Thank God It’s February!

If you don’t know already, I really hate January. It’s like the biggest hangover ever after the joy and festivity of Christmas (of which I am a huuuuuuge fan). I am therefore glad to see the back of January and pleased that, although not much has changed in terms of the weather or the heinous lies the bathroom scales tell on a regular basis, we are now in February.
Our neighbours had the right idea and disappeared off to Mexico, thereby avoiding the worst effects of January. They were kind enough to bring us back a present of habanero sauces in a colourful basket. I haven’t opened any of them yet as we really ought to finish the current bottle of Chipotle Tabasco we have on the go before opening anything else. We get through a bottle of Tabasco every other week so I’m sure I will be able to share the tasting notes on this colourful selection quite soon.

Everyone needs a treat to brighten up the dark Winter days, or anytime you just need a little something to make things feel better. One of our favourite lunchtime indulgences when we are out shopping in town is a visit to the Pint Shop. There is always a great selection of real ale and gin, but the Scotch Eggs are to die for. There is nothing quite like one of these runny-yolked sausage bombs and a half (or pint) of ale to lift your spirits. There’s something very English about it. You can’t tell me that this doesn’t look great!

On Saturday night I rustled up Spaghetti with Meatballs with Garlic Bread at the request of my husband. It’s a great no-nonsense standby – especially if like me, you stashed some meatballs in the freezer from the last time you made them! Once thoroughly defrosted, I browned the meatballs in just a little olive oil before setting them aside and starting the tomato sauce. Once again, I did NOT WASH THE PAN before softening some chopped onions. This is mainly because I am inherently lazy and hate unnecessary washing up but I also want every bit of flavour I can get out of my food, even the little brown crispy bits that fall off the meatballs while browning.

But today I am not intending to talk too much about tomato sauce as I want to share my way of making no-stress garlic bread. Once again, if you already have excess garlic butter (lactose-free of course!) stashed in the freezer from the last time you made a batch, it’s even easier. The great thing about making your own garlic butter is that you know what is and isn’t in it – in my case there is no lactose – and you can add as much or as little garlic as you like. Fresh parsley is a great way to help minimise the slightly anti-social effects of all that garlic and gives the authentic green-flecked look of “proper” (shop-bought/restaurant/full-cow/magazine-styled-food-porn) alternatives. To my mind, there is absolutely no point in dried parsley – it is simply tasteless green dust. That said, I have been known to use it in my garlic butter when fresh is not available, but purely for the green-flecked aesthetic!

But even that is not the tip I want to share with you today. For some unknown reason I was always fascinated by Hasselback Potatoes and it is this way of preparing the humble spud that is the inspiration for my garlic bread. I use store-bought, part-baked rolls and slice them almost all the way through in the same way you would prepare Hasselbacks. Then into each cut, slip a generous sliver of your garlic butter and bake in the oven at whatever temperature your part-bake roll instructions recommend for about 10-12 minutes until browned to your liking. It’s a winner I tell you – and not only do you end up with lovely garlic bread hot and oozy from the oven, but everyone has their own portion preventing the inevitable and traditional stand-off over the last slice.

Between that and my Lid Sid – heroically preventing my pasta pan from boiling over without any thought to his personal safety – it’s a simple Saturday night slap-up supper.