Devon

Well Devon was lovely! Having never been to that part of the country before, I was expecting a lot and was not let down. Beautiful countryside, fantastic views of the sea and lots of quaint little villages (along with some rather kitsch seaside attractions which felt like abandoned ghost towns!)

We set off on the Monday morning after I'd got the last minute bits and bobs from Sainsburys. We had a proper little picnic to take in the car; homemade chicken & tarragon mayo sandwiches, steak flavour McCoys for hubby, original Sunbites for me, a box of mini flapjack bites (which I seemed to consume all by myself throughout the week oops) orangina for the boy and water for me. We had also made the random decision to create some Scotch eggs that we could share out with our convoy at whatever services we stopped at. We used this recipe Simon Rimmer Scotch Eggs which we had made before and they turned out perfectly. I added more herbs, black pepper and a little chili flakes to the pork mix which made them extra special. Unfortunately they all got snaffled before I remember to take a picture.

A couple of weeks before we were due to go to Devon, my mum made the announcement that she had this giant school-style metal tray in her greenhouse that she used for potting plants. I got very excited as I have wanted one of these trays for ages. We rescued it from the garden and upon discovering that it smelt vaguely of tobacco (?) we tried to get it in the dishwasher. At this point we realised it was too big, which meant it was also going to be too big to go in the oven. Never fear, a back up plan was soon hatched. Hubby, despite having a very poorly arm, took himself of to the garage with said metal tray and the angle grinder. Half an hour and one burnt thumb later, the tray fitted in the dishwasher (minus the handles on the side).

Upon arriving at our rented house in Devon, we were unsurprised to discover that the tray didn't fit in any of the three ovens the well stocked kitchen had to offer. However it did fit on top of the gas hob. So the decision was made to take full advantage and cook most of the meals in the tray before transferring to the various serving dishes.

The Shepherds Pie went down a treat. I fried off 2kg of lamb mince with about 5 chopped onions and various seasonings. Once nicely browned I scooped the meat into the 3 serving dishes, topped with some well mashed mash, lots of cheese (sprinkled by my little helper - see photo on left - who also mashed as hubby's arm was a bit dodgy) and then it all went in the oven. The gravy was then made in the big tray with the meaty juices, and I hate to say it but some gravy granules. No way could I make gravy for 12 people! I also rustled up a lentil version for our token veggie. There were some leftovers after the first serving (see the picture on the right) but it all got eaten in the end, served with carrots, broccoli and peas (lovingly chopped by the two J's)

Hubby's Chili on the Tuesday night also went down a storm. His friend from work was employed as Executive Sous Chef despite never having cooked in his life. Having instructed him on how to chop peppers, he took to it like a duck to water. The addition of lager caused a stir amongst the traditionalists but was declared a winner in the end. I got in the bad books at one point as I forgot to buy any dark chocolate. BAD WIFE! But in the end it turned out a gorgeous rich chili, served with rice (microwave, because have you ever tried cooking rice for 12 people - it doesn't work!) sour cream and tortilla chips (the Asda value ones are far superior). Again we whipped up a veggie 3 bean version for our leaf eater who was leaving the next day.

The other J&J (just realised there were 6 people out of 12 on this trips whose names started with J!) cooked a mean fish bake on the Wednesday. I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of it which I am quite cross about as this was undoubtedly the resounding success of the trip. We normally have quite simple food on these trips, things which are cheap, cheerful and which can be scaled up for large numbers of people, so this was quite a departure from the norm. A mixture of king prawns, haddock and pollock mixed with creme fraiche, lemon zest and grainy mustard, topped with breadcrumbs, a little grated cheese and parsley. Served with some of the best potatoes I had tasted in a long time, carrots and broccoli. Definitely one to repeat in the Jodsgirl household.

Cooked breaky was the next thing to utilise the big metal tray. I was up early, quite a miracle considering how much I drank the night before, and had most of it done before the troops surfaced. The bacon and sausages were cooked in the tray before being transferred to the oven to keep warm, along with potato waffles. I then cooked the mushrooms in the same pan, getting up all the lovely stuck bits from the bacon. The beans were cooked in the microwave and I finished off by doing the scrambled eggs in the big tray, only managed by tipping it at a slightly weird angle! They did go a bit of a funny colour due to the mushrooms prior cooking, but tasted good all the same.

We finished off the week with G's sausage pasta bake. Again the big pan was used to cook the sausages and mushrooms, the pesto, tomato puree, tinned toms and frozen sweetcorn were all added in, whilst the pasta was cooking. Once it was all cooked and stirred together it was transferred to the dishes, smothered in a lovely thick layer of cheesy goodness and baked until golden. A salad accompanied as did some lovely garlic baguettes. I had just bought Sainsburys value part bake baguettes which were surprisingly good, but we managed to find some wild garlic outside the house by the stream, so by mixing the chopped leaves with butter, salt and pepper we had ourselves a little garlic bread feast. Another great meal and the perfect way to round off the week.

Cant wait for next year. The culinary gauntlet has well and truly been thrown down!