Caesar salad

This is our version. We've not added anchovy fillets here but you could.

Ingredients (serves 2):
A couple of handfuls of cos and romaine lettuce
1 cooked chicken breast, diced
2 rashers of smoked bacon
4 quails eggs
croutons
caeser dressing (bought or homemade)
shaved parmesan

• Mix the sliced cooked chicken with the lettuce leaves
• Grill the bacon and cut it into bite sized pieces before adding to the salad
• Meanwhile, cook the quails eggs in boiling water for one minute, then remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand for one minute
• Remove the eggs from the water. Peel them carefully and slice them in half
• Add the halved quails eggs, croutons, parmesan and dressing to the salad
• Eat whilst the bacon and quails eggs are still warm
  

Clams and bacon with wine and parsley

Ingredients:

1 handful of clams per person

2 rashers of streaky bacon per person, chopped

1 clove of garlic, peeled

parsley, chopped

olive oil

white wine (a big glug)

juice of half a lemon

• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan
• Add the whole garlic clove and bacon and cook for 5 minutes
• Add the clams and wine and leave to simmer for 3 minutes or so
• Add the parsley and lemon juice and cook for another minute
• Discard the garlic before serving either on salad as we did, or with crusty bread or spaghetti

Scallops with leeks and pancetta

Ingredients: (serves 2)

6 large scallops

4 rashers of pancetta

1 leek

small knob of butter

olive oil

• Trim the leek and finely dice. Saute in a little butter and olive oil until soft.
• Dice the pancetta into bite sized pieces and add to the frying pan with the leeks. Cook for another 5 minutes or so.
• Meanwhile heat a separate non stick pan (either a regular frying pan or a griddle pan). Once the pan is very hot, add the scallops. Cook the scallops for approximately 2 minutes on each side, depending on their size.
• Spoon the leek and pancetta mixture onto a plate and top with the scallops. Season with black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice if you like.

Hangover breakfast

Quite disgusting to look at but a perfect all in one breakfast if you're feling a little delicate.

Ingredients (serves 2):

3 eggs

1 small white onion, sliced

1 medium sized cooked potato, cut into slices (prick it with a fork and blast in the microwave for 5 minutes or so first if you don't have any cooked potato leftovers)

4 rashers of streaky bacon

a handful of grated cheddar (or sliced if you can't be bothered to grate)

black pepper

butter or olive oil

tomato ketchup (optional)

pot of tea (necessary)

• Butter or oil a non stick pan before placing it on the heat. Once hot, place the onion and potato slices in one layer to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook for approximately 3 minutes and then turn over for another 3 minutes
• Meanwhile, beat the eggs and season with black pepper
• Pour the eggs on top of the potato and onion mixture and swirl the pan slightly to ensure the egg mixture covers the bottom of the pan
• Pre heat the grill to a medium heat
• After a couple of minutes sprinkle the grated cheese on top and then place the bacon rashers on top of the cheese (you can pre grill the bacon rashers for a couple of minutes first if you like them crispy)
• Place the pan under the grill until the bacon is cooked and the egg mixture is set
• Slide it on to a plate and add a good dollop of ketchup on the side

In our house a pot of tea would be necessary to gulp alongside it.

Cabbage, bacon, shallots & cream

This is our favourite cabbage dish. We could eat a bowl of it on its own quite easily but it's also perfect with a pork chop and mustard mash.

Ingredients (serves 2):

½ pointed cabbage, shredded
3 rashers of streaky bacon, diced
4 shallots, peeled and quartered
Small tub of double cream
Black pepper

1. Sauté the bacon and shallots for 5 minutes or so
2. Put the cabbage in salted boiling water for a couple of minutes, but don’t let the cabbage get too soft and soggy
3. Drain the cabbage well and add to the bacon and shallots
4. Stir in the cream to heat through and season with black pepper