what happens as the duck roasts on the outside it creates this really nice perfume aroma inside tuck that in there to get it spicy rub all that chinese fire spice yeah over almost like you're massaging good so make sure you get it all in even the little wings you know underneath there just like i used to do to you in the bath i used to wash your little handys i know those days are long gone i know i know i know that is seriously spicy with the duck there's generally quite a lot of fat there yeah so we're gonna put it on this little bench okay and that goes there by slowly roasting it okay it's gonna get nice and crisp on the outside all that fat is gonna render inside the breast so therefore it's gonna get all nice and juicy yeah right ducks in three and a half hours at 160 degrees celsius your favorite part you said was the dipping sauce why is it your favorite part i think it really adds to the dark it makes it really tasty cena's is your favorite you can make it i'm gonna do nothing okay daddy's gonna put his feet up so uh first off the garlic there's one good girl watch your fingers please always do good nice oh you're fast huh watch your fingers i am watch your fingers slide slow down please 14. all right that's enough right little teaspoon of olive oil in a few years time i'll be teaching how to drive as well as cook how exciting is that you know in a car scary okay garlic in crispy duck is traditionally served with hoisin sauce but my brood love the additional big bold punch of black beans nice megan and i add soy sauce and lastly for that classic chinese sweet and sour element brown rice vinegar and honey are you happy with the flavour i'm really happy you can taste everything in there dipping sauce done duck's in the oven let's start the dessert the most amazing tata tan are those pink peppercorns they are pink peppercorns they're really good they don't taste anything like black peppercorns quite sweet aren't they they're really sweet very fruity the pink peppercorns give it the sweetness the black peppercorns give the heat now what is that baby vanilla this is one of the easiest desserts in the world to make but one of the most delicious it's a sort of take on the classic apple or pear to tan but when you caramelize those bananas with the peppercorns and the vanilla i bet that tastes amazing oh my goodness incredible okay i'm gonna make the caramel start off with the cold pen first and you just press that butter in there how come do you do it like that and not let it just melt naturally because i want the butter to stay cold because i'm gonna stick the bananas in there okay and then we'll make the caramel and caramelize the bananas at the same time so in goes those vanilla vanilla seeds pods in there as well okay peppercorns done yeah well done good girl sprinkle them over that butter just naturally naturally nice and then look just very carefully sprinkle sugar over that you're doing them all the same size roughly the same size wedge it into the butter well do you know what i want the bananas really caramelized you just stuck them between if you crown them in like this okay it will stop them moving around nothing's moving nothing is okay so all wedged in there sprinkle the peppercorns on top of the banana so you got that flavor in the caramel and on the top and the bottom right puff pastry puff pastry is difficult and time consuming to make so i always buy ready made when i'm at home to get the best flavor and texture go for the all butter type and keep your pastry cold before using it and this is where it gets really exciting you get your fingers you just pinch the ends so you thin the end if you do that for me very carefully have to be quick because the heat of your fingers can melt the pastry how comes you do it dad because we get it nice and thin so we can clip it underneath now take a spoon and what we do is lift up that banana and tuck it underneath see little like a parcel and see the thin bits of pastry yeah how easy it is to get it underneath yeah and that's why you thin them out you do it so quickly well because i have to be quick otherwise the pastry will melt notice how we're not using anything sharp so we're not would that cut the pastry that's right see how locked down that is gas on we'll start caramelizing her those three little holes are so important if we didn't put a hole in the pastry and it will cause a lot of steam so the pastry never cooks it just goes really soggy okay so really important the caramel is live now we're working the camel give a little shake how can you see the caramel through the pastry look what happens when it tilts oh yeah see all comes running down see yeah i see now that pastry okay it's like clinging on to the bananas and so when we turn it upside down we've got this glove full of these caramelized bananas look at that wow it looks like it look a locky look a locky ah look at likey got it now baby is your birthday soon 15. i've just worked it out on my 50th you're 18. perfect we should do a joint party yeah love it twelve two four for the old ones twelve lunchtime time till four for the old one so they can go to sleep megan will go on later come on perfect here's where i get excited now look at the color of that caramel so tilt the pan again see how dark it is now yeah wow it's gone a lot darker now didn't take long didn't take long at all that's nearly ready for the oven but before i put that in i'll get the duck out wow how's the duck doing crispy wow and delicious see how crispy that is it's really crispy that's what happens when it slow cooks so 20 minutes for the duck to rest and 20 minutes in the oven 190 to 200 degrees for our banana tartar tan time to knock up a quick hoisin and cucumber salad to put in our crispy duck pancakes for the dressing combine hoisin sauce rice wine vinegar soy sauce a dash of sesame oil and to give it that zingy asian punch some freshly grated root ginger for the salad trim and cut spring onions into very fine matchsticks peel a whole cucumber into long thin ribbons and shred in a couple of baby gem lettuces season and toss this fresh crunchy salad in the sweet yummy hoison dressing a combination that never fails to get the kids eating their greens wow look at that so see now where that pastry is caramelizing caramel so dark and just a little tip gas back on and that will release it because if you tip it and it's still sticking then some of your bananas will stick yeah so now see when it starts spinning around like this moving around and here we are the moment of truth when you know your daddy is the best chef in the world ready yeah wow the vanilla how delicious you look at that amazing smells really good as well right start to stand out done crispy dipping sauce cucumber salad ready so if you take them and your dipping sauce take them over thank you i'll take the duck don't drop it promise oh okay my ultimate big and bold dinner of crispy roast duck with pancakes with a hoisin dressed salad and some extra oomph from megan's favorite black bean dipping sauce now we all know you love chicken i do but we're gonna do it's a way that daddy used to eat it in paris okay now i'm gonna hold that up okay season inside please why is it yellow because it's a cornfed chicken obviously it's corn and if you eat lots of corn turn yellow turn yellow now what are those chickpeas chickpeas yeah a little taste nice yeah we're gonna make them taste even better salt pepper in there as well please now chilies when you hear that noise is that made the seeds have come out try take off the tops we're going to add the chilis to the chickpeas in and then zest the lemon in there please you love your zest i love my zest you're absolutely right a little glug of olive oil come on holes don't worry about your nails now come on baby you can do it now time to peel off all those wonderful little buds see so as we stuff the chicken with the fresh thyme the chickpeas become sort of fat and juicy from all that wonderful flavor chickpea stuffing done next we're going to make the herb butter to flavor the skin now what's that tarragon what's this mmm slightly vinegary yeah yeah a little bit anna cd yep so imagine that flavor going into the chicken that's going to be delicious now nice soft butter in with the tarragon is that lovely yeah now i want you gently to put your fingers through there and just so we get that butter under there but i need those small beautiful little hands ew what's wrong it's yucky come on holes nice well done i want you to get a nice handful of butter lift your hand up and push under good now see that there yeah you push it all the way down there and you let that slide and that's how you get all that wonderful yeah butter running down and the breasts stay nice and moist and like you yeah all those chickpeas in there nice your hands have never been so dirty have they no here we go good and push down come on okay now place my lemon in there right take your garlic shall i wash my hands no not yet we lay the garlic onto the tray now onto the garlic salt pepper that your skin nice and crispy and then i'm just gonna drizzle some olive oil that will stop the butter from burning and look at that please open them door thank you for that there she goes beautiful good job thank you really good nice to see holly get our hands dirty i think we all agree for dessert it's an incredible but easy hazelnut meringue tower guaranteed to wow your mates start with the basic meringue separate four egg whites and whisk gradually add caster sugar until the mix forms stiff glossy peaks gently fold in ground and chopped hazelnuts a trick we use in the restaurants is to use the mix to stick baking sheets down which makes them easy to spread and stops the sheets blowing around top your meringues with more finely chopped hazelnuts and bake for 25 minutes and the trick to stop them cracking is to turn the oven off and let them cool inside for the filling melt dark chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and slightly cool whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and gently fold in three quarters of the melted chocolate until combined build your towel with alternate layers of chocolate cream and meringue finally drizzle over the remaining melted chocolate to decorate a simple yet luxurious dessert your friends will love but be warned they'll all want second helpings the chickens in the oven and the desserts sorted now for a big easy green salad so let's start off with one nice tablespoon dijon say dijon a nice little squeeze of honey love honey good a little splash of aged balsamic and this is your favorite this one isn't it i just like the it has a nice sweetness but then it has a better nest to it too nice next to virgin novel why do we have to use a whisk not just a spoon the purpose of using a whisk is so it can emulsify and more importantly you're bringing all the ingredients together taste it's so yummy that is delicious isn't it a good tip to loosen any vinaigrette and give it a lighter taste is add a spot of water now the juice of a lemon squeeze the lemon in nice now use some butter lettuce start placing the salad around the outside this one is a lulla rosso okay so we'll put that one on the inside we're making a nice flour and you put your heart in there it's just like a flower that's exactly what i'm trying to do a nice beautiful flower now from there you criss-cross your avocado what does criss-crossing do instead of just sliding down i'll show you now you put your spoon in there and look that's so cool all these nice little bits i want you to sprinkle those little bits in here i'm telling you that first dinner you cook for your boyfriend is going to be extraordinary that romantic dinner the roast chicken the beautiful salad okay yeah the way your father taught you and how nice will that be all three of us sat down eating at the same time very nice are you gonna do that with megan all of you all of you and i'd grab the chicken okay now look at this beauty that looks amazing doesn't it right so a little bit of drip drip drip nice what i'm gonna do now is squeeze all that garlic down see how soft and beautiful it is smells amazing the lemon that we stuffed inside the chicken roasted what we do now is just squeeze all that through look at that nice garlic puree i'll tip all my chickpeas in there from there some of your vinegar in now you crush them and because they're still nice and hot they absorb all that wonderful garlic and lemon puree the rich delicious creamy vinaigrette the chilis i can guarantee you young lady that they are the best the finest the most delicious chickpeas you've ever tasted go on then it's yummy right in now little drizzle extra virgin olive oil over them beautifully done on chickpeas and that is a roast chicken fit for a kingdom this looks really yummy let me pass the salad out please and i'll carve the chicken whole roast chicken stuffed with chickpeas so with a big green salad it's always a winner with your buddies workmates or family\n"